Fashionable Punks

I still love steampunk. In fact, I just downloaded a new collection of steampunk stories to investigate, this one based on fairy tales. I'll let you know how it is when I get to it.  Meanwhile, my Facebook messages seem to be decorated by lots and lots of clothing based on what might be considered steampunk. Yeah, I have liked the page. No, I don't like everything on it.  But, as a character creator, I still need to dress my characters.  I do get inspiration from time to time.

But I might need to re-define steampunk in this context. I like the genre for the opportunity to investigate the relationship between society and technology.  Yeah, I know,.  That's not what everyone else is looking for.  It's just that I think this is an opportunity missed. Given our current state of investigating the relationship between the quality of our lives and our technologies, there is so much we can play with here.

So, where does that leave the fashions of steampunk?  Well, what is the relationship between fashion and society?  I come out of the era of bra-burning.  I was a bit young but still that was my era and my inheritance.  I'm not sure how I feel about corsets and hoops and all the other bindings that we have tried so hard to get free form literally and figuratively.

What I do get from the era, from revisiting the Victorian era, is the role of the hand in creating the life we parody now.  I'm a needlework junkie and have been collection original instructions for the making and decorating of the costumes.  Why? Part of the world of my own stories.  The power of women's work.

We don't think of fashion as world-changing but there have been times... Do you have a favorite fashion?  A designer that you would love to have create something for you?  Alexander McQueen does it for me.

m

Witches and Witchcraft Reading Challenge!

Making it official! 
I've been reading witchy novels and loving the world of witchcraft, for the most part.  When Ella suggested we consider the year-long challenge I fell in love with the combination of the traditional cozy and witches.  I'll go into that more when I post my review. Meanwhile, I'm pleasantly surprised, dolefully unhappy, and often confused.   With the Hansel and Gretel movie having them as witch hunters, there is a renewal of the idea of a woman of power being evil.

So, here I am, signing up for the Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf Witches and Witchcraft reading challenge for 2013.  I'm going for the Mother level. I've already passed the Initiate level and there is just something about taking my place as Mother...So...

Watch this space.  And.. feel free to recommend reads. I've already read Discovery of Witches, so we can check that off.  I've got an unpublished one coming up from Net Galley and a blog tour read. Found a blending of steampunk and witchcraft from Pip Ballentine.  Which means I'll probably be talking about podcasts again. 

OK enough. Back to actually reading... No, wait.  I've got these on Kindle..

Back to the books!

More Comics: A steampunk western and a Turkish adventure

Ok, so how did I get here... Oh, yes.  I remember.  Fellow Salon mate, Ella Gray, tweeted about a web comic she liked. And you know how that goes.  Show up on that web page and find something interesting. Follow that, and find yet another something of interest.  And so on, and so on. 

So, what was this fabulously exciting web comic?  Next Town Over, a steampunk western.  Actually, the link was to Newsarama and an interview with creator Erin Mehlos.

Newsarama: Okay Erin, I'll bite -- how did you come up with the concept for Next Town Over, and what led to the steampunk/supernatural elements seep into the story?
Erin Mehlos: I always kind of wanted to do something with a Western flavor, and I used to doodle manga girls in cowboy hats from time to time as a kid. The seed for the NTO plot, though, actually started off as a jokey criticism I was giving my sister about a story she’d written, where the action was just moving from place to place for no apparent reason as her protagonists just wrecked town after town.

 ENLARGE

Incidentally. none of the towns were developed whatsoever or even had names; the characters just referred to them as “the next town over.” I was just being a jerk, really, and said that should just be the core of the story: nemeses just destroying place after place with zero regard for all the collateral damage, and any effect it might have on the people unfortunate enough to live in their path.
And that became NTO, but obviously I’ve sort of ruined the, uh, purity of the original concept. The story got a little snarled in the writing, but three books out, I don’t know how apparent that is.

That's a great answer to the ubiquitous "where do you get your ideas?" question.   I got caught up in her comments about her process and the storytelling and never did get to the comic, itself.  Instead, I got distracted about here:

Nrama: What are some of your other favorite comics and creators, online and off? 
Mehlos: Tony Cliff’s Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant recently wrapped -- that was a phenomenal bit of webcomicking. I found him originally through the Flight anthologies; I’m a big fan of all those creators and Kazu Kibuishi especially. I really liked Daisy Kutter too, his Western

Delilah Dirk!  More great art.  Even though I don’t usually like computer generated coloring of comics, both of these artists Mehlos and Delilah’s creator Tony Cliff seem to have taken the best of the lyrical line and the consistency of color and created attractive images. 

