At Madam X I read a very short and very silly story about a mechanical ostrich. The theme for the evening was steampunk, and it’s the one thing I’ve written that I know for sure counts as steampunk, because it was created to order for the VanderMeers’ forthcoming Steampunk Reloaded anthology. Steampunk ex cathedra, so to speak. It was stupid as hell but it got some laughs. I was going to go on to read something from the new book but my voice crapped out. The acoustics of the room are not good at all and I am not good at shouting. Cat Valente, Cherie Priest and George Mann read stories that I was able to hear to varying degrees. I spoke to some nice and interesting people.

The signing at BEA went well, in the sense that we got rid of all the free copies we had to give away, some people had heard of me, most people were friendly and no one was gratuitously weird or rude.  I was two tables away from Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, who was signing god knows what. Another one of those books about the talking helicopter, or a tell-about book about Prince Andrew’s sex life (ugh) or a celebrity cook book or diet regime? Your guess is as good as mine. Her wikipedia page doesn’t mention any new books. She had three or four serious-looking Men in Black standing behind her, glaring at everyone else’s publicists if they wandered too close. The queue for her signing was enormous.  It formed a solid wall of people that enclosed the entire signing area and reached out to enclose neighbouring booths. Cory Doctorow was there too and it was entertaining to see the difference between Cory-Doctorow-level internet celebrity and real proper supermarket-tabloid-oh-my-god-let’s-all-gloat-over-these-zoomlens-photographs-of-a-stranger’s-cellulite celebrity. Anyway my question for you, America, is why? And indeed, what the hell? She was a peripheral member of someone else’s royal family twenty years ago. Why have any of you even heard of Sarah Ferguson?

There were a couple of very brief interviews at BEA, and a panel discussion, also steampunk-themed, by which time I was so tired and so increasingly uncertain and uneasy about the whole steampunk concept that I have no idea what I said.

Also note that the BEA signing and panel is at the Javits Center, which is where I took the bar exam. I may get flashbacks. If I suddenly start twitching and get that thousand-yard stare and start muttering very quietly and intensely about Secured Transactions and Commercial Paper and the Rule Against Perpetuities you’ll know why. If this happens do not touch me or attempt to interrupt me! The recommended safe treatment is to buy me a drink.

the panel and the reading are both steampunk-themed, by the way.  This remains my definitive statement on the whole steampunk thing. Steampunk is like a dead bird, its guts full of plastic. Cheers, all.

1. The new look is for the new book, of course. Thank you Sarah for redesigning the website!  The art is from the cover; it’s by Ross MacDonald; I love it.  Who is that little steampunk-icarus guy in the upper right hand corner? I don’t know exactly either.

2. The website seems to work fine on IE and google chrome. Let me know if it doesn’t work right for you.

3.  I’ll be doing a short reading at Madam X’s Steam Salon tonight at 7, with Cherie Priest and George Mann.

4. I’ll be doing a signing and a panel at BEA tomorrow. Signing at 10.30, panel (with Cherie Priest again and Cat Valente) at 3.

5.  I should probably start updating this blog again on a semi-regular or even occasional basis, so as at the very least to maybe give more than 6 hours notice of readings & etc. We’ll see how that goes.