Within Victorian Mists

By Steven R. Southard

If the fog of time had lifted a bit differently on the 19th century, and you could mix a haughty Englishman tinkerer, a plucky American steam engine repair-woman, laser holograms, giant dirigibles, and ornithopters, you might just get one madcap steampunk romance. Strap on your brass-rimmed goggles to see what happens . . . Within Victorian Mists.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gypsy Shadow Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Oct 22, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452450933

Steven R. Southard

Growing up in the Midwest, Steven R. Southard always found the distant oceans exotic and tantalizing. He served aboard submarines and now works as a civilian naval engineer. In his stories, he takes readers on journeys of discovery in many seas and various vessels. Steve has written in the historical, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and steampunk genres. Come aboard at http://sites.google.com/site/stevenrsouthard/ and voyage with his intriguing characters in tales of aquatic adventure.

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Contents

Copyright Page

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

About the Author

Within Victorian Mists

by Steven R. Southard

All rights reserved

Copyright © October, 2010, Steven R. Southard

Cover Art Copyright © 2010, Charlotte Holley

Gypsy Shadow Publishing

Lockhart, TX

www.gypsyshadow.com

Names, characters and incidents depicted in this eBook are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher.

No part of this eBook may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and eMail, without prior written permission from Gypsy Shadow Publishing.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

ISBN: 9781452450933

Published in the United States of America

First eBook Edition: October 22, 2010

Dedication

To my wife, Gail, who helps me more with my writing than she knows, and who still inspires the romantic side I never knew I had.

Chapter 1

Hoping for success this time, Stanton Wardgrave threw the knife switch. Through smoked-glass goggles, he watched his apparatus, fearing another failure. On the laboratory table, an image began forming at the end opposite the gleaming mirrors and prisms. A reddish apparition shimmered there, a tall, glowing blob lacking any distinct features or shape of its own. A voice issued from the crimson ghost, Stanton’s own voice.

John, by the grace of God King of England, the voice said, "Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy