Posted in Winners!, tagged Winners! on September 12, 2011| 4 Comments »
I know, I know have some winners to announce. Thank you for your patience. Things have been a wee bit busy around here.
First, the signed copy of Those Who Went Remain There Still by Cherrie Priest goes to:
Cindy Holby
Next, we have the signed copy of Boneshaker by Cherrie Priest
Sara Ann Denson
Finally, Enclave by Ann Aguirre
OctoberLace
Thanks again for making our contests a success. Winners, please email me at suzannelazear(@) hotmail to claim your prize.
Posted in Winners!, tagged news, Steampunk, Winners! on August 29, 2011| 4 Comments »
So, my Innocent Darkness edits have been turned in. Woot!
In case anyone’s interested, I’m teaching a month-long workshop on writing YA in September. Details here. (next online Steampunk workshop will be in November, we had great fun last time and many people were doing this in conjunction with NaNoWriMo).
I have some WINNERS to announce for our Christmas in August giveaways.
The winner of THE IRON THORN is:
JANE GEORGE
The winner of DRACULA MY LOVE is:
LUCIE SIMONE
Congrats! Please contact me to claim your prize.
Didn’t win? We still have three books up for grabs!
Posted in Book Monday, Books, Books, reviews, Steampunk, Winners!, tagged book monday, book reviews, steampunk books, the iron thorn on August 15, 2011| 23 Comments »
Christmas in August continues with a new giveaway. Today we’re featuring Caitlin Kittredge’s The Iron Thorn and one lucky commenter will win a copy!
But first, the winner of the Yoda ornament…
Melina from Reading Vacation
Congrats, Melina!
Now, onto today’s feature.
The Iron Thorn
Book 1, Iron Codex
By Caitlin Kittredge
(Copy provided by Delacorte)
From Goodreads:
In the city of Lovecraft, the Proctors rule and a great Engine turns below the streets, grinding any resistance to their order to dust. The necrovirus is blamed for Lovecraft’s epidemic of madness, for the strange and eldritch creatures that roam the streets after dark, and for everything that the city leaders deem Heretical—born of the belief in magic and witchcraft. And for Aoife Grayson, her time is growing shorter by the day.
Aoife Grayson’s family is unique, in the worst way—every one of them, including her mother and her elder brother Conrad, has gone mad on their 16th birthday. And now, a ward of the state, and one of the only female students at the School of Engines, she is trying to pretend that her fate can be different.
I was very excited to read this book, because a) it’s steampunk, b) the MC’s name is Aoife, c) enter the Fae.
Yep.
The Iron Thorn is set in Lovecraft, MA. But her world is a completely re-imagined version of the US, a dim and grim world that’s been ravaged by a virus purported to cause madness and mutation. The citizens live in fear of the virus, strange creatures, and of the government. Any thought deemed illogical is heretical, including fairy stories, magic, and witchcraft. Heretics are burned–or worse. The city of Lovecraft is so gritty, the fear the citizens live in so intense, it leaves me wanting to take a shower then cower under the blankets.
Because this world is so very different from ours, Kittredge has to do an incredible amount of worldbuilding to set the stage. She does an amazing job of weaving her world–from the explanations of the machines to the social structure of her world–without being intrusive.
As much as I’m intrigued by Aiofe’s life–her being a student at the school of engines, her relationship with her mother who’s been deemed insane, and the orderly fear-driven life she leads in Lovecraft, for me the story really picks up when she and her best friend Cal flee Lovecraft to aid her brother.
From the moment she and Cal go to find a guide to smuggle them out of the city, she starts to realize how different the world is from what their leaders want them to believe. The further she, Cal, and their guide Dean get from the city the more she’s pulled into the “heretical” world of magic and witchcraft her city’s government is so against.
This book is full of surprising twists and turns. Aiofe is a great MC-strong, smart, and open-minded yet unwavering in her core beliefs. Cal, her best friend, is very much the opposite for much of the book–a hard-core rule follower and believer in what the city’s leader’s tell her. But Cal does go with her on her dangerous adventure outside the city and comes through when she needs him most. Dean, their guide, is a great foil for Cal. Dean is a bit shady and operates outside the rules.
Kittredge does a great job of seamlessly interweaving magic and the Fae with the stark grimness of her Steampunk world.
I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next.
Want to win my copy? Leave a comment below. Open internationally. Contest closes August 28th at 11:59 PM.
