By Wayne R. Tripp (Guest Blogger)
Although
set
in
a
Post-Apocalyptic
world
in
which
Neo-Victoriana
rules
and
earth's
survivors
lead
a
cobbled-together
steampunk
existence,
the
main
focus
of
Beyond
Redemption
centers
around
its
two
main
characters,
Jack
Hazard
and
Penny
Fox.
Two
flawed
people
living
with
buried
secrets
almost
as
dark
as
the
hellish
creatures
they
hunt,
the
main
characters
in this series were
created
after
years
of
reading
everything
Victorian
from
Rudyard
Kipling
to
Bram
Stoker.
Blend
this
with
a
lifetime
spent
watching
Hammer
and
other
horror
films,
centering
around
vampires,
werewolves
and
damsels
in
distress.
Add
a
pinch
of
my
experience
working
as
a
graphic
designer,
throw
in
a
dash
of
creating
and
painting
award
winning
military
and
fantasy
figures.
A
pinch
of
my
passion
for
late
nineteenth
century
American
and
British
history,
coupled
with
my
love
of
India
in
the
Raj
period
and
you
have
the
brew
that
lead
me
down
the
path
toward
writing
these
tales.
Discovering
the
fascinating
world
of
the
Victorian
Steampunk
culture
has
added
the
perfect
smidge
of
necessary
spice.
As
the
reader
progresses
through
Beyond
Redemption,
I've
attempted
to
portray
Penny
and
Jack
as
basically
ordinary
people
driven
by
the
same
needs,
desires
and
emotions
we
can
all
associate
with.
Yet,
from
the
beginning
I've
hinted
that
each
is
far
more
than
meets
the
eye.
After
all,
they're
people
forced
to
deal
with
a
fractured
world
still
trying
to
get
it
all
together
several
hundred
years
after
a
series
of
worldwide
cataclysmic
events.
Not
surprisingly,
clean
water
has
become
the
most
important
resource
on
earth,
and
during
the
survivors'
search
for
fresh
sources,
mankind
has
unleashed
yet
another
harbinger
of
doom.
A
protective
seal
has
been
broken,
and
a
small
crack
has
been
opened.
Through
this
slash
in
the
earth's
crust
slither
a
horde
of
savage
monsters.
In
Beyond
Redemption,
Penny
and
Jack
band
together
to
find
and
destroy
the
evil
Baroness
Heidi
Zurbrück
and
prevent
her
from
opening
a
larger
gateway
to
hell
and
letting
all
manner
of
diabolical
creatures
pour
out.
With
each
book
of
my
Dragon
Seeker
series,
I
intend
to
follow
Jack
and
Penny
as
they
discover
love
and
band
together
to
seek
out
these
creatures
and
save
humanity
from
fresh
horrors.
With
each
chapter
I
hope
to
reveal
a
little
bit
of
Jack
and
Penny's
"special
talents"
as
well
as
provide
glimpses
into
their
well-guarded
secrets.
Of
course
there'll
be
a
fair
amount
of
romance
and
sex,
plenty
of
personal
conflicts
to
overcome
as
well
as
several
clans
of
savage
beasts,
some
of
them
human,
some
definitely
not.
As
it
is
sadly
true
in
life,
there
will
be
some
issues
of
racism
and
prejudice.
Penny
is
the
daughter
of
an
American
army
officer
of
Irish
descent
while
her
mother
was
a
Hindu
fleeing
India
in
disgrace.
There,
I've
revealed
one
of
Penny's
secrets.
Now
you
might
wonder
why
Mum
fled
her
native
India?
Anyone
familiar
with
the
British
control
of
India
during
the
Raj
period
knows
of
the
prejudicial
way
the
local
Brits
viewed
most
Indians.
Since
the
world
has
now
adopted
Neo-Victorian
ideals,
you
might
assume
that
prejudice
has
reared
its
ugly
head
again.
But
is
that
really
why
Penny's
Mum
deserted
her
homeland?
