Tagged Special Extras

Romancing the Werewolf Special Extras (Supernatural Society)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 

The Great Parasolverse read along continues with Romancing the Werewolf, the third novella I wrote and my first gay romance.

Romancing the Werewolf released in November of 2017

Here are some fun blog posts and resources that tie to Biffy & Lyall, reunion romances, not to mention writing the most requested story for the most popular side couple.

Biffy, newly minted Alpha of the London Pack, is not having a good Christmas. His Beta abandoned him. His werewolves object to his curtain choices. And someone keeps leaving human babies on his doorstep.

This was a joy to write, I have always enjoyed reunion romances. And even though it was much anticipated, for some reason I didn’t feel the pressure with this one. I think because I just KNEW Biffy and Lyall so well, and I knew how they fit.

Also it was fun to do something set during the winter holidays. I don’t normally do Christmas type stuff, but I had a good time with this one not to mention the weird cult ritual aspect (and yes I am comparing leaving squash on a doorstep to erecting a tree in a living room because equally weird.)

Did you notice the opening sequence is a Biffy POV scene from Timeless that I rewrote from Lyall’s POV? Aren’t I a tricky bit of baggage?

Things Pertaining to This Book

Biffy Robin Lyall by ace-artemis-fanartist on Tumblr

Characters In Depth

  • Biffy & Lyall fan art by Ace Artemis
  • London Pack design board. I didn’t put too much into coloring Conall’s pack in until they became Biffy’s.
  • Professor Lyall character design board. Lyall was built as a foil to Lord Maccon and increasing I fell in love with him. He shows up in most of my series in some form or another. Professor Randolph Lyall Original Character Study
  • Biffy character design board (Biffy started out a very minor character, I never intended his art to be so dramatic he has an increasingly large roll in the Parasol Protectorate series before this book. He shows up again in the Custard Protocol series and How to Marry a Werewolf.)
  • Biffy character study in depth.
  • Soulless Manga Art Launch ~ Professor Lyall

I also have a Pinterest board full of Queer History

Men’s Fashion On Retro Rack

Romancing the Werewolf reviews!

Book Loving Nut says:

“I would give this book 6 nuts is such a thing existed. That’s not a joke or exaggeration, I loved this book that much. While it’s the second of the Supernatural Society novellas, it is without doubt first in my heart and probably my favorite piece of Parasolverse writing.”

Jessticulates says:

“After Lyall and Biffy’s bittersweet parting in Timeless, I was so ready for a reunion between the two of them set at Christmas and Romancing the Werewolf certainly scratched that itch.”

The Smut Report says:

“All in all, this book is enjoyable. Biffy and Lyall are likeable characters, and I find Carriger’s writing generally delightful…”

Further reading…

Queer Characters? Blame Mercedes Lackey, Behind The Supernatural Society (Special Extras)

Yours with adorable werewolves,

Miss Gail

  • Want more behind the scenes info? This stuff goes to my Chirrup members, because I love them bestest. Sign up here.
  • Not into newsletters? Get only new releases by following Gail on Amazon or BookBub!

OUT NOW!

The 5th Gender (A Tinkered Stars Mystery as G. L. Carriger).

Amazon | Elsewhere | Direct from Gail
Audio is coming. 

Sci-fi queer romance meets cozy mystery in which a hot space station cop meets the most adorable purple alien ever (lavender, pulease!) from a race with 5 genders.

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

  • Reticence, The 4th and final Custard Protocol book. Aug 6, 2019
  • Fan Service Omnibus (SOLD OUT), Oct 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
  • Need to know what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Ladies’ Friend November, 1870

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

Tea and Book Pairings For Your Afternoon Cuppa

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

“The best way to send information is to wrap it up in a person.”

~ Robert Oppenheimer

Book News:

Meeting some well dressed readers at Denver’s Pop Culture Con 2019

Quote of the Day:

“What I really thought was that I had ordered a goat when I was drunk and forgot.”

~ Borderlands Books’ hilarious “Overheard in the store” April News

Your Moment of Gail

 

“I suspect it may be like the difference between a drinker and an alcoholic; the one merely reads books, the other needs books to make it through the day.”

(Interview with The Booklovers blog, September 2010)” ~ Gail Carriger

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

Beautiful Dresses for Rue & Prim in the Custard Protocol Books, from Harper’s Bazaar 1891 (Special Extras)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 

I have this lovely Harper’s Bazaar from 1891, Fashionable Reader, given to me by a lovely fan.

I finally got around to scanning some of the images. Here are a few for you, the kind of things Rue & Prim might wear in the Custard Protocol series.

“We are told that several ladies have actually appeared in public without gloves; no gloves! Do not these two words imply a verdict of vulgarity?”

~ 1873 Fashion Papers

This post originally appeared in Retro Rack.

1894 Huge Mustache

‘Bring my shaving things.’
A gleam of hope shone in the man’s eye, mixed with doubt.
‘You mean, sir?’
‘And shave off my moustache.’
There was a moment’s silence. I could see the fellow was deeply moved.
‘Thank you very much indeed, sir,’ he said, in a low voice.

~ Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

Yours in fashion forward military inspired dresses,

Miss Gail

  • Want more behind the scenes info? This stuff goes to my Chirrup members, because I love them bestest. Sign up here.
  • Not into newsletters? Get only new releases by following Gail on Amazon or BookBub!

OUT NOW!

The 5th Gender (A Tinkered Stars Mystery as G. L. Carriger).

Amazon | Elsewhere | Direct from Gail
Audio is coming. 

Sci-fi queer romance meets cozy mystery in which a hot space station cop meets the most adorable purple alien ever (lavender, pulease!) from a race with 5 genders.

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

  • Reticence, The 4th and final Custard Protocol book. Aug 6, 2019
  • Fan Service Omnibus (SOLD OUT), Oct 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
  • Need to know what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Journal des Demoiselles Date July, 1873

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

“[N]ever do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time.”

~ Charles Dickens, David Copperfield

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

“One should never use exclamation points in writing. It is like laughing at your own joke.”

