IRONHAVEN by Misa Buckley

June 29th, 2011 Decadent Publishing
novella length e-book
ARC copy (PDF)

Important Stats
Genre Sci-Fi Romance
Re-Readable yes
Recommend to a Friend yes
If This Book Were a Movie it would be the big budget end-of-the-world movie with soaring music scores, dark setting, and possibly Liv Tyler. Possibly Michael Bay or J.J. Abrams would direct, although Jos Whedon would make it even better.


The Blurb
The Earth is dying, and Lucian Hoyt is going to die with it thanks to his parents cancelling his pass aboard the last shuttle off the planet. There is hope, though – a brilliant inventor has come up with a plan to build a ship to evacuate those who’ve been left behind.

That inventor turns out to be Genevieve Scott, Lucian’s bitter ex-fiancée. If they’re going to work together to get off this planet, they need to put their past aside, but even melting the ice between them can’t erase all the scars.


The Author Interview

IRONHAVEN is your first major work to be published. How does it feel to have this in print?

Misa: Awesome, and slightly surreal

1 - Can you tell us, briefly, what IRONHAVEN is about?

Misa: Second chances at the end of the world, lol

2- And why did you decide to write this story? What was the inspiration for a story that's part steampunk and part science fiction?

Misa: Originally it was supposed to be on an alien planet that was cut off from Earth, hence the Steampunk. It was still in the planning stages when I saw the sub call from Samhain. There was less than a month until the call closed, but I decided to write it anyway.

3 - IRONHAVEN (which I have read and love!) is about the humans left behind when the last spaceships leave. Those abandoned by technology know their planet is dying, they've all but given up hope. What did you originally plan for the story?

Misa: Pretty much the same thing, except the humans were supposed to escape BACK to Earth, rather than away from it. I think the most interesting difference is the relationship between Lucian and Gen - originally they were supposed to be together, but in the published version they've been separated for 5 years.

4 - Do you like that twist?

Misa: I do, yes, because it reveals more about Lucian's past and his relationship with his parents.

5- Did it change the dynamics of the story to give those characters so much history?

Misa: Changing the story changed the relationship dynamics, rather than the other way around. I had to come up with a reason for Lucian leaving Gen.

6 - Interesting. On to the personal questions. What's your favorite part of this book?

Misa: Wow. Um. I think Gen's reveal of her scars and Lucian's reaction. It was one of the very first scenes that I wrote, and I really loved him by the end of it.

7 - Are you planning a sequel for IRONHAVEN?

Misa: I'm not, no.

8 - Could we bribe you to write a sequel? I make excellent cookies? :o)

Misa: Well, I never say never (because that's a surefire way of poking the muse) but I've no sequel planned. I do have a lot of OTHER stuff to write, though. *eyes WIP list*

9 - What's the next big thing readers can except to see from you?

Misa: Well, if I don't finish my paranormal Western before the year's out, I have an erotic Steampunk novella out early 2012.

We looks forward to seeing them both!


Author's Favorite Excerpt

The run-down laboratory on Fifth Avenue didn’t so much sit next to the building beside it as lean against it for support.

Lucian stared at the corrugated iron roof and the boarded-up windows in some disgust. He’d not expected this when Drew had explained about the female inventor who, with the government gone and her usual work dried up, now repaired heaters in between designing a starship that ran on alternative fuels. He couldn’t imagine how she did anything in the hovel in front of him.

I wouldn’t house a dog in such a place. He walked over to the ill-fitting door. His knock echoed hollowly. He waited…and waited.

Did he have the right address, or was the woman just was not awake? It was early morning, but not so much that anyone should still be in bed. At least, not in his opinion, but he supposed the inventor might have a different one. He knocked again with as little result. He sighed and glanced around. A passing couple spared him a quick look but didn’t say anything. Still he felt oddly conspicuous, as if he was doing something he shouldn’t be.

He tried the handle. It turned easily. Okay, then. Pulling it open, and wincing at the screech of the hinges, Lucian poked his head through the gap. “Hello? Is anyone home?”

A faint shout came from somewhere within the tangle of machinery and littered benches. Taking it as an invitation, Lucian stepped in out of the cold and wandered around the laboratory. Most of the benches groaned under the weight of a variety of heaters, all in various stages of assembly or disassembly—Lucian wasn’t sure which—but there was one given over to an intricate, clockwork-driven device that he could not make head nor tail of. He picked up a roll of paper and unwound it to find a blueprint. That made no sense either.

He shook his head: he’d been to university and had education in every science and theory going, but the level of intelligence indicated by the blueprint was still far beyond him.

Putting the roll down, he called again. “Hello?”

“One moment.”

Her voice was husky; mid-range feminine with a hint of smoke. It also carried a note that Lucian thought he recognised yet couldn’t quite place. A shadow shifted on the opposite wall, shortening as she came into the laboratory, nose buried in a thick book.

She wore leather trousers spotted with burn marks and grease, and a tightly-fitted blouse under a heavy apron. Her hair was swept up and gathered into a loose bun atop of her head, and the hands that held the book wore gauntlets. She looked up and her mouth dropped open, her eyes widening in shocked recognition.

“Lucian?” she said in barely more than a whisper.

He could only stare. It had been so very long since he’d last seen this woman. Long enough that it had taken seeing her face to identify her fully. Five years too long.

AUTHOR BIO

Misa Buckley is a sci fi geek who escapes the crazy of raising five children by creating imaginary worlds. She loves character-driven stories that have romance, adventure and really hot sex.

When she's not writing, you'll find her watching Stargate SG1 and lusting over Ba'al. She has a thing for bad boys in black leather.

Website: misabuckley.com
Twitter: twitter.com/MisaBuckley
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/misa.buckley