Gail Carriger – Book Signing for Prudence

Gail Carriger made a book tour stop in Houston, Texas for her new release, PRUDENCE : The Custard Protocol: Book One. In this latest novel, Alexia’s girl, now all grown up, with all the spunk of her mother and then some ventures to the exotic land of India. Her high priority, top secret mission involves tea, vampires and weremonkeys. 

At Murder By the Book, Gail shared with her fans that she did a lot of research for this novel as it is set in India. The mythology used in the book including that of the Rakshasas, India vampires, and the Vanara, India weremonkeys is accurate. In her research she also uncovered the interesting historical tidbit that Bombay was originally several islands the English engineered into one by means of land reclamation projects.

Ms.Carriger also discussed how she comes up with such interesting names for her characters. She uses names for humor. Sometimes the name just comes to her as she’s writing like it did for her main character, Prudence. She also looks names up in Victorian registries and on tomb stones. Sometimes she likes a word so much she just adds a letter or letters at the beginning or end to make a name.  Another way she choses names is what she calls cookies, meaning it’s a treat for anyone willing to do the research. She’ll pull a name from a real historical character or the name will have a hidden meaning or she’ll spell a word backwards for a name. One such cookie is Lord Akeldama. If you don’t know where and what Akeldama is, google it. It’s interesting. I have to say my favorite new character name in Prudence is Spoo, she’s a lively member of the Spotted Custard’s crew.

At the book signing, Ms. Carriger was asked how she explains Steampunk to people who aren’t familiar with it? She says, “Imagine living in a time period where you can take a hot air balloon to the moon.” Speaking of fiction genres, she also divulged that she likes military sci-fi including Rachel Bach’s Paradox series and Valor’s Choice by Tanya Huff. And she likes some romance in her sci-fi reads. Ms. Carriger even has a book club on Goodreads where you can read along with her. A book she likes is chosen each month.  Also on My Book The Movie blog you can see who she would chose to cast for Prudence if it were a movie.

I read Prudence and I love the line,

Rue was moved to italics by the gesture. “Mine?”

As you can see from that sentence, PRUDENCE is as charming and humorous as all of Ms. Carriger’s books.

She could be a member of the Spotted Custard crew, perhaps Greaser Phinkerlington or even Spoo.

In PRUDENCE, the adventure begins when Dama gives Prudence an airship, which she paints to look like a lady bug and she names it the Spotted Custard. Of course her good friends Prim, Percy and Quesnel come along. Intrigue and espionage ensue, which Prudence thinks is all due to the special tea Dama has sent her for but it turns out it’s also about supernatural beings in India, the vampiric Rakshasas and the Vanara, weremonkeys.  I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say of course in the end Prudence manages to save the day.

The book is a funny, sweet, fresh delight. It’s ever so creatively original – after all it’s by Gail Carriger. I highly recommend PRUDENCE for anyone who likes good books and of course it’s a must read for all Gail Carriger fans.

Here is a video from Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego 03/17/15

Other Gail Carriger related post on Steamed:

Book Monday: Timeless by Gail Carriger

Maeve Alpin Reviews Gail Carriger’s Timeless
How To Make A Proper Pot Of Tea by Gail Carriger 
In Which We Get Cozy with Gail Carriger
In Which Author Gail Carriger visits

~      ~      ~

Maeve Alpin, who also writes as Cornelia Amiri, is the author of 26 books. She creates stories with kilts, corsets, fantasy and happy endings. She lives in Houston Texas with her son, granddaughter, and her cat, Severus.

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No Ordinary Love

Did you have a Steampunk release in 2010?  The Prism awards, which is given out by the Fantasy, Futuristic, & Paranormal Chapter of the Romance Writer’s of America is *desperately* short of Steampunk/Time Travel entries and will cancel the category if they don’t get enough entries.  If your story has romance elements please consider entering.  Details and eligibility requirements here. 

We have some winners to announce…

We have five copies of David Burton’s’ Scourge to give away.  And the winners are…

Paula S

Nikki

FredTownWard

Alden Ash

Beth

You are our five lucky winners.  Please email me at suzannelazear (@) hotmail to claim your prize.

