Monday, May 20, 2013

A Matter of Circumstance and Celludrones Dark Matters – Book 1 by Claire Robyns


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A Victorian Steampunk/Paranormal adventure with strong elements of romance...

Lady Lily d'Bulier is prim, proper, and prefers to think of herself as pragmatic rather than timid. And avoiding life-threatening situations at all costs is just plain practical. But everything changes when Lord Adair tracks her down in London; searching for answers he seems to think she has.

Greyston Adair is a blackguard and a smuggler, although British Customs will have to catch him red-handed to prove the latter. Fortunately, the dirigibles they float around in have never been able to get near his air dust.

Hell is rising, One Demon at a Time...

With Lady Ostrich hunting them, and the mystery of how their lives tie back to Cragloden Castle and the powerful McAllister clan, Lily has no option but to throw propriety to the wind and run off with Greyston to Scotland, away from the immediate danger and toward possible answers.

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Claire will be awarding a $50 Amazon gift card to two randomly drawn commenters during the tour. Be sure to check out the other blogs HERE, comment often for your best odds of winning.

Excerpt:

She glanced across to find him staring out of his window.

In profile, silky brown hair stroked the hollow below his cheekbone and his clenched jaw formed a rigid line. His trousers were a dark grey, matched with a waistcoat worn over a crisp white shirt. Broad shoulders filled a meticulously tailored jacket that was left unbuttoned. He’d crossed one leg over the other and rested an elbow on the door ledge.

He looked every inch the well-groomed gentleman who’d been admitted to Lady Cheshire’s Mummy ball.

Every inch the heart-stopping Lord Dashing.

Her gaze settled on the ruined neck cloth and loose ties hanging down his front. A blush heated her throat as she recalled the unfamiliar hardness of lean muscle and his particular scent of pine forest and ash and something altogether male. She’d danced her share of waltzes, but this took intimacy to an entirely new extreme.

He brought his attention from outside to meet her brazen stare with a quirked brow. “At least you haven’t leapt to your death yet.”

The heat drained from her skin. Lily lowered her eyes, clasping her fingers in her lap to hide the trembling.

I’m not dead.

She lifted her gaze to him. “What do you want with me, Lord Adair?”

The ghost of that exact question, asked as she’d served him tea in her drawing room, answered. I knew Lady d’Bulier. Lily held her breath.

Lord Adair grimaced. “I knew your mother, Lady d’Bulier.”

She let that breath out on a trembling sigh. “You mentioned something about keeping me safe. From what?”

In response, he half-rose and rapped hard up against the roof with his fist. A moment later, the carriage drew to a halt in a clearing alongside the road.

Lily’s hand quickly went to the door handle on her side. She hesitated. There was no urge to run for her life. She was more afraid of her memories, of what might or might not be real, than of Lord Adair.

When Lord Adair alighted and offered her a hand, she shifted along the seat and allowed him to help her out. Neither of them wore gloves. Skin touched skin as she stepped from the carriage.

One more intimate social transgression; she was beginning to lose count.

She slid her hand from his as soon as her feet touched the ground. Her slippers were no protection from the mulch of fallen leaves and damp soil as she walked beneath a cluster of trees.

She spun about, determined to get some answers, but her gaze stalled on the large man in the driver’s box. “He’s the celludrone,” she gasped. “He’s the one who fought that woman.”

She’d only caught snatches of him before Lord Adair had pushed her out of sight behind the settee. The aftermath, however, was burned into her skull. This man, and Ana, torn apart at their seams, nothing left but mechanical pieces strewn across her drawing room. Dear Lord, had these spells she suffered from evolved into some type of visionary premonition? Had she witnessed her imminent death?


AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Claire Robyns lives in Berkshire, England, with her husband and twin boys. For so long as she has memories, she was either reading, dreaming about reading, or planning what she'd be reading next. Then one day she started dreaming about writing and that was the beginning of an amazing journey.

When Claire isn't thigh-deep in laundry, shopping, cooking and general crowd control, you'll find her head-and-heart-deep in the tangled lives of her characters.

Visit Claire at her website www.clairerobyns.com or on twitter @clairerobyns or on facebook www.facebook.com/clairerobyns

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20 comments:

  1. Thanks for having me here today.

    I'll be popping in later if there are any questions :)

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  2. Hi Claire, I really do love the title, how did it come about?

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  3. Really great and exciting excerpt. This sounds like an awesome book.

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  4. Thanks for the excerpt. I hope this question hasn't already been asked...if so, please forgive the repeat. If this book were to be made into a film, who do you see playing the lead characters?

    kareninnc at gmail dot com

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  5. Lovely excerpt! You can really feel the budding chemistry between the two characters! I'm excited to see what else happens between them in the book!

    andralynn7 AT gmail DOT com

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  6. Great excerpt, sounds like a good read.

    Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com

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  7. Thanks for the lovely comments :)

    The title is created from (a) circumtances that brought Lily to this point and (b) the Celludrones that are automatons and one of the key steampunk elements.

    I had such fun with the titles for this series. Each book's title is similarly a combination of the characters' predicament and a steampunk/demon element. For eg the next book is A Matter of Propriety and Parasites, where Lily has to deal with the consequences of her choices within the pious Victorian era and where we learn more about the parasitic qualities on the demonsin this world

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  8. Thanks for sharing! What an amazing sounding book! I wanna know more!

    hense1kk AT cmich DOT edu

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  9. Film?? Lead characters?? Oh yeah...
    Let's see... Probably Kierra knightly for Lily, she always comes to mind when I think of period movies. Greyston Adair could definitely be played by a Gerard Butler with longer hair :) And possibly Christian Bale for my other male lead (Kelan McAllister)

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  10. What great choices for actress and actors to play the characters. I've seen the first two in period movies so they just fit so well.

    strive4bst(At) yahoo(Dot) com

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  11. Thanks for the great excerpt, do you believe in premonitions?

    fencingromein at hotmail dot com

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  12. Shannon, I'm a little undecided about preminitions. But I do believe some people are more *in touch* with the spiritual realm (and I do believe that exists in some form) so I guess I'd be open to idea that some people could have genuine premonitions :)

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  13. Thanks for the excerpt - I can totally see this being made into a movie (just finished re-watching Sherlock Holmes yesterday) - Do we get the full story on what happened to Lily's mother in this story or is that something that you plan to reveal over the series?
    Thanks for the giveaway

    junegirl63 at gmail dot com

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  14. Maria, the explanation unfolds over the series which will end at book 5

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  15. the characters sound interesting

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

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  16. I love your writing style, Claire! I was engaged throughout the excerpt.

    justforswag(AT)yahoo(DOT)com

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  17. Steampunk/paranormal - what an interesting combination! Sounds like a great book. Love the cover. Thanks for sharing the excerpt.
    bhometchko(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  18. Thanks for the excerpt and the chance to win!
    Sounds really good!!
    natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com

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  19. I read a lot more contemporaries than historicals. What's a "Blackguard"?

    I like your choice of Christian Bale for one of the male leads. YUM.

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