I am speaking as both a fan and part of this creative partnership. In 2025 I posted our publishing house's first open call.
I didn’t know what kind of stories I was going to get. All I knew was I was looking for a genre-twisting, stand-out story that was hard to put a label on.
This chaotic fairy tale fiasco stole my heart and the rest is history. I am so happy to do this interview with our author, A. D. Reece.
Of course, Reece is more than just Wayward Magic, she’s full of queer joy and fairytale shenanigans. So we took a second to dive into the broader subjects together.
Some of the links on this page are affiliate links where we will receive a commission if you purchase something from the link.
Hi! Please let everyone know a little bit about you and your background.
Photo by Bridgette Kay
Hello! My name is Angelica or A.D. Reece.
I am a resilient writer with a passion for telling queer stories with happy endings. I’ve spent over a decade writing novels and found myself winning a competition for Plush & Regal Press that led to an incredible partnership with Jessika and the publication of Wayward Magic.
When I am not traipsing through fantasy worlds to corral my characters, I can be found consuming far too much coffee and exploring local bookstores with my wife.
…Our world doesn’t have to be limited to what’s here in front of us…
Your work is always centered in magic and the fantastical, what does the fantasy genre mean to you?
Growing up, I spent all of my free time escaping into books. My mom made it a personal mission to make sure all her kids were big readers and once I found my way into the fantasy genre, I never stopped reading.
To be told that our world doesn’t have to be limited to what’s here in front of us was a huge realization. Even more so, as I grew up and realized I lived outside of societal expectations, the fantasy genre gave me a way to find characters that reflected parts of myself I couldn’t find anywhere else.
Yet your debut, Wayward Magic, has strong roots in our real life societal expectations. How did you balance this with the escapism of fantasy?
To be honest, Wayward Magic only exists because our current society is this cesspool of tragedy. I started writing a fairytale in the hopes I could escape from everything, but reality still leaked in.
There’s tyranny in Wayward Magic because I’m watching it in real life. There’s a divided community because that’s what I see every day. Wayward Magic focuses on the differences in classes and the way the nobility preen for their wicked king and I think anyone in America can say they have experiences seeing such a thing.
I haven’t had to work too hard to dress it up in a vague medieval setting because we’ve all seen this kind of problematic power in countless other stories as well as our current reality and I know my readers are smart enough to know what I’m really talking about. As much as the bad and the scary exist, though, there is also good and hope and that’s the heart of this novel. I want anyone who reads it to walk away from those last pages believing there’s still a chance for a better tomorrow because it is so hard to find that feeling most days.
One of the communities represented is the LGTBQIA2S+. What makes Wayward Magic a Queer story and not just a “a story with gay characters”?
I think that really relies on where the heart of the story lives. It’s great to have representation in all stories, but my own writing is more than just including a gay couple kissing in the background.
The queer experience is integral to the storytelling. There is no way to sever the plot from the characters because this specific set of actions wouldn’t necessarily happen to those characters who easily fit into society.
There will always be tension in telling queer stories, in fighting for a right to exist and to love freely, and there is a depth to talking about that experience that is more than the physical implication of a queer romance.
So true! Now, we’ve teased it a bit but tell us all about the tale of your debut novel.
Oh my goodness! Wayward Magic! A Cinderella retelling in which I throw out most of the original storyline and instead send my average tavern keep, Eli Cinderfella, on an outrageous journey to fix a bad wish made after midnight.
He journeys with a cantankerous fairy godmother, meets a Necromancer, and builds a dragon out of graveyard bones while trying to figure out what to do with his sudden connection to glittery, pink magic.
The main character, Eli Cinderfella
This is a story of hope and desperation in equal measure as Eli becomes a prophesied hero, flirts with Prince Charming who has quite a few secrets, and ultimately chooses to save the day while losing several pairs of shoes along the way.
Lighthearted and funny, Wayward Magic is for anyone looking to cheer for the good guys in a tyrannical landscape.
I want anyone who reads [Wayward Magic] to walk away from those last pages believing there’s still a chance for a better tomorrow…
It was one of my favorite releases of 2025 (totally biased). To end, what are you currently reading?
I just finished A Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez and was absolutely enthralled by the storytelling. I’ve been in an absolute reading slump as I search for something else with over-the-top characters, a long yearning love story, and exquisitely written plot. Definitely a must read in my opinion!
About the Author: A. D. Reece is a queer writer in Sacramento, California with a love of fantasy and fairytales. When she’s not righting the mishaps of her protagonists, she can be found browsing local bookstores, creating fiber art, and sneaking away from her desk to see friends. She looks forward to creating more wayward stories brimming with magic and love to read to her wife.
* * *
Request Wayward Magic from your local indie bookstore! But if you just can’t wait, you can order the physical and digital copies direct from the publisher.