[INDEV] The Automatons of Second London

What is this?

This is the page for The Automatons of Second London.  This is a romantasy novel I am writing based on the VN I made for Spooktober 6 Jam in September 2024.  You can read/play this game here, but be aware a lot of this is going to be in the book too.

Cool.  What's it about?

"Arabella Harlow is a governess seeking new employment in the city of Second London one Halloween season.  Her paths cross with an eccentric alchemist-inventor, who introduces her to his myriad of creations.  One particular automaton is Jack, a humanoid construct with ruby-red eyes and intellect on par with a human's.  But Jack cannot speak - not verbally.  So Arabella is hired on to teach him how to communicate through alternate methods.

As they grow in their relationship - are they colleagues?  are they comrades?  are they confidantes?  Arabella herself is not quite sure. - a series of tragic, dramatic events culminate in a murder.  Secrets lurk in the city of Second London...secrets that may put Arabella's life in danger..."

That's the description from the VN, it will probably change as I keep writing.  I can already tell you that two other automaton characters in the VN will play a bigger role in the book.  There's also going to be more adventures leading up to the murder part and new characters to flesh out the world.  Fun!

Okay, but what is this page for?

This page is for posting progress updates!  Finishing drafts, showing off workshopping notes, announcing when I am ready to figure out the publishing process...all of that fun stuff!

Are you going to publish the book here?

Since I'm most likely going to go the self-publishing route, I assume that whatever methods allow me to self-publish will also allow me to upload the ebook here.  I can't make any promises because I have no idea what to expect in the publishing part.  I refuse to worry about that until the book is done.

I will, however, be posting early drafts to get community feedback.  These will be accessible for limited times as web builds for people to check out. 

Will there be a physical copy?

Gosh, I hope so!  That's the whole point of this project!  I've wanted to get an actual, physical book published since I was a little girl.  I ain't getting any younger, so if I'm going to make this dream a reality then I need to get going!

Anywhere else I can track progress?

I post updates on my projects in general on X/Twitter: https://x.com/Sciaenops22

I also now have a Bluesky that I need to remember to post to: https://bsky.app/profile/dronegardenstudios.bsky.social

Other than that, just follow my itch.io account: https://drone-garden-studios.itch.io/