~ Mark Twain

Book News:

“The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means.”

~ Oscar Wilde

Quote of the Day:

“How do I know what I think until I see what I say?”

~ E. M. Forster

Your Moment of Gail

 

“I suspect it may be like the difference between a drinker and an alcoholic; the one merely reads books, the other needs books to make it through the day.”

(Interview with The Booklovers blog, September 2010)” ~ Gail Carriger

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

The REAL Reason the Custard Protocol is Set in the 1890s (Special Extras)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 

The sleeves, Fashionable Reader. So ridiculous, how could I resist?

via  Robbie Rozelle @divarobbie  We are at puffed sleeves! #AnneofGreenGables

“Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it yet.”

~ L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

edwardian-time-machine tumblr sleeve supports
fripperiesandfobs-tumblr Jacket ca. 1894 From Thierry de Maigret
andwomenworebloomers tumblr

And the steampunk elements are pretty cool too.

arsenicinshell tumblr

Retro Rack is also on facebook where I post additional images and fashion thoughts.

Doesn’t this lady look like she went to Finishing School?

1894. Is that a  weapon in her hair? 

Yours in velvet,

Miss Gail

  • Want more behind the scenes info? This stuff goes to my Chirrup members, because I love them bestest. Sign up here.
  • Not into newsletters? Get only new releases by following Gail on Amazon or BookBub!

OUT NOW!

The 5th Gender (A Tinkered Stars Mystery as G. L. Carriger).

Amazon | Elsewhere | Direct from Gail
Audio is coming. 

Sci-fi queer romance meets cozy mystery in which a hot space station cop meets the most adorable purple alien ever (lavender, pulease!) from a race with 5 genders.

Sia (@raenbowgirl) on Twiiter said: 

“Super sweet sci-fi romance, really cool exploration of non-binary gender identities, with just a little bit of naughty tentacle shenanigans. Full review here.“

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

  • Reticence, The 4th and final Custard Protocol book. Aug 6, 2019
  • Fan Service Omnibus (SOLD OUT), Oct 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
  • Need to know what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Spring Morning by James Tissot c. 1875 (@metmuseum)

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

“The bottle rules the sensual world, but the tea-cup is queen in all the fair dominions.”

~ Around the Tea Table, by T. De Witt Talmage (c.1895)

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”

~ Madeleine L’Engle

Book News:

“Someone was trying to kill Lady Alexia Maccon. It was most inconvenient, as she was in a dreadful hurry. Given her previous familiarity with near-death experiences and their comparative frequency with regards to her good self, Alexia should probably have allowed extra time for such a predictable happenstance.”

~ Gail Carriger

Quote of the Day:

“I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.”

~ Anna Quindlen

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

Imprudence Special Extras (Custard Protocol)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 

Imprudence is the second book in my Parasol Protectorate spin off series, this time going on a journey up the Nile through Egypt and Africa (which I very MUCH want to take myself).

Imprudence released in July of 2016

Here are some fun blog posts and resources that tie to this book, researching Egypt & Africa during the 1890s, among other things. I love this book because it’s my “let’s find the source of the Nile” story. (Or in this case, the source of the werecats!)

Rue and the crew of the Spotted Custard return from India with revelations that shake the foundations of England’s scientific community.

Imprudence was a Barnes & Noble B. Dalton and Locus bestseller. It was the first of Gail’s books since Changeless not to hit the New York Times. Buy me a drink some time and I’ll tell you more. In the end I used it to parlaying never having to do a book tour again, as they sent me on a 2 week tour-from-hell and didn’t get what they wanted (the LIST).

1893 General Gordans Last Stand Kartoum, occurred just before the events in the Imprudence.

Things Pertaining to This Book

“Milk is the great difficulty in travelling tea-making. It cannot always be easily obtained, and milk carried about with one in a bottle does not long retain its freshness in hot weather. Some people do not object to the condensed or Swiss milk one buys in small tins. It has the advantage of being extremely portable, but I must confess, personally, to finding its effect detestable in tea or coffee.”

~ Hints to Lady Travellers: At Home and Abroad (Royal Geographic Society) by Lillias Campbell Davidson (1889)

The discovery of oxygen. I think there is a word for when multiple scientists discover the same important thing at (basically) the same time in disconnected locals (Kuhn would mutter something about dominant paradigms and the structure of scientific revolutions but that’s neither here nor there, unless you’re an entomologist, in which case it’s both) but I can’t remember what that word is.

More Behind the Scenes of this book.

Spot the Following?

  1. French lessons.
  2. The unbirth of a particularly important ghost.
  3. More about Alessandro Tarabotti’s sordid past.
  4. Lord Akeldama’s real name.

Reviewers Weigh In

All About Romance says:

“Ultimately Imprudence offers an interesting mix of silliness, real danger, and character development. Best of all is the resolution of longtime issues for Lord Maccon and Alexia, dating back to the last book in the Parasol Protectorate series, Timeless. Many authors stop a series, or slow down the time process, not wanting to age their characters. That’s simply not the case here. Ms. Carriger does go there, and she does it marvelously.”

Jo of Vampire Book Club says:

“Imprudence firmly cemented the Custard Protocol series as a worthy successor to Parasol Protectorate. Filled with adventure, friendship and romance, this is an immensely fun ride, in a wonderfully amusing world.”

The Smut Report says:

“…I can’t get enough of this quirky writing…”

More Praise for Custard Protocol

Yours someday hoping to see the Sudd herself,

Miss Gail

  • Want more behind the scenes info? This stuff goes to my Chirrup members. Sign up here.
  • Not into newsletters? Get only new releases by following Gail on Amazon or BookBub!

OUT NOW! (Happy Pride!)

The 5th Gender (A Tinkered Stars Mystery as G. L. Carriger).

Amazon | Elsewhere | Direct from Gail
Audio is coming. 

Sci-fi queer romance meets cozy mystery in which a hot space station cop meets the most adorable purple alien ever (lavender, pulease!) from a race with 5 genders.

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

  • Reticence, The 4th and final Custard Protocol book. Aug 6, 2019
  • Fan Service Omnibus (SOLD OUT), Oct 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
  • Need to know what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Journal des Demoiselles Date June, 1873

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

1891 Children in amazing hats

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

Will Apple Just Kill iTunes Already?

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

Book News:

Every author has a process, after 10 years of careful honing mine seems to be:
Stare into empty teapot, frantically type 12 different sub genres at once, make myself sick on seaweed popcorn and sour gummies. Make fresh cuppa to recuperate.

~ Self on Twitter

Quote of the Day:

Your Moment of Gail

 

“I suspect it may be like the difference between a drinker and an alcoholic; the one merely reads books, the other needs books to make it through the day.”

(Interview with The Booklovers blog, September 2010)” ~ Gail Carriger

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

Prudence Research ~ India’s Influence on Victorian Clothing in the Custard Protocol series (Special Extras)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 3 Comments

So I took Rue to India in the first Custard Protocol book, Prudence. (Which the Read Along is tackling right now.) It was a lot of fun for the both of us. And, since it’s me, I also kept an eye open to the fashion world. India was an occupied territory during the Victorian times, and fabrics and fashion moved from there across the world and into the lives of Victorians in a myriad of ways. Here are some of the influential images, fashion items, and styles that come up in my books when India is involved.

1885 Visite  Les Arts Décoratifs

Not all of the images I collected are strictly Indian. Some are from surrounding occupied territories or highlight other Silk Road influences. Nevertheless, they struck me as quite interesting, so I have presented them for you here.

Fancy Dress Costume  Charles Fredrick Worth, 1870  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

I dithered on how to show these. I went with some original historical clothing items, along with some Victorian and later takes on the same theme and, where possible, a modern fashion look. Also there’s jewelry! So it’s kinda a mess, but I still hope you enjoy it.

Pendant  1860  Bonham’s

17th-18th century  The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
1867  Les Arts Décoratifs
Pietro Yantorny, 1920  The Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Evening Dress  late 1910s  The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
19th Radhakrishna pendant  India, 19th century  Christie’s

 

1855 via fashionsfromhistory-tumblr Dressing Gown MFA
Court Ensemble  India (Lucknow), 19th century  The Victoria & Albert Museum
1820 Turban The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

Evening Dress 1893  The Museum of London

“This evening dress is decorated with net panels embroidered with gold thread and beetle wing cases from a species of jewel beetle. The panels were probably made in India where Madras and Calcutta were centres for beetle-wing embroidery made for the European market. The iridescent blue-green beetle wing cases reflect the light like sequins. This type of embroidery is found in British museum collections on dress, textiles and accessories dating from the 1780s until about 1930. Although Indian embroiderers introduced the technique, using it to decorate dress and domestic textiles, Europeans copied them, sometimes using the wing cases of a species of South American jewel beetle. This style of embroidery was also thought to be a suitable pastime for ladies of leisure, who were advised to use a Walker’s number eight needle and green silk thread.”


 Dress  Weeks, 1910  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Shirt  India (Bikaner), 1850s  The Victoria & Albert Museum
Opal Bracelet  1900  Christie’s
Fancy Dress Costumes  Paul Poiret, 1913-1914  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

Necklace  India, 19th century  Sotheby’s

 

Jama  India, 17th century  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

Court Robe  India, 18th century  The Victoria & Albert Museum

 

Necklace  India (Rajasthan), 19th century  Christie’s

 

Choga  India, late 19th century  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

More like this?

A variation of this post originally appeared in Retro Rack.

Yours (ever obsessed with sari fabric and Indian textiles),

Miss Gail

  • Want free goodies, gossip, behind the scenes info? This stuff goes to my Chirrup members, because I love them bestest. Sign up here.
  • Not into newsletters? Get only new releases by following Gail on Amazon or BookBub!

OUT NOW!

The 5th Gender (A Tinkered Stars Mystery as G. L. Carriger).

Amazon | Elsewhere | Direct from Gail
Audio is coming. 

Sci-fi queer romance meets cozy mystery in which a hot space station cop meets the most adorable purple alien ever (lavender, pulease!) from a race with 5 genders.

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

  • Reticence, The 4th and final Custard Protocol book. Aug 6, 2019
  • Fan Service Omnibus (SOLD OUT), Oct 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
  • Need to know what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine Date September, 1872

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Baby Primrose?

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

The History Chicks podcast on Pirate Queen Ching Shih

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

History Wasn’t White. Why Should Historical Fiction Be?

Book News:

The Shameful Narcissist says of Soulless:

“…it’s truly the characters and world that give Soulless its spirit.”

Quote of the Day:

“The fact that it’s tactless doesn’t make it untrue.”

~ Borderlands Books Hillarious “Overhead in the store” April News

Your Moment of Gail

 

“I suspect it may be like the difference between a drinker and an alcoholic; the one merely reads books, the other needs books to make it through the day.”

(Interview with The Booklovers blog, September 2010)” ~ Gail Carriger

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

Further Fiction Reading: Gender Fluidity & Varied Sexual Identities (The 5th Gender – Special Extras)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 

Gentle Reader, today I tackle my failings for you.

Miss Gail where are your Ace or Grey or Demi or Other Queer Characters?

How about a disabled characters?

What about Pan or Poly?

How about…?

I’m doing my best but even I can’t catch them all, as it were.

I will keep writing lots of queer characters, I promise, but in the meantime…

Here’s a sample some fun romantic or sexy (not too serious) books with main characters that straddle the divides that I do not – so to speak. Oh and happy endings. ALWAYS.

I’m specifically going for a lighter tone, since that’s what I like to read (although a few of these are a touch dark they always end happily). For Your Enjoyment!

Contemporary

Historical

Fantasy/PNR/UF

Trans and Nonbinary Characters, Neopronouns in SFF

Won’t Someone Think of the Children!?

