Showing posts with label steampunk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label steampunk. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Nick Valentino Guest blogs on Making Stuff Up

A call to all Australian Steampunks!

Ahoy my Australian Steampunks! Frazer was gracious enough to let me come and guest blog here today. So Frazer, I appreciate you very much!

So, Australian Steampunks… I love it. For some reason in my head, I think you probably have a great Steampunk scene there in Australia. Am I right? Let me know, because I think you could bring a certain nuance to the genre that’s even more adventurous than many other countries. My novel, Thomas Riley is based out of two fictitious countries called West Canvia and Lemuria which are essentially code for The Netherlands and Germany. Most Steampunk literature is based out of England and I have to tell you I’m fascinated with the idea that “what if” Steampunk was happening all over the world? Really, there’s a whole other world out there and if Steampunk was real, it would be the common way of life across the globe, right?

So the Australian Steampunks have a great story to tell. At least generally speaking you have a pretty adventurous past… So why shouldn’t you take center stage to the Steampunk genre? I’m half tempted to include you in my next novel. People want to know what was/is going on not only in Victorian London, but other places as well. So… Hmmm. My wheels are turning. You have such a rich history of outdoor life and sheer adventure that I think Australia alone would make an amazing setting for a Steampunk book. So with that, I leave you with two things. 1) This is a call to all Australian Steampunks. Contact me… better yet; sign up to be a Sky Pirate… You will get some fun things in the mail. And 2) Check out my new Steampunk book “Thomas Riley” just released on Echelon Press.

Sign up here to be a Sky Pirate:
http://www.sirthomasriley.com/recruiting-sky-pirates/

Here’s the blurb for the novel:

For more than twenty years West Canvia and Lemuria have battled one another in a constant war.

From the safety of his laboratory, weapons designer Thomas Riley has cleverly and proudly empowered the West Canvian forces with his brilliant designs. But when a risky alchemy experiment goes horribly wrong, Thomas and his wily assistant, Cynthia Bassett, are thrust onto the front lines of battle.

Forced into shaky alliances with murderous sky pirates in a deadly race to kidnap the only man who can undo the damage—the mad genius behind Lemuria's cunning armaments—Thomas' own genius is put to the ultimate test.


Learn more about Thomas Riley here:
http://sirthomasriley.com

Buy signed copies here:
http://thomasriley.bigcartel.com/

Buy directly from the publisher here:
http://www.echelonpress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=10_31_24&products_id=202

Monday, July 27, 2009

Anna's lamp

I made this for my sister's birthday: The base is maple with a jarrah stain, the fixtures are made from copper pipe and fittings, and the globes are CCFLs from Jaycar. The switch on the front is mounted on a small copper plate, and the base is padded underneath with red felt.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Questacon clock

I found this, and thought it was great, then I read a bit about it, and realised that it was the one my friend Gary had been telling me about. He and his team built it at Questacon's workshop just down the road from where I work.