—
Suzanne Lazear writes steampunk tales for teens. Her debut novel, Innocent Darkness, book one of The Aether Chronicles, releases August 2012 from Flux.
Posted in Corsets, costumes, fashion, how-to, Steampunk, Winners!, tagged building a steampunk outfit, steampunk fashion, suzanne lazear. DIY steampunk fashion, Winners! on May 9, 2011| 9 Comments »
I hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day. We’re holding a Steampunk writing challenge over on the Writing Steampunk Yahoo group during the month of May. There’s still time to join in–make sure to say you found us on Steamed.
We have quite a few prizes to give away today and if you don’t win we still have a contest going for Steampunk pocket watch.
First off we have a The Twisted Take of Stormy Gale mug and some romance trading cards from Christine Bell.
Next we have the prize pack of Steampunk e-books from Carina Press.
Finally, we have the ARC of The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross.
Congrats to our winners, please email me at suzannelazer (@) hotmail to claim your prize and thanks to all who entered. More contests will be coming.
I wanted to share how I put together some of my Steampunk outfits as I’m amassing more for the different panels and speaking engagements and such I’m starting to do. I’m not a seamstress in any way shape or form, so I tend to buy things here and there over weeks, months, or even years and put them together. Hopefully this will be some inspiration for your own Steampunk outfits. A word of warning, I lean very much towards the Steampunk princess vein and don’t have a ton of gadgets–or even goggles.
Outfit #1 — Steampunk Lite
I needed an outfit that was Steampunky, but not full on for events where I’m speaking as a Steampunk writer, but not necessarily on Steampunk.
I started with this outfit from Steampunk Threads as a base. I chose it because it was feminine and a bit old fashioned, but not specifically Victorian. It could serve as a dress for anything from a tea to a school visit and could easily be Steampunked up. For sake of time I bought this ready-made outfit, but something similar could be fashioned from thrift-store finds–or even your own closet.
Picture from Steampunkthreads.com
I added some really great boots from Clockwork Couture I already had. These boots are unfortunately out of stock, but they have other amazing styles.
photo from clockworkcouture.com
I added a hat very much like this (because you know me and hats) only there’s more green in mine.
Photo from Maritime Arts on Etsy
A pearl necklace with a little clock on it from my jewelry box added a little elegance.
I love gloves so I got these from Clockwork Couture, which go with several outfits, though I forgot to wear them when I did a panel at the Burbank Book Festival over the weekend.
Photo from clockworkcouture.com
Finally, I put it all together with a really great belt I found at Mad Girl Clothing. They’re not up on the website yet (I bought it at the Renaissance Faire). Any waist cincher or corset would probably work, though I didn’t want to go the full-on corset route for this particular outfit. I liked this belt because there’s a little pocket for a pocket watch and an additional pocket that’s just the right size for some business cards and a handful of buttons. I don’t have a picture of it by itself, but here’s the whole outfit.
So, what do you think? Subtly Steampunk? Well…perhaps the belt is a bit much but I love it. But now I want a bigger hat…
Are you building a Steampunk outfit? Where are your favorite places to find things?
Posted in bustles, Corsets, fashion, Guest Thursday, Steampunk, Victorian fashion, Victorian Life, Visiting Lolitas, Winners!, tagged Recollections, Steampunk Threads, victorian fasion, Winners! on May 5, 2011| 26 Comments »
Before we welcome today’s “Visiting Lolita” we have some winners to announce–because who doesn’t like winning stuff. First up, we have the winner of the bag ‘o books and swag from RT.
Next we have the $10 GC to Barnes and Noble or Amazon (your choice) courtesy of Steampunk Author Crista McHugh.
Congrats! Please email me at suzannelazear (@) hotmail to claim your prize. Also, if you comment on Crista McHugh, Marie Harte, Christine Bell, or Cindy Spencer Pape’s posts you’re entered to win a Carina Press Prize pack–but it ends May 8, 2011, so hurry up. You can also win a copy of Kady Cross’ “The Girl in the Steel Corset”. Elizabeth Darvill, aka “Lolita Elizabeth” is also giving away some of her books.
Today we welcome Sue McDonald, who writes about Victorian fashion in many places, including for Recollections a historical clothing company. In addition to having beautiful Victorian gear, they also have a Steampunk line, Steampunk Threads. We will be giving away a pocket watch from Steampunk Threads to one lucky commenter.
