ADDLETON HEIGHTS” STEAMPUNK LAUNCH PARTY AT HMNS
Just before the end of the year, on a starlit and hopefully cloud-free evening in mid-December, join us for intrigue, celebration, and wonderment! With your help, we’ll host the launch party for George Wright Padgett’s new steampunk detective thriller Addleton Heights… in the Cabinet of Curiosities at the Houston Museum of Natural Science!
We’ll start the evening with a pre-launch cocktail/happy hour event within walking distance of the museum, then move to the exhibit for the party. There will be a steampunk costume contest—so wear your very best finery—a reading from the author, some special hush-hush giveaways, and copies of the book for sale, naturally. If we meet our second stretch goal, we’ll even have a professional photographer to capture the event and our guests, including a photobooth!
And what better place to celebrate than the spectacular confines of the Cabinet of Curiosities, a setting of imagination and mystery from centuries past!
$3,500 — We’ll send digital AND physical copies of the 8.5×11 cover art poster to all backers, plus some special surprise gifts. The posters will be signed but not the limited edition, numbered posters.
$4,000 — We’ll hire a professional photographer to document the event and set up a photobooth for photos of our guests in their finery and costumes. Digital copies of the photos will be available to our guests for free after the party.
$4,500 — All backers will receive the entire Grey Gecko Press eBook library for free (a $130 value!), and a backers-only code for 25% off any purchase at our online store (including print editions!).
New Year’s Eve 1901: Six hundred feet above the Atlantic Ocean, the platform city of Addleton Heights balances on massive, soot-covered metal stilts. A grisly double murder interrupts the party in the floating mansion of the city’s most powerful man, and for reasons unknown, he coerces detective-for-hire T.H. Kipsey into taking the enigmatic case.
George Wright Padgett weaves a cat-and-mouse mystery through a steampunk, alternate-American history that will thrill readers of Cherie Priest’s Boneshaker and Christopher Beats’ steam-noir Magnocracy series. Join Kip as he races against time to unravel the clues that will thrust him across the city, up to the clouds, and into the depths beneath Addleton Heights.
The book is finished and will go into full production and distribution in mid-October, with a release date of early December. We’ll have plenty of copies for sale as Christmas gifts and souvenirs of your time at the museum!
As a special thank you to our highest-level backers, you’ll be thanked by name in the Acknowledgments section of the book and during the party (unless you’re not keen on that, of course).
From the HMNS website:
“…cabinets of curiosity first became popular in the Renaissance and reached their pinnacle of popularity in the Victorian Era.
These collections of extraordinary natural and manmade objects were displayed in cabinets with many compartments, each filled with “treasures” reflecting man’s desire to find his place within the larger context of nature and the divine. In the fullness of time, and as the collections evolved and grew in importance, they were acquired by noblemen, gentlemen, and royalty.
The collections were then integrated into larger collections eventually becoming so immense, as to occupy entire rooms. Many of these collections were eventually institutionalized and became the first public museums.”
For the party, we’ll have full and exclusive after-hours access to this amazing exhibit!
Texas native George Wright Padgett is a multi-genre author who ‘grew up’ reading science fiction and comic books. After a brief stint writing children’s picture books, he turned to darker themes. He now writes a mix of novels and short stories in sci-fi, detective, and horror categories.
His ‘non-writing’ time is divided between being a husband and father of two, a jazz piano player, a graphic artist, and a playwright.
George’s other novels include the hard science fiction book Spindown and the horror thriller Cruel Devices.“A richly envisioned world, unlike any other I’ve encountered in the genre.” — D. L. Young, author of Soledad
“Great immersive setting, tremendously fun details.” — H.C.H. Ritz, author of The Lightbringers and Absence of Mind
“Everything I never knew I wanted from a steampunk novel.” — Jason Kristopher, author of The Dying of the Light
We have several options for our backers to get the biggest value for your pledge. Just for our backers, we’ve got discounted copies of the book, perfect for holiday gift-giving!
To receive one of the items below in addition to your pledge rewards, simply add the amount shown to your pledge!
1 signed hardcover of Addleton Heights — $20
1 signed trade paperback of Addleton Heights — $10
1 eBook copy of Addleton Heights (Kindle or ePub) — $3
1 Addleton Heights cover poster — $10
1 ‘aged’ Addleton Heights map (11×12) — $10
1 Launch Party Ticket for you or a friend — $35
All US shipments will be through US Postal Service Media Mail. International shipments will be sent via FedEx or UPS.