African Elementals | Legacy Series [Out Of Print]
Dark Fantasy Horror, African Mythology & Elemental Power
African Elementals is an early adult dark fantasy series by Alicia McCalla centered on generations of powerful Black women, elemental magic, African mythology, supernatural horror, motherhood, survival, and an ancient struggle between good and evil.
Originally published between 2012 and 2015, the series includes Flee, Iniko, Origins of an African Elemental, and Rise of an African Elemental. Origins of an African Elemental later brought the stories of Mawu, Iniko, and Shania together in one collection.
The original editions are now out of print, and the series is no longer actively being developed. This page preserves its publication history, storyworld, themes, and place within my evolution as a speculative fiction author.
Status: Legacy Series — Original Editions Out of Print
Audience: Adult / 18+ Mature Content
Genre: Dark Fantasy Horror / Supernatural Thriller / Paranormal Suspense
Content: Substantial violence, domestic violence and abuse, child abduction, supernatural horror
Publication Period: 2012–2015
About the African Elementals Series
African Elementals grew from my fascination with African mythology, elemental power, and Black women confronting forces much larger than themselves.
When I began developing the series, I kept returning to a question: Why had I grown up knowing so much about Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology while knowing comparatively little about the gods and goddesses of West Africa?
That question sent me into research about African spiritual and mythological traditions and influenced the fictional pantheon I created for the series.
The stories drew inspiration from figures and traditions associated with Mawu, Oya, Oshun, Yemaya, Shango, Eshu, Anansi and others while creating a fictional supernatural mythology of my own.
At the center were generations of Black women connected by elemental power, family, trauma, survival, and an ancient supernatural conflict.
Books & Publication History
Flee — 2012
Flee introduced Shania Moore, a 27-year-old Black woman who is tormented by her abusive ex-boyfriend and a paranormal serial killer.
After the death of her grandmother, Shania falls into a dream realm and connects with an ancient African goddess. Her earth magic begins to awaken, pulling Shania and her daughter into a much larger supernatural conflict.
Iniko — 2013
Iniko expanded the mythology behind the African Elementals and included the story of Mawu, the Earth goddess whose struggle establishes the origins of the larger elemental conflict.
Mawu confronts an insidious demonic force infecting the West African pantheon. Her story establishes the destruction of the original Prime Elementals, her responsibility for preserving elemental power, and the lineage that follows her.
Her daughter is Iniko.
Iniko's story follows Mawu's daughter as she confronts her estranged husband after he abducts their child and plans to murder the girl in a blood ritual to gain power for an ancient demonic master.
Her journey takes her to a West African castle during the slave trade, where she battles supernatural creatures while confronting the man who once held both her heart and the key to her magic.
Origins of an African Elemental — 2015
Origins of an African Elemental collected the stories of Mawu, Iniko, and Shania into one volume, tracing generations of women growing into their strength as mothers and warriors.
Mawu establishes the mythological origins of the African Elementals and the supernatural destruction that changes the elemental pantheon.
Iniko follows the next generation as Mawu's daughter fights to save her own child from ritual sacrifice and an ancient evil.
Flee moves the story into a contemporary generation with Shania Moore as her dormant elemental abilities begin to awaken.
Together, the stories reveal the generational mythology behind African Elementals and the supernatural conflict connecting these women.
Read an Archived Sample
Although Origins of an African Elemental is no longer available for purchase, an archived sample remains available to read.
→ Read a Sample of Origins of an African Elemental
Rise of an African Elemental — 2015
Rise of an African Elemental continued Shania's story.
Shania and Deacon face a supernatural threat that has grown far beyond their own family. If they cannot stop the ancient evil, their daughter's life—and ultimately the fabric of their world—is at stake.
The original editions of all African Elementals titles are now out of print.
A Darker Kind of Elemental Fantasy
African Elementals became much darker than the fiction I originally imagined myself writing.
