Guest Post & Giveaway with Nico Rosso {NIGHT OF FIRE}
Guest blog post
By Nico Rosso
With all this ether, it’s hard to stay grounded. Inventing steampunk technology is a tricky business. Too little and the story doesn’t surprise. Too much and you can create a Frankenstein’s monster that turns on you, dominating the characters and robbing the story of heart.
For those of you who haven’t jumped on the ether borne steampunk train, the genre is essentially Victorian science fiction. Using materials available in the late 19th Century, new and fantastic inventions are made to fuel the stories. Some authors add paranormal elements, others take a more real world approach.
In the Ether Chronicles my wife, Zoë Archer, and I wanted to create a relatively familiar world, augmented by steampunk technology. The biggest leap from reality is the Man O’ Wars, men with metal implants who serve as the energy source for their airships.
There are no Man O’ Wars in my first Western installment of the Ether Chronicles, but there’s plenty of steampunk tech. While inventing it, I tried to put myself at the workbench of the inventors at the time. I asked myself: given some new and fantastic materials, how would they alter and adapt the machines they already had?
With my hero, Tom Knox, I knew I wanted him riding back to Thornville, California after a three year absence. He’s been in the US Cavalry, so I thought about what kind of technology the Army would need. Instead of riding into town, I had him fly into town on a Sky Changer, a mechanical horse with ether tanks. At his side is a clockwork driven shoulder-fired Gatling rifle.
But despite all this tech, the story had to be rooted in emotion. In Thornville is Rosa Campos, the girl Tom left behind. But she’s a woman now. And the sheriff. She’s not so ready to welcome him back with open arms, even though the old attraction is still hot as a freshly fired gun barrel. Adding to the tension is a coming fight with an evil mining company’s rolling fifty foot rock eating machine.
Instead of burying the humanity, I wanted the machinery to highlight it. The struggle of man against machine—mind and soul against cold metal—reveals the true heart of Tom and Rosa.
My question to you: How much technology or invention do you like in your stories? This can be anything from steampunk to sci-fi to paranormal rules to the details of the hero’s car. Just enough to set the scene, or complete schematics of everything involved?
One lucky guest will win a free copy of NIGHT OF FIRE.
Thanks, and good luck.
NIGHT OF FIRE can be found here:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Indie Bound
I can be found here:
Website: http://nicorosso.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nico_Rosso
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nico-Rosso/113422452057013
Novel Reflections
Hi Nico!
Personally, I do enjoy innovative technology in the stories I read. Schematics? Perhaps a bit, if it’s interesting and blended easily into the story. Not a lot, though.
Your story really caught me when I read that your heroine is now a sheriff. Wow. That’s unique, in this setting!
I wonder if Tom will be able to help Rosa….and keep up? LOL
And an ether horse….that really captivates me too. Wow!
Thanks for this interesting blog post. I can’t wait to read this story!
I think it all depends on the author. I love knowing the details about technology and whatnot but too many can bog down a story or confuse it. That said, the more imagination with the technology/invention, the better! It only helps to layer in the worldbuilding.
Nice blurb. My interest is definitely piqued. I like that the heroine is a sheriff. That’s appealing to me for some reason.
Anyway, I like enough technology and invention to make the world real to me. I don’t need a whole bunch of details– like the inner workings of some device. Just enough so I can see and understand what the device is.
When you were creating the tech for Night of Fire, did you sketch out the inventions on paper or create collage of images? Or did you do it all in your head? Thanks.
It depends on the storyline and author. I do like alot sometimes. Please enter me in contest.
Thanks for the great giveaway and congrats on the newest release!
I love it all… more, less, conventional, outrageous… bring it all on
I like to know how things work…so for me, more info is better! A fifty foot rock eating machine rolling toward town?! I can’t wait to read this book!
It depends on the setting and the story. I expect the tech will follow the storyline, not the other way around
Thanks for stopping by, everyone. It sounds like you all get into having some details for the story’s world, as long as they don’t get in the way. I hope I struck that balance in Night of Fire.
And to answer your question, Kimberly, I’ll sometimes sketch out the inventions, just so I know how they work, but usually it’s in my head. Although, when it’s something for one of Zoë’s stories, then I’ll usually draw it so she has a solid reference to work off of.
I like enough technology or invention to set the scene, plus a little more to give me the flavor. I don’t need schematics, but a few details are good to flesh out the item, so I can understand how it works perhaps, or what it’s purpose is.
Thanks for the guestpost Nico. I like a bit of science, but not too much please. Just set the scene, add a little extra knowledge, but not too much as you will lose me as a reader. You don’t want to make me feel ignorant or stupid.
Characters come first for me. That said, I like inventive worldbuilding that is doled out in a natural progression of the story rather than the dreaded infodump.
I like a little technology in the books, but not too much of an explanation that takes up pages.