and I would also warn against being accidentally racist. sure, racism was a big problem in this country at the time(it still is, I know) but if your magicians are all african sorcerers and asian mystics? 

That's an excellent point.

Not all of the magicians in the book would be african and asian mystics. I would have a diverse group/agency that has numerous people in it. I merely thought that it would interesting to have my main character's "sidekick/secondary character" be an Asian especially given the position that Asian's held at the time. I imagined one of the stories talking place in California where Black and his Asian friend get caught up in happenings going on in the Asian community of the time where some of the racism against Asian's came into play. I thought it might be an interesting dynamic in some places. Basically, I think that in creating a secondary character's who have some sort of magical ability, that it would give Black an everyday man/ Indiana Jones mortality in which Blacks' cunning and intelligence make the difference.

Black isn't a Luke Skywalker or a King Arthur secretly hidden away at birth and destined to hold great power. He's a common man who's world has been turned upside down by forces moving on the outer edges of our world. He's thrust into this world and all the while he thinks "I don't know what the hell's going on but I'm going to find out."

"come on, merlin, one of the mst well known wizards of all time (not counting gandolf or harry potter) was english/celtic, as were the druids. and a host of others. my point is don't just have your magic done by some ancient chinaman, just cause he has some "chinese mystic" crap. use actual chinease fantasy stuff, research it so you know what asian wizards could do in asian myths."

I think if I could do enough research than I'd like to incorporate many different types of myths. As I noted above, with the growth of America and the influx of various immigrants, there would also come other things which have also come to the new world and interact with my setting in interesting and unique ways. Since this is taking place in the old West and thus after the American Civil War, imagine if some of those otherworldly forces and beings had also taken sides during the war to secretly influence the mortal world? I could make that a starting point for the overall story line or incorporate it into a subplot along the way. Either way, I think it would be interesting if these beings potentially carried their animosities against each other in the same way Americans did following that conflict. Heck, perhaps the secret war is still going on? lol

LOL. That is if I have the ability and skill to pull it off. Shrug.

Lastly, I know it sounds like a lot, and honestly, I'm only tinkering around with an idea but it seems like the more I think about it, the more I can see individual bits of the action and the overall plot slowly begin to fit in like the pieces of a puzzle creating a picture.

I appreciate the input from all of you.


 

I'm not sure if this has ever been done but it's been something that I've been thinking about that I'd like to see in a novel.

Setting, the old west roughly 1865-1885 or thereabouts. Main character is 30 year old James Black who joins a Supernatural "Pinkerton" like Agency after he is saved by them during the Civil War following a supernatural "incident". His family is later hunted down and killed. He is totally mortal, with no special powers or abilities aside from what he's trained on and his Colt 44 armed with Silver Bullets. The thing is, is during his investigations, he runs into actual "Pinkertons" and doesn't like them as they represent the authorities who can't see into the truth behind things. (Thinking of a smarmy character who can act as a foil to Morgan.)

Enter his sidekick, a Chinese immigrant of great talent who is steeped in Asian mysticism and who also joins up after he is discovered by the agency during the California Gold Rush during an investigation.

Annabelle Grant, an African American woman who was born and raised in the North after her parents escaped the south and who was educated by a powerful northern family. She would be like a female version of Frederick Douglas. She's attractive, smart, and ATTRACTED to Morgan after various adventures. Given her African American heritage, she may also have a bit of mysticism applied to her as well. (Not sure how yet)

Marion Leigh, an enigmatic "wild card" with her own agenda who would pop in from time to time to spice things up. lol

Bad guys, "Ghost Riders," demons from the other side with a hidden agenda. Other bad guys and neutral characters would include other myths and legends who also "immigrate" to the new world.

To put it simply, I kind of imagined it as a cross between Have Gun, Will Travel, Maverick, the Men in Black, the Wild Wild West, "Supernatural", and, of course, the Dresden Files.

Given the need for vengeance from Black, the racial problems arising from having a "Chinaman" as a sidekick, and the colorful history of the west, I think it could it be an interesting world. Native American lore, battles, gold rushes, wagon trains, railroads, obscure mining towns, western gunfights, run-ins with famous historic western figures (at least we think, lol.. John Wesley Hardin, man or demon? jk), the possibilities are there. I've even thought of having our hero return to the "old world" to deal with things "American Cowboy Style".

Too bad I can't make this a guy a distant mortal relation to Harry. I always thought it would kind of cool if there was a story behind Harry's Colt .44 which he isn't aware of.