Interview: Mark Jeffrey

I present to you, dear reader, my interview with Mark Jeffrey, author of Age of Aether:

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I split my time between being a serial technology entrepreneur and author. To date, I've co-founded four Internet companies and written four novels.  I'm 45 and I live in Marina Del Rey, CA with my girlfriend and a Persian cat that is basically an alive, dirty wet towel that walks around our house (he dunks his face in his water continuously ... anyway).

In addition to Age of Aether, I've also published a young adult series Max Quick: The Pocket and the Pendant (Harper Collins, 2011), Max Quick: The Two Travelers (2012) and a supernatural conspiracy thriller novel called Armand Ptolemy and the Golden Aleph (2011).

My most recent tech company is called Glossi.com (anyone can self-publish digital magazines -- ideal for authors creating 'first chapter' samplers!  I've made several!).  Before that, I co-founded web television network ThisWeekIn.com with Jason Calacanis and comedian / actor Kevin Pollak.  I also co-founded ZeroDegrees, Inc. (business social network) in 2002 and sold it to IAC/InteractiveCorp in 2004 with more than one million registered users. In 1995, I founded a popular avatar virtual world company called The Palace, Inc. which had 10 million users at its peak.

I originally 'published' the first Max Quick books as a series of episodic podcasts in 2005 and it received over 2.5 million downloads.  I have BS in Computer Science from the University of New Hampshire and a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do.

I love listening to podcasts. Have you created any other podcasts you would like to plug?

Yes they are here: Max Quick: The Pocket and the Pendant (original 2005 podcast) and Max Quick: The Two Travelers.

What got you interested in steampunk?

I've always loved the look and feel of the Victorian era and the early 20th century.  But it wasn't really a particular novel or work (well: other than Jules Verne, the Original punk) -- it was all the art and creations I saw pictures of all over the Internet.  You know: a steampunk computer casing, the jewelry, the pendants, the furniture, the costumes, the stuff on deviantart.com -- all that rolled around in my imagination.  Really loved all that.  And I'd seen Wild Wild West and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and though I loved the look and general idea of both movies, I felt the stories were pretty miserable and all those great graphics and the concept was wasted.  Nobody was doing it right!  It reminded me of cyberpunk movies before The Matrix -- things like the Johnny Mnemonic movie or Strange Days -- they looked right, but the stories were about gadgets.  They were not about people.  There was no real mystery or emotion there.

So one day a friend of mine brought in a really lush steampunk picture book he'd gotten at ComicCon, and I started flipping through it and I expressed all of the above.  I said, "Steampunk is in its own pre-Matrix moment, where somebody's going to crack the right story and cross it over into the mainstream."  And then started saying, "You know, if I were to do this I would do this, and that and ... "  And the story wrote most of itself right there.

What is Age of Aether about?

Well, it's essentially a romantic intrigue story.  A North by Northwest with some gears and goggles and a little time travel thrown in there.  A man from our time, Captain Benjamin Bantam, is sent back into the past to find a lost cure for a disease called The Shadow -- but he mysteriously winds up in an alternate version of history, a steampunk version  -- complete with parasols, stunningly luxurious Aerotels, hydrologic computing, Helux-powered 'cloud growlers' and a space elevator-based moon race with Germany. And of course, there is the lovely Dr. Rachelle Archenstone ...

But when Hitler is made Chancellor in this world and the American space program sabotaged, Bantam is the only one who realizes the true depth of  the danger posed by the newly-formed Nazi party. Together with
Rachelle, he races to save this America while seeking an explanation to the mystery of this alternate past -- and with it, a way to return to his own world with the Shadow's cure. But when it comes down to a choice between his lovely Rachelle and a thousand years of Nazi rule, what will he do?  So that's the human story, the core emotional bit.  The gears and top hats are the frosting -- very important frosting! -- but not the story.

What sources were particularly helpful when researching for the novel?

I found a lot of very interesting newspaper articles and drawings online done in the year 1900, just as the century turned, with all kinds of people prognosticating about what the year 2000 would be like.  Of course there was lots of flying and dirigibles and the such, but there were some very funny ideas in there as well, some of which I used.  For example, there was a general consensus that animals will vanish, since there would be no more use for them!  Another school held they would shrink -- so instead of poodles, rich ladies would curl up with miniature horses!  That one I had to use.

Who designed the cover?

A very wonderful designer and author in her own right named Starla Huchton.  I use her for all my covers now and she never fails to delight.  Can't recommend her highly enough.

Why did you decide to format the book with such large print?

That was an actually a mistake -- but then several people reported they read it because it was the easiest on the eyes out of the pile of books they had -- they may not have selected Aether had it been smaller print.  But some people think it's goofy.  I guess the jury is out.

