AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – PATRICK THOMAS – GRIMM MACHINATIONS

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Final days left for our campaign Full Steam Ahead!

Grimm Machinations is a fun follow-up to our collection Gaslight & Grimm. More steampunk faerie tales, only this time, all of the tales the stories are based on are about makers or conmen, playing with the dual meanings of “Machinations.”

The other two books funding through the campaign are A Cast of Crows, Poe-inspired fiction created in conjunction with the Tell-Tall Steampunk Festival; and Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk, our first foray into dieselpunk.

eSpec Books interviews Patrick Thomas, contributor to Grimm Machinations, edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail and Greg Schauer.

eSB: As an author, what drew you to participate in a collection of faerie tale-inspired steampunk?

PT:  I was standing out on the corner holding a homemade cardboard sign that read “WILL WRITE FOR FOOD.” Danielle came by and gave me some ginger and a few cookies and here I am.  But seriously, I had a blast writing stories for two of Danielle’s previous steampunk anthologies and leapt at a chance to do another mixing in elements of a fairy tale, in my case the Pied (Bag)Piper.

eSB: Did you base your story on your own previous literary setting or did you embrace the faerie connection? Or hey, did you do both?

PT: I used my own setting. I have a series of Playworlds, entertainment planets run by aliens for their own amusement with different themes where most the people have no idea what is really going on. The most popular of these is my Steamworld steampunk setting which I revisited for my Grimm Machinations story. Although the queen is mentioned in the story, what isn’t is that the Royal family has been genetically modified by the aliens to resemble faeries, including having pointed ears.

eSB: Are there any interesting details that you incorporated in your story to harken to the historic aspect of the genre? Are you the kind of ’punk who reveals in the period-appropriate technobabble, or do you dig deep into the research to include period-accurate touches?

PT:  Knowing the devotion of Steampunk fans, I was a tad intimidated. Like any writer, I do my research, but what if I got some crucial aspect of the Victorian-era horribly wrong? That’s when I came up with a way to make sure that didn’t happen. Or if it did, to ensure it didn’t ruin the story. I invented the concept of the Playworlds, alien-developed settings based on popular aspects of human media.  Once I made my setting the city Thames (which had the river London running through it), the rest came easy. And by setting it on another world, I was able to have more fun with the story by incorporating Victorian-era themes with several twists.

eSB: What advice would you give aspiring authors considering participating in a themed anthology?

PT: Embrace it. It can be a lot of fun and a chance to get outside your comfort zone, stretch your writing muscles, and write something great that you might not have come up with if left solely to your own devices. And beyond that, if you are fortunate enough to participate in multiple themed anthologies, consider using the same characters or even just the same world and setting. That way after several anthologies, you will have enough stories (hopefully with some original tales added in) to build your own collection.

eSB: What other events are you doing this year—steampunk or otherwise?

PT: I’ll be at both Hunt Valley Monster Mania cons, Balticon, Wellsborough ComicCon, and Twin Tier ComicCon.

eSB: Could you tell us about one of your most amusing experiences promoting your books?

PT:  John French, the late great and much-missed C.J. Henderson, and I used to play reader pong. Since we had all been in many different anthologies, written books, and edited anthologies together. Heck, we even wrote a story with all our bylines that crossed over CJ’s Lai Wan, John’s Bianca Jones, and my Agent Karver of the Department of Mystic Affairs. Whenever we sold a book where one of the others appeared as well, we would send the reader over to get it signed. (We tend to do this with other authors as well.) It’s a way for the reader to collect more signatures and a chance for the other author to try to interest them in another book. And if that book should happen to have one of the others in it, we’d wash, rinse, and repeat. We often managed two or three such pongs, but sometimes it would be more. The record for the three of us working in concert was eleven pongs. I was the one who got the last pong when I was informed that the reader would not be buying any more books that weekend.  

eSB: What is one thing you would share that would surprise your readers?

PT: One time at a convention, I sold the shirt off the back of an artist sitting next to me.

eSB: What are some of your other works readers can look for?

PT: Murphy’s Lore is a humorous urban fantasy set in the NYC bar at the rainbow’s end. Owned by a leprechaun, Hercules is the bouncer, Dionysus is one of the bartenders, and various folks from myth and legend, along with everyday New Yorkers come in.  Since the owner bought the bar with his pot o’ gold, rainbows lead those in trouble to the bar where they can find help. (The extended universe includes two Startenders books set 20+ years in the future where they go out into space, not in starships but barships.)

I write the dark and twisted Dear Cthulhu humorous advice columns, which can be heard monthly on the Destinies: The Voice of Science Fiction radio show.

There is also the Mystic Investigators paranormal mysteries and the steampunk collection  As The Gears Turn. Cryptid Fight Club is part of the Systema Paradoxa series about a PI who tries to rescue a Batsquatch and Dingbat from an illegal fight club in Las Vegas. There are three Terrorbelle books, featuring a half-pixie/half-ogre woman who works for Nemesis and fights big bads in New York City. Bikini Jones is a fun SF/F series about a woman cursed by a witch to wear a bikini who saves the world on a semi-regular basis.

eSB: What projects of your own do you have coming up?

PT:  Over the next year, I have several books due out including We Will Fight In The Stars (the first Tales of The 142nd Starborne military science fiction series); Detectives Of The Abyss (Co-written with John L. French) and The Abyss Stares Back (a novel and anthology set in the Agents of the Abyss universe where classic monsters get involved with international intrigue ala James Bond), Cthulhu Take The Wheel (the 7th Dear Cthulhu collection). Writing as Patrick T. Fibbs, readers can expect two middle readers Ain’t Seen Muffin Yet (Book 2 in the Babe B. Bear Mysteries) and It’s My Party And I’ll Die If I Want To (Book 2 in The Undead Kid Diaries) and the YA Emotional Support Nightmare. A bit after that will be Bikini Jones Vs. The Emperor of Planet Z (Book 3 of Bikini Jones), Before Twilight (the 10th book in the Murphy’s Lore series), and the new Mystic Investigators book, all written as Patrick Thomas.

Patrick ThomasThere’s been a debate among certain obscure and drunken literary scholars about whether PATRICK THOMAS was raised by Cthulhu or a leprechaun in a Manhattan bar. What there is no arguing about is that Patrick is the award-winning author of 50+ books, including the beloved fantasy humor Murphy’s Lore series, the darkly hilarious Dear Cthulhu advice empire, as well as the Bikini Jones books, the Mystic Investigators series, and the creator of the Agents of the Abyss. His other books include the Hexcraft and the Terrorbelle series, Exile & Entrance, Cryptid Fight Club, and the mystery Assassins’ Ball co-written with John L. French.

