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 MoreBreath of Earth Cover Reveal
I started work on Breath of Earth about three years ago. After all that time daydreaming about the book selling, about what the cover might be like… today it finally feels real.
Go to Tor.com and see the full cover reveal post! There are photos of the model from the cover shoot. Check out how things evolved to the final version. Squee!
Meanwhile, here’s my January word count on the sequel! I need to start on my words for today.
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Read MorePlaying Catch-Up: Podcasts, Poetry, & Other News
I turned in my Breath of Earth edits to my editor last week. That took a huge burden off of me, but I haven’t been able to take it easy. Revisions ate my brain and my time, so I fell behind on everything else: short story and poetry re-submissions, story edits for myself and for other editors, my web site, general organization… and let’s not even talk about the cleanliness (or lack thereof) of my house. It’s a good thing we have therapists here a few times a week since that forces me to keep the main living areas in decent shape.
I have also, belatedly, jumped into Thanksgiving prep. I made and froze a couple batches of my soft dinner rolls and soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie dough and compiled ingredients for two different kinds of dressing and some other sides to feed company. I love doing all this, but I confess, this year I feel flustered and frantic as I ready myself for the holidays and catch up on everything else.
As part of that catch up, here are my latest publications and tour spots:
Podcasts:
SFSignal interview with Beth Cato, by Patrick Hester; recorded at Sasquan/WorldCon
Reading and Writing Podcast discussion with Beth Cato
Poetry:
“Riders of the Apocalypse: Death” and “Hera Herself, at 8’clock Tonight,” Grievous Angel
Reminisces of a Kraken Caretaker, Devilfish Review
Holy Taco Church:
Yummy Marinade for Chicken
Novelocity:
Advice for NaNoWriMo as Posted on Twitter
As part of the Wings of Sorrow and Bone tour:
GeekMom’s Geek Speaks… Fiction! with Gremlins Galore! Geeking Out About Hideously Adorable Sidekicks
The Writer’s Life eMagazine interview with me
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Read MoreBreath of Earth news
My brain is residing in an alternate 1906 right now. My revision letter arrived for Breath of Earth, so my days are filled with deletions, and tweaks, and fact-checking via Google and scads of books stacked beside my desk. This project will keep me occupied through the next month, even as I do my usual November Poem-A-Day Challenge.
I’m not the only one working on Breath of Earth right now. Harper Voyager is gearing up, too. The cover is in progress (SQUEE!). The release date is online: August 23rd 2016! And oh hey, the full back cover summary popped up on Goodreads, too:
After the Earth’s power is suddenly left unprotected, a young geomancer must rely on her unique magical powers to survive in in this fresh fantasy standalone from the author of acclaimed The Clockwork Dagger.
In an alternate 1906, the United States and Japan have forged a powerful confederation—the Unified Pacific—in an attempt to dominate the world. Their first target is a vulnerable China. In San Francisco, headstrong Ingrid Carmichael is assisting a group of powerful geomancer Wardens who have no idea of the depth of her power—or that she is the only woman to possess such skills.
When assassins kill the Wardens, Ingrid and her mentor are protected by her incredible magic. But the pair is far from safe. Without its full force of guardian geomancers, the city is on the brink of a cataclysmic earthquake that will expose Earth’s powers to masterminds determined to control the energy for their own dark ends. The danger escalates when Chinese refugees, preparing to fight the encroaching American and Japanese, fracture the uneasy alliance between the Pacific allies, transforming the city into a veritable powder keg. And the slightest tremor will set it off. . . .
Forced on the run, Ingrid makes some shocking discoveries about herself. Her powerful magic has grown even more fearsome . . . and she may be the fulcrum on which the balance of world power rests.
I am so excited for this book to come out. And I’m so freaked out about writing the next in the series. So. Normal writer feelings all around.
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Read MoreHeading North by Northwest
I’m flying up to Seattle tomorrow to attend Locus Weekend. I AM SO EXCITED. I get to hang out with writer buddies for a few days! It will be torture to be in Seattle for such a brief time, though. I miss that area so much. The greenery. The trees. The seasons. Sigh.
I’ll have a guest post from author Rebecca Roland up tomorrow, too! She’s going to talk DRAGONS.
Here are my other links ‘n things from the week:
The Clockwork Dagger is put to the Page 69 Test to see how representative that page is of the whole book.
RT Book Reviews is excited about my new series Breath of Earth! It gets highlighted as a highly anticipated forthcoming release. Yay!
Read MoreMore Books!
I’m ecstatic to announce my new book deal with Harper Voyager! This means I’ll have books coming out through 2017!
“Beth Cato’s BREATH OF EARTH, set against the backdrop of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the first in a steampunk series about a geomancer who channels seismic energy in an alternate history filled with conspiracy, war, brilliant inventions and fantastical creatures, to Kelly O’Connor at Voyager, in a two-book deal, by Rebecca Strauss at DeFiore and Company.”
Some of you from LiveJournal will remember when I wrote Breath of Earth two years ago. I’ll have revisions on the novel soon and after that… I write another book! This will be a busy year.
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