Steampunk Spotlight: Of Aether & Aeon

Today I’m going to shine the Steampunk Spotlight on my new short story, “Of Aether and Aeon.”

Avalon Revisited has been so wildly popular on Amazon’s Kindle (in Top 40 Gothic Romance for over 2 months), that I wanted to write something else for eBook readers.

I hadn’t written a short story in well over a decade, but with the growing popularity of eReaders and eBooks, it is now once again a great time for the short story.

“Of Aether and Aeon” is a story about a young officer who finds love on an airship in the midst of war.

It’s romantic.

It’s tragic.

It’s short at a mere 3500 words.

☛ It’s bite-sized steampunk goodness! ☚

For only $0.99, it’s the perfect read for your lunchtime escape. Get your daily dose of Steampunk and Romance with “Of Aether and Aeon.”

Available on Amazon’s amazing KINDLE & at Smashwords for various other eBook formats.

Here’s an excerpt:

-_Q

OF ÆTHER AND ÆON

She watched him move across the deck as she had a thousand times before. Every day, just before muster, he walked this way. And every day, she watched from behind the main canon, peering around the cascabel, hoping that one day he would see her. Notice her. Love her. If only Jonah would look at her, he would see.

It was the middle of a very long war. It had begun before Constance had even joined the RAN nearly a decade ago. She had served as the HMS Æther’s Chief Navigator for just over three years now. How time flies.

Jonah was above her in rank, but not by much. Lean and strong, his body moved with grace, and Constance felt clumsy. Even she, a woman, didn’t move with such grace and poise and confident purpose. He had dark brown hair, deep chestnut, that extended past his temples in cocoa colored mutton chops, following the curve of his strong jaw.  The leather baldric that ran from his right shoulder to left hip accentuated the breadth of his muscular chest, even beneath both the shirt and regulation waistcoat.

“Connie,” a deep voice said. “Let’s go, we’ll be late to the morning muster and then there will be hell to pay.”

“Morning, Samuel,” Constance said without taking her eyes off Jonah, who was talking with another officer on the starboard side of the airship. He laughed, and Constance found herself catching her breath at the sight of his brilliant smile. His cheek held the slightest suggestion of a dimple when he smiled.

Although they worked in close proximity, he as the Chief Engineer and she as the Chief Navigator, she effectively hid her feelings for him while on the job. It was only in the few moments of the morning that she could let her guard down.

“Mornin’, Con. What’s got yer interest?” Samuel followed her gaze to the handsome officer across the way. “Ah. Of course. Shoulda known.”

Constance blushed and forced herself to look away. She turned to Sam and had to shade her eyes from the rising sun behind him. During the day, the great balloon that held the dirigible aloft blocked out most of the sun, but the during the early morning and the late evening, it shone between the great blimp and the top deck of the battleship. The movement felt too familiar.

“Déjà vu,” she said.

“Really?” Samuel responded. “Me, too. How odd.”

“Quite,” Constance agreed. “Let’s move.” She stepped out from behind the canon and, after a quick glance to check that the seams of her knee-high spats were running straight up the center of her shin, strode across the deck toward muster. She fell in and stood at parade rest, her feet shoulder width apart and hands folded at the small of her back over the lacing of her regulation steel-boned corset, just above the small bustle, a tie-on piece that covered the derriere and gave the appearance of the bustle sway that was so popular down below. It was a recent addition to all women’s uniforms, said to keep the men from being distracted. Although Constance felt that it did more to draw the eye.

If only it would draw his eye.

“Attention!” the first mate yelled, and the entire mustered block snapped to attention. Constance stood stiffly with the rest of her crew and listened to the Captain speak.

“At ease,” the Captain said, and the entire company returned to parade-rest, synchronized. “Today is an important day,” he continued. “Earlier this morning, the Communication Officer’s team intercepted a message from the enemy. I am confident that this piece of information might be just what we need to sway this war back into our favor. And it’s high time, too!”

Constance felt a wave of hope rush through her core. The energy of the entire muster changed, and she felt that, too. Out of the corner of her eye, she chanced a look at Jonah, and had to catch her breath when she saw that he was looking at her as well! She snapped her eyes back to the front and realized she had no idea what the Captain was saying anymore. The blood rushed into her cheeks, warming them against the cold air. The rising sunlight caught the lens Jonah’s goggles atop his flight cap, so she knew he was still looking back at her.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

-_Q

Buy now to read the rest:

• Kindle
• Smashwords (no eReader needed … plus formats for all eReaders)

Don’t have a Kindle? It’s high time you got one! BUY A KINDLE (only $189!)

-_Q

Please return next week for Steampunk Spotlight, where we’ll be looking at the beautiful work of Antige.

***Added 9/10/11*** Read it for free here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ by omgrey on August 10, 2010.