The Extraordinary World of Steampunk

At the last conference I attended, I heard the buzz about Steampunk, saw attendees dressed in steampunkish wear and was totally fascinated. I don’t claim to know what this amazing world is all about but I am quite intrigued that one can combine brass googles, motorcycle boots, a tight corset, suede or lace skirt and somehow manage to look gorgeously steamfashioned.

A long time fan of alternative fiction, science fiction and fantasy, I’m so glad to see books coming out in this sub-genre, especially romance. According to author Jeff VanderMeer, Steampunk, a term first coined in 1987, is a “retro- and forward-looking sense of adventure and discovery.” Steampunk has hit pop culture, and we can see influences in movies, art, comics and fashion.
Click on the link to his article about the history of Steampunk


I’ve done some research on this topic and found that there are some die-hard Steampunk fans. Some who are purists about certain details. Similarly, there are avid fans in the vampire realms and the Regency era and I think it’s cool that these groups have such a loyal community. As with the vampire genre, I think this sub-genre will evolve as well where authors will create their own worlds and their own rules. Still, there must be a balance so verisimilitude and the flavor of Steampunk are maintained.

DEFININITION:
Ask different people what Steampunk is and you’ll get a variety of definitions. I found several different definitions on various websites and blogs. To me, Steampunk is usually (but not always) set during the 1800s where technology somehow has gone a bit skewed. Scientific advancements combine with the old, mechanical devices tend to be steam-powered, and are comprised of gears, cogs and clockwork parts. Dirigibles, time machines, mechanical spiders, automatons, amazing underwater ships and cities, underground cities and moon rockets are just some of the oddities that can be found in Steampunk. But the setting doesn’t end there. Futuristic and otherworldly Steampunk setting are showing up. Look at the movie City of Ember. And don't forget the characters. I think the characters in Steampunk story are adventure seeking, daring, and at times stubborn, rebellious and rough around the edges outlaws or distinquished gentlemen. Wonderful sources for stories and heroes.

Thanks to BrassGoggles for the following definitions. She has a fabulous site on all things Steampunk.

SUB-TYPES OF STEAMPUNK:
Victorian Science Fiction – Steampunk set in Victorian era with futuristic or science fiction elements. Think: The Time Machine by H. G. Wells.
Gaslamp Fantasy – The Girl Genius Steampunk, tight bodices, slapstick comedy and non-humans. Setting is variable, doesn’t have to be Victorian.
Fireside Science Fiction – A warm and cozy type where Victorian gentlefolk may begin their adventure around a fireplace with a small brandy, but could end up on the moon or beyond!
Neo-Victoriania – A Japanese originated alternative where the aim is to recreate certain Victorian aspects of life using modern tools and ways. Elegant Gothic Lolita.
Wild/Weird West – Centered on the American West in the 19th Century. You’ll find cowboys and scientists alongside saloon girls and giant mechanical spiders. Wild, Wild, West.
Voyages Extraordinaire – As seen in the Victorian adventures of Jules Verne.
Scientific Romance – An early, mostly British, name for science fiction, that fell out of fashion, but was also used to describe Verne’s works. Now being used more for nostalgic Victorian based science fiction.

I also came across Industrial Steampunk (futuristic), Clockpunk (1500s), dieselpunk (WWII) and Cyberpunk (computer/informational). I’m sure there are others.
Here’s Wiki’s take on Steampunk

So what do you like about Steampunk? What do you know about it? Please share your views.

Adventures in Herb Gardening

While in the Poconos this weekend, I was sitting outside with my family and a young guy in his early twenties walked over to the picnic table carrying a potted plant in each hand. One plant looked like a prickly pear cactus and the other, a scraggly green plant of some sort. He went on to tell my step-sister how he found the cactus partially uprooted and nearly dead in some rocks in the woods, and then managed to transplant it. He was showing us how well it was doing. Apparently, the prickly pear cactus, the state cactus of Texas and found throughout the Southwest is the only natively grown cactus in Pennsylvania (and the eastern United States and southern Canada). I grew up in this area, hiked, camped and never knew cactus grew here. I figured it would be too cold.

