A World Gone Mad - Super Territories

In my steampunk series, The Blackburn Chronicles, a disaster fractures all of America, sends California into the ocean, and blocks off the north leaving the country in a shambles.

Powerful governors of the remaining states merged under giant electric Tesla Domes to create super territories. As a result, American rose from the quakes as The Peaceful Union, which was anything but peaceful.

Ruthless governors, created a new government. One with no central seat of power to avoid losing the President as they had in the Great Calamity. Each dome is like a separate country unto itself with its own specialty. Giant agri-factories grow what few kinds of vegetation that are left.

Some city-states control the coal factories that fuel the massive steam engines running the domes. Others house cities repaired with metal façades which house the precious remnants of culture, music, and art. The frozen territories of the north keep terrible secrets locked behind icy fortress walls.

All of this was so fun to imagine, but challenging to get across to readers. However, a wonderful artist sent me this map of the Thirteen City-States of the Peaceful Union bringing The Tremblers that much more to life for me.

If you're interested in finding out more, take a look at the free novellas which offer a peek at the dangerous world of The Blackburn Chronicles.

I'm Hosting an #AMA!

If you aren't familiar with an AMA then you are in for a treat! Ask Me Anything or AMA's are freeform interviews where you can ask the questions you want answered. They're fun and social and you really get to interact.

Tomorrow I'm excited to be over at AMAFeed to do an  #AuthorAMA where we chat about the craft of writing and how to capture what moves people. Let's discuss the pitfalls and pleasures of the author's life and how to stay motivated to finish that first draft.

I will be answering questions on May 8th at 4pm EST but you can enter your questions ahead of time here.

Come hang out and ask me, well...anything!

Fire and Terrible Beauty - Trembler Weather Pt.1

Elena Pleskevich

We don't have weather where I live. The southern California desert where I make my home and write my books has two modes. Hot and much hotter. That's it. I tell you this to explain my fascination with weather and natural phenomenon that is unusual. I try to incorporate the things of this world that I find strange and lovely in my writing.

When I was creating my Gothic mysteries, I used the soggy, gray weather of Noble Island to create isolation, even danger. The storms became antagonists unto themselves and it was great fun.

Now for my new steampunk series, the Blackburn Chronicles, I was able to truly play with all that mother nature had to offer. First with the calamitous quakes that fractured an entire nation to the terrible beauty of ignited gas seams that burn in brilliant colors. They light up the night and sand skimming craft use them to navigate the dark wasteland much like sailors avoided shores with the real thing.

Mount Chimaera, located in Olympos National Park in Turkey, is a flame that has burned for almost 2,000 years. Methane seeps through the vents in the rocks. It is quite stunning and a popular attraction. There are actually quite a few natural  'eternal flames' around the world. Here is a list of just a few of them.

I based the constantly burning seams of the Tremblers wasteland on these eternal fires. Beautiful, unpredictable, and deadly these flames from the center of a fractured world evokes a sense of ominous fascination for me. It was the perfect backdrop for an epic race against time and overwhelming forces.

To find out more about The Tremblers and Charlotte's battle to survive this chaotic world, check out my author page.

Next up...Blackened Skies and Ash

Paradise Girl

Today is a guest post by Phil Featherstone to celebrate the release of his novel.

Readers often ask me where I got the idea for my novel Paradise Girl. The answer is, it came from a bug. Or, to be more precise, a virus.

Nobody knows how many viruses exist, but scientists agree that they outnumber all other living things put together (actually there’s some debate about whether viruses can actually be considered alive, but for now we’ll assume they can). Only a tiny number of them affect humans, and most of those that do are easily dealt with by the body’s immune system. However, there are a few that the immune system can’t cope with, and these can cause serious illness and, in extreme cases, death. An example is ebola, which is spread through the transfer of body fluids. It’s also transmitted by fruit bats, which can carry the virus without being affected by it.

A few years ago a volcano in Iceland erupted, throwing smoke and ash several kilometres into the sky. A result of this was the grounding of commercial aircraft for several days. I live in a remote farmhouse high on the Pennine hills in the north of England. Usually the only signs of human life outside my home are the vapour trails of planes as they approach or depart from Manchester, or travers the country to and from other places. At the time of the Icelandic eruption, they stopped. The skies were empty, a beautiful, clear blue. For that short time I could have been the only person alive. This started me thinking: suppose that really was the case, where might everyone else have gone? What might have happened to them? Destroyed by radiation? Abducted by aliens? Wiped out by a plague? Ebola was in the news at the time, and so the latter seemed the most likely.

I began to work on the idea. Somebody in such a situation would be subject to unbearable pressures. They would be desperately lonely and terribly afraid, alternating between relief at surviving and the daunting prospect of a future without hope. It would add poignancy if the central character was young, maybe still in their teens with their life before them. Think about an almost endless series of days stretching ahead, with nothing to relieve them or distinguish between them. What dark places might a mind go when faced with that? What terrible dreams might occur?

They would try to cope by writing a diary, which would describe what they saw, heard and thought, and through which they could reflect on their predicament. It seemed to me that this would work best if such a character was female. Kerryl Shaw introduced herself, and I began to write her story. You can read it in Paradise Girl.

Find the Paradise Girl here: https://amzn.to/2ETah9P

https://amzn.to/2ETah9P

The Tremblers Is On Sale...

I am so excited to announce that tomorrow The Tremblers

will be on sale for 99 Cents! 

 From breathless moments with her wayward spy, Ashton, to facing her darkest fear amid the caverns of a fractured world, Charlotte Blackburn's story is EPIC...

Charlotte Blackburn—Beautiful, intelligent, a gifted tinkerer—lives in a cloistered world of wealth and privilege beneath the Electric Tesla Dome that shields survivors of The Great Calamity. But when her father is abducted, and a strange sickness starts transforming men into vicious monsters, she discovers that technology is no protection at all.

Ashton Wells has a dire mission: Secure Colonel Blackburn and deliver his research to The Order of the Sword and Scroll. But the plan goes awry, and he is left with nothing but the colonel's daughter who has a target on her back and is willing stop at nothing to rescue her father—including handing over to the enemy the only means to stop the monstrous plague.

Branded as traitors, Ashton and Charlotte brave the treacherous floating sky ports of Outer City to hunt down the elusive inventor who is the only person able to activate the strange device that harbors the secret to their salvation.

With the government closing in, a rebellion brewing in the streets, and terrifying Tremblers attacking the innocent, the two must work together to stop their fragile world from crumbling once more into destruction.

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Don't forget to check out the exciting sequel to Charlotte's thrilling fight to save the Peaceful Union in...

The Wind Reapers

Available February 9th!

Charlotte Blackburn—Hero, hunted, the unwitting symbol of a dark rebellion—she thwarted the deadly intent of the treacherous Order of the Sword and Scroll, but at a shattering cost. Now, she fights to survive among a tribe of fierce Wind Reapers who troll the wasteland aboard massive metal walkers. But a new storm is brewing and Charlotte is once again the linchpin in a deadly plan...

Romance on the Run + a Giveaway!

As an author, I often find myself scouting for book locations while on vacation in real life. A trip to visit my brother in Seattle sparked one of my first romantic suspense novels. I think it was the stormy sky and all that flannel that opened up the idea of a city being part of the emotional journey for the main character. The scent, the light, the hum of a place that isn't your home can really be exciting and just the thing to spark some romance.

An old abandoned building with its shifting shadows could make for an intriguing meeting place. Perhaps the cute cabin on our family hike would be ideal for my sweet proposal scene. The zoo was fun. I am well prepared for a lion escape.

Locations can be a major force in storytelling. From windswept cliffs and creepy mansions in a Gothic romance to the sunlit hills that soothe the soul of a returning heartbreaker. I'm always on the lookout for unique places to spark that romance.

