Louisa Swann – författare

A powerful necromancer.An unexpected ally.The wild, wild west has never smelled so . . . um . . . sweet?When Abby Crumb finally meets up with her mother, her situation goes from disturbingly violent to utterly rotten. Stuck in a mining camp in the middle of nowhere with a family tree that keeps sprouting unexpected branches, Abby sinks deeper and deeper into the bottomless muck of her mother's treachery. Now Abby must finally confront her dark past before that dark past devours them all.At least there are no clockwork dragons or angry sorcerers to face. That should make life a bit simpler.Shouldn't it?

A lonely hotel and a slew of lost souls. What could possibly go wrong?Familiarity brews comfort, an adage the crew at the Bolt Hole hotel fully appreciates. Head clerk Mina Frank loves her daily routine and the souls that work for her. She's even fond of the grumpy old chef who threatens to kill off all their clientele by serving them poisonous spiders.Then a stranger strolls through the door and Mina gets that feeling. His arrival promises change but will that change prove useful?Or will it destroy them?

What would YOU do if your predictable life turned into an unpredictable nightmare?Imagine waking one morning to discover yourself in a real bind—all because of your sisters.17-year-old Abigail Crumb expects to nurture her new sisters. Instead, she finds herself mired in a bog of fear and despair when outside forces threaten to turn both of those sisters into Once Dead slaves.Running from the hostile creatures still haunting Mother's mining camp only seems to make matters worse. Then one of the sisters—the one still human—begins acting "e;strange."e;Abby's world turns upside down when she attempts to get her sisters away from the source of the problem and instead finds that she's stepped from muddy ground into quicksand that threatens to drag Abby into her own personal hell.Come along as Abby and her ensemble of quirky friends continue their adventures in this action fantasy with a dash of steampunk thrown in—set in the historic wild, wild west!

LOYALTY. VALOR. DESPAIR. JIHAD.A massive invasion fleet is destroyed almost to a man. Legions of soldiers, confident of victory, are cut down before they even reach the ground. Those that survive to make landfall are bombarded and shattered and rained with nuclear fire. Elsewhere, veterans long retired from combat are called back to duty by desperate times. Meanwhile, interstellar explorers comb unknown worlds for clues to explain deadly evils that threaten the entire Inner Sphere.Seventeen stories of combat, honor, betrayal, and death fill the pages of Fire for Effect: BattleCorps Anthology Volume 4.Savvy readers will recognize familiar names who have shaped the direction of BattleTech lore: Randall N. Bills, Steven Mohan, Jr., Kevin Killiany, Phaedra Weldon, Jason Schmetzer, Jason Hardy, and Herbert Beas. In 2007, they took the storylines of the BattleTech universe to new and violent heights. Worlds rose and fell, and empires toppled. Armies of BattleMechs and fleets of WarShips fought and perished. And beneath all of it, the spidery tendrils of the Word of Blake sowed mistrust and conflict in every realm…

Early 1850. Something hungry moves among the hulls of the abandoned ships blanketing San Francisco bay like an abandoned graveyard. The whispers spread, "e;There be dragons here."e;Why does Abby Crumb get the feeling she might be the dragon's main course?

Would YOU say no to your mother? What if that same mother just happened to be the world's most powerful sorceress and a necromancer to boot?At seventeen, Abigail Crumb wants no more than a normal life and a good cuppa tea, not that difficult to find in 1850 London. But when Abby receives Mother's Summons, she responds, even though it means sailing halfway around the world.Surviving Mother Rule #1: Never say no to a sorceress.After six months of murderous seas and women-hungry men, Abby finds herself mired in people-eating San Francisco mud with nowhere to go and no Mother in sight. This not-so-fragrant "e;New World"e; boasts hooligans and muck and not much else to Abby's way of thinking.Until earthquakes, flying mini-demons, and a mechanized beast straight from the pages of Myrcoff's Clockwork Beasts of Myth and Legend strikes fear in the locals' hearts.And everything changes.Join Abby and her ensemble of quirky friends in this action/adventure fantasy with a dash of steampunk thrown in—set in the historic wild, wild west! Volume #1 of The Peculiar Adventures of Miss Abigail Crumb.

How far would YOU go to survive?Accosted by an airship from hell.Dragged through half of San Francisco Bay.Dumped in a mining camp in the middle of Absolute Nowhere.All because she kept Mother waiting.17-year-old Abigail Crumb finds herself regretting her decision to abandon a somewhat normal life in London and sail halfway around the world—simply because Mother called. A mysterious mining camp in the wild, wild west flaunts the very idea of propriety, Mother's Once Dead miners keep falling apart, and not a good cuppa tea to be found.Surviving Mother Rule #2: Never keep a sorceress waiting.But keep Mother waiting she did.Now facing pitfalls beyond imagination, Abby finds herself in the precarious position of protecting two sisters she only just met. At least there are no clockwork dragons or demons to face. That should make life a bit simpler.Shouldn't it?The Peculiar Adventures of Abigail Crumb continue in this action/adventure fantasy with a dash of steampunk thrown in—set in the historic wild, wild west!

Three books in one! Join Abby and her ensemble of quirky friends in this action/adventure fantasy with a dash of steampunk thrown in—set in the historic wild, wild west! Night of the Clockwork Dragon (Would YOU say no to your mother? What if that same mother just happened to be the world's most powerful sorceress and a necromancer to boot?) Night of the Dying Moon (How far would YOU go to survive?) Night of the Thousand Voices (What would YOU do if your predictable life turned into an unpredictable nightmare?)

What would you do if a frog showed up on your pillow?Throw it outside?Throw it in a pot?Call animal control? Not if you're Miz Genevieve Penelope Street. In her mind, Milton the frog holds the title of Best Pet Ever. After all, he never ever ever poops in the house… And—come earthquake or flood or spooky haunted basement—he always takes care of her spiders!