Eight years ago I was basically homeless, couch-surfing and unable to find work, with a string of low-paying minimum wage jobs running all the way back to high-school. At the end of the month I’ll be a special guest presenter at the first Chicago Steampunk Exposition with eight novels in two award-nominated series to my name.
If you’re in or around the Chicago area September 28th or 29th, feel free to stop by for either of the presentations I’m giving, and maybe stop by my table in the exhibitor hall and I’ll sign something for you.
The Steam Powered Pen
Steampunk began as a literary genre, and the explosive growth of self-publishing has only created new opportunities to expand the market. Do you enjoy writing, and want to approach your work from a professional angle? Independent author Michael Coorlim covers the basics of the craft and business of self-publishing steampunk fiction, content marketing, patreon, and building your platform.
On Saturday the 29th at 1pm I’ll be in room Lakeshore A, giving a talk about the creative professional lifestyle, my personal journey as an independent author, and sharing tips and tricks when it comes to both the art and the craft I’ve been practicing for the last eight years.
Keeping the Punk in Steampunk
The Victorian and Edwardian eras were periods of tremendous social change and cultural shifts, and we can incorporate themes of class struggle and early social movements within our steampunk storytelling, whether it be prose, graphic design, or costuming. Author Michael Coorlim discusses the early labor-rights movements, suffragettes, and institutional reformations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
On Sunday the 30th I’ll be back in Lakeshore A talking about social change in the late 19th and early 20th century, how that impacts the people who live through it and their fictional representations, and how a steampunk world might accelerate the march of history.
So please, if you’ve the means, stop by.
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