Karen J Carlisle writes Victorian mysteries, steampunk, fantasy and cosies with a twist
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Latest Releases
The James Findlay Journals – darker gaslamp steampunk
Blood Ties (2023) – Because villains are the heroes of their own stories.
A dark mystery on the high seas.
Ever wonder what happened to James Findlay (aka Jack the Ripper) after ‘Doctor Jack’? Now on his way to Australia by steamship, and temporarily free from the Men in Grey’s control, James is determined to continue his experiments. Until a murder is discovered. He must use his medical training to hide the truth, and discover why passengers begin to fall ill – or the ship will be quarantined, and his work discovered. But time is running out. A mysterious woman threatens to uncover his secrets.
Has ‘Jack’ finally met his match?
‘Blood Ties‘ is a James Findlay mini-adventure and follows on from the original ‘Doctor Jack’ novella in the first book of The Adventures of Viola Stewart series.
Mrs Hudson Investigates series: Holmesian mysteries
We all know the stories.
A mystery. A brilliant detective. Mystery solved.
But what if he went missing? Who would solve them?
Mrs Hudson Investigates (2022) is Karen’s first short Holmesian mystery in the series of the same name, followed by
The Case of the Forgotten Letter (2022) – Dr John Watson is devastated. Mary Watson, worried about her husband’s prolonged melancholia, engages Mrs Hudson’s help. A favour is called. A mystery concocted. A plan is afoot… until a misread number sends it all awry.
(Available in eBook only)
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BOOK TRAILERS – Mrs Hudson Investigates / The Case of the Forgotten Letter
Story Collections
Cogs and Conspiracies (2023)
– Five short tales set in a world of steampunk and alternate history, with adventures from England to the Antipodes. Here be villains, gadgets, mechanical creatures, secrets and conspiracies. All in time for tea. (Available in eBook and paperback)
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Fantasy/Cosy paranormal/fantasy mysteries
The Aunt Enid Mysteries:
This is a cosy(ish) fantasy mystery series, set in Adelaide, Australia. They skew more to the Aussie cosy end of the genre, with hidden magic and occasional dark humour.
Aunt Enid: Protector Extraordinaire (2018)
Meet Aunt Enid, your average seventy-something year old. She loves to cook, is a regular at bingo and spends hours in her garden, talking to her army of garden gnomes and fussing over the colour of her hydrangeas… And only she stands between the Dark and the fate of the world.
Book #1 of the fantasy mystery series, The Aunt Enid Mysteries.
A Fey Tale (2022)
Aunt Enid’s back, but something’s changed…
A deal with fairies… to solve a mystery… and prevent a war.
Enid Turner is invited to a picnic in honour of the creator of the world’s most famous detective, currently on a lecture tour in Adelaide, where they are caught in a web of treachery and betrayal from the Otherworlds.
Portals and Portents (2022)
Ever wonder how certain characters found their way into an adventure? Portals and Portents is a short ‘Aunt Enid Mysteries’ tale of how one such character: Miss Kel Caimanos met the Shoemaker, and is set before A Fey Tale. This mini-adventure is available to Patreon supporters and newsletter subscribers.
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The Aunt Enid Mysteries are ‘adjacent’ to The Otherworlds fantasy series (work in progress).
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Buy an Aunt Enid (Tshirt/Mug) / Buy an A Fey Tale Tshirt or mug.
Steampunk
The Department of Curiosities series:
The Department of Curiosities. (2019/ 2nd edition 2023)This is the second series of books set in Karen J Carlisle’s Victorian steampunk world. Set in early to mid 1880s. DOC is a steampunk adventure series.
A steampunk tale of adventure, a heroine, mad scientists, traitors and secrets. All for the good of the Empire.
Also set in Karen’s steampunk world
Cogs and Conspiracies (2023)
– Five short tales set in a world of steampunk and alternate history, with adventures from England to the Antipodes. Here be villains, gadgets, mechanical creatures, secrets and conspiracies. All in time for tea. (Available in eBook and paperback)
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Victorian /Steampunk Mysteries
The Adventures of Viola Stewart series:
The Adventures of Viola Stewart follow our heroine, Viola – a widowed optician with a penchant for detectiving, She’s drawn into intrigue and secrets that she may take to her grave. Join Viola Stewart, and her good friend Doctor Henry Collins, in a series of Victorian steampunk mysteries.
This Victorian mystery series is set in the late 1880s and is steampunk with a darker, gaslamp flavour.