My husband is good at this. He'll point out an especially strange buildings or unsettling dark alleys and ask me what I would do to cause havoc there. He knows me so well. Often my stories of romance come at an edge-of-your-seat pace. And maybe a few explosions.

For my upcoming series, I faced a new challenge with regard to location.  My steampunk romance, The Tremblers, is set in alternative history. Victorian America after a calamitous event that nearly leveled the country. So the set pieces of my romance needed to be both beautiful and haunting. There had to be echoes of what was lost and a hope for what was to come. A lot like the relationship between my hero and heroine.

The most romantic places in The Tremblers are also the most dangerous. Outer City, the boomtown in the clouds boasts romantic vistas of the entire fragile land. The sky boardwalk and floating markets with blimps and dirigibles in bright colors is a sight to see while sipping from a glass with your swashbuckling sweetheart.

I know that the massive electric Tesla domes protecting the cities sparkle purple at dusk against a pink sky....but I would love to cuddle with my husband and see it for real. However, I think it is the stark beauty of the wasteland desert where multicolored flames lick against a crimson horizon that is the most romantic place.

Whether you are on your own front lawn or sailing on an aero ship, one can find romance in unexpected places.

Article originally appeared as a guest post on InkSlinger Blog

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I'm having a giveaway to celebrate the release of The Tremblers!

Only two more days to enter...

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Tremblers

by Raquel Byrnes

Giveaway ends January 31, 2018.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Last Chance to Win!

To celebrate the release of my upcoming steampunk thriller, I am giving away 4 copies of my Gothic mystery, Secrets at Crescent Point! Enter to win HERE.

But you better hurry...the contest ends at midnight on 1/18/18

---

And if you love epic tales of strong heroines, dark heroes, and strange devices then check out The Tremblers, a steampunk thriller releasing tomorrow! 

Charlotte Blackburn—Beautiful, intelligent, a gifted tinkerer—lives in a cloistered world of wealth and privilege beneath the Electric Tesla Dome that shields survivors of The Great Calamity. But when her father is abducted, and a strange sickness starts transforming men into vicious monsters, she discovers that technology is no protection at all.

Ashton Wells has a dire mission: Secure Colonel Blackburn and deliver his research to The Order of the Sword and Scroll. But the plan goes awry, and he is left with nothing but the colonel's daughter who has a target on her back and is willing stop at nothing to rescue her father—including handing over to the enemy the only means to stop the monstrous plague.

Branded as traitors, Ashton and Charlotte brave the treacherous floating sky ports of Outer City to hunt down the elusive inventor who is the only person able to activate the strange device that harbors the secret to their salvation.

With the government closing in, a rebellion brewing in the streets, and terrifying Tremblers attacking the innocent, the two must work together to stop their fragile world from crumbling once more into destruction.

Book Blitz, 8 Days on Planet Earth

Happy SpoOKTOBER!

I am a total child when it comes to October. I love it. Like...LOVE it. You see, its the month with no pressure.  No big holiday meals to prepare or houses to clean for guests.  In fact all the guests stay right outside my door...so, so nice.  

It is time when color combinations like orange and purple are not only acceptable, but encouraged.  I love bats and creepy "crystal" goblets and frothy black lace sleeves.  It is the month that brings joy to the Goth girl still hiding inside my head.

I totally ROCKED one of these!

I think is has to do with imagination. October is the month where whimsical and terrible play together. Pretty, pretty princess dresses hang next to the tattered shreds of a mummy suit. And the candy...THE CANDY!  

I love the creativity that comes out during this time of the year. I remember making costumes that were necessarily 'punny' because we could not afford real costumes.  So I was the "Freudian Slip"...aka the girl in the body suit and white dress slip with "Freud" cut out of construction paper.  It think I saw that in a movie and thought it was the height of sophistication...costume wise, anyway. 

ALAS, the night was misty and the black cut-out letters shriveled into dark clumps and people asked me if I was a girl snowman...?  Whatever, people. It was glorious in my living room.

All the good things are in October...

I was the "cactus" which was really a green sweat suit with glued on sponge wedges.  

