Author: Andrea Cremer
Release
Date: November 3, 2015
Pages: 352
Publisher: Philomel Books
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
The Revolution is beginning–and Charlotte may be on the wrong side.
In this sequel to The Inventor's Secret, Charlotte and her companions escape the British Empire, but they haven't left danger behind. In fact, if they go against the revolutionaries, they face even greater peril.
Charlotte leads her group of exiles west, plunging into a wild world of shady merchants and surly rivermen on the way to New Orleans. But as Charlotte learns more about the revolution she has championed, she wonders if she's on the right side after all. Charlotte and her friends get to know the mystical New Orleans bayou and deep into the shadowy tunnels below the city–the den of criminals, assassins and pirates–Charlotte must decide if the revolution's goals justify their means, or if some things, like the lives of her friends, are too sacred to sacrifice.
This alternate-history adventure series asks the questions: What would have happened if America had lost the Revolutionary War? And what would people be willing to do to finally taste freedom?
Praise for The Inventor's Secret:
* "Cremer...creates an inventive blend of steampunk and alternative history in this new series. She gives readers a fantastical world with mechanical wonders and an opulent vintage setting. The characters are interesting and well developed. Readers will be drawn to future installments."--VOYA, starred review
"[A]n entertaining romp in a richly imaginative setting."--Kirkus Reviews
Now on to the guest post!
For the Inventor’s Secret the research I undertook was two-fold: first, I had to familiarize myself with parts of history with which I was less familiar. That mostly had to do with what was happening in continental Europe in the early 19th century. I had only the teeniest amount of knowledge of the Napoleonic Wars, and had to read up on that conflict.
Second: I had to research the history of science and technology. Steampunk falls under the category of speculative fiction, and while every author and reader has their own view of what rules apply to specific genres my personal law of writing is that a writer must create rules for her fictional world and then adhere to those rules throughout a series. The central rule I established for The Inventor’s Secret was that the most basic form of a technology had to exist in order for me to put it to use in that world. Therefore, while most of the gadgetry, transportation, and weapons in the novels are well-beyond and fantastically different from what existed in 1816 – the building blocks for such devices were in place: steam power, turbines, magnetism, vacuums. In some cases it was a matter of changing the name of an object not because the technology didn’t exist but because the person who said object was named after hadn’t created that specific object yet. Case in point: the Floating City of New York features the “Great Wheel” a gigantic, gilded wheel that turns on an axis and features passenger cars that carry citizens from the platforms of the city to the island of Manhattan below. An obvious response to this description: you mean a Ferris wheel, don’t you? The answer is yes, except that George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. designed and constructed the first Ferris wheel for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. The wheel was named for Mr. Ferris. Sticking to my rules of world-building, I can have “Ferris” wheels in operation because the basic technology to create such an object existed, however I can’t called it a Ferris wheel because the man for whom it was named hadn’t been born yet.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of world-building in The Inventor’s Secret series is filling in the spaces of history where I’ve erased major events. In this world, the American Revolution failed. The absence of such a pivotal marker in history is like the first falling domino. Without the American Revolution there is no constitution and no Early Republic. There is no President Thomas Jefferson, which means there is no Louisiana Purchase and no Lewis and Clark expedition. The effects of the British winning the war against rebellious American colonists reach far into the future. Imagining what the lasting ramifications would be of such a momentous change in a timeline has been the most engaging piece in writing this series.
I
asked Andrea…. Discuss your world-building process for this series in
comparison to your previous books. What kind of research goes into it?
I’m frequently asked about the
research I completed for the Nightshade series, particularly with regard to
wolf behavior. What’s funny is that in the case of Nightshade I had to do
little research at all. As a child, I loved nature programs as much, if not
more, than cartoons. I watched every National Geographic, Nova, and Nature
special on television – and many of those programs featured wolves. The
historical background of Nightshade, the history of witchcraft in Europe and
North America, is part of my research specialization in gender, sexuality, and
religion in the early modern era. Having completed my Ph.D. in 2007 I was well
versed in the area of history that became part of the Nightshade world.
For the Inventor’s Secret the research I undertook was two-fold: first, I had to familiarize myself with parts of history with which I was less familiar. That mostly had to do with what was happening in continental Europe in the early 19th century. I had only the teeniest amount of knowledge of the Napoleonic Wars, and had to read up on that conflict.
