a story of the clockwork century

I’ve been damn busy, and it looks to remain that way for the near future. I’m not complaining. However, I have, as the old saying goes, many spinning plates in the air, and my feet are tangled in a mob of lemurs.

Until I have some spare creative energy, or something worthwhile to say, the best I can do is point you to my friend Cherie‘s superawesome Steampunk long-short-story/novelette in the Fall edition of Subterranean Online, Tanglefoot:

Stonewall Jackson survived Chancellorsville. England broke the Union’s naval blockade, and formally recognized the Confederate States of America. Atlanta never burned.

It is 1880. The American Civil War has raged for nearly two decades, driving technology in strange and terrible directions. Combat dirigibles skulk across the sky and armored vehicles crawl along the land. Military scientists twist the laws of man and nature, and barter their souls for weapons powered by light, fire, and steam.

But life struggles forward for soldiers and ordinary citizens. The fractured nation is dotted with stricken towns and epic scenes of devastation–some manmade, and some more mysterious. In the western territories cities are swallowed by gas and walled away to rot while the frontiers are strip-mined for resources. On the borders between North and South, spies scour and scheme, and smugglers build economies more stable than their governments.

This is the Clockwork Century.

It is dark here, and different.

Want to know how awesome Cherie is? She’s currently nominated for a rather prestigious writing award . . . against Ursula LeGuin. Not bad for your first time, Cherie.

I’m back to the salt mines. Have a nice day, and watch out for the lemurs. They’re motherfuckingeverywhere.

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19 thoughts on “a story of the clockwork century”

  4. Hello, all–I don’t post here frequently, but I read Wil’s work as it comes across Twitter.
    The story snippet reminds me of a steampunk/Western RPG, ‘Deadlands.’ Never played it, but I threatened to.

  5. Yeah, imagine a time with no electricity, no music except some songs that you learned from your Pa and your Ma’s piano. Every day you looked forward to an evening of playing music and tellin’ stories. But then there was Uncle Tom who kept missing the spitoon and hitting your legs, and the times when it gets frozen outside and you had to go out to pump more water. Dem Good Ol’ Days!

  9. Holy crap – thanks for the plug, dude! That’s completely awesome of you, as per usual, and I really appreciate it.
    🙂
    (And I hope this doesn’t post twice, as Typepad bounced me the first time, so if so, preemptive apologies.)

  11. cherie-
    You don’t know me, but I wanted to say that I think your book sounds interesting, and CONGRATS for the nomination!
    Way to go!
    *grabs the bat lemur-repellent spray and sends to Wil*

  13. While awaiting new content, I went back to wwdn 1.5 and started reading old posts.
    As I read the close of this message, I couldn’t help but be reminded of your mom’s reply to a February 2003 post:
    “Oh, Wil,? she said, “why do you need to have such a potty mouth?”
    Oh and keep your googles on, salt in the eyes burns like a motherfucker!

  14. sounds very very very veryveryvery awesome! I am a HUGE steampunk fan, as my itunes will tell you (ive had Abney Park and Dr Steel on repeat lately, the cold makes me want to be an airship pirate) There are so many amazing steampunk tales out there, more than most would realize, such as “The Northern Lights” Trilogy or the Miyazaki films. Yeah… I’m an ubernerd. But I’ll check her out, for reals! If your taste in books is like your taste in music, I know I’ll love it. BTW, you have the BEST taste in music! Joy Division, Jonathan Coulton, PUTV soundtrack. Tell me you like the Magnetic Fields and Lily Allen, and your awesomeness will know no bounds!

  17. Please remember to every so often take a moment for yourself. It’s nice that you keep your fans in the loop, but in the end, it comes down to the mental health and well being of yourself and your family. Then somewhere down the line there’s us. 🙂 Thanks for everything you do, we love to adore it!

  19. @SAL9000 — Have you ever read any of Poul Anderson’s “Time Patrol” stories? One of them starts out in recent-era Manhattan and the street lights are gas-powered.
    It also seemed to me that Orson Scott Card’s “Prentice Alvin” series takes place in some kind of alternate American history, but it’s been a while since I’ve read the first two books.

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