TIM HART: STEAMPUNK VISIONARY

Today I am very pleased to be interviewing Tim Hart. Tim is responsible for envisioning a wonderful world of cat girls and all seeing eyes in the comic series Victoriana (http://corvuspress.blogspot.co.uk/). The steampunk world he has created abounds with imagination and is truly a unique vision. But enough from me let's hear from the man himself.

Tell us about Victoriana. How did you come up with the idea?

Victoriana was an idea of combined things I like. One is my fondness for Catgirls,  (the strange and alluring creatures) and the Victorian era, a period of great change. Naturally these two things don’t mix and thus I combined them with a healthy dose of Steampunk. I’ve always wanted to do my story, for they say everyone has a book in them, mine is one with lots of pictures.

Who has influenced its development?

The influences for ‘Victoriana’ have come from a lot of sources, Phil Foglio (creator of various comics and Magic: the Gathering cards) and Masamune Shirow (Dominion Tank Police) are probably the biggest influences to the Sisters Bast themselves. But the final style, Saskia (my conceptualist) took my very basic notes and created wonderment. George (our artist for V and smashing lass) then took those images made them her own. The universe and London so far is still very much traditional which a suitable dose of Colin Clive Era Mad science and a hint of Abney Park. It’s a veritable Cauldron of Pop culture and influences, which I hope people will enjoy picking out what I’ve added it.

On reflection what would you have done differently?

Not a lot , I’m very happy with how everything is looking.

Any advice to people who want to do the same?

Yes, you can do what I have (being a player Game of Thrones that is the Comic games). But it requires you to work hard. It’s the thing people don’t want to hear, but it’s the truth. You will never have the right conditions to write. So you’ll have to get on with it. But when you’ve done it, it feels amazing.

James Henry (Green Wing, Bob the Builder) had a good phrase. If a touch paraphrased is ‘write five pages, if it’s not very good, you’ve written five pages’. Everything requires practice, and that practice will pay off. If Victoriana turns out well, imagine what I’ll be getting published in 15 years?

Also you are not alone; people are in the same position as you and are willing to help if you help them. Talk to others, make new friends, basically network and things will slide into place. Also a healthy dose of Prayer to the Almighty will work wonders providing you’re not being selfishly motivated. From day one I have worked short term goals. Dream big, but recognize what you can achieve.

Your family and friends will be a valuable asset, keep them and cherish them, they’ll help you more than you can imagine.

What’s in the pipeline?

I have a couple of projects on the burners at the moment. Spanning the genres; one is a Detective drama with a sense of humor. The second is about a Mythical Brewery in my home of Cornwall and the third is a magical cross between RedWall and ‘Men behaving badly’. The Third one is currently in note form on old bits of till roll from work.

If you were a piece of machinery what would it be and why?

A Pasta Extruder. My reasons are my own…

That’s a joke; it’s a good question and one worthy of a decent answer. So I’d think probably a train, you’re designed and made to transport people to new places.  As a Writer it your job to build a world you’d want people to visit.  So I’m couriering people’s imaginations. 

Thanks Tim for the inspiration and words of support.