Seattle-based author Cherie Priest has established herself as a writer to keep a close eye on, first garnering fame for the Lulu Blooker-winning Four and Twenty Blackbirds, the opening novel of her Eden Moore trilogy. More recently, her series of steampunk tales have been earning her further attention; the stories of the Clockwork Century universe showcase an America that never came to be: the Civil War extended, both sides armed with strange new weapons, nimble airships roaming the skies. Boneshaker connected with fans and critics alike...

Cherie Priest has been writing for most of the last decade, her first published work being the Eden Moore series, a trilogy in the Southern Gothic genre which has received favorable reviews, including a Blooker Prize for the opening entry, Four and Twenty Blackbirds (originally distributed on Priest’s blog before being published by Marietta Publishing in 2003 and released again in an expanded edition from Tor in 2005). Cherie Priest’s latest work, Boneshaker, garnered further critical buzz, including last week’s nomination for the prestigious Nebula Award for Best Novel of 2009. Boneshaker is the second piece in an...