Steamed by Katie MacAlister

I’d been meaning to check out Katie MacAlister because of recommendations, but then I ‘met’ her in the Romance Divas class on steampunk where she mentioned Steamed. I have a soft spot for steampunk that dates back to my early childhood and travel watches I used to take apart and sometimes repair…with a few pieces left over. That was enough to push Steamed to the front of the list the next time I was in a bookstore.

While not exactly what I expected, especially since it starts with Jack in his quantum physics lab, the story is fun with strong characters. MacAlister leaps on the bandwagon of multiple universes to posit a world in which steam, and European dominance, holds sway. It is populated with a lot of the steampunk traditional elements, but there’s enough of a difference to play with when Jack’s interest in steampunk conflicts with his new reality.

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Interesting Links for 5-21-2010

What I Am Reading

This has been a crazy week, so I didn’t get much reading time, but I have finished Steamed: A Steampunk Romance by Katie MacAlister and will be posting my review next week.

Submitting

While I’d be cautious about some of the style tips at the very end, this process for constructing a synopsis is similar to what I taught in my synopsis class and can be quite effective:
http://www.writing-world.com/publish/synopsis.shtml

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Interesting Links for 5-14-2010

What I Am Reading

I’m in the middle of Steamed: A Steampunk Romance by Katie MacAlister. It’s not quite what I expected, but I’m enjoying the ride so far. Ballsy characters in a neat setting make for a fun read.

The Last Stand of the Ant Maker by Paul Jessup on Apex Magazine is a bizarre almost prose poem. I skimmed the first few lines, thinking I wouldn’t like it, but ended up reading the whole thing, pulled in by its surreal nature. I wanted to know what was going on even though I could tell I never would be able to exactly.
http://www.apexbookcompany.com/apex-online/2010/05/short-story-the-last-stand-of-the-ant-maker

Writing

Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to create character conflict:
http://www.plottopunctuation.com/blog/show/77

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Changeless by Gail Carriger

Alexia Tarabotti, the barely tolerated eccentric, Italian-colored spinster without any prospects no longer exists in the second Alexia Tarabotti novel. Instead, she’s been replaced by Lady Maccon, just as eccentric, just as Italian in appearance, and suddenly a hot property in society. While her change in status offers convenience, it does little to mold Alexia into someone society can bill and coo over, a fact which makes Changeless as much of a delight as Gail’s debut Soulless.

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Interesting Links for 5-7-2010

Sorry for the late post. This week has scrambled out from under me as I enjoy the rush of Forward Motion’s annual Story A Day challenge. I have 5 stories completed so far, and I’m quite happy with the lot of them.

What I’m Reading

This week I read Changeless by Gail Carriger. It lives up to the pure fun of Soulless while offering a tour of the British Isles (not really but some) and adding a number of new complications.

Life

Okay, this might be a little much, and I don’t usually post things like this, but my life has been a bit of a struggle and many of my friends have been going through very rough times. Nick Vujicic’s attitude just struck a nerve, a reminder of what’s important. Enjoy:

http://www.shrinkgeek.com/2010/04/30/inspiration-can-trump-perspiration/

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Her Vampire Husband by Michele Hauf

I’ve read another book by Michele Hauf before I received this advanced copy as part of the Library Thing program so I knew I enjoyed her romances, but I’ll have to say Her Vampire Husband surprised me on two levels.

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Interesting Links for 4-30-2010

What I’m Reading

This week I finished Her Vampire Husband by Michele Hauf. This is not the first one of hers I’ve read, but this one surprised me on several levels. It was closer to an erotica than I’d expected, and was a little too detailed on vampire love making for my comfort, but what caught my attention the most was the overall story where two distinct culture groups with a lot of reasons to hate each other have to face up to their similarities and change. This is definitely worth a read.

I received an order I’ve been waiting on forever (stupidly put some prereleases in a B&N free shipping order) and have to make a tough decision as to what to read first. Changeless by Gail Carriger won and I’m devouring it already.

The Freedom by K.M. Lawrence is an odd story that doesn’t quite explain itself but at the same time gives enough to draw me in and keep me reading through to the end. I wonder if this is a glimpse at something bigger just because there’s so much not explained, but that’s not a problem for the story. It’s an amazing study in how to say almost nothing and yet reveal a whole lot. And besides, I enjoyed the story itself. http://www.strangehorizons.com/2010/20100426/freedom-f.shtml

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