Steampunk World

Life is uncertain. The chance to peek into the future is tempting. But is it a good idea to look?

Edited by Nayad Monroe, this anthology brings together stories from a diverse group of speculative fiction writers who provide insight into the possibilities.

The book includes cover artwork by Steven C. Gilberts, and an introduction by Alasdair Stuart. Featuring new stories from Maurice Braoddus, Jennifer Brozek, Keffy Kehrli, Jamie Lackey, Cat Rambo, Ken Scholes, Lucy A Snyder, Ferrett Steinmetz, Tim Waggoner, Damien Walters, Sarah Hans, Erika Holt, Rochita Loenen-Ruiz, Remy Nakamura, LaShawn Wanak, Andrew Penn Romine, Wendy Wagner, Eric James Stone, and Beth Wodzinski.

Some poems in this book gallop and kick. Some swerve elegantly like an escape pod caught in a gravity well. Other roll quiet as a child’s blanket. The words in these pages won’t seem the same each time you read them. They will be just what you were looking for, but nothing that you expected.

- Lucy A. Snyder, author of the Bram Stoker Award-winning poetry collection Chimeric Machines

Merging her fascination with images of the space age and cowboy/equine lore, Leslie Anderson gives a quirky personal vision of the contemporary world where "America is a boy with long hair/ Who holds cigarettes like a burden" and who tells us we can be anything we desire "but first you have to be sad for 200 years."

- Diane Wakoski, author of the William Carlos Williams Award-winning book Emerald Ice.

Sidekicks: We know them, and we ignore them. They sit courtside, they wait in the shadows, they ride on the coattails. They have nothing to offer.

Or do they?

Heroes and heroines perform world shaking deeds, but sidekicks? Sidekicks are the unseen glue holding those powerhouses together. They are the backbones. They are the voices of reason.

It's long past time for them to shine.

Here, the fangirls, the trusted associates, the loyal assistants, and the imperiled wards have their moment in the spotlight. Join them as they shake up the world in unexpected and understated ways.

Let the heroes sit this one out. Celebrate the Sidekick!