One of life’s great pleasures is going to the door, opening the mailbox, and seeing a package waiting for you. Even when you have ordered something for yourself and are expecting it, the culmination of that anticipation is a delight. You open the package and inside you find….another box. When you untie the string and lift the lid, what will you find inside?
You have to admire the loving care in which the Poppet Planet creations are packed. Knowing what will be under that packing material does not lessen the heart palpitations.
And so I’ll ask again, Is there a doctor in the house?
There is now! Ain’t he cute? Lisa Snellings’ Steampunk Doctor Poppet is one of the latest in her steampunk line and when I saw him I could not resist. Regular visits to Lisa Snellings’ ebay store are a must, even if it is just to admire the creative output. And how serendipitous that there would be steampunk selections at the same time as the Sci Fi Experience! For a very limited time you have the opportunity to bid on various one-of-a-kind poppets:
You can also pick up one of the other steampunk doctors (it is a large practice) like mine or his curious friend Professor Green:
In addition there are many non-steampunk themed treasures, some cool new Gaiman-related items, and much, much more.
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Speaking of Steampunk, I was excited to see that Subterranean Press is collecting pre-orders for “the first new Langdon St. Ives adventure in nearly two decades!” entitled The Ebb Tide. I am a big fan of the work of James P. Blaylock and have been ever since I reviewed his short story collection, 13 Phantasms and the first Langdon St. Ives novel I read, Homunculus. I have one story left to read in the collected edition of Langdon St. Ives stories, The Adventures of Langdon St. Ives, released by Subterranean Press in the latter part of 2008.
During The Sci Fi Experience 2009 I will be featuring a Steampunk Week. If you are not up on the ‘punk, don’t think you are a fan, or do not really have an opinion one way or another, I think you’ll enjoy that week. Many of you got a taste of steampunk art during the Etsy Week last year and the response was very good. During Steampunk Week there will be some really fun giveaways, including my like-new ARC copy of The Adventures of Langdon St. Ives.
I’m looking at the first week in February…stay tuned.
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While we are on the subject of future Stainless Steel Droppings’ plans, allow me to point out a few changes to the website.
You may notice that I added a few more page tabs across the top. I have updated the About Me and About the Site sections, have copied many of you trend setters in adding a 2009 Books Read page, and to keep them separate I have added a 2009 Short Stories Read section.
The Short Stories section will contain a list of stories read with links, not to my reviews, but to the place where you can read the story for yourself. It will be filled throughout the year with short stories from many different genres and I hope you will find it a good resource should you want to check out some short fiction online.
I have also added an Author/Artist Links page to the top and have moved all the author and artist blog/site links that had been in my Blog Links section to that section. The Blog Links list was getting a bit long and I wanted to break up the two categories. This way I am more apt to not miss visiting my favorite author’s, artist’s, editor’s sites more frequently. Thought I better point this out in case you saw your site disappear from the blog links section!
In addition you will soon see a change to the way that I review books. Borrowing (with permission) from John Denardo of SFSignal and also under the inspiration of what Rusty does over at Best Science Fiction Stories, I am going to do some sort of very brief plot summary, include some sort of pros and cons, and will include my ‘star’ ratings (which will very soon be explained in the About the Site section).
My goal is to give you a brief non-spoiler review before the ‘read more’ page break so that if you choose not to read my more lengthy review you will still have a snapshot of my thoughts and feelings about the book and can still leave an informed comment should you choose to do so. I look forward to trying it out and will appreciate any feedback you may have for me. The inaugural test run for this review style will be coming shortly.
And that’s it for now, hope everyone is having a fantastic week!
These are great, Carl. I love your page so much I presented you with three awards today 🙂 You have a wonderful writing style and the design of your space is absolutely f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s!
I’m looking forward to steampunk week. I have been horribly turned off to it by the movie version of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, although reading the graphic novel did redeem it somewhat for me.
Kim: Oh my yes, please don’t let League the film color the steampunk genre for you. Just forget you ever saw it. I know its difficult, I’m still in therapy today…trying to forget!!! 😉
Chic Geek: Thanks so much for the awards, that is very, very sweet of you and I am honored.
