Gratitude Giveaways Blog Hop!! A Conspiracy of Alchemists, by Liesel Schwarz

Welcome to this stop in the

4th Annual

Gratitude Giveaways Blog Hop,

hosted by the wonderful

"Inspired Kathy" @ 

I Am A Reader, Not A Writer!!

(Thanks for hosting this hop, Kath!!)

As that special day of giving thanks
approaches, it's time for me to appreciate
you, the wonderful people -- whether or not
you follow my blog -- who drop by and
connect with A Night's Dream of Books
in any way whatsoever !!
So, as my thanks to you, I'm giving
away a hardcover copy of

the Steampunk novel,

A Conspiracy of Alchemists,

by Liesel Schwarz!

(US only this time,  because I have an
extra copy of this book,
and must pay for shipping myself.)

About the Book

A Conspiracy of Alchemists
(The Chronicles of Light and Shadow #1)
Liesel Schwarz
Hardcover, 336 pages
Del Rey, March 5, 2013
Historical Fiction, Paranormal Romance, Science Fiction, Steampunk, Urban Fantasy

Goodreads Synopsis:  Eleanor “Elle” Chance, that is—a high-flying dirigible pilot with a taste for adventure and the heroine of this edgy new series that transforms elements of urban fantasy, steampunk, and paranormal romance into pure storytelling gold.

It is 1903, and the world is divided between light and shadow. On the side of light is a wondrous science that has transformed everyday life by harnessing magical energies to ingenious new technologies. But each advance of science has come at the expense of shadow—the traditional realm of the supernatural.

Now two ancient powers are preparing to strike back. Blood-sucking immortal Nightwalkers and their spellcasting Alchemist allies have a plan to cover the whole world in shadow. All they require is the sacrifice of a certain young woman whose past conceals a dangerous secret.

But when they come after Elle, they get more than they bargained for. This enterprising young woman, the daughter of a scientific genius, has reserves of bravery and determination that even she scarcely suspects. Now she is about to meet her match in more ways than one: a handsome yet infuriating Warlock named Hugh Marsh, whose agenda is as suspect as his charms are annoyingly irresistible.

Excerpt

This was the place where people came to give their souls to fairies.   I watched her step into the café and close the door, at once sealing out the noise and stench of the Latin Quarter behind her.  It was still early in the afternoon and the café was empty.

   She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the dim interior of this place.  The battered paneling of oak trees long dead is always a little disconcerting after the bright crowded streets.

   The one they called Aleix unfolded from the shadows behind the counter.  He wore his long hair bound in a simple braid that made him look slightly Oriental in appearance, but to even the most ignorant there could be no mistaking his race.   He was a Nightwalker.

   They studied one another for a moment.

   "Are you Aleix?" she said.

   "Who wants to know?"  It was more of a command than a question.  He narrowed his eyes as he assessed her, carefully noting the jodhpurs and man's shirt she wore under her leather coat.  Whether she was peer or prey would be measured, considered carefully before he spoke, for that was the Nightwalker way.

   "I'm looking for Patrice.  My name is Elle -- Eleanor Chance.  The pilot."  Her breath caught in her throat as she spoke, as if the words had come faster than she had expected.

   He relaxed his shoulders.  "Upstairs.  The flower house," he said with the briefest of nods.

   To the side of the counter a heavy crimson curtain partly covered the curves of a cast-iron staircase.

   "Shall I go up?" she said.

   He shrugged as if what she did was of no interest to him, but I knew she had been expected.  For no Nightwalker would rise at this hour for the sole purpose of seeing to the task of polishing glasses.

   The soles of her boots left a trial of sawdust from the floor below.  I sensed the whispers of pine and beech rise up from the resonating stairs as she moved over them.  It was a clever thing, this wrought, twisted staircase.  Designed to allow the patrons who frequented this place to enter and leave at will, it held those of us who worked here caged within its iron bars and scrolls.  For few creatures with the old blood in their veins could cross pure iron unharmed.

   When I was still young and living among my people, the Dryad, I once had a different name.  But that was many years ago, at a time when anise and wormwood were nothing more than plants that made up my world.  A time before sacred dreams could be bought for a few sugar cubes.

   My real name is long since forgotten along with so many memories of green.  All that remains of me now is what you see here amongst the coal-fire, stone and dead glass.  For I am La Fee Verte, the keeper of the absinthe drinkers.  But you may call me Adele if you must.

   I saw her for what she was, this young woman with the clear blue eyes and hair like the leaves of the horse chestnut when the season turns.  I saw that she would one day cast no shadow on the narrow path between Shadow and Light.

   Isn't it strange how not even pure iron can stay events once they have been set in motion?  I knew from the moment I saw her she would offer salvation.  But salvation often comes at a price.  Perhaps a price I might have paused to consider a little more closely at the time.  But I was too caught up in my own thoughts to pay heed to the signs.  All I knew was that for the first time in years, I felt hope.      

About the Author

Liesel Schwarz

Liesel Schwarz has an MA in creative writing and is currently completing her doctorate in English and Creative Writing at Brunel University.

A life-long fan of 19th Century Gothic literature, she is a hopeless romantic and loves Victorians, Steampunk, fairies, fantasy monsters, the fin de siècle, and the correct way to drink absinthe. She also likes Medieval stuff, pirates, zombies, space operas and all subjects in between.

Her debut – the first in a series of Edwardian Steampunk novels published by Random House/Del Rey, is out now.

She chooses to live in London because she loves

the weather there.

Online Links

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Blog

Goodreads

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