Debut Author Snapshot: Gail Carriger

Goodreads Author Gail Carriger takes Victorian England's aristocracy and sets it atop the supernatural food chain in her Parasol Protectorate fantasy series, where vampires and werewolves are at the beck and call of the queen herself. Heroine Alexia Tarabotti is a proper but headstrong young lady with a dangerous secret. Goodreads member Alethea calls Carriger's debut novel, Soulless, a "stake-and-crumpets Victorian steampunk series" that's "part Charlotte Brontë, part P.G. Wodehouse, a dollop of Joss Whedon and just a dash of your favorite bodice-ripping author." We asked Carriger one special question and asked her to supply her best parasol snapshot. See more from her collection »

Goodreads: Prudish Victorian society labels protagonist Alexia a "spinster" at age 26. Why this chaste time period for a feisty heroine like Alexia?

Gail Carriger: I think Alexia, given her stalwart character and undeniably acerbic wit, needs something to struggle against, and an entire societal framework is a good start. She's peculiar in that she still acts quite the proper English gentlewoman and isn't inclined to buck the system. Yet by her very nature she is driven to unconsciously subvert it.

GR: You refuse to be pigeonholed. Soulless is a mixture of urban fantasy, steampunk, and biting comedy. Can you describe how you settled on this unique blend of genres?

GC: Simply put, it was the book I kept looking for and really wanted to read but no one was writing, so I figured I'd better do it myself.

GR: If you could spend one day in Victorian-era London, what would you do (and, more importantly, what would you wear)?

GC: I should love to visit the Crystal Palace and the Great Exhibition displays housed there. I'd wear the appropriate day dress, probably something in teal velvet with hundreds of tiny buttons and a very outrageous hat.