New Release: The Mysterious Lady Law

And there she goes! Wind all clocks back to 1899, hold your breath (London was rather smoggy in those days) and delve into the exciting world of airships, giant burrowing machines, and all manner of steam-powered awesomeness. Today, The Mysterious Lady Law makes her debut at Carina Press. Come and find out what all the fuss is about...

In a time of grand airships and steam-powered cars, the death of a penniless young maid will hardly make the front page. But part-time airship waitress and music hall dancer Julia Bairstow is shattered by her sister's murder. When Lady Law, the most notorious private detective in Britain, offers to investigate the case pro bono, Julia jumps at the chance—even against the advice of Constable Al Grant, who takes her protection surprisingly to heart.

Lady Law puts Scotland Yard to shame. She's apprehended Jack the Ripper and solved countless other cold-case crimes. No one knows how she does it, but it's brought her fortune, renown and even a title. But is she really what she claims to be—a genius at deducting? Or is Al right and she is not be trusted?

Julia is determined to find out the truth, even if it means turning sleuth herself—and turning the tables on Lady Law...


The eBook is available at:

Carina Press (20% off!)
Amazon Kindle
Diesel Ebooks
Mobipocket
Books on Board
OmniLit

Or downoad the audiobook from Audible (a first for me!)

Tally-ho, dear readers! Hope you enjoy it.

Rob

Early Reviews for The Mysterious Lady Law

I have to say, my new publisher Carina Press has done a tremendous job of marketing The Mysterious Lady Law in the run-up to its release. Usually for a small press author, letting the public know that your book even exists is a long, laborious process that has you multi-tasking like crazy for weeks, even months on end, often to little reward. So it's a huge relief to know your publisher is working just as hard in that same endeavour. Trust me, that isn't always the case.

Carina (a digital imprint of Harlequin) uses a handy website called Netgalley, through which prospective reviewers can request a free ARC. And through todays's inexhaustible social networking magic, those early reviews can (hopefully) spark that elusive, cyber-alchemic reaction that spreads word of your book in avenues you never knew existed. It's a bit of a gamble--what if the reviewers hate your book--and there's no guarantee of anything, even if they like it, but Netgalley is one of the best ideas I've come across for eBook marketing.

Here are a few of the early reviews I found for my steampunk debut, The Mysterious Lady Law (officially released in 2 days!):

"...succeeds in capturing the spirit of the classic "Whodunit" detective fiction. With the added steampunk element, it's quite the imaginative romp...I hear-tell that this story is Robert Appleton's first go at steampunk. I think he wove a fun little tale, and hope he has plans to write in the genre again." 4/5 -- Alisha, My Need to Read

"...filled with adventure and wonderful steampunk gadgets ...It is interesting to see if a dance hall girl, detective and aging adventurer can outwit the formidable Lady Law. I recommend this book to lovers of steampunk and lovers of mysteries." -- Kathy, Inside of a Dog

"Journey into a steampunk reimagining of Victorian London in The Mysterious Lady Law. Robert Appleton has penned an entertaining mystery that starts off with a bang and ends in a mostly satisfying way. I liked Julia, Al, and Holly, the tale’s protagonists. They’re interesting characters with unique voices and their energy buoyed the story." -- Shayna, Joyfully Reviewed

"Robert Appleton does an excellent job of realizing this world and building the bits and baubles up a piece at a time... Overall, I enjoyed the worldbuilding and the mystery. I was kept guessing on what was coming right up to the end and I was left satisfied with the story we were given." -- Kelly, Reading the Paranormal


See you at Carina on Monday!
www.carinapress.com

Best,
Rob

Love Romances Cafe Awards 2011!

Nominations for the Love Romances Cafe Awards were announced yesterday. Claire de Lune received two: Best Sci-Fi/Futuristic Book and Best Cover. My uber-talented co-writer Sloane Taylor also received nods for her brilliant erotic books, French Kiss and French Twist.

Shout-outs also go out to my fabulous blog friends Clare London, Tabitha Shay, Ella Drake, and Melissa Bradley, who all earned nominations!

Claire De Lune: Dual Interview Round Two...

