Presenting “A Murder At Midnight”
Tickets are no longer on sale for this event.
The event was an amazing success, thank you all for coming!
Sure, You Can Buy The Book From Us
And, yup, our store is open and ready. You could buy “London, Where It All Began” elsewhere, however we will add a dedication! After your purchase, we will send you a friendly email (supplied by PayPal) enquiring as to what you would like for your dedication in the book. Rules of decorum apply, of course. The other reason to buy from our web site is that we will not be charging for the shipping within the forty-eight contiguous United States. If you need the book shipped outside that area, we will use your email to let you know about the additional shipping costs. The link for the “Books” section of our General Store is below.
Book Release Event
The book features cover art by Brian Kesinger, a foreword by Professor Elemental, and illustrations by Martina Cecilia, Tess Fowler, Otto Arantes Pessanha, Jeff Vaca, Rocky Ormsby-Olivares, and Andrea Izaguirre & David Orenda. These talented artists bring Drake & McTrowell’s first adventure to life in full color. And just in time for holiday gift-giving, hint, hint.
Mysterious Galaxy is graciously hosting the book release event at their new location, 5943 Balboa Ave., San Diego, CA 92111. It will be held on Sunday, November 23, 2014 at 4:00 PM. The location will be so new that our signing will happen on their first day at their new location. Let’s help them get their new digs off to a rousing start! For all of you who live in and near San Diego, we’ll see you there!
See You There!
Ice Bucket Challenge
Silly us!
Comic Con 2014
Birth of a Graphic Novel Panel
Andrew Fogel led the lively “Is It Steampunk” panel with some well known steampunks you might recognize including Claire Hummel, Anina Bennett and Paul Guinan, and Thomas Willeford.
Is It Steampunk?
Not all of Comic Con was steampunk. We attended “Full Time Creativity on a Part Time Schedule.” Gene Turnbow, who does a Herculean job at Krypton Radio, invited us. This isn’t a very flattering picture of him, but I couldn’t resist the image of him looking like he’s living on caffeine to get all that work done.
Gene with Caffeine
Speaking of not steampunk, there were some fabulous costumes that caught my eye despite their lack of gears and leather. I probably would have stuck with scouting as a girl if it had been like this.
Ghoul Scouts
And did someone say pirate? Yar!
Pirate Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn
I have to say that this year was easier on us than recent years. One reason was that our dear friends Jeff and Lisa had onsite parking, and they shuttled us every day. We bumped into Camden Toy on the street. We met him a couple of months before at Aiden Sinclair’s show in LA.
With Camden Toy
We didn’t wear full costumes every single day.
Going Casual the First Day at the League of S.T.E.A.M. Booth
(That’s Drake trying to escape the clutches of the League of S.T.E.A.M.’s mummy!)
We made time for low-key, relaxing fun like the League of S.T.E.A.M. meetup.
The League of S.T.E.A.M Meetup
We went to our favorite Comic Con dinner spot, Café Sevilla, and restored ourselves with loads sangria and paella.
Attending Comic Con is Hungry Work
Of course, one of the high points is always the Saturday steampunk meetup.
Steampunk Meetup
Outside near the back stairs
There were women of action!
Steampunk Women of Action
Inevitably, Bob Mogg debuted his latest creation. It’s a tradition.
Bob’s Latest Constructified Confabulation
But we really get together to celebrate the annual Starburner Galactic Courier Service Awards.
2014 Starburner Galactic Courier Service Awardees
Now, as awesome as all this is, the highlight of the weekend was Andrew Fogel’s proposal to his girlfriend, Kate Walsh. Can you tell she was gobsmacked?
She Said, “Yes!”
We wish them a lifetime of steampunk shenanigans together.
