What's Up for the Debut Author Challenge Authors? - Part 5

This is the fifth in a series of updates about formerly featured Debut Author Challenge authors and their 2015 works published since the last update and any upcoming works for 2016. The year in parentheses after the author's name is the year she/he was featured in the Debut Author Challenge.

Part 1 here.

Part 2 here.

Part 3 here.

Part 4 here.

Lisa Kessler (2011)

Harvest Moon
Moon 4
Entangled: Select Otherworld, September 24, 2015
eBook, 333 pages

Some wolves were never meant for a mate…

Dr. Jason Ayers unleashes all of his rage and his frustration through fists and brute force in an underground boxing ring. The werewolf may be the pack’s doctor, but he can’t even heal his coma-stricken father after the Nero Organization’s attack stopped his heart. And as his Pack brothers settle down around him, he still refuses to believe in the fairy tale notion that every wolf has a true mate…

In hiding and on the run, nurse Kilani Akamu is a loose end that Nero is desperate to tie up. She can’t afford to be attracted to a doctor-especially one as unexpectedly hot and complex as Jason. Yet the sexual sparks arcing between them are undeniable…and Kilani’s precognitive senses warn her that temptation is inevitable.

All it takes is one touch to send Jason’s wolf howling. But even if he could protect her from Nero, he can’t protect her from himself…

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Ice Moon
Moon 5
Entangled: Select Otherworld, November 16 , 2015
eBook, 290 pages

One touch and she is his…

Jared Ayers works outdoors, embracing a solitary life, hiding from his inner demons. But after so many of his Pack brothers have found their mates, he starts wondering if there might be a mate in his future too. His world turns upside down after he’s hired by the “Ice Queen of Lake Tahoe”. One touch is all it takes. One touch to send the wolf howling within…

A gifted psychic with pyrokinesis, Taryn Goldstone wields fire beyond her control- sometimes with dire consequences. With Jason, she discovers that some flames are meant for passion-and healing. She has enemies who covet her powerful gift, but they are about to learn just how far a wolf will go to protect his mate.

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Mark Lawrence (2011)

Road Brothers
The Broken Empire
December 14, 2015
eBook, 124 pages
Cover by Pen Astridge

10 short stories from the lives of Jorg and his Road Brothers. Contains spoilers for the Broken Empire trilogy. 5 of the stories have previously been published in anthologies, Contains the short story 'Sleeping Beauty' that is also sold separately. A total of 43,000 words or just over half the length of Prince of Thorns.

Amazon

The Liar's Key
The Red Queen's War 2
Ace, May 31, 2016
Mass Market Paperback, 512 pages
Hardcover and eBook, June 2, 2015

From the international bestselling author of the Broken Empire Trilogy, the Red Queen’s War continues…

After harrowing adventure and near death, Prince Jalan Kendeth and the Viking Snorri ver Snagason find themselves in possession of Loki’s key, an artifact capable of opening any door and sought by the most dangerous beings in the Broken Empire—including the Dead King.

Jal wants only to return home to his wine, women, and song, but Snorri has his own purpose for the key: to find the very door into death, throw it wide, and bring his family back into the land of the living.

And as Snorri prepares for his quest to find death’s door, Jal’s grandmother, the Red Queen, continues to manipulate kings and pawns towards an endgame of her own design…

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Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

The Wheel of Osheim
The Red Queen's War 3
Ace, June 7, 2016
Hardcover and eBook, 432 pages

[cover not yet available]

From the international bestselling author of the Broken Empire Trilogy, the thrilling conclusion to the Red Queen’s War…

Mark Lawrence’s “epic fantasy” (The Washington Post) continues as a reluctant prince returns from the bowels of Hell to engage in his greatest battle yet—among the living and the dead.

All the horrors of Hell stand between Snorri Ver Snagason and the rescue of his family, if indeed the dead can be rescued. For Jalan Kendeth, getting back out alive and with Loki’s key is all that matters. Loki’s creation can open any lock, any door, and it may also be the key to Jalan’s fortune back in the living world.

