The Wonderful World Of Romanpunk
by Daniel Ottalini
Salve! Let me be the first to welcome you into my world, the world of Romanpunk (Or my Alternate History and Steampunk World). I’m Daniel Ottalini, your guide, host, author, whatever you wish to call me. I’m a teacher, an amateur historian, and an avid reader of the same type of books over and over again. My series – the Steam Empire Chronicles – is a five novel arc that covers the adventures of several heroic, intriguing, and devious characters in a world where Rome never fell.
So why Romans? I’ve always enjoyed their story – the rise to power, fighting small wars and big, conquering, then the fall – growing too large, trying desperately to hold onto power as their armies fell and their borders collapsed. Even there, the story isn’t over. The rise of the Eastern Empire, the copy-cat actions of the “Holy Roman” (Of which there was nothing Holy nor Roman about it), the Russian Empire, and the Ottomans. Roman history and ideals give you so much to explore and use as fantastic background material.
Why Steampunk? In reality, steampunk fit the story – Steampunk is actually more about the conflict between groups, not just the fantastic machines. The history of the Roman Empire is littered with conflict between different segments of the population. This is the key to Steampunk. Although personally I consider the story more Alternate History with a side of Steampunk. The Romans definitely like their fantastic machines in my world – Ostrichines, Mechaniphants, steam paddle-wheel aircraft carriers and airships!
I encourage you to check out my first novel – Brass Legionnaire. It’s an award winning action-adventure novel that introduces the world of Romanpunk through the trials and tribulations of our two main protagonists – Julius and Constantine. My most recent novel, Steel Praetorian, the fourth in the series, is due to be released on December 1st, and is available for pre-order now.
You can also follow me on my blog, on twitter, or like me on Facebook! I’m always doing crazy things here and there! Special thanks to Icky for hosting me, it’s always a fun time working with you!