First, I’d like to announce the winners of George Mann’s Ghosts of Manhattan:
FredTownWard
Elijana Kindel
Barbara Elness
Congrats! Please email me at suzannelazear (@) hotmail to claim your prize.
Didn’t win? You can still win books by Mike Resnick, Tim Akers, or Ren Cummins, or a prize pack of goodies including a copy of Blameless and a fan autographed by Gail Carriger.
Today we welcome YA Sci-Fi author Beth Revis.
Beth Revis‘ debut novel, Across the Universe, is out now. A former high-school English teacher, Beth can’t help but blog about writing, grammar, and publishing at Writing it Out. She is the founder of the new popular dystopian blog, the League of Extraordinary Writers and blows off steam by trying to come up with something witty in 140 characters or less, lusting after books on GoodReads, or wasting time on Facebook. Beth Revis lives in rural North Carolina with her husband and dog, and believes space is nowhere near the final frontier.
The Top Five Things to Come from Steampunk and the Top Five Things I’d Like to See
by Beth Revis
I’ll admit: I’m a noob when it comes to steampunk. Sure, I’ve read (and loved) Gail Carringer’s work, flirted with Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan, and I lust after the costumes, but as for seriously diving into the genre? I’ve worshipped from afar. That said, here’s the top five steampunk things that I adore…and the top five things that I want to see (so if all you steampunk-aphiles out there know of where I can find it, please let me know!).
First, in reverse order, the top five things I love from steampunk:
5. The “Punked” episode of Castle
I am a hardcore Fillionite, so, of course, I’m a fan of Nathan Fillion’s latest show, Castle. One of the very best episodes so far as been “Punked,” in which Beckett and Castle’s mystery takes them into the world of Steampunk NYC.
4. Steampunk Cakes
Cake Wrecks has a whole page dedicated to the awesome steampunk cakes that have been made over the years. But I have to admit—my very favorite one is this little beauty:
I mean, come on! A cake that looks like a steampunk squid? Win.
3. Treasure Planet
I admit: I love me some Disney. And one of my all-time faves has to be the wonderful and under-appreciated movie Treasure Planet. A futuristic/steampunk/sci fi/awesome retelling of Treasure Island, this movie features not only a cool storyline, but an amazing soundtrack (don’t worry; it’s not a musical) and a great bad guy.
2. The Steampunk Mac
Let’s see how much of a nerd I can prove I am with this post. I love Nathan Fillion, Disney, and…I’m also a Mac FanGirl. But what would make me even more of a Mac FanGirl? If I could have this Mac:
Image credit: http://steampunkworkshop.com/daveveloz.shtml
1. The Costumes and Gadgets
Come on. Come on. The gadgets. The gadgets. And the costumes.
Image credit: http://steampunkcostume.com/
Now, the top five things I’d like to see:
5. Steampunk Star Wars
Why can’t I have this? Holy wow, think of how cool it could be. Steam blasters instead of lightsabers. And dude! Think of it: Darth Vader Steampunk. Amazing. This has so much potential.
Image credit: http://www.oddee.com/item_96830.aspx
4. Roman Steampunk
There’s a lot of steampunk centered in Victorian times, but I think it would be cool to explore the Romans. In all honesty, it seems as if the Romans came pretty darn close to steampunk on their own. Push them a bit more in that direction—we could have a whole steampunk alternative history…
3. Steampunk not based in Europe/England
This is going to be my most serious request—does anyone know of some cool steampunk that’s not based in Europe, especially not based in England? I would sincerely love to read that…
2. Steampunk Fairytales or Superheroes
There’s a wide field of possibilities in this one. What if Tinkerbell tinkered with steampunk? Hansel and Gretl’s witch could be an automaton. Cinderella’s clockwork winds down at midnight.
Or take it another direction—what about superheroes? Gail Carringer blended paranormal with steampunk—let’s see superheroes blended with steampunk. Superman’s strong as steel because that’s what he’s made of. Or the X-Men—a wind-up Wolverine? Maybe even this…
Image credit: http://steampunkcostume.com/
1. More Steampunk YA
The number one thing I most want to see more of is steampunk for teens and kids. Scott Westerfeld is doing great work with Leviathan, but I’d love to see more of this. Does anyone else have any steampunk YA or MG suggestions?
~Beth Revis
http://acrosstheuniversebook.com/
So, who’s got some suggestions for Beth? I know you all do…