My Musimagium world began as an alternate history story. The original book, which I have rewritten twice and haven’t published yet, is set a few years before the civil war. When I decided to revisit the world, I decided to start in our modern day. What would this organization look like now? How would it function? And that is how the Musimagium and the world of Radio Arcanum, of which Musimagium is a part was born.
The main question driving my world building is ‘what else would exist in this universe?’. With my religious studies degree, and an interest in occult and esoteric things, I imagine a wide variety of magical societies, groups, and powers. Sure, the Musimagium is a bit old fashioned. All their spells are in Latin, for example, as are most of the names, but there are people trying to create change and bring the organization into a more modern mindset. And there are people who have chosen to walk way or not work with this group at all, whether because of historical events or because their magic simply doesn’t fit the type of magical works being done by the organization. It is an organization, after all, which means there is an implicit in-group and out-group.
Asking myself what stories I want to tell, what else would exist, and how would this work with existing canon helps me to write a wide variety of stories. At their core all my stories would fall under the cozy spectrum. I try not to write too much angst and believe the inclusion of the socius, or magical animal companions, helps to connect my characters and stories to those of us who share our lives with pets and have deep relationships with them.
I want to create a world that readers can fall into, fall in love with, and live in. I take inspiration from the fantasy worlds that I love and wish I could inhabit. And that is the kind of world I want to create for my readers and for myself.
