When a Steampunk friend clued me into a call by Kevin Steil of Airship Ambassador for participants in his February 2014 “Steampunk: Hands Around the World,” I was more than happy to think of a number of fun things to do…
Today, we’re talking about INSPIRATION! Ideas you can get from a place… a window… a doorway… a dark path… a once-proud stone visage of a building.
I’ve asked a number of Steampunks from around the world to send me pictures of Victorian Era locations that they are familiar with. They’ll let us know what the buildings were used for in the Era of Steam and then give us a quick idea or two of what that building could be when used to inspire a fertile Steampunk imagination!
So, read… think… imagine!
FIRST up – Dover Whitecliff and I share a common past… our school! We were both graduates of Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States… here, she thinks about the oldest existing building on campus, Old School Hall.
Next, Emma Jane Holloway brings us images of a Castle –
Amy DeClerck sends us an image of a Victorian Era Crematorium-
Marcus R Gilman brings us a dangerous hideout idea near Munich –
Krista Cagg has a loverly-like Victorian home in her area…
Patxi Larrabe tells us about a steam furnace in Basque Country –
Our participants –
Dover Whitecliff : Dover Whitecliff was born in the shadow of Fujiyama, raised in the shadow of Olomana, and lives where she can see the shadow of Mt. Shasta if she squints and it’s a really clear day. She is a wild and woolly wordsmith, a blogger, an analyst, and a jack-of-all-trades, but mostly a writer. She has been writing since the ripe old age of nine and won her first ten-speed as a fifth grader with a first place entry into Honolulu Advertiser’s “Why Hawaii Isn’t Big Enough For Litter” contest. Dover currently spends her free time writing the stories inside her that are fighting to get out, and playing Rock Band with her husband, big brother, little brother, and consigliere, all of whom will graciously allow her to touch the instruments on occasion, but mostly just hand off the microphone so she can sing. She lives in Sacramento, California with her very patient and wonderful husband and several hundred bears.
Emma Jane Holloway : the author of The Baskerville Affair trilogy, a Steampunk fantasy involving a prince, automatons, sorcerers, sundry pirates, talking mice, a large mechanical caterpillar, castles, ballrooms and murder. And, yes, Holmes and Watson take their turn upon the stage. *photo credit: Devin Card Photography*
Visit her web page: http://www.emmajaneholloway.com/Look here for free short stories and excerpts from the Baskerville Affair universe
Like her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/EmmaJaneHollowayAuthor
Like her on Twitter https://twitter.com/EmmaJHolloway
Amy DeClerck: Born in the mountains of NC. She currently resides near the Mighty Mississippi with her husband, two daughters , two dogs and a cat. She is a dialysis technician by day and a romance author by night.
For more information about Amy, go to her Facebook Page
Marcus R Gilman: A lifelong zeppelin aficionado with a history of dabbling in the Cult of Cthulhu. He discovered the steampunk scene in 2008 and has been active there ever since. His primary steampunk activity is curating his blog (Daily Steampunk) but he has also contributed to the Gatehouse Gazette, El Investigador and others and has been involved in a few other projects along the way, most notably EuroSteamCon.
You can find out more about Marcus with these links
www.daily-steampunk.com, www.eurosteamcon.com
Krista Cagg: Age is irrelevant. It’s all subjective. Let’s just say that Krista Cagg is old enough to know better, but young enough to not care. She lives in northern central Pennsylvania with Pete the Wonder Wiener, her husband and her mother. Having spent most of two decades living in the deep south, she has come to appreciate a good snowfall and a decided lack of large spiders. She is typically neck deep in multiple writing projects which isn’t as impressive as it seems since she is rather short. Given the opportunity, she prefers a little horror in her steampunk.
Connect with Krista using these links
https://www.facebook.com/kristacagg
Twitter: @kristacagg
amazon.com/author/kristacagg
Patxi Larrabe: From Berango in the Basque Country of Spain, Patxi contributes to the Steampunk magazine “El Investigador.” A member of the independent artistic collective “Mercenarios de DIOS,” he is also a founding member of the Basque Steampunk community, Basque Steampunk. He would like to thank Ivan González from “Up! Eventos” and also member of BasqueSteampunk for the “AHV – Altos Hornos de Vizcaya” pictures and information.
From Ray Dean: Howdy from Hawai’i, folks! I’ve been a guest blogger on Steamed! on several occasions, but thanks to Suzanne who gave me the opportunity to do this on a regular basis. So the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month you will be subjected… err… entertained(?) by my blog posts… YOU WILL BE ENTERTAINED, I said… *cough*
Anywho… A hui hou (Until we meet again) – Ray Dean – www.raydean.net – My Ethereality
So now that you’ve taken a trip around the world with us… what locations can you think of that would inspire a Steampunk setting worthy of a story? I’ll be posting MORE places in my next post February 21, 2014 – so email me raydean219@gmail.com if you’d like to participate!! Just look at all the empty spaces on the map!
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February is a party month, a birthday party month that is for many great 19th century writers, scientist, and innovators, who had a huge impact on the Victorian era and beyond:
Levi Strauss, inventor of blue jeans, February 26, 1829
And in Houston, Texas on February 8th we partied like it was 1849, celebrating the 165th birthday of the Father of Science Fiction, 
1865 – From the Earth to the Moon -De la terre à la lune
1879 – Tribulations of a Chinaman in China – Les Tribulations d’un chinois en Chine
STEAMED! 