STEAM MAGNATE GUEST BLOGGER NEXT WEEK

Aio Publishing recently sent me a copy of Dana Copithorne's first novel, The Steam Magnate. It's a beautifully designed book and the writing is ambitious and yet careful and controlled at the same time.

What's it about?

Eson inherited the steam-power legacy of his family lineage and along with it mysterious abilities, as through the use of ink and paper he funnels the good fortune of others into his own coffers. A young, enigmatic figure who wears his power like a second skin, he's hated by some, feared by others... and lonely. Recovering from a disastrous relationship with a woman of his own kind, he's at his most vulnerable when he meets a young woman who isn't who she claims to be. Wrapping her in his affection, he comes to find himself betrayed, and must defend himself against challenges far too dear.

Dana Copithorne presents a fresh voice and a unique take on mythology, with shades of Across the Nightingale Floor's Lian Hearn. Subtle and enchanting, The Steam Magnate draws the reader into a world made up of a tempting concoction of fairy-tale charm and daily existence... of nightclubs, ancestral homes, and desert cities sparkling with mosaics of colored glass.

As for the author, her bio notes that she:

is most well known in academic circles for her paper, published in the central European journal Kosmas, linking socio-political reality in the Czech Republic with Czech science fiction and literature.

Dana holds varied interests: cultural anthropology and studies, art, literature, architecture, urban design, and meditation. She has researched Shamanic religions in Siberia, Zen aesthetics, Japanese culture, and Japanese and Buddhist traditions in architecture. She has studied English language teaching in the Czech Republic and has taught English in rural Japan. She's also a talented artist in watercolor and pen-and-pencil media who provided artwork for her own novel.

In a nutshell, she sounded so interesting and the book so intrigued me, I thought this would be a good time for a guest blogger, and Dana has been nice enough to agree.

So, starting Monday, through around November 6, she will be telling you more about her book, her other work, and, I would imagine, various and intriguing things...

(I'll be poking my head in long enough to post my World Fantasy schedule and to let you know when my SF Site column goes live.)

Jeff