"Its Own Time" by Viola Solaro (Science Fiction Romance)

Genre:  Steampunk/Science Fiction Romance

Summary:  Book 1 of the Katrina Warren Trilogy. 

My father is dead and now I was supposed to begin my life of destitute spinsterhood. I was well aware that deviation from such a course could only end in a soiled reputation and being shunned by “good” society. I didn’t care.

My plan was simple: pose as a cabin boy on board an airship. Air-steaming between city protectorates is dangerous work but at least I would be free from the shackles of my class.

Little did I realize how ill-prepared my careful book learning had left me. And no amount of common sense could explain my wild headlong tumble into love with the savage Captain Griffin...

This SHORT steampunk romance is approximately 12,000 words long.

Excerpt:

I let out a steadying breath as the birds chirped their merry tunes from a nearby oak tree. And now I was supposed to begin my life of destitute spinsterhood. Ladies of genteel birth that have fallen on hard straits were expected to find a respectable occupation that pays practically nothing in which to etch out a miserable existence for the rest of their days. 

I, however, had no intention of doing any such thing. I was well aware that deviation from such a course could only end in a soiled reputation and being shunned by all “good” society. I could never again go to a glittering ball where wine flowed freely all night. I could never again laugh with my rich friends about something trivial like watching a matron’s ridiculous headdress teeter about.

I didn’t care.

My father was the only remaining family that I cherished. My second cousin could go and rot. And I knew now that my “friends” could not really be so. Did any of them bother to pay their respects today? Would any of them invite me to tea now that I was poor? The answer stuck in my throat and made a bitter taste appear on my tongue.

The ceremony concluded and the small crowd began to disperse. Despite his wealth my father had been a very private man with few friends of his own. I nodded and thanked and said all that was proper as they one by one offered their condolences. Although I could not say it out loud, the only thing I felt at that moment was relief. My father had been sick for some time and I had been living in dread of this day. I was glad his suffering had come to an end. I would grieve but it would be in my own way, not some show in front of strangers.

Today was the day my father died and when a new chapter in Katrina Warren’s story is about to begin.

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