Magically gifted foster child Jack Morelli grows up searching for his brother, Michael, who was taken by demons that dwell in a labyrinth of tunnels under New Orleans. He keeps his dark secrets until he falls in love with psychic Emmie Borell, who has the magical resources to help in his quest. Bringing the truth to light casts a shadow on everything he believes about his purpose, magic, and himself.
ANTAGONIST
Ma’gador is the damaged son of the demon king, K’hal, and the witch Malinda. He was five years old when K’hal became enthralled with Sheila, a younger, more powerful witch, pregnant with his child. Malinda left Ma’gador with K’hal, fearing he was too unruly for the human realm. Ma’gador hated K’hal for driving her away, Malinda for deserting him, and himself for being unlovable.
Sheila, a drug addict, left K’hal the day their son, Ka’pel, was born. Ma’gador resented K’hal for grieving Sheila and tormented Ka’pel mercilessly despite harsh punishment.
On Ma’gador’s twentieth birthday, he learned from K’hal that although hybrids could not take souls, they could procure magic to power up their soul-snatching. K’hal assigned Ma’gador to learn how to extract and transfer magic by observing a witch, Coletta, transfer magic to her son and then steal magic from Coletta and her son. Ma’gador adored Coletta, and she cared for him. He chose her well-being over K’hal’s approval. Forbidden from being with her, Ma’gador secretly protects Coletta from the demons who still want her magic.
BREAKOUT TITLE LIST
1. Tunnel Demons of New Orleans, Book 1: Under the Crescent Moon
2. Tunnel Demons of New Orleans, Book 1: Demons and Other Brothers
3. Tunnel Demons of New Orleans, Book 1: Labyrinth of Love and Lies
COMPARABLES
1. JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood is a series of contemporary characters with a dangerous enemy. Dry humor and snappy dialogue contrast with tragic, complex backstories. Sibling relationships are troubled. Romantic relationships are wrought with self-doubt. Tropes include found families, coming of age, and another realm.
2. Sherilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series is set in New Orleans. The overarching theme is brothers at odds. Tropes in common are family secrets, a protected space, human characters with magical gifts, and a comedic non-human entity attached to a protagonist. The actions of antagonists threaten romantic relationships.
HOOK LINE
Tunnel Demons of New Orleans Book 1 Under the Crescent Moon by Nicki Nance
The older of two magically gifted brothers is taken from foster care by demons who harvest his magic for years while his tormented younger brother grows up secretly planning his rescue as he is menaced by a demon with secrets of his own.
THE INNER CONFLICT:
From age ten, Jack Morelli kept the dark secrets of his telepathic communication with his missing brother. By age thirteen, he had begun the quest to find Michael and rescue him from the demons who took him. He was pleasant and accommodating to his community, a brilliant student, and a hard worker who courageously coped with his brother’s disappearance. Inside, he seethed with anger at the demons, his brother, and himself. He felt guilt for deceiving people who cared for him and shame for being “less than” the hero Michael needed.
SECONDARY CONFLICT
Jack has become skilled at withholding the truth from people he loves deeply, but when he meets Emmie, his fated mate, the fabric of his woven persona begins to shred. If he does not tell her everything, he can’t accept the love she is offering him. If he tells her everything, he will betray his brother’s confidence.
SETTING
The night the Jack and Michael Morelli brothers, sons of a powerful New Orleans witch, escape their abusive father, they are taken to Affinity House, an old mansion serving as a foster home for children in need of protection from supernatural predators. Demons watched the brothers’ arrival from an ancient courtyard, the remains of a mansion destroyed by Hurricane George in 1947. The same hurricane flooded the entire neighborhood, washing out the only barrier to a maze of forgotten mine shafts and opening a portal between hell and the neighborhood above.
Demons occupied seven mine shafts, lining them with whatever they could find to create an inhabitable space. They planned wisely, employing witches to create illusions, bespell mirrors, and create more portals. An explosion of demon-witch hybrid births was not part of the plan.
Demons have no natural magic beyond dematerializing and taking souls. Hybrids cannot take souls, but they can take magic. K’hal, king of the Louisiana demons, relegated hybrids to the labyrinth of tunnels that snaked below the neighborhood and above hell. His son, Ma’gador, was the only hybrid permitted to extract the pink swirling magic, while the rest of the hybrids served as brokers who found the magic and made the deals. Once extracted, the magic was stored in a vessel protected by a cistern located in a cave behind the landing where the seven tunnels converged. Demons then retrieved it to power up their soul-snatching with clairvoyance, mind control, and illusions.
