I hope you had a good week and that you are staying safe and well. We are settling into a new routine at the Brown house as my husband has started back to work on a summer schedule, and my eldest son will be starting to go back to work part-time next week since his place of business has re-opened with limited hours. This all means my days are starting and ending a little earlier at present, which is great since the lawn will soon be long enough for its first mowing, and I like to get that over with in the morning. That’s it for my short personal life update. Now, let’s get on with my book news.
Writing News
This week, I wrote one more chapter of Protecting Miss Darcy. I’m up to chapter 11 in that story currently, and in this chapter, Wes makes an appearance and is his usual fun and slightly annoying self. I’ll let you have a little peek at that this week.
PUBLISHED TO YOUTUBE BY KING CALAWAY ON JANUARY 25, 2019.
This is one of those songs I just happened to see as a suggestion on YouTube. I had never heard of this Country Pop group before. So, I clicked play and decided it was a song worth sharing and pairing up with Assessing Mr. Darcy.
(You can find this song on Spotify at this link. I don’t get anything for sharing this link. I am just trying to do my part to help musicians earn a few pennies when listeners listen. 🙂 )
I’ve chosen the following chapter because it is when the first hints of a desire for “Building a World for Two” begin to filter into Darcy’s thinking. It is the moment he meets Elizabeth. (Yes, this is a story where Darcy falls for her immediately, and then they work through some stuff.)
Assessing Mr. Darcy, Ch. 4
Darcy had found his tea with Bingley to be refreshing, but not so refreshing as the feel of the wind against one’s person as he rode. At least, that is how Darcy saw it. He and Bingley had discussed the basics about which books were most important to look over first and what Bingley’s hopes were in securing an estate like Netherfield. It was for Bingley as it was for many gentlemen.
Bingley wished to gain the prominence that such an estate would bring him as well as a place into which he could put some of his inheritance in such a fashion that it would continue to reap benefits well past when he departed this earth. Bingley was no fool. He was happy and amiable as well as obliging to a fault at times, but he was no fool once he put his mind to a matter. It would take some doing, but Darcy did not expect it would be overly long before Bingley understood the workings of an estate as well as any gentleman did. Darcy smiled wryly. Bingley had the added advantage that he was likely to gain the approval of all his neighbours with very little effort. That was how Bingley was. He liked people, and they liked him. It was an enviable quality.
“I see the knoll,” Bingley circled back to where Darcy was riding at a slower pace. “There.” He pointed to his left. “And that fence there must be the one of which the groom spoke. We are nearly at the end of Netherfield’s lands in this direction. I shall have to ask him tomorrow for a marker of where it ends in the opposite direction.”
“Do you truly care to know?” Darcy teased. “Are there pretty ladies at an estate in all four directions?”
I hope you are all safe and well. We are still doing well here in Nova Scotia. A few lockdown regulations are loosening — for instance, parks are open but we’re still being encouraged to stay in our own communities. My husband will be returning to a more normal schedule of work next week. I’m going to miss seeing him so frequently and having his help doing the laundry and cooking the supper. He’s a pretty awesome guy. 🙂 But enough about my home life. Let’s get on with my writing life details. Here are a few highlights of what you will find below. I have a free book from now until May 12. This week, I will begin posting a new story on Tuesdays on my blog. And, the books available in Kindle Unlimited will change up this week.
Writing News
I’ll keep this short since I don’t have any story excerpt that I want to share this week. I did write two chapters of Protecting Miss Darcy. However, I think if I share from either of them, it might give a spoiler, and I don’t want to do that. They are part of a pivotal moment in the story for our main characters as they have decisions to make about moving forward or retreating. I am probably going to have to write at least one more chapter of that story before my brain will let go of it long enough to focus on other things that need to be written.
I did not write anything else this week because I spent a lot of time rereading His Irreplaceable Belle so that I could get that sent to my first reader. (She’s the one that checks the manuscript for any story issues or things that don’t make sense to her but might to me.) I have some publishing news about this book below.
And I think that is all the writing-related news. So let’s move on to the publishing news.
Publishing News
Thank you to all who have purchased Cherishing Kitty already, and a special thank you to those who have already left reviews. I used a few snippets to make a short video, which I will share below. You can find the book at your favourite retailer at this link.
Coming Soon!
I have His Irreplaceable Belle scheduled to release during the final week of May. I hoping for May 26 but might have to push that out to May 29. I should have a definite date for both the preorder and release day next Saturday.
I shared a sneak peek of the cover for His Irreplaceable Belle in my Leenie’s Sweeties Facebook group and in this week’s newsletter to my email subscribers. I’ll be sharing it here on the blog soon.
