Teaser Tuesday

As promised, the following is a truncated version of the synopsis for my new steampunk urban fantasy novel, the first in a series. I left out the ending for obvious reasons. The research for this book is going to be crazy, but there are some decent resources out there. I have this wonderful book about turn of the century New York City, its culture and its slang. I'll post some fascinating tidbits on the blog now and then because I think you'll get a kick out of them. One example is the word "Skells," which was a nickname often given to homeless people.

MYSTIC TAXI Synopsis ©Karen Duvall

Coal is king and steam is the dream in a twenty-first century where the internal combustion engine never caught on. The latest technology is demon-powered. HENRY PAINE, a half-demon taxi driver in New York City, is the go-to guy whenever you want a demon to possess your machine. He can get the blackmarket Imps, Snits and Vox demons to automate most any mechanical gizmo with or without an engine. The creatures are tame as pets. Or at least they have been, until now.

WANDA SNOW is a human exorcist who grudgingly admits to having a few drops of demon blood herself. She's come to New York to rid the city of demonic vermin, both good and bad. Wanda starts out as Henry's nemesis, but the two become partners in a mutual goal to round up the rogues biting the Big Apple.

A third of the U.S. population is made up of Hellspawn: half-breed demons like Henry. A rebellion has been brewing for decades, and Henry's former best friend JASPER is leader of the pack. Jasper, like all Hellspawn, has human family, but he was abused and neglected by them. He's created an army of robots powered by demon possession. Jasper's goal is to wipe out the humans and make Hellspawn the dominating race.

When Henry's human family is taken hostage by the rebels, he and Wanda use their psychic gifts to try ridding the robots of the demonic energy that powers them. Will they succeed? Or will the world end up demon-powered like the machines they control?