The other plant he was giving to my step-sister was sage for her herb garden and gave her a few suggestions for cooking. So the topic of herb gardens started which gave me an idea. I’ve been looking at the bare small patio area by my back door and trying to figure out what to do with it. Why not put in a potted herb garden? And a few potted flowers?

I was told all I need are large pots, (Herbs need a lot of space because they can grow fast) good potting soil, organic fertilizer, water and at least four hours of sun. Sounds easy? Hmmm. Right.

Considering most of my daffodils didn’t come up this year and I can’t figure out why, this may be a waste of time. But I’m not entirely a failure at gardening. I have a few things that grow well. Lavender grows like weeds and my hydrangea are huge (I did kill them one year with fertilizer but they came back.) The iris's are looking good too and black-eyed susans want to take over the garden by the end of summer.

What herbs to grow? I’ll try a few to start. I’ll pick a couple from this list: Rosemary, Sage, Mint, Oregano, Marjoram, Basil, Thyme, Tarragon, Savory, Cilantro, Chives, Dill, and Parsley.

Herbs can be used for cooking, teas, healing purposes, or made into fragrant potpourris. Or grown for the added variety of colors and textures in the garden.

Some of the uses for herbs: Basil is one of my favorites, especially mixed with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, but it is also said to be an anti-inflammatory.

Mint can be dried and brewed into teas that may soothe stomachaches.

Parsley is high in iron and vitamins A, B, C and trace minerals.

Thyme has been used for its infection-fighting and cough suppressive qualities. Thyme tea is an old time cough and hangover remedy.

Lavender—I like to snip the flowers, place them in a mesh bag and tuck them under my pillow to help me sleep.

I’ll start shopping for my supplies and let you know how my herb garden does.

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Romantic Times Convention 2010 Hot Topics

*Check out the contest for Passion Sense members at the end of this post.






I attended the Romantic Times Convention in Columbus, Ohio last week from April 28th – May 1st, my third RT, and as always it was a blast. I enjoyed seeing my author friends and making new ones, talking about the business, books, promo, etc. I helped out with decorations for the Ellora’s Cave party on Tuesday and Wednesday and was totally amazed by the amount of work the EC staff puts in for this event. Same goes for the staff at the RT magazine.

There were a number of great workshops and panels. It was hard to choose many times. I did sit in on a panel about vampires with Charlaine Harris and a number of others. It was fun to watch fans go up and descend upon the speaker table. I sat in on workshops about marketing and promotions, contract issues, various publishers’ spotlights, the agents’ panel, and a panel about steampunk.

Water and Fire element faeries
Steampunkish

Kathy Kulig - Faery Ball

Cris Anson & Lacey Thorn

It was great to finally get to meet some of the FF & P gang at the Happy Hour and trying some of the interesting cocktail concoctions. Thanks to Liz and Dawn and everyone who set that up. What a nice group.

Mark & Tracy Cooper-Posey, HOT, HOT, HOT




















Cindy Spencer-Pape, pretty & earthy


Stephanie Julian & Judi Fennell














Kathleen Coddington & Tina Gallager
Ellora's Cave Party

The two panels I did went well: Twitter Unplugged and Building Paranormals from the Ground Up. I have a few new Tweeple following me and everyone picked up my handout “Why am I Not Being Followed”. I had a fan girl moment chatting with Rebecca York who sat next to me on the panel. Squeee! We talked about gardening, shapeshifters, and Sedona, Arizona. She’s planning a trip there and wants to write a future book/series with that setting. I told her DAMNED AND DESIRED http://www.jasminejade.com/pm-8075-327-damned-and-desired.aspx is set in Sedona. She had her husband stop by my table at the book signing to ask me about Sedona some more. Stella Price was on the panel too and what a sweetheart. I loved her steampunkish outfits. I could get into that.


