A new Blaylock article was posted today in The Orange County Register:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/blaylock-507328-steampunk-books.html

You can read the intro paragraph by searching for the article in Google and then clicking on the link to it. To read the full article, you'd have to sign up as a temporary subscriber and login to read it.

"Chapman University professor James P. Blaylock, a pioneer of the Steampunk historical fiction genre, has a new hero. She's an 11-year-old cryptozoologist (someone who studies mythical creatures) named Kathleen Perkins.

Blaylock, an Orange-based author, came up with the precocious Perkins for his new book, "Zeuglodon," aimed at a young adult audience.
Article Tab: image1-Steampunk pioneer James P. Blaylock
James P. Blaylock

Career:author, teacher

Claim to fame:pioneer of the Steampunk literary genre

Residence: Orange

Family:wife Viki Blaylock; children John Blaylock, 32 and Danny Blaylock, 30

Teaches at:Chapman University and Orange County School of the Arts

Reading:"The Pickwick Papers" by Charles Dickens

Authors he likes:James Lee Burke, Tony Hillerman, Michael Connelly, Patrick O'Brian

E-readers:He's a book guy. "I like the smell of paper. I really like the smell of old, dusty paper."

Education:Master of Arts in Literature, Cal State Fullerton

High School:Magnolia High School in Anaheim

Awards:Winner, World Fantasy Award; Winner, Philip K. Dick Memorial Award (for his novel "Homunculus"); Nominee, O. Henry Award; U.S. Presidential Scholars Program Teacher Recognition Award, 2012.

"I wrote 'Zeuglodon' on a whim," Blaylock said.

"I found myself writing the voice of an 11-year-old girl. I don't know why."

He wrote Perkins picturing the character Scout in "To Kill a ..."