What am I?

My Rook grandparents, probably mid-1920s

Given my lifelong interest in all things historical, I've been gobbling up information from one of my cousins who did a geneology DNA test. We share my maternal and her paternal grandparents, and the main name, Rook, dead stops in early 1800s Kentucky. Did someone reinvent themselves under a new name? Anything is possible. It certainly happened. Or are there records out there waiting to be found? Time may tell.

Anyway, like everyone, we like to think of being related to someone important, don't we? I mean, my maiden name is Spencer. I figured if there were any big names to be found, it would be on that side of the tree, but so far, no one that I know of has gotten that far with any research. My Rook cousin, however is going at it like mad, and I'm so glad she's sharing it with me, just because I find it, well, interesting. Not to mention the zillion plot bunnies it's got running around through my head.

While the Rook line disappears, one of the maternal lines off of that takes us way, way back. There's a connection to the Adams family of Boston (Presidents would be my many-many-times cousins.) from there we go back to England and tie in with the rather famous Cromwell clan. Oliver (mostly remembered as a bad guy) would have been a cousin, but going back to the time of Henry VIII, his advisor Thomas Cromwell, (who like so many people close to Henry wound up headless) is a fascinating character. He's my 18th generation direct ancestor. What does that mean statisically? Basically 1 in (2 to the 18th power), or 1/262144 of  my genes could come from him. Hardly significant. Just--interesting.

Going even further back, I'm apparently a descendent of Emperor Charlemagne of France, meaning, even more amusing to my sense of humor, his father Pepin the Short. I'm 5'0". Seems appropriate.

me and my mom, 1990s

Also, we'd always been told there was some Native American in the family. Well, it seems not. Romany and Jewish, yes. No idea where the Romany ties in, but the Jewish names pop up in the 17 and 1800s. So that's cool, though I'm kind of disappointed about the (assumed) Cherokee. No Irish, which I always thought was a big component, but a bunch of German and Dutch and Scottish I had no idea about, and way more French. Parlez-vous francais? Oui, mais un peu, seulement. (I speak French but only a little.) Frankly I can't wait to get a test run myself. I'm sure about English, Irish and French on the Spencer side, but we'll have to wait and see. Oh, the plot bunnies! Better than the one who brings chocolate eggs!

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From now through the end of March, one of my most popular books ever, Steam & Sorcery, the bestselling and EPIC award winning starter of my Gaslight Chronicles series, is on sale, only at Kindle, for $1.99. This book got 4.5 stars from Romantic Times, and Library Journal called the series "Probably the ultimate in steampunk romance." Get it here.

The first vulture of spring

I’m convinced that writers tend to notice odd details that escape most people. Take, for instance, the first vulture of spring…

March in Michigan. Not the prettiest time or place. Don’t get me wrong, my home state can be beautiful. The phenomenal Great Lakes, lots of brilliant green in the summer, urban architectural grandeur in Detroit and Grand Rapids, and magnificent color in the fall. But in March? Yuck. Melting snow that’s more gray than white. Leafless trees and brown muddy grass.  But there is hope! Birds are chattering away outside my window this morning. Yesterday I saw the first vulture of the season. Yeah, that’s a weird sign I know, but they do migrate, so if they’re back it is a sign of spring. And instead of jackets and sweaters, the stores are full of swimsuits. There’s another clue

So spring is springing, albeit at its own leisurely pace. And I am anxious. I’m tired of trudging through snow and I miss having the windows open while I type. Knowing the weather in my part of the world we’re due for one or two more snowstorms before winter gives up the fight, but for today I’ll move my computer to a sunny spot  and pretend. Some day, I tell myself, I’ll be able to move me and my computer someplace warm, where I can sit on a shady porch and look out at the ocean while I type. Hey, we all have to have dreams, right? Goals are important, and all that. And for a writer, imagination is a prerequisite. So if I want to sit here and pretend that the palm tree on my computer screen is actually right outside my window…well, probably shouldn’t mention it, or I might be getting a visit from the nice men in the white coats.

Ah, but that’s the life of a writer. If we admitted to half the stuff that goes on in our twisted little brains, the psych wards would be packed with us, all frantically scribbling away with crayons, and saying, “not until I finish this scene,” when it’s time for our medication. No, much better to put all our craziness down in our fiction and pretend that’s where it came from all along.

If you’re looking to heat up your day a bit, you might want to check out my Gaslight Chronicles series, with a new book  Cards & Caravans, out next week, from Carina Press. Have a wonderful spring. (Or autumn, for my friends in the southern hemisphere.)

*****

Contest: In conjunction with the release of Cards and Caravans, Cindy is running a contest for a $25.00 gift card to the e-book distributor of your choice, plus the chance to name a character in the next Gaslight Chronicles story. To enter, visit the “Contact Cindy” page on her website and send her a note. Mention which blog you saw this on. One entry per person per blog post. A list of posts is available on the Contest page on Cindy's site.

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About the Book: Cards and Caravans is book 5 in the Gaslight Chronicles steampunk romance series, and releases from Carina Press on March 18. Find out more here.

Blurb: Belinda Danvers isn't a witch. But that won't stop them burning her at the stake...

Connor McKay can tell at a glance that Belinda's magickal powers are minimal at best. She can't be guilty of murdering village children. There's something suspicious about her arrest and lightning-quick sentence. Unfortunately, telling anyone how he knows would mean revealing his own powers. He's been sent by the Order of the Round Table to help and he can't just let her die.