I also had the pleasure to talk briefly to Barry Eisler and JA Konrath. I’m a fan of both. Joe Konrath played a part in Heather Graham’s Vampire Ball play. What a riot. I kept having flashback images of John Belushi in Animal House. Except Joe had some kind of furry hat. (Sorry Joe).
Barry Eisler, Kathy, JA Konrath

The book fair was PACKED. Quite a turn out. Off course fans swarmed to JR Ward and Charlaine Harris. After a short time, fans had to take numbers and they announced about 20 or 40 at a time to help keep the lines manageable. JR Ward cut off signing at 1500!!! A YA author Rochelle Mead sat across from me and she had a huge line. Finally, they moved her to her own table. She stayed late to sign everyone. Never heard how many.


The Dorchester Party had a theme – Prom Night. Old 50s, 60s Prom night. Some people wore prom type dresses and they played oldies. It was fun. But the best part of the night was that in the smaller ball room adjacent to our ball room, there was a REAL high school promo going on. One cute young couple apparently walked into the wrong ball room. They took one look at the dance floor and realized their mistake. OMG wrong prom! They quickly left.



CONTEST for Passion Sense Newsletter members only:
Win a Jimmy Thomas tote bag. Jimmy made up these fabulous oversized tote bags for the RT Convention. And I have two to give away.

They’re a burgundy red color decorated with photos from the book covers he has modeled. All in vivid color. Some of the covers include: PUNISHMENT AND MERCY by Cris Anson, PRETEND WITH ME by Amber Skyze, and DRIVEN BY HUNGER by Desiree Holt. There are 36 covers total. It’s gorgeous. People at the RT Convention were carrying these around.

To WIN: You must be a member of my PASSION SENSE NEWSLETTER. It’s a once a month and occasional announcement Yahoogroup. If you're not a member, click here to sign up: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PassionSense/
or send a blank email to: PassionSense-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

As a Passion Sense member you're automatically entered. I’ll draw a random name on June 1st and July 1st. I’ll announce the names in the newsletter.

Romancing Disaster in the Jungle

With the hit movie 2012, there's a lot of talk about what will happen on December 12, 2012. The premise of the movie goes: With the Mayan calendar ending on December 12, 2012, a large group of people must deal with natural disasters such as volcano eruptions, typhoons, and earthquakes. It’s an action, disaster film depicting what could happen at the end of the world.

In real life, various astronomical alignments and numerological formulae relating to this date have been researched, but there hasn’t been anything to substantiate a cataclysmic event. The Mayan calendar has a 5,125 year cycle and it happens to end of December 12, 2012. NASA compares the 2012 fear to the Y2K issue of the late 1990s.

From Disaster to Romance: If the Maya interest you and you prefer a sexy, adventure romance over doom and gloom, WILD JADE might be a book to check out. (I love the action adventure movies too.) Can love survive 1,300 years? I used the Maya and this premise in my novel WILD JADE.
http://www.jasminejade.com/pm-3973-327-wild-jade.aspx It’s an action adventure story but has no apocalyptic, end-of-the-world story. It’s about a Mayan couple who die tragically and are reincarnated as archeologists. One is haunted by her Shaman father who is warning her of yet more danger. Is the danger from an ancient past or from their present?

In WILD JADE, I used the Mayan calendar to name my hero and heroine from ancient Mesoamerica. Cimi and Kayab are Mayan days.

Will a cataclysmic or transformative event occur on December 12, 2012 as predicted by the Mayan Calendar? I doubt it. I’m sure there will be a ton of people hanging out at the Mayan pyramids in Mexico, Guatemala and other Central American countries drinking Dos Equis or margaritas.

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR ADELE DUBOIS

Welcome to Passion Sense. Today I have Ellora’s Cave author Adele Dubois as a guest. To celebrate her latest release, DO ME GOOD from Ellora's Cave on April 14th, Adele agreed to do an interview.

Adele, can you tell us a little about DO ME GOOD?

I loved writing this story and hope readers enjoy it too. Here’s a summary:

DO ME GOOD by Adele Dubois

Penny throws her hot, but worthless mooch of a boyfriend out on her front lawn with his clothes, and vows never again to be a bum magnet. Exhausted by overwork and mountainous debt, Penny pleads for divine intervention.

