A young lady of good family has several choices to make once she’s graduated from the Wollaston Academy for Young Ladies and on the brink of her first Season upon the marriage mart. If she is lucky enough to receive an invitation to be presented to Queen Victoria, those choices are largely related to dresses, balls, and young men of marriageable status.
If you are Evelina, the heroine of my steampunk novel A Study in Silks, those decisions are slightly more limited. She’s in London at the invitation of her wealthy best friend, just close enough to the fashionable world to yearn for the glittering fun of a debutante’s ball. After all, just because you’re the niece of Sherlock Holmes and in possession of forbidden magic—well, that doesn’t stop a girl from reading the fashion pages, or longing for a dance with the most handsome man in the room.
If only Evelina’s life were so simple! Amidst the dragons, dead bodies, and magically-infested automatons, she has not one but two admirers, both of them far from ideal. Tobias is the clever, good-looking brother of her best friend. Unfortunately, he’s the heir to a title and unlikely to marry Evelina, even if she could look past his hell raising habits. But Tobias is more than he seems, secretly inventing fantastical steampunk devices and doing his best to duck the political manoeuvrings of his ambitious father. Evelina sees the true heart in Tobias when no one else—not even Tobias himself—believes it’s there. Although he has a talent for making a mess, over the course of the three books, he struggles the hardest to find meaning in his life. In the end he surprises us all.
Her other beau is the Indomitable Niccolo, a trick rider with Ploughman’s Paramount Circus where Evelina spent her childhood. As far as the world is concerned, Nick is nobody. A foundling of unknown parentage—probably a Gypsy—he does not even have a last name. And if this does not make him enough of an outsider, he possesses magical talents that are incompatible with everyone else’s. When he and Evelina are together, their powers flare to life unbidden. In a world where magic users are burned at the stake or imprisoned in Her Majesty’s Laboratories, that’s playing with fire on a whole new level. There are a thousand reasons that Evelina can’t have a future with Nick—she has no place in the circus life anymore, he can’t support her, their magic will betray them—but they still love one another. Nick is loyal to the end and beyond, and he is more than willing to sacrifice everything for Evelina. Nick knows who he is and what he wants and never apologizes.
Two men, one young woman—but Evelina’s choice turns out to be no choice at all.  A murder investigation turns their world upside down, and the consequences change all three lives utterly. What begins as a London Season of dances and parties unravels beyond repair, and the focus swiftly changes from romance to danger.
As the Baskerville trilogy progresses, each character has to face his or her dark side, sometimes of the heart, sometimes more literally. In a world of magic and mystery, love is tested to the limits. The question is always who is brave enough to see it through.
GIVEAWAY TIME
Leave a comment below and you’ll be entered into a draw for these earrings. They are adorably perfect for book lovers! They’re hand made in Scotland and are tiny bound books with real pages. These are pink hand-made paper and ornamented with silver hearts and tiny crystals. Too cute!
Open internationally. Contest closes October 4, 2013, midnight, Pacific Time.
A Study in Silks
September 2013
Evelina Cooper, the niece of the great Sherlock Holmes, is poised to enjoy her first Season in London’s high society, but there’s a murderer to deal with—not to mention missing automatons, a sorcerer, and a talking mouse . . .
In a Victorian era ruled by a Council of ruthless steam barons, mechanical power is the real monarch, and sorcery the demon enemy of the Empire. Nevertheless, the most coveted weapon is magic that can run machines—something Evelina has secretly mastered. But rather than making her fortune, her special talents could mean death or an eternity as a guest of Her Majesty’s secret laboratories. What’s a polite young lady to do but mind her manners and pray she’s never found out?
But then there’s that murder. As Sherlock Holmes’s niece, Evelina should be able to find the answers, but she has a lot to learn. And the first decision she has to make is whether to trust the handsome, clever rake who makes her breath come faster, or the dashing trick rider who would dare anything for her if she would only just ask . . .
Read the prequel short story here
Emma Jane Holloway
Ever since childhood, Emma Jane Holloway refused to accept that history was nothing but facts prisoned behind the closed door of time. Why waste a perfectly good playground coloring within the timelines? Accordingly, her novels are filled with whimsical impossibilities and the occasional eye-blinking impertinence—but always in the service of grand adventure.
Struggling between the practical and the artistic—a family tradition, along with ghosts and a belief in the curative powers of shortbread—Emma Jane has a degree in literature and job in finance. She lives in the Pacific Northwest in a house crammed with books, musical instruments, and half-finished sewing projects. In the meantime, she’s published articles, essays, short stories, and enough novels to build a fort for her stuffed hedgehog.
PRIZE UPDATE:Â Congrats to Lyn!
