Today we would like to welcome to Book Lovers Inc. Nishi Serrano whose highly unique (and very steamy!) erotic steampunk novella was released recently (you can read my review here). She is here to tell us more about the unique setting of her novella and how the inspiration struck to combine erotica and steampunk. Please give her a warm welcome!

As a child, the things around you are often the inspirations for who you will be when you grow up—if one ever decides to grow up, that is! Television shows watched (be they black and white or technicolor), books read, environments lived—these will shape you, even if you don’t want them to.

A cloudy day sky on a breezy beach caught my imagination. Appearing like a whale that should have been swimming in the ocean, instead was swimming through the sky. It was a Zeppelin. In the 1970’s blimps and Zeppelins were pretty common things to spy, and were used for advertising. And sitting in the sand digging for China, I was awed by its sudden appearance and steely quietness as it passed. What sort of people rode in those bloated planes? Where did the people sit? Where did they come from? And where was it going? Many questions flitted through my sand plied noggin. I suppose this was my first inkling of interest in what would later be termed Steampunk.

Though I’ve always had a fascination for all things romantically antique, I think another of my inspirations during my teen years was Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. The old motorcycles, ancient civilizations, pilot uniforms—that stuff is pure awesome. And just how many archaeologists have been portrayed in steampunk books and movies? Dozens!

As an artist, you get drawn into whatever communities and trendy subgenres take root and carry you away. Burning Man is a festival of another world. There are elements of steampunk everywhere you look. It was a natural progression to become a part of the Black Rock community, and not so surprisingly, this is where I started thinking about writing erotica. I think BM opened my mind to a plethora of ideas, and I’m sure it does for many others as well. As a writer of fantasy your main goal is to create a different world, and BM is like stepping through a portal and landing in a real-life fantasy.

To be honest, I never imagined myself writing anything remotely romantic, because I usually tend toward the darker side of my imagination, and I suppose this shows in my work—even the erotica. I’ve found that a few of my reviews so far have included the words ‘weird’ and ‘hard to describe’, and this might not please other authors, but it pleases me immensely. I want to be different from the everyday stories that you can find by the hundreds. I want people to step out of their cozy confines and find themselves in completely different situation than what their used to or comfortable with. That’s what great story telling is about. And steampunk is an amazing outlet for ones darkest, steamiest, and alternate desires.

If you want to know more about me, or read a free story, then stop by Wandering Hallows Night: http://www.nishiserrano.blogspot.com

To find my books go to: http://www.decadentpublishing.com, and http://www.hellfirepublishing.com

And a universe of thanks for supporting the small press and their authors!

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Nishi has offered an ebook copy of Mile High Airship Club to a lucky commenter!

 (You can read our full giveaway policy here)