Gaslampfantasy Stories

Junos was, for a lack of better words, screwed. If she didn't produce results worthy of her rank, then surely the Auditors would be forced to strip her from her sorceress license, her workshop, her everything. She couldn't afford to fail, not with the fact that the livelihood of her apprentices was also at stake. With the clues given by her trusted peers, the sorceress and the twins would traverse the far reaches of the country in search for a solution. What they didn't expect was a fateful encounter with a solitary girl, non-human in origin, who would play a major role in Junos' life in the coming months.

The promise of eternal light has been too great of a cost for many people. Forced to serve the light, Thomas works against it in secret. He hates everything he has to do for the oppressive government, even as he fights them in the shadows. But people are too scared of a world without light. The rebellion isn't growing and his hopes are dimming. Then, one day, at a protest by a radical sect, hope lights up the darkness. Thomas is shown that the priests might not be the only ones who can summon the light. With the help of a disgraced reporter, he resolves to find the truth. Understand the mystery of Eternal Light.

*A cozy Victorian slice-of-life fantasy short story series* From cat caravans to cursed hedgehog spikes, islands with talking flowers to mist-shrouded wildwoods, Thicket & Thimble is an anthology short story series inspired by the likes of Beatrix Potter and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Each story follows a creature in their current chapter of life, be it going on an adventure on the other side of the continent or settling down at home. We meet all sorts of creatures from fiery lizards to a one-eyed goose, and get an inside peek at a Victorian world where animals rule and reign. Come along for kind and cozy stories, and see what the eclectic creatures get up to next. *Never miss meeting a creature or a new story, and find exclusive lore and chapters by joining This Dear Old World's monthly newsletter: https://thisdearoldworld.substack.com/

Newt was 9 when he was given up. He was 12 when the war started. He was 12 when he was lost. He was 17 when he was found again. A weird blend of Gaslamp Fantasy, Cyberpunk and TMR that no one asked for but I'm giving you all anyway. Can be read without knowledge of the original work. Cover art was made by me. Characters are owned by James Dashner, plot and world owned by me.

Everything that breathes is slowly turning into machines. A boy yet to fully turn sets out to sea to find the man responsible for it, the Mad Tinker, while tracking the remnants of a family that abandoned him. Enter a world with twelve seas where clockships fly on invisible timelines and the color of one's wizard hat determines their profession. The Twelve Seas are governed by the three fundamental laws of Chronodynamics. Whether it be through magic or technology these laws must be adhered to: 1.Time is a parabolic entity. It must always move forward. 2.Timelines cannot be created or destroyed. 3.The slowing or acceleration of time will result in an opposite and equal reaction.

From the Isles of Dusk comes Dusky Fellow, a story of conspiracy, assassination, and societal unrest in the city of Tandem. Gangs control street politics while aristocrats wrestle for power over the city. A king sits the throne of the Isles but his daughter holds the crown, and black magic lurks in every shadow.

Defiance burns hot. The Artifice Academy owns Inga completely, having stripped her of even her name. Now only Number 32, is the only way out of imprisonment and obscurity through servitude?

Life during The Raj can be full of perils for an English girl, even one raised in India with a parasol in one hand and a rifle in the other. Bunny Spencer's father sends her to London, but the moment she reaches British shores, a nightmarish beast attacks from the shadows. Now stranded in an unfamiliar land with her companion, Anju, she fears for their lives - until she meets a dashing stranger in pilot goggles. Jim Penderry is a reporter. He's also a monster hunting enthusiast with a passion for fine dining and a good mystery - not necessarily in that order. When a werewolf appears in London, Jim is determined to catch it. Or at the very least, find out why the creature is stalking Miss Bunny Spencer. With the help of the journalists at Penderry's Bizarre magazine, he chases the menace from the foggy streets of London to the colourful bazaars of Bombay. But nothing prepares Jim and Bunny for the secret they're about to uncover. Or the danger afoot. Mystery, monsters and science collide in this rip-roaring tale of adventure, romance and smoked eel.

The Quire Dynasty. It's beginning forged upon a foundation of blood, bones and lies. A Thirst for revenge, A centuries old tradition and A mission that pays handsomely lead 5 people into the Nara Grove. A forest fueled by secrets, unfulfilled prophecies and mythical creatures, It's treasures lure you in without escape. What happens when a warrior, a team of theives and a royal prince embark on their quests? What happens when they find themselves trapped in a hut amidst a snowstorm right at eachothers throats? What happens when sworn enemies have no where else to go? This is a tale of secrets and love, Ruin and Redress.

After her mother died, Munin, a young sorceress, has to reunite with her last living relative: her cousin, leader of the Rebellion against the biggest empire that the Earth has ever seen. With no time to mourn whom she lost, Munin has to learn how to fight if she wants to stay alive. Meanwhile, a pair of misterious people, known only as The Guardian and The Messenger, are watching every step she takes, knowing that Munin is the key to make their wishes come true. What are their real intentions?

A young rebel journalist living in a dystopia covered with mysterious darkness, searches for the truth behind the Eternal Light theocracy alongside the love of his life and his best friend. ***** All his life, Will Morris was told to never ask questions. In a world of eternal darkness, survival depends on eternal light. The light is given by priests at a price. People must worship the Eternal Light as a deity, accept the harsh rule of the priests, and never question anything. Some resist the tyranny of the light. Will struggles for truth in a world of lies. Kate struggles for peace in a world of strife. Shin struggles for freedom in a world of chains. The bond of these friends sustains them as they fight for a better world. But enemies are closer than they realize and one wrong move could destroy them all. Book One in the Eternal Series Content warning: This story contains themes of suicide.

