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Do you like reading?
[[Mmm. . . books. . .]]
[[Nope]]
[[Yes, but I'm not sure I have time for a novel]]
[[Actually I want to buy something for someone else]]Good start!
Shall we sort by age, genre, or setting?
Age
[[Younger kids' books]]
[[Age 10-14ish/Middle Grade|Heest]]
[[Age 12-18ish/Young Adult]]
[[14+/Crossover|Steampunk]]
[[Please not another young main character. What about us old people, huh? HUH?]]
[[Maybe an immortal main character would be suitable.|Sherlock-y steampunk]]
Genre
[[Steampunk Fantasy|Steampunk]]
[[Fantasy, but not steampunk|Heest]]
[[Crime, including art|Murder in the Mail]]
[[Romance with steampunk fantasy elements and art|Magic in the Mail]]
[[Something harder to categorise; something thoughtful.]]
Steampunk: Alternate history based on the Victorian Era.
Setting
[[Australia in the past|Australian steampunk fantasy trilogy]]
[[Australia in the present|Australian fantasy]]
[[London|Sherlock-y steampunk]]
[[An alternate world]]
[[Europe during World War 2|Makeshift Galaxy]]
[[Europe BC|modern retelling of ancient myth]]No novels, huh?
What about a text-based gamebook you can read on your phone?
[[I'm listening.|interactive fiction]]
[[Still too many words.|something completely different]]No novels, huh?
What if the novel was really super short, and even had illustrations?
[[I could handle that.|Heest]]
What about an interactive story?
[[I'm listening.|interactive fiction]]
[[Still too many words.|something completely different]]I think you're going to love Laura E. Goodin's books.
MUD AND GLASS is my personal favourite, because it makes me laugh. It's scifi that takes place in a university on a different planet, and has the delicious eccentricity of academia mixed with the peril of an adventure story.
http://odysseybooks.com.au/titles/9781922200860/
Life is fairly workaday for Dr Celeste Carlucci, a professor at Krasnia’s finest university, until her best friend and colleague Pace involves Celeste in her research.
Before long, Celeste is being shot at from a hovering helicopter, attacked on a moonlit mountain path, and followed by shadowy minions – on the trail of the Littoral Codex, an ancient and indecipherable book.
The race is on to figure out its secrets. On one side are Celeste and her colleagues, armed with nothing but enthusiasm, brilliant minds, and the principles of geography. Against them are the repressive university governors and their jackbooted campus security guards; the rich and power-hungry Praxicopolis family; and a renegade group of researchers, the Littoral League.
Will this ragtag bunch outwit their foes before it’s too late?
AFTER THE BLOODWOOD STAFF is another thrilling adventure with an older hero, but this time it takes place mainly in Australia. I don't want to spoil it by saying any more than that!
http://www.lauraegoodin.com/
http://odysseybooks.com.au/titles/9781922200723/
The sedentary and impractical Hoyle meets Sybil Alvaro in a used bookstore, and she invites him to follow in the footsteps of her favourite author in a search for the mysterious Bloodwood Staff. He’s spent his entire life reading vintage adventure action, and thinks he knows how these things should go.
In the mountains west of Sydney, his expectations are almost immediately derailed, as nobody – not Sybil, and certainly not the irrepressible Ada Drake, stand-in for the obligatory plucky urchin – behaves the way they’re supposed to.
As they gradually realise that their lighthearted adventure has put themselves and their loved ones in dire peril, Hoyle is forced to face the fact that he is woefully unsuited to be the stereotypical hero.
A deliberate subversion of adventure, fantasy and satire tropes, After the Bloodwood Staff is a brilliant and unexpected ride.
“Anyone who loves classic derring-do shouldn’t miss it.” – Steve Hockensmith, author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls
“A delicate, hilarious balance between twenty-first century pragmatism and a yearning for a nobler past.” – Margo Lanagan, award-winning author of Sea Hearts, Black Juice[[Australian steampunk fantasy trilogy]], or [[Sherlock-y steampunk]]?Felicity Banks has a children's fantasy trilogy in the works, suitable for 8+ and adults.
THE MONSTER APPRENTICE is out now. You can get a signed copy through FelicityBanks.wordpress.com/store or through any physical or online store.
THE PRINCESS AND THE PIRATE out February/March 2019. You can pre-order it through FelicityBanks.wordpress.com/store.