Gunnar, a rebellious Nordic warrior cast into servitude by an angry god to learn humility, answers. While Penny sleeps, the celestial arrives to complete her chores, but she awakens and finds him. The handsome immortal kisses her, sparking a passionate, forbidden sexual encounter.

Dark forces seeking vengeance for Gunnar’s past misdeeds mark Penny as a target. To protect his lover, Gunnar tests immortality in a death battle using a god’s magical sword. But the strength of Penny’s love and passion might be what saves them both.

http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8301-50-do-me-good.aspx


Do you have a character in one of your books that continues to haunt you at night or who surprised you when you wrote the book?

I had no idea when I started researching Norse mythology and Nordic Light Elves for DO ME GOOD that Gunnar would transform into such an interesting, multi-layered character. I admit I’ve developed quite a crush on him. He’s my total fantasy hero.

What's the best and worst part of being a writer?

The best part about being a full-time writer is the freedom to work whatever hours I choose. I do my best writing early in the morning until early afternoon. I break for lunch and then work again for a couple of hours. As I tire in the early evening and at night, I work on promotion and answer email. I put in a lot of hours, but take pride in the results when readers and reviewers say they love my stories.

The worst part? For me it’s the back, neck, and shoulder pain caused by long hours at the computer. I haven’t found a product yet that eliminates the stress on my joints and muscles while I work. The physical challenges limit my productivity more often than the creative challenges.

What specific piece of advice would you give a would-be writer trying to kick start a career?

If you have the ability to write a compelling story, work on your book even if your life is filled with conflicting demands. Make time. Don’t put it off. Once the book is finished polish, polish, polish until it’s absolutely perfect. Submit to agents and editors only after you’re sure the book is the best it can be. Be professional right from the start.

What books or authors have influenced your writing?

My local chapter of Romance Writers of America honors one member for outstanding volunteer service each year with the Susan Wiggs Award. When I received my first nomination, six years ago, I hadn’t read a Susan Wiggs novel. Since I’d been nominated for an award in her name, I decided I should become familiar with her work. I bought a few of her books and fell in love with her writing. Her stories and deep characterizations are amazing. She has become one of my favorite authors. Susan Wiggs taught me the power of character-driven plots.

With each of my books, I strive to create relatable characters. When a review site said, “Adele Dubois’ characters are endearing”, I knew I was on the right track.

Do your books have a particular theme or premise?

Regardless of the sub-genre, my stories feature everyday heroes and heroines who face extraordinary circumstances in their ordinary world. I like to write about average people in a contemporary setting whose lives are turned upside down. Even if the story has paranormal elements, my stories are woven with that common thread.

Do you have a favorite hero/heroine?

I think Laurell K. Hamilton’s character, Anita Blake, is one of the best fictional heroines ever written. J.D. Robb’s futuristic character Eve Dallas is terrific too. I also like Modesty Blaise, who might be the first mainstream kick-ass heroine ever created. The Modesty Blaise series by Peter O’ Donnell was published beginning in 1965 in England. I’m the proud owner of the series of vintage Modesty Blaise paperbacks. Those books are some of my most prized possessions.

Would you like to share something surprising about you that not many people know?

Hmm. I think the fact that I write erotic romance novels and that my favorite thing to do outside the house is drive my convertible with the top down says a lot about me as a woman. When I’m not writing stories or driving my car my life is very, very ordinary.

Thank you for inviting me to chat with you and your readers, Kathy! I hope you enjoy reading DO ME GOOD.

Thanks for being my guest Adele. I recommend the readers to check out your website and blog. You always have interesting topics posted and usually a hunky guy or two. And there's more information about your fabulous books.

http://www.adeledubois.com/
www.adeledubois.com/blog

Buy Link: http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8301-50-do-me-good.aspx

How to Increase Productivity

"Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning and focused effort." -Paul J. Meyer

"Great minds have purposes, others have wishes." -- Washington Irving

"Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up." - IBD November 30, 2001.

