Plot synopsis for Magic Lost, Trouble Found

I wrote the synopsis for Magic Lost, Trouble Found (then called Thief of Souls) in third-person but keeping the humorous/modern voice of the books. I wrote the book in first-person, but the synop in third because that's what the writing books said to do. I'm here and published, so it worked, but synops were a lot easier for me once I switched to Raine's POV. I determined what worked best for me and I did it. There are a lot of writing "rules" or guidelines, or just the way "everyone" does it. Don't follow the crowd, do what you gut tells you is right for you and your book. Chances are it'll pay off for you.

I wrote the synopses for the next two books in first-person, Raine's POV, humor & snark evident. I'll post those tomorrow and Saturday.

You'll notice in all of my synopses that some of the plot points didn't get used. Yep, there'll be stuff in them that you go: "Huh? I don't remember that happening." It's perfectly fine if when your book is finished, you didn't use everything you wrote in your synopsis. Sometimes good stuff simply doesn't fit. Keep it, use it in another book. Your agent or editor doesn't expect you to stick like glue to your synop. When you're writing a book things change. In my synops, the big picture doesn't change, but the sometimes the details do. So if you start to stray a little from your synop, don't sweat it.

Here's the MLTF synop. . .

The city of Mermeia consists of seven islands forced into existence by the determination of its founders, and kept from sinking by the greed of its merchants. A powerful force, greed. It makes solid ground where there had once been marsh; builds palaces and trading houses where there were reeds; and inspires humans, elves, goblins, and magic users of all races to live together in a city separated only by the canals that mark their respective Districts. Sometimes they even get along. Sometimes they don't.

This is one of those times.

Raine Benares is a Seeker, a finder of things lost or people missing. At the moment, she doesn't have a client to her name -- just a sometime partner doing a little moonlighting. Stealing an amulet from one of Mermeia's nastier necromancers isn't Raine's idea of easy money. But Quentin Rand likes money more than she does, and is willing to do a lot more to get his hands on it. All Raine wants to do is keep Quentin's latest money-making scheme from turning into a one-way trip to the city morgue.

Easier said than done. Quentin breaks in, finds what he's after and ends up exiting Nachtmagus Nigelius Nicabar's house through a bedroom window, Khrynsani shamans and temple guards hot on his heels. Raine knows that nothing the goblin secret society wants can be something Quentin, or anyone else, should have. Naturally, Raine ends up with the amulet around her neck and a price on her head. Neither asked for. Neither wanted. Suddenly there are plenty of people who want the amulet, and Raine can't give it to any of those willing to take her life to have it. She can't toss it in the nearest canal, either. She can't take it off at all. She tries. Once. As far as near-death experiences go, it ranks right up there.

As a result of her newfound necklace, Raine finds herself at the center of a disturbing trend. Mermeia's favorite fence of misappropriated goods turns up wearing a hemp necktie and swinging from his own rafters. The necromancer who Quentin burglarized pops up as a floater in one of the city's maze of canals. Sorcerers are vanishing off the streets. Literally. No trace, no clues, no bodies. Raine discovers they all have one thing in common -- and she's wearing it around her neck.

Quentin never saw who hired him, but Raine's seen more than enough of the people who want what he stole. The Khrynsani -- an ancient goblin secret society with even more outdated political ideas, led by a sadistic psychopath of a grand shaman by the name of Sarad Nukpana. Raine's never see the rotten fruits of his labors up close and personal, but she's heard the stories.

Nukpana's in town with his boss, the new goblin king Sathrik Mal'Salin, for a week of receptions culminating in a masked ball. Raine discovers the king's renegade brother Prince Chigaru Mal'Salin is also visiting Mermeia. She doubts it's for a brotherly reconciliation. Blood is thicker than water, and the Mal'Salin family isn't shy about drowning each other in either.

Also in the market for Raine's necklace is Magus Karlerius Cradok, the self-proclaimed crime lord of Mermeia, and his right-hand minion Ocnus Rancil, a second-rate sorcerer of minimal talent and maximum aggravation.

