Hello hello!
Mystery, mystery… when you hold us, make it history. (A small fun line I just invented. :3 Cute, right? I thought it fitted this story.)
So, when I saw a Sherlock Holmes-style Lady… who's a lesbian… in a steampunk context… I mean, I'm a pretty strong-minded woman, but even I have my weaknesses. ^.^
Here we go! Hope you enjoy perusing and discovering this delicacy!
Perhaps you'll find clues to solve my upcoming review next week? 😉
Author Name: Edale Lane
Publishing Company: Past and Prologue Press
Release Date: Wednesday, January 19 2022
Format: Paperback, eBook
Is This Book Romance?: No
ISBN: 9798401818300
Price: $4.99 (ebook); $14.99 (paperback)
Story Type: Novel
Word Count: 79,025
Cover Artist: Enggar Adirasa
Genres: historical, mystery, steampunk, slow-burn romance, Victorian London, action-adventure
Pairings: FF (while not primarily a romance, it does contain a slow-burn romance with FF pairing)
LGBTQ+ Identities: lesbian
Tropes: finding Ms Right, friends to lovers, thrown together by a dangerous situation
Is This Part of a Series?: Yes
Series Title: The Wellington Mysteries
Position (Number) in Series: First
Necessary to Read Previous Books: No
Other Books in Series Available for Review?: Yes
Info for Other Books in Series:
Prequel – Arson & Lace
Where you can purchase Daring Duplicity:
Book Blurb
Solving mysteries is her business. Finding love is her dream. Will combining the two get her killed?
Victorian Era England. Stetson revels in being unconventional. So when society shies away from her independent nature, the bold woman creates an imaginary boss and opens her own detective agency. And her keen observational skills, convincing disguises, and Holmesian methods quickly bring in a string of tough-to-crack cases.
Struggling to squeeze a personal life in around a series of hazardous investigations, Stetson worries she'll never find a woman of like-passions. But with her heart set on true love despite the risk, she carries on hunting for the perfect relationship.
Will her clever escapades lead to death… or delight?
Daring Duplicity: The Wellington Mysteries, Vol. 1, Adventures of a Lesbian Victorian Detective is a collection of five sequential novellas, each encompassing its own exciting mystery while furthering the story of Stetson’s life in London. If you enjoy crime dramas, Victorian era fiction, or a sweet lesbian romance, then you’ll love award-winning author Edale Lane’s Daring Duplicity. Order yours today!
Now, isn't that just intriguing? Elementary, my dear Miss Stetson. Read on for an excerpt, an exclusive interview, and a delightful surprise…!
Will you solve this Mysterious Excerpt?
Jewel gripped her own gloved hands and scanned the room anxiously. "It is a matter of the utmost discretion," she began in a tone much more demanding than she had intended. "It is of a personal nature, you see," she continued more gently and forced a polite smile. "May I speak with Mr. Wellington in private?"
Miss Goody responded with a pleasant smile of her own. "I'm afraid that will not be possible. Mr. X is extremely successful in foiling criminals because of his anonymity. In fact, no one has ever seen him but me. All correspondence between the investigator and the clients goes through his assistant—me. So how this works is, you tell me the specifics, I talk to him, and he gives me a list of questions to ask, and so forth. I assure you, anything you say to me will be kept in the strictest of confidence, just as if you were conversing with the detective himself."
"I see." The assistant paused for a moment before continuing and her attention fell on Miss Goody for the first time, being specifically drawn to ample breasts squeezed into her buttoned waist coat. It required conscious effort for Jewel to raise her gaze, but doing so she became captivated by two warm, caring cognac eyes. "Very well, then. I am being blackmailed, and the nature of the information being held over me makes it impossible to go to Scotland Yard, or a constable, or even my father, for the money. I receive an allowance, not enough to meet the foul villain's demands, but sufficient to cover your agency's fees and expenses I'm sure."
"I see," she replied with a soft expression of compassion. "Was the man you were seen with married, or simply from the wrong side of the tracks?"
