Clockwork Wings: the Chronicles of Icarus – Stacy & Jennifer Buck

Steampunk…it’s a genre with endless opportunities.

The majority of the genre will feature Victorian era style clothing with a cog and clock twist, that rust colored hue and leather laden with bronze rivets, walking cars, airships, and the occasional one wheeled motorcycle. Steampunk is all these things, yet it can be much more, a twist on a twist. That’s what Clockwork Wings: the Chronicles of Icarus is. It is all the things above with an added element as we careen back in time to an earlier age. We follow the rules, yet refuse to let them limit us.

The idea came from a previous genre and book series. My first book is an alternate history horror novel. Squanto Undead: Wake the Undead is Native American history based loosely on the life of the historical figure Squanto with the addition of zombies. And while it follows the rules of the genre with all the blood and guts, it reads like epic fantasy and is what I like to call horror with heart. I’ve got a hankering for period pieces. I love movies like Young Guns, Gladiator, Braveheart, and TV series like Rome and Spartacus. Being able to do research and learn about history at the same time is somewhat of a cheat, because I dig it. I’ve spent countless hours in front of the boob tube watching documentaries on Roman civilization, Greek Mythology, the battle of Thermopile, and everything in between. And while knowing all this history isn’t required, it brings a feel of realism to the writing. It’s the little details that make the story come alive.

Where was I? Oh yeah, steampunk. So anyway, that’s kind of my thing. I take characters, history, genres, random ideas, and things you thought would or maybe should never be combined and put them together to make something different from a lot of the books you’ll find on your digital shelf. That’s where Clockwork Wings came from. Its steampunk meets Greek mythology. It’s all your classic Greek characters from Zeus to Hades riding around in airships and walking wagons.

How could I possibly take such a primitive Bronze Age society and add steampunk technology you might ask? Simple answer, Daedalus, the greatest inventor mythology has ever known, and the man who created the impenetrable labyrinth to house the monstrous Minotaur. It wasn’t much of a stretch in a world where Gods and Demi Gods do the unbelievable and unthinkable on what seems like an almost daily basis. The Greek world was a world of magic and mysticism. The Gods weren’t mythology to the people of Greece, but a plain and simple fact of life. It makes suspending your disbelief in a world where the Gods walked among man an easy venture.

But Clockwork Wings: the Chronicles of Icarus doesn’t revolve around the Gods. Our story follows a human boy and not a very exceptional one at that. Icarus, son of Daedalus (see how this is all connecting now) is the eyes of our story.  We follow his journey in a coming of age retelling and untold sequel to the Greek myths of old. We pick up where some of the first stories ever written left off. We all know the story of Icarus’ wax wings and how he fell to his death. Well what if his wings were clockwork and instead of falling to his death the Gods stepped in and saved his life? That’s where I come in and take our heroes on a whirlwind adventure of steampunk mythology or as I like to call it Mythpunk. I think it’s kinda catchy. Maybe one day it will have its whole own genre, but for now I’m more than happy to be a part of what seems to be a tightknit community of veracious readers in the steampunk genre.

This may be my first steampunk series, but I doubt it will be my last. I can see so many opportunities with this fascinating and exciting genre. Steampunk meets the lord of the rings, meets buddy cop movie, and meets super heroes. Okay those probably already exist and most likely aren’t very good ideas anyway, but you get my point. You never know though, we could see a steampunk Rush Hour novel starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker one day…maybe not. My hope is that one day I’ll have a whole library of steampunk novels that follow all the rules we love about the genre, but aren’t afraid to take risks and stretch the limits of what the genre can do, create fantastical stories of a bygone era with characters strapped in sepia colored leather, boots doused in buckles, and bronze rimmed goggles to shield the wind rushing past their face.

In the meantime you can get Clockwork Wings: the Chronicles of Icarus Part 1 for free on Amazon, Kobo,  Barnes and Noble , and  Smashwords .

Once you’ve finished reading part 1, and only if you love it, you can pick up Part 2 for only $0.99 at all the same retailers. And there’s no need to worry because part 3 is nearly complete and will be available within the month.

You can follow me on twitter @stacybuckwritin or like my facebook authors page

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Clockwork Wings: the Chronicles of Icarus Part 1 is the pilot episode in an upcoming full length novel deeply based in Greek Mythology with a Steam Punk twist. This previously untold sequel of the greek heroes, Icarus and Theseus, takes you into a bronze age world with steam punk technology. When the king of the island of Crete, makes a deal with the god of the underworld, Hades, for a piece of Zeus’ bolt, the king no longer needs Icarus’ father, the great inventor, Daedalus. Sensing his forth coming demise, Daedalus makes a steampowered set of wings for his son to escape the island. After narrowly avoiding death, and with a little help from the god Poseidon, Icarus reaches the city of Athens, where he must team up with Theseus to defeat Minos and his mysterious steam powered army.

Read a book unlike any you’ve ever read before in a whole new category we’re calling Mythpunk!

*****

Bio-

 Stacy and Jennifer Buck are a husband and wife writing duo born and raised in Seattle WA. Having known each other since they were sixteen years old makes their writing together a rich experience not only themselves, but also for their readers. Shortly after marrying they began writing Squanto Undead, an alternate history serial novel based on the mysterious historical figure. Stacy has been an archer and outdoorsmen all his life and brings that realism to the character. They live and work together with their five kids, two cats, and dog in a suburb just outside Seattle.