It was awesome, I tell you.  AWESOME!

The one year I did buy a costume...I chose a bizarre inflatable, hat-like, goblin head. Why? Because it came with BOTH a cape AND face paint!  Whaaaa?!  I was in heaven.

October to me still means creativity and freedom from the expected. This time, however, I don't plan costumes. I plan books.  It is the month leading into NaNoWriMo. 

So I do all my outlining, planning, and preliminary research this month.  Last year it was for my final book in the Blackburn Chronicles...so lots of cogs and gears...zombie flesh...and pretty, pretty dresses that happen to have hidden weapons.  I AM still a girl, after all.

This month, I am planning my next book...a creepy fantasy with monsters and daggers and...pretty, pretty magic cloaks!  Wish me luck!

What is your favorite part of the year? Is it the pastel springtime?  The balmy summer?  What about the crisp winter?   What about them makes you smile?

Until next time...

Time in Pages

I've been asked to write a few novellas to accompany the release of my YA Steampunk series next year.

They can be any character or event in the series. So...yay! Between 2500-5000 words long.  Whoa...what?! 

At first I was concerned at the time frame. I have until summer, but they want a few and thats a tight timeline for all the different ones I have in mind. 

Then I started writing...OMG this is hard!  I don't have enough time/pages to do what I want with the little vignettes and backstory.

There's so much more to the characters and the world. I know, I spent years creating and fine tuning them both. 

BUT...I can DO this...right? *sigh*

So the average novella is 20 pages which is around 5,000 words. Thats a lot, right? I handwrote out a story beginning. I thought I was being brief but I'm at page 11 already so I have to slash, slash, slash!

I guess it feels like time measured out in pages is a bit constraining. I have to cut out extraneous things like too much setting description, etc. And that's sort of difficult if your world is a steampunk post apocalyptic version of New York...like we're talking major world building needed here.

I'm hoping it works out.  I have in mind 5-8 novellas so hopefully I will get the process down pretty soon. 

Never realized how challenging this would be. Hats off to the other authors out there whose free novellas I gobbled up and loved...you guys rock!

+Raquel Byrnes 

IWSG, Reading Changed Me

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG

This month's Insecure Writers Support Group topic is:

How has being a writer changed your experience as a reader?

The truth is...A LOT

I was always a voracious reader. I was the kid in school reading as she walked to class, totally oblivious of people saying hello or...to my utter dismay, opening doors. I chewed through tomes in just a couple of days always on the prowl for a new series to swoon over. Often quoting characters and expecting others to understand my nerdy references. Yeah...that kid.

Now I am an adult version of that kid. I still read like its going out of style. I still tend to get lost in a book even in a crowded room.

BUT...reading took a little of an unexpected turn for me. It became a learning experience on how to write. 

As an author, I can appreciate what an author is doing in terms of technique. When I read, I notice things like dialogue, world-building, character development, story arc...and I learn a ton from each author.

Reading helps me identify what works and what doesn't. What I like and why I like it.  And hopefully, improve my own writing.

I figure the more I take in great writing...better writing...than my own...the more I learn.

Because of this, my choices in books has changed to reflect my taste for higher quality products. The YA genre in particular is pumping out some amazing series...I am truly excited as a reader and fan!

So now, happily, I have an actual professional reason for my book hoarding! Yay me!

Please take a look at some of the other insightful posts by the Insecure Writers Support Group...you never know where inspiration might strike.

+Raquel Byrnes

Exhibition of Wonders

So for my Steampunk series I have absolutely LOVED doing research for these books. There is something so fun about world building when you're doing Alternative History because you get to delve into a sea of 'what ifs' and that is my FAVORITE.

Photo by Myrabella

This week I have been learning all about diving bells and anthropomorphic diving suits of the Victorian era for my third book, The Chasm Walkers, which has submersible vessels.

I am so shocked by what was already possible that long ago. This guy is from 1882. Does that not inspire! I mean...it could also be a space suit. Those face windows though!

