girls in steampunk week calendar of events + giveaway

Welcome!  It’s Girls in Steampunk Week at Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia.  All week long I’ll be featuring books that both fit into the steampunk mold and have strong heroines.  Planned activities are listed below, and will be updated with links as the content goes live.  Oh, and there’s a giveaway.

5/13 – Girls in Steampunk Week calendar of events + giveaway
5/13 – Review of Kiss of Steel and Heart of Iron by Bec McMaster

5/15 – Waiting on Wednesday featuring Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger

6/1 – Review of Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger
5/16 – Review of The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross
5/16 – Review of Emilie and the Hollow World by Martha Wells

And now for the giveaway!  Several months ago I had the pleasure of meeting Caitlin Kittredge at a local author event.  She writes young adult steampunk, and was kind enough to sign copies of the first two books in her Iron Codex series, The Iron Thorn and The Nightmare Garden.  I’m offering these two books for giveaway.  Want to enter?  Simply fill out the FORM.  Giveaway open internationally, will end May 18^th at 11:59pm EST.  Winner will be selected randomly and notified via email.  Good luck!

In the city of Lovecraft, the Proctors rule and a great Engine turns below the streets, grinding any resistance to their order to dust. The necrovirus is blamed for Lovecraft's epidemic of madness, for the strange and eldritch creatures that roam the streets after dark, and for everything that the city leaders deem Heretical—born of the belief in magic and witchcraft. And for Aoife Grayson, her time is growing shorter by the day. 

Aoife Grayson's family is unique, in the worst way—every one of them, including her mother and her elder brother Conrad, has gone mad on their 16th birthday. And now, a ward of the state, and one of the only female students at the School of Engines, she is trying to pretend that her fate can be different.

riveted

Right around the time that I read Meljean Brook’s novella “Here There Be Dragons,” I knew I’d found a new auto-buy author.  Brook combines imaginative world building with great characters, romance, and a focus on the social politics of her world. The combination is electric, and I have yet to be anything less than delighted by her steampunk The Iron Seas series.

A century after a devastating volcanic eruption forced Iceland’s inhabitants to abandon its shores, the island has become enshrouded in legend. Fishermen tell tales of giant trolls guarding the land and of seductive witches who steal men’s hearts. But the truth behind the legends is mechanical, not magic—and the mystery of the island a matter of life and death for a community of women who once spilled noble blood to secure their freedom.

Five years ago, Annika unwittingly endangered that secret, but her sister Källa took the blame and was exiled. Now Annika serves on the airship Phatéon, flying from port to port in search of her sister and longing to return home...but that home is threatened when expedition leader David Kentewess comes aboard.

Determined to solve the mystery of his own origin, David will stop at nothing to expose Annika’s secrets. But when disaster strikes, leaving David and Annika stranded on a glacier and pursued by a madman, their very survival depends on keeping the heat rising between them—and generating lots of steam...

Riveted is the story of two people hunting for their pasts.  Annika has been seeking her sister Källa for four long years while traveling the world as an airship mechanic.  She’s been hiding her origins and hoping that the next stopover will bring news that will allow her to return home.  David Kentewess is on a mission to find his mother’s birthplace, but he’s also a volcanologist, traveling to the far corners of the earth to study mountains and their eruptions.  Each has their secrets, but they’ll be forced to share more than secrets when a brilliant (mad?) mind threatens all.

In The Iron Duke and Heart of Steel, the main source of action and movement was a physical threat.  While element remains in Riveted, both David and Annika’s pasts play a much larger role.  Where they are from, who their parents were, what they are escaping and what they have come to turns with – these drive the plot and development at least as much as physical danger.  And Brook has done a fantastic job of making that transition not only interesting, but page-turning.

I won't write more about the content of the book or unravel its secrets in a review.  That is for the reader to do.  What I will say is that Brook addresses themes of gender and sexuality, race and religion, the results of colonialism, and how people navigate within culture and grapple with experiences different than their own.   Don’t get me wrong – it IS a satisfying steampunk romance.  But it is ALSO an extremely thoughtful book, and I find (perhaps you do too?) that the smarter the story, the more I enjoy it after the fact.

Riveted is a winner, and I can tell I’ll be reading it again soon.

Recommended for: fans of intelligent romantic fiction, those who enjoy steampunk, and anyone who appreciates stories that break the mould and characters that go far beyond ordinary.  