Sue McDonald has always had an interest in all things vintage and often dresses in Victorian attire, and in addition to writing and acting in short melodramas that take place in the 1800’s, she does “living history” presentations. Her adopted persona, Fannie Bashford is based upon the wife of Charles Bashford, who figured prominently in early Prescott history. Doing the research to ensure that her costumes were period-correct gave rise to the urge to share that information. She started by creating two costume guides for re-enactors and continues to write about Victorian clothing and customs. She has also written several “how to” pieces, like “How to make a Victorian-style purse”. Sue also writes articles for The Wild West Gazette, and The Bustledress Marketplace. Sue also has been writing articles and copy for Recollections. This assignment has also led her into doing research and writing articles about Steampunk attire, which is heavily influenced by Victorian style from the 1800’s.
The Victorian Heart of Steampunk Fashion
By Sue McDonald
For starters, let me say that I have been an aficionado of Steampunk since before the name was coined. I still recall watching the original CBS series Wild Wild West when I was in high school, and am now a bit horrified to discover the series aired in the mid-sixties! The character of Artemis Gordon and all of his fabulous gadgets was endlessly fascinating. I have also been a life-long fan of science fiction, so fabulous machines like those created by Jules Verne and H.G. Wells have always seemed like a reasonable possibility. It is therefore thrilling to see an entire sub-culture now moving into the spotlight of “mainstream culture” here and abroad. More recently I have become fascinated with – and immersed in – re-enactment dressing, circa the late 1800’s, which puts my current love of clothing squarely in the Victorian age. All of which leads me into this dialog about the influence of Victorian dressing upon Steampunk fashion.
It is no surprise that Victorian style would be front-and-center when you consider that Steampunk has its roots firmly embedded in a collection of science fiction books generated in the 60’s and 70’s by several authors who all used Victorian England as their setting for the stories. Just as the currently-popular Indiana Jones movies re-create a World War II setting, with the attendant clothing styles and ever-present “Axis of Evil”, the solidly Victorian backdrop of this special genre of writers set the stage – so to speak – for an alternate world that carries with it all of the romance we attribute to the Victorians, coupled with new possibilities for adventure and discovery.
And the clothes! Let’s face it ladies and gents, dressing in Victorian attire does transport us to a time when women were ever-so-feminine in their corsets, bustles, frills, and petticoats. Gentlemen are somehow at once more masculine and more chivalrous in their frock coats, gloves, and silk hats. I believe the simple act of putting these garments on changes our brain chemistry so that we become somehow altered from just a few hours before when we were wearing jeans and tee shirts. But the hallmark of Steampunk fashion is the ways in which the basic Victorian style has been expanded to include the various forms of equipage that might have been conceived by a Victorian mind. Victorians were fascinated by every new invention, and were always quick to adopt the “most modern” technology at their disposal. I have to believe they would heartily approve of ladies and gents who are equally prepared for a dirigible ride, a journey to the center of the earth, or a gala ball. One can hardly raise an eyebrow at a pair of brass goggles equipped with an eye loupe for examining a heretofore-undiscovered find, or a clockwork-mechanical arm which endows its wearer with special powers.
From previous blogs I have seen that putting together a Steampunk outfit is at once challenging and exciting. On the one hand each outfit is supposed to be unique to the individual. Mass-production is contrary to the Steampunk sense of uniqueness. On the other hand Victorian clothing cannot be obtained from the local mall. In addition most of us do not have the skills or the inclination to find vintage patterns from which to fashion our garments. Having them custom-made is usually beyond our pocketbooks – having invested most of our money in the afore-mentioned accessories. However, there are ways to obtain suitable garments and make them your own. There are on-line shops that specialize in Victorian-styled clothing, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Steampunk Threads and Recollections. Both sites present clothing that is solidly in the Victorian style. There are also pattern companies who have thankfully re-drafted many Victorian patterns to fit modern bodies. They have also improved greatly on the instructions that come with a vintage pattern. My personal favorite is Truly Victorian. This site has the added bonus of specifying when each pattern was popular, so if you are shooting for an outfit for a particular timeframe, you can make it happen.
In closing, I would leave you with a piece of advice that I have found invaluable when dressing in period attire. That would be to go online and browse as many Victorian sites as you can, paying careful attention to the clothing shape and details. (By Victorian, I mean mid-to late 1800’s sites – people tend to call a large variety of things “Victorian” when in fact, they are modern items that perhaps have a Victorian influence.) Be sure to note things like ladies’ hats and jewelry, and men’s accessories; like watch fobs and how they wear their jackets – for example the bottom button of the vest is always left unbuttoned, but a shirt is always buttoned clear to the top. Soon, you will develop a ‘feel’ for what is a correct look. This will help you when you are making your own wardrobe selections, so you can avoid beginner’s mistakes.
