The Elders and Welders Chronicles Series by Margaret Foxe, Maggie Fenton

Prince of Hearts: A Victorian Steampunk Romance London: 1896. Airships rule the skies, and automatons run the tracks at Ascot. Since the Great Exhibition of 1851, Her Majesty’s Empire has been powered by the Steam Revolution and Welding science. It is a time of glorious innovation and dangerous civil unrest. But Miss Aline Finch, prim, plain career girl, has more important things on her mind than the state of the Empire... morePrince of Hearts: A Victorian Steampunk Romance London: 1896. Airships rule the skies, and automatons run the tracks at Ascot. Since the Great Exhibition of 1851, Her Majesty’s Empire has been powered by the Steam Revolution and Welding science. It is a time of glorious innovation and dangerous civil unrest. But Miss Aline Finch, prim, plain career girl, has more important things on her mind than the state of the Empire. After her employer, the handsome but insufferable criminologist, Professor Romanov, hares off for parts unknown in a slightly-illegal dirigible, stranding her in France, she has finally had enough. In a fit of pique, she decides to marry her long-time and very proper suitor, quitting Romanov for good. The last thing the Professor expects to come home to is his secretary’s mutiny. Finch’s timing couldn’t be any more inconvenient, for a serial murderer from Romanov’s past has set his sights on her. Romanov must keep her close if he has any chance of protecting her life - and the dangerous secrets the murderer threatens to expose. For the Professor is much, much more than he seems, and the secrets that he keeps are centuries old - and hidden deep in his heart. When the Professor discovers Finch is to wed, however, he is forced to confront the truth of the matter: he doesn’t just want his secretary back to protect her. He wants her in his bed. Forever. Aline fights Romanov’s seduction, but she’s no match for her own unruly desires, or the truth of her own heart. But when the Professor’s true identity is exposed, destroying the very foundations of Aline’s conception of reality, will the Professor lose her forever? Or will the murderer succeed in his evil plot to destroy them both before they can find their happy ending? Warning: this sensual romance will put the steam in steampunk. less

A Dark Heart Book Two in The Elders and Welders Chronicles London, 1897: Lady Christiana Harker once committed a grave sin against her kind when she saved Inspector Elijah Drexler's life by turning him into a vampire. Christiana's bold act has only driven Elijah deeper into an impenetrable darkness, fueled by morphine, nightmares, and a constant thirst for blood... moreA Dark Heart Book Two in The Elders and Welders Chronicles London, 1897: Lady Christiana Harker once committed a grave sin against her kind when she saved Inspector Elijah Drexler's life by turning him into a vampire. Christiana's bold act has only driven Elijah deeper into an impenetrable darkness, fueled by morphine, nightmares, and a constant thirst for blood. Elijah has no room left in his heart for anything but his quest for vengeance against his childhood tormentor, a quest that he fully expects to end with his own death. But when the mysterious Duke of Brightlingsea requests Elijah's help in locating a doomsday device that could level half of London, Elijah's personal vendetta becomes entangled with a secret war being waged among the immortal Elders. Just when Christiana finally accepts that her long-held love for the Inspector will forever be unrequited, however, a catastrophe brings them together, forcing Elijah to finally confront his feelings for Christiana. But will Christiana's love be strong enough to weather the terrible truths buried deep in Elijah's past? And will Elijah find the strength of will to finally cast off his demons and let love into his dark heart? This Victorian steampunk romance is recommended for adult audiences. less

Thief of Hearts Book 3 in the Elders and Welders Chronicles 1888: Egypt ... or thereabouts ... The Sahara Desert, hotbed of pirates, tomb raiders, angry bedouins, opportunists and general ne'er-do-wells, is not exactly the ideal place for a former child-thief to go straight. But Hex Bartholomew is trying to do just that, using her state-of-the-art dirigible--an ill-gotten but hard-won remnant of her past--to ferry tourists and scholars from one ancient attraction to another... moreThief of Hearts Book 3 in the Elders and Welders Chronicles 1888: Egypt ... or thereabouts ... The Sahara Desert, hotbed of pirates, tomb raiders, angry bedouins, opportunists and general ne'er-do-wells, is not exactly the ideal place for a former child-thief to go straight. But Hex Bartholomew is trying to do just that, using her state-of-the-art dirigible--an ill-gotten but hard-won remnant of her past--to ferry tourists and scholars from one ancient attraction to another. But her past comes back to haunt her when her con-artist father's latest misadventure lands them all squarely in the debt of Cairo's most notorious gang of thieves. That is how she finds herself in an uncharted part of the Sahara at the mouth of an ancient, undisturbed tomb, and in the company of bloody-minded treasure hunters, superstitious native guides, and a resurrected Pharaoh ... ... Or at least that was what the aforementioned natives believe when a man stumbles out of a tomb in a shocking state of undress. Hex is no blushing virgin, but she has certainly not seen anything quite like the ... spectacular specimen before her. He certainly looks like an ancient god. But Hex is fairly sure Pharaohs don't speak with a snooty British accent. Mr. Pharaoh can remember nothing of who he is or how he managed to find himself in an Egyptian tomb that has been sealed for thousands of years. All he has is a name found in an inscription of his ring: Rowan. And some truly disturbing and ... well, God-like powers. And an annoying tendency to follow Hex around "protecting" her. Ha. As if she needs a man to protect her--especially an amnesiac Brit with a God complex. As if she needs to fall in love with said amnesiac, especially when it becomes obvious that the truth behind who--and what--Rowan is, threatens to tear them apart for all of time. It's just not worth the risk to her heart. Until it is ... Thief of Hearts: Coming Summer, 2014 less