Margins
Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences book cover 1
Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences book cover 2
Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences book cover 3
Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences
Series · 20
books · 2011-2017

Books in series

Phoenix Rising book cover
#1

Phoenix Rising

2011

In Victorian England, Londoners wash up dead on Thames, drained of blood and bone. Clandestine Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is forbidden to investigate. But Eliza Braun, with bulletproof corset, fondness for dynamite, remarkable devices, drags along timorous new partner Wellington Books, of encyclopedic brain, against Phoenix intent on enslaving Britons.
Silver Linings book cover
#1.5

Silver Linings

2014

Wellington Books and Eliza D. Braun arrive in Cairo, Egypt, sent from Ministry headquarters on an archival audit. What Wellington hopes will be a stay in the cradle of civilization and a break from the bitter winter of England instead looks to be a brief visit on account of Eliza’s poor attitude and the disdain of the area field director, Marcus Donahue. The plans for an uneventful collection of case documents and artefacts are soon shattered by a massacre that that can only be described by the visiting archivists as peculiar. Tales from the Archives are short stories set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. They explore events mentioned in the novels, characters seen and unseen and may include novel teasers of things to come.
The Janus Affair book cover
#2

The Janus Affair

2012

Certainly no strangers to peculiar occurrences, agents Wellington Books and Eliza Braun are nonetheless stunned to observe a fellow passenger aboard Britain's latest hypersteam train suddenly vanish in a dazzling bolt of lightning. They soon discover this is not the only such disappearance - every case inexplicably unexamined by the Crown.
Dawn's Early Light book cover
#3

Dawn's Early Light

2014

Even helped by two American agents from the Office of the Supernatural and the Metaphysical, Braun and Books are challenged. Chief suspect in a rash of nautical and aerial disasters is Thomas Edison. Fantastic electric machines of Edison, eccentricities of consultant Nikola Tesla, and mysterious machinations of the Maestro, all bring danger.
The Diamond Conspiracy book cover
#4

The Diamond Conspiracy

2015

For years, the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences has enjoyed the favor of Her Majesty the Queen. But even the oldest loyalties can turn in a moment… Having narrowly escaped the electrifying machinations of Thomas Edison, Books and Braun are looking forward to a relaxing and possibly romantic voyage home. But when Braun’s emergency signal goes off, all thoughts of recreation vanish. Braun’s street-wise team of child informants, the Ministry Seven, is in grave peril, and Books and Braun must return to England immediately. But when the intrepid agents finally arrive in London, the situation is even more dire than they imagined. The Ministry has been disavowed, and the Department of Imperial Inconveniences has been called in to decommission its agents in a most deadly fashion. The plan reeks of the Maestro’s dastardly scheming. Only, this time, he has a dangerous new ally—a duplicitous doctor whose pernicious poisons have infected the highest levels of society, reaching even the Queen herself...
The Ghost Rebellion book cover
#5

The Ghost Rebellion

2016

From authors Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris, the award winning steampunk series continues.The chase is on!After rescuing Queen Victoria from the clutches of the Maestro, Agents Eliza D Braun and Wellington Books are in hot pursuit of Dr Henry Jekyll. While he continues his experiments on the aristocracy of Europe, he leaves a trail of chaos and despair in his wake. However when Eliza and Wellington run him to ground in India, they are forced to come face to face with ghosts from the past and the realities of the British Empire.Meanwhile Ministry agents Brandon Hill and Bruce Campbell travel deep into Russia hunting down a rare ingredient to save Queen Victoria's life. Within the darkness and bitter cold, they uncover a threat from a revitalized House of Usher that comes directly from their new Chairman. A threat that promises to plunge the world into chaos!
Operation book cover
#6

Operation

Endgame

2017

Join Agents Books and Braun on their final adventure with the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences! There is no time to rest for Eliza D Braun and Wellington Thornhill Books. The man who has haunted and hounded them since the fall of the Maestro, Doctor Henry Jekyll, is now on a killing spree, using bizarre, theatrical murders as a way to taunt their inability to capture the. It falls on Books and Braun to turn the tables on Jekyll and bring him to justice. As Wellington and Eliza continue their pursuit of the madman Jekyll, the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences stand against a recent surge in House of Usher activity. Agents Bruce Campbell and Brandon Hill discover more about the intention of Operation: Ragnorok, and the Ministry find themselves in a race to thwart Usher’s intent to plunge the world into chaos, despair, and a noticeable lack of clotted cream for Devon Teas. The Ministry will not let this stand.
The Shadows of Calcutta book cover
#15