Today we have the amazing Lolita Deb aka Deborah Schneider who’s going to tell us about her new project.

A love for American History drew Deborah to the field of education and teaching American History right after college. She resides in a small town near the Cascade Mountains in the Pacific Northwest, where she fulfills her dream of waking up every day to look at a mountain. She’s the winner of the Molly Award for Most Unsinkable Heroine for her book, Beneath A Silver Moon. She loves writing about strong, smart women who aren’t afraid to challenge the men they love. She’s employed by one of the busiest library systems in the US, is the 2009 Romance Writers of America Librarian of the Year, and believes in the power of books to change lives.

No Ordinary Love

By Deborah Schneider

For the past three years a friend of mine has invited me to be part of short story romance anthology. The compilation isn’t for sale; all the authors offer it at no cost to their friends, families and fans. For me the best part of working on the anthology has been learning to write shorter, more focused stories. This year our theme was “love songs” because we planned to release the stories for Valentine’s Day.

I write long, and do edit a lot out of my stories. Trying to get everything in a story under 3000 words is really a challenge for me, but it’s also very rewarding to finish and be pleased with the result.

This year, I knew I wanted to write something with a Steampunk flavor. I’m working on a novel in that sub-genre, had completed a novella and now wanted to experiment with a short story. Suzanne’s announcement of selling a YA Steampunk Fairytale had intrigued me. I love fairytales and imagined how much fun it would be to play with that kind of story with Steampunk flare.

I’ve always loved the story of The Steadfast Tin Soldier, so I started with the idea of a toy shop, a soldier and a love affair. I started to do some research, and learned about automatons. Translating to “self moving machines”, these mechanical wonders were especially popular during the Victorian age.

There’s a famous automaton in the Musee d’Art et d’Historie of Neuchatel, Switzerland designed in the 18^th century by Pierre Jacquet-Droz.   “The Writer” is a small figure that can be programmed to write 40 characters, dips the pen into an inkwell before actually writing and his eyes that even follow the flow of words. This mechanical wonder astonished people around the world.

I was intrigued by this machine, and created a story around a shop filled with wonderful automatons, exquisite toys and amazing clocks.  When a soldier stops by the shop on Christmas Eve to purchase toys for his niece and nephew, he meets a childhood friend and rekindles an old relationship.

But the girl he grew up with is very different now and she’s afraid that if he finds out the truth, he’ll reject her just like many of the villagers do.  

Because we had to choose a title that is a love song, my choice was the song by Sade, No Ordinary Love.

You can download the book, “Love Songs Say So Much” for free at my website: http://www.debschneider.com

On my books page, you’ll find the other two anthologies, also free to download.

I hope you enjoy this collection.

~Deb Schneider

http://www.debschneider.com

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Anguisette – The Creation Chamber

Today we have a very special guest thursday post.  Lolita Deb is interviewing musician Jyri Glynn creator of the musical experience, Anguisette – The Creation Chamber.

Interview with Jyri Glynn, musician and creator of the musical experience, Anguisette – The Creation Chamber

By Lolita Deb

Deborah: Welcome to Steamed! We’re so glad you could come to visit. Tell us about yourself. Have you always wanted to be musician?

Jyri Glynn:  Thank you, Deborah for this opportunity. 

I first started taking classic violin lessons when I was about seven years old.  I can’t tell you exactly why I picked that particular instrument but I continued to play it throughout most of my school years in various school and church orchestras.

Once I got about halfway through high school, I started losing interest in playing sheet music and resented my insistent parents because I really wanted to play electric guitar.  I started getting into rock music and really wanted to play it — but because of my strict religious upbringing, it simply wasn’t allowed. 

Around seventeen I quit playing and ended up dropping out of orchestra.  This was mostly as a revolt against my folks, but I also felt like it was “uncool” (when it came to my peers) to play a violin.  I wanted to be a rockstar, not a nerd with a violin case on his back. 