Last, but not least, are the Guardians of the Conclave of Sorcerers and their elven spellsinger commander. Paladin Mychael Eiliesor is reputed to be one of the finest and most powerful spellsingers the Conclave of Sorcerers on the Isle of Mid has ever produced. Judging from her own reaction to the paladin's voice, Raine figures the elf can probably do virtually anything he wants to with his voice, and not only will his intended victim not mind in the least, they'll probably enjoy it.

The Isle of Mid is home to the most prestigious college for sorcery, as well as the Conclave, the governing body for all magic users in the seven kingdoms. The Guardians' sworn duty is to protect the members of the Conclave and defend Mid against any outside threat. Guardians have enough to do at home, so Raine knows that the Conclave must want something, or someone, badly to turn Guardians loose on them. And she has a sneaking suspicion what that something, and who that someone, is.

That's a lot of high-powered competition for a necklace that isn't even Raine’s taste in jewelry. And that's just the beginning of her problems. Since the amulet's been around her neck, her magical abilities have been getting a substantial and unwanted boost, plus the amulet is attracting sorcerers of questionable character to her like lodestones to true north. Raine doesn't want either the power or the crazies. And even if she can get rid of the power, there's no guarantee the crazies will go away.

Raine wants answers. She wants to know what the amulet is, what it does, what it's doing to her, and why every lowlife and power-hungry mage in town wants it. Why she can't take it off would be nice to know, too. Unfortunately the people who can answer her questions are the same ones looking to separate her head from her shoulders and take what's hanging in between. Finding someone she can trust with the information she needs becomes her top priority.

Raine knows she's deep in something that doesn’t smell too good when her usual sources won't talk to her. And danger gets an added complication when her family and friends want to help. A nice enough offer, but the safest place for them to be isn't anywhere near her. Raine's godfather Garadin Wyne and her elven landlady Tarsilia Rivalin are both retired Conclave mages -- and both have pasts they'd rather keep secret. Raine's best friend Alixine Toril is one of the finest robe designers in the Sorcerers District, but in a fight is one of the most vicious mages she knows. Parry Arne is a rogue Conclave emissary who's pretty much written the book on creative magical retaliation. Tarsilia's teenage grandson Piaras Rivalin is a prodigy spellsinger-in-training, and the little brother Raine's always wanted. Tamnais Nathrach is a goblin and former arch-shaman for the royal House of Mal'Salin, and is now the owner of a trendy nightclub and gambling parlor. Janek Tawl is the watcher in charge of law enforcement in the Sorcerers District. Then there's Raine’s cousin, Phaelan Benares, scion to the most notorious clan of pirates in the seven kingdoms.

On second thought, there's nothing like a little help from your friends.

Raine's search for answers takes her from the homes of Mermeia's nobility, to waterfront alleys and dives, to embassies, safehouses, speakeasies, and into The Ruins—formerly home to Mermeia's social elite, now home to things that'll keep your nightmares awake. There she finds Prince Chigaru and his court in exile at one of the abandoned estates. The destination isn't exactly her idea. The prince has kidnapped Piaras as bait. The prince knows Raine has the amulet, he wants it, and he's not shy about threatening Piaras with torture to get what he wants.

He tells Raine why he wants the amulet.

Raine doesn't like what she hears.

She's wearing the beacon to an ancient soul-stealing stone around her neck -- the Saghred, roughly translated from the goblin language as the Thief of Souls. She's familiar with the legend. In exchange for its potentially unlimited power, the Saghred will consume your soul for an age and a day. Ancient goblin kings used the Saghred to make their armies indestructible and their enemies annihilated. The stone's been missing for about 900 years. The amulet/beacon Raine is wearing will lead her to the Saghred -- along with anyone else who cares to follow. Prince Chigaru wants Raine's help finding the stone before his brother and Sarad Nukpana. As far as Raine can tell, all three goblins' intended use for the Saghred hasn't changed one bit. She has no intention of being party to world domination, and she tells the prince as much.

