Supanova Sydney
Oh, wow. All the wows.
It got me when I found out Nathan Fillion would be there.
It got me when I found out Dr Karl would be there.
It got me when I saw a pack of medieval cosplayers, with enormous weapons, at Sydney Central.
It got me when I asked at Central how to get to Olympic Park, and the guy said, “For Supanova, you go to… ”
It got me when a fairy and a sith lord recognised each other from online photos, and started chatting on the train.
It got me when I saw the line: a thousand strong when I arrived on a weekday, moving quickly due to clever organisation, and more entertaining to watch than a marching band.
It got me when I saw faces coming out of a man’s chest.
It got me when I saw two people riding dinosaurs.
It got me when the automatic announcement said that weapons check-in was next to first aid.
It got me when I saw Weta Workshop’s Gollum-with-his-fish.
It got me when I couldn’t actually see the other end of the dealer room.
It got me when I saw the Tardis.
It got me when a pint-sized Wonder Woman got to meet a perfect Queen Elsa.
It got me when I ran into Keri Arthur, and Tracy M. Joyce, and Kevin J. Anderson, and Donna Maree Hanson.
It got me when the pink Deadpools started dancing.
It got me when a lady who custom-makes corsets for Gallery Serpentine said she’d love to host an event for my book in Melbourne.
It got me when male Loki bowed to female Loki.
It got me when I saw the weapons booths.
It got me in Artist Alley.
It got me when I saw Kaylee in overalls.
It got me when I saw Kaylee in That Dress from “Shindig”, sweeping the floor as she came.
It got me when Darth Vader and Queen Elsa wandered by, chatting.
It got me when John Jarratt hung out in the booth across from mine (my booth is 133 with Satalyte Publishing).
It got me when my publisher wandered off with the intern and left me to run the booth solo.
It got me when I bought a drink and they called me “Jack Sparrow”.
Oh, Supanova, how I love thee.
Saturday begins in an hour and a half! It’s super cheap to just show up!!
New Steampunk YA, featuring girls who (*gasp*) do stuff
“The Friday Society” sounds like it was blessed with a smart, thoughtful writer. Here’s some of what she wrote about her aims at Whatever.com:
“A lot is made of strong female characters. To the point where panels are created at conventions to discuss the topic. Yet it is most rare to see a panel on strong male characters. And by “rare” I mean, well, I’ve never seen one. The reason? We are still working hard to promote female characters as characters and not as female characters. Look at Soderberg’s Ocean’s 11. No seriously, look at it. It’s a really fun movie. I’ll wait two hours . . . Okay, you back? Notice anything? Each man in the film is a type. The sexy type, the nerdy type, the funny type – you get my drift. And then there is the woman type. A single solitary female. A bit like you tend to have a single solitary person of colour (POC). But that’s a whole other contentious issue.
Men are seen as people first, gender second. They are considered gender-neutral. They are the waiting forms into which you can pour your types. Women, on the other hand, tend to be seen as their gender first, people second. They are not a ready form for a dozen different types. They are all, inclusively, already a type.”
Rather ironically, what I’ve just done is say “Look! A book with girls in!” I’m already excited about this book, and I barely know the plot (it’s something about fighting crime). Still gonna read it, though.
Beginner’s Guide to Steampunk Lit
Yes, it’s finally here! My idea of what a map of steampunk might look like. Harangue me on my choices and omissions below! Post it wherever you like, with a link back here. Caveat #1: This is only books (I tried to make it only novels, or at least novelists). Caveat #2: I’m only one person. This was a big job, and I chose to oversimplify rather than make it my life’s work. Also, there are some errors. And, as you can tell, I chose to finish the map this year rather than take longer and make it bigger, prettier, and funnier. And yes, I read and write mainly young adult, which is also obvious at a glance. Caveat #3: More is being written all the time. Tell us about your favourite steampunk in the comments! 
My reviews have all been moved to Comfy Chair, where I get paid for them:
“The Sky Village” by Monk & Nigel Ashland
“Clockwork Angel” by Cassandra Clare (1 of 3)
“Girl Genius” graphic novel series by Phil and Kaja Foglio: Incredibly manic hilarity. You can find them online here and get a thrice-weekly fix.
“The Difference Engine” by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling
“Worldshaker” etc by Richard Harland: Brilliant and satirically funny.
“Burton and Swinburne: The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man” by Mark Hodder
“The Affinity Bridge” by George Mann
China Mieville: Sheer imagination from a brilliant and complex mind.
“The Nomad of Time” by Michael Moorcock
“Dreadnought” by Cherie Priest (not the first book in the series)
“Blaze of Glory” etc by Michael Pryor: Funny and action-filled. I’ve read the whole six-book series, so clearly I liked it – but I often found the hero annoying.
“The Northern Lights/The Golden Compass” by Philip Pullman (1 of 3)
“The Subtle Knife” by Philip Pullman (2 of 3)
“The Amber Spyglass” by Philip Pullman (3 of 3)
“Ruby in the Smoke” by Philip Pullman (1 of 4 Sally Lockhart books)
“Larklight” by Philip Reeve (1 of 3, though they can stand alone quite well)
“Starcross” by Philip Reeve (2 of 3)
“Mothstorm” by Philip Reeve (3 of 3)
“Mortal Engines” by Philip Reeve: Very very dark (in marked contrast to his kids’ books). Also brilliant. And violent. The prequels aren’t as good.
“Ichabod hart and the Lighthouse Mystery” by James Roy
“The Invention of Hugo Cabret” by Brian Selznick: Yep, the book on which the movie “Hugo” was based. Pretty clocks and pretty pictures.
“Warship at the Bottom of the Sea” by Oshikawa Shunro: I haven’t read it, but apparently it’s fun and has pirates.
“The Hunchback Assignments” by Arthur Slade
Jeff Vandermeer: I only read one story (the first in “City of Saints and Madmen”) because, although it was wonderfully involving and the sensory detail was exquisite, it was far too violent and dark for me to read any more. I also thought the twist at the end was stupid.
“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” by Jules Verne: Good, but too much technobabble for my liking.
“The Time Machine” by H. G. Wells: Still readable and interesting (or, if you prefer, horrifying) today.
“Leviathan” and “Behemoth” by Scott Westerfeld (1 and 2 of 3)
“Goliath” by Scott Westerfeld (3 of 3)
“The Machine Maid” by Diana Wynne-Jones: A true steampunk short story (which I wasn’t able to get my hands on).
Edited to add: My own novels are Aussie-written with an Australian setting; crossover fantasy novels. The first is HEART OF BRASS. It’s on Amazon etc and various Aussie bookshops. You can get the ISBN off that link to request it from your local bookshop with ease. Or you can order it directly from that link (it will be printed for you in Melbourne, the US or the UK, so most of you won’t have to pay ludicrous amounts of postage).
“Morlock Night” by K. W. Jeter
What do King Arthur, H. G. Wells, and the lost city of Atlantis have in common?
Cool factor, and K. W. Jeter.
The rest of this review is at Comfy Chair.
Lion in a sidecar!
Because the past is awesome. This is from cracked, which often has swearing and/or naughtiness. But just go and read it, mmmkay?
Felicity Banks 