Full Steam Ahead

My daughter recently moved into her first home with her boyfriend and left me in a turmoil of emotion. Something that has provided me with focus is that now I have a spare room to find a use for and to redecorate. As a writer, there's no option of turning it into a walk-in-wardrobe, it just has to be a study!

Whilst scouring the internet for inspiration I settled on the idea of inspiration itself. Instead of a haven of calm and orderly function, I decided I wanted something to inspire me. Something that, when I get one of those writerly moments of staring into space, will oil the cogs of my imagination.

It started with a map. Not the sort you look at in puzzlement as you try to decide which way to go but a vintage world map to transport me to the places in my head. Lots of adventures can start with a map. As it was a vintage map, I looked for vintage lighting and so on and, so forth. Before long I was able to envisage the room like a scene from a well-described backdrop. A room of fantasy to get lost in with a theme of steampunk.

I typically write fantasy featuring mythical people and creatures, but I've been captivated by the steampunk theme. So before I go full steam ahead with the paintbrushes I thought I would delve further into steampunk to see what is making it such a fascinating and alluring genre to writers, readers, and DIY decorators.

Steampunk is a science fiction genre that has a futuristic feel yet roots itself by incorporating the steam or clockwork technologies of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It's vintage and yet modernistic in its deployment of gadgets and machines to aid or hinder characters that typically dress in Victorian style attire. The poplar setting for these fantastical adventures is typically in Victorian England or the Wild West of America and they lend themselves to vivid descriptions to transport the reader into scenes of somewhat familiar yet alternate histories. Storylines are action-packed and face-paced with eccentric characters that travel through time in amazing time machines or battle against the bad guy and their ingenious but deadly inventions, whilst others have feisty heroines or romantic sub-plots.

It's also a genre that you can easily recreate in the real world and get carried away with.

Artwork, fashion, trinkets, and everyday items for your home are readily available to purchase. Fans don't need a book or e-reader to hand to immerse themselves into an imagined history.

If you haven't yet read anything steampunk and wonder where to start, here are a few recommendations -

• 'Clockwork Angel' by Cassandra Clare

• 'Infernal Devices' by K W Jeter

• 'Whitechapel Gods' by S M Peters

• 'Mortal Engines' by Philip Reeve

• 'The Golden Compass' by Philip Pullman