Margins
Kara Gillian book cover 1
Kara Gillian book cover 2
Kara Gillian book cover 3
Kara Gillian
Series · 10 books · 2009-2022

Books in series

Mark of the Demon book cover
#1

Mark of the Demon

2009

Cop and conjurer of demons, she's a woman in danger of losing control to a power that could kill.... Why me? Why now? That's what Beaulac, Louisiana, detective Kara Gillian was asking herself when an angelic creature named Rhyzkahl unexpectedly appeared during a routine summoning. Kara was hoping to use her occult skills to catch a serial killer, but never had she conjured anything like this unearthly beautiful and unspeakably powerful being whose very touch set off exquisite new dimensions of pleasure. But can she enlist his aid in helping her stop a killer who's already claimed the lives'and souls'of thirteen people? And should she? The Symbol Man is a nightmare that the city thought had ended three years ago. Now he's back for an encore and leaving every indication on the flesh of his victims that he, too, is well versed in demonic lore. Kara may be the only cop on Beaulac's small force able to stop the killer, but it is her first homicide case. Yet with Rhyzkahl haunting her dreams, and a handsome yet disapproving FBI agent dogging her waking footsteps, she may be in way over her head...
Blood of the Demon book cover
#2

Blood of the Demon

2010

The serial killer known as the Symbol Man has been dealt with, the demonic lord Rhyzkahl is no longer invading her dreams, and Detective Kara Gillian is doing her best to get her life back to normal after being kind of dead for a while. Unfortunately, there's little about Kara's life that is ever normal or simple. As a skilled summoner of demons, she's hoping to use her arcane abilities to retrieve her aunt's essence and restore it to her body. But when Kara discovers that FBI Agent Ryan Kristoff is somehow known to the demonkind—and not in a good way—old doubts surface and new problems emerge. Moreover, her investigations into the deaths of several seemingly unrelated victims reveal disturbing links to the arcane, with unsettling similarities to her own situation. But matters get more complicated when she discovers other links between the victims, leading her into a morass of political corruption. And it doesn't help that Rhyzkahl has asked her to be his own summoner, a commitment that could have quite a few advantages and plenty of pitfalls. Politics—whether among humans or demons—is a dangerous game with very high stakes, and Kara is learning that lesson the hard way.
Secrets of the Demon book cover
#3

Secrets of the Demon

2010

Homicide detective Kara Gillian has a special she can sense the "arcane" in our world, and there's quite a bit of it, even in Beaulac, Louisiana. She's also a summoner of demons, and works on a task force that deals with supernatural crimes. Her partners are attractive and smart FBI agents, but they're not summoners, and they're not telling Kara why they are on this special force with her. To complicate things even more, Kara has pledged herself to one of the most powerful of demons—Demon Lord Rhyzkahl—who helped save her partner's life, but now expects things in return. Meanwhile, she's trying to solve a string of murders that are somehow tied together by money, sex, rock music and...mud. But how can she concentrate on the case when she's not even sure who—or what—her partners are? Secrets of the Demon is the exciting third installment of the Kara Gillian series.
Sins of the Demon book cover
#4

Sins of the Demon

2012

Louisiana homicide detective Kara Gillian is doing her best to cope with everything that's happened to her over the past year, all while s continuing to hone her skills as a demon summoner. But lately she's beginning to wonder if there's a little too much demon in her world. She has a demon for a roommate, the demonic lord Rhyzkahl is still interested in her for reasons she can't fathom, and now someone in the demon realm is trying to summon her . And there's no way that can end well. Meanwhile, people who've hurt Kara in the past are dropping dead. Kara is desperate to find the reasons for the deaths to clear her own name, but when she realizes there's an arcane pattern to the deaths, she knows that both the human and the demon worlds may be at risk unless she finds out who's behind it all. She's in a race against the clock and in a battle for her life that just may take her to hell and back. Sins of the Demon is the exciting fourth installment of the Kara Gillian series.
Touch of the Demon book cover
#5

Touch of the Demon

2012

Kara Gillian is in some seriously deep trouble. She’s used to summoning supernatural creatures from the demon realm to our world, but now the tables have been turned and she’s the one who’s been summoned. Kara is the prisoner of yet another demonic lord, but she quickly discovers that she’s far more than a mere hostage. Yet waiting for rescue has never been her style, and Kara has no intention of being a pawn in someone else’s game. There’s intrigue to spare as she digs into the origin of the demonic lords and discovers the machinations of humans and demons alike. Kara is shocked to discover that she has her own history in the demon realm, and that the ties between her and the demonic lords Rhyzkahl and Szerain go back farther than she could have ever imagined. But treachery runs rampant among all the lords, and she’s going to have to stay sharp in order to keep from being used to further their own agendas. The lords have a secret that dates back to earth’s ancient history, and it could have devastating repercussions for both worlds. Yet more than anything else, Kara’s abilities as a homicide detective will be put to the test—because this time the murder she has to solve is her own.
Fury of the Demon book cover
#6

Fury of the Demon

2014

Who can Kara Gillian trust? That’s what she’d like to know. Demon summoner and now a consultant for the FBI, Kara Gillian has spent the past several months in the demon realm training while recovering from the treachery of the demonic lord Rhyzkahl. Yet though the torment and betrayal she suffered at his hands continues to plague her, she’s not about to let that slow her down. Kara returns to Earth to search for a fellow summoner being held by allies of Rhyzkahl. Aiding in the hunt are Kara’s friends, FBI agents Ryan Kristoff and Zack Garner. However, Kara and Zack know Ryan’s true identity—though he himself does not—and questions of loyalty threaten to tear apart their previously close-knit group. Rhyzkahl’s machinations run deeper than they could have ever imagined, and the search for the missing summoner takes on a desperate edge while dangers from ancient demon oaths loom and enemies increase in power and numbers. Armed with her skills, wit, and attitude, it is up to Kara to save her friends and her world. The price of failure will be her soul.
Glitter & Mayhem book cover
#6