Steampunk Shenanigans
Drake & McTrowell’s Fourth Anniversary
- Twenty four episodes to wrap up our fourth book
- Six conventions
- Duel at Dusk
- The Starburner Award(s)
- The launch of our Zazzle store
- Traipsing around Paris making a Parisian map of Drake & McTrowell’s adventures
- And all the other cool steampunk stuff our friends enticed us to share in
It seems like we all deserved a party for all this hard work. So we had one. We went back to our “traditional” location, Eclipse Chocolate in South Park. This is our third year celebrating with Eclipse and our second at their new South Park location.
In addition to announcements (more about that in a later post),
Drake MC’s the Evening
...there was tasty food.
Yes, Jeff, We See You Demolishing That Cupcake
And there were libations, apparently in conjunction with some kind of sleight of hand by Jonathan Lord Ashleigh.
Sleight of Hand and Libations
I performed a spirited reading from Drake’s episode, “Baby Squirt.”
Wait, This is the Really Exciting Bit!
But, we all know what it’s really all about, getting together with good friends to celebrate our steamy good fortune.
The Chief Inspector and Miss Sarah Slate
I hope we have as much to celebrate next year on our fifth anniversary. Five years, seriously?
These Are a Few of Our Favorite (Clockwork Alchemy) Things
Organization: this is hands down the best organized convention out there, primarily owing to the skills and attention of Thena MacArthur and Sharon Cathcart.
Thena in Only One of the Magnificent, Many-Hued Ensembles She Wore
Respect: this is somewhat related to the organization, but the fact that the literary events are all organized by authors means that the literary contributions of the authors are respected. One of the events they organized this year was a book release party where the authors all read from their latest books. And for all of you who were there, “Vive la France!”
The Book Release Party
Tea: no beverage symbolizes steampunk like tea. Clockwork Alchemy hosts a tea room that is a delightfully sublime venue for resting ones feet while enjoying a refreshing cup’a tea. And it’s all powered by the almighty tea engine.
The Tea Engine
This attendee seems to have come prepared.
Too Much Tea Woman
Friends: we always make amazing new friends at Clockwork Alchemy. Last year we met the Sikes’. This year they brought along their adorable mini-mes. Dr. Messenger made their costumes.
Belinda Sikes and the Twins
They invited us to participate in their Mad Scientists’ Character Creation Panel. We brought our own lab coats.
You Say “Mad” Like It’s a Bad Thing
Drake played the dead-ish monster.
I’m Not Dead Yet
And a marvelous time was had by all the participants.
See, Not So Mad After All
This year we met Andrew Crockett and his wife.
I Can Steampunk That
I swear I’m not making up this next part. I came back early from a long business trip right before Clockwork Alchemy. I was talking to my boss just before leaving for San Jose and I commented that my early return was fortunate because my original schedule would not have allowed me to be completely prepared. He cracked that I might have arrived in San Jose to discover that I’d packed nothing but aloha shirts. And then I met Andrew; true story.
Renown: everyone knows us. We were perusing the offerings of the vendors when one of them waved down Drake. One of the owners had had her picture taken with Drake in his Mall Copper costume during Gaslight Gathering and was proudly displaying it in their booth.
Mall Copper Squared
Drake & McTrowell’s Hot Potato School of Writing is now sufficiently well known that we have lots of volunteers. This year the Aether Brigade pitched in...hilarity ensued. Special thanks to most excellent newbie Assistant Jen.
Hot Potato School of Writing a la Aether Brigade
Telegrams: this is the only con that offers this particularly delightful treat. They have a telegraph office. One has only to send them a text message including the name of the recipient and their location. An extremely energetic page boy delivers a printed telegram with much fanfare and volume.
Telegram for the Judge!
They even deliver to the bar where one might relax and enjoy a libation and a bit of sushi with ones steampunk companions.
The Aftermath
Entertainment: I didn’t get any good pictures of the amazing fashion show arranged by Kory Doyle, but the ensembles were smashing. And finally, Lee Presson and the Nails rocked the rafters of the ballroom with their irrepressible style.
