So, if you are up for a fun/snarky bookclub read, this is your chance I won’t be participating or reading the posts and discussions, simply because I find that it’s too easy to go insane that way, but I’ll be happy to answer any questions that come up as you go along — just contact me through the blog or my contact page.

Some links that might be helpful to readers new to the series:

All of the books in the Iron Seas series (you don’t have to read the earlier stories before The Iron Duke.)

An Overview of the Iron Seas Alternate History

A Rough Guide to the Iron Seas (with an ugly map)

If you are new to steampunk:

What is steampunk?

A series of posts and steampunk Q&A — Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five (Part Six will be coming to this blog later this week.)

And of course if you have any questions here, please feel free to comment!

h/t Melinda Smith and Alice Jackson. Thanks for the heads-up, ladies!

Now, for the rough part:

The print version of the mass-market release contains an epilogue novella to The Iron Duke called “Mina Wentworth and the Invisible City.”

This novella is not included in the ebook version of The Iron Duke — that content is the same as the trade version.

The novella will be released as an ebook later this year. When I have a date, I’ll let everyone know.

I know this sucks. And there has been a lot of talk around the blogosphere lately about where to go to lodge complaints — in this case, that place is right here, because this one is all on me. When my editor asked if I had any bonus content to include in the mass market reprint, we talked of adding a short epilogue that can let us see how Mina & Rhys are doing after the HEA. A simple plot, some smexy times, and done. I pictured it much like the bonus content that was included in Nalini Singh’s mass-market of Kiss of Snow — just a short story to put up on my site when the reprint came out.

That’s not quite what happened. The story actually became a longish novella, because I loved revisiting them, I had more to add to their story, and I couldn’t keep it short. I also ran too late to give my editor another story as the bonus content, because we were approaching the date when I either get it in NOW or nothing goes into the reprint at all. But I also thought it was important to release it as an ebook so that it wasn’t just available to mass-market readers, so the question was: do it myself, or let Berkley do it?

I wanted Berkley to do it. Although I like self-pubbing shorts, I honestly don’t have the time to do a good job of it now or anytime in the near future. That meant contracts, however, and scheduling the novella in for ebook publication. I signed those about two months ago, which was actually cutting it all pretty close.

And so this is why the ebook will be coming later than the print version, and why the ebook version of The Iron Duke won’t include the novella. The Iron Duke mass-market version was already scheduled, and already in Berkley’s production pipeline; my novella ebook was not, and to force it through earlier would mean shoving someone else’s book to the side while production worked on mine (and it was not in the ebook conversion pipeline at all, because we hadn’t planned to update The Iron Duke’s file with the short bonus content. Now, the novella is scheduled for ebook production, but again — that takes time, and must fit into the already-existing schedule.)

The ebook will come. Just not at the same time as print, and I’m sorry for that.

“With The Iron Duke, Meljean Brook has brilliantly defined the new genre of Steampunk Romance.
I loved it!” —Jayne Ann Krentz

One of Publishers Weekly‘s Best Romances of 2010, winner of All About Romance‘s Annual Reader Poll for Best Paranormal Romance, and a RT BookReviews Reviewers’ Choice Award Winner!

After the Iron Duke freed England from Horde control, he instantly became a national hero. Now Rhys Trahaearn has built a merchant empire on the power — and fear — of his name. And when a dead body is dropped from an airship onto his doorstep, bringing Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth into his dangerous world, he intends to make her his next possession.

Mina can’t afford his interest, however. Horde blood runs through her veins, and despite the nanotech enhancing her body, she barely scratches out a living in London society. Becoming Rhys’s lover would destroy both her career and her family, yet the investigation prevents her from avoiding him…and the Iron Duke’s ruthless pursuit makes him difficult to resist.