The hybrid, Ka’pel, brought Michael to live in the marble tunnel lined with authentic Greco-Roman statues and columns. Despite being windowless, the apartment was bright, with walls that glowed from backlights. The apartment's interior seemed too large to fit in the space between tunnels because a gravitational illusion disguised its placement on an incline that dipped below the next tunnel. Though Ka’pel and Ma’gador lived two tunnels apart, a bridge above K’hal’s hell chamber swung between their dwellings.
Michael explored the tunnels often, seeking a way out. In one of the two brick tunnels, groupings of mirrors, empty frames, and paintings hung in spaces between niches covered in trompe l’oeil gardens. The last of four brick niches was a passageway to the aromatic garden portal to the courtyard.
The last brick tunnel ended in a faux foyer that opened to an alley near Jackson Square. The number 333 hung outside the entrance to nowhere, creating a space for deliveries. A painting in the foyer that depicted Jack’s room at Affinity House turned into a portal to the room.
The Shoppes on Royal were across from Affinity House and the courtyard. Magique, at the corner of Royale and Affinity, carried magic supplies. The owner gave psychic readings. The rest of the establishments were on Affinity. Marty’s Cajun Cuisine and Spirits was a family restaurant by day and a trendy hot spot at night. The locals called it Spirits, in deference to the ghosts rumored to linger there. CC’s Confectionary and Café, Riff’s Guitar Shop, and the leather goods store Satchell’s Secrets went to the end of the block.
The vendors and the residents of the apartments above them were a backdoor community. They shared hot coffee on cool mornings and cold beer in the alley behind the Shoppes on steaming afternoons. Most of the inhabitants were magic-bearing descendants of the Sicilian witches who remained after the Sicilian immigrants spread throughout New Orleans.
The apartments above the Shoppes are constantly being remodeled and repurposed to contextualize changes in character arcs.
New Orleans is more than a backdrop for the stories. Searches for Jack’s mother take him via streetcar to the gatehouse of a mansion in the Historical District. His mother inherited the house after it was gifted to her grandmother, who worked in the mansion. It is the house his brother carried him from the night they escaped. In the surrounding neighborhood, he gets clues at Pitstop Pizza, Bar None, Igor’s, and several hotels on St. Charles Street. Jackson Square is another center of focus. Jack meets his uncle at Café’ Du Monde. The Cabildo art museum is dear to several characters, and later in the series, the demons are connected to past fires at the Cabildo.
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STORY STATEMENT
Magically gifted foster child Jack Morelli grows up searching for his brother, Michael, who was taken by demons that dwell in a labyrinth of tunnels under New Orleans. He keeps his dark secrets until he falls in love with psychic Emmie Borell, who has the magical resources to help in his quest. Bringing the truth to light casts a shadow on everything he believes about his purpose, magic, and himself.
ANTAGONIST
Ma’gador is the damaged son of the demon king, K’hal, and the witch Malinda. He was five years old when K’hal became enthralled with Sheila, a younger, more powerful witch, pregnant with his child. Malinda left Ma’gador with K’hal, fearing he was too unruly for the human realm. Ma’gador hated K’hal for driving her away, Malinda for deserting him, and himself for being unlovable.
Sheila, a drug addict, left K’hal the day their son, Ka’pel, was born. Ma’gador resented K’hal for grieving Sheila and tormented Ka’pel mercilessly despite harsh punishment.
On Ma’gador’s twentieth birthday, he learned from K’hal that although hybrids could not take souls, they could procure magic to power up their soul-snatching. K’hal assigned Ma’gador to learn how to extract and transfer magic by observing a witch, Coletta, transfer magic to her son and then steal magic from Coletta and her son. Ma’gador adored Coletta, and she cared for him. He chose her well-being over K’hal’s approval. Forbidden from being with her, Ma’gador secretly protects Coletta from the demons who still want her magic.
BREAKOUT TITLE LIST
1. Tunnel Demons of New Orleans, Book 1: Under the Crescent Moon
2. Tunnel Demons of New Orleans, Book 1: Demons and Other Brothers
3. Tunnel Demons of New Orleans, Book 1: Labyrinth of Love and Lies
COMPARABLES
1. JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood is a series of contemporary characters with a dangerous enemy. Dry humor and snappy dialogue contrast with tragic, complex backstories. Sibling relationships are troubled. Romantic relationships are wrought with self-doubt. Tropes include found families, coming of age, and another realm.
2. Sherilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series is set in New Orleans. The overarching theme is brothers at odds. Tropes in common are family secrets, a protected space, human characters with magical gifts, and a comedic non-human entity attached to a protagonist. The actions of antagonists threaten romantic relationships.
