Mark Del Franco
Author, Talker, Reader
When the world is falling apart, everyone can become the hero of their own story.
CATHARGO
As the Imperium and Magickan States stumble towards war, the free city of Cathargo becomes a flashpoint between two ancient enemies. Torn between the industrial future and the magickan past, the fate of an entire continent can be tipped by a single chance meeting.
On Winternight, their worlds collide and set the future on a course that none of the great powers could anticipate.
More Book Descriptions and First Chapter Reads
The Connor Grey Series
Unshapely Things (2007)
In the alleys of the decrepit Boston neighborhood known as the Weird, fairy prostitutes are turning up dead. Boston police call in Connor Grey, a druid and former hotshot Guild investigator-whose magical abilities were crippled after a run-in with a radical environmentalist elf. As Connor battles red tape and his own shortcomings, he realizes that the murders are not random, but part of an ancient magical ritual—which might bring about a worldwide cataclysm.
Unquiet Dream (2008)
Fueled by a mysterious new drug, Celtic fairies and Teutonic elves battle for turf and power-with humans caught in the middle. As the body count rises, Connor Grey uncovers a vast conspiracy that threatens to destroy not only the city, but the world.
Unfallen Dead (2009)
For a century since the Convergence of Faerie and modern reality, the Ways between this world and the next have been closed. But now signs point to the chance that the veil may lift again. Connor Grey has enough problems with a vengeful Queen of Faerie and the return of his old Guild partner. Add an occult string of murders, and it�s another case that just may kill him.
Unperfect Souls (2010)
In the Boston neighborhood known as the Weird, a decapitated body floats out of the sewer, and former Guild investigator Connor Grey uncovers a conspiracy that may bring down the city's most powerful elite. As the violence escalates, Connor is determined to stop it—with help from one of the most dangerous beings of Faerie. Even if it means unleashing the darkness that burns within him.
Uncertain Allies (2011)
After a night of riots and fires, the Boston neighborhood known as the Weird lies in ruins. When a body is found drained of its essence, ex- Guild investigator Connor Grey fears one of the most dangerous fey is still loose in the city. But things are not what they seem. As he is drawn deeper into the case, shades of the past threaten the present as an explosive secret tears apart the city—and brings the world to the brink of war.
Undone Deeds (2012)
In the aftermath of a brutal terrorist act that has rocked the city to its core, everyone blames one man—Connor Grey—for the destruction and the loss of uncounted lives. War looms as High Queen Maeve pushes toward a final confrontation between the Celtic and Teutonic fey—with Boston as their battlefield.
The Laura Blackstone Series
SKIN DEEP (2009)
From Publishers Weekly: Murder, mayhem and multiple identities merge in this electric series opener. In an alternate present where fey and human entities coexist more or less peacefully, Janice Crawford, a druid working for Washington, D.C., SWAT, is nearly killed in a mission gone awry. Mariel Tate, a high-ranking agent within a global security firm, InterSec, investigates, finding ties to a fey history exhibit at the National Archives curated by Laura Blackstone, the PR director for the Fey Guild. The catch is that Janice, Mariel and Laura are all one woman who keeps her personas separate by magic and sheer willpower...(an) addictively fast-paced narrative and fully believable setting.
FACE OFF (2010)
Laura Black is a druid who can change her appearance. She is both the Fey Guild's public relations director and a secret agent for the International Security Agency. And now she'll have to choose where her loyalties lie when a political war breaks out between the fey and human populations...