Fantasy, paranormal, maybe a bit of romance... I build the world Ihyel culture by culture, book by book, slowly building its timeline from the Age of Myth, Age of Heroes, to the Age of Reason... and even beyond. Relic Robbers is set in the 1940s (and might or might not be steampunk... the world hasn't told me if it will go that rout... I *do* know it is the planet where the physicist the Music Maker created his theories that helped build the electric tunnels that bridge from planet to planet, and created the Kho'Asteri universe I still have to write). The short story set in Yezgin is later than the Relic Robbers. It can be found here: http://lunastationquarterly.com/story/laughter-in-the-graveyard/
Mythica series, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke, Lord of the Rings, Galaxy Quest...
Firefly
Jane Lindskold, Layton Green, Ben Meeks, Trisha Slay, Diane Morrison (Sable Aradia), Jo Thomas, Midori Snyder, Orson Scott Card, Dave Duncan, Dorothy L. Sayers, Laurie R. King... Uhm... more that are on my bookshelf.