Jalan plans to return to the three w’s that have been the core of his idle and debauched life: wine, women, and wagering. Fate however has other plans, larger plans. The Wheel of Osheim is turning ever faster, and it will crack the world unless it’s stopped. When the end of all things looms, and there’s nowhere to run, even the worst coward must find new answers. Jalan and Snorri face many dangers, from the corpse hordes of the Dead King to the many mirrors of the Lady Blue, but in the end, fast or slow, the Wheel of Osheim always pulls you back. In the end it’s win or die.

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Laurie London (2011)

Warrior's Heart
Iron Portal 3
LB Books, June 18, 2015
eBook, 211 pages

The Iron Guild warriors are back! New York Times bestselling author Laurie London has captivated thousands of paranormal readers with her Iron Portal series. Enter her darkly sensual world where secret portals separate modern and ancient realms, good and evil clash, and true love is put to the ultimate test in WARRIOR'S HEART.

Imprisoned for years, he never forgot her...but now he's out for revenge.

Zara Kane is leading a double life. By day, she's a respected antiquities expert, working at a New Seattle library, but by night, she's a thief, stealing back artifacts that belong to her homeland. When she learns that a man she once loved--who abandoned her when she needed him the most--has been wrongly imprisoned, she must use her para-ability Talent to orchestrate a daring escape.

Vince Crawford is damaged man. After years of torture and suffering, the beautiful boy with the sparkling brown eyes is gone, replaced by a jaded ex-con hellbent on revenge. He isn't afraid of anything, but when the woman he's never stopped loving and the son he never knew he had are threatened by a ruthless enemy who knows they're his greatest weakness, Vince will stop at nothing to keep them safe. Even if it costs him his life.

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Rebel's Desire
Iron Portal 4
LB Books, July 15, 2015
eBook, 127 pages

New York Times bestselling author Laurie London presents REBEL'S DESIRE, the fourth book in the Iron Portal paranormal romance series. Enter a darkly sensual world where secret portals separate modern and ancient realms, band-of-brother heroes with special ability Talents fight evil together, and sworn enemies dare to become passionate lovers.

Tormented by a savage past and shattered by a bitter betrayal, Iron Guild warrior Toryn Flynn trusts no one and cares about nothing except the battle against their enemies. His target: a mobster who finances deadly missions into Cascadia.

Kicked out of the house by her puritanical father, Keely Weber and her sister run a bookstore and fortune-telling business in an underground district in New Seattle—until a powerful man who controls the area kidnaps Keely’s sister to sell her into the Talent sex-trade.

When a beautiful woman literally falls into his arms, Toryn realizes she holds the key to his success. Keely will do anything to rescue her sister…including taking risks with a dangerously sexy man who pushes all her buttons.

From the gritty streets of the city’s underbelly to a sexual-fantasy-themed island, passions ignite. But with evil surrounding them and time running out, Toryn must decide whether to sacrifice the woman he’s falling for or dare to trust his heart again.

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Iron Portal Boxed Set
Iron Portal 1 - 3
LB Books, July 30, 2015
eBook, 530 pages

New York Times bestselling author Laurie London presents the IRON PORTAL BOXED SET bundle. This collection contains the first three books of the Iron Portal paranormal romance series which has enthralled thousands of readers.

1. ASSASSIN'S TOUCH (Rickert and Neyla's story)

2. ROGUE'S PASSION (Asher and Olivia's story)

3. WARRIOR'S HEART (Vince and Zara's story)

Enter a darkly sensual world where secret portals separate modern and ancient realms, band-of-brother heroes with special ability Talents fight evil together, and sworn enemies dare to become passionate lovers.

ASSASSIN'S TOUCH

Neyla Trihorn had the perfect life until a deadly accident revealed her latent para-abilities. Now, the former fashion designer is the Pacifican army’s hottest commodity in their fight against the invaders.

When Cascadian assassin, Rickert D’Angelus, discovers a beautiful, unconscious soldier on a cold mountain ledge near the portal, he realizes she’s a Protection-Talent and cannot be killed. To prevent the army from using her skills again, he takes her as his prisoner instead.

But when he pulls her into his arms, a sexy and compelling vision appears, awakening something inside him. Something he can’t ignore.