Dear Cthulhu has expanded from magazines and books to broadcast monthly on the radio show Destinies: The Voice of Science Fiction. Over 100 of his stories have been published in magazines and anthologies.  A number of his books were part of the props department of the CSI television show, and Nightcaps was even thrown at a suspect’s head. His urban fantasy Fairy With A Gun, at one point, had been optioned for film and TV by Laurence Fishburne’s Cinema Gypsy Productions. Top Men Productions has turned his Soul For Hire Story, Act of Contrition, into a short film.

As Patrick T. Fibbs, he writes middle readers, including the Babe B. Bear Mysteries, The Undead Kid Diaries, Joy Reaper Checks Out, the YA Emotional Support Nightmare, and the Ughabooz books for younger kids.

Visit him at www.patthomas.net and www.patricktfibbs.com.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – JOHN L. FRENCH – GREASE MONKEYS

On By eSpec BooksIn AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, KickstarterLeave a comment

We are at it again! Kicking off the year with a brand-new campaign: Full Steam Ahead!

While we are not the first to explore the realm of dieselpunk, it is fair to say there isn’t a lot out there. And I can say with full confidence no one else has gone in this direction! Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk takes a look at the mechanics that keep the tech running and even mod it out beyond its original capabilities, striving for efficiency and peak performance or just keeping things going.

The other two books funding through the campaign are Grimm Machinations – the sequel to Gaslight & Grimm, bringing you even more steampunk faerie tales; and A Cast of Crows, a Poe-inspired steampunk collection created in conjunction with the Tell-Tale Steampunk Festival.

Over the course of the campaign, we will be featuring these spotlights so you can get to know our authors—and the projects—better.

eSpec Books interviews John L. French, contributor to Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk, edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail and John L. French.

eSB: Grease Monkeys is a collection of dieselpunk stories, a genre that doesn’t seem to get as much attention as its older sibling, steampunk. What challenges did you face transitioning from one to the other? What did you find similar, and what was different?

JLF: This is my first time writing about either, although as an editor I have edited some steampunk novels and stories. As for the difference, Let me compare the two subgenres to types of crime fiction – steampunk is closer to the cozy mystery while dieselpunk is closer to hardboiled.  

eSB: What was your favorite aspect of writing for this collection and why?

JLF: I generally don’t write either dieselpunk or steampunk fiction. So writing for this collection was a way to try something new, to stretch my writing muscles so to speak.

eSB: As an author, what drew you to participate in a collection of dieselpunk fiction?

JLF: I was invited to do so by my co-editor, who had faith enough in me to believe that this was something I could do.

eSB: Did you base your story on your own previous literary setting or did you embrace the faerie connection? Or hey, did you do both?

JLF: Neither. I did some research into both steam and dieselpunk and some of the aspects of the latter and as I did, I suddenly had the story. It was not one I expected to write. After I wrote the first one (“No Man’s Land”) another idea occurred to me and I wrote the second one (“The Return of the Diesel Kid”).

eSB: No spoilers, but what was your inspiration for your story and did you introduce any easter eggs for either the dieselpunk aspect or your own body of work?

JLF: I love putting Easter Eggs in my stories. There is a series of them in “No Man’s Land” that relate to a novel Patrick Thomas and I write if anyone gets them, it should tell them where the story is going.

eSB: Is this your first time writing for a themed anthology? If so, how did you find the experience? If not, what draws you to them?

JLF: No, I’ve been contributing to and editing themed anthologies for almost as long as I’ve been writing. I like them because the theme will not only suggest a topic about which to write but act as a challenge to take a topic like zombies or mermaids and write about it a way no one else has. I also think that readers take to themed anthologies because they know what to expect.

eSB: What advice would you give aspiring authors considering participating in a themed anthology?

JLF: First of all, read the guidelines. If the anthology is about police detectives, don’t write a story about a dog-walker who stumbles on a murder unless the dog-walker is an off-duty police detective. If it’s a topic with which you’re not familiar, do some research. If it’s a well-known subject like Sherlock Holmes or the Lovecraft mythos, go to the source material, read the original stories rather than rely on what you think you know. Once you do that, don’t be afraid to do something different.

eSB: What other events are you doing this year—dieselpunk or otherwise?

JLF: Several conventions of various kinds, Monster Mania, the Balticon (hopefully), the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, the Frederick Comic Con, and the Pulp Adventure Con. It’s always fun doing conventions, meeting old friends and fans and making new ones.

eSB: What is one thing you would share that would surprise your readers?

JLF: While it’s no secret that I was once a CSI for the Baltimore Police Crime Lab, I also “worked” for Captain James Gordon of the Gotham City Police in that city’s crime lab. I provided forensic advice to C. J. Henderson when he wrote a few Batman comics and as a thank you I was drawn into the comic as myself.

eSB: What are some of your other works readers can look for?

SP - When the Moon Shines 6 x 9JLF: There are the novellas I wrote as part of Systema Paradoxa’s ongoing Cryptid series – When the Moon Shines, which features snallygasters and dwayyo, and Chessie at BaySP - Chessie At Bay 2 x 3, which features Chessie the Chesapeake Bay sea serpent. There’s also my Bianca Jones series about monster hunting in Baltimore (Here There Be Monsters, Monsters Among Us, and The Last Monsters. And a two-book (so far) series about a CSI who becomes a private eye then goes to work for the Baltimore City State’s Attorney.

eSB: What projects of your own do you have coming up?

JLF: Hopefully, I will have a few books coming out in 2023. My first fantasy collection from Padwolf Publishing (In the Ruins of Caerleon), a hardboiled detective collection from Bold Venture Press (The Wages of Syn), and a novel set in Patrick Thomas’s Agents of the Abyss series (The Detective of the Abyss). 2024 will see the release of Daylight Comes, my third book in my cryptid series, which features the return of the dwayyo along with at least one other monster.

French 2017JOHN L. FRENCH is a retired crime scene supervisor with forty years’ experience. He has seen more than his share of murders, shootings, and serious assaults. As a break from the realities of his job, he started writing science fiction, pulp, horror, fantasy, and, of course, crime fiction.

John’s first story “Past Sins” was published in Hardboiled Magazine and was cited as one of the best Hardboiled stories of 1993. More crime fiction followed, appearing in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, the Fading Shadows magazines and in collections by Barnes and Noble. Association with writers like James Chambers and the late, great C.J. Henderson led him to try horror fiction and to a still growing fascination with zombies and other undead things. His first horror story “The Right Solution” appeared in Marietta Publishing’s Lin Carter’s Anton Zarnak. Other horror stories followed in anthologies such as The Dead Walk and Dark Furies, both published by Die Monster Die books. It was in Dark Furies that his character Bianca Jones made her literary debut in “21 Doors,” a story based on an old Baltimore legend and a creepy game his daughter used to play with her friends.