WAKING DEAD MOUNTAIN out February/March 2020.
THE MONSTER APPRENTICE blurb:
The only weapon Dance has is her name.
When pirates threaten the tiny hidden island of Luar, Dance knows her home has only one hope of survival: the magical monsters that killed her twin sister.
Dance loses her friends one by one as she attempts to prepare her strange apprentices for the showdown between monsters and pirates. Can she do it alone?
The Monster’s Apprentice is a powerful story of looking at the world differently and finding an answer in an unexpected place.
“An addictive, one-sitting read, impossible to put down.” – Sandy Fussell, author of the Samurai Kids seriesA story told through letters, objects, and artworks physically posted to the reader over the course of eight weeks.
Your story is synchronised with other readers. The next two mail-out periods are as follows:
September-October 2018
January-February 2019 (so you can buy it as a Christmas Gift)
The reader is a character in the story, invited to guess the identity of the killer each week. The Murder in the Mail forums are a place where readers can compare clues and insights, helping (or hampering) one another. Everything, including the art, contains clues to be unravelled.
The first story is A Bloody Birthday, which will only be available in its full mail-out form until September 2019.
Available as a boxed set at The Front cafe and gallery, Lyneham shops, Canberra; and at Dymocks Belconnen. Or you can purchase it directly through FelicityBanks.wordpress.com/store (which will automatically subscribe you to the current or next mailing period).
A group of art students gather at a birthday party where the guest of honour is murdered. One of them is the killer.
You ask the group of friends to write letters to you, talking openly about what happened, and sharing art works they’ve done in the period of time before, during, and after the party.
People say artists show their soul through their art. . . now it’s up to you to discover the darkness inside someone you trusted.
There are eight beautiful pieces of art included with this story, all made by Australian artists (almost all of whom I scouted out personally here in Canberra). Every character is written by a different published Odyssey Books author (including Tash Turgoose from the Publisher Obscura imprint). The objects in the story are chosen to involve all the senses, and the art was chosen to be (a) Beautiful (b) Varied in style and medium (c) Packed full of clues.
Within Australia, this story is posted in nine parts over eight weeks (you will be charged for one at the checkout; the rest is included in the price).
Outside Australia, it is posted as a single parcel.
This product is not available in digital form.
MAGIC IN THE MAIL: EMMELINE's EMPIRE is a steampunk fantasy romance tale set in the same world of magical metals as all Felicity Banks's other steampunk, including my novels (in fact it takes place at the same time as part of Iron Lightsand the game Attack of the Clockwork Army).
A Perfectly Ordinary (she says) shop-keeper named Xiong joins a fledgling rebellion headed up by the famous Emmeline Muchamore. It's a tale of secrets, hope, aeronauts, lighthouses, first love, and fruit ices for all.
In order to keep costs down, this story is posted as a single parcel.
This product is not available in digital form.
NB: Iron Lights includes a stripped-down version of the bonus story Magic in the Mail: Emmeline's Empire.
The stripped-down version of the tale includes black and white art by Michelle "Seashell" Bedford and Shauna O'Meara but the full-colour art, song, and objects are available only through purchases of the full story at FelicityBanks.wordpress.com/store.
MAGIC IN THE MAIL: FEUDING FAE is a full-size all-ages story of dragons and phoenixes. It can be pre-ordered through FelicityBanks.wordpress.com/store but the first mail-out will not happen until June 2019 (3 parcels).OCTOPUS AND FAMILY: KID-FRIENDLY EDITION is a funny and punny book of rather unusual octopi.
https://www.facebook.com/octopusandfamily/
MAGIC IN THE MAIL: FEUDING FAE is a 3-part story (physically posted to the reader) suitable for all ages and includes a bunch of beautiful art and physical objects to keep. In the bonus version ($10 extra), you get to make your own teddy bear at the end and your name (or your child's name) is hand written into the story.
Sadly FEUDING FAE, while available for pre-order, will not be sent to readers until June 2019.
https://felicitybanks.wordpress.com/store
[[Australian fantasy]], or a [[modern retelling of ancient myth]]?Good for you.
What kind of age level do they like to read?
[[Younger kids' books]]
[[Age 10-14ish/Middle Grade|Heest]]
[[Age 12-18ish/Young Adult]]
[[14+/Crossover|Steampunk]]
[[Please not another young main character. What about us old people, huh? HUH?]]
