Oh my brothers and only goslings, we
have some exciting times for you today.
The captain is allowing me to give
out some leaks this December, shadows of things to come. I feel like a ghost
coming to Scrooge for Yule to give him duck l'orange and small Legos. Or maybe
you remember A Christmas Carol slightly different from me.
Anyway. Here is the leak of our new
releases:
January brings bountiful blessings
of bloody vampires, brutish werewolves, and blushing cyberpunk programmers.
First, HC Playa blesses us with Fated
Bonds, in which a strong cop finds love, trials, and terrible prices in a
world of vampires, werewolves, witches, and the government agency that keeps
them in check.
Excerpt:
Tala perched on the edge of the
bed. She took a towel and dampened it with some of the water from his glass and
then she wiped his brow. "Rest. Okay? You're safe here." He stared at
her in silence, watching her every move. She set the towel aside. "Thank you
for saving me. Most of the time, I can take care of myself. But then, I’ve
never dealt with a werewolf before."
He remained silent for a full
minute, always watching her with those eerie, yet beautiful tawny eyes.
"You fought him," he
finally said.
She quirked up an eyebrow.
"What? Was I supposed to sprinkle salt and pepper on my head and hand him
flatware?"
***
Secondly, we have The Beast
Within, a re-release of the first installment of Jimmy Gillentine's hit
series Of Blood and the Moon. Re-edited, re-imagined, and brought forward into
the author's vision, this book of secrets, lies, and love will bring a shiver
to your spine.
Excerpt:
The Beast tracked the trail of
his latest victim through the quiet forest. His senses strained to find his prey
as the burning hunger insider his belly continued to grow in strength,
summoning the Rage from within.
HUNGER…FEED…FOOD…KILL.
The Beast finally caught the
scent of prey. As the Beast drew closer to the scent, he crept into the brush
behind a tree. From his hiding place, he saw what he was after. In the morning
fog of the woods, a young doe drank from a shallow pond, oblivious to the
danger she was in as she quenched her thirst. The Beast studied his prey’s
movements and felt his mouth water with anticipation.
So young…so full of life…so full
of blood.
The doe’s head went up with a
jolt as the wind changed, and she sensed the danger at last. The Beast could
see the fear begin to course through the doe’s body and knew it was time to
spring and did not waste another second. With an unrestrained roar, he pounced.
The doe struggled in the iron grip of the Beast and inwardly he laughed at her
futile attempts to escape. He grabbed the doe’s head, pulling her neck tight
and biting down on her with his huge maw. Feeling the doe’s body spasm, the
Beast tore a large chuck of flesh from her throat. Blood sprayed onto his face
as he slowly chewed the meat. The warm taste of blood and flesh making his head
swim. The Beast’s cock went stiff with the pleasure of the taste.
He bent down to drink his fill of
the red fountain bubbling from the opened wound. The warm elixir pumped into
his mouth and he felt the life of the doe begin to fade away. Pulling away from
the meal, he watched the last bit of life flicker away. However, what the Beast
saw made him choke on his meal; he was no longer holding the body of the doe.
In his arms, he held the naked corpse of a young woman. Her blonde hair covered
her face and the Beast fearfully moved it away with a free hand. Pushing the
locks aside, he saw the lifeless, blue eyes staring into nothingness. The Beast
knew her.
Angela! Angela…no!
“Angela!” He screamed as the
image of the forest around him began to fade.
That’s how Andrew Bane woke up.
Screaming
.
***
Lastly,
we have Peter Tupper’s An Angel Has No Memory, a stand-alone short story
so good we couldn’t put it down. Diving into the secret fantasies of a
cyberpunk programmer who wishes to be a guileless Toy, we’re treated to heat
and scandal that might just blow a few fuses.
Excerpt:
The
Fulfilment House, which occupied several floors of an office tower, reminded
Rose a little of a casino: dark earth tones, no clocks, no windows, nothing to
remind people of the outside world. Plus the security cameras watching
everything, like the eyes of a tarantula. She could see attractive people in
exercise wear doing yoga, exercising or painting. They must be the Assets she’d
heard about.
Teo
pointed out things as they walked across the main concourse. “The Assets
exercise there, relax there, eat there. You won’t be dealing with that part of
it much. That’s Dr. Wilkins’ office over there. If you spot any injuries or
health problems, just let her know. Programming is up there.” She pointed up at
the glass-walled area on the mezzanine that overlooked the concourse.
“That’s
where I’ll be working,” she said, belatedly realizing her lab coat probably
gave that away.
“Good
luck. Programming’s been a one-man operation for months. Sumner practically
never leaves the place. He’s very picky about who he lets touch the equipment.
The boss sent down three other people to be his assistant, and they all came
back and begged for a transfer.”
***
And
for a little further leak, my dear dibbuns, February is Steampunk Month
here at the InkySuki base. We’ll be releasing a collection of Steampunk stories
by our own ‘Scourge of the Doritos’ Angelia Sparrow, as well as Misfit
Prophets Beneath a Bankrupt Sky, a novella about two lost boys who join a
rundown circus as fortune-tellers by S Zanne. I might be
keelhauled if I send out excerpts on these too soon, and please remember that
this is terribly uncomfortable, as we’re in the sky and not on ocean. However,
I’ll leak them as soon as I manage to disable the cyberpunk GPS brace she keeps
putting on my leg. Magnetic bolts are awfully difficult to disable.
Keep
in touch, my lovelies. During Steampunk Month, we’ll be posting your blurbs,
poems, and pictures of all things Steampunk right here on the Inky Suki blog,
as well as a few surprises in store for all Steampunk merchandise.
I’ll
be in tow!
Gabriel
Belthir
First
Mate and Mad Scientist