Visual clarity. That’s what gets me.  The pages as a whole are beautiful or interesting to look at.  Both artists use framing that is as interesting as the content it frames.  And Cliff’s depictions of Turkey are delightful!  Evidently, he is trying to keep things as authentic as possible.

And if you haven’t noticed yet, No, I haven’t read the comics. Not yet, anyway.  I got distracted by more links.  The rest of the wandering was a bit more academic AND I'm waiting for a couple of paper books to come in. Like two volumes of Flight! I’ll keep you posted.  Meanwhile, check out Next Town Over and Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant.  Any other comics I should check out?

For a Rollicking Good Time...Agatha H!

It's been a bit stressful around here.  I sprained my ankle a few days before undergoing oral surgery.  It's ok!  It all worked out. Pain meds covered both incidents nicely (over-the-counter? Even better!) So, needed to recover. Needed to sit around with my foot up and just relax. For that I needed a story or several.

Enter the Kindle.

I use its text-to-speech function: the computer voice isn't that bad. Sounds like someone with a strange accent, but after a few pages I had the "accent" figured out.

I went through my Steampunk list of books. I've got a good collection.  A couple of them I got on Audible. Bacigalupi's Windup Girl, for one.  Link and Grant's Steampunk! anthology, for another.  I've finished the Anthology.  The Goodreads group read, Steampunk Tales is done, too.  Windup Girl is a little to involved for post-anesthesia listening.  So, what's left?

The Steampunk Detective by Darrell Pitt worked nicely.  As did Ekaterina Sedia's Alchemy of Stone.  Sill stressed out by physical and now family stuff, I needed still more distraction. Enter Agatha! Agatha H and the Airship City.

At first I was getting lost. Too many characters, no airship city, Agatha being a bit too ditzy for me. At first.  She was interesting enough for me to stick with her, though.  Which turned out to be the best thing.

OK, still too many characters.  They were a bit hard to keep up with.  It's a sprawling novel for taking place in so small a space. That was when I realized where I'd got the book.  It's a novel written around the characters created by the Foglios, Phil and Kaja, the creators of the exceptionally successful Girl Genius web comic.

Yup, I finally caught up with the rest of the internet!  Not with the comic, though.  The graphic style puts me off.  I'm old school and prefer the old rough, pulp look to the new, slick, computer-drawn one.  Fortunately, the novel takes me into the world of Agatha and her cronies. Fortunately also, there is another novel just released from Night Shade books!

So, another novel works its way through my Kindle.  I fell asleep before the end and woke up in the middle of an exciting bit.  Wait! Wait! What happened?  Yeah, rollicking adventure.  I'd fallen in love with the characters and their weird world. Even enough to pick up the Omnibus and enjoy the comic.  Meanwhile, gotta get back to Agatha. I left her alone in her lab with some guy. The cat didn't like him, so I gotta wonder...Should I trust the cat?

Steampunk Magazine

I guess there really is a magazine for everything.  My new favorite is Steampunk Magazine.  It’s got the usual, if you’re old school.  Stories, as well as articles and interviews.  The extra bit that the folks at Steampunk mag give is crafts. That’s right.  Crafts.  Isn’t the essence of steampunk doing things yourself, invention.  After all, invention starts out as just fooling around and seeing what you get when you cross that with this. 

 

For example: paper and flour and water.  Paper mache. Victorian paper mache was a far cry from masks and pinatas.  I would love to have my Featherweight sitting on this sewing table.

And can't you see yourself playing a game of whist on this table?

However, there are really good masks made from paper.  And you could make your own paper mache chair.  Ok.  It might not be like this one

  but it will be your own. 

Ooo and there’s a treat on Steampunk Mag's home page. Besides the tour (sorry I missed the first part of it. If you’re in Texas though, there’s still time to show up).  The table of contents for the next steampunk anthology Steampunk III: Steampunk Revolution is up.  There are not only some familiar names (Cherie Priest, Jeff Vander Meer, Bruce Sterling), there are also a couple of familiar (to me, at least) stories.  Excellent ones worth being shared once again. 

Here’s also a review on SF Signal. Definitely something to look forward to.

Ok, back to reading.  I'm headed to the Mammoth Book of Steampunk. Happy reading!

m

Steampunk and Tarot

Not being the Steampunk expert, I would never have thought of combining this sub-genre of science fiction spirited in fantasy with the age-old game of Tarot.   A game of cards some say dates back to the Ancient Egypt. “Barking spiders!” Deryn would often say in Leviathan. A different subject but it would be interesting to research what the ancients Egyptians used as cards.  Don’t you think? 