Do you plan to write any sequels to Age of Aether?

I have the plot for two more in my head ... so we'll see how the first one does.

Do you have any other projects you are working on?

Yes.  I'm writing the third Max Quick book entitled Max Quick: The Bane of the Bondsman.  I have a lot of people clamoring for that right now and I've written two books in between the second book and this one, so I kind of owe them that first.

What are you reading now?

The second Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences book called Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris, a book about the rise of the Roman Empire, and The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers.

Do you have advice for would-be authors?

Yes.  Self-publish and market yourself.  Don't wait for a publisher.  Do it on your own terms.

Marketing is not something most authors have experience with. What have you found that does and does not work?

Well that's a tricky one as is it depends on your timing. When I started, podcasts were new and Apple suddenly added podcast support to iTunes, which boosted everyone's numbers.  And there were very few podcast audiobooks out there, so we all got a bit lucky.  I ended up with 2.5 million downloads!  Later Amanda Hocking famously wrote a Twilight-ish vampire romance when Kindle Direct Publishing was just getting started and made a few million in sales.

So: watch tech trends and skate to where the puck is going to be.  Right now that looks like Wattpad.com and Glossi.com to me :)

Review: Age of Aether by Mark Jeffrey

Guest post by Sean Korsgaard.

Can I make a confession my dear readers? I’ve never been big on steampunk. I know that saying that in some AH circles is tantamount to treason, but as weird as it is, I’ve never read a steampunk story. That said, when given the chance to fix that, reading the recently released novel Age of Aether by Mark Jeffrey, I couldn't turn down the chance.

In a bleak future where a bioweapon has unleashed a disease that has decimated mankind, mankind’s sole hope for survival depends on a time-travel mission that will send Captain Benjamin Bantam back to 1944, to retrieve the antidote before it was lost to history. Things go awry, however, when Captain Bantam finds himself sent back to 1944, but not our 1944, but an unfamiliar one filled with gaslights, zeppelins and floating hotels, and even space elevators, whose inhabitants sport parasols and monocles, and where the world is in the midst of a friendly cold war between the United States and Imperial Germany. There is however, a familiar evil amidst this world – Adolf Hitler still runs Germany, and he proves no less ambitious, and no less dangerous to this world than he did to ours. Captain Bantam must save this world from the Nazi jackboot ready to press down on their necks, recover the antidote to save our own, with Nazi agents on his heels and the brilliant and beautiful Dr. Rachelle Archenstone at his side.

I will say this much, both the story itself reads brilliantly, and I found myself blazing through the book in one day at college. It is a legitimate page-turner, very reminiscent of an old-pulp spy novel, and like any good pulp page-turner, it succeeds in a large part thank to its action, its cast and its world-building. You have chase scenes across the zeppelin and zip-line filled skies of Manhattan where the stakes are as high as the archologies, and it feels like this could have been an old timey serial, making it a joy to read.

There are some serious flaws with the book I do have to bring up. The first is that the book is deceptively long – though it is just under 300 pages, the typeface is so large that there couldn't be more than seventy words a page on average, and had the typeface been more reasonably sized, I get the feeling that this would have barely been over a hundred-fifty pages long. It’s a real shame, because all of those extra pages could have been put to much better use giving more detail about the world and characters – so little is fleshed out that you feel there is much left untold or unsaid, and between that and the deceptive length, you almost feel cheated. Toss in an ending that felt somewhat rushed and forced, and the result does hurt the book.

Yet, it never sinks it, thanks to Mark Jeffrey’s pulp-novel style and pacing – part of the reason you feel so robbed over the story length is that what’s there is so enrapturing that you want to know more about it. His world-building is fascinating, between massive steampunk space elevators and a Manhattan skyline where zeppelin and zip line are the means of transportation, it pulls you right in. The characterization does so even further, as the protagonist is likeable and relatable – and coming from a military veteran, Captain Bantam’s motivating desire for fame and glory and women is well done – and the remaining cast is entirely fascinating, from the names – tell me the name Veerspike doesn't just conjure up images of a mustache twirling villain – to the characterizations. You really want to see more of all of them.

Overall, despite its flaws, I have to say I really enjoyed Age of Aether. A long time fan of pulp adventure novels, the style had me hooked from the first chase scene, and Jeffrey’s world is a fascinating one, even if by books end you really do want to see more of it. For my first real foray into steampunk, I enjoyed it greatly, and would recommend the book. Author Jeffrey mentions in the appendix that he may return to this universe telling more tales, and I hope he does – and if he can keep the pulp spy-thriller feel and flesh out the pages with more descriptions of the world and cast he has crafted in future forays, this will have the makings of a solid series.

