James River Writers discussion

This message board thread is intended for anyone who hasn't finished reading Phoenix Rising, so please make every effort not to mention any spoilers in your comments. We have created a separate thread for those who have already finished reading the book.

This novel by Philippa Ballantine and Tee Morris, a wife and husband writing team who live in Northern Virginia. They'll be speaking at our annual James River Writers Conference at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on October 19-20, 2013.

So, I'm a hundred pages into this book, and I'm really enjoying it. Seems a bit like the Avengers (the 1960's TV show, not the superheroes) meets Steampunk, and I'm digging it.

I think my favorite scene thus far has actually been the visit to Bedlam. I felt like that scene humanized Braun's character a lot.

Having written a manuscript with my wife (we wrote two together), I'm very curious to find out what Pip and Tee's process is for writing together. I'd love to know how it mirrors what my wife and I did and how they might have handled things differently.

I agree about the Bedlam scene. Since Bedlam is part of our vernacular, it was good to see it presented in a gritty, not romanticized way.

I love the voice in the novel's first paragraph:
"Wellington Thornhill Brooks, Esquire, had never heard an explosion that close before. Considering the ringing in his ears, he would most likely never hear another one like it again."

Those lines are a fabulous introduction to the adventure and Victorian pragmatism in great steampunk. Readers immediately know what they're getting into.