Fantasy author Jeri Westerson: The Clockwork in Steampunk

The Clockwork in Steampunk and Clockwork Gypsy 

By Jeri Westerson 

Clockwork, devices, goggles, and gears. Why are these things important to the steampunk aesthetic? And what is steampunk anyway?

I had to answer these questions myself when I embarked on my gaslamp fantasy/ steampunk series. I was interested in the aesthetic, which also involves a fanciful wardrobe of top hats and leather aviator-type garb added to lots of ruffles and corsets for the women. And since steampunk stories were usually set in a fantastical Victorian London, it naturally lent itself—at least it did so to me—to the fascinating world of magicians in this time period, where séances and the investigation into the next world compelled and enthralled, and science was still crossed with a certain level of mysticism, where maybe magic was a real possibility. I wanted to use a magician who summoned Jewish daemons to pepper his act with real magic.

My magician, Leopold Kazsmer is of Jewish/Romani heritage and ashamed of both to give him an interesting backstory that has everything to do with his current situation as a man who often helped out Scotland Yard when the crimes involved something more supernatural in nature.

In the first book in the Enchanter Chronicles series, THE DAEMON DEVICE (just released in audio), it sets the stage and introduces the characters who will help Leopold Kazsmer, the Great Enchanter, on his quest—a Jewish daemon who helped raise him when his father was killed; a living automaton of mysterious nature; his friend who died and was returned against his will as a ghost; and a secretive and special inspector from Scotland Yard, Mingli Zhao…about whom Leopold is wary…and besotted.

Steampunk can be characterized as a sub-genre of science fiction where it is set in a Victorian London that never was, in a world powered by steam…and often a little magic. So why is clockwork such a powerful device in the genre?

In my newest entry in the series, CLOCKWORK GYPSY, a Romani man has been slowly changed, bit by bit, gear by gear, into a clockwork man, and is naturally a bit peeved by this. He’s bent on revenge and he thinks he knows who the culprit is and goes on a rampage in order to kill him before his own mind is completely taken over by gears and pistons. Let’s face it, it’s scary, the whole idea of your body being consumed against your will with technology. But as we look at the late Victorian world, there is no greater technology than clockwork.

In fact, clockwork men or automatons go back far earlier, when clockwork itself was invented and refined. In seventeenth-century Japan, artists there created whole scenes of “puppets” generated by clockwork mechanisms, performed in automata theaters.

French engineer Jacques de Vaucanson created his Flute Player in 1737, who could perform twelve songs. He also created the Digesting Duck, who could quack, flap its wings, eat, and…well, digest and leave behind the result. 

There was Turk, the chess-playing automaton in 1767. There were several writing automatons who could write poetry and draw pictures. One in 1774 was made by Swiss clockmakers. Joseph Jacquard in 1801, essentially invented the computer when he built a loom automaton that was controlled autonomously with punched cards, much like early computers in the 1960s. 

Because clockwork is precise—and looks to all the world as if enchanted—is it too far to assume that they could be run by magic?

Clockwork Gypsy (Enchanter Chronicles Book 2)

by Jeri Westerson, illustrated by Robert Carrasco
October 31, 2020
Page count 280 
Five illustrations to come
$15.99 print/ $.99 ebook
ISBN 978-0-9982238-5-8, print
ISBN 978-0-9982238-7-2, ebook
A diabolical plot is afoot to kill thousands by connecting England’s railway lines to a deadly curse. The beautiful and mysterious Mingli Zhao, Special Inspector to Scotland Yard, enlists the help of Leopold Kazsmer, the Great Enchanter, who uses his skills with summoning Jewish daemons to perform true magic to help solve supernatural crimes. Meanwhile, a Hungarian Romani—part man, part clockwork—will stop at nothing to kill the man he believes is responsible for his hell of an existence that is slowly grinding his mind into the nothingness of gears and pistons. It’s a race against time for Leopold to stop the fiendish plot of the railway barons, fight off a plutocratic society of goblins, struggle to gain the romantic attentions of Miss Zhao…and discover the identity of the Clockwork Gypsy before he kills again.