~Sue McDonald
What’s your favorite aspect of Steampunk fashion? I have to say, I write Steampunk for the hats (and tiaras…maybe the boots).
Steampunk Threads is graciously giving away this really great pocket watch to one lucky poster. North American only please.
Posted in Authors, Books, Books, Steampunk, Steampunkapalooza, Victorian Life, Winners!, women, Writing, tagged leanna renee hieber, magic most foul, non-traditional heroines, steampunk authors, steampunk books, steampunk women, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, Writing on April 21, 2011| 15 Comments »
First we have three copies of Mike Resnick’s The Buntline Special to give away.
Congrats! Please email me at suzannelazear (@) hotmail to claim your prize.
Didn’t win? We still have books by Tim Akers, or Ren Cummins up for grabs and a prize pack of goodies including a copy of Blameless and a fan autographed by Gail Carriger.
Today we welcome back one of my favorite people, author Leanna Renee Hieber. She’s also giving away a copy of Strangely Beautiful 1 or 2 (your choice).
Award winning, bestselling author, actress and playwright Leanna Renee Hieber grew up in rural Ohio inventing ghost stories. She graduated with a BFA in Theatre from Miami University, a focus in the Victorian Era and a scholarship to study in London. She has adapted works of 19th Century literature for the stage and her one-act plays such as Favorite Lady have been produced around the country. Her novella Dark Nest won the 2009 Prism Award for excellence in Futuristic / Fantasy / Paranormal Romance. Her debut novel, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, first in her Strangely Beautiful series of ghostly, Gothic Victorian Fantasy novels, landed on Barnes & Noble’s mass market and overall Bestseller Lists. The book was named a favourite of 2009 by 14 genre book review blogs including Publishers Weekly’s Beyond Her Book and Smart Bitches/Dear Author’s book tournament, won two 2010 Prism Awards for Best Fantasy and Best First Book, the 2010 Orange County Book Buyer’s Best Award (Young Adult category) and option rights have been sold for adaptation into musical theatre production currently in development with a team that includes talent that brought Tony Award winning shows like Memphis, Wicked, Tarzan and more to the Broadway stage. In November 2011 Leanna launches Magic Most Foul, a new Gothic Paranormal Young Adult series with Sourcebooks Teen Fire.
My Non-Traditional Heroines: The Joys and Struggles of Being Different
by Leanna Renee Hieber
Firstly, thanks Suzanne, I am thrilled to return to this festival of awesome.
This topic is one of the most near-and-dear subjects to me and to the books I write, it also a subject I’ll be presenting several times this year at conventions and conferences. It’s also a topic that goes really well with the themes of Steampunk.
One of the great values of this genre: You get two fantasy worlds in one; a historical setting/world we do not live in yet have some sort of touchstone to, and yet different from what you’d see in a textbook or on the History channel. That being the punk part – and I think that’s what draws people to alternate history, taking known historical facts and asking ‘what if’ – it’s a wonderful challenge to the imagination that so many wonderful writers have risen to. Disclaimer: In regards to my work, I have to be careful saying Steampunk straight up, though I’m happily active in the Steampunk community, my books are technically Gaslight Fantasy as I’ve no tech or gadgets in my story; i.e my ghost-busting Guard uses holy fire, not contraptions. For me, what I love most about Neo-Victorianism and Gaslight Fantasy is re-envisioning it, but yet still putting my characters in a ‘realistic’ Victorian world. There were so many issues and injustices inherent in the Victorian age, and I’m not interested in writing books where those conflicts are not present, but rather how my characters must deal with them. And while we have some ‘advances’ in our society, we can’t cast stones today. There are just as many present injustices and social issues taking different sheeps’ clothing. But by presenting a fantasy world – we can present an enjoyable rather than didactic way of examining what we find troubling, interesting, or needing fixing about the past or present society. We can also challenge the normative.
The thing that draws me time and again to storytelling are tales of underdogs and outcasts struggling to find a community, working to find a place where they belong and where their particular gifts and talents are valued. The heroines of my two series, The Strangely Beautiful and forthcoming Magic Most Foul series are examples of this.
