This week Viola helps the Ministry Initiative out.

Check out the Kickstarter for the roleplaying game here.

We’re at 32% funded, and we’ve added new levels so you can find the rewards you want. Coming in the next few days, announcements about stretch goals. We’re excited about this project, but we need your help to get there.

So please share Viola and her spycraft to help spread the word! Cheers!

This is the week of the bloghop, organised by the delightful PJ Schnyder, in support of the Ministry Initiative. What is that you ask…

Galileo Games and Imagine That! Studios have teamed up to bring you an ambitious steampunk project! The Ministry Initiative is a two-part creative endeavor that will not only premiere new fiction from the steampunk world of the Ministry but also present a brand new role playing game from the makers of Bulldogs! and the ENnie Award winning game Shelter in Place. Thrill to the tales in Ministry Protocol anthology, or join in as an Agent in The Ministry Initiative RPG.
Find out more about this endeavor and support the Kickstarter here: http://bit.ly/ministry-initiative

Everyone on the bloghop is giving away something. Those in the Ministry Protocol, the new anthology we are Kickstarting, are giving away the stories that they are including in the series. Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine, will be giving away their story…the one that reveals the founding of the Ministry.

Yes, that story.

If you want to be one of the first to read this brand new story then enter the rafflecopter below, and don’t forget to hop on over to all the other neat stops on the tour, to win more cool, neat things…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It’s all hands to the pump here at the Ministry. Everything we have is pouring into the Ministry Initiative, so we can bring some amazing new stories and a roleplaying game into the world.

So, we’ve had to cut back on some things—like the budget for new recruits. You may not know this about the Ministry, but we are rife with cats. Mr Books from the Archives has one at home, Archimedes I believe his name is. Miss Shillingworth has it turns out quite a few.

So time to see if they can be put to work. Now, naturally work is not the expected environment for our feline friends, however there are a couple that seem to have an aptitude for spycraft. We’re putting them through their paces in the next few weeks, and we reckoned on sharing their progress.

This fine young chap is Sebastian. A good solid British name…but apparently he is actually from Siberia. Still, needs must.

We’ll keep you informed on the cat training programme here at the Ministry as it progresses. For now, please share Sebastian’s progress on your social media channels. It turns out that cats are remarkably vain…whoever knew that?!

It has been a long time planning, but it is finally here.

In conjunction with Galileo Games, and using the talents of some truly incredible professionals, our Ministry Kickstarter is off and running.

In the next month we need to raise $20,000 so that we can launch a brand new anthology and a role-playing game. Check out our offerings, and specials, and please help spread the word on your various social networks. This is a huge project, but we are excited to be finally setting forth on it.

Galileo Games and Imagine That! Studios have teamed up to bring you an ambitious steampunk project! The Ministry Initiative is a two-part creative endeavor that will not only premiere new fiction from the steampunk world of the Ministry but also present a brand new role playing game from the makers of Bulldogs! and the ENnie Award winning game Shelter in Place. Thrill to the tales in The Ministry Protocol, or join in as an Agent in The Ministry Initiative.

The Ministry Protocol bring you stories from all over the globe, by some of the finest voices in steampunk, science fiction, fantasy and romance.

Delilah S. Dawson is a native of Roswell, Georgia and the author of the paranormal romance Blud series for Pocket, including WICKED AS THEY COME and WICKED AS SHE WANTS and two e-novellas, THE MYSTERIOUS MADAM MORPHO and THE PECULIAR PETS OF MISS PLEASANCE. Her short story THE THREE LIVES OF LYDIA will be in Gallery’s Carniepunk anthology in July 2013. Her first YA, a creepy paranormal called SERVANTS OF THE STORM will be available in  2014 from Simon Pulse. RT Book Reviews has called her “a wonderfully fresh new voice!” and “on the fast track to the top of the genre!” and awarded WICKED AS SHE WANTS the May Seal of Excellence.

In the Ministry Protocol, Deliliah takes the Ministry back to Paris, where she spins a tale of bakery and gargoyles.

May 15th is very near…the clock is ticking

The Ministry Protocol bring you stories from all over the globe, by some of the finest voices in steampunk, science fiction, fantasy and romance.

Files on the participating agents have now been declassified and we can finally reveal them in this series.

Alex White lives in the woodland city of Huntsville, Alabama, where he writes pulp fiction and performs it with his wife, Renée.  They have a son who is part dinosaur, a blind dog and a cat that acts like Zsa Zsa Gabor.

He is best known for his podcast The Gearheart, The Gearheart: Artifice, The Gearheart: The Maiden Flight of the Avenger, and being the epitome of a renaissance man. He not only writes fiction, and music, but he also produces beautiful scores to go along with his podcasts. Alex is in fact the composer of the Ministry theme music, How Peculiar. In addition, to writing for the anthology, he will be producing the cover art for both it and the RPG. When the Ministry is done with Alex, he probably will need a nap.

In the Ministry Protocol, Alex takes us to Russia and into the clutches of Baba Yaga herself!

May 15th is very near…the clock is ticking

The Ministry Protocol bring you stories from all over the globe, by some of the finest voices in steampunk, science fiction, fantasy and romance.

Files on the participating agents have now been declassified and we can finally reveal them in this series.

Look on wikipedia under ‘Steampunk’, and you will Jared Axelrod’s face staring back at you. Yes, he’s that guy.

He is an author, an illustrator, a graphic designer, a sculptor, a costume designer, a podcaster and quite a few other things that he’s lost track of but will no doubt remember when the situation calls for it.

He is a founding member of the daily flash-fiction website 365 TOMORROWS, and the writer and producer of two science-fiction podcasts, “The Voice Of Free Planet X” and the serial “Aliens You Will Meet.”

His graphic novel (with Steve Walker doing illustrations) The Battle of Blood and Ink, includes a flying city and revolution against authority. Yes, it’s that steampunk. You can also find the companion podcast Fables of the Flying City online and free.

Jared can be found on Twitter , Flickr, Livejournal and on his website.

Most of all he is not domestic, he is a luxury, and in that sense, necessary.

In the Ministry Protocol, Jared takes us into the horror that is Doctor Axelrod and Eliza Braun’s first…and only…night on the town.

As the countdown begins…

The Ministry Protocol bring you stories from all over the globe, by some of the finest voices in steampunk, science fiction, fantasy and romance.

Files on the participating agents have now been declassified and we can finally reveal them in this series.

Dan is a writer of fantasy novels and speculative fiction, sometime narrator of podcasts (including stories for the Hugo award-winning StarShipSofa), occasional sailor of sailing things, and father of two wee miracles in a little house on a hill, under the southern sun of New Zealand.

He is a Sir Julius award finalist this year for his story Paint By Numbers, and appears in the upcoming When the Hero Comes Home 2 from Dragon Moon Press.

You can find Dan on his website and on Twitter

In the Ministry Protocol, Dan continues the adventures of Agent King and Ferguson in New Zealand, and delves into the mythology of the Maori people. What they find there may, however, be their undoing…

The Ministry Protocol bring you stories from all over the globe, by some of the finest voices in steampunk, science fiction, fantasy and romance.

Files on the participating agents have now been declassified and we can finally reveal them in this series

J.R. Blackwell is a writer and photographer. Her essay “Evidence of a Baker” was published in the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster in March 2006. Her stories have been published by Escape Pod Magazine, Aoife’s Kiss, Kaleidotrope, Bewildering Stories, Static Movement Magazine, EMG Magazine, HeavyGlow Magazine and in the first Podiobook anthology “Voices: New Media Fiction”. She is one of the founding members of 365tomorrows.com which produces a new piece of science fiction daily.

J.R. has produced the covers to the Anthology “Voices: New Media Fiction” and the novels “Playing for Keeps”, “The Case of the Singing Sword” and “The Case of the Pitchers Pendant”. Her photography has been featured in SubLit Magazine and Flames Rising Magazine. J.R. is the Creative Director at Galileo Games and  holds a Masters of Liberal Arts from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, artist Jared Axelrod.

She can be found on her website and her Twitter account.

In the Ministry Protocol, J.R. throws Wellington Books and her namesake Doctor Blackwell together once more. The archivist can only wonder if he will survive…

As the countdown begins…

The Ministry Protocol bring you stories from all over the globe, by some of the finest voices in steampunk, science fiction, fantasy and romance.

Files on the participating agents have now been declassified and we can finally reveal them in this series

Jack Mangan is known in the podcasting community as The Iron Man of Podcasting—he has been working in the sphere for decades (at least in internet time). Since 2005, Jack has been podcasting Jack Mangan’s Deadpan Podcast, a variety show that is heavy on the variety. He was also part of the podiobook vanguard on Podiobooks.com with Spherical Tomi: A Novel of Despair, a cyberpunk samurai’s tale. Jack’s short fiction has appeared in audio and in print in collections like The Amityville House of Pancakes and Podthology: The Pod Complex. His Ministry short story Night’s Plutonian Shore was a finalist for Best Short Fiction in the Parsec Awards.

In that story Jack named the American counterpart of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. The Office of the Supernatural and Metaphysical will now be featured heavily in Books Three and Four of the series.

In the Ministry Protocol, Jack takes us once more adventuring with Agents Brandon Hill and Bruce Campbell, the subjects of Night’s Plutonian Shore. This time both agents have to face the true consequences of their actions.

These features as a way for the Ministry to highlight artists, musicians, and makers of all variety. With so many talented individuals to choose from, we know it is a challenge to feature every clever creative worthy of note, but perhaps we might endeavour to introduce to you a new name in our community of steam and cog, or perhaps remind you of one artisan’s successful efforts to bring the past that never was to the here and now.
 This week’s Æther Feature by Cara Schulz for May 9th, 2013, is now submitted for your pleasure:

Steampunk & Glamping Intersect to Revive the Grand Tour

From the 1700’s until the early 1900’s Brits engaged in what was known as the Grand Tour.  Wealthy men, and sometimes families, traveled across France and Italy in search of art, culture and to soak in the roots of Western civilization.   In the mid-1800’s the more adventurous traveled the lengths of Britain’s empire, enjoying trips down the Nile, safaris in Africa, and High Tea in India.  With nearly unlimited funds, and the time to match, they traveled in style and comfort.  Servants lugged their massive four foot high steamer trunks across desserts, through jungles, and onto pleasure boats.  They dressed for dinner and ate off real china and drank out of crystal glasses while camping at the foot of the pyramids.

Photo Credit: Martin and Osa Johnson, Eastman Kodak Museum

In the present many are recreating the style and the feel of the Grand Tour, if not the exotic locales, without realizing it. It is the middle class who are taking camping trips with real china and fine linens.  The extended economic downturn across the West encouraged them to look for more inexpensive vacations and as a result, camping has increased each year for the past eight years.  With the influx of non-traditional campers comes a new attitude.  They aren’t interested in roughing it, they want luxury. The Travel Channel named glamping, or glamorous camping, one of the Five Hottest Trends in Girl Getaways in 2012.

Glamping often looks like Steampunk camping.  The style strives to resemble Victorian Brits with their well-made, durable, wood-and-brass travel furniture but often falls flat because modern camping gear is cheaply made, ugly, and falls apart.  As a bonus it’s uncomfortable.  Regular furniture isn’t very portable or weather-proof.  As someone who loves both Steampunk and camping this was a source of frustration.  One I hope to rectify with a Kickstarter for a book and line of quality camp gear with a decided neo-Victorian vibe.

Photo caption: One example of how modern glamping looks like Steampunk camping.  From the book Martinis & Marshmallows: A Field Guide to Luxury Tent Camping.

Over the past decade I’ve found what works and all too often, what doesn’t.  I’ve learned what the Victorian Brits knew, style, comfort, and function are equally important.  Pouring over photos, drawings, and books about the Grand Tours has reinforced the maxim that good design is good design.  Which is what Steampunk is all about.  Timeless design with a hint of whimsy instead of pretentiousness.

Photo caption:  Solid walnut and brass portable bar available on Kickstarter.

I’ve brought everything I’ve learned in the past decade together in a new book and a new line of camping gear so I can share it with others.  Martinis & Marshmallows: A Field Guide to Luxury Tent Camping is full of tips, ideas, tutorials and products that help make camping comfortable, stylish, and enjoyable.  The line of camping gear recreates the historical furniture and accessories used by the Brits in the mid-1800’s while on Grand Tour.  It’s handcrafted, beautiful, and durable enough you’ll  be able to hand it down to your children. The very first piece, a portable bar, is available as a reward for backing my Kickstarter to fund both the book and the launch of the camping gear line.  I’ll be taking the bar to DragonCon and to a few other Steampunk gatherings this summer as it isn’t just for camping.  When it’s not on the road, it has pride of place in my living room.  If the Kickstarter is successful we’ll be recreating other pieces like steamer trunks, portable vanities, and chairs.

Since I’m showing off the bar, as the perfect piece to demonstrate the intersection of Steampunk and Glamping, I’ll leave you with a cocktail recipe from the early 1900’s.  It’s a French cocktail called Aviation.  It’s worth it to find the Crème de Violette.

Photo credit:  The Barman

1 part gin

½ part lemon juice

⅓ part Maraschino

⅙ part Crème de Violette

Shake well with ice and strain in to a cocktail glass.

Cara Schulz

Cara is currently the Managing Editor for PNC-News, a not-for-profit news organization serving the Pagan, Heathen, and polytheist communities.

She’s served as Communications Director, Vice President, and President of the International Events Society (ISES) Minneapolis/St Paul. Sales Director for Exhibitor Magazine.

She’s married, has an adult son, and no tattoos.

As the countdown begins…

The Ministry Protocol bring you stories from all over the globe, by some of the finest voices in steampunk, science fiction, fantasy and romance.

Files on the participating agents have now been declassified and we can finally reveal them in this series.