Lee Presson - Not Entirely Nailed to the Stage
We’ve already committed to be there next year! One final note: birthday. Clockwork Alchemy always falls on or near my birthday, so I get to spend my birthday at my favorite steampunk convention with my steamy sweetie and my favorite steampunk friends. What could possibly be better?
Of course, pictures from the Hot Potato School of Writing and the Mad Scientists’ Character Creation Panel are a gift from Lisa. Check out her website, San Diego Steampunk for steampunk happenings in our home town and the surrounding locale.
Gaslight Gathering 2014
All the Young(ish) Dudes (and the Amazing Lady Amethyst)
Drake rocked the hottest steampunk Internet meme with his Mall Copper uniform.
You’re Dressed Too Fancy (With a Nod to Poplock Holmes)
One of the subtle highlights of the costume was a custom carousel pin Sparky commissioned from Rae-Wolf Designs.
Carousel Pin
Egged on by William Swanson’s idea for an amazing sceptre, ...
The Making of the Sceptre
...Sparky went outside her normal costuming zone of comfort and assembled a steampunk Queen of Hearts costume that she debuted at the ball.
Off With Their Heads, Well Not Her Head, but the Rest of You
Sparky went to a lot of vendors to pull together this costume:
- Riding top hat by the Blonde Swan
- Capelet by Stitch Trickery
- Corset by Mad Girl
- Bloomers by Steamtropolis
- Bustle by Kyla’s Keepsakes
- Bracers by Feathery Leathery
- Tights by Pamela Mann
- Boots by Doc Martens
We mixed it up on the dance floor in our new duds.
Dancing Machine(s)
And then there was Professor Elemental leading the conga line because, well, that’s a thing. With a pint in his hand, no less.
Conga + Cerveza
But it wasn’t all costuming. There was the reproduction Electriquette that Kim Keeline arranged to have available. This was even more fun than it looks like here!
Whoa!
To our great delight, Madame Askew was there with her crew to officiate yet another epic round of tea dueling. It started off particularly well for Sparky with the success of Dr. Sparky’s Gluten Free Tea Dueling Biscuits (r. Sparky's Gluten Free Tea Dueling Biscuits">see our post from 5/3/2014). But then there was the grudge match during the finals between Adam Green and Bear. The whole affair was so overwrought that Chief Inspector Drake (undercover as a Western marshal) had to be called in to break it up and force them to settle the matter like gentlemen on the field of tea.
Settle This Like Gentlemen on the Field of Tea
And we did the Martian Edition of the Drake & McTrowell’s Hot Potato School of Writing. Hopefully you didn’t miss us just because the description in the program wasn’t quite correct.
Marvin the Martian in His Martian Underoos (They Match!)
Kelly Varner and Karina Montgomery certainly livened up the the “Hot Potato” proceedings with their witty improvisation.
Our Guest Authors
We certainly hope that all our steamy friends had just as much fun!
Proclaiming Duel at Dusk 2014 a Success!
Good Thing We Had So Many Chairs
(Thanks to both the Lapidary Society for providing the chairs and Grady for all his help lugging them)
May I Sell You Something Steamy?
(Vendors included Wyng’d Lyon, Hootie’s Perch, Indigo Lane Designs, Gears and Roebuck, Perpetual Motion Creations & Cameron Theatrical Design, The Elegant Harlot, and Rae Wolf Designs)
We had fierce competitors.
Lucius McMonocle
(Played by Ed Pogue)
Rupert Pennyfarthing
( Played by Bryan Bishé )
Stanley Cephalopod
(Played by Ashok Pathi)
Victor Victrola
(Played by Sergey Riezaiev)
Everyone got swag.
Swag Bag Contents + a Trophy
The fencing was very exciting!
Cat Like Reflexes
This Isn’t Epee and That’s Not Target
It’s Also Not Ballet, but It’s Just As Spectacular
Of course, Drake was our intrepid MC.
Intrepid MC
(Played by David Drake a.k.a. Chief Inspector Erasmus Drake)
He did an excellent job of explaining fencing.