...in which Sloane Taylor and I field delightful questions by the fabulous erotic author, Melissa Bradley. These dual interviews are a lot of fun as we don't get to see each other's answers until the actual blog goes live. Find out what we had to say about Claire de Lune (and one another) at Melissa's Imaginarium.

The incomparable Sloane Taylor has a website and blog here.

Claire de Lune is now also available on Amazon Kindle, as well as at All Romance Ebooks.

Impulse Power - Out Now In Paperback

Samhain's super-shiny space romance anthology IMPULSE POWER, featuring The Mythmakers by yours truly, is out now in paperback! The other two stories in this triple threat extravaganza are Metal Reign (by Nathalie Gray) and Hearts and Minds (by JC Hay). Tremendous stories by ace writers. All this was masterminded by editor and Firefly fangirl, Sasha Knight. The much-ogled cover is the work of intergalactic super-being Kanaxa (aka Nathalie Gray).

IMPULSE POWER is available here, or you can order it from Amazon if you like.

Light-speed isn't fast enough to outrun the heart.

Claire de Lune: Dual Author Interview

How on earth (or elsewhere) did two authors from opposite sexes and opposite genres--science fiction and erotic romance--ever get to join forces for a sexy mystery novel set on the moon? Head on over to the lovely Beth Anderson's blog to find out.

Hint: I'm the manly sci-fi half. ("Who's scruffy-looking?")

In the meantime, here's the blurb for Claire de Lune, our daring eBook recently released at Amber Quill Press - Amber Heat. (Paperback coming soon).

CLAIRE DE LUNE by Sloane Taylor & Robert Appleton

You’re invited to the galaxy’s most prestigious beauty pageant. Clothing optional. Romance and danger…fully provided…

Cocky young detectives Gerry Rappeneau and Sebastian Thorpe-Campbell arrive at the premier lunar resort expecting a week of eye candy and long massages. With a half-billion-credit purse up for grabs, this year’s pageant is the focus of a hundred worlds. And beauty isn’t the only thing in the eye of the beholder.

One contestant, Evelyn Lyons, is attacked and her assailant killed. Surely a simple case of a stalker gone mad, as nothing bad ever happens at the Selene contest. So the brochure says.

The closer Gerry gets to Evelyn, the more he is convinced she’s hiding something. His meticulous character sparks with her wild, sassy nature, and they embark on a torrid affair. Their forbidden romance isn’t the only thing set to ignite in Pont de Reves.

Sebastian’s infatuation with demure Claire Villiers, another contestant, threatens to put all four of them in harm’s way. A deadly trail of corporate conspiracy, monstrous assassins and hot bikini wax is more than anyone bargained for in this incendiary erotic mystery. Get ready for some serious heat on the dark side of the moon.

See you there,

Robert

Moongypsy Press Writing Contest

This just in from one of my publishers:

Moongypsy Press is proud to announce our first anniversary contest.

The theme for this year's contest is the End of the Aztec Calendar using Romance, Sci-Fi, Paranormal, or Historical genres.

The first place winner in each genre in the Novel class (80K or more words) will be published by Moongypsy Press in Ebook and Print formats.

Moongypsy Press will publish the first place winner in each genre of the short story class (50 K or less) in an anthology in both Ebook and Print formats.

Deadline for all entries is January 25, 2011, midnight PST

TO ENTER:
Electronically submit the first 30 pages to MGPFB@Hotmail. com along with a cover letter including word count, genre, and the following personal information:

Name (and pseudonym, if applicable)
Mailing address
Phone number
E-mail address
Web address (if available)

Judges:
Foery MacDonell, CEO Moongypsy Press, Author of Laird of the Mist, The Rhythm to Your Rhyme, and The Fool's Journey.
Tabitha Shay, member of the Oklahoma Writer's Federation, Inc., Author of Witch's Moon. Author of Montana Men under pen Jayden Chelcee
Diana Rubino, Sr. Acquisitions Editor at Moongypsy Press, Author of One Too Many Times and many historical novels.
Becky Eastman, Director of Marketing, Promotions, and Reviews