Storypunks Podcast

There's so much to learn from Gail in this episode!! As anyone can tell from visiting her website and social channels, she really is a master of marketing and I know you'll come away inspired, no matter what creative medium you work in. We also talk about tools for writers including Dragon NaturallySpeaking (dictation), Scrivener, and more. Join us! www.Storypunks.World www.GailCarriger.com  

I've admired steampunk author Gail Carriger for a long time, and it's such a pleasure to interview her in this first of two episodes. We chat about her influences including Gothic literature (which we can thank for much if not all of the genre fiction we love today, including "the punks"!). We also talk Austen, fashion, and writing diverse characters. Basically, I can't gush about this author enough. Enjoy the interview! www.GailCarriger.com www.20MinDelay.com www.Storypunks.World

In this second of two episodes, Holly Gonazalez and I continue our conversation about decopunk and dieselpunk, and also get into some atompunk, steampunk, and even splatterpunk. This also becomes a discussion about collaborating with others, especially when Holly's husband Max joins us to talk about co-writing their atompunk series. Holly has also contributed to anthologies from Writerpunk Press, so we chat about that, too. Join us! www.Storypunks.World www.HollyGonzalez1.wordpress.com

In this first of two episodes, Holly Gonzalez AKA "The Duchess of Decopunk" talks about why she writes decopunk, dieselpunk, and other science fiction, with many popular stories on Wattpad in particular (she's actually a Wattpad Ambassador). Check out her popular Beauty in the Bones series and more! Holly also writes in other punk genres and collaborates with her husband. More on all that in part two airing next week. www.HollyGonzalez1.wordpress.com www.Storypunks.world  

Author Nisi Shawl's novel Everfair posits, what if Belgian forces had not succeeded in colonizing the Congo? And it's AWESOME!! In this interview, Nisi shares her definitions and ideas around steampunk as well as AfroRetroFuturism, cyberpunk, solarpunk, and hopepunk. She pays a beautiful tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin, and shares several resources and organizations for readers and writers. NisiShawl.com Storypunks.world

Ever thought to yourself, This short story could inspire its own musical album . . . , or, This visual art piece could become an awesome graphic novel . . . ? That's what "transmedia storytelling" is all about, as LARP (Live Action Role Play) gamer Michael Rigg knows very well. He's turned his steampunk and alternate history Heart of Bronze novels into a dice-based storytelling game on his weekly show: The Steam Rollers Adventure Podcast. Come check out his creative advice, resources, and unique perspective! www.Storypunks.World www.riggstories.com

Lara Elena Donnelly has created a fascinating fictional world based on the art deco era of the 1930s, in her Amberlough Dossier series. This vintage-glam spy thriller has been classified as decopunk, so in this interview we talk about the aesthetic, inspirations, themes, voice, diversity, and so much more, including Lara's short stories. Decopunk interviews are rare, so be sure to join us for this one! Full show notes at www.Storypunks.World. Author site: www.LaraDonnelly.com.

This week, Kevin Steil and I continue to discuss his many projects, including his Steampunk Museum, Steampunk Hands Around the World blogathon, Airship Ambassador TV channel on YouTube, Airship Ambassador expansion pack for the game Twisted Skies, and tips for reaching out to steampunk friends around the globe. He also shares some reading recommendations from his impressive steampunk book collection. Don't miss it! www.AirshipAmbassador.com www.Storypunks.World  

A popular panelist and steampunk personality, the Airship Ambassador (Kevin Steil) has consulted for the show Steampunk'd! and other projects. His website, AirshipAmbassador.com, is an impressive compendium of steampunk news, recommended reads, and so many other goings-on. In addition, he writes a popular blog with in-depth interviews. In this episode, we discuss all of the above as well as how he designed his iconic Airship Ambassador costume. And there's more! This will be a two-part series continuing to Episode 18 as well.

Shelley Adina is an award-winning author and instructor of popular steampunk, contemporary, and Amish fiction. In this interview, we discuss her wonderful steampunk series Magnificent Devices, which is a longer story at 12 books (and counting!). Shelley shares tips for authors and writers creating longer works, and we also get into a bit of clockpunk, prettypunk, and decopunk. We also chat about the intersection and possibilities of these genres, including Shelley's Amish vampire series (so awesome!) and some details about working within the Christian market. Also check out her Mysterious Devices series!