It must be really difficult for her i mean with such a parentage there are high expectations too so i can see why she would be “normal”^^
That’s quite right, Miki! And besides, it would be hard to like someone who never relaxed and was just a regular person. Thanks for commenting.
I love those earrings and they’re just my style but I cannot figure out how to get in the drawing. It states “Answer one of the questions above” but I don’t see any questions. So I’ll just give my standard answer: “42”
(And, if it were me, I’d probably pick the Gypsy.)
42 works for me. Sorry, I was dashing to get this post up at the last minute and didn’t notice that I’d forgotten to fix that. All good now!
Love the earrings! I don’t see any questions to answer either.
Oh I think Evelyn will find her gumption and definitely see this through. I enjoyed the prequel and the trailer and am definitely looking forward to reading Study in Silks. Congratulations on the upcoming release of Study in Darkness, I love knowing book two will be available when I finish the beginning. This looks like a wonderful series 🙂
dz59001[at]gmail[dot]com
Thanks! I hope you enjoy the series!
Perfect earrings to reflect the title of the book. A love triangle involved and a family reputation to maintain. Great conflict and plot. Looking forward to reading the book.
Thanks, Kai!
Emma is a new Author for me and I’m very happy to have met her here. I’m looking forward to reading a Study In Silks and then a Study In Darkness. I think Evelina will muster through to the end and just maybe Niccolo will go the distance with her. Just a guess. This earrings are adorable, especially for a book addict like myself. 🙂
Thanks so much for the opportunity and the post.
Carol L
Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com
The picture doesn’t really do the earrings justice (I’m not much of a photographer). They really are hard to give away!
I don’t want to enter the contest (I don’t wear earrings) but just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the book! You have a wonderful gift for creating remarkable visuals and engaging characters and I look forward to further adventures!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and I hope you like the rest of the series!
Looking forward to this. I’m new to steampunk, so I’ve been looking for a good read that will stimulate the imagination for a costume party in a couple of months. I appear to have found one.
I don’t see any questions to answer either so my standard reply will have to suffice: chocolate.
Steampunk costuming is incredibly fun! There is no such thing as too outrageous. Much.
A great excerpt, cant wait to read. Congrats 4 your book, Emma
Oooh I love those earrings – and the book sounds a fantastic read in every sense of the word – what’s not to love about the niece of Sherlock Holmes a handsome rake and a dashing trick rider? Phew, this I gotta read!
Both Niccolo and Tobias have their merits, that’s for sure–and neither one can be counted out until the very end of all three books.
I think the author and I might be living in the same house.
Goodness! I’ll have to check the guest bedroom!
This is a wonderful genre to work in–I’ve come across so many kindred spirits.
ooh, those earrings are pretty and both of those sound intriguing.
I love the earings
I can’t wait to read this! The earrings are so cute…Thank-you for the opportunity to win them. I didn’t see a question to answer.
This sounds interesting
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
All my favorite things together… I can hardly wait. Sherlock Holmes, romance, steampunk, mysteries, magic, Victoriana, and a love triangle. What more could I possibly want… oh yeah, the earrings! Can’t wait for the books.
EVELINA SOUNDS LIKE A VERY BRIGHT AND CONFIDENT YOUNG WOMAN. TWO QUALITIES I WISH I WOULD HAVE HAD AS A YOUNG WOMAN. AH WELL, HIND SIGHT ETC. THE STORY SOUNDS VERY INTRIGUING AND I LOVE STEAMPUNK. IS THIS GOING TO BECOME A SERIES OR A STAND ALONE? ANYROAD, THOSE EARRINGS ARE ADORABLE. DID YOU GO TO SCOTLAND? ALSO DO YOU DO BOOK SIGNINGS? I LIVE IN GRANTS PASS OR, SO IF YOU EVER GO TO B & N IN MEDFORD PERHAPS I WOULD SEE YOU. ANYROAD, BRIGHT BLESSINGS TO YOU.
The series is A Study in Silks, A Study in Darkness, and A Study in Ashes. The release dates are this September, October, and December, so you don’t have to wait long to read the whole thing!
I will be doing a signing in New York at the NYCC in early October, so if anyone is there, please come and see me!!
Congratulations on the new book! It sounds like a great read. I have a friend who loves steampunk, so I’m going to pass along the info to her too. 🙂 Oh, and the earnings are fabulous. LOL
Thanks for passing on the info, Tracey! Appreciate it!
I do so love this book! As a die hard Sherlock Holmes fan, I knew that this was quickly going to become a favorite of mine given that the main character is his niece, and I wasn’t disappointed. I’m greatly looking forward to the next two books in this series. Congrats on your release and here’s to many more to come! =^.^=
What a great idea for a heroine! And I love her choices, a trick rider vs a rake! Congrats on your release!