John’s first book was The Devil of Harbor City, a novel done in the old pulp style. Past Sins and Here There Be Monsters followed. John was also consulting editor for Chelsea House’s Criminal Investigation series. His other books include The Assassins’ Ball (written with Patrick Thomas), Souls on Fire, The Nightmare Strikes, Monsters Among Us, The Last Redhead, the Magic of Simon Tombs, and The Santa Heist (written with Patrick Thomas). John is the editor of To Hell in a Fast Car, Mermaids 13, C. J. Henderson’s Challenge of the Unknown, Camelot 13 (with Patrick Thomas), and (with Greg Schauer) With Great Power …

John’s Amazon Author Page  *  John’s Facebook Page

FEBRUARY NETGALLEY LISTINGS

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Do you like free books? I guess I already know the answer to that one…

Do you have a NetGalley account? If so, great! If no, they are free to sign up for, and once you have one, you can request all kinds of books to review, some of them before they’ve even been released! From large publishing houses and small. Here’s a link to NetGalley in case you want to sign up. 

I am a little late in posting this, for reasons. We have another Systema Paradoxa volume listed for February, Out for Blood by Jorie Rao. You can learn more about the book below. Once you do, we hope you will click the link to head over to NetGalley and request it.

Out for Blood

Jorie Rao

SP - Out for Blood 6 x 9

There are creatures lurking in our world. Obscure creatures long relegated to myth and legend. They have been sighted by a lucky—or unlucky—few, some have even been photographed, but their existence remains unproven and unrecognized by the scientific community.

These creatures, long thought gone, have somehow survived; creatures from our nightmares haunting the dark places. They swim in our lakes and bays, they soar the night skies, they hunt in the woods. Some are from our past, and some from other worlds, and others have always been with us—watching us, fearing us, hunting us.

These are the cryptids, and Systema Paradoxa tells their tales.

***

Prudence Ann Wells grew up believing the things that went bump in the night were just fairy tales. Until the night a slathering beast with all-to-intelligent eyes breaks down their door.

She freezes as the creature rushes her and her mother, convinced it can’t be real, as she and her sister, Justice, had always been told.

Only they had been raised on lies.

Prue survives the attack; her mother does not.

Driven by guilt and revenge, she and Justice set out to stop the beast, but can Prue end the nightmare without becoming a monster herself?

 

 

 

 

 

 

eSPEC EXCERPTS – CHRISTINE NORRIS – GRIMM MACHINATIONS

On By eSpec BooksIn eSPEC EXCERPTS, KickstarterLeave a comment

We are at it again! Kicking off the year with a brand-new campaign: Full Steam Ahead!

Yes, we are funding more books. Yes, we would love if you would check them out, maybe show your support. But don’t think you have to do it blind. Here is a taste of Grimm Machinations – the sequel to Gaslight & Grimm, bringing you even more steampunk faerie tales.

The other two books funding through the campaign are A Cast of Crows, a Poe-inspired steampunk collection created in conjunction with the Tell-Tale Steampunk Festival; and Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk, an anthology that takes a look at the mechanics that keep the tech running, but more on those later.

Over the course of the campaign, we will be sharing these excerpts so you can get to know our authors’ style.

Grimm Machinations 2 x 3

The Six Clockwork Swans
Christine Norris

Based on The Six Swans

Kadie’s footsteps were all but silenced by the thick Persian carpet as she crept across the library. The tall windows that lined the one wall showed a clear night sky full of stars and a full moon that made turning on the gas lamps unnecessary. Thick shadows lay in corners where the moonlight didn’t reach. The last of the church bells’ midnight chimes still hung in the air, its resounding gongs giving Kadie the perfect cover for her journey down the stairs, across the marble hall, and through the library door.

The household had been in bed for hours, except for the night maids, who were in the kitchen gossiping over their tea. As mistress of the house, it was her right to be in the library whenever she pleased, so sneaking shouldn’t be necessary, but she knew she was being watched. And being so close to breaking the curse, she couldn’t take a single chance.

The library seemed to hold its breath as she passed the shelves of books. The framed portraits of generations of her husband’s family stared down from above, their dour expressions silently judging her. She had been told all of their names but didn’t recall a single one at this moment. There were only six names that mattered to her.

Her foot caught on something, and suddenly she was falling. She flung her arms forward to stop herself and slammed her palms into the edge of her husband’s enormous heavy desk, her knee into the side. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes, and she gritted her teeth to hold back her cry of pain and shock. After a few seemingly eternal moments, the pain passed, and Kadie was able to gather herself enough to stand. She looked down and saw the architect of her stumble—a wrinkle in the rug. She silently cursed it and resumed her trip to the farthest corner of the library.

She tossed a nervous glance over her shoulder to make sure she was still alone. No one had heard her unfortunate crash into the desk, it seemed. She stood on tiptoe and reached as high as she could, the tips of her fingers grasping the edge of one of the books on the top shelf. With a snick softer than a whisper, the bookcase swung open. Kadie grabbed the oil lamp she kept on a shelf just inside the door and lit it with the matches she kept in the pocket of her skirt. A few yards down the stone-lined passage, she pushed on one, worn smooth, and the hidden door swung silently shut. The little oil lamp only put out a small circle of light, but she walked with quick and sure steps, her footfalls echoing along the narrow passage. She could have had no light at all, and she would know the way, so often had she traveled this corridor.

She had discovered the secret passage completely by accident, just a year after Daniel found her in the tiny cottage in the woods and brought her to his home. His was a magnificent manor house at the center of the city over which he reigned as Duke. A far different place than her home in so many ways.

The library had been her refuge from almost the moment she had arrived, and one rainy afternoon while she was looking for something to read and hiding from her mother-in-law, she reached for the book that opened the door. The passage had been dark and full of cobwebs, obviously unused for many years. But with a little sweeping and the hidden lamp, it had become almost welcoming.

The other end of the passage opened into a comfortably sized room with windows near the ceiling that allowed the moonlight to pour inside like silver. Kadie had never been able to figure out where this room was within the house, either from the inside or looking at the house from the outside. It was as if it existed just for her.

She inhaled deeply, letting the scent of machine oil and dust fill her nose before she placed the lamp on a small table beside the door and, in a few minutes, the rest of the lamps were lit, and she was ready to get to work.

