Pleas welcome Beth Cato to The Qwillery. Final Flight, the third Clockwork Dagger story, is published on April 26th by Harper Voyager Impulse. Please join The Qwillery in wishing Beth a Happy Publication Day!
Final Flight: A Father and Son Story in the World of Clockwork Dagger
by Beth Cato
There are many ways to tell a love story, and in "Final Flight," I explore the bond of a father and son.
Captain Hue commands the airship Argus, a passenger vessel that suffered tremendous strife in my first book, The Clockwork Dagger. While my heroine was on board, the ship became a battleground. In the thick of the action, Captain Hue's son, a crewman, was held hostage to force Hue to stand down.
Weeks later, Captain Hue is haunted by what happened. He was badly beaten during the attack aboard his ship, and now he moves and feels like an old man. Every time he looks at his gawky teenage son, Sheridan, he sees the healing cut across the boy's throat. His airship smells of fresh carpet and new paint, but the vessel is not the cozy home it once was.
All Hue wants to do is to run his ship and keep his boy safe, and the rest of his crew as well. That isn't to be.
The story begins with the Argus under siege yet again, this time by soldiers from Hue's own corrupt kingdom. They are led by a Clockwork Dagger, an agent of the Queen. A Dagger is either a valiant hero for the crown or a ruthless spy, depending on who is telling the tale, and Hue is certain that his ship in now being commanded by the latter.
As the Argus is forced to fly a dangerous covert mission, Captain Hue faces terrible choices about the fate of his ship and his crew, and realizes that countless civilians will live or die by his actions, too. For him, though, the central concern is the life of his son Sheridan. He needs his boy safe and alive, no matter the cost... and the cost might be quite high indeed.
by Beth Cato
There are many ways to tell a love story, and in "Final Flight," I explore the bond of a father and son.
Captain Hue commands the airship Argus, a passenger vessel that suffered tremendous strife in my first book, The Clockwork Dagger. While my heroine was on board, the ship became a battleground. In the thick of the action, Captain Hue's son, a crewman, was held hostage to force Hue to stand down.
Weeks later, Captain Hue is haunted by what happened. He was badly beaten during the attack aboard his ship, and now he moves and feels like an old man. Every time he looks at his gawky teenage son, Sheridan, he sees the healing cut across the boy's throat. His airship smells of fresh carpet and new paint, but the vessel is not the cozy home it once was.
All Hue wants to do is to run his ship and keep his boy safe, and the rest of his crew as well. That isn't to be.
The story begins with the Argus under siege yet again, this time by soldiers from Hue's own corrupt kingdom. They are led by a Clockwork Dagger, an agent of the Queen. A Dagger is either a valiant hero for the crown or a ruthless spy, depending on who is telling the tale, and Hue is certain that his ship in now being commanded by the latter.
As the Argus is forced to fly a dangerous covert mission, Captain Hue faces terrible choices about the fate of his ship and his crew, and realizes that countless civilians will live or die by his actions, too. For him, though, the central concern is the life of his son Sheridan. He needs his boy safe and alive, no matter the cost... and the cost might be quite high indeed.
Final Flight
A Clockwork Dagger Story
Harper Voyager Impulse, April 26, 2016
eBook, 48 pages
A Clockwork Dagger Story
Harper Voyager Impulse, April 26, 2016
eBook, 48 pages
Another breathtaking short story from the author of The Clockwork Dagger and The Clockwork Crown, set in the same world…
Captain Hue hoped he was rid of his troubles once Octavia Leander and Alonzo Garrett disembarked from his airship Argus. But he was quickly proved wrong when his ship was commandeered by Caskentian soldiers. He is ordered on a covert and deadly mission by the smarmy Julius Corrado, an elite Clockwork Dagger.
Now Captain Hue must start a mutiny to regain control of his airship, which means putting his entire crew at risk—including his teenage son Sheridan. As the weather worsens and time runs out, it’ll take incredible bravery to bring the Argus down….perhaps for good.
Previously
The Clockwork Dagger
Clockwork Dagger 1
Harper Voyager, September 16, 2014
Trade Paperback and eBook, 368 pages
Full of magic, mystery, and romance, an enchanting steampunk fantasy debut in the bestselling vein of Trudi Canavan and Gail Carriger.
Orphaned as a child, Octavia Leander was doomed to grow up on the streets until Miss Percival saved her and taught her to become a medician. Gifted with incredible powers, the young healer is about to embark on her first mission, visiting suffering cities in the far reaches of the war-scarred realm. But the airship on which she is traveling is plagued by a series of strange and disturbing occurrences, including murder, and Octavia herself is threatened.
Suddenly, she is caught up in a flurry of intrigue: the dashingly attractive steward may be one of the infamous Clockwork Daggers—the Queen’s spies and assassins—and her cabin-mate harbors disturbing secrets. But the danger is only beginning, for Octavia discovers that the deadly conspiracy aboard the airship may reach the crown itself.
Clockwork Dagger 1
Harper Voyager, September 16, 2014
Trade Paperback and eBook, 368 pages
Orphaned as a child, Octavia Leander was doomed to grow up on the streets until Miss Percival saved her and taught her to become a medician. Gifted with incredible powers, the young healer is about to embark on her first mission, visiting suffering cities in the far reaches of the war-scarred realm. But the airship on which she is traveling is plagued by a series of strange and disturbing occurrences, including murder, and Octavia herself is threatened.
