Welcome Maureen!
The table is set with a damask tablecloth with a lace top. I'm using delicate china with a floral design. To start I'm serving finger sandwiches with roast beef, and smoked salmon. I'll serve Orange Pekoe, and Earl Grey teas, with scones topped with Marzipan. There's brandy under the table for anyone who wants a little kick.
Let the party begin!
Maureen needs help choosing some additional steampunk outfits. Do you have any suggestions?
Maureen looks cool as an airship mechanic
Maureen brought along two friends.
Greetings!
What do you have planned for this weekend, Maureen?
I have an exciting weekend ahead of me! Ever heard of steampunk? That wonderful new genre (actually not all that old) which features a mix of historical and technical elements. The spirit of invention! Or as it was put to me neo-Victorian retro-future! Yes!
Steampunk! It’s just so interesting! I’ve written a book with some mild steampunk elements, mixed with pirates and it was a fun thing to do. (I really need to nag my agent about querying Decadent about this book, called The Chameleon Goggles!) I also love to costume. In November of 2010 I was at SteamCon II in Seattle and had such a blast! Dressing up was cool, taking pictures of everyone in costume was so so cool, the panels were fabulous. There were many on writing and several romance authors spoke. This was exciting because months before I’d been at the Nova Albion SteamCon in Oakland and heard literal groans when the idea of romance in the genre was mentioned. Tomorrow, I’m attending the second Nova Albion SteamCon, now moved to San Jose, and really looking forward to it! The theme is Wild Wild East, it’s gonna be a blast!
So, I have to really figure out what I’m going to wear! Seattle was the Wild Wild West and so I went with a bit of the Victorian school marm, high wasted long skirt, short boots, fitted shirt and a nice straw hat with scarf. (I actually found all these clothes in my closet. There is something to be said for dressing with an odd flare. No one tell Stacy and Clinton, okay? I don’t relish having to explain my closet to the What Not To Wear dynamic duo.)
What to wear to the Nova Albion SteamCon Convention. I don’t really have an Eastern style costume to wear. I have this really cool full length black and red Asian style dress, but I have no way to steampunk it up. I’ll wear something more casual steampunk on Friday and maybe something will catch my eye that will do the trick, then I can wear the dress on Saturday…
I do enjoy this genre and want to see myself attending one as a featured author one of these days. To that goal I am going to Nova Albion with particular things in mind.
I want to be part of SteamCon III, in October. The theme is 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and I want to promote The Kraken’s Mirror to the roof! And if The Chameleon Goggles flies, I want to promote that one, too, since it features the albino kraken from the first book. I will be talking to the people selling the tickets for SteamConIII at the San Jose Convention, and asking who I contact to be considered for a panel, and part of the program.
I mean, it takes a certain amount of chutzpah to announce that I am so interesting, they should include me as a featured author and put me on panels because I have so much to say… I mean, some of these people are real scholars. I can be confident, but I may need a few glasses of wine before I’m up for it. But I am determined! Wish me luck!
Good Luck! We know you'll do a great job!
Coming Friday
Available from Decadent Publishing
http://www.maureenobetita.com/
The Kraken's Mirror - available now, Decadent Publishing
http://believinginsecondchances.typepad.com/ (every Sunday)
http://www.castlesandguns.com/ (every other Tuesday)
http//romancewritersrevenge.com/ (every Friday as 2nd Chance
11 comments:
Oooooh! Orange pekoe and roast beast! Yum! Yup, two new releases and so many more planned...including one where a kraken and pirates take on war zepellin! Such fun to write! ;-)
Maureen, you totally crack me up! I trust you to come up with an awesome costume for the Con! When in doubt, call Rob or PJ. :D
LOVE the costume! and I'm so jealous you've gone to all those SteamCons. They sound great - and I hope you continue to have a blast!
:)
I love the costume.
Sadly, I went into an antique clothing store yesterday, and told the woman I was going to a steampunk convention next month, and she said 'what the heck is that?' I think the trend is still growing, but I think you have such a handle on it. Way to go Maureen!
The black and red dress sounds perfect, Maureen. You could spice it up with a brass pendant necklace, and a pair of black lace up boots.
Have a great time at the convention. Thanks for the great post.
Because odd questions always reside in my head..."Do albino krakens need sunscreen?"
I'm also jealous regarding the steampunk cons. Nothin' much goin' on here in New Mexico.
There's a steampunk group over at DeviantArt that I follow. In addition to art, there are lots of folk posting pics of their steampunk cosplay. Great for coming up with costumes for "real life" or book characters.
Cheers,
Pat Kirby
Deena - I aim to crack! ;-)
Vanessa - The list of cons are growing all the time and even other cons are adding steampunk elements...and I have met some incredible people and listened to some awesomely intelligent discussions... Highly recommend finding one to attend!
JM - It's okay! We don't want the vintage stores to know why we're looking...they'll raise the prices. Just look innocent and make selections and wait until you're out in the street to fist pump into the air...
Kathleen - Boots are the bane of every costume I've ever tried to do. I have little feet. And big calves and these are two things that do not work well in boots... Sigh.
Pat - So far, only the villains are steampunkish. I seldom dress as a villain. (My pirates are seldom villainous.) As for the sunscreen? He has slime, no sun makes it through the slime...
Allow me to qualify this suggestion by saying that I have yet to write or read steampunk, however, that said, I had an idea for your custom--why not add a touch of steampunk through jewelry. As I understand, steampunk is all about machinery. You could make yourself earrings and a necklace from nuts and bolts.
I offered to be a panelist at Bloody Words. First time for me as a panelist--ever, anywhere. Am I nervous? Yup. But here's to ceasing the opportunity.
Good luck and have fun, Maureen.
Leanne - congrats on getting out there as a panelists! I'll let you know how my experience goes.
In general, I have enough everyday clothes in my closet to put together a fair costume. The airship mech? I made earrings out of little plastic tools...they were really fun!
The trick with the Wild Wild East is the blending of east with steampunk. I do hope to find something on Friday to make the dress work for Friday... Maybe a perch hat with a mini pagoda on it...with some gears and wheels... ;-)
The hat sounds great! I love all this talk about steampunk. Love the clothes, too.
Thanks for the fun post, Maureen.
Thanks for having me, Kathleen!
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