Not a Funny Post

This has nothing to do with what I'm
writing about. You're welcome.

There are some things I've been aware of almost my entire life. Most of them aren't worth thinking about or writing about, though some of them will likely make it into my writing at some point. There's nothing quite like being the odd duck in a family of eagles to give you a perspective on some things.

No, this post is about something I've been aware of for almost as long as I can remember. I can remember sitting in the laundry room with my mom and talking about how it works and explaining it to my brother at a kitchen table a few years later.

Of all things, this post is about cancer.

My paternal grandmother died of ovarian cancer when I was 8 years old. She'd had it for 14 years which is downright miraculous for that type of cancer. She was, we think (looooong story behind that statement, 52 years old. This means she got it in her late 30's.

Ovarian cancer is one of the scariest types of cancer's you can have as an adult. There's almost no way to tell you have it until it's almost too late to do anything about it. One of the most predictive factors is if you have a relative who's had it. On my dad's side of the family, the answer is a most definite yes. On my mom's, they don't talk about that kind of thing (but problems with the feminine parts seems to run rampant through that side, as well).

Lately, I seem to be having all the medical problems that run rampant through my family gang up on me all at once. The thyroid problem that everybody but my mom seems to have hit me at 21 rather than in my mid 30's and the scary bleeding that hit everybody else in their 40's has decided that now would be a good time to start. This brings me to the point of why hasn't anybody since my grandmother been diagnosed with ovarian cancer? Well, they all had their ovaries removed around the time when they would have gotten it.

Need a minute? 

I guess that's one way of handling it.

So, to say I'm a little freaked out about my health this last year is a bit of an understatement.

I've also been feeling a bit more driven to accomplish what I want to nownownow rather than take my time and do it while I do other things. Maybe I'm just jumping at shadows, but I worry some times that I won't be around to finish everything that I want to.

I donate to charities that help fund research for cancer's that effect women as often as possible and I pray for a way to detect it earlier. I'm also making an appointment with my doctor. Again.



Ovarian Cancer Symptoms:

• • Abdominal pressure, fullness, swelling or bloating
  • Pelvic discomfort or pain
  • Persistent indigestion, gas or nausea
  • Changes in bowel habits, such as constipation
  • Changes in bladder habits, including a frequent need to urinate
  • Loss of appetite or quickly feeling full
  • Increased abdominal girth or clothes fitting tighter around your waist
  • A persistent lack of energy
  • Low back pain

  Courtesy of the Mayo Clinic

So, where do I go from here?

Last night, I 'won' NaNoWriMo and, trust me, it feels awesome to say that. This morning, I expected to feel how I used to after a band concert or a dance performance; a little hungover and kinda depressed that it was all over.

I didn't.

Instead, I woke up with a list in my head of everything I have to do still.

Here's what it looks like right now:

Finish the damn book
Re-write and edit December's ebook.
Unpack the apartment - Find the Wii remote!!!!
Call maintenance about the washing machine
grocery shopping

Yep, November showed me a lot of things. The most important thing it showed me that I can write prolifically and consistently.

And that I'm a winner.

NaNoWriMo: Day . . . I WON!!!

I'm a winner! See what the badge says? It says "Winner".

Not bad for somebody who decided to do this about three days before it started.

I'm not finished writing, though. Given where the plot has gone and some of the scenes left to write, I'm about half done with the book. Looks like I'll be finishing it up in December and then sending it off to Jillybean over Christmas break.

I hope she doesn't hurt me.

NaNoWriMo: Day Twenty-Eight

Day twenty-eight and the end is in sight! I am so close, I can taste it!

Today was mostly spent taking care of the various sickos, erm, I mean sick people in the family. I needed the time away from the computer, too.

Back in college, where I first met my hubby, I played Dungeons and Dragons. A lot. Half the time, I was drafted to be the DM and we all had a blast. One of the things that made my players groan, though, was when I announced that I'd had time to plan.

Well, today in all the waiting rooms, I had time to plan. I fully believe that, as a writer, it is my job to torture my characters in order that I might torture and delight my readers. Things are about to get brutal for my characters and I almost feel bad about it. Almost.

Today's Stats:
Title: Amaria
Total words written: 48,834
Words written today: 3,370

NaNoWriMo: Day Twenty-Seven

I'm taking a break in my writing tonight to make this blog post before I lose track of time and get my numbers from today and tomorrow mixed together.