Interested in more steampunk?  Check out the Steampunk Week in September calendar of events.

leviathan – guest post by ginny of ginnylou studio

Today’s guest blogger is Ginny of GinnyLou Studio (my sister, in other words).  She paints her nails obsessively and has an overly large accessory collection.  She’s also my best friend.

*ahem*

hi--it's Cecelia's favorite sister (never mind the only part) here with a post about steampunk.

why, oh why, would Cecelia ask her crafty sister to do a post?  

...

'cuz i'm a teacher.

of kids.

in the english language.  and various historical events.

and i'm smart.

(even though the last few sentences may have painted me in an unflattering light.  and please disregard the fact that i wrote the aforementioned sentences.)

...

or it might have something to do with the fact that i really like steampunk literature and have actually read quite a few books that fit the category.

yeah, that must be it.  okay, back on track here.

…

so i'm going to share a few of my thoughts on one of the first steampunk books i ever read: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld.

see, back when my sister lived in Washington (state), we went to this book signing/ book talk event because she was still a book nerd back then.  i was her plus one, because let's face it, i'm the best plus one EVER, and i'm pretty sure she told me we could have food on the way up.

so, we went to this event and saw THE Scott Westerfeld, listened to him promote his book, saw the book trailer, asked questions, got in line for the book signing, got a picture with him, and walked out of the store with a free cardboard cutout of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days."  it was fun.

it was also my first exposure to steampunk.

i was impressed.

if you haven't seen the book trailer for Leviathan, you should really check it out.  it's one of the best book trailers i've ever seen, and i know legitimate school librarians with real school jobs who use that trailer when they talk about books to kids.

there's this combination of sound effects/ music that makes the video engaging, and somehow all of it unwittingly piques your interest in the entire world that Westerfeld creates.  it's mesmerizing.  you see and hear and can almost smell the machines clanking around the screen.  go watch it.  *phew* and i haven't even started talking about the illustrations.  (well, i guess now i've mentioned it.)  

so the book not only has a stellar author in Westerfeld, but also an amazing illustrator.  i'm not talking doodles with stick-like figures.  these pictures are full blown, 24"x36" print-worthy illustrations.  these illustrations give life to the machines and beasts and contraptions, and imagery in the steampunk book.  (please also note that the following two books in the series sport their own full page pictures as well--AWESOME-SAUCE!)  some of the illustrations pop up in the book trailer, but they're really best seen in person in the pages of Leviathan... they stand out when you're flipping through your book, reading little captions below pictures to see what's coming ahead (but not in a "give it all away" type of way).

i must admit, i think Leviathan was the perfect introduction to steamunk.  it has the pictures, it has great story elements (more on that later).  AND, it just happens to be historical fiction (albeit extreme historical fiction).  basically, right up my alley!

lots of things i liked about this book:

1.  action scenes.  this book isn't too heavy on the expository sections... Westerfeld shows us the world, but he also doesn't bore us to death with detail-overload.  the action scenes were fun for me because i've always been a fan of war movies... my dad used to borrow war movies from the library and i swear i've probably seen 3/4 of all the war movies ever made.  the action wasn't gratuitous either, i mean, the setting of the book is a war.  it's the clankers vs. darwinists--machines vs. beasts.

2.  there's a good mix of fantasy/ history.  the Darwinist animals in this story are some of the most interesting elements in my humble opinion.  not that i don't enjoy a piece of machinery as much as the next guy, but Westerfeld made the 'beasties' likeable even if they were those attacking bat/ bird things.  and the title "Leviathan" actually refers to the name of the Darwinist ship, a huge honking whale/ blimp.  it's awesome.  and like the book trailer says, it's 1914, Europe is close to war, but this story is a re-working of the history of WWI... it both follows the main points, yet doesn't.  sorry for being cryptic.  you should just read the book.

3.  there's this awesome guy/ girl thing.  it's that painfully truthful representation of girls... or one girl in particular: Deryn (who poses as a boy so she can work on the ship).  she over thinks her relationship with Alek, the son of the assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand.  and she doesn't just do a little bit of over thinking, she does the adolescent version of over thinking.  i know this because it sounds just like the kids i teach in school.  *le sigh*  and then there's Alek... he's a typical guy--he's still figuring out life, he doesn't know what he thinks about girls, or his role in the war, and he's clueless.  there are plenty of hints throughout the book that point towards the truth about Deryn.  does he pick up on them?  of course not.  he's a guy.

