Aberterrene · Book 1
Distilled Magic
"You don't have to earn the right to belong — you just have to build the place."
"You don't have to earn the right to belong — you just have to build the place."
Trinx spent nearly a year in a cave, discovering who she really is. Returning to Chubug — her goblin clan's underground warren city — is something else entirely.
She has a new name, a hard-won identity, and absolutely no plan. What she finds is a job at the Arsonist's Tender tavern, a best friend in the warm and grounded Quilka, and — through a series of circumstances that feel half like fate and half like chaos — an apprenticeship under Brinta, the nonbinary alchemist who runs Distilled Magic, the best potions shop in Chubug.
Under Brinta's patient mentorship, Trinx invents things she never imagined: EverSmooth Cream, Beard From Scratch, and eventually a full-body transformation elixir that could change lives. She also makes a choice that costs her more than she knew she had to give.
But alchemy, it turns out, is the least of the magic she'll need. Because the change Trinx wants to make — for herself, for the unhoused trans goblins she sees on the streets, for everyone who was told they don't belong — can't come from climbing institutional ladders. It can only come from building something new.
Distilled Magic is a cozy, slice-of-life fantasy about trans joy, found family, neurodivergent representation, and the particular alchemy of becoming exactly who you were always meant to be.
This novel includes instances of transphobia, body shaming, gender dysphoria, misgendering, deadnaming, and unaccepting family. They are not overly prevalent but may affect some readers.
The book also contains themes of adoption, infertility, and substance use (the Traveler's Tonic arc — a potion with serious unintended consequences).
There are brief scenes involving experimentation on animals and goblins in an alchemy context, handled with humor but worth noting. Mentions of physical abuse are present in the context of Trinx's relationship with her father.
The novel's dominant tone is warm, hopeful, and joy-forward. These elements are present but are not the center of the story.
Click any character to learn more about them.
Trinx
Distilled Magic
Brinta
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Quilka
Distilled Magic
Gristle
Distilled Magic
Choose the format that fits your cozy reading ritual.
Available autographed directly from the author's shop, or from major retailers. Support indie bookstores via Bookshop.org.
Also available to order through your local bookstore.
Audio
Narrated by Alexis Vandom, a transgender woman who brings Trinx and the world of Chubug to life beautifully.
Distilled Magic is available to libraries through standard distribution channels. If your library doesn't carry it yet, you can request it — most systems have a simple online purchase request form. Just ask for the book by title and author.
If you loved Flek in TQ House, follow him to Ryefeld in the second Aberterrene novel — where he crash-lands an apprenticeship with the world's most reluctant mentor and helps invent something that will change everything.
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