A preview, of sorts

As I was writing this afternoon, I discovered that this paragraph had appeared on my computer screen:

“And what about me, Nicodemus?” asked Jane.  “This is the second time in this book series that I’ve been locked in a dungeon!”

I didn’t mean for Jane Boffin (née Faraday) to suddenly become so meta, but there it was.  I’ll go back tomorrow, repair the broken fourth wall, and rework the scene, toning down Jane’s impertinence just a bit. (She is imprisoned in a dungeon after all.)

This book (the third I’ve written in the Airship Flamel Adventures series) has been listed on my NaNoWriMo page as having the working title of “There Be Dragons Here”.  Although that phrase is encountered in the novel, the story has evolved away from the pirate-y connotation that phase implies. I’m still deciding on a final title.  There will be dragons though.

Stay tuned.

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The Secret Notebook of Michael Faraday — Now Available!

I am happy to announce that my second book, The Secret Notebook of Michael Faraday, is now available!

170409 Cover

This novel is the second I’ve written in the Airship Flamel Adventures series, but is actually a prequel of my first novel, To Rule the SkiesWhen I wrote that book, I came to the realization that I was starting in the middle of Professor Nicodemus Boffin’s story.  This new book tells some of his history.  Here’s the synopsis:

Nicodemus Boffin rose from a boyhood in the ash heaps of East London to reach the pinnacles of British science when he is mentored by the great scientist, Michael Faraday. When Boffin finds a secret laboratory notebook in which Faraday has described incomprehensible experiments, Nicodemus wonders if Professor Faraday has discovered a new science, or has lost his faculties. Nicodemus’s rival, Viscount Whitehall-Barnes, seeks to gain the notebook by any means necessary to study the descriptions of a strange orange mineral with unusual properties which he believes is the alchemists’ Philosopher’s Stone. Realizing that the Viscount must never learn the secrets of the orange stone, Nicodemus takes action to keep the knowledge hidden, protect his family, and preserve the legacy of his mentor.

Besides telling the story of how Nicodemus Boffin grows from a poor but uncommonly clever boy in the slums of London to the forefront of Victorian British science, the novel features pompous aristocracy, a surprisingly capable laboratory assistant, and snarky air pirates.  Several Illustrious Personages may wander through the story as well.

The Secret Notebook of Michael Faraday is available in paperback and Kindle format at Amazon, and in many other ebook formats at Smashwords.

On the Tenth Day of Steampunk Christmas…

On the tenth day of Steampunk Christmas,

My true love gave to me:

Ten Steampunk Books.

For a cultural movement that started with literature, there is no lack of steampunk novels, anthologies, and non-fiction books.  Here are some suitable for gifting.

Cover of the 1873 first edition of Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days.

Cover of the 1873 first edition of Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days.

Around the World in Eighty Days

A classic by Jules Verne, one of the Ur-Authors of Steampunk.  I read it again last year and it holds up.  Most movie versions don’t delve into Phileas Fogg’s mysterious past as much as they could.

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