By Barbara Moore and Aly Fell

So, back to the subject at hand and whether the two play well together.  According to the article, “Steampunk and Tarot Are a Perfect Match” written in the Llewellyn Journal by Barbara Moore the answer is a definite yes.  She mentions the fact that Steampunk takes place in the past but explores possible futures.  “More precisely,” she says, “it experiments with how history would have played out if a few things had been different.  This is very similar to the best tarot readings.”  Tarot being a means of divination or possible futures.  I wonder what Melanie, our resident Steampunk expert would say about this. 

Personally, I like the idea of possibilities in both Steampunk and Tarot.  Above all, the combination of the two creates wild and crazy images.  Don't you just love it?  What do you think of the mishmash?

Till later,

Elizabeth

Saved by...

—

I was going to write about how story makes us feel better, how each genre has a specific way of going about that task and what I get specifically from steampunk.  Today, though, all of this is more than an idea to fill up blog space or stimulate conversation.  

Since October, before I started looking at steampunk seriously, I found myself at the mercy of public agencies whose intent is to protect the otherwise helpless.  Not somewhere I was expecting to be.  It was stressful in a way that I have not been stressed before and were it not for my writing friends I might not have got through it as well as I did.  While things are a lot better, it’s not over yet. Once more I feel like grain of sand at the mercy of a very large grinding wheel.  Or caught between two industrial-sized steam-driven gears.  And that made it all better. 

Suddenly, not only was I not alone (my tribe has scattered  into married life with children), but I was now the hero of the story.  In steampunk, it’s the creative individual that has a chance to make a difference.  I have choices.  Ok maybe not time travel, but I at least know I’ve not done anything that the machine itself is not trying to do.  It just looks different. I've been listening to Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant.

Cory Doctorow’s  Clockwork Fagin, reminded me of the value of tribe, and the beauty of imagination, skill, and mischief.  Especially mischief.  I am reminded, also, that there are ways around every issue, every challenge, if I just keep my sense of adventure about me.  We don’t always know what to expect, what’s coming even when we have decided what we want for ourselves.  Hand in Glove was a surprise. At least it was for Califa Police Constable Aurelia Atreyu (and I’m sure she’ll forgive me if I spelled her name wrong).  Her story reminded me that when things seem to be overwhelming and wrong, relax and follow what I know to be right. 

I did. And I not only feel much better for it, but I now understand there the plan I was expecting someone else to make was mine all along.  Thanks, Ysabeau.

There may not be a direct correlation between my situation and any one of the stories I’ve been filling up on lately, but there is an effect.  I felt better. I was happy, happier than I’ve been in days.  I’m back working on my novel, seeing gaps and lapses that I haven’t been aware of. And I’m looking forward to the next story, another author to find out what else there is to make me happy, to show me how to make the world a better place.

Contest Winner and New Steampunk Trailer

First thing's first - Congratulations to marybelle for winning the ARC of Jennifer Bosworth's YA fantasy, Struck. Big thanks to our commentors, and don't forget to check out other titles in the Macmillan Fierce Reads series this spring and summer.

Now, I've got to slip back into steampunk fan mode and share this really cool trailer for the movie Tai Chi 0. There was a lot of buzz last year about Detective Dee, which was supposed to be an action-packed Asian steampunk event. However, as much as I enjoyed the film, I found it lacking in the steampunk department. Tai Chi 0 looks like a real steam-powered treat - Enjoy!

Cheers!

Ella

My Big Ol’ Steampunk Post

First up, I’m verily excited about today’s release of the new steampunk anthology aptly titled Steampunk! The genre is becoming a popular choice for short fiction collections, and I can’t wait to pick this one up. For a preview, you can nab a free copy of Cory Doctorow’s story, Clockwork Fagin, for your Kindle. 

There are plenty of calls for steampunk submissions suited to almost any blend of Victorian fare. Here’s a few to check out: 

Entangled Publishing is looking for steampunk with strong romantic elements. They’re also still taking subs for a superhero antho with similar guidelines. 

KnightWatch Press is collecting steampunk horror tales for Machina Mortis: Steampunk'd Tales of Terror.

Or, consider sending your work to one of these wonderful periodicals: Steampunk Magazine and Doctor Fantastique's Show of Wonders. Both are available in print and digital versions. 

Tor's Steampunk Week was a hit, once again. If you didn’t get a chance to follow the fun, I suggest you hop on over to browse the articles. Cat Rambo’s plea for the appearance of more historic women in steampunk was refreshing, and Mike Perschon (aka the Steampunk Scholar) presents his annotated Steampunk Gilgamesh. Plus, there’s oodles of great stuff on the artwork, designs, and overall aesthetics of the subculture. 

