Behind the Scenes: Aether Spirit

Aether Spirit was one of my first attempts at a steampunk story. I had originally written it in response to being invited to submit a short to a steampunk anthology of fairytale retellings. I wrote it as a version of Sleeping Beauty, but rather than being asleep, the heroine has amnesia. The anthology editor opted not to take it, so I kept this intriguing little story on my hard drive for a few years. I’ll always be particularly fond of it because otherwise I would never have tried to write steampunk.

When I was plotting out the Aether Psychics series in 2014, I knew I’d want to revisit the characters of Chadwick Radcliffe the biracial doctor and Patrick O’Connell the Irish tinkerer. They’re best friends, and Radcliffe had fallen in love with a white woman whose family didn’t approve of him. Well, one member of her family. You’ll get to see who. Through a series of tragic events including a steamcart accident, they’re separated, and she doesn’t remember him.

Luckily the little story I’d originally written for the anthology slotted in to the Aether Psychics universe perfectly. I thoroughly enjoyed expanding it to its current novel form and molding it so it progresses the overarching storyline of aether and what it can do.

Then let’s talk about the research. I’m a medical history nut, and so I loved delving into Victorian mental health theory. I had to progress the field a little for the book, which I explain in the author’s note. Still, that was some of the most fun reading I’ve ever done. Other research included listening to most of the Great Courses class on the Civil War so I could know what to change to result in a North/South stalemate.

My research had a side benefit. I wrote a talk called, “Hysteria and the Occult in Victorian Times,” which I’ve now given at The Steampunk World’s Fair in 2016 (I think that was the year), at a Georgia Romance Writers meeting, and most recently, at Anachrocon this year (in 2019). If you’re a member of a writing group or a group interested in Victorian history, please let me know if you’d like me to come speak for you.

I’ve heard the advice to never throw away or delete writing because you never know what it will turn into later. That is definitely the case with Aether Spirit. I’m so glad I kept it and got to turn it into something fun and exciting later.

About Aether Spirit:

Forgetting her is impossible. Remembering him could kill her.

Left with partial amnesia after a steamcart accident, Claire McPhee tried lengthy treatment for the mental and emotional trauma. Now armed with her own training and medical degree, she helps others with combat-related neuroses hoping, she’ll someday—somehow—fill in her own blanks. Particularly the elusive memory of a man she once loved.

Something about the new medical chief triggers her painful, hypnosis-induced blocks, but he keeps pushing her away before she can shove through the barriers to determine why.

Chadwick Radcliffe has faced many challenges since assuming the position of medical chief at Fort Daniels, but facing his former love—and the knowledge that her memory of him could be deadly—pains him the most. While he’s had some preliminary success using the Eros Element, he’s all too aware its unintended effects could harm as much as heal.

With the Union on the cusp of caving in to the Confederacy’s demands, time becomes a precious commodity. Ghosts rise. The Element takes on a new, unpredictable aspect. And resurrected love could give Claire and Chadwick unexpected strength—if they have the courage to break the chains welded around them to seize it.

Aether Spirit is the third book in the Aether Psychics, a thrilling steampunk series with puzzling mysteries and elements of romance, and can be read as a standalone novel. If you like historical mysteries, sweet romance, and clever heroines, then you’ll love Cecilia Dominic’s Aether Psychics series.

Want to know more? Check out Aether Spirit’s book page on this site, where you can see a sampling of reviews and read an excerpt.

Where to find Aether Spirit:

Google Play (coming soon)

Other Online Retailers