#steampunk franny

[steampunkiejulie]

Do you have any siblings? And what do they look like???

Yep, I’ve got three! (tw badly drawn gun)

There’s Bea,

Franny,

And Jonesy! Aren’t they all super cool?

[zipzapzopzoop]

"From failing, you learn! From success... not so much."

Billie Robinson | Meet the Robinsons (2007)

[twelve-kinds-of-trouble]

AAPI Heritage Month Book Recs!

As some of you may or may not know, this May is AAPI Heritage Month. To celebrate it, I wanted to make a short list of books written by AAPI authors or with AAPI characters in them. This includes poetries, comics, and graphic novels! Special thanks to @introvertedscarecrow @silver-war @aheartfullofquestions and @waywardpudding who gave me some of these recommendations! If there is anything incorrect or offensive, please let me know! Also, feel free to reblog this with your own recommendations. Remember to check trigger warning before purchasing a book!

Young Adult Books

A Pho Love Story— Loan Lee (Contemporary) Legend— Marie Lu (Dystopian) Warcross— Marie Lu (Dystopian, Sci-Fi, Thriller) Wildcard— Marie Lu (Dystopian) Girls of Paper and Fire— Natasha Ngan (Fantasy) Girls of Storm and Shadow— Natasha Ngan (Fantasy) Gearbreakers— Zoe Hana Mikuta (Fantasy/ Sci-Fi) The Ones We’re Meant to Find— Joan He (Sci-Fi) Namesake— Jhumpa Lahiri (Contemporary) Last Night at The Telegraph Club— Malinda Lo (Historical) Counting By Sevens— Holly Goldberg Sloan (Contemporary) Cinder— Marissa Meyer (Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Dystopia)

Biographies

Good Talk— Mira Jacob (Is also a graphic novel!) Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls— T Kira Madden Minor Feelings— Cathy Park Hong Woman Warrior— Maxine Hong Kingston

Poetry

Milk and Honey— Rupi Kaur Soft Science— Franny Choi World of Wonders— Aimee Nezhukumatathil Foreign Bodies— Kimiko Hahn Inside Out and Back Again— Thanha Lai (Autobiographical)

Graphic Novels and Comics

Batgirl (Cassandra Cain)— Kelly Puckett and Damion Scott Monstrous— Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Fantasy, Steampunk) Demon— Jason Shiga (Sci-Fi) Forget Sorrow— Belle Yang The Best We Could Do— Thi Bui (Autobiographical) They Called Us the Enemy— George Takei (Autobiographical) Mooncakes— Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu (Witches! Sapphic Witches! And Sapphic Werewolves! HOLY SHIT!! Young Adult)

Adult Fiction

The Poppy War— R. F. Kuang (Fantasy) Arsenic and Adobo— Mia P. Manansala (Mystery, Cozy) Everything I Never Told You— Celeste Ng (Mystery, Historical) If I Had Your Face— Frances Cha (Contemporary) A Little Life— Hanya Yanagihara (Contemporary) Severance— Ling Ma (Sci-Fi/ Dystopian) The Inheritance of Loss— Kiran Desai (Historical/ Contemporary) Here and Now and Then— Mike Chen (Sci-Fi/ Fantasy) The Night Tiger— Yangsze Choo (Mystery/ Historical) On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous— Ocean Vuong (Contemporary)

I'm pleased to say that some of these novels are LGBTQ+ which is just the best news I’ve heard in all my days, so please come to me with your reviews for them, as a lot of these books are on my to read list! Thanks!

This is also a good time to say that the rising violent hate crimes against the Asian community are not excusable. They are disgusting, and anyone who condones them can get off my blog right now, before I tear out their kneecaps through their gut.

@the-fridge-is-on-fire @peachy-saladlover @neonified (just thought you might like to be tagged!) Please reblog this, I spent way too much time on it.

[booksociety]

Book Society presents its May reading event! As chosen by the members, the theme is All Things Victorian and the optional book of the month is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Join us as we travel back to the 19th century by reading a book that either takes place during the Victorian era (1837-1901) or was written during this time period. This event is open to everyone, not just our members.

✧ how to participate:

optional: reblog this post; check out our network and members

read (or reread) either The Night Circus (fantasy, historical, romance; 391 pages) or a book of your choice that fits this month’s theme

share what book you’ve chosen, thoughts, reactions, and/or creations

use the tag #booksociety in your posts, and include “@booksociety’s All Things Victorian event: [insert book title here]” in the description of your creations

the event starts on 1 May and ends on 31 May

✧ reading recommendations (under the cut):

A Curious Beginning (Veronica Speedwell #1) by Deanna Raybourn (mystery, historical, romance; 339 pages)

A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle #1) by Libba Bray (young adult, fantasy, historical, romance; 403 pages)

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (adult, historical, mystery; 468 pages)