The flickering yellow light bounced off the glass doors of the cabinet where she kept the collection of tools she had gathered in the last six years. She never took them from the room; if she were ever caught with even the smallest screwdriver, it could mean her death. In this realm, technology like clockworks and machinery were heresy.

Her workbench stood against the back wall. Beside a small pile of spare gears and cogs, five small music box movements sat in a neat row, gleaming in the light. The first was the largest, and each decreased slightly in size. In front of each sat a small card with a name written in her own elegant script—Albert, Broderick, Charles, Dorian, Edgar. The sixth movement lay in pieces on the bench in front of a small stool with a cracked leather seat. Its label waited off to the side. Flynn. Kadie gazed at the names, picturing each of her brothers in turn. Their faces had begun to blur in her memory. If all went well, she would see them again today.   

Kadie sat and took a deep, cleansing breath before lifting the small screwdriver in her callused fingers and tightening the screw that held the cog in place. Almost done, and yet still so far to go. It hadn’t been easy to keep her work a secret; these stolen moments in the workshop had been harder to come by, especially with her mother-in-law keeping an ever more watchful eye.

This would have been so much easier if she had been home, or even still at the cottage. Her father’s realm was a hive of mechanical things. Clock shops, mechanical vehicles on the streets, airships in the skies above. Her father loved anything mechanical. Her room in the palace had been filled with clockwork toys, many he had made himself and given to her on birthdays and holidays. 

That had been before he had married again.

Her stepmother hated her and her siblings. Kadie had no idea why, nor why she had been spared from her curse. When her brothers had disappeared, she had grabbed what she could carry and ran. From the capital city and into the forest, she ran so far she had no idea where she was. She followed the forest road until she discovered an abandoned cottage. Inside, she found a corner and cried herself to sleep. 

That was where her brothers had come to her. At sunset, six clockworks swans landed in the yard outside her door. One by one, they transformed into her human brothers. 

NorrisOnce Upon a Time, Christine Norris thought she wanted to be an archaeologist but hates sand and bugs, so instead, she became a writer. She is the author of several speculative fiction works for children and adults, including The Library of Athena series, A Curse of Ash and Iron, and contributions to Gaslight & Grimm and Grimm Machinations. She is kept busy on a daily basis by her day job as a school librarian in New Jersey. She may or may not have a secret library in her basement, and she absolutely believes in fairies.

Learn more about Christine Norris here:

Website  *  GoodReads  * Amazon Author Page

Follow Christine Norris on social media: 

Facebook  *  Twitter  *  Instagram

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – MISTY MASSEY – GREASE MONKEYS

On By eSpec BooksIn AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, KickstarterLeave a comment

We are at it again! Kicking off the year with a brand-new campaign: Full Steam Ahead!

While we are not the first to explore the realm of dieselpunk, it is fair to say there isn’t a lot out there. And I can say with full confidence no one else has gone in this direction! Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk takes a look at the mechanics that keep the tech running and even mod it out beyond its original capabilities, striving for efficiency and peak performance or just keeping things going.

The other two books funding through the campaign are Grimm Machinations – the sequel to Gaslight & Grimm, bringing you even more steampunk faerie tales; and A Cast of Crows, a Poe-inspired steampunk collection created in conjunction with the Tell-Tale Steampunk Festival.

Over the course of the campaign, we will be featuring these spotlights so you can get to know our authors—and the projects—better.

eSpec Books interviews Misty Massey, contributor to Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk, edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail and John L. French.

eSB: As an author, what drew you to participate in a collection of dieselpunk fiction?

MM: I’ve written about fantasy pirates for so long that jumping into a much more technological world was a treat. Like being allowed to eat ice cream for dinner because I finished all my homework – writing about the mechanic and the metal girl was a new experience that gave me a thrill.

eSB: Did you base your story on your own previous literary setting or did you embrace the faerie connection? Or hey, did you do both?

MM: Golly, no! My Kestrel novels take place on wooden pirate ships in a fantasy world, and the story for this anthology had to be set in pre-WWII Washington. Night and day!

eSB: No spoilers, but what was your inspiration for your story and did you introduce any easter eggs for either the dieselpunk aspect or your own body of work?

MM: Originally, I was going to write about a troupe of mechanical dancers, an idea that came from my experience dancing in troupes over the last decade or so. But once I got started, I realized I’d built much too large of a cast of characters for a short story, and I wasn’t going to be able to do it justice. Besides that, I found that I enjoyed the intimacy of the mechanic having a single metal friend to care for instead of a crowd.

eSB: Are there any interesting details that you incorporated in your story to harken to the historic period of the genre? Are you the kind of ’punk who reveals in the period-appropriate technobabble, or do you dig deep into the research to include period-accurate touches?

MM: I’m definitely not someone who knows much about how machines work, so I tried not to go overboard explaining the metal girl’s internal arrangement. (I did run it past a more mechanically minded family member to make sure it wasn’t completely nonsense.) For me, diving into historical research to add the appropriate touches is my jam. Even an era so close to the present can feel like a long-ago past when we study language and customs. I made sure to pepper everyone’s speech with believable slang, for instance, and included mentions of the uncomfortable political situation of the time. I also read lyrics of popular songs from that period to familiarize myself with their cadence and vocabulary so the metal girl could sing without my editors having to worry about licensing issues for printing someone else’s lyrics.

eSB: What is your favorite dieselpunk fiction? What is your favorite dieselpunk movie? Share with us why.

MM: I’m a big fan of Richard Kadrey’s The Grand Dark. Unlike his Sandman Slim series, this book is heady and lush, filled with the thrill of post-war opportunity and shadowy dealings that underpin every connection. And my favorite movie is Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s a wonderful example of secret magic hiding just out of sight in the comfortable industrial world we think we’ve tamed.

eSB: What advice would you give aspiring authors considering participating in a themed anthology?

MM: Don’t look at the big names who are sharing a table of contents with you and start thinking you aren’t up to snuff with them. Your story has every right to appear and could very well end up being some reader’s favorite one in the whole collection. Believe in your work and yourself. 

eSB: What other events are you doing this year—dieselpunk or otherwise?

MM: I’ll be appearing at Ret-Con (Cary, NC), SAGA (Winston-Salem, NC), Atomacon (Charleston, SC), and ConCarolinas (Charlotte, NC) this spring. There may be other events added later, so you can check my website for updates!

eSB: What is one thing you would share that would surprise your readers?

