A Spark Unseen (40 page)

For Kelly Sonnack, my agent: You know the combination of intelligence, savvy, humor, beauty, and being so darn good at your job is unfair to the rest of us, right?

For the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Midsouth Region: If the journey to publication is an upward climb, you gave me a ladder.

All my love and thanks to my writing partners, who continue to teach and hone me: Genetta Adair, Amy Eytchison, Rachel Griffith, Howard Shirley, Angelika Stegmann, Courtney Stevens, and Jessica Young. I would be nowhere without you. And also for Ruta Sepetys, who always manages to show me the way to being a better author and a better person: Thank you for blazing the trail!

For all my family: Your love, support, and enthusiasm have meant so much to me!

For my grandmother Betty Hill: Your résumé has been forwarded to the publicity department. Please watch for that, Sheila Marie.

For Christopher, Stephen, and Elizabeth: You guys would be horrified by all the motherly bragging I do about you while I’m on the road. Sorry about that. I probably won’t stop, though.

And for Philip, who has happily done more research, drawn more schematics, become my personal Internet cyber-stalker as well as a minor expert in the business of publishing, and who has dropped me off at more airports, and picked up more slack than anybody should have to. Seven years ago I got a crazy whim, and you are why each and every step toward fulfilling this dream has been possible. You are such a keeper!

Sharon Cameron was awarded the 2009 Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators for the prequel to
A Spark Unseen
: her debut novel,
The Dark Unwinding
, which was awarded the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award, named an ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection, and which
USA Today
called “utterly original, romantic, and spellbindingly imaginative.” When not writing, Sharon can be found thumbing through dusty tomes, shooting a longbow, or indulging in her lifelong search for secret passages. She lives with her family in Nashville, Tennessee. Visit Sharon at sharoncameronbooks.com.

Copyright © 2013 by Sharon Cameron

All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.,
Publishers since 1920
. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cameron, Sharon, 1970–

A spark unseen / Sharon Cameron. — 1st ed.

p. cm.

Summary: When Katharine Tulman foils an attempt to kidnap her Uncle Tully, she finds herself caught up in international intrigue. Aware that there are people who want to turn her uncle’s mechanical fish into an explosive device, and unsure of who to trust, she decides to fake her uncle’s death and flee to Paris in search of Lane Moreau, her uncle’s assistant. ISBN 978-0-545-32813-5 (jacketed hardcover) 1. Eccentrics and eccentricities — Juvenile fiction. 2. Uncles — Juvenile fiction. 3. Inventions — Juvenile fiction. 4. Detective and mystery stories. 5. Paris (France) — History — 1848–1870 — Juvenile fiction. 6. France — History — Second Empire, 1852–1870 — Juvenile fiction. [1. Mystery and detective stories. 2. Eccentrics and eccentricities — Fiction. 3. Uncles — Fiction. 4. Inventions — Fiction. 5. Paris (France) — Fiction. 6. France — History — Second Empire, 1852–1870 — Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.C1438Sp 2013

813.6 — dc23

2012046637

First edition, October 2013

Cover art © 2013 by Borja

Cover design by Elizabeth B. Parisi

e-ISBN 978-0-545-57801-1

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