Book Information supplied by Bewitching Blog Tours
Chasing the Star
Garden
The Airship Racing Chronicles
The Airship Racing Chronicles
Book I
Melanie Karsak
Genre: Alternative History/Gaslamp-Steampunk
Publisher: Clockpunk Press
Date of Publication: December 4th, 2013
ISBN: 978-0615878775
ISBN-10: 0615878776
Number of pages: 325
Word Count: 70,000
Cover Artist: Damonza
BLURB supplied by Bewitching Blog Tours
An opium-addicted beauty.
An infamous poet living in self-imposed
exile.
An ancient treasure about to fall into the
wrong hands.
Melanie
Karsak’s “Chasing the Star Garden” takes the reader on an exciting adventure
from the gritty opium dens of gaslamp London to the gem colored waters of the
ancient world, introducing us to Lily Stargazer, a loveable but reckless
airship racer with a famous lover and a shattered past.
Lily
Stargazer is having a bad day. She just lost the London leg of the 1823 Airship
Grand Prix. To top it off, a harlequin fleeing from constables shoved a
kaleidoscope down her pants, told her to fly to Venice, then threw himself from
her airship tower. What’s a girl to do? For Lily, the answer is easy: drink
absinthe and smoke opium.
Lily’s
lover, Lord Byron, encourages her to make the trip to Venice. Lily soon finds
herself at the heart of an ancient mystery which has her running from her past
and chasing true love and the stars along the way.
EXCERPT
Chapter 1
I was
going to lose-again. I gripped the brass handles on the wheel hard and turned
the airship sharply port. The tiller vibrated in protest making the wheel shake
and my wrist bones ache. Bracing my knees against the spokes, I tore off my
brown leather gloves to get a better feel. The metal handgrips were smooth and
cold. My fingers tingled from the chill.
“Easy,”
I whispered to the Stargazer. I looked up from my position at the
wheelstand, past the ropes, burner basket, and balloon, toward the clouds. They
were drifting slowly left in a periwinkle blue sky. There would be an updraft
as we passed over the green brown waters of the canal near Buckingham House. I
locked the wheel and jumped from the wheelstand onto the deck of the gondola
and looked over the rail. The canal waters were about a hundred feet away. I
ran back to the wheel and steadied the ship. If I caught the updraft, it would
propel me up and forward, giving me an edge.
“Cutter
caught it, Lily,” Jessup yelled down from the burner basket below the balloon
opening. “Up he goes,” he added, looking out through his spyglass. The gold
polish on the spyglass reflected the fire from the burner.
“Dammit!”
I snapped down my binocular lense. I saw Hank Cutter’s red and white striped
balloon rise upward. At the top, he pitched forward with great momentum,
catching a horizontal wind. I could just make out Cutter at the wheel. His
blond hair blew wildly around him. He turned and waved to me. Wanker.
I was
not as lucky. Just as the bow of the Stargazer reached the water, a
stray wind came in and blew me leeward. The balloon jiggled violently in the
turbulent air. I missed the air pocket altogether.
“No!
No, no, no!” I cursed and steadied the ship. I had chased Cutter from Edinburgh
across the Scottish and English countryside. He had been off his game all day.
I’d had him by half a mile the entire race. With the bottom feeders lingering
somewhere in the distance behind us, I’d thought the London leg of the 1823
Airship Grand Prix would be mine. That was until St. Albans, where Cutter
caught a random breeze that pushed him slightly in front of me. Cutter had a
knack for catching favorable winds; it was not a talent I shared.
“We’re
coming up on Westminster,” Jessup called from the basket. “Lily, drop altitude.
Cutter is too high. Come in low and fast, and you might overtake him.”
The
airship towers sat at the pier near the Palace of Westminster along the Thames.
A carnival atmosphere had overtaken the city as it always does on race day.
There were colorful tents set up everywhere. Vendors hawked their wares to the
excited Londoners and international visitors. Even from this distance, I could
hear the merchants barking from their tents. I even fancied I could smell
roasted peanuts in the wind.
