Cogs In Time 2 A CHBB Anthology Release Day with Review

    The adventure continues and the cogs keep on turning as you set sail aboard magnificent airships, venture into exotic times and places, revisit some of your favorite characters, and fall in love with new heroes and rogues.

In dusty towns, remote areas, thriving cities, and secret worlds, a strange technological revolution reigns. Inventors, dreamers, and revolutionist rule in worlds of steam driven machines, cog powered humanoids, clockwork miracles, and paranormal magic. Dressed in corsets, top hats, and cog lined finery, the heroes and heroines exist somewhere between futuristic technology and ancient knowledge.

Twenty talented authors, artists and poets have come together to bring you volume 2 of this Steampunk Anthology series. The product of this collaboration is an incredible journey through a blend of sci-fi, fantasy, action, adventure, history, paranormal, and romance that embraces the roots of Steampunk while pushing the genre to new, bolder limits.

My Review:

Cogs in Time #2 (The Steamworks Series)

By: SJ, Davis, Catherine Stovall, Andrea L Staum, Deborah Dalton, Faith Marlow, KC Finn, Lexi Ostrow, Beth W Patterson, Samantha Ketteman Wayne Casey, Michael Cross, Nicole Daffurn, Aubrey Diamant, Eada Janes, Jeanette Joyal, Sherwin Matthews, Emma Michaels, Jeff Motsinger, Monica Reents, Cindy J. Smith, Cory Turner

Overall Rating ***** Big Stars

What a great collection filled with talented authors. I really enjoyed every the short stories and poems. Some of these authors, and poets were new to me and I will be checking out their other work. This is a steampunk anthology that was filled with everything between paranormal to romance. Some of my favorites were Aztecs by: Cindy J Smith. It was brilliantly written and also very deep. I really enjoyed it. Another one was Candy Apple Red by: Deborah Dalton. I had to read this one twice because it was so good! I loved all of the stories really. I highly recommend this anthology, it has something for everyone! Great job all. I can’t wait to dig into some of your other works. I received a copy for the release day blitz. 

      Meet the authors:

Wayne Carey- "A life-long fan of science fiction, Wayne Carey grew up reading H.G. Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Isaac Asimov, and all the grand masters of the genre, guiding him toward a career in science with degrees in biology and education and providing the desire to write from an early age. A love of classic and noire films, such as Casablanca and the Maltese Falcon, also influences his writing. He and his wife Brenda live in the wilds of Central Pennsylvania with their three children, who provide a great deal of inspiration for his work."

Michael Cross- Michael Cross has been a writer and amateur explorer for most of his life. He began submitting his original writing in 2013 with two short stories, Tell Her She was Loved and The Promise, both accepted by Xchyler Publishing and are due to be released early 2014 in anthologies. Most recently he is a blogger and works to share his love of the past and all things steampunk (whenever he is not working as a shrink). You may learn more about him at The Hidden Library of Michael-Cross or on Twitter @TheCrossLibrary.

Nicole L Daffurn- Nicole’s love for the written word has seen her write many short stories and poems and then eventually moving on to tackle the bigger task of novel writing late in 2011. She has also completed her course in editing and is currently studying Journalism and looks forward to exploring the world of news media.

Deborah Dalton-Deborah Dalton has a total of three short stories published, including "Sandy Marlin: Frontier Brewer" in the first Cogs in Time anthology

SJ Davis- SJ Davis is the daughter of an ex-patriate British mother and a Southern Baptist ex-CIA father. As a child, she spoke in silly accents and recounted outlandish tales of fantasy over afternoon tea and to this day it remains her favorite activity. Born in Long Island, NY, she was raised in the suburbs of Washington DC and went to school for a very long time (University of Virginia and George Mason University), married an all-around wonderful man, had two kids (smart, funny, full of opinions), moved from Virginia to New Jersey to Philadelphia to Chicago to Detroit, and began her writing career. She is a believer in passionate romance and love at first sight, an avid tea drinker, a stiletto aficionado, Doc Marten worshipper, punk rock listener, and lover of flip flops and cardigans. She has a terrible sense of direction, loves Twizzlers, and is a Johnny Depp fangirl.

Aubrey Diamant - Aubrey Diamant is one half of the writing team Diamant, known for the "Night Boys" series. Living by night a crazy hotel night auditor when left to his own devices have led to some funny stories. Gender non conformist, LGBTQ activist, artist,NightLife Boy, wig aficionado, wearer of nail varnish, costume maker, former comic book writer and devout Pethead. He is a pretty boy at large; sometimes he does manage to write a book or two.

K.C. Finn- Born in South Wales to Raymond and Jennifer Finn, Kimberley Charlotte Elisabeth Finn (known to readers as K.C., otherwise it'd be too much of a mouthful) was one of those corny little kids who always wanted to be a writer. She was also incredibly stubborn, and so she finally achieved that dream in 2013 with the release of the four-part Caecilius Rex saga, the time travel adventure The Secret Star and her new 2014 young adult series SYNSK, with Clean Teen Publishing.