Suddenly, she is caught up in a flurry of intrigue: the dashingly attractive steward may be one of the infamous Clockwork Daggers—the Queen’s spies and assassins—and her cabin-mate harbors disturbing secrets. But the danger is only beginning, for Octavia discovers that the deadly conspiracy aboard the airship may reach the crown itself.
The Deepest Poison
A Clockwork Dagger Story
Harper Voyager Impulse, April 28, 2015
eBook, 48 pages
Octavia Leander, a young healer with incredible powers, has found her place among Miss Percival's medicians-in-training. Called to the frontlines of a never-ending war between Caskentia and the immoral Wasters, the two women must uncover the source of a devastating illness that is killing thousands of soldiers. But when Octavia's natural talents far outshine her teacher's, jealousy threatens to destroy their relationship—as time runs out to save the encampment.
Fans of Beth Cato's debut, The Clockwork Dagger, will love this journey into Octavia's past—as well as an exclusive excerpt from the sequel, The Clockwork Crown!
A Clockwork Dagger Story
Harper Voyager Impulse, April 28, 2015
eBook, 48 pages
Fans of Beth Cato's debut, The Clockwork Dagger, will love this journey into Octavia's past—as well as an exclusive excerpt from the sequel, The Clockwork Crown!
The Clockwork Crown
Clockwork Dagger 2
Harper Voyager, June 9, 2015
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages
Rich in atmosphere, imagination, and fun, the action-packed, magic-filled sequel to The Clockwork Dagger is an enchanting steampunk fantasy, evocative of the works of Trudi Canavan and Gail Carriger.
Narrowly surviving assassination and capture, Octavia Leander, a powerful magical healer, is on the run with handsome Alonzo Garrett, the Clockwork Dagger who forfeited his career with the Queen’s secret society of spies and killers—and possibly his life—to save her. Now, they are on a dangerous quest to find safety and answers: Why is Octavia so powerful? Why does she seem to be undergoing a transformation unlike any witnessed for hundreds of years?
The truth may rest with the source of her mysterious healing power—the Lady’s Tree. But the tree lies somewhere in a rough, inhospitable territory known as the Waste. Eons ago, this land was made barren and uninhabitable by an evil spell, until a few hardy souls dared to return over the last century. For years, the Waste has waged a bloody battle against the royal court to win its independence—and they need Octavia’s powers to succeed.
Joined by unlikely allies, including a menagerie of gremlin companions, she must evade killers and Clockwork Daggers on a dangerous journey through a world on the brink of deadly civil war.
Clockwork Dagger 2
Harper Voyager, June 9, 2015
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages
Narrowly surviving assassination and capture, Octavia Leander, a powerful magical healer, is on the run with handsome Alonzo Garrett, the Clockwork Dagger who forfeited his career with the Queen’s secret society of spies and killers—and possibly his life—to save her. Now, they are on a dangerous quest to find safety and answers: Why is Octavia so powerful? Why does she seem to be undergoing a transformation unlike any witnessed for hundreds of years?
The truth may rest with the source of her mysterious healing power—the Lady’s Tree. But the tree lies somewhere in a rough, inhospitable territory known as the Waste. Eons ago, this land was made barren and uninhabitable by an evil spell, until a few hardy souls dared to return over the last century. For years, the Waste has waged a bloody battle against the royal court to win its independence—and they need Octavia’s powers to succeed.
Joined by unlikely allies, including a menagerie of gremlin companions, she must evade killers and Clockwork Daggers on a dangerous journey through a world on the brink of deadly civil war.
Wings of Sorrow and Bone
A Clockwork Dagger Story
Harper Voyager Impulse, November 10, 2015
eBook, 149 pages
From the author of The Clockwork Dagger comes an exciting novella set in the same world…
After being rescued by Octavia Leander from the slums of Caskentia, Rivka Stout is adjusting to her new life in Tamarania. But it’s hard for a blossoming machinist like herself to fit in with proper society, and she’d much rather be tinkering with her tools than at a hoity-toity party any day.
When Rivka stumbles into a laboratory run by the powerful Balthazar Cody, she also discovers a sinister plot involving chimera gremlins and the violent Arena game Warriors. The innocent creatures will end up hurt, or worse, if Rivka doesn’t find a way to stop Mr. Cody. And to do that means she will have to rely on some unexpected new friends.
A Clockwork Dagger Story
Harper Voyager Impulse, November 10, 2015
eBook, 149 pages
After being rescued by Octavia Leander from the slums of Caskentia, Rivka Stout is adjusting to her new life in Tamarania. But it’s hard for a blossoming machinist like herself to fit in with proper society, and she’d much rather be tinkering with her tools than at a hoity-toity party any day.
When Rivka stumbles into a laboratory run by the powerful Balthazar Cody, she also discovers a sinister plot involving chimera gremlins and the violent Arena game Warriors. The innocent creatures will end up hurt, or worse, if Rivka doesn’t find a way to stop Mr. Cody. And to do that means she will have to rely on some unexpected new friends.
About Beth
Beth Cato is the author of the fantasy dulogy The Clockwork Dagger and The Clockwork Crown; the former was nominated for Best First Novel by Locus. Beth hails from Hanford, California, but currently writes and bakes cookies in a lair outside of Phoenix, Arizona. She shares the household with a hockey-loving husband, a numbers-obsessed son, and a cat the size of a canned ham
Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter @BethCato ~ Pinterest
Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter @BethCato ~ Pinterest
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