The Shadows of Calcutta

2011

Agent Robert Smith, on return from a mission in Nepal, is diverted to India where he is charged to find a missing agent. Alex Tanner had been investigating a series of thefts and murders holding the Ministry’s attention, and now it falls on Agent Smith to find his missing comrade.
The Seven book cover
#17

The Seven

2011

Agent Brandon Hill is on assignment in South America, enjoying the local culture and women, when a mystery that could lead to El Dorado falls into his lap. Before the intrepid agent knows it, he is the jungle uncovering a plot but the devilish Illuminati. He will need all his monkey knife fighting skills to survive this one. Tales from the Archives are short stories set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. They explore events mentioned in the novels, characters seen and unseen and may include novel teasers of things to come.
Hanuman's Gift book cover
#20

Hanuman's Gift

2012

Deep in the Archives, Augustus Whitby toils through his duties in the Archives, dreaming up romantic stories far more plausible than the supposed “investigations” of the field agents. A story from Agent Harrison Thorne and an unassuming artifact from his recent case, however, proves much to Whitby’s chagrin that there are some truths that are far stranger than fiction. Tales from the Archives are short stories set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences (Phoenix Rising / Das Zeichen des Phönix, and the Janus Affair / Die Janus-Affäre) by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris. They explore events mentioned in the novels, characters seen and unseen and may include novel teasers of things to come.
The Sun Never Sets book cover
#21

The Sun Never Sets

2012

Agent Isaac Martin receives a note, imploring him to investigate the nearly completed clock tower at the Palace at Westminster. He and his partner, Agent Andrew Kensington, start looking into the construction and uncover unanswered questions concerning this new landmark’s creators. Tales from the Archives are short stories set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. They explore events mentioned in the novels, characters seen and unseen and may include novel teasers of things to come.
The Emperor's Fist book cover
#27

The Emperor's Fist

2012

Spring 1889 Agent Reginald Coffey and Special Liaison Meiying Ling are deep within the jungles of China, setting technology against the oldest of dark Chinese magic. The two are set on a rendezvous with the most sinister of sorcerers and a plot to plunge the world into darkness. Tales from the Archives are short stories set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. They explore events mentioned in the novels, characters seen and unseen, and may include novel teasers of things to come.
A Trick of Strong Imagination book cover
#30

A Trick of Strong Imagination

2012

Althea Galway, a gifted statistician for the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, follows her tedious pursuits for Doctor Sound to a Winter carnival and a strange mystery at its heart. With a dashing illusionist and the memories of her own secretive past with the Traveling Galloway Circus clouding her judgment, she dares to reach beyond her station and discover what is behind the tricks of a trade she knew better than any active field agent. Tales from the Archives are short stories set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences (Phoenix Rising / Das Zeichen des Phönix, and the Janus Affair / Die Janus-Affäre) by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris. They explore events mentioned in the novels, characters seen and unseen and may include novel teasers of things to come.
The Cross of Columba book cover
#31

The Cross of Columba

2012

April, 1883 Agent Bryan Teague travels from the London offices to a remote area of Scotland on the call of Lord Pennyfarthing, a self-proclaimed scientist and specialist in ancient and rare fauna. Agent Teague arrives to find his skepticism of Pennyfarthing’s previous follies on finding a traumatised valet and a dying English lord with an incredible fish story… Tales from the Archives are short stories set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. They explore events mentioned in the novels, characters seen and unseen, and may include novel teasers of things to come.
Curtain Call book cover
#32

Curtain Call

2012

Cordelia is called to a strange theatre by a message from her estranged father, and she hopes for a joyful reunion. Her father though has been treading on dangerous ground while trying to impress the Director the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. Still Cordelia cannot possibly know the strange and terrifying details of what lies within this particular play house. Tales from the Archives are short stories set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. They explore events mentioned in the novels, characters seen and unseen, and may include novel teasers of things to come.
Positively Shocking book cover
#34