MM: Well, I was a performing belly dancer for over ten years and belonged to a couple of professional troupes. Readers from the Carolinas might have even seen me on stage at the Carolina Renaissance Festival. I was the 1980 TriCounty spelling champion in high school. I look like a middle-aged mom, but I’m a big fan of bands like Rage Against the Machine and Rise Against. Oh, here’s something that might surprise people – I can write my name in cursive, forward with my right hand and backward with my left, at the same time. Ta da!!

eSB: What are some of your other works readers can look for?

lg-book-wwwMM: I mentioned the pirates earlier, so you can look for Mad Kestrel and the recent sequel, Kestrel’s Dance, from Loreseekers Press.  If you’d like to check out some of the other themed anthologies I’ve been involved with, you can try The Weird Wild West (e-Spec Books), Lawless Lands (Falstaff), Submerged (ZNB), or Cinched (Falstaff).

eSB: What projects of your own do you have coming up?

MM: I’m releasing the Dead Man series, a three-novella weird western saga featuring Doc Holliday returned from the dead later this year from Falstaff Books, and a fantasy-noir tale, The Big Smush, as part of the Shingles collection. And, of course, I’m hard at work on the third of Kestrel’s pirate adventures, with any luck coming in 2024 from Loreseekers Press.

Massey 2023 - HeadshotMisty Massey is the author of the Mad Kestrel series of rollicking fantasy adventures on the high seas. She is an editor for several small presses, and an instructor for the Speculative Fiction Academy. When she’s not writing or editing, Misty appears on the Authors & Dragons podcast sister show, Calamity Janes, as the cheerful, sundrenched cleric, Malibu. She’s a sucker for ginger snaps, African coffee, and anything sparkly. You can keep up with Misty at mistymassey.com and on Facebook and Twitter.

Learn more about Misty Massey here:

Website  *  GoodReads  * Amazon Author Page

Follow Misty Massey on social media: 

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eSPEC EXCERPTS – JESSICA LUCCI – A CAST OF CROWS

On By eSpec BooksIn eSPEC EXCERPTS, KickstarterLeave a comment

We are at it again! Kicking off the year with a brand-new campaign: Full Steam Ahead!

Yes, we are funding more books. Yes, we would love if you would check them out, maybe show your support. But don’t think you have to do it blind. Here is a taste of A Cast of Crows, a Poe-inspired steampunk collection created in conjunction with the Tell-Tale Steampunk Festival.

The other two books funding through the campaign are Grimm Machinations – the sequel to Gaslight & Grimm, bringing you even more steampunk faerie tales; and Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk, an anthology that takes a look at the mechanics that keep the tech running, but more on those later.

Over the course of the campaign, we will be sharing these excerpts so you can get to know our authors’ style.

Cover Final

Annabel Lee
Jessica Lucci

The ball was off to a superb start, with a classical orchestra playing lilting songs on a calm sea. At the captain’s table were the usual dukes and duchesses, other would-be royalty, lords and ladies, and one very outspoken red-headed woman of a certain age. Madame Jane d’Avery by name, a round, robust socialite who had earned her place at the table through her vast riches gained in her widowhood. A savvy art collector, she had made herself another small fortune in the art trade. She traveled not only for pleasure but to transport her treasures from port to port for exorbitant sale.

Madame d’Avery wore such a large bustle that she had to sit sideways on her chair. Her face was flushed with laughter in quite an unladylike way, in Captain Edgarton’s opinion. “Gadzooks,” he whispered to Annabel. “She is telling bawdy jokes.”

The table roared with laughter as Madame d’Avery chugged another glass of red wine.

“What hangs at a man’s thigh and wants to poke the hole that it’s often poked before?”

The titillated group called out all the wrong answers. “Do tell us,” urged Annabel. Captain Edgarton groaned.

Madame d’Avery took a large breath, creating a suspenseful pause. Her large bosom threatened to pop out of her rounded bodice. “A key!”

The table erupted in laughter. Edgarton wished there was something stronger than wine in his glass. He nudged Annabel Lee and spoke just barely above a whisper. “Don’t laugh. It will only egg her on.”

Madame d’Avery had sharp ears and observant eyes. She saw the elbow of the captain meet the thin, silked arm of his fiancée. She heard the words uttered from his mouth.

“We all deserve a good laugh,” she said into the air, addressing no one in particular. But she saw the crimson flush of anger start at the base of the captain’s throat above his cravat. She knew she had been understood.

After the dinner, the grand ballroom filled with excited dancers, couples and pairs who had met onboard the HMS Annabel Lee. The automaton servants even seemed to step more gaily as they attended to their duties.

Masterminded by the greatest engineers, the servants were created to be mechanical soldiers. Yet, in this time of great peace, there was no need for articles of war or fighting metal men. So they were redesigned as workers aboard ships such as the Annabel Lee, from automatons feeding coal to the steam engines to the serving staff, rolling on well-oiled wheels with brakes that stopped the progress of the shiny creatures in rough waters. All the details of daily life on board were regulated by clockwork, creating a smooth transition for busy socialites to easy ocean faire.

Annabel excused herself from the hustling swishes of cloth and clogs. She made her way furtively to the deck in search of the cool night air. As she exited the ballroom, she was side-swiped by a large object at her hip.

“Oh! Do pardon me,” exclaimed Madame d’Avery. She adjusted her bustle with an easy flounce, causing her entire backside to bounce.

“No need for pardon,” Annabel said. “We all suffer for our fashions.”

Madame d’Avery eyed Annabel’s wasp-like figure. “Some suffer more than others.”

“I will say the captain appreciates my efforts, but it does make laughing difficult.”

“Then I must ask your pardon again, for I did see you laughing, if only the best you could under the circumstances.”

“Under the circumstances, yes,” Annabel agreed.

Madame d’Avery hooked her arm with the younger woman’s. “Since we both seem headed in the same direction, we might as well hobble together.”

Annabel smiled. “Indeed.”

The two women stepped out onto a balcony. The dark ocean loomed beneath them, with small cresting waves blinking in the reflection of the starry night.

“Do you not have someone to accompany you?” Annabel asked.

“I have been a widow long enough to be able to navigate the sea solo. Of course, at times, I must remove my glove to pronounce a solid slap across the mug of some more forward of the masculine kind, but as I get older, those occasions have become fewer.”

“You are still a looker.”

Madame d’Avery guffawed in a deep throaty laugh that Annabel was growing to love. “As long as you and I think so, that’s all that matters.”

After taking in some air, the chill coaxed the two women back into the ballroom. They pranced arm in arm to the punch bowl.

Captain Edgarton watched disapprovingly from across the room. He excused himself from his conversation and shifted his way across to Annabel. He tugged her elbow, causing her to spill her punch upon the elaborate tablecloth. He grabbed the crystal goblet from her and slammed it down onto the table so that more of the red liquid jumped up and out. He steered her away, his teeth gritted, and his lips pulled back in a false smile. He spoke between the gaps in his mouth.

