steampink week and a giveaway

Friday, June 4, 2010 |

Hang on to your train tickets and your Victorian-era headgear, everyone! Velvet at vvb32reads is hosting a steamPINK event. What does that mean? It’s a week of posts on female-centered steampunk stories (books, film, and other media included!). Velvet will also be hosting at least five giveaways this week, so you should definitely go over and check it out.

If you’re sitting there, scratching your head and wondering what steampunk is, much less steamPINK, let me enlighten you. As far as I’ve been able to tell, steampunk is an alternate universe (a world based on our own or like our own, but with a different history) where the Victorian-era sensibilities and an industrialized 19th century are overlaid with advanced technology. Or it’s science fiction set in a Gaslight-era historical context. Think dirigibles, advanced mechanics, bustle dresses and brass goggles. It sounds (and looks) very cool, yeah? If that still doesn’t make sense, check out better definitions here.

In the meantime, I’ll be hosting my own steamPINK giveaway! One winner will receive two books from the following list:

Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti
Soulless by Gail Carriger

Changeless by Gail Carriger
Blameless by Gail Carriger (pre-order)
Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore
Steamed by Katie MacAlister
Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (pre-order)

-------

To enter:

Leave a comment on this post telling me how you’d get around (preferred method of transportation) in a steampunk world. Be as creative as you dare.

Please include your email address or another method of contact. Giveaway is open internationally. Comments will close on June 12 at 11:59pm EST, and I will notify the randomly selected winner via email.

Good luck!

60 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a great idea. I'm reading Soulless right now, my first foray into Steampunk, I think.

I love the dirigble idea, but I'd still want a carriage, but preferable one where I could brew coffee while driving through the streets.

carolsnotebook at yahoo dot com

Tynga said...

What a great giveaway! THank you!

I would go for an old-school cariage I think or the very old cars, they are so kool <3

TyngaUF(a)gmail.com

sRy_ said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sullivan McPig said...

Wow, great giveaway!

I myself would want a steam powered tank to travel around in, so I can drive over any zombies that might lurk around!

(email in profile)

titania86 said...

I think I would love to travel around in a crazy hot air balloon. It would be very large to accommodate my crew and it would have many weapons to defend us and to board other dirigibles if needed. I guess it's like a flying, hot air powered pirate ship.

titania86[at]yahoo.com

Cherry said...

I'm not very creative, so train it would be :) Hogwarths train, preferably.

Re-posted your contest at: http://contests-freebies.blogspot.com/2010/06/win-steampunk-books-at-adventures-of.html

Cherry Mischievous
mischivus101-warrior [at] yahoo [dot] com

D Swizzle said...

a bouncing airship. you know those ghetto cars that do that thing? yeah, like that.

Christa said...

Love the idea of Steampink! : )

I'd totally get around via dirigible as often as possible and perhaps a flying umbrella (think Mary Poppins only with much more impressive steampunk and much less perkiness, as I prefer spunk!). lol.

Thanks for the contest! I've been eyeing several of those books for a while! : )

ambience.of.rain {at} gmail.com

marian said...

hmm...my mode of transportation would be flying around on a Pegasus. yeah, that would be very awesome!
great contest!

mariannguyen16(AT)gmail(DOT)com

Kristen M. said...

What a cute idea ... SteamPINK .. chuckle!

Dirigible because it's one of my favorite words! Of course a steam-powered metal horse would be awesome ... hmm ...

webereadingATgmailDOTcom

Ruth (Book Focus) said...

Hmm... I know it's totally unoriginal, but I think I'd want to try out one of the big dirigible "beasties" from Scott Westerfeld's LEVIATHAN series... eg, well, the LEVIATHAN. Only it does sound like it's pretty smelly... hmm.

Or... maybe a phaeton. Yeah, a phaeton! Powered by steam instead of horses. That would be awesome. I'd probably overbalance it, but up until then, it'd be totally awesome. Or maybe it could be pulled by leopard/panther crosses instead of horses. No-one would complain about my driving/overbalancing skills in that case, plus the leopard/panthers would just be awesome.

So, yeah, a phaeton powered either by steam or drawn by some awesome crossbred animals. And the LEVIATHAN for any sea crossings.

Email: kiwibooklover at gmail dot com

Thanks for the giveaway - nice question! :)

throuthehaze said...

I would get around in my own personal dirigible of course!

Raelena
throuthehaze at gmail dot com

Zia said...

