Storm & Fury by Gail Z. Martin & Larry N. Martin Book Tour and Giveaway :)
Storm
& Fury
A
Storm and Fury Adventures Collection
by
Gail Z. Martin & Larry N. Martin
Genre:
Paranormal Historical Adventure, Steampunk
New
Pittsburgh, 1898 – a crucible of invention and intrigue. Born from
the ashes of devastating fire, flood and earthquake, the city is
ruled by the shadow government of The Oligarchy. In the swarming
streets, people of a hundred nations drudge to feed the engines of
progress. The Department of Supernatural Investigation was set up to
take care of those things that live below, that go bump in the night…
those odd cases that go beyond ‘standard’ investigation.
Nicknamed ‘Storm and Fury’, Mitch Storm and Jacob Drangosavich
are two of the more creative agents, working in New Pittsburgh and
obeying the rules – when they have to.
A
collection of short stories and novellas set in the world of the Iron
& Blood novels and the related Storm and Fury
Adventures.
Includes:
Airship Down, Ruin Creek, Resurrection Day, The Hunt, Grave Voices,
and Rogue. Plus two bonus stories: Ghost Wolf and a Steampunk fairy
tale: The Patented Troll
Lagniappe
“I’ve
got to catch that train!” Agent Jacob Drangosavich of the
Department of Supernatural Investigation opened the throttle on his
steam-powered experimental velocipede, pushing the steambike to its
limits as he raced to catch up with the locomotive. All
of his attention was focused on the train, and he willed himself to
go faster, closing the distance between himself and the speeding
locomotive. Mitch
Storm, his partner, was aboard that train, and he was counting on
Jacob to back him up. The sound of a gunshot in the train’s sole
passenger car doubled Jacob’s resolve. That’s
got to be Mitch, Jacob thought. Question is, was Mitch doing
the shooting or getting shot? Jacob
coaxed a bit more speed from the velocipede, despite its straining
engine. He was gaining on the locomotive, close enough now to see the
automaton in the cab, a metal man taking the place of a human
railroad engineer at the controls of the train. The click-clack
of the train on the rails drowned out the roar of Jacob’s
steambike, and the clouds of smoke belched from the locomotive’s
stack drifted between him and his quarry, partially hiding him from
view. “Come
on, come on,” he muttered to himself, pushing the velocipede for
every bit of power its engine could muster. Jacob
had a Peacemaker in a shoulder holster and another, less conventional
weapon holstered at his hip. The Department paid the best scientists
in the country a premium to supply them with top-secret, often
one-of-a-kind weapons, tools, and gadgets that made the stories of
Jules Verne pale by comparison. “Just
a little more,” Jacob muttered, crouching low over the velocipede’s
handlebars to reduce the wind resistance. The steambike edged nearer
to the train, and Jacob grabbed his second gun, an odd contraption
with a bulbous grip and a metal tube in the center of a coil of
wires. Jacob veered his bike a few crucial inches closer, leveled his
weapon at the copper-faced werkman at the train’s controls,
and fired.
The
Hunt
“I
wish Falken would quit sending us out to look for agents that
vanished,” Mitch Storm grumbled. “Maybe
he’s hoping we’ll be the next ones to disappear,” Jacob
Drangosavich replied. He shifted his tall frame to get more
comfortable in his seat as the rail car swayed. “If you hadn’t
let Kesterson get away, Falken wouldn’t have had a reason to send
us to the godforsaken far north.” “I
had a sighting inside the building, and the dynamite brought the roof
down. That should have stopped him cold. How was I supposed to know
he’d gotten into the storm drain?” Mitch
Storm was average height, with a trim, muscular build. He had dark
hair, dark eyes, and a five o’clock shadow that started at three.
Mitch was exactly what a penny-dreadful novelist would imagine a
government secret agent and former army sharpshooter would look like. Jacob,
on the other hand, was tall and lanky, with a thin face, blond hair,
and blue eyes that spoke of his Eastern European heritage. He and
Mitch had been agents for the Department of Supernatural
Investigation since they had returned east after the rancher wars. The
click-clack of iron wheels on the rails confirmed that they
were making good time. Outside, the Adirondack Mountains were covered
with snow. “How long do you think Falken will keep us on
probation?” Jacob asked. Mitch
shrugged. “It was four months the last time, two the time before
that. So I wager we’re up to six months.” “Why
did you use dynamite?” Jacob asked, in an off-handed tone. Mitch
rolled his eyes. “I was improvising.” “Might
it be possible to improvise a little less … enthusiastically next
time? Sooner or later, Falken will give up on suspending us and just
convene a firing squad.” “The
Department doesn’t use those anymore,” Mitch replied. “I
checked.” Jacob
thought of a dozen arguments, but he knew Mitch was unlikely to heed
them. He dropped back against his seat. “At least we got a sleeper
train and a private cabin. Where do you think Kesterson will go
next?” “Not
really our concern, is it? Falken made that pretty clear.” Mitch
was quiet for a moment. “But Kesterson had some family in New
England. Since we’re all the way up here in the New York
hinterland, I figured we might poke around a little after we finish
our assignment—strictly off the record.”
