Saw this online and thought the picture might give you inspiration for your bookshttp://www.finewoodworking.com/item/106711/steampunk-dining-tableFirst time I saw steampunk furniture but I am sure there is more out there.
I suppose I might as well keep going as far as Steampunk related things. Happened to run across an excellent web/print comic called Girl Genius that's in the same genre (though the authors call it "Gaslamp Fantasy"). Spent the last week reading it, and I still have a ways to go. If you haven't heard of it, check it out - it's won 3 Hugos. Plot is aptly summed up as 'Mad Scientists rule the world. Badly'. Something to keep our minds occupied waiting for publication.The first page:http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20021104
Still Awesome!I wonder if you could get a more generic shell, something that would fit a modern laptop?