Pretty broaches made by Pun!

I’m crazy busy this week, and I’m just leaving for a birthday celebration for my mom.  (Happy Birthday, MOM!)  So, I’m sorry but today’s post will be brief.  I’ll have loads more to say later on, I’m sure.

In the meantime, check out these lovely little broaches!  Aren’t they just delightful?  Not too ostentatious, just enough elements to be visually quite fascinating, clever asymmetry, I approve!  And I want one, lol.

 

Check out my friend Pun’s Etsy for ordering details.  We just met at Clockwork Alchemy, in California, and hit if off right away.  But when she said “oh, yeah, I’m making some broaches…” I didn’t realize they would turn out to be this lovely!  I suppose, I should have.  Sorry, Pun!

Join me now and support the little guy!  …or, girl, in this case.  Check out her Etsy, and share her art.

Announcing a new serialized Twist story!

Have I mentioned that I can be a bit long-winded sometimes?  Well, as if I didn’t know that 12 adventure novels in the same series wasn’t enough, I’ve begun working on a new series, in the same universe as the Twist books.  And, it will premier next month!

Do you ever wonder what it would have been like to read the original Sherlock stories in The Strand?  You’d only get one case, and then have to wait a week for the next one.  There were no compilations of all of them, at first.  Well, I would have loved it.  I personally really enjoy having something live, be it TV, web shows, or the first singles of an upcoming album. to look forward to.  It makes me feel like I’m a part of something, when I’m there right at the beginning.

So, I’ve decided to do just that, with a side-story of my books.  I’ll be posting new chapters (about 1200 words each) weekly on a new blog that is just for this project, telling a single story at a time.  The first story only came out to 12 chapters, so it’s not a huge commitment.  And if you miss one, the posts will not be going anywhere.  Also, I will be publishing a permanently free eBook, and a cheap as possible paperback, once all of the chapters are posted.

And now, you ask, what will this serial be about?  If you haven’t read the second Twist book, Trick, then what I’m about to tell you really isn’t a spoiler.  If you have read Trick already, then you’ll remember Jeffery Simian, the gentlemanly baboon that Myra wished Idris to make out of a coffee pot.  As soon as I saw Jeffery, and saw the way that he and Idris got along, I realized that I had to send the two of them out solving mysteries.  And that, is exactly what I’ve written.

Jeffery is a baboon in a tweed suit, who has a sense of honor and good diction.  Idris is a powerful djinn who is easily bored and needs constant entertainment.  Together, there can’t be a single dull day.  The Journals of Jeffery Simian will follow Jeffery and Idris as they explore the world, try to find the most interesting ways for Idris to use his powerful magic, and solve mysteries while they’re at it.  This will be a very fun side adventure, and will be more in a gaslamp fantasy style than straight steampunk.  And best of all, it’s free!

Why is it all free?  Because I have met with nothing but love and support from all of my readers.  You guys are the best!  I wanted to give you something special, just for being awesome.  I also wanted to create something else that could lure people who haven’t ready my books in, to take a look at Twist.  And really, who says no to free?

I hope to continue writing these little stories of Jeffery and Idris, and releasing them between Twist novel releases.  If all goes well, I would be able to publish 4 books a year, without compromising quality.  Honestly, it only took me about 2 weeks to write this little side story, and I’m currently writing Clockwork Twist: Book Seven.  See?  Told you I was long-winded.

Anyway, keep an eye on my blog, twitter, facebook, tumblr, or whatever, to see when the first chapter of the The Journals of Jeffery Simian will appear.  This will be such a fun little ride!

Clockwork Alchemy 2014 photos, Friday!

I have no idea if I’ll be doing this daily throughout the con, but here’s some photos from today!

Me and JaniceT playing with a tardis

Signatures inside the tardis. George Takei signed it too, cause he thought it was funny lol

Our super awesome table set up!

Happy customers is awesome costumes!

And now… I’m going to get some pizza.

Could it be? ANOTHER best cake ever???

This stunning thing was made by JohannasTartor.  See more great photos of the cake on her site.  And THIS octopus has glowing eyes.  Oh man, I can’t decide!

 

For reference, here’s The Original Octopus Cake by Cakecrumbs again.

Twist is going to Clockwork Alchemy 2014!

I should probably mention this, considering the con starts Friday.   I had too much stuff to do to get ready for the con, and I plum forgot to tell anyone I was going.  Whoops!

Anyway, yes!  Twist will be making an appearance at this year’s Clockwork Alchemy con, in San Jose, California, from May 23rd through 26th.  Just like last year, I’ll be signing books at the table, and selling swag.  I’ll have the first 2 books on sale, and even some new shiny buttons.

If you’re in the San Jose area and like a bit of steampunk, come in for the day!  There’ll be musical and special guests, lots of things to buy with gears glued on, weirdos–erm…  I mean, wonderfully attired individuals, and a library of all things steampunk with loads of authors and book signings!

Of course, you know, I won’t get to see much of the con myself, as I’ll be mostly at my author table.  So, please do come and say hi!  It would be lovely to chat with you.  And if you come in costume, I’ll be taking as many pictures as I can and posting them all right here on the blog!  I had a lovely time meeting a lot of you last year, and I’m looking forward to seeing you again.

Suggested Reading: Echoes 2!

After the success of Echoes: Neo-Victorian Poetry, we have now been gifted with another wonderful collection of poetry by JaniceT!

