Comics have a reputation like the late Rodney Dangerfield – people enjoy them, but they “don’t get no respect.” Perhaps more than anyone, Alan Moore has helped to change this. “Graphic Novel” sometimes seems like a euphemism, but Moore’s creations, such as Watchmen and V for Vendetta, deserve the title. What he did for superheroes […]
Just in time for Christmas, we’ve submitted a Goodreads book giveaway: three copies of Ione D’s latest steampunk adventure, Professor Ione D. and the Epicurean Incident. The giveaway period begins a week from today on December 15th, so we’ll remind you at that time. The story concerns Ione’s visit to the Royal Epicurean Exhibition at […]
Good day to all! I am writing this during my journey to the American West. I always enjoy my quests here. The people are friendly and the homemade food is a divine pleasure. One of the main characters in Vaughn Treude’s latest book Fidelio’s Automata, is Tallulah Hightower, a Choctaw Indian opera singer. This inspired […]
This charming 2009 book by Gail Carriger (pen name of Tofa Borregaard, a more interesting name in my opinion) has an intriguing premise. Its protagonist is a woman with no soul. Unlike Bart’s nightmarish experience on The Simpsons , her lack of a soul doesn’t seem to be a problem. The main effect of her […]
One of the most enjoyable aspects of writing steampunk is the opportunity to use real historical people as characters. Among those featured in my novel Fidelio’s Automata are Antoine and Medora Vallambrosa, a.k.a. the Marquis and Marquise de Mores. They were a “power couple” of the 19th Century, notable figures in the history of my […]
Steampunk is a unique enough genre that we take notice when something fresh and new comes out. One of my recent discoveries is For Steam and Country: Book One of the Adventures of Baron von Monocle by Jon Delarroz. Like our own Ione D series, the book has a young, feisty female protagonist, Zaira von […]
The Western genre, so popular in my youth, has fallen out of favor in recent years. It survives mainly in “shoot ’em up” video games like Red Dead Redemption. Yet it has a lasting influence on other genres, especially science fiction. Though despised by sci-fi purists, so-called space westerns have attracted legions of fans. When […]
