Under the Stars of Faerie (Monkey Queen Book 3) by Robert Dahlen

Release date: February 24, 2015

Subgenre: Comic adventure fantasy

About Under the Stars of Faerie:

“You were right about her. She is a hero.”
When a love-crazed gremlin kidnaps pixie waitress Mandy, Michiko Koyama, a.k.a. the Monkey Queen, and her partner in adventure Beth McGill journey to Faerie to rescue their friend. Circumstances force them to ally with the crew of a pirate airship, led by the mysterious Captain Ash. Dangers await them in the sky, on the ground and in their hearts.
And an old enemy waits for them, his trap set and ready to be sprung...and it could mean the end of the Monkey Queen.

Cover art © 2015 Willow, and used by permission. See more of her work at http://willow-san.deviantart.com

Excerpt: 

The view deck was already crowded. Many of the passengers had gathered there, some at the railing to watch the departure, others settling onto benches. Crew members, mostly pixies and gremlins, hurried past in their ornate outfits. There was a crude but loud PA system, and the announcer, who switched off between routine reminders and history lessons, sounded almost as bored as the tour guide Beth had seen earlier.

Beth was definitely not bored. She and Michiko had staked out a spot right along the rail. The wind was already strong, and would get stronger as the airship took flight, so Michiko had removed the pillbox hat she had been wearing under her seeming and tucked it in her pocket before leaving the bedroom. Beth noticed that their seemings even mimicked how the "clothes" they wore blew about in the wind.

Then, the bored spiel of the PA announcer was interrupted by a loud whistle, which got almost everyone's attention and woke up a few of the elderly or overworked passengers. The voice that followed was clear and pleasant. "Good afternoon all," it said. "This is your captain speaking. We'd like to welcome all of you on board. Please prepare for departure."

Beth could feel a faint vibration that quickly grew. She glanced back at the walkway and saw crewmen untying the airship from the dock. Then, the propellers kicked in, pushing the airship up and away from the tower. Between the aerium in the frame and the hydrogen in the sealed balloon, the airship didn't take too long to get to top speed.

Beth could see the terminal, the other airships, the gloriously clear sky above, and Dawnhome below her, and she tried to take it all in, remember it all. She noticed the young pixie from the elevator was near her, sitting on her father's shoulders, beaming with joy. Then, she looked at Michiko, standing next to her, and saw that her friend's smile mirrored the young pixie's, and her own. "You were right!" Michiko said. "This is awesome!" Beth nodded, too happy and thrilled to speak, as Folly's Flight climbed, banked left and headed north.

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About Robert Dahlen:

 

Fantasy novelist, all-around wisecracker and penguin aficionado, Robert Dahlen lives in California with lots of penguins (no surprise), a tablet stuffed with e-books and works in progress, and a nice hat. He is hopefully working on more Monkey Queen stories as you read this. And FYI, his last name is pronounced "duh-LANE", as in "The rain in Spain falls mainly on Dahlen," which made Henry Higgins cry bitter tears...

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