Kickstarter for 5 short stories in the Brymlight world is live and on its way! Reward tiers to fit everyone’s pocketbook and reading style – yes, we have ebook *and* printed versions. Higher tiers add some fun art options. Premium tiers are there for someone interested in more unique experiences, like story dedication and livestreams.
Both Chris from LoreSmyth and I will be monitoring the comments and fielding questions throughout the campaign – come join the fun!
One of the reasons I enjoy writing in the Steampunk tradition is its focus on social and economic disparity. I have tried in my writing to emphasize what I believe to be the ‘Punk’ part of Steampunk. That part that focuses on the disenfranchised, the fringes, oppressed, and under represented classes and conditions.
I wrote many of these stories several years ago and they reflected my opinions and feelings at the time, probably no different than the classical writers like Verne and Wells did in their time. As I review these stories getting them ready to be published, I am struck by how relevant, if not more so, that they are now.
Conflict, either direct or indirect and sometimes inadvertent, is the key to writing. I have heard and read that many times and it rings true for me. There are many forms of conflict, of course, ranging from character conflict with the setting to character vs character, and character conflict within themselves.
My favorite, as is my desire to write character driven stories, are the latter two.
Character vs. character in my steampunk western world is represented by the rich and elite oppressing the lower class to maintain their lifestyle all the while still being entirely dependent them. Economic oppression, exploitation of workers, etc. is not a new theme by any stretch. I like to toy around the edges with the interdependencies. Are the privileged dependent on those they oppress? Would they cease to exist if they could not oppress? Do we create our own elite? Do we need these elite we create?
If oppression is integral to the Punk part of steampunk, it clearly is not new either. Captain Nemo was funding rebellion and hated imperialistic nations (Steampunk v1.0?). Moorcock brings forward the same theme of oppression, that of colonists, in The Warlord of the Air (Steampunk v2.0?). Yes, finally getting around to reading what many consider the inventor of Steampunk (v2.0). No spoilers, Land Leviathan and Steel Tsar are queued up! Can I really add anything new to the oppression theme?
My favorite is internal conflict – Character vs Self. Self doubt, self esteem, anxiety, depression, maintaining control. These themes are also as relevant now as they were when I first started writing in my world. Weaving these themes into my stories and creating the flawed characters will, hopefully, let me put the grim reality into what I feel is my version of steampunk – what my publisher coined “Grimpunk.”
Anyways, heavy thinky post behind me, I would invite you to checkout www.brymlight.com for more information an upcoming Kickstarter to fund a small anthology of my short “Grimpunk” stories. There is a place to sign up if you are interested in receiving updates on the KS campaign.
My first, introductory call with Paul (my editor) went great. Total transparency here, I have never worked with an editor that would be taking a more technical look at my writing. I have alpha readers, and I have greatly appreciated their feedback, but this feels like a whole other level for me. In amongst geeking out on various things that we are, well… geeked about, we got to talking about writing and “voice.”
Before going any further – I have to say: I’m really excited about this project! (bet you can’t tell)
One of the things we discussed was Voice and the use of colloquialisms. As an editor, this can make it hard for Paul to sort out whether I meant something to be grammatically incorrect as a colloquialism, or whether it’s just grammatically incorrect.
Stepping back for a second, its pretty cool looking at my writing through the eyes of someone else, an editor that is interested in preserving my writing style but also in cleaning up it and making it better.
We came up with a couple of basic rules (that I will also have to keep in mind as well!)
Grounders (lower social classes) generally walk on characters, will speak pretty heavily in slang and colloquialisms. Main characters, will be better spoken, but may slip into colloquialism when speaking with other grounders. Narrative voice will be the same. Highborn upper classes will be more formal. I have read stories with slangy narrative voice and it just gets annoying pretty quickly.
Official revival of my long neglected blog… because through happenstance, luck, karma, and long odds, I have stumbled into a small independent publisher who would like to publish my steampunk stories!!!