About Miss Percy Parker:
18 years old, Miss Percy is entirely without colour. She surpasses pale, she’s without colour. She looks, for all intents and purposes, exactly like a ghost. She can see and speak with ghosts, and feels often as if she belongs more with them than the mortal world. She’s lived clinging to the belief that her abilities and crippling visions mean she’s fated for something specific, and the series is about finding out that purpose,.
Speaking just about Percy, solely, as a character, I suppose every author hopes her heroine will be loved and adored, so when my awkward, timid Percy is loved, I rejoice more than anyone. But I’ve also discovered that my books are not for everyone, not everyone is ready to go on the ride that the Gothic novel style requires, nor is everyone ready for Miss Percy. Perhaps they think she should be stronger. If you were told you were a freak every day, if people shuddered and started when they looked at you, would you feel very confident? You might, like she did, think yourself the freak the world thinks you are. It’s a brave act for her to face the morning every day, and to interact with the world at all. Still, I’d never write a story where a character simply stays in the uncomfortable place they’re in, and Percy goes on quite the growth journey in the series. And it’s growth she as a character and we as readers can take joy and pride in.
Some aren’t exactly sure what to do with Percy, how to think about her. Far from typical, she looks shockingly different than your average person. I’m not sure people quite understand that on a visceral level, even though I describe her often. One reviewer who rated the book poorly mentioned that she didn’t understand how a pale girl with blue eyes would be treated poorly in Victorian England – evidently she simply did not internalize how different Percy is and what that truly, realistically would have meant for her. Still, I want her not to be criticized for her difference but accepted regardless. I’m so grateful so many readers do just that; accept her and champion her. But for those who may wonder, it’s why I have the picture of her on my website, for reference. Personally, I think she’s beautiful but in no way could someone say she’s ordinary. This is a distancing quality for some readers; we’re used to seeing ourselves as the protagonist in some ways, relating to her, rooting for her on a deeply personal and relatable level. I think her sweet nature, her awkwardness and passion is something everyone can relate to, but visually it’s hard to capture that same relational quality. And yet, I think we should challenge ourselves to relate.
She is the woman she is because she came into my mind just as she was, and I was captivated by her from the start. I felt presented with an exciting opportunity to make us all think about beauty and its limitations through the character of Percy, through the eyes of us; the beholders. The Victorians had a very strict notion of beauty, and it was limiting to women. Present day is no exception. Yet there are plenty of ways to go against the grain. I’m a Goth girl, I think a lot of things are beautiful that other people might think are strange, and I find it a freeing and envigorating way of life. It may be a bit lofty, but I’d love for the character of Percy in the Strangely Beautiful series to encourage us to redefine beauty, as the narrow definition of beauty is so limiting from past to present, it is confining and damaging to so many people in the world. Let’s find something we might once have dismissed as strange, in fact, beautiful.
Miss Natalie Stewart:
17 years old, Natalie lives in 1880New York City, lost her mother as a child, the trauma of which led her to suffer from Selective Mutism, a condition where she does not speak. She communicates through a mixture of Sign Language and note-writing. The story is told through her diary.
I’ve always been interested in giving a voice to the voice-less. So much of Victorian society muffled most women, speaking for them and speaking about them, never did the society really interact with them and their best interests. The society stifled their sexuality, their intellect, their abilities and their rights, across all classes, and far worse treatment was offered to non-white races.
I wanted to think about a girl who was still subject to the rules of this muffling society having to exist further muffled. With a sharp wit, a fiercely intelligent mind, but this frustrating condition that wasn’t one that she could simply ‘snap out of’, Natalie is additionally oppressed. Though the book does see her speaking by the end, thanks to supernatural circumstances, it isn’t an ‘easy out’ for Natalie. She has many social and physical constraints to overcome as she struggles to regain something she lost. Yet, like Percy, there is such pride in overcoming her battles, all the more fierce pride for having been written off as an ‘unfortunate’ and pigeonholed into nothingness, to then rise to heroic heights no one would have expected of her. In my world, I empower Natalie with a few awesome and open-minded helpers along the way. The reality for a girl like Natalie in that time period, though, was much less optimistic. I make Natalie aware of this so that we, the reader, may be aware of her particular advantages amidst her struggles.
I’m not interested in non-traditional heroines as novelties or plot points. I’m interested in them as people. I’m interested in all persons being able to see themselves as heroines of fiction, no matter their body type, mental type, physical type, etc.
Beauty for the freaks, a voice to the voice-less. These are my small, tiny hopes for love in a world full of difficulty and pain.