Eada Janes- Born and raised in the wonderful St. Louis, Mo area. Eada Janes is a hometown girl at heart. You can find her walking by the banks of the mighty Mississippi river, dancing the night away at the local clubs, or snuggled up in front of her fire with a good book and a cup of warm cocoa. After graduating with a degree in fine arts and working in the corporate world of retail for many years, she has decided to return to her creative roots and brave a brand new start as an independent author. You can find her work in Cogs in Time, Cogs in Time 2, and Les Vaproistes

Jeannette Joyal-Jeannette Joyal lives in North Carolina with her husband for the last 14 years. A proud mother of four daughters, one son and has also been blessed with six beautiful granddaughters who are the light of her life. She works for Hot Ink Press as Head of Strategic Marketing. She has recently tried her hand at writing and has completed a couple of poems. Both have now been published with Crushing Hearts. This has given her the encouragement to write some short stories.

     

Samantha Ketteman- Samantha Ketteman has resided in southern Illinois for 7 years, (though still claims to be an Alabama girl), with her husband and three crazy demon children. She started reading novels at a very young age and decided to write for herself. She is a caffeine addict, insomniac, and generally scatterbrained most of the time. When she's not writing, she's getting lost in her imagination. Novels are an escape from the harsh reality of a cantankerous teenage boy and two drama queen girls.

Faith Marlow-In the fifth grade, Faith Marlow discovered a fondness and talent for writing and has considered herself a storyteller ever since. In addition to writing, she is an avid reader, movie connoisseur, and a veritable repository for all manner of useless yet entertaining knowledge. Faith is proud member of the Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing family

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Sherwin Matthews- Sherwin has been living in fantasy worlds within the confines of his head for most of his life. How it is that he has been able to exist this way is of greater mystery than he can conceive, leaving him thankful that he is at least politely indulged by those around him, whom most likely find some amusement in his extravagances. One day he fears that he’ll have to give up and join the real world.

Emma Michaels- Emma Michaels is a cover artist, blogger, and author of the ‘Society of Feathers’ series. Her love of blogging started when she created a book blog in 2009 which gave her the courage to finally submit her own novels to publishers. Emma Michaels’ publications now include Owlet and Eyrie (Tribute Books), Holiday Magick Anthology (Spencer Hill Press), and Cirque d’Obscure Anthology and Cogs in Time Anthology (Crushing Hearts Black Butterfly).      

Jeff Motsinger- Jeff Motsinger is a loving husband to Demetria Motsinger with two children ( Nikolai and Dani Jo).Born and raised in lovely Southern Illinois, he spends his extra time playing rpgs online. Jeff has a passion for drawing, but loves to write fantasy style stories.

Lexi Ostrow -Lexi has been a writer ever since the second grade in some form or another. Getting her degree in creative writing and her master's in journalism she couldn't wait to get a chance to put her fantasies down on paper. Her debut novel, Torn Between Two Worlds is something that was simmering in her mind since middle school and she's so grateful to put it out into the literary world. From paranormal romance to thriller there isn't a genre she doesn't love to spend her time reading or writing.      

Beth W. Patterson- Beth Patterson was a full-time musician for over two decades before sidestepping into the world of writing (a process she describes as “fleeing the circus to join the zoo”). Patterson has played in over a dozen countries across the Americas, Europe, Japan, and Australia. She appears on over a hundred and twenty albums (including seven solo albums of her own) in addition to a smattering of soundtracks, videos, commercials, and voice-overs. Various artists have recorded over a hundred of her compositions and co-writes. She studied ethnomusicology at University College Cork, Ireland and holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Therapy from Loyola University New Orleans.

Monica Reents- Monica Reents was born and raised in Kansas. She lives with her husband, four children, and one spoiled dog. Her background is in the health field and in criminal justice. She loves to hunt for antique treasures with her husband, has an addiction to coffee, and buys books faster than she can read them. She has had a love of reading since she was a young child and began writing poetry in her early teens. Monica never goes anywhere without a notebook and pen, saying that you never know when a story will find you. Writing had been a hobby for over twenty years, before deciding to take it seriously. She is currently working on her first fiction novel while continuing to write poetry.

Cindy J. Smith-All my her life, Cindy has written poetry. She is an older person, not quite as old as dirt and not good at playing the part of "starving artist". So, she has had many different jobs in her life, a Jane of all Trades. Currently she drives a truck Over-the-road with her husband. She has a beautiful daughter who is now an angel and a wonderful granddaughter. She recently reissued her poetry books: Voices In My Head and They Won't Shut Up. She also has poems in several anthologies and books by fellow authors.

Andrea L. Staum- Andrea L. Staum is author of the Dragonchild Lore series and The Attic's Secret Novella. She is also a contributor to a wide variety of anthologies in numerous genres. She is a trained motorcycle mechanic, an amateur house renovator, and a record keeper for the characters in her mind. She resides in South Central Wisconsin with her husband and three cats.

Catherine Stovall- Catherine is a fearless creature who surrounds herself with the joys of life both in and out of her fictional worlds. She lives in Southeast Missouri with her husband, three children, and pets. When not writing, she spends her time riding motorcycles, wearing elaborate hats, and genuinely enjoying the oddities in life.

Cory Turner- Cory M, S Turner, was born and raised in Missouri. He’s a writer at heart, day dreaming his days away as he works his days away. Cogs in Time 2 is his debut into the world of publishing.