Egyptian/Steampunk Halloween with Maeve Alpin

I'm running a blog contest today with this post, to enter please comment below and one winner will recieve a pdf download of As Timeless As Stone.

I write my Celtic/Romances under the name of Cornelia Amiri but my Steampunk/Romance As Timeless As Stone is under the pen name of Maeve Alpin and the heroine, Seshat, is from the Middle Kingdom period of ancient Egypt. I love history and Egyptian history can be so much fun. I thought I’d share some of the more interesting trivia I came across while researching that era. I love candy and believe it or not, so did the ancient Egyptian they invented and indulged in two all time favorites: licorice and marshmallows.

Here are two great youtube videos, the first one shows you how to decorate Halloween rotten cupcakes and spider rotten cupcakes with licorice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbUsgmFIuwM


And this youtube video shows how to use marshmellows to make a ghost on a cupcake and how to use licorice for the eyes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTtZQuHQABQ

For more Halloween Egyptian themed fun, here are Mummy hot dogs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUSYe1q61xU
and here are Mummy cookies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHaVJDYcPaA

For further Egyptian Halloween fun on youtube, here is a video on how to make up your face like King Tut’s gold face on his surcofagous. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGv589PiFuw&feature=related
For the steampunk side of my story, here’s a great youtube video on how to make a mini hallowen top hat for a steampunk Halloween costume from a styrafoam cup. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSVrHiqNs-o&p=1ACDBA473E8D044B&playnext=1&index=51
A steampunk cake would be great for Halloween as well http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_0ckuNS8aM

And here is an excerpt from my Egyptian Steampunk/Romance As Timeless As Stone:
A plump woman walked in and curtsied mechanically. “Bonsoir.” Tilting her head to one
side she stole a slanted look at Seshat.

“Hello,” Seshat answered in Old Egyptian as she stepped up to the roaring blaze in the brick fireplace.

The middle-aged cook turned her head toward Ricard. “Monsieur Dubois, the woman is not dressed.”

“It is Egyptian attire, Charlotte. In her time...I mean in her land, it is appropriate.” He stared with longing at Seshat and at what he thought of as very fitting apparel. “It suits her well.”

His cook cleared her throat loudly and admonished him with her scowl.

He added, “But of course she will be fitted for proper clothes befitting a lady of her station in the morning.”

“As you say, Monsieur.” Charlotte’s brow furrowed as she scrutinized their guest.

Seshat examined the red wallpaper and the paintings in all shapes and sizes encased in gilded frames.

“She will be staying with us for a few weeks,” Ricard paused and mumbled under his breath,“or forever, if I have anything to say about it.”

“Will the lady be dining with us this evening?” Charlotte tugged on her white bib top apron, tied over a full, floor-length solid blue work dress.

“Indeed she will.” His thoughts weren’t on food, he hungered for Seshat. He inhaled the evocative blend of her musky, soft floral scent. As he imagined the taste of her sweet lips and the salty flavor of her skin, his sex grew hard and throbbed. Ricard’s face was hot with embarrassment, he had invited this fine lady, a priestess of ancient Egypt, into his home as a guest and he must restrain these lecherous thoughts.

“Very well, I shall have one of those creatures set another place at the table.” The plump cook returned to the kitchen.

Two small brass men with iron faces and steam pistons rotating on their sides, a large rotating flywheel in each of their shiny chests, and steam spraying from the open stove-pipe top-hats on their heads, sluggishly marched into the room. Each held trays of food.

Seshat screamed and ran to the far corner of the dining room. With her back pressed against the wall, she yelled at them, “If you evil beast harm me I shall put a curse on you. May a donkey violate you, a hippopotamus crush you into little pieces, and a crocodile devour what’s left of you.”

“Not beast.” Ricard had to yell over the roar of the steam servants. “They serve a wonderful purpose. You see, as an educated man in the age of enlightenment, I know servants work long hours at dangerous labor and it is wrong for men of any station to be condemned to a life of drudgery. I built these mechanical men to do all distasteful and dangerous tasks, from cleaning, washing, waxing, chimney sweeping and lighting fires, to hauling and lifting. I have only one human servant, Charlotte, and all she does is cook, everything else is handled by my steam servants, even chopping onions and peeling garlic cloves.”

Seshat stepped out of the corner. Her eyes no longer glittered with fear and her body lost the stiffness, the tension, she’d had but a moment before, yet she still held her hands over her ears.

“Oui, they are quite loud.” Ricard smiled and managed to coax her into a chair at the dining table, or it might have been the aroma of Charlotte’s broiled partridges with hot sauce that impelled her to take a seat.


http://MaeveAlpin.com
As Timeless As Stone is available in ebook form at Amazon kindle, Barnes & Nobles onlinge, Borders online, Fictionwise, All Romance ebooks as well as most online book stores.

NATIONAL FELT HAT DAY

Winners of the Natl. Hat Day Blog Contest are Yadkny and Niko. Congratulations!

I love hats and it's one of the reasons I'm drawn to the Victorian period. Both men and women were not dressed if there head was bare, they had to wear hats. To celebrate NATIONAL HAT DAY and my Steampunk Romance set in 1830 Parris France, where everyone wore the latest fashion in hats I'm giving away a PDF download, a free ebook, of AS TIMELESS AS STONE. To enter the contest for today just post a comment or question and one winner will be drawn.

ABOUT AS TIMELESS AS STONE:

I have a lifelong passion for history, I am thrilled with the latest cross genre of romance, Steampunk. It’s a yummy genre based on alternative history, on the premise that the industrial age and the technological age occur together. For the most part Steampunk/Romance is set in the 19th century during the Victorian age, sometimes in the American West. My love of ancient history influenced me to set my Steampunk/Romance As Timeless As Stone, in 1830 Paris France. This way I was able to include one of my favorite historical figures, Jean François Champollion, founder of Scientific Egyptology. His work on deciphering the Rosetta stone gave voice to the ancient Egyptians. Though I am not an archeologist, I feel a deep kinship with them, for I strive in my writing to bring the ancient past alive for my readers. Jean François Champollion was also the first conservator of the Egyptian collection at the Louvre. Most of my story is set in the Louvre, as my hero, a fictional character, Ricard, is also an egyptologist and the assistant of Jean François Champollion.

My heroine, a fictional character, Seshat, is an ancient Egyptian Priestess of the temple of Horus, who in peril for her life turned herself to stone thousands of years before. By bringing her in to the story, I got to include fascinating details on the history and mythology of ancient Egypt. She was in peril for her life because Egypt’s enemies at the time, the Hyksos, invented a new weapon…the chariot. When the Hykos soldiers goaded their chariot horses into a dirt kicking gallop, charging the temple of Horus, Seshat, in a panic to prevent rape and capture by the enemy, cast a spell and turned into stone, to wait for someone in Pharaoh’s army to read the papyrus sheet in her hands and magically transform her back to flesh and blood. But a ransacking Hyksos soldier, mistook her for a statue and chopped off her head. Pharaoh’s army arrived, but no one recognized the priestess. She wass nothing more than a headless statue.

Back in 1830 Paris, Ricard uncovered a room full of artifacts Napoleon Bonaparte brought back from his Egyptian campaign and expedition. They were hidden away from the English all this time. As Ricard examined the relics, he uncovered an ancient Egyptian statue with the head broken off. When he set the head back in place and used his linguistic skills to read the incantation she held in her stone fingers, the statue came to life. Seshat, a gorgeous flesh and blood woman appeared where a stone image stood just moments before. And that is where my Steampunk/Romance, As Timeless As Stone begins.

Here is the blurb:

Though society stands in their way, can love transcend time with the aid of robotics and ritual?

In peril for her life, the Priestess Seshat turns herself to stone in ancient Egypt. Centuries later, Ricard, a dashing nineteenth century Frenchman, repairs a broken statue and reads its incantation--unprepared for the gorgeous flesh and blood woman who steps forth.

Seshat is drawn to the brass robots Ricard creates and the glamor of the Victorian age, and most of all to Ricard himself. But the society of his day cannot accept a woman like her. How far will Ricard go to secure her happiness? Is their love strong enough to transcend time itself?

http://maevealpin.com/

As Timeless as Stone

(Steampunk/Erotica/Romance)

Though society stands in their way, can love transcend time with the aid of robotics and ritual?

In peril for her life, the Priestess Seshat turns herself to stone in ancient Egypt. Centuries later, Ricard, a dashing nineteenth century Frenchman, repairs a broken statue and reads its incantation--unprepared for the gorgeous flesh and blood woman who steps forth.

Seshat is drawn to the brass robots Ricard creates and the glamor of the Victorian age, and most of all to Ricard himself. But the society of his day cannot accept a woman like her. How far will Ricard go to secure her happiness? Is their love strong enough to transcend time itself?

Links:

Excerpt and trailer available at my website http://www.MaeveAlpin.com

Buy As Timeless As Stone http://www.lyricalpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=220

Excerpt:

Ricard stepped back as his gaze devoured the entire woman, though stiff and lifeless. The stone looked like lush, sun-warmed skin. Her oval face was darkand delicate, with full, rosy lips. He admired her long lithe body, clad in asheer, white, sleeveless dress, held up only by two delicate linen shoulderstraps. He longed to roam his fingers and lips over her high perched breast andthe thin waist which flared into curved hips and lithe thighs. Then, down to her pretty legs and her slender feet garbed in white papyrus sandals, of the station she depicted, an Egyptian priestess of the Middle Kingdom. He drank in her beauty, then he noticed the ornament lying in the valley between her breasts, a thick ankh of gold hung from a chain. His fingers absently tried to grab hold of the necklace but it was only part of the statue, no matter how real it seemed.

