Today we are visiting with Stephanie Burkhart and the characters from her newest release, “Victorian Scoundrel”! Her cast of characters:
Mena Survari – Alice Windsor
Robert Pattinson – Edmund Windsor
Orlando Blood – Grayson Kentfield
REGINA: Hello Alice, Edmund and Grayson and welcome to my blog! Alice and Edmund, if I may, I have a question for you two first. Victorian Scoundrel, Book One, relates your time-travel experience. Is this your first time-travel and how did it happen?
ALICE: It was my first time! I was very disoriented when I landed in that London Park.
EDMUND: But you got your time-traveling legs pretty quickly.
ALICE: You were an old pro, Ed. How many times did you go back. 2? 23? If our grandmother knew—
EDMUND: She doesn’t need to know the exact amount, Cousin.
REGINA: Alice, what is the biggest difference you noticed between women in 2011 and women in 1851?
ALICE: By Victoria, the clothes! How could women were such garments back then? Petticoats. Crinolines. Capes. Dresses down to my ankles! Hideous, I tell you!
REGINA: Edmund, what surprised you the most about what you found you have in common with Prince Albert, your great-grandfather?
EDMUND: He’s a man of vision. I love his forward thinking ideas. Without them and the vision he had with the Great Exhibition, he wouldn’t have inspired a generation of invention.
REGINA: Alice, the Prime Minister found you a bit odd. Did you find that about him, too? How much of that would be attributed to personality and how much to the times?
ALICE: Actually, I found the Sir John bossy, arrogant, and irritating. I would say it was a 50/50 split. Sir John wouldn’t crack a smile even if you paid him.
REGINA: Grayson, you have been very patient, thank you! What is it about Alice that most attracts you, and most infuriates you?
GRAYSON: Thank you My Lady. Alice is a rare gem, an exotic beauty. What I love the most about her is her sharp wit and clever mind, what’s most infuriating is that Alice has a secret and I can’t get it out of her.
REGINA: The Great Exhibit has so many interesting inventions for the future, Grayson. Tell me what inventions excite you the most, what you hope develops in the future that you have not seen and what you hope never gets past the drawing board.
GRAYSON: The inventions which excite me the most are the ones that will help to clean up our soot-infested air. 1851 London is covered in soot from all our coal burning. I actually like the idea of the dirigible. I think that has a lot of potential to move our society forward. What I hoped would never get off the drawing board did – Lord Ridgecroft’s transmogrifier. That contraption makes everyone nervous.
REGINA: Who among you, or your acquaintances, keeps a diary? Grayson, would you be interested in a computer? How do you think technology would change your life?
ALICE: Me, keep a diary, heavens, no! My writing is atrocious.
EDMUND: I don’t have time to keep a diary.
GRAYSON: Well, I do keep a day journal where I write down my thoughts and observations made during the day. I think I could get used to a little technology.
REGINA: Alice, Edmund, you are from 2011. What has been the most difficult adjustment for you to live in 1851?
ALICE: Oh, the clothes. By far the clothes. They itch. And there’s too many of them. And there’s too many layers. What I wouldn’t do for a Stella McCartney dress in 1851!
EDMUND: Sharing a room at the hotel with Alice. She’s high-maintenance. I can’t believe she takes at least 30 minutes at the end of the day in the water closet!
REGINA: You each have a travel scrapbook. What three items would you each put in your scrapbook from 1851 to show your friends and family back in 2011?
ALICE: I think my father would be impressed with a picture of me beside Queen Victoria, Me in front of the Crystal Palace, and a signed copy of Pride and Prejudice I found in Grayson’s Library.
EDMUND: I would want a picture of my grandfather, Prince Albert, a ticket to the Great Exhibition, and a handkerchief from Keira Russell.
GRAYSON: I would like the locket with my mother’s picture, my brother’s map of India, and the first whuzzie Alice sent me.
REGINA: Edmund, are you the Scoundrel? What did you do??
EDMUND: Me, a scoundrel? I’m an honorable man. I never misled Keira Russell as to the affections of my heart.
REGINA: The Victorians are fabulously popular, even in 2011. You’ve been there, seen them, met them. Tell us why (or why not) they deserve this frenzied following.
ALICE: It was a time of a lot of change, that’s what makes them so popular.
EDMUND: They were innovative and clever. They took up modern ideas and reforms winning the hearts of the people.
GRAYSON: Victoria was our last hope for the monarchy. We all wanted her to do well, and she did.
REGINA: Alice, please don’t keep us in the dark. Share a juicy little morsel about Book Two with us, please.
ALICE: Oh dear! I have to wear those uncomfortable Victorian clothes again!
