I've started a free episodic steampunk fantasy series on my blog for the enjoyment of all my fellow lovers of the genre and style. It's a hard story to tie to a genre, as it has action, adventure, mystery, romance and even a bit of philosophy peppered in throughout.

The Vermilion Years takes place on our very planet, Earth, though eons into the future. The gap between the sun and the Earth has steadily made the Earth barely livable. Covered in a vast boiling ocean, the remaining populous of mankind are anscestors of those too stubborn or poor to migrate away from the dying planet for Mars or a space colony. Industrialism is all the people of Earth can rely on for survival on the harsh planet devoid of almost all vegatation. Pollution has created a permanant orange sky, and turned the remaining land into punishing strips of desert. The smokey, orange air itself cannot be inhaled without a respirator. Airships, spider-like artho-pod transports, and other various steam and clockwork powered mechinery has become mankind's only way to fight against the environment and eek out an existance.

But beyond the planet itself, there are more dangers that lurk upon earth that threaten the dying species-- the two gravest of dangers were accidentally created long ago during humanity's golden years. In their self desire to make themselves immortal and force evolution, a disgusting zombie-like offshoot of humanity dubbed the 'unman' were born. 

Jean-Luc L'Estrange, a mysterious masked stranger covered copper armor has been sent to a small settlement, Lyonnais, to rid them of their unman problem. The man is much more than a man, however. He is an Immortal that somehow has lived for what seems like an eternity. Traveling from town to town, posing as mercenary-- he seeks only one thing: how to end the life of an immortal.

Ultimately, both he and the floating city of Lyonnais find themselves caught in a deeper conflict than a simple monster mop up. The fate of the Earth and even the lives of the humans living in outspace will be decided by the actions of one Immortal man, stubbornly clinging to his once beautiful planet.  

With the surge in success of books like “50 Shades of Grey,” there has been an up-swell in the amount of erotica available on the market. Even the Steampunk genre has seen entrants into the field like “Steam Lust,” an anthology of erotica that did its level best to include as much brass and leather as it could in between its sex scenes. However, so many of the entrants into erotica, and specifically into Steampunk erotica, are so focused on putting the sex scenes in the center ring that they forget that sex, like any other element, is there to progress and support the story. That is, in short, why I wrote “The Unusual Transformation of Abraham Carver.”

This ebook, which takes the form of a short story trilogy, is my contribution to the extra-steamy side of the Steampunk genre. Iris Carver's husband Abraham is slowly dying of a rare bone marrow disease, and he has only one hope to survive; a transplant through an experimental procedure from his older brother. Joseph Carver, who has been sentenced to hang by the neck until dead, signs the papers after Iris “persuades” him, and the procedure is a success. However, Abraham is not the man he used to be. His habits are changing, and there's something shadowy living behind his eyes, glimpsing out at the world. Will Iris discover how much of her husband is left, before it's too late?

What I wanted to do with this story was to make it different from other erotica, and even other Steampunk, on the market. It's a dark tale, verging on horror, that focuses on the personal journey that Iris and her husband take regarding the unexpected side effects of the procedure. The elements of science are also subtle, with smaller advances except for the MacGuffin of the medical drama. Also, while this story is most definitely an erotica tale (no sense calling a spade anything but what it is), it uses the sex scenes to provide insight to what's happening inside the characters involved. The sex is there to enhance the plot, and to increase tension, rather than just to titillate the reader. With some erotica you could cut out the smut and have a complete story left behind. With “Abraham Carver” though, doing that would eliminate swaths of the plot and leave you with a nonsensical story.

For readers that would like to see erotica and Steampunk where the sex is more than just pornography, and where the cogs are fully moving and functional, then “The Unusual Transformation of Abraham Carver” is what you've been looking for. A love letter to both “Beauty and the Beast” as well as “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” it incorporates elements of the genre while still standing alone in its own, shadowy little section of the library.

“The Unusual Transformation of Abraham Carver” is currently available Pink Petal Books http://pinkpetalbooks.com/The-Unusual-Tranformation-of-Abraham-Carver-by-Neal-F.-Litherland-Jupiter-Gardens-Flare-Undina-Press.html, but it will soon be available on the Kindle and Nook as well.

Just before the supposed Mayan Armageddon, Pink Petal Books released “End of Days,” a collection of post-apocalyptic romance stories. The first of these three stories is “Heart of the Myrmidon,” a retro-futuristic tale by Neal F. Litherland, and his second publication through this particular company.

