Visiting Lolita Nicole Reviews Jane Eyre

Okay, Jane Eyre isn’t a new release, nor is it steampunk, but it’s a classic and the new movie does feature lots of pretty dresses.  Also, I need to re-read it for a project.  Anyway, I have asked the super-fabulous Nicole from WORD For Teens to come and guest review it for me. So, how many times have you read it?

Nicole runs the successful YA book blog WORD For Teens. When not reading books or watching Doctor Who, she’s studying for her double major in journalism and English.

 

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Review by Nicole of Word for Teens

What can one say about Jane Eyre that hasn’t been said already?

I adore Jane Eyre. I adored it when I first listened to the musical version in ninth grade; I adored it when I watched the amazing four hour BBC version in tenth grade; I adored it when I finally picked it up and read it in eleventh grade.

And even now, it’s something I reread and get excited for. I’ve seen the BBC movie Jane-knows-how-many times; I’ve read the book again and again; I’m more than excited for the new movie version that just came out. (Seeing it soon, eek!)

There’s just something about it. Yeah, it’s not written like most modern lit – either young adult or adult – is. It’s a very slow set up until the part of the novel I like best. A good third of the book, I think, is dedicated to Jane’s childhood. You really get in her head and see the miserable sort of situation she was in and why she grew up to be the way she was.

Normally, I’d hate that. I love being launched straight into the action, into the romance, into the real story. (I think that was one of the reasons it took me so long to finally read Pride and Prejudice; who cared what the Bennett sisters were doing? I just wanted to go to the first ball with Darcy, damn it.) But it’s so eloquently written that I still love it.

And don’t even get me started on my love of the characters themselves. Jane? Best heroine ever. Okay, maybe not best, but damn, I do love her. She refuses to change who she is and sticks to her guts. And Rochester? You really shouldn’t fall in love with a man who [SPOILER ALERT!] keeps his wife locked up in the attic and who[/SPOILER ALERT] makes you believe that he’s in love with another woman for a good chunk of the book. And yet…

Honestly, this is one of these classics I think everybody needs to read and form their own opinion on. Strong woman? A hunk of a man? An interesting plot? I mean, it’s got everything. (Including a fantastic modern version – Jane by April Lindner. I highly recommend reading that, too, but only after you’ve read Jane Eyre, or some references will be lost on you.) In my opinion, it’s much better than her sister’s Wuthering Heights and on equal terms with some of Austen’s works.

Oh, and there’s this.

~Nicole
http://www.wordforteens.com/

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Steampunk at RT!

First up, there’s about a day left on the critique I have up on Operation Auction.  It’s for a Steampunk or YA proposal (or Steampunk YA–Elfpunkers, or any “punkers”, I’ll include you too).  Proposal = Query, Synopisis, + 3 chapters.  Come on, be generous and place your bid.  There’s a lot of other good stuff up and it’s for a good cause.

The Romance Writers of American announced their RITA and Golden Heart Finalists. I’d like to give a special shout out to Zoe Archer for her nomination for Rebel and Cassandra Clare for her nomination for Clockwork Angel. Congrats to all the nominees!

So, who’s going to the Romantic Times Book Lovers Convention?

I will be there with bustles on.  You know I mean that literally, right?  Here’s my new bustle.

There’s going to be some great steampunk stuff.  (And I’m on a panel with Gail Carriger!!!!  I hope I don’t say something stupid.)
SPECIALTY: When Worlds Collide: Melding Reality and Fantasy in Historicals
Date: Wednesday April 6, 2011 02:15 pm – 03:15 pm
Event Type: Writer Industry Workshop                                                              Panelists: Zoe Archer, Gail Carriger, Nathalie Gray, Suzanne Lazear, Kathryn Smith

STEAMPUNK: Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys?: Gadgets, Gizmos and Automatons
Date: Thursday April 7, 2011 02:45 pm – 03:45 pm
Event Type: Writer Industry Workshop                                                                               Captain: Kathryn Smith Panelists: Eden Bradley, Gail Carriger, Kristen Painter

STEAMPUNK: Writing the Steampunk Romance: Beyond Leather Corsets and Brass Goggles!
Date: Friday April 8, 2011 01:30 pm – 02:30 pm
Event Type: Writer Industry Workshop 

Panelists: Cindy Holby, Suzanne Lazear, Laurie McLean, Kathryn Smith

READER: Steampunk Social
Date: Friday April 8, 2011 02:45 pm – 03:45 pm
Event Type: Reader Social
Location: Beaudry A
There will be a fashion show with clothes from Clockwork Couture, cakepops, prizes, and other fun stuff! 

Other steampunk writers will also be there.  Check out all the authors doing the book signing.

Good stuff, right?  Make sure you say hello to me if you’re there. (No, I’m sorry, but I will have no romance trading cards for Innocent Darkness, since I have no art, unless you want to make me something quick quick.)

Steampunkapalooza 2011 starts soon.  It’s going to be incredible  and I am excited.   Have you seen our lineup and entered our giveaway yet?

Oh, and here are the boots the hubby got me from Clockwork Couture for my birthday.  I hope they come in time for RT.

Cute, right?  Now, if only I could find a black corslet/corset belt, that a) will get here in time b) isn’t a fortune.  I have one, the teen borrowed it and can’t find it (insert Le Sigh here).

So, are there any Steampunk events coming up that you’re looking forward to?

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Why the West? by Seleste deLaney

Tomorrow I’ll be over at Coffee Time Romance for the California Authors RT Kickoff Party.    You have to register with the forum to participate, but it’s free.  You can put “suzannelazear” in the refferal box so they know you’re from Steamed!  It runs from Midnight to Midnight March 25th and there will be tons of authors there. 

Steampunkapalooza 2011 is starting soon.  Have you seen our lineup and entered our giveaway yet? 

Today we welcome author Seleste deLaney.

An avid reader of all things speculative, Seleste deLaney broke into the ebook world in the summer of 2010 with her erotic paranormal short story, Of Course I Try, the firs in her Blood Kissed Series.  Badlands is her first, but definitely not last, foray into the world of steampunk. When not escaping to made up worlds, Seleste makes her home in southwest Michigan with her husband, two children, and two dogs who remind her at every turn that the real world needs her attention upon occasion too.

Why the West?

by Seleste deLaney

I read once that in the US, people who write steampunk fall into two camps based on geography. Those who live in east coast states write Victorian steampunk, those in the west coast states write Old West steampunk. I’m not really sure what that says about those of us who live in the middle. People have asked me more than once why I set my story in the Old West when Victorian steampunk has legions of fans already, especially among romance readers who don’t see it as too far a jump from historicals. Old West steampunk might pull some western fans, but without the promise of cowboys, it’s a much more difficult crossover.

So, yeah, a smart fledgling author probably would have gone Victorian.

But even knowing that, I prefer not to think I’m stupid. For me, the setting was all about the story I wanted to tell.

Once I started thinking about it, there was no question where Badlands would be set. Ever, my rather unconventional heroine, wouldn’t have been accepted in Victorian England…at all. While it seems feisty heroines are okay in that world, Ever goes far beyond spunk in a corset. She’s a near-man-hater with a penchant for violence and zero tolerance for propriety for the sake of propriety.  In short, she’s far too rough around the edges to find even an uncomfortable place in Victorian society.

But in an untamed Old West? She might have a home there.

Then again, the west was still ruled by testosterone in those days (as most places are even now). That was the point when I considered the possibility of the west being something other than uncharted territory. Right around that time, someone brought up a western either set in Australia or starring an Australian actor (I don’t really recall) and all the pieces fell into place. If the west was treated as untamable and unwanted, turned into essentially a prison-nation, what type of life would develop there?

Suddenly, Ever had a place—one where a woman like her was not only accepted but appreciated and even revered.  And even more, it became a landscape where the trappings of steampunk would be displayed in a different light than they would against the backdrop of a Victorian world. There the crisp clean curves of a dirigible stand in stark contrast to the harsh jagged mountain peaks. And the shining clockworks glisten against the rough grit and dirt. It would be a world where such things are coveted and feared in equal amounts.

In short, it became an evil scientist’s play land.

But to Ever and the women she commands, it is simply home.