I think I would choose a horse and carriage, though the airships are kind of cool!

Awesome contest!

Zia
ziaria(at)gmail(dot)com

Tales of Whimsy said...

vv is brilliant, isn't she?
(not an entry)

Bianca said...

Great giveaway! I have never read a Steampunk book but I would love to!

It would be a little Marry Poppins-ish, but instead of holding onto the umbrella, there would be some kind of strap or something that would hold me in place so I wouldn't have to keep my hand up all the time but just have time to look at all my surroundings.

infinitemusic19 at gmail dot com

Ginny Larsen said...

omgoodness... i WANT changeless!!!

and i think that i'd get around in a really really sweet segway type of one-person transport.... something where you stand up. except i'd make it so that i could drive w/ my brain so i could have my hands free to do things like high-five my friends and also eat breakfast on the go (which i do all the time).

:D

larsenvt (AT) gmail (DOT) com

but you know this.

still, thanks for having a giveaway! XOXO

Anonymous said...

Definitely an airship! That would be awesome! But if not an airship, I would travel by train. Trains are cool too.


Thanks for the giveaway! :)

simmietaye(at)hotmail.com

Cate said...

I think I'll have to go with a carriage on this one!!

Awesome giveaway!
Cate
sparrowreview@yahoo.com

vvb32 reads said...

oh yeah! so cool! thanks for spreading the steampunk love in this way. and i'd like to checkout a flying dekkar.

Lexie said...

Airship. I like flying and wind in my hair and soaring across the clouds. I'm less in favor of horses, carriages that go bump bump bump and vehicles that require wheels that easily break.

Lexie
Lexie.Cenni(@)gmail.com

Unknown said...

I would definitely go with just a horse! But not just any ordinary horse. It would be great if he could fly so I can soar through the clouds :)

Unknown said...

I have not read any steampunk yet so this may be rough or completely inaccurate. I would travel in a hovering wave runner. You know, the kind you see in swamps with big fans. Except mine would work on land :)

robin [at] intensewhisper [dot] com

Jenny N. said...

Thanks for the great contest.

Over land I would like to travel on an airship but on water I'd like to travel on a submarine.

jen4777[at]hotmail.com

Icedream said...

I really don't think I have read a steampunk novel! huh... Well I would love to give them a try so my mode of transportation would be similar to the mechanical spider in the Wild, Wild West movie with Will Smith. It would be able to cover all kinds of terrain and climb up buildings.

waitmantwillie at hotmail dot com

Llehn said...

I'd love to be in one of those Zepellin looking airships!!

lesly7ch(at)yahoo(dot)com

Unknown said...

Hmm I'd want to travel on a steampunk-y blimp :)

lcintocable[a]gmail[d]com

Giada M. said...

I would go for a pirate ship which is also able to fly thanks to mechanical swans! :P

Thank you for this awesome giveaway!^O^

Giada M.

fabgiada @ gmail.com

Alessandra said...

I'd use a flying car. Preferably with autopilot :)

Of course, for short distances, my long-time dream would be to be able to materialize and un-materialize - but I'm afraid this is a bit too much Harry Potter and not very steampunk-ish :/

Alessandra
outofblue1(at)gmail(dot)com

joe57 said...

I would have to say old school flying machine, like something Da Vinci would have come up with. Definitely would require goggles which is a necessity for steampunk.



jscanlon57(at)gmail.com

Jenny said...

Train all the way. I love trains. In fact, if I were a steampunk girl in a steampunk world, my home would be in a train, and I would equip it like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang so it could also, if necessary, convert into a boat and fly short distances. That would be for when I went on my steampunk Grand Tour of Europe. :) bastet57 AT gmail DOT com

Mystica said...

Train definitely. Love trains.....
Sorry I am not creative.

mystica123athotmaildotcom

Audrey (holes In My brain) said...

JET PACK. okay, honestly I've only read one steampunk novel (leviathan) so I'm not really sure about the guidelines for this whole traveling thing :P love the idea though

thanks for the giveaway!
mangoes_7@hotmail.com

Sarah E said...

In a steampunk world I'd get around on a ship that sails through the air.

Please enter me in this giveaway!

saemmerson at yahoo dot com

Sarah E

Melissa (My World...in words and pages) said...

I had thought I would like to travel by sea, or rivers. I would love to have a boat with a water wheel, powered by steam from burning coal or wood. It would be neat to do, but I would have to have a crew to fuel the coal for me. :)

Great giveaway!

hayden392@comcast.net

Ryan said...

