Welcome to Biting-Edge, a blog shared by authors and vampire experts, Mario Acevedo and Jeanne Stein. We’ll cover urban fantasy, vampires, pop culture, and all things Joss Whedon. Unlike other fantasy blogs, we don’t insist on body cavity searches (unless you ask politely). Snarkiness is most welcome...though we won't promise not to bite back!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Jim Butcher, New Star Trek, Much Ado About Nothing, and other good stuff
For you Jim Butcher fans from mediabistro:
The Dresden Files novelist Jim Butcher has inked a seven figure deal for three books in a new steampunk series.
The Cinder Spires series will begin with The Aeronaut’s Windlass. Publishers Weekly broke the news, reporting that Donald Maass Literary agent Jennifer Jackson negotiated the deal with Anne Sowards.
Here’s more from Butcher’s official site: At the Reddit AMA a few months ago, Jim said, “It’s kinda League of Extraordinary Gentlemen meets Sherlock meets Hornblower. There are goggles and airships and steam power and bizarre crystal technology and talking cats, who are horrid little bullies.” Jim is still writing the first book, The Aeronaut’s Windlass, so we don’t have a release date yet. We’ll let you know as soon as there’s something to announce!
In case you ever wondered...video below from galleycat:
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I screwed up and thought I was publishing this THIS week and instead it got tacked on to last week's blog so I'm repeating it here:
This week: a new book deal for Jim Butcher and some vidya's (homage to Aaron Ritchey) for you to enjoy.
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For you Jim Butcher fans from mediabistro:
The Dresden Files novelist Jim Butcher has inked a seven figure deal for three books in a new steampunk series.
The Cinder Spires series will begin with The Aeronaut’s Windlass. Publishers Weekly broke the news, reporting that Donald Maass Literary agent Jennifer Jackson negotiated the deal with Anne Sowards.
Here’s more from Butcher’s official site: At the Reddit AMA a few months ago, Jim said, “It’s kinda League of Extraordinary Gentlemen meets Sherlock meets Hornblower. There are goggles and airships and steam power and bizarre crystal technology and talking cats, who are horrid little bullies.” Jim is still writing the first book, The Aeronaut’s Windlass, so we don’t have a release date yet. We’ll let you know as soon as there’s something to announce!
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In case you ever wondered...video below from galleycat:
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I screwed up and thought I was publishing this THIS week and instead it got tacked on to last week's blog so I'm repeating it here:
Another geek treasure too good to miss!!
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And in case you missed this:
Coming to a theater near you in June!!!
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Yippee!!!
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No covers yet to share...hopefully soon!! In the meantime, a St. Patrick Day wish:
Labels: Aaron Ritchey, Jim Butcher, Josh Whedon, Much Ado About Nothing, Star Trek, Steampunk, Tesla vs Edison
¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 2:03 PM 5 comments
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Pimping the ladies.
Mario here,
They say news comes in threes. And this week, we're happy to share three bits ofgood great news.
Eins. Riding on the coat tails of last week's blog about Steampunk, I have to mention this forthcoming appearance by the queen of Steampunk, Cherie Priest at the Broadway Book Mall, Wednesday, Nov 16, 7PM.
A Nebula and Hugo Award nominee and dedicated fashionista, Cherie will be signing her newest novel, Ganymede.
Zwei. Superbrain and fellow oenophile, Bonnie Ramthun, just signed a new contract for a...well, let's have her do the honors:
I'm very happy to announce that I have a four-book deal with Grosset & Dunlap publishing for my LEGENDS OF CENTERVILLE middle-grade series. My agent, Becca Stumpf of Prospect Agency, did an amazing job in landing the deal. The first novel in the series is scheduled for release in March 2013.
Ever classy and effervescent, Bonnie won't dwell on her tortuous and frustrating sojourn in the writing game. She's weathered enough setbacks to demoralize the faint-hearted and less committed. Let's jump through the hoops. A contract. Years with no contract. Her concept for a TV series Gamers gathered teasers from Tinseltown that ended in bupkis. Then a second big contract for the YA mystery The White Gates. Awards. Then no contract. Now's she back at it. In the ring. Hooking and gouging like the literary champ she is.
