Brey Willows

And I love a challenge. Or I used to, anyway. Steampunk is a very cool, very interesting genre, and I thought I’d challenge myself to write something I’ve never done before.

Cue head banging against the desk, months of procrastination, and research rabbit holes about things like Victorian underwear and whether or not they had diving gear…

It was tough. I haven’t had that much trouble writing a book in…well, ever. Between the adventure aspects, which it turns out you need to actually plan, and the literal aspects of Victorian England, combined with a non-existent knowledge of machinery, I was overwhelmed and constantly confused. While that’s normal in my daily life, it has never been a part of my writing life.

That said…I actually think it’s a pretty damn good book. I love both characters, I love the direction it sometimes took without me watching, and I think, I hope, the adventure part is exciting and fun. The whole of it has come together in a way that made the whole process worth it.

What is steampunk?

I’ve had several people ask me this, and I didn’t have a great answer. Here is a general definition:

• a style of design and fashion that combines historical elements with anachronistic technological features inspired by science fiction.
• a genre of science fiction that has a historical setting and typically features steam-powered machinery rather than advanced technology.
• Gaslight Romance: “steampunk stories … most commonly set in a romanticised, smoky, 19th-century London

Basically, think Victorian England: corsets, smoke, horse drawn carriages and the beginning of steam powered cars and trains. Then add some elements that didn’t exist: technology that worked via steam and gears to create something special, like air ships that flew through the sky using inflated bladders, gears, and sails to catch the wind. Keep the swords and simple guns, but rough them up a little. And then add some romance, some fantasy, some adventure, and you’ve got steampunk.

Even if you’ve never read one, I hope you’ll give this one a try.

“Two captains, one ancient relic—and a destiny written in the clouds.”

Captain Tempest Strud has two rules: trust no one, and never let her guard down. But when a high-stakes mission goes wrong, she finds herself forced to turn to the most unlikely ally—a pirate from the feared Devil’s Urchin, with a reputation as fierce as her smile is dangerous.

Captain Alex Minty has spent her life bending rules and taking what she wants, and when she spots the Chimera with its mysterious captain, she’s captivated. The raid doesn’t go as planned, and she ends up imprisoned aboard the very ship she’d set out to rob—now at the mercy of the intriguing and sharp-witted Captain Strud.

Temp offers her a choice: help her retrieve an ancient artifact with the power to change the world, or face the noose for piracy. It’s a dangerous game of alliances and deception, and as they set sail together on a quest that could claim their lives, both captains find themselves unexpectedly drawn to each other’s secrets—and to each other’s arms.

But in the skies, love can be as treacherous as any storm, and when desire mingles with danger, they’ll have to decide if they can risk their lives—and their hearts—for a future as uncertain as the skies they fly.

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