--Watty winner-- In Victorian London, monster hunting isn't just a job, it's a way of life. Freddie Westman, a reporter for a paranormal magazine, is one of the best in the business, but now it's personal. His childhood friend, Jim Penderry, has disappeared, and the signs point to sinister forces from beyond the grave. If Westman wants to save Jim, he'll have to face his worst fear. No, not fighting a demon with only a cake to hand. Something far more daunting. Sceptical Sophie Penderry doesn't solve mysteries or go on adventures. She's more at home in the library with her nose in The Botanist's Guide to Plants and Fungi. But she puts the science books away to help Westman find her missing brother, whether he likes it or not. Which he really doesn't. Westman is a loner, reluctant to lead anyone into danger. According to him, the supernatural is not just the stuff of folklore and children's nightmares, and a world of black magic awaits them. Now Westman must decide if he should push Sophie away for her own safety, or take a leap of faith and accept an offer of help and friendship. Either way, time is running out to find Jim, and worse still, they may not make it back in time for tea and biscuits. ~Featured story (Sep 2014 - Aug 2017) ~Selected by R.L. Stine's 'Slappy' (Goosebumps Movie's sponsored reading list) ~Winner of the Wattys 2014 HQ Love Award

Arisen from the ashes of a great nuclear holocaust, the once forgotten practices of our ancestors ran supreme, breathing life to a new age. It's said history tends to repeat itself. As they had nearly thousands of years before, nobility danced through lavish masquerades while the ones of poverty skimmed the empty streets honing skills deemed forbidden. Amongst this grand new age of magic, two Illusions of Magicians were formed of magically gifted nobility. Known as the Luminescence and the Fireflies, these Illusions worked with a small family of lesser-known royalty to build a towering city atop a small Isle for the survivors of the war to find a safe, less radioactive place to settle. Four generations later, the whole of Nadir Isle had grown to every edge of the land, its city stacked upon itself in crooked structures of colossal heights. Running amok across the bridges and through the alleys of the Isle was a newly founded Illusion, declaring themselves the Shadow Breathers. This group of four had come together in hopes of rebellion against the Fireflies who'd fallen back on their word of protecting the people and began killing innocents for seemingly no reason. As the little group of magicians making up the Shadow Breathers would soon find out, there was more going on behind the scenes of the Fireflies than they original thought. From an abandoned puppet show and its little marionette, to a crime dating back centuries, the lies behind the founding of the Fireflies would be rightfully brought to light by the Shadow Breathers. And it all started in an alley, filled to the brim with rotted, smiling puppets. (This amazing cover art was made by... somebody on Pinterest! It's been repinned so many times I dunno who it actually belongs to. If you do know/are the creator, please let me know! I'll take it down if you don't want it used.)

A battle for the throne, a prophecy, an inventor, and a game of life and death. Enter Mafaria; a world that has outlived its time of castles and knights and has moved to an era of technology powered by steam. Though for all their ingenious inventions, the people are enslaved to the Abyss keepers-- terrible worshipers of the abyss that sits near the edge of their city. The Abyss is said to have been a punishment from the gods; each day swallowing a bit more of the city. Yet to please the Abyss, one human is lowered as sacrifice and joins those known as the Lost. But when a young inventor dares to defy the law, he finds that all is not what it seems and he dares...to enter the Abyss. Note; The cover for this book was made by me

This is the original version of The Inventor's Son, the first book chronicling the adventures of young Ethan Stanwood, the son of a brilliant and eccentric inventor and scientist who lives in a Victorian London that might have been. When his father abruptly departs London one Monday morning, it is up to Ethan and his trusty android sidekick Sam to unravel the clues his father left so that he might eventually reunite with him. But there are terrible villains that will stop at nothing to gain his father's greatest invention, and Ethan finds there are very few people he can trust around him either. Will he be able to find his father before calamity finds him?

This is a fantasy/scifi novel I'm working on, combining magic and steampunk into a story. This is a big WIP and any criticism is welcomed. Having dealt with gangs all her life, Beryl, a young and intelligent inventor, joins the government's anti-gang program to unravel the organizations that controlled her childhood. Assigned to the most problematic and influential groups she has to overcome dangerous situations and face the reality that has been hidden from her all her life. Also on AO3!!

It has been a long fifty years since the Sun vanished, casting the world into darkness and allowing to the seas to consume the continents. Strange things have taken place since then. But at least London is fine. I wonder what you will do in our fair city.

In a fog-laced London where time and tide are one, a mapmaker and a clockwright must unlock a submerged legacy before the river consumes the city-and their future. Clara Hart, a brilliant but reserved cartographer, has spent her life tracing the secret pulses of the Thames. Raised by a father who vanished chasing river myths, she trusts in maps more than magic. Edmund Vale, heir to a disgraced line of clockwrights, returns to London haunted by forgotten memories and the broken mechanisms of a machine meant to still the tides of time. When the river begins to rise without reason-washing away days, hours, and memories-Clara and Edmund are drawn together by inherited secrets, an unfinished device, and a prophecy that points beneath the city's foundations. Guided by waterlogged journals, lunar charts, and the whispered warnings of a hidden society known as the Keepers of the Tide, the two must brave submerged archives, ley-line surges, and the bitter rivalries of the past. What they discover could mend the wounds of time-or drown them in it. A steampunk-infused historical fantasy that blends atmospheric world-building with emotional resonance, The Waters of Time explores legacy, invention, and love on the edge of unraveling chronology. At its heart is a question that neither compass nor clock can answer: "Can you map the heart of a river that remembers everything but forgives nothing?"

Nothing says romance like a man-eating plant. Westman and Sophie are back. This time, a carnivorous plant from Africa is on display at the Royal Botanic Gardens. But are the man-eating myths true? Welcome to another Victorian mystery certain to thrill. Valentine's special short story