Skyships Over Innsmouth by Susan Laine Guest Post & Excerpt!

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Hi peeps, we have Susan Laine stopping by with her upcoming horror/ steampunk/ post-apocalyptic release Skyships Over Innsmouth, we have a fantastic guest post from Susan and she also brings along a great excerpt, so check out the post and enjoy! <3 ~Pixie~

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Skyships Over Innsmouth

by

Susan Laine

Twenty winters have passed since the Cataclysm brought down society and robbed people of their memories. Humanity, vastly reduced in numbers since the initial chaos, has started anew in Canal City with the aid of library books and steam technology. The Scout and Ranger Corps was established to search for possible survivors and to replenish dwindling resources.

Dev is the captain of the scout airship Smoke Sparrow, and Shay is the scholar of their newest expedition. Their destination is Innsmouth, Massachusetts, a small fishing town that is mentioned in obscure books but shows up on no maps. Might its secrets offer answers? But within the fog-covered, ruined hillside town by the bay lurk unspeakable dangers and horrors beyond imagining. The expedition team soon learns that Innsmouth is one town that should have been left forgotten.

Release date: 2nd August

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Susan Laine!

Hi. I’m Susan Laine, the author of Skyships Over Innsmouth. Thank you kindly, MM Good Book Reviews, for having me here today.

Skyships Over Innsmouth is a Lovecraftian horror story with a touch of science fiction and steampunk added for spice and an M/M romance side plot. It comes out on August 2, 2016, by Dreamspinner Press.

Today, in this guest post, I’m here to talk about Lovecraft and why I wrote this book. For one, I’ve been reading H.P. Lovecraft’s books since I was a teenager, I’ve reread them many times, and I own them all. His works are classics in the horror genre, and I think everyone’s read something he’s written at least once in their lives.

Lovecraft’s stories revolve around forbidden knowledge that humans seek or stumble upon, and it leads them to cosmic horrors, madness, and death. Lovecraft created a fantastic mythos full of alien beings older than the dawn of man, too horrible to even gaze upon without going insane. His stories have vivid descriptions of cosmic gods sleeping on alien worlds, tentacles and all, and of humans losing their grip on reality, one step and vision at a time. As Lovecraft himself says, though infinitely more eloquently, there are some things people shouldn’t meddle with.

But to reduce Lovecraft into a mere horror writer would be doing him a great disservice. His stories come in multitude of forms, ranging from pure fantasy to equally pure science fiction. His tales are fraught with horror themes but they are also genre mashes, the kind modern literature is only today starting to show more. Lovecraft’s impact on literature as a whole cannot be denied, for he is responsible for phrases and words we all know (even if we don’t know their origin), such as the Necronomicon or Arkham.

Yet, one of Lovecraft’s many talents came from his detailed prose—that still managed to not describe the indescribable horrors of alien god-like beings. Yes, he was quite fond of a narrative style of writing with sparse uses of dialogue. But he helped shape the horror genre we all know today. Regardless of what one might think of his writing style, his impact is undeniable.

Lovecraft was never my role model as an author, per se. But I was enamored by his gift in drawing his reader into a world of mystery and madness. I suppose my story, Skyships Over Innsmouth, is something of a tribute to his literary legacy, though a mere shadow to his visionary brilliance. As a teenager, Lovecraft’s image of horror affected me greatly, haunted my dreams, and made me aware of the universe from a perspective I’d never considered before. For those reasons I chose to write my tale of horror, with a few twists of my own—and a kickass female hero who stands proudly next to equally heroic men.

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Excerpt

So, here’s a teaser excerpt for your enjoyment:

“Think it’s safe to land?” With narrowed eyes, Dev peered at the looming town as if he was searching for signs of danger. Shay understood. If their vessel was damaged beyond their ability to repair, they would be in serious trouble. On foot, out in the newly formed wilderness, they’d never survive a trek back to Canal City.

Shay swallowed hard. It was his call, as this was his area of expertise. “Go around the town a few laps so we can see for ourselves. Any sign of trouble and we leave.”

“Understood.” Dev steered the airship to glide gently over the town.

The moment Shay saw the dilapidated state of the structures in town, his high hopes came crumbling down. Most of the buildings, all huddled together along a couple of crisscrossing streets and the banks of a river running through it, suffered from the ravages of time—rotting away and, in some cases, even collapsed into bare skeletons of their former glory.

No smoke rose from any chimneys; no fires appeared behind the broken windows; no sounds emerged from the doorways. No birds sang, no people chattered, and no wild animal seeking to forage the area hastened into the woods at the sight of the airship.

Shay shivered and inched closer to Dev without realizing it. Only when Dev wrapped an arm around his shoulders did Shay notice how his search for strength had led him to Dev’s welcome embrace.

“It doesn’t look very inviting,” Shay whispered, for some unknown reason fearing to speak any louder.

Dev seemed equally disturbed by the chilly ambience of the place as he answered in a low voice, “No, it sure doesn’t. Do you think we should risk it nonetheless?”

Shay’s first instinct, the primal urge deep within him, screamed at him to get away as quickly as humanly possible. The compulsion was so potent, he actually shifted back a step. “I… I… I don’t know…. What do you think we should do?” He prayed Dev would choose their safety over exploring this bleak, haunted landscape.

Dev seemed conflicted. “The place feels….” He let his voice linger, then vanish as he gulped hard. Apprehension paled his skin, and Shay was certain his own mirrored Dev’s. “There’s an oppressive feel to this town, like… like something terrible happened here.”

There you have it, folks. I hope you’ve enjoyed this guest post. And thanks again to MM Good Book Reviews and Pixie for arranging this.

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About Susan

“Susan Laine, an award-winning, multi-published author of LGBTQ erotic romance and a Finnish native, was raised by the best mother in the world, who told her daughter time and again that she could be whatever she wanted to be. The spark for serious writing and publishing kindled when Susan discovered the gay erotic romance genre. Her book, Monsters Under the Bed, won the 2014 Rainbow Award for Best Gay Paranormal Romance.

Anthropology is Susan’s formal education, and she could have been happy as an eternal student, but she’s written stories since she was a kid, and her long-term goal is to become a full-time writer. Susan enjoys hanging out with her sister, two nieces, and friends in movie theaters, libraries, bookstores, and parks. Her favorite pastimes include pop music, action flicks, eating chocolate, and doing the dishes, while a few of her dislikes are sweating, hot and too-bright summer days, tobacco smoke, and purposeful prejudice.”

Here’s where you can find me and other books by me:

Website | DSP Publications | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon | B&N | Newsletter

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