As returning readers might notice, this blog has just undergone a major renovation. It's all so pretty now, isn't it?

I'd like to introduce a wonderful blog designer + person in general to you: Jessie.

Jessie runs My Candy Shoppe, in which she designs blogs for free - and so fast! She was done in less than a week, and let's face it, the change was breathtaking. She also blogs herself in multiple places, but the blog I found her at is A Chirographic Mind. It's a very pretty and meaningful little site, and I'm sure she'd appreciate it if you checked it out.

So basically, she's fabulous. And if any of y'all have Blogger blogs, you may want to consider ordering a design from her :)

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So the other day I opened up my Figment profile to take a quick look at it.

And realized.

I have reached (and cleared) the fifty-follower mark.

Within four months of joining Figment.

(Note: I am also kind of learning how to use GIFs. Feedback is welcome. :3)

I mean seriously guys. Thank you. Thank you so so so much. All you amazing readers manage to make my day so often and I love you.

I joined Figment with the intention of passing by people's pages with barely a murmur. I didn't expect to garner a legitimate audience or anything - just to share my stories, be nice to people, read good stuff, the usual. I certainly didn't expect to make Fig-friends.

And now here I am looking lost because heck, what happened? Suddenly people were reading my words, liking them, featuring them in places, and basically making me so happy I wanted to burst sometimes. They still are, and it's so incredibly kind of them. It's kind of you, my darling readers.

Of course, that means it behooves me to do a thank-you post now that I've reached the 50-follower (?!) mark and here it is. Here it is.

You all remind me why I write. You are all beautiful people. Thank you a thousand, no, a million times over. And good day.

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Lovely happenings abound in Starflower's life these days.

Another lit mag has accepted a piece of hers for publication. Pretty crazy, no?

Like I've said before, occasionally I write tiny little flash-fiction pieces as a writing exercise. They turn out okay once in a while, and I tweak them a bit (or not a bit, sometimes) before I send them off to places, hoping but not really expecting for them to find a home.

Now, this one's called "Dreaming" and it's got that same magical-ish feeling to it that I'm starting to enjoy a lot nowadays. The story centers around one young woman named Penelope who has a strange problem - she's waiting for someone to come save her from the monotony of her small town, but no one's coming. And basically "Dreaming" is three hundred fifty or so words of that + tea + roses + butterflies.

Fun, right? ...Or is it?

I read somewhere a few years ago that in a faraway country (the name escapes me just now, I believe it might have been Finland), people believe that butterflies are the physical embodiment of dreams. Then, as I was sitting down in front of the computer screen to type out a few flash-words, I saved myself from blank-sheet-o-phobia by suddenly thinking of this beautiful superstition.

I took that idea and I ran with it (thought thankfully not literally), taking a few twists and turns before arriving at my final product, which I actually kind of liked. Surprisingly.

And now an awesome lit mag called varia would like to publish it.

varia describes itself as "a literary collection of flora, fauna, and other such miscellany" - isn't that the most captivating thing? It publishes prose and serials by anyone and everyone regardless of writing resume, and it's absolutely delightful. Check it out at http://varialitmag.com/ and if you're on Tumblr, why not give them a follow?

In other miscellaneous news (just because I can), my other social media reputations are growing (so very slightly)! I now have 20 followers on Tumblr, 47 followers (?!) on Figment, have just gotten addicted to the fine website called Pinterest, and have gotten one of my stories Spotted on Storybird. Very cool, huh? And BRAGGING RIGHTS. HEH.

So to wrap this up, it's a new publication from moi! It's scheduled to appear on varia's website on Saturday, October 12, and I'll edit this post with the link when it's up!

EDIT: Here's a nice promo tidbit that came up today on varia. Can't wait for you all to read this when it's published on the twelfth!

SECOND EDIT: Aaand it's here!

THIRD EDIT (November 8, 2013): It seems that the varia site has disappeared for no apparent reason. It saddens me that you don't get to read this mag anymore, but oh, what can we do?

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Ahhh! IT'S REALLY HAPPENING.

A WORK OF MINE HAS BEEN ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION IN A MAG.

I'M FREAKING OUT, IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED.

It's a flash fiction piece called "City of Whispers and Night", and it's a little thing I wrote inspired by a picture I found on Tumblr:

Actually, I think it was Verse Kraken's Tumblr (Verse Kraken is another lit mag that I'd like to submit to someday. It's pretty awesome.).

