Cirrus@Austlit

When Marcus meets Malcolm in a bar-room brawl, he doesn't know that Malcolm may be the impetus he needs to finally break away from his abusive partner, Paul.

'The fifteen thrilling and ingenious tales take the familiar genre of steampunk in exciting new directions, following women from across the globe and through pasts that never were (but could have been) on their search for money, adventure, prestige, freedom, and the love of another woman. Here you'll meet a Moroccan airship engineer and an English diplomat who receive a cryptic message and an exploding music box, a librarian who doubts her God, a Malaysian shipping clerk who dreams of adventure, a terracotta bride from the Tenth Circle of Hell, and an aeronaut on her way to certain death and a surprising discovery, along with many more. Though they hail from across the globe and universes far away, each of them is driven to follow her own path to independence and to romance. The women of Steam-Powered 2 push steampunk to its limits and beyond.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Trey Donovan has a good job, close friends and loves living in his hometown of Reno. The only thing his life lacks is a special someone to share it with, which is more of a problem to his best friend, and boss, Demitri, than it is for Trey.

'Demitri urges Trey to learn to trust despite some bad experiences in the past, but when Demitri's old college pal Gabe Walsh shows up, and shows an interest in Trey, Demitri is quick to step between them, almost ruining Trey's chance at happiness.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Jack Stephens is a skeptic who lectures in Parapsychology at a community college. In his spare time, he works hard to prove that things going bump in the night can be rationally explained. When Jack meets psychic, Casey Lambeth, he sees just another chance to debunk paranormal phenomena. But there is something about Casey that defies explanation. From their first meeting, Casey decides Jack is an arrogant know it all. When the two are thrown together to investigate a haunting at the home of Edith Andrews, the sparks really begin to fly. As they work their way through the case, both Jack and Casey will be forced to face some issues from their respective pasts, and work their way towards a mutual understanding, respect, and could it be possible–something more?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Saul Matthews, the son of a wealthy landowner, dreams of breaking free from his father's overbearing ways and striking out to build an empire in the Australian bush. He longs for his own land and the space to breed fine horses, rather than following his father into the beef cattle trade. To achieve his dream, Saul has trained a fine gray thoroughbred horse, Midnight Blue, and hopes to win a local horse race which will give him the capital to put behind his dream.

'When the horse is stolen by Bush Ranger, Daniel O'Malley, Saul gives chase. The attraction between them is obvious from their first encounter, but to act on those feelings is to risk everything, in an era when such 'unspeakable' acts are punishable by imprisonment or death.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

After being hit by a car, Lionel Beamont can't remember the first ten years of his life. At 22, he is resigned to these missing memories, until the night that he meets Ben Whittaker at a local pub.

'Abigail Pheeney is a young prostitute when she meets and marries Robert Forrester. She thinks her circumstances have changed, but Robert is the cast off son of a wealthy grazier, a devil-may-care young man whose less than honest ways cause no end of trouble.

'Robert's not the only problem. Abbie's past is bound to catch up with her, and when they do, she becomes caught up in a series of fast-paced events that will change her life forever. Torn between loyalty to her unrepentant husband and a growing attraction to the local policeman hunting Robert, Abbie has to walk a fine line while trying to break free of her past and find the true love she's always dreamed of.

'Set in central Queensland during the gold rush of the 1860s, The Heart Divided is a stirring tale of love and life, sweeping us along with Abbie as she fights what she was in order to become what she's always wanted to be.' (Author's blurb)

'Paranormal investigators Jack and Casey have had some close calls in their time, but in this instance an error in judgment nearly costs both of them their lives. Casey is bitten, and must take his 'first blood' – Jack – in order to become immortal. Can Jack, aided by friend Malcolm Quinn find a way to reverse the effects of the vampire's bite before it is too late?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Cobbler's apprentice Thomas Williams is on his way out for the night when he's stuffed into a carriage and whisked away from the staid life he's always known. Stolen away from his Quaker master, Thomas is sold into the household of Leon Chambellan, a Frenchman also known as the Keeper.

'Caught up in the latent sensuality of the keeper's home, Thomas finds his resistance slowly crumbling, and he submits to Chambellan's charm. Pursued by his new master, jealously hated by this rival, Alex, Thomas must learn survive in a world completely alien to anything he has known before. A world of beauty, brutality, rivalry and intrigue that threatens to destroy him before he can win his rightful place at Chambellan's side.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.