ROGUE'S PASSION

For years, Olivia Crawford has kept a low profile in order to keep her para-ability secret. If the army finds out she’s a Healer-Talent, they’ll force her to work for them—just like her brother who was taken as a boy and never seen again.

But when a terrible explosion rocks New Seattle, she risks everything to save the injured, including a handsome stranger with secrets of his own.

Blaming himself for the death of a friend, Iron Guild warrior Asher Kane vows to bring those responsible to justice. After he’s hurt on a mission and nursed back to health by a beautiful yet mysterious woman, this dangerously sexy bad-boy finds himself falling for her…even as he struggles to stay away.

WARRIOR'S HEART

Zara Kane is leading a double life. By day, she’s a respected antiquities expert, working at a college library, but by night, she’s a thief, stealing back artifacts that belong to her homeland. When she learns that a man she once loved—who abandoned her when she needed him the most—has been wrongly imprisoned, she uses her para-ability Talent to orchestrate a daring escape.

Vince Crawford is damaged man. After years of torture and suffering, the beautiful boy with the sparkling brown eyes is gone, replaced by a jaded ex-con hellbent on revenge. He isn’t afraid of anything, but when the woman he’s never stopped loving and the son he never knew he had are threatened by a ruthless enemy who knows they’re his greatest weakness, Vince will stop at nothing to keep them safe…even if it costs him his life.

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Andrew P. Mayer (2011)

The Lost Dragon: A New Adult Paranormal Fantasy Adventure
The FooL 3
Automaton Press, October 9, 2015
eBook, 432 pages

Betsey Weisz is about to learn that the worst shift doesn’t start at midnight…

Matt and Betsey aren’t having the best day. After barely escaping with their lives from the deadly diner in Jersey, they crash-land into an alternate universe where they’re caught in a war between humans and changelings: shifters who can become wolves, boars, and more.

The power hungry Witch Queen leads the humans, but her mad plan to transform herself into the mightiest changeling of them all: the dragon may take the whole world with her.
With a powerful boar, a chiseled skunk, and a cunning foxling by their side, Betsey and Matt may be the only people in this world who can keep the Witch Queen from completing her plan. But will Betsey master her powers and herself in time to prevail?

The Lost Dragon is the third installment in a paranormal adventure series that features a compelling plot, unpredictable adventure, creepy monsters, and hilarious dialogue. Continue Andrew P. Mayer’s wild ride into alternate realities with the latest installment of his mind-blowing series.

Amazon

Will McIntosh (2011)

Futures Near and Far
November 21, 2015
Kindle eBook 152 pages

Seven futuristic stories from Hugo Award winning author Will McIntosh, including:

A Clown Escapes from Circus Town. Beaners the clown escapes the walls of Circus Town, and discovers what lies beyond Sex Town, Superhero Town, Medieval Town, and all the rest. "A Clown Escapes from Circus Town" first appeared in Interzone.

The Perimeter. An intelligent alien parasite attaches itself to a human colonist and forces her into the wilderness, where it shows her off to fellow parasites. "The Perimeter" was first published by Orbit Books.

Possible Monsters. Returning to his empty childhood home after giving up on his dream of playing major league baseball, Cooper discovers that a creature from another dimension has taken up residence in his living room. "Possible Monsters" first appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction.

Street Hero. As his town declines into the chaos of the soft apocalypse, Cortez resolves to use his martial arts skills to protect the innocent, but discovers being a hero is more complicated than he thought. "Street Hero" first appeared in Interzone.

A Flea Market Vendor Finds Love in a Time of Sleeplessness. When a virus renders everyone unable to sleep, at all, a flea market vendor falls in love with a woman, but can’t be sure if she’s real or a walking dream. "A Flea Market Vendor..." first appeared in NFG.

The Fantasy Jumper. At the 2116 World’s Fair you can pay to watch an android jump from a roof and plunge to her death. You can watch her jump a thousand times, if you want. But what does the android want? "The Fantasy Jumper" was first published in Black Static.