Tiffany Trent is the author of the young adult steampunk novel The Unnaturalists and the Hallowmere series. Her first book, In the Serpent’s Coils, was named a BookSense (IndieBound) Children’s Pick in Autumn 2007 and a New York Public Library Book of the Teen Age in 2008.  She was also the recipient of the 2008 SCBWI Work-in-Progress grant, and has won awards and fellowships for her nonfiction. Her short story “Blackwater Baby” in Magic in the Mirrorstone was given Honorable Mention for the Year’s Best Horror 2008.  She is represented by Jennifer Laughran of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

Tiffany currently lives in the New River Valley of Virginia. When not writing, she plays with bees, presides over her avian army, and frequently gets lost in the jungle of her garden.

In the Ministry Protocol, Tiffany takes us to the burning palaces of China. Her tale of death and consequences will chill your bones.

As the countdown begins…

The Ministry Protocol bring you stories from all over the globe, by some of the finest voices in steampunk, science fiction, fantasy and romance.

Files on the participating agents have now been declassified and we can finally reveal them in this series

Leanna Renee Hieber

Author, actress and playwright Leanna Renee Hieber grew up in rural Ohio inventing ghost stories. She graduated with a BFA in Theatre and a focus in the Victorian Era from Miami University. She began her theatrical career with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and began adapting works of 19th Century literature for the stage. Her one-act plays have been published, awarded and produced around the country. Her fiction career began with Dark Nest, which won the 2009 Prism Award for best novella.

Her debut novel, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, landed on Barnes & Noble’s bestseller lists, was named a favourite of 2009 by 14 book blogs, won two 2010 Prism Awards (Best Fantasy, Best First Book), the 2010 Orange County Book Buyer’s Best Award (Young Adult category) and is in development as a musical theatre production with Broadway talent on board. The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess, prequel in the Strangely Beautiful series, won the 2012 Prism Award (Best Fantasy). This currently out of print series will be reissued by 2014.

DARKER STILL: A Novel of Magic Most Foul, first in the Magic Most Foul saga of Gothic Victorian romantic thrillers (Sourcebooks), hit the Kid’s/YA Indie Next List as a recommended title by the American Booksellers Association. The book has been praised by Seventeen and Pixie Magazines, Shelf Awareness, The Chicago Tribune and more, selected as a “highly recommended” title by Scholastic. The Twisted Tragedy of Miss Natalie Stewart continues the Magic Most Foul series and has been praised by Booklist, RT Bookreviews and more. She is serializing the finale, The Double Life of Incorporate Things on her blog in true Gothic Victorian fashion.

Leanna’s short fiction has been featured in anthologies such as Willful Impropriety: Tales of Society and Scandal, ”Too Fond” featured on Tor.com and Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy (March 2013, Tor). Her new Gaslamp Fantasy series with Tor/Macmillan, THE ETERNA FILES, launches 2014. Her books have been translated into many languages and have been selected for multiple book club editions.

Leanna is a proud co-founder of the original Lady Jane’s Salon Reading Series in New York. Leanna was named the 2010 RWA NYC Chapter Author of the Year.

A member of Actors Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, Leanna works often in film and television on shows like Boardwalk Empire. She will be playing the role of Deputy Kellion, a principal in the wizarding web-series Auror’s Tale. When not writing or on set, she’s telling ghost stories, frequenting Goth clubs, corset shopping, channeling Narcissa Malfoy, wandering graveyards and adventuring about her adopted hometown of New York City in full Victorian regalia. She resides with a wonderful gentleman and their beloved rescued lab rabbit.

In the Ministry Protocol, Leanna brings us a tale set in her beloved New York City. Her examination of mortality and usefulness may well make you weep—you have been warned!

]]> http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurrences.com/2013/05/08/licensed-to-thrill-agent-001-leanna-renee-hieber/feed/ 13 http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurrences.com/2013/04/30/steampunk-chronicle-readers-choice-award/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=steampunk-chronicle-readers-choice-award http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurrences.com/2013/04/30/steampunk-chronicle-readers-choice-award/#comments Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:30:46 +0000 Eliza D Braun http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurrences.com/?p=620

The winners were announced, and the Ministry was absolutely chuffed to find out that the Janus Affair has won the fiction category!

It was an honour to be in company of such people as John C White, Ben Hamby, and Major Jack Union.

Other friend’s of the Ministry made quite a showing. O M Grey won Best Short Story. Margaret Killjoy won with A Steampunk’s Guide to Sex. The League of S.T.E.A.M won for Best Web Series, and Best Performance Group (non-music). Steampunk Boba Fett won Best Personality. Thomas Willeford won for Best Maker- Individual. Aleta Pardalis won for Best Dressed- Female. Diana M.Pho, a.k.a. Ay-Leen the Peacemaker won Best Multicultural Steampunk and Best Politically minded Steampunk. Lord Montaque Jacques Fromage, III won Steampunk Person to Watch in 2013.

The reader’s choice is among our favourite kind of awards, and the Steampunk Chronicle is one of our favourite steampunk outlets. Thank you to all the readers and listeners who voted for our book, and we hope you will join us for the further adventures of Agents Books and Braun.

These features as a way for the Ministry to highlight artists, musicians, and makers of all variety. With so many talented individuals to choose from, we know it is a challenge to feature every clever creative worthy of note, but perhaps we might endeavour to introduce to you a new name in our community of steam and cog, or perhaps remind you of one artisan’s successful efforts to bring the past that never was to the here and now.
 This week’s Æther Feature by Pip Ballantine for April 25th, 2013, is now submitted for your pleasure:

For those of you who have been paying close attention to the Ministry, you will know the name Alex White, or at least his work. Alex has worked on a number of Ministry projects, including the theme music you hear in Tales from the Archives, as well as creating the Ministry crest. In the very near future you will be able to read Alex’s contribution to our Ministry Initiative anthology as well as producing the cover image for it.

In short, Alex is a madly creative individual, but also the kind of person you want to work with. We first got to know him though through his podcast, The Gearheart. Full of magic…and steampunk or dieselpunk fun, if you haven’t listened, you really need to. Alex not only wrote the story, he also created a musical landscape for the podcast, AND shot a series of beautiful images to go with it.

I was quickly hooked on Alex’s music, and for a very specific reason. Both Tee and I love to write to soundtracks, because they create a musical mood without the distraction of too many lyrics or unfortunate chair dancing incidents.

So when Alex released The Last Day of the October Squadron, I knew I had to listen. Not being a music critic, I’m going to have to describe what follows in what I would write to these.

The first few tracks (The Lake and Intentions, Please Breathe, and I’ll See Your Grave) are introspective feeling, full of gentle tender feelings sketched out on the piano. They resemble a poem from the Romantics; Keats, or Shelley.

Handful of Rings starts out quiet, but then the bells come in, moving into a large orchestral sound, and then back again. I don’t know how Alex does that, but I love the journey he takes us on.

For a Swim, to me seems to be handcrafted for a romantic moment, perhaps when love is revealed.

Just Go, is packed full of urgency at the beginning, (I could see Eliza and Wellington running), and then becomes grander and more intense. The House of Usher would love to use the latter half I am sure!

My personal favourite however is the Song of the Torch Bearer, the final track. This piece is so heart-breakingly beautiful at the beginning I can imagine (and probably will) write a romantic moment to it. However, like many of Alex’s tracks, it gradually builds to something monumentally epic. The clear, gorgeous voice of Kelsey Prater comes in, and you get that ridiculous, heart-swelling moment that truly makes me want to get pen to paper. This would definately be something to write an awesome climatic battle to, and without doubt it is one of my all time favourite songs from anyone…not just Alex White.

These seven songs are all so well-crafted and enjoyable that you won’t regret spending the small amount of money for them. Also, you’ll be supporting an independent artist that is thoroughly Ministry approved.

So go buy the The Gearheart: Last Days of the October Squadron, pick up Alex’s Maiden Flight of the Avenger and do check out the Gearheart podcast.

I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next. I have a feeling its going to be epic!

As you all know, our journalists are enjoying the experience that is BioShock: Infinite. So it shouldn’t surprise you at all that a cosplay has captured their eye today…

No, this is not a painting nor is it a screen capture, but cosplayer LaynesLionRedCat from Russia, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the curious physicist Rosalind Lutece. You can find out more about this talented cosplayer and see more of her BioShock cosplay at her Deviant Art page, so pay her a visit and leave her a comment.

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences tip a bowler to you, Laynes. Well done!

]]> http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurrences.com/2013/04/23/a-tribute-to-bioshock-infinite-quantum-physicist-rosalind-lutece/feed/ 1 http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurrences.com/2013/04/09/tales-from-the-archives-volume-2-twelve/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tales-from-the-archives-volume-2-twelve http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurrences.com/2013/04/09/tales-from-the-archives-volume-2-twelve/#comments Wed, 10 Apr 2013 00:29:22 +0000 Eliza D Braun http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurrences.com/?p=611

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences has many forgotten stories in its Archives. Stories of madcap adventures in all corners of the Empire, dark doings in hidden places, and mysterious devices and artifacts that the everyday citizen should never become aware of for fear it would quite undo their minds.

In this episode:

The Taniwha of Ana Cove — by Lewis Hoban

Doctor Josepha Blackwell’s love of strange fauna has bought her to the wilds of New Zealand to track down whatever is responsible for a rash of disappearances. Unfortunately, not only is her personal grooming in peril, but also her very life. When she discovers was lurks in the deadly cove, she may have to reconsider her role as a field agent.

About the Author:

Lewis Hoban was born in a now-demolished hospital in Christchurch, New Zealand. He lives in a cold-in-the-winter part of his city, a few minutes away from his local library, which he visits regularly. In his spare time, he likes to sketch monstrous creatures and read books for hours on end. He also loves snow in all forms. He always wanted to become an author, trying to write several novels, all of which he lost interest in. Getting a short-story published at age fifteen is a big revelation for him. He can found on twitter as Archivist_0

Theme music for the Ministry composed and created by Alex White.

Order your copy of The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel and the award-winning Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel, now available from online and bricks and mortar stores everywhere.

Thanks for listening, and see you in October for Season Three!
Feel free to leave us a review on iTunes
and share our work with a friend.

We are pleased at the Ministry to invite one of our journalists to discuss about a new æthergame which is all the rage currently, so with any further fanfare, please indulge Tee Morris as he gives his own personal account of BioShock Infinite.

To use the lingo the hardcore gamers are using, I’m a total n00b when it comes to the BioShock lore and — let’s be honest — gaming. With plenty of projects on my plate, I have no real spare time on my hands for losing myself in video games. However, I suspected that I would be pre-ordering BioShock Infinite when in 2011 I saw an online preview. I was sold on the steampunk elements of it alone; so I am coming at this First Person Shooter game from that point-of-view, an author and an enthusiast of steampunk. As such, I can say this is not only a huge step forward in steampunk breaking into the mainstream, this is a very positive step. What an amazing experience!

One of my passionate arguments about steampunk is that works tend to either dance in the light-heartedness or dwell in the darkness, rarely covering both. It was something that Pip and I caught heat for when Phoenix Rising suddenly turned a corner for readers. A few critics asked us “Where did that come from?”

If you must know, it came from the same place as “the baseball moment” in Bioshock Infinite.

Let’s go into the story, this compelling, immersive, and multi-layered story that propels you into a breathtaking steampunk world. It’s only a few years into the new century, but former Pinkerton now independent detective Booker DeWitt has been given a simple job, or at least it seems very simple. Booker is asked to find in the city of Columbia a girl named “Elizabeth” and return her to his client in New York City. His payment: All debt will be erased. (Whatever that means.)

While the game begins with an opening that can be best described as foreboding (because nothing says “This isn’t going to be a picnic in the park…” like a corpse with a bag over its head, a bullet in the brainpan, wearing a note that says “Don’t disappoint us.”), you are lured into this beautiful, breathtaking “Heaven on Earth” that is actually floating above the Earth. Yes, much in a manner that makes Jared Axelrod and Steve Walker smile, the city of Columbia is flying high in the skies. From Booker’s point-of-view, you wander through what truly appears to be a utopia.

Then you reach a carnival (“the baseball moment”) where everything — and I mean, everything — changes.

It should be clear that I am still working through the game at the posting of this review. I just left off with Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth entering a parallel universe in search of weapons for the abolitionist and leader of the rebellious Vox Populi underground network, Daisy Fitzroy. After a week of playing BioShock Infinite, I cannot rave harder on how mind-blowingly, eye-poppingly, woah-that-just-happened awesome this game looks and feels, both in its whimsy and in its darkness. With every development, with every turn around the corner, you are pulled deeper not only into the story of Booker, Elizabeth, and this world, but you are also facing both sides of steampunk. One minute you are enjoying the fun touches of this game, such as barbershop quartet and blues covers of pop favorites like The Beach Boy’s “God Only Knows” and the Gloria Jones’/Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love.” Only a few moments later, you are facing racism, classism, propaganda machines, and manipulation from the powerful and of the powerful. The beauty and splendor of Columbia is equally matched by its sinister foreboding; and on discovering Columbia’s truth, you remain always on guard. Even a child’s “Duke or Dimwit” pantomime leaves a sour taste in your mouth, and you only find yourself driven to find out more about Columbia, about Booker, and about Elizabeth.

BioShock Infinite is a delightful piece of steampunk storytelling, and I think as strong as its visuals and its anachronistic technology all are, the writing behind the game is its strongest attribute. The secrets of Columbia, along with Elizabeth and Booker’s own stories, keep me coming back. I have yet to play and not be surprised by what I’ve discovered, and I look forward to what waits for me.

I’ve heard some people who are reluctant over First Person Shooter games pause and reconsider BioShock Infinite based on the reviews; and I not only echo their sentiments, I encourage steampunks and storytellers alike to have a go with this epic experience. This has been a wild ride from the day I picked it up and propelled myself into this world. It not only meets the hype, it surpasses it. If you want terrific storytelling, play BioShock Infinite. If you want an incredible steampunk experience, play BioShock Infinite. You will not be disappointed.

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences has many forgotten stories in its Archives. Stories of madcap adventures in all corners of the Empire, dark doings in hidden places, and mysterious devices and artifacts that the everyday citizen should never become aware of for fear it would quite undo their minds.