Once again, the works you will find in this volume are all of a classical style.  There are no confusing prose, or ostentatious turns of phrase.  These are poems that echo the more refined and understandable rhymes and rhythms of Emily Dickinson and Poe, but with JaniceT’s own unique voice.

I find that much of modern poetry is aloof and self-important, as if the work itself were looking down its nose at me with judgmental eyes, assuming that I could never truly understand its so-called greatness.  Others are so rough and simplistic as to make me wonder why it’s called a poem at all, and not simply a very short essay.  Slam poets can reach me once in a while, but usually I’m off-put by their aggressive shouts and clear intent to offend.  Either way, I always end up going back to the more inviting, delightful, and damned understandable works of old, where I can enjoy a moment of truth and beautiful melancholy with Yeats, or dance happily through the clean air with Shelly and his skylarks.

Because of all of this, I’m very happy to announce that JaniceT’s work is something anyone can easily relate to and enjoy.  She took great care and attention to give these pieces rhyme and structures that are familiar and comforting, while bringing up many new and fascinating ideas.  She writes both about the modern condition with poems about organic foods and on-line trolls, as well as venturing farther into Steampunk than before with airships and a delightful look at Verne.  All the while, you will find graceful moments of relateable human experience and true emotion.

If you’re put-off by poetry in general, or feel that you just don’t get it, then do yourself a favor and give this one poet a try.  These poems will welcome you in with open arms, and show you that this art form really is one that you too can deeply enjoy.  You were simply reading the wrong poems, all along.

Get the paperback or eBook on Amazon or Smathwords.

Get a taste for JaniceT’s work on her blog, at http://janice-t.weebly.com

Janice T’s Facebook page.

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Are you an author who loves Steampunk as much as I do?   Or, are you just a big big fan of a Steampunk/Neo-Victorian author?  Would you like to see  your favorite book, or your own book, featured on this blog?  Please leave a comment on this post with a short pitch and a link!   I’ll happily feature anything that I think will fit the style of my blog.  And even if I don’t feature it, please please leave your info in a comment anyway!  Who doesn’t love new books?

Update on all things Twist, and what it’s like to write a long series.

Hello internet.  Usually on this blog, I share cool things that I find in the course of my steampunk existence or learn as a writer.  But since it’s Mother’s Day today, I thought I’d just tell you how Twist is doing.  I tend to call him “my baby” more often that he’d probably appreciate, and I love him so that I sometimes feel like a mother myself.  Don’t worry.  There’ll be more silly steamy things next week.

Since publishing Waking last year, and Trick last January, I’ve been working extra hard on finishing the first drafts of the rest of this 12 part series.  I’m getting ready to publish the 3rd book in the series later this year, and realizing that I’d like to be sure of exactly where the series is headed before I publish too much more.

Of course, I already know how I want the story to close at the end of the 12th novel, and I have copious notes on what will happen in the meantime, but that doesn’t mean that I’ve gotten there yet.  At the moment, while I write this post, I have completed writing (not editing) the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th books, along with 27 pages of the 7th.  So why, you ask, aren’t more of them out yet?  Because things in these books like to change over time.

As I write this series, I find that little details turn out to mean unexpected things as future events unfold on the page.  The events might occur just as I’d meant them to from the beginning, but sometimes the implications change.  And sometimes, I suddenly realize that I was completely wrong about a plot line and have to go in a totally different direction, while still following the same basic story line.  Some scenes that I mean to write turn out to be useless when I get to writing them, while other unexpected moments appear and surprise me by how perfectly they fit.  And sometimes (more often than I like to think) I realize that the book I just finished writing is actually a better fit for the fourth or fifth book in line, rather than the third, and I now have to write a whole other book or two between it and the last one.

With all of this flux, I hate to publish too close to where I’m writing.  When Waking first came out, I had already finished the 4th book and was half way through the 5th.  When Trick was published, I had added a different book in the 5th place, and then re-wrote the old 5th book to make it the 6th.  As long as I have about 4 books between where I’m writing and where I publish, I can feel confident that I won’t ever have to adjust anything in the published work to make the ending work.   It’s my goal, after all, is to share this story with you, in a smooth, complete, and solid form.

Are you writing a series as well?  Have you ever encountered these sorts of things?  Please leave me a comment down below if you have.  I’d love to know what you think about all of this.

In the meantime, I’m working very hard to finish the series as quickly as possible, so that I can make sure it will be the best work it can be.  In the scene I just wrote a few days ago, Jonas casually mentioned that he, Twist, and Myra had already traveled to every continent on the globe, and ventured into orbit as well.  I so wish I could tell you all about what is happening right now in the 7th book, but I must hold my tongue!  But I can promise that there are wonderful things in store for you as you follow Twist into the future books.

I hope you have a lovely Mother’s Day, however you choose to spend it!

Iron Giant in Brescia by Tensione16

See Tensione16‘s Deviantart page.

 

Picture Day: Mark Page

Today, I’m sharing the delightfully whimsical work of Mark Page.  Click any image to find out how to purchase a print!

Aren’t these lovely?  Check out Mark Page’s blog for more info on his work.

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Are you an artist/photographer/sculptor who loves Steampunk as much as I do?   Would you like to see your work featured on this blog?  Or, do you know of someone else who’s work you adore?  Please leave a comment on this post with a link or two!   I’ll happily feature anything that I think will fit the style of my blog.  And even if I don’t feature it, please please leave your info in a comment anyway!  More art is always better than less.

‘First Men in the Moon’ by DesHanley

Check out more wonderful art by Des Hanley.