It is always a concern, going from digital to print. For one, digital is usually RGB colors and for print the colors must be translated to CMYK. Also, looking at art on screen will always look richer than in print. And with our deck in particular, there are many dramatic shadows, so we had concerns about the details being clear. Luckily, our art director was able to have them pull back on the black ink enough to capture every detail…in some cases, such as the 10 of Swords and 10 of Wands, even better than on screen.

The book also went to the printer this week (a different one, of course). Later, the packaging will be printed and finally it will all be assembled and ready for sale.

Here are the press sheets:

Excuse me, please. I'm off to read a good book.

I love reading books. Of course I do. But I also love listening to them and am a big fan of Audible. Today, I enjoyed this commentary by author Mark Hodder:

“Just when you think you might have grasped it, steampunk reveals itself to be something more than you thought. You shouldn’t be surprised. After all, how can you expect to pin down a genre/fashion/attitude that references the steam powered technology of the late 1800s yet employs the airships of the 1930s as its primary icon? Bit of a mishmash, ain’t it? Therein is the joy. Steampunk gleefully borrows the flavours of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H. G. Wells, and Jules Verne, and mixes ‘em up with whatever it damned well pleases.

In these cynical know-it-all but can’t-solve-it-at-all times, what better tincture than steampunk? It may not be a miraculous cure-all but it is, at least, unashamedly fun and wonderfully stylish. It also dresses for dinner and tips its hat at you when it passes by.”

See Audible’s Steampunk’d collection HERE

Of the ones listed there, I particularly enjoyed Leviathan and the Parasol Protectorate Series. Looks like I have a few more to check out. Which would you recommend?

Click HERE to check them out. Only a few are available at the moment, but we’ll be adding more. If your favorite isn’t there, just let us know and we’ll see what we can do.

Aly and I both feel strongly about giving. We also feel pretty strongly about breasts. Hence, we are giving 10% of all profits from the prints to the Susan G. Komen Fund for breast cancer research.

Note that some of the images are cropped to fit the sizes available through Red Bubble. They may not match the Steampunk Tarot card images exactly.

Here is one of the images available, which I’ve not posted here yet.

Allow me to introduce you to our Steampunk Empress:

This past weekend, I visited Chicago. It was the first time I spent any real time exploring the city. Why has no one ever said how wonderful Chicago is? The architecture alone is worth the visit. I’ve never seen such a varied and dynamic skyline. I’ve traveled a good deal, and I do realize the danger of making generalizations…but I have to say that the great citizens of Chicago are among the most truly friendly and delighted folks I’ve ever encountered.

Department Stores

Department stores have been around since, I believe, the mid-1700s but became more popular in the Victorian era. Here’s a bit from a website called The History of Department Stores:

In 1878 a New York Times headline announced “The Great Sixth-Avenue Bazaar; Opening Day at Macy & Co.’s – A Place Where Almost Anything May Be Bought.” The special attraction, the article noted, was the “universality of the stock, almost every article of dress and household furniture being for sale there, and at the most reasonable prices.” In November of 1902, the store moved to its present site, but it wasn’t until 1924, when it doubled its building size, that it began to really grow and to take the lead as a retailing giant. That year it presented its first holiday parade called “Fairyfolk Frolics in Wondertown.” By the end of the 1920s, Macy’s had become the country’s largest department store.

Holiday Traditions

As a child growing up in a suburb of Detroit, one important holiday tradition was to visit Hudson’s in downtown Detroit to see the holiday decorations. This weekend, our visit included walking past Macy’s to be delighted by their holiday windows. We only knew that it was a Chicago tradition. Little did we know that this year the windows incorporated a steampunk theme.

You can read more about the windows HERE and HERE.

We took about six millions photos. Here are just a few:

Find out more HERE

Unfortunately, one of the gifts is not the Steampunk Tarot, since it’s not published yet. However, I will do your reading with that deck (since I do have a mock up). I must say, the readings with this deck have been amazing. I think you’d really like it.

And a photo of my beloved Gail Carriger:

I know, Sherlock Holmes isn’t really Steampunk. But he is definitely Victorian era. Also the letter is relates to a tarot project, so it all works.

This past summer, I was asked to participate in an exciting, creative traveling art project called Letters to the Past.

You can learn more about it here:

I do hope it is a friendly group, as I am traveling alone and won’t know anyone.

As we sail, I will partake of a wide array of workshops and panels, including one with Gail Carriger (who I love with Fan Girl Abandon ™).