In this episode:

Lost Waters — by Kreg Steppe, narrated by Chuck Tomasi

The Carolinas, 1879

Daniel Pleasant, agent of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, is assigned to the United States of America to track down some missing items from the Archives. Pleasant is partnered up with a clankerton from the Office of the Supernatural and Metaphysical (O.S.M.) Elijah Paxton, and together the two set off to track the missing Archive items, their power rumoured to be able to bend time and space itself.

About the Author: 

Kreg Steppe is a Husband and Father of one. He works as a Web Developer with interests in photography, art, and writing. Also a longtime podcaster with his friend Chuck Tomasi, together they curate the museum of tech-geekery they call the Technorama Podcast and they also worked together on the book, Teach Yourself WordPress in 10 Minutes. He would also like to thank Chuck for the narration of this story. Chuck Tomasi, before working on Teach Yourself WordPress in 10 Minutes, co-authored the Second Edition of Podcasting for Dummies with Evo Terra and Tee Morris. To find out more about Kreg visit spyndle.com and for the Technorama Podcast visit chuckchat.com/technorama To find out more about Chuck visit chucktomasi.com.

Theme music for the Ministry composed and created by Alex White.

Order your copy of The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel and the award-winning Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel, now available from online and bricks and mortar stores everywhere.

Thanks for listening!
Feel free to leave us a review on iTunes
and share our work with a friend.

This is what happens when steampunks decide to make a music video. Look out for the Ministry novels at 2:15 with our journalists behind them…

We have reports they had a wonderful time with so many talented folk, and Mr Morris was able to revisit his dancing past acting as choreographer.

Don’t be afraid to share this piece of steampunk history, and check out the talented folk that made it possible. Especially Thomas Willeford and Sarah Hunter of Brute Force Studios who conceived the whole madcap scheme! http://www.bruteforcestudios.com

PRODUCTION:
Concept, Lyrics, Production, Direction, Catering, Accommodations: Thomas Willeford & Sarah Hunter (http://www.bruteforcestudios.com)
Lyrics: Thomas Willeford, Sarah Hunter, Sir Reginald Pikedevant, Esq.
Vocals: A Count Named Slickbrass, Sarah Hunter, Sir Reginald Pikedevant, Esq., Amanda Witte, Beverly Thomas, Brian D. Thomas
Assistant Director, FX/Animation, Video Editor, Sound Editor: Brian D. Thomas/Major Girth (http://steampulptales.com/)
Assistant Sound Editor: Jarrad Clark
Assistant Director, Choreography: Tee Morris (http://www.imaginethatstudios.com, http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurren…)
Director of Photography: Linc Williams/Baldgroove Studios (http://wearevapers.com/)
Still Photography: Stephen C. Woolley
Production Assistants: Rebecca Shanzer, Louis Kwok/Mad Quack Experiment, Clausel Berrouet Jr.
Transportation: Mary M. Spila

CAST:
Lead/Psy Stand-In: A Count Named Slickbrass (http://www.steam-funk.com/)
Sexy Female Lead: Sarah Hunter/Lady Clankington (http://littledeathray.com)
Dancing Kid: Sonic Boom
Rapper Chap: Sir Reginald Pikedevant, Esq. (http://www.youtube.com/user/Pikedevant)
Duelists: Brian D. Thomas/Major Girth, Steampunk Boba Fett (http://www.getdreadful.com/)
Duel Seconds: Raymond J. “Lieutenant” Witte, Matt Silva (http://www.getdreadful.com/)
The Prize: A.L. Davroe (http://www.aldavroe.com/)
Clockwork Girl: Bronwen Thompson
Robot Man: Thomas Willeford (http://www.bruteforcestudios.com)
Facial Hair: Montague Jacques Fromage (http://www.steampunkfunkbizarre.com/)
Fallen Lady #1: Trinity Chevalier (http://www.trinitychevalier.com)
Fallen Lady #2: Aleta Pardalis (https://www.facebook.com/AletaPardali…)
Additional Cast/Solid Brass Dancers: Louise Howard, DJ Doctor Q, Jason A Starr, Pip Ballantine, Babs Daniels, Noah Morris, Jonathan W. Quigley, Airman Lovechild, Julia Babji, Michelle Greenwald, Amanda Witte, Lamia, Beverly S. Thomas, William Stout

Our journalists get quite tickled when the steampunk community gives the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences a nod. They still take a great deal of pride in both the 2011 Airship Award and their 2012 Parsec wins.

This year, the Ministry is in the spotlight on The Steampunk Chronicle for the 2013 Readers Choice Award.

If you recall, the Steampunk Chronicle’s 2012 Readers Choice Awards featured the Ministry in two categories:

• Best Podcast: Tales from the Archives
  
• Best Short Story: “Dust on the Davenport” by O. M. Grey (Episode #2 of TftA)
  

And the lovely Olivia Grey brought home honours for herself with a win for “Dust on the Davenport.” This year, our latest adventure The Janus Affair is in the running for Best Fiction, and the competition is most impressive:

• Fairy Dust Never Rusts from John R. White
• Rise of the Steam Goddess by John Hemby
• The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris
• How to Bag a Jabberwock by Major Jack Union

Please register and sign in (completely free) to show your support, and show your own support of the Ministry by proudly displaying the banner above on your own blog.

Voting is now open. Please consider along with the Ministry some of the other talented artists featured there as well. Good luck, one and all!

The Amazon link for the third book of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novels is now live!

We are quite excited by this, because not only does it have the back cover commentary, but also a new publication date. November 26th 2013!

After some concerns that we were not going to be able to get a book out for this year, it seems we got another wee bump forward! So you’ll certainly be able to ask Santa Claus for Dawn’s Early Light in your stocking.

While there is not cover image at present, there is some hint of the adventure within thanks to the back cover copy.

Working for the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, one sees innumerable technological wonders. But even veteran agents Braun and Books are unprepared for what the electrifying future holds…

After being ignominiously shipped out of England following their participation in the Janus affair, Braun and Books are ready to prove their worth as agents. But what starts as a simple mission in the States—intended to keep them out of trouble—suddenly turns into a scandalous and convoluted case that has connections reaching as far as Her Majesty the Queen.

Even with the help of two American agents from the Office of the Supernatural and the Metaphysical, Braun and Books have their work cut out for them. And between the fantastic electric machines of Edison and Tesla, the sinister workings of the nefarious House of Usher, and the mysterious machinations of a new threat known only as the Maestro, they may find themselves in far worse danger than they ever have been before…

We hope you are all as excited as we are!

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences has many forgotten stories in its Archives. Stories of madcap adventures in all corners of the Empire, dark doings in hidden places, and mysterious devices and artifacts that the everyday citizen should never become aware of for fear it would quite undo their minds.

In this episode:

All That Glitters — by Dan Rabarts

Preservation Inlet, Fiordland, New Zealand

Agents Lachlan King and Barry Ferguson are called to an isolated mining town to investigate the disappearance of a young Chinese girl. They found the town all but abandoned, and as they descend into the realm of Ruaumoko, the Maori god of earthquakes they find an explosive situation that will test both agents and their equipment sorely.

Featuring Grant Stone as Agent Lachlan.

About the Author: 

Dan is a writer of fantasy novels and speculative fiction, sometime narrator of podcasts (including stories for the Hugo award-winning StarShipSofa), occasional sailor of sailing things, and father of two wee miracles in a little house on a hill, under the southern sun. You can find him on Twitter from time to time, and on Facebook now and then. He’d hang out there more often but really, he’s got writing to do.

Theme music for the Ministry composed and created by Alex White.

Order your copy of The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel and the award-winning Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel, now available from online and bricks and mortar stores everywhere.

Thanks for listening!
Feel free to leave us a review on iTunes
and share our work with a friend.

These features as a way for the Ministry to highlight artists, musicians, and makers of all variety. With so many talented individuals to choose from, we know it is a challenge to feature every clever creative worthy of note, but perhaps we might endeavour to introduce to you a new name in our community of steam and cog, or perhaps remind you of one artisan’s successful efforts to bring the past that never was to the here and now.
This week’s Æther Feature from Balogun  for March 7th, 2013, submitted for your pleasure:

Most Steampunks are familiar with the Asian martial arts and many Steampunks, seeking to add martial arts to their stories or to their personas, often incorporate methods of self-defense that were used by Europeans and North Americans during the Victorian and Edwardian Eras, such as Savate, La Canne and Bartitsu.

Beyond Western martial arts, however, Steampunks – particularly those writing about characters – or cosplaying characters – in, or from, an indigenous African setting should look into the African martial arts.

Africans traditionally refer to their martial arts simply as “wrestling”, which, to them, means to put your opponent on his back, belly, or side in order to render him more vulnerable to a finishing technique.  This goal can be achieved by any means: strikes, throws, sweeps, joint-locks, or weapon attacks.

Traditional African martial artists follow Five Basic Principles:

The Four Elements – In African societies, there are four elements, which are considered the vital materials found in every living creature on Earth.  These four elements are:

Earth – represents stances.  Within the Earth Element, there are Three Foundations:

Wood – High, narrow stances. Wood stances are extremely mobile and are used for fast, upright fighting and self-defense.

Stone – Low, wide stances. Stone stances are extremely stable and are used for grappling and for fighting with a weapon.

Metal – Low, narrow stances.  Metal stances are extremely malleable and are used for grappling and ground-fighting.

Air – represents footwork and movement.  A practitioner of the African martial arts can move like a gentle breeze, a gale wind, or a whirlwind.

Fire – represents male energy and techniques.  Fire techniques are forceful, penetrating and explosive.

Water – represents female energy and techniques.  Water techniques are yielding, encircling and deceptively powerful.

Polyrhythmic Application – A practitioner of the African martial arts seeks to touch his opponent in two or more places at once.  An offense and a defense are usually applied simultaneously, or the offense is the defense.

The Unbroken Circle – Also referred to as “Call and Response”, this is the blending with – and adapting to – the actions and rhythms of a partner or opponent, never meeting force with force, but rather taking the opponent’s force and uses it against him.

The Wind Has One Name – There are only fifteen angles an opponent can attack from, so instead of concerning themselves with the infinite variations of attacks, African martial artists deal with finite angles.  Combat is further simplified by adhering to the philosophy that every block is a strike and every strike is a block.  Thus, when an offensive technique is learned, the African martial artist has, in effect, learned a defensive technique.

Waste No Part of the Animal – The African martial arts stress economy of motion.  The idea is: “If it’s there, use it.”  Thus, if you strike an assailant in the chin with an uppercut, you should continue that upward motion and hit him in the throat with an upward elbow, because after the punch, your elbow is in perfect position to strike your opponent.

Every African nation (“tribe”) has its own system of martial arts. While the principles are pretty much the same, weapons and tactics may differ. A few martial arts from Africa and the Diaspora include:

Shanci

A spectacular and bloody martial art – practiced exclusively by the Maguzawa Hausa of Northern Nigeria – in which gallantly arrayed warriors go into battle armed with two razor sharp iron bracelets and arm-shields.

Moringue (Reunion) / Morengy (Madagascar) / Mrengé (Comores)

A form of traditional boxing practiced by Creoles – Malagasy and Comorians alike. This fighting system, of mainland African origin, is a spectacular form of fighting that utilizes bare-knuckle boxing techniques, kicking and head butting.

Capoeira

A spectacular form of acrobatic fighting, derived from the  Angolan martial art of Sanga – used to great effect by famed Warrior-King, Nzingha (often incorrectly called “Queen” Nzingha; she was actually a King).

A martial art similar to Capoeira – and sharing Sanga as their roots – is Congo, which is practiced in Panama. Congo is always trained between a man and woman, representing the power of opposites prevalent in African society.

Practitioners of both arts try to anticipate the movements of their adversary and then break his or her rhythm. Cunning and treacherous deception (“malicia”) play an important role in the development of fighting skills. Techniques include high and low kicks, foot sweeps, head-butts, elbow strikes and knee strikes. Practitioners of both arts also employ the use of the straight razor as a weapon.

Ag’ya or Ladjia

From the Caribbean island of Martinique this art is practiced to rhythms produced by the tambour (drum), ti-bois (sticks) and choral response singing.

Agile fighters deliver blows with the hands, feet, elbows, knees and head similar to Capoeira. Unlike Capoeira, however, practitioners of Ag’ya also employ grappling techniques to defeat their opponent.

Northern Nguni (i.e. Zulu, Swazi and/or Ndebele) Fighting

Nguni children learn their martial art through stick-fighting from an early age. Sparring is used to develop good character and to train for combat.

Through stick-fighting, the youth learn to use the more lethal combat weapons.

The Zulu warrior carried the iklwa stabbing spear and a club or cudgel fashioned from dense hardwood – known, in Zulu, as the iwisa, called a knobkerrie by Westerners) – for beating an enemy in the manner of a mace. Zulu officers also often carried the Zulu Axe.

The broad bladed iklwa, an invention of Shaka Zulu, superseded the older thrown spear, called an  ipapa.

All warriors carried a shield made of oxhide, called mgobo. The mgobo was replaced by another Shaka Zulu invention – the larger isihlangu shield.

In the aftermath of the defeat of the British at the Battle of Isandlwana, many Martini-Henry rifles – and considerable amounts of ammunition – were captured by the Zulu and put to effective use by the swift and deadly warriors.

This is just a brief look at the African martial arts. I look forward to returning soon to share much more.

Thanks, Pip and Tee for this grand opportunity to share!

Balogun Ojetade

Balogun is author the Steamfunk novel, “Moses: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman” the Sword and Soul novel, “Once Upon A Time in Afrika” and the Urban Fantasy novel, “Redeemer”. He is contributing co-editor of the anthologies, “Steamfunk” and “Ki-Khanga: The Anthology”. Finally, he is screenwriter and director of the action film, “A Single Link” and the Steamfunk film, “Rite of Passage”. On his website, http://chroniclesofharriet.com/, he discusses Steampunk, Steamfunk, Sword and Soul and the craft of writing.

