The Exiled Otherkin by D. Lieber

The
Exiled Otherkin

by
D. Lieber

Genre:
Fantasy Romance Adventure Steampunk

Exiled
from Faerie when her father dies, half-Fae Ember is surprised by how
much the human realm has changed since she was there last. She takes
a dangerous job on a merchant airship, hoping a life on the move will
keep her well-hidden. Sure, she misses her brother, but years of
apathy have numbed her emotions.

When
the optimistic and naïve Reilley follows her, it’s annoying to say
the least. But when she starts feeling responsible for him,
long-stifled emotions crack the ice around her heart.

Faeries,
pirates, and traveling players meet in this steampunk fantasy
adventure as Ember tries to cope with feelings long forgotten and a
past that pursues her while balancing new friends and lovers.

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Excerpt:

Men and women dashed around the room, gleaming with sweat and smudged with black smears. The fires burned low. A large furnace at the center of the room had a thick chimney leading from it into the ceiling. Some people were moving piles of what looked like coal, while others tended a huge machine. It consisted of a number of large metal coils attached to gears. Some of the coils were wound tight while others were loose. The gears attached to the coils were meshed with gears that had magnets on them. Ropes, made of a material I couldn’t identify, were threaded through the center of the magnet gears.
We passed through engineering and climbed to the main deck. The wooden deck sprawled before us. The chimney from engineering came up through the floor and reached toward the cloth bubble above us.
Shy pointed to a cabin on the left. “That’s where you’ll bunk with the rest of the deckhands, Ember. I still have inventory to do. I trust you both can get settled?” He disappeared below deck.
I walked toward the cabin, and Reilley followed.
“I wish we were bunking together, Ember,” he said, slumping his shoulders. I didn’t respond and entered the cabin, shutting the door in his face.


I scanned the crowd, but there was no sign of them. My stomach lurched, and I swallowed my panic. I moved as quickly as I could to the place where Reilley had just stood.
To the right was a dim alley with curtained doors lining the sides. I shot into the shady street.
“Reilley?” I called and received no answer.
Up ahead, a curtain covered the light that spilled into the alley. I rushed for that doorway. Ripping open the curtain, I lunged inside.
In the small room, two men sat on crates playing cards on a box in between them. They looked up as I entered.
“Where is he?”
Neither responded as they returned to their game. I spotted a door at the back of the room and barreled toward it. The two men moved to stop me.
“I don’t have time for this,” I told them as they blocked my way.
The one closest to the door I wanted to get through crossed his thick arms over his chest and lifted his chin, looking down at me with a smirk. His wirier friend stepped toward me and pointed the way I’d come.
“This party is closed,” he said with a heavy accent. “If you don’t have an invitation, leave.”
“I just need to get my friend. Then, I’ll leave.”
He shook his head and grabbed my upper arm to escort me out. “You will leave now.”
I rotated my elbow and broke his grip then pulled back and drove the heel of my hand into his nose.


Clutching my new tambourine, I walked to a clearing to have more room to dance. Reilley grabbed the drum and started a beat. Like before, I moved to the rhythm. This time, my red skirt danced with me, and I shook my tambourine appropriately. We discovered that as long as I let Reilley choose the pace, we could improvise an entertaining performance.
We fed on each other’s energy and ended at a natural breaking point, exchanging smiles as the last beat echoed off the trees.
“You’re enchanting,” Reilley complimented smoothly.
“I’m only expressing your music and following your lead.”
He flushed with pleasure at the high praise.
“Could you do me a favor?” I asked him.
He nodded.
“Would you unplait my hair? It should be dry by now.”
His eyes gleamed like I’d given him a gift, and I turned my back to him. With long, deft fingers, he gently unbraided my hair. Undone, he ran his hands through the soft waves to separate them. I shivered.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
As his hands gently stroked the dark locks, I became aware that we were very alone. We’d been alone before, but this time was different. An air of anticipation settled between us. His hands stilled. Neither of us knew what should happen next, and the pressure quickly became uncomfortable.

D. writes stories she
wants to read. Her love of the worlds of fiction led her to earn a
Bachelor’s in English from Wright State University.

When she isn’t
reading or writing, she’s probably hiking, crafting, watching
anime, Korean television, Bollywood, or old movies. She may also be
getting her geek on while planning her next steampunk cosplay with
friends.

She lives in Wisconsin
with her husband (John), retired guide dog (Samwise), and cat (Yin).

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Guest Post 

Advice for new authors

There are many things I would say to new authors or people who want to become authors. The most important piece of advice I can give is to write for you. Write because you love it and because you need to write. Don’t write to please other people or because you want to be famous and make money. Sure, you want people to read your work, and there is nothing wrong with earning a living that way. However, if you write for you, you will always feel fulfilled. The creative process is an emotional rollercoaster. You are going to doubt your own worth and abilities all the time. You’re going to beat yourself up, and that’s fine. As long as you don’t give up, that kind of self-criticism will only make you better. But there will most definitely be people who don’t like your work and have no problem telling you. The best way to weather that storm is for you to love your own work. If you love your own creations and someone says they hate it, you can easily reply, “I’m sorry you feel that way. Everyone has their own tastes.”

Other helpful advice:

• Try not to take editor and beta reader criticisms too personally. These people are trying to help you make your story better.
• If you plan on self-publishing, absolutely hire a professional editor and graphic artist. No one can effectively edit his or her own work, and you want to put your best stuff out there.
• When searching for agents and publishers, I use Writer’s Market’s online database. It is a fast, inexpensive way to find agents and publishers in your genre.
• Once you are published, get a website. I don’t know about everyone else, but I have a hard time taking an author (or any business for that matter) seriously if he or she doesn’t have a website.

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