They are adorable! I wish I had the money to bid. Lucky man.
I don’t have the money to bid either, Yoli. That is why I am thankful that Lisa also has very cool, inexpensive buy-it-now versions like the good Doc that just arrived today. I can dream of the more expensive ones and be thrilled for the folks who win them because they get something really cool. In the meantime my home is populated mostly by a variety of poppets that I am thrilled to own! 🙂
Isn’t Lisa’s new stuff awesome?! I still haven’t ordered either of the steampunk poppets, but I plan on it. They’re incredible. Might be my favorite of the mass produced poppets yet. And they’re a great price! I would love to get some of her bigger pieces, but alas, all I can do for now is admire them…I love the one with the birds in the box though…that one is amazing!
Love all of the new ideas for the site! Looking forward to seeing them in action!
I won the River OOAK poppet which was a bit naughty of me so soon after all my Christmas expenditure but I could not restrain myself! Can’t wait for him/her to arrive.
Oooooh, they are well cool. I’d be tempted to add to my teeny tiny poppet collection but I’m not allowed to buy anything for a while. They are tempting though…
Fence: Yes they are! I’m a bad man for offering up temptation so soon after the holidays!
Peta: Congratulations, that is awesome!!!
Chris: I really like the one with the birds in the box as well. And thanks, it will be interesting trying the new review style.
love my poppets! heck I still need to get a blue and brown one to have my earth tone poppets! lol.. gads Carl, poppets and dragons and autographs oh my! I can’t get many very often that’s for sure! Too many collections!!
Me too Deslily, me too! 🙂
Really looking forward to Steampunk Week, Carl, what a great iidea
I have to start writing down these titles for one day [this is getting old to repeat, but the truth], when I have the opportunity I will get myself every single novel my heart desires. 😉 Anyways I am looking towards the steampunk week. *grin* You can never go wrong with steampunk.
Plus I want to tell you how much I love your figurines, not sure whether it’s proper to call them that. I love the green doctors best and that one with the umbrella looks quite cool!
Oh man. I bet that felt like Christmas all over again 😀 I get so excited when my orders arrive too. Especially when it’s a big box!
And I am so treating myself to a steampunk Poppet!
I love the new tabs. I really like the idea of having a separate one for short stories. Mind if I steal it? 😛 I also need to add short stories to my review directory… It’s shameful that I neglected them before!
Nymeth: Steal away!!! I stole the idea of doing more tabs and just thought it made sense to keep short stories separate.
Harry: Steampunk week will be fun, I have so much to post about that week and I really cannot wait.
Bride: Ditto what I said to Harry! 😉
I really like the changes you made to your website, and I’m looking forward to your new review style. While I usually enjoy reading your entire post, a short summary section will be nice. The “2009 Short Stories Read” page is a great idea! I’ll be checking it often to make sure I haven’t missed anything important. Oh, and thanks for the kind comments about my site – I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone call it inspiring before!
I’ve got to quit looking at all the new poppets!! It makes me want one even more!!!
One of these days I will have to treat myself to one. A cute little pink or blue one!
Stephanie: Avert you eyes!!! Poppets will do that to you.
Rusty: It has inspired me. Not only in trying to better my review format and style but it has also inspired me to read short stories online. Something I shied away from before.
Hello Everyone! My name is Alison and I want to thank you on behalf of Poppet Planet and Lisa Snellings for all of your kind words. We are very excited about the direction we are headed in this year and reading your comments has just assured us that we are on the right track! I just wanted to clear up that Poppets are not mass produced. Each Poppet is hand painted in a small studio (less than a handful of people) by carefully selected artists. Again, thank you for your support! We are glad to have you with us!
Thanks for keeping following my fish on your blog link.
Cyn
Cynthia: You’re welcome, I would never dream of removing that. In fact I need to add the Jan-Ai Scholarship website up in my author/artist links section!
Hi,
That would be nice. Who won the contest you ran to help us?
Cyn
The package did indeed look enticing; so beautifully wrapped. I’m glad you’re happy with your new doctor. He will go so nicely with your collection. Do you think he can diminish any Little Red Poppet fevers?