So first and foremost, I'd like to thank Verse Kraken for that, because HOLY WOW MY FIRST PUBLICATION. THANKYOUTHANKYOU. YOU'RE AMAZING.

Second, I had The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern on my mind as I was writing. It's a completely amazing book, btw, so go read it. But anyway, that feeling of magic and possibility was just itching to be expressed.

Thank you, Erin Morgenstern, for being an inspirational genius.

Now, where is this magazine that has agreed to publish me?

Brouhaha Magazine.

I scrolled through their pieces and was pretty mind-blown - I'm not sure if you all know this, but there's a network (an underground almost) of genius, unrecognized writers on Tumblr. Particularly poets. And there were some darn brilliant beautiful words in that mag, wouldn't you know.

I write flash fictions as a little exercise every now and then, and the image just caught my fancy and I went with it. The piece had been sitting for a while when I decided to submit.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think they would accept it.

My work is set to appear on Monday, September 23 - I'll post a link when it's up!

Ahhh! It's happening!

*please excuse me while I freak out some more*

EDIT: And this, just after that horribly depressing post about being too young to do anything. Brouhaha Magazine, you have no idea what you have just done for me. Thank you.

EDIT #2: Here it is! http://brouhahamagazine.tumblr.com/post/62070974626/city-of-whispers-and-night

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You all must be wondering. (Or maybe I'm flattering myself and you really don't care, but you are terribly bored, so you've come to this blog of mine to try and fix that. Either way, you're reading. Heh.)

WHERE IS OtMS?

Short answer: I'm submitting it to a competition in the hopes that it might win stuff, so obviously it can't be up on the nets while I do that.

Long answer: For the next four months or so, I'll be intensively editing the first fourteen-ish (seven actually, since I cut them in half for Figment) chapters to submit the excerpt along with a synopsis of the book to the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards (http://artandwriting.org/), a national scholarship-type-thingy that has a novel division and would look pretty darn good on my college application if I won something.

I'm not entirely sure about the specifics, but I'm pretty sure national winners of the novel contest get a chance to intern at Scholastic and possibly publish their novel.

I know that one of the winners, Anna Waggener, published her novel Grim as a result. (I'm planning to go read it sometime.)

Which means that I can't have it already up somewhere because... possible publication. With a traditional publishing house.

I've been thinking a lot about this, and I feel that it's worth it, even if I do lose a lot of readers on Figment. This is one of those rare instances where a traditional publishing house will even consider a thirteen-year-old's work.

(Such are the pains of being young.)

There's your answer.

Extension of long answer (the rambling part): To be completely honest with you all - sometimes I really hate being young.

Many of my Fig-friends are at least three years older than I am, so when we talk, I'm often struck by how much I cannot relate to them.

It makes me sad.

There's a lot of constraints that come with being thirteen, I think. Most days it feels like I'm standing on the cusp of something really amazing that I know nothing about. That something must be life. And while I write to try and suppress my fears, I feel so uncertain. I'm so excited for when I'm older, for when people will take me seriously. For the time when my age won't kill my chances at achieving some of my goals. For the time when I'll think I know something about the world and I'll really know it.

But for now, there's thirteen-year-old me to think about.

There are days - so many days - when I just have to concentrate, because everything is so overwhelming. I love writing, of that I'm certain. But there are days when I can't help thinking that all these words will never get me anywhere, and that's just plain scary. I want so badly to not be terrible at writing. I want so badly to write a story that is important to people.

However, thirteen-year-olds aren't supposed to know anything of importance.

Perhaps I'm just being naive. Perhaps it really does get better as time goes on. Perhaps I do have a scrap of talent in me.

Right now, the world tells me, you're just too young. Right now you should concentrate on your grades and extracurriculars like a good girl and leave the word-writing to the brilliant ones. So I try. And I fail. There's always been a writing space in my mind and it won't just go away. But so many people are telling me I'm not ready.

They're probably right.

But what the heck, if Stephenie Meyer can get published, then one more horrible writer unleashed on the world won't hurt that much.

Will it?

And even then.

They tell me I'll keep getting better.

(Good gracious, by next year it looks like I'll have a full-fledged case of senioritis. As a freshman in high school. I'm going to be unbearable to be around. -_-)

PS: I would like to extend a heartfelt thank-you and apology to all of my wonderful, amazing, fabulous Figment readers. Your support has had me over the moon lately, and it's entirely my fault for not letting you all know sooner. Please know that it's nothing against any of you. Also, feel free to leave angry comments on either this post or my Figment wall, and I'll respond as best I can :(

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Hello, everyone! So I haven't died or disappeared or been abducted... yet.

Which means I have no excuse for not posting for MONTHS.

*mea culpa, mea culpa, I'm terribly sorry*

Actually, I might have an excuse. Some of you might know that I joined Figment several weeks ago and have been dreadfully busy setting everything up, promoting my work, making friends, etc. etc. (I suppose this is where you go, "Making FRIENDS? STARFLOWER? NEVER!! O_O") Although this link is in numerous places all around the blog, I'll give it to you again - my Figment profile.

My most recent posts have basically been about this exciting new project I've started, On the Midnight Streets. I've also posted it on Figment, and let me say...

The reactions have been SO MUCH BETTER than I expected. Really.

I've gotten so much enthusiastic support from a wide variety of other talented writers. It's truly inspiring, and now that I have a readership that's relying on me, I feel more pressure to write (okay, except for when I'm posting on this blog).

In fact, one of my Figment idols, Lydia Albano (I have mentioned her here and there) approves of it. *mind = blown* *no really, blown*

This, of course, drove me to the point where I was having sudden hysterical fits of happiness. (Just between y'all and me, I think my family was a teeny bit worried.) Then so many other people came and gave me incredibly insightful reviews, and I just feel so so lucky right now. I can't believe the amazing response my writing is getting, y'know? (Oh, and I've cleaned up the Pages bar up top a bit. I've also updated the "Long-Term Projects" page, polished it and stuff :D)

I joined a few Fig-Groups, mainly fan clubs, but also CPR and the Imaginarium. OTMS was featured on the Imaginarium's front page:

The Imaginarium has over 500 members now, so you can imagine my surprise :3

Which meant that this blog faded into oblivion for a while. (Or even further into oblivion. I still don't know whether I have an audience for my posts most of the time. Teehee.) Especially since I was veery busy squealing about having OVER 20 FOLLOWERS and OVER 30 HEARTS.

Anyway, now that I've gotten all that bragging over with (yes, I know, I know, but you guys are all here for me, right? :3), I need to make a little confession.

I kind of started a thing. Without telling you.

It's called The Birdcage Room, and it's in verse (WAIT, WHAT?!) and it's magical realism (WAIT, WHAT?!)

It was very spontaneous mostly, as the idea just came to me one day while I was reading Anande Sjöden's piece "Jack of Hearts" (which is just as completely amazing and original as "Nattie and Finn", which I'm pretty sure I've fangirled over in the past, so GO LOVE ANANDE NOW even if that sounds a little creepy). Usually, I take novel ideas and mull over them for a reeeaaallly long time before I even get around to starting them, if I start them at all. Except OTMS was being frustrating right around then and I got distracted (SHINY! WHEE!). (Why am I using parenthetical bursts of randomness so much in this post?) Anyway, it soon blossomed into something I thought I could really take to paper, only I had one problem... I had no idea what kind of POV I was going to use. Third-person present sounded good, but... I may or may not be planning another novel in third-person present tense. *hides*

Well, then I hit upon the seemingly excellent (but in fact extremely foolish) idea of writing this thing in verse.

I've never been a great poet. I had a bit of a poetry craze in around second grade, but honestly, I never had any real talent. Then in fifth grade we had another poetry unit, but I can say that I had no fun whatsoever. So I completely surprised myself with the notion. Then I went, "And why not?" and began to write the first chapter. (The link to the novel is on the "Long-Term Projects" page.)

And then, by an odd sequence of events, Kimberly Karalius (another one of my Figment idols) found it and liked it.

It's completely bizarre and I'm seriously feeling so, so loved by whoever is up there or down there or everywhere in between who decides what happens. Whether that entity is God or karma or the Fates. (I support all religions that make people better. So.)

Anyway, it's been crazy. And now I'm making so many lovely Fig-friends, which is incredible. 

Which brings us to the Solemn Promise.

I solemnly swear that my posts from now on will be a great deal more coherent. At the very least. Maybe they'll even be enjoyable to read sometimes.

I won't be doing as many book reviews anymore - my posts will be more writing-related now. I'll only review indie books and/or books by friends of mine (Fig-friends... hint hint). The mission of this blog's book reviews is now to promote amazing up-and-coming authors.

So there's everything. Enjoy the new (much more scatterbrained) me.

