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).
brian crain. “Brian Crain – Kindred Spirits.” YouTube. YouTube, 22 Mar. 2016.
THE LINK BETWEEN MUSIC AND STORY:
Brian Crain’s music often plays while I am writing. This week it was on nearly every day. There are so many of his songs that I absolutely love, and when it comes time to make a little video trailer for a book, I go to his collection to choice the background music. It has, after all, been the background music while I have written and edited. This week, I decided to make a quick video for my Choices series, and since each hero and heroine finds a true love and a kindred spirit, I had to use this song. So above, it the full song and below is the trailer I made which uses part of this song. I hope you enjoy it!
ABOUT THE SERIES:
This series is a re-imagining of Jane Austen’s classic tale, Pride and Prejudice. When Mr. Bennet makes a choice to help his eldest daughters find happiness, he sets off a chain of events that will affect the lives of all his daughters and many of Darcy’s relatives. Enjoy the stories as a Fitzwilliam family secret unfolds, new loves are formed in the face of opposition, and an old love is rekindled.
Music: Kindred Spirits by Brian Crain. Used with permission.
This time of year is a very busy one for me. Exams are coming! Material needs to be completed, lessons need review, and exams need creating. Needless to say, not as much writing as I would like is getting done. However, I am managing to squeeze in some writing time and thought I would let you know what story I am working on at the moment. I posted a small part of this story a while ago here. At that time, I did not have a title for the story. I do now. It will be a short novella of about 20,000 words, and I am about halfway through it. It’s premise is not a happy one, but I assure you the story will still be a sweet story even if it does have a little bit of a shadow of the past hanging over it. It is that shadow that led me to choose this beautiful song and video today.
EXCERPT FROM FINALLY MRS. DARCY:
She shook her head in disbelief. “Why? Why would you think so highly of me, and yet not…” She turned away. “Why did you not return?” She closed her eyes and attempted to prepare herself for whatever excuse he might give. She had long thought that it was Lydia’s very clear demonstration of her families shortcoming coupled with the unwillingness to be tied to Wickham in any way that had kept him from returning. She did not have a wish to hear her thoughts confirmed. It was something far more demanding. She needed to know the truth for good or for ill.
Darcy watched her wrap her arms around herself and take one step away from him. “I spoke to Bingley shortly after that.” He closed the distance between them. “I confessed all that I had done to separate him from your sister.” He dug his toe into the dirt of the path. “He has had no contact with me since, other than to return my letters unopened and request that I not contact him or any of his family. You were included in that group by that time, since he and your sister were married. So, I stayed away hoping that by doing as he requested, he might at some point forgive me. I continue to wait.”
“He speaks of you.” Elizabeth gave a quick glance over her shoulder. “Since Papa died. You may not have much longer to wait.”
“I have waited an eternity, Elizabeth, and it has cost me dearly.” The depth of the pain in his words pierced her heart.
“When you did not return with Bingley, I thought it was because you did not wish to be associated with a family tied to Mr. Wickham or such foolish girls as Lydia — and who could blame you?” She turned to face him. “It broke my heart. I refused to attend assemblies for nearly a year. Mama thought it was because I missed Jane, but it was you I missed.” She took one of his hands. “Eventually, I could no longer refuse to attend, and I met Jack. He was a pleasant man. He smiled much and spoke well of all he met. I believe he was constitutionally incapable of being disagreeable. He respected me, and I was happy, but he was not you.” She squeezed his hand. “I loved him, but not as I love you.”
Today, the final book in my Choices Series, Her Heart’s Choice, goes live. All those preorders will be filled and (hopefully) new orders will be placed so that many people can enjoy Anne’s journey to happily ever after.
I know that many of you have read snippets of the book while in its rough state as Music Monday posts. — Thank you for that! — I plan to re-share those posts on my FB page. They can also be found grouped together under the menu item Music Mondays on the left, or I have pinned them to a board on Pinterest.
I thought I would end this announcement post with the back of the book blurb and a link to the Amazon preview. (It includes the Prologue, Chapter 1 and part of Chapter 2 — a substantial amount of preview!)
About the book:
Miss de Bourgh wishes to inform those Christian gentlemen of good reputation and having in their possession a title as well as solvent and accurate financial reports that she is willing to accept correspondence and calls with the intent of reaching a marriage arrangement.
Alexander Madoch is delighted to read Anne’s announcement in the paper. Six years earlier, she had soundly refused his offer, claiming she was not yet ready to marry, and he was not good enough. Although he has every intention of marrying Anne, he has no intention of telling her of his improvement in standing or his financial state. He is determined that both should be kept a secret so that should she choose him, it will be for love.
To Anne, it had seemed simple enough. Place an advertisement in the paper, interview the gentlemen who responded, and select the best husband. But nothing is as easy as it seems. Indeed, many things are quite the opposite of how they appear. How is a lady to find a safe and secure marriage when her ideals are turned on their head ─ especially when her heart yearns for a man who is wholly unsuitable?
JaimeR90. “Under The Greenwood Tree/It Is You (I Have Loved).” YouTube. YouTube, 23 Apr. 2009.
THE LINK BETWEEN MUSIC AND STORY:
There’s no more mystery It is finally clear to me You’re the home My heart searched for so long And it is you I have loved all along
~*~ It is you I have loved all along
On Friday of this week, Her Heart’s Choice, book 4 in the Choices series, will be available for purchase. This story completes the Choices series, and, I believe, the hero and heroine of each story could sing this song. However, when you read Anne’s story in this final book, I think you will agree that, more than the others, this song is hers, for her story is one of searching and discovery. She is searching for what she thinks she needs for safety and security in marriage only to discover that what (or who) she needs has been there all along.
THE GIVEAWAY:
To mark the completion of this series and the release of this book, I am having
on my Facebook page. Up for grabs are a Kindle copy of Her Heart’s Choice and a $15 Amazon gift card (so you can buy the other books in the series if you need to or something else if you don’t). The giveaway runs until Wednesday turns to Thursday (midnight) eastern time. I will announce the winner of the contest during an Author Chat Event on Austen Authors. This event will be held on Thursday, May 26, 2016 from 6 pm – 10 pm. I have not yet been assigned my time slot, so I can’t be any more specific than that. I will post the exact time on Twitter and Facebook once I have it.
See Books Page for links to e-tailers. Click the picture to be taken to the book page.