Amazon

Series Book Trailer: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqxHaMm45rI 

About the Author:
website-FB-Pinterest

Blog-Goodreads-amazon
BookoftheHidden

SkylerFoxeMysteries
Los Angeles native JERI WESTERSON is the author of twelve Crispin Guest Medieval Noir Mystery novels, a series nominated for thirteen national awards from the “Agatha” to the “Shamus”. Her fifth novel BLOOD LANCE was named one of the Ten Hot Crime Novels for Colder Days by Kirkus Reviews, and her sixth, SHADOW OF THE ALCHEMIST, was named Best of 2013 by Suspense Magazine. For BOOKE OF THE HIDDEN, her urban fantasy series, Publishers Weekly said, “Readers sad about the ending of Charlaine Harris’s MIDNIGHT, TEXAS trilogy will find some consolation in Moody Bog.” The fourth and final in the series, THE DARKEST GATEWAY, releases October 2, 2019. Jeri also writes the humorous SKYLER FOXE LGBT MYSTERIES under the pen name Haley Walsh. Jeri’s short stories were included in several mystery anthologies, including Shaken: Stories for Japan (for the 2011 Earthquake Relief Fund). Jeri was also featured on two local NPR shows, “My Awesome Empire” and KVCR-Arts. She has served two terms as president of the Southern California Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, twice president of the Orange County Chapter of Sisters in Crime, and as vice president and California Crime Writers Conference co-chair for the Los Angeles Chapter of Sisters in Crime.

Haunted Halloween Spooktacular! The Darkest Gateway by Jeri Westerson + giveaway

Shivery Playlist for a Creepy Halloween

by Jeri Westerson

I must confess, my playlist isn’t the typical fare of “Monster Mash” and “Love Potion Number Nine.” It’s about the soundtrack I like to listen to when I’m writing my paranormal tales. These are for my series Booke of the Hidden that takes place during all of the month of October and culminates on Halloween. The series wraps up with the fourth book, THE DARKEST GATEWAY. Tea proprietor Kylie Strange finds and opens the mysterious Booke of the Hidden, and must capture deadly creatures she's unwittingly unleashed, while juggling the advances of an alluring and dangerous demon and a very human and handsome sheriff. So I need different tunes to get me in the mood. 

So let’s start with “Devils” from Say Hi. Because my urban fantasy deals with a supernatural Booke and a demon guardian who gets intimately close to Kylie, the song deals with the devil getting hold of everything in the singer’s life, even “he make it to my heart”—just like Kylie.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxMA5UXLW2Y

The next one is Valerie Broussand’s “A Little Wicked”, because Kylie and Erasmas Dark, the demon, do get a little wicked. Especially when she can’t decide between the handsome sheriff or the demon. Who would YOU chose? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxXg0lHZyZU

And then there’s “In the Shadows” by Amy Stroup. This mysterious and evocative tune really takes you there. There may be humor in these books, but there is still something not quite right, not…quite…human going on. It’s a song that gives me the shivers. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TynHJ0_amDY

And just to lighten things up—and because the First Werewolf comes out of the Booke and bites one of Kylie’s friends—there’s the incomparable Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London”. Who doesn’t like a werewolf with a pina colada in his hand “…and his hair is perfect.”

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDpYBT0XyvA

And finally, a haunting song that will spirit you away, right to the dark shadows of Samhain, Halloween, with all the dangers and powers that shimmer and awaken this night. Loreena McKennitt’s “The Mummer’s Dance” recalls strange and secret Celtic festivals in a darkened wood lit only by moonlight. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxTpvA-pUG0

The Darkest Gateway (Booke of the Hidden Book Four)
by Jeri Westerson
October 2, 2019
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Publisher: JABberwocky Literary
ISBN: 978-1-625674-25-8
ASIN: 978-1-625674-23-4
Number of pages: 301
Word Count: 90,181
Cover Artist: Mayhem Cover Creations

“Whoever said country life was dull didn’t know Moody Bog.”

With the arrival of Samhain, the supernatural Booke of the Hidden is set to release a barrage of deadly creatures onto the hapless village of Moody Bog, Maine.

