Vol. 2 of the CIRCO DEL HERRERO series has an official working title. Find out what it is: http://t.co/3AwugbVMkR #Sequels #FantasyNovels
— G.B. Gabbler (@CircoFootnotes) September 15, 2015
Sequel to THE AUTOMATION has title:
Tag: authors with pen names
On gender and book covers:
See also: The problem with Nicholas Sparks.
[“BLA and GB Gabbler” (really just a pen name – singular) are the Editor and Narrator behind THE AUTOMATION, vol. 1 of the Circo del Herrero series. They are on facebook, twitter, tumblr, goodreads, and Vulcan’s shit list.]
Today’s Featured Authors: B.L.A. and G.B. Gabbler
Today’s Featured Authors: B.L.A. and G.B. Gabbler.
An excerpt from THE AUTOMATION can be found on Susan Leigh Noble’s Blog today. Click the link to read!
10 things you might not know about THE AUTOMATION – in GIFs!
10 things you might not know about THE AUTOMATION – a dark fantasy novel about ancient Automata invading our modern world:
- There are Automata (uppercase-A, yes, thank you) in this novel. They’re divine as fuck and not made by men – and they’re often mistaken for human. Here’s a lowercase-a automaton to illustrate what they are NOT like:
- Those Automata can only function with a human soul. Thus, they need a human “Master” to wind them up. This makes for some awkward situations for some of the characters.
- The Greco-Roman gods Vulcan and Venus have small roles in the novel. Though they play a bigger part later on in the series and will likely eff more shit up for the poor human characters.
- One of the characters is a cat. Don’t ignore the cat. Though the cat can ignore YOU.
- One character’s sexuality is changed in the novel. Because the gods Vulcan and Venus need him to like girls instead of boys. And it’s not fair.
- The Narrator (whose abbreviated name is B.L.A.) and the Editor (Gabbler, whose contributions show up as footnotes) are also characters in the story. It’s actually B.L.A.’s memoir, you could say (though Gabbler is of the mind it’s – ahem – obviously embellished). [But just to be clear: the novel is written by one person, not two, despite what they tell you. PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN].
- It is for readers who like sf novels set in “this” world like: Vicious, The Magicians, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, American Gods, The Just City.
- It claims to be Epic Poetry, but it’s written in prose. Thus “Prose Epic” is apparently applicable.
- The novel breaks the fourth wall. It knows it’s a novel. Meta to the max.
- You can read the first chapter online for free. Be our guest. Enjoy the show.
THE AUTOMATION is available in paperback and for DRM-free Kindle download. In all countries. Maybe. Probably. WE DON’T KNOW, OK?
[“BLA and GB Gabbler” (really just a pen name – singular) are the Editor and Narrator behind THE AUTOMATION, vol. 1 of the Circo del Herrero series. They are on facebook, twitter, tumblr, goodreads, and Vulcan’s shit list.]
Doing some research to better understand those Automata-creatures that BLA created:
Reading Explorations in the History of Machines and Mechanisms by Teun Koetsier and Marco Ceccarelli (Editors):
“Automata make their first appearance in Homer, in a form that is strikingly similar to those described in On Automaton-Making. Hephaestus is depicted creating self-moving tripods to serve the gods on Olympus (Homer Iliad 18.373-381 [16]). This passage from the Iliad is the inspiration for the later automaton, when what was once impossible and divine becomes possible through the human application of mechanics [17]. Certainly, the form of automaton seen in Heron and Philon would seem to be a conscious emulation of this passage…The most likely context for the display of the automata described in On Automaton-Making, given their size, is that of a symposium, particularly in the case of the moving automaton described in the first book, especially considering its Dionysian theme. There is also a clear parallel created between the three wheeled automata of Heron and the tripods of Hephaestus [16] when they are presented in a sympotic context.”
BLA just gave a shake of the head and told me, “You want to know why some of Heron’s automata theories and musings don’t make much sense? Because Vulcan wouldn’t let such secrets be spread so easily. The exactness of machines now is nothing compared to what the gods once allowed. And I’m not talking about divine machines here. I’m talking about man-made things. Even if made from god-made secrets.”