Guest Post by Kristin Bailey (Legacy of the Clockwork Key)

Legacy of the Clockwork Key

A teen girl unravels the mysteries of a secret society and their most dangerous invention in this adventure-swept romance set in Victorian London.

When a fire consumes Meg’s home, killing her parents and destroying both her fortune and her future, all she has left is the tarnished pocket watch she rescued from the ashes. But this is no ordinary timepiece. The clock turns out to be a mechanical key—a key that only Meg can use—that unlocks a series of deadly secrets and intricate clues that Meg is compelled to follow.

Meg has uncovered evidence of an elite secret society and a dangerous invention that some will stop at nothing to protect—and that Meg alone can destroy. Together with the handsome stable hand she barely knows but hopes she can trust, Meg is swept into a hidden world of deception, betrayal, and revenge. The clockwork key has unlocked her destiny in this captivating start to a trilogy.

Release date: March 5th 2013

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Pre-order: Amazon

ABOUT THE LADY BEHIND THE BOOK

Kristin Bailey grew up in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley in California. As a kid she enjoyed visiting the beach, camping and skiing with her two brothers.

Now she is a military wife and mother of two young children. She is also terrible about spoiling her pets. She has one fluffy mutt, two cats who think they own the world, and a fish tank with a quartet of fat fish, and two secretive striped ninja-assassin snails.

In the course of her adventures, she has worked as a zookeeper, balloon artist, and substitute teacher. Now she enjoys writing books for teens who enjoy mystery and adventure as much as she does.

www.kristinbailey.com | twitter.com/KBaileyBooks

GUEST POST

Everyone knows that the best thing about a Young Adult novel is the boys. How smoothly and quickly they steal our hearts pretty much makes or breaks a novel. 

Without further ado, I pass the blog over to author Kristin Bailey, for her to talk about the boys in her book and how they carry the plot of LEGACY along with Meg.

Of Mechanicals and Men

The boys of The Secret Order

By Kristin Bailey

One of the difficult things about writing a first-person novel with a female protagonist is that the book by default tends to focus on the heroine. I wanted to take a step back for a moment and introduce you to the men of Meg’s world. While I'm terribly attached to all my characters, these two have won my heart, and it’s only fair to share the spotlight at least once.

Enter the Hero…

William McDonald is fascinating to me. I'm not quite sure where he came from. When I first had a concept of the type of person I wanted to join Meg on her adventures, I knew I wanted him to be a foil for her. She’s outgoing and has a tendency to make rash decisions, while he is very circumspect and cautious. The thing I probably love about him the most is that in spite of his reserve, he just can’t help jumping into the thick of things with her. I think secretly he longs for the excitement and I'm certain he loves Meg because she has shaken up his world and makes him feel alive.

Will is roughly eighteen years old, although I'm not exactly sure of his age. He is a boy that carries a very tragic past. He was born a Scottish Traveller. His family was attacked when he was about six years old. The vicious hate crime left his father severely beaten and young Will watched him die on the side of the road next to their wrecked wagon. Will was found shortly after the tragedy by one of the Amusementists. He took the boy in out of pity and set him up to work in the stables.

Giving Will such a distinct ethnic identity was tricky. I didn't want to fall into “gypsy” stereotypes, though Will feels the weight of that label and the scorn that was attached to it during the Victorian era. I also didn’t want to glamorize it. I just wanted Will to feel real to me. I decided to do my best to put myself in Will’s shoes and to figure out what would be important to him as an individual. While he bears the burden of his “unseemly” beginnings, he was raised in London and only has foggy memories of his childhood.

Will has a great deal of personal pride. He is driven by a deep sense of responsibility and more than anything he wants to feel he has earned whatever skills and gifts have come to him. He’s intensely loyal and intelligent and tends to think things through. What I love most about Will is that he’s a guy you can depend on, with just enough edge to make him exciting, add some swarthy good looks and deep chocolate eyes, and it’s no wonder Meg gets very flustered every time he’s near.

Then there’s the duke…

Just don’t let him catch you calling him “Your Grace.” Perhaps my favourite character in the entire trilogy is Oliver, otherwise known as the Duke of Chadwick. In this first book of the trilogy, I needed a character that could explain to Meg what the Secret Order of Modern Amusementists were all about. That meant that one of the Amusementists had to come into the picture. As part of Amusementist tradition, Oliver goes by his first name only in Amusementist company, and I think he prefers it that way. Oliver is dedicated to the idea that a person’s worth comes from his actions alone. When push comes to shove, you can count on Oliver to be the one shoving you into a situation you’re not sure you’re entirely ready for.

A dashing mix between a professor and a swashbuckling adventurer, Oliver acts as a sort of older brother/mentor to Meg. With wild curling hair, a wicked grin, and a complete inability to hit the side of a barn with any sort of projectile, Oliver is a character that is easy to love, unless you happen to be the one girl that has always held his heart.

I hope you enjoy meeting Will and Oliver in Legacy of the Clockwork Key as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Happy reading!

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GIVEAWAY (Aw, yeah!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To win a deluxe swag pack, enter into another giveaway here, in a previous interview I had with Kristin. 

MY TWO CENTS WORTH

Thank you, Kristin! 

I think I'm totally Team Oliver after reading your post :) I've got to love a guy with curly hair (since I've some on my head too) and his way of doing things echoes my personal motto-- "you never gain anything without trying".

I love large ideas, bold enterprise, adventures and plunging into the thick of things.

Now a question to you:

Scottish boy Will or the curly-haired duke, Oliver?

Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

xoxo,

Sel