News from Squire's Isle

This is a story I’ve told before, but it’s a good one. And this will hopefully help people who are coming to my blog because of the Storybundle. To which I say…

One morning, I woke up with a segment of a dream still rattling around in my head. All I had was a single “scene”: Two women, one black and one white, covered in mud, blood, dirt, and grime. One was wearing a heavy leather duster. The other was a redhead. They were joined by a man who was looking much more composed than either of the ladies. The three of them stepped into an elevator. As the doors closed, the women looked at each other and started to laugh. The man rolled his eyes, exasperated. Beyond that, I only knew that their names were Trafalgar & Boone.

It was such a strong image that I went to Twitter and sort of off-handedly described it. Three different followers pushed me to do more with the idea, prompting me into making it a steampunk lesbian Indiana Jones analog. Who wouldn’t want to write something like that?! I had other projects on the table at the time so I set it aside, but I kept coming back to it. Eventually I had to start writing, and the world of Trafalgar & Boone unfolded around me. It was a world just emerging from a Great War, which had been fought with magic. It was a London with airships ferrying passengers across the Thames. And it was a world on the brink of something horrible wrought by the overuse and unpracticed use of magic during the war. Strange and powerful things are afoot in the world, and only by two former enemies joining forces can anyone hope to survive.

Since being published, Trafalgar & Boone have been the recipient of several honors from Kirkus Reviews. It was given a rare starred review, named one of their best Indie books of the month, and one of the best indie books of 2015. The covers, by Rita Fei, are so spectacular that I don’t know how I lucked into getting her to do them. I’m trying not to create plots simply to see what she can do for them.

Melissa Scott has been a champion for Trafalgar and Dorothy Boone from the moment they were conceived, and I’m honored she chose to include them in this Storybundle. They’re taking a position among such giants as Jo Graham, Martha Wells, Heather Rose Jones, and Judith Tarr. For less than the price of any individual books, you get FIVE great novels. And if you decide to pay a little extra, you more than double your haul.

With your purchase, you’re not just supporting creators, you can help charity at the same time. You can donate a portion of your payment to Mighty Writers and Girls Write Now. So go! Pretend you’re being selfish in grabbing some great reads and help support young writers at the same time! The Storybundle is only going to be available for a limited time, so get yours now!

FANTASY STORYBUNDLE