Tag: steampunk

Shocked by The Ghost Machine Kickstarter

So my publisher set up a Kickstarter to fund the relaunch of The Ghost Machine and Clockmaker earlier this week. I was originally intending to write this post to ask everyone to consider helping it reach its goal of five hundred dollars, which I was worried it would never manage, but… well…

It met its goal 24 hours after launching.

mind blown gif

It’s currently marching towards the $750 dollar stretch goal, which gives all backers a copy of my short story, The Strange Stairs at the Aldebourne Estate. Head over to Kickstarter to see the full range of rewards, which include ebook copies if you don’t already have them, along with signed paperbacks and hardcovers. (Have I mentioned how excited I am to have print editions of my books? I’m pretty excited.)

A big thank you to all the backers, and to everyone who supported these books the first time around. You guys are the best!

Where are my steampunk books?

My apologies if you’ve clicked the link to buy The Ghost Machine or Clockmaker recently and found that the books have vanished from Amazon. They’re unavailable at the moment–but don’t worry, they’re not gone for good.

They’ve been picked up by a publishing company and are getting ready to be republished–yay!! I’m thrilled that they’re getting a second chance and a bigger opportunity to reach new readers. As they move closer their re-release dates, you’ll hear the news here first, and if you’re waiting to buy them, thank you in advance for your patience!

Favorite Book Quote Art

I’ve posted before about how I love making book aesthetics, but if you follow me on Twitter, you know I’ve also got a thing for throwing together images with quotes from my novels. #BookQW (Book Quote Wednesday) is my favorite hashtag. Authors posts quotes from their books based on a weekly prompt, and it’s cool to see snippets from novels and novellas of all different genres.

I’ve been doing it for a while now and have made dozens of images, some of them better than others. Here’s a roundup of my personal favorites. Continue reading Favorite Book Quote Art

More Spectacular Steampunk Short Stories

Need something to read this weekend? Want that something to have dirigibles, clockwork, and lady inventors? Would you prefer if it was FREE? Then you’re in the right place. Here are four awesome steampunk short stories you can read right now.

Clockwork Fairies

by Cat Rambo

This is one of the greatest examples of an unsympathetic narrator that I’ve ever come across. Really, though, the story isn’t about him but his fiancé. I would gladly read an entire series starring her, but this story is complete and lovely. Try it if you like a little magic in your steampunk, or if you enjoy stories about brilliant ladies dumping dudes who aren’t good enough for them. Continue reading More Spectacular Steampunk Short Stories

Top comics I want to read thanks to Free Comic Book Day

You’d think Free Comic Book Day would be good for your wallet, because—you know—it’s all free.

It’s rough on your wallet long-term, though, because you end up finding new series to love and spend money on. Granted, it’s not all bad, since that money goes to your local comic store, a small business that fosters the local geek community. Raising awareness for these stores is the whole reason we have Free Comic Book Day in the first place.

But still. My poor wallet.

I got a good haul last weekend once I figured out how to actually get the comics. My local comic shop had this system where you write the numbers of the five free comics you want on this little card, except I didn’t see the place where they had the numbered comics displayed, so I walked around in confusion for a while.

But I got my free comics and read through them last week. Some seemed more like ads than stories to me, and not all of them caught my interest, but a few definitely hooked me. Here are my top three. Continue reading Top comics I want to read thanks to Free Comic Book Day

Creating a Book Cover: The Ghost Machine

A good cover alone doesn’t make a good book.

I’d wager there are plenty of books out there with gorgeous covers that were quickly forgotten because the story inside didn’t live up to the captivating image on the front. But on the flip side, amazing stories go overlooked everyday because the cover is ugly or bland.

A cover has a critical job: to get readers to pick up the book.

As an indie author, I have complete control over my covers. This is great, because I won’t end up in one of those situations where the publisher chooses an inaccurate or just plain bad cover, and the author can’t do anything about it. This is also terrible, because I’m a writer, not a designer or marketer, and I don’t always know what type of cover will sell best. And I pay for the cover up front, so if the book doesn’t sell, I don’t get that money back.

What I’m trying to say is this: trying to figure out the best cover for your book can be… stressful. Continue reading Creating a Book Cover: The Ghost Machine

Book Review: Cold Stone & Ivy

You know that feeling when you finish reading a certain book? When you just have to tell everybody how awesome and amazing it was? You’re a reader, so you know what I mean

I finished Cold Stone & Ivy: The Ghost Club by H. Leighton Dickson a little while ago. I was in a bit of a reading slump beforehand, and boy, did this novel shake me out of it. Take a look:

Cold Stone and Ivy Cover

Book Description

Jack the Ripper gave her his heart. Now he wants it back.

The year is 1888, the clockwork British Empire is crumbling and young writer Ivy Savage has literally received a heart in the post. Terrified, her father sends her north to a strange sanitarium in Lancashire where the brilliant but unpredictable “Mad Lord of Lasingstoke” makes his home. Continue reading Book Review: Cold Stone & Ivy