Back to the first person. When I saw that there was an open call for submissions that were “post-apocalyptic romance with a happy ending,” I decided to pick up that gauntlet and craft a whole new world. Into that strange punch bowl I mixed in the trope of the space marine, a dash of Greek myth, an alien invasion, a statement on battle fatigue in veterans and a blasted world that had to go back in order to go forward. What came out was Pollux, a survivor of the Battle of Armageddon.

Pollux, as the title of the story implies, is a Myrmidon. Genetically altered humans, Myrmidons are giants that gained half their DNA from the alien invaders, the energy-based Hyperion. Huge in stature, Myrmidons were trained by mankind's greatest warriors from birth to fight and die when the alien armada came. And for 20 years these lab grown titans did just that, fully expecting to lay down their lives for men and women they would never meet when the invaders came. But while many of them died, a startling number survived. That was 8 years ago. Now the world's surface has been destroyed, the planet altered, heat and dangerous rains falling on the remnants of the old cities. Below, mankind survives and tries to fix the damage it did while falling back into many of its old habits. But Pollux, like many of the other Myrmidon, wanders the above and below grounds and wonders what to do now. Weapons without a war, their service done, they search for a purpose in a world that doesn't need them.

Though limited in scope (I'd like to revisit this world and write a novel if there's demand for that kind of project) the world that Pollux lives in has regressed in order to survive. Because the Hyperion were energy based the most effective weapons were WWII-era style cannons and shrapnel, with speed shooters and hot lead some of the best weapons of war. The whole world, in fact, feels like a twisted Wonderland, where technology advanced but the world is still operating like some strange combination of 1940s war time and 1920s Prohibition. The archetype of the big bruiser with a few medals for valor in a drawer who's looking for a cause or a case fits very naturally, despite the post-apocalyptic setting.

At its core, “Heart of the Myrmidon” was an attempt to inject humanity back into the archetype of the super-soldier. I felt that too often that lack of mercy or humanity is glorified, and I wanted to see what would happen if all that emotion was put back into the monster. How would someone with real desires, real emotions and real feelings react to the perception of what he is, and to the things he's has to do? How much strain can he take, and where is his breaking point? Those are all questions that I think this story asks, and that I feel apply not just to this story, but to nearly all stories.

Generally speaking, collections of short stories are going to be very hit or miss as a reading endeavor. All it takes is one really poor inclusion to leave a bad taste in the reader's mouth, and half a dozen other authors may not get their tales looked at as a result. When it comes to “Steampunk II: Steampunk Revolution” that certainly seems to be the case.

The collection starts off on a high note with the introduction. It explains, roughly, that the tales in this particular collection are geared towards inventions and discoveries that can enact widespread change. Maybe it's the amalgamation of flesh and steel, or the discovery of alien artifacts that have taken technology in never-before-dreamed directions. No matter the macguffin, these stories are meant to show the reader big, sweeping changes that could affect not just a city, but the entire world.

In a truly technical sense, the stories included follow through on the letter of the introduction. However, the spirit of adventure and of new discoveries feels, at times, like reading a history textbook that isn't terribly interesting. The bar's already set fairly high with the inclusion of big names like Cherie Priest and Carrie Vaughn, and then once the reader gets jazzed up on the introduction, what you're expecting is a slam dunk. Gears should be turning, bullets should be flying and monsters of science should be around every corner. But just as the book tries to whisk away the sheet and show you the miracle of the modern age, the wheels come off and it collapses into a scrap heap.

There is nothing, in a technical sense, wrong with the tales in this book. As with anything, there will be an audience that can read and enjoy them. However, there is little to no spirit in most of the stories. Passive tenses run rampant, sucking the life out of what could be exciting tales, and lazy writing leads to the creation of caricatures not unlike the depiction of ethnic minorities by Robert E. Howard at the peak of his fame. There is very little action, and very little in the way of truly new or interesting steampunk devices that haven't been done in a different way before. One or the other might pass, but both of these sins together make the book nearly unreadable for people looking for something really revolutionary.

In short, “Steampunk III” commits all the errors you can in style, while still presenting stories where the grammar makes sense and the plot math works out. There are heroes and heroines, bizarre oddities and daring attempts at innovation. However, everything moves in sepia tones and is being recited by a narrator from the past century. Were it possible to breathe a little life into it, and to cut away from the mummified and stilted tropes, it would have been a much more satisfying read.

Greetings! *tips tricorne hat in your direction*

I've been forever interested in transmedia storytelling. Where a bunch of artists get together and tell an immersive story. And now there are two transmedia steampunk books coming out: Steampunk Holmes and Steam Patriots! They're produced by Noble Beast Publishing, and they look like they're of utmost quality.

