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boosting the signal

Boosting the Signal: Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn: A Steampunk Faerie Tale

We’ve got a packed lineup today for Boosting the Signal, y’all–this second post is courtesy of Danielle Ackley-McPhail, who’s come across my radar thanks to a couple of Kickstarters I’ve supported, as well as the Outer Alliance mailing list. Danielle has a work coming out in September that she wants to get the word out about now, and I gotta say, the concept of a clockwork djinn makes me go ooooo.

Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn

Whispers from the Viper’s Tongue – Rassul Maroun, King of Thieves

Free…I will be free, and no little tinker boy is going to stand in my way. I have ruled the Nejd for decades. I have delivered greater and more knowledgeable men than he to their final meeting with the Almighty. I will not be thwarted by a clueless lad who is barely aware of the matters he disrupts.

I have been charged with finding and retrieving the fabled treasure of Nader Shah, then must deliver it to my master, the Qatar Shahanshah. I could not care less if I should discharge this duty. After seventy years bound to this cursed desert I would claim what treasure I may for myself and forget the Qatar Dynasty. Yet I can never forget the spells that bind me, not only to this place, but to this life of servitude.

I cannot leave the Nejd without the legendary Peacock Throne and its associated treasure. A treasure I have found, yet ancient magic prevents me from taking it up and purchasing my freedom with its coin. Still, I have secured it and have vowed I will find a way to break the spell binding both it and me.

I am so close. Nearly I have had the key within my grasp, only to have a tinker boy threaten to take the prize from me.

I will not sit back and allow this Baba Ali to strand me for all time among these sands.

At first I sought my freedom and an end to the line of Farzeen, the guardian set upon the hidden treasure by Shahrokh, the last shah of the Afsharid dynasty.

Now? Now I seek an end to Baba Ali…the treasure be damned.

Win the Book: Goodreads giveaway–expires on 5/30/2014!

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May 23, 2014 by Angela Korra'ti

Boosting the Signal

Boosting the Signal: Philosophy and Fairy Tales, by Fraser Sherman

Fraser Sherman is another of my fellow Drollerie Press alums, and he’d like to tell you all about his collection of four fantasy short stories, including “Original Synergy”, “Red Moon Rising”, “Jack Be Nimble” and “Learning Curve”. This post features Serena Dean, protagonist of the story “Original Synergy”.

And did I just hear several thousand Browncoats cry “WHAT DOES SERENA KNOW?”

Philosophy and Fairy Tales

If you’re wondering why I joined the Knights Templar, you can blame my mother.

“Serena,” she told me, “a new business owner needs to network. And becoming a Templar will get you much further than the Lions Club.”

I wish. Sure, it sounded sensible. The Templars covertly manipulate the world economy, they could certainly help my new business MeetSmart (“When you fail to plan your conference, you plan your conference to fail. Call MeetSmart today!”). And it’s been eye-opening learning how the world really works: why the Buffalo Bills must never win the Super Bowl and the real reason Fox had to cancel Firefly.

But what I didn’t realize is that every time the Templars launch some bold new venture, we cross paths with another conspiracy—the Illuminati, the Trilateral Commission, the Men in Black—operating at cross-purposes. The end result is that nothing gets accomplished on either side.

So now the Templar Grandmaster has a solution: Synergy 21, the conference that will bring together every secret conspiracy, from Skull and Bones to They (as in “That’s what They say.”), to work out some sort of common ground for us all. And my tight-ass superior, Master Reginald, just told me I’m going to handle all the arrangements. A great break for me, right?
Except that I have two weeks to pull it all together. In Florida. At the height of the tourist season. No conference rooms booked, no suites reserved, nothing.

Of course, as a Templar, I have resources and methods no ordinary meeting planner does—and the help of a very sexy Illuminati—but still, that’s not much time. And if I fail, Master Reginald has told me, my head will roll.

He’s not using a metaphor.

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May 23, 2014 by Angela Korra'ti

Boosting the Signal

Boosting the Signal: In the Black, by Sheryl Nantus

Hey, I get to help a fellow Carina author out with release-week promo, how awesome is that? Because Sheryl Nantus has just dropped a brand new science fiction romance, In the Black, and if you’re a Browncoat who’s thinking that title has an awfully familiar ring to it, you wouldn’t be far off. I’ve seen Sheryl citing Firefly as an influence on her story, especially with how her heroine’s the captain of a ship full of high-class courtesans! Just the sort of job I could see an AU Inara taking on.