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Soldier, scholar, writer and web-voyeur, Sean CW Korsgaard has been active in the alternate history community since 2006, and was recently elected to succeed Mitro as President of the Alternate History Online Facebook group. In addition to his contributions at the Alternate History Weekly Update, he writes for several websites, including his own, which can be found here.

Preview: Age of Aether by Mark Jeffrey

Fan favorite and member of our review team Sean Korsgaard will be reading and reviewing Age of Aether by Mark Jeffrey. Here is the description from Amazon:

When Captain Benjamin Bantam is tapped to go back in time in order to retrieve a cure for the vicious Shadow plague, he is shocked to arrive in an alternate 1944 where electricity doesn't exist. Instead, a parallel past has mysteriously arisen -- complete with parasols, stunningly luxurious Aerotels, hydrologic computing, Helux-powered 'cloud growlers' and a space elevator-based moon race with Germany. And of course, there is the lovely Dr. Rachelle Archenstone ... 

But when Hitler is made Chancellor in this world and the American space program sabotaged, Bantam is the only one who realizes the true depth of the danger posed by the newly-formed Nazi party. Together with Rachelle, he races to save this America while seeking an explanation to the mystery of this alternate past -- and with it, a way to return to his own world with the Shadow's cure. But when it comes down to a choice between his lovely Rachelle and a thousand years of Nazi rule, what will he do? 

Thrill to a tale of a Yesterday that never was ... And yet was!

Reviews are good so far for the novel. It is getting 4.7/5 on Amazon and a 4.75/5 on Goodreads. Will Sean join them in their praise? Those wishing to learn more about Age of Aether can check out how the cover was designed or listen to Mark read the first chapter of his novel.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a volunteer editor for Alt Hist and a contributor to Just Below the Law. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and his own writing blog. When not writing he works as an attorney and enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana.

New Releases 7/24/12

Happy New Releases Day!  Here are some new ways to spend your money:

New Paperbacks

11/22/63 by Stephen King

Description from Amazon.

NOMINATED FOR A 2012 LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE

Dallas, 11/22/63: Three shots ring out.

President John F. Kennedy is dead.

Life can turn on a dime—or stumble into the extraordinary, as it does for Jake Epping, a high school English teacher in a Maine town. While grading essays by his GED students, Jake reads a gruesome, enthralling piece penned by janitor Harry Dunning: fifty years ago, Harry somehow survived his father’s sledgehammer slaughter of his entire family. Jake is blown away . . . but an even more bizarre secret comes to light when Jake’s friend Al, owner of the local diner, enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination. How? By stepping through a portal in the diner’s storeroom, and into the era of Ike and Elvis, of big American cars, sock hops, and cigarette smoke. . . . Finding himself in warmhearted Jolie, Texas, Jake begins a new life. But all turns in the road lead to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald. The course of history is about to be rewritten . . . and become heart-stoppingly suspenseful.

In Stephen King’s “most ambitious and accomplished” (NPR) novel, time travel has never been so believable. Or so terrifying.

New E-books

Age of Aether by Mark Jeffrey

Description from Amazon.

Age of Aether -- A Steampunk Adventure-Romance Novella.

When Captain Benjamin Bantam is tapped to go back in time in order to retrieve a cure for the vicious Shadow plague, he is shocked to arrive in an alternate 1944 where electricity doesn't exist. Instead, a parallel past has mysteriously arisen -- complete with parasols, stunningly luxurious Aerotels, hydrologic computing, Helux-powered 'cloud growlers' and a space elevator-based moon race with Germany. And of course, there is the lovely Dr. Rachelle Archenstone ...

But when Hitler is made Chancellor in this world and the American space program sabotaged, Bantam is the only one who realizes the true depth of the danger posed by the newly-formed Nazi party. Together with Rachelle, he races to save this America while seeking an explanation to the mystery of this alternate past -- and with it, a way to return to his own world with the Shadow's cure. But when it comes down to a choice between his lovely Rachelle and a thousand years of Nazi rule, what will he do?

Thrill to a tale of a Yesterday that never was ... And yet was!

Deseret by DJ Butler

Description from Amazon.

Sam Clemens arrives first in the Great Salt Lake City, and quickly becomes embroiled in events beyond his understanding or control. Meanwhile, Edgar Allan Poe faces off against an old nemesis, and the rift between the North and South comes to Deseret.

Is Sam being played for a fool by the Madman Pratt? Will Poe's disguise withstand the scrutiny of his foes? And when the chips are down, which side will Richard Burton choose?

Deseret is Part the Second of City of the Saints, a four-part steampunk gonzo action adventure tale.