~Seleste deLaney

http://www.selestedelaney.com

Badlands (Now available from Carina Press):

After a brutal Civil War, America is a land divided. As commander of her nation’s border guards, Ever is a warrior sworn to protect her country and her queen. When an airship attacks and kills the monarch, Ever must infiltrate enemy territory to bring home the heir to the throne, and the dirigible Dark Hawk is her fastest way to the Union.

Captain Spencer Pierce just wants to pay off the debt he owes on the Dark Hawk and make a life for himself trading across the border. When the queen’s assassination puts the shipping routes at risk, he finds himself Ever’s reluctant ally.

As they fly into danger, Ever and Spencer must battle not only the enemy but also their growing attraction. She refuses to place her heart before duty, and he has always put the needs of his ship and crew above his own desires. Once the princess is rescued, perhaps they can find love in the Badlands— if death doesn’t find them first…

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STEAMPUNKAPALOOZA 2011 Lineup and Giveaway

Guess what everyone, it’s nearly time for Steampunkapalooza 2011, our annual month-long online Steampunk Birthday Bash!  We have an incredible lineup for you this year with some great people and giveaways and we’re still adding new things.  (We still have a few weekend days open if you have a suggestion/recommendation).   As you can see we have a lot of new faces and some of your favorites.  During April stop by every day for great guests, prizes, mayhem, and more.   Hold on to your fishnets, it’s going to be one heck of a party.

Also, the great folks at Tor have given us five, yes, five, copies of Stephen Hunt’s book The Rise of the Iron Moon to help kick everything off.  Want to win a copy?  Just tell me which guest you’re looking forward to the most and we’ll pick five commentors at random. 

Steampunkapalooza 2011 Tentative Schedule

April 4 Caitlin Kittredge

April 5 Saundra Mitchell

April 6 Dru Pagliassotti

April 7 GD Falksen

April 8 Felix Gilman

April 10 Mystic Pieces Jewelry Design

April 11 Mark Hodder

April 12 Andrew Mayer

April 13 George Mann

April 14 Mike Resnick

April 15 Tim Akers

April 16 Ren Cummins

April 18 Gail Carriger

April 19 Jaymee Goh

April 20 Beth Revis

April 21 Leanna Renee Hieber

April 22  Philippa Ballantine

April 25 Kady Cross

April 26 Crista McHugh

April 27 Marie Harte

April 28 Christine Bell

April 29 Cindy Spencer-Pape

 

It’s an exciting list, isn’t it?  So, who are you most looking forward to?  Contest closes April 1, 2011 at 11:59 PST.  Winners announced April 4, 2011.

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What’s in Lolita Suzanne’s Mailbox?

I totally forgot to put up the Feb edition of “In My Mailbox.”   I’m still very new to the whole Vlog thing.  I get so nervous and I just know I said something wrong.  And, oh, the faces I make!  I don’t think I’m doing this right.

The books I talk about in the Feb edition are

Invasion by Jon S. Lewis (YA, a C.H.A.O.S novel)

The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge (YA)

Heartless by Gail Carriger (Adult, book 4 Parasol Protectorate, released July 2011)

Thanks to Orbit, Thomas Nelson, and Delacorte Press for sending me these books.

In My Mailbox was started by The Story Siren

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Colleen Gleason on Paranormalizing History

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!!

 

Today we have paranormal writer Colleen Gleason who’s going to tell us about her new The Regency Draculia series–because Vampires look hawt in regency dress.

Born near Detroit, Colleen Gleason spent most of her adult life in Michigan. She attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, receiving her BA in English, and later went on to obtain her MBA from the University of Michigan in Flint.   After more than fifteen years of sales, marketing, and management experience in the health care industry, Colleen began her own health insurance agency, which she owned and operated for several years. However, her passion has always been writing fiction, and in late 2005, she sold her first two books to New American Library, a division of The Penguin Group.   Colleen also writes as Joss Ware.   The Vampire Voss, book one in the Regency Draculia series releases March 22, 2011. 

Paranormalizing History

by Colleen Gleason

I have to confess that I’m here to talk about books that aren’t precisely steampunk. Actually, they’re not even close to steampunk, except for the fact that they’re set in historic London (not even Victorian, no. Sigh.) and there are paranormal elements that don’t really feel steampunky at all.

