in which there is a large amount of nonsense
I'd never heard of steampunk before today (or, rather, I'd heard the term bandied about and didn't pay a great deal of attention), but reading some of the discussion over the really nifty thing that Neil Gaiman linked to in his Journal of Awesome piqued my interest, and off to trusty Wikipedia went I. Now, I am rather deleriously enthralled, and I must find some to read, or watch. Alternate history--I include in this alternate explanations of historical events--is also something that fascinates me endlessly (one of the reasons that Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell was so enchanting--did I never talk about that book? I didn't, and I ought to), as does speculative fiction, and, you know, that Victorian gothic aesthetic.
The prospect more interesting than reading steampunk fiction is, of course, writing some, but the last thing I need is another novel to wrestle with, and I haven't got any ideas, anyway. It's really a pity that the Evangeline project can't be manipulated into a steampunk sort of universe, but, despite the plot being very vague, only one character having a name--I did settle on the surname Nox, by the by, for what it's worth--and the rest of the lot being twice as vague as the plot, it's settled its universe and aesthetics rather solidly already. I'm beginning to think of it in terms of, well, Anne Rice with a great splash of L.M. Montgomery. (You know, if Anne Rice wrote well.) Probably a few dashes of Gaiman and L'Engle for good measure, and hopefully a great deal of me, as it's my book and all and also all of these writers excepting Anne Rice are far, far more fantastic than I can ever dream of being anyway.
You know, that (deeply magnificent!) production of A Midsummer Night's Dream I went to at our local theatre had some steampunk influences, except without any obvious, er, steam, or a great lot of machinery. There was an odd little sequence with robot-things in it, though. And really awesome music and costumes. I wish I had a videotape of it, except that the quality there would be fairly shoddy, and I don't know if video can come close to the thrill of sitting in the third row and smelling the fog machine and watching Oberon come stalking up the aisle two feet away from you in his leather sleeveless trenchcoat to music that sounded like anthemic gothy folk rock.
Speaking of Neil Gaiman, I love what said recently when he announced he was starting on a new book: "I know it's a real book because there are all sorts of things I don't quite know yet, and I can't wait to find them out." Which is a feeling that I have always had when writing, and never thought clearly enough about to make into words. I love not knowing how my universe works, how all the pieces are going to fit together, how to get from Point A to Point B (and Point C, and on down to Point M, and Point Y), because I get to find out, and that's always a corker of a journey.
Agh, I'm probably going to have to wear my black lace high-necked Victorian blouse tomorrow in order to satiate my sudden hunger for all things gothic Victoriana, and striped stockings and what very abominably prosaic people refer to as 'granny boots' (like these, except mine are slightly less awesome--in my search for a photograph, I found these (!!!!!!!!), which I am currently salivating copiously over; I love that catalogue, too). Except I am going to the youth group of our new church for the first time and probably oughtn't to worry people. And I haven't figured out how to coax my great mess of hair into a pompadour, anyway. Should be fun, actually: apparently it centres around actual discussion and spiritual growth rather than the usual Teens Having Unintelligent And Freely-Sugared Fun, With A Bible Lesson Tossed In Briefly Someplace. (Thanks for the underestimation; I really appreciate it. *is still totally not bitter*)
By the by, we (meaning I) have set up a blog for updates on Leandra:
leandra_erin. There ought to be photographs soon. We (meaning mostly Mum, and occasionally I, and even more occasionally, Dad) should be posting rather frequently. Currently there is an update about how
lady_moriel is absolutely spot-on about Leandra being a Gryffindor, as she is already solemnly swearing that she is up to no good making mischief.
And. Um. Kind of odd specific-yet-very-vague music request, actually. Has anyone got moody, melancholy, atmospheric music that references the ocean, lost love, and preferrably both? I need a song about drowning, too. I'm particularly looking for music that sounds oceany, and a bit old, you know--not necessarily lacking in electronic instrumentation, but not screaming 'MODERN DAY!' at you in two-foot capitals, either. Currently I've got things like Dido's 'My Lover's Gone', Vienna Teng's 'Between', and some very awesome Solas songs that none of you except for
lady_moriel is likely ever to have heard (and I don't think she's even got one of them). It's, er, for a mix. Which sprang out of nowhere because 'Between' was kind of perfect. It also happens to be a mix for an obscure branch of an obscure branch of the Tolkienverse (any 'The Mariner's Wife' fans out there? Hiiii...), and, um, yeah. I really do need a drowning song especially.