Another bit of awesome on my radar this week is the new movie trailer for The Raven, scheduled for release next year. While there doesn’t seem to be anything specifically steampunk about it so far, but I can’t pass up a deliciously spooky Victorian story. For me, John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe is just as wonderful a casting as Johnny Depp was as Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow. Enjoy a peak: 

Finally, I’ve gotta give a shout out to a budding enterprise in my old stomping ground, Colorado Springs. Steampunk Brewing Co. isn’t up and running yet, but I’ll be keeping an eye on them to get off the ground sometime next year. They do have a website where you can show your support and follow their blog. Steampunk and beer is a great combination. OK, anything and beer is a great combination.

Any favorite posts from Steampunk Week? Feel free to let us know about more submission opportunities, too. Or, tell me about any anthologies you've read that can't be missed.

A Steampunk Tinker's Bookshelf & More

It's Steampunk Week over at Tor.com, so I decided to jump on board with a post of my own. Plus, it's been a while since I've blogged about my favorite genre, since my focus has been on my new urban fantasy novel. So many genres, so little time...

Writing steampunk requires a healthy amount of research on numerous subjects, from historical events to period clothing to urban development. It also helps to have access to reference material on various machines and vehicles, especially trains, submarines and various aircraft designs. But inventing the gadgets for my stories, big and small, is by far my favorite part of this genre.

Here's a list of helpful references when you need some inspiration for your steampunk creations. Several of these books, authors and series include modern technology and materials, but the ideas can still be retrofitted for the past (or alternate future, if that's the case *g*).

John Austin - Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction 2, which released on October 1st, is the latest in Austin's entertaining series of books on pranks and office warfare. Yes, these are somewhat silly toys constructed out of common items like pencils and scotch tape, but I dare you to read them without coming up a few good ideas.

William Gurstelle - If you like pyrotechnics and ballistics, this is the guy for you. He's got several books out, and the ones I've gotten hold of are incredibly fun.

Inventing the 19th Century: 100 Inventions That Shaped the Victorian Age, From Aspirin to the Zeppelin by Stephen Dulkin - This book really impressed me and is filled with great information, including lots of detailed illustrations of the various gadgets along with their patents. I can only assume that it's predecessor, Inventing the 20th Century, is equally enlightening.

The Dangerous Books For Boys and Girls - OK, these might be for kids, but there's still some great stuff in here. Some of this stuff can also be found in Boy and Girl Scout manuals, nifty resources for any budding steampunk.

There are also a number of explanatory tombs with similar names that can come in handy: The (New) Way Things Work, How Stuff Works, National Geographic's How Things Work, Cool Stuff and How it Works, etc.

Of course, the steampunk aesthetic has also rubbed off on our modern gadgets. Here's a link to some of the best examples: Steampunked Gadgets

Finally, some of the best steampunk out there is written for younger readers, so I've got some new releases for kids and young adults that are not to be missed:

All Men of Genius by Lev AC Rosen

The Fabulous Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont by Victoria Griffith

Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

Empire of Ruins: The Hunchback Assignments 3 by Arthur Slade

What would you like to see covered for Steampunk Week? Let me know if you've got any other books to suggest or steampunk news to share. 

New September Anthologies

Ella's post reminded me how far behind I am on my reading. I checked out the new releases for September and to my delight there are four anthologies being released. Here they are:

Ghosts by Gaslight: Stories of Steampunk and Supernatural Suspense by by Jack Dann and Nick Gevers (Ella mentioned this one already.)

Summary from Good Reads: "Edited by Jack Dann (World Fantasy Award-winning co-editor of Dreaming Down Under) and Nick Gevers (acclaimed editor and book reviewer), Ghosts by Gaslight is a showcase collection of all-new stories of steampunk and supernatural suspense by modern masters of horror, fantasy, sf, and the paranormal. An absolutely mind-boggling gathering of some of today’s very best dark storytellers—including Peter Beagle, James Morrow, Sean Williams, Gene Wolfe, Garth Nix, Marly Youmans, Jeffery Ford, and Robert Silverberg—Ghosts by Gaslight offers chilling gothic and spectral tales in a delightfully twisted Victorian and Edwardian vein. Think Henry James’s Turn of the Screw and Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with a decidedly steampunk edge, and you’re ready to confront Ghosts by Gaslight."

Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions by Various Authors

Summary from Good Reads: "A journey may take hundreds of miles, or it may cover the distance between duty and desire.

Sixteen of today’s hottest writers of paranormal tales weave stories on a common theme of journeying. Authors such as Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, and Melissa Marr return to the beloved worlds of their bestselling series, while others, like Claudia Gray, Kami Garcia, and Margaret Stohl, create new land-scapes and characters. But whether they’re writing about vampires, faeries, angels, or other magical beings, each author explores the strength and resilience of the human heart.

Suspenseful, funny, or romantic, the stories in Enthralled will leave you moved."

