Welcome to Day 1 of the A Spark Unseen blog hop! I’m so thrilled to help promote Sharon Cameron’s upcoming sequel to her her historical YA debut, The Dark Unwinding. I just finished reading A Spark Unseen yesterday, and it is a wonderful follow-up to the beginning of Katharine Tulman’s story, full of fascinating gadgets, unexpected twists, and fabulously varied characters, all told in Sharon’s gorgeous, flowing prose. Both books are smart, well-crafted tales set in wondrously captivating places, and A Spark Unseen takes us from the (pink!) halls of Stranwyne Keep to the streets and dark corridors of Paris. I loved the story and the characters, and hope you will too.
Here’s a bit more from the publisher about A Spark Unseen:
The thrilling sequel to Sharon Cameron’s blockbuster gothic steampunk romance, THE DARK UNWINDING, will captivate readers anew with mystery and intrigue aplenty.
When Katharine Tulman wakes in the middle of the night and accidentally foils a kidnapping attempt on her uncle, she realizes Stranwyne Keep is no longer safe for Uncle Tully and his genius inventions. She flees to Paris, where she hopes to remain undetected and also find the mysterious and handsome Lane, who is suspected to be dead.
But the search for Lane is not easy, and Katharine soon finds herself embroiled in a labyrinth of political intrigue. And with unexpected enemies and allies at every turn, Katharine will have to figure out whom she can trust–if anyone–to protect her uncle from danger once and for all.
Filled with deadly twists, whispering romance, and heart-stopping suspense, this sequel to THE DARK UNWINDING whisks readers off on another thrilling adventure.
Today, I have Sharon here to share a bit of her playlist that helped inspire her as she crafted Katharine’s tale. Take it away, Sharon!
This is really more of a song for The Dark Unwinding rather than A Spark Unseen, but I couldn’t resist including it.
I spent my former life as a classical pianist, and this was one of my favorite pieces, mostly because it shows the heights that can be reached with one simple, evocative melody line. The challenge in this piece is not the notes, but what to do with them, how to paint the picture of a song in the mind of listener. Not that different from writing, really!
So this is Frederic Chopin’s Prelude in E Minor, nicknamed “Suffocation,” written around 1835 and, by Chopin’s request, played at his own funeral. This was the tune running through my head every time I envisioned Katharine’s life with Aunt Alice, before her fateful carriage ride to Stranwyne Keep. And this is a tape recording (on actual tape!) of me in my moody 20’s, playing it!
Do enjoy.