*twirls villain mustache*

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I remade the cover. The old one was bugging me. I like this one better, but what do you guys think? (previous cover is here: http://lifeisinexpressible.blogspot.com/2013/05/cover-reveal-on-midnight-streets-my.html)

Attribution: Cover design by me. Girl silhouette made using stock image courtesy of liam-stock on dA. Boy silhouette made using stock image courtesy of CathleenTarawhiti on dA Background texture courtesy of Lost and Taken. Gear brushes made using stock images courtesy of mossi889 and n-gon-stock on dA.

I absolutely LOVE all of these stock artists. dA stock just makes my day :D

Erm. Now I suppose I owe it to all of my lovely readers to describe this new novel. (Especially the wonderful Anorastar, who specifically commented "I WANT TO READ IT" on the previous post. This one's for you, Anora! I will be posting the novel on Figment this summer as I get more and more into it.)

Hmm, where to start?

The novel is narrated in first-person present tense, with most chapters being from my heroine's point of view but once in a while you'll get a supporting character chapter. It's the first in what I plan on being a quartet, called The Bloodlace Quartet.

So I guess first we have our heroine, Chantilly Rosewater. I suppose she's fairly introverted, has a really weird internal conflict going on just now, seventeen years old, slightly depressed, bookish, writerly (YES SHE'S AN AUTHOR JUST LIKE YOU AND ME), sarcastic when she needs to be, plain-faced, purple-eyed, etc. I think I kind of like how she's turning out.

The book's a fantasy with steampunk elements. The setting is loosely based off of Victorian and Regency England. (I read so much steampunk and Jane Austen and it's finally getting to me.)

The thing is, Chantilly is just a middle-class girl working in a small bookshop. AT FIRST. But then...

Okay, you know what? Since I'm here, why don't I try my hand at an official summary?

A girl and her notebook, a boy and his hat, thievery, love, clockwork, corruption, the rich and the poor, and rebellion seething in a divided city.

Chantilly Rosewater thinks she's been thrown out of her element when her family inherits a massive estate in the wealthy sector, the Upper City. However, she finds that inheritance is nothing compared to being kidnapped on her wedding day. By the most notorious thief in the city of Peralton.

But the Midnight Hatter is not all that he seems, and soon Chantilly is working with him and his band of strangely likable cohorts. What starts out as a series of simple "acts of defiance" begins to escalate until the friends find that they have a host of angry citizens who are looking to them to light the spark of revolt...

Short, admittedly, but Figment summaries are better when fairly short, I've found.

What do y'all think?

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The second in that series I mentioned earlier today. A bit on the creepy side. I like how it turned out, though, with the two kind of staring at each other. This is the steampunk artwork in the "Dressing by Genre" series.

CREDITS:
The girl in the dress (same stock artist as the previous dress girl, incidentally):
http://lilystox.deviantart.com/art/Red-Dress-Ball-Gown-149415357
The skeleton:
http://browse.deviantart.com/art/Skeleton-Grasping-2-55484818
The background texture:
http://browse.deviantart.com/art/Texture-10-17913434
The gears from which I made the brushes:
http://n-gon-stock.deviantart.com/art/tech-03-gear-9117277
http://mossi889.deviantart.com/art/Gear-png-347981098

YAY. Which genre do you think I should do next?

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I think this one turned out okay. :)

It was just a little spontaneous thing I did in Pixlr Editor and PicMonkey. I was experimenting with how to use Pixlr Custom Brushes.

Credits!
The girl in the dress (lovely cutout, yay):
http://lilystox.deviantart.com/art/White-Dress-Ball-Gown-149415373
The background texture:
http://browse.deviantart.com/art/Dream-texture-86290571
The hexagons used to make the brush:
http://epicalnerdybunny.deviantart.com/art/Free-Hexagon-pattern-02-371945610

That's all, I think, since I made the binary brush using text.
This might make a nice book cover. :3 It's the first in what I hope to make a series, called "Dressing by Genre".

The series would be pretty dresses representing different book genres. This would be the "science fiction genre" artwork. Sound good?

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In New York City, 1897, life has never been more thrilling-or dangerous Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper from the clutches of a devious criminal demanding a trade-the dangerous device Jasper stole from him...for the life of the girl Jasper loves. One false move from Jasper, and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens and tightens. From the rough streets of lower Manhattan to elegant Fifth Avenue, the motley crew of teens follows Jasper's elusive trail. And they're about to discover how far they'll go for friendship. More than ever, Finley must rely on powerful English duke Griffin King to balance her dark magic with her good side. Yet Griffin is at war with himself over his secret attraction to Finley...and will risk his life and reputation to save her. Now, to help those she's come to care for so deeply, Finley must infiltrate the criminal gang. Only problem is, she might like the dark side a little too much....

