Title: Armored Hours
Author: Stephanie Hansen
Genre: Historical Mystery with Love & Magic
Book Blurb:
Cable Girls meets Peaky Blinders meets Titanic
The girls had forged a bond together like iron that could not be broken. Claudia, Kiersten, Lina, and Florian were on the brink of making history with their powerful feminist movement, but then they suddenly disappeared without a trace.
Alexander was a desperate bootlegger who was willing to risk it all to search for them. Not only were they in cahoots with him to help smuggle feminist contraband and forbidden booze, but Claudia had also unknowingly captivated his heart. He vowed to find them at any cost, but little did he know that their disappearance was part of a much bigger and sinister plot from the upper echelons of society.
Set in 1920s Paris of the Plains, Armored Hours is a thrilling tale of love and mystery interwoven with hints of magical realism.
Excerpt:
The sun bounced off the Fords, Chryslers, and even the Renaults parked in diagonal spaces at the Crestwood Shops. Windows larger than I’d ever seen were surrounded by the most elaborately carved wooden trim. Despite this display of extravagance, the building was simply made of plain brick and mortar. One might think they would have shipped marble in for their desired center. The swankiest players in the city gathered in an attempt to bring their darling home. Only I knew Claudia was no darling, and she’d despise such attention. But who could really blame them? Nothing had ever drawn me in like her stunning figure, luscious dark hair, and mischievous smile.
It was cold as the dickens as I approached the shop. Pulling up the collar on my coat, I took a deep breath before I entered. People stood in every pocket of space available. Finery was displayed under glass counters. A man in a three-piece suit with wide lapels and high rise cuffed trousers more expensive than I’d ever own was leaning over the counter, speaking closely with a woman while smoking a cigarette. She laughed at something he said.
The more I hung around these people, the more I saw why Claudia disliked many of them. Miniature chandeliers dangled from the ceiling, providing a dim glow. In a corner, another man was holding a map of ship routes, trying to figure out where Claudia could have disappeared. The woman next to him had taken his hat and perched it jauntily upon her head. She looked as if she’d stolen his cookie, pleased as punch. The cluster of diamonds at her neck sparkled as she moved. It was difficult to think that any of them were taking this seriously. I gritted my teeth.
I also noticed that not a one of them uttered a single word about Claudia’s closest friends who were also missing. Bubbly Kiersten, wickedly smart Lina, and artistic Florian would get no attention here because, like me, they were from the working class. Her mother, Marie, never approved of Claudia and I’s relationship. There would be no permission granted when I, Alexander, asked for Claudia’s hand in marriage. Not that she’d ever marry. She was too independent for that.
I think her penchant for rebelling is what’s truly behind this disappearance. Too many husbands upset with her doling out birth control while helping me profit during the prohibition. Clinics all over the country had been raided. I knew gathering the next shipment in hopes of securing smuggled birth control would be risky.
Kiersten was the one to get word of the goods that could be on the steamship they were last seen on. She’d worked at one restaurant after another, which led her to connect Claudia and me to every speakeasy contact she had. Kiersten was famous for her bangle bracelets. Depending on which one she wore, customers were privy to whether an undercover police officer was among them or not.
Most patrons also knew about the demise of Kiersten’s mother at an early age. After one Southside Cocktail, it wasn’t uncommon for Kiersten to speak about how witnessing almost a dozen births and just as many miscarriages slowly withered her mom away into oblivion. She had a way with storytelling that often won people over. It had been upon her instigation the girls decided to use a partial rum-runner to also move feminist contraband.
Lina was the one to cite laws of different jurisdictions, giving the group the best locations for our activities. She also mapped out the most efficient rail navigation to take the goods from the port. Plus, Lina was ever vigilant of the weather and what was a necessity to pack. Being multilingual, she’d been the one to communicate with our allies from other countries.
More loyal than I’d ever witnessed. I was glad she was with Claudia and Kiersten. Her analyzation skills are better than most in military intelligence, so hopefully she’ll be able to lead them to safety. It was even rumored that during a trip to St. Louis, Lina befriended a woman named Bessie Coleman, who knew how to fly. She seemed to have an inclination to run in brilliant groups of resistance and drive despite the odds.
Last but certainly not least, Florian was the glue that kept them all together. I can picture her clasping her hands and then opening them in order to bring the entire group into a hug. Of course, then there would be a flurry about as she fixed hair and applied makeup on everyone. Always an air of mystery about her, she drew in many of our clients. Simply walking into a room, heads turned her way. But beauty is a precarious kind of power. It balances on a tightrope; one side, a netted catch of spectacular victory and the other a cement landing of doom. It’s hard to tell whether her presence with them would solicit a bribe to freedom or have them all walking the plank. But I knew there was no way they’d go on this trip without Florian.
Just then, Marie Edwards Walker stepped onto a soapbox to address the crowd, and my attention moved from my own thoughts to the present moment. A fur around her shoulders and a cloche hat atop her head, she didn’t need a microphone for everyone to hear her in the shop. Even her Shalimar perfume reached me.
“Attention, attention. Thank you all for coming here to support me in my search for my missing daughter, Claudia.”
Oohs and ahhs filled the area with the mention of their darling. It packed me with anger, their fake devotion. But their pockets were loaded, and that’s why I’d come here; to get money so I could find and save the love of my life.
There’s one thing I do know for sure, they’re not just missing but they’re also in trouble. Ships don’t just go missing. Their size alone makes that quite a feat. Even a wreck, though I truly hoped that was not the case, would leave a considerable amount of material behind. They’re not just in trouble, but in danger.
My heart raced and the hairs on my neck stood up as I spun around in search of the source of my physical discomfort. There he was, Kris Mardell, smugness plastered across his lips and an evil look radiating from his now hooded eyes. A man who had ruined countless lives through his corruptness.
As I trembled with fear, Kris slowly withdrew a red silk tie from his pocket. It was none other than the one Claudia had bought me. I hadn’t been able to hold onto it long before she stole it from me to wear all the time. In fact, her mother mentioned that she’d been wearing it when she left. Sweat beading down my forehead, I lunged for him with remarkable speed, despite the icy glares from the crowd. I would not let him take away yet another piece of my life.
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If you could dress up as anything or anyone this Halloween, what or who would it be and why?
1920s Flapper from the Cable Girls show - Carlota Rodríguez de Senillosa because I love the period (hence Armored Hours) and Carlota an often misunderstood but full of heart character.
Explain why your featured book is a treat to read:
I had such a fun time writing this book! One reader claimed the coven of women friends were her favorite and they’re kind of mine too. 😊 Another reader said some of these scenes in this book hit them in the feels. They had to take a minute to dry their eyes. 😍
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $100 Amazon gift card.
Open internationally.
Runs October 1 – 31, 2024
Drawing will be held on November 1, 2024.
Author Biography:
Stephanie Hansen is a PenCraft and Global Book Award Winning Author as well as an Imadjinn finalist. Her debut novella series, Altered Helix, released in 2020. It hit the #1 New Release, #1 Best Seller, and other top 100 lists on Amazon. It is now being adapted to an animated story for Tales. Her debut novel, Replaced Parts, released in 2021 through Fire & Ice YA and Tantor Audio. It has been in a Forbes article, hit Amazon bestseller lists, and made the Apple young adult coming soon bestsellers list. The second book in the Transformed Nexus series, Omitted Pieces, released in 2022. Her debut spicy paranormal romance, Ghostly Howls, released 2023. Her debut historical magical realism, Armored Hours, released 2024. She is a member of the deaf and hard of hearing community, so she tries to incorporate that into her fiction.
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