C.S. Poe

Hey there! I'm C.S. Poe, and I write dark historical fantasy romance that'll make you question everything you thought you knew about Victorian-era magic. (Fair warning: there will be steam... and not just from the locomotives.)

I've always been fascinated by the gritty underbelly of history—you know, the parts they definitely don't teach you in school. Growing up, I spent countless hours imagining what the world would look like if magic had shaped our industrial revolutions and social upheavals. Turns out, it looks pretty damn interesting (and sometimes terrifying).

When I started writing "The Doctor," I knew I wanted to create something different. Sure, there are plenty of Victorian fantasies out there, but how many feature a disgraced federal agent who can literally manipulate the fabric of reality? Poor Gillian Hamilton—I put that man through absolute hell, and I'm not even sorry about it. (Okay, maybe a little sorry. But not sorry enough to stop.)

My writing style? Think dark chocolate with a whiskey chaser. I love weaving complex magic systems into historical settings where they absolutely shouldn't work... and then making them work anyway. There's something deliciously satisfying about taking real historical events and asking "but what if there was magic?" And not the sparkly, friendly kind—I'm talking about the type of magic that comes with a price tag that'll make your soul hurt.

I'm a firm believer that the best romance happens when characters are pushed to their absolute limits. That's why you'll find my stories packed with moral gray areas, complicated choices, and the kind of tension that'll have you holding your breath. (Don't worry, I'll remind you to breathe... occasionally.)

When I'm not torturing my characters with magical dilemmas and forbidden love, you can usually find me buried in historical research. And by research, I mean disappearing down Wikipedia rabbit holes at 3 AM, convinced that I absolutely need to know everything about Victorian plumbing systems or 19th-century medical practices. (Trust me, this knowledge comes in handy in the weirdest ways.)

The Federal Bureau of Magic and Steam series is my love letter to alternate history, dark romance, and the kind of magic that leaves scars. I'm particularly proud of how "The Doctor" came together—it's got everything I love: forbidden magic, complex relationships, and enough historical accuracy to make it feel real... even when reality is being bent like a pretzel.

To my readers: I promise to always give you stories that challenge you, characters that haunt you, and endings that satisfy you (even if we have to walk through fire to get there). My books aren't always comfortable, but they're honest. Well, as honest as a story about magical federal agents in Victorian America can be.

What can you expect from my books? Dark themes, complex magic systems that'll make your head spin, historically accurate details (except when I'm deliberately breaking history), and romance that burns slow but hot. There will be danger, betrayal, and probably some morally questionable decisions. But there will also be hope, redemption, and the kind of love that survives despite everything trying to tear it apart.

Fair warning: if you're looking for light and fluffy historical romance, you might want to look elsewhere. But if you want to explore the darker side of magic, question everything you think you know about history, and fall in love with characters who are beautifully, tragically human (most of the time), then pull up a chair. We're going to have fun.

(And yes, I do take a slightly unhealthy amount of joy in researching historical disasters and figuring out how to make them even worse with magic. It's fine. Everything's fine.)