Music Monday: Have Yourself a Very Merry Christmas, Brett Eldredge

CMA Country Christmas. “Brett Eldredge Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas CMA Country Christmas 2016.” YouTube. YouTube, 28 Nov. 2016. Web. 17 Dec. 2016.

On Friday night, my husband and I were watching CMA Country Christmas along with about three other shows since my husband had the remote 😉 when, as chance and commercials on other stations would have it, we landed back on this program in time to hear this song. As you can probably imagine, this song has been in my mind a lot over the last couple of months as I wrote and edited A Very Mary Christmas. 

Since I loved this performance of the song, and A Very Mary Christmas will be available to read this Tuesday, I decided that this song must be the one I shared today. (Even if I did share another singer’s performance of this song a couple of weeks ago. 🙂 )So, as the song plays, or after you watch the video, let me share part of what has been going on in my writing life. (And yes, there is a story snippet.)

First, A Very Mary Christmas will be live on Tuesday. If you have not yet ordered a copy, you can do that at this link –> Get A Very Mary Christmas . Making certain that everything is ready for the release of this book has taken a good amount of my time this week because I was preparing a special giveaway to celebrate the launch.  This giveaway will be hosted on AustenAuthors.net on Tuesday, December 20.

Next, along with getting that blog post ready for next Tuesday, I also started the discussion for the Austen Author’s Emma Read Along this past Wednesday. We only have two more weeks of reading and that novel will be done — which means we are at the “good part” IMO. This week, we read Frank Churchill’s letter of explanation and Mr. Knightley’s reaction.

Last, I did manage to squeeze in a little writing time yesterday (finally).  I am still working on the Willow Hall Book 4 story with no title. 🙂  So, that is what I will share a little snippet of today.  If you are following along with the Thursday’s Three Hundred posts, this one is from way down the road, so read at the risk of spoilers. 🙂

STORY EXCERPT, Willow Hall, Book 4:

Harris’ heart raced as his carriage drove away from Pemberley. How fortunate to have come to a solution to his problem in such a convenient way! He had thought he would have to draw Bingley out — causing him to act rashly and thereby exposing himself as less than a gentleman to one in the hopes that Darcy would have little choice but to break ties with his friend.  But try as he might to provoke Bingley to irrational jealousy — and he could clearly see that Bingley was jealous — the man had proven to be more controlled than expected.  Harris smiled. Not that playing the part of smitten lover of Jane Bennet was a hardship. That lady was beautiful! Indeed, until his present trouble had come upon him, Harris had hoped he might convince Jane to marry him.  She would do justice as mistress of his estate — he mentally ticked off the reasons for why he had chosen to favour her with his attentions — everyone seemed to adore her, and she was so trusting that she would never suspect his true reason for travelling occasionally to ___ .  Yes, Miss Bennet would have made a fabulous Mrs. Harris — not that she was his first choice, no, that choice had been snatched away three years ago.  But, that mattered not now, save in keeping the reason for the disappearance of that lady a secret, which Miss Bingley’s intelligence should guarantee. 

Harris continued to thank his good fortunes all the way to a small pub tucked away around the corner of a street in Lambton.  It was not on the familiar path, but it was always busy with a particular shade of customer.  He jumped down from his carriage and with a few words to his driver, went in search of his quarry. 

“Fisher,” Harris greeted a man of middling age as he  took a chair at the table where the man sat. 

“Harris,”  Fisher seemed surprised to see him.  “You’ve got all your teeth and eyes and not a tinge of blood on ye.” He raised a brow as he lifted his glass.  “Not coming to break off our arrangement now are ye?  Wickham will not be pleased to hear it — and you know what he will do if he is not pleased.” 

Harris leaned back in his chair and drummed the fingers of his right hand on the edge of the table as a smile spread slowly across his face.  “I have come to collect my papers.” 

“It is done?” Fisher’s eyes grew wide in surprise. 

“Nearly,” said Harris.  “I will give you what you need to spread about as soon as I have seen the papers.”

“You don’t expect me to have them with me now do ye?” Fisher’s empty glass clunked heavily on the table. 

“I’m quite certain you do, since Wickham charged you with them in a rather threatening fashion.”  Wickham had shoved Fisher against the wall in the room where they had met, holding him in place with a forearm pressed firmly against Fisher’s throat and only released Fisher to gasp for air after he got an assurance that the papers would be seen by no one besides himself, Fisher, and Harris until the three week period of time had been completed.  Then, if Harris had not done his best to meet his end of the bargain, the papers were to make their way secretly to Mr. Williams. 

Fisher’s eyes narrowed and after waving with his hand to the barkeep for a refill of his drink, he pulled the papers out of a pocket inside his coat and placed them on the table in front of him.  “Tell me why I should give these to you?” 

Harris’ eyes fell the papers that stood between him and a potential noose or transportation and then lifted his gaze to Fisher with a raised brow.

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