Today marks the birthday of imaginative mind and part-time consultant for the Ministry, author Jules Verne. Yes, I am sure, good citizens, you find Verne’s works reflecting the Empire and Her Majesty (God save the Queen!) in a rather nasty light; but I do wonder if something was lost in translation. I have enjoyed the pleasure of Mr. Verne’s company and he is quite a clever chap. Look at only a few of the works that he penned in his lifetime:

• A Journey to the Centre of the Earth
• From the Earth to the Moon
• The Mysterious Island
• Around the World in Eighty Days

Also, he is quite the card player. I really should not have called his bluff when I had three Jacks in my hand.

I have it on good authority that Ministry historian Tee Morris was quite taken by Mr. Verne’s personal journal wildly creative masterpiece concerning a voyage Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. This particular tome of his would inspire another creative gent, Walt Disney, to create an iconic work of adventurous cinema (as well as one ripping fun ride at their amusement parks).

Of course, steampunk has a lot to thank Mr. Verne for; but what makes him a cornerstone of our genre, and literature on a whole, is how his imagination and unbounded sense-of-wonder inspired others to become scientist, explorers, engineers, and writers themselves. His “flights of fancy” prophesied underwater exploration, circumnavigation of the globe, multi-stage rocketry, and space travel.

Which begs a question from the Archives, good and loyal citizen of the Empire — what flights of fancy inspire you, and where shall they lead the world?

Yes, as Miss Braun would lead you to believe, the Archives is all about the facts, the dates, and the evidence of a peculiar occurrence. Hidden within case files and personal journals, though, are moments of inspiration, of passion, and of ingenuity. Never shy away from those moments. Mr. Verne didn’t, and his ideas led others to the future, and some (like our dear authors, Miss Ballantine and Mister Morris) to an incredible past that never existed.

Embrace the fantastic, and see what adventure awaits.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Verne.

Victorian-era people were fascinated by technology and engineering. Hence, writers and artists channeled that fascination into what has come to be known as Edisonade style stories. Those tales were generally about inventors and their fantastical devices and had a reputation for strong action-adventure elements and stylish trappings such as brass goggles, airships, and automatons. Decades later, steampunk came to include some of those elements, but it isn’t solely defined by them.

However, given steampunk’s Edisonade roots it’s no wonder steampunk romance stories often contain a fair amount of action-adventure. When authors introduce details like airships, steam guns, prosthetic limbs, and fantastical devices, their characters have to do something with them!

Characters in steampunk romances travel a lot, whether by airship, steam carriage, or steam-powered cycles. They use a variety of gadgets, scientific inventions, and weapons. You can often find them in life-threatening situations requiring ingenuity and even engineering skills in order to escape.

Below are a few ways the action-adventure component manifests itself in steampunk romances:

* hero and heroine go on a quest

* mystery solving and/or investigations

* battles involving airships and/or steampunk weapons

* steampunk cyborgs who are skilled in the art of defense

* chase sequences

* face offs

* rescue missions

* spy missions

In steampunk romance, usually an external plot demands that a hero and heroine overcome a threat. The threat must be dealt with if they want to be together. Love against the odds, as it were.

In my estimation, steampunk romances on average contain a moderate amount of action. Some books, like the work of Nico Rosso’s Ether Chronicle tales, are on the high octane end. Cindy Spencer Pape’s Kilts and Kraken is on the low end with mild action-adventure elements.

If you enjoy adventure romance stories where the romance is integrated into the action sequences, then steampunk romance is one way to satisfy that need. Action-adventure scenes require the characters to use a variety of physical skills and it’s a great way to build sexual tension.

But if action-adventure really isn’t your cup of tea, alternatives exist. For quieter steampunk tales, check out Christine Danse’s Island of Icarus, Leslie Dickens’ The Iron Heart, Dru Pagliassotti’s Clockwork Heart, P.G. Forte’s This Winter Heart, and Anitra Lynn McLeod’s Far Too Human.

Giveaway time!

Leave a comment for this post and you’ll be entered for a chance to win the following ebook:

MetalMark – Ella Drake (winner’s choice PDF, ePub, or .mobi)

And there’s more! Everyone who leaves a comment at any of the stops on The Great Steampunk Romance Airship Tour will be entered for a chance to win the Grand Prize:

$100 e-gift card (winner’s choice Amazon or B&N)

75$ e-gift certificate to Clockwork Couture

1 digital copy of IRON GUNS, BLAZING HEARTS (winner’s choice PDF, ePub, or .mobi)

Please include your email address. The deadline to enter all of the giveaways will be midnight PST on February 14. On Friday, February 15, check back here to see if you’ve won the ebook prize.

The grand prize winner will be announced on February 15 at The Galaxy Express.

About the author

Heather Massey is a lifelong fan of science fiction romance. She searches for sci-fi romance adventures aboard her blog, The Galaxy Express. She’s also an author in the subgenre. To learn more about her published work, visit heathermassey.com.

The West just got a whole lot wilder.

A woman on a mission… Scientific achievement isn’t enough for Violet Whitcomb. Life working alongside her renowned scientist father is filled with intellectual challenges, but what she truly craves is love and adventure. She’s resigned to a fate of academic pursuits–until a fateful trip across the American frontier changes everything. A rogue inventor known as the Iron Scorpion kidnaps Violet’s father and she alone is left to plan his rescue.

A man with a secret… Logan McCoy knows firsthand going up against the Iron Scorpion is suicide, but he can’t let Violet waltz into the villain’s lair alone. She may be a stranger, but she’s also the most compelling woman he’s ever known.

A perilous quest… Their attraction is undeniable, but their alliance turns contentious when Violet insists on including a third partner on their mission: her father’s latest invention and the world’s most advanced automaton, Arthur. The reason for Logan’s resistance isn’t clear until Violet comes face-to-face with the Iron Scorpion’s diabolical devices, and by then, it’s far too late.

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences has many forgotten stories in its Archives. Stories of madcap adventures in all corners of the Empire, dark doings in hidden places, and mysterious devices and artifacts that the everyday citizen should never become aware of for fear it would quite undo their minds.

In this episode:

Positively Shocking — written by Tee Morris

Spring, 1893

Constance Magee is not a street urchin, not a thief, not a lost soul in the street of London. She is a girl surviving Her Majesty’s Empire one day at a time, nursing a sense of right and wrong, And sometimes, that sense doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with the law. After being jailed for her latest stand against injustice, Constance braced herself for a long stay in Newgate. Today, though, she is extended an unexpected opportunity from a strange fellow named Doctor Sound…

featuring Laura Nicole as Constance Magee and Pip Ballantine as Eliza Braun

About the Author: 

Tee Morris began his writing career with his 2002 historical epic fantasy, MOREVI The Chronicles of Rafe & Askana. In 2005 Tee took MOREVI into the then-unknown podosphere, making his novel the first book podcast in its entirety. That experience led to the founding of Podiobooks.com and collaborating with Evo Terra and Chuck Tomasi on Podcasting for Dummies and its follow-up, Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies. He won acclaim and accolades for his cross-genre fantasy-detective Billibub Baddings Mysteries, the podcast of The Case of the Singing Sword winning him the 2008 Parsec Award for Best Audio Drama. Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel marked Tee’s return to fiction, and earned him the 2011 Airship Award for Best Steampunk Literature and honors on Goodreads’ 2011 Choice Award for Best Science Fiction. Tee can be heard on Tales from the Archives, Fit 2 Write, and The Shared Desk.

Theme music for the Ministry composed and created by Alex White.

Nerfpunk image courtesy of Circus Posterus.

Order your copy of The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel and the award-winning Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel, now available from online and bricks and mortar stores everywhere.

Thanks for listening!
Feel free to leave us a review on iTunes
and share our work with a friend.

Sunday was quite the day for our intrepid journalists, Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris. Not only were they hosting the lovely (and exotically Asian) P.J. Schnyder and enjoying cake pop madness over the weekend, the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences was alerted of a mention of our memoirs on io9.

We were (as Eliza would put it) chuffed to find out that Jim C. Hines took a wonderfully cheeky salute of our premiere steampunk adventure…

Eliza and I cannot express quite accurately how giddy this image makes us.

However….

…our journalists agreed that there were a couple of things that Mister Hines missed. Such as…

• Mr. Hines’ shorts were too loose. (In absence of fishnet stockings, of course.)
• The gun is far too petitie for Eliza. (Of that, I agree insistently.)
• Eliza was on one knee. Not standing. (Granted, Eliza agrees it is still not a sensible pose, but if we’re looking for accuracy…)
• Wellington Books is absent. (Ahem…)

So, our journalists took matters into their own hands…

photo by P.J. Schnyder

In all seriousness, both Tee and Pip were thrilled that Jim Hines poked a little fun at their first cover, and Tee admits deciding on a whim to do this simply to show off what he calls “a kicking hockey jersey I picked up in Warrenton, VA today!” (Eliza’s quite the Guinness drinker, I should add.) The Ministry is also equally honoured to be singled out in Jim C. Hines’ ever-growing gallery of ridiculous covers; and as a way to say “Thank you” we will be donating to his lovely charity for the Aicardi Syndrome Foundation.

Again, our thanks, Mister Hines, for this moment of frivolity. It was a delight for our journalists to return your serve.

We here at the Ministry have a great deal of content about our work available, audio, images, and even some video, but until now everything has been very scattered about.

One of our journalists discovered the new development Glossi, and had created this issue all about the first book of the Ministry.

The best thing about this, is that you can help spread the word on the Ministry. Flick to the last page of the glossi, and there is a button for embedding purposes. Copy the code, paste into your blog, and huzzah! You’ve helped us spread the word.

Have a look at the first glossi below, and standby for more about the Janus Affair, Tales from the Archives…and the world of steampunk itself!

Click to view Phoenix Rising on GLOSSI.COM

]]> http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurrences.com/2013/01/11/phoenix-rising-on-glossi/feed/ 1 http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurrences.com/2013/01/10/aether-feature-a-peek-inside-the-secret-mind-of-an-author/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=aether-feature-a-peek-inside-the-secret-mind-of-an-author http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurrences.com/2013/01/10/aether-feature-a-peek-inside-the-secret-mind-of-an-author/#comments Thu, 10 Jan 2013 15:11:02 +0000 Eliza D Braun http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurrences.com/?p=565

Every Thursday, the Archives will feature artists, musicians, and makers of all variety, entered for your approval here in the Archives. With so many talented individuals to choose from, we know it is a challenge to feature every clever creative worthy of note, but perhaps we might endeavour to introduce to you a new name in our community of steam and cog, or perhaps remind you of one artisan’s successful efforts to bring the past that never was to the here and now.
This week’s Æther Feature from Steven DeWinter for January 10th, 2013, submitted for your pleasure:

I love secrets.

I also love sharing what I know.

As an author, I lead a life of constant contradictions.

In keeping with my tradition of being contradictory as a rule, I am going to share with you a secret.

Now, before I divulge my secret, let me tell you the motivation for this secret. Readers who ask questions motivate me. They motivate me to be a better author. They motivate me to think about my chosen craft.

One of the most often asked question I get is “Where do you get your inspiration for your stories?”

The short answer, and most common answer after the author has given you a confused look, is that inspiration is everywhere. Nevertheless, here is the secret. Authors have trained themselves to think in the “what if” mode nearly all the time. We do not accept the world around us as is. We take it further than what we can see. We constantly hypothesis the “what ifs” around the future, the past and make unanticipated connections between seemingly random things, because we work hard at it until it becomes second nature.

I can hear you now. “Great,” you say. “I can see how you get the spark of an idea by using the ‘what if’ method for everything around you. Nevertheless, writing a book is more than just that spark of an idea. Where do you come up with enough things to write a whole novel based on that one idea?”

That great question brings me to another secret I can share with you. Movies and television are a big influence for this one. When I am stuck on how to proceed with a suspenseful scene, a high-octane action sequence, or even a quiet reflection period for my characters, I pop some soundtrack style music (i.e. no words, just music) into my iPhone and take a walk around the neighborhood. The scene or sequence just writes itself in my mind’s eye to match the tone and tempo of the music I chose.

I have shared a couple of secrets that help writers write, but there is one more secret to give you that trumps them all.

Be prepared.

No, I was never a Boy Scout and I know that is their motto.

What I mean is, always be ready to jot down that spark of an idea or that flow of a scene that just played out in your mind’s eye. Nobody can be expected to remember everything and writers by trade have trained themselves to keep that tiny notebook (replaced nowadays with a Smartphone) handy and are always ready to write down the idea as it strikes. This is the biggest reason you will hear most writers say they have something like 80 books they absolutely must write. They jotted down every idea as it happened and have a constantly growing collection of story ideas.

I hope this little dive into the secret mind of the writer has brought you some insight into why we are the way we are. As long as there are stories to tell, writers will be there to tell them.

Steve DeWinter

Steve DeWinter is an American born adventure/thriller author whose evil twin writes science fiction under the pseudonym S.D. Stuart. His latest novel The Wizard of OZ: A Steampunk Adventure is available now in Kindle and Trade Paperback. More information can be found at www.stevedw.com

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences has many forgotten stories in its Archives. Stories of madcap adventures in all corners of the Empire, dark doings in hidden places, and mysterious devices and artifacts that the everyday citizen should never become aware of for fear it would quite undo their minds.

Today, however, we offer this gift to you all. Thank you for your good tidings and wondrous support for our world of steam, gears, and cog. We hope you enjoy this holiday steampunk special.

In this episode:

It’s Christmas Eve, and Verity Fitzroy finds herself distracted from her duties with the Ministry Seven. When she endangers her fellow urchins, she begins to question her role in their life.

About the Author: 

Philippa is the author of the Books of the Order series with Ace- Geist and Spectyr and Wrayth out now, and Harbinger to follow. She is also the co-author of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series with Tee Morris. Phoenix Rising debuted in May 2011 and The Janus Affair came out in May 2012. She also has the Shifted World series with Pyr Books, with the first book Hunter and Fox out now.

When not writing or podcasting, Philippa loves reading, gardening, and whenever possible traveling. With her husband, Tee and her daughter, she is looked after by a mighty clowder of five cats.

