An Exclusive Excerpt fr. Laura Strickland & 'Dead Handsome: A Buffalo Steampunk Adventure' @GoddessFish #steampunk

Today we have author Laura Strickland visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?

* 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. She knows the people of Buffalo are stronger, tougher and smarter than those who haven’t survived the muggy summers and blizzard blasts found on the shores of the mighty Niagara. Tough enough to survive a squad of automatons? Well, just maybe.

What are you going to tell us about today?
* My steampunk romance story: Dead Handsome: A Buffalo Steampunk Adventure.

A look into the story

~ Blurb ~ * Clara Allen needs a husband in order to keep a roof over the heads of her assorted dependents, a roof her nasty grandfather will re-appropriate unless she is married by her 21st birthday, only a few days away. Strong-minded, unwilling to take orders from any man, she decides to solve her problem by raising a murdered prisoner from the dead and marrying him. She expects an empty-headed puppet; she certainly never dreams he’ll be so devastatingly handsome.
* Liam McMahon doesn’t recall much about his life before his hanging in the prison yard, other than being Irish. He does remember the kiss Clara bestowed as she brought him back to life. Every time he looks at her, his desire gets out of hand. But his former life is chasing him down like a steam engine, and when a couple of mad geniuses decide he’d make a fine experiment, he wonders if he’ll live long enough to claim Clara’s heart or if he’ll die all over again. ~ Excerpt -- EXCLUSIVE! ~ * "You will need some clothes." Clara barely knew where to look. With the man upright – at well over six feet in height – he made an impressive sight. No matter where she turned her gaze, it seemed somehow to glimpse his genitals. "My father's clothes will never fit. And yours, from the jail, are fit only for burning."
* He tipped his head to one side and the dark hair, very nearly black, slid against his bruised neck like silk. He wore it long and it held a gleam like the wing of a blackbird. More dark hair clustered on his chest and trailed downward to the nest of curls at his –
* Blast, she'd looked there again.
* Georgina suggested, "Your father's old robe, maybe? Something – something to cover –"
* Was Georgina's gaze drawn there too? Almost impossible to avoid it. He had an impressive set of equipment.
* "Yes," Clara said gratefully, "go and fetch the robe, Georgina, if you will."
* Georgina fled and silence fell. The subject still held the pistol casually, dangling from one finger, and they faced each other with the worktable between.
* "So you've a father, then," he said abruptly. He raised his hand to rub at his throat, explored the abrasions there. "Does he know what you get up to?"
* Clara shook her head. "He's deceased."
* Again, something flickered in his eyes. It was as if she could sense his emotions on some visceral level.
* "Ah." His gaze moved over her, head to toe, in a minute examination. "And how is it you can bring anyone back to life at all?"

Buy Dead Handsome: A Buffalo Steampunk Adventure here...
Amazon

Find Laura Strickland here...
Website | Amazon Author Page

Thank you for joining us here today, Laura Strickland! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

ANNOUNCEMENT! Laura Strickland will be awarding a pair of hand-crafted, Steampunk-style pierced earrings - US only - to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour! So be sure to leave your name and email with your comment, and enter via the Rafflecopter below. Also, visit the other tour stops (find them here: goddessfishpromotions-excerpt-tour-dead-handsome) for a greater chance of winning!

a Rafflecopter giveaway