I’m kind of jumping on Lolita Seleste Delaney’s genre-mashing bandwagon here. I’ve been hanging out at a new steampunk group on The Consolidated Organization of General Steampunk Writers on Facebook this week and the question came up, “How much magic/paranormal do you like in your steampunk?” The same question came up last Friday on Twitter during #steampunkchat, so it seems to be weighing heavily on people’s minds.
This is a question I’ve thought about a lot since I started writing the Gaslight Chronicles, which are pretty close to a 50/50 blend of steampunk and gaslamp fantasy, along with a hefty dose of romance. I’ve had some readers complain its not steampunk, since there are werewolves and vampyres, while some historical romance or fantasy readers get confused when the tech exceeds what was actually available in the mid-1800s or the social structure is a bit more…evolved. As author Richard Asplund, Jr. so brilliantly put it, it’s like the Reese’s Argument: “You got your fantasy in my steampunk,” vs. “You got your steampunk in my fantasy.” That seems to perfectly sum up the debate.
Me? I’ve always been of the “throw it all in and shake it up” variety when it comes to genres. Before I wrote gaslamp/steampunk/fantasy romance, I was writing paranormal/fantasy/suspense/sf romance. For me, fiction is fiction, and there aren’t any hard and fast lines. Well, I do have a thing about happy endings, but that’s about it. I’ve never had the slightest qualms about mashing up fantasy and tech. I think that makes things more fun. You never know what to expect.
It turns out, though, that there ARE people, readers and authors, who do have very definitive opinions on just how much hocus-pocus ought to be allowed in steampunk. Others consider steampunk more of an aesthetic, and anything with the right “feel” can be considered steampunk, not just tech-only alternate history. One thing I would suggest to other authors–and I say this as both a reader and writer of spec fic–is whatever you decide, make sure your world is internally consistent. In other words, have your magical system grounded in some sort of science or folklore and have your divergence points for your advance technology clearly delineated. If the two flow together for you as the author, odds are they will for the reader.
I’m curious to know what you think. I’m offering a download of your choice of my steampunk/fantasy mash-up books to one random commenter.
STEAMED! 
“I’ve always been of the “throw it all in and shake it up” variety when it comes to genres. … You never know what to expect.”
Hear, hear! If you can have steam-powered computers in 1870 you can have vampires and werewolves. It’s all about stretching the imagination!
I am definitely with you on the ‘shake it up and see what happens’. All of my writing has some element of speculative fiction, otherwise it’s whatever works for the story/world/idea. My first introduction to steampunk (even though I didn’t know what it was at the time) was anime that mixed fantasy and steam-driven technology, so I guess I never got the idea of steampunk being something separate. My friends who are far more involved in steampunk communities than I am agree.
My Steampunk work in progress includes a shaman whose powers will be an important part of the character’s success. It works in my story because you can’t separate shamans and shamanism from Mongolian culture. Trying not to include a shaman character would actually be damaging to the coherence of the story. Granted, I could have had any shamans be side characters or minor notes. Maybe that would annoy the purists less. But I can’t say I care much about what purists think. They can always read something else.
I agree it is a feel more than a checklist of include and not include, allowing for a wide range of elements from multiple genres.
I like my steampunk varied, a mix up of genres. Then again I’ve written traditional steampunk myself, with elements of technological advancement not seen at the time. Steampunk is a beautiful genre, you should be able to bend it However you want.
I’m a die hard suspense/mystery person and just finished a suspense that had a paranormal/magical/futuristic twist. Wasn’t sure if I could wrap my black and white brain around it but I loved it. So mix it up, but for some of us make it a little mix. I need baby steps when I step out of my box.
Lynda