Introducing Brendan Fagan and Laura Strickland

. . . Buffalo Police Sergeant Brendan Fagan, investigating a series of grisly murders spurred by clashes between humans and automatons, only wants to save his city. The last thing he needs in his life is a rule-bending, steam-cannon-toting, unpredictable female like Ginny Landry, a woman who could possibly bring down his career and the one woman he quite likely can't resist.

. . . Ginny means to settle the estate of her mother, an infamous madam, quickly and get out of town. She has no intention of becoming involved with any part of her inheritance or falling for Brendan. In fact, she makes it a point never to date handsome men. But when her rash behavior brings them together, the attraction can’t be denied.

. . . And when the city erupts in chaos, forcing her to choose a moral side, can she deny what’s in her heart?

Wild Women Authors is thrilled to introduce Brendan Fagan, male protagonist from Laura Strickland's latest release out of the Wild Rose Press, Last Orders.

Where are you from, Brendan? Well, I came with my family from Ireland when I was fourteen—the old man wanted to give us all a better life—but my roots are down in this great city of Buffalo, on the Niagara frontier, now. You see, I’m a police officer so it’s more or less my job to look after the place and I take my job seriously, though I’m not opposed to a bit o’ fun.

Tell us a bit about Last Orders. My city’s been in turmoil since last summer, when the hybrid automatons built by that genius of a madwoman, Candace Landry wound up battering her to death in front of hundreds of witnesses. There are no laws governing automatons yet because they’re considered property rather than responsible individuals. Now there are two opposing factions in the city, those who support automaton rights—including some of the hybrids themselves—and those who classify them as mere machines. To make matters worse, we’re dealing with a series of nasty murders perpetrated, some say, by steam units out for revenge.

What did you think the first time you saw Ginny Landry? I and another police officer had been called down to Clancy’s bar on the waterfront for reports of a woman shooting up the place with a steam cannon. Clancy’s is an Irish bar, a real rough place, and I expected the worst. But I sure didn’t expect to find Ginny Landry, drunk as a skunk and standing up on the bar, shooting out a line of empties to the admiration of every man in the place. I didn’t know then she was Candace Landry’s daughter, but I still thought she was dangerous—nothing more so than an intoxicated woman with a sidearm. 

What was your second thought? She was the most magnificent woman I’d ever seen, with those long legs cased in leather boots, that glorious mane of brown hair and, well, it didn’t hurt any when she bent down and gave me a peek inside her open bodice. A woman in ten-thousand, I was after thinking.

Did you feel it was love at first sight? Not hardly, given she punched me in the face when I arrested her. Attraction at first sight, sure and I’ll give you that. She made a point of letting me know she never associates with handsome men. Not that I consider myself handsome, but she implied I was, and so she’d never be walking out with me. It crossed my mind, I’d need to get a potato sack to put over me head.

What do you like most about her? Ginny’s her own woman. Also, she’s not afraid to let a man know when she wants him.

How would you describe her? Ginny’s courageous and honest; what she’s thinking is what you’ll hear from her lips. She lives by her own inner compass—nobody will ever tell her anything, but nobody will ever sway her, either.

How would she describe you? Ah well, from the start Ginny had me pegged as a right prig of a police officer, upright, proper and so set on enforcing the rules he couldn’t bend a few. From that moment on, I knew I’d have to set her straight, let her see the man beneath the uniform so to speak.

What made you choose policing for a career? I knew it was a good steady job with opportunities for advancement. I’ve worked hard over the past five years making myself indispensable to the force, and that’s allowed me to make sergeant in record time. Also, the wage allows me to send part of my pay home to my ma every week; pa’s too crippled up with rheumatism to go out and work anymore, though he still tries.

What is your biggest fear? I’m afraid Buffalo’s going to explode in a war between these two factions, the human and automaton citizens. I’m also afraid Ginny will decide to return to the Dakota Territories, where she was raised. Aye, I’m aware those are two things, but to be honest I’m not sure which scares me more.

How do you relax? Ah, a beer with some of the other fellows from the station house does the trick. It’s good to kick back and talk about something besides work. There are people who say I’m never really off duty, but they’d be wrong.

