James Blaylock born September 20, 1950, he atteneded the California State University, Fullerton with Tim Powers and K. W. Jeter, making up the three "original" steampunks according to Jeter. Blaylock is known for his humorous writing style. He has written seven free standing works in the steampunk genre along with an anthology of short stories and novellas.
Blaylock is considered to be a fabulist. Rather than choosing a setting in a different world or realm, his fantasies are set right here on Earth, often in Orange County California. He has many works that are not part of the Steampunk genre.
His first steamppunk story is entitled The Digging Leviathan pubished in 1984. His second was Homunculus, published in 1986 and his third was Lord Kelvin's Machine, published in 1992. In 2008 his anthology The Adventures of Langdon St. Ives was published. It is a compendium of Homunculus, Lord Kelvin's Machine and four related short stories. Blaylock's novella The Ebb Tide was published in 2009; The Affair of the Chalk Cliffs was published in 2011; Zeuglodon was published in 2012 and The Aylesford Skull is due to reach the public in 2013.