Author and Facilitator of the Network of Indie Steampunks
We always hear our favorite authors reading from their own work, but what about the cool things they’ve read? What are some of the works that our writers think are must-reads, or have just always wanted to perform? Want to read a part from an upcoming work? Come to the Writer’s Block after hours, have some snacks, and pull up a big cushy pillow for this freeform performance session!
Greetings all!
You have probably noticed a weird amount of radio silence going on considering I announced that July 1 would be my release date for No Rest for the Wicked. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew more, but I think we’ve reached the point it is time to bring you into the loop.
I wrote the majority of No Rest for the Wicked during NaNoWriMo in November, and queried it to a few select small presses early in 2017. There aren’t that many places interested in novella-length works, so I didn’t hold out much hope of doing anything but self-publishing. As I expected, several months went by with no replies, so I moved on and announced a release date.
About a week, A WEEK, after I made this claim, I had not one but TWO requests for a full manuscript from publishers! As you can imagine, I was thrilled. But, I was also put in a bit of a bind when it came to the timing. I’ve received some very good feedback, as well as an invitation to revise and resubmit. Though of course I’d have preferred a resounding YES! the absence of a ‘no’ is still pretty awesome. In theory, I could now scramble to get ready to self-publish as I’d originally planned. But between the interest by the publishers and the issues that came up in the feedback, I have decided to officially cancel the July 1 release of No Rest for the Wicked while I work on further revisions. I have two avenues to pursue, and I am not sure which will serve the series better yet.
No matter what happens, I am confident this extra time will result in a better reader experience when the story finally comes out, be it on my own or working with a publisher. I look forward to the challenge, and I hope to have good news for you soon.
Thank you for your patience and continued support.
I’ll be on several panels during MCSC July 14-16, including “Plausible Writeability in Steampunk.” It’s a great topic! Here’s the description:
How do we as authors balance logic, description, and dialogue in our fantastic scenes and incredible plots to make them plausible to the reader and thus more compelling? What conventions (coined terms, “rubber” science, real-world scientific principles, character reactions, etc.) do we employ to get our unbelievable ideas across in a believable way? Both new and veteran writers of the Steampunk fiction genre will benefit from an interactive discussion with the panelists, who will provide a “look under the hood” with their writing process.
I hope to see you there!
Like many writers, I keep several active notebooks. There’s something bittersweet about scribbling on that final page and declaring the book full. But I closed the cover on my Steampunk convention notebook after a fantastic visit to Steampunk World’s Fair 2017. Then I flipped back through the pages, reminiscing about all of the wonderful seminars and workshops I attended, and I suddenly realized there is a gigantic backlog of material. Almost half an inch of notes about talks about things from sword fights to the French Revolution are languishing within these pages, but not for long!
Eventually, all of this fabulous content will be posted either on this site or Steampunk Journal. But if you want to get everything I write in one place and before anyone else, become a patron. $1/month gets you “behind the curtain,” and a free ebook of No Rest for the Wicked before it is released July 1. You can also read full chapters before the final ebook is published, 5 chapters are already available! Find out more.
One of the glorious things about Steampunk is that it’s powered by passion. Independent writers, artists, and makers put their blood, sweat, and steam into creating this most glorious of fandoms. The only downside of Steampunk’s DIY roots is that is can be tough for these entrepreneurs to reach their target audience when they are operating on a small scale.
The goal of the Network of Indie Steampunks is to bring people together to pool our resources, extend our reach, and support each other’s creative efforts. Members of NOIS will have opportunities to connect with each other online and at events, to swap reviews and beta-reading, capitalize on our collective expertise, and to participate in group marketing efforts online and at conventions. NOIS has negotiated group rates on a variety of services which will allow members of the Network to exceed our individual efforts on behalf of us all.
In addition, some membership levels include distribution of printed books and other merchandise online and at Steampunk conventions. Renting a booth, buying tickets, getting there- this can all add up pretty fast. Instead, you can join NOIS and we spread the expense out to allow more people a chance to get their work discovered by Steampunk fans.
I was offered the chance of a lifetime, but I can’t take advantage without your help.
As the new US Editor for Steampunk Journal, I’ve been given the opportunity to report on the Edwardian Ball, a fantastic charity even taking place in New Orleans on March 25. But beyond the Journal, I am writing a series of books and several of them take place in New Orleans! (Read a teaser or the full Chapter 1)
This is an incredible opportunity for me to conduct research to give my books and the setting the full, rich treatment it deserves. I have lived in or visited many of places where Vi travels during the course of Mistress of None, but the Big Easy isn’t one of them. I chose it for its history, and it’s reputation as one of the world’s “Most Haunted” cities.
Not only will I report on the Ball for Steampunk Journal, but I plan to bring all kinds of wonderful historical tidbits and spooky facts about New Orleans to followers of PhoebeDarqueling.com. But only if you help me get there next weekend! If you can see it in your heart to forego just ONE coffee, I can take this important journey down my writing path.
I will also be offering prints of your favorite photos from the event, the Steampunk Journal report in your inbox early, and one of a kind works of art like the shadowbox you see here, but you get to see your name on both Steampunk Journal and PhoebeDarqueling.com!
To check availability, e-mail TheRefinery [@] Phoebedarqueling.com
Unlike The Refinery’s other services, we are only offering blog tours for Steampunk books at this time. Our list of Partner websites is growing all the time, and they are hungry to fill their blogs with content relating to Steampunk books. The Refinery manages the content distribution and scheduling so you don’t have to waste your valuable writing time reaching out to people one by one. Blog tours are a great way to build buzz surrounding a new release, and the more different sites that host content related to your books, the more likely your target audience will find you.
Find out more about becoming a Member of the Network of Indie Steampunks for discounts and FREE tours.
What’s included:
All content generated by the author and The Refinery and distributed for the blog tour will get a line-by-line edit for punctuation, spelling, and grammar. In addition to the content and giveaways hosted on Partner websites, links to that content will be posted on the newsfeed for sites such Airship Ambassador, Steampunk Empire and the Steampunk Writers and Artists Guild, as well as Facebook groups where your target audience can be found. The Refinery will coordinate the posts across multiple websites over several weeks to maximize the impact of your release.
What you must provide:
The blog tour Partners opt-in to each blog tour on an individual basis depending on the type of content available and their own schedules and needs. Your fee guarantees a minimum of four stops, but most likely more. No one wants to just be posting the same exact thing as everyone else, so it is up to the author to provide a variety of content related to their book and to make themselves available for interviews. For instance, authors seeking reviews would need to provide a copy of their book in advance to allow the reviewer time to read it.
Here’s just a few options, but Partners are open to other creative tie-ins:
When a blog tour is scheduled, deadlines are set for both the Refinery and the author to meet to create the content to make the blog tour diverse and successful. Once the author commits to which types of blog tour stops they’d like to offer, Partners are contacted.
Copy-editing is included for all blog tour content, and final versions are sent to the author to use in their independent marketing efforts after the tour is complete.
