Weekly Update #105

Editor's Note

Good news everyone, the Double-Blind What If Writing Contest begins this week. The first submission will be published this Wednesday. We have some great entries for this one, but there is still time for you to join. Send you submissions to ahwupdate at gmail dot com. I look forward to reading them.

Another announcement, Once Upon a Clockwork Tale has finally been published. You can now read my short story "The Enchanted Bean". I can't really express how happy I am to finally cross out a major goal on my bucket list. It has been a great experience and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

And now the news...

The Confederation has a new Kickstarter

A couple of weeks ago I introduced you guys to a Kickstarter for the planned web series The Confederation. It is set during an alternate 1960's in a world where the South won the American Civil War. The story follows a squad of Confederate female snipers fighting in the Cuban War and a group of former slaves. You can check out the trailer here.

It got a lot a buzz around the AH blogger sphere, but everyone was in agreement that there asking price of $50,000 was a bit steep. Well the folks behind The Confederation have a new Kickstarter and they are now asking for more reasonable $2500. Go and back it before it is too late.

Crusader Kings II: The Old Gods Released

The expansion Crusader Kings II: The Old Gods was released last week. This is the fourth expansion to Crusader Kings II, the critically praised strategy/RPG, which enables you to play as a Pagan, with particular focus on the Vikings, and features a delicious blend of war and pillaging with a dash of ruthless brutality thrown in for good measure. See the trailer below:

In The Old Gods, the medieval soap opera now extends the timeline by 200 years, all the way back to 867 AD, allowing bearded heathens to storm the fine cities of Europe. Gamers will soon have most of Europe out for their blood after they have stormed ashore with gigantic axes in their hands.

Three additional DLC packs have also been released;
• Norse Unit Pack DLC
• Norse Portraits DLC
• Hymns to The Old Gods DLC

LoneStarCon Rates Announced

LoneStarCon 3 recently confirmed its Day Admission rates. Day Admissions will be available for purchase by postal mail and at various conventions from Saturday, June 1, 2013, and online via the LoneStarCon 3 website from mid-June, 2013.

Day Admissions are priced according to the day being purchased and the age and status of the purchaser. Quoted figures are for the five days of the convention, from Thursday, August 29, through Monday, September 2, 2013.

Adult           $50 / $75 / $75 / $75 / $30
Military        $30 / $40 / $40 / $40 / $20
Young Adult     $30 / $40 / $40 / $40 / $20
Child           $15 / $25 / $25 / $25 / $10

Day Admissions give access to all aspects of the convention including programming, exhibits, and special events. This includes the featured Masquerade, scheduled for the evening of Saturday, August 31, and the prestigious Hugo Awards Ceremony, scheduled for the evening of Sunday, September 1, 2013. The current membership rates are good through Wednesday, July 31, 2013.

Calender

Only two things to mention. First, fans of the goggles and corsets should check out the list of steampunk events for the month of June compiled by the good folks at Tor.com. Finally, for our fans in the UK, you might want to save the date for the Nine Worlds Convention on August 9-11.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Counterfactual Croydon: Croydon’s Atmospheric Railway by Tom Black at The Croydon Citizen.
History Matters: Counterfactual Conjectures on the Marriage of Edward IV at Helen Rae Rants!
INCEPTIO is a Book on the Underground at Alison Morton's Roma Nova.
Oh, Those Crazy Modern Victorians: Or What the Heck Is Steampunk? by Geri Jeter at California Literary Review.
Steampunk as art therapy for the autistic by Taryn Plumb at The Boston Globe.
The Time Traveling Physicist by Elisabeth Sherman at Tor.com.

Book Reviews

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood at The Book Hookup.
Hard Magic by Larry Correia at Travels Through Iest.
Mechanized Masterpieces edited by Penny Freeman at Steampunk Scholar.
Short Fiction Friday: Two “Wild Cards” Stories From Tor.com by Carl V. Anderson at SF Signal.
Tin Swift by Devon Monk at books!
The Wind Whales of Ishmael by Phillip José Farmer at Fantasy Matters.

Comics

Amala’s Blade #2 Review at JTF.

Games

‘OZombie’ Mixes Steampunk, Zombies And The Wizard Of Oz by Adam Dodd at Bloody Disgusting.
Project Ravensdale Revealed by Matrarch at True Achievements.
Snail Games Showing Steam Punk MMO at E3, Black Gold by Robert Bernstein at Den of Geek!
Tower Wars Wants You To Play Steampunk Style Defense And Offense For Less Than Five Bucks On Your Mac by Rob LeFebvre at Cult of Mac.

Interviews

Aaron Sikes at SF Signal.

Films

Shyamalan's new film is a huge disappointment (because it's not awful) by Charlie Jane Anders at io9.
Storyboards reveal the amazing Star Wars prequel you never saw by Meredith Woerner at io9.

Television

Doctor Who: An Alternative History of 11 American Female Doctors by Jef With One F at Houston Press.
Revolution 1.19: Cheney's Bunker at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. His new story "The Enchanted Bean" can be found in Once Upon a Clockwork Tale from Echelon Press. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.