Something that I have not mentioned yet is something that must be mentioned: Multi-culturalism in our work and the work of our genre. The ‘traditional’ heroine in our Western fiction is just that, traditionally Western. I don’t personally have an example otherwise, though my upcoming Strangely Beautiful release, The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess, has an Egyptian hero and several Egyptian characters from several different religious backgrounds. For greater, ongoing discussion on the multi-cultural front as it is always an ongoing discussion, I’d like to turn you to two of my very favourite resources in all the world: Beyond Victoriana http://beyondvictoriana.com/ and Silver Goggles – http://silver-goggles.blogspot.com/ – Please do yourselves a favor and have these sites on your radar and check them often.
I’m giving away a copy of either Strangely Beautiful book 1 or 2, winner’s choice, to a random commenter chosen by the Steamed! Staff – So tell me, What about you? Please share your favourite non-traditional heroines!
~Leanna Renee Hieber
http://twitter.com/leannarenee
http://leannareneebooks.blogspot.com
The Strangely Beautiful series: The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess (A Strangely Beautiful prequel) arrives May 3 in trade and digital
The Magic Most Foul series: Darker Still (Magic Most Foul #1) arrives November 8 in trade and digital from Sourcebooks Fire
Posted in Authors, culture, Entertainments, fashion, Fictional Inventions, Fun, gadgets, Machines, mad scientist, rayguns, Steampunk, Steampunk Gadgets, Steampunk technology, Steampunkapalooza, Toys, Winners!, tagged Acorss the Universe, authors, Beth Revis, steampunk fun, steampunk lists, steampunkapalooza2011 on April 20, 2011| 11 Comments »
First, I’d like to announce the winners of George Mann’s Ghosts of Manhattan:
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…
Posted in multicultural, Steampunk, Steampunkapalooza, Winners!, Writing, tagged Jha Goh, multicultural steampunk, silver goggles, Steampunk, Steampunk Postcoloniality, Steampunkapalooza 2011, Writing on April 19, 2011| 100 Comments »
Before we get to today’s guest I have some winners to announce.
First we have the bag ‘o swag and books from RT.
Next we have the copy of Colleen Gleason’s The Vampire Dimitri.
We have two sets of The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack and The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man by Mark Hodder.
Finally, we have four copies of Andrew Mayer’s The Falling Machine.
Congrats on winning. Please email me at suzannelazear(@) hotmail to claim your prize.
Didn’t win? You can still win books by George Mann, 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’re going to touch on a very important subject. A lot of people think “Steampunk” means Victorian. But that’s not true, Steampunk doesn’t need to feel or be Victorian at all. The great thing about Steampunk is that you can include people from all cultures and walks of life, Steampunk stories can be in any genre, any place.
But I’m not the best person to talk about this, so I’ve asked Jha Goh of the blog Silver Goggles to tell us more about race and Steampunk.
Steampunk Postcoloniality
by Jha Goh
Hello, I’m Jha, and I’m a steampunk postcolonialist.
I talk about race and steampunk a lot.
I’m asked to talk about multicultural steampunk a lot too.
I’ve written about my problems with the term multiculturalism before. Namely, that I don’t think I’ve really seen it exist without a single dominant culture that overwhelms the non-dominant ones. This is not to say nobody tries (and in fact, promoting it is fairly integral to my work, so here is a site you should read!)
So today, I don’t really want to talk about those things. I’m a steampunk postcolonialist, and I want to talk about steampunk postcoloniality.
Steampunk, from the outside, looks like it’s all about Empire, you know? Charles Stross, famous very important science fiction literary figure, had a rant about it, which I think really points to two things: the ignorance of someone who’s not involved deeply in steampunk, and the impression steampunk is giving outsiders.
The first is easily ignored, or would be, if it wasn’t for the fact that shit like Stross’ rant makes us look bad, no matter how into steampunk we are. Steampunks glorify Empire, and Stross has the clout to spread this impression far and wide. We should be concerned about this.
We should also be concerned about the fact that this impression is one of the first that strangers and newcomers to steampunk get. Ask any one steampunk to define the genre, what do we get? Very often, the following words are part of the phrase: “19th century,” “Victorian,” “England.”
And there are, of course, purists who genuinely believe this. Amal El-Mohtar, whose story To Follow the Waves appears in Steam-Powered: Lesbian Steampunk Stories, received the criticism that her story wasn’t steampunk. Why? Because it’s not Victorian. (It’s set in a technofantastic Syria.)
