THE SEA IS OURS Roundtable: Olivia Ho #SteampunkHands

Olivia Ho hails from Singapore, and writes to us from Scotland (ah, we fine expatriates) a story that rather fits the theme that informs many other stories in this anthology: COMPLETE LADY-FEST. Cranky ladies, angry ladies, confused ladies, curious ladies, smart, smart-mouthed, ladies ladies ladies. Here she gives us an anecdote of explaining steampunk to her father, whose response is 10000x more awesome than my own dad's:

THE SEA IS OURS roundtable: Timothy Dimacali #SteampunkHands

When I first read Timothy Dimacali's story, I said to my co-editor, "Joyce, this thing has got flying whales." I didn't yet link him to the story I had read and adored in Alternative Alamat, "Keeper of My Sky," a retelling of a love story between an earth goddess and a god who holds up the sky. "Flying whales, Joyce," I insisted, to which Joyce replied, "flying whales!" It immediately made me think of the Fantasia 2000 segment, "Pines of Rome." As it turns out, butanding aren't whales, but very large catfish generally. Which I am also all for!

THE SEA IS OURS Roundtable: Pear Nuallak #SteampunkHands

Pear Nuallak's story finishes off the anthology, a fine, crisp, clear, queer wine. They write to us from the seat of steampunk, England, and from there deliver this finely-crafted story of chittering clockwork bugs, lady spies, and ambitious village girls caught in the whirl of political upheaval. 

THE SEA IS OURS Roundtable: Robert Liow #SteampunkHands

Robert Liow hails from my own home country, and like me, doesn't live there either. He writes to us from Singapore, with a story featuring a childhood game of FIGHTING SPIDERS. I have never played fighting spiders myself, but it's hard not to be aware that this is a thing. Combining this game with the technofantasy of steampunk, "Spider Here" has got the makings of a dramatic movie! 

THE SEA IS OURS Roundtable: Alessa Hinlo #SteampunkHands

Alessa Hinlo is one of those small and fierce women that we Asians should be famed for. I had the joy of meeting her, after a long time being aware of each other through social networks, at WisCon last year.  Her story, "The Last Aswang," feels like a knife cutting in, and twisting. It is also a very strong example of steampunk that moves away from the materials we commonly associate with it to more nature-based materials--an indigenous steampunk form!  

THE SEA IS OURS roundtable: Ivanna Mendels #SteampunkHands

I got really excited over Ivanna's story, which brings to life (well, kind of) an old familiar legend--she calls him Malin Kundang, I call him Si Tenggang, but it is essentially the same story: a rich man passes through his home village, where his mother recognizes him. Ashamed of his past, he refuses to acknowledge her, and she curses him to turn to stone. Ivanna is a lot kinder to Si Tenggang than I am, but I was extremely excited nonetheless! 

THE SEA IS OURS roundtable: zm quynh #SteampunkHands

zm quynh I first met at WisCon, tapping away at her laptop during downtimes between panels. She was working on a larger project, she told me. This is her first ever short story sale, and I'm pleased to introduce you to her work. 

THE SEA IS OURS Roundtable: Paolo Chikiamco #SteampunkHands

I am so so so so pleased to be able to say that I've published Paolo! I first came to know of him through his work at Rocket Kapre, and then at Usok. He told me about his steampunk comic, set in Spanish-era Philippines, High Society (purchasable on Kindle!), and the prequel, "On Wooden Wings," which has since been published in Steampunk III: Steampunk Revolution. The story he has written for us, "Between Severed Souls," takes place between these two works. 

THE SEA IS OURS Roundtable: Kate Osias #SteampunkHands

Kate Osias sent in a reprint from one of the famous Philippine Speculative Fiction Annuals, and as soon as I finished it, I was breathless, and did my best impression of King Haggard from The Last Unicorn: "I must have it... I must have it, for my need is very great!" Fortunately, my co-editor, Joyce, agreed heartily. "The Unmaking of the Cuadro Amoroso" infuses mathematics and the arts with a passion!

THE SEA IS OURS Roundtable: Marilag Angway #SteampunkHands

Marilag Angway's story, "Chasing Volcanoes," is a high-flying (literally) adventure (we have a few of these) filled with different kinds of women, moral grays, principles, politics, and compassion. She coined a neologism, "malambaso," for this story, which is a combination of two Tagalog words, to name flexible glass!

Steampunk POC: Theresa Breaux (Black Canadian/American)

Hello, Canada! This time we're talking to Theresa Breaux, a friend of mine on the Toronto steampunk scene, with whom I have hung out and we have counted POC together. It's fun hanging out with her; we've gone to Dundurn Castle together, and had looooong chats about moving across borders (she's from New Orleans!). She writes paranormal romance as well as urban and high fantasy, and she has several writing samples up on her site, so go check her out! I actually got in touch with her back in January, but I suck and only got to this for April. 

Without further ado, Theresa!!

