Some have Magick, some don't.
Some use their powers for good, some don't.
When harm is done, the Lock Keepers can give the offenders another chance, or Magickally lock up the villain and throw the key into the abyss.
Which will it be this time?
To the shock of Hazzard Island, the old Master Lock Keeper, Noddy, is found dead on the rocks below Dark End. The Lock Keepers Guild, guardians of the Magickal residents of the New England province, knows he has been murdered.
Vulnerable now without their fourth member, the Lock Keepers send word to his great-nephew, Nicholas Nottingham, an affluent Boston lawyer who is absolutely in the dark when it comes to the light of his own Magick. They hope he is the next Westerly Light, but they cannot tell him anything about his Magickal calling as they wait to see if his powers activate.
From fair-weather bubbles to love potions to fighting the Brass Bell Pirates and solving the murder; there's a lot to do. Nick is torn. His wife, Jude, wants their Boston life back; teen daughter, Talie, wants to dance; Autistic son, Nickle, now thriving, wants them all to see and believe like he does. Living on the island in a castle to fight pirates sounds like a fantasy dream to Nick but could it be his new reality?
He's been having nightmares.
Friendship … Fraud … Forgiveness … Forever …
It’s Homecoming on Hazard Island and something or someone ancient is corrupting the Magick.
Hazard Island artist, Stanton Greene, died in a shipwreck in 1833. One of his works lost with him has been anonymously donated to Goodestowe Gallery for the Homecoming auction. An obvious forgery: perhaps, but the artist's trademark thumbprint is in the paint and strange clues tell of secrets and treasure. And now The Grandmothers, Jack Chardon, and Charlie the Ghost dog have disappeared. The Lock Keepers must put things right.
“Friendship; the hardest thing to find, but the only
treasure worth seeking.”
Everyone we meet leaves a mark on our hearts as unique as their fingerprint. A glimmer of their essence remains, for good or bad. Our heart is marred or molded, and our souls are changed by the lasting effects these unique marks leave.
It is a spiritual wonder when the impressions left are the pain of everlasting longing, and the joy of eternal love so great that the mere thought of them brings them rushing to us no matter how long or far the separation.
Fingerprints. They leave a mark. And sometimes, if we are blessed, the indelible mark is love, as unique as a fingerprint and as haunting as a ghost.
"Some would have you believe that Magick is all twinkle lights and faeries, good witches granting wishes to a deserving few, and curious, bubbling potions to help you find True Love.
Others tell you Magick is wicked, wand-wielding wizards bent on controlling the world and everyone in it. They want you to think Magick is bizarre spells to ensnare; gruesome murders for revenge; and other-worldly specters working Dark Rituals in order to take what they want and obliterate those who get in their way.
Don't worry. [Chuckle] I mean, it's all true… all of it! But, don't worry.
That's why we're here. When things get out of hand, we step in to set things right. We are the Keepers of the locks and the keys. We are the Lock Keepers Guild
[Opening on flying over ocean to Hazard Island] [Noddy]
On Hazard Island, off the New England coast, there's a well-scrubbed seaport town, full of Victorian gingerbread cottages and old brick mills, Wickenden. These days, her streets are filled with antique shops and art galleries for the tourists with a hardware store, post office, and Sweetie's Bakery for the locals.
In Wickenden Harbor ships of all kinds are not only sheltered but cherished, for in years long past, the ocean cherished the town and gave us fame and fortune through fish and shipping. Day fishing tourists help keep the good fortune flowing now, along with our legendary Moonlight Ghost Sails. It really is quite a Magickal place.
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Book 1 - The Westerly Light
"You can't learn to imagine what isn't, if you're not left alone to play and imagine what might be!"
Hazard Island, including Wickenden Town, is the Seat of the Four Houses; four family groups who embody the Magick of the Four Directions and Elements. When linked in action, they create the fifth power, Spirit.
The Four Houses make up the Mystick Circle of the Lock Keepers Guild, they are the governing body for the Magickal peoples of the New England Coast and Islands Province. When Magickal folk do bad things - steal, murder, Dark Magick, cheat, fraud, bully - the natural order and flow is disrupted; it must be restored.
The Lock Keepers Guild has the responsibilities and the special skills to enforce the laws by means of the Magickal Locks and Keys which appear in Nottingham House when a crime or misdemeanor has been committed.
Crimes are not swept away into the dark but brought into the light and the offenders are made to repay.
The complaint of offense may be leveled first or, sometimes, the lock may show up before the complaint; then again, sometimes the key appears first somewhere in the grand Victorian Nottingham House. The Lock Keeper Guildmaster (Noddy) has the Magick to make the offender feel what he has done to the victim by use of the specific lock and key.
If the wrong-doer is repentant, the Keeper can then give them a second chance - a do-over - in which time reverts to just before the moment and, if they were truly sorry for what they did, it will not happen the second time.
