The world of publishing is actively changing around us. The internet is abuzz with authors favoring self-publishing their works over taking the traditional route to publication. The latest author to follow this emerging trend is debut indie author S.C. Barrus with his upcoming novel,Discovering Aberration.

Discovering Aberration is a new take on the popular steampunk genre, which take place in an alternate Victorian-era setting where steam and clockwork technology have…

                Writing and rewriting are two sides of the same coin but each takes a different kind of mindset to accomplish. Most folks think of writing when they imagine what writers do; scribbling creative characters, scenes; oozing creativity onto the page into the wee hours of the night. Beginning…

Although the 19th and early 20th Centuries produced an extraordinary number of eccentric genii, Steampunk attention seems focused on only a few (Tesla, Babbage, &c.) As the editor of a site devoted to 19th Century physics, I occasionally come across historical figures who, I think, would greatly enliven the mix. One of these is…

Need to be more regular in your writing habits? Join us right here on SWAG in The Accountables. We'll notice that you wrote and will cheer you on. We use a proven carrot-and-stick method that has been tested by the moderator in groups like Survivor Writers and Writer Island. It works! The carrot is delicious, and no worries -- the stick doesn't really smart.

A little bird (by the name of SWAG donor Christopher Meeker) has just told me that he's wangled us a mention on Travis Sivart's internet radio show, Sounds of Steam, reporting live from the…

It was a nice surprise to learn this week that my short story collection, Ether Frolics, was short-listed for a major Canadian literary award:…

My name is Sherlock. Not kidding, it's my real name. Actually it's my family name. I come from the Sherlock family. And when I was a boy, I was told by everyone I met at school, that my name was shared by a famous character from the 1800s, Sherlock Holmes.

Now, when I was growing up I discovered Dr.Who and started reading the related books. This passion for reading and stories led me to University and I became a writer. One day I finally realised, Dr.Who is really Sherlock…

And a GIVEAWAY! For paperbacks of Dark Victorian: BONES and RISEN, plus candid interview with me, hosted by the gracious Gnostalgia review blog. Enter! Freeee books, and fun ones they are, too ^v^: http://bit.ly/ZsQqCa

City on Steam

Prologue 

  IT HAS BEEN NEAR 200 YEARS SINCE THE OTHER RACES ON THE ISLAND HAD SEEN ANY SIGN OF THE DWARFS. They had last been seen just before, what has gone into history as the Great Copper War.  Though the battle itself only raged for a…

Stupid question? Possibly. Aren't genres easily defined? Sometimes. But what about when you are working in a genre and then there is other stuff in there that isn't part of the 'canon' and it goes beyond where that genre normally goes?

What happens then?

What would you do?

You're reading a book and it's Steampunk - it says so on the jacket. And there is steam and airships and goggles and Victorians (or in this case the unreconstructed descendants of Victorians) in curious and…

Greetings esteemed Aire Adventurers: I am pleased to announce a Giveaway for free paperbacks of my Gothic steampunk novel, Dark Victorian: BONES. http://bit.ly/15Oxeo0 Hosted at my blog, merely drop in and leave a comment at the giveaway's post to enter. The BONES synopsis:…

With apologies to anyone who thought we'd disappeared, simply because our Facebook page was hacked and interfered with at Christmas, we're happy to say that there's a new event page and of course the blog is the place for tickets - for the days events and the Quayside concert.

http://www.facebook.com/events/391460627619356/…

I like airships. Steampunk loves airships. Many great writers have written them into their stories, even I’ve tried to write them in my stories. I think they have a great aesthetic and are a very cool concept, but I’ve been reading a lot about airships lately and now I’m not so sure..

I’m still half way through the excellent ‘Dr. Eckener’s Dream Machine’ by Douglas Botting – the fascinating account of the Graf Zeppelin’s famous circumnavigation, and that’s what got me thinking.…

Just before Christmas I was interviewed by the chaps over at SF Signal about the recent Steampunk anthology Resurrection Engines. The interview has now gone live and you can read it on the link below. I also waffle on about the forthcoming Steampunk/Dieselpunk/Alternate Timeline novel range called Tales Of The Iron War I'm working on.

As work continues on my next book, The Horus Engines, (which is set in an alternate 1939, and will…

Crazy, but true; in my mind at least. Let me begin in the past... with football.

I used to enjoy it for the action, the hard hits, and the slow-motion highlights of feats impossible to appreciate with the naked eye. Over time I learned more about the strategy, and teamwork involved. Others delve deeper, with fantasy football leagues, draft parties, and the like.

So I'm a steampunk fan from way back; loved 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and the original series Wild Wild West.…

If you're planning on being in the South Yorkshire (England) area in June, stop by at Steampunk Doncaster on the weekend of June 15-16 for...

Items of Steampunk interest recently added to Net Advance Retro include:

>Pages about the African-American mathematician Benjamin Banneker and the French airship-designer Gaston Tissandier

>An account of…

Alejandro Jenkins has written an interesting

article about an 18th Century perpetual-motion

inventor who was taken seriously by the

scientific establishment of his day. There might

be a story in this:

The Mechanical Career of Councillor Orffyreus, Confidence Man

Norman Hugh Redington

How to be a freelance writer is not as simple as the absence of alarming clocks in the morning and long rides to the office and wearing pyjamas when taking the ordinary course brunch. Yes, you may have days like these if you are a freelancer. However, being a freelance writer is not always a lifestyle which is laid-back. You will also have tough days.…