A New Map of the Universe by Annabel Smith is a novel about the silences within and between people. The title comes from a wonderful sentence, “He gave her a new map of the universe and then he left her to navigate her way through it alone.” (p. 65)

Annabel writes in a spare poetic language. Initially, I found the use of present tense distracting, but it does give a sense of immediacy. You are invited into the character’s personal world.

The opening is strong, seducing the reader (and Grace, the heroine) with stories of the stars and with the intensity of a new love affair. The ending balances the opening and together they pin the structure of the book.

On a personal note, I enjoyed the mention of Teresa of Avila. I admire her books, how her personality crosses centuries and translation from the original Spanish.

A New Map of the Universe is a lovely book with a strong sense of place.

You have to change the bag some day.

Promises by Cathryn Hein opens with a perfect balance between an absorbing portrayal of the world of horse training and the slow reveal of secrets. The tension sustains beautifully and becomes the emotional journey to maturity of the heroine, Sophie. There’s drama in the journey, but I could believe the ending. And I have to confess, I sniffled at times. I do love a story that engages me to that extent–though only when I trust the author to deliver a happy ending!

A wonderful Australian romance.

The Transportation Problem

Poor old nags. They shuffled in
on a gust of gin. Sobbed, swore,
died. Rotten blood, everywhere.
Pox-riddled clocker’s yard.

Rip out their guts. Add
shiny gears — worth a fortune,
worth eight lives –
the rubber bladder, the mercury.
Pour your tea,
sip and watch the moon call out
unbreakable bones, silver skin.

Sell ‘em on. The toffs adore
riding high on silver whores.

[There's an edginess to steampunk that attracts me, but I tend to like my fictional dramas balanced with a happy ever after. I guess poetry is the natural fit for me in exploring steampunk's PUNK.]

[For Australian and New Zealand readers, and you are who I'm trying to lassoo, the time conversion means the chat is on 5 May (Saturday) at 11am Sydney time and 9am Perth time.]

I would love (which is code for “I am begging, pleading and grovelling”) for a great turnout of Australian and New Zealand steampunk enthusiasts. I’ll prompt discussion with questions like:

What is steampunk in the Antipodes? themes? motifs? issues?
What do you think of when you hear “Antipodes”? kangaroos?
What got you interested in steampunk?
What would you like to see in Antipodean steampunk?
As Antipodean steampunkers, where do you find your inspiration?
Are the Antipodes more than a dumping ground for troublesome fellows?

I know communicating in 140 characters isn’t easy, but you’re steampunkers. You can do it!

At the end of the hour, there’ll be five minutes for a self-promo tweet from everyone (please hold off on self-promo till then or as a newbie host, I’ll become fumble fingered with stress).

These #steampunkchats are a lot of fun. You can read transcripts of them here. If you have any questions beforehand, please leave a comment on this post — or tweet me @Jenny_Schwartz.

And while I’m thinking about Twitter … I’ve started a public list of Australian and New Zealand steampunkers on Twitter. If you’d like to be on it, just tweet #Ozsteampunk and I’ll add you.

A fervent thank you for reading this far — and I hope to see you Saturday!

[For everyone who is not an Aussie or Kiwi ... do not think that let's you out! The Antipodes are for everyone and the chat won't be any fun without you ... I'm thinking if things get slow we could have a discussion on Antipodean and steampunk slang ]

A Taste of Life and Love in Australia by Margaret Lynette Sharp is a collection of gentle, heartwarming stories that quietly reflect on life.

There is an effective simplicity to Margaret’s writing that means she, as author, doesn’t get in the way of her characters connecting with readers. Lines like “…the deep, limitless blue of our summer sky” from the short story, “A Storm in Summer”, draw you into a personal experience.

I can’t put my finger on why these stories feel distinctly Australian to me (I’m a woeful reviewer!), but they do. I think it may be the easy rhythm of the dialogue. It feels like natural speech to me as an Australian reader. That being said, as I read the collection I found myself searching for an elusive memory of where I’ve read such pleasant, companionable short stories before — the answer is the UK magazine, The People’s Friend. Margaret’s stories have the same compassionate, entertaining humanity.

The thing is, I don’t think my poems are amazing must-read creations. Sometimes I don’t even think they’re finished creations. For me writing poetry has a two-fold purpose.

First, poetry is about playing with words. It’s my way of listening to how words sound when they’re put together and finding ways that put them together strongly and with emotional impact.

The second reason I write poetry is because sitting there with a pen and a scratched over page of paper is one way of breaking down a complicated idea or nailing an elusive one. Writing poetry is a way of exploring an idea from the inside out.

So there you go, that’s what I’m doing with the poems I’ll be sharing on this blog … you’ll be seeing how I think. You know it’s going to be messy, right?

#steampunkchat is very relaxed and exceptionally welcoming. Everyone is encouraged to join in — even if like me, you’re more “audience” than “creative artist”. The world needs people like us who gasp in awe and applaud. You can find transcripts of the chats here, if you want to know more about them.

I’m keen that the 4 May chat on “Off to the Antipodes” introduces a range of Australian and New Zealand steampunkers to the world. So whatever kind of creative artist you are (hat maker, jewellery designer, steam-automobile engineer, musician, author) I want you to be part of it. In the last five minutes of the chat I’ll shout out for everyone to share one self-promo tweet. Before then (i.e. for 55 self-disciplined minutes) the conversation will be a conversation and I’ll expect you all to shine with witty repartee and bemusing Antipodean slang

However, for all this to happen, I need to reach Australian and New Zealand steampunkers who are willing to tweet. This is surprisingly difficult. I decided what I need is a list of such rare and priceless beings. So I’ve put out a call on Twitter. I’m creating a public list of everyone who tweets the hashtag #Ozsteampunk. That way everyone who tweets it self-identifies as a steampunker from Down Under and happy to join the twittering community of creative imaginations.

I hope this helps build the Antipodean steampunk community.

Of course, there is always the embarrassing risk that such a Twitter list already exists and I’m reinventing the wheel. If I am, can someone quietly nudge me? Thanks

Gorgeous cover, isn’t it?

Black Glass by Meg Mundell definitely met the Australian Women Writers Challenge to read outside my comfort zone. Dystopian YA with no guarantee of a happy ending? To prove I’m no coward I cracked open the book (thanks to my local library for getting in a copy ) and started reading.

It was good. Vivid writing with sharp landscapes and characters. The jagged scene and point of view switches helped to build the mood of a disjointed world.

Black Glass is a dream of the future where the only salvation is in committing to a relationship. People survive within a society structured to destroy them.

Maybe it’s a theme for all dystopian novels (maybe you’ve gathered I don’t read them much), but I noticed the issue of morality — of creating and abiding by something — seemed fairly explicit.

It was the little points — like the difficulty of clean drinking water — that made Black Glass so compelling. This was an ordinary world with big and little dramas. The big ideas drove the story, but it’s the details that make you care.

The scary thing was how easy it is to see today’s Australia in Black Glass.