I'll admit, I kept getting distracted today. The shiny that is the internet has a lot of fun things on it that can keep me from OpenOffice. I found myself stepping away from it to do laundry and dishes, make dinner and get breakfast for tomorrow set up.

As an aside, I'm finding that I can actually eat muesli. The texture of oatmeal is just too gross for me most of the time.

Finally sitting down to write and I'm getting more into the relationship building between my two main characters. I think some of this will be cut out of the final draft but it sure is fun to write people who actually like each other interacting.

If I don't finish NaNoWriMo before I go to bed, I'll probably finish tomorrow.

Today's Stats:
Title: Amaria
Total words written: 45,464
words written today: 2,037

Steampunk Sunday: Menswear

As much as I love Steampunk Dresses, I have to give the gents their due. Some of the men's costume's I've seen are beautiful and incredibly intricate. So, here's to the men of Steampunk!

How many different Steampunk "characters" can you find in this picture?

I love the striped shirt with the vest. I love when a man wears a vest.

Thought women were the only ones who could rock lacings? This is an awesome vest for an adventurer or rake to sport.

A very dapper gentleman sporting a very complicated looking gas-pack. I wonder what he's up to . . .

The suit looks deceptively simple but that hair is rockin'!

Oh my, is that a Steampunk kilt? Be still my heart!

I really do love the Steampunk gentlemen.

Next week I'll be showcasing Steampunk versions of some characters you may recognize and some you may not.

Have something Steampunk you'd like me to showcase? Leave me a note in the comments or shoot me an e-mail. I love supporting small businesses and artisans with a flair for the dramatic.

NaNoWriMo: Day Twenty-Six

I am caught up! Yay! I actually spent today shopping and my kiddo's are going to like what they get for Christmas I think but it left me with not as much time as I would like to actually get some writing done.

So, I made some coffee, sat down with Write or Die and started doing 15 minute sprints. My goal was to do 400 words in every 15 minutes. Most times, I hit 500+.

Something else I've found is that I write better with one certain group playing than I do with any other music. Writing without music is not an option right now for reasons I'm not going to get into here. If I had a white noise generator I could attach headphones to, I probably would. As it is, I think I've probably memorized the entire Celtic Thunder library.

This is my favorite song right now, though is seems to change depending on what scene I'm working on.

Today's Stats:
Title: Amaria
Total words written: 43,427
Words written today: 2,633

NaNoWriMo: Day Twenty-Five

Today was a much better day.  I haven't quite caught up to where I need to be, but I'm very close. I expect to surpass tomorrow's goal by 3am. I seem to do my best writing late at night and in the early morning.

Today's stats:
Title: Amaria
Total words written: 40,647
Words written today: 3,079

Flash Fiction Friday: The Tower

The challenge was to use only 100 words to tell a story. 

The Tower

Flora flew out of the tower, satisfied with a job well done. The princess was arranged very prettily in her bed, perfectly displayed for that handsome prince.

Time to go tell the King and Queen the good news; the princess was asleep. The silly thing would be woken by the prince, think she was in love, and the alliance would be solidified.

She didn't notice anything amiss until she got to the King and Queen in the throne room.

“Uh oh,” she breathed. Something had gone very wrong with her spell. She was going to need a different prince.

NaNoWriMo: Day Twenty-Three and Twenty-Four

So, it's still Thanksgiving for another hour or so. As anybody who follows me on Twitter or Facebook has probably figured out, I had a horrible Thanksgiving. This was my favorite holiday, eclipsing even Christmas, for as long as I can remember. I may get my enthusiasm back for it next year but for now, I'm avoiding anybody talking about it.

As for yesterday's post, I have been sick and trying to fight it off. I finally gave in to it yesterday and went to bed before I got much of any writing done. I'm still writing on my novel tonight, though I haven't quite caught up. Here are today's stats so far.

Today's Stats:
Title: Amaria
Total words written: 37,568
Words written today: 804

NaNoWriMo: Day Twenty-Two

All right, I'm calling it for today. I spent all morning working on editing projects and this cold is kicking my butt. I am adjourning to my bed with a comforter, notebook and pen. I'll attempt some writing before I fall asleep but, honestly, I don't know how much I'll get done. I'm certainly not going to sit myself down at the computer and report them for today.

Today's Stat's:
Title: Amaria
Total words written: 36,764
words written today: 64

NaNoWriMo: Day Twenty-One

Gah, I have been attacked by a cold virus.