Positively Shocking

2013

Spring, 1893 Constance Magee is not a street urchin, not a thief, not a lost soul in the street of London. She is a girl surviving Her Majesty’s Empire one day at a time, nursing a sense of right and wrong, And sometimes, that sense doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with the law. After being jailed for her latest stand against injustice, Constance braced herself for a long stay in Newgate. Today, though, she is extended an unexpected opportunity from a strange fellow named Doctor Sound… Tales from the Archives are short stories set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences (Phoenix Rising / Das Zeichen des Phönix, and the Janus Affair / Die Janus-Affäre) by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris. They explore events mentioned in the novels, characters seen and unseen and may include novel teasers of things to come.
All That Glitters book cover
#35

All That Glitters

2013

Agents Lachlan King and Barry Ferguson are called to an isolated mining town to investigate the disappearance of a young Chinese girl. They found the town all but abandoned, and as they descend into the realm of Ruaumoko, the Maori god of earthquakes they find an explosive situation that will test both agents and their equipment sorely.
Under Oak Island book cover
#40

Under Oak Island

2014

Agent Brandon Hill is called in to investigate strange happenings in Nova Scotia. The location is an isolated stretch of land called Oak Island, a truly peculiar place with mystery and peril surrounding it. At the Money Pit, a man-made excavation site at the island’s heart, Hill meets up with Agent Anouk Tremblay, le Ministère Officiel d’Occurrences Sans Explication, the Québec counterpart to the Ministry. Struggling against the dark claustrophobia lingering around them in their descent of the Money Pit, Hill and Tremblay navigate hydrological systems and digging technology to discover what has taken refuge under Oak Island. Tales from the Archives are short stories set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. They explore events mentioned in the novels, characters seen and unseen and may include novel teasers of things to come.
Why the Sea is Boiling Hot book cover
#41

Why the Sea is Boiling Hot

2014

Researcher Dodgson is happy in the bowels of the R&D department of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, until a mysterious death and the question of space and time fling him out of it. He finds himself in the foreign environment of field work, with the whole fate of the Ministry, and the Empire itself in his nervous hands. Tales from the Archives are short stories set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. They explore events mentioned in the novels, characters seen and unseen and may include novel teasers of things to come.
Clockwork Portal book cover
#44

Clockwork Portal

2014

When demon hunter, sorceress and samurai, Raisa falls into a strange, odd version of Victorian England, she finds herself in the domain of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. Just being built, and with a demon already amok in the archives, Raisa finds herself with odd allies indeed. Tales from the Archives are short stories set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. They explore events mentioned in the novels, characters seen and unseen, and may include novel teasers of things to come.

Authors

P.C. Haring
P.C. Haring
Author · 2 books

A fan of Science Fiction from an early age P.C. Haring has always been one of those who looked up at the night sky and wondered “what if…” P.C. Haring made his debut as a writer and podcast novelist on 01/01/10 with Cybrosis. This production met with a strongly favorable response that propelled it to number four on the Podiobooks.com Top Ten list when it was re-launched there that October. His audio fiction can also be heard in Scott Sigler’s The Crypt: Book 1 — The Crew and in Philippa Ballantine’s Chronicles of the Order anthology. His contribution for Tales from the Archives, co-produced by Philippa Ballantine and Tee Morris, won him the 2012 Parsec Award for Best Short Story. This momentum propelled P.C. Haring into publishing Cybrosis as well as his latest project, Slipspace: Harbinger independently. When he isn’t developing new projects for podcast and publication, P.C. Haring works as a corporate accountant in the Chicagoland area and as a husband to his beautiful wife.

Pip Ballantine
Author · 16 books
See also works published as Philippa Ballantine.
Tee Morris
Author · 15 books