The Franklin Incident by Raymond Rose

Description from Amazon.

Meet Jonathan Adams. Collector. Police consultant. Corpse...?

Philadelphia, 18__. When Jonathan Adams arrives at The Franklin Building, deep in the shadow of a mysterious airship, he finds scared servants, a concerned constable, and a maid with her head cleaved in two. For lurking in the hallways is a killer worse than anything Adams can imagine...

The Franklin Incident is the first story in a collection called Philly-Punk. Set in a steampunk-ish version of Philadelphia where the American Revolutionary War never happened, this Sci/Fi/Horror/Thriller short story introduces us to Jonathan Adams, professional collector of the macabre and consultant to the Philadelphia Constabulary. And the strange and deadly world he lives in.

The Kronos Interference by JB Manas

Description from Amazon.

How far would you go to save the world?

When physicist Jacob Newman is pulled from his family, his job, and his whole life to investigate a strange vessel discovered at the bottom of the South Pacific, he finds evidence of time travel, along with implications that a judgment day against mankind is imminent. But it isn’t until he cracks the time travel technology and uncovers a startling link to his own family history that he undertakes a dangerous mission back to 1924 to kill Adolf Hitler and undo a horrific episode of Earth’s violent past. The results are catastrophic, and soon he discovers much darker forces working against him—forces he must overcome if he hopes to save humanity and see his family again.

Written in the vein of the late Michael Crichton, James Rollins, and similar authors who inject high concept plots with little-known historical facts and a touch of cutting-edge science, The Kronos Interference offers international intrigue, fast-paced action, and plenty of twists and turns. The book received the coveted starred review from Kirkus Reviews, who called it "impressively original" and a "tour de force."

Shattered World: Volume 1-6 by Bobby Hardenbrook

Description from Amazon.

This collection combines the first six volumes of the Shattered World series into a single ebook. Written in the form of a detailed timeline, Shattered World describes an alternate history timeline in which the Soviet Union invades Poland in 1937, sparking a radically different second world war.

In the early 1930's relations between Hitler's Third Reich and Stalin's Soviet Union cool dramatically, bringing a level of tension to Europe not seen since the days before the Great War. By early 1936 Stalin is convinced that Hitler intends to invade Poland and decides to launch a preemptive invasion of his own. The Red Army, already large and formidable, begins to make its preparations.

Tensions between the East and West now explode into open conflict as Stalin orders the Red Army to roll west. It is the dawn of a terrible new chapter in human history, and the birth of a global struggle that will boil and rage for years, maybe decades, to come.

Turnkey by Christopher Dunkle and Lori Williams

Description from Amazon.

“You ever fall in love with the end of the world?”

Set in a reimagined England in the year 1888, Turnkey begins in the gilded metropolis of New London, the poster city of a socially-advanced, mechanically-propelled British empire. In this lavish city, orchestrated and built from the ground up by a reclusive industrialist who has ascended the throne, we find perhaps the only antiquated thing left in Europe…and he’s propping his head on a sticky bar top in the dead of night.

Ladies and gentlemen, Will Pocket.

The so-called “Absynt Bard of New London.”

A progressively-backward and perpetually-penniless daydreamer who has spent most of his nights in New London’s dreariest taverns, making company with warm beer and the warbling sounds sent out from the spinning wax on a dusty music box.

Our story begins on one such night. Having consumed far more beer than he can afford, the exhausted Pocket strikes a deal to friend and barman Alan Dandy to pay for rounds with a well-told story. What follows is a retelling of Pocket’s captivation with the Watchmaker’s Doll, a peculiar young lady crafted entirely out of ticking clockwork and beautiful synthetics. When the Doll is found and accidentally awakened from a mechanical slumber by Pocket and the fox-like cutpurse Kitt Sunner, they inadvertently spark a series of great troubles for not only the three of them, but for those whose paths they eventually cross: everyone from sky-sailing pirates and medicine peddlers to a teahouse mystic and a bulletproof gambler.

A backward and booze-soaked spin on the steampunk model, Turnkey follows its cast of old-fashioned souls adrift in a new-fashioned world. A blend of self-deprecating humor, silly wit, white-knuckle adventure, old-fashioned romance, and bittersweet tragedy, Turnkey begins The Gaslight Volumes of Will Pocket with a resounding bang!

To fans, authors and publishers...

Do you want to see your work given a shout out on our New Releases segment? Contact Mitro at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.  We are looking for works of alternate history, counterfactual history, steampunk, historical fantasy, time travel or anything that warps history beyond our understanding.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a volunteer editor for Alt Hist and a contributor to Just Below the Law. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and his own writing blog. When not writing he works as an attorney and enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana.