I write steampunk fantasy romances. You ask what in the world is steampunk? Per the Urban Dictionary, steampunk is a subgenre of speculative fiction, usually set in an anachronistic Victorian or quasi-Victorian alternate historical setting. In other words, it’s what the past would look like if the future had happened sooner. Steampunk includes fiction with science fiction, fantasy or horror themes. Add steam era technology to make highly complicated, advanced machines, and you have a steampunk novel.

Still confused? Think movies like Wild, Wild West, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Van Helsing, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Hell Boy, Sleepy Hollow, Young Sherlock Holmes, Stardust, City of Ember, and Time After Time. If you’re into anime, you’re probably familiar with Howl’s Moving Castle, Full-Metal Alchemist, and Steamboy, all are representative of steampunk.

To flavor the feeling of a steampunk setting, I like to involve the proper speech of the British in an alternate Victorian era. Victorian times included the Enlightenment Period, where the Crown encouraged inventions and forward-thinking. So much was discovered. Some of the discoveries were not recognized and fell to the wayside in favor of others, which were developed and enhanced. What if the dirigible had been favored over the airplane? What would the world have been like? What developments could have been done to a dirigible that were neglected in favor of the development and advancements of the aerodynamic airplane? What about cars? What if gasoline was never used, but instead other forms of energy was employed? Lighter fuel to make steam. I have fun calling cars by names I invented—such as the steamcoup or the steamphaeton—a spinoff of the tall carriages driven in the Regency era. In The Copper Tuners I have one of the characters invent a jetpack that he calls a HaloJet, which runs on hydrogen.

Another way to add texture to a Steampunk setting is playing with fashion. Remember, this is an alternate world: history follows a different timeline. It can be slightly or vastly different. Corsets can be worn over dresses; skirts can be frivolous and they can be short or long. Women can wear knickers. Shoes can have buckles, or lace, or both. Women can wear Wellington or Hessian boots with the dresses. Men can wear top hats decorated with gears and cogs. My heroines wear top hats too, but decorated with lace and other frippery. I also like to have a female character in a derby, or even an Admiral’s tricorne.

Guns are blunderbusses, or rayguns. Swords can be made with different alloys, or even turned into electric, or laser swords. Add fantasy into the mix and I can invent all kinds of fun gadgets!

If you’re visual like me, go to //pinterest.com/gloriaharchar/ to see examples of steampunk gadgets and fashions.

Gloria Harchar has two Bachelor’s degrees: One in Education with a concentration in English and the other in Accounting. And a Master’s of Science degree in Instructional Design and Technology. Her love is writing romance, and being able to write the stories that are begging to be told! Her steampunk series is called The Lumière Chronicles. Her latest, The Copper Tuners, is now available here.

Learn more about Gloria at her website: //gloriaharchar.com/blog/