Rogue
“Watch
out!” Mitch Storm yelled as he swung around, coming in to a firing
position and leveling his rifle. The shot flashed past Jacob,
catching a large gray wolf in its shoulder just as the wolf lunged
for the kill. The animal yelped in pain and drew back, bleeding but
not defeated. “Behind
you!” Jacob Drangosavich blasted his shotgun, aiming at the wolf
running toward Mitch. He missed, cursed, and reloaded, but the wolf
changed course, escaping the shot. The
wolves were huge and fast—and more aggressive than Mitch or Jacob
had ever seen before. They worked as a pack, keeping their would-be
prey corralled, striking in teams with uncanny precision. And despite
what Jacob had heard about wolves preferring not to engage with
humans, these animals seemed to be looking for a fight. Four
government agents. Four man-sized wolves. Jacob liked better odds.
It
was supposed to be a routine mission—as much as any assignment was
“routine” for the Department of Supernatural Investigation.
Reports of strange sightings and unusual kills of deer and farm
animals had the locals worried. Theories abounded, ranging from packs
of rabid wild dogs to crazed bears. A few old-timers muttered about
dark magic and a witch in the forest. DSI sent two agents to
investigate. Those agents disappeared.
A
man’s scream made Jacob wheel around, in time to see a wolf lunge
for Keller, one of their fellow agents. Keller wasn’t fast enough
to get out of the way, and the creature knocked him to the ground,
raking him with its claws. A second wolf closed quickly, biting deep
into Keller’s arm and knocking his rifle out of reach. Keller
shouted and struggled to get loose, pinned by wolves that were each
as big as he was. Mitch
gave a war cry and ran toward Keller, rifle at the ready. He shot the
wolf that had the agent pinned, catching the animal in the chest and
knocking it off Keller and onto its side. The second wolf snarled and
sprang at Mitch, who barely dodged out of the way of its sharp claws. A
rifle shot cracked. “Got it!” Agent Anna Corbett muttered as the
wolf fell over. “There’s
another one coming!” Jacob yelled, blasting the third wolf with his
shotgun.
Gail
Z. Martin
discovered her passion for science fiction, fantasy and ghost stories
in elementary school. The first story she wrote at age five was about
a vampire. Her favorite TV show as a preschooler was Dark Shadows. At
age 14, she decided to become a writer. She enjoys attending science
fiction/fantasy conventions, Renaissance fairs and living history
sites.
Larry N. Martin
is the author of the new sci-fi adventure novel Salvage Rat. He is
the co-author (with Gail Z. Martin) of the Spells, Salt, and
Steel/New Templars series; the Steampunk series Iron & Blood; and
a collection of short stories and novellas: The Storm & Fury
Adventures set in the Iron & Blood universe. He is also the
co-author of the upcoming Wasteland Marshals series and the Joe Mack
Cauldron/Secret Council series.
The Martins have
three children, a Maltese, and a Golden Retriever.
Website
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Author
Q&A with Gail Z. Martin and Larry N. Martin
Q:
What inspired you to write this book?
A:
We lived in Pittsburgh for ten years. There is so much history and so
many buildings still in great condition from the Victorian era. We
fell in love with the ‘steampunk’ and ‘paranormal alternate
history’ genres and decided that we wanted to set a series in
Pittsburgh in 1898, but with some changes to the real history.
Q:
What can we expect from you in the future?
A:
Right now, there’s a full novel (Iron & Blood) in this world,
plus the short stories and novellas collected in Storm and Fury. We
expect to have another novel (Spark of Destiny) out later in 2019.
Q:
Do you have any “side
stories”
about
the characters?
A:
Oddly enough, the novel Iron & Blood was the first in the series,
and the characters in Storm and Fury are side characters in that
book. Then we had the opportunity to write a number of short stories
and novellas for anthologies, and that led to the bulk of the stories
collected in Storm and Fury.
Q:
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Storm and Fury?
A:
Mitch Storm is a former Army sharpshooter who fought in the Rancher
Wars out West, alongside his friend Jacob Drangosavich. After the
conflict, Mitch and Jacob became agents with the secret Department of
Supernatural Investigation, and it’s their job to look into
paranormal incidents and handle problems. Mitch is handsome and
smooth talking, and he’s got a flair for explosions and being
somewhat reckless. Jacob blends in more, and he’s quiet, so he’s
perfect for observing a crowd or gathering information. They make a
great team, and they’ve always got each other’s backs!
Q:
How did you come up with the concept and characters for the book?
A:
We wanted to do a steampunk/paranormal alternative history story set
in Pittsburgh at the heyday of American steam-powered manufacturing,
a story that would use the history and locations of the city, and
that would weave in a tension between new technology and old magic.
The Victorians believed there was no problem science couldn’t
solve, which makes for great inventions, but that can be at odds with
supernatural creatures, paranormal threats and dark magic—and
that’s where Mitch and Jacob come in!
Q:
Where did you come up with the names in the story?
A:
We got the idea of ‘Storm and Fury’ from the German phrase ‘Sturm
und Drang’ which basically has the meaning ‘a whole lot of
commotion’. So the characters are Mitch Storm and Jacob
Drangosavich for a play on words.
Q:
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
A:
It was really fun revisiting the locations and buildings in
Pittsburgh that we knew well and reimagining them through the lens of
what was there in 1898 and how things were different. We also used a
lot of old maps that are now online to get the roads and bridges the
way they were back then, which was extremely interesting. So much has
changed, but an awful lot has stayed the same!
Q:
Tell us about your main characters- what makes them tick?
A:
Mitch likes to jump in and get things done. He’s got a great head
for strategy, but he gets twitchy and has trouble with patience.
Jacob has plenty of patience, and he’s good at getting people to
talk to him and underestimate him, or talk in front of him and not
notice he’s there, so he’s terrific at gathering intel. They are
best friends and work well together!
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