One my agenda:

• Divination Basics (just to see how the non-tarot community presents this)
• Dance Lessons (for the Official TeslaCon Ball)
• Character Development
• Steampunk Publishing (a representative from Tor will be there!)
• A Mummy Unwrapping
• Victorian Hair and Cosmetics
• Practical Airship Skills
• Victorian Etiquette
• Magic & Occultism
• Bustlemaking

I will also meet with the fine folks who created Brass & Steel, a steampunk roleplaying game. You see, we think that the Steampunk Tarot might be a good fit for this game, which uses tarot cards as the “fate” mechanic and not the primary means of conflict/test resolution. Learn more about them HERE.

Probably a lot of shopping will happen. I’ll post photos here over the course of the weekend and generally report on the experience.

My character is Lady LuLu B. Messina, Investigative Reporter & Fortune Teller, from St. Paul, Minnesota. I write all the news that’s fit to predict. If I cannot get a story, or the whole story, I simply throw some cards and “get” the story that way.

I’ll be handing out promotional cards to anyone who will take them. They are really quite lovely. Here is the front:

And the back:

With the Thanksgiving and holiday season coming upon us, the 5 of Pentacles seemed a good choice. May it help us remember and be grateful for all we do have and encourage us to help those who are in need. As a card image, I love how the perspective highlights the sense of drama and anxiety.

5 of Pentacles

“There is no sugar coating it: these are hard times, very hard times indeed.”

Core meaning: Physical need.

She feels the biting wind, not as discomfort to herself, but as she imagines it feels to him. He is so much younger, so much weaker, than she. For his sake, she plunges into the wind and darkness and snow in search of safety and perhaps the slightest comfort.

What is more poignant than innocence facing the cruelty and neglect of the world? If anyone were to see such a plight, surely they would help? This experience, while not as picturesquely displayed as this card, happens every day and often goes unalleviated. This is not a card of relief granted and mercies raining down from heaven. It is a card of need.

Steampunk worlds are created by the mash-up of genres. Here it looks like the stories of the Little Match Girl (from Hans Christian Anderson’s story of the same name) and Tiny Tim (a character from Dickens’ A Christmas Carol) have collided in a tale of epic tragedy. The image of the suffering, abused, or neglected child is common in Victorian literature and art. The stories mentioned here were written only two years apart, in the mid-1800s. Some say that images of children became symbolic for the part of humanity that was sacrificed to feed the Industrial Revolution.

What of the church in the background? What symbolic role does it play? Is it help that is at hand but overlooked or rejected by the children? Is it help from an institution that should be offered but is not because the institution lost its vision and compassion? What is the relationship between the children’s physical and spiritual lives?

When this card shows up in your reading, it describes a time of physical need. Money could be lacking, health could be in question, time might be non-existence, or basic survival needs are perhaps not being met. This complex card does far more than describe the situation. It brings a pile of questions and drops them at your feet. As you work your way through them, you will likely find wise advice for improving your situation.

10 of Swords

“Well thank goodness that’s over.”

Core meaning: Surrender to unpleasant or unfortunate circumstances.

As stated earlier, the suit of swords is always dramatic, and its grand finale in the ten is no exception. Sun begins to rise (or is it setting?) covering the scene with a bloody shadow. How does one find oneself lying on a roof, every limb skewered? This is quite disheartening, especially after the long climb to the top of the building. Despite the tragic finality of this situation, we can find some wisdom and advice here. Probably no one is going to be literally stabbed.

The truth that promised to set you free in the Ace of Swords has gone horribly wrong. Your thoughts, ideas, or realizations that were your weapons to cut through the chaos and confusion of life have turned on you. The complex worldview you created and that helped you function in life has collapsed upon itself. Or you turned them on yourself. Instead of using thoughts and logic to move forward, you’re using them as an excuse for immobility, for playing the victim, for seeing problems at every turn. Maybe someone decided to turn their truths against you, which might manifest as hate, prejudice, or cruelty.

What makes this experience look awful also contains the beauty. The image looks frightening because it looks like “the end.” The sun is playing two symbolic roles (a common practice of symbols, by the way). We see the setting sun and know that the end of this experience is at hand. We see the rising sun and know that a new day is dawning; that within this, and every, ending is a new beginning.

Look next to his left hand. The final card has been played. It really is over.

Congratulations to you, Ellen-Mary! I hope you enjoy your deck as much as I am enjoying mine. And you’ll know that until April, you are the only other person on the planet besides me who is working with this deck.

All of us on Team Predicting a Better Future did great at investing and changing lives. Together, including my matching funds, we invested $925!

Everyone who entered gets a surprise prize!

To receive your prize, email me at steampunktarot@gmail.com with your full name, mailing address, and your favorite tarot card.