SORCERERS OF THE NIGHTWING: Book One in the Ravenscliff Series

All kids fear the monsters in their closets. But for Devon March, those monsters are all too real...

            Devon March is a spirited fourteen-year-old boy with strange, unexplained powers. He can levitate his dog, disappear at will, and make objects move with only his mind. And ? since the time he was just six years old ? he has had to fight off periodic attacks from the hideous, stinking demons that live deep down inside his closet. He has never understood why he has these powers, or why his closet is a gateway into Hell.

            When his father dies, Devon is stunned to discover he was adopted. He senses that his true parentage might explain both his strange powers and the creatures in his closet. In his will, Devon's father had left instructions that the boy be sent to live at a mansion called Ravenscliff, perched atop Devil's Rock on the craggy coast of New England. Here, Devon suspects he will find the truth of his past, hidden somewhere in the dark corridors of the mysterious mansion, filled with skulls and crystal balls and shrunken heads.

            Indeed, Devon discovers he is a Sorcerer of the Order of the Nightwing and that his heritage is proud and noble. But he learns something else, too: like his closet, there exists at Ravensliff a Hellhole, and the demons are scratching to get out. Worse, still: the spirit of a renegade sorcerer, known as the Madman, may be haunting Ravenscliff, determined to open the Hellhole and set the creatures free.

            It is up to Devon to prevent that from happening. But to do so, he will have to do what he fears most.

            He will have to plunge into the Hellhole!

            Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Devon is called upon to battle demons, vampires, and other mystical creatures. Like Harry Potter, he is searching for the truth of his magical heritage, discovering a rich and fascinating tradition of sorcery. In succeeding volumes of the series, Devon transcends time to experience first-hand not only his own origins but also the experiences of Nightwing throughout the ages.

            Questions raised in the first book carry through to the next, and the next, and the one after that. As the initial mysteries are solved, new ones arise. Filled with the kind of contemporary kick-butt action-adventure that has made Buffy so popular, as well as the fantastic mythology that has endeared readers to the Harry Potter and Tolkein books, The Ravenscliff Series is nonetheless markedly different. It revives the old Gothic tradition of shadowed corridors, creaking doors, and mysterious lights in tower rooms ? an atmosphere sadly missing in much of the current crop of supernatural fiction and programming.

            Both contemporary and traditional, The Ravenscliff Series has elements that offer wide appeal. For fantasy buffs, there is the richly detailed and fascinating history of the Order of the Nightwing through the ages. For classic horror aficionados, there are vampires, witches and werewolves. For those who like adventure, there is fast, martial-arts-style action. Science-fiction enthusiasts will appreciate the sophisticated use of time-travel.

            The cast of characters includes, in addition to Devon, his new guardian, Mrs. Amanda Muir Crandall, an icy but beautiful matriach determined to prevent Devon from finding out the truth of his past; Cecily Crandall, Amanda's rebellious teenaged daughter with whom Devon quickly forms a close bond; Alexander Muir, the twisted eight-year-old nephew who may or may not be possessed by the spirit of the Madman; Rolfe Montaigne, the dark, brooding ex-con who is determined to ruin the Muir family, but who soon becomes Devon's mentor; and Devon's group of friends: the rebel D.J., the airhead Ana, and the openly gay Marcus.

(Book Two is slated for release in 2003.)