So…Blogging 101 didn’t work so well, because I have been so busy with the anthology. But THAT is going swimmingly. In fact, here–as a special treat–is a little bit about the Pirates themselves. For the sake of brevity, I will be posting six at a time each Friday until we meet them all.

I asked my authors to tell me why they wanted to be in the anthology. Here are their answers, and a bit about each one. 😉

In order of appearance, here are the first set of scurvy crew:

1) Stephen Blake — “Beneath the Brass” — Stephen Blake lives in Penzance, Cornwall in the UK. He’s had a story previously published in the steampunk anthology ‘Airship Shape & Bristol Fashion’ and numerous pieces within the e-magazine ‘Far Horizons’. You can find him on twitter @UncannyBlake and he occasionally blogs on stephenblakeblog.wordpress.com, where you can follow his writing journey.

“Firstly I’m a fan. I like books like these and I’m looking forward to reading it just like anyone else. The steampunk world is rich with possibilities. Pirates are popular all over the world but I’m from Penzance! – we tried to regain the world record for the most people dressed as pirates this summer gone. We missed out by about 70 people I think, but the town doesn’t need much encouragement to get dressed up, we even have an old ship, ‘Bag O’ Rags’, permanently moored in the town harbour selling everything a wannabe pirate would need. Robert Newton, Long John Silver himself, spent a big chunk of his life in Lamorna, just outside Penzance. My local writing group even meets up occasionally at the Admiral Benbow, as described in Treasure Island. It’s all around me for inspiration. As soon as I read the title, ‘Avast Ye Airships!’ my mind went into overdrive with all kinds of possible stories and hopefully I’ve chosen the right one; and hopefully people will like it.”

2) Jeffrey Cook and Katherine Perkins — “Maiden Voyage” — Jeffrey Cook lives in Maple Valley, WA, with his wife and three large dogs. Katherine Perkins lives in Coralville, IA, with her husband and one skittish cat. Jeff is the author and Kate the editor of the Dawn of Steam series of alternate-history/emergent Steampunk epistolary novels. When not reading, researching, or writing, they enjoy role-playing games, in which the dice like Jeff a lot better.

“We hope to get our names out there and connect further with the Steampunk writing community. Besides, there are only so many opportunities for one-eyed, cross-dressing, 19th-century lesbians to swashbuckle.”

3) Robert McGough — “Colonel Gurthwait and the Black Hydra” –Robert McGough was born and raised in south Alabama. An Eagle Scout and two-time graduate from Troy University, he pays the bills working at a warehouse. Writing in a number of genres, including steampunk, horror, fantasy, and southern gothic, he has been published in several anthologies and literary journals. He is a firm believer that puns are the highest form of humor.

“The moment I heard about this anthology I knew I had to be a part of it. The only hurdle was every story that I had that fit the requirements were tied up in submissions elsewhere! Luckily I had just come up with an idea featuring one of my favorite characters that could be tweaked to fit the theme. So I started putting down words that night, and a couple of days later sent Black Hydra in.”

4) Charlotte Hunter (Ogarita) — “Captain Wexford’s Dilemma” —  Ogarita is an author, introvert, lapsed jogger, home-reno terror, ghost lover, watercolorist, retired military officer, and enthusiastic traveler. She possesses more academic degrees than necessary, imperfect Spanish, worse French, an old car, a Vitamix, and books. Her skills include cribbage, folding fitted sheets into neat squares, and surviving central Florida’s mean streets on a cruiser bike. Although not yet a ghost, she haunts libraries, bookstores, museums, lighthouses, and Disney World. At present, she knows no pirates.

“I have a naked desire to be published. There. The truth sans tinted moisturizer and mascara. Self-publishing is always an option, but I yearned to have an editor wave one of my stories above piles of others and declare: This one is in! Second, and more demurely, I wanted to tackle the multiple challenges of (a) writing a short story (b) about things I know—ghosts and the military—and (c) things about which I know zip—airships and pirates. Thanks to Avast, I met Captain Wexford, her crew, and all HMAS Boadicea’s visitors . . . and discovered nothing dies faster than the delusion short stories write easy.”

5) Lauren Marrero — “Her Majesty’s Service” — When not creating romance novels, Lauren Marrero spends most of her time dreaming of heroes and steam-powered gadgets. After attending the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied English Literature, she traveled the world, slept in too many airports, and ate too much exotic street food. She is the author of Seducing the Laird, and has been published in UnCONventional, Mirror Dance, and The Fifth Di… magazines. You can find her online at www.laurenmarrero.com.

“As soon as I heard about the Avast, Ye Airships! Anthology, I knew I had the perfect story. I am an avid reader of Steampunk and a hopeless romantic. What could be better than steamy nights and airships? I’m grateful and thankful to be part of this great anthology.”

6) Andrew Knighton — “A Wind Will Rise” — Andrew is a freelance writer based in Stockport, England, where the grey skies provide a good motive to stay inside at the word processor. He’s had over forty stories published in places such as Daily Science Fiction, Wily Writers and Ann VanderMeer’s Steampunk anthologies. His own steampunk anthology, Riding the Mainspring, is available now on Amazon. You can find out more about his writing at andrewknighton.com and follow him on Twitter @gibbondemon.

“I have a friend who’s a naval architect. He can’t stand to read steampunk, because the machines make no sense and most of the airships shouldn’t fly. To him pirates are a modern problem plaguing the Indian Ocean, desperate men with assault rifles. He’d hate the story I wrote for this book. But that’s OK, because I wrote it for everyone else I know, as they all love the spectacle of steampunk and the panache of pirates. The combination of ingenuity and daring that’s a hallmark of both genres. The sense that anything might happen, and that whatever it is it’ll be exciting. That’s why I wanted to write for Avast, Ye Airships!”

Stay tuned for Part Two next Friday!