Doctor Jack & Other Tales (2015/ Ed3:2022) – Three short stories and a novella
When Viola Stewart’s husband died, she had no wish to wear mourning for the rest of her days. Defying convention, she follows her passion for detectiving and stumbles upon a secret Society of Men in Grey. But peril lurks in the gaslit streets.
Someone is stalking the women of London…
Is Jack the Ripper being controlled by a secret society, and part of their nefarious plans to take over The Empire?
(Available as paperback and eBook)
Eye of the Beholder & Other Tales (2016/Ed2:2023) – Three short stories and a novella
Viola is detectiving again, chasing secret societies and nefarious plots.
With Doctor Henry Collins at her side, Viola runs foul of mummies and a murder mystery with a twist. Is she cursed? Is she going slowly insane? Or has she stumbled into yet another plot of the infamous Men in Grey – a secret society set on taking over the Empire? With the threat of Bedlam looming over her, she must solve the mystery before it is too late. (Available as paperback and eBook)
The Illusioneer & Other Tales. (2017/Ed2:2022) – Three stories (novellettes /novella)
Viola needs a holiday. But, even at the beach or partying on the Grand Tour of Europe, there are things afoot. The Gadgeteers are lobbying for merchant rights in the Empire. The Men in Grey are keen to stretch their influence beyond British shores. And Viola is alone. Her past has returned to haunt her. Is there anyone she can trust? (Available as paperback and eBook)
Tomorrow, When I Die: A Christmas Adventure – available in eBook for those who love Christmas stories. (also published in paperback The Illusioneer & Other Tales. (2017)
A life is in danger. Is it part of another plot by the mysterious Men in Grey? Viola must find out the truth before it is too late. A knock on the door could change everything. It’s all just a matter of time. Join Viola in a Christmas adventure.
Short Stories by Karen J Carlisle
With a Twist of the Nib: For when time is short (2017)
– A collection of ten speculative fiction short stories. Dwarves, vampires, time travel, detectives, steampunk adventures or supernatural events – take your pick. With a Twist of the Nib is full of quick-read stories – reading times from under two minutes to under fifteen minutes per story. Perfect for commuting, waiting in line or when time is short. (Available in eBook only)
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Another Twist of the Nib: Short tales with a darker twist (2020)
– Another Twist of the Nib is the third collection of speculative fiction short stories by Karen J Carlisle, this time with a darker twist. Here be ghosts, vampires, apocalypse, and humans with nefarious intent. It includes ‘The Case of the Murderous Migraine’, first published in the Deadsteam anthology published by Grimmer and Grimmer Books in 2018. Another Twist of the Nib is full of quick-read stories – reading times from under two minutes to under thirty minutes per story. Perfect for commuting, waiting in line or when time is short. (Available in eBook only)
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Quarantine Reads (2022)
– When times are dark, fiction can whisk us away to other worlds to find new friends and have fantastical adventures.
Quarantine Reads contains seven short stories of a lighter note, to inspire and transport you beyond four walls. (Available in eBook only)
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Karen has also had short stories published in the following:
- To be released 29th April, 2024: The Case of the Toxic Teacake, to be published in Clan Destine’s Sherlock is a Girls Name. ISBN: 9781922904713.
- Where’s Holmes (absent Sherlock Holmes anthology) Vol II (Nov, 2020)
- Elevensies with Aunt Enid – Penny Blake’s blog: Blake and Wight (flash fiction) (July, 2018)
- Sing For Me – flash fiction featured in the anthology, Fire and Brimstone. Specul8 Publishing. 2019. ISBN: 9780244826116
- Blood Ties. Short story – gaslamp fantasy – featured in the dreadpunk anthology, Dead Steam II. Publisher: Grimmer & Grimmer Books, 2021. ISBN: 9781777387259
- The Case of the Murderous Migraine. Short story – gaslamp fantasy – featured in the dreadpunk anthology, ‘Dead Steam:A Chilling Collection of Dreadpunk Tales of the Dark and Supernatural‘. Publisher: Grimmer & Grimmer Books, 2018. ISBN: 9780995276741
- All That Glitters. Short story featured in steampunk anthology, Den of Antiquity, 2016. ISBN: 978-0995276727 Proceeds go to Red Cross.
- Right on Time. Flash fiction featured in the steampunk anthology, Denizens of Steam. 2015. ISBN: 9781311741042
Currently Writing
Secrets of the Empire. Book 2 of The Department of Curiosities duology. Scheduled for late 2024 release. tbc.