Writing Update
"The Invasion of Britain" is done! The first draft anyway, so don't get too excited yet! Getting the story written is the hardest part, though, the next part is easier, if more time consuming - the edit.
Two chapters down, eighteen to go...
Behind the Misfit Squadron series
I like to think of the Misfit Squadron series as being part of the Steampunk genre, but it actually has as much, if not more, in common with works that are classified as alternate / alternative history (AH).
Steampunk is often set in alternate worlds that are different to our own in a fundamental way, for example that the supernatural exists, or bear only a passing resemblance to our own. AH, on the other hand, is always based in our world, but at some point in the past something happened differently than it did to us (a point of divergence), causing a fundamental change. This is very much the case with the Misfit Squadron series; at some moment in history steam and clockwork became the dominant motive forces in the world instead of the combustion engine. The two technologies were then developed to a similar extent to which the combustion engine has been developed in our world, to the point that they do just as effective job. However, that doesn't mean that the combustion engine doesn't exist in the Misfit Squadron world (often in Steampunk they don't, for... reasons) they do, but they have been generally rejected.
The result of this shift isn't just technological, though, it also has a profound effect on the world's politics and economy. One of the most obvious effects is that oil isn't such a basic need and is not consumed at such a high rate. It is still needed, of course, but without all those pesky combustion engines... This means that disputes over territory that happened in our world don't in the Misfit Squadron world and students of history can very easily imagine the changes that something of that magnitude could spark.
So, while the Misfit Squadron series can be enjoyed as a fun Steampunk adventure, someone who wants a bit more depth can find it if they look a little closer.
