Before Delia, Part 2: The Partnership, story 5 of the Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles is out! And, thus, along with story 4, Before Delia, Part 1: The Revolution, the prequel-duology-within-a-series that is Before Delia is complete!
I wrote the first story One Cheek or Two? intending it to be a standalone. But then, as per usual with authors, the characters took over and I started writing additional stories. I wrote Delia’s Heartthrob and Swing Follies just for fun when I was publishing short stories with the Naughty Literati. By 2018, though, I was suffering from indie author burnout, and that included giving up on the Steampunk characters and world I loved. But, truly, an author cannot keep good characters and a unique world on hold forever. I took up the stories again in 2022, during that November’s National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I just had to wait for my rights to be returned for One Cheek or Two? before I could start publishing again. I’ve started publishing and re-publishing in 2026!
And, as I did with my Harwell Heirs series, there’s a prequel story smack dab in the middle of the Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles. That prequel is the Before Delia duology which includes story 4 and story 5 of the series:
Before Delia, Part 1: The Revolution
The world of the Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles is a post-revolutionary world, and I knew I had to tell the story of the revolution at some point. As the series has a rom-com vibe, the story of the revolution could not be violent and bloody. It had to be more of a peaceful revolution.
I found inspiration for such a revolution in the Occupy Wall Street movement of 2011.
As Wikipedia says, “the main issues raised by Occupy Wall Street were social and economic inequality, greed, corruption and the undue influence of corporations on government — particularly from the financial services sector.” Before Delia, Part 1: The Revolution mentions exactly that. However, the Third-Wave Industrial Revolution included an element of forward-thinking technology (albeit based in Steampunk parameters).
The Before Delia duology is also Edward’s backstory. His story had to have a romance, but I knew the timeline was such that any character in the main timeline would be too young for a romance with Edward (well, except one, but…no spoilers). There had to be a defining romantic experience. And, so, Gregory came to be.
Again, no spoilers, but if you studied political revolution in college like I did, you’ll know that sometimes in revolutionary times there are unforeseen incidents.
Before Delia, Part 2: The Partnership
Five years after the revolution, Edward’s life is very different. He’s no longer a student; he’s a professor. The world around him is changing rapidly because of the revolution. This is when Sebastian comes on the scene. Seb also has a backstory mentioned in One Cheek or Two?, so I filled it out in Before Delia, Part 2. I had to do a bit of research on the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race and discovered that Cambridge’s wins coincided precisely with the years of my alternate-Victorian timeline.
Edward needs a bit of saving in Before Delia, Part 2, and Sebastian is there to “save” him. Theirs is a unique relationship, but it is a relationship each needs to feel grounded and grow emotionally and creatively.
Post-Duology
Story six and beyond will continue the main timeline. There will be references to the plot lines in the prequel stories — one pretty major one — so the prequels are important to the series.
Before Delia, Part 1: The Revolution and Before Delia, Part 2: The Partnership are available at all retailers and public library apps (where you can read for free!).