  • It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity by Theresa Thorn (children’s picture book)
  • Having Her Back by Ann Gallagher (YA sweet romance, trans)
    A sweet first love YA about a boy whose best friend cuts him off unexpectedly for years, and when they meet again that friend is now a girl. They fall in love. It’s adorable and complex and gentle but also quintessentially YA in that it is the adults who often make mistakes, and the kids must learn to see their parents as fallible. No major triggers and yet it deals deftly with some very complex issues.
  • Dreadnaught by April Daniels (YA)
    Superhero featuring a trans main character. Everyone keeps telling me how brilliant it is and the reviews confirm.
  • Not Your Sidekick and other books in CB Lee’s series (YA queer superheroes), own voices author. Not Your Backup features and ace/aero character!
  • When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore (YA)
    This is a fantastical atmospheric fable featuring varied sexual identity, own voices author.
  • Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe (graphic novel)

7 New Adult Books with LGBTQ Main Characters

10 Queer YA Fantasy Series For Your Next Marathon Read

YA Pride website

Since I read a lot of gay romance, and I vetted these myself, you can tell my recommendations are skewed. Please feel free to submit your own in comments but remember I’m PICKY. I don’t read: Hero’s Journey, rape, abusive/stalker Alphas, explicit violence, sad endings, etc…

Gail Carriger’s Reading Wheelhouse: What I Hate, What Turns Me Off, What I Won’t Read in BOOKS!

RESOURCES!

Articles

Researching Gender Fluidity & Representing it in Fiction – The 5th Gender by Gail Carriger (Custard Protocol, San Andreas Shifters & Tinkered Stars Behind the Magic)

Reading Lists

9 Favorite Queer Fantasy Books (Miss Carriger Recommends)

Similar to The 5th Gender, Gail Suggests More Queer SciFi (Miss Carriger Recommends)

Resource Books

Other posts in this series

Queer Characters? Blame Mercedes Lackey, Behind The Supernatural Society (Special Extras)

Researching Gender Fluidity & Representing it in Fiction – The 5th Gender by Gail Carriger (Custard Protocol, San Andreas Shifters & Tinkered Stars Behind the Magic)

Queering-Up Genre One Akeldama at a Time ~ Why Gail Carriger Writes LGBT Characters (Important for Authors)

Finally I am going to throw this AMAZING movie into the mix. I just love it so much…

Boy Meets Girl is a sweet charming contemporary romance, adorable and fun and so lovely. And yes one of the characters is trans but that’s only part of it. If you hesitate about anything around trans identity, please watch this movie.

Honestly it’s so good, it will leave you with warm fuzzies, I promise.

Yours, bathed in alternatives,

Miss Gail

Want Weekly Book Recs?

If you want weekly book recommendations from me (or to suggest books to me) I participate in #bookrecfriday on Twitter & Facebook (& Instagram & Tumblr when I remember).

  • If you want to know whenever I post a review, follow me on BookBub or Goodreads.
  • Want more sneak peeks, free goodies, gossip, behind the scenes info? This stuff goes to my Chirrup members, because I love them bestest. Sign up here.

OUT NOW!

The 5th Gender (A Tinkered Stars Mystery as G. L. Carriger).

Preorder on Amazon | Elsewhere | Direct from Gail
Audio is coming. 

Sci-fi queer romance meets cozy mystery in which a hot space station cop meets the most adorable purple alien ever (lavender, pulease!) from a race with 5 genders.

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

  • Reticence, The 4th and final Custard Protocol book. August 6, 2019
  • Fan Service Omnibus, October 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
  • Need to know what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Magasin des Demoiselles July, 1870

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Cat Rescued From Garbage Disposal

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

“Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it.” 

~ Madeleine L’Engle

Book News:

“I don’t remember what I ate for lunch, but I remember the plot to every one of these books.”
~ Borderlands Books Hillarious “Overhead in the store” April News

Quote of the Day:

Gail: I think I put too much garlic in the mashed potatoes.
AB: No such thing.
G: It’s like 1/3 potato, 1/3 butter, 1/3 garlic
AB: Nothing is wrong with this.

~ Self on Twitter

Your Moment of Gail

 

“I suspect it may be like the difference between a drinker and an alcoholic; the one merely reads books, the other needs books to make it through the day.”

(Interview with The Booklovers blog, September 2010)” ~ Gail Carriger

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

Quote:

“I was a baby butch who had never heard the word and so didn’t know what to call myself until I first heard that word out loud in 1992 in the back stacks of Little Sister’s bookstore. I wore second-hand army boots three sizes too big and cut my own hair with clippers and met what I didn’t know at the time was my first femme lover and bought my first necktie and she called me handsome and that one word handsome made up for two decades of knowing I was never really all that pretty.”

~ Tomboy Survival Guide by Ivan Coyote

Prudence Special Extras (Custard Protocol Special)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 

Prudence is the first book in my Parasol Protectorate spin off series, focused on the next generation with a group dynamic and a caper bent.

Prudence released in April of 2015

Here are some fun blog posts and resources that tie to this book, like researching India.

Prudence was probably the hardest book I ever had to write, it hit the NYT through dint of being on special offer (I think) in both ebook and hardcover when it launched. This was the first time Orbit released me in hardcover and this series got confused (by bookstores) with my YA series as a result.

Introducing the Custard Protocol series, in which Prudence travels to India for Queen, country…and the perfect pot of tea.

Prudence was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller, an Amazon Best Book Pick in Romance and Sci-Fi/Fantasy categories, and Library Reads pick.

Writing Prudence

When I started this new series I had to not only go back a see where I left things in the world, after Timeless (plus 20 years) I also hard to research what was going on around the world at the time. So there was a lot of background work to do before I even started the story.

Here’s what my desk looked like when I was doing that…

As I started actually writing Prudence, I realized it was not going to be possible for me to write this story while I was still writing the final Finishing School books.

This meant I had to ask my publisher for a delay. I talk all about this creative crisis in this blog post…

Analytical Versus Creative or Why Gail’s Life Went Bang

Going through this process actually made me trust you, my fans, a great deal more than I had previously.

I thought you would be mad at me, or harsh, about the fact that I had to take a delay on Prudence. But instead you were universally kind and understanding.

It’s for this reason I am a lot more honest with my reader base about my creative challenges than many authors I know.

Anglicization – In Which We Revisit the Ladybird Problem (Occasional FAQ)

Inspiration, Disinfectant Sunflowers & Praise for Gail Carriger’s Prudence (Behind the Magic of the Custard Protocol)

Things Pertaining to This Book

7 Deleted Scenes for Gail Carriger’s Prudence (Custard Protocol Special Extras)

Retro Rack posts on the fashion in the Custard Protocol Series:

Rue wears this outfit in Chapter 10: Egypt

Cutwork Leather Boots, ca. 1890 via Chicago History Museum, Parasol 1890s  The Metropolitan Museum of Art, dress 1890s  Nordiska Museet.

Aren’t you mad for the boots? I wrote the whole scene around them.

All About Parasols, What Do Prim/Rue/Alexia’s Actually look like? (Parasol Protectorate & Custard Protocol Special Extras)

All About Romance says of the Prudence audiobook:

“It took just minutes to realize that Moira Quirk is the perfect narrator for this book, bringing the right sense of humor and tone to every character. Yes, indeed, some are rather over the top – Lord Akeldama most notably – but that’s exactly how Ms. Carriger writes the characters.”

Prudence Stuff in a Cubby in my office

Prudence Stuff in a Cubby in my office

The Smut Report says of Prudence:

“The story takes delight in its own absurdity, which makes it utterly a true pleasure to read.”

Rue Quesnel Prim Percy by Ace Artemis

I hope you’ve enjoyed these bits and bobs about Prudence.

Yours in perpetual research,

Miss Gail

  • Want more sneak peeks, free goodies, gossip, behind the scenes info? This stuff goes to my Chirrup members, because I love them bestest. Sign up here.
  • Not into newsletters? Get only new releases by following Gail on Amazon or BookBub!

OUT NOW!

The 5th Gender (A Tinkered Stars Mystery as G. L. Carriger).

Amazon | Elsewhere | Direct from Gail
Audio is coming. 

Sci-fi queer romance meets cozy mystery in which a hot space station cop meets the most adorable purple alien ever (lavender, pulease!) from a race with 5 genders.

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

  • Reticence, The 4th and final Custard Protocol book. Aug 6, 2019
  • Fan Service Omnibus (sold out), Oct 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
  • Need to know what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Day dress, 1895-96 From the Cincinnati Art Museum

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Similar fashion plate 1896 via cimetiere-chanson- tumblr

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

Toss Me a Salad

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

Patreon, Copyright, & Personal Choice

Book News:

Soulless Illustrated cover has been nominated Chesley award! Here’s the full list.

Quote of the Day:

I’ve just made a revelatory discovery. I believe my jam ranking has shifted, this late in the game, from: 1. Raspberry 2. Cherry to 1. Cherry 2. Raspberry. I know. Shocking twist!

~ Self on Twitter

Your Moment of Gail

 

“I suspect it may be like the difference between a drinker and an alcoholic; the one merely reads books, the other needs books to make it through the day.”

(Interview with The Booklovers blog, September 2010)” ~ Gail Carriger

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

The Most Important Question Gail Has Ever Asked a Chef (The 5th Gender Special Extras)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 2 Comments

Picture this, Gentle Reader:

Gail on writing retreat with 18 other authors and 2 awesome chefs.

She’s typing furiously on her laptop.

Suddenly, she looks up.

All the authors around her are also typing away. She leaps to her feet. She dashes out of the room in an obvious panic, and rushes upstairs. Into the kitchen. Confronts the two cooks.

Gail: OMG, I need your help!

Cooks:???

Gail: You have a vital, absolutely vitally important question to help me answer.

Cooks: We are here for you, Gail.

Gail: What does alien jizz taste like?!!

Much hilarity and discussion ensues.

Because we all know what werewolf jizz tastes like. And Mage jizz. Or we do if we’ve been reading The San Andreas Shifter series.

But this is a serious question?

Gorgeous purple alien with sea anemone hair:

What does his jizz taste like?

Ponder that my lovelies.

And find out in The 5th Gender.

So there.

Your (big tease),

Miss Gail

P.S. Here’s more on how my brain works.

  • Did you miss my latest release announcement? Want more sneak peeks, free goodies, gossip, behind the scenes info? This stuff goes to my Chirrup members, because I love them bestest. Sign up here.
  • Not into newsletters? Get only new releases by following Gail on Amazon or BookBub!

OUT NOW!

The 5th Gender (A Tinkered Stars Mystery as G. L. Carriger).

Amazon | Elsewhere | Direct from Gail
Audio is coming. 

Sci-fi queer romance meets cozy mystery in which a hot space station cop meets the most adorable purple alien ever (lavender, puhlease!) from a race with 5 genders.

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

  • Reticence, The 4th and final Custard Protocol book. August 6, 2019
  • Fan Service Omnibus, October 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
  • Need to know what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Le Follet Date June, 1878

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

“Everything in life that’s any fun, as somebody wisely observed, is either immoral, illegal or fattening.”

~ P.G. Wodehouse

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

How to Calculate Amazon Fees for Printing Paperbacks Using KDP Print

Book News:

Something I would write…

“I’d be a really Casual Assassin, like ‘You’re gonna die, no doubt about that, but meantime would you like a coffee or a soda?”

~ Borderlands Books Hilarious “Overhead in the store” April News

Quote of the Day:

“Aliens, robots, & monsters — that’s my kink!”

~ Overheard in Borderlands Books, from their awesome occasional blog 

Your Moment of Gail

 

“I suspect it may be like the difference between a drinker and an alcoholic; the one merely reads books, the other needs books to make it through the day.”

(Interview with The Booklovers blog, September 2010)” ~ Gail Carriger

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

Romancing the Inventor Special Extras (Supernatural Society)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 1 Comment

Romancing the Inventor is the second novella I wrote and my first official queer romance.

Romancing the Inventor released in November of 2016

Here are some fun blog posts and resources that tie to this story. Research I did, chattering and amusement on the subject of May/December, lesbian, and class conflict relationships. This was also my first opportunity to show Channing in a kinder light.