"Well," Jewel stammered, cleared her throat, and fixed her gaze on a painting on the wall. "Not exactly. And he has a photograph."
Miss Goody sighed and leaned forward, her palms on the desk top. "Now, Lady Jewel Ashton, if we are to find this blackmailer and save your reputation, you cannot hold anything back. How can Mr. Wellington help you if you won't tell us the whole story?"
"It is not my reputation I am concerned with," she admitted, a hint of real fear trembling in her voice. "My whole family could be ruined, utterly ruined, and destroy my father's political career. We would be forced to retreat to our estate in the countryside. I cannot allow shame to come upon my family for one moment's indiscretion."
Miss Goody met her eyes. "I assure you if you provide Mr. X all the information he needs, he can find this scoundrel, take back the photo and the plates, and give him every reason to keep his deceitful mouth closed on the matter."
Jewel held her gaze for a long moment, and believing her sincerity, made a decision—the only one she could really make. She opened her reticule and withdrew a tan envelope. "Someone left this in my carriage while I was shopping. My driver said he didn't see or hear a thing." She placed the parcel on the desk within Miss Goody's reach and held her breath.
*~*~*
Stetson opened the envelope and spilled its contents out onto the desk. Inside was a note and a photograph, not of Jewel kissing a married man, but another young woman! For an instant, time stood still. A flush rose in Jewel's cheeks while Stetson's mouth absently fell agape as she stared dumbfounded at the image. Stetson's mind raced almost as fast as her heart. Could it be that this beautiful gem who walked in this morning has the same inclination as myself? Could there actually be other women who love women, that I am not a singular oddity? She not only had these thoughts, but acted on them! She had never met another like-minded woman—not to mention one whose looks could stop a locomotive in its tracks like Jewel Ashton.
She was roused from her musings when she heard a desperate voice from across the desk. "So now you see the urgency and delicacy of the matter."
She quickly shoved the note and the photograph back into the envelope and replied with sincerity. "Do not be distressed, Lady Jewel Ashton. We will take care of this with great expediency. I shall show these to the detective and he will know just what to do. Wait here. I'll return anon."
Stetson stepped into the room behind her, leaned against the closed door, and let out a deep sigh. With eyes shut and hugging herself, she took a moment to process the warm thrill that rose from her loins. Reveling in the euphoric rush, she wanted to believe the impossible–that maybe her dreams could come true. Mayhap there was a chance, ever so slight, that she, too, could act on her passions. Her breathing became ragged as she imagined kissing Jewel, and being kissed in return. Her heart pounded in excitement. Until reality stuck its ugly head into her dream reminding her there was a case to solve. Stetson moaned softly in aggravation and opened her eyes to glance around her inner sanctum.
Within the confines of Mr. Wellington's lair were all the implements one would need to be a successful private investigator. On the wall to the left was an array of weapons, including both an umbrella and walking cane hiding swords in their handles, an umbrella with a singleshot rifle barrel and a trigger in the handle, several knives, guns, and gadgets. A glass-doored cabinet contained other curiosities such as a wristwatch that concealed a tiny explosive, a unique copper and brass miniature camera with flash attachment, a mirror attached to a long folding pole for seeing around corners or over walls, telescopic opera glasses, and a voice recording device. There was a table holding an array of wigs in vast colors and styles for both men and women, false beards and moustaches, along with an exhaustive selection of hats. Hanging from hooks on another wall were various costumes for the well-to-do business people, and the poor, male and female alike. There was a large vanity with a mirror and cases of cosmetics and face powder as one might see backstage of a theatre. Yes, the windowless room had all the trappings to outfit a man of mystery save one—there was no Xavier Wellington… only Stetson.
Now how about deciphering this Exclusive Interview?
Are you a full-time or part-time writer? How does that affect your writing?
Hurray! I finally retired from truck driving to become a full-time author. It is fabulous! The affect it has had so far is that I have far more time to write; therefore, I am getting new books out faster. With all the Covid restrictions, I’m still not able to do in-person events as I would like, because most bookstores and venues in British Colombia are still not having them.
What was one of the most surprising things you’ve learned in writing your books?
