Holly Cottage: A short steampunk adventure set in the Magnificent Devices world


Book Description

A man with a past ... in love with a woman with a future... Maggie Polgarth astonishes everyone at Carrick House when, in a bid for independence, she buys a plot of land and a cottage near Vauxhall Gardens. From one decision, change ripples outward in the flock. Maggie transfers her scientific studies from Munich to London, leaving Lizzie behind. Two of the street sparrows leave the Malverns’ protection to go with her to her new home. And most significant of all, she meets a man who is not only well educated but also kind and handsome. But the south bank gangs have not forgotten the Lady of Devices. If they cannot touch her, it’s only a matter of time before they take their revenge on someone closer to hand. Jake Fletcher McTavish will risk his own life before he allows anyone to harm a hair on Maggie's head. He’s not afraid of the gangs and he’s a dab hand in a fight. But how can he show Maggie that his feelings run deeper than those of a brother? And how can he protect her when she seems to prefer the company of her new suitor—a man who is everything Jake is not? Holly Cottage is the 15th book in the Magnificent Devices steampunk series. Books 13-16 are short reads in the “Manor House” miniseries and can be read separately. No strong language, just a very proper kiss or two and a satisfying solution. If you like books by Gail Carriger, Lindsay Buroker, or Emma Jane Holloway, you’re in the right place. Enjoy!




Gwynn Place: A short steampunk adventure set in the Magnificent Devices world


Book Description

A life-changing surprise is in store for the family at Gwynn Place ... The winds of change are blowing—Lady Claire is a big sister again with the arrival of little Caroline, and eight-year-old Nicholas is preparing to go to Eton. In an effort to make up for his less than heroic conduct at Holly Cottage, Nicholas's tutor Alden Dean offers to see the boy safely along his journey. But Nicholas never reaches Eton, and Alden Dean never returns. Old enemies have not forgotten old slights, and they’ve chosen the perfect moment to strike. Their aim: To force Claire and Andrew to give up the Helios Membrane, an invention that can change the fortunes of an entire country. The Lady of Devices is not the only Trevelyan with wits and courage. As the danger mounts, can this ingenious and courageous family tip the balance between power and love, and save more than one life? Gwynn Place is the 16th book in the Magnificent Devices steampunk series. Books 13-16 are short reads in the “Manor House” miniseries and can be read separately. No strong language, just a very proper kiss or two and a satisfying solution. If you like books by Gail Carriger, Lindsay Buroker, or Emma Jane Holloway, you’re in the right place. Enjoy!




Carrick House: A short steampunk adventure in the Magnificent Devices world


Book Description

Who said life is but a dream after the wedding? Married eight months, Lady Claire Trevelyan and Dr. Andrew Malvern are blissfully working together on a new invention, and providing a home for a collection of street sparrows. Then Claire’s mother, the redoubtable Lady Jermyn, arrives with her family in tow and expects to stay indefinitely ... Peony Churchill turns up on the doorstep with valise in hand ... and raffish cousin Claude comes for a visit ... While separately any of these would be most welcome, together they are overwhelming. Claire and Andrew flee to Athena for a bit of breathing room. But the last thing they expect is to have their airship hijacked ... with Claire’s little brother Nicholas still aboard ... Carrick House is the 13th book in the Magnificent Devices steampunk series. Books 13-16 are short reads in the “Manor House” miniseries and can be read separately. No strong language, just a very proper kiss or two and a satisfying solution. If you like books by Gail Carriger, Lindsay Buroker, or Emma Jane Holloway, you’re in the right place. Enjoy!




Magnificent Devices: Manor House Quartet


Book Description

This quartet collection features four novellas set in the Magnificent Devices world, an edition of more than 400 pages. Home may be where the heart is, but sometimes it is also where the greatest danger lies … Married eight months, Lady Claire Trevelyan and Dr. Andrew Malvern are blissfully working together on a new invention, and providing a home for a collection of street sparrows. In Carrick House, they escape an onslaught of unexpected guests and sleep aboard Athena. The last thing they expect is to have their airship hijacked ... with Claire’s little brother Nicholas still aboard. In Selwyn Place, Lady Emilie Selwyn invites Andrew and Claire to her very first country house party. There, they meet a guest with violent connections to an old crime in Claire’s past. She will not allow anything to chill dear Emilie’s first foray into society—even if it means that the Lady of Devices must come out of retirement once again. In Holly Cottage, Maggie Polgarth astonishes everyone by buying her own home near Vauxhall Gardens. But the south bank gangs have not forgotten her connection to the Lady. Jake Fletcher McTavish will not allow anyone to harm a hair on Maggie's head. But how can he show her that his feelings run deeper than those of a brother? Lastly, in Gwynn Place, eight-year-old Nicholas departs for his first year at Eton—and does not arrive. As the danger mounts, can this small member of an ingenious and courageous family tip the balance between power and love, and save more than one life? If you like old-fashioned adventure, brave women, clever children, and strong-willed chickens, you’ll love this quartet of novellas set in the Magnificent Devices world. Fangs for the Fantasy says Claire is “a wonderful main character (one of my favourites in the genre)” and the series has “a great sense of Victorian style and language that’s both fun and beautiful to read.”