Tea proprietor Kylie Strange knows the showdown is coming and wants to end the Booke for good. But the only way to accomplish this is a journey to the Netherworld and get the help of the only being powerful enough to destroy the Booke: Satan himself. And, though the brooding and elusive demon Erasmus Dark has captured Kylie’s heart against her better judgment, she ignores his repeated warnings that the mission guarantees her doom.

Amazon

Series Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/vI5d1tFsBYM

I moved to the very edge of the road and waited.

The sound grew louder. It couldn’t be anything except hoofbeats. They clopped, not in a gallop but in a leisurely canter. And soon, there was the Dullahan coming around the curve. His head looked even greener and slimier under his arm than it had before, if that were possible.

His weirdly roving eyes spotted me easily. He kicked his red-eyed horse’s sides and hurried toward us. All the while, he swung that spine whip. With each revolution around his headless neck, the weapon grew longer and longer.

I kept the spear close to my side. I didn’t want that whip to catch it the way it had gotten the crossbow the last time.

He was almost upon me when he shrieked, “Kylie Strange!”

“That doesn’t work on me, you idiot!” I yelled.

The face frowned under his arm. It cast its googly eyes toward Erasmus and opened his mouth to yell his name.

“He’s a demon, remember? We’ve been through this before. Boy, you sure have a short memory. Must be because your brain is decaying faster than the rest of you. Looks like a bad case of melting Roquefort you got there.”

His dead face either grimaced or it really was melting. “Then I don’t need to say your name,” he said in a high screechy voice.

He spun the whip. Before I could get out of the way, it came at me and wrapped around my body, trapping my arms at my sides. I barely got out a yell before I was yanked off my feet.

The horse started galloping and I was flung out behind it almost parallel to the road. I couldn’t bring the spear up. I was whipping around in the air and getting a little seasick, but it was better than being dragged behind on the asphalt. There wouldn’t have been much left of me after that.

The bones of the spine whip were digging sharply into my skin. I tried wriggling free. If Headless decided to fling me off a cliff, there wasn’t much I could do about it. I knew Erasmus must be around somewhere, but this was up to me to figure out…if I could.

The Dullahan galloped around a sharp curve and I was thrown and dragged through the limbs of pine trees shouldering the road.

“Dammit!” I yelled, spitting out pine needles. “I am so going to kill you!”

He lifted his head up with his other arm. It swiveled and glared at me. “Not if I kill you first, Mistress Strange.”

“No need to be so formal,” I grunted, struggling. I slammed into some holly bushes and OW!

The face cackled and turned away, tucked back under his arm again. Then I looked up and saw what he was cackling about. The next curve of the road didn’t have any nice prickly holly bushes or spikey pine boughs. It was just granite all the way up the rock face. “Shit!”

About the Author:
website-FB-Pinterest

Blog-Goodreads-amazon
BookoftheHidden

SkylerFoxeMysteries
Los Angeles native JERI WESTERSON is the author of twelve Crispin Guest Medieval Noir Mystery novels, a series nominated for thirteen national awards from the “Agatha” to the “Shamus”. Her fifth novel BLOOD LANCE was named one of the Ten Hot Crime Novels for Colder Days by Kirkus Reviews, and her sixth, SHADOW OF THE ALCHEMIST, was named Best of 2013 by Suspense Magazine. For BOOKE OF THE HIDDEN, her urban fantasy series, Publishers Weekly said, “Readers sad about the ending of Charlaine Harris’s MIDNIGHT, TEXAS trilogy will find some consolation in Moody Bog.” The fourth and final in the series, THE DARKEST GATEWAY, releases October 2, 2019. Jeri also writes the humorous SKYLER FOXE LGBT MYSTERIES under the pen name Haley Walsh. Jeri’s short stories were included in several mystery anthologies, including Shaken: Stories for Japan (for the 2011 Earthquake Relief Fund). Jeri was also featured on two local NPR shows, “My Awesome Empire” and KVCR-Arts. She has served two terms as president of the Southern California Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, twice president of the Orange County Chapter of Sisters in Crime, and as vice president and California Crime Writers Conference co-chair for the Los Angeles Chapter of Sisters in Crime. See more about Jeri at JeriWesterson.com, BOOKEoftheHIDDEN.com, and SkylerFoxeMysteries.wixsite.com/novels.