But when Mina uncovers the victim’s identity, she stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens the lives of everyone in England. To save them, Mina and Rhys must race across zombie-infested wastelands and treacherous oceans — and Mina discovers the danger is not only to her countrymen as she finds herself tempted to give up everything to the Iron Duke. Read an excerpt–>

“…a stunning blend of steampunk setting and poignant romance – smart, sexy, breathtaking, and downright addicting.” —Ilona Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of Magic Bleeds

“…a high seas/airborne adventure that’s filled with zombies, pirates and deadly betrayal. Along with the pulse-pounding adventure, there’s plenty of seriously sensuous sizzle for readers to enjoy.” ½! —RT BookReviews

“With adept writing and a flair for creating believable worlds, Brook’s first in the Iron Seas series showcases her masterful storytelling.” —Booklist

$7.99 | January 3, 2012 | ISBN 978-0425244265

<– Go to previous book in the series

Go to next book in the series –>

Readers and bloggers — please feel free to post links to your reviews in the comments! I won’t be seeking them out (see going-into-hiding note above) but I know that a lot of readers like to read reviews/discuss what they did and didn’t like about the books, so I’m happy to make those reviews easy to find.

Don’t forget that I have a rudimentary Iron Seas guide now!

Click here to read an excerpt. Here’s the official description and bits:

“Rising star Brook has created two completely mesmerizing characters whose journeys in this gritty and treacherous world make for heart-stopping fun!”
—RT BookReviews ½!

Named one of Publishers Weekly’s “Best Books of 2010,” The Iron Duke introduced the gritty, alluring adventure of the Iron Seas. Now, Meljean Brook returns to the world where nanotech fuses with Victorian sensibilities — and steam.

As the mercenary captain of the Lady Corsair, Yasmeen has learned to keep her heart as cold as steel, her only loyalty bound to her ship and her crew. So when a man who once tried to seize her airship returns from the dead, Yasmeen will be damned if she gives him another opportunity to take control.

Treasure-hunter Archimedes Fox isn’t interested in the Lady Corsair — he wants her coldhearted captain and the valuable da Vinci sketch she stole from him. To reclaim it, Archimedes is determined to seduce the stubborn woman who once tossed him to a ravenous pack of zombies, but she’s no easy conquest.

When da Vinci’s sketch attracts a dangerous amount of attention, Yasmeen and Archimedes journey to Horde-occupied Morocco — and straight into their enemy’s hands. But as they fight to save themselves and a city on the brink of rebellion, the greatest peril Yasmeen faces is from the man who seeks to melt her icy heart…

It’s ugly. It’s rough. It’s very basic. But I hope it helps you visualize the political geography of the world a little better.

ETA: There are no meanings behind the colors chosen for the map. I just wanted them to contrast so that the different territories would be clearer.

d) What’s the difference between a Steampunk novel and a Gaslight fantasy novel? What about alternative historical novels like Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula?

Agh. I always feel a little weird when I get into this, because although I’m happy to talk my mouth off about steampunk, when it comes to other genres I’m not as comfortable saying: This is what they are/aren’t. So let me preface everything that I say with the caveat that these are my impressions of the differences between genres, based on my (could be faulty) understanding of them.

First of all — just because a historical-set novel includes something like an airship or a scientist, that does NOT make it steampunk. Scientists really did exist in history, after all; so did airships. So did submersibles. So did Wimshurst machines. So did Leyden jars. These are all things that existed in true history, and their use or appearance in a historical novel can be fun, but it isn’t necessarily steampunk. There needs to be an application and/or an evolution of that technology that ventures beyond the reality of history.

So, imagining the inclusion of technology in historical set works as a sliding scale, a historical novel that includes steam technology but no real science fiction application of it is just … well, it’s a historical novel.

Then there’s gaslight fantasy/gaslamp fantasy (I’ve seen it called both and I don’t know if there’s a difference; if there is, please someone feel free to tell me in comments! I don’t mind being called out as ignorant, because then I can know better and not be ignorant anymore.) – To me, gaslight fantasy is more explicitly Victorian (because the ‘gaslight’ part immediately brings to mind London streets; I can’t help it.) It also includes some sort of magic/fantasy…and here is where I might be completely wrong, but that magic/fantasy is more occult-type of magic rather than, say, a werewolf or vampire running around the city. I always think of it as more like ghosts and weird-paranormal magic rather than an abundance of supernatural creatures. In addition, I always think of gaslight fantasy as having a certain oppressive atmosphere that feels almost gothic in nature.