“What are you doing consorting with that American trash?”

“But you are American, too.”

“But I am not THAT kind of American. I know my place in the world, and it’s time you learned yours.” His grip tightened. She shook her arm to remove his hold, but he only tightened his grip. “Don’t embarrass me,” he growled.

Just then, a brush of wings touched Annabel’s cheek. The crow flew between the couple’s heads before resting on top of the captain’s.

“Annabel Lee” cawed the crow and dropped a silver dessert fork. Annabel caught it before it fell to the floor.

Captain Edgarton yelled out an oath unbecoming of a gentleman. He thrashed at his head, missing the black bird as it took wing and swooped down at him. The orchestra stopped playing, and the crowd strayed from dancing to encircle the feisty scene. Gasps of shock gave way when one throaty voice laughed. Soon the entire ballroom was in hysterics.

“Here, let me help.” Annabel reached for the crow, holding the silver fork out like a perch. The captain swatted her away and stabbed himself with the tiny fork in the process.

“You she-dog! You stabbed me!”

The crow flew away, out past the balcony, and into the night.

“I did not mean to,” Annabel wailed.

Edgarton heard all the laughter and raised his arms in false joviality. “This ball is for more than just the birds!” His voice rang broadly through the crowd. “Please, continue your festivities!” He grabbed Annabel’s waist and whispered seethingly. “As for you, you are taking a break.”

He led her back to her quarters and threw her to the floor.

LucciJessica Lucci is a poet and steampunk fantasy author who writes about modern issues while maintaining historic integrity.  She makes her home in Waltham, MA, USA, with her time-traveling budgie, Lamarr.

Her poetry has appeared in The Edible Anthology of Poetry Greatest Hits, edited by Peter Payack, and also in Lucidity Poetry Journal.  Her steampunk novel Subton Switch was a finalist in the 2019 Lesfic Bard Book Awards for science fiction.  Other works include Waltham Watch, Gustover Glitch, Salem Switch, Steampunk Leap Year, Steampunk New Year, and Steampunk Pride.

Learn more about Jessica Lucci here:

Website  *  Blog  *  GoodReads  * Amazon Author Page

Follow Jessica Lucci on social media: 

Facebook  *  Twitter  *  Pinterest  *  Instagram

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – KEN SCHRADER – GREASE MONKEYS

On By eSpec BooksIn AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, KickstarterLeave a comment

We are at it again! Kicking off the year with a brand-new campaign: Full Steam Ahead!

While we are not the first to explore the realm of dieselpunk, it is fair to say there isn’t a lot out there. And I can say with full confidence no one else has gone in this direction! Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk takes a look at the mechanics that keep the tech running and even mod it out beyond its original capabilities, striving for efficiency and peak performance or just keeping things going.

The other two books funding through the campaign are Grimm Machinations – the sequel to Gaslight & Grimm, bringing you even more steampunk faerie tales; and A Cast of Crows, a Poe-inspired steampunk collection created in conjunction with the Tell-Tale Steampunk Festival.

Over the course of the campaign, we will be featuring these spotlights so you can get to know our authors—and the projects—better.

eSpec Books interviews Ken Schrader, contributor to Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk, edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail and John L. French.

eSB: Grease Monkeys is a collection of dieselpunk stories, a genre that doesn’t seem to get as much attention as its older sibling, steampunk. What challenges did you face transitioning from one to the other? What did you find similar, and what was different?

KS: For me, the biggest challenge was the tone of the story. Steampunk, particularly in dialogue, has a more formal feel to it. There’s a kind of luster to the world, gaslight shining off all the polished brass. Dieselpunk is closer to the modern time. It’s showing the wear and tear brought on by technological advancements. For the first time, you’re putting the words “Machine” and “Gun” together, and the world can’t help but change after that. The brass has a bit of tarnish. There’s a dent or a chip in the paint and a vague smell of exhaust. Both genre’s will let you play wonderfully fast and loose with what’s possible technologically, but where they differ is that Steampunk is, generally speaking, a hopeful genre, whereas the folk in a Dieselpunk story have gotten knocked down a few times and have had to get back up… and it’s starting to show.

eSB: What was your favorite aspect of writing for this collection and why?

KS: This was a foray into a genre that I hadn’t written in before. Sure, I’ve seen Dieselpunk films (more on those later), but this had me diving deep into the art, and the aesthetics of Dieselpunk, to really get a clear picture of what was going on under the hood. I really liked what I found there, and while this may have been my first Dieselpunk story, it won’t be my last.

eSB: No spoilers, but what was your inspiration for your story and did you introduce any easter eggs for either the dieselpunk aspect or your own body of work?

KS: There is a lot of Dieselpunk art out there, and while I didn’t nod directly at any particular piece of work (Art, Book, Movie), I did draw upon visuals from movies like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and The Rocketeer show me a world that was similar, but fantastically different to our own.   

eSB: Are there any interesting details that you incorporated in your story to harken to the historic period of the genre? Are you the kind of ’punk who reveals in the period-appropriate technobabble, or do you dig deep into the research to include period-accurate touches?

KS: I did do research when necessary to keep myself properly – if not exactly – on the timeline. Specific mentions of technology or machines are either period appropriate or appeared on the scene a few years later. Some details I researched, while interesting on their own, didn’t specifically get mentioned in the story but helped me with the underlying logic.

eSB: What is your favorite dieselpunk fiction? What is your favorite dieselpunk movie? Share with us why.

KS: I had to think about this one for a moment, and, as it turns out, I get most of my Dieselpunk from movies. Favorite Dieselpunk movie? The hands-down winner there is Raiders of the Lost Ark (Which also counts for fiction since I’ve read the novelization). True, the story takes place a little bit later than the typical Dieselpunk range, but I think it fits in there quite nicely, and it revived the kind of action stories that been on the wane at that time.  

eSB: What advice would you give aspiring authors considering participating in a themed anthology?

KS: Find a theme that speaks to you and go for it. It’s a good way to get those initial publishing credits, you’ll get experience working with editors, the opportunity to learn is immense.

eSB: What other events are you doing this year—dieselpunk or otherwise?

KS: I’ve got applications in to be a panelist at Ravencon (April 21-23), Balticon (May 26-29), and ConCarolinas (June 2-4).

eSB: What are some of your other works readers can look for?

lg-book-wwwKS: You can find my story, “Haven” in eSpec Books’ Weird Wild West anthology.

My story “The Price of Power” is in the Trials anthology.

My story “Brimstone” is in the Predators in Petticoats anthology.

eSB: What projects of your own do you have coming up?

KS: My novella Crimson Whisper will be coming out later this year as part of the Systema Paradoxa Series in conjunction with the Cryptid Crate monthly subscription box.