As a result, Raine and Piaras find themselves locked in an upstairs room so she can rethink her answer. Raine has Piaras put their goblin guards to sleep with a spellsong lullaby, and they make good their escape. Though into The Ruins hardly constitutes an escape. Razor-fanged fire pixies, giant blood-sucking leeches and various magical creatures that go bite in the night are waiting, Prince Chigaru and his guards are pursuing, and the Khrynsani, their grand shaman and the Conclave Guardians add to the population. When she and Piaras are cornered by some of The Ruins' deadliest magical inhabitants, Raine fights back and gets a taste of what the Saghred can do -- and the Saghred gets a taste of Raine's soul.

Raine knows she needs to get rid of the amulet. Now. Having her soul eaten a bite at a time doesn't appeal to her on any level. The Guardian commander Mychael Eiliesor wants the amulet, but doesn't seem to want to take her life to get it. It doesn't earn him sainthood status in Raine's book, but it's a start. Plus, he knows why Raine can't take the amulet off, and more importantly, why she hasn't shown any of the adverse effects of contact with the Saghred. (Delusions and insanity followed an age and a day later by death.) These reasons have everything to do with her long-ago murdered mother, and a father she never knew. The Guardians' job is to retrieve the stone and keep it out of the wrong hands. Raine decides to help him do it.

It's not a popular choice. Karlerius Cradok has Quentin kidnapped from Phaelan's ship. Karl wants a trade. Raine gives him the amulet, and in return, she may or may not get Quentin back in one piece. That's not Raine’s idea of an equitable arrangement. But Karl doesn't get to keep Quentin for long. Sarad Nukpana ups the ante when his Khrynsani shamans take Quentin from Karl. As a final bargaining chip, Tarsilia Rivalin is abducted through the blackest of sorceries -- a Gate that Nukpana himself tears into her house. He sends word that he'll kill both Quentin and Tarsilia, and use their deaths to fuel another Gate to come after Raine and the amulet himself, unless Raine brings it to him at the goblin embassy.

Raine doesn't appreciate the irony of her new and unimproved situation. The amulet's been dropping clues to the Saghred's location -- clues leading directly to the goblin embassy. It isn't her first or last choice for a destination, but the amulet didn't ask her opinion. Mychael sees this as the perfect opportunity. The goblin king's masked ball is tomorrow night. Go to the ball, take home one soul-stealing rock as a party favor. Raine thinks it sounds simple enough in theory, but so do a lot of things that end up getting you killed. Getting in will be easy. Considering what she's wearing around her neck, the goblins will welcome her with open arms. Leaving will be the hard part.

Once at the ball, locating the Saghred isn’t the problem. It wants to be found. The problem is what's standing in the way of a quick exit from the catacombs where they find it. Sarad Nukpana -- and a few dozen of his most heavily armed, deeply disturbed friends. He takes the Saghred. The grand shaman wants demonstration from the object he's gone to so much trouble to get. All he needs is blood to open it, and a soul sacrifice to tap its power. Nothing like a life to buy the friendship of a soul-stealing rock.

One of Raine's better plans, Nukpana's arrogance, and a healthy dose of luck result in the grand shaman becoming his own sacrifice. Sarad Nukpana and the amulet are inside the Saghred, Raine and her friends are outside, and the Guardians have the stone back under protective custody.

Problem solved. Not quite. Even without the amulet, Raine still feels a strong connection to the Saghred. The stone has bonded with her. Only now she hears Sarad Nukpana's voice from inside the stone, as well as the countless other souls the Saghred has ingested over the ages. As long as the link remains, so does the danger to Raine.

Mychael Eiliesor is taking the Saghred back to the Conclave on the Isle of Mid -- and that isn't all he wants to take back with him. Raine knows that Mid as an island full of power-grubbing mages, and she has a bond with a legendary stone of power no one had been able to wield and live -- until her, until now. There are plenty of mages who will want what she has, what she can do.

Unfortunately some of those same mages are her only shot at getting her life back. Raine agrees to go to Mid. Along with a few carefully chosen friends, of course. She tells herself that Sarad Nukpana can't get out of the Saghred, she won't be taken in, and the power-hungry mages of Mid will ignore her.

And if she tells herself that often enough, she just might begin to believe it.