Calliope, here and there

Many thanks to benpayne who mentioned 'Calliope: A Steam Romance' as one of his 'Fave Aust Stories of the Year'. Some damn fine names to be listed against!

And thanks also to random_alex for her excellent review on ASif!:

"My other favourite from this collection is the very next story: “Calliope”, by Andrew J McKiernan. Set in an alternate Sydney where steam’s the thing (and the Bridge never got built), it’s a romance of two completely unsuitable people, and the lengths one will go to for the other. There are some very clever allusions in there, as well, to historical figures - I’m not sure if I was reading too much into the whole thing, but let’s just say the main character is a patents clerk. This world is well-realised, and I can easily imagine more stories set there. "

And again to Mark Smith-Briggs for his review on HorrorScope:

"Calliope is an impressive fictional debut by Horrorscope’s own McKiernan. One of the longer stories in the book it tells the tale of a man who falls for a beautiful singing automaton at a travelling circus. Rich in character, McKiernan builds a sense of dread throughout the piece, willingly acknowledging to the reader that something bad is going to happen but enticing them to read on."

Mainly I'm just happy, and suprised, to discover people out there, outside my immediate circle of family and friends, who are not just reading my first published story, but actually enjoying it! It is an uplifting feeling, and very encouraging.