12 Days of Steampunk; Steampunk is Steam-tastic! Guest blog and Giveaway with Melanie Karsak

Haven’t sunk your teeth into a steampunk book yet? You’ve heard of the genre but are not sure what it’s all about? Today I give you the 12 Days of Steampunk! In other words, I will give you 12 great steampunk goods, books, films, and gadgets to try as you make your introduction to the steampunk genre!
Day 1: On the first day of steampunk, you should watch TV! Rent a copy of Wild Wild West with Will Smith and Kevin Kline. Absorb all the Weird West steampunk gadgets, lovely corsetry, and a unique scifi/fantasy environment!

Day 2: On the second day of steampunk, my true love stent to me, a steampunk book! Try a Jules Verne novel. The steampunk aesthetic in Verne’s work inspires many of today’s steampunk writers.
Day 3: On the third day of steampunk, my true love sent to me, fun steampunk clothes! Steampunk is not just a literary genre, it is a lifestyle! Steampunk clothing is beautiful and sexy. Depending on your taste, you can COS play lovely steampunk gowns of fun, sexy steampunk clothing such as created by Kato at Steampunk Couture! 

Day 4: On the fourth day of steampunk, my true love sent to me, steampunk art! Since steampunk is such a lovely aesthetic, there are many wonderful artists out there creating steampunk images. Check out artist Sue Beatrice of All Natural Arts and her famous steampunk fairy.

Day 5: On the fifth day of steampunk, my true love sent to me, 5 golden rings! Steampunk jewelery is amazing! So many talented artists are grafting unique, handmade items. Here is an example of a lovely steampunk ring by Cinders Jewelry Design

Day 6: On the 6th day of steampunk, my true love sent to me, a new steampunk movie. Want more steampunk movies? If you want to revel in some gaslamp goodness, try the League of Extraordinary Gentleman
Day 7: On the 7th day of Steampunk, my true love gave to me, 7 airships flying! Steampunk writers love airships. In many steampunk works, including mine, you will find a sky filled with flying balloons. There is a wide range of types of airships depicted in steampunk novels, from helium filled zeppelins to fantasy airships that look like floating sea vessels held aloft from balloons. Airships are often part of the steampunk aesthetic.
Day 8: On the 8th day of steampunk, my true love gave to me, 8 maids a artifact hunting! In the years leading up to the Victorian period, fledgling field of archaeology, well somewhere between grave-robbing and archaeology, was underway. The notion of reclaiming the ancient world appears in many steampunk stories. In Chasing the Star Garden, Lily Stargazer and her crew find themselves in a hunt to recover an artifact from the ancient world in a true, Indiana Jones/Dan Brown adventure!
Day 9: On the 9th day of steampunk, my true love gave to me, 9 hot steampunk men! Redneck zombie hunters and fabulous elven archers move over for leather clad, aether-riding airship pirates! Steampunk men are usually splendidly attired and very craft with their hands. Got love those tinkers!

Day 10: On the 10th day of steampunk, my true love gave to me, 10 steampunk goggles. Steampunk has a thing with goggles. No steampunk outfit is complete until you have a pair of goggles!
Day 11: On the 11th day of steampunk, my true love gave to me, a steampunk music CD! Did you know there is such a thing as steampunk music? It ranges from Victorian chamber music to steampunk rock. Steampunk band Abney Park is the most well-known amongst the many wonderful steampunk bands out there. 
Here is a link to their work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL557wdOvoA There is also a steampunk version of Imagine Dragon’s Radioactive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE2GCa-_nyU



Day 12: On the 12th day of steampunk, my true love gave to me, a copy of Chasing the Star Garden! Of course we need to cap off with a little gratuitous self-promotion, but that’s why we are here, right! I hope you enjoyed all the reasons why you might like steampunk! If you are interested in giving your first steampunk novel a try, check out Chasing the Star Garden!  Follow airship racer and opium addict Lily Stargazer as she chases true love and the stars!

 Please note, due to some sex scenes and drug use, this novel is best suited to a +16 crowd.

Chasing the Star Garden
The Airship Racing ChroniclesBook IMelanie Karsak
Genre: Alternative History/Gaslamp-Steampunk
Publisher: Clockpunk Press
Date of Publication: December 4th, 2013
ISBN: 978-0615878775ISBN-10: 0615878776
Number of pages: 325Word Count:  70,000
Cover Artist: Damonza
Book Description:
An opium-addicted beauty.
An infamous poet living in self-imposed exile.
An ancient treasure about to fall into the wrong hands.
Melanie Karsak’s “Chasing the Star Garden” takes the reader on an exciting adventure from the gritty opium dens of gaslamp London to the gem-colored waters of the ancient world, introducing us Lily Stargazer, a loveable but reckless airship racer with a famous lover and a shattered past.
Lily Stargazer is having a bad day. She just lost the London leg of the 1823 Airship Grand Prix. To top it off, a harlequin fleeing from constables shoved a kaleidoscope down her pants, told her to fly to Venice, then threw himself from her airship tower.
What’s a girl to do? For Lily, the answer is easy: drink absinthe and smoke opium. 

Lily’s lover, Lord Byron, encourages her to make the trip to Venice. Lily soon finds herself at the heart of an ancient mystery which has her running from her past and chasing true love and the stars along the way.
About the Author:
Melanie Karsak grew up in rural northwestern Pennsylvania where there was an abysmal lack of entertainment, so she turned to reading and hiking. Apparently, rambling around the woods with a head full of fantasy worlds and characters will inspire you to become an author. Be warned. Melanie wrote her first novel, a gripping piece about a 1920s stage actress, when she was 12. A steampunk connoisseur, white elephant collector, and caffeine junkie, the author now resides in Florida with her husband and two children. Melanie is an Instructor of English at Eastern Florida State College.
Blog: www.melaniekarsak.blogspot.com
Twitter: twitter.com/MelanieKarsak
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorMelanieKarsak
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/melaniekarsak/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6539577.Melanie_Karsak
Be sure to request an Authorgraph
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