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll (classic, children, fantasy; 96 pages)

A Shadow Bright and Burning (Kingdom on Fire #1) by Jessica Cluess (young adult, fantasy, historical; 416 pages)

A Spy in the House (The Agency #1) by Y.S. Lee (young adult, historical, mystery; 335 pages)

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle (classic, crime; 123 pages)

A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas (mystery, historical, retelling; 323 pages)

Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women #1) by Evie Dunmore (adult, historical; 356 pages)

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu (classic, horror; 108 pages)

Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices #1) by Cassandra Clare (young adult, paranormal, urban fantasy; 481 pages)

Dracula by Bram Stoker (classic, horror, fantasy; 488 pages)

Dearly, Departed (Gone With the Respiration #1) by Lia Habel (young adult, steampunk, horror; 470 pages)

Dread Nation (Dread Nation #1) by Justina Ireland (young adult, horror; 455 pages)

Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School #1) by Gail Carriger

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (adult, historical, lgbt, romance; 548 pages)

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (classic, gothic, romance; 532 pages)

Kiss of Steel (London Steampunk #1) by Bec McMaster (adult, steampunk, romance, paranormal; 423 pages)

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (classic; 449 pages)

Middlemarch by George Elliot (classic; 904 pages)

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (classic, romance; 521 pages)

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (classic; 608 pages)

Olivia Twist by Lorie Langdon (young adult, historical, retelling; 331 pages)

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield (adult, historical, fantasy, fabulism; 464 pages)

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (adult, historical; 269 pages)

Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly #1) by Susan Dennard (young adult, steampunk, horror; 388 pages)

Stalking Jack the Ripper (Stalking Jack the Ripper #1) by Kerri Maniscalco (young adult, historical; 327 pages)

The Alienist (Dr. Laszlo Kreizler #1) by Caleb Carr (adult, historical, mystery crime; 498 pages)

The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins (historical, mystery; 384 pages)

The Falconer (The Falconer #1) by Elizabeth May (young adult, fantasy, steampunk, romance; 378 pages)

The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles (classic, historical, romance; 470 pages)

The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo (fantasy, historical; 368 pages)

The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves #1) by Roshani Chokshi (young adult, fantasy; 388 pages)

The Girl with Ghost Eyes (The Daoshi Chronicles #1) by M.H. Boroson (historical, fantasy; 288 pages)

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (historical, fantasy; 486 pages)

The Long Song by Andrea Levy (adult, historical; 320 pages)

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (classic, horror, mystery; 144 pages)

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (classic, horror; 241 pages)

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë (classic, romance; 576 pages)

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (adult, historical; 306 pages)

Things in Jars by Jess Kidd (adult, historical, fantasy, fabulism; 373 pages)

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (classic, gothic, romance; 464 pages)

[spotlightauthors]

Lorraine Rose

Lorraine Rose has just written a vivid haiku across your heart and it is starting to infect you with its octopus tentacles. She can be typically found hanging out in a whimsical world of haiku, tanka, and poetry where she is the gatekeeper to a large collection of Buddhist, feminist, and steampunk imagery scrolled in rose gold glitter.

Author name:Poetry published since 2020 is under my current married name of Lorraine Rose and before that, it was under my previous married name, Lorraine Cipriano.

How long have you been writing? I have been writing poetry since I was eight years old.

Did you ever imagine that you would be published one day? Yes, but for a while in my early 20's I thought I was going to be a famous songwriter. When that did not come to fruition, it took me a long period of time to think again about having my work put out there so that others could experience it. Honestly, I think having a women focused literary series, called Women Unbound, at the Sanger Branch Library in Toledo, Ohio is what prompted me to go for it. It gave me the courage to go to a haiku death match in the Cleveland area which led to my first book, Unbound, being published by Writing Knights Press.

What made you want to become an author? I grew up an only child in the 70's so I had a lot of time to just read books. Plus, when I went to a private school during my elementary years, I was placed in speed reading classes so I was able to burn through books quickly. My aunt Franny often tells the story of me reading the novel "War and Peace" when I was around six years old and quizzing her on it. This was a theme for me when I was younger, reading books with relatives and then quizzing them on the content like I was the teacher or something. It seems very obnoxious of me but when others talk about it they make it sound like I was cute about it. I was a big fan of classic literature, mystery novels, poetry and comic books as a child. When I became a teenager, I started getting into horror fiction, feminism, psychology, and Buddhist focused literature. I also was heavily into rap in my teen years and had dreams about becoming a female rapper. I used to write rhymes and scratch records on two turntables and then one day I just decided that I was over it. Later in life, I started reading more non-fiction, self-help and research based literature.

How long have you been published? My first poetry chapbook, “Unbound”, was published on November 9, 2014 but I had written a few newspaper articles in local newspapers before that very sporadically.

