Some of you might remember Charlotte from a blog tour we did together a few months ago. Well, she’s back and she’s got some new stuff to share with us. I hope you enjoy today’s visit.
Author Bio
Charlotte Henley Babb began writing as soon as she could hold a piece of chalk and scribble her name. Growing up in the red mud and sweet tea Carolinas, she was a voracious reader with widely diverse interests ranging from the classic folk and fairy tales to sci-fi writers like Terry Pratchett and Robert Heinlein. She brings to any project a number of experiences, including work as a web designer, high school teacher, college instructor, technical writer, gasket inspector, cloth store associate, girl Friday, and telephone psychic.
Her first novel, Maven Fairy Godmother: Through the Veil, won the 2014 Sharp Writ Book Award for Sci-fi/Fantasy and an honorable mention in the 2014 National Federation of Press Women Communications Contest for adult novels. Her second novel, a steampunk story of espionage and political intrigue set in an alternate 19th century U.S., is scheduled for release in late summer 2015.
Excerpt of 20 Hours to Charles Town to be released late summer 2015
Jonas stumbled toward the sky port, well into the afternoon shadow of the airship. He tripped on something, fell onto his face. He scrambled to his feet, leaning on the fence for support. He would have to get into the loading dock first, with no wagon for explanation. He found a discarded box, and with some effort, lifted it to his shoulder. He hunched over as if the box were weighing him down, and walked by the guards who protected the toffs leaving their carriages and loading into their elevator cages. Some people had even paid just to ride up to see the view of the Hudson, but Jonas just kept walking. He knew laborers were invisible.
Once inside, he found the freight elevator, little more than an open platform on a hydraulic pillar. He put the box down and sat on it, covering his face with his hand and getting his breath back. The upward motion of the elevator made his stomach quiver. Finally it stopped, on the roof, where the whole city and Jersey too lay before him. He stared at his feet and limped up the ramp to the loading dock.
The pain from the scrapes and bruises was drowned out by the vertigo of seeing the city in the distance from five stories in the air. He forced himself to look up into the dark bowel of the airship and to feel the solid ramp and the building beneath his feet. He had to explain to Madame what happened and ask her to take him out of the city to save his life. He had to walk higher to get there.
Another wave of dizziness hit him, but this time he wasn’t thinking about how far he was from the ground. He’d used his reserves running from the Red Hares gang, and he was exhausted. He stumbled. A brown strong arm grabbed his shoulder, sending stabs of pain through his body.
“Man, what happened to you?” Plato, the loading dock boss, put his shoulder under Jonas’s arm and half-dragged him inside. “Get this man some water,” he called out. Plato set him on a crate. He grabbed a dirty bandanna from a pocket and started to dab at Jonas’s head. “Madame said you weren’t coming today.”
Jonas flinched away. “I got to talk to her right now. The Hares hit the shipment–got it all.” He leaned over to put his weight on his feet. “Help me up to her office before it gets any closer to lift off.” He forced himself to stand, again fighting dizziness and nausea. With any luck, Madame would kill him now and save the Hares the trouble.
Plato’s dark face frowned with concern, his grizzled eyebrows drawn together like a strip of wool. “Better stay down here with us. She’s wound tight today–lots of toffs aboard, some bigwig meeting–lots of extra cargo.”
“All the more reason.” He steadied himself with a hand up to Plato’s shoulder. “Thanks.” He pulled himself up straight and headed for the stairs.
“Three flights up and to the left,” Plato said. “I’ll let her know you are coming.”
Maven Fairy Godmother: Through The Veil.
A dead cellphone calls with a job offer and a promise of dragons.
Imagine if Terry Pratchett sat down with Kathy Bates to make up fractured fairy tales for Edward Everett Horton to read aloud: you’d get MAVEN FAIRY GODMOTHER: THROUGH THE VEIL.
Giving up what’s her self-esteem for coffee, her last chance to redeem her life comes as a job offer to be a fairy godmother. But Faery is shrinking, the other fairy godmothers have disappeared, and nothing she does turns out right. How can she put together the happily ever after each of her clients wants with her boss standing in her way?
MAVEN FAIRY GODMOTHER: THROUGH THE VEIL is fast, fun read that shows that none of us is ever old enough to know better as we try to wish for we think what will make us happy.
Maven Fairy Godmother: Through the Veil
$5.95 Kindle /$15.99 Paper
Other stories:
Maven’s Fractured Fairy Tales
$2.99 Kindle / $5.99 Paper
Fairy Godmother Maven Morrigan has her own way of making the happily ever after come true. These stories take on The Frog Prince, Rumpelstiltskin and Beauty and the Beast. Three fractured fairy tales to bring you a smile
Also available as separate stories $0.99
Bubba and the Beast http://bit.ly/BubbaBeast
MavenStiltskin http://bit.ly/MavenStilt
Fairy Frogmother http://bit.ly/FrogMom
Other story collections, not in series
Just a Smidgen of Magic: Enchantment at the Edge of Mundane
Five flash fiction stories of magical encounters.
http://bit.ly/Smidgen $2.99 kindle/ $5.49 paper
Walking Off Heaven’s Shore
$2.99 Kindle/ $5.99 Paper
A ten-piece bucket of Southern fried flash fiction.
Turning Point
A cup of coffee and a decision $0.99 Kindle short
Links
Personal blog: http://charlottehenleybabb.com
Book blog: http://mavenfairygodmother.com
Facebook author page: http://facebook.com/charlotte.henley.babb
Facebook Book Page: http://facebook.com/maven.fairy.godmother
Twitter: @charlottebabb
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/charlottebabb/
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/charlottebabb
Tumblr charlottebabb.tumblr.com
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/CHBabb-g
Amazon Author page: http://amzn.to/CHBabb
Lee Dunning 
Reblogged this on Dragon Knight Chronicles.
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