Incompatible. At a church pumpkin sale, Leia seeks solace from the dark affliction that has plagued her since childhood. There she meets a man who has a similar affliction. They’ll have to face their demons together, or live their lives apart.

Amazon

Burning Midnight
Delacorte Press, February 2, 2016
Hardcover and eBook, 320 pages

For fans of The Maze Runner and The Fifth Wave, this debut YA novel from Hugo Award winner Will McIntosh pits four underprivileged teens against an evil billionaire in the race of lifetime.

Sully is a sphere dealer at a flea market. It doesn’t pay much—Alex Holliday’s stores have muscled out most of the independent sellers—but it helps him and his mom make the rent.
No one knows where the brilliant-colored spheres came from. One day they were just there, hidden all over the earth like huge gemstones. Burn a pair and they make you a little better: an inch taller, skilled at math, better-looking. The rarer the sphere, the greater the improvement—and the more expensive the sphere.

When Sully meets Hunter, a girl with a natural talent for finding spheres, the two start searching together. One day they find a Gold—a color no one has ever seen. And when Alex Holliday learns what they have, he will go to any lengths, will use all of his wealth and power, to take it from them.

There’s no question the Gold is priceless, but what does it actually do? None of them is aware of it yet, but the fate of the world rests on this little golden orb. Because all the world fights over the spheres, but no one knows where they come from, what their powers are, or why they’re here.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

City Living
Orbit, February 17, 2016
eBook, 39 pages

A enchanting new short story from Hugo Award-winning author Will McIntosh.
Enter a world of moving cities. The war is over and Hitler is dead, but rumors are flying that Chicago has just attacked Boston. That Moscow has crossed into the US and attacked Chicago. And New York is on the way to chase down the Windy City. Some cities are rumbling that they don't feel like part of the USA anymore.

But what form of energy is giving them the power of locomotion?

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And more winners....

Here are more winners at The Qwillery:

The Limit of Desire (The Limit War 3) ebook by Nico Rosso

Question:  Favorite type of Romance? SciFi? Paranormal? Contemporary? Steampunk? etc.

Arianne Cruz who said...

I love historical romance and those that have military or secret agents in them :)

Hearts of Smoke and Steam (The Society of Steam 2) by Andrew P. Mayer

Question: While Victorian London is the traditional setting for steampunk stories, in which city or place would you like to see a steampunk story set? 

Barbara E. who said...

I think Boston, or maybe Montreal in the Victorian era would be an interesting setting. I'm thinking of lots of snow where the steam would really rise through the cold.

Immortals Series by Jennifer Ashley, Joy Nash and Robin T. Popp

Question:  What is your favorite series Paranormal Romance or Urban Fantasy?

Darby Rae who said...

Wonderful Giveaway!
My favorite Paranormal series is Shifters Unbound by Jennifer Ashley. I'm impatiently awaiting book 3, Wild Cat. I see MANY others in comments here that look great too.

Shield of Fire (Bringer and the Bane 1) ebook by Boone Brux 

Question:  Who is your favorite Happily Ever After couple (or couples)?

BlackWolf who said...

my favorite happily ever after couple is Snow white and prince charming...

Minds Games (Disillusionists Trilogy 1) and Double Cross (Disillustionists Trilogy 2) by Carolyn Crane

Question:  Which is your favorite Supernatural Sidekick from Carolyn's post?

rissatoo who said...

I love Carolyn's cartoons! Too funny. :)

My favorite sidekick (and the one I really need!), is the Magical Review Monkey. I'm gonna have to add a P.S. to my Santa letter! ;)

The winners have been notified and have until 11:59 PM US Eastern Time on Sunday, December 25, 2011 to respond or The Qwillery will very randomly choose a new winner or winners.

Thank you very much to everyone who reads The Qwillery.

Interview with Andrew P. Mayer and Giveaway - November 22, 2011

Please welcome Andrew P. Mayer to The Qwillery as part of the 2011 Debut Author Challenge interviews. Hearts of Smoke and Steam (The Society of Steam 2) is out today! Andrew's debut, The Falling Machine (The Society of Steam 1), was published in May.

