JL Mulvihill's Steel Roots series - YA, steampunk, alternative history adventure

More and more readers are discovering the wonderfully imaginative Steel Roots Series from JL Mulvihill! A young adult, steampunk, alternative history adventure, the Steel Roots series features three books, The Boxcar Baby, Crossings, and Rails West.

Writing this series is like an adventure for me because anything can happen. The characters take me along with them across the country and I just go with the flow. This has been a natural organic story. When I get to an obstacle or a “where to now?” part in the story then I turn to my research. I think actually having a map with markers to follow helps. Of course, I knew where AB’Gale (Abby), would end up or at least the general area. 

The fun part is following the rails of the trains to see where they would take us. I researched the railway maps and train stations to be accurate and know what to expect. I think using the railway system is beneficial in helping to carry the story along. If you look up almost everything in the books you will find it is a real place. Incorporating real places is an exciting game I like to play. I imagine my readers discovering a mining town in the book is a real place. To me, this is like a treasure or finding a secret garden. In fact, you will find there are several places I mention in Hot Springs that are very real.

From the start of Rails West, I knew Abby needed to connect back with her friends. Of course the “Easter Egg,” had been planted in the prior book for this meeting. I felt it important for Abby to spend some time on her own for a while for both her and me to find out what kind of a person she is. However, after being on her own for so long she, and I, realized she needed her friends. Being alone and doing everything by yourself is difficult and even sometimes dangerous. I wanted to show the value of true friendship and how it’s beneficial during times of hardship.

Of course sometimes when you reach your goal you’re not sure what the outcome will be. I found that as the story progressed so did the challenges the characters faced. I suddenly found myself at the top of a volcano that is about to explode and only I can stop it or see it through. Of course, this leads to the final book I am working on now, The End of the Line. I realized the story is so immense I couldn’t finish it in three books.

One of the goals I had, when I started this story, was to imagine what the world would be like without slavery. That is at least how I started this idea in the beginning. I thought what if America had a wall around it with no outside influences and there had never been any slavery. What I discovered is shocking and I think indicative of society in general. I found there are still some forms of slavery. I also learned that where there is subjugation there is going be rebellion. Where there is subjugation eventually there is a revolution. The reason is that the human spirit cannot be suppressed. We all long to be free of our chains no matter what they are.

I hope my readers enjoy the adventure and that they find themselves along the way.

J L Mulvihill Changing the world on story at a time.

The Boxcar Baby (Steel Roots Book 1)

by J.L. Mulvihill

July 23, 2013

274 pages

Publisher: Seventh Star Press

Born in a boxcar on a train bound for Georgia. At least that is what Papa Steel always told AB’Gale. But now, fifteen years later, the man who adopted and raised her as his own is missing and it’s up to AB’Gale to find him. Aided only by a motley gang of friends, AB’Gale train hops her way across the United States in a desperate attempt to find her papa and put her life and family back the way it was. Her only guide is a map given to her by a mysterious hobo, with hand written clues she found hidden in her papa’s spyglass. Here is the Great American Adventure in an alternate steampunk dystopian world, where fifteen-year-old AB’Gale Steel learns that nothing is as it seems, but instead is shrouded in secrets and mysteries … and that monsters come in all shapes and forms. The Boxcar Baby is the first book of the Steel Roots series.

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Crossings (Steel Roots Book 2)

by J.L. Mulvihill 

November 30, 2014

314 pages

Seventh Star Press

Bishop Steel is still missing, so AB’Gale must follow the map continuing the search for her papa. Her quest leads Abby down dangerous paths that threaten to get her captured by the System. Danger lurks at every turn of the road, on every doorstep and every train.

Finding it difficult to know who to trust when she discovers she is now wanted for crimes against the System, Abby travels under the guise of a young boy. Conflicted with the desire to rid her world of the unjust or find her papa, Abby finds few friends amid hobos, air pirates, and entrepreneurs.

Abby finds that real friends will never abandon you, nor will they allow you to give up on your convictions. A true awakening to internal conflict and the desire to put right what is wrong, this is the great American adventure ringing with the sound of freedom along the steel routes.

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Rails West (Steel Roots Book 3)

by J.L. 

Mulvihill

July 26, 2016

286 pages

Publisher: Seventh Star Press

The System Regulatory Unit has determined that the responsible parties of last week’s explosion in Downtown St. Louis are none other than the notorious Abigail Steel and her band of pirates. She is wanted for questioning regarding numerous acts of rule breaking against the System. She is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached but informed upon at once.” Not only is her name misspelled, but the System has her description all wrong because AB’Gale Steel is not a criminal. She just wants to find her papa and now she feels she is so close, but will the System catch her before she finds him? And what about the marks on the map the old hobo gave her? What was Papa doing in all those places? Why is the System so concerned about Bishop Steel and his daughter? Are the people of America seething with frustration? And is there an insurgency boiling beneath the surface? All the answers lie within Rails West.

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About the Author:

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http://elsielind.com
A California native born in Hollywood, J.L. Mulvihill has made Mississippi her home for the past seventeen years. Her debut novel was the young adult title The Lost Daughter of Easa, an engaging fantasy novel bordering on science-fiction with a dash of Steampunk, published through Dark Oak Press in 2011. The sequel to this novel is presently in the works.

Her Most recent novel, The Boxcar Baby of the Steel Roots series, was released in July 2013 through Seventh Star Press. Steel Roots is a young adult series based in the Steampunk genre and engages the reader into a train hopping heart stopping adventure across America. Book 2, Crossings released December of 2014.

She is also the co-editor of Southern Haunts; The Spirits That Walk Among Us which includes a short story of her own called Bath 10, and a fictional thriller involving a real haunted place. Her poem, The Demon of the Old Natchez Trace, debuts in Southern Haunts part 2, Devils in the Darkness.

J.L. also has several short fiction pieces in publication, is very active with the writing community, and is the events coordinator for the Mississippi Chapter of Imagicopter known as the Magnolia-Tower. She is also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Gulf Coast Writers Association (GCWA), The Mississippi Writers Guild (MWG), as well as the Clinton Ink-Slingers Writing Group.
J.L. continues to write fantasy, steampunk, and poetry and essays inspired by her life in the South. You can find some of her short stories at Dark Oak Press as well as & Seventh Star Press.

Tour Schedule and Activities 

8/8 Jazzy Book Reviews http://bookreviewsbyjasmine.blogspot.com Guest Post
8/8 I Smell Sheep http://www.ismellsheep.com/ Guest Post
8/9 Inspired Chaos http://inspiredchaos.weebly.com/blog Guest Post
8/9 Breakeven Books https://breakevenbooks.com Author Interview
8/10 Sheila's Guests and Reviews https://Sheiladeeth.blogspot.com Guest Post
8/11 Bookmark Your Thoughts https://bookmarkyourthoughts.blog Review
8/11 Ravenous for Reads https://www.ravenousforreads.com Author Interview
8/11 Sapphyria's Books https://saphsbooks.blogspot.com/ Guest Post
8/12 The Book Lover's Boudoir https://thebookloversboudoir.wordpress.com/ Review
8/13 The Reading Bud https://thereadingbud.com Review
8/14 Swords and Red ses https://swordsandrosess.wordpress.com/ Review
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8/15 Literature Approved http://literatureapproved.com Review
8/15 Honestly Austen http://honestlyausten.com Review
8/16 YA/NA Book Divas http://facebook.com/yareeds Guest Post
8/16 Love Bites and Silk http://www.lovebitesandsilk.co.uk/ Guest Post 

Southern Haunts: Spirits That Walk Among Us by Alex Brown + giveaway

Author Alex Brown is one of the editors as well as a contributor to the Southern Haunts Anthology. He is here today to tell you about his very real experiences with the supernatural. 

http://www.tomorrowcomesmedia.com/

By: Alex Brown

Since I was raised in a home where the paranormal was openly discussed, it was only a matter of time before I befriended paranormal groups. During my years of experiencing hauntings and writing about them, I met Shelly Paris and Angela Lucius at a horror convention in Jackson, MS, nearly four to five years ago.

I recall my first paranormal investigation and remember these two women especially. Before Southern Haunts: Spirits that Walk Among Us came to be, J. L. Mulvihill and I were attempting a paranormal documentary. Shelly and Angela were kind enough to bring their group to Vicksburg, MS, to assist with our project.

Even though the night we spent investigating likely contributed to our imagination for Southern Haunts, we have yet to write a story about that particular occurrence. The home we investigated for that project was located in Vicksburg, MS. This bed and breakfast, although beautiful and majestic during the day, becomes haunting at night as the structure is bathed in the streetlights making it look like a true spook house.

When I wrote the story The Top Floor, which is the last tale in Southern Haunts, I loosely reenacted an actual event from the investigation. Even though I have experienced the paranormal before, this particular night was the first time I actually communicated with a spirit.

During this investigation, I was shown the technique of using a Maglite flashlight set between on and off so that the tiniest of movements could turn the light on or off. When this technique was explained to me, I thought it was a joke.

The first building we investigated on the property was the chapel. There were only four of us in the chapel--J. L. Mulvihill, Sylvia Brown (my mother, not the psychic), the demonstrator, and myself. This was in the middle of August and we had turned off the air to the room in which we resided so it would be quieter. The room turned hot very quickly in the Mississippi heat. As we patiently waited in the darkness hoping for some sign that we weren’t alone, we all simultaneously experienced a gust of cold air.

The demonstrator asked the spirit if it could tap the flashlight on. Suddenly, the flashlight tapped on by itself and shone brightly. I was taken aback by such surprise that I lost my breath. For nearly an hour, we communicated with a restless entity that identified itself as a female child. Upon request, the entity would tap the flashlight on and off in response to our questions. It would even make the light flicker when asked. This was a good technique for communication. We were able to inquire, “Did you die by natural causes? If so, tap on the flashlight. Are other spirits present? If so, tap off the flashlight.”

At the end of our questioning, we listened to the E.V.P.s to see if any ghostly voices were recorded. Although there wasn’t any vocal evidence of a haunting, the flashlight continued responding to our questions on the recorder. The odd thing was that the flashlight reacted to the requests on the recordings the same way that it had when we were speaking to it directly. This experience is what prompted me to write of the flashlight technique in my story that is set in a haunted hospital.

