Steampunk Thursday: Asylum Steampunk Festival 2016

Despite having given attendees a sneak preview of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland at the Asylum last year, I'm afraid that I'm not actually attending the event this year. (It seems that every event this year clashes with some other commitment.) However, if you are there, there are a number of literary-themed events that you should check out.

HOW NOT TO WRITE A STEAMPUNK NOVEL
WHEN: 27th August 2016 @ 11:00 am – 11:45 am
WHERE: Cathedral Centre
Join Steampunk author, Rob Harkess, as he shares his experiences to educate and inform those who wish to undertake this perilous enterprise.

TELOS PUBLISHING – MEET AND MERCH
WHEN: 27th August 2016 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
WHERE: Castle
Thanks to the lovely team at Telos Publishing, Asylum goers will be able to purchase some of their titles at very special Festival rates. Joining them are Sam Stone, bestselling and award-winning author of the Vampire Gene series, the Kat Lightfoot Steampunk adventure series and the Jinx Chronicles alien invasion Series. Also attending will be Raven Dane, another award-winning author and popular Asylum speaker. Top DOCTOR WHO historian and author David J Howe will also be on hand with copies of several factual tomes associated with the series. So come along and browse some great titles, chat to the people to publish, edit, write and create the books, and pick up some bargains!

STEAM IS MY MIDDLE NAME
WHEN: 27th August 2016 @ 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm
WHERE: Assembly Rooms
Join the quizmaster for some frantic buzzer action, as our Steampunk authors and members of the audience take on the ultimate fun quiz on Steampunk writings. One to watch, or possibly take part in if you can drag yourself away from the latest Steampunk tome. (I wonder if Pax Britannia will feature in any of the questions?)

A HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE FROM GRAVITY NULLIFICATION TO THE OUTBREAK OF THE MODERN WAR (1843-1911)
WHEN: 27th August 2016 @ 3:30 pm – 4:15 pm
WHERE: Cathedral Centre
Steampunk author, Steve Turnbull, takes you on a journey through the alternate history of his Steampunk worlds. Discover something new and let your imagination take a holiday on someone else’s planet.

I’M SORRY, I HAVEN’T A STEAMPUNK
WHEN: 28th August 2016 @ 12:15 pm – 1:00 pm
WHERE: Assembly Rooms
Time for a round of Mornington Crescent, but we’ll be using the 1905 Rules! Join our panel of Steampunk authors, as they try to work out if they can be as funny as a bunch of comedians.

STEAMPUNK INSPIRATION
WHEN: 28th August 2016 @ 1:00 pm – 1:45 pm
WHERE: Cathedral Centre
Take it where you can get it and make it your own. This thoughtful and informative session will look at where the inspiration comes from and where it can take you. Literature, comics, TV, Literature, comics, TV, games and film, all have crossover and “mash-up” opportunities, so how do you take your Steampunk?

HOW TO BUILD A STEAMPUNK NATION
WHEN: 28th August 2016 @ 3:00 pm – 3:45 pm
WHERE: Cathedral Centre
No, we are not planning a revolution, but whether you are creating a backstory or writing a novel, creating your own steampunk nation is a fun exercise, and a much better time-waster than the Internet!

SAM STONE AND GUESTS
WHEN: 28th August 2016 @ 4:00 pm – 4:45 pm
WHERE: Cathedral Centre
Join author Sam Stone, as she brings together a panel of Steampunk authors to talk about the creation process, how to get published and what projects they are currently working on that might be your next big summer read.

Interestingly, this year there is also a discussion about Dieselpunk, which is one of the influences on The Wicked Wizard of Oz...

MORE ANACHRONISTIC HISTORY – FORWARD UNTO DIESELPUNK
WHEN: 27th August 2016 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
WHERE: Assembly Rooms
Steampunks love to explore and discover new things and with proliferation of time travel and other temporal experimentation they will eventually either by design or accident find themselves viewing something that is not quite steampunk but oddly familiar and very intriguing. Come along and find out more as the Major lifts the veil and peers at the world of dieselpunk.

And don't forget to visit the Telos Publishing stand and Steampunk Authors' stand at the Steampunk Market.

Weekend at the Asylum - Pax Britannia: Tempus Fugit

Today (Sunday 30th August) at 12:00pm, I will also be giving a reading from my first brand-new Pax Britannia short story in three years!

An opportunity not to be missed I am sure you'll agree.

Be there (at the Westgate Academy) or remain clueless as to the relevance of the story's title. ;-)

Weekend at the Asylum - Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland

Today (Saturday 29th) at 3:00pm, I will be giving a talk (at the Westgate Academy) about my latest Steampunk-related project, Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland.

So if you want to find out more about what I have in store for our heroine, and maybe have a play through of part of the book, then why not pop along?

Gamebook Friday: Alice's Nightmare in Lincoln

Just a quick reminder that I am at Weekend at the Asylum VII this weekend.

I will be based at the Westgate Academy, home to the literature and gaming zones, along with the other authors, publishers, games companies and gamers who are also attending this year.

On Saturday 29th at 3:00pm, I will be giving a talk about my latest Steampunk-related project, Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland. So if you want to find out more about what I have in store for our heroine (150 years old this year!) and maybe have a play through of part of the book, then why not pop along?