And now I TOTALLY want that fanfic. But until I get it, here’s a newcomer to the Belle, with a real simple goal–settling in, with the help of Jenny the mechanic, who is apparently this book’s Kaylee, and who apparently has the goal of some side dealing, hmm? Check it out!

In the Black

You from Diego? My name’s Jenny. That box you’re carrying got the stuff I agreed upon with D? Great—come on this way. We’ll talk in my quarters, I don’t want the captain seeing us doing business. She’s not hardcore but I don’t want to put her in any sort of compromising position. Climb down in here.

Hey there—look out for that pipe! It’ll take your head off if you smack it hard enough. I’ve got more than my fair share of bruises from that ventilation shaft. Took me only a few weeks aboard the Bonnie Belle to learn my lesson and duck. Just follow me and don’t take any side trips—you get lost in here easy enough and I don’t got the time to track you down.

The Belle? She’s a fine ship, a good ship. A Mercy ship but don’t let that stop you from admiring a good piece of work. I know Mercy ships got all sorts of reputations and we run hard, taking the courtesans from base to base to keep the miners happy but it’s what’s underneath that counts—and mechanics like me are what keeps them running to make everyone get what they want.

It might not seem very glamorous, crawling around the undercarriage of a big ship like this and keeping out of the way of the women and men above but I don’t mind. The new captain, she’s a nice one. Sam Keller—she lends me books and stuff and we talk a lot about things. She’s new to the Guild so she needs help getting settled and doing what a captain does when you land on a base full of horny miners all wanting to get to the men and women ‘board the Belle. Don’t know what she did before she decided to sign on with the Guild but she’s got ghosts in her mind. Ex-military, I figure, since she likes those damned combat boots and don’t want to wear nothing but her old fatigues. Which is fine except she’s got to make the presentation when we make landfall and those guys don’t want smelly old boots and stained green pants. Well, not stained in that way, if you get my drift.

The crew? Fine folk as long as you know your place. I don’t want to say too much about them ’cause we work different jobs and all that. Usually you keep the same crew for months, maybe years unless one of the courtesans asks for a transfer or buys out her or his contract – that’s how we got Halley. She transferred in after a catfight on another ship and hooked up with Bianca. Only ones here who might be able to buy out their contracts might be Kendra or April but I wouldn’t ask them ’bout it. Not good manners. Lots of the women stay around and take a second tour or third ’cause it’s what they want to do. Plenty more get caught in the company store trick with the Guild and end up owing everything they have. I stay ahead of the game and so does the captain but it means we don’t get a lot of fancy stuff like hot showers and all that. But I’m saving up for a ship of my own, one of those fast cutters like you see here on my wall.

Good, good. Just what I needed. Gotta keep the washing machine going otherwise I’ll be up to my ass in dirty laundry and those women, they don’t like recycling their sheets if you get my drift. Don’t seem important to you and me but they got paying customers who don’t want any evidence of who’s been ’round before them.

Here’s your cred stick. Just what I agreed on with Diego and don’t let him stiff you on your cut for making the delivery. Let me show you back to the landing bay otherwise you’ll get lost and I’ll end up asking Belle to find you.

The computer AI, silly. She’s smarter than most anyone I know and she keeps the ship straight and level. She sees everything ‘cept what she’s not supposed to ’cause of her Guild programming. Still don’t want her having to trace you through the shafts so keep close behind me and I’ll get you out of here in a jiffy.

There, see? Easy to avoid smacking your head when you keep your wits about you and keep your head down. Don’t worry I always got a list of stuff the courtesans want so I’ll be in touch. Diego knows I’m good for a few extra creds whenever we make landfall where guys like you can meet us.

Yeah, the landing bay’s huge. Trust me it seems mighty small when you’ve got a mob of hungry men waiting for their turn with the courtesans. They all behave however else they’ve got to deal with Captain Keller and she doesn’t take kindly to any misbehaving. Not until they’re behind closed doors and all.

After all, like the ad says – “Everyone loves a Mercy woman”.

See you In the Black!