This Way to the Fencing
And making it clear what is and is not a regulation weapon.
Clearly Not an FIE-Approved Weapon
(FIE is the international fencing association)
And Sparky made too much food, as usual.
So Much Food
The Starburner Galactic Courier Service’s Strato Sculpin was a huge hit!
Jeb and Barbara Enjoying the Strato Sculpin
You Steer it With That Thingamajig
(Getting Some Direction from Kim Hutsell a.k.a. Lithobius Quick)
Strato Sculpin “Nose” Art
Gear Hands!
At the end of the evening, Rupert Pennyfarthing took 1st, Victor Victrola took 2nd, and Lucius McMonocle took 3rd.
And the Winner Is...!
Justin Hoke won the Trifecta Trophy for having the ticket that predicted the outcome.
Trifecta!
So, he had to have his picture taken with the two makers of the trophy.
Justin and William Swanson
Kim Hutsell and Justin
Although this has been a light-hearted romp through the evening’s festivities, a lot of people committed a lot of their time and energy to making the evening such a success including the Starburner Galactic Courier Service, the fencers, the vendors, and the volunteers.
Way to Go Team!
Dr. Sparky's Gluten Free Tea Dueling Biscuits
As Thanksgiving would approach, I would notice people at work getting friendlier. Some would even be so bold as to ask when “cookie weekend” was going to be. Would I be sure to drop by their offices with the tins before I deposited them in the coffee room where the ravening hordes of locusts would descend on them? True story, I had a boss who claimed he put me on an important project even before he knew about my programming skills just because he noticed my cookies and figured that was a good skill set to have on his project. (That project changed my life and career, although that was due to my engineering skills.) I have one friend who refers to me and my mother as “Cookie Lady and Cookie Mom.”
Apologies for the nostalgic stroll down memory lane; I’ll come back to the point. This is the book that started it all for me.
The Joy of Cooking - 1953 Edition
My great grandmother gave my mother a copy of this edition for junior high school graduation in 1953 when it was just published. That copy is so beaten up it’s barely recognizable, but it still works. Mom found this copy of the 1953 edition for me in 1998.
The first time I ever tea dueled at Wild Wild West Con 2013, Madame Askew had gluten free tea dueling biscuits. Sadly, all agreed that they were woefully inadequate to the task, more like hockey pucks than proper biscuits. When we attended Wild Wild West Con this year, there was no gluten free dueling because she was unable to find a suitable weapon. And then she made some rash comment about eternal tea dueling glory for the person who could deliver this elusive weapon (or something to that effect, I swear). Challenge accepted!
Over the course of a month, I baked and tested 4 different versions with 4 additional sub-versions. And you know I kept detailed experimental notes. Drake and I tested some. Thanks to the San Diego Tea Duelists for their tests and reviews. This week, just two days before the start of Gaslight Gathering, I arrived at version 4.0.
Dr. Sparky’s Gluten Free Tea Dueling Biscuits - Version 4.0
Yesterday, during day 1 of Gaslight Gathering, I presented a tin of 18 biscuits to Madame Askew and she tested them during Tea Dueling 101. And they worked! To show her appreciation for this accomplishment, she presented me with the coveted Tucson Steampunk Society Tea Dueling Badge.
Tea Dueling Badge of Honor
So, what about the book that started it all? I started from the Butter Thins recipe and successively altered it using the skills I learned from Mom to achieve just the right structure and texture. Oh, did I mention that they’re also tasty? So, here’s the recipe you’ve been waiting for.
Dr. Sparky's Gluten Free Tea Dueling Biscuits
Cream together
- .5 c. unsalted butter (room temperature)
- .5 cup sugar
Beat in
- 2 egg yolks
- .5 tsp. vanilla
Beat in (there’s no gluten, so you don’t have to worry about them getting tough)
- 1 c. rice flour
- Pinch of nutmeg (to taste)
Press evenly into a lightly greased, segmented brownie pan. Bake for 12 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove the divider while the cookies are still warm. Makes 18. Store in an airtight container once they cool. They work better when they’re fresh.