Building upon the fevered dreams of those intrepid inventors was both an honor and a challenge.  How far can you push the boundaries, even in fiction, and still remain believable? The suspension of disbelief is an essential and truly delicate thing.

One of my favorite inspirational pieces was the Strandbeest by Theo Jansen. This innovative apparatus was just a wellspring for ideas for mobility out in the Wastelands in my second book, the Wind Reapers.

These strange contraptions propel themselves...so cool!

And although #steampunk can be filled with mystic and magic. I chose to ground my series in science. So when researching chemical cascades to create my Tremblers, I had to have monsters I could believe existed.

It seems like in the age of industry, nothing seemed impossible for a piece of properly designed machinery. Calculating engines, harvesting machines, scientific apparatus...all of it conceived in wonder.

LOVE IT. Its what gets me up in the morning.

After this series, I am debating on working on a Gothic Thriller. I love the spooky and the strange. Its sort of who I am. I remember once finding the prettiest music box ringtone for my phone. When it went off, my daughter said it was from a horror movie about ghosts.  I had no idea. It just appealed to me and sounded cool.

I wrote some Gothic Romances before...they were set in haunted carnivals and decrepit mansions. I LOVED writing them. So I may give it another go.  As I have been told before, "You do you, Boo."

I believe I will, thank you very much. I shall let my inner eccentricities out to play. Mwahaha!

What do you love most about what you do? Is it the people. The places? What draws you in, keeps you interested, and motivates you even when things get hard?

To learn more about my upcoming YA Steampunk Thrillers, check out The Tremblers or visit my Author Site.

+Raquel Byrnes 

How To Get Your Heart Broken

How to Get Your Heart Broken by Rose Fall 

Release Date: March 21st 2016 

Genre: YA Contemporary 

A self-proclaimed cynic, Eli is unsurprised by her boyfriend’s betrayal. Yet, its impact goes beyond what she realizes; a cruel bet, an array of secrets, and a thousand lessons not yet learned teach her how to trust again as an unlikely boy shows her a kind of love she never knew existed. After Eli finds her boyfriend cheating on her, she seeks an escape. She heads to the beach to spend the summer before college with her two best friends. When Eli is unable to move past the betrayal, the girls devise a distraction; a bet about their handsome neighbor. Yet their thoughtless competition goes too far and their friendships are tested as they began to wonder how much they really know about each other and themselves. In the chaos, they manage to learn the truth about love, self-acceptance, and the journey back from rock bottom. 

Add to Goodreads 

Buy Links: Amazon│Paperback

Spotify Playlist

 About the Author 

Rose Fall was born in New York City to Senegalese immigrant parents. She is currently studying Communication and Global Studies at UNC Chapel Hill. Her debut novel "How to Get Your Heart Broken" is set to be released Spring 2016. You can find her at her blog on rosesarecool.wordpress.com 

Author Links: Website│Goodreads│Twitter 

GIVEAWAY: a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Blog Tour Organized by: YA Bound Book Tours

#NaNo Blah Blah Blah

NaNoWriMo or bust!  That was my mantra all of October. I plotted...I outlined...I scribbled on my little note cards like a pro.

It started off so well. I was on fire. I was going to crush it. What really happened was I realized I was not as prepared as I thought. Actually, I was completely prepared to write a book that no longer went in the direction of what I was writing. Gaaah!

Though my story was going at good clip and #NaNoWriMo had totally jump started me out of my slump, I was quickly going off of my carefully constructed rails. Normally this is not a big deal. I can totally be a Pantser like the best of them.

The problem was that this was book three in a series...and it really needed not to suck. Like, seriously. Which led to an epiphany of sorts. I devised a solid plan for dealing with the situation...

I had to decided if I should soldier on and take the advice of my friends to keep writing and 'see what happens' or give in to my inner control freak and stop. I decided to stop. I know...I KNOW...that is totally against the spirit of #NaNoWriMo. You shelf your inner editor and just go with the flow, right?

