Final Flight: A Clockwork Dagger Story is out now!
Final Flight is out! This is the last (for now) of my Clockwork Dagger stories.
Another breathtaking short story from the author of The Clockwork Dagger and The Clockwork Crown, set in the same world…
Captain Hue hoped he was rid of his troubles once Octavia Leander and Alonzo Garrett disembarked from his airship Argus. But he was quickly proved wrong when his ship was commandeered by Caskentian soldiers. He is ordered on a covert and deadly mission by the smarmy Julius Corrado, an elite Clockwork Dagger.
Now Captain Hue must start a mutiny to regain control of his airship, which means putting his entire crew at risk—including his teenage son Sheridan. As the weather worsens and time runs out, it’ll take incredible bravery to bring the Argus down… perhaps for good.
Final Flight story
An excerpt of the very beginning of the story:
I stood at the rudder wheel of my airship Argus, in command of a ship I did not truly control. We flew north, destination unknown. A soldier stood several feet behind me. His pistols remained holstered—he wasn’t daft enough or desperate enough to fire a weapon in the control cabin of an operating airship—but he had already proven adept with his fists. My co-pilot, Ramsay, was currently getting patched up, as the sarcastic commentary he had offered was not kindly received.
Throughout the cabin, tension prickled beneath the surface like an invisible rash we couldn’t scratch. Everyone stood or sat rigid at their posts, gazes flickering between their gauges, the windows, and the soldiers in our midst. These were soldiers of our own kingdom of Caskentia, in green uniforms as vibrant as the sprawling valley below. They had occupied the Argus since that morning.
This was the second time in as many weeks that my airship had been commandeered. The previous time, rebellious settlers from the Waste had claimed it by force. I rather preferred them. Wasters made for an easy enemy after fifty years of intermittent warfare. This occupation by our own government was ugly in a different way.
My fists gripped the wheel as if I could leave impressions in the slick copper. The futility of our situation infuriated me. I couldn’t stop the Wasters before. And now I couldn’t stop this, whatever this mysterious errand was.
My son, Sheridan, was on board somewhere. I needed him to be safe, not snared in any more political drama. The Wasters had used him as a hostage to force my hand; I didn’t want these soldiers to do the same.
“Captain Hue, sir.” My co-pilot saluted as he entered the control cabin. I assessed him in a glance. Bandages plugged his swollen nose. Blood still thickened his thin brown moustache.
“You are well enough to resume your duties?” I asked.
“Yes, sir. I’ve felt worse after a night of leave.”
Ramsay knew his job; if only he could control his fool lips. I stepped back to grant him control of the rudder and leaned by his ear. “Corrado said this would be over in days. Bear through.”
I saw my own frustration mirrored in his eyes, and in the other crew as I walked from station to station. I muttered what assurance I could and exited the control cabin. I needed to find my boy.
Like the start of the story? Read the whole thing for just 99-cents–and that includes the first chapter of Breath of Earth!
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Read MoreSunday Quote says things never change
Read More“Times are bad. Children don’t listen to their parents and everyone is writing a book.”
~ attributed to Cicero, 106-43 BC
New Stories, Poems, and Posts
Theme of the week: novel edits. Not big scale revisions, but the more nefarious, subtle kind. The sort that requires you to squint at a single paragraph for 30 minutes to get the nuance just right.
That’s why I decided to give my brain a break and work on my website instead. That’s called “productive procrastination.”
These works have been added to my Bibliography as well.
Stories:
– “Bear-bear Speaks” in Daily Science Fiction
– “A Dance to End Our Final Day,” an very personal old favorite of mine, reprinted in EGM Shorts
– Letter S in the brand new C is for Chimera (Alphabet Anthologies Book 1)
– in the realm of nonfiction, Chicken Soup for the Soul republished online my story “Long Distance Love,” about how I met my husband
Poetry:
– “Fried Okra” reprinted in the 2016 Rhysling Anthology (and wow, is this a great anthology)
– “Dragon, Bound in Stone” in Star*Line 39.2
Guest Blog:
– “The Importance of Slides: About Beth Cato’s Story in C is for Chimera at Rhonda Parrish’s site
Interview:
– “The Importance of Slides: Beth Cato’s Story in C is for Chimera at Rhonda Parrish’s site
Mentions in other media:
– included in 10 Arizona Sci-Fi and Fantasy – Authors You Should Know — Besides Diana Gabaldon and Stephenie Meyer in Phoenix New Times
– quoted in What They Said: The 2016 LA Times Festival of Books at Book Yurt
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Read MoreBready or Not: Homemade Tortilla Chips
When you make tacos, do you ever use up all of the tortillas? I sure don’t. There always end up being half a pack wallowing in the fridge. They come in handy for quick-fix quesadillas, but here’s another quick-fix for those leftovers: homemade tortilla chips!
I think corn tortillas are the best way to go here, but feel free to try this with flour. I just think they’d get too hard. I like corn because there’s more chewiness. Also, this can totally be gluten-free, if you need that kinda thing.
Choose how you wish to equip your chips. I went with ranch mix. If you use a packet, you won’t need that much out of it. You could likewise use taco seasoning, sea salt and pepper, cayenne, whatever. Heck, make this dessert with cinnamon and sugar and dip up some ice cream!
The technique is simple. Slice up your tortillas. A pizza cutter makes this easy. Brush oil on both sides of the wedges. Season. Bake a short time.
Do keep a close eye on the oven so you don’t overbake these! That would be a tragedy.
The batch shown here, I baked for 15 minutes. The resulting chips were crisp yet still somewhat chewy and fresh. Find your sweet spot for the texture you want.
Modified from DIY Ranch Tortilla Chips at Make the Best of Everything. Originally posted at the Holy Taco Church.
Bready or Not: Homemade Tortilla Chips
Ingredients
- corn tortillas
- oil olive oil, avocado oil, canola, etc
- ranch dressing mix or other seasoning like taco mix, Italian, etc
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Prep a large baking sheet with silicone mats or parchment paper. You can likely only fit 5 or 6 tortilla's worth of chips on a sheet.
- Use a pizza cutter to slice your chips to desired size; they will shrink some as they bake. Brush a small amount of oil onto both sides of the wedges. Season them as much as you want; it's probably not necessary to do both sides. Use your fingers to smooth out any clumps.
- Bake chips for 12 minutes then monitor them closely for desired crispness. Stay close to the oven--these are thin, remember, so they can quickly overcook!
- Eat promptly or store chips in a sealed container.
- OM NOM NOM!
Release of The World Weavers: A Desert Rising Novel by Kelley Grant
I’m happy to spread the word that one of my fellow Harper Voyager Impulse buddies is releasing her third book today! Congratulations, Kelley!
World Weavers follows the events of Desert Rising and The Obsidian Temple. Grab the whole trilogy and read’em all in a row!
It has been a year since Sulis Hasifel fled to the desert, narrowly escaping death at the hands of a vengeful god. The time of the final battle, the final confrontation with the deities of her world, is nearing. Lured by the call of their long-trapped powers, the deities will descend upon the Obsidian Temple, where the Chosen await.
But the war between gods and humans has enveloped the entire land. Sulis’s twin, Kadar, joins forces with the nomadic warrior tribes of the desert. Little by little, the desert armies draw the deities away from their stronghold in the north, towards their doom.
In the face of a battle that will reshape mankind’s destiny and the face of the earth itself, old friendships will be tested and new alliances forged. In this spellbinding denouement to Desert Rising and The Obsidian Temple, Kelley Grant brings her epic trilogy to a thunderous and powerful conclusion.
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