About that segmented brownie pan. It ensures that the biscuits are a uniform, proper size for tea dueling, and that all of the biscuits have “edges,” which is also important to stability. This one on Amazon is very similar to the one I have including it makes the right number. I don’t know where mine was purchased because it was a gift from Mom.
Happy Mother’s Day, Cookie Mom, from the Cookie Lady who’s so very proud to be your daughter.
Wild Wild West Con 2014
The Judge Steaming Up the Desert with the Turleys
It’s where we first learned about tea dueling from the Tucson Steampunk Society. Here’s a posse heading off to a duel. Note the serious determination on their visages.
Tea Dueling Posse
If you didn’t have the great privilege of witnessing the finals, I’ll clue you in. The Judge beat the Prussian in the most dramatic, theatrical duel we have ever had the thrill of witnessing! And here’s the winner explaining to his chagrined opponent that it’s all in the wrist.
Winning Tea Strategy
Is it safe to assume that you’re familiar with the dangerous, top-hat wearing, carousel riders meme? Well, there’s a carousel at Old Tucson Studios. Sadly, it’s currently non-functional, so we were unable to ride. But the gracious staff at the theme park allowed the San Diego Steampunks to have a meet-up in front of it. Extra bonus, Poplock Holmes showed up and performed his new number, “Carousel,” just for us!
Dangerous Top Hat Wearing Riff-Raff
Of course, Poplock also did a couple of regular performances for all the attendees.
Monster Hunters!
The crew of Airship Isabella was there. Keep an eye out for some of their illustrations in our forthcoming print book, “London, Where It All Began.”
Momma Warned You
Because we’re steampunks, we can steam up anything. Bowler + gear + mustache + Dalek = …
…Steam Dalek
One of our favorite panels was given by David Lee Summers. His fans know that he’s an astronomer in his day job. He gave a really fun panel on the history of the Martian “canals” that was also incredibly informative. Now that’s my idea of a great panel.
Martian Canals
The park has a rule that we have to vacate the park before evening events, and then they let us back in right before the event. Since Old Tucson is on the far side of the Tucson Mountains from Tucson, dinner options are limited. Here’s the Texas solution; annex a portion of the parking lot for a barbecue. Does Miss Jocelynne look like she’s up to some kind of shenanigans?
Parking Lot of Texas
In closing, I just have to ask, why do two people need so much stuff for a weekend? Seriously, somebody call Mary Poppins and order me a carpet bag or ten!
Traveling Light, Not!
If you’ve never been to Wild Wild West Con, you should really make the effort to make it next year. It’s an amazing, immersive experience. We’ll be there.
Steampunk Symposium 2014
Chief Inspector Drake Investigates the Queen Mary’s Engine Room
Relieved of presentation duties, we sampled various entertainments. I’m not sure what the highlight was.
Was it Aiden Sinclair’s amazing illusions? That’s Aiden there in the middle. He entertained us for hours with his amazing skills.
I Feel a Magical Conspiracy Coming On
I like to think of myself as a skeptic, but I was the subject of one of his illusions and neither I nor any of our friends in the audience could figure out how he did it.
Since there were no actual adults present, Drake engaged in a little tentacle-y sock puppetry during the Cthulhu Prayer Breakfast.
Sock-re Bleu (and a Little Orange)
And we helped arrest some of the L.O.S.E.R.s…
...In Slow Motion
That Mellivora Rathbone; she’s nothing but trouble.
Lee Presson was there with The Nails giving his usually swinging concert, but the next day he gave the most inspired, energetic Poe reading I’ve ever heard.
Who Knew He Had This Skill?
Dyno Staats was there and up to his usual shenanigans. As you can see, he was very concerned about our pushing the buttons on his contraptions.
