Another New Lolita on the Dirigible (and my winner from Steampalooza)

I must admit, I’ve stowed away once or twice on the great ship Steamed! This last time though, your lovely Captain, Lolita Suzanne, said the ship was in need of some new crew members. Since she had the most adorable little pink and pearl gun pointed at my head, I didn’t bother to ask what happened to the others. Instead, I told her to point me to my new quarters.

Warrior women in a time of steam work, right?

After getting settled into a spot somewhat more comfortable than the back corner of the cargo hold, she informed me that one of my primary duties would be posting an update to our log once a fortnight. The topic, of course, needs to focus on all things steam.

“But what of vampires?” I asked.

“Are they clockwork?” she replied.

With no intimate knowledge of that sort on the vampires, I asked, “But what of gods and romance and warrior women and…”

She cut me off with a look that told me in no uncertain terms that her princess gun was close at hand. “Steam, Lolita Seleste. If it does not fit in the world of steam, it has no place here.”

To which I smiled, nodded, and wished desperately that the cat hadn’t stolen my knives. But, upon closer examination, I realized that with the exception of the vampires (who I’m fairly confident have no clockwork parts) I could indeed speak on the others if only I could work in the proper angle. As I’m bucking for the job of chief mechanic on this bird, I’m pretty good with angles…

To that end, it is with great pleasure that I announce that the story of the warrior women of the Badlands and the dirigible The Dark Hawk is not ending with Badlands. I have recently sold the sequel, (tentatively titled) Clockwork Mafia, to Carina Press. I do not have any information on release date yet. However, I can tell you a couple things. First, there are two more books planned in the series beyond this one. Clockwork Mafia focuses on Henrietta, book three will center on Mahala, and book four will wrap up the series by following Laurette.

And, as you may recall, the last time I stowed away (prior to the insanity of being caught…) I offered up a prize that included a digital copy of Badlands as well the opportunity to have a Badlands warrior in one of the future installments named after them (there is a SLIM chance this could still happen with Clockwork Mafia). This ingenious device known as Random.org drew from the twelve comments other than my own and came up with the number four. That devious Lolita Cindy obviously tampered with the machine. And as there is already a Spencer in all of the books, she and I are destined to have words over this. It took me a moment, but I repaired the machine, and the new winner is comment #5… CLOTHDRAGON! Congratulations! Please contact me at selestedelaney(at)gmail(dot)com to collect your prize!

In the meantime, if you are curious enough about this stowaway turned crew member, you may find me lurking in various places (as lurking is one of the things I do best), such as:

Website: http://selestedelaney.com

Blog: http://selestedelaney.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/SelestedeLaney

Facebook profile: http://www.facebook.com/seleste.delaney

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seleste-deLaney/111903172206874

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4243796.Seleste_deLaney

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/selestedelaney/

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Book Monday– Gail Carriger’s “Changeless”

Happy Monday.  I have a new book review for you today.

First off, congratulations to author Paolo Bacigalupi . His novel The Windup Girl won the 2010 Nebula Award.

I’m also having some major tiara envy.  I saw this on Etsy. Isn’t it darling? I know, I own two clockhand tiaras, but there’s something about this one I really like. Maybe it’s the snowflake?

The Steamed blog (and my upcoming book) were also mentioned on the Romantic Times blog. Squee.

I have a few more copies of issue 6 of Steampunk Tales. If you want one, just let me know in the comment box.

On to today’s book review. I have to say, I do adore these books and I can’t wait for the next one.

Changeless by Gail Carriger.

The fearless, yet well-dressed and ever-so-proper Alexia Tarabotti is back in this second novel of the highly entertaining Parasol Protectorate series. This time, Alexia is off to Scotland with her bratty sister, her best friend Ivy and Ivy’s collection of horrid hats in search for her missing husband and to solve the mystery of why supernaturals in London are loosing their powers.

Like in Soulless, adventures and entertaining characters abound in the wild romp into the Scottish highlands. Alexia travels aboard a dirigible, uses an aethographic transmitter, brings her rather unusual parasol wherever she goes, and befriends the inventor Madame Lefoux who (gasp) wears trousers. There are also Weres in kilts (who doesn’t love a Were in a kilt?), plenty witty banter, marvelous gadgets, and more world building (the octopi from book one are finally explained).

Ah, the gadgets. Where would a Steampunk story be without the gadgets? Besides the aethographic transmitter and dirigible, there are dart guns, glassicals, and a parasol fit for a Victorian 007 (I want one!)

The new characters are very colorful, such as Madame Lefoux, but we still see our favorites like Ivy, the Professor, and the wildly flamboyant Lord Akeldama. The relationship between Lord Maccon and Alexia starts out as sweet and funny, but as the end approached I found myself wishing I could smack him with my parasol.

Like the first book, I found Changeless to be an entertaining read with a well thought out Steampunk world, clever characters, and witty dialogue. The combination of Steampunk and paranormal is what, to me, makes this series so much fun.

The ending has a twist that may not set well with some readers. I didn’t mind and it made me wish Blameless were out sooner than September so I could find out what happened next (though I still want to smack Lord Maccon.)

Happy reading.

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