Theme music for the Ministry composed and created by Alex White.

Order your copy of The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel and the award-winning Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel, now available from online and bricks and mortar stores everywhere.

Thanks for listening!
Feel free to leave us a review on iTunes
and share our work with a friend.

Every Thursday, the Archives will feature artists, musicians, and makers of all variety, entered for your approval here in the Archives. With so many talented individuals to choose from, we know it is a challenge to feature every clever creative worthy of note, but perhaps we might endeavour to introduce to you a new name in our community of steam and cog, or perhaps remind you of one artisan’s successful efforts to bring the past that never was to the here and now.
This week’s Æther Feature from Camryn Forest for January 3rd, 2013, submitted for your pleasure:

Visually, I’ve always loved the rich, dark colors that are predominant in steampunk: copper, bronze, rich woods. And the idea of taking items apart and reassembling in a pleasing way is a key element of how I work, so although I’ve done that for a long time, when steampunk and I discovered each other, I was already repurposing items.

Beyond artwork, I love the whole idea that this history is both imaginary and visionary, and we get to write our own past and future. For me, the world of steampunk is limitless, and a starting place for wild adventures.

I have always worked in small scale, from dollhouse furniture to miniature sculpture. I wanted to dive into making snow globes simply because I could not find the kind of waterglobes I wanted for myself. I kept searching at art shows and there was nothing, so I found a collaborator who could help with the technical aspects and started there. A snow globe sculpture must be a certain size to fit inside the glass globe, so the imposed limit thrills me. I am constantly pushing to see what I can achieve in a small space.

Many people say, “Oh, I LOVE snow globes” and there just aren’t that many that are designed for anyone older than eleven. I love the surprise when people see these industrial and fantasy designs for the first time and do a double take. They get even happier when I encourage touching and shaking — the contradiction in the world of art etiquette. PLEASE pick this up and shake it. Makes curators crazy.

My inspirations can come from anywhere – I keep a notebook next to my bed, as there are nights when I wake up and have a clear idea of something I want to make. I scribble something down and try to make sense of it in the morning. Because of the small scale, anything that Is tiny will catch my imagination, from toys to jewelry pieces, and I’m always thinking “what could I do with that?” I pick up pieces of metal  from the street and can wander in a hardware store looking at shapes that might evolve into something else.

As far as the technical process, so much is trial and error, putting things together and making them proportional and pleasing. I will start and abandon a piece repeatedly until I like how it looks. I have to make the sculpture as close to perfection as I can, because when they are under liquid and glass, the flaws magnify. I’ve taught myself skills in jewelry making, soldering, wire and clay. It’s always a mixed-media evolution.

When a sculpture is complete, I turn it over to my snow globe engineer who seals it so it will not deteriorate. I am grateful to his technical expertise, because I get to concentrate on the fun stuff and he makes sure it will not fall apart.

I have been making art all my life, but I do recall my first attempt at making a snow globe. I now call it “Ashes to Ashes, Rust to Rust” and I still have it. I thought that I could put watch gears in the liquid in lieu of confetti and these perfect little shapes would rain down when the globe was shaken. I had not considered what happens to metal in liquid. Rust. Never crossed my mind. This piece is now a glass ball with orangey-red bits in the liquid and the rusty silhouettes of watch gears that disintegrated but left a shadow on the glass.

So the piece  is a reminder that art is not exempt from chemical interaction. I would like to take this idea to another level someday and create pieces that intentionally rust, but I’m not there yet.

I’ve had pieces given to loved ones on their wedding days, and for important anniversaries, gifts given to people who are in the hospital for the last time, and memorials – so the stories behind how someone feels strongly about a piece of art are meaningful to me.

But there is one single piece that I have kept on my desk, and that is “Rain Gear.” There is something about seeing nothing but a pair of robot legs and an umbrella communicating pure emotion that intrigues me. I never get tired of looking at it.

I also make leather and metal bracelets or wrist cuffs, sometimes with engraved plates and messages attached. These usually have similar metal pieces as you’ll see in my globes. But I rarely sell them. I tend to give them as gifts at shows or to people I meet. One of my favorites was given to an inspiring gallery owner, Meg Woodhouse at Fusion Factory in Denver, and the embellished wrist cuff I gave her said, “Who are these people?”
I thought it was fitting since she is always  surrounded by a crowd of artists, but I never found out if she loved it or was perplexed by my gesture.

This is where I should mention that not all my artwork is “steampunk” – even by my own free and loose definition. I get obsessed with other ideas, such as M.C. Escher, or re-creating Leonardo DaVinci inventions in snow globes. I’ll design little scenes where Star Wars characters meet D&D figures. Or where an octopus plays the cello. Once in a blue moon, I get a wild impulse to make something pastel and sparkly with little elves and snow covered cottages, or rainbow unicorns walking on moss-covered bridges — I don’t always edit my impulses until they play out. If I like it, it’s a snow globe. If I hate it, it goes into a crate of things I can cannibalize later.  I have lots of strange things waiting in that box of weirdness.

Camryn Forest  was born in Chicago, Illinois, but has lived in Denver, Colorado for more than three decades. She have a degree in journalism and makes her primary living as a writer of ordinary things, such as press releases and annual reports, but also studied fine arts at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She spends most of her evenings, weekends and vacations viewing and making art, which is a pleasing balance.
Herfamily includes a wonderful husband, two amazing kids, and they once owned the most amazing dog in the world, whose memory still brings us joy. He is irreplaceable, but she might get another goldfish someday. No promises. Her website is www.camrynforrest.com  where most of the pieces she has made are shown, and there’s a story about how each one was designed or inspired. She also has an etsy store.

Another secret has escaped from the Archives. Yes, it is true you can join the Ministry.

Thanks to Galileo Games, a roleplaying game is underdevelopment where you can play agents, solve mysteries, foil plots, and uncover mad conspiracies. It will be based on the FATE core system, and will allow you to develop the skills and have the adventures of a Ministry agent.

We are working with two talented ladies and one gentleman. J R Blackwell, who is helped many fine games make it into the world, and is a prodigious talent in a number of fields. She will be doing the designing of the game. P J Schnyder will be writing for the game, and we know like everything she does it will be done brilliantly.

The charming Mr Brennan Taylor who will be editing the game. Naturally, our journalists Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris will be heavily involved, but apparently Doctor Sound’s duties means he was not available.

Read the full announcement over at Galileo Games, and we’ll keep you informed on further developments.

Keep calm, and Game On!

Every Thursday, the Archives will feature artists, musicians, and makers of all variety, entered for your approval here in the Archives. With so many talented individuals to choose from, we know it is a challenge to feature every clever creative worthy of note, but perhaps we might endeavour to introduce to you a new name in our community of steam and cog, or perhaps remind you of one artisan’s successful efforts to bring the past that never was to the here and now.
This week’s Æther Feature is from John LeVan of Deadlance Steamworks for December 27th, 2012, submitted for your pleasure:

I’ve always been a nerd. From comic books to video games, I’m a nerd through and through. Growing up, I drew. I drew comic book characters of my own creation, imitated other artists, illustrated characters I played in Dungeons and Dragons, and other such nerdities. I’ve always had the push and motivation to be as detail oriented as I could, and that resulted in lots of drawings and illustrations that took forever to complete. I suppose with a little A.D.D. and impatience, the drawing dwindled when I found a photography. I spent about twelve years studying photography and learning what I could. I figured I would take pictures because they were faster than drawing and with some editing, I could end up with the same superheros and situations. I also work by day job as a web designer and graphic designer. Doing something as a day job takes a lot of the fun out of it though, so I refuse to do that stuff as a hobby.

Back in 2010 a personal crisis turned my world upside down, and I couldn’t even look at a camera without having a ton of mental anguish and pain resurrect itself, so I sold off all my equipment.

Some time later that year, just before Halloween, a friend asked me if I would help make her a costume. She wanted to be a fairy. I began doing research on different ideas and methods of making props and stuff. I came across the idea of steampunk during that research. I quickly fell in love with the uniqueness of steampunk and the way that it fits every single person in a way that is also unique to that person. I absolutely love that no matter who you are, what you are into, what facets of life you enjoy, that there is a facet of steampunk that will fit you perfectly. Steampunk isn’t a subculture. It’s merely an alternate way to look at existence and be creative with the way we interact with it. So, I convinced her to go with being a Steampunk Fairy rather than just a bland ole’ fairy. She agreed.

With the fairy project, I started watching YouTube and researching online how to sew. A week later I produced my first corset, made of brown vinyl. Several days later, I produced a pair of interlocking gear wings with a wind up key, designed to be worn as a backpack, and cut from foam board – with the cutting assistance of two other people. I did research on how to dismantle a Nerf Maverick and a friend and myself painted a couple.

The piece I am the most proud of is Anna’s Corset. The reason is because it’s my first heavy leather corset, extremely detailed, and in the end, Anna was more ecstatic about it than any individual I have ever met. During a fitting, she put the corset on, long before the finished product, and wore it around for something like three hours and absolutely didn’t want to take it off. I felt better about my work during those three hours than I have ever felt about anything in my entire life. There were so many challenges involved in making that corset… Oh man. I created the pattern for it all by myself. No store bought pattern was used. I had no reference images, and no initial idea of what I was even doing. I didn’t even have a lot of the tools necessary to complete the project. I didn’t have a dressmaker form or anything, so each piece had to be assembled on her body as I went along. Remembering measurements and things was always an ongoing struggle. Every single piece of that corset was drawn straight out of the blankness in my head. There was honestly never a time when I knew exactly where I wanted to go with it.

My most recent project is the Aether Injector. It consisted of well over one hundred hours worth of work time. Most of the gauntlets I create only require around forty hours of work. This particular project required me to learn to solder and to learn how to power LED’s properly. There are twenty-four super bright blue LED’s, each requiring 3.5 volts of power. Every LED has it’s own resistor. The LED’s are powered by three D cell batteries, stored inside a hip pack, and the power cord is run through the casing of parachute cord in order to look like the old cloth wrapped electric cable. All of the blue fluid is dawn dish soap, not fiber optics or EL wire. Each tube was hand filled in a tedious manner with a turkey injector – one of the huge syringe’s that you can get from Wal-Mart. Originally, the reservoir was an antique glass flask, but soon I discovered that it leaked, so I went with a more modern option and just bought a bottle of cheap rum, which was quickly dispatched and the bottle was used to replace the leaky antique.

The piece was inspired by characters like Bane, from the Batman comics, who have some sort of chemical injection to boost their strength or power. I thought it was a neat idea and have been wanting to light something up for a while, so I thought, what the heck, and went with it. Another huge inspiration was Tom Banwell’s Tauruscat helmet. http://tombanwell.blogspot.com/2011/07/tauruscat-final-photos.html – I really liked the idea of the tubes and hoses and the way they looked.

My work is displayed on my Facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/deadlanceSteamworks – which is where I also accept any commissions and custom work. I also have an Etsy store – http://www.etsy.com/shop/deadlance – Where I sell a few things when they are completed. I prefer custom work over any other because each piece is a unique challenge, and I thrive on challenges.

John LeVan is a leatherworker and maker from Oklahoma City, OK. He can be found online at http://www.deadlance.com/

The Ministry Facebook page has reached a 1,000 Likes, and to celebrate we are running another competition.

Yes, this time we are giving away a signed set of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences hardbacks (the Science Fiction Book Club edition) as well as a signed copy of Unwoman‘s CD Blossoms, which our journalists picked up while sojourning at the Emerald City Steampunk Expo.

All that you need to do is use this wonderful little gizmo below. The competition ends in a fortnight, so hurry quickly…before the Director finds out we have opened the vault yet again!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

It has been a bumper year for the Ministry, and we are certainly entering Christmas on a high note. Our Facebook page reached 1,000 Likes!

So we will be announcing a fun new competition on Boxing Day, as well as the winner of the Box of Ballantine and Morris.

However you celebrate the season, may it be full of warmth, love and kindness. Thank you for your support of the Ministry this year, and hope you like what is coming in 2013!

Every Thursday, the Archives will feature artists, musicians, and makers of all variety, entered for your approval here in the Archives. With so many talented individuals to choose from, we know it is a challenge to feature every clever creative worthy of note, but perhaps we might endeavour to introduce to you a new name in our community of steam and cog, or perhaps remind you of one artisan’s successful efforts to bring the past that never was to the here and now.

This week’s Æther Feature from Pete Woodworth for December 20th, 2012, is submitted for your pleasure:

I didn’t set out to end the world. I really didn’t.

If you had told me a few years ago that my first novel would be a post-apocalyptic story full of mutant zombies, crazy street gangs and ruined cityscapes, I probably would’ve thought you were crazy. Being a game writer and serial anthology contributor, I’m used to my career taking some odd bounces, but the path to this new novel – my first, as it happens – has been a strange one even by my standards.

For about a year I had been a player in the NJ chapter of Dystopia Rising, a fantastic LARP set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by the walking dead, when the game’s creator Michael Pucci approached me with a proposal. How would I like to write the first-ever fiction trilogy set in the Dystopia Rising game world? I was thrilled and jumped at the chance, even when it became clear that I would be writing all three of them back to back in just under a year. I’d written horror before, mostly games but a few stories here and there, and while it was something I was comfortable with, the scale of the project was still a little daunting

One of the things that immediately jumped out as challenge was remembering the realities of writing in a post-apocalyptic future. It was slightly easier than it might otherwise have been due to the fact that the society of Dystopia Rising has stabilized somewhat, even if only at a relatively primitive level – it’s not the rapidly-unraveling anarchy of, say, the Walking Dead. Still, keeping track of every bullet, every bite of food and every stitch of clothing added an extra layer of continuity to keep track of as the story went on. In a way, it was refreshing, as it allowed me to show off how determined the survivors have become at finding food and supplies.

When I was doing research, I stumbled across a survival manual that told you how to make a few gallons of safe drinking water with a couple drops of bleach, and I immediately thought “Yeah, that has to go in this story.” I don’t imagine anyone ever really gets used to that kind of chemical aftertaste, and that in turn says a lot about the attitude those survivors have about their city. When you swallow a little bit of poison in every drink of water, even if your body can handle it, it still does something to you.