[[Maybe an immortal main character would be suitable.|Sherlock-y steampunk]]
Or are you looking for [[something completely different]]?How about:
[[An immersive cozy crime mystery experience with art that runs for eight weeks?|Murder in the Mail]]
[[An immersive LGBTIQA+ romance with steampunk fantasy elements, including art|Magic in the Mail]]
[[A picture book for adults]]You should check out everything by Publisher Obscura! That's their whole thing.
Publisherobscura.com
But for now, would you like. . .
[[Something with terrible, terrible jokes|Octopus and Family]]
or [[Romance|Makeshift Galaxy]]?Annabelle Lee writes books with Octopus puns. It makes sense, I swear!
OCTOPUS AND FAMILY just 26 words long, this is the original book. Not safe for kids!
SUPER ARM-EY HEROES inspired in large part by the wonderful cosplay Annabelle sees when selling her books at GammaCon Canberra and Sydney Supanova.
OCTOPUSSY AND OTHER RUDE JOKES I refuse to read this, because Annabelle is my baby sister and it's all very disturbing. This is the rudest one of the lot.
OCTOPUS AND FAMILY: KID-FRIENDLY EDITION Having seen far too many young children pick up OCTOPUS AND FAMILY due to the adorkable covers, Annabelle—a mum of two—has written an octopus book just for the kids. I told her to call it I LARVAE YOU but she refused.
https://www.amazon.com/Octopus-Family-Annabelle-Lee/dp/1922200840
https://www.amazon.com.au/Octopus-Family-Annabelle-Lee/dp/1922200840/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1535371913&sr=1-1&keywords=octopus+and+family
Tash Turgoose is the talented artist and writer of MAKESHIFT GALAXY. It's a simply beautiful book.
www.tashturgoose.com
https://www.amazon.com.au/Makeshift-Galaxy-Tash-Turgoose/dp/1925652157/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1535371951&sr=1-1&keywords=makeshift+galaxyFelicity Banks writes a lot of interactive fiction, which is similar to Choose Your Own Adventure novels but usually released as a phone app.
[[Tell me more about app stories.]]
[[I'd rather read something on my computer.]]
[[Ugh, technology. Something else?]]All of these tales can be read on your computer:
SCARLET SAILS pirate adventure:
https://www.choiceofgames.com/user-contributed/scarlet-sails/#utm_medium=web&utm_source=ourgames
STUFF AND NONSENSE free online story (with pics) steampunk fantasy in which Emmeline Muchamore and Queen Victoria clash.
http://philome.la/FBanksBooks/stuff-and-nonsense/play
AFTER THE FLAG FELL free steampunk/historical/fantasy based on the life of Peter Lalor:
http://www.arborell.com/aftertheflagfell.pdf
ATTACK OF THE CLOCKWORK ARMY steampunk fantasy tale:
https://www.choiceofgames.com/user-contributed/attack-of-the-clockwork-army/#utm_medium=web&utm_source=ourgames
STARSHIP ADVENTURES is a very silly collaborative story about an extremely talented and good-looking starship captain.
https://www.choiceofgames.com/user-contributed/starship-adventures/#utm_medium=web&utm_source=ourgames
LOST IN THE PAGES is a collaborative tale in which you travel through multiple very different stories.
https://www.choiceofgames.com/user-contributed/lost-in-the-pages/#utm_medium=web&utm_source=ourgamesTHE ORDER OF THE DRAGON by Phil Hore should be your cup of tea. It's a marvellously fun penny dreadful style adventure.
http://philhore.blogspot.com.au/
https://www.amazon.com.au/Order-DRAGON-Sebastian-Adventure-Bloodline-ebook/dp/B01DCN0UJC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1535371822&sr=1-1&keywords=phil+horeCarolyn Denman's SENTINELS OF EDEN series begins with SONGLINES, then SANGUINE, then SYMPATH, and Book 4 is on the way.
http://carolyndenman.com/
https://www.amazon.com.au/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=carolyn+denman&rh=n%3A4851626051%2Ck%3Acarolyn+denman
We belong to the Earth, Lainie-Bug. We were sent here in human form for a reason. If you don’t know what to do, then just be human.
Right. Like that was ever a simple thing to do.