Romancing the Inventor

Parlormaid seeks scientist!

Lesbian Victorian romance featuring a maid bent on seducing an imprisoned cross-dressing inventor.

The Beginning from the Author’s Side

I struggled to even start this book for a long time. I just couldn’t climb into Genevieve’s head. It wasn’t until Imogene leapt into being that I realized that’s because this book was meant to be her story. This book needed to be told entirely from Imogene’s perspective. I needed a lower class character and I needed someone younger than Genevieve.

Why?

Perhaps because I’m too close to Genevieve? I identify with her too strongly, so I couldn’t get the right perspective to write her as a POV character. Anyway, I’ve never been able too, she has always lived from the perspective of other characters with this air of mystery. And clearly my creative brain needed her to stay that way.

Once I knew how I was going to write this story, I had to wait because I hadn’t had a “scene epiphany” yet.

Then, one night it came to me, the semi-confrontation between Imogene and Channing outside a pub in a small village. There it was, it happened, and Imogene was born.

Which brings me to note that yes, the inclusion and softening of Channing in this book is entirely intentional. Why is he nicer to to Imogene than to other women? Because she is gay and lower class. Channing isn’t threatened by her. This is an important insight into has character that will come into play in How to Marry a Werewolf. 

Things Pertaining to this Book

  • Blog posts specific to Romancing the Inventor
  • The Pinterest story board for this book
  • A Moment of Madame Lefoux Fashion Loves on Retro Rack
  • Genevieve Lefoux character design board (Madame Lefoux appears in all my other series, although in the Finishing School books she is known as Vieve.)
  • Imogene Hale character design board (she reappears in Reticence) and yes, the “Hale” is an ode of Gaskall’s North & South
  • FYI: The Westminster Hive moved to Barking in Heartless
  • I have a board full of Queer History including quite a bit on male impersonators and Toms of the Victorian Era

RTI is probably my most critically well regarded book, it is my most popular audiobook but probably the least digitally read, of my novellas. I have no idea why. Or what is going on but I think it has to do with this being a lesbian romance and there being an enduring desire for these stories but not a huge audience looking specifically for them.

Genevieve and Imogene by Ace Artemis Fan Artist

What Reviewers Said of This Book

Book Loving Nut says:

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is a story I didn’t know I wanted. Adult Genevieve Lefoux has never appealed to me the way her childhood self did. For the first time though, I felt myself finally falling in love with her during this novella.”

The Lesbian Review says :

“This is a fantastic and quick read. Fans of Carriger’s will be well-served in picking up this novel, and those who aren’t familiar with her work will find it a great way of introducing themselves to her steampunk universe. I was sold at the name Genevieve Lefoux, and I suspect many others will be also. It’s a wonderful story with two characters who are more than a match for each other. The combination is electric and sure to please.”

Artemis Fan Artist Final ask for @glitterthegaywitch, who was sitting across from me reading Romancing the Inventor on my kindle while I was drawing the previous asks a few nights ago. She wanted Madame Lefoux and Imogene

Jess of Jessticulates says of Romancing the Inventor:

“Honestly I was surprised, at first, at how much darker this novella was compared to other books I’ve read by Carriger…. These darker elements didn’t stop it from being a sweet novella, though. In fact I really appreciated that Carriger didn’t make this story a silly one; Genevieve does wear her heart on her sleeve and it’s been broken before, so it was satisfying to see her work through that instead of watching her fall head over heels in love with Imogene…”

“I realise this is more of a gush than a review, but basically I loved this novella and I was thrilled to have a story devoted to Genevieve getting some kind of happy ending at last. If you’ve read and enjoyed the Parasol Protectorate series then you should definitely give this novella a try…”

Hidden in Pages says :

“Overall I loved this book and thought it was well done. It does an excellent job of filling in Lefoux’s storyline in the time between the Parasole Protectorate and The Custard Protocol. It was a fun and easy read but very romance heavy. Recommended to fans of Genevieve Lefoux especially!”

The Lesbian Review also says:

“The sexual tension is delicious, and the payoff is sweet and wonderful, while not being terribly graphic. Fans of Carriger’s work will love this dive into a secondary character’s life, while first-time readers may very well find themselves picking up Carriger’s novels.”

The Smut Reports says:

“Overall, this novella is a delightful read, mainly because the prose is so fun.”

Yours, finding the X,

Miss Gail

  • Did you want more sneak peeks, free goodies, gossip, behind the scenes info? This stuff goes to my Chirrup members, because I love them bestest. Sign up here.
  • Not into newsletters? Get only new releases by following Gail on Amazon or BookBub!

OUT NOW!

The 5th Gender (A Tinkered Stars Mystery as G. L. Carriger).

Amazon | Elsewhere | Direct from Gail
Audio is coming. 

Sci-fi queer romance meets cozy mystery in which a hot space station cop meets the most adorable purple alien ever (lavender, pulease!) from a race with 5 genders.

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

  • Reticence, The 4th and final Custard Protocol book. August 6, 2019
  • Fan Service Omnibus, October 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
  • Need to know what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Le Moniteur de la Mode December, 1871

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

“Gentleman Jack” 9 Facts About Lesbian Legend Anne Lister to Know

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

Are you and author who “hates marketing”? Read this: 9 Habits: Brag

Book News:

Just mistyped the word “woman” as “womance” which I think is my favorite genre.

~ Self on Twitter

Quote of the Day:

“In general, I try not to microwave sour cream.”

~ Borderlands Books Hillarious “Overhead in the store” April News

Your Moment of Gail

 

“I suspect it may be like the difference between a drinker and an alcoholic; the one merely reads books, the other needs books to make it through the day.”

(Interview with The Booklovers blog, September 2010)” ~ Gail Carriger

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

Timeless Special Extras (Parasol Protectorate)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 

The Great Parasolverse read along continues with Timeless, the final Parasol Protectorate book. I talked a lot about ending a series when this book came out.  This was a first for me… ending a series.

