I’m back! With a sneak peek at the ‘rough cut’ of chapter 14 or so in Iron Tribune.
Hi all, and yes, I’m back. Life happened, between my primary job, my weekend job/volunteer activity, and simply surviving the first two months of school have left me worn out. But I’m back, and finally in the mood to write. To be honest, I wasn’t happy with where some parts of the story were going. Or not going. Or something like that. So I skipped a few chapters. I’ll come back at the end, when I see how the story flowed and how I can build upon it/shore up some foundations.
In other news, it appears I’ll be part of another Steampunk Extravaganza! Super pumped for this! Last time I dropped the price on Brass Legionnaire to 99 cents for a few weeks. I’ll have to see what I want to do this time ;-).
In the meantime, enjoy this ‘rough cut.’ PS If you closely examine the picture above, you’ll be able to find the location of our current scene 🙂 Continue reading “Finally Writing Again”
Musings on creating a non-fiction style history book to go with the Steam Empire Chronicles
Tactical Layout of the H.M.A.S. Scioparto
I had a thought. Maybe people would be interested if I wrote a non-fiction style history as an accompaniment to the rest of the novels. Something like “A Roman’s Guide to Modern History: The Roman Empire in the 18th Century.”
Below is a snippet from Chapter Three. Long and short, if you’ve read Roma Aeronautica, you’ll have some more insight into the discussion below. Let me know what you think so far. Bear in mind, this is only a rough draft, small typos will most likely be removed by the time it gets to the second or third writing stage.
I go back and revisit the idea of novellas, Part One! Check it out!
Part 1
About a year or so ago, I posted this article on Novellas and the self-published author. I’ve put the original article on the bottom of this post for your enjoyment. I’ve now published two novellas, one through my traditional self-publishing system, and one through a small publisher, to try and see which approach I like more. I figured it would be beneficial to share my new insights and thoughts.
Roma Aeronautica on Sale the Entire Month of March! Get your copy today!
ROMA AERONAUTICA IS ON SALE FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH OF MARCH!
Only 99 cents for a great, fast paced novella. Perfect for an afternoon or late night read-a-thon!
Want to learn more about Rufius Alexandros, captain of the airship Scioparto and loyal follower of Constantine, heir to the Empire? Check out his backstory in Roma Aeronautica! You’ll also get a sneak peak at some future characters making their way into other novellas and novels in the Steam Empire Chronicles. Don’t miss out!
Roma Aeronautica is available on sale through Kindle andNook!
Trains in a Roman Alternate History? Learn more about Steam Trains in the Steam Empire Chronicles!
By Daniel Ottalini
Steampunk is a genre of imagination and creation. Nowhere is that more apparent than the majestic steam train. Harkening back to an era of opulence, industry, hard work, and elegance, the chugging steam train kindles the joy of machinery and a love for transportation. As a small child, I was famous in my family for not only building long, winding, one lane traffic jams of Hot Wheels cars, but also for creating extravagantly huge sets of train tracks and monopolizing the entire living room for hours at a time.
Copper Centurion is up for an EPIC award! Read more inside this blog post!
Good Morning to all my wonderful readers, and Happy Monday! At least, it’s happy for me, because I am very proud to announce that Copper Centurion is up for an Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition eBook Award. My first novel, Brass Legionnaire, won an EPIC award in the spring of 2013. I am extremely pumped for this nomination, especially as the judges are other authors and publishers.
I have always been hesitant about entering many competitions, as sometimes I doubt that it is entirely worth it. But I have to say that I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I took the trip to Portland this last spring to attend the conference and learned a lot. I think such conferences are a wonderful way for self-published authors to network, learn, and share their ideas and knowledge! I heartily recommend everyone go to at least one at some point in their lives! Be sure to visit the EPIC website to learn more about their goals and mission.
I was checking out my Amazon Author Page the other day, and happened to be reading the reviews that people have given. I was struck by the comments in several, in particular those that said my novel was a great read for someone looking for something other than the usual Victorian steampunk. I’m flattered by these comments, but it had me thinking, why don’t we see more ‘alternate’ steampunk novels? (You can see more about how to respond to reviews here)
I suppose this question is answered in the most basic form by looking at the origin of
Virtuoso by Jon Munger and Krista Brennan
the word steampunk. “Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery,especially in a setting inspired by industrialized Western civilization during the 19th century.” (According to Wikipedia) or if you prefer Urban Dictionary, “What the past would look like if the future had happened sooner.”
So that gives some insight, but not enough. You have to look at the words 19th century and western civilization. Most Steampunk happens in Victorian (or proto-victorian) England/ Western Europe or in the wild west. Even those novels that don’t explicitly take place in those locations include people from those locations. Peshawar Lancers, by S.M. Stirling, takes place in India, but a Englishized India.
So why do we not see more steampunk writing from the Far East? Or Africa? South America? People write what they know, and what they’ve learned. If you’re an American or British writer, you probably know western history with a spattering of eastern history when it coincides with western. I would LOVE to write a steampunk novel about Brazil (and I’ve actually got one way way wayyyy on the backburner in idea form) but I happen to have a great resource who grew up in Brazil as a major partner in it. If left to my own devices, could I write a novel? Sure, but I doubt it would be truly authentic. Steampunk doesn’t have to be authentic (it is, after all, science fiction), but the culture it is based on does need to feel and act authentic. If you don’t know about a different culture, how can you write about it?
There are a few authors who are trying to breach the boundaries of ‘traditional’ steampunk, but you’ll have to look good and hard for them. If you have any suggestions, leave them below and I’ll edit the post. I’d love to read some other non-standard steampunk ideas. For more information, check out this great post on Beyond Victoriana.
My new Novella, Roma Aeronautica, is out today! Click to get a quick synopsis and learn where to purchase this fast paced coming-of-age story.
Hi everyone! I hope your summer is going well, mine is so far, when it isn’t full of work! I am excited to announce that my new novella, Roma Aeronautica, is available for purchase on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble (and will be up on Smashwords for iPad owners/etc., as soon as possible!). Roma Aeronautica takes place in the same world as the Steam Empire Chronicles, and would be described as a character prequel.
Enjoy a short preview of the upcoming novella, Antioch Burns.
Hi all!
In the 4th of July Holiday spirit, I figured I’d share a bit more of the most recent update to Antioch Burns. In this scene, the Mongols attempt to eliminate the remnants of a Roman patrol on the outskirts of Antioch before they can warn the city….
In the meantime, enjoy this ‘rough cut.’ PS If you closely examine the picture above, you’ll be able to find the location of our current scene 🙂 Continue reading “Finally Writing Again”
Modern Papyrus 