Today’s stop is at Medium.com. This is the last stop for the week, with the tour resuming on Monday. This is an interesting site to explore, so look around after you are finished with the post.
The excerpt featured today is a bit further along in the story, as Jo and Alistair begin to explore too. They are feeling their way into the new relationship of maker and minion. And Jo has been tinkering on her own while he’s running errands…
If you haven’t already done so, here’s your chance to read the first chapter of The Marvelous Mechanical Man and see if you like it. This excerpt also features the first snippet of Calico Kate and the River of Gold. That bears a bit of explanation. For those who are new to the series, Josephine Mann is a huge fan of the author Garrett Goldthwaite, whose Dime Novels she practically devours. For the first four books in the series–what I think of as the “New York arc”–each chapter starts with an excerpt from one of these books that has some relevance to the main plot. At least, that was the intent.
I’ve had a lot of readers tell me they just skip over that part, so in Book Five–which started the “Irish arc”–I stopped including them. If, however, you enjoy that part, let me know. I have been toying with the idea of fleshing them out and offering them as companion pieces. The first attempt at this was Practical Polly and the Village of Doom. I had written a dime novel for one of the books and changed my mind about what I wanted to feature, so I had this one left over.
Just a bit of fun information to make your tour stop interesting.
Calico Kate
Dorothy and her team created a new Book Teaser for the book tour. Enjoy!
The first stop on our Virtual Book Tour is, fittingly enough, Pump Up Your Book’s own Virtual Book Club. I love the Oscar Wilde quote on the top of the page…I certainly feel that way. Drop by and leave a comment or question. Is there anything you’d like to know about Jo and Alistair that you don’t yet?
Miss Priss is willing to answer any and all questions…!
I’ve had a tour with Pump Up Your Book! before. It’s a lot of fun and hopefully will draw in some new fans. Repasting the schedule here, because I know I have other things to talk about on the main website in the next few days. 😉
Here’s the schedule:
Monday, May 4
Tuesday, May 5
Wednesday, May 6
Thursday, May 7
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Monday, May 11
Tuesday, May 12
Wednesday, May 13
Thursday, May 14
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Monday, May 18
Tuesday, May 19
Wednesday, May 20
Thursday, May 21
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Monday, May 25
Wednesday, May 27
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Monday, June 1
Tuesday, June 2
Wednesday, June 3
Thursday, June 4
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Monday, June 8
Tuesday, June 9
Wednesday, June 10
Thursday, June 11
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Monday, June 15
Tuesday, June 16
Wednesday, June 17
Thursday, June 18
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Monday, June 22
Tuesday, June 23
Friday, June 26
Drop by and leave a comment on some of the posts. Looking forward to what people think…and what they want explained…lol
Hey, guys and gals, I am going to be the subject of a Virtual Book Tour for The Marvelous Mechanical Man, and the Chronicles in general, from May 4 – June 26. I will have interviews and blog posts all over the web, so check it out! Many thanks to Dorothy Thompson and her staff at Pump Up Your Book!
Here is the schedule:
Monday, May 4
Tuesday, May 5
Wednesday, May 6
Thursday, May 7
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Monday, May 11
Tuesday, May 12
Wednesday, May 13
Thursday, May 14
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Monday, May 18
Tuesday, May 19
Wednesday, May 20
Thursday, May 21
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Monday, May 25
Tuesday, May 26
Friday, May 29
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Monday, June 1
Tuesday, June 2
Wednesday, June 3
Thursday, June 4
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Monday, June 8
Tuesday, June 9
Wednesday, June 10
Thursday, June 11
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Monday, June 15
Tuesday, June 16
Wednesday, June 17
Thursday, June 18
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Monday, June 22
Tuesday, June 23
Friday, June 26
Today I want to share a guest post from author A.F. Stewart promoting her new Horror Collection Visions and Nightmares debuting on the 13th, fittingly enough. I have read this book, and it is fantastic. There is even a special discount for pre-ordering, so check out the link below the post. I highly recommend this collection.