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May 16, 2014 by Angela Korra'ti

Boosting the Signal

Boosting the Signal: Time for Love, by Emma Kaye

Mmm, time travel! A staple of historical romances! And Emma Kaye would like you to know about hers–Time for Love, which brings you not only a time-traveling heroine, but also the fine and upstanding The Captain Thinks He’s Hired a Boy for the Crew but Boy Howdy is HE Going to Be Surprised trope. Here’s Emma’s heroine, Alex, on the topic of why exactly she’s made this jump into the past!

Time for Love

Dear Jessie,

I know you’re probably crazy worried right now. I hope I didn’t make a mistake in telling you what I was doing. I know Sawyer was dead set against me telling anyone, but since it was his company that got my sister into this mess in the first place, I don’t really care what he wants.

Still, I worry about you. You are my best friend, after all. I wish there was a way to let you know that I made it through the time portal and I’m doing fine. This letter is pointless. I feel like an idiot writing it—it’s not like I can slap a stamp on it and stick it in the mail.

Anyway, this whole journey is so surreal, writing it all down helps me face the fact that I’ve actually traveled through time. And I’m doing pretty well so far.

It’s going to be a bigger challenge than I thought, though. Yeah, I found a ship right away, but it was my rotten luck that they don’t take passengers and I had to sign on as a member of the crew. They still almost didn’t take me, but I offered to work for free. Even in the eighteen hundreds people have a hard time passing up on a freebie.

The work’s not the problem. It’s the captain. I’m going to have to avoid him, which won’t be easy. I’m afraid he’s going to see through my disguise. I think he already suspects there’s something strange about the boy he hired on for this trip. He just hasn’t figured out yet that I’m actually a woman. And if I keep staring at his ass, he’s bound to figure it out sooner rather than later.

That’s the other problem. I can’t seem to keep my wits about me when he’s around. My mind goes blank and damn, I can’t keep my eyes off him. The first mate’s technically better looking, but there’s just something about ~~Nicholas~~ the captain that makes me want…

Well, enough about him. I have other things to worry about. Like how I’m going to find my sister when I get to London. This trip takes about a month. I’m not going to have that much time once I arrive if I’m going to find her before… I can’t even write it down. It’s too awful. I try not to think about what could happen if I don’t get to her in time. I can’t give up now that I’m getting so close. I have to save her.

I wish I could ask for your advice, my dear friend.

I have to go. I have to report to the galley. (Yes, I’m working in the ship’s kitchen. Laugh all you want. Even I can clean a pot and peel a potato.)

If all goes well, I’ll see you in a few months.

Love,

Alex

P.S. — Thanks for taking care of Maximus while I’m gone. And don’t forget—he likes to hide in the strangest places, so if you can’t find him just pop open a can of tuna and that cat will come running.

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May 16, 2014 by Angela Korra'ti

Boosting the Signal

Boosting the Signal: On the Surface, by Kate Willoughby

Due to my recent illness, this post, which was actually supposed to go up last week, is going up tonight instead! Kate was very gracious about the delay, so I hope y’all will give her an extra bonus ear.

Kate Willoughby is a fellow Carina author, who writes in a genre that would not normally come across my radar at all: sports romance! But given that in this case the sport in question is hockey, and I’ve got a lot of friends in both Canada AND the States who are hockey-inclined, I thought I’d give her a chance to tell y’all about her book and about herself.

She happily writes her hockey romances in Southern California. She’s married and has two sons, a dog, and a fish. When she’s not writing, she’s watching hockey. When it’s not hockey season, she whines a lot.

On the Surface

From NHL player Tim Hollander’s journal

So I read an article that talked about the magic of intent and how if you write something down, somehow, some way, things happen. Just because you wrote it down. So I’m trying it. It probably won’t work, but what the fuck, it can’t hurt. Right?

I just got traded to San Diego. As I write, it’s exactly eight hours since I got notified. And I have to say I’m stunned.

In a way, it’s not surprising. I’ve been playing like shit. I know it. The Blackhawks know it. Hell, THE WORLD knows it. But at the same time, it hurts. It really fucking hurts. We were a damn family. The team, management, the trainers, coaches–everyone in the organization was there for me when Mollie got sick, which meant a lot. They did everything they could to help and support me and Wave through it all. So it’s tough to take the trade with all that history. But you know what? Hockey’s a business, bottom line.

So, now I’m moving to San Diego. I’m getting used to the idea now and I’m beginning to see this is an opportunity to get a fresh start. In a new city thousands of miles away from Chicago, I won’t be blindsided by memories of Mollie wherever I go. I’m going to play for the Barracudas, and GOAL NUMBER ONE is to show them they didn’t make a mistake. I’m going to play my fucking ass off for them. I’m going to spend the summer training hard, getting my head back in the game. I’m going to get fired up and focused.