The sequel didn't disappoint. :) *spoilers of Steel Corset, read at your own risk*

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar provided an intriguing, steampunk-ified picture of late-1800s America. I've always perked up at any mention of Tesla, and his "inventions" also play a role. Irish gangs, handsome and dangerous criminals, MORE EPIC AETHER STUFF, the undeniable genius of the incredible Emily, betrayal, love, a lot of fighting, I mean, what else do you need from a steampunk novel?

Finley's internal conflict isn't as interesting now that her two halves are merged. Sure, there's a bit of "Will she choose the good?" "Will she choose the bad?" but we all know that she's going to come back to the good (not that we didn't in Steel Corset but not the stakes aren't as high since Finley's dark side is definitely under control) so it was meh. Darn, I wish Emily was the MC. So much. You wouldn't even believe how much I like her. She is smart and sassy and EVERYTHING. You know? She is the kind of person I would want to be friends with.

Jasper's backstory was very neat. It was very logical (and also there was the mention of Mei's past, which immediately made me think of Daughter of Fortune, which made me happy) and provided a pretty good conflict for him. I must admit that I love the name Jasper. No particular reason.

Mmm... I don't know about Griffin. For him, now EVERYTHING IS SUDDENLY ALL ABOUT FINLEY. Only he gets all CONTROLLING. I know some people think "controlling is totally hot" or whatever, like Tobias/Four from Divergent, but personally I don't like controlling guys. And now Griffin is all,  "You cannot do anything without telling me to. Because you might DIE. Okay?" He should give Finley a little independence - after all, he's fully aware that she can manage just fine. Along with Emily. EMILY CAN MANAGE AWESOMELY.

The thing that gets me about the writing style for these two books is that it's very into-the-historical-period, perhaps a little too much so. Things like tarnation, bloody hell, etc. pop up a little too much for them to be easily readable. Then it will suddenly switch to a more modern term, which was vaguely irritating.

Anyhow, I'll see how soon I can get my hands on Iron Touch and review that for everyone. BECAUSE IT'S EMILY, GUYS.

Bye now :)

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When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Harsh words indeed, from Brian Nelson of all people. But, D.J. can't help admitting, maybe he's right. When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Stuff like why her best friend, Amber, isn't so friendly anymore. Or why her little brother, Curtis, never opens his mouth. Why her mom has two jobs and a big secret. Why her college-football-star brothers won't even call home. Why her dad would go ballistic if she tried out for the high school football team herself. And why Brian is so, so out of her league. When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Welcome to the summer that fifteen-year-old D.J. Schwenk of Red Bend, Wisconsin, learns to talk, and ends up having an awful lot of stuff to say.

Some really sweet contemporary fic to wind down my whole intense steampunk obsession.

I loved D.J. She was so candid and funny that it was really easy to step beside her and sympathize. She wasn't perfect, but she wasn't annoyingly flawed, either. She was just a person, which really got me. She had grievances and issues just like anyone. 

Brian Nelson... meh. He wasn't totally sweet or anything, nothing really special, but he had honesty to him, too. You could see that he and D.J. were cute together, although Brian as a person is somewhat doubtful.

The cow theme throughout the book was very apt and nice. D.J. becomes ambitious because she doesn't want to be like a cow, constantly doing the work that everyone tells her to do without complaint. She wants to be more important and open-minded than that.

D.J.'s family tensions were set up very nicely. Her dad, her mom, Win, Bill, Curtis - all of them had meaningful traits and failings, which was strangely likable. The secrets that they keep are logical yet hold some actual significance, which I really loved.

I know that a lot of stories set in small towns end up with the protagonist breaking out of their shell and leaving the town, but what I liked about Dairy Queen was that the MC broke out of her shell without leaving her beloved town. There's a kind of truth to that.

You can tell this review really isn't that great, but it was a nice book, even for personally-football-hating me, about finding one's family against age-old odds like gender discrimination. I would say read it. The next book is called The Off Season, but I don't know if I'll read it. Dairy Queen just ended so perfectly...