If they were not, and only are sorry for being caught, then it will happen anyway and then the next step in the Old Code clicks into play - the consequences for the actions. Punishment is given, the deed is repaired as best as is possible, and they fix Fate by the use of the myriad of locks and keys - people meet or don't- lives are spared or not - and bullies are always revealed; for actions produce consequences.
At present there are only 3 in the Guild; the seat of 'Water', the westerly Light, is vacant because of the death of Lock Keeper, Nicholas Nottingham (Old Noddy) who is the key to keeping everything working in balance; and the very long arch of the series is to find out who killed him, but the task at hand is to call in his replacement - his great-nephew, Nicholas Nottingham (new Noddy), who is absolutely in the dark when it comes to the Light of his own Magick.
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Meet some Characters:
Nick Nottingham is struggling to hold onto both his family and his successful Boston corporate law practice. His wife, Judith Brach (Jude) is also a prominent lawyer of contract law and they have grown irritated and frazzled with conflicting schedules, needs, and goals.
Two children Natalie Nottingham (called Talie) 13 - 'forced' to be active achiever - and Nicholas Nottingham III (Nickle) 8, who has Asperger's - both always have Nanny Teddy (Theodora Binns) in tow. They would both rather be home having adventures reading, playing make-believe.
Jude frowns on this but Nick thinks it's great! Being free and playing at the seaside under the open sky on Hazzard Island are his best childhood memories, and Nickle, his special boy, needs a gentle life.
Eleanor (Nell) Clairess who is of Earth Elemental- Green minded, gardens and plants and herbs and nurturing growth and conservation of woodlands. Darker skinned, long dark hair, big brown eyes, rooted in her 4 Great Grandmothers-- a little Native American blood - a little African, a little Welsh, and a little French means a lot of Magick. [Grandmother Chepi (Fairy), Sho-Sho Ida Brown, Gymrae Nellie Jones, Maman Charlotte Willmott] Although all long dead, these four help her alone and together. Crystals, potions, animals, grounding - Real Estate developer and planner. The Clairess family are the Keepers of the Northern Light... a lighthouse off
Lawson (Sonny or Sunshine) Goode who is Air Elemental, a golden, airy free thinker always wanting the new enlightenment and expansion of the winds with summer tourists, sea and sand. He is golden in all senses of the word. Light, happy, shaggy blond hair, yoga, meditation, new age crystals, colorful clothes. Competes with Gabi for men and money and clashes with Nell over wetlands. Very New Age oriented and thinks every argument can be fixed with a cup of tea - and it usually can be. Lights/candles, jewelry/charms - Tourism Board and Chamber of Commerce.
The Goode family are the Keepers of the East Haven Light... a lighthouse off
Gabieta (Gabi) Wickes The Fiery Fay (name=Lithuanian Fire Goddess + Wickes = English ancestor who settled/owned island), is the Fire Elemental, quick to anger, quick to act and focused on action and the amount of power it actually takes to keep things running. Stylish auburn hair and blue eyes, always trendy and in style to fit in with the upper class folks she must woo and mingle with for fund raisers, charities, and politics. Wands and fire, swords/pens, news reporter and socialite. The Wickes family are the Keepers of the Southern Light... a lighthouse off the
Gabi is manipulating the politicians to get industry, financial help, and protection for the Magickal residents of Wickenden and Hazard. ("They can't wait to help me," Gabi laughs with a roll of her eyes, "they are all the same." "Men?" Nell asks. "No - politicians… greedy and always looking for the next perfect deal. But if I don't do this who will?") Clashes often with Nell because of industry and Annie because of politicians and wives!
Nell, who runs the botanical gardens, is working on environmental science and herbal medicine she is the healer. Coerced into taking over Old Noddy's work of maintaining historical continuity, records and archives (NOT HER JOB!) to preserve what is… including the Magick. She would rather be with her plants and animals than people.
Sonny is developing tourism! Using the Magickal talents of the Circles all under cover, he wants to make Wickenden a destination for things Magickal. Crystal Ball Gypsies to spa weekends with Moonlight Sails complete with ghost ships. ("Just because they're dead doesn't mean they don't have feelings; we don't want to leave them out of the fun.")
The House of Nottingham is the Water Elemental.
They have sea-gray eyes, tender hearts and high emotions, and go gray at a young age.
Old Noddy was the oldest of the four being seventy-four. 'Not feeble, not doddering, not young…' He kept things historically preserved (The Preservation Society) and houses, places, and things come into his care - they come to the Nottinghams to be rescued, saved, defended, safeguarded, to be preserved --- 'well-kept and pickled' Noddy called it. The Nottingham family are the Keepers of the Westerly Light.
And the Three Houses work a spell to draw in the scattered family members of the Water Element House of Nicholas Nottingham, and that is where the story begins...
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