Science!
Okay, I’m pretty sure it had to be the off-the-hook party in the Suite de Vacas.
It’s Not What it Looks Like
What you can’t hear is the loud music that Drake’s “dancing” to and you can’t see the crush of people at the party. I swear. Really. Lisa Vaca took this picture and she’ll swear to it, won’t you, dear?
I really have to come up with an acronym that means “Thank Lisa, yet again, for the awesome pics.” Nope, it just doesn’t roll off the tongue.
Well, it was a fantastic time. Going back to the day job was really, really tough. Need sleep...
L'aventure Parisienne de Drake et McTrowell
Well, we had the good fortune to be in Paris over New Year’s, so I’ve assembled a new one, “L'aventure Parisienne de Drake et McTrowell.” On their way to and from the Bavarian Airship Regatta, Drake & McTrowell had time for some unplanned adventures in Paris. This map highlights locations of these unplanned adventures and illustrates them with pictures we took along the way.
Now here is the trick to enjoying the map. Click on one of the links, and …wait… until the picture shows up. Google takes its time to download all of the images in the map pushpin descriptions. It loads all the images at once, so that’s the only waiting you’ll have to do.
Click on the map image to get the Google Map
Bon aventure!
Announcing the Upcoming “Duel at Dusk” Event
What would happen if you had the excitement of the finals of a sporting event, fencing no less, combined with a steampunk parlor event? Well, that’s easy to answer! You would have “Duel at Dusk,” a nice Sunday evening show (March 16th) with Chief Inspector Erasmus Drake as the Master of Ceremonies, comestibles by Dr. Sparky McTrowell, steampunk and fencing vendors, awards and prizes.
Tickets are now on sale through the Drake & McTrowell General Store. Click here!
Click Here to Get the Poster (in PDF)
Also, as a special treat, we will be displaying (for the first time to the public) the Starburner Galactic Courier Service’s Strato Sculpin!
Here are the details:
See the Thrilling Finals of a Contemporary Foil Match Utilizing Electrified Scoring Apparatus! Cheer on Your Selected Champion! Wear Your Best Fineries and Join Us! There will also be:
• Refreshments Provided • Steampunk Vendors • A Fencing Booth • The Strato Sculpin! • And Much, Much More...
Intrigued by Steampunk? Never seen anything like it before? Eager to see the latest Retro-victorian Fashion? Now is your chance!!
5 P.M. to 8 P.M. on Sunday the 16th of March, 2014
Location: Team Touché Fencing Center
11468 Sorrento Valley Rd. Suite A-1
San Diego, California 92121
On-line tickets may be purchased for $12 (only available until March 15, 2014). Having a PayPal account is not necessary to purchase on-line tickets. Price of admission at the door on the day of the event will be $15, cash only.
Steamcon 2013
Although the theme was “Around the World,” I detected a note of Bavarian Airship Regatta. There were Russians. We still miss the brave Ivan Krasnayarubashka.
Russkiye Steampunki
I thought I spotted our villainess in the crowd.
Of course, we had to have McTrowell saving Drake from certain death at the hands of the pirate queen.
Saving Drake in the Bavarian Airship Regatta
Of course, it all had a happening ending.
Smooching in the Clouds
In other news, Baron Von Fogel of the League of S.T.E.A.M. was there. Is it just us, or is everyone dying for them to start Season Three?
Baron Von Fogel
The masquerade had many treats to offer. I particularly liked this one.
Masqueradeness
But I think these two were king and queen of the steam geek prom.
We Rule
And you know the comic-reading, Comic-Con-going, steampunk adventuress in me just could not resist these three.
DCU Steampunk Chicks
Final note of happy news: apparently there’s going to be a Steamcon VI! There was some question about this at the end of Steamcon V, but I found their website as I was preparing this bloop. Nobody tell Drake that I’m going to volunteer us to do “Drake & McTrowell’s Hot Potato School of Writing. ©”
