Anyone who knows me reasonably well knows that I have a thing for airships. I don’t know if I can explain it — it’s just one of those weird obsessions that lodges somewhere in the mind and never shakes loose. And so it shouldn’t be too surprising that there are airships in Falling Sky. In fact, when I was trying to think about how to describe it I came up with the term “post-airpocalyptic”. This has led many people to assume that the novel is steampunk and yet…it’s not.

The genesis was airships, yes, but when the idea for this world came together I was at Clarion West in 2008 and I was working on a short story with the vague idea of people living in the sky to avoid something on the ground. I mentioned this to Paul Park, one of my instructors, when we had our one-on-one meeting and he pushed me (gently and helpfully) in the direction of science fiction rather than fantasy and suddenly it became set in the future (though the near future) rather than an alternate reality or some other kind of world.

And while that might have seemed weird, the more I looked at actual articles from the time, the more I saw that it was actually possible, if not probable. With the price of fuel rising all the time, and the amount necessary for transporting both people and cargo by plane, it’s not surprising that several companies have looked into airships, modern airships mind you, as a way to cut costs. I could point you here or perhaps here or even here for some examples.  Once I was convinced it was at least plausible, I moved full speed ahead.

But I want to stress again, this isn’t steampunk. It’s post-apocalyptic, with airships. Maybe there’s no real difference to you, but there is to me.

Surely that’s got to be all of the genres, right? Well, not quite. Next post will be about what’s left.

It’s been a little while since I spoke about current or past projects here, so I thought I would list a few things that I have out in the world or soon to be out in the world right now:

Fermented Adventures – this is a website I created to talk about beer and wine and drinking culture. I realize this isn’t as interesting for some, but it’s something that I enjoy. I’ve been making more of an effort to keep this updated and have recently started blogging about my homebrewing adventures. If you’re at all interested, stop by, take a look, comment if you like.

Sales! – I recently discovered that I had a story accepted by the soon to be relaunched Dreams of Decadence. DoD was formerly a magazine of vampire fiction, but in its new incarnation it will be focusing on urban fantasy and paranormal romance. I’m looking forward to seeing the mag in its new form. I also had another acceptance that I won’t give details about until I get the contract. But both stories were stories I wrote as holiday stories, my version of Xmas cards where instead of sending a card, I send people an original story.

Recent Publications – the following are recent publications of mine, along with some nice words that people have said about them. They are all still available if you’re interested. Listed in reverse order of publication.

Skulls & Crossbones: An anthology of fiction about women pirates, containing my story, “The Furies”, which received Honorable Mention in the Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror. Now available at Amazon.com and at Bedazzled Ink.

Shimmer’s Clockwork Jungle issue: containing Steampunk animal fables including my story, “The Emperor’s Gift”. The Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf and Book Review had some nice things to say about the issue. Not if You Were the Last Short Story on Earth picks my story as a favorite. And Rich Horton mentions me as well in his year-end roundup of Shimmer. Finally, SF Revu calls the story “touching”.

Steampunk Tales #4: Just as the title suggests, steampunk stories including my zeppelin adventure, “The Juggernaut”. Available in digital formats and as an app for the iPhone/iPod Touch and now the iPad. For $1.99 it’s incredible value.

Shadows of the Emerald City: weird Oz stories (that’s the Wizard of Oz, not Australia which is weird in its own way) containing my story, “Pumpkinhead”. The Amazon review in the previous link lists my story in the top 3. Brandon Bell at M-BRANE SF likes the anthology. Innsmouth Free Press calls the story, “a fine effort”.

Articles –  I continue to participate in weekly Lost Round Tables at Tor.com, leading up to the finale. I also will have some other posts coming up soon on some fantasy favorites. All of my articles there can be found via this link.

Additionally, I should have a few more announcements to make in the coming months, one of them being my story, “Doors”, appearing in GUD’s next issue.

Enough about me, now. How are you?

If having Steampunk Tales #4 out wasn’t enough, Shimmer just published it’s Clockwork Jungle Book (otherwise known as Issue 11) containing my story, “The Emperor’s Gift”. This is my second time appearing in one of Shimmer’s themed issues, and I’m very excited to be included. The issue also contains stories from Jay Lake, Genevieve Valentine, Amal El-Mohtar, Jess Nevins, and more. The issue is available in print or electronic formats. More information can be found at the link.

Please check it out if you’re interested.