Cathrin: With respect to influences on this work, my guesses are Dickens and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. Rowena reminds me of Oliver Twist. Books One and Two deal with ecclesiastical and scientific matters, reason and faith, logic and mysticism, all in a steampunk-y universe. Am I on the right track?
Tracy: You’re very much on the right track! My elevator pitch for the Thieves of Fate series is that it’s His Dark Materials meets Ocean’s Eleven as told by Charles Dickens. Other influences on my work include Roger Zelazny, for his constant genre-bending and politicking, Max Gladstone for his dry wit and attention to detail in world-building, and N.K. Jemisin, for writing deep, engrossing point of view characters that challenge your capacity for empathy.
If you love steampunk and adventure, I encourage you to read more of my interview with The Fall author Tracy Townsend at Luna Station Quarterly. Cheers!