Answering this question for Daring Duplicity, I discovered in my research that women were barred from playing in British orchestras until 1913, when Queen's Hall Orchestra in London hired the first six women violinists.
What advice do you wish you’d had before releasing your first story?
Never, ever pay anyone to publish your work; no vanity presses, no pay-to-print, none of it. They make all their money from author’s fees, none from sales of our books (which they really do not care about.)
How do you combine all the different worlds of your life in your works?
At my age, I have enjoyed a myriad of experiences to include in my novels, which include (but are not limited to) being a student, a musician, a teacher, a small business owner, a single parent, a joyful grandparent, death of a spouse, loss of parents, a dysfunctional relationship with an unstable person, falling in love, living in poverty, living in plenty—all of which inform how I write my characters and the factors that impact their lives.
What was the hardest part of writing this book?
While several of my previous novels feature plot twists and surprises, this is my first mystery cross-genre. Therefore, coming up with crimes and how Stetson deals with them has been the challenge. I want to give the readers enough clues they might guess the outcome of the investigation while still keeping them guessing. Because Stetson uses Holmesian methods, my brain has to be twice as sharp as in any of my prior novels.
What inspired you to write this particular story?
I enjoy reading books set in Regency and Victorian England and I love a good mystery. Wedding the two in a series of my own was inevitable. I wanted my main character to have a unique name and backstory, something that would give her the right blend of biology and environment to equip her to become an ace detective. I chose the sequential novella format, because I wrote the first story several years ago and always wanted to take it further. Daring Duplicity proved to be the vehicle to build on the original novella and birth a new series.
Miss Stetson Goody, are you happy with where your writer left you at the end?
This writer loves to throw me into dangerous situations where my life is constantly on the line. She expects me to be all things to all people, and excels at thrusting me into an awkward or embarrassing position. At least she understands why I don’t have time to clean my flat. Perilous predicaments aside, I admit she does, at least, understand the true longing of my heart. Without my writer, I may never have found the love of my life… now if I can just keep her!
Tell me one thing hardly anyone knows about you.
When I was pregnant with my second child, my feet grew a whole shoe size.
Tell me about a unique or quirky habit of yours.
I get easily distracted when I am cleaning. Rather than a systematic approach that I use when researching or writing, I am all over the place, hopping from job to job: a little wiping counters, some sweeping, a load of laundry, a bit of straightening, back to the unfinished counter… a constant string of cleaning tangents!
What action would your name be if it were a verb?
Fly.
What’s your favorite line from any movie?
Samwise, from The Return of the King: “Come on, Mr. Frodo. I can’t carry it for you… but I can carry you!”
Do you believe in love at first sight?
I believe in attraction at first sight, but I think actual love takes longer.
What are you working on now, and when can we expect it?
Walks with Spirits is an epic lesbian historical-fantasy romance with a spiritual theme set way back in time in the gorgeous Pacific Northwest. Expected release in April 2022.
The Surprise: Giveaway
The author, Miss Edale Lane, is kindly giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour. Don't miss your chance to participate!
The Author: Edale Lane
Edale Lane is an award-winning author (Rainbow Awards, Imaginarium Awards, Lesfic Bard Awards) who is realizing her dream of being a full-time writer. She is the alter-ego of author Melodie Romeo, (Tribute in Blood, Terror in Time, and others) who founded Past and Prologue Press. Both identities are qualified to write historical fiction by virtue of an MA in History and 24 years spent as a teacher, along with skill and dedication regarding research. A native of Vicksburg, MS, Edale (or Melodie) is also a musician who loves animals, gardening, and nature. After driving an 18-wheeler cross-country for eight years, she now lives with her partner in beautiful Chilliwack, B.C. Canada.
Author Liminal Fiction (LimFic.com)
Make sure not to miss the rest of the blog tour by Other Worlds Ink!
Next stops: Valerie Ullmer | Romance Author (tomorrow, Tuesday, March 22) & Never Too Late (tomorrow, Tuesday, March 22)!
Ad Librum Aeternam 