Everyone on my mailing list will be receiving a little Evangeline Christmas treat in their inbox soon, ‘An Awfully Evangeline Christmas’ short story.
Up to her neck in Christmas preparations, Miss Plockton asks Evangeline to run an errand for her. A trip to the bakery for a few special treats for the Professor
The errand sounds simple enough, but of course, Evangeline and Mei find trouble in the most unlikely places.
So if you’d like a little bit of Christmassy silly fun, sign up here.
As the last few hours of 2016 fade away, I’d like to thank everyone in 2016 for their support, feedback, purchases, laughs and reality checks.
To the agents and publishers for thickening my skin.
To the buyers of the Evangeline novellas for your support, your reviews (good and bad) and making me feel like a real writer.
To my beta readers, cover designers, formatters, editors for your expertise.
To my writing community for your friendships, support and encouragement.
And to you dear blog reader.
You all helped to make my 2016.
Now 2016 has been one of those bastard years. With the deaths of lots of beloved artists and surprising political results, it’s been strange and shocking. I wonder whether the Queen will announce 2016 as another ‘annus horribilis’ in her Christmas Speech.
But beyond the rejection letters, two-star reviews and disappointments, 2016 wasn’t all bad.
Here are my top 3 good things from 2016.
Evangeline and the Bunyip is due out any day now and I can’t wait to show you the cover.
But in the meantime, here’s a sneak peek at page 1.
Enjoy.
Chapter 1
“And another thing, Evangeline. You mustn’t eat too much. There’ll be ample food and I know you have a… healthy… appetite,” Uncle Augie said.
Evangeline glanced at the buttery shortbread in her hand. What could Uncle Augie possibly mean? It was only her third.
Last week’s freebie sale on Evangeline and the Alchemist: A Novella: Mystery and Mayhem in steampunk Melbourne (The Antics of Evangeline Book 1)
In the past week, I’ve been exploring my shadow side with my new gothic horror work and finalising proofs/cover for Evangeline and the Bunyip.
Evangeline and the Alchemist: A Novella: Mystery and Mayhem in steampunk Melbourne (The Antics of Evangeline Book 1)
Over a hundred free books with all e-book retailers.
Get amongst it! I’m gonna load my Kindle too.
When I read informative information on how “optimise my author platform”, there is always a mention of a consistent blog content strategy. Mmm, well, big fail here. This blog and my blogging is awfully random. I’ve decided to go with my randomness and only blog when I feel inspired, which waxes and wanes.
Today is a little round-up (and not the noxious chemical) on what’s going on with me. Something new, something old and some classroom time.
It’s 30th June, half way through 2016 already and so it’s time to reflect and revisit my 2016 resolutions.
I’ll be appearing at Continuum – Melbourne’s Speculative Fiction Convention on June 10 on a panel about “Magical Melbourne” at 10pm. We’ll be discussing Melbourne as a setting for speculative fiction and I’ll be talking about Evangeline and the Alchemist in steampunk Melbourne.
Check out the rest of the program here.
Now, what inspired the stories in The Antics of Evangeline?
Since I was a child, I’ve loved the weird, the wonderful and the supernatural. I am a big fan of Dr Who, Whedon-worlds, Hammer horror, the X-Files, folktales and all manner of forteana.
The Antics of Evangeline combine a steampunk setting with an exploration of folklore and the paranormal.
Today I’m talking more about the inspiration behind Evangeline and the Alchemist (coming in June 2016).
The book which sparked the whole Evangeline series was Blameless by Gail Carriger. (Yes, I read her series completely out of order.) Aside from being a cracking good read, I was struck by Carriger’s wit and the possibility of silliness within a Victorian world. As soon as I finished the last page, I was hit with an idea for a character, Evangeline.
I’ve tried writing urban fantasy before (vampire chef, anyone?) but it didn’t sit right with me. The humour felt forced and, to be frank, just plain dorky. Somehow in the artificial world of steampunk, I’ve felt the freedom to be silly and funny in an overblown and flowery way. Bring on the adjectives, chums! At first, this was a release from the more serious world of my Monolith series, but it has turned into something larger and Evangeline is now my first release as an independent author.
Aside from Carriger, I channelled some
All these style influences mixed around in my brain to create Evangeline and her Marvellous Melbourne world.
Next time, I’ll continue with my Evangeline inspirations and move onto the story itself.
Evangeline and the Alchemist, the first novella in my Mystery and Mayhem in steampunk Melbourne series, is almost ready to be launched upon the world.
Stay tuned for updates, but get ready to meet Evangeline in June 2016.
Today I’m focusing on what inspired Evangeline and the Alchemist and in this post, I’m focusing on place. The place is Melbourne and Melbourne is where I live.
The Antics of Evangeline are all set in Melbourne in 1882-83. In that period, Melbourne was the second largest city in the British Empire outside London.
After the Gold Rush of the 1850s, there was a flood of cash in Melbourne. The Government invested heavily in construction and infrastructure, and there was an ill-fated property boom. During the Victorian era, many beautiful and decorative buildings were constructed. Many of these buildings still exist today and I’m lucky enough to walk past them daily. A constant reminder of our Victorian past.
When I tell people I’m writing a series of steampunk novellas (The Antics of Evangeline), the first question is often ‘what is steampunk?’ Not everyone appears to be familiar with the world of steampunk.
Here’s my pithy definition of steampunk.
Steampunk is a science-fiction genre based in the Victorian era but with anachronistic technology, generally steam-powered.
Steampunk is an alternate world where Victorian innovations are taken to new heights and fun inventions are inserted alongside the Victorian clichés of parasols, whiskers and London pea-soup fogs.
I hope this helps. Next up, I’ll post about “why I write steampunk?”
Further reading (with considerable more detail) on ‘what is steampunk’ including the history, the community, the elements of a steampunk story and of course, the fabulous fashion.
While I query on Return to the Monolith, I’ve decided to keep anxiety at bay (see last week’s post) by putting my Evangeline novellas out into the world.
The Antics of Evangeline is a series of novellas involving mysteries and mayhem in steampunk Melbourne. In the 1880s, Melbourne was the second largest settlement in the British Empire after London and flush with post-gold rush cash.
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