First off, the winner of the book CUTTLEFISH is:
Widdershins
If you enjoy reading steampunk, you’ve probably read Mark Hodder (Burton and Swinburne series).
His new book A Red Sun Also Rises which releases in December 2012 from PYR is independent of the Burton and Swinburne books, but is just as fascinating and creative.
This is a tale exploring good and evil and how nothing (or anyone) is as it seems. Aiden Fleischer is a bookish priest and Clarissa an outcast hunchback who are transported to an alien world. There they encounter the Yatsil, a supposedly peaceful race of mimics. Then the red sun rises, bringing with it the forces of destruction.
Hodder’s twisted take on an alien version of Victorian London is vivid and imaginative, while the psychological twists and turns push the genre with amazing results.
But don’t take my word for it. PYR will graciously give away three ARCS of A Red Sun Also Rises to give away (North American only) and I’ll give away my own ARC to an international winner. Contest closes October 7th at 11:59 PM PST.
If you lived on an alien world that could shape itself to any place in any time, which would you chose and why?
STEAMED! 
Ya know, that is a really tough question. If it doesn’t have to be a reality based place and time, then I would probably pick someplace magical. Hogwarts, Narnia, or the world of InkHeart. If it does have to be reality based, then maybe Ancient Egypt. I would love to see it all in reality, but I’m not sure that I would want to live there full time. Honestly, I could say that about any era in human history because they all come with their massive downfalls. Great giveaway! Thanks for doing it!
It would be fascinating to see the true Mayan culture, as well as many other nations and societies in the pre-Columbian Americas. Like Lindsay Mead though, I don’t know if I would like to be there full time though. If we could change at will, perhaps I could set up a rotation through various points through human history to experience them all.
Heavens to Murgatriod! I won! Thank you Suzanne . . . so … erm… what do I do next?
As for this question? Which time? … Perhaps right back to when we were sorting out who was going to be the head bipedal mamallian sentient species on the planet. I’d be so tempted to meddle. I wonder what sort of world we’d have now if they all survived?
I think I would enjoy England during the early 1800s. I would love to see a ball in full swing.
This is one is truly a difficult question. There are so many different time periods I would enjoy experiencing. Even non-reality based places would be a joy. I think it would be quite interesting to experience life in Disc-world or Dune.
I would like to see Pandora, or Westworld, the futuristic movie with Yul Brynner!
laurathomas61(at)att(dot)net
As amazing as it would be to see another time and place in our history, or one of the fantastic invented worlds out of literature, practical considerations say I’d rather stay right here. I’m a little too fond of education and internet, books, clean water, indoor plumbing, etc.
I am guessing that it would be cheating to ask the alien world to become “The entire Doctor Who series” so I’ll go for the 1920s. Since I have a powerful, alien planet willing to indulge me, I’d also request a few anachronisms: could we move up the use of penicillin by a couple years, delete the market crash and replace all the smoking with say, extra champagne? As for why, in terms of the social sciences, I don’t think we’ve seen a period quite so rich in new ideas since.