I wrote a fantasy novel People Without Names populated by Los Angeles artists who learn that creativity and access to magic are the same — but at a cost. Then I imagined what happened in the L.A. art community before and after the events of the novel. That’s how this website was born.

• Stories on this site are written by fictitious artists in that world.
• Stories are either:
  • a first-person account of magic & mystery (short fiction) OR
  • a blog post that is mostly nonfiction, covering real art, artists, galleries, cultural history, literature

Why wouldn’t I just write another novel? Well, I am writing one, but this site is a way to continue the mythology of People Without Names. A description of the book:

People Without Names

a novel by Tommy Tung

Since he fell in love with a Jinni, Galen Gorry hasn’t set foot in Los Angeles but now he’s returning to the city that broke his heart, because someone’s got to stop a faction of Jinn from owning all the magic. And while his adopted name doesn’t match his Asian American identity, it’s a name that has become known for bending reality—and sharing that skill with others. 

Magic is meant for everyone, Gorry knows. Artists just pick it up faster. As a painting prodigy, Gorry helped creative types from underrepresented groups learn that what they lacked in white privilege, they made up in their inherent power: art and magic are the same way of rewriting reality. Some of his BIPOC protégés could read your life history by touching your skin. Some could paralyze you with a crow’s feather. Their paranormal progress paralleled their career successes. But then some started killing with their talents. Gorry couldn’t stop them all nor could he stop his Jinni lover from dying. 

Eight years later, Gorry needs more than magic against a gang of Jinn who are masters of it, according to Islamic mythology. Unlike his lover, they don’t think any human being deserves it. He needs the help of a bitter ex, an estranged friend, resentful artists, and even a skinwalker he’s killed a few times. More than anything, Gorry needs to love people enough again to save them. That’s the only way his half-Jinni daughter can do the same.

fantasy fiction | for adult readers | #OwnVoices
seeking literary representation & publication

photography by Joel Harris