Another unexpected angle was the landscape, the cartography. They already had quite a world built for Dystopia Rising, but writing fiction was a chance to really zoom in and see it close up. I also learned that it’s a hell of a lot of fun to break the world down and reassemble it in a way that people will find both familiar and alien. Some of my favorite scenes in post-apocalyptic movies are those where we see things we recognize that have been totally transformed in the wake of the collapse, because it inspires us to imagine what it would be like to see our world through completely different eyes. What would we think of the dead television sets found in the ruins of all those houses, after we forgot what they were used for? Would they be altars? What about landmarks – how do you make sense of impressive statues when you’ve got no history left? And when the dead walk, how do you look at cemeteries with anything but revulsion and dread?

Perhaps the most unexpected part of writing about a world overrun by the dead, though, was nerving myself up to write gore. Want to know a funny little secret? I’ve got a terribly weak stomach for gore. I’ve been writing and running horror games for years, I vacation in the zombie apocalypse one weekend a month at game, but I faint when I have blood drawn. I once passed out at a screening of Dracula: Dead and Loving It, and yet all of a sudden I needed to bring as much gritty reality to headshots and machete chops as I could if I was going to do the world justice. I had to learn how to write sequences on paper that I could never in a million years watch on film, but after a while I realized that was actually helpful in a way – the more uncomfortable it made me, the more likely it was going to strike a nerve with readers too. Though I still get odd looks when I tell people what I’m writing in a genre that I can’t really watch on film, but like I said, it’s been a strange trip so far.

I teach creative writing classes, and one of the things students always ask is how you actually go about writing a novel. Before my advice was a bit more general, focusing on the classics like outlining and revising – still good tips, by the way, if any students happen to be reading – but now? It’s all about the details. You’d think a story that crosses several hundred miles of apocalyptic territory and involves a few thousand souls, living and undead, would be a big picture sort of deal, but the more I wrote, the more I enjoyed the details. Because in the end, every zombie story always has a lot more to say about the living and the dead, and the most fascinating part of the living are their quirks.

Even if I wouldn’t be able to watch any of it on a big screen.

Peter Woodworth is a first -time novelist, whose book Dystopia Rising: Runner is the first in a post-apocalyptic zombie survival adventure trilogy. He also has short fiction in Gimme Shelter, a collection of zombie horror stories,and several other upcoming anthologies. He is also an award-winning game writer, having worked for White Wolf, Eschaton Media, Evil Hat and a number of other companies over the years. You can find Peter online at www.peterwoodworth.com.

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences has many forgotten stories in its Archives. Stories of madcap adventures in all corners of the Empire, dark doings in hidden places, and mysterious devices and artifacts that the everyday citizen should never become aware of for fear it would quite undo their minds.

In this episode:

Curtain Call — written by Shaun Farrell

Cordelia is called to a strange theatre by a message from her estranged father, and she hopes for a joyful reunion. Her father though has been treading on dangerous ground while trying to impress the Director the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. Still Cordelia cannot possibly know the strange and terrifying details of what lies within this particular play house.

 

About the Author: 

Shaun Farrell is the executive producer of Adventures in Scifi Publishing a Parsec Award winning podcast which brings the world interviews, reviews and news about speculative fiction. He has written articles for Strange Horizons, Clarksworld Magazine, and Far Sector SFFH. In addition to loving great literature, he is an aspiring novelist and actor. Shaun lives in Northern California with his wife and two children.

Theme music for the Ministry composed and created by Alex White.

Order your copy of The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel and the award-winning Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel, now available from online and bricks and mortar stores everywhere.

Thanks for listening!
Feel free to leave us a review on iTunes
and share our work with a friend.

It is that time of year; where folk (and particularly writers) go a little holiday crazy.

The Ministry is proud to be one of the sponsors of the Mistletoe Madness Blog Hop. All of the other fabulous sponsors can be found right here – so bounce on over.  Full details and how to enter are on this page.

At the bottom of this missive you will find details how to enter to win separate prizes from the Ministry. We’re dubbing it, a box of Ballantine and Morris. Hopefully you will be interested it that.

Now, onto the Christmasing!

As for us here at the Ministry, well we are gearing up for a wonderful steampunk Christmas. We have already released Mr Tee Morris’ short story In the Spirit of Christmas, where our two agents Miss Eliza D Braun and Mr Wellington Books, encounter a spot of holiday bother. It came out this time last year as a free podcast, but has now made it in to Aether form. So once you have downloaded it to the device of your choosing, how else can you provide yourself with a steampunk Christmas?

First of all, to get yourself in the mood, you couldn’t do better than watching this the Fright Before Christmas by the Ministry friends the League of STEAM.

Then you may begin. First with the tree. These folk have created a wonderful Steampunk Christmas Tree and included some instructions on how to make some cog ornaments. This beautiful tree has taken the theme of the bowler hat which Mr Books prefers, and turned it into a marvellous tree. Also, Mr Books has taken a leaf from these creative folks, and made himself some literary themed trinkets for his home. And if you haven’t got a making bone in your body, then the wonderful folks over at Brute Force studios can provide you with a rocketship…or possibly the moon. I have even heard tell of Target doing a steampunk set with a moustache, a clock and a pipe. Very festive. And on top, maybe Santa.

Don’t neglect the rest of the room though. These instructions show how easy it is to make a nifty steampunk take on the traditional paper chain. Do them in green and red for extra seasonal appeal.

Don’t forget your friends and family far away. Miss Braun has quite an extensive family back in New Zealand and always makes sure to send them cards for the season, rather than some kind of aether greeting. Sending a steampunk themed card is bound to make them smile. You can make your own, or find something like this one.

What to put under the tree can be quite the trick, even for a steampunk. Goggles, corsets, a new raygun are all wonderful choices, but if you are looking for a perfect steampunk Christmas theme, then we have a couple of suggestions; a journal to record your thoughts just like Wellington Books. Miss Braun would say nothing says Christmas like a Tesla coil…so this snow globe containing one would be apt for her. All of which you could wrap in some charming steampunk paper. If you have the aether device called the ipad, then this beautiful application would make a wonderful gift for a devotee of Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol, steampunk style, with interactivity and lovely illustrations.

A most important part of any holiday celebration is always the food. Miss Braun loves to cook her Christmas pudding. For best effect it should be made in advance of Christmas, but even if prepared this very day, it will still be delightfully tasty. This happens to be Miss Braun’s favourite recipe. We hear that in America pudding means something different to a dense fruit cake, but rest assured nothing tastes more wonderful when covered in a small amount of brandy and set alight. Once doused, smother in a brandy sauce. There is nothing to be afraid of, and firemen should not be required..unless of course you are Miss Braun. Her puddings are somewhat more explosive.

After dinner you will want to relax with your guests…so how about a spot of steampunk music for the season? Nothing could be better than a sample of the Men Who Will Be Blamed for Nothing.

And last but by no means least, do not forget to hang some mistletoe somewhere…just in case there is an agent or two which you might want to kiss. (Miss Braun finds this particularly amusing, Mr Books does not).

But however you celebrate the holidays or wherever you are, we hope you have a happy and safe season of goodwill. And good luck winning that Kindle that is on fire…oh sorry…the Kindle fire.

On the way out, and before you shut the door, don’t forget to enter the Ministry’s own giveaway of a Box of Ballantine and Morris. Books galore and something called…swag?? Lay your eyes on what is available!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Every Thursday, the Archives will feature artists, musicians, and makers of all variety, entered for your approval here in the Archives. With so many talented individuals to choose from, we know it is a challenge to feature every clever creative worthy of note, but perhaps we might endeavour to introduce to you a new name in our community of steam and cog, or perhaps remind you of one artisan’s successful efforts to bring the past that never was to the here and now.
This week’s Æther Feature from Karina Cooper for December 13th, 2012, is submitted for your pleasure:

It’s with great joy and lots of excitement that Pip and Tee are letting me come play in the Aether Feature today! As you may or may not have known, December 26^th sees the return of Cherry St. Croix, London’s only female collector.

And Cherry isn’t the only familiar face to grace the streets of London’s foggy drift. A murderer haunts the broadsheets, terrorizing the ladies of the night as the authorities scramble like blind mice in the dark. A rival has drifted into the shadows, following Cherry’s every move.

And if that weren’t bad enough, if the secret and dangerous streets of London below the drift weren’t all she had to worry about, the gears of London’s uppercrust Society are ever turning—and this time, the well-to-do elite have the daughter of Mad St. Croix firmly in its sights.

Welcome back to a London re-imagined, to a mystery compounded by the secrets of those who will do anything to keep them… And with great presence of mind, I offer this warning: Them what know the streets well may live below the drift with some ease, yet a Society woman with no prospects must fight tooth and nail for her very survival.

Which world will claim Cherry first?

Happy Trailering

I had originally considered making my own trailer for the St. Croix Chronicles, but I have this problem: I’m a workaholic.

It’s a problem I think many authors suffer from. Or benefit from, depending on.

Not only am I workaholic, but I also tend to be easily distracted by shiny things. Mmmm, shiny things. A new idea, a new project, fresh plans, a glimmer of inspiration… diamonds. Gold. You know, the usual. And a book trailer—the hours and hours of sorting through stock photos, making my own photo shoot, music choices, everything, to say nothing of stringing them all together—would be the most epic shiny thing I can think of.

I mean, aside from the aforementioned diamonds.

So, like a very smart girl, I turned to the professionals. Book Candy Studios offered a special )which they often do) for three trailers. I was so happy with the first one they made me, that I was super excited to work on the second. I love the way they operate—they listen, they ask questions, they’re hands-on to walk you through any technical help. And they really love the steampunk aesthetic.

If it weren’t for Sandy rustling up the east coast, this trailer would have even been on time! But hey, there’s no accounting for Acts of Nature.

If you want book trailers and just can’t summon the will, time, or energy to do it yourself, Book Candy Studios are your jam.

I hope you enjoy!

Gilded: the St. Croix Chronicles

In the gleaming heights of Victorian London, a world of deception awaits an unconventional Society lady whose taste for adventure makes her a most formidable adversary . . .

Though Society demands that I make a good marriage, I, Cherry St. Croix, have neither the time nor the interest. I am on the trail of a murder with no victim, a mystery with no motive, and the key to an alchemical formula that could be my family’s legacy.

Yet the world is not so kind as to let me pursue simple murder and uncomplicated bounties. Above the foggy drift, an earl insists on my attention, while my friends watch my increasingly desperate attempts to remain my own woman. From the silken demands of the Midnight Menagerie—to whose dangerously seductive ringmaster I owe a debt—to the rigorous pressures of the peerage, all are conspiring to place before me a choice that will forever change my life.

Buy Tarnished

Buy Gilded

About the Author

After writing happily ever afters for all of her friends in school, Karina Cooper eventually grew up (sort of), went to work in the real world (kind of), where she decided that making stuff up was way more fun (true!). She is the author of dark and sexy paranormal romance, steampunk urban fantasy, and writes across multiple genres with mad glee. One part glamour, one part dork and all imagination, Karina is also a gamer, an airship captain’s wife, and a steampunk fashionista. She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with a husband, a menagerie, a severe coffee habit, and a passel of adopted gamer geeks. Visit her at www.karinacooper.com, because she says so.

Last year, Mr Morris wrote a short story for podcast, but due to some sort of mix up with the paperwork, it was never produced in electronic format.

This oversight has been corrected and now this tale ‘In the Spirit of Christmas’ is now available on the Kindle, Nook, Kobo and Smashwords

It’s Christmas Eve, and Wellington and Eliza investigate an incredible haunting in the heart of London. What looks to be a job well done in the end quickly becomes a lump of coal in their stockings when their client takes some offense…

Coming soon, Miss Pip Ballantine’s contribution to Christmas…

Every Thursday, the Archives will feature artists, musicians, and makers of all variety, entered for your approval here in the Archives. With so many talented individuals to choose from, we know it is a challenge to feature every clever creative worthy of note, but perhaps we might endeavour to introduce to you a new name in our community of steam and cog, or perhaps remind you of one artisan’s successful efforts to bring the past that never was to the here and now.

This week’s Æther Feature for December 6th, 2012, submitted for your pleasure:

Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Goodreads, Ning, Pinterest, Stumble Upon, LinkedIn, Google+, LibraryThing, Reddit…

The list goes on and on…and on…

The simple days of MySpace and LiveJournal are over. And how. Although both still exist and are used, they have fallen far from popularity, simply because there are better (and so many) choices available now. More interactive, cross-posting, easily sharable choices. It’s what keeps us locked in our smart phones, checking in, updating statuses, sharing inspiration, and uploading pictures that narrate our lives in the middle of Lowe’s or in the long morning line at Starbucks. In this overwhelming age of too much information at the tips of our fingers anytime, anywhere, it’s becoming difficult to find what we’re actually looking for. Or, at best, we get so distracted by all the ooooh-shinys on the way.

I recently saw a statistic (ironically on Facebook) that read in the month of January 2012, Facebook users worldwide spent an average of 10.5 billion minutes per day, not including mobile devices, which is where most of my social networking is done. That is equal to more than 100,000 years every month. So as you scroll past the cute animal pictures and the cat playing with the dalek and the inspirational or humorous meme that you just must share, easily twenty minutes has passed before you remember what you went to the computer for in the first place.

With so much information going back and forth how does one see anything anymore? This proves to be a huge obstacle for emerging authors. Sure, it’s easier now to get a book published, and with more publishing avenues, than ever before, which is great, but it also means there are more books. Thousands of books. An average of 800 books are published *every day* in the US alone, and that figure is about 7 years old, before the eBook revolution. How is an emerging author to be seen? Between 800+ books a day and cats with daleks and feel-good memes, it is a considerable challenge to find one’s audience amidst the din.

