Shovel the coal and stoke the boilers as nine steam punk authors
explore islands of mystery and adventure across the seven seas.
The Clockwork Seer by Katherine Cowley: On an island of oddities, a young clairvoyant
struggles for normalcy, but deadly automatons have other plans.
Sindisiwe by Scott E. Tarbet: A slave girl in Zanzibar escapes a beating when
a stranger in the marketplace proves her past is more than just a fairy tale.
Stand and Deliver by TC Phillips: Neither shackles, slave labor, nor the island’s
deadliest inhabitants will prevent these brothers from meting out justice to
their father’s murderers.
Island Walker by C. R. Simper: Kit digs her treasures out of trash heaps, but the
theft of her invention leads to discoveries money can’t buy.
A Mind Prone to Wander by Danielle E. Shipley: Beyond a locked door lies Rowan Charles’
death or his sanity, and the survival or extinction of his people.
Curio Cay by Sarah E. Seeley: The future of humanity rests in the hands of
three time-traveling scientists battling biomechanical creatures in the
Jurassic past.
The Mysterious Island of
Chester Morrison by Kin Law: Dodging her chaperone,
a debutante stumbles into adventure and romance at the World’s Fair.
Revolutionary by John M. Olsen: A dirigible captain goes down with his ship, and
wakes to find himself a captive of a sky-dwelling civilization.
The Steel Inside by Gail B. Williams: Darkness lurks in Sarah’s forgotten past, kept
hidden by those who claim to be her devoted husband and loyal servants.
Purchace your copy here:
Amazon Kindle USA: http://www.amazon.com/Steel-Bone-Nine-Steampunk-Adventures-ebook/dp/B00YQRAIIC
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Steel-Bone-Nine-Steampunk-Adventures-ebook/dp/B00YQRAIIC
Katherine Cowley
Katherine Cowley wrote her first story at the age of five, a
retelling of the Icarus myth titled “The Turtle That Got Too Close to the Sun.” She
has worked as a documentary film producer, a radio producer, and a college
professor. She now devotes herself to writing steampunk, fantasy, and science
fiction. Cowley’s short stories and essays have been published and won awards
in the Locutorium, the BYU Studies
Personal Essay Contest, the Meeting of the Myths, Four Centuries of Mormon
Stories, and the Mormon Lit Blitz. You can also read her stories online at katherinecowley.com.
Katherine loves European chocolate, the history of science, and
steampunk fashion. She has lived in the United States, Brazil, and Finland, and
currently resides in Arizona with her husband and two daughters.
Scott E. Tarbet
Scott E. Tarbet writes what fires his imagination: the broad
umbrella of speculative fiction. He is especially intrigued by how human beings
react to and interact with science, technology, and other magics.
Educator, chef, professional opera singer, and Steampunk craftsman,
with a long list of short stories and other works to his credit, he makes his
home in the splendor of the Utah mountains with his wife and best friend,
Jewels.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/103022248044977989570/about
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TC Phillips
TC Phillips hails from tropical central Queensland in Australia,
where he currently lives with his loving wife, three young children, a spoilt
cat, and an overactive imagination. An avid reader from a young age, he has
held a long-standing attraction for the written word and is excited to make his
own contributions to the vibrant and ever shifting world of storytelling.
Holding degrees in both Theatre Studies and Education, he is also currently
completing his Master of Arts (writing) through Swinburne University of
Technology.
C. R. Simper
C. R. Simper is an Arizona native who graduated from Arizona State
University with a degree in Purchasing and Logistics Management. She married
another Arizona native in 1991 and is now the stay-at-home mom of three
daughters and one son.
Simper has written in multiple genres over the past three decades.
She has found that writing maintains a sense of order in her life. Her first
published story, “The Journey of Inspector Roux” appeared in Terra Mechanica: a
Steampunk Anthology (2014), another Xchyler publication.
Other hobbies that she enjoys are playing volleyball, genealogical
research, and indexing obituaries. She is a member of the American Night Writers Association (ANWA).
Danielle E.
Shipley
Danielle E. Shipley's first novelettes told the everyday
misadventures of wacky kids like herself. Or so she thought. Unbeknownst to
them all, half of her characters were actually closeted elves, dwarves,
fairies, or some combination thereof. When it all came to light, Danielle did
the sensible thing: packed up and moved to Fantasy Land, where daily rent is
the low, low price of her heart, soul, blood, sweat, tears, firstborn child,
sanity, and words; lots of them.
