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Author: Leenie Brown
Leenie Brown fell in love with Jane Austen's works when she first read Sense and Sensibility followed immediately by Pride and Prejudice in her early teens. As the second of five daughters and an avid reader, she has always loved to see where her imagination takes her and to play with and write about the characters she meets along the way. In 2013, these two loves collided when she stumbled upon the world of Jane Austen Fan Fiction. A year later, in 2014, she began writing her own Austen-inspired stories and began publishing them in 2015. Leenie lives in Nova Scotia, Canada with her two teenage boys and her very own Mr. Brown (a wonderful mix of all the best of Darcy, Bingley and Edmund with healthy dose of the teasing Mr. Tillney and just a dash of the scolding Mr. Knightley).
Music Monday: Period Drama Men, All I Want for Christmas
Merry Christmas! This will be a shorter post today, since, I am sure there are many of you who will be busy with family and festivities. I will be having a quiet day, hanging out in my pjs, and reading, writing, or watching movies as the smell of cooking torments me and makes my stomach rumble.
tisreina. “Period Drama Men: All I Want for Christmas.” YouTube, YouTube, 2 Dec. 2009, youtu.be/4Q9TQTmUGQA.
If I do write, which I have a feeling I will, since I enjoy it so much, I will be working on a new story called Enticing Miss Darcy because I have finished the first draft of One Winter’s Eve and am working on the first round of edits on that. Enticing Miss Darcy is the second sequel to Unravelling Mr. Darcy and follows Becoming Entangled. It focuses on Miss Georgiana Darcy and Mr. Jack Ralston. This past Wednesday, I started writing that story and have about 1500 words written so far, but I will wait until next week to share anything from the new story. For today, I will share a bit from the ending of One Winter’s Night. There will be spoilers and declarations of love in the excerpt, so read at your own risk.
The only other “publishing” news I have for you today is that the last chapter of One Winter’s Eve will post today on Patreon because I scheduled it on Saturday (which is when I scheduled this post, too) :). That means the full story is available to be read there in its current form, which because of the way I write and edit as I go is not a great deal off from what it will be like when it finally publishes.
Now, on to…
AN EXCERPT FROM One Winter’s Eve: Continue reading Music Monday: Period Drama Men, All I Want for Christmas
Wordless Wednesday: 1887, Mercers’ Chapel as Rebuild after the Fire
I know this is “wordless” Wednesday, but I can’t resist the opportunity to share a learning opportunity with you. I have done a bit of reading about the various livery companies of London and the Mercers’ Company, in particular, for this story and For Peace of Mind (Mr. Gardiner is a member of this livery in both books). Here are two links were you can find some of that information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worshipful_Company_of_Mercers
http://www.intriguing-history.com/the-mercers-company/ (You can see the Mercers’ Maiden, who makes an appearance in tomorrow’s story, at this link)
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Music Monday: Good King Wenceslas — Two Ways
I’ve been listening to Christmas music for the last month and a half, at least, while writing. That music has been all instrumental and rather relaxing, and I suspect I will be listening to it for that relaxing quality this week as I attempt to finish up what needs to be done before the weekend arrives. There is the decorating to finish, school tests to be completed by my son, baking to do, and groceries to get for our Christmas dinner. It will be a busy week.
I know I have shared Good King Wenceslas before on a Music Monday, but I just can’t resist sharing it again because it is one of my favourite carols and has been since I was just a girl. As I have said in previous posts, I love lyrics that tell a story. That is not a new thing. I have always loved songs like this which tell a story.
Below, are two videos of this carol. The first is short and is just the singing of the lyrics with some lovely pictures to tell the tale. The second is much longer but includes an elaborate telling of the tale of King Wenceslas with the singing of the lyrics interspersed.
Brousseau, Patrick. “Good King Wenceslas.” YouTube, YouTube, 19 Nov. 2009, youtu.be/N5E8CXQwtrg.
MormonTabChoir. “Good King Wenceslas – Jane Seymour and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.”YouTube, YouTube, 12 Nov. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=low_UI9zUfk.
I have selected this song today not just because it is a favourite of mine but also because it connects with the story I have coming out tomorrow. Two Days Before Christmas contains acts of charity both for family members and those less fortunate. I will talk briefly about this theme in tomorrow’s Austen Authors post, so I won’t delve into it here.
It is the act of kindness from a king both to the peasant and the page that has endeared this carol to me. On December 19, 1843, one of my favourite Christmas stories was published — A Christmas Carol. Again, it is the eventual acts of kindness by Ebineezer Scrooge are part of what has endeared this tale to me. The other part of the story that I love is the ability for a grumpy, horrid, miserly, old character’s heart to change.
My sister, when she read Two Days Before Christmas, mentioned that there were things which made her think of A Christmas Carol. Those things were not intentionally done. They just happened. For those who have gotten to read the story, you may know which parts those are, but for those who have not read it, I will not spoil the fun. So, I will remain silent on that for now.
Today, as a belated birthday present, my husband took me to see a wonderful movie that I had been longing to see — The Man Who Invented Christmas. There is a part in the movie (without giving too many details) where the ability of a character such as Scrooge was discussed. Two characters, in particular, insist that Scrooge possesses the ability to change and that if Scrooge does not change then the point of the story is lost. Can you imagine the story ending with Tiny Tim dying, and Scrooge going on his way to a cold and lonely grave, remembered and grieved by no one? I would agree that the point of the story — the reason for Marley and the ghosts of Christmas showing up would be lost completely. (And I would venture to guess that not many of us would know what A Christmas Carol was for it would not have been the success that it was.)
So, let’s circle back from this movie tangent to my writing since this post is supposed to be sharing writing news and all that. 🙂
I tend to side with those who were advising Mr. Dickens when it comes to writing my Austen-inspired stories. There are few characters who cannot be “redeemed” — even some that I thought might not be changeable, have proven me wrong. Often, it takes some studying of what their possible backstories might be and discovering fears that lead to a path of restoration.
As you know, in my current work in progress, I have been working with one such character whom many think is unworthy of a happy ending. However, Caroline Bingley, in my opinion, is not as awful as Scrooge, and if Scrooge can change, so can Miss Bingley if she is drawn along by the right motivation — in this case, it is love and not a fearful ghost of Christmas future which provides the motivation and self-reflection. 🙂
I’m coming to the end of this story. In fact, I should have it done before the end of the year. Below is a rather longish excerpt from what I wrote this past week which delves into the change being wrought in Caroline. But remember, I just said the story is coming to an end, so read at your own risk as there may (ok, most likely will) be spoilers! 🙂
Oh, one more thing before I share: If you wish to read the full first draft as it is being created, you can do that by becoming my patron on Patreon. For those who are reading along — the part below has not yet been posted over there as I am still working to catch up to where I am in the story.
AN EXCERPT FROM One Winter’s Eve: Continue reading Music Monday: Good King Wenceslas — Two Ways
