Whew, what a year… and it’s only March. 🙃
For the past couple months, I’ve been knee deep in French Revolution research for my current WIP, A Cursed Age. While I’ve teased about this story already on social media, this is my official post to introduce you to this story, which is an alternate history tale that combines Gothic themes, ancient Greek mythology, and the beginning of Steampunk all during the Napoleonic Wars (the Third Coalition, to be precise).
In summary, A Cursed Age is the story of two very different people who are brought together by fate. Captain Ryland Coldwell is an immortal pirate who’s unable to leave the Caribbean islands due to the curse his scorned lover bestowed on him. Trying for over a century to escape, he wishes that one of the newly invented airships would appear to help him flee… and then one day, it does. Emmeline Whittock owns the airship, and she and the crew have just fled Europe with no intention of returning. The airship is the first of its kind in speed and craftmanship, and very much wanted by men who are close to Napoleon Bonaparte, including her ex-fiancé who wants to wager the airship for his own gains. Unfortunately, Ryland’s scorned lover – the beautifully cruel witch, Gwenifer – is found to be located in Venice, murdering for the blood that keeps her powerful, and the only person who can stop her (and end the curse) is Ryland… despite the fact that its the exact location that could put the airship, Emmeline, and the crew at risk. Things become more complicated when the curse that has kept Ryland in the Caribbean begins to follow them, making the journey back to war-torn Europe much more dangerous. And despite their mutual attraction, Ryland and Emmeline will both learn that no matter how hard they love someone, it won’t always be enough to save them.
Now, compared to All the Dark Souls, this next story is a completely different kind of beast with 62 chapters currently plotted (give or take how some of those chapters go). A lot more history has gone into it, so writing has been much slower compared to those last 3 books. I’m actually a little frustrated with it since I really wanted this story done by the end of this month, but given all the details that are being intertwined into the plot, I’m now planning (and hoping) to have it done by April. Meh.
And when I say a lot more history, I mean a lot more. Though a little tedious at times, its been fun integrating all these facts and seeing how history could have been if some things had gone differently. For instance, the steam engine itself can be dated back to the late 1600s, with experimental devices going all the way back to 1st century A.D. in Alexandria, Egypt. Propellers on boats didn’t come about until 1839, but the idea dates back to Archimedes in 200 BC (fun fact: the steamship that had that propeller was named the SS Archimedes). So, in retrospect, if any of these past inventors had put their ideas into motion sooner, there’s a probability steam engines could have been in production earlier. And, given that the first hot air balloon ride occurred in 1783 (and by ride, I mean one person), these inventions could have been implemented onto the hot air balloon, thus creating and evolving into what us steampunk fans know and love as the airship.
To go a step further: given the timeframes and the possibility of steam engines being more advanced by the time the hot air balloon came around, the first inventions of the airship could have started in late 1700s, giving them about 100 years of flexibility to advance, which would put them in their prime during the late Victorian Age, which is the exact time period that Steampunk is set in. So with that theory in play, 1806 (the year A Cursed Age is set in) would be the year that airships were just starting to become prevalent and a new market for them beginning to expand, which is exactly where the airship industry is at in the story.
That what-if rabbit hole I just showed you, dear readers, is how this entire writing process has been going. That’s how spiraling, out-of-control this story is. 👏 For. 👏 Every. 👏 Single. 👏 Scene. 👏👏👏
As for the rest of my researching, I have been revisiting the French Revolution, mainly because the war’s impact on society was still very much felt in 1806. The revolution also brought about the rise of Napoleon, which obviously has a very heavy presence in this story, given that he was conquering much of Europe at the time. In fact, I didn’t realize how far his reach was until I started plotting the scenes, finding that not only was his navy in the Caribbean at the time our beloved cursed pirate was there, but that the United States bought territory from Napoleon in a little deal called the Louisiana Purchase just 3 years prior. And part of that territory included the growing port city of New Orleans – another location and vital part of this story.
So yeah. Hopefully, I can wrap things up by the end of April. 🥴 As to other book news, I’ve slowly but surely been creating the cover art for this next book (which, like the story, is much more complicated than the last ones), while also staring at the templates for the hardcovers for All the Blood Spilt and All the Kings Fall. As you can tell, I’ve really gotten involved with A Cursed Age, so my ability to multitask has faltered a bit. But never fear! Those hardcovers will be made before summer, and if all goes well, I’ll have pre-order and release news on this next book by May/June. 😎 We’ll see how this goes… 🎢
As always, stay safe and stay reading, peeps! 🖤
(Psst! Gifs are from The Emperor’s New Groove and doesn’t belong to me.)
A. M. Dunnewin 