The Dreadfuls Issue 3

Issue number 3 of the Scary and Naughty Dreadfuls are available now! We are super excited about these spooky and sinful steampunk stories. Of course, the Naughty Dreadful comes with a custom photo-set that you will not want to miss.

Issue #4 is going to come out quickly. The photoshoot for it will happen in April in the amazing Port Townsend, WA at the Belmont Hotel. So get your issues quickly!

As always, individual issues can be delivered right to your door and can be inexpensively purchased at http://www.thedreadfuls.com/#!shoppe/cfvg

We also have a ton of cool news coming up about Eva. We should be allowed to tell you next week! So stay tuned.

Shorty

January 2010 Hanging with Shorty. He even has a cooler of the Blue Stuff on him!

In 2010 I attended my first con as a vendor. My first steampunk book, Thomas Riley, had just come out and I picked a con that seemed pretty cool that was close to Nashville. It was Shadow Con. Honestly, I was a bit nervous. I had no idea how smaller cons worked or how people would be. I'd been to San Diego Comic Con before and to Dragon Con, but never to a more regional and strictly fan driven one. This time I was on panels and selling my own book and really on my own in the world of Fandom for the first time. That can be scary! I mean, did the steampunks speak in British Accents all the time? Would everyone judge me for my limited knowledge of Klingon or my poor skills at Warcraft? I had no idea.

At Shadowcon, I set my table up and everyone was insanely nice to me. They all were so cool. This includes one Stuart "Shorty" Bergman. He was a huge man with long hair and beard. Instantly intimidating. He was the nicest guy you could have met. He welcomed me to the con, hung out at my table and talked about, well everything and I just met the guy! Later, I ended up at his little room party in the hotel where we had "The Blue Stuff" which he then told me was his version of Romulan Ale. It was like a billion different kinds of liquor with Blue Curaco for color. At the end of this life defining conference, Shorty even sold me my first bottle of Mead, which I was really excited about.

I saw Shorty several more times, at Midsouthcon and again at Shadowcon the following year. We talked Facebook after I moved to Washington and he always made it a point to chat me up when he saw me online. I still regret not being able to go to the Memphis fandom con he helped launch.

I found out yesterday that Shorty's battle with Cancer had ended and I wouldn't get the pleasure of seeing Shorty's gleeful face or cheers him with a nearly poisonous amount of Blue Stuff.

Shorty was so kind to me when I was just starting out and he helped ease me into an entire culture that I was quite nervous about when I started. And through the years, he always stayed in contact. Fandom all over has lost an icon, a bright light, and a hell of a guy.

Rest In Peace, Shorty. I will miss you.

Steamposium 2015

Steamposium is the newest steampunk conference in Seattle, and man is it fun. This year they had stars from Warehouse 13, Steamgirl, and the new GSN show, Steampunk'd, We not only vended this year but also took part in panels. We met a ton of new awesome people and got to hang out with some of our old Northwest steampunk friends. Last year was awesome, but this year ratcheted it up a notch with more going on and more night time activities. This year I actually got to see the costume contest as well which was a cool treat. Shockingly cool costumes. It always amazes me how people can come up with such complex and detailed costumes.

Like just about every con, we can't wait until next year where there is rumor that Liz might be able to do a Naughty Dreadful Pajama Party!

Next up for us is IFCON in Victoria British Columbia Oct 31-Nov 1st. See you in Canada!

With our friend Andy

Lizzie at the table

Me with Brewskibot! Steampunk R2D2 that will serve drinks!

The table before the chaos.

Lizzie at post con sushi back in Gig Harbor. 

Our Dragon Con Schedule

Liz and I are so stoked to be returning to Dragon Con in Atlanta GA this year! We will be on a bunch of panels so I thought it would be appropriate to put our schedule here, (For our reference as well) During the weekend, we'll be a part of no less than seven hours of programming, so please stop by and say hi. (Also, apologies for not listing all the panelists on every panel. I'm a spaz and can't find the complete lists)

For anyone coming to Dragon Con this year, we're super excited to see all of our old friends again! Liz will be doing some fabulous cosplay as well, so we will be out and about but if we somehow don't run into you, here is where we will be panel-wise.