However, Lolita Suzanne graciously invited me to talk about my historical vampire series called The Regency Draculia, which launches next week with the first of a back-to-back-to-back release schedule. The Vampire Voss, coming up first, can be described as Jane Austen meets J. R. Ward…or Stephenie Meyer, but darker and for adults.

My previous historical urban fantasy/romance series, The Gardella Vampire Chronicles, was actually more steampunkish than the Draculia series is simply because it was about a female vampire hunter who lived in Regency-era England. She had some gadgets and a few fun weapons, and it was actually my publisher at the time who suggested I might branch out into steampunk someday because I was so comfortable writing action and fantasy wrapped up with historical time periods.

I had to go look up steampunk, because at that time, I had never heard of it.

Now, of course, I’m much more familiar with it, and because of that, my 14-year-old daughter had to educate her Honors English teacher as to what steampunk was just a few weeks ago. (This being an English teacher whose favorite author is Charles Dickens.)

Anyway, I digress. I’m here to tell you a little about the Regency Draculia series, which I hope will appeal to the blog readers here because it’s fantasy set in a historical time period. The books have all the elements of a good Regency romance, but add in some sexy vampires—and some evil ones—a dark mythology, lots of action…and hopefully it comes out as a good story.

One of the things Suzanne thought I could talk about is paranormalizing history. (Nice term; I’m going to steal it.)

It’s so much fun to take what we “know” or think we know and add a paranormal element to it, and I find that doubly fascinating when doing it with a historical setting.

Those dukes and earls, the ones who have the strong family resemblance from grandfather to grandson? That’s because they’re really vampires, and it’s the same person, going out of sight (when the grandfather dies) and coming back into Society (when the grandson takes over the title).

And White’s—the famous gentleman’s club in London? That’s actually been financed by a cabal of vampires so that they have a place to hang out and feed without causing problems. They have private apartments in the back and below ground so they can consort without the sun burning them.

London Society is very conducive to being a vampire who is sensitive to daylight—partly because most of the time, London is befogged and the sun can’t shine very strongly. But also because it’s normal for the haute ton to sleep past noon and party all night. No one would think anything of it if a viscount or lady doesn’t spend much time awake during the day.

Also, my vampires find it incredibly titillating that every gentlewoman wears gloves during this time period. While their throats, shoulders, and a good portion of their bosoms are visible, it’s considered improper not to wear gloves. Which means if a vampire can charm a lady out of her gloves and take a little nibble on that soft, sexy part of the inside of the wrist….that’s quite enjoyable for them.

Those are some examples of how I’ve taken historical fact and “paranormalized” it for the purposes of the Regency Draculia. It was a lot of fun writing those books, and I hope you get a chance to check them out.

Here’s a little more about the books themselves:

In The Vampire Voss, Voss, the Viscount Dewhurst, has been a vampire for a hundred and fifty years. He agreed to sell his soul to Lucifer, and now he has everything he’s ever wanted: immortality, scads of money, imperturbable power, and all the women he can handle.

Everything is going along just fine, if not becoming a little routine after more than a century of pure hedonism with no negative consequences, until he meets Angelica Woodmore…who is the first woman he finds himself unable to enthrall and seduce.

The second book, The Vampire Dimitri, will be released near the end of  April, and is a Beauty-and-the-Beast-like tale about one of Lucifer’s vampires who realizes it wasn’t such a good idea to sell his soul after all. He gets paired up with Maia Woodmore, Angelica’s sister, who could be typecast in The Taming of the Shrew. Jus’ sayin’.

And in May we’ll see The Vampire Narcise, which is about a female vampire who believes there can be no such thing as love for an immortal. Because forever is a very long time!

Thanks to Suzanne for having me here to talk about my non-steampunky books. I’ll be around to answer any questions you might have!

 ~Colleen Gleason

 http://www.colleengleason.com/

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Book Monday — The Iron King

The Iron King

by Julie Kagawa

Book 1, The Iron Fey Series

I will warn you, this isn’t really a review, but more of an analysis of whether or not I feel this book is Steampunk, Elfpunk, or just a really good story.  This is also just my opinion. 