"What is this?" He looked at the plaque in the statue's stone hands, heldbeneath the ankh. The last hieroglyphic depicted the symbol for life, an ankh,held up to the woman's nose. Ricard read it silently, sounding it out, Nce xarpwt pwwne Ab etoot abrem... Toujo Abrem etoot pwwne ab... xarp wt au ai ankh qe,and translated it under his breath. "God Horus, as you turned my flesh to stone... God Horus, save me, make me whole...change my stone to flesh...give me the nose breath of life, once more."

The room vibrated and an unnatural wind swirled within. Ricard's hair stood on end, but he could not tear his eyes away from the statue. He grabbed the ankh,and this time it gave way, lifting from the statue's chest. The curiosity that drove him as a scientist, as an Egyptologist, caught hold and as strange as this all seemed, he felt he had come this far, he had to see it through. Laying the ankh against the statue's small nose, Ricard acted out the last hieroglyphic on the plaque.He shuddered at the sound of a gush of breath. A flash of light struck inside the room. The shock knocked the breath out of him.

The statue moved, but she wasn't stone anymore. Jean François gasped and stepped back. Ricard couldn't move. It's a living, breathing woman. He dropped the ankh and it fell against her chest, which now rose and fell with heaving breaths. Ricard managed to step back on shaky legs. He gaped at her, unable to think or speak. Alive. The priestess shrieked. Her brown eyes glowed with anger.

"Come near me you Hyksos cobra, and you will die!" she warned in Old Egyptian.

Steampunk/Romance

by Maeve Alpin

The latest cross genre of romance that’s all the rage is Steampunk. It’s a yummy genre and once you get a taste of it, you’ll be hooked. For those romance readers who are unfamiliar with it, I’ve noted some particulars.

You don't have to know what steampunk is at all to enjoy As Timeless As Stone, you can call it a time travel/romance and that would work just as well. For those who would like to know more about Steampunk, it’s a fantasy/sci-fi genre that is a type of alternate history based on the idea that the industrial age and the technological age happen together. It's written in the spirit of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne. If you ever watched the Wild Wild West TV show or the movie - that's steampunk. For the most part it's set during the Victorian Age, sometimes in the American west. You can have magic and paranormal elements and most of the Steampunk/Romances coming out do, but you don't have to. I find it an incredibly fun genre to write. Steampunk has also expIoded into our culture with fashion both clothes and jewelry. With gadgetry as many people love to build steampunk machines including cars. There is also steampunk music and movies. Simply Google, the word steampunk to glimpse the variety of items included in what has become for some people, a way of life.

But back to my favorite subject, books. One thing that stands out in Steampunk/Romances are fresh, settings and alternate history. Steampunk/Romances are usually set in Victorian England, especially London, some are in the Old West in the same time period, and As Timeless As Stone takes place in 1830 Paris France. As Timeless As Stone is also an example of Egyptian/Steampunk.

Steampunk/Romances usually have some type of scientist, often a good old- fashioned mad scientist. In As Timeless As Stone my hero is an unusual scientist for the genre, he’s an Egyptologist. He’s also the assistant of Jean François Champollion, the man best known for deciphering the Rosetta Stone. Working for Jean Francois Champollion, the conservator of the Egyptian collection of the Louvre, Ricard uncovers a room full of artifacts Napoleon Bonaparte brought back from his Egyptian campaign and expedition. They have been hidden away from the English all this time.

This is the part of my story where magic and science combine as it does in most Steampunk/Romances. As Ricard examines these artifacts, he uncovers an ancient Egyptian statue with the head broken off. When he sets the head back in place and uses his linguistic skills to read the incantation she holds in her stone fingers, the statue comes to life. A gorgeous flesh and blood woman appears where a stone image stood just moments before. This is my heroine Seshat, who in peril for her life turned herself to stone thousands of years before.

There is often an environment of political chaos and discourse in Steampunk/Romance and As Timeless As Stone is no exception, set in 1830 Paris under the reign of Charles the tenth with pending mayhem and unrest around the corner as the king is overthrown that same year in the July revolution.

Another big part of Steampunk/Romances are the wonderful Victorian fashions. But in As Timeless As Stone, Seshat is not impressed with layers of confining clothing. As an Egyptian priestess it is a taboo for her to wear anything made from animals, such as wool, and this comes into play when the couturier is garbing her in the latest Paris fashions.

In Steampunk/Romances there is usually a steam driven machine. For example in As Timeless As Stone there is a sprinkling of brass robots. The ultimate mechanical wonder in As Timeless As Stone is the brass time-machine watch pictured on the cover.

Now that you are familiar with some of the elements of the genre, I hope you’ll give it a try and let a Steampunk/Romance sweep you away to another place and time for a fun adventure.

AS TIMELESS AS STONE