Dover Whitecliff writes steampunk, sci-fi, and fantasy. She co-edited and wrote stories for the steampunk anthologies Twelve Hours Later, Thirty Days Later, and Some Time Later. Dover is the co-author of The Stolen Songbird, and her first solo novel The Superspy with the Clockwork Eye is coming soon.
Q: How did you come up with the theme for the Later anthologies?
DW: The Treehouse Authors met for tea at Linde Lane Tea Room in Dixon and decided that we wanted to do a project together for literacy; an anthology was the obvious choice. But the theme is all down to Kiefer Sutherland. The news story of the day was the comeback of 24 and we had never seen an anthology with hour long stories before (though that doesn’t mean there might not be one out there that we missed). The paired stories came about to fill up a twenty-four-hour day, plus it offered the perfect tag line “You can find out what happens twelve hours later.”
Q: Yak? Giant Chicken? Trebuchet? What gives?
DW: It started with a dare in our email planning with the authors for Thirty Days Later. One author found a picture of a clockwork yak and threw down the gauntlet: “Bet you can’t fit a yak in.” Challenge accepted. Rumor has it that there are multiple yak sightings (bonus points if you can find them all). Since that was deemed “Way too easy,” the chieftess of shenanigans, Sparky McTrowell, raised the yak ante for Some Time Later with a trebuchet, and somehow a chicken was thrown in, possibly due to an excess of caffeine and chocolate. And Yes. I fit them all in.
Q: Your flavor of steampunk is different—what influenced your style?
DW: Two things really. The first was The Two Georges, coauthored by Harry Turtledove and Richard Dreyfuss. I read it in my first year of college (not telling when that was, but let’s just say it was the first edition) and, though steampunk didn’t have a name at the time, I had found a new genre and fell in love with it. The second was being raised in Hawaii. We’re all Ohana and everybody brings something awesome to the mix. My stories are like the block party luau for New Year’s Eve where you can throw everything on the plate and have a good time while you wait for the fireworks to start. That reminds me of home.
Q: What’s next?
DW: I’m currently working on a novel featuring my Later character, Kenna Wolfesdaughter, called The Superspy with the Clockwork Eye. The plan is to have it out next spring, or earlier, if I can swing it.
You can find Dover hanging out with yaks, sea-serpents, giant chickens, and a trebuchet at www.doverwhitecliff.wordpress.com.
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Thank you so much for your support of our anthologies for literacy and of indie authors! Your sagacity and savantitude are AWESOME!
What a fantastic cover and title. This is looking to become something tres cool! I hope this comes out soon.
Eloise Knapp designed the cover…She is da bomb diggity with bacon!
Dover, are you going to start posting more Haikus from the Superspy with the Clockwork Eye? I miss seeing them in my Facebook feed!