I’ve been hearing a lot about this book.  Mostly, it’s because I keep being asked the same question — “Is The Iron King Steampunk or Elfpunk?”  To which I always shrug and reply, “I don’t know, I haven’t read it.”  I went as far as tweeting Julie Kagawa, the author, and asking her (she probably though I was loopy).  She patiently replied that she didn’t think it was either. 

Finally, I got the time to read it to decide for myself. 

So…is it Steampunk or Elfpunk?

Honestly, I don’t think it’s either. 

Yes, there are definitely elements of both Steampunk and Elfpunk in the book, yet, in my personal opinion, they’re not strong enough to really define the book. 

This is not to say, it’s no a fabulous book — because it is a fabulous book–it’s just that according to me I wouldn’t define it by either label. 

There are some neat steampunky-elements among the iron fey.  Ironhorse just sounds plain old awesome.  However, if you’d remove these elements and just made them bad fey, the story would still stand.  I’m going out on a limb here and staying I wouldn’t even define it as having “steampunk elements” because there just isn’t enough steampunkyness, in my humble opinion.   

So, then, why isn’t it Elfpunk?  After all, there are fey roaming around the human realm, and there are rebellion themes?

This was much harder for me–and feel free to disagree.  If this story took place almost entirely in the human realm, I would say yes, but it seemed to lack that integration Elfpunk stories have, even when the characters go back and forth between the human and faerie realms.  That is not a bad thing, this story didn’t need more integration, everything she does for this story works well, it’s just that to me, this puts it out of the Elfpunk realm. 

There is a ton to love about this book.  It took me about a hundred pages to get into it, but I think it was because this was the first time I ever read an e-book (and I read it on my computer) than having to do with the actual story.  What floored me was the world building.  As you know, I am a big fat faerie lore nerd.   I love how she incorporated classic faerie lore and characters like Oberon, Puck, and Queen Mab into her story while giving everything her own twist.  There is action, romance, and a faerie world filled with creatures, which true-to-form, aren’t always nice.

Also, I’m a sucker for stories about bad bargains.  Oh yes I am. 

So, it you’re looking for a specifically Steampunk or Elfpunk story, this may not be the book for you.

But if you’re looking for a really good read, with lots of faeries and good folklore roots, then read away.

It’s number one in a series with three books out so far.  She’s even giving away a novella free until April.

Happy Reading.

~Lolita Suzanne

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Steampunk Lite?

Today’s Visiting Lolita is author Cindy Spencer Pape who’s new release Steam & Sorcery is now available from Carina Press.

Author of over forty popular books and stories in paranormal, historical, and contemporary romance, Cindy Spencer Pape is an avid reader of romance fantasy, mystery, and even more romance.  Cindy firmly believes in happily-ever-after. Married for more than twenty years to her own, sometimes-kilted hero, she lives in Michigan with him, two adult sons & an ever-changing menagerie of pets.  Cindy has been, among other things, a banker, a teacher, and an elected politician, but mostly an environmental educator. Her degrees in zoology and animal behavior almost help her comprehend the three male humans who share her home.

Steampunk Lite?

By Cindy Spencer Pape

One of the tenets that you often hear about Steampunk is that it has to be a dystopian, bleak setting, a worst-case scenario of the Victorian or Edwardian eras.

Oops. Now they tell me. I fell in love with the idea of Steampunk early on, but never quite managed to write a world as dark as I’d planned. Sure, in Steam & Sorcery, the slums of London are rife with poverty, prostitution, black lung disease and vampyres, (yes, vampyres—the nasty, smelly, evil kind!) but there’s also progress toward women’s rights, fascinating scientific advancements, and a glittering high society. Those of the upper class work diligently, of course, to pretend the bad stuff doesn’t exist. Even when it’s right under their noses. Just like they ignore the chambermaid and her automated sweeper. If they don’t acknowledge it, it can’t be there, right? To me, that’s not so much dystopian as simply the way things were (and are.) Mostly I don’t want to talk about the politics, I want to talk about the vampyres and robots and governesses and sex.

So there you go. Steam & Sorcery is a mash-up of steampunk, fantasy, and mostly romance. My working title for this book was Mary Poppins meets Van Helsing—with robots. That pretty much sums it up. A wealthy, titled vampyre hunter, the Order of the Round Table, a bunch of street urchins with automaton pets, and a plucky, not-quite-human governess. Add some steamy sex, some horrible villains, and shake well. Voila!