SchraderKen Schrader writes Science Fiction, Fantasy, Weird Westerns, and anything else he can get away with. He’s a shameless Geek, a fan of the Oxford comma, and he makes housing decisions based upon the space available for bookshelves.

He sings out loud when there’s no one around, enjoys a good grilling session, and loves a powerful drum beat. He can also procrastinate so well you’d think it was a superpower.

He lives in Michigan, and despite the seasonal allergies, he always enjoys mowing the lawn.

Learn more about Ken Schrader here:

Website  *  GoodReads  * Amazon Author Page

Follow Ken Schrader s on social media: 

Facebook  *  Twitter

eSPEC EXCERPTS – JOHN L. FRENCH – GREASE MONKEYS

On By eSpec BooksIn eSPEC EXCERPTS, KickstarterLeave a comment

We are at it again! Kicking off the year with a brand-new campaign: Full Steam Ahead!

Yes, we are funding more books. Yes, we would love if you would check them out, maybe show your support. But don’t think you have to do it blind. Here is a taste of Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk, an anthology that takes a look at the mechanics that keep the tech running and even mod it out beyond its original capabilities, striving for efficiency and peak performance or just keeping things going.

The other two books funding through the campaign are Grimm Machinations – the sequel to Gaslight & Grimm, bringing you even more steampunk faerie tales; and A Cast of Crows, a Poe-inspired steampunk collection created in conjunction with the Tell-Tale Steampunk Festival, but more on those later.

Over the course of the campaign, we will be sharing these excerpts so you can get to know our authors’s style.

Grease Monkeys 6 x 9

No Man’s Land
John L. French

He’s in the trenches, one of thousands, maybe tens of thousands. He looks to his left, an endless row of men. To his right, there is another endless row. All are like him, soldiers with tin pots on their heads and rifles in their hands. The dead are piled behind, and in front. They have long since run out of sandbags and now their comrades protect them one last time. Across the killing field, a trumpet blows. Drums beat. Men march slowly and steadily toward them.

The order is given. As one, they take aim through the gaps in their dead. On command, they open fire. The front row of the enemy goes down. The second row returns fire, guided by the muzzle flashes in the night. Men on either side of him fall. Some moan in pain, others lie silently and await their deaths.

Those still standing continue to fire. Those approaching shoot back. Men on both sides go down.

He takes a quick break, looks left then right. He thinks he can see the ends of each row. He turns back to the gap in the dead, sees the enemy still advancing. They march and shoot, march and shoot. With each volley, more of his comrades fall.

They should be on top of us by now, he thinks but somehow, they are not. He fires into their midst, over and over and over. He has fired his rifle maybe more than a hundred times. He does not remember reloading.

The number of men on either side of him is lesser and lesser. The number of the enemy is seemingly endless. Until they are not.

He stops firing and looks through the gap. No man’s land is filled with the enemy. None are standing. A ragged cheer runs through the trench, as if they had won a great victory. Well, they survived another night, which is victory enough.

Then the cheers turn to cries of horror. He looks out on the field. Through the fog of night and the mist of blood, he sees the bodies of the enemy rise. The endless number that has fallen stands up. After a minute, their lines reform and they resume their march.

He again starts firing, knowing what he does is pointless. You can’t kill what is already dead. Having fallen once, they will never go down.

Again, he looks to either side. There is no one left, no one but him. Still, he fires and fires and fires, and the dead come closer and closer and closer.

***

In the early morning just before sunrise, Victor wakes up screaming. His cries disturb the sleep of some of the patients on the ward. Others find them a relief, for his shouts have woken them from their own nightmares. The sisters go from bed to bed, doing what they can to ease their pain and calm their terror. There are too few to quickly attend to them all but still they try, and their very presence is a comfort.

In the distance comes the thunder of long-range guns. Even as Victor consoles himself with the thought, It was just a nightmare and for now, it’s over, the thunder reminds him that for the men on the line, the nightmare continues.

French 2017JOHN L. FRENCH is a retired crime scene supervisor with forty years’ experience. He has seen more than his share of murders, shootings, and serious assaults. As a break from the realities of his job, he started writing science fiction, pulp, horror, fantasy, and, of course, crime fiction.

John’s first story “Past Sins” was published in Hardboiled Magazine and was cited as one of the best Hardboiled stories of 1993. More crime fiction followed, appearing in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, the Fading Shadows magazines and in collections by Barnes and Noble. Association with writers like James Chambers and the late, great C.J. Henderson led him to try horror fiction and to a still growing fascination with zombies and other undead things. His first horror story “The Right Solution” appeared in Marietta Publishing’s Lin Carter’s Anton Zarnak. Other horror stories followed in anthologies such as The Dead Walk and Dark Furies, both published by Die Monster Die books. It was in Dark Furies that his character Bianca Jones made her literary debut in “21 Doors,” a story based on an old Baltimore legend and a creepy game his daughter used to play with her friends.

John’s first book was The Devil of Harbor City, a novel done in the old pulp style. Past Sins and Here There Be Monsters followed. John was also consulting editor for Chelsea House’s Criminal Investigation series. His other books include The Assassins’ Ball (written with Patrick Thomas), Souls on Fire, The Nightmare Strikes, Monsters Among Us, The Last Redhead, the Magic of Simon Tombs, and The Santa Heist (written with Patrick Thomas). John is the editor of To Hell in a Fast Car, Mermaids 13, C. J. Henderson’s Challenge of the Unknown, Camelot 13 (with Patrick Thomas), and (with Greg Schauer) With Great Power …

John’s Amazon Author Page  *  John’s Facebook Page

KICKSTARTER SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

On By eSpec BooksIn KickstarterLeave a comment

Full Steam Ahead! our Kickstarter campaign to fund three new anthologies (A Cast of Crows, Grimm Machinations, and Grease Monkeys) is approaching its final week. We have unlocked all but two stretch goals and one bonus, qualifying all backers for a minimum of six free ebooks in addition to their chosen pledge reward. One of those stretch goals is for another free ebook, but the last one is for limited edition, autographed hardcovers of each book.

It is no secret that we really want to make those happen. So do the authors, and several of of our backers have already commented the same.

Well, apparently, others want it to happen too! We have received a series of donations from the authors and other creatives for a massive prize pack that one backer pledging $35 or more will win at the end of the campaign.

