Indulging in the Arts

Another glorious weekend in South Carolina!  Mark and I discovered how far Greenville has come in broadening its outlook on the arts this weekend.  After the Saturday Downtown Farmers Market where I found my favorite barbecue sauce again, we headed to Artisphere, an annual arts event drawing both local and national artists.  They had unveiled the new Marriott Plaza and wow - it's stunning, with it's massive courtyard, Stone wall of water fountain but especially for the two new life size sculptures by Tuan, a Viet Namese sculptor brought to Greenville by Midtown Artery. 

The two sculptures involve three nude or semi-nude figures.  And they are gorgeous.  I'm so thrilled Greenville has opened up.  I remember the years when a nude was a no-no in this one-time conservative town. The art was great, we were exposed to all kinds of music, including the great Rumba drum circle. And since I'd gone to see Cindy's nephew and his band, sons of Iris, on Friday night at the Handlebar, it was a weekend full of the arts.  Songs of Iris were amazing! It was like hearing Jimmy Page and Pat Benatar on the same stage.  Very tight  originals with awesome lyrics and boy can their 18-year old female sing belt one out.  They had the audience mesmerized.
So I went home, let all the sensory input wash over me and not only finished my now close to 5,000 word streampunk, short story, The "Foxglove Broadsides" but also started designing and creating the Victorian corseted bustle dress in green satin and faux duponi copper-colored silk that I'll be wearing for the daytime part of the Upstate Steampunk Con.  I have another outfit chosen for the ball in the evening that's more appropriate for dancing. 
Becky and I had our writers group sitting out in the garden which has never looked so lovely. One of my foxgloves is five feet tall!  I'm only an a few inches taller!  And you wonder why I wrote about foxgloves.  Well, there's much more to that story, my dears!  Much much more!

Guest author - Vic Fortezza with A Hitch in Twilight

A Hitch in Twilight is a compilation of stories of The Twilight Zone-Alfred Hitchcock variety. Most involve ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Lucifer appears in two. Most are set in New York, particularly Brooklyn. They are designed to make entertain and to foster thought. They are 20 tales of Warped Imagination.


Excerpt
Beneath the Boardwalk, somewhere along the Brighton Beach side, leeward of a dune formed by the bitter winter winds, lay a long, narrow cardboard box around which rats were scurrying. There was a restless, troubled murmuring within it. Suddenly the flaps flew aside and a man inside sprang to a sitting position like a jack-in-the-box, casting pages of a newspaper, his blankets, aside in his wake. He fought to regain his breath, muttering angrily, fearfully.
His attention was snared by a click. His paroxysm had been vanquished. His senses had never seemed so alive. He peered beyond the dune, past the small gap between its peak and the underside of the Boardwalk. A cigarette lighter flickered briefly, illuminating a hard though handsome face that featured a thick, neatly-trimmed black beard.

Review
Vic Fortezza writes about the trials and tribulations of life. Be it fiction or reality he captivates his audience with hard-boiled characterizations that catapult readers through drama and intrigue, at times with a touch of humor. Vic’s words flow with strength – he tells it like it is – through the eyes of a powerful, seasoned writer. By the time you’ve read the last page of A Hitch in Twilight, you’ll feel like you’ve lived each story.

                                                               --  Victoria Valentine, Editor: Skyline Review

Follow Vic’s blog: Selling Books on the Streets of Brooklyn: http://www.amazon.com/gp/forum/cd/discussion.html/ref=ntt_mus_ep_cd_tft_tp?ie=UTF8&cdForum=Fx19PIWSO2UGA75&cdThread=Tx1J1SVA9V1ZPDV

See a video of Vic in action on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYv9k5Su3wA

The Steampunk Travels, part 1

As a newcomer to the steampunk world, I was led on a quite diverse course to discover everything about the genre.  For those of you planning on writing something for steampunk issue of Fissure, or for those of you new to the genre, I invite you on the first stage of my travels to this exciting, terrifying, amazing, offbeat, colorful road. 
First I was introduced through the music of Vernian Process by fellow writes group member Brian K. Ladd. But then as synchronicity does, I was exposed to various angles of the steampunk world all at once, photos of Gypsey and Marla in steampunk costumes and also what they had been working on as steampunk influenced decorating at their home, I met Nick Valentino, author of Thomas Riley, a steampunk novel, at a writer's conference and read his book and then, as a long time fan of all things Victorian checked out photos of the garb and costumes and I was smitten!

Three weeks ago I walked into a thrift store and found a designer skirt and jacket for under $20.00.  It's over the top Victorian influences, could only be worn as evening wear by contemporary folks and it fit!  So I snapped it up having no idea Gypsey Teague was planning to host the Upstate Steampunk Con in my town, Greenville, SC.  Wow.  What luck.
Then I read Matthew Delman's brilliant, well-researched and highly informative four-part series on The Roots of Steampunk on his blog, Free the Princess and whew, things really took off.
I have now written two steampunk stories, Marquette de Fleur, a rather steamy steampunk story (in the romantic way) which involves an odd take on horticulture in the steampunk world - a twisted kind of horticulture.  It is now in the submission circulation mill.  And this weekend I finished a second story, The Foxglove Broadsheets. This is a story about steam-driven printing, poison and political intrigue.

Without music I would never have explored this genre or written these stories. The music inspires me to delve into my love of Victorian cultures, interiors, history and now the inventions and how we can torque them with steampunk ingenuity. 

Here are some recommendations so you can be inspired too:

Vernian Process - British band - wow - the ultimate in steampunk atmosphere - you will be flying over London in an airship over the head of the likes of Jack the Ripper just listening to this.

Abney Park  - I heard about this band from author, Gypsey Teague. From Seattle, male and female members produce everything from dance music, to stunning melodic ballads complete with cello, violin and more, female singer- very very steampunk, lots of cool sound effects, some middle eastern influences.

Life's Decay - steampunk pair from France, awesome goth edge, bittersweet, obviously classically trained, amazing instrumentation often with acoustic and strange instruments.The dark edge of steampunk, the boudoir side of steampunk, awesome staccato military drums, cello steam train sounds blended with incredible melodies on piano, cello and more. The female high soprano voice sings and whispers in French - delectable, from romantic to poignant to haunting.