Not Another Tavern: Spicing Up Fantasy With Notorious Sorcerer

Davinia Evans is an author with an honour's thesis in political strategy whose debut novel, Notorious Sorcerer, came into my orbit through our shared publisher when I was hired as map illustrator for the book’s release last year.

‘Notorious Sorcerer’ is a spicy mix of characters and consequences set in a fictional city that experienced a catastrophic magical earthquake in its recent past, leading to heavy policing of magic and its uses. The protagonist is both a magic user and member of a swordfighting street gang called the Bravi, which was the lead-in for inviting Dee to come on this show.

Dee and I discuss the original inspiration for the Bravi and the implications within an otherwise rigid society of an organisation that traverses social barriers by allowing members of any class or gender to join.

We explore the parallels between physical attraction and duelling and how swords can be an equaliser for characters with uneven power dynamics, which are often used to drive or resolve tension within romance literature.

Dee and I also talk about the writing of strong female characters and why being a lifelong lover of fantasy led Davinia to want to explore what else the genre could offer.

Davinia’s sequel, 'Shadow Baron' will be released in November 2023.