Classic Influences
by A. F. Stewart
I thought I’d chat about some the fantasy influences for the stories in my book Visions and Nightmares. I love crafting fiction from a basis of history, mythology and legends, and this book isn’t any different. While these tales lean into the darker elements of fantasy and horror, they also draw from classic literature, myth and folklore.
Let’s begin with the three stories that draw from literature, specifically from Frankenstein, Alice in Wonderland and the Lovecraft mythos. Obviously from the title, Blood on the Looking Glass (Or Alice Kills Wonderland), I’ve gone to the darkest timeline for this one. I’ve taken the beloved characters and delved into the more psychological consequences of Alice’s adventures, while adding my own little evil twist. Fans of Lewis Carroll’s book may want to avoid reading this particular tale.
Gears of the Undead is a steampunk horror tale that draws on Frankenstein for its mad scientist inspiration with a female doctor bringing the dead back to life. Again I added some twists regarding her motivation, and a little nod to the popular (if not fictionally accurate) notion of Igor with not one but two helpers.
And I return to the world of the Eldritch Gods in When Gods Roar with my Pantheon, who are definitely influenced by the Cthulhu universe. Here the gods are not quite so removed from the world, and may not even be the bad guys. Plus, they have tentacles and I love a good tentacled god.
Two of the stories use mythology as their basis, The Price of Wishes having a Djinn as the main character, and The Cold Dark Heart of the Forest using the Wendigo as its antagonist. It was an interesting change to use North American myth in The Cold Dark Heart of the Forest and there’s even a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo from Mayan myth.
Folklore plays a part in A Life for a Life, where I dig up my Scottish roots a bit and play with the faerie. In this story, though, they’re not the ones up to mischief, more like hired guns…
I hoped you enjoyed this small insight into what goes into crafting my stories and you can read all about the trouble these ladies get into in Visions and Nightmares.
Here is a bit more information about the book:
Title: Visions and Nightmares: Ten Stories of Dark Fantasy and Horror
Author: A. F. Stewart
Genre: Horror Fantasy
Publication Date: March 13th, 2020
Ebook pre-order and Launch Price: $0.99 (ends March 22nd)
Print price: 10.99
Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0854BMQLG
To follow the author, check out these links:
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/afstewartauthor/
Facebook Fan Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/348788975590362/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/scribe77
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afstewartauthor/
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/1175681.A_F_Stewart
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/a-f-stewart
Website: https://afstewart.ca/
Newsletter Signup: http://eepurl.com/OGrTT
I am not very good at blogging…or self-promotion for that matter. It’s on my To-Do list to get better at it.
But I haven’t been totally neglecting the Chronicles. As a matter of fact, this year’s NaNoWriMo project will hopefully kick off a new series set in the same universe. All your favorite secondary characters are there, seen through a new lens as Fred and Kevin Reilly take the spotlight and work to solve a mystery for Aunt Emily.
I have to admit, it was a lot of fun to write, and so far, the beta responses have been promising. I learned a lot about the characters in my world that Jo never bothered to tell me. 😉
Looking at things from the perspective of a different viewpoint was extremely enlightening. Now, I am not saying the Jo’s stories are done–I have at least a half dozen more in my head…–but this venture will complement and add to the world, expanding on characters and relationships I had never realized existed. Do your characters ever spring things on you like that, writing buddies?
So, look for The Fred Files: The Case of the Counterfeit Confederate coming soonish…(title subject to change…)
Time flies when you aren’t really doing anything constructive…but that’s over now. I am gearing up for NaNoWriMo and Book Six of the Chronicles, The Grieving Groom’s Gambit. Things are not all as they seem when Jo and Alistair go to stay with Logan Shaw as the two colleagues consult on their respective automation techniques. And Jo is soon head over heels in the middle of the mayhem.
It should prove a rollicking time for all if we can get it all on paper, as it were. Stay tuned for details!
My website is currently a lot of broken links and empty pages since I moved it completely on to WordPress from its last home. It will be something I work on actively in the upcoming months, so do check back occasionally. 🙂
Rie Sheridan Rose 