By
the
way,
the
title
Beyond
Redemption
has
several
meanings,
just as
city
names
are
sometimes
changed
over
time,
such
as
Bombay
becoming
Mumbai.
Many
of
the
devastated
world's
cities
have
been
renamed.
Hope,
Disappointment,
Traveler's
Rest
and
Shadowland
to
name
a
few.
Redemption
is
the
name
of
a
survivors'
settlement
in
the
northeast
where
southerner
Penny
Fox
is
forced
to
live.
For
Beyond
Redemption's
second
meaning,
the
reader
will
quickly
discover
some
secrets
when
revealed
are
very
much
beyond
redemption.
As
for
my
personal
writing
process,
I'm
usually
stimulated
by
something
I
read,
see,
or
hear
about.
From
there,
I
develop
characters
and
plots
like
most
other
writers,
always
governed
by
two
words:
What
If.
Blurb
Struggling
to
survive
in
a
devastated
world
powered
by
steam
and
governed
by
Neo-Victorian
morals,
fake
spiritualist
Penny
Fox
meets
handsome
Jack
Hazard
at
haunted
Grimsby
Manor.
During
the
stormy
night
of
the
séance,
both
realize
they
are
sexually
attracted
to
each
other.
Although
each
hides
dark
personal
secrets,
they
dare
explore
a
vile
mansion
where
creatures
far
more
deadly
than
restless
ghosts
prowl.
Before
their
terrifying
night
ends,
they'll
share
wild
passion,
know
overwhelming
fear,
summon
more
than
a
dash
of
courage,
and
discover
the
beginning
of
an
adventurous
love
affair
destined
to
last
all
their
lives.
Trouble
is,
their
lives
might
prove
very
brief.
First,
they
must
live
through
the
night.
Excerpt
In
her trance, there were two of them entering the abandoned android
factory, an inferior shadow world of BioSim’s actual Artificial
Intelligence Group. The place was not so much abandoned, as avoided.
The pair of invaders looked like survivalist characters featured in
one of her trashy novels set in the barren wastelands of Desolation.
They were dressed head to toe in some sort of heavy animal skin coats
with all sorts of metal gadgets clinking and clanging about their
bodies, and plenty of plain cold iron. The sort of stuff to keep
witches and demons at bay.
They
worked their way past the cobwebbed ghosts of lifeless service bots,
stacks of articulated limbs and rows of gender-specific heads,
looking for the plant manager’s office. Behind a double line of
dormant fully-assembled androids, they found it. Once inside, they
swept a stack of rolled AI schematics off a battered desk, and began
hastily undressing each other. She watched as her companion began to
peel away a thick pair of amber-colored goggles, and the various
gauges and devices strung across his body, stacking them carefully
beside the desk. When he stripped off his spiked helmet, and mutant
panther seal skin coat, she tried not to stare. The athletic,
well-muscled form he’d kept covered was beginning to drive her
crazy. She wanted him in her so badly, this fellow adventurer of
hers. As she began to strip out of her own restrictive clothing,
right down to her icy blue silk panties, she realized he must feel
the same about her. He’d watched her undress the whole time, his
twinkling blue eyes full of mischief.
She
came to him in front of a dusty brocaded couch, her eager smile that
of an anxious innocent. Brazenly, she began kissing him. She’d
wanted to kiss Jack Hazard from the moment she’d met him.
Free
of
the
restrictive
clothing
worn
by
anyone
hoping
to
survive
in
the
endless
wasteland,
and
the
paraphernalia
of
their
secretive
trade,
they
went
at
it
like
lovers
long
separated.
When
Jack
finished
removing
the
last
of
his
devices
and
his
outer
coat,
he
continued
with
the
clothes
Penny
had
observed
in
the
séance
parlor.
When
he
removed
his
pants,
revealing
legs
heavy
with
well-defined
muscle
used
to
running
and
other
demanding
“activities”,
her
desire
grew
more
urgent.
As
he
removed
his
under
clothes,
her
hand
flew
to
her
face
while
she
tried
to
catch
her
breath.