Where we stand right now:
The cover to “Hunting Ghosts: Thrilling Tales of Paranormal Investigation” in which my story Forgotten Memories appears has been posted. Ok – now I am getting excited.
Forgotten Memories is one of several stories I wrote as world building for “The West Wind.” It is Weird West tale set in Johnson City, one of the main locations featured in the book, with Rachel and Clarence West playing walk-on parts. Unlike the book, however, I get to have some fun with the paranormal – ghost hunting obviously. The story centers around “Joe” who wakes up in the Marbury Sanitarium with no recollection of his past or how he arrived there. As the story unfolds, he begins to suspect that his circumstance is somehow related to a recent horrific riverboat accident. His journey of self (re)discovery nearly becomes a descent into madness as he struggles to uncover the truth about his past.
Here is the cover! More info over at the Facebook page of “Hunting Ghosts: Thrilling Tales of Paranormal Investigation.”
I am excited to announce that my short story: Forgotten Memories will be included in “Hunting Ghosts: Thrilling Tales of Paranormal Investigation!”
As the title of the anthology would imply, it is a ghost hunting story and it is set in the Steampunk Western world introduced in “The West Wind” and its sequel-in-progress “Due West.”
For all my Friends on Facebook – head over to Hunting Ghosts Facebook page and give it a “Like.” You will also find the full table of contents and excerpts from the stories being posted. More to come!
Hello lonely blog follower, Facebook friends, and even Twitter account holders who made the ill advised action of following my never so frequent updates. You can be thankful at least that I am not filling your mailboxes and feeds with endless posts. Focused posting. That’s good enough for me… when I get around to it that is.
Despite numerous heartfelt attempts, I have decided that I am completely incapable of generating any enthusiasm for rewriting “The West Wind ” (at least presently) I am therefore pursuing what I believe to be the only sensible course of action… Start writing a new book! If there is a rule that I need to finish rewriting the previous before starting anew, like some sort of literary lima beans before desert, I am afraid I am guilty of its violation.
“Due West” picks up roughly a year following the conclusion of “The West Wind.” Rachel West returns as a principle POV character, as does my favorite troubled and unstable heir Eli Hardy. For my third POV I am introducing a new character, the inimitable inspector Edward Percival Alford sent by the American Colonial government to investigate the extraordinary events of the previous story. The setting remains the same – the Steampunk Western alternate world of the early 1900s.
Scrivener files created, timeline drawing template opened, let the plotting begin!
Even if only in a small way. I am excited to announce that one of my short stories has been selected to be included in a forthcoming horror short story anthology. My first of, hopefully, many more.
I have written and submitted several short stories recently, each taking place in and around the events of The West Wind. Yes, I know, I should be working on the book but I can rationalize these side efforts in a couple of ways:
Un-sticking this post…
Status as of 10/23/11 11/26/11 1/29/12 11/23/12: Putting the rewrite “on hold”
It is the summer of 1912 and the western frontier of the British American Colonies is a pressure cooker of intrigues fueled by greed, resentment, and the need for revenge in this steampunk adventure dominated by plots and power struggles between rich and powerful industrialists. It is a world of massive floating mansions, horses, stagecoaches, airships, private railroad cars, dusty western towns, flying machines, and a traveling mechanical freak show.
Dramatis personæ:
Roland Pritchard – a true success story of Her Majesty’s American Colonies having built an extensive railroad empire that is the backbone of industrial development in the western frontier.
Eli Hardy – the only child of Jakob Hardy, recently returned from studying abroad (something more controversial) and is confronted by the real truth behind his father’s success.
Rachel West – an apprentice clock maker (something less banal) has emigrated fled to the American Colonies in search of a place where she and with her half brother Clarence will be accepted for who they are and not what society dictates. to escape a deadly conspiracy only to find herself embroiled in even more dangerous intrigues.
D.W. Beyer 