~

I’ve been working on increasing my productivity and have seen a big improvement by making a few changes in my writing routine.

Stephen King (Productivity King)

"Keep track of what you do and write everyday in a day timer or on a calendar. I record page counts and word counts which shows my progress. I record the total pages at the end of each week and at the end of each month. This is good to know for when you’re contracted and an editor asks, “How long will it take for you to complete the next book?” You’ll also see which months are more productive than others.

I also record days I write up blogs, edit and revise WIP or sold projects. How long does it take for you to edit a completed manuscript?

Blogging is a valuable tool, but also is time consuming. Make note of the time and days you spend on blogging. If you’re blogging too much, maybe you can cut back to once or twice a week. Record any major time chunks like a guest blog event. Keeping track of your time is like keeping track of what you eat during a diet. Sometimes you waste valuable time when you could be writing. For dieting, sometimes you don’t realize how much you eat until you write it all down.

Can you work on small projects like writing a blog during your lunch break? Or bring a chapter to edit? I write most of my blogs during my breaks at work. I check resources and find photos when I get home.

Use a digital timer to limit your time on Twitter, Facebook, email other social networks. If I don’t finish my email by 7:30 pm, I turn it off and begin writing and don’t look at it again until 10:30 pm or later.

Don’t check the Internet for “one little reference question”. I do this a lot and then find myself in a domino effect of searching other topics that don’t even relate to the original question. The things I discover might be interesting, but they’re not helping with my WIP. Instead I add a # sign and type in red and in capitals #LOOK UP SUCH AND SUCH. And later do a search for the # signs.

Buy a digital timer. They’re in the kitchen department at Walmart or Kmart. Set it to count backward from 3 or 2 hours, or whatever you can fit in for uninterrupted writing time. DO NOT get up to answer the phone, check email, make a snack, do laundry, (fill in blank for whatever you do to procrastinate), etc. If you have to get up, pause the timer and continue it when you come back to your writing.

This one may not be a favorite, but it helps. At least one weekend or one day a month, set your alarm for 4 am. YES, 4 am. Try it once. Preset the coffee pot the night before, quietly slip out of bed and go straight to your computer. DO NOT turn on your email. Start writing, even if you feel like you’re not awake, you’re mind is uncluttered, the house it quiet and you have it all to yourself. You’d be surprised how much you can get done. It’s like a mini writing retreat.

Add a Stop Doing List to your To Do List. Have the discipline to unclutter your schedule and stop doing unnecessary projects, volunteering for everything, taking on things you don't have time for, etc. Learn to say "No" and mean it.

Try these tips and see if your productivity improves. Please leave a comment and send me your tip or let me know if any of these tips have helped.

Tote Bag of Hot Books Contest

Spring is in the air, my flowers are blooming and the Romantic Times Convention is just around the corner. I think it's time for a contest. I'm giving away a tote bag full of Ellora's Cave books, a signed copy of one of my back list titles and a canvas tote printed with my latest title Damned and Desired on it. I selected a variety of books from a number of great Ellora's Cave authors and also a couple anthologies.

To enter: Email me at: Kathy@kathykulig.com and give me your name and email and answer these two questions.

1) Tell me your favorite setting for an erotic romance novel. (Is it on a tropical island, in a modern city, in the jungle, at a popular hot spot like Las Vegas, a ski resort, or an exotic locale?) If you don't have a favorite, tell me a setting of the last book you read. Settings usually give me ideas for future books. AND
2) Tell me the setting from one of my books. Hint: Check out the blurbs in my Books section on my website http://www.kathykulig.com/

Drawing: Will be on or around June 22, 2010. Just in time for summer beach reading. And it's also my birthday.

**Entering the contest grants us permission to list your first name as our winner and add you to Kathy's mailing list. Kathy respects your privacy and will not share information with anyone, promise.
Note: I'm really sorry but due to regulations and restrictions I can only offer this contest to addresses in the continental United States.

Feel free to share you favorite setting in the comment sections. Maybe I'll get an idea for an upcoming novel.