TQ:  What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

Andrew:  People tell me that I have a tendency to kill off their favorite characters too quickly, but I see it slightly differently: the characters that get the most love in my stories are the dead ones. They certainly have to suffer less, and the living characters remember the departed in a way that lets me look back and deconstruct their lives.

That said, I do plan to go back and write some prequel stories so that I can return the deceased to life and make them suffer a bit more…

TQ:  Who are some of your favorite writers? Who do you feel has influenced your writing?

Andrew:  I've wanted to be a writer since I was 11 years old, so it's really the old school folks that inspired me to begin with: Asimov, Bradbury, Pohl, Moorecock, Gibson, Sterling, and all those 70s and 80s writers.

When it comes to modern genre writers there's a few that come to mind as strong inspirations: I really love China Mieville's worldbuilding. He's just fearless in the world he creates, and he's able to tackle big ideas. I loved Scott Westerfeld's pre-YA stuff. I think all his young adult is great, including his Steampunk. And he broke open that whole area. But the irony is that I think his adult work has a genuine maturity to it that's desperately missing right now.

Let's see… I also really like Richard K. Morgan's prose. I'm excited to see where his fantasy series is heading. And Dan Abnett's work in his Warhammer books is insanely awesome. The guy can write the hell out of an action sequence, and he's really set the bar for what's possible in licensed fiction. Even though he's playing in a pre-defined sandbox he finds a way add weight to things and make them incredibly compelling.

TQ:  Are you a plotter or a panster?

Andrew:  Plotter to the core: I actually tried to write novels back in the 90s, but I was completely unable to finish one. When I started again back in 2007 I began by plotting them first, and that pulled me through the book. To me a big part of the motivation for being a writer is getting to tell stories that I want to read, so if I'm not excited to see how they're going to turn out I won't be motivated to do the work.

That's not to say I don't rewrite or change things as I go along, but I need to make sure the foundation and the structure is strong.

TQ:  What inspired you to write The Society of Steam novels? Why steampunk?

Andrew:  When I went out to Burning Man in 2006 I saw the Neverwas Haul (http://www.neverwashaul.com/) and the amazing devices that Kinetic Steamworks (http://kineticsteamworks.org/) folks had built. I’d also been hanging around the San Francisco metal-art scene a few years earlier, and it seemed to me like there was a genuine moment of zeitgeist happening around the idea of Steampunk

I realized we’d reached a point in our culture where small groups of people were now capable of producing what it had taken an entire factory to build in the 1800s, and that it was allowing us to reach backwards and forwards at the same time.

The Victorian Era really was the last age of genuine craftsmanship before we were overwhelmed by mass production. A lot of their legacy is still with us today, both in terms of the structure of our society. In many ways we’ve inherited their world, and when we reach back for some truth in our culture I think that it’s easy to discover a kind of kinship with the people from 100 years ago, and we can resonate with their successes, their excesses, and their failures.

That seemed like a fun place to play in… and the idea of adding superheroes to that only made it more enticing to me.

TQ:  Tell us about The Falling Machine (The Society of Steam 1) and Hearts of Smoke and Steam (The Society of Steam 2).

Andrew:  The lead character is a young woman named Sarah Stanton. Her father is a powerful hero named the Industrialist (who has a smoking top hat!). He’s a member of the Society of Paragons; New York’s greatest team of gentlemen adventurers.

Sarah has wanted to be a superhero ever since she was a child, although obviously that’s an impossibility for a woman of society in 1880. Tragic circumstances conspire to make her dreams come true, and she finds herself forced into a terrifying adventure when her mentor (Sir Dennis Darby, the leader of the Paragons), is killed in front of her on the top of the (unfinished) Brooklyn Bridge.

She soon finds herself at the center of conspiracy that most of the Paragons either refuse to acknowledge, or may actually be a part of. Helping her to uncover the mystery is a mechanical man created by Sir Dennis called the Automaton.

The first book is a bit of a mystery story, with characters crawling around secret passages and the like, but there are also some major battles, burning mansions, and some good old fashioned Father/Daughter drama.