About ten years later a musician friend of mine and I were talking and I mentioned that I had once played violin and still owned an acoustic violin with an electric pickup.  He encouraged me to bring it over to his house and play around.  So I ended up doing just that. 

I was absolutely intrigued with all the interesting sounds one could create running the violin through different effects.  I had tried this nearly a decade earlier but the technology back then just wasn’t the same.

After playing around with the newer, modern equipment, within no time, I found myself newly inspired.   I immediately started relearning the instrument while constantly experimenting with various combinations of sound modules and pedals.  Within a few months my buddy and I ended up starting a band together in which I played the electric violin.

D: Tell us a little about your band? How long have you been together? How did you come together as a group?

JG: I play electric violin in a rock band called The Sins and Anguisette is a solo project that I’ve been working on for roughly eight years off and on.  It is an EBM/Electronic project that I have composed most of the music for, with the help of some of my closest friends.  I’ve also had various female vocalists write and record vocals to the music based on a title or theme.

D: How did you decide on this particular sound? What is about your music that makes it Steampunk?

JG: Because my primary instrument is violin, I tend to initially write string parts when first composing a song.  The additional instruments are typically added afterwards. 

I’ve always loved the sound of a beautiful, yet sorrowful string instrument — particularly cello and violin — and I write the majority of my music in a minor key.  I guess that’s what gives Anguisette the signature sound that it now has.

I’ve always viewed Steampunk as the combination of modern technology with the antiquities of another age.  A violin is very much an antique instrument, as its origins date back hundreds of years, yet an electric violin enhances this classic foundation with elements of modern technology. 

I don’t know if that necessarily makes my music “steampunk,” but I’ve certainly heard people categorize Anguisette’s music as such.  Not unlike the Goth moment of the nineties when everyone started dressing like vampires, I see much of the steampunk music genre based more on fashion than on a specific style of music. 

Personally, I’ve always loved steampunk fashion, so when I filmed my first music video for “29 Years,” I incorporated these types of styles into the dream/nightmare scenes of the video using costumes and props. 

D: Is there a story behind your band’s name? Does Anguisette translate to something?

JG: I first heard the term from a friend who suggested it after reading a book by Jacqueline Carey called Kushiel’s Dart. 

In short, an Anguisette is a person who takes pleasure in pain.  For me, though, it doesn’t necessarily mean in some S&M or physical sense.  It is more about learning from painful situations and then taking pleasure in the knowledge one gains in the end.  So basically, it’s the whole “beauty in sorrow” thing.

D: Can you tell us more about your most recent album, The Creation Chamber? Does it have a back story? The songs seem to take the listener on an emotional journey.

JG: Most everyone has experienced the loss of a love one or the death of a relationship.  The concept behind this album is to express the different emotions that one feels while going through that sequence of events.   

From the death of one, another is born.

D: This album has an amazing variety of singers on it, how did this collaboration come about?

JG: As I’ve mentioned already, my goal was to create an album that would capture each individual emotion one experiences after a major loss.  All the vocalists and guest musicians involved played an integral part in the conveyance of these emotions and themes.

Whenever I would hear a vocalist whose work I enjoyed, I would contact them, usually through email, and explain the concept of what I was trying to accomplish. 

Once a vocalist “clicked,” I would email her the music with a working title and an emotional theme, and then I just let her take the track in whatever direction she wanted.  The singer would then breathe life into the piece of music. 

I have actually never had the pleasure of meeting many of the singers on the CD in person, so the project was definitely a bit of an online experiment. 

D: Where can we buy your music?

The Creation Chamber is available at SINister Records; as well as, CdBaby, Amazon, iTunes and at most major online music stores. 

My website is: http://www.anguisette.com

Friend us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/anguisette

Fans can hear my music, watch my video and obtain more info on the band at: http://www.reverbnation.com/anguisette

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Book Review–Heart’s Blood by Gail Dayton

Lolita Deb just finished Heart’s Blood by Gail Dayton and asked me to post a review for her.