Drei. To survive in this writing biz you gotta be, if nothing else, nimble and clever. Long-time mystery writing pal CJ Lyons proves she's all of that and more. For her efforts, she got a major shout-out from USA Today for a three-book deal with Minotaur Books to repackage her bestselling self-published book Blind Faith.
CJ can tell you plenty about the trials and stumbles on her way to, and in the midst of, getting published. After her last contract ended, she decided to cultivate her literary efforts by self-publishing her manuscripts as ebooks. The books did well enough to catch the eye of Minotaur, and seeking to bet on a winning horse, they signed her on. Go CJ!
They say news comes in threes. And this week, we're happy to share three bits of
Eins. Riding on the coat tails of last week's blog about Steampunk, I have to mention this forthcoming appearance by the queen of Steampunk, Cherie Priest at the Broadway Book Mall, Wednesday, Nov 16, 7PM.
A Nebula and Hugo Award nominee and dedicated fashionista, Cherie will be signing her newest novel, Ganymede.
Zwei. Superbrain and fellow oenophile, Bonnie Ramthun, just signed a new contract for a...well, let's have her do the honors:I'm very happy to announce that I have a four-book deal with Grosset & Dunlap publishing for my LEGENDS OF CENTERVILLE middle-grade series. My agent, Becca Stumpf of Prospect Agency, did an amazing job in landing the deal. The first novel in the series is scheduled for release in March 2013.
Ever classy and effervescent, Bonnie won't dwell on her tortuous and frustrating sojourn in the writing game. She's weathered enough setbacks to demoralize the faint-hearted and less committed. Let's jump through the hoops. A contract. Years with no contract. Her concept for a TV series Gamers gathered teasers from Tinseltown that ended in bupkis. Then a second big contract for the YA mystery The White Gates. Awards. Then no contract. Now's she back at it. In the ring. Hooking and gouging like the literary champ she is.Drei. To survive in this writing biz you gotta be, if nothing else, nimble and clever. Long-time mystery writing pal CJ Lyons proves she's all of that and more. For her efforts, she got a major shout-out from USA Today for a three-book deal with Minotaur Books to repackage her bestselling self-published book Blind Faith.
CJ can tell you plenty about the trials and stumbles on her way to, and in the midst of, getting published. After her last contract ended, she decided to cultivate her literary efforts by self-publishing her manuscripts as ebooks. The books did well enough to catch the eye of Minotaur, and seeking to bet on a winning horse, they signed her on. Go CJ!
Labels: Bonnie Ramthun, Cherie Priest, CJ Lyons, Steampunk
¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 1:40 PM 4 comments
Sunday, November 06, 2011
The for real Steampunk war
Mario here:
Last week, Jeanne posted this nifty trailer of the upcoming Sherlock Holmes' movie, A Game of Shadows.
A definite must-see. What caught me were the period accoutrements--the costumes, the weapons, the gadgets--so very Steampunk. Then I realized it wasn't Steampunk at all, but historical verisimilitude (more or less).
Which got me to thinking. We've gotten so used to seeing the interplay of Victorian fashion with brass and steel as tropes of Steampunk that we've forgotten that was the way it really was back then.
Which got me thinking some more. What would a Steampunk war look like? Then I realized there had been one. It was called The First World War.
Run down the Steampunk checklist:
Women in long dresses and hats with feathers.
Handlebar mustaches.
Air ships.
Fancy-dancy khaki uniforms (notice everyone sported a 'stache--Steampunk metrosexual).
Submarines (so very Jules Verne).
Fantastic inventions like the Big Wheel. The Russians actually built a working version (which not surprisingly, got stuck in the mud).
The more practical British decided to flatten the Big Wheel concept into a land battleship (shades of H.G. Wells).
The flying machine.
Many young men were caught by the romance of adventure and signed up to serve in The Great War. Ernest Hemingway, for one, and was wounded. F. Scott Fitzgerald was commissioned in the US Army but the war ended before he could go. H. P. Lovecraft tried to enlist but was denied because of his poor physical condition. Considering his pessimistic view of humanity, it's interesting to wonder how much bleaker Lovecraft's assessment of civilization would've been had he served in the trenches. Provided of course, that he survived.
