The Fossil Door

June 18, 2023
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Rathna has a gift for doorways.

When a portal in the Scottish Highlands stops working, she is one of the only Portal Keepers able to travel to investigate. On the other hand, the location presents some challenges. As a London-born Bengali woman, she's nothing like the villagers.

And of course, there's the worrying question: why did this portal stop working? It shouldn't have done that.

Gabe was born to fling himself at a challenge.

Gabe was born into an aristocratic family, and he's used to everything coming easily. Everything, that is, but recovery from a life-changing injury in 1918. Fortunately, he's recently finished training as one of Albion's investigators, and he can throw himself entirely into his work. He has a new landscape to explore, wildlife to see, ponies to ride, and magic to untangle. There's plenty to keep his quicksilver mind busy.

Perhaps there are too many problems. Rathna is prickly, giving him little to work with. There are threatening noises from the mountaintop nearby. Rathna is even more distant when she gets news from home of a mysterious man asking about her.

Somehow they must learn to work together, understand the local needs, and repair the portal, all while avoiding the wrath of the legendary beithir.

The Fossil Door is the second book of the Mysterious Powers series, exploring the institutions of Albion during and after the Great War. It is full of geology, folklore, an ADHD hero, family of choice, and a multicultural romance between characters from very different backgrounds. Enjoy this charming romantic fantasy with a swirl of sex set in 1920 with a happily ever after ending!

Content note details
Heroine was born in London to Bengali parents, orphaned at 8 and grew up largely disconnected from her culture. Her apprenticeship took place largely within the London Jewish community in Spitalfields. Hero comes from significant social privilege, has what we’d identify as ADHD, and suffered a life-changing injury (not in the Great War). Discussion of other War deaths and injuries. Some bias from others on the basis of background and presumed orientation.

Want to know more? Check out the blog posts about The Fossil Door.

Published:
Genres:
M/F

Tags:
1920s, Bisexual, Class and class differences, Demisexual, Diverse backgrounds, Education and research, Family - Edgarton, First relationship, Guard and Penelopes, LGBTQIA+, Mentorship, Neurodiversity, Parents and children, Physical disabilities, Religion and the numinous

Begins: 1922-03
Period: 1920s
Romance: M/F, First relationship, Demisexual, Bisexual
Content notes: Click here to reveal

Books focusing on the Edgarton family:
(Additional information about the Edgarton family is available on my authorial wiki.)

Showing books 1-7 of 7

Period: Edwardian

Romance: M/F, First relationship

Content notes: Click here to reveal

Cover of Pastiche. A man and woman in Edwardian dress silhouetted against a bright teal background, with a stained glass window in golden yellow and muted purple behind them.
Pastiche

Period: 1920s

Romance: M/F, First relationship, Demisexual, Bisexual

Content notes: Click here to reveal

Cover of The Fossil Door. A man and woman in 1920s dress stand silhouetted on a bright burgundy and glowing orange background. An illuminated book is inset in the top left corner.
The Fossil Door

Period: Information not available

Romance: Information not available

Content notes: Information not available

Nothing too horrible can happen in a fortnight. Charlotte is worried. Her friend Victor - the man everyone expects she’ll marry - has fallen in with a new circle. Growing up in the family she has, Charlotte knows there’s something odd going on. The new friends are older, united in a passion for ancient legends, and there’s something just a bit too intense about all of them. When Charlotte and Victor are invited for a fortnight at a remote country house with the rest of the group, she goes along to keep him out of trouble. It’s hard to get by as a working alchemist. Lewis hopes his arrangement with Morgen will let Lewis keep his brother in a much-needed potion and begin to build up his own business as an alchemical perfumer. He doesn’t mind being stuck in an isolated cottage on a rural estate while he does it. But when Charlotte appears in his kitchen - an impossible idea - they have to figure out what’s going on at the main house and how to stop it without causing more problems. All they have to work with are the skills they already have and whatever is stocked in the alchemy lab. Perfect Accord takes place in the magical community of Great Britain in 1923, as Charlotte is preparing for her older brother Gabe’s wedding. Third in the Mysterious Arts series, it can be read in any order. Join Charlotte and Lewis for a short tour through mangled Arthuriana, a long stint of forced proximity, and a sensual romance full of perfume, cooking, and time in bed.
Perfect Accord

Period: Information not available

Romance: Information not available

Content notes: Information not available

The cover of Old As The Hills has a man with a can and a woman silhouetted on a green ground with a map. She holds out her hand, he is putting something into it, forming a doorway between them. An astrological chart behind them shows the symbols for Venus, the Sun, Jupiter, and Saturn highlighted behind a splash of glowing stars.
Old As The Hills

Period: Information not available

Romance: Information not available

Content notes: Information not available

The cover of Upon A Summer's Day shows a man in a suit silhouetted over a map of northern Wales in a muted green. He is gesturing, holding his cane in one hand, a cap on his head. Behind him is an astrological chart, with Jupiter and Saturn highlighted in the sign of Taurus.
Upon A Summer's Day

Period: Information not available

Romance: Information not available

Content notes: Information not available

The cover of Three Graces has three women in silhouette, two standing and one sitting, her hand resting on a cane. All three are wearing clothes from during the Second World War, against a deep brown cover with a map. An astrology chart to the back left has the Moon and Venus picked out in brighter gold.
Three Graces

Period: Information not available

Romance: Information not available

Content notes: Information not available

Four students in silhouette on a blue background of a map off the west coast of Wales. Three stand around a table, the fourth is perched on the near corner, leaning forward and gesturing.
The Magic of Four

Showing books 1-7 of 7

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By Celia June 18, 2023

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12 Seconds in 1927 Ancient Trust Authorial Wiki Best Foot Forward Bound for Perdition Carry On Casting Nasturtiums Chasing Legends Complementary Eclipse Elemental Truth Enchanted Net Facets of the Bench Fool's Gold Forged in Combat Four Walls and a Heart Friend? Friend. Goblin Fruit Grown Wise Harmonic Pleasure Illusion of a Boar In The Cards Magician's Hoard Mistress Of Birds Nocturnal Quarry Old As The Hills On The Bias Outcrossing Pastiche Perfect Accord Point By Point Sailor's Jewel Schola Tales Seven Sisters Shoemaker's Wife Silent Circuit The Fossil Door The Hare And The Oak The Magic of Four Three Graces Treats And Extras Upon A Summer's Day Wards of the Roses Weaving Hope Winter's Charms

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