Escaping from jail and running from vindictive villagers in her grandfather's steam-powered caravan is more excitement than Belinda's had in years. And despite the danger--or maybe because of it--she loves the time spent with her sexy rescuer. But there's more to his magick than he's letting on...

There's something going on that's bigger than the two of them. It's time for good to make a stand.
Review: 4 Stars from Romantic Times: “All the trappings of a good steampunk novel are here..but most enchanting of all is the love that develops between the hero and heroine.

*****

About the Author: Cindy Spencer Pape firmly believes in happily-ever-after and brings that to her writing. Award-winning and best-selling author of 16 novels and more than 30 shorter works, Cindy lives in southeast Michigan with her husband, two sons and a houseful of pets. When not hard at work writing she can be found dressing up for steampunk parties and Renaissance fairs, or with her nose buried in a book. Catch her online at:

Website: http://www.cindyspencerpape.com

Blog: http://cindyspencerpape.blogspot.com/

Newsletter group: http://yhoo.it/ni7PHo   

Twitter: http://twitter.com/CindySPape

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/gjbLLC

Victorian Tea Time

Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments. I appreciate it.
I drew two winners of eBooks of As Timeless As Stone.
My winners are Danielle and Teresa. Congratulations to them both.

Like most little girls, I grew up playing Tea Party. Ceramic and plastic tea sets are still some of the most popular toys, if you have daughters or granddaughters, they probably have at least one. I don’t know if you’ve seen a show called Pregnant in Heels, but they had a proper English tea on one episode, serving scones, and Spotted Dick with the tea. I learned the correct pronunciation of scones from that episode. I use to mistakenly say scone with the o sound pronounced as in bone when it’s actually pronounced as in gone.

I learned so much about teas during the demonstration at the Oklahoma Steampunk Exposition, I recently attended. The picture of me above was taken there. We were served cucumber sandwiches, lemon pound cake, devil eggs, scones, cookies, and three types of tea. Our charming, expert hostess also taught us the differences in tea time in England, France, and Germany. For in Germany they usually served coffee and cake while in France they drank chocolate and served cookies or pastries or baguettes with butter and jam.

At an English tea, once everyone is seated, the hostess pours the tea, filling each guest’s cup. The spout of the tea pot faces the hostess or pourer. A tea cup is shallow and wider than a coffee or chocolate cup to give the tea room to temper before drinking. The hostess offers lemons, milk, or sugar for the tea. Milk and lemon are never added to the same cup, as citrus spoils milk. Cream is not offered as it is much too heavy for tea.

An infinite variety of tasty sandwiches may be served at tea, sometimes filled with chicken or turkey salad and cucmber sandwiches are often offered as well. The crust is always trimmed off the bread.

Do not extend your pinkie finger when drinking tea, it is rude. When stirring tea do not clink your spoon against the cup, instead swish it gently to and fro. After stirring, place the spoon on the saucer behind the tea cup. Remove the spoon before drinking your tea. Do not swirl the tea in your cup or you might slosh and stain the tablecloth.

There is specific etiquette for gentlemen attending teas. They must stand when a lady enters or leaves the room, open the door for the ladies, and escort the ladies downstairs to their carriage or cab. One would never expect less of a true gentleman.

I enjoyed sharing my new found knowledge with all you especially this week with the royal wedding. Just think William and Kate may be having tea right now. I wish you all Happy Tea Time.

I am having a blog contest, just comment below and the winner will receive a free eBook PDF download of my Steampunk/Romance, As Timeless As Stone. Also please drop by my website anytime at http://MaeveAlpin.comHere is a trailer of As Timeless As Stone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQEOp9l9ZFA

Corsets, Clock Gears, and Cleopatra

Though mainly associated with the Victorian era, there is no question aspects of the Steampunk culture have been influenced by ancient Egypt. In the entertainment field Steampunk belly dancing is on the rise. Since the top Steampunk Band, Abney Park incorporated belly dancing into its live shows, many of these dancers have been inspired to go steampunk adding googles, corsets and pantaloons to their costumes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqM9sCLIi_g In the area of interior design, Nethercraft offers an incredible collection of fabulous Egyptian walls http://www.nethercraft.com/prod_tomb.html. The Egyptian- Steampunk movement has even invaded fashion with Costume Designer, Iris Bainum-Houle’s collection, clearly influenced by both the garments of ancient Egypt and Victorian England. http://tinyurl.com/26dvuxo The latest cross genre of romance, Steampunk, has also shown Egyptian influence.

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. But As Timeless As Stone is also an example of Egyptian/Steampunk.

In Steampunk/Romances one of the main characters is usually a scientist and In As Timeless As Stone my hero is 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 at 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.

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 Parisian gowns.

I hope you'll give the Egyptian and Victorian influences of my Steampunk/ Erotica/ Romance, As Timeless As Stone, a try and let it sweep you away to another place and time for a fun adventure.

Here is a short excerpt of As Timeless As Stone:
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 dark and delicate, with full, rosy lips. He admired her long lithe body, clad in a sheer, white, sleeveless dress, held up only by two delicate linen shoulder straps. He longed to roam his fingers and lips over her high perched breast and the 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, held beneath 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 xarp wt 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.
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Timeless as Stone is available in the Amazon kindle store, Barnes and Nobles online for the nook, Fictionwise, All Romance Ebooks, and most online book stores. Please drop by Maeve Alpin’s official website http://MaeveAlpin.com