Who is your favorite fictional character? I don’t have a lot of time to read, not like my good friend, Pat Kelly, who’s an automaton and a member of the Buffalo Police Irish Squad. He claims he’s learned what it means to be human by reading widely. But he did lend me a ripping new book by a fellow called Robert Louis Stevenson, called Treasure Island, about a lad named Jim Hawkins. I did enjoy it. That lad had persistence and a whole lot of gumption, even in the face of danger.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? Ma always told us not to take chances, which doesn’t make a lot of sense when you consider she followed the old man all the way to America from Ireland. And hell—pardon my language—you can’t get ahead without taking a few chances, can you? So I guess that wasn’t very good advice after all. As a policeman, I’ve learned to listen to my gut, but ‘twas life taught me that—life and this great, boisterous and wonderful city of ours.

This has been great, Brendan. Thank you. We'd like to talk to Laura for a moment.

What movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer? I’m sure that on some level, every book and movie I’ve ever read or seen has impacted me. It all wends its way into the brain and has an effect, however subtle. I’ve been reading since…well, since I could read, and the good books, the important books, have made me the person I am, from the children’s story, Shadow Castle by Marian Cockrell to the wondrous and magnificent Disc World series by Sir Terry Pratchett which, even after multiple readings, still prompts awe at his boundless genius.

What event in your private life were you able to bring to this story and how do you feel it impacted the novel? My days spent growing up in the city of Buffalo have definitely impacted the whole Buffalo Steampunk series, even though it’s set in a Victorian, steam-powered world. It’s a gritty, industrial, courageous city full of the descendants of immigrants who’ve learned to never say “die”. I like to feel Buffalo has become an extra character in these stories. So not a single event, no, but a wealth of them.

Tell us a bit about your publisher: how did you hear about them and what influenced your decision to submit to them? It’s a funny thing: for years I’d been searching for a publisher like The Wild Rose Press, one that treated submitting authors like human beings rather than annoyances, and handled their work kindly. I’d always hoped for a good relationship with an editor, who would care about my work. I stumbled on The Wild Rose Press’s submissions guidelines online and actually set about writing my novel, Devil Black, to meet them. No other purpose for the book to be written—it met with instant acceptance from my editor there, who has indeed become my good friend and valued work partner. So maybe I didn’t just “stumble” on that listing, eh?

What book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile? Actually they’re mostly tucked into my Kindle and they are too many to count. I’d love to read all the books by my fellow The Wild Rose Press authors as they come out, but of course time doesn’t permit. Can’t wait for the next release by fellow TWRP author Sorchia DuBois, and also the next in a series by Avril Borthiry.

Lastly, what's up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? Since I publish in a number of different genres, my next up will either be a retelling of the Cinderella tale, called Cinder-Ugly, or the second book in my Hearts of Caledonia Series, called Valiant and Wise. But Buffalo Steampunk fans shouldn’t worry—I’m busy editing the sixth book in that series, called Tough Prospect: A Buffalo Steampunk Adventure, and the seventh book is already written. (Just a teaser, here, the seventh book will feature a little Steampunk hockey!)

Laura brought an excerpt from Last Orders:

     Ginny glared harder at the tall, strapping hunk of man—police officer—who stood before her. She supposed being a police officer didn’t exclude him from being a man but at the moment she felt a little fuzzy about it. In any case, he was much too good looking, well over six feet with a good set of shoulders, reddish hair and features that had been entirely too well-carved. And those eyes—just look at those eyes: bright blue and snapping with rage.

     She detested handsome men.

     He had to be the most detestable she’d ever seen. And his voice! That Irish accent of his caressed his words the way his tongue might well caress a woman.

     “I do not wish to be arrested. What blame fool would want to get arrested?”

     “Then hand over your weapon. You can reclaim it tomorrow at the station.”

     How professional he was. How well he kept his anger under control. But Ginny could feel it and she wondered what it would take to make him lose that control.

     “I’ve had this steam cannon since I was fourteen years old.”

     “Well you and it are going to have to spend the rest of the night apart. Dennis?” The officer jerked his head at the second cop—at least Ginny thought there were two and she wasn’t just seeing double. The two of them closed in on her again, one from either side.

     She raised the weapon, dimly aware it was a stupid thing to do.

To purchase Last Orders, go to:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKH5K3L/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524396794&sr=8-1&keywords=last+orders%3A+a+buffalo+steampunk+adventure

To learn more about Laura Strickland and the stories she creates, go to:

Web site: www.laurastricklandbooks.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000002632317

Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/Laura-Strickland/e/B001KHSACW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1