How does it feel to be published? I feel a small sense of achievement. I am always thinking of ways to expand my writing abilities such as breaking into writing screenplays. However, at the present moment, there are at least 50 books that contain my poetry which are essentially a mixture of my own chapbooks and various poetry/haiku anthologies. Also, I am published on several various poetry websites.

Are you self-published or did you go through a publishing company? Why? I am not self-published although, at one moment in time, I thought about creating my own press. It is easier to have someone else do the formatting of the cover, etc. which is why I choose not to do it myself.

How many books have you written? I have six poetry chapbooks that I have written so far under the name Lorraine Cipriano.

What is/are the name of your book(s)? "Unbound", "Out on the Streets", "On Pointe", "The Good, The Bad, The Lorraine", "Haikus Gone Wild" and "Crushed Out Steampunk".

What genre is it/are they in? Poetry

What do you feel will inspire others to never forget when they read your story(ies)? I would probably say some of my feminist inspired poetry because I wrote it from a point of view of looking at what could be possible for women, as far as being more visible in global leadership roles, and pointing out a small amount of the horrible misogynistic things that are currently happening in our world.

What's the hardest part about writing a book? Honestly, just self-discipline and giving myself permission and space to simply focus on myself and my writing. As a social worker and a mother, it is much easier to think about others versus myself. Yet, once I get started, it is a fast moving machine.

What's the easiest part about writing a book? Once I have a theme and outline of sections in the book identified, it is really easy to write pieces that go with it. I just have to find a theme that jazzes me and that I feel like I can be somewhat mystical in writing about it.

Where can interested readers purchase their copy of your book(s)? My chapbooks can be found on Amazon. "Haikus Gone Wild" and "Crushed Out Steam Punk" were published by Poems For All as tiny chapbooks that were given out for free in California in random areas. You can find a lot of the anthologies that I was published in on the Prolific Press website under the categories Haiku Journal, Tanka Journal, and Three Line Poetry. Under my current married name, Lorraine Rose.

Do you have any future projects in the works? I am working on writing a book of Buddhist themed haiku at the present moment.

Is there a tentative release date? June 2022

Do you have any social media sites that you would like to share with my readers? No, I do not have an author based social media site.

[duesouthseekritsanta]

Looking for tips on request-writing?

For folks who haven’t participated in many exchanges before, here are some ideas to help you write requests that will improve the experience for both you and your giftmaker: Remember that your request serves two purposes: 1) To let AO3 (and the mods) match givers with recipients.   We will match you on ONE FORMAT (fic, art, etc.) and ONE CHARACTER.  If possible, we'll also match you on one or more relationships, and/or on other details.  But the auto-matching only looks at what you listed in the "Character" and "Additional Tags" (format) fields, so make the best use of those fields! 2) To give your giftmaker a sense of your taste and perhaps some specific inspiration about what to make. Make multiple requests. You can make as many as 3 separate requests in your AO3 sign-up, and this year, you are required to make at least 2.  Multiple requests make it easier for us to match giftmakers to recipients, and they also give your giftmaker options! For example: Request 1: Benton Fraser, Ray Vecchio, Fraser&Vecchio, Fraser/Vecchio Request 2: Benton Fraser, Margaret Thatcher, Renfield Turnbull Request 3: Ray Kowalski, Damien Kowalski Ask for what you want…but don’t make it too narrow. Additional details/Dear Santa letter give you an opportunity to explain your want/don’t want boundaries. For example: Request: Benton Fraser, Ray Vecchio, Fraser/Vecchio, Kowalski/Vecchio, Fraser/Kowalski/Vecchio Details: I would like a story about a romantic relationship between Fraser and Vecchio. It could be a threesome, either with Kowalski or with some other character (male or female), but I’d like Fraser/Vecchio to be the focus. The one threesome I wouldn’t want to see is Fraser/Vecchio/Frannie (incest squick). If you include optional details, be specific…but not too specific. Your request is a description of what kind of thing you would like.  It is not a prompt for a specific story/artwork. Good: I love AUs! I’d love to see a steampunk AU (Fraser as mad scientist?).   Or a historical setting – here are some I thought of: Canadian and US soldiers meet in WW2, Fraser and the Rays as 18th century Arctic explorers (maybe members of the Franklin expedition), the Rays as Romans and Fraser as a Celt during the Roman occupation of England. Not so good: Kowalski is a serial killer and Fraser has been hunting him for years.  When Fraser finally arrests Kowalski, they end up snowed-in in a cabin in the wilderness.  Fraser falls ill and Kowalski has to nurse him back to health, which leads to them falling in love. Go ahead and ask for something unusual…but include a “safety request” so we can be sure to find you a match! We love to see variety and we encourage you to request minor characters and unusual pairings. However, we are a small exchange, so matching makers to recipients can be tricky. So, please do request that Gardino/Bob Fraser fic, but make your second (or third) request something easier to fulfill. A good rule of thumb is that at least one request should focus on at least one of the three primary characters (Fraser, Vecchio, and/or Kowalski). If there are things you really don’t want, say so. But please do so respectfully (no character bashing/kink shaming/complaining). And try not to restrict your giftmaker too much! In general: be honest but flexible.  Give your giftmaker something to work with, while leaving them room to exercise their creativity. Finally, remember that optional details are optional, for both you and your giftmaker.  Your giftmaker is required to make a giftwork in a format you requested, with at least one character you requested, and that’s it.  Many people do use the extra information you provide as inspiration, but no one is required to do so.