Also, I made angelfood cake yesterday, and it was v. good.
The prospect more interesting than reading steampunk fiction is, of course, writing some, but the last thing I need is another novel to wrestle with, and I haven't got any ideas, anyway. It's really a pity that the Evangeline project can't be manipulated into a steampunk sort of universe, but, despite the plot being very vague, only one character having a name--I did settle on the surname Nox, by the by, for what it's worth--and the rest of the lot being twice as vague as the plot, it's settled its universe and aesthetics rather solidly already. I'm beginning to think of it in terms of, well, Anne Rice with a great splash of L.M. Montgomery. (You know, if Anne Rice wrote well.) Probably a few dashes of Gaiman and L'Engle for good measure, and hopefully a great deal of me, as it's my book and all and also all of these writers excepting Anne Rice are far, far more fantastic than I can ever dream of being anyway.
You know, that (deeply magnificent!) production of A Midsummer Night's Dream I went to at our local theatre had some steampunk influences, except without any obvious, er, steam, or a great lot of machinery. There was an odd little sequence with robot-things in it, though. And really awesome music and costumes. I wish I had a videotape of it, except that the quality there would be fairly shoddy, and I don't know if video can come close to the thrill of sitting in the third row and smelling the fog machine and watching Oberon come stalking up the aisle two feet away from you in his leather sleeveless trenchcoat to music that sounded like anthemic gothy folk rock.
Speaking of Neil Gaiman, I love what said recently when he announced he was starting on a new book: "I know it's a real book because there are all sorts of things I don't quite know yet, and I can't wait to find them out." Which is a feeling that I have always had when writing, and never thought clearly enough about to make into words. I love not knowing how my universe works, how all the pieces are going to fit together, how to get from Point A to Point B (and Point C, and on down to Point M, and Point Y), because I get to find out, and that's always a corker of a journey.
Agh, I'm probably going to have to wear my black lace high-necked Victorian blouse tomorrow in order to satiate my sudden hunger for all things gothic Victoriana, and striped stockings and what very abominably prosaic people refer to as 'granny boots' (like these, except mine are slightly less awesome--in my search for a photograph, I found these (!!!!!!!!), which I am currently salivating copiously over; I love that catalogue, too). Except I am going to the youth group of our new church for the first time and probably oughtn't to worry people. And I haven't figured out how to coax my great mess of hair into a pompadour, anyway. Should be fun, actually: apparently it centres around actual discussion and spiritual growth rather than the usual Teens Having Unintelligent And Freely-Sugared Fun, With A Bible Lesson Tossed In Briefly Someplace. (Thanks for the underestimation; I really appreciate it. *is still totally not bitter*)
By the by, we (meaning I) have set up a blog for updates on Leandra:
leandra_erin. There ought to be photographs soon. We (meaning mostly Mum, and occasionally I, and even more occasionally, Dad) should be posting rather frequently. Currently there is an update about how
lady_moriel is absolutely spot-on about Leandra being a Gryffindor, as she is already solemnly swearing that she is up to no good making mischief.
And. Um. Kind of odd specific-yet-very-vague music request, actually. Has anyone got moody, melancholy, atmospheric music that references the ocean, lost love, and preferrably both? I need a song about drowning, too. I'm particularly looking for music that sounds oceany, and a bit old, you know--not necessarily lacking in electronic instrumentation, but not screaming 'MODERN DAY!' at you in two-foot capitals, either. Currently I've got things like Dido's 'My Lover's Gone', Vienna Teng's 'Between', and some very awesome Solas songs that none of you except for
lady_moriel is likely ever to have heard (and I don't think she's even got one of them). It's, er, for a mix. Which sprang out of nowhere because 'Between' was kind of perfect. It also happens to be a mix for an obscure branch of an obscure branch of the Tolkienverse (any 'The Mariner's Wife' fans out there? Hiiii...), and, um, yeah. I really do need a drowning song especially.
Also, I made angelfood cake yesterday, and it was v. good.