The Artistry of Magic

That sense of glory was worth the occasional beating…

Since his youth, Maarten has wandered the Low Countries, living from one handful of silver stuivers to the next. The urge to channel magic through his street art is like an itch, yet without the expensive accoutrements of his craft, he can never call himself a true magician.

One day, as he paints animated birds on the cobblestones before the college library in the proud city of Haltra, an irate librarian arrives to tell him off…

Born the daughter of a lowly shopkeeper, Johanna de Vries has spent her entire life working towards her modest position as a junior Scholar. She takes no pleasure in asking the young man to erase his artwork, but it is her responsibility to maintain the magical tomes of the library and prevent anyone from disrupting their delicate balance.

After their first rocky meeting, this unlikely pair find that perhaps their perspectives on life and art are not so different after all. Yet can love triumph amid the harsh realities of life on the streets?

A romantasy novella of 18,000 words. MOBI, EPUB, and PDF files available. Paperback from Amazon here.