Blazing Bodices

By Robert Jeschonek

Hardcore adventurer Sir Algernon Hogshead takes down badass steampunks in Victorian London. But the case of a lifetime might just ruin his winning streak and his life. When his wife starts keeping mysterious secrets and bad company, Sir Hogshead craves a peek behind the velvet curtain. But he can't possibly break through the world of women...or can he? Sparks fly when this manliest man crosses the line and takes on the undercover assignment he never imagined. Will a dress and corset enable a pulp action hero to blow the lid off a female threat without blowing his cover? Or will the terrible truth behind his wife's betrayal mean a horrifying ordeal for the man behind the disguise? Sometimes, the most awful surprises can lurk behind the most ridiculous outfits. Welcome to the latest shocker from Robert Jeschonek, a master of twisted steampunk from the outer reaches of the imagination.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Jeschonek
• Release date: Aug 2, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386461494

Book preview

Blazing Bodices

Blazing Bodices

A STEAMPUNK TALE

ROBERT JESCHONEK

Blastoff Books

Contents

Also by Robert Jeschonek

Blazing Bodices

About the Author

Special Preview: Heaven Bent

BLAZING BODICES

Copyright © 2023 by Robert Jeschonek

http://bobscribe.com/

Cover Art Copyright © 2023 by Ben Baldwin

www.benbaldwin.co.uk

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published by Blastoff Books

An Imprint of Pie Press

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Johnstown, Pennsylvania 15904

www.piepresspublishing.com

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Also by Robert Jeschonek

100th Power Book 1

100th Power Book 2

100th Power Book 3

Blastoff!

Cosmic Conflicts

Gray Lady Rising (with Annie Reed)

In a Green Dress, Surrounded by Exploding Clowns and Other Stories

In the Empire of Underpants and Other Stories

Battlenaut Crucible

Scifi Motherlode

Sticks and Stones: A Trek Novel

Blazing Bodices

When the woman who was not a woman burst into our evening, we were just setting up some balls for the breaking.

Shortly after Miss Patel had finished her story of the Emerald Guardians, I and several members of the Wanderers' Club retired to the billiards room.  After all the idle chit chat, we felt the need for action. After all, we call ourselves Wanderers, not Gossipers, do we not?

Just as Mr. Asteroth-Phipps was drawing back his stick to break the first rack of balls, the heavy oak door of the billiard room flew open.  As the door slammed home against the oak paneling of the wall, the five of us in the room looked toward the noise all at once.

My first impression was of a statuesque woman standing in the doorway, two or three inches taller than six feet.  A black overcoat encompassed the upper reaches of her frame, occluding many details of her figure. The rest were hidden by the vast bell of the royal blue skirt of her dress, fanned out over its frame of whalebone hoops.

Her blonde hair, instead of being worn up and properly pinned, lay in a tangled fall upon her shoulders and back.  Her hair looked wild, as did her eyes; her long, oval face was glossy with sweat.

A statuesque woman in distress; this was my first impression.  Had she been accosted on the street and sought shelter in our club?  Was she the victim of a medical emergency, in need of urgent care?

Whatever her business, it didn't take long for us to offer our assistance.  The five of us moved forward more or less at the same time. I would expect no less from such a gathering of men of action.

Madame.  I spoke first, bowing my head briefly as I stepped toward her.  I am Captain Buckingham Thrice of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, Occult Brigade.  These good fellows and I stand ready to assist in any way possible. How may we be of service?

It was then, just before she spoke, that I realized the truth of the situation.  Raising my head, I suddenly got a closer look at the woman. My