Creatures: Thirty Years of Monsters by Various Authors

Summary from Good Reads: "Monsters: As old as the oldest of stories, as new as our latest imaginings. From the ancient stone corridors of the labyrinth to the graffitied alleyways of the contemporary metropolis, they stalk the shadows. Leering from the darkness of the forest, jostling for space in our closets, they walk, crawl, creep and scuttle through our nightmares. Close as the clutter under the bed or the other side of the mirror, they are our truest companions.

Creatures features the best monster fiction from the past thirty years, offering a wide variety of the best monster stories including original stories from the field''s most relevant names and hottest newcomers including Clive Barker, Sarah Langan, Joe R. Lansdale, Kelly Link, China Mieville, and Cherie Priest."

Vampires, Zombies, Werewolves and Ghosts: 25 Classic Stories of the Supernatural by Barbara H. Solomon, Eileen Panetta

Summary from Goodreads: "They are the fearful images that have stalked humanity's nightmares for centuries, supernatural creatures that feast on flesh and haunt the soul, macabre and uncanny beings that frighten and fascinate the imagination.

Vampires, Zombies, Werewolves, and Ghosts collects classic stories from literary masters inspired by folklore and mythology who dared to explore the darker side of human nature and crafted tales that defied convention, stirred up controversy, and gave life to a storytelling genre that has endured for generations."

I can't wait to get hands on these. I'm always looking for new anthologies to add to my reading list. Leave a comment for your favorites.

Review of Dead Iron and My July Reading List

I was fortunate to receive an ARC of Devon Monk's first steampunk novel, Dead Iron, which releases today. It's just one of several new titles I'm excited about this month - check out the rest of my shopping list after the review. Here is the blurb:

Welcome to a new America that is built on blood, sweat, and gears...


In steam age America, men, monsters, machines, and magic battle for the same scrap of earth and sky. In this chaos, bounty hunter Cedar Hunt rides, cursed by lycanthropy and carrying the guilt of his brother's death. Then he's offered hope that his brother may yet survive. All he has to do is find the Holder: a powerful device created by mad devisers-and now in the hands of an ancient Strange who was banished to walk this Earth.


In a land shaped by magic, steam, and iron, where the only things a man can count on are his guns, gears, and grit, Cedar will have to depend on all three if he's going to save his brother and reclaim his soul once and for all...

Cedar Hunt is a cursed hero with a dark history who takes it upon himself to search for a missing child, despite his tense relationship with the community of Hallelujah, Oregon. With the help of three mountain-dwelling devisors, a witch on a mission for revenge, and a young woman with a mysterious past, Cedar searches for the boy and a cure for his lycanthropy. The book culminates in a showdown with Shard Lefel, a man exiled from his Strange homeland who seeks to remain immortal at all costs.

This novel has a lot going on. The Strange represents a bit of re-imagined fairy-lore, and is just the tip of the speculative iceberg, which includes witches, Pawnee gods, assorted robot-like matics, werewolves, clockwork spells, trains, Norse mythology, zombification, and inventive weaponry. These are things I generally enjoy in a story, but all together it becomes slightly convoluted. The blending of magical with technological is ultimately successful due to the believability of the novel's characters.

Monk gives valid purpose for the steampunk tropes she puts to use in this fascinating new world, including goggles used as gun-sights. There is also a touching love story swimming under the surface of the novel which is both really sweet and sort of creepy at the same time (an impressive combination). By the end, I was thoroughly attached to the book's gritty atmosphere and  characters. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.


Also on my reading shelf for July:

Heartless by Gail Carriger - released June 28th
Hammered by Kevin Hearne - releases July 5th
The Affair of the Chalk Cliffs by James P. Blaylock and J.K. Potter - released June 30th
Echo Volume 6: The Last Day by Terry Moore - releases July 5th
The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities: Exhibits, Oddities, Images, and Stories from Top Authors and Artists by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer - releases July 12th

What are you reading this month?

We Want Bartitsu!

Bartitsu is getting more and more attention these days as the signature steampunk fighting style. Part boxing, stick-fighting, and jujitsu, this gentleman's self-defense technique was immortalized by Arthur Conan Doyle as the skill that Holmes used to kill Moriarty.

Modern research is finally shining a light on the details of the forgotten art of Bartitsu and its creator, E.W. Barton-Wright. You can find several books online describing its history and the moves involved, but I'm most excited about a new video from Freelance Academy Press.

Check out the demo, and note the Abney Park soundtrack:

Something tells me we'll be seeing plenty of Bartitsu practitioners at steampunk (and other) events. I'd love to know if you've studied the technique, or know someone who has. Or just fill me in on what you'd consider a stylishly steampunk fighting move. Preferably something that involves deadly doilies.