HOOK LINE
Tunnel Demons of New Orleans Book 1 Under the Crescent Moon by Nicki Nance
The older of two magically gifted brothers is taken from foster care by demons who harvest his magic for years while his tormented younger brother grows up secretly planning his rescue as he is menaced by a demon with secrets of his own.
THE INNER CONFLICT:
From age ten, Jack Morelli kept the dark secrets of his telepathic communication with his missing brother. By age thirteen, he had begun the quest to find Michael and rescue him from the demons who took him. He was pleasant and accommodating to his community, a brilliant student, and a hard worker who courageously coped with his brother’s disappearance. Inside, he seethed with anger at the demons, his brother, and himself. He felt guilt for deceiving people who cared for him and shame for being “less than” the hero Michael needed.
SECONDARY CONFLICT
Jack has become skilled at withholding the truth from people he loves deeply, but when he meets Emmie, his fated mate, the fabric of his woven persona begins to shred. If he does not tell her everything, he can’t accept the love she is offering him. If he tells her everything, he will betray his brother’s confidence.
SETTING
The night the Jack and Michael Morelli brothers, sons of a powerful New Orleans witch, escape their abusive father, they are taken to Affinity House, an old mansion serving as a foster home for children in need of protection from supernatural predators. Demons watched the brothers’ arrival from an ancient courtyard, the remains of a mansion destroyed by Hurricane George in 1947. The same hurricane flooded the entire neighborhood, washing out the only barrier to a maze of forgotten mine shafts and opening a portal between hell and the neighborhood above.
Demons occupied seven mine shafts, lining them with whatever they could find to create an inhabitable space. They planned wisely, employing witches to create illusions, bespell mirrors, and create more portals. An explosion of demon-witch hybrid births was not part of the plan.
Demons have no natural magic beyond dematerializing and taking souls. Hybrids cannot take souls, but they can take magic. K’hal, king of the Louisiana demons, relegated hybrids to the labyrinth of tunnels that snaked below the neighborhood and above hell. His son, Ma’gador, was the only hybrid permitted to extract the pink swirling magic, while the rest of the hybrids served as brokers who found the magic and made the deals. Once extracted, the magic was stored in a vessel protected by a cistern located in a cave behind the landing where the seven tunnels converged. Demons then retrieved it to power up their soul-snatching with clairvoyance, mind control, and illusions.
The hybrid, Ka’pel, brought Michael to live in the marble tunnel lined with authentic Greco-Roman statues and columns. Despite being windowless, the apartment was bright, with walls that glowed from backlights. The apartment's interior seemed too large to fit in the space between tunnels because a gravitational illusion disguised its placement on an incline that dipped below the next tunnel. Though Ka’pel and Ma’gador lived two tunnels apart, a bridge above K’hal’s hell chamber swung between their dwellings.
Michael explored the tunnels often, seeking a way out. In one of the two brick tunnels, groupings of mirrors, empty frames, and paintings hung in spaces between niches covered in trompe l’oeil gardens. The last of four brick niches was a passageway to the aromatic garden portal to the courtyard.
The last brick tunnel ended in a faux foyer that opened to an alley near Jackson Square. The number 333 hung outside the entrance to nowhere, creating a space for deliveries. A painting in the foyer that depicted Jack’s room at Affinity House turned into a portal to the room.
The Shoppes on Royal were across from Affinity House and the courtyard. Magique, at the corner of Royale and Affinity, carried magic supplies. The owner gave psychic readings. The rest of the establishments were on Affinity. Marty’s Cajun Cuisine and Spirits was a family restaurant by day and a trendy hot spot at night. The locals called it Spirits, in deference to the ghosts rumored to linger there. CC’s Confectionary and Café, Riff’s Guitar Shop, and the leather goods store Satchell’s Secrets went to the end of the block.
The vendors and the residents of the apartments above them were a backdoor community. They shared hot coffee on cool mornings and cold beer in the alley behind the Shoppes on steaming afternoons. Most of the inhabitants were magic-bearing descendants of the Sicilian witches who remained after the Sicilian immigrants spread throughout New Orleans.
The apartments above the Shoppes are constantly being remodeled and repurposed to contextualize changes in character arcs.
New Orleans is more than a backdrop for the stories. Searches for Jack’s mother take him via streetcar to the gatehouse of a mansion in the Historical District. His mother inherited the house after it was gifted to her grandmother, who worked in the mansion. It is the house his brother carried him from the night they escaped. In the surrounding neighborhood, he gets clues at Pitstop Pizza, Bar None, Igor’s, and several hotels on St. Charles Street. Jackson Square is another center of focus. Jack meets his uncle at Café’ Du Monde. The Cabildo art museum is dear to several characters, and later in the series, the demons are connected to past fires at the Cabildo.