Scarlett Dawn
In a shattered world where humanity has been driven to the high skies, Ben Portyer wants nothing more than to keep his head down, fade away and let the world pass him by. But when the fearsome Air Khans make a lightning strike against the poor town of Dun, Ben is forced to ally with the mad Captain Francesca Beaumont and her rag-tag crew to make a desperate break for freedom.
But Ben might not be the only one with something to hide…
Will the Scarlett Songbird and her wayward mates be brought crashing down to the Damp, or will they make it through to see the Scarlett Dawn?
Book One of the Daring Tales from the New World Series
Dawn is a story about new beginnings, for a tired character on a tired earth, about finding purpose and place after a time of trauma and suffering. A throwback to old pulpy swashbuckling adventures, I’ve focused on a cast of colourful characters who act as a loving - if dysfunctional – family, making their way in a dangerous world.
The book tells the story of Ben Portyer and the crew of the Scarlett Songbird, a gaudy red airship under the command of the brackish and daring Captain Francesca Beaumont. When the barbaric Air Khans attack, Ben is forced to ally with Beaumont and her crew in order to escape. For three days, they are hounded, even down to the terrible currents that lie at the bottom of the broken world, driven to more extreme ends as they wait for their moment to escape. Together, they are kept alive only by their cunning, sheer will, and just a touch of madness.
The setting heavily features airships, shabby shanty towns and the constant roar of great combustion engines. Thematically, the book is focussed on packing the story with adventure and excitement, tinted with some humour and dark undertones of hinted trauma.