Growing Up Steampunk (Nick)
Marriott A708
Friday Sept. 4
4PM
Volunteers from the Alternate History Track share information about Steampunk Culture targeted at kids and families. Panelists: Ciara Knight, Nick Valentino

Steampunk After Dark Live (Live Podcast) (Liz)
Westin Augusta 3
Friday Sept 4
10PM
Imagine yourself in a gin-soaked haze, lounging about on a velvet settee... Steampunk After Dark presents the music for that moment with a live podcast by That Darling DJ Duo! Featuring not only the music of the era but also live commentary, adult themes and steamy good company. Moderator: That Darling DJ Duo Panelists: Crystal Bright, Elizabeth Valentino, Frenchy & the Punk, Kathryn Hinds

The Steamy Steampunk Reading Hour (Liz)
Westin Augusta 3
11:30 PM
This panel will feature both authors and collectors who have come together to make you sweat! With titillation, tease and with some mild trepidation they will read excerpts from both their own works as well as those that have inspired them. Moderator: Odetta von Kasek Panelists: Delilah S. Dawson, Elizabeth Valentino, Nico Murray, Sarah Hunter

The Demimonde and Dark Victoriana of Penny Dreadful (Nick and Liz)
Westin Augusta 1-2
8:30 PM
Sat Sept 5
The demimonde are the fringes of society. The penny dreadfuls were slang for cheap fiction. Learn how they relate to Showtime's hit show in this joint author panel from the Horror and Alternate History Tracks.
Nick Valentino and Elizabeth Valentino

Decadence and Deviance in History (Liz)
Sat Sept 5
10PM
As an exploration of the origins of the modern hedonist's lifestyle, our experts will delve into the humble origins of pornography, sexual deviance and sex workers. From behind closed doors and into the public dungeon we will delve into the decadence and the darker deviant aspects of sexuality.
Elizabeth Valentino

Vintage Advice and Accessories for the Modern Gentleman (Nick)
Westin Augusta 3
Sun Sept 6
5:30 PM
The philosophy of a gentleman entails rules of bearing, style and etiquette. This holistic panel is sure to be educational for all genders. With this truly magnificent assemblage of gentleman, you are sure to gain new knowledge in the art of gentlemanliness.
Nick Valentino

Passing The Steampunk Torch (Nick)
Westin Augusta 3
Mon Sept 7
11:30 AM
Steampunk is out there in our books, comics, movies, and so much more. How do we pass on this knowledge to the new generation of fans? This discussion panel of authors and fans talk about how to introduce children and young adults to the wide and complex world of steampunk.
Moderator: Liz Carpenter Panelists: Christina Guardino, Lonnie Hawkins, Lisa Mantchev, Nick Valentino

Amazing Weekend at The Brass Screw Confederacy

What an incredible idea. Take the entire Victorian town of Port Townsend, Washington and turn it into a Steampunk haven. The place is so awesome. Almost everything in the downtown area is of Victorian nature. The buildings are old and authentic, the art is awesome, (they have a huge cog statue in the middle of a park.) and the people are wonderfully eclectic. They have several steampunk stores, even the thrift stores advertise their steampunk goods. But none of it is Victorian stuffy at all. There is plenty of punk in their steampunk. They have a volunteer run Food Not Bombs coffee house called The Boiler Room, tons of book stores, unique antique shops, and awesome places to eat and drink.

The Brass Screw Confederacy is not exactly a con but more of a complete invasion of steampunk goodness in many of the buildings. The museum, the VFW, the rental halls, everything had something going on of the genre. They even had tin plate photographers and roving musicians dressed in appropriate garb on the streets. Port Townsend is to Steampunk what Port Royal was to pirates. Complete immersion with something awesome happening around every corner.

The crowds were awesome and we had a great time vending. Even the restaurants were fun. We had dinner at the already steampunk flavored, Cellar Door which is in the basement of a huge Victorian building and another at Sirens, an upstairs gastro-pub overlooking the ocean.

