“A teenager goes on the run and flies with pirates in this middle-grade Victorian steampunk adventure.”

So says Kirkus Reviews, about Annabel Pickering and the Sky Pirates, Book 1: The Fantastical Contraption.

I published Annabel in November, 2019, only two months before my father passed away, and a few more months before “everything changed.” Fortunately—or perhaps NOT so fortunately—the themes in “Annabel” are pretty timeless, and if anything are more relevant now, in mid-2025.

One of my biggest fears in writing “Annabel” was that I would be too heavy-handed with the political and philosophical messaging. That it would come across as a lecture rather than primarily a good story with compelling characters that happens to have some strong liberty themes. Based on reviews from those outside of my own circles, I think I have succeeded here.

Here’s what Kirkus Reviews had to say:

“Thirteen-year-old Annabel Pickering lives in an alternative history version of Victorian England, where all mechanical devices are steam-powered and airships flood the skies... Annabel believes in England’s greatness and the sanctity of the queen. She’s never questioned the status quo. But then her parents are abducted—not even formally arrested—by the police. Suddenly everything changes for Annabel. She is forced to hide with the odd spinster from down the street (Miss Doubtweather) and her nonverbal niece and take flight with a crew of rough-but-kind pirates. Miss Doubtweather, it turns out, is part of a secret society of freethinkers, to which Annabel’s parents also belong. The pirates are more accurately smugglers; breaking the law, yes, but upholding their own moral code. The more Annabel sees, the more she must question her assumptions. But where will this get her? Will Annabel escape the Queen’s Guards and rescue her parents or spend the rest of her days in prison? Annabel… courageous, determined, and can think for herself. All told, she makes a good guide to the steampunk setting. This tale is well described and very imaginative, featuring not merely the standard elements, but also several novelties (such as the fabulous notion of using liquid to store information)…”

From my interview with Kirkus:

“This is heady stuff for middle graders, but Shaffer makes it accessible and age-appropriate. It’s also, she believes, essential for younger readers, particularly American ones, to think about the price individuals and societies pay when respect for authority turns into reverence.

“At this point in history, I feel that culturally, the U.S. is far more authoritarian than many other countries,” Shaffer says. “One example that struck me recently was seeing a sign in a restroom warning that employees were required by law to wash their hands after using the restroom. It seems to me that the American mentality has become such that we cannot conceive of accomplishing important things without force or of getting along together as a society without the threat of force everywhere.”

But as Shaffer shows in Annabel, force can be met with resistance, as explained by Annabel’s friend and confidante with regard to the bad forces at work in the government:

““The law is precisely as you stated,” Miss Doubtweather continued. “But there is the law, and then there is….” She paused, as if searching for the best way to articulate her thought….“There is what actually happens,” she said at last. “And it is not always in accordance with what the law says.””

A lot has happened since I published Book 1. My family now lives on the other side of the country, and I’ve got two new books, unrelated to Annabel’s adventures, that I’m hoping to finish up and publish by the end of the year. My plan is to get back to Annabel, and Book 2, in 2026. I will keep everyone updated with that, here.

In the meantime, if you haven’t yet read Annabel, and want to, you can purchase Book 1 here. If you do, please let me know what you think!