Perhaps
she
should
turn
away,
close
her
eyes.
She
couldn’t
tear
her
gaze
away,
yet
she
felt
like
such
a
wicked
street
slut.
In
spite
of
Jack’s
less
than
sterling
opinion
of
her,
she’d
led
a
wholesome,
if
sheltered
life.
She
tried
to
think
of
herself
as
a
southern
gentlewoman
fallen
on
hard
times;
maybe
just
a
bit
naive.
She’d
never
seen
a
cock
so
huge.
In
point
of
fact,
she’d
hardly
ever
seen
a
man’s
cock;
Madame
Blossom
was
pretty
insistent
that
she
remain
in
her
room
while
the
girls
were
working.
Still,
there
had
been
two.
Two
vividly
horrific
memories
buried
deep
in
her
soul
and
best
forgotten.
They
still
set
her
body
shivering
and
gave
her
screeching
nightmares.
Yet,
this
near
naked
man
smiling
at
her
so
invitingly
was
driving
her
crazy
with
desire.
What
should
she
do?
Would
she return to the waking world totally scandalized by what she’d
done in her trance? Would the others—would Mr. Hazard—know?
Hopefully his hot kisses would be worth any future embarrassment.
Silly
girl.
He
was
so
gorgeous,
she
felt
like
putty
in
his
hands,
willing
to
do
almost
anything
just
to
see
him
smile
at
her.
Yet,
she
knew
he
could
be
a
heartless
rogue,
a
complete
scoundrel;
how
could
this
ever
be
anything
more
than
a
wishful
fantasy?
Maybe
if
they
just
kissed.
.
.
.
The
spirits infecting Penny’s trance grew bored with her indecisive
dithering, and twisted her dream further to suit their whims.
Gone
were the adventurers’ outer clothing and cluster of android parts
piled around the dusty roll top desk. Penny still wore the remnants
of her séance clothing, but now those clothes were undone. Since it
was her trance they tromped through, the malignant spirits found it
easy to skip between both dream and real world, bending Penny’s
will to feed their dark desires.
In
her dream, Penny writhed with pleasure in Jack’s arms, as his hands
ripped open her blouse. Yet in the séance room, her trance lover’s
fingers remained interlaced with his neighbor’s, far across the
table. She still sat primly dressed next to Lady Grimsby, her dreamy
thoughts anything but proper.
Across
the séance table from the medium, Brother Shine’s sister-wife,
Twinkle, began to moan and squirm in her stiff-backed chair, as if
one of the wandering phantoms was starting to have its way with her.
Lost
deep
within
her
trance,
she
squealed
as
Jack
grabbed
her
long
silky
hair,
freed
hairpins
shooting
everywhere.
When
he
shoved
her
back
towards
the
uncomfortable
worn
brocade
couch,
scattering
several
dog-eared
copies
of
Android
Companion
magazine,
she
drew
him
down
with
her.
Running
her
fingers
through
his
thick
hair,
she
drew
his
face
closer
to
her
own,
and
kissed
him
with
enough
fiery
passion
to
fuse
their
hearts
together
forever.
Yet,
even
in
her
dream,
she
knew
it
had
to
stay
no
more
than
kisses.
It
couldn’t
ever
become
anything
more.
About
the Author
Creator
of
several
successful
eBook
series
,and
now
Beyond
Redemption,
the
first
book
in
a
steampunk
romantic
adventure
series,
author
Wayne
Tripp
lives
in
the
New
England
area
he
often
writes
about.
A
former
SCUBA
enthusiast
visiting
many
exotic
reefs
and
award-winning
graphic
designer,
he
spends
his
time
creating
and
painting
military,
fantasy
and
steampunk
miniatures
as
well
as
with
his
family
and
adoring
husky.
Yet,
he
still
makes
time
to
write.
Maintaining
his
childhood
notion
Love
should
eventually
win,
he
believes
there
are
still
dark
things
hiding
in
his
shadowy
closet.
Once
in
a
while,
in
a
book,
he
lets
them
out.
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