Guest Author (+Giveaway): Jillian Stone Goes on a Steampunk Road Trip

Love on the Run with Detective Lewis. A Steampunk Road Trip.

I write historical romantic suspense set in the late Victorian London (1887-1889), an era when steam travel was in full bloom. Giant steam engines powered trains and ships, people powered bicycles––experimental submarines, and great landships were being designed, built and displayed at Industrial Expositions. These futuristic machine demonstrations were wildly popular in London, making inventors the rock stars of the day!

My latest release in A DANGEROUS LIASION WITH DETECTIVE BRUCE features a number of odd and eccentric inventions have a role to play in this road trip adventure, along with a plot that keeps the hero and heroine on the run…

Here’s the blurb:

When Fanny Greyville-Nugent’s father suffers a gruesome death in the clutches of his own machine, mourning his loss is not the beautiful heiress’s only heartbreak. Scotland Yard is convinced he was targeted in a plot to halt the rise of industry, and Fanny’s former fiancé, dashing and dubious detective Raphael “Rafe” Lewis, has been assigned to the case.

For the estranged ex-lovers, bringing the notorious assassins to justice proves as tumultuous as quelling pent-up desires. Fighting peril and passion at every turn of a dangerous journey from Edinburgh to London, they are pursued by an anarchist group hell-bent on destroying her father’s mysterious entry into the London Industrial Exposition.

When an astonishing discovery about the couple’s failed engagement surfaces, the sleuthing duo realize they can trust no one. Rafe confesses new details about his infidelity and Fanny risks all to avenge her father’s murder. But will Rafe and Fanny triumph over the pain of their past?

Link for: FREE CHAPTER READ

Part of the fun of this story is that Fanny and Rafe travel in an assortment of Steampunk vehicles as they are pursued by her would-be abductors from Edinburgh to London, these include trains, velocipedes, a landship and a submersible. Without being a spoiler, I’d love to share a few factoids about these turn of the century conveyances:

Train.

By 1887, the network of trains and train tracks crisscrossing Britain was comprehensive, but disjointed. Because the railroads were built and owned by private investment syndicates, there wasn’t much standardization. The train track gauges were different, requiring locomotives and cars to be custom built for each section of privately owned railway. And since one railroad company couldn’t use another’s tracks, this also might require passengers to change trains along the route to their destination. Railroad investment syndicates often went bankrupt, sometimes before the new route was even finished. On the upside? Rail speed. In A DANGEROUS LIAISON WITH DETECTIVE LEWIS, Rafe boards the early train in London and arrives in Edinburgh in time for a funeral in the afternoon.

Velocipede.

According to Wikipedia, velocipede is an umbrella term for any human-powered land vehicle with one or more wheels. The most common type of velocipede is the bicycle. At one point in their escape, Fanny and Rafe use bicycles to put a bit of distance between themselves and their pursuers.

Landship.

This highly experimental, prototype of a pedrail landship plays an interesting part in the novel, helping to get Fanny and Rafe from Edinburgh to Glasgow. Sorry I can’t be any more specific about this giant war engine’s role in the novel, but I can tell you that these landships were the precursors to the tank and were first put to use in World War I.

Submersible.

One of the more colorful supporting characters in A DANGEROUS LIAISON WITH DETECTIVE LEWIS, in an inventor who joins Fanny and Rafe in their increasingly perilous journey to London. One of his inventions is a three man submersible that he plans on entering in the London Industrial Exposition. The sub plays a key role in the story, but alas, that is all I can say. My lips are sealed.

I wrote A DANGEROUS LIAISION WITH DETECTIVE LEWIS to be a suspenseful page turner with a hero who has a lot to prove as well as make up for and a heroine who is up for both the romance and adventure. As a film student, I studied all of Alfred Hitchcock’s work and I particularly admire the romantic suspense films: Rear Window, North by Northwest, and To Catch a Thief. Thrills, chills, adventure––perhaps there’s a mystery to uncover, or a villain to capture, but at the story’s core, there is always a love story.

About Jillian Stone

In 2010, An Affair with Mr. Kennedy won the RWA Golden Heart and Jillian went from no agent or publisher to signing with Richard Curtis and being offered a three book contract by Pocket Books. That same summer another manuscript, The Seduction of Phaeton Black, won the erotica category of the 2010 Romance Through the Ages contest and was offered a three book contract by Kensington Brava. Needless to say, she has been busy writing books this past year and a half! Jillian lives in Southern California and is currently working on synopses for three more adventures in The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard series.

Challenge for commenters: Name your favorite couple-on-the-run from a suspense thriller––TV, movies or novels. Jillian has a signed copy of A DANGEROUS LIAISON WITH DETECTIVE LEWIS for one lucky commenter chosen at random.

Website: http://jillianstone.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JillianStoneBooks
Twitter: @gJillianStone

Purchase links:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
The Book Depository

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Big thanks to Jillian Stone for stopping by Book Binge today to take us on this fab steampunk road trip. Make sure you stop by and leave a comment for a signed copy of A DANGEROUS LIAISON WITH DETECTIVE LEWIS, it sounds like all kinds of awesome!

Good luck!

-Rowena & Holly

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