Guest Post & Giveaway with Author Zoë Archer

Boots! Boots! Boots! (And Steampunk)

Guest Blog by Zoë Archer

Today, I’m going to discuss a subject very near and dear to me: boots.

If you follow me at all on Twitter or Facebook (and less frequently on Pinterest), you already know that I have a mild obsession with boots.  If, perhaps, you’re not as familiar with me and my personal mania, let me introduce the topic by stating I have at least twenty pairs of boots currently jamming my closet.  Twenty is actually a conservative estimate.

My boots run the gamut: hiking boots, snow boots (not yet worn, as I live in Los Angeles), ankle-high boots, tall boots.  I steer away from boots with tall, skinny heels, and, since I’m only 5’, I avoid over-the-knee boots. While they look awesome and remind me of 18^th century highwaymen, over-the-knee boots would make me resemble Lowly Worm.

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But I love boots because they shout “Adventure,” and “Badass Ahoy,” which is something I know I need more of in my life.  Even if I can’t jump from rooftop to rooftop, or sail the seas in pursuit of treasure, at least I can have on the appropriate footwear.

One of the reasons why I’ve been drawn to steampunk is because of its fashion aesthetic, especially the boots.  Boots are a key element in steampunk clothing.  If you’re traveling the globe in an airship, journeying from one adventure to another, you’ve got to be suitably shod.  That means boots, and lots of them.  Even better, it means boots with buckles, my absolute favorite.

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http://www.boots4you.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Fiorentini-+-Baker-Brighton-buckle-boots.jpg?cda6c1

But don’t worry, if you prefer a daintier, more Victorian-looking boot, steampunk has that, too.

http://www.bonesleatherntreasures.com/722_800_csupload_38164047.jpg?u=648599676

http://www.sinistersoles.com/v/vspfiles/photos/S-DEMONIA-CRYPTO-301-BOOTS-2T.jpg

One thing that distinguishes a steampunk boot from its actual Victorian-era counterpart is the distinct fantastical element, the deliberate over-the-top quality, from the number of buckles to kind of trim.  These boots are meant for adventure, but they’ve also got style and swag (as the kids say), which is part of the whole science fiction-meets-history vibe that shapes steampunk.  Victorians were keen on making everything—even machines—beautiful, so that philosophy of adornment continues in steampunk clothes and shoes.

So, yes, boots and steampunk are inexorably linked—one of the many reasons I enjoy writing steampunk romance.

It certainly wasn’t a hardship that I kept picturing boots of every stripe and variety when writing SKIES OF FIRE, my steampunk romance.  Knowing that Captain Christopher Redmond was striding around his airship wearing tall buckled boots gave me an added incentive to sit down to my keyboard every morning.  And of course, his old flame Louisa Shaw’s work as a spy means that she needs appropriate footwear when prowling around behind enemy lines.

So, tell me, do you have a favorite pair of boots?  What kind would you want to wear on a steampunk adventure?  Leave a comment, and I’ll pick a winner to win a print copy of SKIES OF FIRE. 

Now, I’m off to look at more pictures of boots on the Internet—I mean, do research.

SKIES OF FIRE: The Ether Chronicles Book 1

Man made of metal and flesh

Captain Christopher Redmond has just one weakness: the alluring spy who loved and left him years beforewhen he was still just a man. Now he's superhuman—a Man O' War, made as part of the British Navy's weapons program—and his responsibility is to protect the skies of Europe. If only he could forget Louisa Shaw.

A most inconvenient desire

Louisa, a British Naval Intelligence agent, has never left a job undone. But when her assignment is compromised, the one man who can help her complete her mission is also the only man ever to tempt her body and heart. As burning skies loom and passion ignites, Louisa and Christopher must slip behind enemy lines if they are to deliver a devastating strike against their foe . . . and still get out alive.

Excerpt

Buy links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powells, All Romance eBooks, Books-A-Million

Zoë Archer: website, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr

Bio: Zoë Archer is an award-winning romance author who thinks there's nothing sexier than a man in tall boots and a waistcoat. As a child, she never dreamed about being the rescued princess, but wanted to kick butt right beside the hero. She now applies her master's degrees in Literature and Fiction to creating butt-kicking heroines and heroes in tall boots. She is the author of the acclaimed BLADES OF THE ROSE series and the paranormal historical romance series, THE HELLRAISERS. Zoë and her husband, fellow romance author Nico Rosso, live in Los Angeles. Nico’s story in the world of The Ether Chronicles will be available in July 2012. Please visit Zoë on the Web at http://www.zoearcherbooks.com/