Guest Post by Emily Walker!!!

I would like to welcome Emily to the blog!!  Emily and I are FB friends and also follow each other on Twitter.  I also did my first author interview for Emily not too long ago, and have a guest post on her blog at the end of the month.

When I asked Emily to do this post, she mentioned the word Steampunk.  If you're like me, you're thinking it was an eighties band from England... it's not.  It's a genre!!  I had no idea it was an actual genre!!  More like historial sci-fi in a way.

First of all, thanks for having me Jessica! Steampunk is fun to say isn't it? It isn't a new genre, but it is getting a bit of a revamp here lately.

So what is it? It is an awesome genre that came around in the late eighties that has a little bit of everything. It combines elements of sci fi, fantasy, history, and horror. The setting of the stories is often in an era when steam power is still used. This is usually in the 19th century. Lots of Steampunk books are set in the Victorian era. One of the best examples is H.G. Wells Time Machine, but there are many others! Steampunk often takes place in the Victorian period with 19th century technology. That is one of the easiest ways to describe the genre.

There are some that would argue that steampunk is not a genre and that it is at best a sub-category of science fiction. It really comes down to what you think. A great website to check out for all things Steampunk is http://www.steampunk.com. They even have a Steampunk bookstore for your viewing pleasure.

This is Steampunk with a Paranormal Twist… hmmmm.

The undead matriarch of a Britain where the Aristocracy is made up of werewolves and vampires, where goblins live underground and mothers know better than to let their children out after dark. A world where being nobility means being infected with the Plague (side-effects include undeath), Hysteria is the popular affliction of the day, and leeches are considered a delicacy. And a world where technology lives side by side with magic. The year is 2012.

Xandra Vardan is a member of the elite Royal Guard, and it is her duty to protect the Aristocracy. But when her sister goes missing, Xandra will set out on a path that undermines everything she believed in and uncover a conspiracy that threatens to topple the empire. And she is the key-the prize in a very dangerous struggle.

This one is more historical and maybe suspenseful

London, 1889. Victoria is Queen. Charles Darwin’s son is Prime Minister. And steam is the power that runs the world. At 17, Claire Trevelyan, daughter of Viscount St. Ives, was expected to do nothing more than pour an elegant cup of tea, sew a fine seam, and catch a rich husband. Unfortunately, Claire’s talents lie not in the ballroom, but in the chemistry lab, where things have a regrettable habit of blowing up. When her father gambles the estate on the combustion engine and loses, Claire finds herself down and out on the mean streets of London. But being a young woman of resources and intellect, she turns fortune on its head. It’s not long before a new leader rises in the underworld, known only as the Lady of Devices . . . When she meets Andrew Malvern, a member of the Royal Society of Engineers, she realizes her talents may encompass more than the invention of explosive devices. They may help her realize her dreams and his . . . if they can both stay alive long enough to see that sometimes the closest friendships can trigger the greatest betrayals . . .

Don’t you just love Steampunk covers?  I do. I haven’t read any of the books, but now I want to!

Thanks for joining me for some Steampunk talk today.

Emily Walker

You can visit me anytime on my site – http://www.selfpublishordie.com

Thanks so much Emily!!  Also, Emily told me that she just signed a contract Great Minds Think Aloud Publishing for her book Zombified!!  Check out her link above to learn more about it!!  I'm really excited for you Emily!  Congrats!!!  Makes me can't wait until my own is finally done and published!!  I feel like the Little Engine that could... I think I can!  I think I can!!

Again, congrats Emily!!  I really happy for you!!