The World's First Steampunk Bedtime Story ... Steamduck, in "Her Majesty's Explorer"

Steamduck!

This adorable little guy is a part of a brand new bedtime story.  A steampunk one!

A synopsis from Amazon.com:

 "Her Majesty's Explorer: a Steampunk bedtime story.

St.John Murphy Alexander walks the world exploring for the Queen. He sees the most extraordinary landscapes, creatures and weather. He gets very, VERY dirty. Exhausted, he returns to H.Q. and gets ready for a well deserved rest and some sweet dreams. This gentle book, written by Steampunk novelist Emilie P. Bush and brilliantly illustrated by William Kevin Petty, is the perfect wind-down for your little adventurer. "

The book is in the top 100 of the children's books category on Amazon right now.  I was fortunate enough to meet Mr. Petty, the illustrator, at Anachrocon 2012, and got to peruse a copy of the book before it was released to the public.  He even gave me an adorable little Steamduck sticker, which unfortunately got lost as the day wore on. (I was very sad that I dropped it somewhere, as that was my favorite item from the whole event.  *sigh*)

A video with many of the book's illustrations:

Read a CNN written Interview with the author, here.

An Interview with author Emilie P. Bush and Illustrator William Kevin Petty as they discuss their new children's book Her Majesty's Explorer: A Steampunk bedtime story:

The home of Coal City Steam - author Emilie Bush's blog.

Steamduck's Baby Photo

And here is a teaser for the book, read by Captain Robert of Abney Park.

Book available on Amazon.com, in both print ($11.95) and Kindle ($3.00) formats.

If you would like to follow the book's progress, you may wish to view the Steamduck Facebook page.

"About the Author: Journalist and writer Emilie P. Bush has written two novels. Her first, Chenda and the Airship Brofman, was a "ripping good yarn!" and the tale was a 2010 Semi-finalist for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. The Gospel According to Verdu picks up the epic tale where Chenda left off - high in the skies. Emilie P. Bush lives, laughs and writes with her family in Atlanta.

About the Illustrator: William Kevin Petty is the founder of Allied Aethernautics, LTD., a Steampunk illustration company and specializes in exceptionally detailed pencil sketches and acrylic paintings. His work has appeared in Steampunk Magazine and across the web. Capt. Petty, when he is not deployed with the U.S. Army, lives and draws in central Louisiana." -- From  The Artifice Club