Orphan Pods & Beneath a Sun Deprived Sky Book Launch Party

Join us for an unforgettable night to celebrate the release of Orphan Pods by Britta Jensen and Beneath a Sun Deprived Sky by Kara Lenore!

We’ll have an evening of wondrous celebration: short readings by both authors, singing & capoeira performances, audience Q&A and dancing! With all this enjoyment, we'll leave plenty of time for everyone to get a signed copy of both books! Included in the ticket are non-alcoholic drinks and snacks—this is a party, after all, y’all!

Make sure to snag your tickets so we have enough books on hand for everyone!

Authors: Britta Jensen, Kara Lenore; Musicians: Joaquin "Castorzinho" Hernandez, Renata Vinhas, Alexis "Cachoeira" Goes, Fabian, and Dario Osorio.

Come celebrate talented local Austin artists!

This launch party is a unique project connecting local female authors in a collaborative writing and shared publishing experience. They've chosen capoeira music that reflects both of their books' focus on overcoming systemic oppression. Songs have been chosen that also correspond with characters in their books and action scenes. Read on to find out more about their books!

Ticket + Book (pick up chosen, signed book at the event + free dance pass!)

Family Ticket w/ two books! (get both books at a discounted rate, plus bring your partner or two adults and three kids for free for the party!)

Dance Ticket (no book, but admission to the party!)

If you choose the dance only option, but are interested in buying a book at the event, you'll need to upgrade your ticket. Since we'll have to order books ahead of the event, it's important to have an accurate count, otherwise you can purchase a book at the event and have it mailed to you.

We look forward to celebrating with you!

*Why isn't this event completely free? Since we have to pay for event space, folks who are not purchasing a book will need to pay for their tickets to defray the costs of space rental, food and drinks. Thanks for your understanding!

From the author of the Eloia Born series comes a sweeping new tale of hope and found family…

"To be that free! What would I do with so much freedom? Could I even appreciate it, if I ever stopped being afraid?"

Hope can exist in the direst of situations. In a desert city ravaged by a war between humans and gene-altered hybrids, homeless children are either enslaved by the underworld or housed in austere camps called Orphan Pods. Abandoned by his mother and trapped in the Pods, sixteen-year-old Toref yearns to free his sisters from slavery. With his friends, an illiterate mastermind and a double-amputee coder, Toref plans a rescue, but quickly runs afoul of the deadly casino bosses. His only hope is to recruit Idris, a street-savvy, hybrid hover-pilot. But her trust is hard won.

Fifteen-year-old Idris nearly died escaping her own slavery. She dreams of finding a better life in the distant fringe territories and wants zero ties holding her back. Still, she cannot ignore Toref’s anguished plea for help. He and his friends offer a kinship that Idris desperately needs, and she discovers a love she never thought possible. Saving Toref’s sisters; however, means stepping into the casino bosses’ dangerous web.

Can Idris and Toref defeat the bosses and reach the safe fringe territories, or will the attempt cost the freedom of all who joined them on their quest?

Join Idris and Toref on their quest to find freedom!

“I get my heart broken, lose folk, scrape bottom, but here is what I’m fighting for. Always...”

On a storm-battered world controlled by a ruthless mining guild, a maze of city-warrens sprawl outside colony walls, its inhabitants exploited for labor, but excluded from any support.

A doctor fleeing her past. Phantom pain from the psychic gift her powerful family repressed drives Del Marks to pursue a calling as a charity doctor. Del brings crucial medical aid to a city warren, Balter’s Den, but she learns that serving this community means sharing its very real dangers. Plagued by fears of failure in a system designed to produce just that, she finds comfort and reassurance with fellow outsider, Tam Lyn, an enigmatic stealth worker. Will their alliance be enough to shield Del from the forces uniting against her and Balter’s Den?

A spy with a deadly secret. Tam Lyn conceals his half-alien heritage to avoid brutal discrimination. Intrigued by Del’s aura, Tam helps her, but finds himself dragged into her mission, imperiling his secret and challenging his self-imposed isolation. As warring gangs thrust Tam and Del into their power struggles, can he allow himself to love Del in the way that he wants and that she needs?

Britta Jensen’s debut YA novel Eloia Born won the 2019 Writer’s League of Texas YA Discovery Prize and was long-listed for the 2016 Exeter Novel Prize. Reviewers called the book “both a dystopian narrative and a quest story; consider it a spiritual successor to Lois Lowry’s The Giver and M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village.” Subsequent publications include Hirana’s War, Ghosts of Yokosuka as well as short stories in Mixed Bag of Tricks, The Castle of Horror Anthology vol 6, as well as several more anthologies. Her stories explore themes of persevering through disability, parental separation, and the intersection of love and various cultures on new worlds. Britta’s plays have been performed in New York City, Japan and South Korea.

She earned a BA in Acting Performance from Fordham University and an MA in Teaching of English Literature from Columbia University. For the past twenty-two years she has taught creative writing and edited books for both traditional and indie authors. She has received numerous awards, including the General Sharp Award from the US Army, for her innovative teaching of creative writing in New York City, South Korea and Germany. Friends often refer to her as a polyglot—which is a product of living twenty-two years overseas in Japan, South Korea, and Germany before settling in Austin, Texas. She enjoys mentoring writers and editing books with The Writing Consultancy and Yellowbird Editors. In her spare time, she dances with her awesome tailor husband, and volunteers with the Relief Society, SCBWI and the Writer’s League of Texas. You can get free writing advice and learn more about her work at www.brittajensen.com.

Kara Stockinger is an alumnus of the Viable Paradise writing workshop and a member of the Writers’ League of Texas. She spent part of her youth living in Japan and holds a doctorate in Japanese studies. Kara now resides in Austin, Texas, with her beloved husband and two children, working in the tech industry and escaping to science fiction and fantasy worlds whenever she can. Learn more about her work at karalenore.com

Event Venue

Balance Dance Studios, 4544 South Lamar Boulevard, Austin, United States