Cherie Priest has had a busy year.
She has published two super fun urban fantasy novels, Bloodshot and Hellbent. She had a short story published in Fort Freak, the George R. R. Martin Wild Cards book. And now she has Ganymede!
What is Ganymede? Here is a bit more about the book!
The air pirate Andan Cly is going straight. Well, straighter. Although he’s happy to run alcohol guns wherever the money’s good, he doesn’t think the world needs more sap, or its increasingly ugly side-effects. But becoming legit is easier said than done, and Cly’s first legal gig—a supply run for the Seattle Underground—will be paid for by sap money.
New Orleans is not Cly’s first pick for a shopping run. He loved the Big Easy once, back when he also loved a beautiful mixed-race prostitute named Josephine Early—but that was a decade ago, and he hasn’t looked back since. Jo’s still thinking about him, though, or so he learns when he gets a telegram about a peculiar piloting job. It’s a chance to complete two lucrative jobs at once, one he can’t refuse. He sends his old paramour a note and heads for New Orleans, with no idea of what he’s in for—or what she wants him to fly.
But he won’t be flying. Not exactly. Hidden at the bottom of Lake Pontchartrain lurks an astonishing war machine, an immense submersible called the Ganymede. This prototype could end the war, if only anyone had the faintest idea of how to operate it…. If only they could sneak it past the Southern forces at the mouth of the Mississippi River… If only it hadn’t killed most of the men who’d ever set foot inside it.
But it’s those “if onlys” that will decide whether Cly and his crew will end up in the history books, or at the bottom of the ocean.
Today, Ganymede hits fine bookstores everywhere. To celebrate its release, Cherie answered some questions about the new book, her urban fantasy, and who she loves to read in the steampunk genre. Enjoy!
RELEASE DAY INTERVIEW: GANYMEDE BY CHERIE PRIEST
Shawn Speakman: Hi Cherie! Your new novel, GANYMEDE, is in fine bookstores now. Tell us a bit about it and why it might be the perfect jumping on point for a new reader?
It’s probably a good entry point to the series if for no other reason than it offers a microcosm of the alternate history universe, wherein the Civil War is ongoing after 20 years. This is a story about how the war affects people even in places where it isn’t immediately being fought – in an occupied city of New Orleans – so it’s less war-action oriented, and more about espionage and pirating at its core.
SS: This year you’ve released two urban fantasy novels (BLOODSHOT; HELLBENT) and now returned to steampunk in GANYMEDE. Can you talk a bit about your writing process for these very different sub-genres?
SS: Steampunk is picking up steam, no pun truly intended. For you, what is steampunk?
(Occasionally you’ll encounter people who fancy themselves the arbiters of taste for the entire genre – people who want to tell you you’re doing it wrong, or you have to conform to some ridiculous standard they’ve made up, or else you don’t “count” as part of the group. These people should be disregarded out of hand. There is nothing at all “punk” about allowing other people to tell you how to participate in your hobbies. If you’re not having fun you’re doing it wrong. That is the only rule.)
SS: Halloween is coming and that always brings out fantastically realistic steampunk costumes. What’s the coolest steampunk costume / character you’ve seen and have you ever dressed up?
I have seen many outstanding steampunk costumes in my time, though the “nerf-punks” of DragonCon (Austin Sirkin and Meagan Maud, I’m looking at you!) stand out, as do the troop of ghost-busters who use a retro-fitted electric wheelchair as a remote-controlled ghost trap. The innovation is outrageous. I am utterly charmed by the fact that no two steampunks ever arrive at an event wearing exactly the same thing, and the sheer scope and quality of the get-ups will blow your mind.
SS: Who are your favorite steampunk writers? And if a new reader wants to try it, where should they start?
Ganymede by Cherie Priest is available wherever fine books are sold!
To learn more about Cherie, visit her website at www.cheriepriest.com.