Steampunk Holmes' book is already out, and it's an incredible read. And now Steam Patriots has started a Kickstarter campaign! I'm really looking forward to it.

Steam Patriots is a re-imagining of the Revolutionary War, in the world of Steampunk. Think Benjamin Franklin with a lightning gun and the Redcoats coming in airships!

Hi, I'm a musician and love any music, so I thought it would be cool just to put a post out and ask what bands or singers that I should listen to (as the area I'm from we never got told about Steam Punk). I would be very grateful. :D Thanks!

Greetings, steampunk community! 

We have taken the famous poem by Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven, and fused it with the world of steampunk. This dark tale vividly depicts one mans decent into insanity, due to the loss of his love. As he ponders his loss...he is visited by a dark creature. A raven. This is where things begin to fall apart...literally.

Check it out here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bigfloodproductions/the-raven 

The beautiful thing is, the room that this whole plot unfolds in represents his mind.  Being steampunk, with all the pipes and gears etc the room (his mind) has function, it feels alive! But this life amy be short lived- as it slowly begins to fall apart around him, just as his sanity is crumbling.

We are ready to film, but we need the funding. So, we have launched a kickstarter campaign but need YOU to help back us! 

Most people consider the first World War to be right around the last throes of the Victorian era, and as such some don't consider anything that comes after it to be true steampunk. However, the novel “By the Blood of Heroes” by Joseph Nassise is a book that any fan of the genre would be pleased by.

The Great War has been raging for years, so much so that many soldiers are having trouble recalling when there wasn't a war. The Kaisar's forces were on their way to a rout when the gas came, and the dead rose to fight the living. With their cause resurrected Germany has fought back on all fronts, pushing the Allies against the ropes and threatening to reverse the course of the war. But there is more behind the walking dead than a simple scientific anomaly, and a recently downed American ace might be the key to it all. That's why it's imperative that a team cross the borders, avoid the hordes of ravenous dead and the patrols of heavily armed soldiers to steal the ace from under the rotting nose of Manfred Von Richtofen, the Red Baron himself!

“By the Blood of Heroes” is a war torn, steampunk story that takes on the gadgetry of Nicola Tesla and straps it on the duty belts of a story that has the heart and spirit of “Where Eagles Dare” or
“The Great Escape.” Filled with drama, surprises and plenty of spitting lead this first in the Great Undead War series sets up a fun story that keeps you turning the pages, and which is in for the long haul as more than one book is definitely promised by the ending.

Now a distinction should be made that this novel might not exactly be a “good” book. It's main charms lie in the scent of cordite and the wet stickiness of mud and blood in the trenches of the Great War... this does however make it fun and easy to read. “By the Blood of Heroes” doesn't exactly contribute new ideas or mechanisms to the genre, with old standbys like clockwork limbs and lightning guns taking most of the gadgetry forefront, but these old genre props do set the feeling of a very different war. Additionally, the pacing and easy language more than makes up for any of the shortcomings that the story could arguably be said to have. And for those who are familiar with the “Rogue Angel” series, you'll notice that a lot of the action sequences are cousins of that mysteriously popular series.

Is “By the Blood of Heroes” worth the sticker price? Well, if you're looking to get the first in a series about brave, crazy soldiers risking life and limb, both natural and mechanical, in crazy stunts of daring do for country and family, then you're not likely to be disappointed. And failing that, the time it takes to request an inter-library loan is probably well spent on this particular piece of literature.

For those that have seen Mike Resnick's “The Buntline Special” on bookshelves and thought that a steampunk shoot out at the OK Corral was a horse that couldn't lose, I am sorry to inform you that much like the-thing-that-was-Johnny-Ringo, “The Buntline Special” is an interesting abomination that, while it moves around and tells a story, simply has no soul.

Now, for those of you that have seen the movie “Tombstone,” you know just what the story is about. The three Earp brothers come to Tombstone, Arizona to make a home, get involved in local business and then become law enforcement officers to ensure the peace of their town. The Cowboys, red-sashed desperadoes lead by men like the Clantons, “Curly Bill” Brocius and the gunslinger Johnny Ringo, were the major force in the area, and this massive outlaw gang of killers and horse thieves wasn't pleased with the new law in town. So shootouts occurred, with the infamous Henry “Doc” Holliday and several others joining Wyatt Earp and his brothers to put down the gang for once and good. Or at least that's the bare bones of the story that “The Buntline Special” is trying to tell.

Now, Resnick's major problem is that this book is really, really bland. No description of the town of Tombstone is given, the weather of Arizona isn't referenced, we're given the names of characters but no real description of how they look, act or sound. And all of that can be forgiven if the story is truly engaging, but it's not.