My Top 10 List of Steampunk Writing Music

More and more music is being labeled as or associated with steampunk these days. Some of it is pretty good, and some of it is not. But when I sit down to write steampunk, there are a few artists and albums that I go back to over and over for inspiration (most of them are not connected to the genre at all). The choice depends on the mood or pace of the particular scene I'm writing. Here's my list, in no particular order:

1.Tom Waits
2. Devics
3. City of Lost Children soundtrack (or other Angelo Badalamenti)
4. Apocalyptica
5. Sleigh Bells
6. Dropkick Murphys
7. Macross Plus soundtrack
8. Abney Park
9. Man Or Astro-Man?
10. Nick Cave

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, The Clockwork Cabaret is a great source for steampunk-inspired tunes. And here's a video from new-comers, Jarmean:

What music gets your writing juices flowing?

Another Steampunk Round-up

It's been a month of many wonderful steampunk events, including the Steampunk World's Fair in New Jersey and the World Steam Expo in Dearborn, MI. Of course, it seems like every comic, fantasy, gaming (etc.) Con out there has some form of steampunk representation. Even romance gatherings have taken a shine to anachronistic costumes and steampunk discussion panels. Here are a few events to look out for in June:

Combat Con is a multi-genre convention; steampunk, horror, scif-fi, fantasy, and pirates all with a unifying theme of the Western Martial Arts.Las Vegas, NV, June 24-26th.

Con Carolinas covers just about everything. And there's a costume contest, so you know the steampunks will put on a show. Charlotte, NC, June 3-5th.

Davenport and Winkleperry is host to many steampunk-flavored events all year round, including the Clockwork Ball , the Davenport Follies and more. If you haven't heard the Clockwork Cabaret radio program on Monday nights, you are missing out on some really great fun.

As far as reading material, the list of steampunk releases just keeps growing. Here are a few of the gems from April, May and June:

Mechanique by Genevieve Valentine - who doesn't love the circus?

Camera Obscura by Lavie Tidhar - I must direct you to a wonderfully mixed and intriguing review by Mike Perschon.

The Falling Machine by Andrew Mayer - the first installment of a new series which takes place in Victorian New York.

How To Draw Steampunk by Ben Dunn - pretty self-explanatory.

Check out last month's Round-up if you need more. I'll be posting my first ever review in next month's RU of Devon Monk's first steampunk title, Dead Iron. Anyone with additional suggestions or tales from recent SP events, I'd love to hear them. Or let us know what steampunk you're looking forward to. Till next time, may your tea always be hot and biscuits plentiful.

Books for my Writing Retreat

As this is the Canadian long weekend and I get Monday off from my day job, I decided to get away from home, husband, dogs and other worldly responsibilities and have a “ME” weekend. I live just north of the Minnesota border with Ontario, so I tend to travel to the States quite often.
Last year I went to a writing retreat in Minnesota. The retreat itself wasn’t quite what I had expected and focussed more on poetry than prose, but I found a wonderful little camp that isn’t really that far away. I booked myself in for Saturday and Sunday night and I get my own cabin on the lake. No internet, no telephone, no running water in the cabin, and apparently no people - I am the only person booked at the camp for the weekend! The office is even offsite. So I will be on my own, totally. I am looking forward to the retreat and I intend to write, read and reflect. Since it is supposed to be rainy on the weekend, I should be able to lock myself away in the cabin and avoid the distraction of nice weather and sunshine.

But, this is a working retreat, so I intend to write like crazy on Saturday, Sunday and part of Monday. I’ve been trying to think of what I need to take on this retreat for reference books, those that are my favourites, that I can’t part with, that I can refer to when I am stuck. I can’t take them all, but I can select a few that I absolutely love. Yes, I will be taking my Kindle, but not all of my books are on there yet. The majority of my books are still in paper format, plus I am not a big fan of reference books on the Kindle, it’s just too hard to flip to the right page. :)

Those books I’m considering taking are:

Writing Steampunk! By Beth Daniels. Everything you need to know about steampunk. I’m also taking her six month steampunk class, so I know it will come in handy.

On Writing by Steven King – for inspiration.

The Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass – he really knows what he’s talking about.

Woe is I by Patricia T. O’Connor – great grammar book, in an easy to understand format

Writing and Selling your Mystery Novel by Hallie Ephron – I love this book. It really breaks down the components of a mystery

What books would you take on a writer’s retreat or which ones can’t you live without?

Cast Call for Characters with Beth Daniels

We are very pleased to welcome Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson, J.B. Dane who wrote today's post and who continues to mentor and inspire many of the Salon's scouts on a daily basis. Her newest ebook Writing Steampunk could be the only instructional book available dedicated specifically to steampunk fiction. And we thank her for it.

