Happy Leap Day! What a wonderful present to wake up to — an extra Saturday. 🙂 Here’s a look at what I have been up to during this last week of February 2020.
Writing News
So far (as of Friday evening), this has been an excellent writing week. I have put the new routine of rereading one day and writing the next into place, and it seems to be working quite well. I feel a lot less stressed over “getting it all done,” which has been wonderful to feel more relaxed. I think, depending on how today goes, I might actually get more written this week than I had initially thought I would. It’s always such a better feeling to be on top of things than trying to catch up. 🙂 It’s amazing what can happen when you embrace, rather than fight, the way your mind wishes to work. 🙂
Photo taken by Leenie Brown at Prescott House Museum, Summer 2016.
Prescott House, located in Starrs Point, Nova Scotia, was built by Charles Prescott as the centerpiece to his estate, Acacia Grove, between the years 1811 and 1816. After falling into disrepair, the house was purchased by a great-granddaughter of Charles Prescott and restored in the 1930s. The interior is furnished to reflect the 19th century. This tea tray was part of a lovely display in one of the rooms. I love the pink dishes and the (fake) fruit tarts. (Isn’t it just so cheery looking?) The fruit is representative of just some of the sweet produce grown at Acacia Grove. Prescott is known for his contributions to Nova Scotia’s apple industry, and (fun fact) that is why the hero of my story “Apple Blossoms” (found in First Blooms and Second Chances) is named as he is. But that has nothing to do with our story for tomorrow. Tomorrow, in chapter 12 of Marrying Elizabeth book 5, as you can see in the excerpt below, there is an invitation to take tea with the Darcys, and that is why I decided to share this photo today.
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…Sobering, but only slightly, Richard took a sip of his coffee. “My message for you, Lori, is, and once, again, I am quoting my brother for he insisted I deliver it word for word as he said it, ‘Everyone has returned to town, and Miss Kitty seems most anxious to see you. Call on her directly, and then come to dinner in Brook Street to inform me of your happy news. Bring Young Alfred.’
And my cousin Georgiana would like for me to make certain that you know that she, her brother, and Elizabeth would be delighted if Mr. Alfred Langley would join them for tea while you are driving with Kitty.”
“And this could not be sent to me by way of a note?”
Richard shook his head. “I am to carry your reply to Georgie – so she can be prepared for tea, and to Lady Westonbury – so dinner can be planned appropriately.”
“That could be accomplished through a note.”
Richard smirked. “According to Westonbury, the mail service is so very unreliable these days…”
[from Marrying Elizabeth book 5]
I wonder why Georgiana wants Alfred to visit? Any ideas? Guess we will find out in a chapter or two from now. 🙂
PUBLISHED TO YOUTUBE BY HIGH VALLEY ON APRIL 29, 2019
I love this song, and I love this group’s music. Before you press play, you might want to know that the video, in my opinion, tells a lovely, but sad, story.
Now on to the reason I am sharing this song today. Every time I hear this play on the radio or my Spotify playlist, it always brings to mind the stories I have written where the “bad boy” finds his life of chasing a good time is just not as fulling as it once was.
And do you know which bad boy pops to mind first? Charles Edwards, the hero of Charles: To Discover His Purpose. That’s probably because he’s the most unapologetic about his roguish behaviour when the story starts. In fact, his whole purpose of hanging around the heroine, Evelyn, when the story begins is so that he can steal a kiss from her. Of course, this being a romance, you know he’s going to figure out that he wants a whole lot more than a kiss.
In the chapter I am sharing from that story today, Charles is still just that single man looking for a good time.
Charles breathed a sigh of relief as he entered the saloon on his way to the Lintons’ box. It had been a challenge to squeeze past people without being noticed too much.
“Edwards.” His long-time friend, Trefor Linton, drew up beside him. “You are not invisible no matter how you turn your collar or duck your head.” There was a hint of a laugh in his friend’s voice. “I have heard three young ladies tittering as you passed them.”
“I imagine I look a fright to them.”
“No,” said Constance, making her presence behind Charles known. “They seem to be in awe of your noble deed.”
Those four words are soooo dangerous! I have a dreadful time stopping anywhere before the end of a book — I always have. These four words played a part in what I did and did not get done this week. 🙂
Writing Life
Due, in part, to some poor choices on my part 😉 — see the info about reading past my bedtime at the bottom of this newsletter — I got less written this week than I had wanted.
The other part of the not getting as much done as wanted is that with all the things I am doing this year and things I have been learning about and experimenting with, I am finding my writing process is shifting somewhat. I used to reread what was written the day before and then jump right into the new chapter.
Clicking this image will take you to the Historical Romance 40% off page where my book is listed. Use the code FEBSALE at check out for the discount.
Kobo has included Persuading Miss Mary in its February 40% off sale! So from now until Monday is a fantastic time to pick this book up if you are a Kobo reader. You must use the code FEBSALE at checkout to take advantage of the special pricing.
About the book:
Reginald Arthur Fitzwilliam, Viscount Westonbury, has never met a lady like Mary Bennet. Most debutants would be happy to have his attention, and who could blame them? He’s titled, wealthy, charming, and handsome — everything one could want for in a husband unless you’re Mary Bennet.
From their first meeting when she scolded him for his behaviour and made it perfectly clear that she did not care one jot for his title or fortune, Wes has known that Mary is no standard-order, ton-approved debutant. She is something far better. She is a lady who sees him for himself and not his accouterments.
However, there are two things that Mary Bennet absolutely despises — a flagrant disregard for the rules of propriety and disrespect, and Lord Westonbury, who has treated her sisters ill, embodies both. She would rather he ignored her, but sadly he seems bent on provoking her at every turn. It is, therefore, with trepidation that her father allows her to accompany her sister to town.
When Wes discovers that his mother is hosting Mary and her sister at Matlock House, he sets about the task of persuading Mary that he is not so bad as she thinks, for he would dearly love to court her. However, he will soon discover that even his charm is not going to be enough to sway her. She demands more than pretty words, which will require him to take a serious look at his life of pleasure and weigh it against those demands and his growing love for her. But can he make the necessary changes to prove his devotion, and if he can make them, will they be enough? Or will he always be found wanting in her eyes?
You may like to also know:
Persuading Miss Mary is book four in my Marrying Elizabeth series and was a Thursday’s Three Hundred weekly work in progress before it was published. Book 5 of that series is now posting on Thursdays.
