Amazing Steampunk Trailer From Carina Press

In anticipation of Steampunk Week at Carina Press (the last week in April), the staff there have put together this utterly gorgeous trailer showing off seven steampunk titles. My novella, The Mysterious Lady Law, is among them!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKFmn6H-VYI

How's that for a visual feast?

The individual titles are:

The Mysterious Lady Law by Robert Appleton
Badlands by Seleste deLaney
The Twisted Tale of Stormy Gale by Christine Bell
Photographs and Phantoms by Cindy Spencer Pape
Island of Icarus by Christine Danse
Steam & Sorcery by Cindy Spencer Pape
Like Clockwork by Bonnie Dee

EPIC Award Winner 2011 - Sunset on Ramree

On Saturday 12th March, at Williamsburg, Virginia, Epicon announced Sunset on Ramree as the 2011 EPIC Award winner for Best Historical Fiction!! Fabulous news and a great honour. The Eppie is the highest accolade for a digitally published book. It's not only the first time I've won one, it's also the first for my publisher, Eternal Press. A special thank you to all my readers who've emailed to let me know how much they enjoyed the story. For those who haven't yet had the chance, you can learn more about history's deadliest crocodile attack here!

Best,
Robert

Three More Book Contracts With Carina Press!

Exciting news! The contracts just arrived for THREE upcoming books, all to be published by Carina Press! Sparks in Cosmic Dust is an epic sci-fi adventure novel with romantic elements--I'm currently editing it with Deb Nemeth for a September release. Alien Velocity is a re-release of my EPIC Award SF finalist, Charlie Runs Rings Around the Earth. And finally, Prehistoric Clock is a steampunk time travel adventure (short novel) I'm hoping to make into a series. Yep, this lot will keep me busy while I tackle my long-in-the-offing haunted house novel this year. I'll post updates on all these projects along the way.

In the meantime, you can read a bit more about them here.

Robert

Author Spotlight & Lady Law Contest

I'm appearing in the Author Spotlight this week on Cate Masters's blog. Join me there for some fun behind-the-scenes insights, and be sure to leave a comment for your chance to win a digital copy of The Mysterious Lady Law.

http://catemasters.blogspot.com/2010/03/robert-appleton-in-author-spotlight.html

Best,

Robert

Jaq's Harp - SF with a Fairytale Twist

I haven't read this one yet, but I'm dying to. Jaq's Harp by lovely SF Romance author Ella Drake has one of the most imaginative premises I've come across in a while. I love it when old myths and fables are given the twisty SF treatment. Check this out:

In a world of floating islands and bio-engineered beans, the bad guys are taken down by agents of the Mother organization—agents like Jacqueline "Jaq" Robinson. Instead of accepting her next routine assignment, she sets out on a mission of her own—to destroy Giant Corp, the company responsible for her sister's wasting illness. Jaq must steal her cure from Giant's headquarters high above the city...even though she'll be brought face-to-face with Harper English, the man who left her to go deep undercover at Giant.

For Harp, Jaq had been a distraction the mercenary thought he couldn't afford. But once he sees her again, Harp knows he's made a mistake. Even though she vowed he won't have her again, it's clear they still have a powerful attraction. Harp's determined to get a second chance with Jaq—if they can escape Giant Corp and get back to solid ground in one piece...

20,600 words

A futuristic Jack and the Beanstalk, anyone? With added biotech beans? You just know this one's gonna rock.

Read an excerpt here!

Jaq's Harp is available now as an eBook from Carina Press

and also as an Audiobook!

To learn more about Ms. Drake and her fabulous dark paranormal and SF works, click here!

Top Pick Review for The Mysterious Lady Law!

AmyC at Night Owl Reviews gave my steampunk novella 4.5/5 and a Top Pick rating! And the best part: she cited my two favourite Victorian authors, Haggard and Wells, in her review. :doffs bowler hat to AmyC:

Here's a snippet:

"Mr. Appleton’s voice reminded me of all the great classic books I loved to read, Haggard, Wells—so I was absolutely thrilled to find a modern day book with the same tone. Mr. Appleton’s Victorian London was very well done and I wouldn’t hesitate to read more of his works or recommend him to Steampunk fans."

Read the full review here

New Release: The Temporal Man

Two new releases in one week -- both involving fantasy and historical England! But that's where the similarities end. You see, The Temporal Man runs alone.

Just like its eponymous hero, this imaginative novella is hard to pin down. It's a high fantasy tale involving time travel, romance, out-of-time travel, sea battles, temporal mountain climbing, swashbuckling, and other unpredictable adventures. As a storyteller, you'll find me at my most wistful and escapist in The Temporal Man -- and I dare you to come along for the ride!


Have you ever wondered what it’s like outside of time? For disillusioned young waitress Rebecca Green, those words become startling reality when a mysterious stranger arrives to literally turn her world upside down.

Sam Morrow is on the run. He’s being pursued across time by four dangerous men from his past, including the deadliest swordsman in France. But now that he’s found the girl of his dreams, it might just be time to stand and fight. Rebecca has an idea—to recruit the best swordsman in eighteenth century England—but will aristocratic Percy Torrance dare miss his wedding on Monday for an unprecedented time travel journey?

Pulse-pounding duels, sea battles and a daring mountain rescue punctuate this tale of romance on the edge. From the distant past to the far-flung future, there’s no hiding from fate. Hold on tight to The Temporal Man.

Novella, 26,000 words

The eBook version is available now (priced $3.99) at:

Moongyspy Press
Amazon Kindle
All Romance Ebooks

The paperback edition is coming soon from Amazon!

(A quick note to all my Esther May Morrow fans: I'm not quite finished with her yet!)