I
jumped down from the wheelstand, ran across the deck, and pulled the valve
cord, opening the flap at the top of the balloon. Hot air released with a hiss.
I kept one eye on the balloon and another eye on Tinkers’ Tower. At this time
of day, the heat coming off of the Palace of Westminster and Tinkers’ Tower
would give you a bump. I looked up. Cutter had started preparing his descent.
It would be close.
I ran
back to the wheel.
“Angus,
I need more speed,” I yelled down to the gear galley, rapping on the wooden
hatch that led to the rods, belts, and propeller parts below.
Angus
slapped open the hatch and stuck out his bald head. His face was covered in
grease, and his blue-lense monocle glimmered in the sunlight. He looked up at
the clouds and back at me.
“Let’s
giddyup,” I called to him.
“You
trying the Tower sling?” he yelled back.
“You
got it.”
He
laughed wildly. “That’s my lassie,” he yelled and dropped back down, pulling
the wood hatch closed with a clap. I heard the gears grind and the propeller,
which had been turning nice and steady, hummed loudly. The ship pitched
forward. Within moments, we were coming up on Tinkers’ Tower. The airship
towers were just a stone’s throw away.
I
aimed the ship directly toward Tinkers’ Tower. Just as the bowsprit neared the
clock, I yanked the wheel. The warm air caught us.
“Whoa!”
Jessup yelled as the balloon moved within arm’s length of the tower.
The
sound of “Ohhs!” echoed from the crowd below.
A mix
of warm air and propulsion gave us some go, and seconds later we were
slingshotting around Tinkers’ Tower toward the airship platforms. Gliding in on
warm air and momentum, we flew fast and low.
Cutter
had kept it high, but now he was dropping like a stone toward his own tower.
Damned American. I didn’t blame him; I would have used the same move. His
balloon was releasing so much air that I wondered if he would be able to slow
down in time, not that I wouldn’t mind seeing him smash to the ground in a
million pieces.
“It’s
going to be close,” Jessup yelled as he adjusted the heat pan.
I
guided the helm. The Stargazer was temperamental, but we understood one
another. A shake of the wheel warned me I was pushing too hard. “Almost there,”
I whispered to the ship.
The
Grand Prix Marshalls were standing on the platform. Cutter and I had the end
towers. I was going to make it.
“Cut
propulsion,” I yelled toward the gear galley. On the floor near the wheelstand
was a rope attached to a bell in the galley. I rang it twice. The propeller
switched off.
A
soft, sweet wind blew in from the port side. It ruffled my hair around my
shoulders. I closed my eyes and turned the wheel slightly starboard, guiding
the ship in. As the bowsprit scooped into the opening of the tower, I heard a
jubilant cheer erupt from the American side and an explosion from the firework
cannon signaling the winner had been declared.
My
eyes popped open. I tore off my goggles and looked starboard. Cutter’s balloon
was parked. I threw the goggles onto the deck and set my forehead against the
wheel.
The Stargazer
settled into her tower. Jessup set the balloon on hover and, grabbing a rope,
swung down to the deck. He then threw the lead lines and anchors onto the
platform. The beautifully dressed crowd, gentlemen in suits and top hats and
fancy ladies in a rainbow of satin gowns and parasols, rushed toward the
American end of the platform to congratulate the winner.
I was,
once again, a national disgrace. Lily the loser. Lily second place. Perhaps I
would never be anything more than a ferrywoman, a cheap air jockey.
“Good
job, Lily. Second place!” Jessup said joining me. He patted me on the shoulder.
I
sighed deeply and unbuttoned my vest. The tension had me sweating; I could feel
it dripping down from my neck, between my breasts, into my corset.
“You
did great,” I told Jessup. “Sorry I let you down.”
“Ah,
Lily,” he sighed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AUTHOR LINKS
Be sure
to request an Authorgraph
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
GIVEAWAY
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in conjunction with
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The Prizes are:
(SADLY GIVEAWAY IS US ONLY)
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
What is your name, where were you born
and where do you live now?
Melanie Karsak. I was born in
northwestern Pennsylvania. I am from a little town named Tidioute, PA. I now
live in Viera, FL.