But again, it’s a sliding scale. It’s not that gaslight fantasy can’t include vampires or werewolves, because it can. But what is the overall feel of the book and what is the underlying basis of the ‘difference’ from the real world? If you’ve just got a Victorian-set historical populated by vampires, that’s not gaslight — it’s a historical paranormal romance. If you’ve got arcane societies practicing dark magic, if you’ve got ghosts, if you’ve got a dark, wet atmosphere — and there just happens to be a vampire around, too? That feels, to me, more like gaslight fantasy.

The key always seems to be: What is the difference from the ‘real’ world, and what is the driving force behind that difference? What is the mechanism through which the world is changed?

In steampunk, that mechanism is science-based. In gaslight fantasy, it will be magic-based. I made up this little graphic for my workshop in San Diego. I’m not completely happy with it, but it gives a visual representation of that sliding scale that I’m talking about. You can click to enlarge it.

Steampunk <-> Gaslight

The more supernatural elements you have, the more magic, the more paranormal beings, the more that it is gaslight fantasy … even if it has a few gadgets or airships here and there.

Then there are alternate histories. Maili mentions Anno Dracula, but although I’ve read it, it was during my Anne Rice craze in 10th or 11th grade and I can’t recall exactly the differences in the world itself, and how much science fiction/magic was involved. Generally, however, I would say that an alternate history is one where there is a break from real history, and even though the course of the world might have changed dramatically (and that includes a different trajectory for technological and social evolution), that break in history and the social/cultural impact is the driving element behind the differences in the world, rather than magic or science, even if magic or science (or a supernatural creature) was the cause of the break.

And again, it’s not that a book has to be completely one or the other. The Iron Seas series is an alternate history — and that break came when Batu Khan became the Great Khan rather than one of Ögedei’s heirs. The driving force behind the differences in the world, however, is the technology created by the Horde, along with the technology created by those trying to stop them (and later the tech created as they adjust to their new world).

e) Does historical accuracy matter in a steampunk novel?

Yes and no. It doesn’t have to be accurate in the sense that events happen in the same way (in a historical novel, the date of certain battles are either accurate or they aren’t — but that battle might not even take place in a steampunk/alternate history novel.) It does have to be accurate, however, in that the worldbuilding has to be internally consistent and make sense. It has to be accurate in that, if something is out-of-place to that time, there has to be a reason behind it.

The technology (and everything else) can be anachronistic from *our* perspective. It can’t be anachronistic from the perspective of the characters and the world; it has to fit, it has to make sense — it has to be accurate according to the rules of that world.

f) what’s the difference between a steampunk romance and a steampunk novel?

I have no idea. Obviously the romance is the primary plot/story within a steampunk romance, but my difficulty comes because I have no idea what a steampunk novel looks like. The more I think about it, the more most steampunk seems to be a subgenre of something else — mysteries and adventure novels being the most popular. I’m often torn between calling steampunk its own genre, and just calling it a ‘setting.’

(I’m excluding steampunk art from this, by the way, as well as the steampunk lifestyle. I think that those are very clearly their own. But in literature, I honestly don’t know if it’s self-contained as its own genre.)

I would love to hear other thoughts on this, actually. Does steampunk feel like its own genre, and what books/movies would you use as examples of a steampunk genre?

g) What web sites and blogs would you recommend for us who want to learn more about steampunk?

I mentioned Beyond Victoriana last time. Also, every October, the publisher Tor has a steampunk month on their blog, and I think it’s worth checking out the articles and essays on steampunk (most easily found with the ‘steampunk’ tag).

For romance, The Galaxy Express does a great job of keeping SF romance readers apprised of upcoming steampunk titles — and is also great for links.

Girl Genius online — because it’s fun. The same goes for 2D Goggles (a.k.a. The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage.)

Airship Ambassador has a huge number of links to definitions, art, all kinds of stuff. The Steampunk Chronicle has great links, too.