4.  the occasional caper-ish type of scene.  this is different than the action scenes.  i guess it's more about the main characters actually acting like teenagers.  Westerfeld must have a really good model to study in terms of teenaged behavior, because he does a really truthful telling of what they're like.  almost painfully so.

all in all, i guess i didn't really hit on too many "steampunk" elements, but don't worry, this book is squarely/ firmly/ concretely in the steampunk genre, and will be for a long long time.  but never fear, there are tons of fun steampunk-y slang phrases ("Barking spiders!" and "You're a bum-rag" which is really just an insult, not a steampunk phrase...) and there are also lots of gadgets too... guns, tools ,machines, that type of thing.

recommended for: adventure fans, coming-of-age stories, slight romance lovers, gadget geeks, and other people that are easily swayed by book trailers, fancy covers, offers of food, and book blogging sisters.  so pretty much everyone.

It is the cusp of World War I, and all the European powers are arming up. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ fabricated animals as their weaponry. Their Leviathan is a whale airship, and the most masterful beast in the British fleet. Aleksandar Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battle-torn Stormwalker and a loyal crew of men. 

Deryn Sharp is a commoner, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered. 

With the Great War brewing, Alek's and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way...taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure. One that will change both their lives forever.

If you'd like to see more steampunk goodness, check out the Steampunk Week in September calendar of events!

steampunk! an anthology of fantastically rich and strange stories – guest post by alexis of lit from woe

Today’s guest blogger is Alexis of Lit From Woe.  She’s part of my DC FYA book club, and is (of course) smart & funny. Deadly combination.

HELLO DETROIT!

This is not Detroit. I've never even BEEN to Detroit. But it sounded punk rock and a bit mechanical, and since this week is steampun…

Oh. NOT that kind of steampunk? Man. I'm two and oh here.

Okay. *Steampunk* Like, the sub-genre. In kid lit.

Got it.

I don't think I'm alone in having more than a bit of private embarrassment over the fact that, while I like the *idea* of steampunk, and I LOVE the aesthetics, I'm rarely enticed, let alone bowled over, by steampunk in literature. Maybe because the concept is TOO visual, it's hard to sustain interest in a non-visual medium. Maybe my imagination sucks.

I know, I know. This whole post is going all the wrong ways. BEAR WITH ME.

So I don't love stempunk in literature, but I really really *want to.* My TBR pile, it's always open to new steampunk efforts. And even if I'm not the right reader for most of them, occasionally I find things I love, and Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories, edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant, is one of the efforts I loved.

Not surprising, really. Kelly Link is a superhero with words. I would buy her Pretty Monsters collection for every person I ever met, if only I had the money. The things she does with stories…seriously. SERIOUSLY. She takes genres and peels them inside out and rightside back, and makes you wonder how it is possible that no one ever thought of those stories (monsters; aliens; wolves; ghosts) from those angles before.

Which is probably why I was so impressed by her edited collection of steampunk short stories, and bowled the heck over by both her own and Libba Bray's contributions: their stories are steampunk, but pulled inside out and rightside back.

In Link's "The Summer People," the story opens on a contemporary girl, home miserably sick from school, dealing with a myopic, self-interested dad on his way out the door for a "week or three" to "get right with God." Again. There is NyQuil and television and Lexuses and prayer meetings and hooch running in this world. There are also fairies.

But the story isn't about the fairies (although Fran's entire existence hinges on her relationship with them), or about the hooch running or prayer meetings (although Fran's entire existence hinges around her father's relationship to THOSE), or even about the magical clockwork toys the summer people leave for Fran as gifts for her help (although those are as fascinating as any a clockwork bauble popped up in steampunk lore).

No, what "The Summer People" is about is how Fran is living her life, and what she does, good or bad, to take it by the horns and make it HERS. This is steampunk where the steam power and clockwork is incidental background noise, and the real story is what happens in and around it. This is steampunk where punk ideals—fighting against/within/despite/in the face of the system, wearing your own decisions like a bloody crown, making your own damn mark on the world—those are what matter most. And it's fantastic.

