We've just come back from Whitby Gothic Weekend. It's our fourth visit and every time I'm deeply impressed by the warmth and friendliness demonstrated by the dark and scary looking people we encounter there. Judging; books; covers, that kind of thing ...
DD is a huge fan of dystopian science fiction, so veers towards a really futuristic look. "1984", "Brave New World", "We", "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" - that kind of thing. So much so that one of her 14th birthday presents was an electric sheep T-shirt from Think Geek . I'm gradually becoming very enamoured of the steampunk style. There's something really enchanting about alternative histories where the future is clockwork, Babbage's difference engine really did change the world a century before the internet, and the likes of HG Wells and Jules Verne were dealing in reportage rather than science fiction.
DD sees this kind of thing as hopelessly romantic and holds true to her much darker visions. Well, except in the case of the inspired lunacy that is Robert Rankin's world . Sadly, in terms of the real world, I think her dystopias might be much nearer the mark.
We've just come back from Whitby Gothic Weekend. It's our fourth visit and every time I'm deeply impressed by the warmth and friendliness demonstrated by the dark and scary looking people we encounter there. Judging; books; covers, that kind of thing ... 
