Clockwork Blue (A Lumière Romance) [Kindle Edition]

Gloria Harchar (Author), Audrey Harchar (Illustrator)

Book Description

Mission... Impossible: The pixies' mission—if Allegro and Glissando are to accept it—is to secure the future of a troubled England. To achieve this, the Earl of Falconwood, better known as the Black Falcon, must marry Nicola Moore. Never mind the woman is a hoyden who makes the most atrocious hats decorated with machine parts, which she then dyes with her famous Clockwork Blue.

And certainly forget the earl is atoning for his brother's death by purposely hovering on the fringes of the ton. Add to the mix Glissando's tendency to slip to the side of the Mrasek, the ones who work to free the evil Lord Sethos.

But Maestro depends on the pixies—for better or for worse. To release the magic trapped in the Clockwork Blue dye—a magic that will safeguard England's future—Malcolm and Nicola must not only wed, but they must also fall in love.

Praise for Gloria Harchar:

"Nicola has a heart that is open and loving to those around her. She has been taking care of her father and cousin for many years. So, when Malcolm, the 'Black Falcon', tells her he wants her father’s Clockwork Blue dye in exchange for not deporting her cousin, she has to find a way to make it happen, even if it is sacrificing herself to the Black Falcon. That may not be so bad - he is a very handsome man! Nicola feels he is a good man down deep and she is very drawn to him.

Malcolm can think of one thing and one thing only: the Clockwork Blue dye that will make his ambitions come true. He needs this and the only way to get it is through Nicola. He will do whatever it takes to obtain the dye - including threats to deport the cousin of the young, naïve Nicola. The plot thickens as a couple of pixies and a black hearted earl are thrown into the mix!

Put all this together and one finds a story that is filled with darkness from the past that threatens to block the light of any future good. Readers may be pleasantly surprised at how this tale unravels. “Clockwork Blue” throws together a little bit of fairy tale, a touch of mystery, with a sprinkling of steampunk, and a romance that does not always feel romantic! Parts of the story do not seem to play out completely before coming together, but ultimately, this tale is superb and is destined to fill the heart with joy!"
--InD'Tale Magazine

Product Details

• File Size: 573 KB
• Print Length: 371 pages
• Publisher: Gloria Harchar (June 27, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B008FRCI8W
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #374,174 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What a World July 15, 2012

By N.T.

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Rich with detail, history collides with fantasy in Clockwork Blue. Ms. Harchar creates a vivid and riveting world where two pixies scheme to save England as Napoleon's treaty appears to be failing. Their misson: to get Nicola Moore and Malcolm (Earl of Falconwood) for fall in love and marry. But Nicola saw how miserable her grandmother's life became after she married to save England. Nicola wants no part of such a marriage. Meanwhile, Malcolm has ruthless plans of his own. He desires a marriage with Nicola, for many reasons none of which have anything to do with love. The pixies are sure to fail. I couldn't stop reading...

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Read July 14, 2012

By Rohnda

Format:Kindle Edition

This is the first "steampunk genre," I have read and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Clockwork Blue is well written, full of romance and magic with some history thrown in. I think readers will enjoy the fantasy of the Pixies and their role in the story. Happy reading!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Steampunk July 16, 2012

By Audrey Little

Format:Kindle Edition

What an engaging storyline! I couldn't get enough! The pixies are a lovely addition to this steampunk romance. The hero is so sexy, and the heroine is fun and quirky. I can see a little bit of myself in her. She creates a dye that is magical, which is too awesome! The hero is drawn to the dye, but even more so to the heroine.
I want a clockwork blue dyed ribbon for myself! Where can I find some? :)

More About the Author

NEWS!! Lumière #2: THE COPPER TUNERS, is available!

Get your copy autographed by going to http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/the_harchars.

I write steampunk fantasy romances. You ask what in the world is steampunk? Per the Urban Dictionary, steampunk is a subgenre of speculative fiction, usually set in an anachronistic Victorian or quasi-Victorian alternate historical setting. In other words, it's what the past would look like if the future had happened sooner. Steampunk includes fiction with science fiction, fantasy or horror themes. Add steam era technology to make highly complicated, advanced machines, and you have a steampunk novel.

Still confused? Think movies like Wild, Wild West, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Van Helsing, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Hell Boy, Sleepy Hollow, Young Sherlock Holmes, Stardust, City of Ember, and Time After Time. If you're into anime, you're probably familiar with Howl's Moving Castle, Full-Metal Alchemist, and Steamboy, all are representative of steampunk.

To flavor the feeling of a steampunk setting, I like to involve the proper speech of the British in an alternate Victorian era. Victorian times included the Enlightenment Period, where the Crown encouraged inventions and forward-thinking. So much was discovered. Some of the discoveries were not recognized and fell to the wayside in favor of others, which were developed and enhanced. What if the dirigible had been favored over the airplane? What would the world have been like? What developments could have been done to a dirigible that were neglected in favor of the development and advancements of the aerodynamic airplane? What about cars? What if gasoline was never used, but instead other forms of energy was employed? Lighter fuel to make steam. I have fun calling cars by names I invented--such as the steamcoup or the steamphaeton--a spinoff of the tall carriages driven in the Regency era. In The Copper Tuners I have one of the characters invent a jetpack that he calls a HaloJet, which runs on hydrogen.

Another way to add texture to a Steampunk setting is playing with fashion. Remember, this is an alternate world: history follows a different timeline. It can be slightly or vastly different. Corsets can be worn over dresses; skirts can be frivolous and they can be short or long. Women can wear knickers. Shoes can have buckles, or lace, or both. Women can wear Wellington or Hessian boots with the dresses. Men can wear top hats decorated with gears and cogs. My heroines wear top hats too, but decorated with lace and other frippery. I also like to have a female character in a derby, or even an Admiral's tricorne.

Guns are blunderbusses, or rayguns. Swords can be made with different alloys, or even turned into electric, or laser swords. Add fantasy into the mix and I can invent all kinds of fun gadgets!

If you're visual like me, go to http://pinterest.com/gloriaharchar/ to see examples of steampunk gadgets and fashions.

I have two Bachelor's degrees: One in Education with a concentration in English and the other in Accounting, and a Master's of Science degree in Instructional Design and Technology. My love is writing romance, and being able to write the stories that are begging to be told! My steampunk series is called The Lumière Chronicles. My latest, The Copper Tuners, has a mystery threaded through the plot and is now available here.