Terminology matters. As much as I believe in being able to pin down specific boundaries and awesome easy terms, I also believe that many steampunks do not have an inclusive language that acknowledges the breadth and depth of steampunk—unless we’re talking about how far back our influences go (and many will cheerfully admit 19th century science fiction to the term, despite the fact that steampunk is a particularly modern concept).
And the current popular terminology used—“19th century,” “Victorian,” “England,”—signifies a very particular kind of steampunk: the steampunk associated with the glorification of Empire, a time of ruthless colonization, great poverty, gender inequality and burgeoning industrialization. At least once a month I see a comment that points to the imperialism that steampunk seemingly celebrates—it matters that this is what people immediately see when they come to steampunk. I don’t blame them. I resisted participating in steampunk for a long time too, because I just didn’t see a place for myself in it.
The work of postcolonialism is to examine the effects of colonialism, even after dominant powers have supposedly seceded. Through this work, we bring to light how colonialism has been embedded in the psyche of colonized peoples, so ubiquitous we don’t notice. We don’t notice when a developing country lionizes a First World country, passing it off merely as natural that of course, one would idolize the higher standard of living present in a First World country, without questioning where these standards come from, and why we think it’s a good idea to pursue those ideals in the first place.
My work in steampunk is two-fold: examine the effects of colonialism as it appears in steampunk, particularly white Eurocentric steampunk, and find little rupture points for those of us who have cultural histories of colonization.
Because, make no mistake, colonialism is present everywhere in steampunk: it’s when you go costuming and you find mostly English fashions with corsets and bustles; it’s when you go to a convention and you find mostly white people; it’s when you find that non-Euro steampunk is being performed by white people. Colonialism is present in the fact that the majority of high-profile names are white, or present as white.
Colonialism is also present in the fact that, when a person of color wants to represent his/her/hir own culture, the representation is blithely, thoughtlessly thrown up in accordance to and reinforcing the stereotypes that have permeated our understandings of racialized groups for so long. Commodification of your own culture does not get any more special meaning just because you’re a minority doing it, if it’s done for white people’s consumption.
Colonialism is also present in the fact that, when another person of color tries to do something more original, more true to one’s own culture, a white person can say, “actually, you’re getting it wrong,” without an inkling that this is microaggressively racist, ignoring the pain that comes along with knowing that one’s own culture is so devalued, one cannot do anything original with it without a powerful outsider saying, “you got your own culture wrong”.
Colonialism is present in the minds of people who will think, while reading this post, “you have a chip on your shoulder, dwelling on the past like that.” It’s also present in the minds of people who genuinely believe colonialism was a good thing, because it brought civilization (because, after all, there is only one standard by which to measure civilization).
Colonialism is present in the fact that I didn’t use to think like this, and that I wrote predominantly white people in my fantasy and science fiction since it just never occurred to me to write people who look like me (except in wuxia settings).
Nobody escapes it just because they’ve decided to adopt a fictional persona of a past that never was. That some folks think that so is magical thinking. It’s self-serving and delusional. Also, it hurts us who don’t get to leave behind our skin colour and other such ubiquitous problems with our personas.
I don’t expect steampunks to constantly be thinking about this issue while going about their fun. I certainly don’t myself. This shit is depressing. But I do expect more thoughtfulness about this issue. I want to see fewer dichotomies about how “other cultures are so much more interesting than mine” (I know you’re trying to be positive, but Other-ing is still Other-ing) and less explorers of the uncharted wilds (because, really, whose uncharted wilds are we talking about?). I want to see more panels and talks about historical landmarks like the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Opium Wars and the Sepoy Mutiny and the genocide of indigenous peoples that highlight the conflicts that Empire imperialism to the world. I want to see more people whose lived realities are affected by such events invited to speak and listened to.
More than that, I do not want anyone to stop there.
Thanks, Suzanna Lazear, for letting me have this space.
~Jha Goh
Posted in Book Monday, Books, Fantastic February, reviews, Winners!, tagged book monday, book reviews, Fantastic February, Kim Harrison, Pale Demon on February 14, 2011| 14 Comments »
First off, I’d like to announce the winner of the copy of Anya Bast’s Raven’s Quest.
Drumroll please..
Renee, please contact me at suzannelazear (@) hotmail to claim your prize.
Fantastic February continues with a review of the next installment of an amazing Urban Fantasy series.