It did not, however, get the better of me. No, in an effort to soldier on even while sick, I resorted once again to Write of Die to achieve my word count today, and boy did it work. Getting 1000 words done in 30 minutes was actually kind of awesome.

It was a little slow going today but, as I found my footing, I discovered that today is all about respect. What builds it, what destroys it, and what little things that start with respect can lead to love. My main female lead is a little scary but I think these crazy kids just might have a future together.


Today's stats:
Title: Amaria
Total words written: 36,700
Words written today: 3,207

NaNoWriMo: Day Twenty

Ever have one of those days where everything just seems to be distract you from what you wanted to get done? Today just seemed to be like that for me.

I worked on my car today. I've changed the oil and oil filter in it before, along with flushing and filling the radiator (ah yeah, I'm awesome, check those skills). Today, I needed to replace the battery. Again. Mostly because the brand new battery I put in it yesterday was a dud. Nothing major but my tools had gone missing (they turned out to be in my husbands trunk, no idea why) and I had no way to get to the auto parts store.

Waiting for my ride to the store would have been a great time to write. Yep, I ended up attacking the dirty dishes in the sink, including the chopsticks. Oh, the chopsticks? Yeah, I keep a dozen pairs so I can eat ramen with them and feel awesome instead of broke. I boiled some eggs, organized my pots, put up hangers next to the stove to put the ones I use the most on and . . . yeah, I was productive today.

Okay, finally, sit down to write. Oooh, flash fiction challenge? I'll just do a quick one. Hey, this would be a great start to the sequel to my first ebook that I want to put out in January. I'll just do a quick sketch and, goddammit, really? 10 pages on a project that is not the novel I'm trying to work on.

I did get work done on the novel, finally. I'm 90 pages in and, with the way the pacing is going, it's looking like it's going to be 400 pages long. My fun little genre project has become an epic. I'm not upset with that but I'm not sure that's what I originally signed up for. So, we'll see how this goes.

Today's Stats:
Title: Amaria
Total words written: 33,493
words written today: 1,690

Steampunk Sunday: Dresses

One of the things I find fascinating about Steampunk is the word 'punk' that's on the end there. 'Punk' implies a movement that is counter the current culture.

Steampunk is certainly counter-culture and that's seen nowhere quite as well as in the clothing. Women's Steampunk clothing, in particular, is hard to grasp at first blush. It is inspired by, if not taken directly from, Victorian styles and modes of dress. The dresses are beautiful, flattering and modest. The modesty is probably one of the things I love the most about these dresses (though the beautiful fabrics help, too) and I find it sadly amusing that a full length dress and a modest neckline are considered to be revolutionary.

As with most outfits, the accessories truly make this one special.

It's the velvet that makes this dress for me. I just want to go and touch it.

It's not just the ladies who are getting into the act. Don't worry gents, we'll get to you next week!

This beautiful design is for a wedding dress. I love that it's not all white!

Somebody once told me that Steampunk is what happens when Goths discover the color brown.
Well, if that's the case, I love the way they use a new color!

NaNoWriMo: Day Nineteen

Another day where most of my word count doesn't go into the story. Instead, most of today's effort went into getting in touch with my bad guy.

I started this journey with the bad guy already in mind. The Regent, desperate to save his father, was blackmailing my main character.  He was meant to be a shadowy figure, working mostly through agents after his first meeting with my protagonist, during which he threatens her and her family.

Alas, he went and fell in love, and the feelings were mutual. That . . . was not the way it was supposed to go. While I explored the little love triangle that popped up, a more sinister bad guy decided to start tapping on my shoulder. His plot was much bigger than taking over a simple kingdom. In fact, he'd been plotting for years to exterminate all the humans so he could get to the ultimate power that was, he believed, buried in a desert guarded by a fierce race of warriors.

Whoa. Cool.

Characters from a book I'd started years ago but kept having plot problems with started popping up. This is all to the good, because now I know where to take the other book. Apparently, I'm writing book 2 of the desert lord saga. I did not know that.

So, here's to unexpected plot twists that triple the work but make the journey so much clearer, at least in my mind.

Today's stats:
Title: Amaria
Total words written: 31803
Words written today: 1751

NaNoWriMo: Day Eighteen

Today feels like a better day than yesterday and there are only a couple reasons I can think of to account for it, none of which should really make that big a difference to my day.

The first thing is the music. I like having music playing when I'm writing but it has to be the right music. Nothing I had really felt right and I kept going back to youtube to play certain songs. Finally, I just went ahead and downloaded the cd's and the pages just seemed to fly by.