Did you always want to be a writer? If
not what did you want to be?
I always wanted to be a writer. I used to write newspapers
for fun when I was a kid. I wrote my first play when I was in the 5th
grade and my first novel when I was in 6th grade. I always wanted to
be an author. I finished my first 100,000 plus word novel my freshman year of
college. Gosh, what a cliché ridden piece of writing it is, but it was a start!
Do you work another job as well as your
writing work?
I am currently an English Instructor at
Eastern Florida State College.
What is the name of your latest book,
and if you had to summarise it in less than 20 words what would you say?
My new work is Chasing the Star
Garden. Less than 20 words. Humm, let’s
try this: Lily Stargazer, a loveable but reckless airship racer, finds herself
chasing love and the stars in new steampunk adventure.
How long does it usually take you to
write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?
I do a lot of writing in my head. I can
complete a first draft in a couple of months. After that, however, it can take
me a year to edit!
Which of your books were easier/harder
to write than the others?
I have several partial, unfinished
novels. It seems that the story either works or it doesn’t. I try to think a
plot the full way through before I begin writing. If I don’t, the novel seems
to die 30,000 words in.
What can we expect from you in the
future? ie More books of the same genre?
Books of a different genre?
I am a fantasy writer, but you will see
me in steampunk, zombie, and historical fantasy sub-genres. I am currently
working on other projects in The Airship Racing Chronicles series and I am also
writing The Harvesting series, my dark fantasy/zombie series.
Do you have plans for a new book? Is
this book part of a series?
The second novel in this series, Chasing
the Green Fairy, will be released in the spring of 2014.
What genre would you place your books
into?
Fantasy and her sub-genres.
What made you decide to write that genre
of book?
I love it. I have always loved to read
fantasy. I feel very at home here.
How do you come up with the Title and
Cover Designs for your book/books?Who designed the Cover of your books?
I worked hard to come up with the right title
for this series. I wanted something I could carry across the series. Once I
decided all the titles would include “Chasing,” I was all set. Damonza designed
the cover for this novel. We knew we wanted the star and Venice depicted. After
that, Damon made an amazing cover.
Do you choose a title first, or write
the book then choose the title?
Usually title comes last for me because
it is so bloody hard to come up with a great title. For this novel, however,
the right title fell into place. We played with the title “High Addiction” but
“Chasing the Star Garden” felt more romantic.
How do you come up with characters names
and place names in your books?
There is a great back-story on how Lily
Stargazer ended up with her name. It is revealed through the course of the
first two novels. I’ll let the reader discover how this unique name unfolded
Have you ever based characters on people
you know or based events on things that have happened to you?
Lord Byron is, of course, a historical
figure. But my Lord Byron is not the Lord Byron per se. The Lord Byron in
my book is based off the real man, but George Gordon never really knew a girl
named Lily Stargazer.
Are there any hidden messages or morals
contained in your books? (Morals as in like Aesops Fables type of "The
moral of this story is..")
Yes, everywhere. From the names of the
airships to the meaning of the flowers mentioned, I carefully chose all of the
symbolic meanings in this book.
Where can readers follow you?
Follow me here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelanieKarsak
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorMelanieKarsak
Email: karsakmelanie@gmail.com
Pinterest:
www.pinterest.com/melaniekarsak/
Books available here:
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/melanie-karsak
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/252992
Would you like to share anything else?
Thank you so much for letting me stop
by! It is so much fun to share some of the details that went into writing
Chasing the Star Garden. Enjoy!
You are so welcome to stop by! Thanks for sharing so much interesting information about your book and it's writing process.
GIVEAWAY
This is a Tour Wide Giveaway
in conjunction with
Bewitching Blog Tours
The Prizes are:
Grand prize is a
Kindle Fire HDX Table and an autographed copy of Chasing the Star Garden
Second place, an
autographed copy of Chasing the Star Garden (5 winners)
Third place, 20
ebook copies of Chasing the Star Garden (20 winners)(SADLY GIVEAWAY IS US ONLY)
Thank you for the giveaway. The book sounds amazing. It wouldn't be a bad idea if I win one. :)
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