Giveaway: 

Prize pack of one Print Book, Halloween Rubber Duck, and Broom Pen. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Story Behind the Story: Author Jeri Westerson explains Daemons vs Demons

Daemons vs Demons

By Jeri Westerson

Image caption: King Solomon (with a horned Jewish aide) binds demons to his service. From Jacobus de Teramo's Das Buch Belial, 1473

Isn’t a demon just a demon? Well, not if you look closely enough.

In my new historical fantasy/steampunk series, THE DAEMON DEVICE, my protagonist is a magician in Victorian London, with Jewish/Romani heritage. And it was through his Jewish father that he studied the Kabbalah and other Jewish mysticism that taught him the fine art of summoning Jewish daemons—the helpful kind.

Because that’s the difference in spelling—the “ae” versus just the “e”. You get either the helpful kind or the evil kind. Medieval Jewish lore is full of all sorts of these kinds of variations. Christian lore has taught us that “demons” are the evil minions of the Devil, and summoning them is a big no-no from the Church.

But Jewish mysticism delves deeper. In Judaism there is no Hell as Christians have defined it. No pitchfork Devil in charge of tormenting souls for all eternity. Instead, Jewish belief is that there cannot be eternal punishment for a finite life of sin. God just isn’t that vindictive. The writings talk of Gehenna, like purgatory, a place to feel remorse for your sins, be purified, and then sent on to God, like taking a metaphorical shower before heading off to the party of parties. The biblical Sheol is merely the grave, where we all end up.

The word “daemon” itself is a Latin version of a Greek word for benevolent spirits. It starts to get complicated from there between the Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), the Talmud (commentary on Jewish civil and ceremonial law and legend), and translations between languages.

By the second century CE, most of the Greek Judeo-Christian bibles now referred to these more benign “nature spirits” as the more familiar to modern minds “evil spirit”. Time and translations seem to be behind the change of meaning we have come to know.

A “daemon”, therefore, can do helpful things, being more nature spirit that evil spirit—though it’s not to say that they can’t be mischievous—whereas the “demon” is all bad all the time.

You might be able to tell from the previous paragraphs how much I like to do research. (After all, I also write a series of medieval mysteries, heavy on the research there.) It’s good to have a foundation in the real history—or at the very least, documents of the past—before you start branching off into the supernatural with your own interpretation. That gives your own magic system weight. It also grounds it in the familiar for your readers so that they have a jumping off point. All part of the world-building the author is doing.

My magician, Leopold Kazmer, uses his knowledge of summoning daemons to do real magic to enhance his magic show, but soon finds out how his meddling in these mystical events is slowly drawing him into the danger of the Otherworld, where the Unholy Hosts who gave him this power will soon exact the ultimate price for it. And his helpful daemon friend, Eurynomos, may not be able to protect him from the cruelty of Sitra Achra (the realm from whence all evil derives, according to the Kabbalah).

In other words, the boy’s got big problems.

So it’s a good thing Leopold has his daemonic friend, as well as the help of Raj, a living automaton, the spirit of his friend from Scotland Yard, a German scientist, and possibly the mysterious Special Inspector Mingli Zhao, although he isn’t too sure about her. Because he has other problems besides evil spirits. There are the murders that look suspiciously like Jack the Ripper has made a return, and there may be a plot of world domination by someone using their own knowledge of the supernatural.

Yes, it’s all fun and games until otherworldly spirits want your soul.

You can read an excerpt here

The Daemon Device (Enchanter Chronicles trilogy Book One)
by Jeri Westerson

October 2, 2019

341 pages

London, 1891. Prince Albert has survived his brush with death. Dirigibles, like dark leviathans, surge through the sooty air of London. Steam powers the engines that supply electricity to the new electric lights along the Thames. And Jack the Ripper appears to be on the loose again on the seamy streets.

Someone is killing women and gutting them for their body parts. Is it Jack, or a far more sinister plot afoot than murder?