Well I am a rebel, I guess. I didn't write for a few days and worked on my synopsis. I wrote a fourth...yes a 4th draft of the synopsis for book three. And you know what? I am so happy that I did. I may not win my t-shirt, which thank goodness I procrastinated on ordering, but I will 'win' this book challenge. 

Now I am back at a steady pace. I am no longer having nightmares about reams of paper that need to be pared back and edited. My Type A twitches have ceased.  Hallelujah! 

Anyway, that is an update on me.  Hope you all found your way, whatever that is, during this crazy adventure called, National Novel Writing Month.

Blessings and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
+Raquel Byrnes 

A NaNoWriMo Cure?

So I had a really rough year so far. My mother-in-law- passed away and then my own mother not three weeks later. With my husband and children reeling it was all I could do to keep our home functioning at a reasonably normal level...and that was ALL I could do.

I managed to get my second novel in to the publisher in by the deadline, but only just. It was LITERALLY the actual deadline date.  That is so unusual for my Type-A self and let me tell you, it was a miracle.

But something happened to me. I don't know if it was the stress or sorrow or the way I just stuffed everything down to get through the days...whatever it was that I did to survive until now...it sort of fritzed me out.

So I am floundering. I have an outline that I've really, really, REALLY, fought to get done. I have an encouraging spouse and critique partner rooting for me. 

I have the scenes in my head. I CAN SEE THEM. 

Feel them. Hear them. I can practically TASTE them!

And yet I sit at my laptop and wrestle through doubt and critical thoughts and insecurity. I write and delete and repeat.  I am getting nowhere.

Then my NaNoWriMo buddies started emailing. I started to get pumped. I started to feel excited and engaged and even...ambitious again.

So I am going to do NaNo this year with a vengeance. I usually join for the kids in my writing class and spend most of my time on forums and encouraging others. This time I am doing NaNo for me.

I am committing to me time. To my story.  To the idea that digging in and believing in myself will bust me out of this funk.  

If you all are doing NaNo add me as a writing buddy. We can do this crazy thing together.

+Raquel Byrnes 

7 Ladies Who Became Unexpected Legends

You know those people that hide in the background of parties or classrooms or life? The quiet ones that out of nowhere end up being a total hellion right when its needed? For me, it began with THE TREMBLERS heroine Charlotte. The path to stop a terrible disaster takes her from quiet debutante to treasonous rebel and for her, there’s no turning back - and she’s just getting started. Here are 6 ladies that stepped up when in mattered most!

1. Hermione from Harry Potter

By the end of the series she was known as The Witch of Her Age, but we knew her back when she was an awkward, frizzy-haired, bookworm. Here’s to brains over brawn!

2. Agent Carter from Captain America

When she first walked into our lives, Peggy Carter was all victory rolls, red nails, and impeccable uniform. Yet when it came down to it, she could certainly hold her own.

3. Charlotte Blackburn from The Tremblers

When those your world falls apart and you lose the ones you love, you get to the point where you have to embrace the monsters inside yourself to survive. Charlotte tears a swath of destruction throughout the Peaceful Union but we ABSOLUTELY get why. You cant help hoping she survives the TREMBLERS and makes it out of it alive...she totally deserves it at this point.

4. Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones

Daenerys moved from girl sold into marriage to Mother of Dragons intent on claiming her rightful place on the Iron Throne. Beautiful, smart, and strong. We can’t help but cheer her on.

5. Arwen from The Lord of The Rings

She first galloped into our hearts as she rode ahead of the Black Riders with Frodo in tow. Who can forget her bravery and poise in the face of those terrible beasts? “If you want him, come and claim him.” What nerves of steel.

6. Buffy Summers

No self respecting list of legendary ladies is complete without Sunnydale’s own Buffy Summers. Cheerleader to vampire slayer, this heroine doesn’t run and hide.

Fired up to cheer for the next unexpected legend? Check out this GOODREADS list of Books with Fabulous Female Leads and be on the lookout for my upcoming YA Steampunk, THE TREMBLERS coming soon!