Glitter & Mayhem

2013

Welcome to Glitter & Mayhem, the most glamorous party in the multiverse. Step behind the velvet rope of these fabulous Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror tales of roller rinks, nightclubs, glam aliens, party monsters, drugs, sex, glitter, and debauchery. Dance through nightclubs, roller derby with cryptids and aliens, be seduced by otherworldly creatures, and ingest cocktails that will alter your existence forever. Your hosts are the Hugo Award-winning editors John Klima (Electric Velocipede) and Lynne M. Thomas (Apex Magazine), and the Hugo-nominated editor Michael Damian Thomas (Apex Magazine). Join glittery authors Christopher Barzak (One for Sorrow) and Daryl Gregory (Pandemonium) on the dance floor, drink cocktails with Maria Dahvana Headley (Queen of Kings: A Novel of Cleopatra, the Vampire) and Tim Pratt (Marla Mason series), and skate with Seanan McGuire (InCryptid series), Diana Rowland (Kara Gillian series), and Maurice Broaddus (The Knights of Breton Court series). The fantastic Amber Benson gets the party started with her floor-rattling introduction (Calliope Reaper-Jones series). We're waiting. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction by Amber Benson Sister Twelve: Confessions of a Party Monster by Christopher Barzak Apex Jump by David J. Schwartz With Her Hundred Miles to Hell by Kat Howard Star Dancer by Jennifer Pelland Of Selkies, Disco Balls, and Anna Plane by Cat Rambo Sooner Than Gold by Cory Skerry Subterraneans by William Shunn & Laura Chavoen The Minotaur Girls by Tansy Rayner Roberts Unable to Reach You by Alan DeNiro Such & Such Said to So & So by Maria Dahvana Headley Revels in the Land of Ice by Tim Pratt Bess, the Landlord's Daughter, Goes for Drinks with the Green Girl by Sofia Samatar Blood and Sequins by Diana Rowland Two-Minute Warning by Vylar Kaftan Inside Hides the Monster by Damien Angelica Walters (formerly known as Damien Walters Grintalis) Bad Dream Girl by Seanan McGuire A Hollow Play by Amal El-Mohtar Just Another Future Song by Daryl Gregory The Electric Spanking of the War Babies by Maurice Broaddus & Kyle S. Johnson All That Fairy Tale Crap by Rachel Swirsky
Vengeance of the Demon book cover
#7

Vengeance of the Demon

2015

Demon summoner Kara Gillian is on the wrong side of the law, and there's evidence to prove it. Too bad the courts don't accept "fighting demonic forces" as justification for murder and mayhem. Yet Kara has problems that go way beyond her legal woes. When the enemy demonic lords spur their human accomplices into high gear, master summoner Katashi aggressively pursues their goal to establish a permanent gate between Earth and the demon realm. To hell with the consequences for humanity. The line between ally and enemy blurs as Kara gathers the remnants of her posse to prevent a devastating demonic incursion, but a shattered trust may cost them the war and put Kara behind bars. With treachery rife, and her loved ones in danger, Kara must call upon the essence of who she truly is in order to rally back from a crushing loss. And if she can't, the world is going straight to hell.
Legacy of the Demon book cover
#8

Legacy of the Demon

2016

Sidelined demon summoner Kara Gillian has her hands full when dimensional rifts allow demons to cause widespread panic and destruction on Earth. These aren't the human-tolerant summonables she's known before, but demons from the far reaches of the demon realm. Add three demonic lords with conflicting ambitions to the mix, and Kara has the perfect recipe for global disaster.
Rise of the Demon book cover
#9

Rise of the Demon

2022

The long-awaited ninth book in the Demon series returns to the adventures of Kara Gillian and the supernatural threats that surround her Kara’s drastic ceasefire deal with the formidable demon Imperator Dekkak slowed the attacks on Earth to a trickle, but her troubles are far from over. The god-like demahnk are desperate to return to their own kind, but unless they can stabilize the demon realm, they’ll be forever exiled—and they’ve subjugated Kara’s beloved Mzatal to further their hellacious cause. One faction of demonic lords and demahnk has a plan to fix their world, yet their salvation would come at the expense of Earth. Meanwhile, Kara is wrestling with government bureaucracy, backstabbing allies, enemy lords, as well as the powerful young demonic lord Ashava, who’s packing the drama, angst, and rebellion of the terrible teen years into just a few months. Kara’s in a race to stop an apocalypse, but in order to prevail she’ll have to make a terrible sacrifice or risk losing everything she holds dear.

Author

Diana Rowland
Diana Rowland
Author · 16 books
Diana Rowland worked as a bartender, a blackjack dealer, a pit boss, a street cop, a detective, a computer forensics specialist, a crime scene investigator, and a morgue assistant, which means that she's seen a lot of weird crap. She won the marksmanship award in her Police Academy class, has a black belt in Hapkido, has handled numerous dead bodies in various states of decomposition, and can't rollerblade to save her life.
548 Market St PMB 65688, San Francisco California 94104-5401 USA
© 2026 Paratext Inc. All rights reserved
Kara Gillian