 One of the easiest AND toughest things to do is deciding what sort of people will wander around in your story.

Will they be normal...well, relatively normal...humans, paranormal, enhanced creatures, aliens (from other places on Earth, from outer space, from another dimension or parallel universe), will they be lower class, scientists, adventurers, male, female, or something else entirely, aristocrats, politicians, pickpockets, murderers, visionaries...

The list can go on and on. And none of this has anything to do with what they look like, how they move, what quirks of personality are apparent or what sort of background they will need to accomplish -- or survive -- what you intend to throw at them.

It doesn't matter what sort of tale you are about to tell, but it is important to know that the best stories come from who the cast is made up of...what sort of things they are dealing with in the external world and their own internal one as well. Stories that come from character are richer than those that don't.

Take heroes for instance, whether they are male or female or one of those "others" that you might create. They can't be all good but when push comes to shove they do the honorable thing for their fellow beings. Villains will have a lot of the same qualities but they tend to do things for their own benefit. When Heroes and Villains share a number of the same elements it makes for a lovely tug and pull...take Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort for instance. Because they do share some qualities, it has Harry worried for a long time.

The major characters need backup...both good and bad sides. The companions, the sidekicks, the family, friends, co-workers...the minions. These sort of characters.

And finally there are all the "little people", the characters that pass through the story with but one chore...to deliver clues, to get killed, to bring dinner to the table...all things that need to be done for some reason within your story and that can't be handled by the upper rung of characters.

Yes, there is a social structure to your cast: the majors carry the story and the burden of the action, POV, danger, etc.; the secondary rung backs them up, helps out, gets in trouble, helps them out of trouble, whatever is demanded in the plot; then the thirdenary rung fills in all the odd jobs that remain.

Oddly enough, there are far more characters in the thirdenary group than in the other two rungs added together. The trick is to not get carried away and spending too much time describing or stretching scenes with the "little people". Sometimes we simply make then too darn fascinating.

Beth Daniels
www.RomanceAndMystery.com
WRITING STEAMPUNK by Beth Daniels
Now Available on KINDLE and NOOK
In Trade Paperback late in June 2011

World Building Questions

Steampunk Worldbuilding Questions
The steampunk book I'm writing is set in 1800’s America. I need to narrow down just how my version of this America is smooshed together to make it my own creation, but still believable. These are some of the questions I’m asking myself to really understand where this story is going and where it’s coming from:

1. What is the overall mood of the book: It is dystopian, utopian, politically charged or little pieces of each? We are at the tail end of a federal election right now in Canada, so I can’t help but think about politics no matter how hard I try not to. Do we, as a country, stick with the guy who is all about photo-ops, is a control freak and whose government was just found to be in contempt of Parliament; or do we switch to someone who is unknown but talks a good game? Do voters even make a difference? I would like to pursue a book in which the government is decided by one winning ticket in which the winner can decide who should be in charge of the country, sort of like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and his golden ticket. Hmm, that does sound like a good story.

2. The extent of alternate history. Is my world going to closely match the real world or will there be a lot of changes? Maybe there is only one change, but that change affected everything from then until now. The President of the day could have been assassinated and the vice had to take over, scrapping all the progress he made abolishing slavery. What would the United States be like if slavery still legally existed? Does the world even look the same? Maybe Canada overtook all of the Great Lakes in a war and the USA has poisoned most of their fresh water with industrialization. The USA is now dependant on their large, more dominant cousin to the North for fresh water. (Hey it could have happened)

3. What is the status of women and minorities? In a lot of historical books women are portrayed as the lesser sex, because at that time, women were not given the same liberties, they did not have the same opportunities in patriarchal societies. Minorities throughout history have had it bad. I am half Ojibway Indian so my ancestors were persecuted. In fiction, does this same oppression exist or is it more idealistic? In some ways I think making everything politically correct and ideal is an injustice to what minorities suffered. I am on the fence whether I want minorities to be in a position of equal status in my books or represent the injustices as they existed at that point in time so we don’t candy coat over what actually happened.

4. What are the social norms? I have found a fantastic book called Manners and morals of Victorian America. It’s fascinating! I love the social proprieties, not necessarily to follow them, but to be able to break those rules. If you are writing about Victorian America, the book is worth a look.




5. Technology. I every steampunk book, the extent of technology use must be determined. It might be magic, advanced technology for its time or some other unknown. Whatever the level of technology present in the book, the boundaries should be clearly defined. What is possible, what is impossible? I love the idea of strange inventions that actually work. The Victorians were famous for inventing crazy contraptions.

What questions do you ask yourself when world building?

