THE ELF LORD'S REVENGE by Arabella Thorne

He lost everyone he loved to an assassin.

Will Emma be next?

It is 1843. Immortal elf Allydan sath Nulan has returned from his travels to his estate in Alta California only to find his home and family destroyed. Related to the ruling family in the elvish homeland of Aelynghyst, Allydan, as the last of his line, must discover the killer before he too is murdered.

Into his life falls Emma Treadburn, a human woman at the end of her rope. Tired of being forced to pay off her father’s debts by working for the local haberdasher who thinks he’s entitled to enjoy Emma’s charms, she decides to strike out on her own.

A terrible wagon accident brings the two of them together. But can the scholarly healer allow himself to fall in love with a human while trying to find a murderer?

And can Emma reconcile her heart to love an otherworldly elf?

AN AUTOMATED DEATH (short story) by Teresa Reasor

Steampunk Short Story - approx 14,000 words

DESCRIPTION

After his wife’s death, Alan Cartwright focuses all his energy on his work, building clocks and other delicate mechanisms, and his eight-year-old son, Brenton. Father and son bond while building a lifelike automaton, designed to resemble Brenton in looks and talent : The boy is an extraordinary artist.

Before the automaton is completed, Brenton is killed by a carriage driven by Sir William Tyndale, a decorated soldier and knight who lost his own wife and son during service in India. The accident leads to strange occurrences and an unholy obsession.

The automaton comes to life, communicating with Alan and drawing pictures of the past and the future. Alan is convinced Brenton’s spirit possesses the machine and refuses to sell it. Sir Tyndale sees the likeness of his own dead son in the device and is determined to have it by any means.

Driven by grief and fatherly love, the two men are set on a collision course with the soul of a young boy trapped between them. And Brenton’s reasons for possessing the automaton a mystery to them both.