The second book is more of a romance for the heroine, but at the same time she's discovering her limitations and how those shape her as a hero. Meanwhile it still has a lot of action, and the main villain's plan really starts coming together. I also get to create a Victorian Era steampunk puppet show, which was lots of fun for me.

TQ:  Without giving anything away, what is/are your favorite scene(s) in the novels?

Andrew:  I think the entire theater sequence and battle at the end of book 2 was a lot of fun to create. It's the kind of big storytelling that I've always wanted to do, but it's grounded in a character driven core.

I also love the sequence in book 1 where Nathaniel wakes up with a hangover. Getting through that scene took the most research, since I was unfamiliar with a lot of the details. But by the time I was done I really felt like I understood the world a lot better. That sequence also starts pit small and just gets bigger and bigger, and I love stuff like that.

TQ:  What sort of research did you do to create the world of The Society of Smoke and Steam?

Andrew:  I've been in New York City a lot over the last year, and that's really given me a chance to walk around and visit the parts of Manhattan that still have a lot of Victorian Era buildings. Downtown below 14th street has a lot of cast-iron buildings, and as you head down to wall-street you can really feel like you're travelling back in time…

I've also done a ton of research from online and books, and I've travelled to a number of historical locations including Australia and New Zealand. There's a lot of surviving Victorian era buildings in down there, including the amazing Queen Victoria building in Sydney, and I got to visit them last year. One thing that's great about that era of construction is that they really wanted to show off the marvelous discoveries in engineering during the period, and the structures tend to really expose the ideas behind them.

All my research is in the service of reaching a point where I feel comfortable visualizing the world that I'm writing about without having to run to do research book every five seconds.

TQ:  In the series, who was the most difficult character to write and why? The easiest and why?

Andrew:  I'd say the most difficult has been Jordan Clements, The White Knight. The character is a bully and a racist, and yet I'm trying to keep him from being too broadly drawn, so I need to sympathize with him a bit.

He gets a POV chapter in book 3, and that's been the toughest so far because he's reprehensible, but he also has motivations for what he's done.

I'd say the easiest is probably Sarah. She still has her challenges, and one of the hardest parts of book 2 was making sure that she didn't become just another "gutsy heroine". But what I like best about Sarah is that she isn't trying to be a 21st century girl… She 's often conflicted because given a choice she'd rather be a girl of her era, but she's forced to take stronger measures to do what's right, and that puts her in conflict with her society. But it's often a sacrifice for her, especially because she has to do things that she sees as irreversible.

TQ:  Why did you set the series in Victoran New York?

Andrew:  I'm a native New Yorker, and New York in that period was undergoing the growth that turned it into the modern metropolis we think of today. London, on the other hand, was really just firming up, rather than being redefined.

My mother is a Londoner, so I did think about using England as a backdrop, but I was worried it was going to be overdone by the time I got finished, and it's easier for me to go visit New York. Plus I truly do have love for my birthplace, and by the end I really felt like I could make the city a character.

Also, superheroes and NY just seem to go together.

TQ:  How many books are planned for the The Society of Steam series?

Andrew:  The first series is a trilogy, but I'm going to be doing a short prequel that should be out before book 3 next year. That'll probably be an ebook with a small run print edition.

I also have some more books planned for the Society, but I'm not sure yet when I'll get to them.

TQ:  What's next?

Andrew:  I'm currently working on Book 3 of Society of Steam, and it's going to be the grand finale to this first series, so I'm working to get that finished by March so it can come out next fall.

After that I've got a head full of ideas that I'd like to explore. I also have a lot of talented artist friends, and I really want to do something that has a strong graphic component, but without going into traditional comics. I've been talking to people about that, and at the very least I'd like to try and do a heavily illustrated novel and see how the audience responds.

I can promise you that whatever I do next, it won't be a traditional genre piece. I loved bringing superheroes to steampunk, and a number of my other concepts have a similar "mash-up" feel to them.

One of my favorite things about being an author is that I can try big crazy ideas, and now that I've got a series of books out there I'm only going to go bigger.

Whatever I do next will probably (hopefully) be a standalone book, at least to start.

TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Andrew:  Thanks for having me!


