Getting Started & F.A.Q.s

Looking for your next read? Queer Enigma Books & Candles has two great stories to choose from:

Fractured Magic is an epic fantasy about a prince's quest to rescue his kidnapped king and the disgraced hero who comes back from the dead just to stop him. It's about accountability, ghosts both figurative and literal, and two estranged friends who act like they've gone through the world's messiest divorce.

Fractured Magic is for you if you like any of the following:

·   Slow Burn and Second Chance Romances
·   M/M primary pairings
·   Political Legitimacy and How Governments Fall 101
·   Spies, assassins, and hidden agendas
·   The Lonely Immortal (TM)
·   "I thought you were dead"

The Case Files of Sheridan Bell is a series of fantasy mysteries that follow Detective Sheridan Bell, an up-and-coming private detective in the world of Tamarley: it's a world of sidhe, intrigue, and unstable magic.

The Case Files are for you if you like Sherlock Holmes but wish there were more queer fairies.

F.A.Q.s

Q: What's a webserial?
A: Webserials, also called webnovels or webfiction, are serialized online novels. In the case of my novels, they update every other week until the story is complete. You can read them here or subscribe and get chapters delivered to your email inbox.

Q: So when do these webserials update?
A: Fractured Magic is currently on hiatus, but will return with Volume II in Winter 2025. When the story is running, it updates every other Monday.
The Case Files of Sheridan Bell is currently between mysteries, but when a mystery is ongoing, it updates every other Thursday.

Q: What if I want a physical version or Ebook?
A: You can get those as well! Currently, Queer Enigma offers the first Sheridan Bell mystery and Fractured Magic Volume I in print here.

Q: Do you provide content warnings for the stories?
A: Yes, content warnings are provided at the start of chapters/mysteries. Please note, there is a general warning in both for fantasy violence and mild horror elements that may not be specifically called out.

Q: What qualifications do you have to write the stories you're writing?
A: This is an important question for Fractured Magic, which leans heavily on political legitimacy and accountability as themes. Tolkien was a philologist; it lends his languages more weight. I have a background in English and International Politics as well as a Juris Doctorate; I'm a licensed attorney, though I do not currently practice. Over many years of education, I've learned a lot about the theoretical underpinnings of power and how it can all unravel in an instant.

Q: How can I support you financially?
A: The best way you can support me is by recommending my stories to friends, either in person or on social media! But if you'd like to help support me monetarily, you can join one of the paid tiers on the site or leave me a tip.

Q: Can I make fanfiction/fanart for the stories?
A: Absolutely! Both Fractured Magic and the Case Files of Sheridan Bell are distributed and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Internaltional License. Details can be found here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

This means that you can build on the story, redistribute it, and make fanfiction or fanart so long as you credit back to me and use the material for noncommercial purposes.

Q: What is your stance on GenAI?
A: I have not and will never use AI at any stage of my writing process. I believe in supporting artists, not profiting off others' copyrighted works, and putting in the hard work myself to write books from the heart.

Other questions? Email henrysheridanbell@gmail.com.