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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Feature and Giveaway: A Matter of Circumstance and Celludrones by Claire Robyns


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.

Purchase: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo |

Evelyn was even more intrigued when she entered the drawing room. Not only was Lily's mysterious gentleman the scrumptious Lord Adair from the previous night, but the two of them looked as if they'd been caught in flagrante. Lord Adair's neck cloth looked as if it had been tied in unseemly haste—by a blind man. Lily's skirts were scuffed and wrinkled and her bodice wasn't sitting quite straight.

Lily left his side to meet Evelyn halfway across the room.

“If I'd known you were being ravished by Lord Dashing down here,” Evelyn declared in a whisper, “I would have stayed up there—” she raised her eyes to the ceiling “—another twenty minutes.”

“Don't be absurd.” Lily's hands flew to her hair.

“It's your skirts that need patting down.” She linked her arm in Lily's and strolled in the direction of Lord Adair, keeping her voice low. “What did he do? Drag you into the woods and toss you over a log?”

Lily went white in the face.

“By God.” Evelyn surged forward. “I'll deal with the bloody Scotsman.”

“Evie, no, wait.” Lily dug her heels in. “Nothing happened. Must you always latch onto the most preposterous conclusions?”

Evelyn's brows drew tight. Something felt wrong, but her friend made a valid point. She was rash and brash, a fact she'd never denied. She kept her sharp tongue on a leash and turned a smile on the man instead as they drew close. “How charming, Lord Adair, I was hoping we'd see more of you.”

“Lady Harchings.” He inclined his head in greeting.

Clearly not trusting her to keep the peace, Lily inserted breathlessly, “I was just telling Lady Harchings that we were riding in the park—”

“And your horses tossed both of you?” Evelyn couldn't resist.

Lily rewarded her with a glare. “We were in Lord Adair's carriage, but, um, yes, a rabbit or fox must have run across the path because one of the horses took fright—”

“You really should train them better,” Evelyn told him.

“The rabbits or the horses?” Lord Adair riposted dryly, his eyes never leaving Lily and a grin tugging at his mouth.


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.


Places to find Claire:
| Site | Facebook | Twitter


Check out what's up for grabs.


Up For Grabs For Entire Tour:
  • 2 lucky winners will win a $50 Amazon Gift Card

To Enter: 
  • Please leave a meaningful comment/question for Claire.
  • Please leave your email address along with your comment to be entered. 
  • Giveaway ends May 24th.

Good Luck! 


46 comments :

  1. What is a celludrone? I have tried to find this word in on-line dictionaries and can not.

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  2. SO I have to admit that I had to buy the book this morning. It's too pretty, and part of my favorite genre so I just had to splurge! Lol...I will still love following the tour though and no worries! I won't leave spoilers! :)
    Thanks for sharing!

    andralynn7 AT gmail DOT com

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  3. Scarlett: a celludrone is a mechanical servant (this is a steampunk set in the Victorian era)

    Andra: Money well spent! This is a great book and I've already bought and devoured the second book in the series (which is even better than Book1 - I can hardly wait for book 3!!) :)

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  4. Thanks for having me over today :)

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  5. Judy, thanks for jumping in with that reply :) Absolutely right!

    Scarlett, I totally made up the word Celludrone. If you're familiar with the steampunk genre, this would bd the equivalent of an automaton - basically a robot like never has or probably ever will be invented

    Andra, YAY. Lol I guess every author wants to be irresistable :) Hope you enjoy

    Claire

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  6. I love the premise of the book. That was a nice excerpt, very humorous, I enjoyed it.

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  7. Thank you so much for this post and for offering the giveaway! A Matter of Circumstance and Celludrones sounds great, so I'll definitely have to check it out.

    Amazon is my very favorite website, so my fingers are crossed to be one of the lucky winners! :-)

    Thank you again, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week.

    Best Wishes,
    Lindsey V.

    Lindsey8907@yahoo.com

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  8. Sounds like a fun book! I enjoyed the excerpt!

    maybe31 at yahoo.com

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  9. I see you write in 3 different genres all under the same name. Does the same name ever pose confusion for your readers? Of the 3 genres, which one, IYO, is the most difficult to write and why?

    kareninnc at gmail dot com

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  10. wow...i like steampunk...but i think i've never read A Victorian Steampunk/Paranormal adventure before...
    i want to know what's like to read it...
    thx u for the chance...' a matter of circumtance & celludrones' sounds a cool one...
    definetely wann read it !!!

    -nurmawati djuhawan-
    chiko_jubilee at yahoo dot com

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  11. Love the cover! My favorite show was the Wild, Wild West.

    maryjo(at)maryjoburke(dot)com

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  12. I so want to know what happened in that carriage!!

    Love the romance element with the steampunk and paranormal. Often it is hard to find a book that is more romance geared.

    So what was the most fun/creative/unique steampunk element that you created for A Matter of Circumstance and Celludrones? I love seeing the imagination of the steampunk authors in creating their world.

    Thanks for the giveaway. I would love to win.

    Sherri
    urbangirlreader at gmail dot com

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  13. This definitely sounds like something i would enjoy reading! Thanks for sharing and the chance to win!

    Casey
    caseroo7@gmail.com

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  14. Sound good, I love paranormal.... In my TBR.
    Thanks for the chance to win!

    susy.rivera1@gmail.com

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  15. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  16. Seems funny and entertaining I'm definitely going to put this one on my reading list. Thank you for the great excerpt. applenote.jamie@gmail.com

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  17. Congrats to Claire on the new release! This sounds amazing :) Thanks for sharing!

    efender1(at)gmail(dot)com

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  18. Thanks for all the lovely comments :)

    Karen H, I'd say my Scottish medievals are the most difficult to write due to the research involved and having to stay strictly in the period with speech, dress, actions and attitude - they're also the most fun to write :)
    I've never had complaints from readers about genre confusion. But I do try to make the genre very clear with the cover and blurb upfront

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  19. Sherri, the most fun so far was definitely the Celludrones because of the way I was able to have them mimic human qualities that, I hope, seem natural and possible - within the frame of fantasy, of course LOL

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  20. I love, love, love steampunk!! My teenage son got me hooked on it several years ago:) A Matter of Circumstance and Celludrones looks right up my alley. Thanks!!!

    cc_clubbs at yahoo dot com

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  21. From the comments, I see that there is a second book to the series. Is the second book with the same main characters? Or is it a spin-off of secondary characters?
    strive4bst(At) yahoo(Dot) com

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  22. Oooh... I really like the cover. Thanks for the excerpt. This book is going to be a fun read. I'm new to this genre and enjoying it. You're a new author for me.
    Thanks :)
    lorih824 at yahoo dot com

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  23. I *love* the cover. The book sounds super interesting!

    amzpar[at]gmail[dot]com

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  24. I love the character's names you've chosen. How did you did upon them/ where did they come from?

    fencingromein at hotmail dot com

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  25. It is so rare to find a historical romance that is unique. This one sounds awesome.

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  26. Jbst: The second book is already out and there'll be 3 more to complete the series. This series follows three main characters in all the books in such a way that all three's stories only wrap up in the final book

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  27. I love the title. There's something catchy about it. Also, that cover. I can't get over that cover! It seems to fit the description perfectly.

    justforswag(AT)yahoo(DOT)com

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  28. I have found that my new favorite genre is Steampunk. I was excited to see this featured because I just finished another series and was looking for something else. Thanks so much, I have added to my wish list.

    sheryll1974@netscape.net

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  29. Enjoyed the excerpt

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

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  30. I enjoyed the excerpt, and the book sounds great!
    jmcgaugh (at) semo (dot) edu

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  31. thanks for the giveaway. the book sounds great, it has so many of my fave elements, historical, steampunk, romance, and paranormal!

    inthehammockblog at gmail dot com

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  32. Loved the excerpt. I just discovered Steampunk and I am now hooked. I think watching Lily break out of her comfort zone with Grayson will be a great read.

    Ann(dot)sheiring(at)gmail(dot)com

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  33. Congrats on the release. I'm not familiar with this genre but I think the cover looks great! Cheers!

    ahui89(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  34. The excerpt made me laugh. I' looking forward to such a great read.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  35. Thanks for stopping by to leave such wonderful comments. I love it each I hear a new person saying they've just discovered Steampunk and loving it. I only discovered it last year and was so hooked I simply had to write it :)

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  36. I've just started reading books in this genre and it sounds really good. I am definietly going to get it, whether its with the gc if i win or not!
    michelleakoerner@yahoo.com

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  37. Wow! I can't WAIT to read this! I love that cover, too ; )
    I'm definitely adding this to my TBR list immediately!
    I wonder what kind of events or people in the author's life inspired them to write this book!?
    Thanks for the giveaway!
    mestith at gmail dot com

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  38. Great excerpt - makes me want more! Like the feisty Evelyn!

    Thanks for the giveaway!
    Leanne
    leannessf at gmail dot com

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  39. oh gosh wonderful excerpt thank you so much for sharing! I absolutely love the dress on the cover!

    lilypondreads at gmail dot com

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  40. Thank you for the excerpt. I just started reading steampunk.
    lauratroxelatyahoodotcom

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  41. I have not read steampunk before and this book sounds like a good one to start that genre.

    susanmplatt AT Hotmail DOT com

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  42. Sounds like a great read!!
    Thanks for the chance to win and the excerpt!
    natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com

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  43. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  44. I have never read Victorian steampunk but the excerpt was great and has peaked my curiosity.

    kumquat8 at hotmail dot com

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  45. Steampunk is new to me but looks like a lot of fun! Awesome book blurbs!!!

    dianemestrella at gmail dot com

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