How the diabolical Viola Carr came up with the idea for her new release

Viola Carr shares how the idea for her romantic steampunk adventure The Diabolical Miss Hyde, book one in the Electric Empire series, came to her.

Viola: Authors are often asked this question. Where do ideas, plots and characters come from? Wherever did I get the notion, for instance, for a dark romantic steampunk retelling of Jekyll & Hyde, in which Dr. Jekyll's daughter is a CSI?

Yowza. Who knows? But I instantly fell in love with the idea. I love steampunk, and I'm a geek at heart. What could be cooler than a steampunk detective heroine, haunted by an irrepressible dark side, solving murders with wacky science? Thus was born the Electric Empire series, which begins with The Diabolical Miss Hyde.

Dr. Eliza Jekyll is a tinkerer, witty but edgy, with a dash of mad scientist. She lives in a fantastical electric-powered Victorian London, where magic is illegal. Sorcerers are hunted down and burned by the all-powerful and corrupt Royal Society, and anyone who's magical or practices unorthodox science is forced into hiding in the criminal rookeries.

Of course, Eliza's up to her neck in strange inventions. Not to mention the secret magical elixir, with her dark half, Lizzie Hyde, threatening to pop out any moment. Add a dash of alchemy, a series of gruesome murders to solve … and, of course, an irresistible romantic hero.

Which is where it got difficult.

Eliza was uncooperative, to say the least, when it came to romance. She's a fiercely independent woman who loves her career and prides herself on her rational, scientific mind. She isn't one to be swayed by foolish emotions like love or attraction. I needed a special gentleman to even get her attention, let alone win her heart. A man who appeals to her intellect and sense of justice, as well as her eye. Who isn't intimidated by her, yet challenges her in return. Resourceful, funny, brave, compassionate, decorative. A man, in fact, who has everything a clever lady could desire. Not too much to ask, is it?

Enter Captain Remy Lafayette, an arrogant, talented, ruthlessly charming Royal Society agent, who's sent to interfere with her murder investigation. Apart from looking irritatingly spectacular in uniform, like all good fantasy heroes he's deeply dangerous to the heroine — if he learns Eliza's secret, she's a dead woman. He's far too cunning — not to mention cocky — and she's determined to ignore his glib flirtations. Catch the killer, solve the case, get rid of Captain Lafayette. Simple as that?

Of course not! I wanted Lizzie Hyde to have other, naughtier ideas. Lizzie prefers to flash her ankles and flirt to get what she wants, and she's jealous of smart, witty Eliza. She soon discovers Remy is not what he seems — he's hiding his own macabre, unspeakable secrets. Both Lizzie and Eliza are drawn to him, surely a recipe for disaster when they inhabit the same body … but can either of her selves trust him? Or is it all just a cunning ruse to burn her?

Though it features alchemy, weird science, a luminous fae underworld, and creepy yet strangely compelling serial killers, The Diabolical Miss Hyde is at heart a romantic adventure about trust. When you're hiding awful secrets, how can you let someone into your heart? Can you ever completely trust another person? And can you trust yourself, when your dark impulses threaten to destroy everything you care about?

Find out more about Viola and her books at www.violacarr.com.