But here's a cover and summary anyways:

Life is looking up for D.J. Schwenk. She’s made it to eleventh grade, she’s reconnecting with her best friend, and she’s got kind of a thing going with Brian Nelson. Best of all, she’s playing for the Red Bend High School football team—as the first girl linebacker in northern Wisconsin.

But then the season goes suddenly, horribly wrong: her brother Win is put in the hospital by a devastating blow during a game. Once again, D.J. is forced to step up and be there for her family. As her life turns completely upside down, she discovers she’s a lot stronger than she – or anyone – ever thought.

This hilarious, heartbreaking, and ultimately triumphant sequel to the acclaimed novel Dairy Queen takes D.J. and all the Schwenks from Labor Day to an unforgettable Thanksgiving Day game.

The author describes it as "weightier in subject matter" than Dairy Queen, so I may or may not give it a shot. :)

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In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one...except the "thing" inside her.When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no "normal" Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch....

Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of "them." The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits: Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.

Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help--and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.

But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on--even if it seems no one believes her.

Recently, I've become a bit obsessed with all things VICTORIAN or STEAMPUNK (because of my new novel, which yes, I do have to get around to posting about). And this was very much both. Which made me very happy :D

Contrary to my expectations, I liked Finley (although I have to say I liked Emily more). She was basically in a Jekyll-and-Hyde position, only the change was part of her blood, not caused by potions. Her inner conflict was interesting and she wasn't a total Mary Sue, thank goodness. It was a refreshing change from the recent increase in bad MCs in popular YA, which is very disheartening. I'm actually working on my own MC's inner conflict, and I'm really not sure if I'm doing it right.

However, Emily is completely brilliant. She's all Irish and smart and strong and doesn't let boys get her down. Her accent is totally cool, too, and she creates these awesome gadgets. CLOCKWORK CATS AND STEEL CORSETS. WHO DOESN'T LOVE THAT?

The boys in this book were... interesting.

So the friend who introduced me to this series is, like, OMIGOODNESS JACK DANDY IS SO AMAZING. But I don't know about him. There's really no character development, only a smooth-talking, arrogant, sarcastic criminal, who is admittedly very handsome. Therefore by default I like Griffin better, because with him I got a whole backstory that made me care about him and HE CAN ACCESS THE AETHER. He cares so much about Finley, too. It's sweet.

Sam Morgan I didn't particularly like, though it'll be really cool to see how he and Emily develop. Jasper was pretty chill, too, and I'll be looking forward to seeing more of him in The Girl in the Clockwork Collar, book 2 of the Steampunk Chronicles.

The third book, The Girl With the Iron Touch, came out a few days ago.

So here's summaries for the next two books:

In New York City, 1897, life has never been more thrilling-or dangerous Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper from the clutches of a devious criminal demanding a trade-the dangerous device Jasper stole from him...for the life of the girl Jasper loves. One false move from Jasper, and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens and tightens. From the rough streets of lower Manhattan to elegant Fifth Avenue, the motley crew of teens follows Jasper's elusive trail. And they're about to discover how far they'll go for friendship. More than ever, Finley must rely on powerful English duke Griffin King to balance her dark magic with her good side. Yet Griffin is at war with himself over his secret attraction to Finley...and will risk his life and reputation to save her. Now, to help those she's come to care for so deeply, Finley must infiltrate the criminal gang. Only problem is, she might like the dark side a little too much....

I think this is my favorite cover in the series :) That clockwork collar is scary, but sooo pretty...

In 1897 London, something not quite human is about to awaken.

When mechanical genius Emily is kidnapped by rogue automatons, Finley Jayne and her fellow misfits fear the worst. What's left of their archenemy, The Machinist, hungers to be resurrected, and Emily must transplant his consciousness into one of his automatons—or forfeit her friends' lives.

With Griffin being mysteriously tormented by the Aether, the young duke's sanity is close to the breaking point. Seeking help, Finley turns to Jack Dandy, but trusting the master criminal is as dangerous as controlling her dark side. When Jack kisses her, Finley must finally confront her true feelings for him...and for Griffin.

Meanwhile, Sam is searching everywhere for Emily, from Whitechapel's desolate alleyways to Mayfair's elegant mansions. He would walk into hell for her, but the choice she must make will test them more than they could imagine.

To save those she cares about, Emily must confront The Machinist's ultimate creation—an automaton more human than machine. And if she's to have any chance at triumphing, she must summon a strength even she doesn't know she has....

Looks like this one will be about my favorite character EMILY! *squeal*

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