If you want to take a walk on the lighter side of Steampunk, I’d love for you to stop by the Carina Press website and check out Steam & Sorcery, the first in my new Gaslight Chronicles series. I’d like to thank Suzi for having me here today and letting me share the fun. To celebrate the new release, I’m running a contest. Comment on any (or all) of the blogs I visit on my blog tour this week. One entry per person, per blog stop. You can visit my blog to find the other stops. After the final stops on Sunday, March 13, I’ll draw one winner for a free download of Steam & Sorcery, or their choice of my other available titles. Happy Reading!

~Cindy Spencer Pape

http://www.cindyspencerpape.com/

 Steam & Sorcery, Gaslight Chronicles #1

Sir Merrick Hadrian hunts monsters, both human and supernatural. A Knight of the Order of the Round Table, his use of magick and the technologies of steam power have made him both respected and feared. But his considerable skills are useless in the face of his greatest challenge, guardianship of five unusual children. At a loss, Merrick enlists the aid of a governess.

Miss Caroline Bristol is reluctant to work for a bachelor but she needs a position, and these former street children touch her heart. While she tends to break any mechanical device she touches, it never occurs to her that she might be something more than human. All she knows is that Merrick is the most dangerously attractive man she’s ever met—and out of reach for a mere governess.

When conspiracy threatens to blur the distinction between humans and monsters, Caroline and Merrick must join forces, and the fate of humanity hinges upon their combined skills of steam and sorcery…

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In Which Lolita Suzanne Admires Steampunk Clothes

In case you need books to read, here’s a great list of steampunk books. 

I have a case of the Mondays. 

I’m going to be doing a couple of panels at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in April in Los Angeles (including one with Gail Carriger, squee!)   

 I need clothes to wear.  I can’t actually buy things to wear, but I still need them.

If I could buy new steampunk clothes for this convention, this is what I’d buy:

I would get this beautiful skirt in black from Clockwork Couture because I could wear it with so many different things…Oh, how I want this skirt so much!

I would love to find a little cape like that to go with it.  I am also fond of hats.  I like this one I found on ebay to pair with it.

I have this wonderful tan asymmetrical steampunky blazer I wear to work.  I found this great skirt on ebay.  I bet I could put them together and create a nice look for a panel. 

I’d pair it with this lovely hat from Maritime Arts, only I’d want the ribbons and flower in green.

In case I actually make it to the masquerade ball, I’d want this mask in cream from Asfina on Etsy. 

If I had an infinite amount of money, I’d get this dress from Bound By Obsession, because it is really, really amazing and would match my clockhand tiara. 

Isn’t it breathtaking?  I covet this dress.

 

I love my clockhand tiara from EJP Creations.  But this one from SparklyJems is a beauty. 

 

Okay, that sums up my list of things I wish I could buy for RT.  If you’re going, look for me.  I’ll be there with bustles on…

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Interview With Airship Isabella: Their Past, Present, and Future

Today we have guest blogger Ramon Fagan.

Ramon Fagan, LCSW (aka “Admiral” Ramon Leon del Mar) writes articles and reviews for Convention Fans Blog Magazine and for 6 different online Steampunk magazines as well as for his own personal blog at http://artofsteampunk.blogspot.com

Interview With Airship Isabella: Their Past, Present, and Future

by Ramon Fagan

Airship Isabella has become quite a sensation as a Steampunk Performance Art Airship in Texas, the surrounding states, and at many conventions throughout the country. This has happened in an amazingly short amount of time through hard work and consistent effort to perform and spend time with fans at all the conventions. They also are willing to go to conventions too remote to generally receive a visit from say, “The League of Steam”. Airship Isabella has built a great fan base and has risen to the point where they can expect to be welcomed as one of the Guest Celebrity Groups at any convention or event they choose to attend in little over a year. They state in a “You tube” video their intention to help others that want to break out of the chains on people’s minds and lives that are imposed by large corporations set to make a profit at any cost. In spite of how well known and popular they have become there are still many questions that remain unanswered about where they came from and where they are headed, so this blogger set about to put before them a rather lengthy list of questions that focus heavily on the character acting aspects of their work. Most groups would simply use such a list as an unusually guest friendly situation where there were enough questions to answer the ones that were most comfortable and ignore the rest, but in their usual fashion, Captain Whittaker and his other half Amelia answered every question put before them quite candidly. I learned that they gathered many or most of the Airship family about them, (including Captain Delacru and the crew of their sister ship the Neo Dulcimer) to read the list of questions and get general feedback and suggestions before writing an answer to each. The list is long enough that it will be offered to several Steampunk Magazines as smaller topographical groups of interview questions with answers, but the interview will appear in it’s entirety only on the Convention Fans Blog Magazine website.