GRAYSON: My dear Lady Regina, it has been a pleasure to speak with you today. Thank you for having us.
Here’s a link to the Book Teaser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IUYj2d7ZeY
Publisher’s Buy Link: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-183/Stephanie-Burkhart-Victorian-Scoundrel/Detail.bok
BLURB: It’s 2011 and compressed natural gas has taken over from the coal producing steam machines of the Victorian Age. Alice Windsor, Princess of York, follows her mischief-making cousin, Prince Edmund of Wales back to the past and 1851 where Prince Albert is hosting Britain’s Great Exhibition.
Alice soon discovers Edmund has struck up a friendship with their great-grandfather, Prince Albert, and his mischief making entails leaving a dinosaur-sized footprint in history. She also meets Grayson Kentfield, Earl Swinton, and the Prime Minister, Sir John Russell. The Prime Minster finds her odd, to say the least.
It’s only when Alice falls for the handsome Earl Swinton does she realize the dangers of time travel. How can she give her heart to a man from the past while striving to stop Edmund from changing time with his forward thinking ideas?
EXCERPT:
Interestingly, Alice walked up to a mirror hanging over a narrow table near the door and fingered the coin necklace, staring hard at it. Grayson watched her for a second. What meaning did it have to her? Intrigued, he walked up next to her and looked into the mirror.
“So, Earl Swinton, what is the prime minister’s name?” she asked.
“Sir John Russell.”
She nodded.
He clasped his hands behind his back and smiled at her, his reflection captured in the mirror. He wanted to know more about her. “And aren’t you the least bit curious about my name?”
“Of course.”
“It’s Grayson. Grayson Kentfield.”
“How noble.”
“And yours is charming.”
“Really? Alice? It’s so plain.”
“Not at all. It implies mischief.”
She turned to look directly at him. “Mischief? That’s not me. I’m very level-headed.”
“I would also add bold, adventurous, daring–”
She crossed her arms, a small smile hinting at her lips. “Me? I don’t think so.”
“Oh, yes, I do believe those words describe you to a ‘tee.’ Princess Alice shares the same precocious traits.”
Her expression grew even. “I see.”
Not wanting her to pull away, he stepped closer, locking eyes with hers. “Tell me, why did you say you were Alice of York?”
Her cheeks flushed and she diverted her eyes. “I — ah, it was a mistake.”
“Mistake? You appear to be a very confident young woman.”
She nibbled at her lower lip, betraying a slight hesitation. “My last name really is Windsor.”
“Is it?”
“I am telling the truth.”
“I believe you.”
Her eyes explored his, softening. He hoped she could see his admiration and his curiosity for her in his eyes. Yes, he’d had his fill of beautiful women, but Alice, she was a challenge, with her odd dress, unspoken familiarity with the palace and unapologetic independence. He could actually envision her telling him “No” should he try to kiss her. Well, why not? They just met! She appeared clever, genuine, and she wasn’t a good liar. Liar? No, that wasn’t a word he’d use to describe her, but she was hiding something. And it didn’t matter. He liked the warm arousal setting in his body when she was near.
She backed away from him. Had he unsettled her? He hoped not. He wanted to learn more about Alice Windsor.
She took a slow walk around the room, lightly running her fingers over the furniture. “Everything appears so new.”
“Are you familiar with this room?” he asked, allowing her to explore.
She looked away from him. “No.”
Now that he didn’t believe. She strolled around the room casually, as though none of the exquisite furniture, impressive paintings, and the picturesque views from the window made any impressions on her. She didn’t carry herself with the air of a tourist from the lower class. No, she presented herself with a quiet, royal bearing.
“Where do you come from, Alice?” he asked.
“I’m on break from my studies at Cambridge. My father’s residence is at Royal Lodge.”
“Royal Lodge? Aren’t members of the royal household there?”
Alice raised a hand to her mouth and frowned. “Ah, I mean near Royal Lodge.”
“You aren’t what you appear to be, Alice. What are you hiding?”
Alice smiled. “Trust me, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” she replied.
Victorian Scoundrel is available as an Ebook For Sony Ereader, Kindle, Nook, Kobo and various formats for download.
Review from Tia Taylor: Victorian Scoundrel is a clever Steam Punk novel full of Time travel, interesting gadgets, witty dialogue and love scenes that will have the reader reaching for a fan!
Stephanie Burkhart has a fresh, quick, quirky, inventive imagination and she gives the readers of Victorian Scoundrel a delightful mixture of all of the above!
Romance Under the Moonlight
Victorian Scoundrel
Book 1, The Windsor Diaries
Steampunk Romance at it’s finest
Visit me at:
http://sgcardin.blogspot.com
http://www.stephanieburkhart.com
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