How 3 urban fantasy authors inspired Midnight Raid

Three urban fantasy authors inspired Chronicles of Rondure (since rebranded as Midnight Raid). Who are they, and how did their 17 novels total inspire my work?

E.E. Holmes, Tarah Benner, and Carissa Andrews. Well, at least they write some urban fantasy, but we can really niche them out here. Holmes’ World of the Gateway dives more into paranormal/occult fiction. Andrews genre bends, much like I do. However, her Pendomus Chronicles really lent into developing my own protagonist here.

Benner is the only one who we can call strictly urban fantasy. If you’ve read her Witches of Mountain Shadow Series, then you will know what I’m talking about. However, Benner also writes dystopia, and readers know her more for it than her jaunt into urban fantasy.

I actually had gotten a lot of influence from one author of thrillers, named Tracy Lawson. Lawson’s Resistance Series is truly one of the most underrated yet entertaining set of dystopian thrillers on Amazon. So, if we count Lawson’s work, take that number 17 and add another four books, giving us 21 sensational reads.

How each author influenced the work

Let’s start with Holmes’ World of the Gateway and her protagonist, Jess Ballard. If you know anything about Jess, the girl is a freaking spitfire. And you see a lot of Jess Ballard in Tash Holmes. And in case you’re asking, I DID purposely give Tash that particular last name for a reason. Anyway, Tash, like Jess, is thrust into a role that could ultimately kill her. Also like Jess, Tash isn’t particularly happy about it.

>>>> Check out the World of the Gateway while you’re at it

Let’s move on to Benner, who goes into deep depths describing the way our Aether Witch, Fiona Grimes, performs her magic. Anyway, there’s a lot of visualization involved, and it was the perfect way to show readers how Tash pulls of her metal morphing ability. Simple hand maneuvers do the trick, but Tash must also ‘see’ the metal bending to her will in the mind.

>>>> Learn more about Witches of Mountain Shadow by Tarah Benner

About two weeks before my rookie author mistake prompted me to write Midnight Raid, I had recently finished reading two of the three books in Carissa Andrews’ Pendomus Chronicles. While Andrews’ Windhaven Witches is the true urban fantasy as opposed to Pendomus, I used a lot of inspiration from her earlier work to mold Midnight Raid. 

It features some complex plots regarding her protagonist, Runa. And it was something I’ve hinted with Tash. There’s something crazy significant about this girl, and it’s about to have the dictatorial superpower in full blown panic mode.

>>>> Get your eyes in front of the Pendomus Chronicles

Which brings me to our thriller author, Tracy Lawson. Lawson’s Resistance Series takes place in 2034. Here, the US has sunk into a totalitarian nation full of restrictions. Many of which I’ve used as inspiration for the setting in this prequel magnet. Lawson paints a scary picture, but unfortunately, the Nation of Bastille has taken it a step further with its warmongering tactics. So much, that their public has demanded the restrictions to be placed upon them.

>>>> Take a look at Tracy Lawson’s Resistance Series

What’s Midnight Raid about?

Here’s the skinny:

For over a century, the World of Rondure has lived under a dictatorial global power. 

The Nation of Bastille Culls children into their military ranks the second they display elemental ability. And to uphold their persistent warmongering, Bastille suffocated its citizens of their civil liberties in the face of numerous safety restrictions designed to protect them from the bad guys. 

Tash Holmes, a metal morpher who has evaded Bastille’s Culling for over a decade, embarks on a daring midnight raid to prove that no matter how many restrictions Bastille implements, they protect no one. That safety was never the endgame, but endless profiteering from the racket of perpetual war is the real reason behind the madness. 

If Tash succeeds, perhaps she’ll awaken a few people. If she fails, odds are Bastille will finally Cull her into their military ranks and take advantage of her ability in the upcoming war against their next manufactured enemy. 

Midnight Raid provides a live look into the superpower Nation of Bastille in the World of Rondure. They will make their debut in Wind Master – Book II in Elementals of Nordica which is set to be released in February 2022. 

If you love strong heroines, complex plots, elemental magic, and epic fantasy tropes alongside an advanced yet dystopian society, Midnight Raid is yet another gateway into the Renegades Epic.

>>>> Catch Midnight Raid inside the Vault VIP Club — my best-value product

Although urban fantasy authors inspired Midnight Raid…

It’s not an urban fantasy. And despite the multiple worlds that you and other readers will learn about, it’s not a space opera either. I like to think of both the Elementals of Nordica and Chronicles of Rondure series, really, as epic fantasies with a darker edge, given their tropes: chosen ones, magical worlds, complex story lines, sword and sorcery, crazy antagonists bent on ending the protagonists, etc.

The genre bending involved puts each world into a modern-day, scientifically-advanced society. And with both reader magnets, you’re also getting a lot of dystopia. You can tap both works into urban fantasies, since they take place in urban areas. But, that’s not always the case here, as you will discover inside that Vault VIP Club.