Also, because the visual aspect is so strong (I’ll admit that I don’t read a lot of steampunk blogs aside from Beyond Victoriana, but I do love to go searching for artwork) I love pointing to sites like Deviant Art and simply searching for steampunk. When CGSociety was having their Myths and Legends steampunk art challenge, it was the greatest thing ever — and the winners (to which I just linked) are fantastic, but there was a lot of work showing up in the forums that was spectacular as well.

I know there are blogs and tumblers out there that repost steampunk art, but I usually just end up doing Google searches instead. If you know of any great steampunk blogs, please post a link in the comments!

h) Which films would you recommend for us who need to see what steampunk is like before we could read a steampunk romance/novel?

I’m saving this until tomorrow/Friday, because it will be another long answer (and Maili sent me some awesome links to videos, too, and I want to include those.)

g) Will your ‘Iron Seas’ map ever see the daylight?

Okay, well. I didn’t scan them in, because the more I thought about it, the more I realized that a lot of what is on those maps will either be spoilerish/will be more fun to develop in the books themselves. It’s not that I’m trying to be secretive, it’s just that I want to save some stuff to be revealed in the books, and the maps totally give it away.

But I totally understand that readers want a general history and a way to better visualize the world, and so instead of scanning it in, I spent time last night on a map in Photoshop, and on sketching out a general history on a page. It’s crude, the boundaries are not exact, it’s vague in some areas, it’s definitely a work-in-progress — but I hope it helps visualize the world a little better.

So, here’s a rudimentary Iron Seas guide. Please feel free to ask questions about it in the comments here.

Also, er — the fact that Ireland is orange doesn’t signify anything. I just wanted to make it clear that its fate was not linked to England/Wales/Scotland’s, and chose a contrasting color, and only later did I realize that it could be taken as a statement re: religion.

Today, I ran across Harriet Klausner’s review of Heart of Steel. Now, I know Klausner doesn’t have much credibility and many readers ignore her reviews, but I also have heard that others find them handy for giving a quick overview of the story — and that is true. Her reviews often read like plot summaries or cover copy, and that can be useful at times.

That said, I suggest that you do not build expectations for Heart of Steel upon her final paragraph of this review (found at B&N). I’ve bolded the relevant bits:

Mercenary Lady Corsair airship Captain Yasmeen leads her crew to Fladstrand, Denmark. Their arrival frightens much of the townsfolk as the lady Corsair has a merciless reputation. She is here to meet with author Zenobia Fox to inform her she killed her brother treasure hunter Archimedes Fox by dumping him into a Venice canal amidst zombies for his concealing who his late sire was. Having killed his father before him, she has no qualms of number three, especially since [spoilers removed by Meljean ... especially since they were totally inaccurate spoilers, in their own way].

[...]

The latest Iron Seas steampunk thriller (see The Iron Duke) is a great tale starring two fascinating protagonists in what may be the strangest courtship in years. The story line is filled with action as the Heart of Steel and the roguish treasure hunter make for an endearing couple. Fans who relish something different in their novels will want to read Meljean Brooks’ Yasmeen and Zenobia’s excellent adventure.

Harriet Klausner

As awesome as that story might be, Zenobia doesn’t go on an adventure with Yasmeen. She doesn’t even really appear in the story after Chapter 2. They don’t end up together, as is obviously suggested by this paragraph. That would be totally hot, I agree, but I’m sorry — Yasmeen doesn’t end up with Archimedes’ sister. You end up with The Adventures of Archimedes Fox and Lady Corsair, instead.

Look for the giveaway beginning on Monday — and combined with the Goodreads chat giveaway, will be a total of eleven Heart of Steel ARCs that we’ll be giving away next week. The picture also includes cover flats for the mass market edition of The Iron Duke; I’ll be giving those away on Monday, too.

You don’t have to wait that long to enter to win an ARC, however. The Book Binge is having a giveaway of their own.

In other news, Demon Marked got an awesome review at AAR this morning. If you want to give the book a try but are worried you’ll be lost, don’t forget that I have a Guardian primer that can catch you up on everything you need to know before starting Demon Marked.