I've often said that I wasn't a fan of zombies or any supernatural monsters. How could they compare with the true horrors of one of the biggest blood baths in history? The same wonders of the Industrial Age that promised prosperity for mankind also delivered slaughter that devoured tens of thousands of men in a day...after day after day for years. The carnage spawned the Lost Generation, artists and writers disgusted with the war and the corruption and stupidity of the governments behind it. You'll find no nostalgia for The Great War in the works of the survivors who penned some of the greatest literature of the Twentieth century such as A Farewell to Arms and All Quiet On The Western Front.
So there was a Steampunk War but it was nowhere as charming and schmaltzy as we'd like to pretend it might have been.
Mario here:
Last week, Jeanne posted this nifty trailer of the upcoming Sherlock Holmes' movie, A Game of Shadows.
A definite must-see. What caught me were the period accoutrements--the costumes, the weapons, the gadgets--so very Steampunk. Then I realized it wasn't Steampunk at all, but historical verisimilitude (more or less).
Which got me to thinking. We've gotten so used to seeing the interplay of Victorian fashion with brass and steel as tropes of Steampunk that we've forgotten that was the way it really was back then.
Which got me thinking some more. What would a Steampunk war look like? Then I realized there had been one. It was called The First World War.
Run down the Steampunk checklist:
Women in long dresses and hats with feathers.
Handlebar mustaches.
Air ships.
Fancy-dancy khaki uniforms (notice everyone sported a 'stache--Steampunk metrosexual).
Submarines (so very Jules Verne).
Fantastic inventions like the Big Wheel. The Russians actually built a working version (which not surprisingly, got stuck in the mud).
The more practical British decided to flatten the Big Wheel concept into a land battleship (shades of H.G. Wells).
The flying machine.
Many young men were caught by the romance of adventure and signed up to serve in The Great War. Ernest Hemingway, for one, and was wounded. F. Scott Fitzgerald was commissioned in the US Army but the war ended before he could go. H. P. Lovecraft tried to enlist but was denied because of his poor physical condition. Considering his pessimistic view of humanity, it's interesting to wonder how much bleaker Lovecraft's assessment of civilization would've been had he served in the trenches. Provided of course, that he survived.
I've often said that I wasn't a fan of zombies or any supernatural monsters. How could they compare with the true horrors of one of the biggest blood baths in history? The same wonders of the Industrial Age that promised prosperity for mankind also delivered slaughter that devoured tens of thousands of men in a day...after day after day for years. The carnage spawned the Lost Generation, artists and writers disgusted with the war and the corruption and stupidity of the governments behind it. You'll find no nostalgia for The Great War in the works of the survivors who penned some of the greatest literature of the Twentieth century such as A Farewell to Arms and All Quiet On The Western Front.So there was a Steampunk War but it was nowhere as charming and schmaltzy as we'd like to pretend it might have been.
Labels: Hemingway, Lovecraft, Steampunk, The Great War
¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 3:55 PM 10 comments
Monday, August 29, 2011
What happened to my future?
Mario here:
Just got in from Bubonicon 43. Had an awesome time with the usual libations (courtesy of the Starfleet USS Anasazi), the bawdy guests, and generally outrageous behavior. Ahem...
The con theme was Steampunk, and I moderated the panel: Steampunk Definitions: More than Victorian Clothing. We discussed the growing popularity of Steampunk, especially considering that not long ago, quite a few in the publishing industry were convinced the subgenre was a short-lived gimmick. Of course steampunk hasn't faded, but flourishes. The panel batted around ideas about why the genre endures and one that caught hold was steampunk fills the Wow! void since science fiction has lost much of its sense of wonder and amazement. I mean, we are in the 21st century and what happened to the promise of intergalactic travel, anti-gravity boots, and flying cars?
Star Trek may have had warp drive and teleportation but the audience's gee-whiz factor has been hijacked by the iPhone. In this respect, we've outpaced the future. And consider, the US no longer has a manned space program and our astronauts will have to bum rides into orbit from the Russians.
So readers and writers have turned back the calendar and extrapolated the cool What Ifs? of the past. Airships, check. Steam-powered cars and robots, check. Clockwork what-have-youze, check.
Just got in from Bubonicon 43. Had an awesome time with the usual libations (courtesy of the Starfleet USS Anasazi), the bawdy guests, and generally outrageous behavior. Ahem...