The way to reach audiences and potential readers today is to make a personal connection with them. And I mean personal. Several of my social media clients have said, when discussing Twitter or Facebook, “I don’t care if you need coffee and I don’t want to see another picture of your cat. There are more important things to talk about, like my book!” Therein lies the problem: No one cares about your book. Why should they? They have a reading list a mile long. They don’t know you. You and a thousand other books just came out. They’re busy, often working two jobs, plus getting their kids to soccer practice, plus PTA, etc. etc. etc. They go to social networking to unwind and (shock!) be social. They don’t want to be sold to, and I don’t blame them. People are tired of advertising, everyone always trying to get them to part with their money, and if you’re not careful, that’s how they’ll see you.

They will care about you and your book when you make a personal connection with them. The way to do this is to almost never talk about your book! Strange, I know.

Under my legal name, Christine Rose, I wrote a book called Publishing and Marketing Realities for the Emerging Author, in which I go through this extensively, but here is the short of it:

1. Create a blog.
2. Blog often, a least once a week and preferably 3x a week.
3. RARELY blog about your book, but have information about you and your books in the sidebar and on an “about” page, with a link (one click!) taking them to where they can purchase it if they so choose.
4. Identify your target audience, like for romance novels it’s generally women 18-65, and blog about something they will find interesting. I blog about romance & relationships, for example. But I could as easily blog about gardening or crocheting or being a soccer mom, whatever. But you blog FOR THEM. Give them articles that will benefit them. That’s why they’ll read it, and that’s why they’ll keep coming back. Ultimately, that’s why they’ll care about you and buy your book.
5. Build your social networks, and you simply cannot keep up with all of them, so pick two or three. Again, rarely talk about your books. Connect with people. My most “liked” and commented on posts have to do with daily life. Enjoying a mocha. Needing coffee. Opinions about a popular TV show. Because that’s what people do. That’s how an initial connection can be made.
6. All social networks will lead back to your blog, where there is more information about you, your books, and how to purchase them when they’re ready.

This is getting very long, as there is so much to say, but I guess that’s why I wrote a book on it! I’d love to go into things like Blog Tours, like the one I had just last week under O. M. Grey (http://omgrey.wordpress.com) and the one I’m having next week under Christine Rose (http://christinerose.wordpress.com). They can be highly beneficial or they can be a waste of time. I’d love to talk about contests, what works and what doesn’t, and most just don’t. And I’d really love to talk about giving your books away free for a couple of days and how to do that…and how it will boost your readership like nothing else, except for maybe podcasting. But that will all have to wait for another post.

Until then, you can actually download my Amazon Gothic Romance bestselling novel AVALON REVISITED for FREE on your Kindle (http://t.co/ddTMbJBf) today and tomorrow. Similarly, next week during my blog tour from http://christinerose.wordpress.com, I’ll be giving two books away free all week to anyone who wants one.

Please, come on by and don’t be shy! We can talk about more Publishing and Marketing Realities then.    -_Q

Olivia M. Grey writes dark fiction and Steamy Steampunk, like the Amazon Gothic Romance bestseller Avalon Revisited. Her short stories and poetry have been published in various magazines and anthologies, like SNM Horror Magazine and How the West Was Wicked. Ms. Grey also blogs and podcasts relationship essays covering such topics as alternative lifestyles, deepening intimacy, ending a relationship with love and respect, and other deliciously dark and decadent matters of the heart and soul.

Read more by O. M. Grey on her blog Caught in the Cogs, http://omgrey.wordpress.com

(photo of O.M. Grey by Erin McLarty)

Do you have a steampunk musician, artist, short film, designer, or maker that you wish to see in our Ministry Æther Feature? Contact our journalists at tee (at) teemorris (dot) com and pip (at) pjballantine (dot) com, and they will labour to feature you here. If selected, the artist-in-question will be notified. Thank you for your continuing interest in the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.

Every Thursday, the Archives will feature artists, musicians, and makers of all variety, entered for your approval here in the Archives. With so many talented individuals to choose from, we know it is a challenge to feature every clever creative worthy of note, but perhaps we might endeavour to introduce to you a new name in our community of steam and cog, or perhaps remind you of one artisan’s successful efforts to bring the past that never was to the here and now.

This week’s Æther Feature for November 29th, 2012, submitted for your pleasure:

Birthrite is a British Black Country Steampunk bank.  No harpsichords, but highly strung.

Birthrite are based in the heart of the UK, the now post-industrial Black Country. Named for being formerly the iron and steel forging centre of Britain, when the air rang with the impact of drop hammers and presses, and the sky was blackened with the smoke of a thousand chimneys, now it’s a pale shadow of its manufacturing past, but still the ghosts of a thousand trades linger on.

The disposable 21^st Century does not inspire us with much hope, wonder or inspiration, making us feel that a side step to a more hand crafted, artistic and moralistic world would be a definite improvement, this results in a strong affinity with the Steampunk genre, which offers diversity and an openness to individuality not found elsewhere and the expression of what some would see as outlandish ideas and styles. In saying that, we are unlike just about every Steampunk band you could hope to see. Birthrite are not a cabaret type band, we are unfortunately still possessed with the vitriol of the Furies and as a result we are a full force, electrically powered rock band to the core. We like it hard, and we like it dirty, but we do also like it elegant too on occasion, elegantly filthy.

Birthrite were originally formed in 2008 by Erazamus Voss (Songster) and Johnny Zygen (Guitar), who had previously worked together on several collaborations prior to this. This first incarnation of the band came to an end a couple of years later, the time was not quite right for what they were trying to do achieve, and consequently both took separate paths and musical directions.

However in the summer of the same year, there was a surge of interest in the original work of Birthrite, and repeated requests for the band to reform and perform. The line-up has finally been refreshed and invigorated with the addition of two new fellow conspirators, Dek La Plombier (Percussionist) and Mark Thinsliced (Bass), elevating the band to even greater heights, and putting on track the original vision of the founder members.

Our musical compositions are a raucous melange of our diverse musical tastes, backgrounds and life experiences, which are many, varied, usually noisy and in some cases illegal, we are indeed a chimera of many heads. Our catalogue covers a range of topics, death, love, hate, war, apocalypse, as in our extensive experience life is not at all about fun, or games so you are best learning to like it dark…  The art comes from varied sources, but we always aim to present a show that is visual, bristling with latent energy, and our aim is to embody the energy we create and so inspire others to tackle and maybe release their latent inner demons, experiment with music and art themselves, and so create new ideas and ultimately new artists. There’s nothing so uninspiring as the present day fad for musicians to embark on an inward journey at the expense of the listening audience.

The band presents a very visual and rather energetic live performance, which is accidentally  retro, harping back to the days when bands didn’t just turn up in jeans and T shirts, this is still show business, and we like to put on a show.

Birthrite’s area of influence has been expanding rapidly at a rate of knots, coinciding with our wide variety of live performances up and down the country, from Zombie festivals in Cornwall to Steampunk nights in Manchester, we are also now in receipt of a slew of radio airplay from the underground and alternative stations across the UK.  The band is also now picking up international interest from around the world, particularly in the US where we are booked for radio appearances and potentially some conventions in the near future.

We have had the good fortune to work with some excellent people in the UK in this business of entertainment, Professor Elemental, BB BlackDog, Gladstone, TMWWNBBFN, Ghostfire, to name but a few, and also some utter tossers, who will remain nameless. Such is the nature of the business, we have no illusions about the duplicity of the industry, it’s an ego strewn minefield, and no place for self-delusion.

We have new plans to enter the studio in January and commit our latest tunes to digital, and already have many intriguing gigs lined up for 2013, including a book release for Rae Gee, a historical four-masted schooner party on HMS Trincomalee and a really heavy rock show (in a Derbyshire stone quarry). The future never looked so exciting, and we look forward to presenting new material to our growing support base in the form of live performances and recorded material as fast as we can generate it.

Every Thursday, the Archives will feature artists, musicians, and makers of all variety, entered for your approval here in the Archives. With so many talented individuals to choose from, we know it is a challenge to feature every clever creative worthy of note, but perhaps we might endeavour to introduce to you a new name in our community of steam and cog, or perhaps remind you of one artisan’s successful efforts to bring the past that never was to the here and now.

This week’s Æther Feature for November 22nd, 2012, submitted for your pleasure:

Steam Powered Tales of Awesomeness™ is the brainchild of Brian D Thomas and Raymond J Witte, encompassing not only a book but a total steampunk “brand” that includes the IAAC — The Imperial Amerikan Air Corps — a uniformed performance troupe that brings the characterizations of Major Girth and his IAAC troopers to swaggering, colonizing, propaganda-spreading life.

Founded in 2010, the IAAC attend various steampunk and genre conventions and functions and provide panel presentations on steampunk world building, prop creation and general steampunk community commentary.   In 2011 we were awarded “Best in Show” for our costume and prop work at Steampunk World’s Faire in Piscataway NJ (and everyone knows Piscataway NJ is the center of…well…everything!).

In 2012 we introduced our “Steampunk Imperial Amerikan Living History Camp” as a slice of steampunk reenactment complete with alien trophy heads, prop displays and in character storytelling and presentation. We also introduced The Cavalcade Of Fancy Ladies, a steampunk belly dance fusion troupe whose exotic adventures are featured in SPTOA Vol 2.

But what about the world from where the IAAC come from? (Glad you asked…)

To date we have created the first volume of Steam Powered Tales Of Awesomeness (SPTOA), numerous original costumes, props and illustrations and a series of steampunk Imperial Amerika propaganda short films. The short film collection was picked up and included on Kevin Eslinger’s Nickel Children film dvd release in 2011. The first volume of SPTOA is scheduled for a late-2012 release and includes the steampunk fiction collaboration of Brian and Ray, the editorial skills of beloved Greg Schauer of Between Books fame, as well as the illustration talents of me! (Brian, that is.)  The SPTOA podcast and audio drama is currently in production and will air in tandem with the book release in the fall of this year.

SPTOA creates a steampunk alternate history and takes a tongue-in-cheek poke at the various “isms” of the early twentieth century. Stories include:

• The exploits of Major Girth and the crew of The Irascible Wind.  Follow Girth in his never-ending crusade to increase the dominance of Imperial Amerika, his exploration of alien worlds, and his quest for exceptional baked goods.
• The case files of the fearless paranormal investigator and man about town Horace P Thorton- a reluctant hero who would much rather get paid to drink and look good than have to shoot strange creatures in the face …but then a man has to do what a man has to do….and the pay is fairly good.
• The adventures of Lady Citizen Wilhelmina Wigglebottom as she defends her beloved empire against foreign spies, alien invaders and bad fashion!
• Tales of sky pirates, epic battles, alien worlds, sky portals and steam-powered…tales…of…awesomeness!

Raymond J Witte is an experienced technical writer and long time gamer-geek.  He is also an avid historian with a focus on military and political conflicts.  His skills and diligence at research help keep the SPTOA from straying from “believability”…

…as much as they can.

Brian D Thomas is a professional artist/multimedia designer with thirty years of costuming and prop building experience.  Having worked on several international brands during his professional career he has turned his experience to something he actually loves…and has outlawed formal meetings and the words ‘synergy” and “pop” from all SPTOA and IAAC enterprises.  The similarities between Brian D Thomas and the pompous, manipulative Major Girth are purely coincidental and no confusion should be made between the two.

Major Girth wears a helmet.

Do you have a steampunk musician, artist, short film, designer, or maker that you wish to see in our Ministry Æther Feature? Contact our journalists at tee (at) teemorris (dot) com and pip (at) pjballantine (dot) com, and they will labour to feature you here. If selected, the artist-in-question will be notified. Thank you for your continuing interest in the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.

Once again you did it, fine supporters of the Ministry. The Janus Affair, our second book, has made it to the finals of the Goodreads.com Best Science Fiction of 2012.

To be in the company of the other 9 finalists is quite the honour, but we confess we would love to place highly. Last year Phoenix Rising reached number 8—which was impressive, but we would like the Janus Affair to do even better.

So please vote, and help spread the word if you can! Thank you for all your assistance in this matter.

Every Thursday, the Archives will feature artists, musicians, and makers of all variety, entered for your approval here in the Archives. With so many talented individuals to choose from, we know it is a challenge to feature every clever creative worthy of note, but perhaps we might endeavour to introduce to you a new name in our community of steam and cog, or perhaps remind you of one artisan’s successful efforts to bring the past that never was to the here and now.

This week’s Æther Feature for November 15th, 2012, submitted for your pleasure:

Recently, I left a steady job to write a steampunk trilogy. Probably, as both Tee and Pip did when I told them this, you are staring at your computer screen with your mouth slightly agape. Yes, I traded in full time employment to launch a writing career.

Mad? Maybe a bit, but within this twisted tumble down my personal rabbit hole, I did make certain to have a plan. First Item: How am I going to make a steampunk trilogy happen?

With the success of The Oatmeal‘s Tesla Museum drive, I decided to look into crowdfunding. If you missed Oatmeal’s amazing campaign or many other steampunk-themed successes, you might wonder what crowdfunding is. In a nutshell, crowdfunding is when artists, non-profits, and individuals network their resources, usually through online promotions, to raise financial backing for independent projects. These projects go well beyond artistic pursuits and have included endeavors such as disaster relief, political movements, and even software startups. I turned to two excellent funding platforms: Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Both platforms are excellent resources for individuals seeking funding for a creative project, and if you are considering drumming up financial support for book, documentary, or other project, here are some issues to consider.

One of the main differences between Kickstarter and Indiegogo is money. With Kickstarter, you have to reach your campaign goal to receive a penny. With Indiegogo, you have the option of receiving all donated funds, regardless of if you meet your goal. While partial funding may spell doom for many creative projects, some people are happy to get any money donated.

Kickstarter is slightly easier to navigate with a more intuitive format. Indiegogo is a little more challenging to manage; however, the end result is more appealing for the audience. Indiegogo also has an excellent “Customer Happiness” center and more resources and support than Kickstarter.

