Canadian National Steampunk Exhibition Report

So the Canadian National Steampunk Exhibition was this past weekend and it was bloody brilliant! I had such a great time, meeting some really cool new people, and sitting on some truly awesome panels.

My favourite panel of course would have to be the one where I did a reading from THE FRIDAY SOCIETY. It was the first time I'd ever shared the book with anyone aside from my editor and agent, and I am very happy to report that the audience seemed to enjoy it. They laughed at the right spots, and came up to me after to compliment me on the writing, saying they couldn't wait to read the whole thing. If only 2012 wasn't so darn far away! The reading was moderated by the fab Liana K who asked some really cool questions, and there was a lot of audience participation and we had some pretty sweet conversations going. Thank you so much to all who came to listen to me, it meant a lot.

But my other panels were nothing to sniff at either. I learned a lot from my fellow panelists on both of them: Kenneth Shelley, J. M. Frey, Mike Perschon and Alexandra Gerlach. We each had our own interests in Steampunk, from writing fiction to costuming, to Mr. Perschon doing, you know, his PhD on the subject. Really really cool.

What was also cool? Well everything. Professor Elemental's brilliant rap performance in the evening ("When I say Earl Grey you say Lovely!"), I've never raised the roof with my pinky finger before. Meeting a host of very talented people who I'll be featuring in a video I'm editing together on the con - stay tuned. Seeing all the awesome wares for sale, and just chillaxing in the green room with delightful funny and brilliant people.

Special thanks go to Adam Smith, Liana K, and Lee Ann Farruga for organising the event. It ran like a well oiled machine - maybe something with lots of moving clockwork parts maybe - and this was the very first CNSE ever. Well done! Here's hoping for many many more!


My photographs are few and far between as I was also filming a lot of the con. Said final video will go up once it's actually edited together. And of course the con had so much going on and so many different parts to it, that I just couldn't be all places.

With that said, here are the few pictures I DID take.

First of all . . . me.

Here are my two outfits I wore that day. Hardly as spectacular as some that were present, but I think they were still pretty cool. Day wear and evening wear, augmented with my amazing Steampunk jewelry which I shared in a post below:







This is Professor Elemental and his performance (Kenneth Shelley is milking the audience for more applause):







This is author J.M. Frey and me photographed with the good professor:




A Steampunk Captain Kirk:




Me and the amazing concept/design artist (he worked on 300, Spiderwick Chronicles, Stranger Than Fiction etc) Meinert Hansen:




How amazing is he? Well see this picture I took of Kenneth Shelley and Ashley Regimbal-Kung?




In twenty minutes, sitting on that couch that we were photographed on together, laptop in lap . . . Mr. Hansen turned it into this:


I know. Seriously amazing right??



Last but not least . . . a mouse wearing chainmail and holding a dagger: