I’m delighted to be a guest on Coffee Time Romance’s brand new Steampunk Romance blog! ASHER’S DILEMMA is my latest steampunk romance. It’s a sequel to my first steampunk story, Asher’s Invention, but can be read as a standalone novel. Here’s more about it:
Ever since he awoke one day on the floor of his workshop with a brain-splitting headache, Asher Quigley has been haunted by fleeting visions of a beautiful woman everywhere he looks—a woman he’s sure he knows, but can’t recall. In spite of this he has finished his most wondrous invention yet, one that will literally make history: a time machine. But before he can complete his exacting calculations a bizarre accident causes the device to be activated, with him inside! He awakes to find himself in his lab, eight months in the past, and suddenly he remembers her…
Asher knows that something in the near future causes Minerva Lambkin, the woman who turned down his marriage proposal, to be erased from existence. And he’s sure it has something to do with his device. Alone in a familiar world where he doesn’t belong, he’ll have to find a way to destroy the time machine to save the woman he loves from extinction. Even if that means erasing his own future.
ASHER’S DILEMMA is available at Carina Press, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and ARE.
What does Steampunk mean to you?
Steampunk is history, technology, and imagination combined to create whole new societies with fantastical people and extraordinary gadgets.
What is your favorite thing about steampunk or writing about steampunk?
I love the juxtaposition of outmoded society and futuristic inventions.
What is your favorite steampunk accessory?
That would have to be a laser gun—a deadly weapon fashioned with intricate attention to detail.
What turned you on to steampunk?
I love movies like Wild Wild West and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I also love Gail Carriger’s steampunk books.
Do you have any upcoming Steampunk stories you can tell us about?
My September release, Darke London (Samhain Publishing), has a steampunk flavour to it.
Who is your favorite character of all from one of your Steampunk stories?
It would have to be Asher Quigley. He’s a brilliant inventor but also a deeply flawed human being who sometimes makes some terrible mistakes.
What’s the hardest thing about creating a Steampunk universe?
It can be difficult describing an unusual contraption or invention which is purely in my imagination. I don’t like to go into long descriptions as that can bore the reader, so I try to give just enough details for the story.
What’s the easiest thing about creating a Steampunk universe?
It’s great fun thinking up Steampunk names. Charles Dickens’ novels are a good source of inspiration, and there are also websites that can generate steampunk names!
What does steampunk allow you to do as a writer that no other genres can?
Steampunk allows me to play around with history and make the impossible possible.
What are the challenges and advantages to writing a steampunk story?
The challenge is to find an original idea (but that’s probably true for all genres). The advantage is the ability to write about the truly bizarre.
How much research does it take and how much imagination.
I’ve never really thought about this! It’s easy to get distracted by research, and the imagination is always at work even subconsciously. I would guess it is 30% research and 70% imagination.
Thanks for having me on the blog today! I love hearing from readers. Leave a comment below or contact me at:
Coleen Kwan
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