Timeless released in March of 2012.

Here are some for the best blog posts that tie to this book. Chattering and amusement on the subject of Victorian Egypt, travel by sea, traveling acting troops, and unveiling more secrets of the Parasolverse .

This is the exciting and hilarious conclusion to the Parasol Protectorate series.

Timeless was a New York Times, Locus, and Publishers Weekly bestseller; was a Los Angeles Public Library Best Book of 2012; won the 2013 Prix Julia Verlanger Award(2013);  and the Parasol Protectorate Omnibus Volume Two was selected as a Best Book of the Year, by the Science Fiction Book Club.

Writing Timeless

I blogged about ending a series at the time in two parts, the practical mechanics of it and also the emotional feelings and my own personal struggles. I have to say that since then I’ve learned to feel differently about the last book in a series. In fact, writing the final book has become my favorite thing to do, because it’s an opportunity to wrap so much up and I LOVE that. It really suits my personality with is very organized, neat, and tidy (maybe a little OCD, but that’s just because the world isn’t as tidy as I want it to be).

Timeless still has some of my favorite comedy scenes I’ve ever written:

  • Lord Akeldama with Prudence and the bath
  • Ivy and Tunstell’s theater show
  • The riding a donkey sequence in Egypt

For the eagle eye of the super fan, yes, Ivy’s stage costume is, indeed, me lampooning the original German covers of the Parasol Protectorate books (also the second run printing in France).

German cover of Timeless

I have always believed that the best revenge is evisceration  in print.

Extras Pertaining to This Book

  • Blog posts specific to this book
  • Ivy Abroad and what she might wear, over on Retro Rack.
  • Floote character design board (Floote reappears in all my series, but this is his pivot point, I nearly killed him in this book)
  • Tunstell character design board

Random Author thoughts concerning Timeless

  • Yes, I knew Ivy’s arc from the get go, she was ways always intended for this outcome.
  • Biffy however was a complete surprise to me.
  • I knew Lyall & Alessandro’s back story from Changeless on.
  • I have written several of Alessandro’s journal entries that never made it into this book, I’m keeping them to perhaps one day write his book.
  • I worked for an Egyptian museum and I had always intended to be an Egyptologist until I reached university and realized my skills were better suited to Materials Archaeology. Still, the Middle Kingdom is a great love of mine, particularly the queens, hence Hatshepsut.
  • In addition to Ivy’s costume at the beginning of the book (based on my German covers) Tunstell’s costume is based on a friend’s panto gig at the Dickens Christmas Fair.

The many faces of Alexia…

The Many Faces of Alexia, T-B, L-R: Japan, Spain, Omnibus, USA, Germany, Manga

After Dark Book Lovers says of Timeless:

“The finale was a mix of crazy, tense, funny and heartwrenching. It was 3am and I was literally crying near the end. My cold, dead heart was shocked, let me tell you. Loved it. Great series, and it’s even greater because it has a solid ending.”

Yours (sadly never having visited Egypt),

Miss Gail

  • Did you want more sneak peeks, free goodies, gossip, behind the scenes info? This stuff goes to my Chirrup members, because I love them bestest. Sign up here.
  • Not into newsletters? Get only new releases by following Gail on Amazon or BookBub!

OUT NEXT!

The 5th Gender (A Tinkered Stars Mystery as G. L. Carriger).

Preorder on Amazon | Elsewhere | Direct from Gail
Audio is coming. 

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

  • Reticence, The 4th and final Custard Protocol book. August 6, 2019
  • Fan Service Omnibus, October 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
  • Need to know what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Peterson’s Magazine June, 1879

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

Who Adapted it Better? TV vs. Movie Adaptations

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

Business Musings: Outrage Fatigue

Book News:

Words Words Words says of Timeless:

“I have now finished Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series. It had an incredibly strong finish, and I had the urge to start the series over from the beginning.”

Quote of the Day:

“Ever type a word. Pause. Then just look at it and be like… no…. no? That CAN’T be how that’s spelled. Can it?”

~ Self on Twitter

Your Moment of Gail

 

“I suspect it may be like the difference between a drinker and an alcoholic; the one merely reads books, the other needs books to make it through the day.”

(Interview with The Booklovers blog, September 2010)” ~ Gail Carriger

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

Heartless Special Extras (Parasol Protectorate)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 

The Great Parasolverse read along continues with Heartless, my play on a cozy mystery. What, you didn’t think that’s what was going on?

Heartless released in July of 2011.

Here are some fun blog posts and resources that tie to this book. Research, chattering, and amusement on the subject of Sherlock, burning down Victorian London, getting clumsy comedy out of unsuspecting pregnant friends, and other good times.

Will Alexia manage to determine who is trying to kill Queen Victoria before it is too late? Is it the vampires again or is there a traitor lurking about in wolf’s clothing? And what, exactly, has taken up residence in Lord Akeldama’s second best closet?

Heartless was a New York Times, Locus, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Barnes & Noble/B. Dalton; made Locus Recommended Reading list (2011) and Locus Poll for Best Fantasy Novel #14 (2012); and was nominated for the Prix des Imaginales (2011).

Heartless also got the highest of any of my books in the mass market lists (#11).

Things Pertaining to This Book

All About Vampires!

I hope you enjoy the great purple beasty!

Yours (rarely in purple),

Miss Gail

P.S. Only 39 copies of Fan Service left, order now.

This is a hardcover special omnibus of Romancing the Inventor & Romancing the Werewolf plus special Meat Cute AKA The Hedgehog Incident. 

  • Want more sneak peeks, free goodies, gossip, behind the scenes info? This stuff goes to my Chirrup members, because I love them bestest. Sign up here.
  • Not into newsletters? Get only new releases by following Gail on Amazon or BookBub!

OUT MAY 18, 2019! More PURPLE

The 5th Gender (A Tinkered Stars Mystery as G. L. Carriger).

Preorder on Amazon | Elsewhere | Direct from Gail
Print and audio are coming, but will not be available for preorder. 