Book Review –Heart’s Blood by Gail Dayton

This is the second book in the Steampunk series by Gail Dayton. She continues to explore a world where magic co-exists uneasily with normal Victorian society.

Master conjurer Grey Carteret is used to doing things his own way. He doesn’t want any connections that tie him down and he avoids most responsibilities. But, when he regains consciousness in a London gutter not far from a man killed by magic, he needs help.

When he’s arrested for the murder, the street urchin who’s been guarding him offers a deal, take him on as an apprentice and he’ll get help for Grey. It’s a nasty deal for a man who prides himself on remaining unattached to anyone, but he has to accept.

Imagine his surprise to discover his new apprentice is actually a gently reared young woman who has fallen on hard times. Not only that, but Pearl Parkin possesses the gift for sorcery, the greatly feared blood magic.

Dayton continues to craft this world, with wonderful explanations of the way the different forms of magic:  conjury, sorcery, alchemy and wizardry work.  In fact, most of the focus of the book is on magic and there are no goggles, airships, or mad inventors to be found.  There are dead zones and strange machines that are a continuing premise through this series of books.

There is also a relationship, as Grey discovers he actually enjoys being with his apprentice and Pearl  moves from hero worship to falling in love. Watching the couple discover how well-suited they are for each other is a pleasure. The book includes the  very Victorian mores of the times, including some magicians who take issue with women studying magic. 

If you’re ready to move beyond vampires, werewolves and shape-shifters, this is a nice change of pace for a paranormal read.

Lolita Deb, aka Deborah Schneider, is currently having a Valentine’s contest.  Follow her blog tour and all commenters have a chance to win a basket of goodies including chocolate and a starbucks card.

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Photo Contest Winners!!!!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the photo contest. I let the tot (the kid in the goggles in the last contest post) pick her personal favorite…

…and the winner is…

(drumroll please)

The “SteamCon Hussies” from SteamCon in Seattle, (Lolitas Deborah, Elizabeth, and Marie-Claude) as entered by Deborah Schneider.

Congratulations!

Deborah, as the one who entered the photo, you’re the one who gets the prize! Please email me at suzannelazear (@) hotmail.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday!

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Steampunk Steamcon Style

Steampunk Lolitas: Deborah Schneider, Elizabeth Darvill and myself at Steamcon!

by Marie-Claude Bourque

What is Steampunk style? I am probably the last one to know. That’s why when I headed for Steamcon in Seattle, I didn’t really know what to expect, expect for a bunch of brass goggles and a few corsets.

So it’s with my own corset (laced tight and rescued from the Romantic Times Convention) that I sat down in the lobby of the Seatt;le Marriot  and sipped my venti nonfat latte doing what I like best (after writing) and… people watched.

I was glad I had read about all the various Steampunk spin-off  in Suzanne Lazear blog post at Steamed! Dieselpunk, Monsterpunk, Oilpunk, Clockpunk, coompleted with Steampunk fairies, I think I saw it all.

 

  

What striked me the most was that really all goes. As you long as you have your goggles on, you are good to go. I did expect the clockwork and victorian look but I have to say that I was surprised by the intrincacy of it all and by how well dressed everyone was.

I saw plenty of victorian ladies and gentlemen in full regalia, top hats and elaborate googles and ornate canes, beautiful skirts and expensive corsets (mine is a cheap one, be warned) but also feather in upswept hair, parasol and yes, fans! So many things I want (need?) to buy!!!

 

Beside the victorian look, was also the western look. Think of the movie Wild Wild West, with variation on steampunk  guns, cowboy hats. Some were on the goths or dark side with black and spooky outfit closer to MadMax that is probably what they would call Dieselpunk. And some ladies had on simpler dresses that wouldn’t have been out of place in Anne of Green Gables.

 

All in all, I think the rule is to let your imagination run, and yes get those goggles and that corset! Can’t down too many lattes with it on but your waistline may thank you!

 Steamcon 2010 is on! Get your tickets as soon as they come on sale! I bet they will fly really fast! (yep, stood in line for four hours  to get mine!). I’ll be there 🙂

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