Steampunk has been around for a long time — some people date it back to H. G. Wells’ THE TIME MACHINE. Steampunk, in case you don’t know, is fiction with some mixture of Victoriana, steam engines, clockwork, alchemy, and modernity. There sometimes hot air balloons. There are sometimes sky pirates. There are generally modern inventions which run, as they would in days of old, by clockwork or steam power. Corsets are worn, also frock coats. The costumes are dead gorgeous.
And Karen Syed of Echelon Press has come up with a different wrinkle on it: an anthology of four novellas by four different writers, re-imagining four fairy tales as Steampunk.
The result is ONCE UPON A CLOCKWORK TALE.
Inspired by the excitement of the classic fairy tales, four outstanding authors offer their steampunk versions of four favorites. Adventure, intrigue, and deep emotions lead the reader into a different place and time, where almost anything can happen…if you believe.
Katina French, one of the authors, has not only written a funny, touching, frightening, and madly imaginative take on The Snow Queen (the anthology’s third tale, Bitter Cold), she has generously used her own blog to interview her three fellow writers:
Ella Grey interview
Robin Wyatt Dunn interview
Matt Mitrovich interview
Katina French interview by Matt Mitrovich
ONCE UPON A CLOCKWORK TALE is available on Amazon, in paperback for $13.99 and eBook [no longer available] for $4.99, and at Smashwords in multiple electronic formats for $4.99.
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Outline your favorite childhood book as Steampunk. Unless, of course, your favorite childhood book was Steampunk. In which case, you know, don’t.
MA
KatFrench
June 3, 2013 at 9:18amThanks for helping us get the word out, Marian! Also, Matt interviewed Robin and Ella, as well as me. You can find his interview with Ella here: http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2013/05/interview-ella-grey.html
And his interview with Robin here: http://alternatehistoryweeklyupdate.blogspot.com/2013/05/interview-robin-dunn.html
Once Upon a Clockwork Tale was a tremendously fun project to work on. I hope everyone finds it every bit as fun to read. 🙂
Marian Allen
June 3, 2013 at 10:01amThanks for the links to the other interviews, Kat. I’m enjoying the Tales very much, indeed!
Jane
June 3, 2013 at 9:33amI just indulged in a new beer find:
Diesel Punk Porter.
Highly recommended.
Good luck with the anthology.
Marian Allen
June 3, 2013 at 10:02amAh! I’ll look for Diesel Punk Porter, next time I go anywhere fine beers are sold. 🙂
Karen Syed
June 3, 2013 at 10:07amThank you so much for doing this. I will confess though, the idea for the retelling of Fairy Tales, was not my idea. It was actually Sean Hayden who had a story in our first anthology (Her Majesty’s Mysterious Conveyance.)
I am pleased to tell you that our next anthology will be announced soon, but as a preview, Ella Grey (of Once Upon a Clockwork Tale) has decided that the theme for our next anthology will be MYSTERIES. So feel free to get those stories rolling. Oh, but keep in mind, we are going to be looking for Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie type mysteries. No vampires, werewolves, zombies, etc. Straight mysteries folks.
Submission info will go up soon.
Thanks again for these great interviews and the exposure.
Marian Allen
June 3, 2013 at 10:39amThanks for the correction, Karen! I’ll be watching for the call for submissions. Will that be at the Echelon Press website?
Kiril Kundurazieff
June 3, 2013 at 7:32pmHardy Boys & Nancy Drew as Steampunk????? 😀
Marian Allen
June 3, 2013 at 8:54pmOooooo! Me like!