Second: I had to research the history of science and technology. Steampunk falls under the category of speculative fiction, and while every author and reader has their own view of what rules apply to specific genres my personal law of writing is that a writer must create rules for her fictional world and then adhere to those rules throughout a series. The central rule I established for The Inventor’s Secret was that the most basic form of a technology had to exist in order for me to put it to use in that world. Therefore, while most of the gadgetry, transportation, and weapons in the novels are well-beyond and fantastically different from what existed in 1816 – the building blocks for such devices were in place: steam power, turbines, magnetism, vacuums. In some cases it was a matter of changing the name of an object not because the technology didn’t exist but because the person who said object was named after hadn’t created that specific object yet. Case in point: the Floating City of New York features the “Great Wheel” a gigantic, gilded wheel that turns on an axis and features passenger cars that carry citizens from the platforms of the city to the island of Manhattan below. An obvious response to this description: you mean a Ferris wheel, don’t you? The answer is yes, except that George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. designed and constructed the first Ferris wheel for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. The wheel was named for Mr. Ferris. Sticking to my rules of world-building, I can have “Ferris” wheels in operation because the basic technology to create such an object existed, however I can’t called it a Ferris wheel because the man for whom it was named hadn’t been born yet.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of world-building in The Inventor’s Secret series is filling in the spaces of history where I’ve erased major events. In this world, the American Revolution failed. The absence of such a pivotal marker in history is like the first falling domino. Without the American Revolution there is no constitution and no Early Republic. There is no President Thomas Jefferson, which means there is no Louisiana Purchase and no Lewis and Clark expedition. The effects of the British winning the war against rebellious American colonists reach far into the future. Imagining what the lasting ramifications would be of such a momentous change in a timeline has been the most engaging piece in writing this series.
Andrea Cremer is a New York Times and international bestselling author. She spent her childhood daydreaming while roaming the forests and lakeshores of Northern Wisconsin. She now lives in Southern California.
Andrea has always loved writing and has never stopped writing, but it took a horse and a broken foot to prompt her to finally write the novel she’d always dreamed of writing. Prior to becoming a full-time novelist, Andrea resided in the academic world where she taught early modern history.
Andrea has always loved writing and has never stopped writing, but it took a horse and a broken foot to prompt her to finally write the novel she’d always dreamed of writing. Prior to becoming a full-time novelist, Andrea resided in the academic world where she taught early modern history.
Check out the Tour Schedule!
Week One:
Two Chicks on Books – guest post - 11/2
Reading is Better with Cupcakes – review & giveaway - 11/3
Jessabella Reads – 10 Random Things - 11/4
A Dream Within a Dream – interview - 11/5
Butter My Books – excerpt - 11/6
Week Two:
YA Books Central – review - 11/9
Please Feed the Bookworm – book soundtrack & review - 11/10
The Young Folks – Would You Rather? - 11/11
The Forest of Words and Pages – interview - 11/12
Seeing Double in Neverland – review & giveaway - 11/13
Title: THE INVENTOR'S SECRET
Author: Andrea Cremer
Release
Date: July 14, 2014
Pages: 368
Publisher: Philomel Books
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook
Find it:
Goodreads
| Amazon
| Barnes& Noble | iBooks
A new steampunk series from Andrea Cremer, the New York Times bestselling author of the Nightshade novels
Perfect for fans of Libba Bray's The Diviners, Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel, Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan and Phillip Reeve's Mortal Engines.
In this world, sixteen-year-old Charlotte and her fellow refugees have scraped out an existence on the edge of Britain’s industrial empire. Though they live by the skin of their teeth, they have their health (at least when they can find enough food and avoid the Imperial Labor Gatherers) and each other. When a new exile with no memory of his escape or even his own name seeks shelter in their camp he brings new dangers with him and secrets about the terrible future that awaits all those who have struggled has to live free of the bonds of the empire’s Machineworks.
Perfect for fans of Libba Bray's The Diviners, Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel, Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan and Phillip Reeve's Mortal Engines.
In this world, sixteen-year-old Charlotte and her fellow refugees have scraped out an existence on the edge of Britain’s industrial empire. Though they live by the skin of their teeth, they have their health (at least when they can find enough food and avoid the Imperial Labor Gatherers) and each other. When a new exile with no memory of his escape or even his own name seeks shelter in their camp he brings new dangers with him and secrets about the terrible future that awaits all those who have struggled has to live free of the bonds of the empire’s Machineworks.
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