GOAL NUMBER TWO…

Hell. I don’t really have another goal right now. A new car, maybe. Get a tan? I don’t know. Get free of the past. That’s the most important thing.

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May 2, 2014 by Angela Korra'ti

Boosting the Signal

Boosting the Signal: Mighty Mighty, by William Freedman

William Freedman came across my radar by way of pinging a mailing list I’d organized as a means to help authors I know set up blog tours. He was looking for people to host him, and, well, since this is exactly what Boosting the Signal is all about, I told him to send me a piece!

This was supposed to go up earlier today, but I’ve fallen behind on stuff due to my recent illness. So it’s going up tonight instead. So here we go with Mighty Mighty, William’s superhero novel and social satire, and his quite colorfully and bawdily spoken character, the Indomitable Lugh, the ancient Celtic god of construction workers. What’s his goal? Glorious battle, which gives him something in common with your average Klingon.

Additional note–main post is behind the fold, for NSFW language.

May 2, 2014 by Angela Korra'ti

Boosting the Signal

Boosting the Signal: Much Ado in Montana, by M.M. Justus

M.M. Justus is a fellow indie writer in the Pacific Northwest, who has a line of time-travel related romances she’s been deploying for sale. Much Ado in Montana, however, is her first contemporary!

Much Ado in Montana

Hello, folks. I’m Dr. Swanson, or, as most folks here in Campbell, Montana, call me, Dr. Samuel. I’ve been the doctor here for donkey’s years–since, well, for longer than most people can remember. Campbell’s not a big place, or a fancy one, and we’re pretty much out in the back of beyond. As the young people are fond of complaining, we’re a two-hour drive from the nearest mall. But we’re smack in the middle of God’s country, surrounded by wilderness, with the snowcapped Cabinet Mountains watching over us, and there’s no better place to be.

Kalispell’s where that mall is, not that anyone with any sense cares. It’s where the nearest hospital is, too. So when it comes to medical care, I’m the only horse in town.

Like I said, I love it here. My wife grew up here, and my son, and I wouldn’t go anywhere else. People here in Campbell are the salt of the earth, and I’ve loved doctoring ’em for, well, donkey’s years.

My son Timothy, on the other hand…

He went off to Seattle to the University of Washington to go to medical school, just like his old man, and graduated with honors. I couldn’t be more proud of him. I couldn’t wait for him to come back home and work with me, and take over my practice someday.

But as soon as he saw the bright lights of Seattle, he told me he didn’t want to come back. He’s young, and smart, and he can work anywhere he wants to. He needed some time to get the wanderlust out of his system.

But the thing is, I’m getting old. And no one who hasn’t grown up here is going to stick. We found that one out the hard way. And I’m pretty sure–no, I’m not going to pussyfoot around it–I know there’s something wrong. I can’t remember like I used to. Things happen and I can’t figure out how. Sometimes I’m not even sure how I got somewhere. My lovely Avis is worried about me, too, and I can’t do that to her.

But I can’t leave the good people of Campbell without a doctor, either.

Tim’s coming home for my seventy-fifth birthday party in a few weeks. I can’t wait to see him, and I’m not the only one. His buddy Jack, who teaches science at the high school and spends his summers out in eastern Montana digging dinosaur bones, has been telling everyone how much he’s looking forward to seeing Tim again, too. So have most of the girls in town, from what I understand, except for little Becky Thorstein, but then she’s sweet on Jack. Well, Tim is a handsome young man. Takes after his father that way, he does.

What was I saying? Yes? Oh, yes. The girls and Tim. I know one girl in particular who’s got to be looking forward to seeing him again–our pretty young town librarian, Tara Hillerman.

They’ve been sweet on each other all their lives, but something happened while they were both away at college. No one would ever tell me what. I suppose they thought it wasn’t any of my business, but whatever it was it must have caused a world of hurt.

Well, it’s time for them to kiss and make up. It’s time for Timothy to settle down. There’s nowhere else he should be doing it. And, I bet, no one but Tara he’d want to do it with.

What was I saying? Oh. Well, he does want to come home, you know. He just doesn’t know it yet.

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April 11, 2014 by Angela Korra'ti

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