Your Character's World

I was originally going to put up a picture of a paper doll. You know the kind with the metal brads through the shoulders and hips. As I was gathering my ideas about building the character's world I realized that I was only thinking about humanoid characters, characters based on the physical world we as humans live in. I was seeing only superficial world building.

Superficial worldbuilding is not a bad thing. Here's my original idea for this post. Take that paper doll image and fill it in. What do its ears look like, its eyes? How many limbs? What kind of skin? Does it have any? As you can see, building a character like this is already interesting. Now, add things the character carries or wears. Where do they come from? How did the character come by them? See? We have another level of building a world from the character out, taking us to a different aspect of the world: its economy.

That's not my original idea, by the way. It came from a now-defunct podcast called "Shakespeare and Dragons" (you can still find the podcasts online here. Not all of the files work so if you can't download one version, try the next!). Focusing on the world this way is another means of managing the complexity of the worlds characters live in.

So, what is the idea I ended up with? It's this: What kind of world created your character? Take our friend Sarah. What kind of world created a woman who buys sex like coffee? We assumed it was a world a little like ours, similar cultural system (since there are places where sex is nearly as easily come by. Amsterdam, anyone?). However, this is SARAH, a female. How is her world different from ours? We assumed that her purchase was taller than she was, had a particular set of sexual organs that fit hers in a particular way. We also assumed that her purchase of sex was casual. What if she is making a necessary purchase, that the function of the process was reproduction and the use of non-bonded partners created a drone workforce? Oh, and she is not the womb! What kind of story will you write, now?

You got werewolves? What kind of world made them? Even if it is our more familiar world, what about it is so different that werewolves emerged? Or vampires? Think alternatives. We have alternative histories in Steampunk so, how about alternative evolution? Alternative cultural development?

After extending my image of Sarah, I started thinking of her society as being based on the life of bees or ants. It's not an original world, I'm sure, but it gives me another idea. What if instead of werewolves we were wolves? What would the world look like if it was based on wolf society? Wolf culture? What if Sarah's world were based on the wolf?

Just asking...

Everybody's Got To Eat

What do you mean you haven't fed them? Beasties and story people need to eat. Beasties eat story people and they usually like them raw without any dressing. Story people on the other hand prefer their food, as a rule, cooked. It doesn't matter where home is to your characters. Whether it's on this planet, or two stars over, or in a completely different time-period they're going to get hungry. So, before those beasties munch away at your starving hero you need to feed him or her.

Where shall we start? Fast food? Why not? Fast food has been around long before the Golden Arches took over our eating habits. In the future, you can be sure after we have colonized other planets there will be little space ships pulling up to a fast food chain along the Milky Way.

For now, let me take you to London in 1890 where my work in progress, "The Doll Maker" takes place. In this cold, grey world fast food and street vendors were an essential part of the day-to-day living. One particular young character in my story has told me he thinks about food all the time. Don't you Sebastian?

Sebastian: Aye. Though, since I've been working at the theatre, not the Penny Gaffs mind you, I eat more regular. I work the ghost-making machine for the plays that needs'em. Ghosts. It's a good living, better than I had before.

EWG: What's your favorite food to eat?

Sebastian: Hard to say, Miss. When you haven't eaten in a day, what you like is different than when you've had a morsel a few hours before. Ain't it? When the gnawing in my stomach is so bad and that's all I notice. It's a cup of hot soup, I wants. I could see a piece of beef or mutton in the cook shop and it does nothing for me. For a penny, I can have two cups of pea soup. Soup makes me feel safe and toasty like a warm bed.

But, if I hear the Tatoes man calling, "Tatoes. Hot! Hot! Hot! my mouth waters something bad. As soon as I catch sight of the steam coming out the the guv'nor's red tin can, I've got to have one. Hot tatoe with butter and pepper. Makes you feel right good.

EWG: Potatoes with butter, yumm. What about something sweet?

Sebastian: Ah, sweets are for them that have had their stomach filled. Besides, it's gone before you've even had time to enjoy it. When you only have a penny to spend, a sweet dream is not going to fill your stomach. Listen Miss, I need to get back to me job. Best not to stand here too long, if you get my meaning. I can walk you to where you need to go.

EWG: Thank you. I'll be all right.

So, what do your characters want to eat? Yes, I know feeding your story people seems so small when you have a whole world to build. But remember, whether or not you choose to use the information gathered for your worldbuilding will depend on if it enhances or contributes something to move your story forward. Certainly if you don't use the research it will still enrich the image in your mind of the world and characters you are creating. Ultimately, it will be a world your readers will want to call home or at least stay for awhile. By the way, what's for dinner? I'm hungry.

PS: Here's a great site for Victorian England research: www.victorianlondon.org