The second thing was an email from a friend, which was a forwarded conversation she'd had with a mutual friend I'd lost touch with over the last couple years. They were both talking about how much they admired me and my writing.

I'll admit, I cried a little. I mean, really, who wouldn't get emotional upon reading that your friends are very impressed with you and think you should stop listening to the little gremlins of self-doubt that live in your brain. It was a very nice email to receive, is all, especially after the non response I got from certain quarters that I wasn't expecting.

Today's total word count isn't as high as I'd like, but I'm very satisfied with the scenes for today. The one that took the longest feels more intimate than the sex scenes I wrote a little over a week ago, and that's exactly how I wanted it to be. Tonight, I leave my characters hurt but stable (instead of bleeding to death like they were yesterday) and very, very loved.

Today's stats:
Title: Amaria
Total word count: 30052
Words written today: 1331

The music that made all of today's writing possible:

Gotta love Tam . . . I mean, Ryan Kelly.

NaNoWriMo: Day Seventeen

Whew, this feels like it's been a long day. This is probably because I ended up redoing work that I'd done yesterday. I know it's against the rules (or at least not advised) but I needed to change a scene from yesterday. It works so much better, now.

Very early this morning, I took a break from the novel to write down a couple of ideas I want to get to when this is finished. One of them involves the fate of Aidan. If you bought the book, you know who that is.

Today's stats:
Title: Amaria
Total words written: 28720
Words written today: 2035

Mercury Retrograde Press

In clearing off my desk (yes, just moved, already a mess), I realized that I have a bunch of book reviews in various stages of completion. And wow, is this a horrible time to try and complete them. December, I promise, they will all be done and uploaded in December (yes, I've been saying that a lot, lately, especially to the dishes that continue to pile up during NaNoWriMo).

The reason I bring this up is because I realized that all of the books I enjoyed the most, the ones I'm having difficulty writing because it's so hard to get across how much I really, truly love these books, all came from the same publisher.

Mercury Retrograde Press has such a cool vision, I was intrigued. When founder Barbara Friend Ish gave me the chance to review some of their books, I had to jump at the chance to read "unconventional authors and works that might undeservedly slip through the cracks". I am so glad I did. Most of the books that come out of some of the bigger houses lack substance. In the effort to be commercial, they become a bit too light and airy. Every book I've read from Mercury Retrograde Press has been enjoyable to read and heavy enough to make me feel like it was time well spent.

The website is so much fun to browse through, too. So many fun little goodies.

I promise, I will share the best bits with you in the coming weeks, maybe sooner.

NaNoWriMo: Day Sixteen

I think maybe I should call this the "Today I Learned" post but I didn't really 'learn' all that much. Maybe it would be more accurate that this day enforced things I already knew.

Things like:

- There are people out there who are going to knock your dream just because they can.

- You should never base your self-worth on what other's think about you. Especially if they don't know you.

- Everybody's success looks different.

- One of the best compliments a writer can receive is the question "when's the next one coming out?"

My very first ebook became available for purchase today. So far, everybody's who's read it and told me about it has loved it. That in itself is cause for celebration. I'll buy myself a cup of coffee if I sell enough books to get a check from Amazon.

I've spent several years of my life in and around publishers. I think I've learned a few things and I am very, very glad I did my homework.

I guess the point of today is, if you have a dream, go for it. Not everybody will be there cheering you on but you're not doing it for them, you're doing it for you.

Oh, and buy the book.  


Today's stats:
Title: Amaria
Total words written: 26685
Words written today: 2361

Exciting Updates!

So, it's finally time to share, not just one, but TWO finished projects!

I'm so excited, I think I'm gonna barf.

Seriously, I've had butterflies in my stomach for days.

Buy it here

My first book! Look at that cover!

and also . . . .

Buy it here

Jilly's first book!

The covers were both done by Neil Wells and he is freaking awesome, too!

Now, back to the novel. Hopefully I can focus a bit more, now.

NaNoWriMo: Day Fifteen

I almost didn't write a blog post today. I am utterly exhausted by the real world today and so I am calling it a night and going to bed early.

I'll have something to announce tomorrow, so watch this space.

Today's Stats:
Title: Amaria
Total Words Written: 24461
Words Written today: 977

NaNoWriMo: Day Fourteen

Day fourteen was just down right blah for me. I actually started contemplating a post called "How NOT To Be Supportive" but that's not really that helpful so I didn't.