Shipley has also been known to spend short bursts of time in the
real-life Chicago area with the parents who home-schooled her and the two
little sisters who keep her humble. When she's not living the highs and lows of
writing, publishing, and all that authorial jazz, she's probably blogging about
it at EverOnWord.wordpress.com.
This is her third appearance in a Xchyler anthology, following the
paranormal "Two Spoons" in Legends
and Lore, and "Reality As We Know It" in fantasy collection The Toll of Another Bell. Other
publications include Inspired (a
novel), and a series of fairy-tale retelling mash-ups, The Wilderhark Tales.
Sarah E. Seeley
Through two wonderful mentored research experiences, Sarah E. Seeley
had the opportunity to work with dead sauropods and ancient odonates while
acquiring her undergraduate degree in geology from Brigham Young University.
She hopes to study more dead things in the future and contribute to scientific
discussions about what makes life on Earth so amazing. In the meantime, she
explores the bright side of being human by writing dark fiction.
Seeley's independently published works include Maladaptive Bind and Blood
Oath: An Orc Love Story. Sarah's short story "Peradventure"
appears in Xchyler Publishing's Legends
and Lore: An Anthology of Mythic Proportions. Another short story,
"Driveless," appears in Leading
Edge Magazine Issue #66. You can learn more about Sarah on her writing blog
at www.SlithersOfThought.com
Kin Law
Living in the bustle of NYC, Kin is constantly reminded he is a
child of two worlds. Originally from Hong Kong, he's traveled both
geographically and socially, working in many professions including movie
projection and line cooking. He has degrees in Media and Culinary Arts, and a
great love of Philosophy. As for fiction, his favorite authors are Douglas
Adams, Hemmingway, and Chuck Pahlaniuk.
Today, Kin is a culinary copywriter, intent on furthering his
novelist career. He loves his fiancée, his cat Zoe, Scotch, bacon and coffee.
Addressing himself in the third person makes him chuckle.
John M. Olsen
John M. Olsen has been creating things his whole life through a
mixture of technical and creative processes, whether building family, stories,
art, software, woodworking or anything else. He has dreams of becoming a
Renaissance man and loves to learn new things to add to his store of randomly
accessible information (otherwise known as irrelevant trivia). Writing is one
of his loves, inspired by having read most of his father’s extensive fantasy
and science fiction collection in his teen years.
He builds high-end simulation software, and has contributed chapters
to several books on computer graphics and game design, as well as publishing
fiction in multiple genres.
He lives in Utah with his wife and five children, some of whom are
old enough to have moved out and back in. Together they have also raised three
nieces and a nephew, and are minions of their benevolent cat overlord.
Gail B. Williams
Gail Williams lives in her own private dungeon populated with all
the weird and the wonderful she can imagine. Some of it’s very weird, and the
odd bits and pieces are a bit wonderful. With a vivid imagination fuelled by a
near death experience at the age of three, there was really no other choice for
Gail than to write, something she’s been doing for as long as she can remember.
She’s tried not doing it, but it never works for long, her brain gets itchy if
she hasn’t written anything for a couple of days. Gail is English by birth, but
lives in Swansea, Wales, married a Welshman and they have two fantastic
children. They live with the world’s most imperious and demanding cat. An asset
management specialist by day, a freelance editor and keen writer of an evening
and weekend, she really needs to learn to sleep. To find out more see www.gailbwilliams.com
James Ng
James Ng (pronounced Ing) was born in Hong Kong, where he spent most of his childhood drawing monsters and robots, making his own elaborate cardboard toys, and playing soccer. Ever since, he has been on the move between Hong Kong, Vancouver, Chicago and New York. His travels have greatly influenced him, allowing him to combine Eastern and Western cultures in his artwork.
James Ng (pronounced Ing) was born in Hong Kong, where he spent most of his childhood drawing monsters and robots, making his own elaborate cardboard toys, and playing soccer. Ever since, he has been on the move between Hong Kong, Vancouver, Chicago and New York. His travels have greatly influenced him, allowing him to combine Eastern and Western cultures in his artwork.
Currently James is enjoying the freedom of being a freelance concept
artist and illustrator. After a sunny summer in Vancouver, and traveling to
London, and then to New York for an award show and exhibition, he is back in
his home of Hong Kong to continue his career.
Excerpt
There were too many people, but once the music started Medina
could ignore them well enough. Her private viewing box made it easier, giving
her a little separation from the crowd. Well-dressed men and women pushed
through the aisles of the concert hall, finding their seats. Medina tasted
cinnamon, a product of her own excitement and the energy of those surrounding
her. Today’s performer hailed from the mainland: the brilliant Lucio Adessi,
the best musician to visit the island this year. It was Sunday, the one day of
the week that offered midday concerts.