About The Society of Steam

Hearts of Smoke and Steam

The Society of Steam 2
Pyr, November 22, 2011
Trade Paperback, 305 pages

Sir Dennis Darby has been murdered, the Automaton has been destroyed, and Sarah Stanton has turned her back on a life of privilege and comfort to try and find her way in the unforgiving streets of New York. But Lord Eschaton, the villain behind all these events, isn’t finished with her yet. His plans to bring his apocalyptic vision of the future to the world are moving forward, but to complete his scheme he needs the clockwork heart that Sarah still holds.

But she has her own plans for the Automaton’s clockwork heart—Sarah is trying to rebuild her mechanical friend, and when she is attacked by the Children of Eschaton, the man who comes to her rescue may be the one to make her dreams come true. Emelio Armando is a genius inventor who had hoped to leave his troubles behind when he and his sister left Italy for a life of anonymity in the New World. Now he finds himself falling in love with the fallen society girl, but he is rapidly discovering just how powerful the forces of villainy aligned against her are, and that fulfilling her desires means opening the door to a world of danger that could destroy everything he has built.

The Society of Steam takes place in a Victorian New York powered by the discovery of Fortified Steam, a substance that allows ordinary men to wield extraordinary abilities and grants powers that can corrupt gentlemen of great moral strength. The secret behind this amazing substance is something that wicked brutes will gladly kill for, and one that Sarah must try and protect, no matter what the cost.

Cover Illustration ©Justin Gerard

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million

The Falling Machine

The Society of Steam 1
Pyr, May 2011
Trade Paperback, 285 pages

In 1880 women aren’t allowed to vote, much less dress up in a costume and fight crime...

But twenty-year-old socialite Sarah Stanton still dreams of becoming a hero. Her opportunity arrives in tragedy when the leader of the Society of Paragons, New York’s greatest team of gentlemen adventurers, is murdered right before her eyes. To uncover the truth behind the assassination, Sarah joins forces with the amazing mechanical man known as The Automaton. Together they unmask a conspiracy at the heart of the Paragons that reveals the world of heroes and high-society is built on a crumbling foundation of greed and lies. When Sarah comes face to face with the megalomaniacal villain behind the murder, she must discover if she has the courage to sacrifice her life of privilege and save her clockwork friend.

The Falling Machine (The Society of Steam, Book One) takes place in a Victorian New York powered by the discovery of Fortified Steam, a substance that allows ordinary men to wield extraordinary abilities and grants powers that can corrupt gentlemen of great moral strength. The secret behind this amazing substance is something that wicked brutes will gladly kill for and one that Sarah must try and protect, no matter what the cost.

Cover Illustration ©Justin Gerard

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million

About Andrew

Andrew Mayer was born on the tiny island of Manhattan, and is still fascinated by their strange customs and simple ways.

When he’s not writing new stories he works as a videogame designer and digital entertainment consultant. Over the years he has has created numerous concepts, characters, and worlds including the original Dogz and Catz digital pets.

These days he resides in Oakland, CA where he spends too much time on the internet, and not enough time playing his ukulele.




Andrew's Links

Website
Blog
The Society of Steam Facebook Page
Twitter


The Giveaway

THE RULES

What:  One commenter will win a Trade Paperback copy of Hearts of Smoke and Steam (The Society of Steam 2) from The Qwillery.

How:  Leave a comment answering the following question:

While Victorian London is the traditional setting for steampunk stories, 

in which city or place would you like to see a steampunk story set? 

Please remember - if you don't answer the question your entry will not be counted.

You may receive additional entries by:

1)   Being a Follower of The Qwillery.

2)   Mentioning the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. Even if you mention the giveaway on both, you will get only one additional entry. You get only one additional entry even if you mention the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times.

3)   Mentioning the giveaway on your on blog or website. It must be your own blog or website; not a website that belongs to someone else or a site where giveaways, contests, etc. are posted.

There are a total of 4 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry), Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry), and personal blog/website mention (+1 entry). This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.

Please leave links for Facebook, Twitter, or blog/website mentions. In addition please leave a way to contact you.

Who and When: The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Tuesday, November 29, 2011. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

*Giveaway rules are subject to change.*