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Glorious day, everyone!
Sorry, I haven't been able to blog for a while. I have been busy promoting
Madame Lola's Marvelously Amazing Medicine Show since last October. That is a good thing, I guess. Here is a link to purchase a hardcopy or Kindle download through Amazon and WragsInk Publishing (my Indie Publisher):
http://www.amazon.com/Madame-Lolas-Marvelously-Amazing-Medicine/dp/150293129X/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_pap?ie=UTF8&qid=1414359897&sr=8-1&keywords=Madame+Lola%27s+Marvelously+Amazing+Medicine+Show
Here is my Goodreads page where you can see or place a review:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23464436-madame-lola-s-marvelously-amazing-medicine-show
Check out my personal Goodreads Author Dash to learn a little more about my life as a writer and human being:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7326316.Cathy_T_Colborn
Don't forget! We will have a whole table of Marvelously Amazing books and items found in the series: New Orleans beads, voodoo dolls, worry dolls, steampunk jewelry, locomotive buckles, Wash Away Your Malevolence (homemade soaps), Madame Lola's Millinery (wearable paper hats with charms inside) and much much more.
Now more about the event at the train station in Strasburg, PA...
We have been asked by so many venues and so many fans and so many supporters to join up for all the steampunk fun! Madame Lola and my family (including my wiener dog, The Marvelously Amazing Dexter) have been to the beaches of Cape May, to the banks of New Orleans, and to the rolling greenery of Piscataway (at the
Steampunk World's Fair). The last of which, I wanted to give a short review and info on how to attend this year (some specific details TBA).
First, I have some exciting news for Fall 2015.
We are going to kick off the new school year and give steampunk-loving families their first taste of freedom from school in the 2000's. Are you ready? The lovely people at the Strasburg Train Station, in Pennsylvania, have created (for the third time or so)
Steampunk Unlimited. This event, I have to say, is going to make us time travelers, who feel at ease in the Victorian Era spiced up with our steam inventions, excited to be alive. The beautiful, historical trains are the backdrop for this event and there is more, more, more. I have to post a link in fear that I will not mention it all correctly. I do not want to leave anything out that may deter some fun people from visiting Dexter and I in our marvelously amazing steampunk voodoo booth. Here is the link to the authors and artisans who will be joining me:
http://www.strasburgrailroad.com/train-schedule/events/steampunk-unlimited/authors-and-artisans/
Next...
From the link above, I bet by now, you have perused the whole event. Good for you! It is a steam wonder, isn't it? There is nothing more grounding in our genre as to be dropped right into the action of moving steamers and beautiful Victorian outfits. And the bands! Did I mention the musicians that are going to be there?
I really enjoy when I am selling my books and wares, and it is almost evening, the sun is setting, and in the distance, up on the stage (we usually choose to set up outside because of this) Frenchy and the Punk start to jam. I am pretty sure they are playing Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, so don't miss it. Check that music schedule! There is a link to everything from dining to hotels. From what I hear, there is a cool steamboat hotel link with Victorian rooms that you can visit (I signed on late, and it was booked up. That's okay, with a playful dachshund, I need space in a suite far away, where he gets a breakfast and a break from his fans. Dex has his own fans. He is an amazing groupie and salesman. Actually, sometimes, I am his groupie, I'm pretty sure of it now). Check out the dining cars, and I am reading in the caboose on Saturday and Sunday (TBA).
I promised to tell you (in as few words as possible so you can go buy tickets for Steam Unlimited and SWF 2016) all about
Steampunk World's Fair 2015.
The SWF happens usually in May. In 2015, the theme was the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. I missed the mark on bringing my Dark Alice costume. Yikes! I had one, but I brought every other piece of costume I had. Don't know what I was thinking. Anyway, my job is to meet possible fans and network to get to more events to do the same. We really shouldn't take away from the lovely costumed visitors that pay to attend. Our table was tricked out enough, and I did wear the steam garb, but boy, did I underestimate the number of costumes I needed. It was hot, hot, and rained, and the next evening, it rained again. During the day, it was steamy for sure and this culminated in mass amounts of water and dirt and lightning. Everyone did enjoy the plentiful rooms of two massive hotels and outside sections filled to the brim to shop, eat, and teatime as a steam enthusiast. This was awesome for many hours on end, but the following rainstorms shut down both tent parties that I was looking forward to on Friday and Saturday evening. Still, they had plenty of indoor stuff, and I had my sideshow voodoo lights on and lanterns and candles ready to go....but...boom...closed down for safety reasons. Can't argue with nature. They were
bad storms. Books don't fare well in storms. We had to suck it up, pack it up, and fill up our bellies at a local restaurant. We wanted to go back to hangout with the attendees at the hotel bar, but we watched late night T.V. with Dex. We felt bad to leave him, he was scared of the boomers.
See? We are Dexter's groupies! I told you.
Anyway, Mother Nature was not a fan of SWF in 2015, but that shouldn't discourage you from the awesome event for 2016. It was the most marvelously amazing thing I've ever seen. This is a massive event with everything imaginable for steampunk fans (they open up extra hotel rooms for vendors to take over in BOTH hotels). The coolest thing I witnessed at SWF was the moving vendors with tea in canister backpacks, filling the teacups of any customer, any attendees, who were craving their high tea or four o' clock fix. I am not sure if the links are all filled for the event this year (it takes them a whole year to set up this wonder, and M Events go all out on the planning. They start the very next day of closing the fair). I will post a link here...I'm sure you can figure it out as it fills. Here is a placemat for now:
http://2016.steampunkworldsfair.com/welcome/
I promise this link is amazing when it is filled. It takes time, but when it's coming together note by note, it's a steampunk masterpiece to be viewed daily by your fire, whilst sipping tea.
If you are curious about steampunk, yet you are scared to visit one of these events (due to feeling out of place), then the creator of the Steampunk World's Fair wrote a nice blog on why you have to fear nevermore. This letter touches on everything that may both confuse and excite you, and it was originally posted on February 11, 2012. Here it is:
http://2016.steampunkworldsfair.com/new-to-steampunk/#more-14023 on the Steampunk World's Fair Website.
Lastly,
I have probably distracted you enough from your daily schedule, dear readers. I will let you go on one condition---you come back to check on Madame Lola and my future books' upcoming schedules. See where we are going as a steampunk team with our Marvelously Amazing Medicine Show and continue to visit the wonderful people in the links above. If I can give any last advice on attending these events, it would be to book your hotels early (as you can see, we missed staying in some great steampunk-author-worthy digs) Also, get your tickets early, because sometimes there is an early bird special available. Come buy our book and meet Dex! We are excited to be reading in the caboose at Stasburg with some authors that we both love and admire. Please check the reading schedule on Saturday the 17th and Sunday the 18th! Come and fan out and squeal over cool inventions and costumes with us.
We would love to meet you all,
Cathy T. Colborn (and family)
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