I will say one thing, though. If somebody you love is doing something they've never done before, something truly ambitious (even if it's just ambitious for them), don't tell them "I'm pretty sure nobody really cares about that."

Nope, I didn't kill the person who said it, I just wanted to.

Today I learned out how to format and set up an ebook from start to finish.

Today's Stats:
Title: Amaria
Total Words Written: 23347
Words written today: 1273

NaNoWriMo: Day Thirteen

And on the thirteenth day, she rested.

Well, sorta.

I didn't do a whole lot today beyond brainstorming and unpacking (kitchen's almost done! yay!).

Spent some time today down in the dumps but I'm picking up the novel where I left off. I'll get a bit more written before I go to bed.

Today's Stats:
Title: Amaria
Total word count: 22074
Words written today: 195

Steampunk Sunday: Goggles

I think goggles are one of the items that can be pointed to as uniquely Steampunk.  A great pair of goggles can take any outfit from "meh" to "wow".

Whether you're an airship pirate . . . er, pilot:

lightweight and simple, perfect for piloting that zepplin

Piloting a submersible: 

Gears to adjust the magnification on those portals to the depths, maybe?

A gypsy making your way between coke cloud choked cities:

Beautiful detailing on that leather work

A mad scientist:

available in his

and hers

Or simply a lady out for a drive in your steampowered horse-less carriage:

Check out that beautiful detailing in the white leather

Whatever profession your Steampunk character has chosen, there is a pair of goggles for you. Each pair is as individual as the person designing them and is where the 'punk' individualism of Steampunk really begins to shine through.

NaNoWriMo: Day Twelve

With day twelve, I can't help but be grateful for Write or Die. So much of my life is online currently that, when trying to get any amount of writing done today, I kept getting distracted by the big shiny thing that is the internet.

Now, I'd read a few weeks back that, if you were to write only 250 words a day, you could have a book written in a year. If you were to double that to 500 words, it would only take 6 months.

"500 words?" I thought? "I can do that." I then made the commitment to write at least 500 words a day on the Urban Fantasy book I was writing.

I got talked into doing NaNoWriMo at Milehicon in October and, while the 50,000 words in a month goal was a bit daunting, I figured I could give it a try. It breaks down to 1,667 words a day.

When I sat down with Write or Die, I discovered that I could write 250 words in about 10 minutes. So far this month, I've managed to meet or exceed my writing goal almost every day. With the support of some friends, along with NaNoing with Jilly, this month of writing has been going very well.

I'm also using this time to learn as much as I can about the wonderful world of self-publishing. Hopefully this information will prove helpful in the near future.

NaNoWriMo: Day Eleven

Day eleven? Already? Looks like we're half-way into week 2 and I haven't really missed a day. For that I really have to thank Write or Die. It's a fantastic website that actually has a desktop version and one for the iPad. I set it for 1,500 words in one hour tonight so I could get to my goal before midnight and I actually wrote 1,700 words. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it.

Today's Stats:
Title: Amaria
Total words written: 20,084
words written today: 2,084

NaNoWriMo: Day Ten

Ah, Day Ten. I accomplished so much today, unfortunately, the word count doesn't reflect it.

I played with Scrivener for Linux today. There's definitely a learning curve but I think I'm figuring parts of it out which is very encouraging.

What else did I do today? Well, I figured out, almost all by myself, how to format and design an ebook. I just need to finish the cover and it will be ready for Amazon. I'll be posting links when it's up and available for purchase.

You might notice a word count widget on the upper right corner of the blog. I'll be keeping it there throughout the month of November. I'm a compulsive updater so check often.

Today's Stats:
Title: Amaria
Total words written: 18000
Words written today: 822

I was asked for a synopsis and an excerpt so here we go:


Synopsis: 


Amaria is the daughter of one of the kingdoms greatest smugglers. He bought his nobility. His family, Amaria's cousins, are part of a desert people who prey on the trade routes between kingdoms and the guardians of a deep secret. The king is mad, magic is suspected and his son seeks to gain allies as he searches for a cause and a cure.

Excerpt:

Exhausted from her latest round with the healers, Amaria looked out the window of her home at the most fashionable street in the capital. It also had the distinction of being the most expensive. It was not the most prestigious and that annoyed her. It set her family apart as new money. Of course, the old money, which lived in the most prestigious neighborhoods, was going broke. One could not buy into the prestigious neighborhood; one must be born there, or placed there by the monarch. With the current monarch quite mad, but in otherwise excellent health, that honor was not going to happen any time soon.