On Sunday 30th at 12:00pm, I will also be giving a reading from my first brand-new Pax Britannia short story in three years! An opportunity not to be missed I am sure you'll agree.

Hopefully I'll see you there!

Gamebook Friday: Alice at the Asylum

Calling all Pax Britannia fans! I will be attending Weekend at the Asylum VII on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th August this year.

This will be my fourth stay at the asylum and this year I will be based at the Westgate Academy, home to the literature and gaming zones, along with the other authors, publishers, games companies and gamers who are also attending this year.

Admission is by wristband only, and there is going to be a mini street food festival in the grounds of the Academy.

On Saturday 29th at 3:00pm, I will be giving a talk about my latest Steampunk-related project, Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland. So if you want to find out more about what I have in store for our heroine (150 years old this year!) and maybe have a play through of part of the book, then why not pop along?

On Sunday 30th at lunchtime, I will also be giving a reading from my first brand-new Pax Britannia short story in three years! An opportunity not to be missed I am sure you'll agree.

So, be splendid, and maybe I'll see you there.

Steampunk Thursday: Weekend at the Asylum

This weekend, around 1,500 Steampunks will descend on the historic city of Lincoln (in the UK) to celebrate Weekend at the Asylum 5.

Pax Britannia has been a fixture there since the very beginning, and this will be my third visit to the premier Steampunk convention in Europe.

I shall be present in the Assembly Rooms, selling my wares and talking about all things related to Steampunk and literature. The specific timings of the panels I'm involved in are as follows:

Saturday 14 September, 11.00am 
(Assembly Rooms Tennyson Suite)
Publishing, self, small or mainstream? - Steampunk is a creative scene which attracts writers. How do you get published? Is self-publishing an option? What about setting up your own publishers. With Meg Kingston, Jim Snee, Sam Stone and Jonathan Green.

Sunday 15 September, 11.00am
(Assembly Rooms Main Room)
Steampunk Fiction - Authors talking about steampunk in the written form on page and screen. Where is it now? Where do they see it to be going? With Toby Frost, Linzi Cooke, Raven Dane and Jonathan Green.

The panels at the recent Nine Worlds Geekfest were a lot of fun, and my fellow panellists are great raconteurs, so the talks at the Asylum should be highly entertaining if nothing else.

Doors open on Saturday at 10.30am. Maybe I'll see you there...

Steampunk Thursday: The Inaugural UK Steampunk Awards

The Victorian Steampunk Society has from its formation recognised excellence in the world of Steampunk and is now launching a series of awards voted for by UK Steampunks attending The Asylum each year.

These are awards for work first published/released between January 1 and December 31, 2011, and will be made for a tangible piece of work be it a book, artwork or piece of music etc, which means that my novel Anno Frankenstein is eligible.

But even if you're not attending The Asylum yourself this year, you can still suggest a category and nominate in it. The best suggestions will incorporate into the awards. These forms will be used to draw up a shortlist of nominees, and of course being shortlisted is of course an accolade in itself. The voting form will be made available to all Asylum convention adult attendees and results will be announced at the Empire Ball.

Just so you know...

Happy International Steampunk Day!

And in other news...

Just a couple of things to update you on...

1) Monstrous Missions

My Doctor Who book Terrible Lizards has been listed at last on Amazon. It's going to be published along with a second story but under one cover, the two-books-in-one being known collectively as Monstrous Missions. Here's what the blurb has to say about my offering:

Exciting action-packed new original fiction for younger Doctor Who fans, starring the Eleventh Doctor with his companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams. Double-fronted books each contain two fast-paced, fun-filled adventures!

The Doctor and his friends join a group of explorers on a Victorian tramp steamer in Terrible Lizards. The explorers are searching for the Fountain of Youth, but neither they or the treasure they seek are quite what they seem!

2) Under New Management

Jamie Fry of Fighting Fantasy Collector fame, is taking over editorship* of the official Fighting Fantasy website. I - along with many FF fans, I am sure - would like to wish him well with this venture and look forward to seeing what he has planned.

3) Forthcoming Events

It looks like I'll be attending two more events than previous years, making it one of the busiest Septembers convention-wise. Here's where I expect to be next month:

Saturday 10 September - The Asylum, Lincoln - The biggest Steampunk festival in Europe! (9-11 September 2011)

Sunday 25 September - UK Games Day - The ultimate celebration and annual showcase of all things Games Workshop. As always Black Library will be there in force with a host of activities and new releases.

Tuesday 27 September - House of Fear launch - Solaris Books are bringing the ghost story home with House of Fear, which collects some of the finest writers working in the horror genre.

Saturday 1 October - FantasyCon 2011 - Solaris Books are holding a big old party, giving away various titles including House of Fear! You'll also get to mingle with the authors of your favourite genre fiction. Maybe I'll see you there. (Royal Albion Hotel, 30 September - 2 October 2011)

4) Exclamation Mark in Space!

Oh, and two galaxies colliding in space form an enormous purple exclamation mark. Do you think that God is making a point?

* Is that the technical term?