The Story of Pavlov and Moose

I bring you the story of young Ensign Pavlov and her benefactor Moose. Pavlov always wanted to be an airship captain. She never had the money to go to the air force academy to learn how to fly. Frustrated as she watched her human counterparts flying the friendly skies, Pavlov gave up her quest to fly... That was until she met the devious pirate cat Moose. At first, being a pirate seemed immoral to innocent Pavlov but her undying love for rawhides, squeaky toys and cheese led her astray.

Being a pirate was a quick and easy way to get all she desired. She could sneak in the trash without retribution. The squirrels in the front yard were now fair game. Nothing was beyond her reach. As she learned the pirating way from mastermind Moose, she went on to conquer the no couch rule, the no begging rule and yes... even the no barking at strangers rule.

Leaving a trail of destroyed chew toys in her wake, the once innocent Pavlov had nothing else to conquer... Or did she? Her cat pirate mentor, Captain Moose the Grumpy stood in her way. She took to attacking him without warning. There was nothing Moose could do. She was in fact bigger than he was. She drove him from scratching the furniture and clawing his masters. The once powerful pirate cat was reduced to hiding atop appliances and dressers. While Pavlov clearly won the battle Moose plots to this day of how to regain his lost power. Today they live in an uneasy peace, always testing the other's boundaries. Who knows who will win, Captian Moose the Grumpy or Ensign Pavlov.

My steampunk novel, Thomas Riley, is now available through Echelon Press. Go here to learn more about the book:
www.sirthomasriley.com
Buy signed copies here:
http://thomasriley.bigcartel.com
or through Echelon:
www.echelonpress.com

Culture in Writing

Using different cultures in stories is one of my favorite parts about writing. As a writer, it makes the story exciting for me and therefore I hope you as well.

In my first novel, "Thomas Riley", the countries of West Canvia and Lemuria are at war. As you get into the story, and if you've ever visited Europe, you might notice that West Canvia bares a striking resemblance to The Netherlands and that Lemuria shares some traits with Germany. If you read the story, note what characters are drinking, what the buildings look like, their clothing, armaments and flags... There are little clues about the different cultures spread throughout the story.

To me, creating a mythos in writing is crucial to the story line. Being a huge fan of the TV series Lost has been inspirational in the deep and sometimes cryptic plot devises that I use. Who says you can't learn from television? I love the idea that a reader can look up a name, a place or a character and get additional hints on what the real meaning might be. This is of course geared toward the more hard core fans of anything, but to me it completes the story as well as gives the story limitless options and depth.

What inspires you to add other cultures in your writing? I want to hear what inspires you.

Nick Valentino wrote a Steampunk novel called Thomas Riley, which will be out on Echelon Press in October.
Check out the blog here.
Click here to enlist as a Canvian Sky Pirate and get free stuff.

Steamy Creativity

Wait...What did you think I meant?

With each passing day, teens are given more opportunities to express themselves creatively. The internet is full of limitless ways for today’s teen to be creative. Blog away, you can say whatever you want on your own blog and not only is it fun and easy, but it’s free too! Being the astute young person that you are, (I mean you’re reading this blog right?) I’m sure you’re already aware of this. My point is go crazy with it. Think outside of the box. Don’t try to copy other people’s blogs. Do what you want to do and what fires you up the most.



I’m going to take this moment to showcase one of my favorite creative oddities on the web. While I hate leading you to another site, check out http://brassgoggles.co.uk/blog This wonderful little blog is made by some good ole chaps in the United Kingdom. The focus is to highlight people’s creativity from around the world when it comes to all tangible things steampunk. Here you will see home made machines, fashion, art, toys, and generally anything and everything that can be converted to look steampunk in style. By the way, yes this laptop works.




In my latest young adult short stories, tentatively called “The Young Alchemists”, I too celebrate the creativity of teens (With a steampunk emphasis of course) through my characters Knox Wallingford, and Lizzy Strauss who themselves are creative diamonds in the rough. As amateur inventors these two unlikely friends find common ground not only in their idols but in their love of making things.



So go forth! Make something, a blog, a website, or an organization to petition the local government to get out of school early. Whatever you do, always make sure it is you and hopefully you have found some of this week’s blogs on Teen Seen not only entertaining, but inspiring.

Nick Valentino

http://nickvalentino.blogspot.com

Goggles, Guns & Corsets. OH MY!

Hello, for those that don't know me, my name is Nick Valentino. Karen found me at the Southern California Writers Conference in San Diego and through a rather random chain of events, we began talking about a growing subculture of Science Fiction and my novel Thomas Riley. I am going to stroll off the beaten path of normal fashion to talk about a sub genre of fiction that has given birth to a new and so far underground fashion that is spinning cosplay on its head. Steampunk.

For those that don’t frequent pop culture cons such as Dragon Con, or The San Diego Comic Con, you may be unfamiliar to the newest subculture fashion frenzy. If so, picture masses of people in Victorian era clothing wandering the halls of some convention center or hotel ballroom decked out in top hats, elaborate filigreed goggles, and a host of copper plated backpacks decorated with everything from blue glowing orbs to giant hoses. No, I am not talking about someone that screwed up their Ghostbusters costume. The steampunk culture is based in fashion. The idea: embrace the intellectual, and look your best while you kick someone’s butt… all while possessing the most genteel of demeanors, of course.What exactly is steampunk you ask? The short and sweet of it is that it is an alternative history. So let’s say instead of electricity being discovered and exploited, that steam and alchemy became the internet boom of the 1800s. So everything is based around steam, gasses, and natural Earth products.

Men usually sport pinstriped dress jackets (extra points if it has tails). A linen shirt topped with a black or brown vest is normally paired with appropriate slacks. As for accessories, a top hat, monocle, wire framed glasses, and pocket watch finish off the outfit. The essential accessory to all steampunk wear, is goggles. In the world of dirigibles, sky pirates and floating rogue battleships, everyone must have goggles. Feel free to put them over your eyes while in action, but while in casual situations, most people have them on their heads.

Ladies, I am not leaving you out by any means. In fact you are the ones that get to wear the good stuff in this subculture. While the guys stay traditional and debonair, you have a little more freedom to express your Victorian inspired style savvy with an array of hats, corsets, wide bottomed dresses, fingerless gloves, ribbon wrapped pony tails, and boots galore. Always remember that the steampunk calling card is the goggles, so ladies, make sure that these are incorporated somehow in your outfit. You surely wouldn’t want to get caught having to fly out of some dangerous situation without them.

Well Nick, you ask, how am I going to wear any of this? I can’t go to a restaurant, club or even a party wearing goggles and a corset on the outside of my dress. On the contrary! Ok, you will be made mercilessly fun of if you show up at a party for some of this, but the way to bring this into real life is to use elements of it. Ladies, it doesn’t matter if you are 12 or 21, you like a nicely dressed guy right? And fellas, don’t you dare tell me that you don’t like a classy well dressed girl in say, some long pony tails and a pinstriped dress.

The trick is to take the elements of steampunk and apply what is appropriate for your social situation. If you are going to a party, ladies wear a nice but off the wall form fitting dress and some riding boots. Gents, put on a sport coat with some nice shoes (the ladies will notice your shoes) and maybe throw on a weathered linen shirt.

Just a few thoughts on the exploding steampunk world and a few ways that you can utilize it to look edgy but classy. Still not sure what I am talking about? Here are a few examples. Enjoy!