The con theme was Steampunk, and I moderated the panel: Steampunk Definitions: More than Victorian Clothing. We discussed the growing popularity of Steampunk, especially considering that not long ago, quite a few in the publishing industry were convinced the subgenre was a short-lived gimmick. Of course steampunk hasn't faded, but flourishes. The panel batted around ideas about why the genre endures and one that caught hold was steampunk fills the Wow! void since science fiction has lost much of its sense of wonder and amazement. I mean, we are in the 21st century and what happened to the promise of intergalactic travel, anti-gravity boots, and flying cars?
Star Trek may have had warp drive and teleportation but the audience's gee-whiz factor has been hijacked by the iPhone. In this respect, we've outpaced the future. And consider, the US no longer has a manned space program and our astronauts will have to bum rides into orbit from the Russians.
So readers and writers have turned back the calendar and extrapolated the cool What Ifs? of the past. Airships, check. Steam-powered cars and robots, check. Clockwork what-have-youze, check.
Labels: Bubonicon 43, free money, iPhone, Steampunk, topless beaches
¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 7:32 AM 9 comments
Sunday, April 17, 2011
The future, the past, and some naked flesh
Mario here:
Spent the weekend at Starfest 2011.
Besides the usual costume zaniness and excuse to watch a lotta skin...
I put in time with my new pals at Comicfest...
and at Horrorfest presented alongside werewolf/YA/dragon author Carrie Vaughn...
and "I Love Horror" Stephen Graham Jones.
This year I noticed a dearth of pirate and Klingon costumes and an explosion of Steampunk. Three years ago at another con, several authors groaned about this thing called Steampunk and couldn't wait for it to die.
No one was sure what to make of Steampunk other than it gave costumers a chance to wear goggles and tiny hats and sew brass gears to their clothes. Here we are in 2011 and Steampunk keeps getting more omnipresent with ever more fanciful gadgets:
As an opportunity for a fantasy S&M twist:
And yet another occasion for a femme fatale, in this case Aimee Matheny of the Colorado Chrononauts, to lure the too-willing man to the shoals of self destruction. *guilty*
Catch Aimee in this 9News clip.
Steampunk has evolved into two sects, as it were: the English Victorian and the American Western, each embellished with tropes of the genre: corsets, electro-guns, robots, absinthe, and of course, airships:
While everyone seems to be in agreement about the aesthetics of Steampunk, the literature not so much. Most of the Steampunkers I talked with expressed disappointment in the state of steampunk prose--lots of gimmicks and bling but not enough substance. A few names topped our discussions as the exceptional writers in the genre: Cherie Priest, Scott Westergard, and China Mieville.
Spent the weekend at Starfest 2011.
Besides the usual costume zaniness and excuse to watch a lotta skin...
I put in time with my new pals at Comicfest...
and at Horrorfest presented alongside werewolf/YA/dragon author Carrie Vaughn...
and "I Love Horror" Stephen Graham Jones.
This year I noticed a dearth of pirate and Klingon costumes and an explosion of Steampunk. Three years ago at another con, several authors groaned about this thing called Steampunk and couldn't wait for it to die.
No one was sure what to make of Steampunk other than it gave costumers a chance to wear goggles and tiny hats and sew brass gears to their clothes. Here we are in 2011 and Steampunk keeps getting more omnipresent with ever more fanciful gadgets:
As an opportunity for a fantasy S&M twist:
And yet another occasion for a femme fatale, in this case Aimee Matheny of the Colorado Chrononauts, to lure the too-willing man to the shoals of self destruction. *guilty*
Catch Aimee in this 9News clip.
Steampunk has evolved into two sects, as it were: the English Victorian and the American Western, each embellished with tropes of the genre: corsets, electro-guns, robots, absinthe, and of course, airships:While everyone seems to be in agreement about the aesthetics of Steampunk, the literature not so much. Most of the Steampunkers I talked with expressed disappointment in the state of steampunk prose--lots of gimmicks and bling but not enough substance. A few names topped our discussions as the exceptional writers in the genre: Cherie Priest, Scott Westergard, and China Mieville.
Labels: Carrie Vaughn, Starfest, Steampunk, Stephen Graham Jones
¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 3:39 PM 6 comments