Sci-fi queer romance meets cozy mystery in which a hot space station cop meets the most adorable purple alien ever (lavender, pulease!) from a race with 5 genders.

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

  • Reticence, The 4th and final Custard Protocol book. August 6, 2019
  • Fan Service Omnibus, October 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
  • Need to know what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Guy Orlando Rose – The Green Parasol

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

60 of the Best, Steamiest Romance Novel Covers for Your Viewing and Reading Pleasure

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

A Victorian Ladies’ Guide To Surviving Chivalrous Gentlemen Strangers

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

“Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers.”

~ Ray Bradbury

Book News:

40+ Paranormal Romance Books with Bite (Soulless on this list)

Quote of the Day:

Your Moment of Gail

 

“I suspect it may be like the difference between a drinker and an alcoholic; the one merely reads books, the other needs books to make it through the day.”

(Interview with The Booklovers blog, September 2010)” ~ Gail Carriger

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

Alexia’s Clothes in the Parasol Protectorate (Special Extras) Victorian 1870s Attire

Posted by Gail Carriger

 

According to Pip, I once received a Bookie Award for best dressed character in the form of Alexia Tarabotti. I can’t seem to find any evidence of this online, Fashionable Reader, but I trust Pip for she was at Authors After Dark reporting in.

Upon learning of the win, Alexia was suitably honored, Ivy was crushed, and Lord Akeldama took all the credit for loaning Alexia Biffy during her rise to fashionable mavin of London society.

Above you can see a quintessentially Alexia dresses from 1874.  This is a French designed reception dress from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I always see Alexia gravitating towards darker colors. Although she would not have been allowed many of them by her mother.
Alexia is particularly fond of blue, stripes, and perch hats.

Below, is a collection of some of Alexia’s best moments present to you in the form of cover art, fan art, cosplay, and original fashion plate fodder.

I do hope you enjoy it!

Alexia in Soulless the Original (1873)

 The cover that wasn’t; the pose that wasn’t.

 

The Polish cover shows more of the dress

1883 Dinner Dress Charles Fredrick Worth The Kyoto Costume Institute for color inspiration

1873 fashion plate

Alexia’s first parasol.

Alexia in Soulless Volume 1, The Manga

First Manga

Manga cosplay

Emile Pingat, 1874

character sketch from the manga

1874 Fashion plate

1874 Striped dress

Amazing striped Swiss waist with matched bustle.

Alexia in Changeless (1874) & Omnibus Volume 1 & Soulless Manga Volume 2

Polish cover again, shows more of dress; self cosplay of cover.

 

Omnibus Vol. 1 cover

Alexia cosplay

Manga Soulless Vol. 2 cover art

inspiration for Alexia floating dress

1870  The Philadelphia Museum of Art color inspiration

1874 more diminished bustle

 Alexia walking dresses inspiration

 

 Dirigible floating dress inspiration from skirt tapes

 

Inspiration for the deck of the dirigible scenes.

The new parasol.

steampunk from NY Comic Con cosplay fake cover photo fun

Alexia in Blameless (1874)

Emile Pingat (1820–1901), Parisfor color inspiration

Highly modern French influenced walking dresses for Alexia to try.

Inspiration for the frilly dress Alexia is made to wear in Italy, 1874-5 wedding dress of white linen cambric with ivory ribbob and machine silk blonde lace.

More frills!

 

Alexia in Heartless (1874)

Alexia’s new more flowy choice of clothing

1874 Charles Fredrick Worth The Kyoto Costume Institute

Hungarian painter Szinyei Merse – The Lady in Purple

Day Dress France, ca. 1874 Silk taffeta Biffy has begun “Frenching-up” Alexia wardrobe.

Alexia in Timeless (1876) & The Omnibus Vol. 2

Alexia walking dress

 

summer day dress USA 1870-1874 Royal Ontario Museum

Alexia’s style has grown more relaxed and breezy under the drone’s tutelage. Although the fashions remain quite severe.

Evening dress, 1876-77 US

the Met Museum; day dress 1876

 1878-1880  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Matt Harrison fan art

The Parasol Protectorate mangaka-chan

womens-fashion-1876

 

I hope you enjoyed this fashionable trip down memory lane. Now you can play a rousing game of “spot that dress” if you read the books! Or reread them again.

One of the things I always tried to do, for example, was find time during copy edits to write in a small paragraph describing the dress Alexia wears on the cover within the text. (Excepting Soulless for obvious reasons.)

The scene for Changeless was particularly fun to write for various amusing Ivy-related hair styles.

And, of course, my hugely non-period German covers show up on stage in all editions of Timeless.

This post first appeared on Retro Rack.

Yours in frilly dresses,

Miss Gail (except Madame Lefoux, of course, no frills for her!).

  • Want more behind the scenes info? This stuff goes to my Chirrup members, because I love them bestest. Sign up here.
  • Not into newsletters? Get only new releases by following Gail on Amazon or BookBub!

OUT MAY 18, 2019!

The 5th Gender (A Tinkered Stars Mystery as G. L. Carriger).

Preorder on Amazon | Elsewhere | Direct from Gail
Print and audio are coming, but will not be available for preorder. 

Sci-fi queer romance meets cozy mystery in which a hot space station cop meets the most adorable purple alien ever (lavender, pulease!) from a race with 5 genders.

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

  • Reticence, The 4th and final Custard Protocol book. August 6, 2019
  • Fan Service Omnibus, October 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
  • Need to know what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

1878 pierre auguste renoir (1841-1919) the parasol

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Frozen Victorian Garments Arranged into a Larger than Life Bouquet by Nicole Dextras

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

7 Reasons Book Signings are Better than Concerts

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

Male and female writers’ media coverage reveals ‘marked bias’

Book News:

“It takes an awful lot of time to not write a book.”

~ Douglas Adams

Quote of the Day:

Your Moment of Gail

 

“I suspect it may be like the difference between a drinker and an alcoholic; the one merely reads books, the other needs books to make it through the day.”

(Interview with The Booklovers blog, September 2010)” ~ Gail Carriger

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

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