It's Steampunk month at Tor Books!  See the Introduction to Steampunk Month here which includes a large index of what you can sxpect to see this month.  

Of particular interest to this scrapyard sociologist are Steampunk as Subculture and No Elitism Please, We’re Steampunk both by Jaymee Goh.

I finally found a few minutes to sit down and take a look at Steampunk Tales and I was pleasantly surprised.  Steampunk Tales is an anthology of short fiction which is delivered to you digitally in multiple formats:

Emulating the style of the pulp adventure magazines of the 1920s and '30s, Steampunk Tales contains first-run, original fiction written by an A+ list of award-winning authors. Issue #1 contains 10 stories, each running between 4,300 to 11,000 words, for an unbelievable price. 

"We stand at the beginning of a revolution in the distribution of print," says John Sondericker III, Steampulp Publishing's  founder.  "The combination of low distribution costs and the potential for high-volume sales allows us to provide this product at an astounding value for the consumer. The timing is perfect to re-introduce the world to the 'Penny Dreadfuls', and the iPhone is a platform that can truly do them justice."

The publishers graciously sent a review copy but I didn't actually view that version. Instead I purchased and downloaded the iPhone version of Steampunk Tales while waiting in a hospital lounge (just some routine maintenance and upgrades, mind you, nothing serious!)

The user interface was quite usable after tweaking the page color and font. I do feel the default font size is quite a bit too large and that this makes for a great deal of extraneous page flipping.

The stories themselves are, happily, quite readable without any tweaking at all!  The experience very much reminded me of the pulp science fiction magazines of my youth: Galaxy and Analog.  This makes perfect sense since they themselves were a direct descendant of the Penny Dreadfuls Steampunk Tales is attempting to emulate.  Issues of Steampunk Tales can be purchased here and a free teaser is available here for your enjoyment!

Some more serialized Steampunk fiction for you over at Flight of the Calliope!

A low moan rose up out of the depth of the Pandora’s hull, drowning out the cheers of her crew as they watched the enemy airship fall from the sky.  Bewildered, they turned in circles, looking everywhere for the source of the groan.  A shout came down from the crow’s nest: the ballast had taken a serious hit and was leaking; the ship was going to fall . . . 

[PS: the image above is of a clock escapement at the maritime center in Bermuda which I took on holiday a few years ago - it has nothing to do with Flight of the Calliope! but, you know, every post's gotta have a picture!]

[PPS: here's the deal on sending me fiction: if you have posted something online that you think is cool drop me a line and I may post about it if I think our readers would be interested.  However, please don't send me things you've written asking for my opinion.  My reading queue is already too long and Gibson, Gaiman, and Gabaldon will always be ahead of you.  -Jake]

[As promises but a day later, here is part two of The Tailor of Time from the new anthology Clockwork Phoenix.  Enjoy!  - Jake]

A tale of cosmic clockwork, "The Tailor of Time" is taken from the fantasy anthology Clockwork Phoenix, published in July by Norilana Books and for sale on Amazon and other online stores. Editor Mike Allen describes the book as "a home for stories that sidestep expectations in beautiful and unsettling ways, that surprise with their settings and startle with the ways they cross genre boundaries." The anthology also includes strange new stories by Catherynne M. Valente, John Grant, Cat Rambo, Laird Barron, Ekaterina Sedia, Tanith Lee, Marie Brennan, Vandana Singh and John C. Wright. Says Publishers Weekly, “Lush descriptions and exotic imagery startle, engross, chill and electrify the reader, and all 19 stories have a strong and delicious taste of weird.”

Author Deborah Biancotti lives in Sydney, Australia. Winner of the Aurealis and Ditmar awards for her short story writing, she is now working on her first novel. A collection of her work will be launched by Twelfth Planet Press next year, and she has a novella lined up for 2010 publication with Gilgamesh Press. Her stories have appeared in Eidolon 1, Redsine, Ideomancer, infinity plus, 2012, and the anthologies YEARS BEST AUSTRALIAN SF & FANTASY and AUSTRALIAN DARK FANTASY & HORROR. Deborah can be found online at both her journal and her website.

Avery stood to leave, the plan agreed. On a good day, when Bella could breathe without help, he would send word.

[Today we have something special for you! A piece of short fiction presented in two parts from the new anthology Clockwork Phoenix.  Enjoy!  - Jake]

A tale of cosmic clockwork, "The Tailor of Time" is taken from the fantasy anthology Clockwork Phoenix, published in July by Norilana Books and for sale on Amazon and other online stores. Editor Mike Allen describes the book as "a home for stories that sidestep expectations in beautiful and unsettling ways, that surprise with their settings and startle with the ways they cross genre boundaries." The anthology also includes strange new stories by Catherynne M. Valente, John Grant, Cat Rambo, Laird Barron, Ekaterina Sedia, Tanith Lee, Marie Brennan, Vandana Singh and John C. Wright. Says Publishers Weekly, “Lush descriptions and exotic imagery startle, engross, chill and electrify the reader, and all 19 stories have a strong and delicious taste of weird.”

Author Deborah Biancotti lives in Sydney, Australia. Winner of the Aurealis and Ditmar awards for her short story writing, she is now working on her first novel. A collection of her work will be launched by Twelfth Planet Press next year, and she has a novella lined up for 2010 publication with Gilgamesh Press. Her stories have appeared in Eidolon 1, Redsine, Ideomancer, infinity plus, 2012, and the anthologies YEARS BEST AUSTRALIAN SF & FANTASY and AUSTRALIAN DARK FANTASY & HORROR. Deborah can be found online at both her journal and her website.

Alas, this special offer has ended.  A big Thank You goes out to Ann & Jeff VanderMeer  for the multitude of Zeppelins drawn for our readers! 

Steampunk is now in stores and can be ordered through Amazon.