Emily Daggett’s childhood dream of finding a wizard, becoming extraordinarily powerful and battling evil is belatedly coming true. In the most screwed-up way possible.

First off, the wizard’s all wrong. Alexander Hartgrave is a thirty-year-old IT worker instead of a silver-haired mage, and he’s dead-set against playing the proper role of helpful mentor.

Worse, he thinks Emily’s extraordinary, all right — because she’s uniquely incapable of doing magic.

When adventure overtakes her despite (or rather because of) her oddity, she has to start seeing fantasy like a cold-eyed realist, and fast. Otherwise, her bookish expectations about good and evil will get her, Hartgrave and a lot of other people killed.

Finalist in the Wisconsin Romance Writers of America's 2013 Fab Five contest.