Ultimately, your campaign is more important than the platform you use. One of your first considerations is your campaign goal: I set my Kickstarter campaign at $20,000 and my Indiegogo campaign at $5,000. The lower goal on Indiegogo seemed to better encourage people to donate, so it is best to low-ball your number. Happily, both platforms let donors pledge money beyond your campaign goal, and you just may raise more money than you need.

The perks and rewards you offer are important, and one mistake I made on Kickstarter was not offering enough rewards, especially for smaller donations. My Indiegogo campaign has more than double the perks of my Kickstarter drive, including several for $5 pledges. Also, put some creativity into your rewards. One perk I have on Indiegogo is that donors help create and name a specific character they would like written into the trilogy, and this has been a big draw for several donors.

The Next Item: Marketing your campaign. This is vital. I had the most success with buying a Facebook ad for my Facebook page: this ad has earned me hundreds of likes and several pledges. I update my Facebook page at least twice a day with interesting research links, writing updates, and campaign reports, and I blog regularly. Also helpful was attending two steampunk conventions where I introduced myself to people and handed out business cards with my campaign information. Sadly, the nifty campaign posters which I hung up around town generated virtually nothing; neither did the two YouTube videos I created and my Twitter posts. For me, Facebook has been the most helpful.

Want to learn more? Check out my Indiegogo drive to see a campaign in action which ends November 15th. Have a successful campaign story or questions? Shoot me an email, and let’s all work to help support good steampunk projects!

Melissa Conroy taught college-level writing courses for several years before abandoning a steady career structure to be a steampunk author. Her first book Steam on the Horizon is slated to be available January 2013. She can be reached at melissaaconroy@gmail.com

Do you have a steampunk musician, artist, short film, designer, or maker that you wish to see in our Ministry Æther Feature? Contact our journalists at tee (at) teemorris (dot) com and pip (at) pjballantine (dot) com, and they will labour to feature you here. If selected, the artist-in-question will be notified. Thank you for your continuing interest in the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.

Every Thursday, the Archives will feature artists, musicians, and makers of all variety, entered for your approval here in the Archives. With so many talented individuals to choose from, we know it is a challenge to feature every clever creative worthy of note, but perhaps we might endeavour to introduce to you a new name in our community of steam and cog, or perhaps remind you of one artisan’s successful efforts to bring the past that never was to the here and now.

This week’s Æther Feature for November 8th, 2012, submitted for your pleasure:

Ask editor Calvin Jim about his involvement in the Shanghai Steam anthology, he’ll tell you that his interest goes way back to his roots. The part-Chinese author of Asian Fantasy had his path as a writer changed by the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. When he sought out the book series he discovered that there was no English translation, but his search turned up a literature genre that he hadn’t heard of before… Wuxia.

Wuxia can be translated into English as ‘martial hero,’ and stories from the genre may typically be an ‘everyman/woman’ whose aim is to right wrongs or stop oppression. If you’re looking for other comparisons perhaps the bushido tradition in Japanese culture or American gunslingers may put you in the right frame of mind. Mixing the Wuxia genre with that of Steampunk opened new doors for a number of writers who saw the submission call and crafted a story of their own for the anthology.

Inspiration for stories came from a broad sampling of Chinese historical influence and futuristic wondering. Laurel Anne Hill’s interest in the Chinese workers who helped build the American Transcontinental Railway sparked her story idea and Ray Dean, who started out writing a story set in the American West ended up writing a story about the Opium War between China and England. Editor Calvin Jim also mentions that he found some eye-opening stories that became part of the anthology including a horror story, stories set on other planets, and even light comedies.

While fiction writers can pretty much create the stage and the characters, the Shanghai Steam Anthology melds Chinese culture and Steampunk. Some say ‘write what you know’ and others still will tell you ‘it’s fiction.’ The authors of the anthology were a mix of the two in varying degrees. Tim Reynolds’ experiences with Chinese culture stemmed mostly from the same exposure of most big city North Americans: Food, visits to Chinatown, Philosophy, Movies and perhaps even some martial arts training. Others like Derwin Mak, Emily Mah, and Tim Ford have Chinese blood in their veins. Julia A Rosenthal’s experience includes two visits to Mainland China that left her with a hunger to know more about Chinese history and culture. For Ray Dean growing up in Hawaii, a hop-skip-and-jump from Chinatown and all of the festivals, enriched her childhood with legends, culture and lots of good food. Author Crystal Koo is surrounded by Chinese culture as she lives in Hong Kong and grew up in a Chinese family.

Reading through the submissions for the anthology, Editor Ace Jordyn was expecting to see a wide variety of stories that touch on life, culture, politics, philosophy, science and more. She was also looking for an emotional connection or response to the stories. She also discovered heroes from all walks of life who found themselves in the middle of a number of unique situations: working on the railroad in North America, revolutions in rural China, alternative history scenarios and life on other worlds. Ace goes on to say that all of the stories speak to the human condition in unique and wonderful ways.

In merging the two genres the authors had different ways of approaching the challenge. Derwin Mak based his story on the Self-Strengthening Movement of the Chinese military and the ideological conflicts of the time. Crystal Koo found the combination natural, noting that advances in technology aren’t limited to certain cultures. Julia A Rosenthal started with developing her hero and a cause to get the story’s plot moving. Rather than building an entire world around his story, K H Vaughan took specific items, locations, and individuals and gave them a ‘make-over.’ Laurel Anne Hill brought together an explosive combination of qi and spiritual assistance in her story.

Emily Mah’s post apocalyptic story deals with a culture fragmented by calamity and what’s left is a culture of mixed ethnicities that inhabits the ruins left behind. Going the more traditional route, Tim Reynolds sets his story in a monastery where old and new clash together in the form of two brothers. Ray Dean enjoyed the ability to include a moment in her story where the sudden rush of new technology gives way to the wear and tear of use, only to find new life thanks to a creative businessman. Tim Ford kept it simple. He uses Steampunk tech in a single way, but it is the key to the plotline.

To enjoy the stories in the Shanghai Steam Anthology, you don’t have to be an expert in Chinese culture, nor do you have to be well versed in either genre. A willingness to embrace new worlds and see history through many different lenses will serve the readers as they have our authors.

We hope that this anthology will open new frontiers for both Wuxia and Steampunk fans.

“I am not one who was born in the possession of knowledge; I am one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there.” – Confucious

Anthology Authors who contributed to this post were: (in alphabetical order)

• Ray Dean – “Fire in the Sky”
• Tim Ford – “The Fivefold Proverbs of Zhen Xiaquan”
• Laurel Anne Hill – “Moon-Flame Woman”
• Crystal Koo – “The Master and the Guest”
• Emily Mah – “Last Flight of the Long Qishi”
• Derwin Mak – “Flying Devils”
• Tim Reynolds – “The Ability of Lightness”
• Julia A Rosenthal – “A Hero Faces the Celestial Empire; a Death by Fire is Avenged by Water”

Find out more about Shanghai Steam on Facebook and the publisher’s website.

Do you have a steampunk musician, artist, short film, designer, or maker that you wish to see in our Ministry Æther Feature? Contact our journalists at tee (at) teemorris (dot) com and pip (at) pjballantine (dot) com, and they will labour to feature you here. If selected, the artist-in-question will be notified. Thank you for your continuing interest in the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.

So our journalist Pip Ballantine has had a article published about the recipe for steampunk in the latest issue of the  delightful magazine InDTale.com

This is a magazine that specifically looks at publishing for independent or small press authors. It is free to sign up so check it out if you so feel. Plenty of useful information for scribes is contained within.

Here is the first page to peruse…

Esteemed agents, faithful readers, and those of you who have cheered for our honours and awards, Miss Braun and I come to you once more as we did a year ago from this time. We are thrilled to announce that, yes, there are times where history does repeat itself.

Perhaps you have heard our intrepid journalists, Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris, discuss on their respective archives the recent development for The Janus Affair. In case you have missed those æthertweets or Facetome posts, we have some ripping good news: We at the Ministry received word from the delightful ætherwebs’ network, Goodreads, that The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel — after being nominated for a 2013 Bookie Award — has been short listed for Best Science Fiction of 2012!

Miss Braun and I dared a look at those in our company and what an honour this is! Alongside our journalists are writers such as:

• John Scalzi
• Alastair Reynolds
• Terry Pratchett
• Jack Campbell
• Orson Scott Card
• David Weber

I can speak plainly for both myself and Miss Braun that we are within a delightful and talented score of adventures in this round, and most grateful for this accolade. Our gratitude, however, does not mean we want to stop here. Running alongside Hugo winners, Nebula winners, and New York Times bestsellers, our desire is simply to keep The Janus Affair in the running. To do that, we need your help.

At present the Goodreads Choice Awards has two voting sessions remaining:

• Opening Round: until November 10, 2012
  You can vote for one of the nominees in each category, or write in titles you find deserving of this honor. (Happening presently.)
• Semifinals: November 12 – November 17, 2011
  You can vote for one of the now 20 nominees in each category.
• Finals: November 19 – November 27, 2011
  The field narrows to the top 10 books in each category, and you have one last chance to vote.

Last year, we placed 8th in the Final Rankings. This year, we wish to make the Finals again. This time — higher rankings!

If you haven’t voted yet, and you have an account with Goodreads, take a moment to vote for us and other books worthy of your attention and affection! We wish represent the steampunk genre in Goodreads’ Top Ten Science Fiction for 2012. Rest assured that between now and the end of November, we have no intention of turning our ætherblog or æthertweets into mindless rhetoric concerning this award. But we will not allow this opportunity to go gently into the night. Expect to see:

• Æthertweets from Miss Braun and myself asking for your vote
• Facebook posts from both our journalists, asking for your vote
• And perhaps, a quick blogpost reminding you of deadlines and where we stand

So please vote. If you have voted already, ask colleagues in your Goodreads network to voice their support for the Ministry. Together, we shall bring the boilers to full and keep our humble steampunk adventure in the running!

Every Thursday, the Archives will feature artists, musicians, and makers of all variety, entered for your approval here in the Archives. With so many talented individuals to choose from, we know it is a challenge to feature every clever creative worthy of note, but perhaps we might endeavour to introduce to you a new name in our community of steam and cog, or perhaps remind you of one artisan’s successful efforts to bring the past that never was to the here and now.

This week’s Æther Feature for November 1st, 2012, submitted for your pleasure:

Perhaps the only more daunting question than “what is steampunk” that we steampunks regularly encounter is “what is steampunk (insert artistic medium here).”

As a singer and bass player for Atlanta, GA-based transdimensional rock ensemble The Extraordinary Contraptions, I am constantly asked to answer to the nature of steampunk music. I tend not to emphasize a strict definition for steampunk music as much as I prefer highlighting the very broad possibilities inherent in creating the soundtrack for any of a myriad of alternate histories.

Remember, your alternate history has an alternate music history as well. Perhaps your story takes place in a world where the composers of the romantic period had access to electric guitars and synthesizers. Or maybe your story is set in a steamy modern day where Jimi Hendrix played the banjo instead of the electric guitar or the Beatles were a string quartet instead of a rock band. Or just maybe your world features an airship captain that serenades you with sequencers and a darbuka. Or maybe, just maybe, your epic surface-to-air combat scene requires an aggressive waltz, melding pianos, double bass, electric guitars and rock and roll drums. That is, of course, where you can find the The Extraordinary Contraptions’ corner of the creative map.

An alternate (if possibly frustrating) definition for steampunk music might be “music inspired by steampunk media and/or experiences.” One prime example of a work inspired by the creator’s experience of steampunk media and other steampunk enthusiasts would be The Extraordinary Contraptions’ song, “Prelude to the Nocturnis,” whose brand new music video debuted on youtube this week.

The song’s balladic lyrics are drawn in part from descriptions of characters developed by enthusiasts from Atlanta’s steampunk cultural scene. With such a strong nautical theme, word-painting the story with a waltzing sea shanty was an obvious, yet winning choice. The epic nature of the story and accompanying music went on to further influence the development of the music video into a nod to Georges Méliès’ classic film, A Trip to the Moon, a work whose visual style is often cited as influential to latter day steampunk creatives.

The video was made with the help of a group of dedicated actors, filmmakers, and visual artists (not to mention four very nervous musicians who’d never before attempted such an ambitious visual undertaking), all of whom have ties to Atlanta’s steampunk cultural scene. Cast and crew spent countless hours over the course of several months of the latter half of 2012 constructing and painting set pieces, planning and storyboarding the camera shots, scouting locations, recording stop-motion animation, acting, filming, and finally editing a great deal of footage into the four-minute clip that appears on youtube today.

I think the video’s quality and entertainment value owe to the collaborative nature that seems to pervade our subculture. It’s obviously the work of many hands, each doing what they do best.

Faithfully presented by David Tyberg

David Tyberg portrays Prof. Dimtri von Stadberg; bass player and singer for Atlanta-based trans-dimensional rock band, The Extraordinary Contraptions. When not performing, Tyberg functions as the band’s general manager and music director.  Find out more at http://theextraordinarycontraptions.bandcamp.com

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences has many forgotten stories in its Archives. Stories of madcap adventures in all corners of the Empire, dark doings in hidden places, and mysterious devices and artifacts that the everyday citizen should never become aware of for fear it would quite undo their minds.

In this episode:

The Cross of Columba — written by Doc Coleman

April, 1883

Agent Bryan Teague travels from the London offices to a remote area of Scotland on the call of Lord Pennyfarthing, a self-proclaimed scientist and specialist in ancient and rare fauna. Agent Teague arrives to find his skepticism of Pennyfarthing’s previous follies on finding a traumatised valet and a dying English lord with an incredible fish story…

 

About the Author: 

Doc Coleman is an emerging writer and voice actor whose work has been featured on the Every Photo Tells… podcast, and in the Steampunk Special Edition of Flagship magazine. He is currently working on a series of steampunk novels under the title The Adventures of Crackle and Bang. You can find out more about this series, and follow his latest projects at Swimming Cat Studios, and find all of his projects at DocColeman.com.

Theme music for the Ministry composed and created by Alex White.

Order your copy of The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel and the award-winning Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel, now available from online and bricks and mortar stores everywhere.

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