Magnificent Devices


Book Description

Book 3 of the Magnificent Devices series! An air voyage to remember turns into a disaster no one may survive. With her orphaned charges, Lady Claire Trevelyan joins the Earl of Dunsmuir's family on an airship voyage to the Americas. If she can stay out of Lord James Selwyn's way until her eighteenth birthday, she will be of age and cannot be forced into marriage. What she doesn't know is that Lord James is in the Americas, too, with Andrew Malvern closing in on him-and the wonderful device he stole. But when a storm cripples the airship and air pirates swoop in like carrion birds, Claire and the children must live by their wits to make their way across a harsh landscape. Will Andrew ever see her again and right the wrong he believes he has done? Will Lord James succeed in his monumental thievery? And how exactly does Rosie the chicken evade the soup pot? Tighten your goggles, pull on your gloves, and prepare yourself for stratagems and strangeness! "An immensely fun series with some excellent anti-sexist messages, a wonderful main character (one of my favourites in the genre) and a great sense of Victorian style and language that's both fun and beautiful to read." -Fangs for the Fantasy: The latest in urban fantasy from a social justice perspective, on Magnificent Devices




Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories


Book Description

“Chockful of gear-driven automatons, looming dirigibles, and wildly implausible time machines . . . should please steampunks of all ages.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) Imagine an alternate universe where tinkerers and dreamers craft and re-craft a world of automatons, clockworks, calculating machines, and other marvels that never were. Visionaries Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant have taken a genre already rich, strange, and inventive and challenged fourteen masters of speculative fiction, including two graphic storytellers, to embrace its established themes and refashion them in surprising ways and settings. The result is an anthology that defies its genre even as it defines it.




The House With a Clock In Its Walls


Book Description

A haunting gothic tale by master mysery writer John Bellairs--soon to be a major motion picture starring Cate Blanchett and Jack Black! "The House With a Clock in Its Walls will cast its spell for a long time."--The New York Times Book Review When Lewis Barnavelt, an orphan. comes to stay with his uncle Jonathan, he expects to meet an ordinary person. But he is wrong. Uncle Jonathan and his next-door neighbor, Mrs. Zimmermann, are both magicians! Lewis is thrilled. At first, watchng magic is enough. Then Lewis experiments with magic himself and unknowingly resurrects the former owner of the house: a woman named Selenna Izard. It seems that Selenna and her husband built a timepiece into the walls--a clock that could obliterate humankind. And only the Barnavelts can stop it!




Wonderbook


Book Description

Now expanded: The definitive visual guide to writing science fiction and fantasy—with exercises, diagrams, essays by superstar authors, and more. From the New York Times-bestselling, Nebula Award-winning author, Wonderbook has become the definitive guide to writing science fiction and fantasy by offering an accessible, example-rich approach that emphasizes the importance of playfulness as well as pragmatism. It also embraces the visual nature of genre culture and employs bold, full-color drawings, maps, renderings, and visualizations to stimulate creative thinking. On top of all that, it features sidebars and essays—most original to the book—from some of the biggest names working in the field today, among them George R. R. Martin, Lev Grossman, Neil Gaiman, Michael Moorcock, Charles Yu, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Karen Joy Fowler. For the fifth anniversary of the original publication, Jeff VanderMeer has added fifty more pages of diagrams, illustrations, and writing exercises, creating the ultimate volume of inspiring advice. “One book that every speculative fiction writer should read to learn about proper worldbuilding.” —Bustle “A treat . . . gorgeous to page through.” —Space.com




The Football Girl


Book Description

For every athlete or sports fanatic who knows she's just as good as the guys. This is for fans of The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, Grace, Gold, and Glory by Gabrielle Douglass and Breakaway: Beyond the Goal by Alex Morgan. The summer before Caleb and Tessa enter high school, friendship has blossomed into a relationship . . . and their playful sports days are coming to an end. Caleb is getting ready to try out for the football team, and Tessa is training for cross-country. But all their structured plans derail in the final flag game when they lose. Tessa doesn’t want to end her career as a loser. She really enjoys playing, and if she’s being honest, she likes it even more than running cross-country. So what if she decided to play football instead? What would happen between her and Caleb? Or between her two best friends, who are counting on her to try out for cross-country with them? And will her parents be upset that she’s decided to take her hobby to the next level? This summer Caleb and Tessa figure out just what it means to be a boyfriend, girlfriend, teammate, best friend, and someone worth cheering for. “A great next choice for readers who have enjoyed Catherine Gilbert Murdock’s Dairy Queen and Miranda Kenneally’s Catching Jordan.”—SLJ “Fast-paced football action, realistic family drama, and sweet romance…[will have] readers looking for girl-powered sports stories…find[ing] plenty to like.”—Booklist “Tessa's ferocious competitiveness is appealing.”—Kirkus Reviews “[The Football Girl] serve[s] to illuminate the appropriately complicated emotions both of a young romance and of pursuing a dream. Heldring writes with insight and restraint.”—The Horn Book