I was the kind of kid who read the back of the shampoo bottle in the shower because I had to be reading something. I've gobbled books all my life. But somehow I did not know that "gaslamp fantasy" was an actual genre (with an Amazon category and everything) until a kind author told me that the weird books I was about to launch were an example.
I mean, I'd heard of steampunk. But this is different: Instead of steam-powered tech in a past setting, there's magic.
Think Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, which I did read (and loved), all the while thinking there was nothing else like it. But there is. Three more I devoured in recent months:
A.J. Lancaster's marvelous Stariel series imagines a country like Edwardian England, except there's an estate at the edge of Faerie where all heck is about to break loose. (I will not spoil this for you by telling you too much about the characters, but: dreamy fae with wings. You're welcome.)
S.L. Prater's oh-so-fun Street Witch series conjures up a setting where both witches and priests have magic, but the witches are feared and therefore in danger if anything odd happens around them. Her lead witch is about to upend everything.
Olivia Atwater's witty Regency Faerie Tales: "Pride and Prejudice meets Howl’s Moving Castle." The first book has a faerie-cursed character with half a soul who's in constant danger of accidental scandal. Perhaps the Lord Sorcier of England can help?
So yes, I've been having a rollicking good time as a reader since I found my niche as a writer.
Speaking of good times, I was so touched that a bunch of you raised your hand last time when I asked who might be interested in a review copy of a fantasy romance anthology I'll have a twisted (gaslamp!) fairy tale in. Thank you all! I'm hanging on to your information and will report back once there's more to say.
(Missed that newsletter? Don't worry, there'll be another chance to raise your hand later.)
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A few more cool & bookish things
Looking for some Kindle Unlimited fantasy reads? Find a novice necromancer falling for a man whose love is forbidden by the gods, the Tin Man of Oz reimagined as an assassin fae who's about to lose his heart, and a bunch of other cool characters in this book promotion.
Looking for free-for-everyone fantasy books? Find an introverted librarian wizard stuck dealing with a ne'er-do-well witch for hire, a heroine who discovers the dragon-wrought amulet she seeks has an unexpectedly high price, and a bunch more intriguing characters in this promotion.
You made it to the end! You're awesome. (And oh hey, here are my latest books. In an America run by wizards and 100 years behind on women's rights, she resists. He's the wizard who just hired her.)
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