Steampunk POC: Balogun Ojetade (Black)

It's 2013! I surprisingly have not run out of POC in steampunk to interview! How about that. And kicking off this year is Atlanta-based Balogun Ojetade, a strong proponent for Black steampunk like no other steampunk I've ever come across. Balogun has a long history centering blackness in other genres of writing, and he burst onto the steampunk scene with Moses: the Chronicles of Harriet Tubman, a steampunk take on the legend herself.

Since publishing The Chronicles of Harriet, Balogun has gone on to host the Mahogany Masquerade, a Black-centric steampunk event, and co-edit SteamFunk!, a Black-centric steampuk anthology. So I poked him recently to see if he'd be down with an interview, and he was.

Steampunk POC: Beth Aileen Dillon (Anishinaabe)

It's the first Friday of the month! And I have another wonderful interview with a steampunk of colour to share this month after a couple of months of brain-gone-somewhere! 

This month, we head back to the Pacific Northwest to Portland, again, where resides Beth Aileen Dillon, Anishinaabe Mètis, who is currently a PhD student in the Interactive Arts and Technology program at Simon Fraser University, and a transmedia artist. She's been featured here before, when she released her short video The Path Without End, in which she uses everyday objects and materials to create an animated film that re-tells the story of a child that is the offspring between an Anishinaabe and Moon Person. Her latest work is The Nature of the Snake which premiered at the most recent imagiNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival. In it, she uses silhouettes and cosmic imagery to tell the story of a snake and a girl. Also, she has given me permission to feature her latest painting, "The River of Star Beings" (to the right!).

Beth Aileen's approach to steampunk is really unique compared to most of us out there; we talk about using everyday objects for creating beautiful things, and she takes it to the nth degree and uses them for storytelling. Steampunks can talk a good game about bringing back old stories of adventure, and she brings forward a storytelling tradition of her people. 

Now, onto questions!

Steampunk POC: Jeannette Ng (Chinese)

Jeannette Ng and the Steampunk Coat

It's July! It's the first Friday of the month! You know what that means: another steampunk POC feature interview! This month, we hike across the Atlantic to the United Kingdom... or across the Pacific to Hong Kong, depending on where she is this time, to meet Jeannette Ng, the Costume Mercenary! Jeannette is the genius behind my steampunk magistrate costume, and many others, such as this fantastic steampunk coat. I love exchanging emails with Jeannette; she is always thoughtful, and thoughtfulness is sometimes accompanied by lengthy paragraphs. She is also the originator of the term "ricepunk" which I rather like

Jeannette is an active LARPer and works with Character Kit.co.uk. I highly recommend commissioning something from her!

Without further ado, Jeannette Ng! 

Steampunk POC: Mrs. Mary Lou Sullivan (Southern Pomo)

Mary Lou Sullivan, PDX resident,
co-founder of the Rose City Steampunks

It's the first Friday of the month! And you know what that means... another steampunk POC interview! I'm happy to be interviewing a thoughtful lady I met last year at PDX GearCon. When I first met her, I didn't even know to code her as POC because you know how it is with some people where you just don't know and omg it might be offensive to ask?? and so I just didn't count her in, until she set me straight! And she's expressed to me the frustration of being a Native American, whereby people think she's Italian or something that's not Native American.

When I interviewed her, she gave me "just a few facts to round out the picture - I was born in Sebastopol, CA on May 2, 1957.  I grew up and lived the first 47 years of my life in Sonoma Co., CA, which is our historical tribal territory.  I have two children and three grandchildren, all of whom are enrolled tribal members. I am an enrolled member of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.  I currently live in Portland, Oregon, where I work as a family therapist for NARA Northwest (Native American Rehabilitation Association).  I have a BA in English Literature and an MA in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling from Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, CA. I am happily married to my husband of 16 years, Hal Sullivan, who is tolerant of my whimsies."

Onward to candidness and free education under the cut!

Steampunk POC: Connie Chen (Chinese-Australian)

The very dapper Connie Chen

Off we go to Down Under again! The last Aussie I interviewed was Stephanie Lai, a writer, and now we have a completely different angle to Aussie steampunk, from Connie Chen, local steampunk photographer for the Melbourne scene! Connie does so many things, I never quite know what she's up to. I definitely know she's an artist of some sort, and also does stuff in law. (The specifics escape me; things on LJ tend to be in one ear, out the other for me these days.)


How do you do steampunk?

I used to be a lot more active in the scene, but Life has been increasingly busy so recently it's taken a backburner to my career and my other creative projects. I used to be moderately active on various Livejournal communities and the Brass Goggles forums a while back. In my local scene I'd volunteer to help out with events and projects, as well as attending and socialising at the various events that were organised. For a little while I was known as the amateur photographer since I'd always be taking a lot of photos, and that was actually a great way to start a conversation with people.

How did you come to steampunk? What were your first impressions of it?