After this event, I grew to know Angela Lucius as not only a ghost hunter but also a historian and poet. When J. L. Mulvihill and I opened submission guidelines for Southern Haunts, I immediately wanted to pull Angela on board and I am happy to say that we published her very first story, Nightmares at Moccasin Bend. This tale, like all sixteen stories in Southern Haunts, is fictional but was inspired by actual events.

Southern Haunts: Spirits that Walk Among Us is full of stories that range from the East Coast to the West Coast in the South. Published in this book are new authors as well as award winning names in fantasy and horror. The stories collected for this first volume are young adult and adult friendly and they are ideal for a stormy night.

Now that you have heard my experiences with the supernatural and you know what to expect with Southern Haunts: Spirits that Walk Among Us, please follow us on Facebook so that you may interact with our authors and join in on discussions. Southern Haunts is an anthology that will see multiple volumes, each one dedicated to a different subject than its predecessor. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Southern-Haunts/417536915003428

Genre: Paranormal/Ghost
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Stories from the shadowed realms of the paranormal comes 16 chilling tales that dwell in the South and Southwest. Resurrected in your very hands are stories that will make you laugh, ponder, and shiver as the reader is introduced to spirits that are humorous, saddened, and vengeful.

From 16 authors, learn of haunted homes, buildings, landmarks and roads where restless entities from beyond the grave desire acknowledgement amongst the living.

Become acquainted with the aftermath of an eclipse that awakens the dead in a Memphis cemetery, see what horrors dwell in the woods at Hell’s Gate, learn the dark secrets of Sidney’s Cotton, and dare to travel down Ghost Road.

These and many other tales are sure to keep you awake as you are introduced to what makes the South and South West so unique…. History and GHOSTS!!!!!

So, sit back, dim the lights and prepare yourself to face the spirits that walk among us.

Featured stories and authors in Southern: Haunts:Windsong Levitch – “Interview for a Ghost Hunter”
H. David Blalock – “An Eclipse Over Elmwood”Richard Parks – “Sydney’s Cotton”
Jason Hughes – “Ghost Road”
Herika R. Raymer – “Cal’s Cutoff”
Diane Ward – “The Shack”
Roland Mannn – “Haints”
L.S. Nadler – “You Will Come to Meet Your Demise”
M.R. Williamson – “Hell’s Gate”
William R. Eakin – “Maddness”
Roman Merry – “Wellspring”
Kalila Smith – “The Bequest”
Miguel L. Viscarra – “The Cleansing”
J.L. Mulvihill – “Bath 10″
Angela Lucius – “Nightmares at Moccasin Bend”
Alexander S. Brown – “The Top Floor”

Editor Bios:

Alexander S. Brown is a Mississippi author who was published in 2008. His first book, Traumatized, is a short story collection that has received rave reviews from horror fans throughout America. Although, Brown began as a horror author, he has recently published two young adult steampunk tales, which can be found in the anthologies, Dreams of Steam 2: Brass and Bolts, as well as, Clockwork Spells and Magical Bells. His poem, “Maters” was later published in the magazine, Midnight Screaming Volume 3, #4. Brown says there are more works on the way as he plans to write a series of novels chronicling the lives of residents in a town that is damned. Eventually, he will pen a fantasy/horror trilogy.

J L Mulvihill is the author of the young adult fantasy novel, The Lost Daughter of Easa, published through Kerlak Publishing. Other stories J L has written and had published includes, Chilled Meat, a steampunk thriller, found in Dreams of Steam II-Of Bolts and Brass, anthology; The Leprechaun’s Story, a steampunk urban fantasy found in the anthology, Clockwork, Spells, & Magical Bells. A Real Dragon and Magic in The Ozarks, found in Memories and Dreams published by The Fine Arts Center of Hot Springs, AR; Jen’s Spicy Crawfish Bisque, found in It’s All about Food with a Mississippi Twist, published through the Clinton Ink-Slingers; and The Proud Oak, published through the Gulf Coast Writer’s Association.

J L Mulvihill has written several articles for Examiner.com as the Jackson Literature Examiner. She is also an event’s coordinator for the Mississippi Chapter of Imagicopter known as the Magnolia-Tower, a volunteer organization of authors and artists who promote their own publications while lending a hand to other writers and artists. J L Mulvihill is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Gulf Coast Writers Association (GCWA), The Mississippi Writers Guild (MWG), as well as the Arts Council of Clinton, the Clinton Ink-Slingers Writing Group, and the Java Jotters.

J L is currently working on her second novel, Elsindai, as well as her young adult steampunk series, Steel Roots, and an anthology project with horror author Alexander S. Brown entitled Southern Haunts. She also continues to write short stories in the fantasy, steampunk, horror, and sci/fi genre, as well as poetry inspired by her life in Mississippi. She has also been known to Karaoke from time to time when she thinks no one is looking. 
Webpage: http://www.elsielind.com/ 

This anthology tour is so massive I can't put it all on this post. Here are the links to the full tour schedule

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