The Importance of Villainy

Looking for a little Arabian Nights to go with your Steampunk, have we got the story for you! Today's guest blogger, writer/editor Danielle Ackley-McPhail talks about the challenges she and co-writer (and fellow editor) Day Al-Mohamed faced in re-imagining Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves for the Victorian Age--and our own.  Take it away, Danielle:

Stories are about conflict. Internal, external….it does not matter, as long as there is a something for our hero to overcome. Nowhere in fiction is this more prevalent than in faerie tales. Above all else, in faerie tales, there must be a villain. Why, you ask? Because as cautionary tales, these stories are about overcoming danger—or falling victim to it. Without true risk there is no payoff in a faerie tale. No happily ever after without the chance that the prize will slip through the hero’s grasp.

In my recent novel Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn, co-written with Day Al-Mohamed, villainy abounds as is only fitting for a novel based on the tale Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. You remember the tale, don’t you? The humble and poor man who finds a cavern of treasure hidden by a band of thieves is one most of us have heard as children in one form or another. Our version is a steampunk envisioning steeped in the magic of the original and honest in the threat to our Ali, a faithful tinkerer’s apprentice who finds himself guardian to a shah’s treasure trove.

Inheriting a sacred charge from his father, Ali must find a way to thwart the band of thieves who have taken control of the cavern where these riches have lain protected for many years. Our challenge? How to transform a tale everyone knows? How do we achieve the risk…the tension sprung from the danger of our thieves, when virtually everyone knows how the story plays out?

The key is in the villains. With so many in this tale we needed to wake fear in the readers’ hearts by capturing the very essence of evil. A sorcerer who cannot die, who will not be freed until he completes his task: capturing the treasure and delivering it to his master. A powerful man. A ruthless man. One with no respect for anything beyond his own desires. One like Rassul Maroun…

Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn
by Danielle Ackley-McPhail and Day Al-Mohamed (Palomino Press, 2014)

Come, Best Beloved, and sit you by my feet. I shall tell you a tale such as sister Scheherazade could have scarce imagined… 

In the Nejd there is nothing at all…except secrets. A band of thieves wish such secrets to remain hidden. 

In England, far from his desert home, Ali bin-Massoud serves as apprentice to the famed Charles Babbage. One night a mysterious box is delivered by a clockwork falcon and Ali’s world is never the same again. Heartache, danger, and thieves mark his journey as Ali is summoned home at the death of his father. 

It will take faith, knowledge, and yes, love to realize his destiny, and more than a little skill with steam-driven technology. Can he unravel the mystery of the puzzle box and the clockwork djinn before it is too late? An ancient legacy and Ali's very life depend on his success. 

Hear you the tale of Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn...

Excerpt:

In silence the riders galloped across the desert, their tack silenced and their horses’ hooves covered in cloth. Moonlight limned them like specters gliding over the sands. Dread clung to their robes. Swinging down before their mounts had fully stopped, they hurried into their lair, a cavern whose stone roof rose above the desert, a deeper shadow in the darkness.

 Handing the reins to others of their band, the men strode to their leader, Rassul Maroun, who sat at a marble table ignoring them as he studied a scrap of parchment. The returning men knelt before him, heads bowed and the backs of their right hands pressed to their foreheads in tight fists. Torchlight flickered over thick silver bands engraved with identical markings visible across their inner wrists: a coiled viper poised to strike emblazoned over crossed khanjars. They knelt there on aching knees for long silent moments as their leader finally let his gaze rise from the parchment.

“Tell me of your success,” Rassul ordered, his voice rumbling low, like the threat of a pending storm. He stood slowly, aware of the impression he made as his lean, well-muscled body unfolded from the chair to tower above all present. He walked toward the prostrate men, his steps whisper soft. Stopping in front of one, Rassul traced the symbol on the man’s wrist before shoving the hand aside to grip the man’s chin tight, forcing his gaze upward until their eyes locked.

 The man trembled, blinking furiously as he swallowed hard. “The horse fled too swiftly, master,” the unfortunate man answered. “We followed but could not draw near enough before it reached the gates of Wadi Al-Nejd. The guards took the beast in and closed the gates.” He gulped again, sharp, as if swallowing a plump date. “We could follow no further.”

Rassul tightened his grip, almost pulling the man up by his jaw. “Your orders were to follow that beast and learn from where it came, that we might ensure no other knows the secret of our lair.”

“Yes, master.”

Rassul dragged the man to the table and tapped the surface. “Allah has blessed you with two eyes, that you might see the world. Do you see this?”

“Yes, master.”

“Are you certain? Because with the sanctity of our cache at risk it is important to be absolutely certain. Would you swear by Allah?” As he spoke Rassul moved his hand to the back of the man’s neck in a lighter grip. Beneath his fingers the thief trembled. “What is it you see?” Rassul asked.

“A m-ma…ma…” The man could not finish.

Rassul tsked. “I think you are not certain at all,” he said after a moment of the man’s stammering. Locking his grip hard on the man’s neck, his hand took on the glow of power as he slammed him forward into the table’s surface. Bone crunched against unyielding marble and the body went slack. Rassul let go and it slid to the floor, trailing crimson streaks from the edge of the parchment to the rim of the table.

“It is a map,” Rassul said as he spat on the corpse. “May Allah forgive you your foolishness…and your failure.”

He snapped his eyes upward and locked gazes with every one of his men, including the corpse’s partner, who still knelt, as yellow piss slowly pooled around him.

“Learn from this, in case any of you are uncertain.”

Casually, Rassul stepped over the body and once more perused the map. “Wipe out all knowledge of this map. Destroy any copies. Do this before all other things.”

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Award-winning author and editor Danielle Ackley-McPhail has worked both sides of the publishing industry for longer than she cares to admit. Her published works include Yesterday's Dreams, Tomorrow's Memories, Today’s Promise, The Halfling’s Court, The Redcaps’ Queen, and, Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn, written with Day Al-Mohamed. She can be found on LiveJournal (damcphail), Facebook (Danielle Ackley-McPhail), and Twitter (DMcPhail). To learn more visit www.sidhenadaire.com. 

Day Al-Mohamed is author of Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn, co-written with Danielle Ackley-McPhail. Day hosts the blog Unleaded: Fuel for Writers. Her work is available in Daily Science Fiction, Oomph, and GrayHaven Comics' You Are Not Alone. She is a member of the Cat Vacuuming Society of Northern Virginia Writing Group, Women in Film and Video, and a graduate of the VONA/Voices Writing Workshop. She can be found online at www.DayAlMohamed.com and @DayAlMohamed. 

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The Balticon Saturday Six That Growed

Wiped from turning in a story that went on too long and baking too many cookies, I didn't take as many pictures as usual at this year's Balticon. But I still had too many to narrow down to six. Balticon, the Maryland science fiction and fantasy convention held over the Memorial Day weekend, is like that. Mind-boggling and often disorganized, it's always crazy fun.

Marty Gear, the patron saint of Maryland costumers died last year, but his spirit definitely lingers in the Balticon Masquerade. Take this amazing stag, who is prepping for a turn onstage Saturday, May 24. The real eye holes are hidden beneath the orange glass eyes, and the jaw moved when the costumer spoke. BTW, the person inside is a woman.

Marty Gear also provided the motivation behind Stephanie Burke's gorgeous hand-painted kimono. She'd been promising him to create a Steampunk kimono for the Masquerade for years. This year, she did.

Meanwhile, you couldn't walk down a hall of the Escher Inn of the--I mean, the Hunt Valley Inn without seeing the towel over the bolt signifying a room party. The one two doors down from my roomie and I featured absinthe and this guy, who sang about "That Guy", the jerk you don't want to meet at a con. The filker was excellent and the song, spot-on.

I encountered this pair in the bar. The lady had the best clockwork stockings ever, and Buddha was having a grand time encouraging folks to rub his belly.

Even Super Mario Brothers were there.

Even I dressed up this year. Twice! No one caught a photograph of me in my Steampunk finery for Friday night's Zombies Need Brains launch party Friday night. (Remember how wiped I was before the con? Add in a four-hour drive that should've taken ninety minutes. Rinse. Repeat.) So I made sure to get a shot of my faerie gear for Sunday's Dark Quest Books launch party.

About those cookies--this photo shows the reason for all the baking. In addition to launching the line's new books, Dark Quest Books editor Danielle Ackley-McPhail turned the launch into a surprise 30th anniversary celebration and fundraiser for author CJ Henderson and his wife Tin.

The place was packed. I'm almost scared to see what Danielle cooks up when the Silence in the Library anthology for CJ, Dance Like a Monkey, is released later this summer. I may wind up chained to my stove for a week. On the plus side, folks REALLY liked my ginger cookies.

Finally, on the last day of the con, I captured this image of Guest of Honor Brandon Sanderson (right) and a fan dressed as the Mulian Alegretto from the anime RahXephon. Look at that headdress! Not only that, her manicure matched the costume perfectly.
Speaking of perfect, guests of honor don't get much better than Brandon Sanderson.  He managed to be funny, charming and instructive for four full days. And yeah, I got the interview. ;-)
Need more Balticon goodness? I've posted more photos on my Flicker page. Enjoy!

Jean Marie Ward

Thursday Thirteen: Thirteen Reasons to Monkey Around for a Good Cause

May Day!  May Day!  May Day!

We have an emergency here. The clock is running down on an important Indiegogo campaign and opportunity to support one of American genre fiction's national treasures, CJ Henderson.

CJ is down for the count with a horrible cancer, and under treatment (we all know what that's like--horrible!) is in no condition to write or sell at cons, his sole source of income.  So some of the top writers in fantasy, science fiction and romance (why hello, Sheryl Nantus!) have come together in an anthology where all the proceeds except shipping and mailing go straight to CJ.  And those of you who know what a rigorous bitch I am know I don't make such claims lightly.

What's in it it for you? Let me count the thirteen ways.

1. At $10, the basic anthology includes some of fantasy and science fiction's biggest names: Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta, Maggie Allen, Jack Dann, Ed Greenwood, Joe Haldeman, Nancy and Belle Holder, Tanya Huff, Gail Z. Martin, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jean Rabe, Mike Resnick, Hildy Silverman, Janine Spendlove, Michael A. Stackpole, Anton Strout, Kelly Swails, Robert E. Vardeman, Elizabeth A. Vaughan, Bryan Young, Jean Marie Ward (yeah, me--got a problem with that?), Gene Wolfe, Timothy Zahn, and of course, the man himself, CJ Henderson.

You do romance so you don't know who these people are?  No problem.  I got some video right here:

2. Joe Haldeman

3. Gail Z. Martin

I also got pixels on the page.

4. Kevin J. Anderson

5. Jack Dann

6. Tanya Huff

7. But that's just the start.  The more people fund, the more authors we add. People like Aaron Rosenberg, Alan M. Clark (who did our wonderful cover), Allan Gilbreath, Alma Alexander, Tera Fulbright, Cynthia Ward, Davey Beauchamp, Dylan Birtolo, James Chambers, Jeff Young, Jennifer Brozek, John Hartness, Maxwell Alexander Drake, John French, Jonathan Mayberry, Keith R.A. DeCandido, KT Pinto, Michael Ventrella, Misty Massey, Patrick Thomas, Pete Prellwitz, Sheryl Nantus (I did mention Sheryl, didn't I?), Stuart Jaffe, David B. Coe, Vicki Steger and Mike McPhail.

I've got some video of them, too:

8. David B. Coe (aka D.B. Jackson) 

9.  Keith R.A. DeCandido

10. Somebody who isn't in that list but who is most definitely in the table of contents (you heard it here first!): Jody Lynn Nye.  Yeah, I have video for her, too.

11. Videos of crazy people dancing like monkeys.

12. Stopping Danielle Ackley-McPhail from posting more creepy pictures of monkeys.  (They're worse than clowns...Well, maybe not today, but most of the time they're really, really creepy.)

13. The man himself, CJ Henderson.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  I'm hoping his video is worth more, for him and for all of us.

CJ Henderson

Please, fund.  The Indiegogo link is:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/monkeying-around-for-a-good-cause#home

Thank you.

Jean Marie Ward

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Photos from Balticon '13



Technically, my next blog is June 1, the start of "Some Like it Hot" month here at Beyond the Veil. Since none of the stories I'm working on fall into that category, I figured I should cogitate on the subject a bit more.

Instead, I offer a Thursday Thirteen of photos from Balticon 47, held in Hunt Valley, Maryland last weekend.  Enjoy!



It wouldn't be Balticon Friday without some Dancing in the Gears, the annual Steampunk ball featuring 19th century dances.

 

Author Stephanie Burke shows off her Steampunk finery.

 

 

Panel moderator Becca Davis (left) and former wrestler Nate Nelson instruct attendees in the finer points of not killing each other in the Stage Combat Workshop.  If you think it looks a lot like pro wrestling...you're right!

 

 

Two pairs of attendees at the Stage Combat Workshop learn the finer points of pretending to lead a subdued opponent around the room. In fact, the person in the head lock is doing the leading.

 

 

Meanwhile, there was belly-dancing in the halls.

And splendid costumes.  My only regret is I didn't get to this year's Masquerade.

 

Steampunk was definitely the style of choice. Here Hildy Silverman, the publisher of Space and Time, gives it a ninja spin.

 

Guest of Honor Joe Haldeman and his lovely wife Gay, one of the nicest people in the SF community.

 

Dark Quest Books editor Danielle Ackley-McPhail (second from left) and some of Dark Quest's more melodious authors celebrate dames at the Dark Quest Mega-Launch Party.

 

Filker and Dark Quest author Danny Birt tries to learn the lyrics on the fly, while playing guitar. Kids, don't try this at home.

 

Of course, a little thing like mental safety wouldn't stop our own Christine Norris, Dark Quest's newest acquisition editor.  And yes, folks, she's acquiring. You can see the post here.

SF erotica icon Cecilia Tan just before our Buzzy Mag interview. I think this was the only serious second in the the whole talk, which covered everything from writing for teen magazines to baseball to David Bowie--well, you knew we had to get space aliens in there somehow.

 

And in closing, the Motorcycle Fairy. How do you top that?

 

Well I guess you could check out my Flickr page for the rest of the photos.  Enjoy!

 

Jean Marie Ward

Vampires Vs. Werewolves

Capclave Guests of Honor Carrie Vaughn (left) and Catherynne M. Valente compare the charms of vampires and werewolves at Capclave, October 15.




With Carrie Vaughn (whose most famous series features a werewolf named Kitty) and Catherynne M. Valente (who's explored the mythology of just about everything) as its guests of honor, it was inevitable that Capclave 2011, the Washington DC area's hometown con, would address the eternal question:

Fangs or fur?

Death or life?

Edward or Jason?

Well, maybe not the last so much, but the relative popularity of vampires vs. werewolves--and the apparent reasons for it--dominated the con's guest of honor chat Saturday evening, October 15.

On the face of it, the odds would seem stacked in the werewolf's favor. After all, werewolves represent life; vampires, death. But as the panelists said, some people have a problem with the fur.

Then there's the whole "daddy thing". Ms. Valente pointed out the modern vampire myth ultimately comes down to the seduction of an inexperienced young woman by an older, infinitely experienced male. He is the ultimate father figure--all-powerful and wise, even when for some inexplicable reason, he's still in high school. It's one of the evergreen romance plots: Beauty and the Beast, Jane and Rochester, Persephone and Hades (minus the crazy mother-in-law).

In contrast, the werewolf has, in Ms. Vaughn's words, "...gotten short shrift over the last hundred years of storytelling. It's always: The beast within takes over. You can't control yourself. You do horrible things, and then you die."

Larry Talbot and his cinematic descendants have a lot to answer for.

But the nice thing is the core myth (or metaphor, if you prefer) can change. In fiction, nothing's set in stone. Vampires can become heroes. Werewolves can take control of their destiny. Ms. Vaughn's werewolf DJ Kitty Norville is a prime example.

"I thought, let's get past the [standard Wolfman plot]. Let's assume werewolves are okay and can handle it. What stories can we tell then?"

Plenty, apparently, since the Kitty Norville series is up to ten books, with four more under contract. And Ms. Vaughn's books aren't the only ones redefining the myth. My Beyond the Veil blog mates have been very busy on that score, too. If they keep this up, who knows, within ten years the balance of attraction may tip. There's a lot to be said for fur, though I confess, I prefer mine in a coat. ;-)

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I apologize for the quality of my Guests of Honor photo. My Capclave camera karma was definitely lacking. I posted my best shots, such as they are, at my Flickr account. I have an ulterior motive in providing the link. There are two photos near the end I'm unreasonably proud of. Yes, that's me sitting on the dais with Ms. Valente, Ms. Vaughn and Danielle Ackley-McPhail, the editor of Dragon's Lure, the anthology containing my short story "Lord Bai's Discovery".

"Lord Bai's Discovery", along with Ms. Valente's "Days of Flaming Motorcycles" and Ms. Vaughn's "Amaryllis" were among the finalists for the Washington Science Fiction Association's 2011 Small Press Award. I wasn't surprised "Amaryllis" took the prize. It was nominated for a Hugo, too. I was surprised, however, and incredibly honored to be included in such company.

SciFi Saturday--They're Doing What Where?

The York Emporium, York PA's premier retailer of used books (250,000 and counting) and stuff will host SciFi Saturday, a celebration of science fiction and fantasy, this Saturday, August 2, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be author signings, blooper reels (with popcorn!), a visit from NASA, stand-up comedy, an art show and meeeeee! I'll be one of the authors signing. At least, I don't think I'll be contributing to the comedy or the bloopers, but you never can tell.
I don't think they meant to invite me. A friend of mine, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, signed on to promote a host of books, including Bad-Ass Fairies, Vols. 1 & 2, and she made the huge mistake of asking me to hang out. But call me The Woman Who Came To Dinner--er, Signing. Now, after everything I've read about SciFi Saturday, wild horses couldn't drag me away.
If you're lucky--or maybe terribly, terribly UN-lucky--I might even read from the mad, bad siren story I've been working on. Anti-heroines, bounty hunters and sirens who sing about strudel--who could ask for anything more? There's even a romance...sort of.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Better yet--be there!
Cheers and confetti
Jean Marie

Images of Balticon 2008

There’s nothing like a sf/fantasy convention to get me going. And nothing like a series of storm-induced power outages to stop me from blogging about it. Or at least slow me down.But I’m nothing if not persistent. So here, at last, are my photographic impressions of Balticon 2008, May 23-26.


Balticon’s opening ceremonies go beyond program information. The mix includes comedy and live music. This year’s line-up included the Kalisti Tribal Dancers, shown here performing a sword dance.


Danielle Ackley-McPhail models the Bad-Ass Faerie leather jacket she raffled at the launch party for the anthology Bad-Ass Faeries 2: Just Plain Bad.


John Jude Palencar was the con’s artist guest of honor. Several of his disturbingly beautiful canvases were on display in the art show and in the pages of the program book. Funny, he looks like such a regular guy. Must be the artist's version of "He was such a quiet guy..."


Master costumer Marty Gear served as monster—er, master of ceremonies for the Balticon Masquerade on Saturday, May 24, which included the annual Bobby Gear Reading Is Fundamental Charity Auction. He and Castle Blood colleague Ricky Dick will also host the 2009 Costume-Con.


The winning entry in the Masquerade took Princess Aurora through every costume change in Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty while still on-stage. Her pink and blue gowns, worn over the green dress shown here, was sewn as a reversible wrap her Prince Charming flipped back and forth as they danced. The winning team comprised Gaia Eirich, Megan Taylor, Sharyn Eirich, Fiona Schram & Brian Harrington.


In her guest of honor interview, writer Connie Willis confessed her love of writing Christmas stories. The one she’s working on now concerns a robot who wants to be a Rockette at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.


Writer Stephanie Burke won the Bad-Ass Faery costume competition at Sunday evening’s Bad-Ass Faeries 2 launch party, hands—er, fly swatter down.


Pamela Kinney (who writes erotic paranormals as Sapphire Phelan) vamps out at the Bad-Ass Faeries 2 launch party.


Writer Catherine Asaro (in the red top) performs with the Baltimore rock band Point Valid. The band is recording a CD for Catherine’s next book, Diamond Star, which features a rock star in the future.


Writer Richard C. White holds up the latest Doctor Who: Short Trips anthology. The anthology, which focuses on the Doctors from the early series, features Richard’s story “The Price of Conviction”.


The Toronto-based filk trio Urban Tapestry thought nobody would attend their combination kaffeklatsch/workshop Monday afternoon. Then they moved it to the bar. Suddenly all the tables were jammed. The group consists of (left to right) Jodi Krangle, Debbie Ridpath Ohi and Alison Durno.

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