We stayed at two different places. The Manresa Castle, an old haunted place where priests once roamed the halls (we got one of the three haunted rooms) and The Belmont, a five room hotel smack in the middle of the action with bare brick wall and twenty foot ceilings.

In addition to vending, they had several things going on in the evening with bands, bars, after parties, and on Saturday night we attended the Hootenany, which took place in a real World War 2 barracks building. They had burlesque, bands, more bars and even an absinthe room. We partook in all of them and it was glorious. Jody Ellen performed as well as the Nathaniel Johnstone band and my favorite steampunk band, Marquis of Vaudeville from Texas.

Sunday we took the morning to properly explore the shops. The World's End is a steampunk/pirate shop that was too cool. Highly recommend you check that out if you get the chance to visit. We had the honor of vending across from Otherworlds, which is a steampunk/fantasy horror brick and mortar store in Edmunds Washington who now carry all the current single issues of our Dreadfuls!

Liz and I can't say how excited we are to get back their next year. It was such a great experience!

Our table in the vending room

The passionate Marquis of Vaudeville

The haunted Manresa Castle. It's said that a woman jumped out of the top floor window above the door. 

Lizzie with our table assignment

This is what happens when you sit at a table all day. 

In the absinthe room at the Hootenany.

Just one of the awesome buildings. 

Quick shot inside the steampunk store, The World's End. 

The Brass Screw Confederacy

Photo by: Nyk Fury

This weekend Liz and I will be at The Brass Screw Confederacy in Port Townsend, WA. This is a really neat "Con" that is more of a gathering/transformation of the entire city into a steampunk/Victorian/Alternate History haven for the weekend. There will be bands, vendors, burlesque, meet ups, peep shows, and after parties galore. Yes, I totally said peep shows. We will be there selling Dreadfuls, Steampunk novels, patches, posters and more as featured vendors and we are really excited. Check them out here. http://brass-screw.org/

To add to the awesomeness, we will be staying at the uber- beautiful and haunted Manresa Castle. So we hope to see all our local friends. The event starts on Friday afternoon and goes until Sunday.

IFCON Victoria BC

So Lizzie and I are guests at IFCON in Victoria BC this year and I can't tell you how stoked we are! It's going to be a fabulous con, and a super big one! I love Victoria and I can't wait to go back.

Yesterday, we received the IFCON Magazine and we were on the cover with a full spread and a dual interview. The man putting this on is Bill Code, a friend I originally met at the Victoria Steam Expo in 2010. It's so awesome to meet people achieving long term goals and that are constantly in "the scene". Bill is one of those people, always with something amazing and exciting on his plate.

Not only will Lizzie and I have a booth at IFCON, (we're right next to the Tardis) but we'll also be doing panels and special things all weekend. If you are in or around the Victoria BC area, we'd love to see new and old friends. Come say hi. We will have lots of issues of the Scary and Naughty Dreadfuls, Posters, Buttons, as well as copies of Thomas Riley, Thomas Riley and The Maelstrom and maybe... just maybe some ultra new awesome surprises!

For more info, check out the official IFCON website

Here's some shots of the magazine.

The Cover

Our interview

Cyber Monday Dreadfuls Sale

In honor of Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday Lizzie and I are getting in on the madness with a 10% discount on your entire order starting today! We figure The Dreadfuls fit in all those categories, so get your single copies OR your yearly subscription with the additional discount now at: www.thedreadfuls.com

Just use the coupon code: holiday2014
at checkout to get your additional discount!

Who doesn't like getting good mail in the ole mailbox? Honestly, it's rare, so we can bring you something fun to brighten your day once a quarter. :)

If you like scary steampunk stories, naughty steampunk stories or fantasy steampunk stories, we have drqadfuls for you! What is a dreadful you might ask? They are small inexpensive publications with an original short story just like the old Penny Dreadfuls of yesteryear. They also contain tips, recipes, ads, and all types of fun information related to steampunk and Victorian culture. So head on over to www.thedreadfuls.com and get your copies or subscription today. We can deliver them to your door before the holidays!

Happy shopping!
Be sure to order soon so you can get your first copies of Naughty and Scary Dreadful before the holidays!

The Dreadfuls

Lizzie and I are so excited to announce the arrival of our new website for our new quarterly publications of The Dreadfuls. The Dreadfuls are a fresh take on the Penny Dreadful but with new stories, new monsters and new adventures. 

We want to provide inexpensive yet quality publications every four months delivered straight to your mailbox that not only gives you fresh stories but also an array of new twists for your entertainment.

The Naughty Dreadful

Each issue of The Naughty Dreadful has a spicy (18+) short story in it as well as Victorian-esque tips for ladies. The first issue features practical beauty tips that may have been forgotten through time. To add to the excitement, each naughty dreadful comes with a custom sexy color photo shoot inside each edition. Yes, a centerfold if you will. But wait, there's more! To add to your ocular pleasure, every issue will have full color posters from the photo shoots with pictures not in the magazine (sold separately and once again quite inexpensive)

The photo shoots are done by some of the brightest and most talented photographers in the region, professional makeup and we feature some of the most red hot up and coming models in the industry. Lizzie wrote the first story, The Sanguine Deceit, a twisty yet sexy yarn about a mysterious woman that ends up on the doorstep of a lady inventor.

The Scary Dreadful

Want a little more chills in your read? The Scary dreadful features a braand spanking new spooky story from some of the best Steampunk and Horror writers in the underground and will feature custom art from new talented artists in every issue. I had the pleasure of writing the first story, called The Age of Wonder, about an private investigator in Lexington, Kentucky that encounters some otherworldly artifacts that lead him to a life changing and world altering adventure.

The best part is our website is NOW UP AND RUNNING! Check it out for more information on each issue as well as a store where you can get individual issues, posters and Yearly subscriptions for a very reasonable price!
www.thedreadfuls.com 

We debuted The Dreadfuls at this year's Steamposium in Seattle and it was a huge success! So, if you'd like to get something fun in your mailbox, check out an issue of The Dreadfuls at the website!

Steamposium

Sadly, 2013 was the end of the Steamcon, the con that started it all for steampunk conventions. That left a huge void in Seattle for a large steampunk-centric convention. I was overjoyed to hear that a new one called Steamposium was going to try their hand at it at a convention center right on the pier in downtown.

Like so many cons, I can't say enough good things about it. First off, the staff was shockingly amazing. This was Steamposium's first year and everyone was over the top kind and helpful in every way. The convention center itself was magnificent, a large beautiful place with huge windows, and easy access for all the events. We were located in the artist alley area, with the other authors and artists and I have to say we were pleased as punch to see so many of our old friends as attendees, panelists and vendors. It really was some of the cream of the crop all the way around.

We did well selling our brand new Naughty and Scary Dreadfuls and the entire con was so laid back. There was no pressure from any direction. When there was a slight parking mishap, the con's executive producer personally met us and helped us navigate to our space. For a guy that had everything riding on the con's success, he was the calm, cool and like the rest of the staff, so nice.

While we spent most of the days in the vendor area, we were able to catch the Firefly panel which was awesomely timed right when the vendor hall closed. It was such a treat to see Jewel Staite and Sean Maher speak. After attending we headed back to our hotel, changed and ran right back out for dinner at the once upon a time morgue turned Irish pub, Kell's. Awesome food by the way. We attended the late night birthday ball with music and bar.

We were able to sneak out and see steampunk model, Kato and her steamgirls in their custom made lounge and I got to meet Sean Maher! Yes, the wonderful actor that played Simon on Firefly and the inspiration for my character, Thomas Riley. I was nervous but he was so nice he quickly put me at ease and I was actually able to give the man that inspired Thomas Riley a copy of the book! I got a picture with him and as I was walking away, he stopped me and asked me to sign it... I about fainted. What an honor! Yes, I fanboyed a bit but it was such a great experience! I'll never forget it. And it was a super awesome treat to see John Strangeway, AKA Steampunk Boba Fett, our friend from Atlanta running around being amazing. He even took the time to do a mini photo shoot with the kids and sign pictures for them. We hope to see you soon John!