I like the idea of a steam powered river boat that can also take to the air, through the use of balloons maybe. Would have to have some heav armaments though to protect from both air and river pirates.

fforgnayr@yahoo.com

EVA SB said...

Definitely a steam-powered tandem for me and the hubby.

eva.s.black[@]gmail[.]com

Tia said...

I like the idea of some kind of steam-powered unicycle, just to look spiffy as I traveled.

tiasbook AT gmail DOT com

Reading said...

My idea of transportation would be a steam power horse. Big and clanky.

lizzi0915 at aol dot com

Unknown said...

My very own private train car!

chaoticcompendiums at yahoo dot com

Ladytink_534 said...

Interesting question! Probably a mechanical steam powered horse drawn carriage. Or something that flies...

Ladytink_534(at)yahoo(dot)com

donnas said...

Hmm, either a steam powered luxury carriage or a fancy train car that could move along roads as well as train tracks.

bacchus76 at myself dot com

Anonymous said...

love this giveaway!

well I would get around with a steam powered carriage, or perhaps a steam powered hot air balloon!

sensitivemuse at gmail dot com

Okapi said...

Following the footsteps of Leviathan by Scott Westerfield, I think I would like a hot air balloon-blowfish hybrid type of thing.

Thanks for the giveaway! I really want to read Soulless!

xicecreamsjx@aol.com

Alyssa F said...

Ooh, what fun! I've always been a horse and carriage kind of girl, but they can be so bumpy on those cobblestone roads... so how about one that flies? Or hovers at least, to keep it off those bumps.

shadyglade(AT)mail(DOT)com

Emily said...

Remember in the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast, that weird clawed carriage that moved around on its own? I would totally use that to get around.

whatbookisthat at gmail dot com

Thanks!

Misha said...

I would travel on a magic carpet like in alladin!
mishamary@gmail.com

Misha said...

I would travel on a magic carpet like in alladin!
mishamary@gmail.com

debbie said...

I would have a three wheeled steam motorcycle. It would be expandle to carry everything for me.
twoofakind12@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

I'd use a teleportation pad, if there was one!

hanjie.1992 @ live.com.my

Anonymous said...

I would create a car out of old machine parts. It would have a crude look obviously made from toasters, tv's, computers, and old lamps.

minions.masters@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

ooooo I'd want a skateboard with the ability to fly. It would have sort of a patchwork look to it. I could zoom down the road, fly off a jump, and take to the air!

saswartz@tek2000.net

Anonymous said...

Hm... steampunk... Well i would want a tiger or wolf made entirely from iron parts. just like Iron Horse in the Iron King.
It would be graceful yet clanky at the same time. With an internal steam engine to keep it running.

weclash@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Awesome give away!!!!!!

I really like the idea of a horse and carriage!! A dark Stallion pulling an old fashion looking carriage. The carriage would be dark as well.

DejaMIA@gmail.com

Sylla said...

Steampunk makes me think of clock parts and old machines. I think I'd like to have one of those old cars that you have to wind up in the front. But I would paint it with gold gears!

SyllaPhyre@gmail.com

Jen said...

I would totally trick out an old steam engine train and make it able to drive on roads. Then I could zoom down the roads and blow the horn scarring the wits out of any passerby. Ha

Faden.away@gmail.com

ashlee said...

i lke the Leviathan comment and would defnitally go wit the animals. Darwanists all the wayy. id want 2 of the jellyfish baloons. flying in 1 of thos must be SWEET! lol

books.r.loved@gmail.com <3

Kristen said...

I'm with Ashlee on this one. I would love a jellyfish balloon or a skyship made from a whale.. so very cool.

Thank you for the contest!

dragonzgoil at gmail dot com

Angela said...

I would love to have a steam powered flying umbrella!!! how cool would that be.


angelazhao31@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Ooh I love Angela's method of transportation! SO jealous she thought of it! :-)

I'll go by either a hot air balloon or a steam powered zeppelin, I love flying!

stella.exlibris (at) gmail (dot) com

Thank you for this fantstic giveaway! And for making it international! Thanks!

Rica Eat World said...

great contest!!

I would fly by tying a bunch of balloons to my house. Inspired by the movie UP, I have wanted to be able to do that ever since I saw the movie.

-Rica Eat World

xoxo4rica@gmail.com

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