In the heart of the Wimmera region of Victoria, an ancient gateway to Eden is kept hidden and safe by a creature so powerful that even the moon would obey her commands – at least it would if she had any idea that she wasn’t just a normal girl about to finish high school.
When a mining company begins exploratory sampling near Lainie’s sheep farm, a family secret is revealed that makes her regret not having learnt more about her Indigenous heritage.
What she’s told by their farmhand, Harry – an Aboriginal Elder – can’t possibly be true, but then the most irritating guy in class, Bane, begins to act even more insanely toward her than ever, until she can no longer deny that something very unusual is going on.
When Harry doesn’t return from his quest to seek help to protect the area from the miners, Lainie sets out to discover the truth of her heritage, and of the secret she’s been born to protect.Julian Barr's debut novel is ASHES OF OLYMPUS.
https://jbarrauthor.wordpress.com/
https://www.amazon.com.au/Way-Home-Julian-Barr/dp/1925652351/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535371731&sr=8-1&keywords=julian+barr+ashes+of+olympus
The gods betray you.
The winds are hunting.
Nowhere is safe.
The journey begins…
The war of the gods has left Aeneas’s country in flames. Though he is little more than a youth, Aeneas must gather the survivors and lead them to a new homeland across the roaring waves. Confronted by twisted prophecies, Aeneas faces the wrath of the immortals to find his own path.
First in a trilogy based on Virgil’s epic poetry, Ashes of Olympus: The Way Home is a tale of love and vengeance in an age of bronze swords and ox-hide shields.MUD AND GLASS by Laura E. Goodin.
http://www.lauraegoodin.com/
http://odysseybooks.com.au/titles/9781922200860/
Life is fairly workaday for Dr Celeste Carlucci, a professor at Krasnia’s finest university, until her best friend and colleague Pace involves Celeste in her research.
Before long, Celeste is being shot at from a hovering helicopter, attacked on a moonlit mountain path, and followed by shadowy minions – on the trail of the Littoral Codex, an ancient and indecipherable book.
The race is on to figure out its secrets. On one side are Celeste and her colleagues, armed with nothing but enthusiasm, brilliant minds, and the principles of geography. Against them are the repressive university governors and their jackbooted campus security guards; the rich and power-hungry Praxicopolis family; and a renegade group of researchers, the Littoral League.
Will this ragtag bunch outwit their foes before it’s too late?Felicity Banks's Australian steampunk trilogy is now complete.
HEART OF BRASS
SILVER AND STONE
IRON LIGHTS
All three books are available anywhere online or in stores, or you can buy a signed copy/copies at FelicityBanks.wordpress.com/store.
HEART OF BRASS blurb:
Emmeline Muchamore is a well-bred young lady hiding explosive family secrets. She needs to marry well, and quickly, in order to keep her family respectable. But when her brass heart malfunctions, she makes a desperate choice to steal the parts she needs to repair it and survive.
She is unable to explain her actions without revealing she has a steam-powered heart, so she is arrested for theft and transported to Victoria, Australia – right in the midst of the Gold Rush.
Now that she’s escaped the bounds of high society, iron manacles cannot hold her for long.
The only metal that really matters is gold.My most popular digital interactive story is found in the CHOICES THAT MATTER serial story hub app by Tin Man Games.
I co-wrote AND THE SUN WENT OUT, wrote AND THEIR SOULS WERE EATEN, and I'm editing AND THEIR HEROES WERE LOST as Phill Berrie writes it.
You can read the beginning for free on either iOS or Google Play:
iOS:
https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/choices-and-the-sun-went-out/id1004909104?mt=8
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=au.com.tinmangames.choices&hl=en
Or if you'd like a rollicking pirate adventure, try SCARLET SAILS. It's available through Choice of Games's Hosted Games label on a variety of digital platforms which are all linked through:
https://www.choiceofgames.com/user-contributed/scarlet-sails/#utm_medium=web&utm_source=ourgamesFelicity Banks has designed and curated art-filled short stories featuring all the authors included in this map.
[[Murder in the Mail]]
[[Magic in the Mail]]Carmel Bendon's debut novel is GRASPING AT WATER.
A mysterious woman is found alive an unharmed, floating in Sydney Harbour. Who is she?
https://carmelbendon.com
OdysseyBooks.com.au (available Spring 2018)