[nofomoartworld]

Steampunk Puppets Take Center Stage in Indiana | #50StatesofArt

What do you do when you're sick of your peers complaining that your city lacks creative capital? You found your own arts collective and focus on wacky puppetry, of course. That's precisely the route that the creators of Know No Stranger, an Indianapolis-based performance collective, took back in 2009. The group showcases puppetry with an improvisational flair—not to mention massive, steampunk-esque scenery and props. As Brandon Schaaf, one of Know No Stranger's members, tells Creators, the collective describes its aesthetic as having a "pervading sense of whimsy and inclusion, plus a style of kind-hearted, absurdist humor."

Know No Stranger does an annual show called Optical Popsicle, now in its seventh iteration. Developed with the group's signature freewheeling and slapdash humor, it's childish joy in performance form. A recent production ended with a raucous finale brimming with Broadway frivolity, titled "Our Dreams Aren't Over," a perfectly fitting platitude for the high-spirited artists.

Creators recently talked to Schaaf about Know No Stranger's beginnings and what it took to bring their style of goofy puppetry to Indianapolis:

A shot from last October's original, full-length musical, Heck Above Deck (Heck Above Deck, 2016) Photo: Gabe DuVall

Creators: How did Know No Stranger come about? Did the creative and performing arts in Indiana influence its inauguration?

Brandon Schaaf: Know No Stranger began in 2009 with the observation: "Everyone's complaining there's nothing going on in Indianapolis. But nobody's making anything happen." That was the birth of Optical Popsicle (the first of seven). It wasn't that this original incarnation felt it was the sole answer to everyone's woes—we wanted to show that anybody could make cool, engaging things. We were excited for the opportunity to entertain, inspire, and encourage more creation in our city that we could then consume. By 2010, the responses we got, including the many opportunities to collaborate with organizations we wanted to work with, showed us that we had created something that was worth feeding and growing.

A KNS performance of W.S. Gilbert's The Yarn of the Nancy Bell by Stephen Giles, Emily Gable, and Paul Pelsue (Optical Popsicle Hi-5 Live!, 2013)

Frannie's Diner, the set of a skit called Now We're Talkin', performed by Stephen Gilles, Jake Watson, Matt Helfrich, Megan Hart, J.D. Gray, and Brandon Schaaf (Optical Popsicle Infinity, 2015). Photo: Chaz Mottinger

How would you describe the artistic scene in Indianapolis?

We'd call it supportive, communal. We share. There's a lot more going on here than most would assume, but it feels small because other groups and solo artists seem genuinely invested and interested in the rest of the community's goings-on. Familiar faces pop up everywhere, and they always seem to be smiling.

A hand-cranked music-making contraption called the Rapparatus, designed by Alan Goffinski and performed alongside Neil Kieldsen, Twon Schroeder, and rapper Scoot Dubbs (Optical Popsicle 7, 2014). Photo: Alex Farris

How have you seen Know No Stranger's formation influence the community in terms of artistic development? We hope we've been an example to other artists who may feel bashful about putting themselves out there or experience any doubt about the value of what they have to offer. We wanted to take some of the heaviness and pressure off of public displays of art and compassion. This isn't about getting your foot in the door of some elite club; it's about simply speaking up and putting something positive out into the world.

We also hope that we've helped to create a culture of communication and support in the Indianapolis community. We dream big dreams — bigger than we can carry alone. So we regularly reach out to people who we think would enjoy partnering, and time and time again, we open working relationships that stay open for years. This kind of interconnectivity allows the entire community to continue to dream bigger and bigger.

Our Dreams Aren't Over, the big, absurd musical finale of the latest Optical Popsicle (Optical Popsicle Infinity, 2015). Photo: Kip Carter

To learn more about Know No Stranger, click here. Follow their future creative pursuits on their Instagram.

All year, we're highlighting 50 States of Art projects around the United States. This month, we're covering Illinois, Indiana, South Carolina, North Dakota, and Hawaii. To learn more, click here. Related:

The Richmond, SC Art Gallery That Dares to Be Different | #50StatesofArt

A Curator Gives Us the Lowdown on Art in the South | #50StatesofArt

50 States of Art: A Letter from the Editor

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