Awesome human being Carol McKenzie has gone ahead and started to tally the books listed in the various Monday “crowdsourcing the essentials” posts (everyone please say, thanks, Carol!) — now it’s time to view some of the results. Starting with: Urban Fantasy.

So, the top ten are:

1. Jim Butcher: The Dresden Files series

2. Neil Gaiman: Neverwhere

3. Neil Gaiman: American Gods

4. Ilona Andrews: the Kate Daniels series

5. Richard Kadrey: the Sandman Slim series

6. Emma Bull: War for the Oaks

7. Seanan McGuire: the October Daye series

8. Patricia Briggs: the Mercy Thompson series

9. Kevin Hearne: the Iron Druid Chronicles

10. Rachel Caine: the Weather Warden series

Amongst the next top ten after that were authors like Lauren Beukes, Karen Marie Moning, Mike Carey, Sergei Lukyanenko, Ben Aaronovitch, Laurel K. Hamilton, C.E. Murphy, Kelley Armstrong, China Mieville and, totally entirely utterly unfairly, me.

(Remember, these are the ones chosen through compiling the comments on the urban fantasy post. If you want to check out this week’s, we’re asking about essential steampunk reads.)

Last time, we crowdsourced straight-up horror novels.

Now it’s time to dive back down into the niche a little bit and ask —

What are your essential steampunk reads?

Hell, just what is steampunk as you define it?

Drop into the comments and list your top three essential steampunk reads (doesn’t matter if it crosses over with what other people have said; that’s the point, as you’ll see when we tally ’em). Then, if you’re so inclined, talk about what steampunk even is to you as a subgenre.

The comment section awaits.

Last week’s challenge: “Random Story Generator”

This week’s challenge is a fun revisit to the idea of mashing up two different subgenres.

So, look at the list of 20 subgenres below.

Pick two randomly (d20 or random number generator).

Write a ~1500 word flash fiction piece based on that world.

(You’ll note I’ve upped the word count a little bit. FOR FUN WHEE.)

Post at your online space.

Link back here.

Due by Friday the 23rd, noon EST.

The list:

1. Dystopian Young Adult
2. Slasher Film
3. Weird West
4. Zombie Apocalypse
5. Paranormal Romance
6. Ancient Myth
7. Fairy Tale
8. Spy Thriller / Espionage
9. Haunted House
10. Erotic Horror
11. Low Fantasy (“Grimdark”)
12. Dieselpunk
13. Time Travel
14. Murder Mystery
15. Southern Gothic
16. Noir
17. Alternate WWII History
18. Kaiju
19. Comedic Fantasy
20. Psychological Horror

Miriam Black is back.

And once again, inked by the mad scientist known as Joey Hi-Fi.

Miriam Black, the poison pill psychic who can see how you’re going to die just by touching you, returns in a new high-stakes horror adventure that drags her from the hoarfrost hell of Philadelphia in winter to the bleachy bleary sand-brined Sunshine State of Florida.  In The Cormorant, someone has a score to settle with Miriam Black, and sends a message written in blood sent through the cruel channels of fate to spur her forward on a path twined with revenge and redemption. New loves, old family, broken relationships — all of it crashes together sure as the dark surf smashes into the bone-white seawall.

To catch up on the other two books in the series before Cormorant lands in December:

Miriam Black Book #1: Blackbirds.

Miriam Black Book #2: Mockingbird.

(Both are pretty cheap as e-books right now: under $5 a pop.)

So, women authors are sometimes asked a series of particular questions that are often sexist at best or misogynist at worst, and so for fun, WHACK! Magazine’s Lela Gwenn took some of those questions and asked them of two dude authors instead.

Those two dude authors being me and Stephen Blackmoore.

The results of that experiment are here.

(For the next iteration of this, I’d love to see Seanan McGuire’s suggestion of asking these questions of male authors who are ignorant of this phenomenon. Or, at the very least, spring these type of questions on male authors who think they’re getting a normal interview about their books — you know, and then suddenly someone’s asking them about how pretty they feel or about pregnancy or children. Like a prank. But socially relevant!)

(Though for the record, people ask me a lot about my toddler, but one assumes that’s because I talk a lot about the teacupped tempest known as “B-Dub.”)

EDIT:

Okay, additional thing:

Let’s crowdsource the worst, most offensive and outright dopiest questions posed to women authors. What other questions do women authors get asked that men never do? Let’s hear some examples. Pop ’em in the comments below.

I love Twitter because it puts me in contact with other writers who are amazing and interesting and who I would’ve never met otherwise. Mina Vaughn is one such authorly type, and so I’m happy to have her here talking about her debut: How To Discipline Your Vampire.

Tell Us About Yourself: Who The Hell Are You?  

I’m Mina Vaughn, a pin up princess and a shoe whore with a heart of gold.  I’m a vicious foodie, a globe-trotter, and a writer of comedic smut.

Give Us The 140-Character Story Pitch for How to Discipline Your Vampire:  

A punishment-seeking vampire meets a role play-obsessed Domme and hilarity ensues.

Where Does This Story Come From?  

I like combining genres and just sticking my head into the echo-chamber of pop culture and seeing what sticks together.  For me, nothing was a funnier or more relevant concept than vampires and bondage.

How Is This A Story Only You Could’ve Written?  

Well, I think to pull off such a strange combination, you really need to have a sense of humor and the ability to NOT take yourself too seriously. Which I think is hard for writers, especially debut authors.  When my agent said she wanted to read this, I was sort of stunned.  Then, when Simon and Schuster wanted to buy it, I realized that– my god– other people thought this was funny and not completely weird and insane.

What Was The Hardest Thing About Writing How to Discipline Your Vampire?

I’d say balancing the sex and the humor.  I really had to take a good look at where jokes were in relation to the steamy scenes.  The last thing you want during a sensual moment is to laugh, since that breaks the mood.  And there is a lot of sex in this book.  But there is also a metric fuckton of humor.  So yeah, balance.

What Did You Learn Writing How to Discipline Your Vampire?  

I learned that quirks define us.  There are billions of people in the world, zillions of stories.  To write one that sticks requires originality of epic proportions.  I think part of the reason that my story was picked up by such a major house was the fact that they hadn’t seen anything like it before.

What Do You Love About How to Discipline Your Vampire?

The girl power.  Cerise is a Domme, and in a genre dominated (pun intended) by alpha males, I have a badass heroine and a submissive hero.  He is still swoonsauce, he still makes all her dreams come true, but he doesn’t growl at her or stalk her.  I would like to see more non-alphas in the world of romance.

What Would You Do Differently Next Time?  

Next time I’d push the envelope with stakes.  This story is more about characters, not earth-shaking consequences, so I think that if I write a sequel, it would have to up the excitement factor.

Give Us Your Favorite Paragraph From The Story: 

Reveal to me only what you choose. Show me only what I deserve to see. I await.

I smiled at his wording. He was being very careful with me, as he should. Every sub understood that his Domme should set the pace, and even though he knew we were entering a sexual relationship, he didn’t want to assume too much.  Good.  This move empowered me and put me in the right mindset. I couldn’t be swooning and falling all over him—what kind of message would that send? They say in the teaching world, “Don’t smile until Christmas.” Essentially, if you were a softie from the start, they had full reign to walk all over you.

Remember not to smile, remember not to smile, I kept telling myself as I got into character– Muffy the Vampire Spanker.

What’s Next For You As A Storyteller?

I’m currently working other books in the vein of my debut.  Namely, funny Dommes taking over the world one unsuspecting gentleman at a time.

Mina Vaughn: Website / Twitter

How To Discipline Your Vampire: Amazon / B&N