The con was wonderful and it was successful! We heard they are already planning next year. So stoked to go back. There's not enough thumbs up I can give the entire con.  Before this gets too lengthy, on with the pictures!

Check out this spot on the news about the con:

http://www.king5.com/media/cinematic/video/15064024/steamposium/

Lizzie looking amazing outside by the pier. 

Me with Sean Maher!!!!!

The Kids got to meet Jewel Staite! and her puppy Charlotte. 

Lizzie and her brother Brian in our hotel.

Me with the one, the only, the amazing Steampunk Boba Fett

The kids got to meet Kato and the Steam Girls

Lizzie by the fire escape in the hotel. Yes, they served free beer and we could walk around with it. 

A selected shot from the kids/steampunk boba fett mini photo shoot. 

Us with our good buddy Andy

A customer inspecting the centerfold for our Naughty Dreadful

Steampunk is for everyone

This lady Dressed as Jayne. Epic Costume

Advertising and Updates

First off I need to make a call for anyone that would like to get some free advertising for their project. Lizzie and I are working on a cool project that we will reveal at Steamposium in Seattle on Sept 26th. We're looking for anyone that has a book, project, movie, short film, website. store, anything etc... We will make your ad for you, we just need to know what you'd like to advertise and what you'd like to say in the ad. So please, anyone that would like some free exposure, shoot me an email. Hazeltherabbit@yahoo.com

We even did a photo that you're sure to like. Here's a behind the scenes shot:

Secondly Lizzie will be re-releasing her short Depths of Passion and she has a shiny new cover! We'll let you know when it will be available. Behold the awesomeness:

Ooh! I have a new author pic which I'm pretty excited about. My last one is quite old so it's nice to have an updated one. The cool thing is I should have new ones more frequently now.

In the next blog I will explain this.

The New House

I've been pretty silent on the internet lately because Lizzie and I have been searching for a new house. Due to our last landlord selling our old place early we scrambled to find a suitable new one with the quickness. We found a really cool gem an exit up from our old place and I'm happy to report we couldn't be happier. It fits our needs perfectly and it has a forest and a horse pasture. Pretty stoked since the woods around the house have trails and secret Narnia-esque clearings all through it. It's like our own playground/fortress of solitude all in one. So while I get back to blogging regularly, here are some pics of the new digs henceforth named "La Petite Ferme De Lapin"

Front views

The Fabulous Norwescon

We've never been to Norwescon in Seattle before but I'll start off with saying it was a really awesome time! We had no expectations and really had no idea what it would be like. First off, it was bigger than I thought. There were a ton of people and from the moment we walked in on Thursday night no less, the place was packed.

Liz and I set up in Authors Alley which is right in front of vendor room. (This always seems to work well when you are not actually in the dealer's room) We had super cool neighbors, Richard Beckham II, author of The Tale of Mu and S.C. Barrus, author of the steampunk novel, Discovering Aberration at the Fuzzy Hedgehog Press table. My only regret is that we did not get pictures with them.

The traffic was good and we ended up selling out of all our copies of Thomas Riley, Her majesty's Mysterious Conveyance and Dreams of Steam II. So it was a great con and we'd love to go back next year.

Tons of costumes, tons of enthusiastic people, insanely nice and patient staff, just a great con all around. The only thing I'm bummed we didn't explore more of was the night life. Apparently, there was a ton of awesome things/parties happening at night but we were so busy and beat that we had a drink every night and ended up heading home. We'll have to fix that next year.

Also, it's so great seeing old friends at cons, it's really the best part. This one we got to see Andy Rosenberg, Rick (Stark Raving Nomad), and Vilda Leusch.

So cheers for a great long weekend, great friends, and a great con. Very excited about next year! Thank you Norwescon!

Us with Andy

Battle of the forces

We got bubbles and entertained ourselves

Liz with Rarity

Rick and Andy had a drink with us on Saturday

Nuff said

End of the Con victory drink