The Hollows book 9
By Kim Harrison
Releases February 22, 2011
ARC provided by Harper Eos
I am a huge fan of the Hollows and the Rachel Morgan books. I’m a regular “stalker” of her blog and once blogged for a year so I could attend a conference she was signing at. So, when I was lucky enough to get an ARC Pale Demon, the latest Hollows book I was squeeing like a rabid fangirl.
Rachel Morgan has three days to get to the Witches Conference in San Francisco to get her shunning rescinded or she’s going to be stuck in the Ever After with Al. Denied boarding her airplane, her only chance of getting there in time involves road-tripping it with the one and only Trent Kalamack, who also needs to get to the West Coast urgently, but won’t tell Rachel why. Trent, Rachel, Ivy, and Jenks set off on a 2,300 mile trip and encounter assassins, coven members, and a daywalking demon that’s interested in Rachel. Not only do they need to make it to the West Coast on time, but they need to make it there alive.
In some series there’s sometimes a “saggy” book or two. But these books are consistently good and this one is no exception. Pale Demon is a great romp through this alternate version of America where humans are the minority. I really enjoyed the little details of the roadtrip, such as them being afraid of taking certainly highways. It was nice to “see” what America is like beyond the Hollows and it was interesting hearing little details about how small towns had virtually disappeared and wide stretches of highway no one ventured down.
It would have been fun to encounter a ghost town or see exactly what lurked on someone of those highways, but their trip is far from boring. Harrison’s attention to detail really adds so much depth and color to the story. We’re using to what a pixy wearing the color red means in the Hallows, but we find that it means something else west of the Mississippi. Vegas has interesting rules for Vampires. Rachel dines at a crazy Demon restaurant that uses ex-coven members as wait staff.
Harrison has some great one-liners. Some of my favorites are: “God save me from businessmen with too much money and not enough to do” and “It didn’t matter if a charm was white, black, or polka dotted with silver sparkles.”
This is a fast-paced book with twists and turns at every corner. Trent is still Trent, and true to his character makes some interesting choices. Pierce, too, returns. The day-walking demon adds interesting layers to the demon-elf war. Just when you think the story could be over it takes a turn and gets even better. Despite things looking bleak, Rachel comes through in the end—and so do her friends. Though where we get the usual “happily-for-now-sort-of” ending that you usually get in a Hollows book, this one comes at a high price and a few things are bittersweet.
I really enjoyed this book and found it a gripping, but quick, read. A lot of things are tied up, but other avenues are opened to new, but different paths for everyone’s favorite sassy witch bounty hunter. I get the feeling that several eras have ended for Rachel and she’ll be moving away from some things and on to others, which is good and a little sad at the same time.
Still, I will be waiting impatiently for Book Ten to see what new direction Harrison takes the series and what trouble Rachel finds next.
But I wonder, will we ever find out what the blue butterflies mean?
Posted in culture, Fun, Steampunk, Winners!, tagged steampunk fun, suzanne lazear, you know you're steampunk when, you might be steampunk when on August 30, 2010| 4 Comments »
Okay, before I bring you this week’s post I have the winner of the Gear Ring from Kinekt. And the winner is…
~drum roll please~
*~*~*gabby sullivan*~*~*
Gabby, please email me at suzannelazear (@) hotmail and I’ll tell you how to claim your prize. Congrats!
You just might be Steampunk when…
What are your suggestions?
Posted in Authors, Books, Contest, Steampunk, Winners!, Writing, tagged Innocent Darkness, Steampunk, steampunk books, steampunk movies, suzanne lazear, The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, Winners!, Writing, young adult books on May 10, 2010| 5 Comments »
Color me embarrassed, but I forgot to announce some winners.
…drum roll please…
~*~*~COUNT JASON, DAYLE, and THERESA~*~*~
Congratulations, you’ve all won a copy of Steampunk Tales Magazine. Please contact me at suzannelazear (@) hotmail to claim your prize.
I have a few more copies to give away, so if you want a copy of issue 6 of Steampunk Tales let me know in the comment box and I’ll give them away until they’re gone.
I also have some amazing news. My Steampunk dark fairytale for young adults, Innocent Darkness, has sold. It’ll be published by the awesome folks at Flux and right now is slated to hit the shelves in the first half of 2012. The whole crazy tale of how I managed to sell a book and land an agent is here if you care to read it. Nevertheless, it’s very exciting to me. 2012 seems so far away, but I’m sure it’ll pass by in a blink.
Now, this is a movie I’d like to see, even if it’s in French. It’s deliciously Streampunk and based on an old comic book.
Have a great week everyone, and please keep those guest suggestions coming!
STEAMED! 