 1. What was your first exposure to Steampunk as an actual subculture. (as opposed to say Steampunk movies or fiction books)

Ikkicon IV, officially. But even then we didn’t necessarily see it as a subculture, but more as an aesthetic movement. Events of that weekend did, however, cement in our minds that there was a definite attitude about steampunk, specifically that it was a snobby, elitist white movement that we wanted nothing to do with. We also realized that weekend that there were many people in the steampunk movement that wanted to see that change. As we started talking to people, we made it our personal mission to change that attitude and belief. A lot of our personal philosophies of what the steampunk subculture is and should be developed out of that convention and grew as we realized there were many other groups with the same ideas.

2. When did you first encounter people in steampunk attire that was distinctive enough to really draw attention and what effect did it have on you?

In the Summer of 2008, we had a friend who called us and said “I found your people!” She told us to look up steampunk on the internet, and we were immediately enthralled. I had been wearing the Victorian “goth” style since the 80’s and hadn’t really given it up. Steampunk was a natural evolution and was beautiful. We were members of the Burning Flipside community at the time, and decided to do a steampunk-based theme camp, specifically, we decided to build a two story “airship” dance camp. It eventually wound up in my front yard as a 50’ X 20’ two story structure that appeared at Flipside 2009, and we called it Airship Isabella.

3. When did you first decide to develop a fictional Steampunk Character Personae, and what do you think motivated you to do so.

We first decided to build characters after Flipside 2009. Originally, it was just and extension of the inspiration that the steampunk aesthetic had infused within us. Then it developed into who we would be within the crew, and grew from there.

4. What prompted your choices in development of your personal character?

We based most of our characters on the people portraying them. It’s always easier to act as someone you truly understand. So most of the characters are bigger than life versions of ourselves. We have our vampires and a clockwork doll, but mostly it’s just us on steroids.

5. At what point did this Steampunk Personae become more than just a guide for wardrobe development and begin to be a character you acted out or used as a personality pattern to guide your responses or behaviors in a public setting.

From the very beginning. The personae were developed specifically for crowd interaction and performance, so it’s always been our goal to have them be dynamic characters. Before we started the circuit we had about two months of twice a week character building and acting classes. It wasn’t enough. But the characters are always growing. It was last summer that they started having a life of their own.

6. As you and your crew are best known for expertise in the creation of fabulous Steampunk Ensembles, accessories, and weapons, and for running panels/teaching classes about these skills, what would you like to share about background or previous experiences that you think helped you to develop these talents in steampunk design and fabrication?

Captain Whittaker apprenticed as a leather worker and chainmailler as a teenager and young adult in the SCA. Most of the skills he uses in building his armor come from there. He just recently began apprenticing again with an armorer. Amelia started sewing doll clothes at 4 and it has been a lifelong passion. We have quite a few incredibly talented artists. Amarante, Lulu, Captain Delacru and of course, Jonsey, have backgrounds in art. Mostly, though, all it takes is a desire to learn and create, and a willingness to practice and keep trying.

7. When and with what basic plan did you decide to make character acting in a public setting a significant part of your steampunk existence? Or if you do not do character acting much at this point, what other roles do you most often perform in the crew.

We have always wanted to have character play an important part in our crew. The biggest issue you are going to have, and we did have, in performing original characters is that it takes time for people to get to know your characters. We generally don’t have an hour or two with people in seats to build character and storyline. So, you have to do the leg work in advance and have distinctive appearance cues to help people enter that suspended reality.

The full article can be found at http://conventionfansblog.com

Learn more about Airship Isabella. 

–Ramon Fagan, http://artofsteampunk.blogspot.com

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