Title: HER DARK CURIOSITY
Author: Megan Shepherd
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 432
Pub. Date: January 28, 2014
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes
& NobleTo defeat the darkness, she must first embrace it.
Months have passed since Juliet Moreau returned to civilization after escaping her father's island—and the secrets she left behind. Now, back in London once more, she is rebuilding the life she once knew and trying to forget Dr. Moreau’s horrific legacy—though someone, or something, hasn’t forgotten her.
As people close to Juliet fall victim one by one to a murderer who leaves a macabre calling card of three clawlike slashes, Juliet fears one of her father’s creations may have also escaped the island. She is determined to find the killer before Scotland Yard does, though it means awakening sides of herself she had thought long banished, and facing loves from her past she never expected to see again.
As Juliet strives to stop a killer while searching for a serum to cure her own worsening illness, she finds herself once more in the midst of a world of scandal and danger. Her heart torn in two, past bubbling to the surface, life threatened by an obsessive killer—Juliet will be lucky to escape alive.
With inspiration from Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this is a tantalizing mystery about the hidden natures of those we love and how far we’ll go to save them from themselves.
Now on to the post!
The HER DARK CURIOSITY tour
of London (Note: These are Megan's own pictures she took while in London)
The
second book in the Madman’s Daughter series is set in London. Because it’s such
an iconic city, I knew I had to go there in order to capture the perfect mood.
In the winter of 2012, I scoured the city to find the perfect balance of dark
and beautiful settings for Juliet Moreau’s adventures.
Kensington Botanical
Gardens
Based
on the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, several scenes in the book take place
around the frozen lake, the stone statuary, and the steamy tropical greenhouse
that evokes Moreau’s island. Because Kew Gardens is outside of central London,
I created a fictional botanical garden closer to the action called Kensington.
However, anyone familiar with Kew Gardens will recognize much of the iconic
architecture, including the Palm House. When I visited Kew Gardens, I found
centuries old machinery and spiral staircases intertwined with overgrown vines.
It was the perfect setting for some epic chase scenes.
Whitechapel &
Shoreditch
At
the time of The Madman’s Daughter, Jack the Ripper would still be fresh in the
public’s minds. Whitechapel was the seedy neighborhood where the Ripper staged
his murders, and it also is mentioned in Jekyll & Hyde. I used Whitechapel
and the poor but more respectable neighborhood of Shoreditch as the locations
for some of the more gruesome elements of the story. It’s where Juliet has her
secret attic where she grafts rosebushes for money, and where the story’s
murderer lurks. When I took a Jack the Ripper tour in Whitechapel, it was so
unsettling that one woman in the group fainted!
Belgravia
In
sharp contrast to Whitechapel and Shoreditch, the Belgrave Square area of
London is where most of the story’s wealthy characters live, in addition to
being the location of many embassies and notable churches. Juliet was born in a
house located on the square, and her best friend Lucy lived not far away, and
her new ward, Professor von Stein, lives on a fictional street nearly. I named
the street Dumbarton Oaks after a beautiful park I used to work near in
Washington DC. On my trip to London, my husband and I stayed in a hotel in this
area, because much of it is the original buildings from the nineteenth century.
Covent Garden
Covent
Garden was one of the main market areas of Victorian London, where one could
purchase anything one desired. There were different areas for vegetables, fabrics,
flowers, shoes, and other goods. It’s a great contrast because shoppers of all
economic levels mixed here. In HER DARK CURIOSITY, Juliet is friends with a
butcher and adopts his dog, Sharkey. Covent Garden is where she goes to escape
polite society and also sell her grafted rosebushes.
King’s College
King’s
College is a prominent setting in the Madman’s Daughter series. It is where
Juliet’s father worked, and where she worked as a maid. In HER DARK CURIOSITY
Juliet and her associates spend much time wandering the elegant staircases, the
dark basements, and the secret classrooms. I based it off the historic Strand
Campus of King’s College, which still houses the school of natural sciences
(among other disciplines). Of course some of the building is fictionalized,
such as the King’s Club’s smoking room packed with taxidermied prizes, and the
laboratory in the basement, but much of it is based on the real building,
including these great old labyrinthine staircases.
Thanks Megan! I love all the pics very cool!
Hello!
I’ve been many things, like a professional exchange student,
park ranger in Montana, and LOST enthusiast, but what I am now is a writer.
I think it’s fair to say I was born into it. I grew up in the
mountains of North Carolina, raised behind the counter of my parents’
independent bookstore, Highland Books in Brevard. Ah, so many free books. But
I never thought being a writer could be a real career. After college I thought
I’d end up as a foreign service officer somewhere dashing and exotic, like
Canada. I studied French, Spanish, German, and Russian and still speak a few of
those. Then I joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in Senegal, where I
learned a few more languages I’ll never speak again and lived in a mud hut with
no electricity or running water. You can probably imagine how that experience
went, but if you’re curious, here are the dirty details.
It wasn't until a chance aquaintance read something I wrote and
said, "have you ever considered being a writer?" that something
clicked and I realized it was possible. My husband encouraged me, and I quickly
fell head-over-heels in love with writing and children's literature in
particular. I started out writing articles, which have appeared in Faces,
Appleseeds, and Calliope magazines, and stories for younger children. I soon
realized I wasn’t sweet enough to write fiction for that age and found myself
writing young adult literature instead, which doesn’t require nearly as many
tender moments and includes a lot more cursing.
When I'm not writing, I can usually be found horseback riding,
day dreaming at coffee shops, or hiking in the beautiful mountains of Western
North Carolina. I love to hear from readers, so please drop me a line!
I am represented by Josh Adams of Adams Literary.
Author Photo by Kristi Hedberg Photography
Giveaway
Details:
1 grand prize pack a paper back of Madman's Daughter, hardcover
of Her Dark Curiosity, a tea canister for both books, and bookmarks. US/Canada
Only
5 Tea prize packs that will include individual custom book tea
bags and bookmarks! US/Canada Only
Here’s the Tour Schedule!
Week One:
1/20/2014- A Backwards Story- Interview
1/21/2014- Crossroad Reviews- Review
1/22/2014- Step Into Fiction- Interview
1/23/2014- Chapter by Chapter- Review
1/24/2014- Tales of the Ravenous Reader- Interview
Week Two:
1/27/2014- Mundie Moms- Guest
Post
1/28/2014- All
Things Urban Fantasy- Guest
Post
1/29/2014- Bookhounds ya- Review
1/30/2014- Confessions of a Readaholic- Review
1/31/2014- Two Chicks on Books- Guest
Post
