So...I've got a novel coming out. A dieselpunk novel.

Hopefully, this won't come off too much as plugging myself. Before I start, I'd like to thank members of this community who read the first chapter of the book and gave some encouraging comments. Those were what I needed to give me the kick in the pants to finish the book and send it off.

And right about now I'm wishing I had the cover art to show off. Apparently it's in-progress. The publisher is in the middle of a half-dozen housekeeping tasks, and so there seem to be a few delays in editing and preparing things for publication. Anyway...

My dieselpunk novel, Iron Heart, is due to be published by Solstice in the next few months. At the moment, I believe it's going to be only an electronic release. But if sales are good, who knows - it may see actual print (keeping my fingers crossed - I like e-publishing, but I'd love to hold an actual printed copy of it in my greasy little mitts). As for the novel itself...

Iron Heart is a war story set in the world of Autumn, filled with gigantic armored machines fighting a conflict that spans an entire continent. At the same time, the story focuses on one small corner of the world, and on one small group of people just trying to survive.

Six months ago, the forces of Thule swarmed across  the borders, determined to recaptured the glory of the Old Empire by conquering the outlying territories which have been independent since its fall centuries ago. With airships and giant landcruisers, the Thule have quickly overwhelmed smaller nations, including the kingdom of Poziel.

The people of Poziel's last line of defense is their only remaining armored train, Ironheart, a rolling fortress on the tracks. She and her crew stand between the Thule and complete conquest of the nation. Taryn Eile, a young woman fresh off the farm, is attached to the armored train as part of a squad of skirmishers. In the crucible of the war, Taryn sets out to prove herself. As the Poziel army reels from defeat  after defeat, she and her squadmates begin to question their own beliefs and their faith.

There's the summary. Right now, I'm working on two more Autumn novels - one a direct sequel to Iron Heart, the other set on the war's western front, the story of a pack of freewheeling air pirates trying to make a buck off of the war (so far, it's a bit more of a pulp action-y romp than the first).

Again, I'd like to thank everybody here for the support and inspiration. I don't know if I would have been able to finish it without the encouragement. I haven't been as active on this site as I would like, but things have been rather busy for me lately. I'm going to try to change that, as I'd like to give something back. Once the "Coming Soon" goes up on Solstice's site, I'll put the first couple of chapters of the novel up on my site (http://www.eldritchengines.com) for people to read. I'll do it as soon as I can (I removed the first chapter I'd posted here once I sent the manuscript off - sorry), I promise.