The series explored domestic violence and abuse, slavery and historical oppression, sexual violence, female genital mutilation, supernatural possession, ritual violence, child abduction, trauma, motherhood, race, gender, and complicated questions about what separates good from evil.
Some of the violence was graphic. Some of the choices made by the characters were intentionally disturbing. And sometimes evil won.
Looking back, I would describe portions of the series as approaching grimdark.
Eventually, I realized I didn't want to continue living creatively in quite that dark a fictional world.
That became one of the reasons I stopped developing the series.
What African Elementals Taught Me About Serial Storytelling
Looking back, I can also see African Elementals as one of my earliest attempts at interconnected serial fiction—even though I didn't have that language for what I was doing at the time.
I was largely writing by discovery.
Characters, mythology, conflicts, and generations expanded as I wrote each installment. That process gave me tremendous creative freedom, but I didn't always know where the larger story was going or how it would ultimately end.
Eventually, I began writing myself into narrative corners.
One of my biggest lessons involved Shania.
I introduced her while she was still deeply caught in trauma and survival. The character I was ultimately writing toward was a warrior capable of confronting Iniko, but readers met Shania long before she reached that point.
If I were constructing her story today, I would probably begin much closer to the moment when Shania starts claiming that power.
Knowing not simply who a protagonist will become, but where her story should actually begin, is something I understand much better now.
Black Women, Power & Survival
One of the ideas I deliberately explored through Shania was the stereotype of the endlessly strong Black woman.
Shania wasn't effortlessly strong.
She was traumatized. She made bad decisions. She struggled to escape abuse. She didn't always respond to danger in the way readers wanted her to.
Some readers connected deeply with that portrayal. Others found her frustrating.
At the time, I wrote about the difficulty of portraying a Black woman who had been victimized without immediately transforming her into the familiar image of the invulnerable “Strong Black Woman.”
Years later, I can see that tension more clearly.
I still believe there was value in allowing a Black heroine to be frightened, traumatized, and imperfect. I also recognize that a protagonist ultimately needs enough agency to propel her own story.
That became one of the important craft lessons I carried forward from this series.
African Mythology & My Creative Evolution
Perhaps the most lasting legacy of African Elementals is the creative territory it opened for me.
Long before my current storyworlds, I was already writing about African goddesses, elemental feminine power, Black women confronting supernatural forces, and mythology as a way of exploring power and transformation.
Mawu was foundational to the mythology of African Elementals. Her story established the elemental lineage that continued through her daughter Iniko and into later generations.
My early fictional cosmology also included figures such as Oya, Oshun, and Yemaya.
Those interests didn't disappear when I stopped writing this series.
They evolved.
Today, my fiction continues to explore powerful Black women, supernatural and elemental power, mythology, transformation, justice, and the complicated choices women make when extraordinary power lands in their hands.
African Elementals represents an early—and considerably darker—stage of that creative journey.
From the Archive
Several essays I wrote while developing and reflecting on African Elementals remain available on my website. They preserve some of the research, questions, and ideas I was wrestling with while creating the series.
My early reflections on researching African gods and goddesses while developing the mythology behind African Elementals.
→ Womanism in African American Science Fiction & Fantasy
My reflections on Africana Womanist symbolism in Mawu, Iniko, Shania, their relationships, vulnerability, motherhood, and community.
A later exploration of Africana Womanist theory through speculative television and Black women's relationships to power.
These articles are preserved as part of my creative archive and may reflect my thinking and plans at the time they were originally written.
Looking for My Current Fiction?
African Elementals is a legacy series, and the original editions are no longer available.
If you're discovering my work today, I recommend beginning with my current storyworlds.
My fiction still centers powerful Black women, extraordinary abilities, mythology, transformation, and complicated battles over power and justice—but my approach to storytelling has evolved considerably since these early works.
→ Start Here: Explore Alicia McCalla's Current Storyworlds
→ Return to Legacy & Out of Print Series
Last updated: August 14, 2026