Leopold Kazsmer is a magician, the Great Enchanter. Ashamed of his Jewish-Gypsy heritage, he has fashioned himself into a proper English gentleman, though he harbors a carefully guarded secret; He has learned the dangerous art of summoning daemons. When he was a child, a tattoo was bestowed upon his wrist by the denizens of the Otherworld…the same night his father was killed. Though it gives him true magical powers once he’s made a sacrifice of blood, it is also his curse, for through it the creatures of nightmares have become aware of him.

With the help of Raj, a tarot-reading automated man, and Eurynomos, a shrewd Jewish daemon who helped Leopold through his tragic childhood, Leopold must discover what is behind the revolting murders that suddenly seem to involve tight-lipped German scientists, guarded Romani, ghosts, and the beautiful Special Inspector, Mingli Zhao. Is she truly from the secret depths of Scotland Yard or is she instead a heartless spy and murderess?

In a breakneck chase through London’s streets and fighting hand-to-wand high in the skies inside a lethal airship, Leopold must destroy a secret society to defeat their plan for world domination, unmask the girl, and rescue his daemon friend from the deadly Daemon Device before all is lost.

About the Author:

website-FB-Pinterest
L.A. native JERI WESTERSON is the author of the Crispin Guest Medieval Mysteries, a series nominated for 13 national awards from the Agatha to the Shamus. Her fifth novel BLOOD LANCE was named one of the Ten Hot Crime Novels for Colder Days by Kirkus Reviews, and her sixth, SHADOW OF THE ALCHEMIST, was named Best of 2013 by Suspense Magazine. Her twelfth, TRAITOR'S CODEX, was  released in May. For her paranormal fantasy series, BOOKE OF THE HIDDEN, Romantic Times said, “BOOKE OF THE HIDDEN is paranormal romance perfection…Jeri Westerson is flawless in this tale of adventure, mystery and saucy romance.” The last in the series, THE DARKEST GATEWAY, releases October 2019. THE DAEMON DEVICE, her new historical fantasy/steampunk novel, first in the Enchanter Chronicles trilogy, also releases in October. Jeri was twice president for the Southern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America and OC Sisters in Crime, and former vice president of Sisters in Crime Los Angeles. See more at JeriWesterson.com and BOOKEoftheHIDDEN.com.

Cover Reveal: The Daemon Device (Enchanter Chronicles trilogy Book One) by Jeri Westerson

The Daemon Device (Enchanter Chronicles trilogy Book One)
by Jeri Westerson

October 2, 2019

341 pages

London, 1891. Prince Albert has survived his brush with death. Dirigibles, like dark leviathans, surge through the sooty air of London. Steam powers the engines that supply electricity to the new electric lights along the Thames. And Jack the Ripper appears to be on the loose again on the seamy streets.

Someone is killing women and gutting them for their body parts. Is it Jack, or a far more sinister plot afoot than murder?

Leopold Kazsmer is a magician, the Great Enchanter. Ashamed of his Jewish-Gypsy heritage, he has fashioned himself into a proper English gentleman, though he harbors a carefully guarded secret; He has learned the dangerous art of summoning daemons. When he was a child, a tattoo was bestowed upon his wrist by the denizens of the Otherworld…the same night his father was killed. Though it gives him true magical powers once he’s made a sacrifice of blood, it is also his curse, for through it the creatures of nightmares have become aware of him.

With the help of Raj, a tarot-reading automated man, and Eurynomos, a shrewd Jewish daemon who helped Leopold through his tragic childhood, Leopold must discover what is behind the revolting murders that suddenly seem to involve tight-lipped German scientists, guarded Romani, ghosts, and the beautiful Special Inspector, Mingli Zhao. Is she truly from the secret depths of Scotland Yard or is she instead a heartless spy and murderess?

In a breakneck chase through London’s streets and fighting hand-to-wand high in the skies inside a lethal airship, Leopold must destroy a secret society to defeat their plan for world domination, unmask the girl, and rescue his daemon friend from the deadly Daemon Device before all is lost.