The word I most associate with Libba Bray (incidentally, doing a The Diviners event @ DC's own Politics & Prose this very evening!) is AMBITIOUS, and with her entry in the Steampunk! collection, she does not disappoint. "The Last Ride of the Glory Girls" is just as punk rock, with just as much spitting by the heroine(s) in the face of the clockwork world at large as is Link's "Summer People," just with fewer fairies and a few more train heists.

(Although, interestingly, there is still plenty of "getting right with God" serving as motivation for the heroine to grab the reins of her own life…)

"Glory Girls," for all it is steampunk, is also a western. It is, too, sci-fi. But the generic trappings aren't what make the story. When Adelaide Jones rides with the Glory Girls, she is not a cowgirl. When she signs up with the Pinkertons, she is not a dusty private detective. When she fiddles together a clockwork device that bubbles time, she is not a steampunk engineer.

What she is is a girl whose been left behind and forced into working the system the only way the system will let her. What she is is a girl who is on her way to having just about too damn much, and would you mind greatly if I go ahead and explode my way through a life I've decided on for myself, you love-drowning, backwards society, please and thank you and a big EFF YOU to you all.

She is Adelaide Jones, and her story is not ABOUT the aesthetic trappings of steampunk. That's just icing.

So, privately—now publicly—embarrassed as I may be to admit that literary steampunk just isn't my bag, I am MORE than happy to shill for steampunk that lets the steampunk do its own thing in the background, so long as the characters are allowed to punch their way through their own lives up front.

Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories: consider yourself shilled.

Imagine an alternate universe where romance and technology reign. Where tinkerers and dreamers craft and re-craft a world of automatons, clockworks, calculating machines, and other marvels that never were. Where scientists and schoolgirls, fair folk and Romans, intergalactic bandits, utopian revolutionaries, and intrepid orphans solve crimes, escape from monstrous predicaments, consult oracles, and hover over volcanoes in steam-powered airships. Here, fourteen masters of speculative fiction, including two graphic storytellers, embrace the genre's established themes and refashion them in surprising ways and settings as diverse as Appalachia, ancient Rome, future Australia, and alternate California. Visionaries Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant have invited all-new explorations and expansions, taking a genre already rich, strange, and inventive in the extreme and challenging contributors to remake it from the ground up. The result is an anthology that defies its genre even as it defines it.

Interested in more steampunk? Check out the Steampunk Week in September calendar of events!

steampunk for all (yes, you!)

One comment I have heard consistently about steampunk is that readers don’t know where to ‘start.’  The genre has gained popularity quickly, and the trouble is that there’s no one book that spawned it all.  Rather, it has been a slow movement that is now having a moment in the sun (or gaslight, if you will).

With that in mind, today’s Steampunk Week in September post is about finding the perfect steampunk book for _______. (fill in the blank)  Keep in mind that some of these books are a little lighter than others on steampunk elements, my list leans heavily toward YA, and is meant to be fun and/or helpful only.  I am by no means an expert.  With that said, your additions and suggestions are welcome in the comments!

Steampunk books for…

thoughtful readers: Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve, Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

fans of Sherlock Holmes (especially the recent Robert Downey, Jr. version): The Iron Wyrm Affair by Lilith Saintcrow

museum enthusiasts: The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent

fans of Faerie: Innocent Darkness by Suzanne Lazear

romance readers: The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook, Steam & Sorcery by Cindy Spencer Pape

those who prefer the classics: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

love triangle lovers: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

zombie enthusiasts: Boneshaker by Cherie Priest, Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

admirers of the short story form: Steampunk! edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant or Corsets & Clockwork edited by Trisha Telep for teens, Steampunk edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer for adults

middle grade readers: The Boneshaker by Kate Milford, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede

fans of westerns: The Native Star by M.K. Hobson

vampire addicts: Soulless by Gail Carriger, God Save the Queen by Kate Locke

adventure junkies: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

horror buffs: The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge, This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

graphic novel enthusiasts: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1 by Alan Moore, Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 1 by Gail Carriger and Rem

fans of fantasy: Cold Magic by Kate Elliott

Still stumped?  Check out the list that Kirkus put together of steampunk books for teens (with links to their reviews!), a Library Journal article focused on adult and ‘classic’ steampunk, and a post from Charlotte's Library about steampunk for kids.  And please, if you have any categories and suggestions, mention them in the comments!

the iron wyrm affair

There are times I know that I want (or need!) to read a book even before I check out the summary on the back cover or inside flap.  I’ve even been known to skip the summary altogether, and take a cover image on faith.  Lilith Saintcrow’s The Iron Wyrm Affair was just such an occasion.  That faith was born out – I was impressed and pleased to find that this title exceeded my (admittedly high) expectations.  What can I say?  A steampunk Sherlock Holmes-style tale, mixed with magic equals my reading dreams come true.

