A Steaming Hot Cup of Holmes, Please!

Back in January of last year, Lady Ann Wilkes of SFOO wrote of her generational run from the Pinkertons dating back to the turn of the century which you can read about here. Another famous detective is getting the same Steampunk treatment and it’s none other than Sherlock Holmes! Noble Beast, LLC is the publisher and seemingly using Steampunk Holmes to look to the future of publishing while relishing an alternate past. I love folks who think forward and it seems that Noble Beast has done just that. Steampunk Holmes is in development as an interactive iPad app, but if you’d like to quench your thirst for all things Steampunk Holmes there is an e-book version available now.

Other app features that are in development include:

* 31,000-word steampunk adaptation of the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle story: "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans" (c.1912)
* Interactive story with audio, illustrations, and animations
* Pop-up diagrams of devices in the story
* Pop-up portrait and biographies of characters
* Interactive map shows landmarks and character locations at any point in the story
* In-app catalogue featuring music and other steampunk-themed items for sale

Written by Argentine, PC Martin, Steampunk Holmes: Legacy of the Nautilus takes us on a journey to find the Nautilus after news reaches Holmes of his sister Mycroft being kidnapped. Along with Doctor Watson (who dons a bionic arm) they embark on a worldwide journey that spans the works of Verne, Shelley and Wells.

The art by Daniel Cortes is dazzling and screams of an action-packed story. I’d strongly encourage you to keep track of the development of this project as it seems as promising as it is “exciting”!

Leonardo Ramirez is an author of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Visit leonardoverse.com for more information. Jupiter Chronicles is a Steampunk Children’s series available in September. Click here to order Jupiter Chronicles!

Pictures and gamer and gadget goodies

I didn't get around to posting these pictures from the book fair. They were taken by Camille Picott's mother. That's Camille with me on the Redwood stage after the Broad Universe reading at the Sonoma County Book Festival on September 24th.

I read "Troll Games".

I never get tired of reading that. It works so well for a short reading because I can read the whole thing - or a slightly abridged version - in three minutes. And it's fun to read with the troll voice and everyone laughs at the ending. I'm seriously considering recording it and putting it on my website for readers to get a tiny taste of my funny side. As I've said before, I write in two flavors: funny or tragic. Occasionally, I combine the two. I love irony!





I've had several game-related press releases lately and thought I'd give them some airtime. Here's some eye candy for the gamers out there.



Gameforge interviewed Star Trek DS9 actors Nana Visitor (Kira Nerys) and Rene Auberjonois (Odo) about their upcoming release of Star Trek Infinite Space. You can view an HD trailer on the its website.



The load-down from Gameforge about its free-to-play online game:

About Star Trek - Infinite Space

Star Trek - Infinite Space is set in the diverse "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" timeline focusing on the looming war with the menacing "Dominion," featuring:

* The first browser-based Star Trek game eliminating the need to download a client

* Advanced Unity 3D technology, delivering rich 3D graphics in the web browser

* Some of the series' most beloved characters and recognizable locations

* Easy-to-pick-up gameplay, and is enjoyable for both casual and hardcore gamers

Star Trek - Infinite Space is slated for a late 2011 release. Players can secure exclusive items and benefits, such as beta key priority, by pre-registering for the game at http://landing.startrek-is.com.

Now this is the kind of thing that makes me wish I had an iPad. I'm just going to have to leave it to my buddies, Allen M. Steele and Greg Bear to tell you how great it is. Bear reviews it at Tor.com. And according to the publicist, Steele endorsed it with, “Journey to the Exoplanets turns your iPad into a starship. What an amazing app!” Here's a peek at what this iPad app from Scientific American in collaboration with Farrar, Straus and Giroux can do.


Finally, this was just way too cool not to share. An invisibility cloak. No. Really. Check it out. First, here's the video.