NaNoWriMo: Day Nine

Day nine and lookin', well, it's looking fine. There are some days, and everybody has them, where  you don't stop until bed time. Today was one of those days.

I had fully intended to make use of the beta copy of Scrivener for Linux I downloaded yesterday but it never happened. I haven't even opened it yet. I got a little writing done while I was waiting for other projects to open but it's not much. Mostly I'm just counting today as one of the reasons I have insane word count goals on other days.

So I'm taking my notebook, lap desk and pen to the tub and soaking until my body doesn't hurt all over.

Today's Stat's:
Title: Amaria
Total words written: 17178
Words written today: 180

NaNoWriMo: Day Eight

Day eight and I am so wiped. Didn't sleep much last night and had a super busy day. I spent much of it doing writing related things but not writing for myself. I got a lot of stuff edited, though, so there's that. I think I just needed a break. As it is, I'm calling it a night.

Today's stats:
Title: Amaria
Total words written: 16998
Words written today: 1443

ETA: Wow, just as I was posting this, I was given a link to Scrivener for Linux. I've heard so many good things about Scrivener, I've downloaded the beta and I'll be checking out over the next couple weeks.

NaNoWriMo: Day Seven

Day Seven! Wooo!

So, today was exciting. I actually managed to kill the batteries in my wireless keyboard. Said keyboard requires AAA batteries, which I don't have any of in the new place. Hey, no big, right? There's a Walmart, Safeway and King Soopers just down the street. So, just walk out to the car, put the key in and OMG START YOU STUPPID MFING CAR! WHY WON'T YOU START!!!!

Yeah, there was rage today.

Also, and I hate to admit this, but it's a part of the NaNoWriMo experience for me, but I'm a little disappointed in myself. Jillybean is doing so great with her word count, and is way, way ahead of me. (20, 255? Really Jilly?) I am incredibly proud of her but not so happy with my word count. I got some massive work done today but I really have no excuse for not doing the same amount every day. She's working and going to school for her masters degree and kicking my butt at NaNo. I'm not really competing with anybody but myself but, knowing what's possible, I can't help but want to pick up my game a little.

So, hit the fabric fund if you can or support the advertisers. Also, watch for some short stories coming out on ebook some time in December.

Today's Stats:
Title: Amaria
Total Word Count: 15555
Words written today: 4209

NaNoWriMo: Day Six

Day six! Oh, day six was so much better, no matter how according to plan today's story didn't go. (Does that make sense? I hope so.)

I love it when a character comes in and takes over a scene. That's how truly awesome books get written. Because, truly, you're not creating this story. Nope, you may have started out intending to, but you're just the stenographer. You're following your characters and get to record what's going on.

So, knowing my characters aren't going to do everything I want them to is the exciting part about writing but when a minor character just pops up and becomes a bit more major, leading to her own sub-plot and romantic interest? Still cool but leads to feeling like I'm following my characters down the rabbit hole. I'm learning things about my main character, good and bad, that I never would have suspected.

On the whole, I feel pretty good about today's writing and I'm looking forward to getting back to it tomorrow.

Stats:
Title: Amaria
Total words written: 11346
Words written today: 2977

Steampunk Sunday: Hats

When talking Steampunk, you have to include the hats. It's the cherry on the sundae that is a fantastic Steampunk costume and a brilliant way to let your creativity shine. It also makes it easier to pick somebody out in a crowd. A unique hat is sure to stand out!

Look at the little trumpet bell!

I've admitted my corset fetish before which is probably what leads me to this absolutely gorgeous hat. I love the lacing up the front but take a look at all the rest of the detail. There's a lace applique on the vinyl that's wrapped around that velvet top hat. Combining lace with vinyl is something you won't see anywhere else and it's something that is so completely Steampunk, I'm surprised I haven't seen this before now.

I love the lace up hat for men! 

Another hat with lacing on it, this time with a thick silver fabric that just lights it up. I love the vinyl straps that keep the fabric in place. Utility and decoration are a great combination for all things Steampunk.

More lace with vinyl!

A Steampunk bonnet! In vinyl! This hat may be more appropriate for a wild west setting than for a city setting, but it still keeps the spirit of Steampunk and that's what's the most important. Besides, substituting clockwork for a flower is a great way to take a simple piece from period to punk.

Red and copper is becoming one of my favorite combinations.

I have no idea where the tiny hats came from, but I'm loving them! So much detail on such a small canvas gives it such a feeling of opulence, I can't help but feel impressed.