I can't remember exactly when I stumbled across the term and the community, but at the time I was involved with a lot of DIY and crafting. I was interested in reusing discarded and scrap materials to make new, functional objects, and naturally I became really interested in steampunk and the repurposed objects/clothing people made in the subculture. Most of my initial contact was with the Maker crowd and that was all about making waist cinchers from old trousers. My wardrobe already contained a lot of goth and Victoriana elements so I felt I fit within the aesthetic very well too.

My initial impression of steampunk was about deliberate anachronism and redefining historical tropes visually. Like a lot of other people in the community I felt like I'd been "doing" steampunk for a long time. I just didn't quite have a name for it.

Steampunk POC: Nivi Hicks (African-American, Spanish, Lebanese)

Nivi Hicks of SLC, Utah

It's the first Friday of the month, all over again! Time for another steampunk POC interview, and today, Nivi Hicks of Salt Lake City, Utah, claims the spotlight! Nivi's been seen in her Bombay steampunk outfit, and her style threads influences from South Asia and the Middle East. She's also one of the organizers of SaltCity Steamfest. Without further ado, Nivi Hicks!

How do you do steampunk? Or how do you steampunk or how do you participate in steampunk? Or what steampunk media do you do (lit, fashion, events)? 

I'm a steampunk enthusiast and supporter within my community here in Utah. Events, fashions, icons, you name it, I try to support it. I've even taken up the reigns with a group of fellow steampunkians to create Utah's first ever Steampunk Convention, SaltCity Steamfest. Eventually, I would like to expand into fashion as a model more. 

When asked "what is steampunk?!" what do *you* say? 

My escape that lets me dress pretty without having to live to a cookie-cutter expectation (like cosplay can do). It's what happens when you take the industrial revolution, lengthen it, add steroids a more exciting history and technical output, some lace, and fantasty, va-la!

Steampunk POC: Pablo Vasquez aka Mr. Saturday (Black, Panamanian, Afro-Latino)

Pablo Vasquez of San Antonio

It's the first Friday of the month again! This time, we head down south, to Austin, Texas, where we'll find Mr. Saturday, nom-de-plume of Pablo Vasquez, who's also a con committee member for San Antonio's Aetherfest! You can find Pablo performing vaudeville acts with his mime, Sixpence, at various steampunk events.

So when are you Pablo Vazquez and when are you Mr. Saturday?

Well, Mr. Saturday is a fantastically exaggerated version of who I really am, though he's quite the flexible character. In Texas, there are far more people that know me simply as Pablo (even Cedric Whittaker of the Airship Isabella misinterprets my named as "Mr. Saturday Night", which I actually love, haha), but whenever I travel, I always am Mr. Saturday to them unless they're close friends. The lines blur often and I find myself at conventions sometimes never leaving the Mr. Saturday persona. If one were to believe in the Voodoo concept of Cheval, then this could be excused as Baron Samedi himself just "riding" me for the weekend, which fits perfectly in character. So, to answer that, Mr. Saturday is present whenever I want to party and when I'm performing and Pablo regains control when it's time to relax, be intellectual, etc.

Interview: Fabio Fernandes on "We See A Different Frontier" Project

Earlier this month, I posted about The Future Fire's PeerBackers project, "We See A Different Frontier", an anthology that seeks to address a large hole in SFF: the voices of people from formerly-colonized regions. So I caught up with Fabio Fernandes to talk about this project!

Fabio, as you may or may not know, is a Brazilian SFF writer who makes a living as a professor of Creative Writing and translator at a university in São Paulo. I follow him on Twitter, and he blogs at The Cogsmith.

Steampunk POC: Tony Ballard aka Captain Antony LaGrange (Black)

Captain LaGrange,
by Manko Photography

It's that time of month ago, and you know what time it is: Time for another awesome steampunk POC interview! This year we head a little west of the Appalachians to Ohio, home state of the Airship Archon crew. Airship Archon is led by Captain Antony LaGrange, nom-de-plume for Tony Ballard-Smoot (just one letter short of "smooth"). A maker, a model, a cosplayer, and steampunker to the core, Tony has been heading Airship Archon since founding it in 2008.

How did you first get into steampunk? What was your first impression of it?

I was first introduced to Steampunk in 2008 at a event we had here in Columbus called Gothcoming. It was Steampunk-themed and promised to be a good sized event. AT first I was skeptical having only seen pictures on the internet but about a month before the actual event I was at Dragon*Con and got to see Steampunk in the flesh. Groups like Outland Armour, Penny Dreadful Productions and Abney Park really showed the heart of Steampunk. After seeing the aesthetic and innovation of the Steampunk movement I was hooked.

How do you do steampunk? Or how do you steampunk or how do you participate in steampunk? Or what steampunk media do you do (lit, fashion, events)?

I run the Columbus Ohio group the Airship Archon, I try to promote and inspire the Steampunk community through photography, modeling, fashion and a slew of other things. I’m also a panelist at multiple conventions talking and leading discussions on various topics. I Steampunk through the way I act, dress and live.