Emma Bannon, forensic sorceress in the service of the Empire, has a mission: to protect Archibald Clare, a failed, unregistered mentath. His skills of deduction are legendary, and her own sorcery is not inconsiderable. It doesn't help much that they barely tolerate each other, or that Bannon's Shield, Mikal, might just be a traitor himself. Or that the conspiracy killing registered mentaths and sorcerers alike will just as likely kill as seduce them into treachery toward their Queen.

In an alternate London where illogical magic has turned the Industrial Revolution on its head, Bannon and Clare now face hostility, treason, cannon fire, black sorcery, and the problem of reliably finding hansom cabs.

 The game is afoot…

In Saintcrow’s rendering of a fantastical, steampunk London, mentaths are unparalleled devotees of Logic, wielding their intellect with precision and to great effect – that is, if they are official and ‘registered.’  An excess of that same intelligence left without an object drives them mad.  On the other side is illogical magic, to be used in the service of Queen and Country.  However, someone has been killing mentaths… and the trail leads toward conspiracy.  Then sorceress Emma Bannon is entrusted with the keeping of mentath Clare, and the survival of Britain may rely on their ability to trust each other, deduce, and fight!

Reading this book was work for my brain – good, complex work that left me anxious to find out what would happen next, how the twists would unfold, and to see who would survive.  It is a superbly plotted and lushly written mystery adventure, and I, for one, have been hooked completely.  I haven’t read a sci-fi or fantasy world so minutely rendered in a long time.

However, Saintcrow takes it a step further: her characters are lovable.   It is their wide open faults and weaknesses that make Bannon and Clare such a wonderful match.  Bannon is caught somewhere between lady, magician and public servant, and it is a difficult space to occupy.  Clare is unregistered, and perhaps a smidgen too close to madness.  And yet, their partnership works, and there is enough of the unexpected (both in terms of plot and character development) that this reader, at least, was pleasantly surprised by the departure from cliché.  Was that too vague?  Here’s a tidbit: the slight hint of romance was JUST RIGHT, and I imagine this series will continue to be not only clever and exciting, but dangerous, surprising, and satisfying as well.  You couldn’t really expect any less from an epic steampunk mystery team, could you? It’s a heck of a fun ride…er…book.

Recommended for: fans of sci-fi/fantasy, anyone with a confessed ‘thing’ for steampunk and Sherlock Holmes (perhaps especially the recent films with Robert Downey, Jr.), and those who like their stories clever, their intrigue just a bit bloody, and the consequences of failure dire indeed.

If you're interested in steampunk, check out the Steampunk Week in September event, running from the 16th to the 22nd here at Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia.

steampunk week in september (+ giveaway)

It is here!  The Steampunk Week in September event at Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia will feature steampunk book reviews, giveaways and related posts from the 16th (today!) to the 22nd (next Saturday).  Stay tuned each day for new content, and refer back to this post as needed – I’ll add each post to the list as it goes up.  Oh, and check out the sweet weeklong giveaway below!

Calendar of Events

9/16 – Steampunk Week in September introductory post (+ giveaway)

9/17 – The Iron Wyrm Affair by Lilith Saintcrow book review

9/18 – Steampunk book recommendations 

9/20 – Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories guest post by Alexis of Lit From Woe

9/21 – Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld guest post by Ginny of GinnyLou Studio 

9/22 – Riveted by Meljean Brook book review

This event will feature newer steampunk releases, but what about all those books from the past few years?  You know, the books that brought attention to the genre and got people excited about the possibilities?  They’re still out there, and they’re still fun.  Today’s giveaway will feature the steampunk books I’ve reviewed over the last three years here at Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia.

Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve

The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross

Corsets & Clockwork edited by Trisha Telep

Soulless by Gail Carriger

“Here There Be Dragons” (part of the anthology Burning Up) by Meljean Brook

The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

Steam & Sorcery by Cindy Spencer Pape 

Cold Magic by Kate Elliott

The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart by Mathias Malzieu

Want to win a book of your choice from the list above?  Simply fill out the FORM.  Giveaway open internationally, will end on September 29th at 11:59pm EST.  Winner will be selected randomly and notified via email.  Good luck!

So tell me, what's your favorite steampunk read?

september is for book events

Somehow, September has become the month of everything bookish.  I mean, I knew it was popular with publishers (big title releases coming right up!), but everything else seems to be converging on the month, too!  If I list it all out here, I’ll definitely get to it, right?!  And I’m sure this sense of panic will turn itself into anticipation if I just wait long enough…

Okay, so I’m not actually going to stress about the first event, because Book Blogger Appreciation Week (from the 10th to the 14th) is all about appreciating the book blogging community.  It’s great for finding new blogs, discussing what we love about this little corner of the internet, and counting our blessings.  My favorite part is always the interview swap.  Take a look at the daily blogging topics when you have a moment.

Steampunk Week in September is an event I’m hosting here at Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia from the 16th through the 22nd.  I’ll be reviewing one steampunk book each day, with a couple of other fun things (and giveaways!) thrown in.  If you have any interest in the genre, check it out!

On September 20th, Libba Bray is doing a book signing for her newest release, The Diviners, at Politics & Prose, a sweet bookshop in DC.  I will be there with bells on (not really with bells)(but it’s a great phrase, no?).

Then it’s time for the National Book Festival (22nd and 23rd), which is held on the Mall.  The Mall, if you were wondering, is that green strip of grass that stretches between the U.S. Capitol building and the Washington Monument.  When they have a book festival on that, you know it’s serious.  I love the event each year, and the lineup of authors and speakers is pretty fabulous.

I participated in Bloggiesta (28th to the 30th) for the very first time this spring, and I loved it.  Ergo, I am doing it again.  Sort of.  I have a couple of other commitments that weekend, but in between times, I will definitely try to improve my blog through mini-challenges.  It’s fun to do ‘work’ in community and share in the fellow-feeling of ‘I can do this!’

One of the events that will interrupt Bloggiesta weekend is KidLitCon (29th), which I’ll attend for the first time this year.  Charlotte of Charlotte’s Library asked me at BEA in June if I planned on going, and I had to admit that I didn’t really know what she was talking about.  Good news: it’s bloggers who love kiddie lit talking about blogging and kiddie lit, and it’s happening not so far away.  I plan to take a train up to NYC and make a day trip of it (a blissful, book-friendly day!).

Tell me, what events are you looking forward to in September?  Is your month as full as mine?

steampunk week in september (+ giveaway)

One thing I’ve loved seeing in the past couple of years is the rise of steampunk young adult literature.  I’ve had fun reading Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan trilogy and watching Kady Cross take the genre by storm, followed newcomers like Meagan Spooner and Suzanne Lazear, and I am excited to attend the launch party for Tiffany Trent’s The Unnaturalists this very evening.

That is just counting a very small portion of the YA steampunk available.  Gail Carriger and Meljean Brook are two auto-buys for me in the adult market, and I look forward to new (and dangerous) additions to steampunk-land in the coming months, such as Adrienne Kress’ The Friday Society, Jay Kristoff’s Stormdancer, among others.  Steampunk stories are always pure FUN for me to read.  And I’d love to devote more time to them.

It is with this in mind that I’ve decided to host a Steampunk Week at Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia (my sister made me the lovely button).  It’ll run from September 16-22, and I’m going to focus on one book each day from the list below.  Pay attention, because this is also the giveaway list!

The Iron Wyrm Affair by Lilith Saintcrow

God Save the Queen by Kate Locke

Dead Reckoning by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill

The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent

Skylark by Meagan Spooner

Innocent Darkness by Suzanne Lazear

The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron

Now, the good part (a.k.a. the GIVEAWAY): one entrant will receive a book of his/her choice from the list above.  To enter, simply fill out the FORM.  Giveaway open internationally (all books to ship via the Book Depository), will end on August 31 at 11:59pm EST.  Winner will be selected randomly and notified by email.  Good luck!

If you are interested in featuring steampunk on your blog during that week as well, send me your links and I’ll do a round-up (or two). 

So tell me: is there a steampunk book on your radar that you can’t wait to read?  Which one?