So excited to be a part of this awesome Story Bundle! If you like tales of suspense and Greek Goddesses, please take a moment to check out my contribution to the set as well as all the other fabulous contributions!

THE SORCERY AND STEAM BUNDLE

The Sorcery and Steam Bundle – Curated by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Sorcery. Steam. Ghosts. A touch of romance. Mythic creatures. Some truly violent bad guys. And one little black cat.

We have everything in this bundle that a fantasy reader could want.

Including magic.

We have magic in all forms, from the magic that gods use when they come to Earth to magic that a familiar inspires when she helps a man with limited ability keep his spells fresh. We have vampires and werewolves. We have parasols and tea and lovely chocolates. We have FBI agents facing killers and assassins who can kill with a blink.

A fantastic story for every mood, and steampunk. Not enough to call this a steampunk bundle, but enough that we could add “steam” to our subtitle. (We can also add “steam” for another reason. One or two of these books have steamy scenes, that have nothing to do with engines and everything to do with heat between humans.)

We also have new releases in this bundle. Usually writers contribute the first books in a series or a book that fits the theme but has been published for a long time. Four writers—Dayle A. Dermatis, Catherine Banks, Michelle Fox, and me— decided to put their most recent book in the bundle. In fact, Catherine and Michelle have contributed books exclusive to StoryBundle. You can’t get those books anywhere else.

Pauline Baird Jones started our steampunk trend by asking me if she could include her wonderful Specters in the Storm book. Of course I said yes. That yes opened the door to Fiction River: Alchemy & Steam, the anthology series’ popular steampunk volume.

It also enabled me to add Gail Carriger, known for her steampunk novels. She contributes a book in Delightfully Deadly series. And hers isn’t the only series. We also have Ann Gimpel’s Coven Enforcers, Caridad Pineiro’s twelve-book Calling/Reborn books, and Melissa Snark’s six-book Ragnarök books (started before the movie, I’ll have you know).

We have magic without steam, as well. Dayle A. Dermatis’s Nikki Ashburne died, then got revived with an added skill—the ability to see ghosts. Both Catherine Banks and Melissa Snark have added mythic gods and goddesses into their fictional stew. I’m the one who provided the cat, although Ruby, a familiar, would argue with me for that sentence. She’s more than a cat. She’s something special.

What I didn’t expect, what I didn’t plan for, and what I didn’t see until I had compiled my author list for the bundle, was that every writer in the bundle (with the exception of one short story writer in Fiction River: Alchemy & Steam) is female.

I hadn’t planned to put together a women-only StoryBundle, but I had.

I just asked writers whom I’d worked with before, and who impressed me in one way or another. After the invitations went out, after the acceptances came in, and as I put together the letter to inform everyone who their partners in bundling would be, I realized that every name I typed was female.

Which is just about perfect, considering that March is Women’s History Month.

We’re kind of messing with history, considering how much magic and steampunk we’ve thrown into the mix (and how some of our stories have no history at all). But we’re reaching for the spirit of the celebration, not the celebration itself.

In addition to the history and the magic and the steam, we also have a charity to promote.

This bundle’s charity is AbleGamers. In the past twenty years or so, the online gaming world has become a major place for people all over the world to interact with each other. AbleGamers makes it possible for people with disabilities to participate, by providing everything from equipment personalized for each person’s needs to advice to the game developers on how to make their entertainment accessible.

Entertainment takes our mind off the troubles in the world. You can entertain yourself with this bundle, and pay for someone else’s entertainment in the online gaming world. Or you can buy the bundle as a gift, allowing a friend to read some of your favorite authors. As you pick up a copy of this bundle, please consider throwing in a few dollars to help AbleGamers.

Thanks! – Kristine Kathryn Rusch

The initial titles in the Sorcery and Steam Bundle (minimum $5 to purchase) are:

• Alchemy and Steam by Fiction River
• Familiarity by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
• Poison or Protect by Gail Carriger
• Blood and Magic by Ann Gimpel

If you pay at least the bonus price of just $15, you get all four of the regular titles, plus SIX more!

• Specters in the Storm by Pauline Baird Jones
• Rare Stakes by Michelle Fox
• Valkyrie’s Vengeance & Hunger Moon – Ragnarok: Doom of the Gods 1-2 by Melissa Snark
• Ghosted – Nikki Ashburne – Book 1 by Dayle A. Dermatis
• Alys of Asgard by Catherine Banks
• For Love or Vengeance by Caridad Pineiro

This bundle is available only for a limited time via http://www.storybundle.com. It allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub, .mobi and .pdf) for all books!

It’s also super easy to give the gift of reading with StoryBundle, thanks to our gift cards – which allow you to send someone a code that they can redeem for any future StoryBundle bundle – and timed delivery, which allows you to control exactly when your recipient will get the gift of StoryBundle.

Why StoryBundle? Here are just a few benefits StoryBundle provides.

• Get quality reads: We’ve chosen works from excellent authors to bundle together in one convenient package.
• Pay what you want (minimum $5): You decide how much these fantastic books are worth. If you can only spare a little, that’s fine! You’ll still get access to a batch of exceptional titles.
• Support authors who support DRM-free books: StoryBundle is a platform for authors to get exposure for their works, both for the titles featured in the bundle and for the rest of their catalog. Supporting authors who let you read their books on any device you want—restriction free—will show everyone there’s nothing wrong with ditching DRM.
• Give to worthy causes: Bundle buyers have a chance to donate a portion of their proceeds to AbleGamers!
• Receive extra books: If you beat the bonus price, you’ll get the bonus books!

StoryBundle was created to give a platform for independent authors to showcase their work, and a source of quality titles for thirsty readers. StoryBundle works with authors to create bundles of ebooks that can be purchased by readers at their desired price. Before starting StoryBundle, Founder Jason Chen covered technology and software as an editor for Gizmodo.com and Lifehacker.com.

For more information, visit our website at storybundle.com, tweet us at @storybundle and like us on Facebook.