{"id":1385,"date":"2016-08-10T01:05:02","date_gmt":"2016-08-10T05:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kate-hill.com\/compellingbeastsblog\/?p=1385"},"modified":"2016-08-09T22:19:18","modified_gmt":"2016-08-10T02:19:18","slug":"story-sample-sheer-madness-a-buffalo-steampunk-adventure-by-laura-strickland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kate-hill.com\/compellingbeastsblog\/2016\/08\/10\/story-sample-sheer-madness-a-buffalo-steampunk-adventure-by-laura-strickland\/","title":{"rendered":"Story Sample: Sheer Madness: A Buffalo Steampunk Adventure by Laura Strickland"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"perf5.000x8.000.indd\"Title:<\/strong> Sheer Madness: A Buffalo Steampunk Adventure<\/p>\n

Author:<\/strong> Laura Strickland<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Steampunk Romance<\/p>\n

Blurb:<\/strong><\/p>\n

All her life, Topaz Hathor has denied her ability to see the spirits of the dead. She despises her father\u2014an infamous spiritualist\u2014for exploiting his wealthy patrons and the souls that flock to him. But when the spirit of an attractive man appears in her bedroom claiming he’s been drawn to Topaz rather than her father, she sits up and takes notice.<\/p>\n

Though not dead, Romney Marsh has been banished from his body while confined to an asylum and can’t remember much besides his name. Yet he can feel Topaz’s spirit calling to his, and he’s not leaving until she agrees to help him. Through an increasingly violent spiral of danger and their discovery of unspeakable undertakings, they bond ever more closely. But can Topaz be in love with a man she’s never touched, or would that be sheer madness?<\/p>\n

Excerpt:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

He observed as, clad only in a silken dressing gown, she spoke at length with a dark-haired man\u2014discussing him.<\/p>\n

And when the dark-haired man\u2014her brother?\u2014went out, leaving the two of them alone, seen and unseen, he knew it would be now or never.<\/p>\n

Concentrating with unprecedented intensity, he hovered beside her bed, pictured himself as he knew he appeared when in his body, and did his best to make himself look solid.<\/p>\n

She turned. Her unusual golden eyes widened, and she saw him.<\/p>\n

About bloody time, he thought with a victorious rush. And now what? Could they communicate?<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you?\u201d she breathed in a low, husky voice that should have raised his pulse\u2014did, for all he knew, back where his body lay.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see me?\u201d he asked, projecting the word-thoughts into her mind the way he had projected his image.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course I can see you. Why else would I ask who you are?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRomney Marsh,\u201d he supplied the name to which he clung so hard.<\/p>\n

Her eyebrows, like two black slashes above those incredible eyes, twitched. \u201cWell, Mr. Romney Marsh, you\u2019ve strayed to the wrong place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe party\u2019s downstairs in the solarium, where my father\u2019s summoning the souls of the dearly departed. You must have taken a wrong turn at the stairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. I don\u2019t want him. I want you.\u201d Abruptly he realized it for truth: he wanted her as only a man possessed of flesh could\u2014and surging flesh, at that. It made no sense, yet he couldn\u2019t deny it.<\/p>\n

She shifted slightly on the balls of her feet the way she had just before she took on the two thugs who\u2019d come through the window. Did she, then, think she needed to fight him off?<\/p>\n

He said quickly, \u201cI\u2019m not here to harm you. Rather, I need your help.\u201d<\/p>\n

She tipped her head. The black hair slid over one shoulder to caress a generous breast. His nonexistent fingers itched.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not able to help you.\u201d She waved a hand in the air. \u201cBe gone, spirit, to the next realm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course you can.\u201d She leaned toward him, and her gaze moved over him with considerable interest. \u201cDo not partake in my father\u2019s mischief. Spare yourself that. Move on and embrace peace. I dismiss\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d He moved closer, and her eyes widened again. \u201cDon\u2019t do that. Don\u2019t send me away.\u201d<\/p>\n

She drew herself up to her considerable height, which had he possessed his body must nearly match his. \u201cBut, Mr. Marsh, it\u2019s where you belong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGive me one good reason why,\u201d she challenged.<\/p>\n

He could give her the very best of reasons. \u201cI\u2019m not dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Purchase Link(s):<\/strong><\/p>\n

Buy link Amazon: http:\/\/amzn.to\/2aEZer0<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy link Amazon Canada: http:\/\/amzn.to\/2al4I4E<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy link Amazon UK: http:\/\/amzn.to\/2aox4yn<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy link The Wild Rose Press:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/catalog.thewildrosepress.com\/all-titles\/4413-sheer-madness-a-buffalo-steampunk-adventure.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Author Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author Web site: www.laurastricklandbooks.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Author Facebook: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100000002632317<\/a><\/p>\n

Author Amazon page:\u00a0 http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Laura-Strickland\/e\/B001KHSACW\/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1<\/a><\/p>\n

Author bio:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Born in Buffalo and raised on the Niagara Frontier, Laura Strickland has been an avid reader and writer since childhood. To her the spunky, tenacious, undefeatable ethnic mix that is Buffalo spells the perfect setting for a little Steampunk, so she created her own Victorian world there.\u00a0 She knows the people of Buffalo are stronger, tougher and smarter than those who haven\u2019t survived the muggy summers and blizzard blasts found on the shores of the mighty Niagara.\u00a0 Tough enough to survive a squad of automatons? Well, just maybe.
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