“The Buntline Special” is first and foremost a weird Western. Problem is that it seems to have forgotten that it's a Western. Not just a Western though, but a Western about a place and time that is very thoroughly documented. Alternate history aside, there is no excuse for not knowing the culture and the language of an area and a time. None of the character's dialogue seems period, and it destroys any idea that you might actually be in the queen of the boom towns during one of the most dangerous periods in its history.

Second, this novel tries to be a steampunk story. It fails here too, coming across as a definitive “paint it brass colored and hope no one notices” flub. Thomas Edison (who is portrayed as a kindly, absent minded inventor when history shows he was something of a money grubbing prick) has been moved to Tombstone where he and Ned Buntline (famous for inventing truly quality guns) start churning out steampunk inventions faster than you can spit. There's super-hardened brass plates that are totally bullet proof, steam-powered prosthetics, and robot prostitutes... but it seems as if Resnick never considered the ripple effects here. The geniuses set up shop here more than a year ago, yet there's no railroad coming to take advantage of these amazing discoveries, there is no increased business or demand from the outside world, and the town is still the same, small town of Tombstone that we see. How are the necessary materials getting into Tombstone for the inventors to modify and invent? Where are they producing electricity from, since there's no coal mines or anything else they could use? These brilliant inventions are established as the norm, but there's been no attention paid as to the logistics of how they're produced. The reason steampunk takes place in cities like London or New York is that inventing complex machinery on old science takes resources that you can only have ready to hand in a big city, and “The Buntline Special” seems to forget that the reason everything was so out-dated on the frontier was because there was nothing on the frontier except the occasional stream, cows, some trees and a lot of Indians.

For those that are fans of both romance and Steampunk (which it should be stated I am, since I've dedicated significant time and effort to my own series combining these two things), a book that claims to be a collection of Steampunk erotica should send the pressure gauges rising. Unfortunately, like any machine that's built more in fancy than in fact, “Steam Lust” looks great on paper, but it has several, major design flaws.

Let's begin with the nuts and bolts of the collection. The first, major flaw is that it has a distinct feeling of fiction with the gears glued on. Most of the stories in the collection aren't Steampunk erotica; they're erotica that's using Steampunk as a prop. Nearly every story in the collection could work in a variety of other genres with almost no editing except to take out reference to the years and to change the design of machines to being made of sleek steel rather than polished brass. These stories could be greatly enhanced, on the whole, with a little more attention paid to the feeling of the worlds and the setting as something beyond a convenient back drop so it would fit into this genre.

Moving on to more serious errors in the collection though is the question of suspension of disbelief. The authors are already asking us to believe in time travel, advanced mechanical creatures and clockwork automatons that have achieve self-awareness, and that's par for the course in Steampunk. But when you're asking your audience to believe things like that, you have to give them characters that are rooted in reality, whose motivations and actions make sense and who we'll concede might be real people. This is where “Steam Lust” falls flat on its face.

Don't take my word for it though, I'll provide examples. Right out of the gate, the first story in the collection, involves a beautiful engineer (all the men and all the women are hauntingly, cosmetically perfect, but that's another gripe) meeting a baron who is a war hero that bears clockwork appendages from his wounds. They have never met before, never seen each other, and they are so overtaken with desire that within 10 minutes of meeting they're stripping each others' clothes off. But where the locomotive jumps the rails is the baron mentioning the engineer's one true love, who he knows is recently deceased, and who mid-coitus proposes marriage to this woman that he's just met for the first time in the flesh. I wish this was only one bad story, but this is a pattern that “Steam Lust” displays with startling regularity. The formula goes “beautiful woman meets a man for the first time and they come together in a beautiful, loving embrace that ends in instant agreement of marriage or monogamy.” Of course the collection mixes it up with an alternative formula of “beautiful but unappreciated woman that has pined for a beautiful and reserved man finds out at the last moment that he also pines for her but had never said anything for fear of rejection.”

If the math plays out then by all means follow it, and you could blame the writers or the editors of this collection, but the predictability of “Steam Lust” brings the collection across as flat and one dimensional. Despite the number of characters that are involved in world wars or military action there is never once a story that involves gun play or pugilism, never a story where characters argue loudly or display mature reactions to talk about issues and problems. Even the smuttier parts of the book, potentially the entire selling point for many readers, fall victim to the pattern of predictability. While a common misconception is that Victorian men and women were uptight and suppressed, research and history (even the queen's personal journals) shows that they were quite inventive in the realm of sex.