What’s it about?

Family man Sen gave up his high-stakes job at the Academies to spend more time at home with his pregnant wife, Kami, and their daughter. His parents may have chosen the Academies over him, but he won’t make the same mistake. Like Sen, Kami’s mission is to provide their children with the love and safety neither of them had, and for her, that means laying low and avoiding the Academies at all costs. So, when the Academies send an inspector to town, they quickly realize they may no longer be able to keep the secret they’ve been hiding their entire lives: Sen and Kami are both Manifolds–people with access to multiple types of anima (magical power). Worse, Kami is undocumented.

After an official threatens Kami, Sen agrees to cooperate with the Academies for one final Assignment. This takes him away from his family, but if he’s able to complete the Assignment in the next week, he’ll get to return home, for good, their freedom assured. However, being hunted by the Academy inspector opens old wounds for Kami. Her father died in service to them, and her mother disappeared during a previous Academy investigation, leaving Kami orphaned. When the secrets about themselves, their families, and their world are exposed one-by-one, Sen and Kami must work harder than ever to find their place in a world that fears them. And none of it may be enough to save them from the exploitation, disappearance, and death that seems to plague Manifolds.

Who is it for?

SEEN & UNSEEN is for fans of V. E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic series and those who love exploring the darker sides of a future, post-apocalyptic utopia like what’s found in The Giver. If you enjoy the worldbuilding, complicated relationship dynamics, and themes of N. K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season or Blood Over Bright Haven, you’ll like SEEN & UNSEEN. Think 1984 or Howley’s Silo series, but with magic.

It’s a story where human society and nature itself are peacefully recovered, but threats still loom just below the surface of the carefully crafted systems. This is for those of us who fantasize about a beautiful future for humanity and our world at large, while also recognizing that human beings are still human beings. If you like a blend of science fiction and fantasy, dystopian utopias, science-based magic systems, and exploring the human condition through complicated family dynamics, generational trauma, and rigid social structures, this might be for you!

This is also an #ownvoices project, where one of the main characters is autistic and the other lives with PTSD and anxiety, so people who share similar lenses may be able to see themselves in this story.

• Complex Family Dynamics: How are familial relationships strained and impacted by other responsibilities? Is forgiveness possible, even after years of resentment and poor (or absent) communication? Who is responsible for healing the damage, when everyone is now an adult?

• Familial and Social Responsibility: How do we balance work with home/family? When is it acceptable, or even required, to make family sacrifices in the name of the greater good? How do we care for our communities and those we love while also caring for ourselves?

• Grief & Loss: How does death and loss impact us? What happens when things are left unresolved, either by choice or circumstance? How does it affect our other relationships?

• PTSD and Anxiety: Can a person heal, or learn to live with, PTSD and anxiety? In what ways do we make life harder or easier on the person struggling? How can human connection and robust accommodation impact outcomes?

• Power & Autonomy: Is morality attached to power? When someone possesses the power to do great good, what is their responsibility—are they required to use it, even if it costs them to do so? When should we control power? How is power used to control others, and is that ever okay?

• Individualism vs. Collectivism: How do we respond when our individual goals, wants, or needs conflict with the collective’s? What is the morality surrounding individual choice when it impacts the larger community? Is the abdication of individual freedom required (on any level) to ensure the safety, peace, and wellbeing of the whole?

While I’ll do my best not to completely spoil things, I think it’s worth mentioning some of the content warnings for this story. If any of these topics are triggering, please take care.

• Pregnancy complications: Kami experiences discomfort throughout the story, culminating in a major complication which puts her life and the life of her baby at risk. I will spoil by saying, there is no pregnancy loss this story.

• Death of a loved one: Kami has experienced a lot of death (her father and sister, and likely her mother as well). Two well-known characters die during the story, including a loved one, and it does appear on page.

• Discrimination: Sen and Kami are both Manifolds, which is a restricted form of power. As such, they are both undocumented, which is at the heart of this story. They must hide who they are, and Sen’s journey is especially revealing of the discrimination and poor treatment toward those who possess power deemed “a threat to the peace” by the Academies.

• Some gore at the climax: The final standoff and confrontation between Sen and the Academies involves fighting, with descriptions of blood and other bodily fluids, burning, and broken bones.

• Violence/death (limited to two scenes, but worth noting): Sen has a magical combat scene at the final climax, and it does result in multiple deaths. Additionally, there is a death scene in Kami’s storyline as well.

Want a sneak peak?