Tee Morris began his writing career with his 2002 historical epic fantasy, MOREVI The Chronicles of Rafe & Askana. In 2005 Tee took MOREVI into the then-unknown podosphere, making his novel the first book podcast in its entirety. That experience led to the founding of Podiobooks.com and collaborating with Evo Terra and Chuck Tomasi on Podcasting for Dummies and its follow-up, Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies. He won acclaim and accolades for his cross-genre fantasy-detective Billibub Baddings Mysteries, the podcast of The Case of the Singing Sword winning him the 2008 Parsec Award for Best Audio Drama. Along with those titles, Tee has written articles and short stories for BenBella Books’s Farscape Forever: Sex, Drugs, and Killer Muppets, the podcast anthology VOICES: New Media Fiction, BenBella Books’ So Say We All: Collected Thoughts and Opinions of Battlestar Galactica, and Dragon Moon Press’ Podthology: The Pod Complex. In 2011, Tee returned to his first love—fiction—with the steampunk romp Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel, co-authored with Philippa Ballantine. This debut novel from Harper Voyager won the 2011 Airship Award for Best Steampunk Literature. Now the series includes The Janus Affair (Harper Voyager), Dawn's Early Light (Ace Books), and the Ministry Protocol anthology (Imagine That! Studios). Find out more at ministryofpeculiaroccurrences.com. When he is not writing, Tee enjoys life in Virginia alongside Philippa Ballantine, his daughter, and three cats.

Stacia D. Kelly
Stacia D. Kelly
Author · 2 books

Stacia D. Kelly is the author of Phyxe: Goddess of Fire, the first in the Goddess Chronicles. Her current fiction projects include writing about snarky Goddesses who love giving their men a hard time as they get ripped through the universe on the whim of a God out for Energy. Phyxe, the Goddess of Fire is out for demon blood even though her powers are contained, the planet and people hate her, and her sexy savior wants nothing to do with her. She is also the author of several non-fiction books, Muse. breathe. focus. achieve., a book dedicated to helping fiction writers get over their fears, and 9 Months In ~ 9 Months Out, a holistic health pre and post natal book for moms. Stacia runs workshops (online and at conferences) focused on helping writers get over their blocks and fears. She's created an entire relaxation package for writers to use in the comfort of their own office. She's helped newbie writers and best selling authors achieve breakthroughs in their stories and idea flow. She also reviews dark paranormal romance book for HorrorView. When she's not writing, she at the gym, teaching self defense classes around her home area, writing proposals for government contractors, or harassing family and friends. Sometimes, her creative streak ends up sending her in alternate directions like painting or sculpting.

Phil Rossi
Phil Rossi
Author · 5 books

Phil Rossi—writer, musician, and an embracer of "new media"—has a passion for story-telling matched only by the pleasure he derives from keeping his fans awake at night. Crescent, Rossi's debut novel, was originally released as a podcast in 2007 and has since lured 20,000 listeners into a dark, twisted world of nightmares and things that go bump in the night. Phil Rossi's writing has been paralleled to Stephen King, Philip K. Dick, and HP Lovecraft. He has a flair for vivid and often chilling imagery that lends itself to engrossing narratives and an undertone of inescapable, creeping dread. Phil Rossi is a professional musician in the Washington DC metropolitan area creating and performing music spanning from solo acoustic, to industrial, to techno. His the father of two little storytellers. The job he takes most serious of all. "CRESCENT is the last stop at the intergalactic crossroads of gritty scifi and pucker-inducing horror—Blade Runner as written by H.P. Lovecraft, a horrific hard scifi express-ride." — Scott Sigler, New York Times Best-Selling author of Contagious "Crescent is the ultimate sci-fi / horror mashup. It's a wicked blend of the claustrophobia seen in Ridley Scott's Alien, and the viral demonology of Carpenter's Prince Of Darkness—with the hard-drinkin' bad attitude of Battlestar Galactica added for good measure. The future has never been so frightening. Phil Rossi brings it." —J.C. Hutchins, author of Personal Effects: Dark Art and 7th Son: Descent "Space opera - of the Sweeney Todd or Phantom of the Opera variety. That's right. Phil Rossi has crafted a space station tale with sex, horror, and vibrant attention to tech and human detail. Evocatively served, highly recommended." —Paul Levinson, author of The Plot to Save Socrates "...sexy and full of scares. Harvey is dark, well-crafted, and downright menacing." -Philippa Ballantine, award-winning author of Geist

Michael Spence
Author · 3 books
Librarian Note: There is more than one author on goodreads by this name.
Dan Rabarts
Author · 4 books
I am a writer of fantasy novels and speculative fiction, sometime narrator of podcasts (including stories for the Hugo award-winning StarShipSofa), occasional sailor of sailing things, and father of two wee miracles in a little house on a hill, under the southern sun.
548 Market St PMB 65688, San Francisco California 94104-5401 USA
© 2025 Paratext Inc. All rights reserved