The Courtesan of Constantinople (Archangel Revolution) a Steampunk Romance by Tina Holland ➱ Book Tour with Giveaway
“May I ask what happened?”
Laurel grazed her fingertips against the strap tying the patch to his head.
He grasped her wrist.
She immediately lowered her
hands and gazed to her lap, chiding herself inwardly for speaking without
thinking.
“Civil War. Bayonet.” His
voice was curt.
“I am so sorry.” The flood
of sympathy she held when she first saw him came rushing back. She lifted her
face.
“I don’t need your pity,
Miss Gunn.” He seated himself farther away from her.
“Misses,” she corrected him.
“I beg your pardon?”
At his look of
bewilderment, she covered her mouth and bit her lip to keep the laughter from
bubbling forth. “I’m a widow. My husband died during the Crimean War. He too
was an American, from Boston actually, a doctor, a lovely man.” Laurel knew she
was rambling talking faster than her brain formed words. Her sorrow nearly
overtook her fine-tuned control. No
Tears. Do not cry. Twelve long years had passed, and grief still hung like
an anchor around her neck.
“I had no idea.” His hoarse
whisper broke her cloud of gloom. “Is his passing and your loss why you do
this?”
“The killing of my husband
is part of it.” Laurel could not very well tell him within the toils of the
Embassy trade, she had found a sense of family. Her mother had died in India
and her own father had traded her freedom for land and a title. Her new friends
gave her an unexpected strength and power, which helped mask the deep grief of
isolation.
*****
Before they reached the
parlor, Laurel stopped. Shivers ran along her skin, and the familiar odor of
sandalwood filled her nose. Her knees nearly buckled and Omar, seeming to sense
her weakness, held her arm beneath her elbow, while resting the other on her
back.
“It will be all right, my
lady.” His low baritone voice did little to calm her weary composure. What was
wrong with her?
She saw Raven at the parlor
entrance, apparently pleased, like a cat rewarding her with a mouse. As much as
she would like to find Fatima’s killer, the girl’s death wasn’t what unsettled
her.
When she rounded the
column, she knew why she shook uncontrollably and her heart raced. He stood
facing away from her but she’d recognize the stance of her husband anywhere.
“Ben?” She reacted on
instinct. Raw need propelled her toward him.
He turned. His face was
harsh-looking, like weathered stone left out in the elements, tough yet still
handsome. His green eyes seemed to probe her for questions. “Yes?”
Laurel slapped him hard,
the crack echoing along the marble tiles.
She shook her stinging
hand.
She straightened and
anchored her feet.
Her handprint now a pink
mark on his cheek held her gaze. She finally found her voice. “You bloody
bastard, you’re supposed to be dead!”
*****
“Did you mean what you said
about my being your only lover?” Ben asked. He simply had to know. The thought
of spending every night with her would be more than pleasurable. She had a way
of chasing away his nightmares.
“You think I lie?” Laurel
asked.
“No, I simply wonder why
me? You could have any man here.” He leaned in and breathed against her ear.
“Don’t you understand,
husband?” She pulled back. The hurt was evident in her liquid brown eyes.
“I believe I do, but I want
to be clear.” Ben didn’t know why he risked her safety to satisfy his own
heart. He seemed helpless around this woman. Ben wanted to believe he wouldn’t
hurt her. Those damnable blackouts made him uncertain.
Laurel drew closer to him,
her lips were close, brushing his ear as she cooed, “Ben, you must know, I
still love you.” Without warning, she kissed him. In front of the table at
large and her current lover, she kissed him.
Her kiss was a simple touch
of the lips, but to him, the gesture conveyed much more. A pink stain spread
over her cheeks. Was she embarrassed or did she feel the same longing in her
soul?
Tell us a little about yourself and your background?
My name is Tina Holland. I’m a romance author with over 10 published
books and I live in the Red River Valley of North Dakota. I studied journalism at University and
worked for a Fortune 500 company in Logistics before coming back to what I love
- writing full time.
Do
you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer to see where an idea takes you?
I used to be a pantser, but now I’m more
of a plotser. I like to plot the basic
structure of a book before fleshing it out.
That’s not to say it’s written in stone.
No, I definitely change stuff even after I’ve written the first draft,
I’ll go back and layer in new elements.
Do
you ever get writer’s Block?
Not so much writer’s block so much as
writer’s procrastination. If I’m
fumbling about with a story, I’ll do just about everything but work on it,
including working on another story or starting a new one.
What
genre is The Courtesan of Constantinople, and what draws you to it?
Broadly, The Courtesan of Constantinople falls into Steampunk Romance, but
because of the fantasy elements, it can also fit into the Gaslamp genre.
How
did you publish The Courtesan of
Constantinople and why?
I searched for a traditional publisher
for my book, but Steampunk is a very niche market right now. While readers love the genre and are
voracious at reading it, agents and publishers seem warier. After unsuccessfully querying the book for
two years I found success with my current publisher, Book Boutiques. They’ve been very supportive of me with my
other titles and so this was no exception.
What
is your writing Kryptonite?
Research, I’ll be writing a sentence and
then have to find out something before I can move on with the story.
If I’m in procrastination mode, I find
binge-watching TV shows can really pull me away from my story.
Do
you have any advice for aspiring authors?
Someone wants to read the story you are
writing so go ahead and finish it.
This is a new author for me and I will admit it took me a few chapters to adapt to her writing style. I wasn't sure if I missed a previous book or not. Either way, the first chapter had my curiosity piqued and I was determined to know the who's, what's and why's!
I really enjoyed the world the author crafted. She took bits and pieces from mankind's history and rearranged them to create possibilities that were quite believable. She used not only human history but bits of mythology and legend as well.
Laurel was the main character but for me, each character brought an important element to the overall story. A bit like a holmes story you needed all the characters to make the puzzle complete.
Plenty of misleading hints that sent me down the incorrect path multiple times. I was a bit shocked when the who(s) was unveiled.
I do wish there had been a touch more meat? Detail?
I understood what was going on but I wanted, at times needed more...
I have always been greedy that way with my adventures
This has plenty of subterfuge - everyone was spying for someone.
A touch of romance - for me it felt more backburner than front and center.
And the magic of fantasy
I did read a comp copy so I ignored any grammatical and scene issues.
I'm hoping our little "family" will continue their adventures *hint hint*
Comments
Post a Comment