Cheryl Morgan, publisher of Wizard’s Tower Press, has acquired World English ebook and paperback rights to three novels in the Rag and Boyd series from Helen L Brady.

The Rag and Boyd books feature two teenage protagonists who, following the disappearance of their father and sudden death of their mother, are adopted by a mysterious uncle. Wulfric Kennetson owns a large estate in North West Scotland, but it soon turns out that this is the least strange thing about him.

In book 1, The Fabulous Zoo, Morag and Boyd discover that the animal sanctuary their uncle runs is home to numerous rare species. And by ‘rare’ they sometimes mean ‘previously only known in fantastical tales’. The action ramps up when the children discover that their lost father is in another world, and may be in deadly danger.

The two subsequent volumes, The Elfstone, and The Unicorn Keeper, see Rag and Boyd growing up and leaning to cope with the strange world that their uncle has introduced them to. The books also develop a large ensemble cast of friends, allies and enemies for our heroes. Further books in the series are planned.

Helen L Brady has worked extensively in screenwriting and theatre. The Rag and Boyd books began life as a screenplay that was shortlisted for the Rockliffe BAFTA Children’s Media drama award.

The three books were originally placed with a small mainstream press, but failed to reach much of the fantasy-reading audience. Brady therefore opted to re-sell them to a specialist science fiction and fantasy publisher. The books will be re-edited before being released by Wizard’s Tower. The Fabulous Zoo will be available at Worldcon in Glasgow later this year.

Cheryl Morgan said, “Doing something new with the standard tropes of British fantasy is not an easy task. On reading the Rag and Boyd books, I was impressed with how the setting was both instantly familiar and refreshingly different. Also I fell in love with Helen Brady’s ever-growing cast of characters. I look forward to bringing these books to a wider audience.”

Helen Brady said, “I am very excited that Wizard’s Tower Press has given me this great opportunity to put my books in front of a wider audience. I love writing stories and discovering who turns up in my imagination to push those tales forward. I’ve been an avid reader all my life, so the thought of joining the ranks of all those other storytellers who over the years have explored invented worlds and fantastical peoples fills me with delight.”.