The muscles in Medina’s arms convulsed. She clenched her hands
onto the sides of her chair. The vision came as it always did: a shaking of her
muscles, and a flash of colors and emotions. This time a spattering of small
black and brown shapes cavorted across her sight, the taste of sour grapes sat
on her tongue, and the scent of burning coal invaded her nose with a touch of
fear. The vision was mild though, not overwhelming, thanks to the clockwork in
Medina’s body which translated her visions into words and actions. Medina was
mostly human—only a small part clockwork—and she often wished the sight would
stop afflicting her so she could live a normal life. But she couldn’t do anything
to prevent her clairvoyance. She waited expectantly for the typewriter in her
right hip to print out instructions.
Thud, thud, thud, went the type hammers as they swung, pressing
the metal slugs of type onto a small piece of paper. Then the typing stopped.
Medina paused with her hand to her hip, hesitating to take the
paper. She tasted pickles, as she often did when she felt uncertain. Even when
not receiving precognition, Medina experienced tastes and smells related to her
emotions. Fortunately, this medical condition only ever heightened those two
senses, while the visions flooded her five senses and all the nerves in her body.
The island caused her extrasensory gifts—or curses. The visions
in particular tended to trouble her at inconvenient times, such as now, with
the concert about to start. She did not want to miss it.
But she could not ignore a vision. She dared not risk it.
Especially since the experience tasted of sour grapes, which she generally
associated with monsters.
Medina glanced around to make sure no one was watching her, then
opened the metal compartment in her side, which jutted out about an inch from
her hip. She removed the piece of paper.
Tell the hall master
to put out the nets.
The nets had only one purpose: to catch mechanical spiders. The
newspaper hadn’t mentioned mechanical spiders in today’s forecast, but that
didn’t matter. Medina’s visions were much more limited (and incredibly less
useful) than those of the seer who worked for the newspaper: Medina could only
foretell things directly related to herself, and only in the immediate future. Unlike
most of those gifted with clairvoyance, she didn’t actually view the future;
rather, what specifically she should do about it. But Medina’s visions were
always accurate, so even if life would be easier without them, when they came
she had to act, because of the small chance it might be about something
important.
Medina dashed out of her loge—her private viewing box—not caring
that people noticed her exit. She ran to the lobby of the building and hailed
Mr. Frederic Cunningham, who owned the concert hall.
“Mr. Cunningham!” she gasped. “You need to put out the nets.”
“Spiders only come in the evening,” Mr. Cunningham replied.
“It’s midday.”
But Medina had not planned to be here this evening, which meant
the spiders could come at any moment. “You must put the nets out now. It’s
important. I swear it on my life.” Medina’s hands shook. She folded them in
front of her body, trying to stabilize herself. Even when ameliorated by
clockwork, visions made her body weak and fragile.
Mr. Cunningham looked at the metal compartment in her hip. He
knew she was part clockwork, and a seer. He’d grown to like her, as she had
come to every single performance in the hall for the last four years. He had
noticed that she preferred to sit alone, so he had given her one of the private
loges without extra charge. Yet he obviously did not want to look like a fool
by putting out his nets in the middle of the day. And she had never had a
vision while in the concert hall before—in fact, she had never told him
specifics about any of her extrasensory experiences.
“Please,” Medina pleaded. “Do it right now.” She had her own
nets at home, but she could not bring them back in time.
“Very well,” said Mr. Cunningham. “But it better not deter
anyone who is late to the concert.”
He instructed his assistants to put out nets. They looked
confused but did not argue with him as they turned the cranks to lower the nets
outside of the entryways and windows.
And then they waited, staring expectantly outside. No one knew
exactly where the mechanical monsters came from or why there were so many more
of them on the island than on the mainland. Rumors spread constantly about
their mysterious creators and their plans, but Medina did not know what to
believe.
A few seconds later, Medina gagged on the taste of sour grapes.
Mechanical spiders rained down from the sky. They were the size of large dogs.
Normally they rained all over the island, injecting venom into anything that
could move and then crushing them with their mechanical jaws. But today they
rained only on the street of the concert hall.
Men, women, and children on the street screamed and dashed away
from the spiders. But the spiders did not attack them: they scampered on their
eight legs across the road’s concrete surface towards the music hall, as if
drawn by a magnet. She’d never seen them act like this before.
Medina tasted blood: fear.
June 28
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