Guest Post and Giveaway!

Hop over to Shannon Vannater's blog, for a fun interview where we talk secrets, catastrophe, and Mice King battles.

And don't forget to enter the GoodReads giveaway below for a chance to win a signed copy of The Tremblers!

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, Nikola Tesla—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.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

     

The Tremblers

by Raquel Byrnes

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

Enter Giveaway

Space Trash - Interview & Giveaway

Stop by J.C. Steel's blog, Space Trash, for a fun interview on his Galaxy of Authors series!where we talk secrets, catastrophe, and Mice King battles.

And don't forget to enter the GoodReads giveaway below for a chance to win a signed copy of The Tremblers!

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, Nikola Tesla—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.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Tremblers

by Raquel Byrnes

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

Enter Giveaway

Radio Retrofuture Interview!

Come hang out with me over at Radio Retrofuture where we talk secret societies, global catastrophe, and air ship battles.

Don't forget to check out my Steampunk Thriller while its on pre-order sale...

The Tremblers on Amazon

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, Nikola Tesla—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.

As Cmdr. Taggart Says...

I'm in the home stretch now. I can see the final chapters so clearly that I can almost taste them. Okay, I may need to work on my imagery here, but you get the point. The last book in my YA Steampunk series is coming to a close...EVER SO SLOWLY!

Its taken a lot to get here. Many tangents that had to be back-tracked. Too many wrong turns to retrace. Closing out a series is difficult. This I knew, but...this last book is such a struggle for some reason.

Perhaps it is because I pre-wrote the synopses for all three books via the publisher's request and so had a hard time just following the characters as they fleshed out.

Maybe my vision changed the deeper I delved into the story so the pre-imagined story line didn't fit anymore?

I am not sure.  I do know that I will not flesh out an entire series so tightly again. I loved knowing where I was going and maybe wrote some scenes ahead of time. That was helpful. I am a die-hard plotter after all. I live for charts and outlines and note cards.

But I also like the freedom of free writing and creative journeys so I need to find a balance there.  It is funny, this realization, that I might do well with some looser parameters and room to play because my critique partner, who is a dyed-in-the-wool pantser, just went to a conference workshop on plotting and is finally starting to embrace that in her process. The timing is cosmic sarcasm...I'm sure of it.

So as I head towards the climax of the story and the series, I will have to find the will to continue to grapple with this story that I have both loved and hated in turns over the past two years.  It is my favorite creation and the most painful to date to produce.

But as my Galaxy Quest Captain would exhort..."Never Give Up! Never Surrender!"

Look for The Tremblers, Book 1 in The Blackburn Chronicles out this fall.

+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!

6 Things We Love About Steampunk

There’s something about the glint of brass in the light of a filament bulb or maybe the ghostly miasma of steam in the glow of gas lamps that sets our imagination thrumming. Tinkerers and air ships , mechanica and magic, the world of alternative history is rife with danger, mystery, and adventure. It all began for me with THE TREMBLERS, a book set in a post catastrophic north america where technology rules and terrifying monsters lurk in the shadows of the floating city. Take a peek at our favorite things about the age of steam!

1. Strange Devices

Steampunk technology pushes the limits of what is possible in both weaponry and humans. From gear work guns that surge with power to mechanical appendages and sensory enhancing mechanica...this realm is all about the tech.

2. Air Ships

Nothing like an air ship battle miles above the scorched earth to get your pulse pounding. Cannons blazing, impossible maneuvers, and the strength of will to remain airborne -- dirigibles rule the skies!

3. Swoon-worthy Heroes

Gentlemen spies, wild west lawmen, and dangerous sky marauders all exist in within this speculative fiction realm. Ashton Wells, a spy for The Order of the Sword and Scroll in THE TREMBLERS fits the bill of ruthless, noble, and heartbreakingly handsome.

4. Mechanica

Automatons, mech men, gear work guards-- Of all the fantastic ways steampunk joins engineering and imagination the most endearing and terrifying of creations is all up to the Tinkerer who made them.

5. Mystery and Wonder

Whether its the magic of alchemy, technology capable of power beyond imagining, or the ability to harness the mystery of the aether, the world of alternate history has every kind of wondrous workings you could hope for.

6. One Of A Kind Villains

Mad men bent on mechanical armies, debonair killers wielding the power of nature, scientists on the cusp of a terrifying discovery that will change mankind...These are the men and women of mayhem in the steampunk universe.

Willing to leap into a realm of danger and intrigue? Check out some of the incredible offerings on GOODREADS and be on the lookout for my upcoming release, THE TREMBLERS coming soon!