This is a crossover episode with podcaster Elizabeth Headrick aka Bluestocking of the Steampunk Dollhouse Podcast! We share podcasting lessons learned, including some bumper samples. I love Bluestocking’s literary analysis of steampunk fiction, which she studies academically as an MLIS grad student. Plus, she gets delightfully sassy and political–it’s tons of fun and I always learn a lot. And her Scholarly Steampunk Collection and recommended reading list for 2018 are not to be missed! Storypunks.world SPDHPod.com

"Big Daddy Cool" John Pyka is a showman who hosts and produces The Dieselpunk Podcast. He's an entertainer with tons of experience and he's turned his show into a book titled Tales From the Flip Side. John shares his definition of Dieselpunk, and how it can intersect with Decopunk, Atompunk, and other genres, as well as terms like Dark Dieselpunk and Piecraftian versus Ottisian Dieselpunk. We also touch on lessons learned from community dynamics as well as John's take on being an introvert performer.

Think art made from human hair sounds weird? You might think again after this fascinating interview with historical and contemporary hairwork artist Courtney Lane, who creates and restores mourning jewelry, momentos, and more. We chat about how this unique storytelling medium intersects with death positivity, lachrymatory bottles, post-mortem photography, and other historical topics relating to genres like alternate history and steampunk. Video version on YouTube or Storypunks.World.

Austin Dragon writes several sci fi series, including his cyberpunk detective series Liquid Cool. He describes this story as Blade Runner meets The Maltese Falcon. When it comes to his favorite works in the cyberpunk genre, Austin Dragon prefers the term "cyber noir", so in this episode we talk through that. Austin also shares why he's played homage to popular cyberpunk books you will recognize when naming books in this series, and much more. Join us for a fun interview! More detailed show notes at Storypunks.World.

Author Jon Messenger is inspiring not only for his Magic and Machinery series, which he describes as a steampunk "Sherlock Holmes in a world of magic", but also because he balances writing with a full-time military career. In this episode, we talk about how his service has informed this steampunk series, including how PTSD and other aspects of military life affect how he writes about relationships, themes, character development, worldbuilding, and other storytelling topics. Join us! Full show notes can be found at Storypunks.World.

Paul Shapera is a musician whose New Albion and Tales of Lost Hollow albums span atompunk, dieselpunk, cyberpunk, steampunk, and more!  So no matter what you fancy, this episode probably has something for you! We get into fascinating territory, including Paul's relatively uncommon four-act storytelling structure rather than the more traditional three-act or five-act storyline, and how this relates to the idea of "Escher's Loops" (yes, as in, the illustrator). Paul also describes the sound of each punk era, including instruments and thematic inspirations. And since the concept of "rock opera" can be elusive, he also shares his preferred term for his kind of storytelling: pulp opera. Yup, Paul's pretty much the coolest. Find more detailed show notes and links to the video version at www.Storypunks.World. Paul's site, where you can listen to and purchase his albums: www.mochalab.bandcamp.com.  

Malka Older's Centenal Cycle Series begins with Infomocracy followed by Null States and State Tectonics, and takes readers through a world of micro-democracies. I love how she's using the series to create small laboratories in which to investigate social technologies and structures as well as the diverse characters moving among them.  Basically, you will feel smarter after this conversation with Malka, and especially if you dive into this series . . . I know I did! Mentioned in this episode (with additional show notes at Storypunks.World): Malka Older's Website Detroit's Digital Access Divide (New York Times) Brave New World Conference Neil Harbisson - Cyborg Moon Ribas - Cyborg Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion

Mary Robinette Kowal wrote The Glamourist Histories series, among many other works. In this episode we focus on how this series is mannerpunk, what the genre entails, and how Mary approaches writing. A highlight for me was our discussion about Mary's vintage typewriters, so be sure to check the video version on YouTube for a glimpse at those! Mary's work could also be described as fantasy of manners, alternate history, ghostpunk, spacepunk (or mercurypunk, or atompunk!), and maybe even ecopunk.  (So many punks, not enough time!)

Andrew P. Mayer's NYC-based Society of Steam series features superheroes like automatons and "gentleman adventurers" in a coming-of-age adventure. We joke about "RPG disease" and the possibility of funkpunk?! Thus far, the term has been used for music but not so much for fiction (that I know of!). Chime in on social media if you have thoughts about it. Plus, Andrew shares an intriguing definition of sci fi versus fantasy. It's all about checking out different perspectives in this community. So, yeah. This one covers some interesting ground. Don't miss it!

This interview with the author who coined the term cyberpunk covers everything you'd hope it would, and then some. Bruce's term inspired all the other punk genres we celebrate on this show, including steampunk. No big deal! Bruce shares some exciting new projects and updates (if you're already a Bethke fan, you're going to really love what he announces!). Bruce also shares what he's looking for in submissions to his Friday Challenge opportunity for authors. And if all this wasn't enough, he also supplies THE best reaction I've ever heard to a brief technical timeout in our conference call, so I left that in the recording. It's pretty awesome.