Prize Pack
  • An Autographed copy of Steampowered Love – a short story collection by CJ Henderson and John L. French
  • A raven-themed necklace – Donated by author Michelle D. Sonnier
  • An Autographed copy of Corsets and Clockwork – Donated by author Maria V. Snyder
  • Raven w/ Roses jigsaw puzzle – Donated by author Ef Deal
  • A Handcrafted Hand Muff – Donated by HelmHaven
  • A Tiny Tophat with Hat Pin – Donated by Whimsical Dragons
  • An Ornate 3D Printed Scull – Donated by DB3D
  • Poe’s Tears of Dispair Tea with Poe Quote Magnet – Donated by Retro Daddio
  • Three dozen Homemade Shortbread Cookies – Donated by author Danielle Ackley-McPhail
  • Three ounces of homemade, tea-infused candied ginger – Donated by Ginger KICK!

A few more items may be added to this, but I am waiting for confirmation. I will update you all once we have more details.

The special editions are not out of reach. With over a week to go and just $2569 left to unlock that goal, I am confident we can get there. We have quite a few cameos available to have a backer or the person/character of their choosing appear in various stories in the book, and a few other high-ticket items have been added to the available rewards, not to mention the full eSpec library available through the add-ons. And once we unlock the hardcovers, we will be adding pledge levels for the individual titles and all three collectively, so if you want to see these happen as much as we do, please take a look and see if any of that appeals to you.

We have also added a few premium pledge rewards to the campaign, including critiques, starring roles in an original short story, and one very special experience for those attending the Tell-Tale Steampunk Festival. We hope you might consider checking those out.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – JESSICA LUCCI – A CAST OF CROWS

On By eSpec BooksIn AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, KickstarterLeave a comment

We are at it again! Kicking off the year with a brand-new campaign: Full Steam Ahead!

This one is unique in that A Cast of Crows, one of the collections being funded, has been created in conjunction with a first-year steampunk event called Tell-Tale Steampunk Festival, in Hunt Valley, MD. Excerpts from all of the stories in the book will be used for an interactive scavenger hunt at the festival. We hope you’ll check out both the Kickstarter and the convention. Many of the authors will be in attendance, some of them coming from as far away as New Mexico!

The other two books funding through the campaign are Grimm Machinations – the sequel to Gaslight & Grimm, bringing you even more steampunk faerie tales; and Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk, our first foray into dieselpunk.

Over the course of the campaign, we will be featuring these spotlights so you can get to know our authors—and the projects—better.

eSpec Books interviews Jessica Lucci, contributor to Forgotten Lore Volume One: A Cast of Crows, edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail.

eSB: This collection is unique in that it is a key part of the upcoming Tell-Tall Steampunk Festival, a first-year event kicking off with a Poe theme. What challenges did this present when choosing what to write?
JL: Poe is a master in the genre of horror and the macabre, and I have always admired his poems. As a poet myself, I wanted to honor Poe by integrating poetry into my story. This presented a challenge as I blended the prose and the poetry together, and it was a lot of fun!

eSB: As an author, what drew you to participate in a collection of Poe-inspired steampunk?
JL: As an author, I have read and studied Poe for his ability to concisely tell a story. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to write my own Poe-esque tale.

eSB: Did you base your story on your own previous literary setting or did you embrace the Poe connection? Or hey, did you do both?
JL: The story I wrote for this collection is “Annabel Lee.” I had a vague remembrance of Poe’s version being a tragic story of a woman and the sea, so I derived inspiration from that. I was wary of accidentally copying the storyline though, so I did not re-read Poe’s original until after my story was completed. “The Tell-Tale Heart” played a part in my story as I tried to achieve a sense of impending dread.

eSB: Are there any interesting details that you incorporated in your story to harken to the historic aspect of the genre? Are you the kind of ’punk who reveals in the period-appropriate technobabble, or do you dig deep into the research to include period-accurate touches?
JL: In my “Annabel Lee,” I mixed a sense of history, such as a steamship carrying wealthy travelers from the United States to Europe, with more whimsical steampunk attributes, like an automaton orchestra. I enjoy my fantasy with a touch of historical realism.

eSB: Is this your first time writing for a themed anthology? If so, how did you find the experience? If not, what draws you to them?
JL: This is the first anthology that has included my work, and I am thrilled to have my story featured along with other authors in the steampunk community. I relished the feeling of working independently while contributing to a team effort.

eSB: What other events are you doing this year—steampunk or otherwise?
JL: I will be at Jewelry City Steampunk Festival, New Hampshire Renaissance Faire, and Midsummer Fantasy Renaissance Faire, along with other events, both in person and virtual. My full calendar can be viewed on my website, http://www.JessicaLucci.org

eSB: What are some of your other works readers can look for?
JL: I am best known for my Watch City Trilogy, which follows a cast of found-family characters on adventures by land, sea, and air. “Subton Switch,” of this trilogy, was a Finalist in the 2019 Lesfic Bard Awards. My witchy steampunk novella, “Salem Switch,” is very popular among readers who enjoy a snappy page-turning reading experience. My latest book of poetry, “How Can I Steal a Purse,” has received attention in the local poetry scene, and has been accepted into the Grolier Poetry Book Shop, the oldest poetry book shop in the United States!

eSB: What projects of your own do you have coming up?
JL: “Triangle House” is a work of historical fiction. Jane, a wealthy orphan during the Industrial Revolution, seeks a sense of purpose. Her lover, Stella, is a socialite who can’t understand her need for meaning. Then Jane meets Rozett, an immigrant living in the working poor section of Tracksport. Together, the three women must come to terms with the forces of love and lust they share, seek refuge for Jane’s new philanthropic project, all the while outsmarting the domineering politician Mr. Powers who is persistent in his intentions for Jane. Lives are at stake and love is on trial in this historical fiction novella that will transport you to a world that very well could have been.

I am also preparing a new, gloomy, macabre book of poetry, “Graveyard Shift,” which will be out in October.

Another project I am working on is a collaboration with fellow author Bert Gevera Piedmont, investigating worlds inspired by Tarot.

LucciJessica Lucci is a poet and steampunk fantasy author who writes about modern issues while maintaining historic integrity.  She makes her home in Waltham, MA, USA, with her time-traveling budgie, Lamarr.

Her poetry has appeared in The Edible Anthology of Poetry Greatest Hits, edited by Peter Payack, and also in Lucidity Poetry Journal.  Her steampunk novel Subton Switch was a finalist in the 2019 Lesfic Bard Book Awards for science fiction.  Other works include Waltham Watch, Gustover Glitch, Salem Switch, Steampunk Leap Year, Steampunk New Year, and Steampunk Pride.

Learn more about Jessica Lucci here:

Website  *  Blog  *  GoodReads  * Amazon Author Page

Follow Jessica Lucci on social media: 

Facebook  *  Twitter  *  Pinterest  *  Instagram