Book Promotion
This book, along with the other books in A Dash of Darcy and Companions Cottage Collection 2, will be leaving the Kindle Unlimited program as of May 13, 2020.
Before they do leave, I have set this book to free for a few days. In this book, Elizabeth has a brother of sorts. He’s actually her cousin who came to live with them when he was ten and has become more like a protective older brother than a cousin. He (William Collins) and Elizabeth are especially close, and he is more protective of her than any of his other sisters. Unfortunately, he’s not always wise in how he makes his decisions, and his judgment will be clouded by some stories he has heard from a particular scoundrel who doesn’t like Darcy. (Did you guess Wickham? If so, you get a gold star.)
You can download a FREE copy of this book at this link.
Book Review
Thank you, David and ForeverHis reading and reviewing Cherishing Kitty and for providing such lovely comments in your reviews that I could use to make this video.
Kindle Unlimited Comings and Goings
LEAVING KINDLE UNLIMITED ON MAY 13, 2020
A Dash of Darcy and Companions Cottage Collection 2 omnibus
Unravelling Mr. Darcy
Becoming Entangled
Enticing Miss Darcy
Mr. Darcy’s Comfort
Master of Longbourn
Assessing Mr. Darcy
ENTERING KINDLE UNLIMITED ON MAY 11, 2020
Darcy Family Holidays, Volume 1 ominbus
Two Days before Christmas
One Winter’s Eve
Scandal
Thunder, Mist, and Frost
First Blooms and Second Chances
See my Books Currently in KU page on my blog for links to all the books currently available to read with your KU subscription.
Something Interesting
In my writing, I often use the term wedding breakfast. However, did you know that the term was not in common usage until probably the 1830s and did not get entered into the Oxford dictionary until quite a bit later than that?
So, why would I use a term that may not have been common in the year in which my story is set? Simply put for clarity. The term conveys the meaning of what is happening very clearly and is not a modern term. Add to that the fact that terms such as wedding day and wedding clothes are used in Jane Austen’s work. I figure it is not too far a stretch to use wedding as an adjective to describe the type of breakfast one might have after a wedding ceremony on a wedding day while wearing wedding clothes. 🙂 Therefore, I choose to use it.
Below is a clip of some information you can find about Regency weddings on Sharon Lathan’s blog. She has an abundance of information there for those who are looking for something interesting to read.
One more little detail about wedding breakfasts — it was at Mary and Wes’s wedding breakfast where all the trouble started for Kitty and Lorcan when the two of them were caught in a compromising position. Do you remember that?
Have a good weekend! Be safe and well. I’ll see you on Monday.
Click to find all of Leenie’s books at your favourite retailer.
PUBLISHED TO YOUTUBE BY ELLA ROBERTS ON FEBRUARY 25, 2020.
“Siúil a Rún” is a traditional Irish song, sung from the point of view of a woman lamenting a lover who has embarked on a military career, and indicating her willingness to support him. The song has English language verses and an Irish language chorus, a style known as macaronic. (source: Wikipedia)
The same Wikipedia article later said that some say the lover in this song was given a choice to either choose a military career or permanent exile, and he chose exile.
No matter what the reason, this song is about separated lovers and is a beautiful (though sad) piece of music.
I have chosen to pair this song with a story that might be very familiar to you if you read my Sweet Tuesday stories or read this story as a Thursday’s Three Hundred when I first began doing those stories.
In “Hope at Dawn”, the hero (Nicholas) and heroine (Kathleen) have been separated for a year. His suit was refused by her father and brother, and she was taken to Ireland, along with the match her father hoped she would settle on, while the hero remained behind in England.
I would imagine Kathleen’s heart cry during her separation from Nicholas sounded something like this song — beautiful and sad. However, Kathleen and Nicholas’s story does not remain sad — I write happily ever afters, you know. 😉
Hope at Dawn, Ch. 1
Hope at Dawn is one of four novelettes included in my First Blooms and Second Chances anthology.
As the sun slipped below the horizon, leaving its fiery glow resting upon the gently rolling black waters, Nicholas Sidemore spotted the boat for which he had been waiting, bobbing just on the edge of the sea ─ where the water dropped away and could be seen no longer. His heart raced at the sight of her, and he swallowed the fear that rose inside him as the vessel drew closer. It would not be long now ─ a few hours or perhaps a day ─ until he knew his fate.
Using the glow of his lantern to light the way, he carefully picked his way around the rocks lining the shore. Choosing a large one with a smooth top, he sat down. From this vantage point, he could easily see the entrance to the harbour and past it to the sea beyond.
