The Steam Emporium

As one who seeks out the odd and unusual, I hit the jackpot today while attending the  Mount Gretna Outdoor Art Show. One artist's distinctive work categorically rocketed above the rest, and I mean that literally. It impressed me so much that I must share it. The Steam Emporium caters to the speculative fiction genre in outstanding steampunk fashion. Rocket packs, time machines, Edison sound and light components, bells, ray guns, steam sabers, ... I even came across a steampunk rocket ship. Everything I visualized when I read Cherie Priest's novel Boneshaker, or some of China Mieville's novels, was there to see, touch, and activate.

For those of you unfamiliar with the genre, steampunk is a subgenre of speculative fiction set in an alternative Victorian world where steam-powered machinery exists. Think industrial revolution, Jules Verne style. Grit, grease, steel and steam cover the streets.  If you are a lover of speculative fiction, you will lose yourself in The Steam Emporium's imaginative gadgetry. And if you're not a lover of all things scifi/fantasy and the weird? Well, spending time exploring the collection just might convert you.

Ed Kidera is the mastermind behind all the wonderful gadgetry. That's Ed standing next to his steampunk jetpack. In typical steampunk fashion, Ed uses recycled material for the majority of his work. Digital components have been added to introduce light and sound. Because of this, no two pieces are alike. Ed's work can be found online, or at art/craft shows throughout the states.

Visit The Steam Emporium online at www.thesteamemporium.com or experience it live at the Mount Gretna Art Show in Mount Gretna, Pennsylvania, and plan to be amazed!

"Giving in to Peer Pressure," or, "Why I must Blog"

I remember when life was simple. Back then, there were few organized sports. A team consisted of the neighborhood kids gathering in the street for a game of kick-ball. Summer evenings were best spent sitting on the front porch talking to neighbors, drinking root beer floats and dreaming about a future filled with technology. There were no remote controls--the TV channel turner was but a few yards from your seat--or cell phones. A manuscript was written on a typewriter, not a computer. Surfing was when you took your board to the beach and "blogging" was a misspelled word.

The world is different now. Faster. Spell check, email ... have changed the writing industry. And yes, I've been told, it is an industry. No longer is having a talent for writing enough. A writer must be marketable. She must have a web site, facebook page, twitter account, and of course a blog.

While attending the Penn Writers' Conference a few weeks ago, David Pomerico, Assistant Editor at Del Rey Spectra, stressed how important it is for writers to blog. A woman in the audience challenged him. Why is a blog necessary when it takes away time a writer should be working on her current story? and why would an editor or agent shun a writer who didn't blog? This opened up a dialog, which, I might add, Mr. Pomerico seemed to welcome. After the conference, this dialog continued in many Penn Writers' members' blogs. YES, I was that woman. So I sit her today, blogging. Why? Because writing is not just an industry, it is a TOUGH industry. Have I given in to peer pressure? Me? Never. I'm a writer. I write any time, any place, and nobody tells me how.