Cindy Spencer Pape, author of the Gaslight Chronicles (Carina Press), blogged at Steamed! in late 2013 about the possibility of her series coming to an end:Oh dear! Is the future of this genre in dire straits? I invite you to head on over and suggest ideas for keeping steampunk romance stories in the hands of readers.
“One of my first projects for 2014 is to finish and turn in Ether & Elephants (working title), the last book so far contracted in the Gaslight Chronicles. While I won’t swear that this is the end, the cold, hard fact is that steampunk isn’t selling anywhere near as well as publishers originally expected. Fewer and fewer publishers are contracting the genre at all, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that steampunk is far more lifestyle than literary.”
In related news, Zoe Archer and Nico Rosso’s Ether Chronicles has ended with book five, Skies of Gold. This occurred despite potential for more stories in their shared world, so Ms. Pape might not be the only author re-evaluating the steampunk romance path.
Joyfully yours,
Heather