About the Author:

website-FB-Pinterest
L.A. native JERI WESTERSON is the author of the Crispin Guest Medieval Mysteries, a series nominated for 13 national awards from the Agatha to the Shamus. Her fifth novel BLOOD LANCE was named one of the Ten Hot Crime Novels for Colder Days by Kirkus Reviews, and her sixth, SHADOW OF THE ALCHEMIST, was named Best of 2013 by Suspense Magazine. Her twelfth, TRAITOR'S CODEX, was  released in May. For her paranormal fantasy series, BOOKE OF THE HIDDEN, Romantic Times said, “BOOKE OF THE HIDDEN is paranormal romance perfection…Jeri Westerson is flawless in this tale of adventure, mystery and saucy romance.” The last in the series, THE DARKEST GATEWAY, releases October 2019. THE DAEMON DEVICE, her new historical fantasy/steampunk novel, first in the Enchanter Chronicles trilogy, also releases in October. Jeri was twice president for the Southern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America and OC Sisters in Crime, and former vice president of Sisters in Crime Los Angeles. See more at JeriWesterson.com and BOOKEoftheHIDDEN.com.

Sheep Book Review: Deadly Rising: A Booke of the Hidden Novel by Jeri Westerson

Deadly Rising: A Booke of the Hidden Novel

by Jeri Westerson
October 23, 2018
248 pages
Publisher: EverAfter Romance
Things were quiet in Strange Herbs & Teas. For about a week.

Our crossbow slinging hero and her ragtag gang of Wiccans tuned in to the paranormal have earned some rest. But when Kylie learns that the Booke may have released not one, but two creatures of horror out into the world, it’s up to her to save Moody Bog. Again.

Calling upon the devilishly handsome demon Erasmus once more for help, Kylie’s determined to handle the mischief of the Booke and go back to a normal life. But when digging through Moody Bog’s history leads her to the ghost of her grandfather, the past she once knew is turned upside down.

Can Kylie save the town and her grandfather, or will the horrors of the Booke be too much to handle?

While this story may not have been one that I would usually grab for, the cover caught my eye and the book description had me interested. I'm so damn glad it did, this was a really good story! 

Deadly Rising has a nice blend of action and witchy wonder, I enjoyed the balance that this author brought to her world. It was created with intent and deliberate pace. Again, I liked that. 

Never a dull moment in this magical town, the element of badass men/women added to the overall punch of the story. I do LOVE a really great bad guy. You get that in this one. 

You also get a leading lady that's not afraid to be tough and soft when the situation calls for it. I hate the "damsel in distress" so much, that's been played out. Kill off those story lines please, I beg every author out there! Give me a leading lady that all us female readers can get behind. I want a woman I can see myself as. I got that. 

Overall, this was a great start to a series I hope to read a lot about in the future! 

KD

About the Author:

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I'm Jeri Westerson and I write medieval mysteries with an enigmatic, flawed, sexy, and very different protagonist. His name is Crispin Guest and he's a disgraced knight turned detective on the mean streets of fourteenth century London. The series is the Crispin Guest Medieval Noir Mysteries.

But I also write the new urban fantasy series BOOKE OF THE HIDDEN. Kylie Strange moves to rural Maine for a fresh start. But she gets more than she bargained for when she finds a supernatural book bricked into the wall of her new tea shop. As soon as she opens the Booke of the Hidden, all Hell literally breaks loose. The mysterious and handsome Erasmus Dark shows up unannounced, the demon of the Booke and says he's here to help Kylie...but is he? With the help of a ragtag group of local Wiccans, Kylie unravels the Booke's deadly secrets. 

Some personal facts: I was born and bred in Los Angeles inhaling smog and enduring earthquakes. I've been writing fiction for some time, became a freelance reporter, published award-winning short stories, and am scribbling away at the Crispin Guest series, a paranormal series called Booke of the Hidden, and looking for a publisher for my steampunk series, the Conjurer Chronicles. 

Besides writing, I am a public speaker, artist, singer, wife, and mother. I am former President for the Southern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America, former VP of the Los Angeles Chapter of Sisters in Crime, former president of the Orange County chapter of Sisters in Crime, a member of the Historical Novel Society, and Horror Writers Association. I live with my photographer husband, one disdainful tortoise, and a bevy of bees in my home in Southern California.

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