Today is the day that great deal on the Choices Series box set begins. (You know, the sale I scheduled for the wrong day? Well, the “wrong day” has finally arrived 😉 ) Scroll down to find a link and details.
Writing News
It was once again a pretty good week of writing, despite the fact that I actually took a day off just to relax — a full day of nothing but relaxation, which included a lot of reading. 😉 I’m not one to take full days off unless I’m going on a trip with my husband or am sick or something like that. So Wednesday was a very rare and indulgent day. (I even read more than one book, which if you’ve read a recent Broadsheet, you will know is also something I don’t normally do. However, these books were in a series so it was kind of like just reading a really long book.)
Even with that day off, I have kept almost on track. I’ll be right where I want to be if I get to do a bit of writing later tonight. Here’s the list of stories and the progress made along with a small snippet from each: His Irreplaceable Belle: I am up to chapter 11 in that story and things are most definitely looking like they are turning around for this couple. Will they stay that way? I don’t know. this is how this week’s chapter began:
Walter placed a glass of cider in front of Fritz, and then took a seat in front of his desk. Fritz looked up from the missive he was writing and gave a nod of his head in appreciation, but he did not take a sip of the beverage until he had sealed his note and sent it on its way to his assistant.
“Thank you for the use of your study.” He picked up the glass from the desk and took a gulp before sitting down in the chair next to Walter rather than the one behind the desk in which he had been sitting. “I will have everything I need for your wife within the half-hour, though I doubt she will need much more than you…” His voice trailed off as he watched the liquid in his glass follow the swirling motion of his hand. “And Belle,” he added, lifting the glass to his lips.
Matching Mr. Darcy: I wrote chapter 6 of this story this week. Here is how that chapter currently begins:
Darcy reined in his mount so that he could take in the view before him. The ground rose and fell in gentle swells and small undulations. There were stands of trees that interrupted fields and stood in both great and small gatherings. It was beautiful but lacked the sharp edges that surrounded his home. And a good rocky crag right in the middle of Longbourn’s garden would have come in handy yesterday for disposing of the insufferable Mr. Newell. That man would not allow himself to be separated from the side of Miss Elizabeth. Not that Miss Bingley would have allowed Darcy to leave her side either.
Vexing botherations, the two of them! How was he supposed to prove to Miss Elizabeth that he was a gentlemanly sort of gentleman if he was separated from her at every turn?
His horse blew through its lips and shifted under him.
“My thoughts exactly, (horse). It is unsettling and frustrating business.” Darcy nudged the beast’s sides with his boots. “Go on. Take me up to the crest.”
Yes, Darcy’s horse still needs a name. 🙂 But this is how things look on the very first draft. I haven’t even given these snippets a quick proofread yet.
Protecting Miss Darcy: Well, this one is the one which I have not yet finished a chapter for. I started writing a chapter to see if that is where I wanted the story to start, and, about halfway through it, I decided it is not. So, I don’t have a snippet of this one yet. The prologue to this story will post as a Thursday’s Three Hundred post on March 19, 2020. I already have that scheduled.
Next week, I am going to have to start adding in some editing time for Cherishing Kitty and start that story through the publication process.
And one last thing for this section: I have an Austen Author’s post coming up this Tuesday, March 11, 2020. That article is called “Love’s Quiet Assurance and Unbreakable Bonds” and will feature excerpts from His Inconvenient Choice.
Book Promotion
The Choices Series ebook omnibus, which contains all four books in the series, is on sale for $2.99 USD, with all other currencies also reduced, starting today, Saturday, March 7, 2020, and ending next Saturday, March 14, 2020. This sale price should be available at all my vendors.
*The sales price for the full series is less than the cost of one individual title. This is why I think it is an incredible deal, and I love a good deal. 😉
Click this link to find the Choices boxset at your favourite ebook retailer.
Book Review
This week, I would like to thank Carole for reading and reviewing His Inconvenient Choice. I love that this story is your favourite. I have a hard time choosing between this one and No Other Choice. As Carole knows (because I have seen a review from her on book 4 — such a faithful reader/reviewer!), the secret mentioned here comes back again once more in the epilogue to the series found at the end of book four.
Something Interesting for Last
Do you read reviews before deciding to read a book? If you do, do you read the critical reviews or the positive reviews first? Well, this might interest you…
As I mentioned in my writing news section, I read a couple of books this past Wednesday. They were both part of a series that features members of a family, and they were both books that I borrowed from the library. (That ebook branch is so convenient!)
I had read other books by this particular author (and even a couple in this series) before. I find them entertaining stories and a bit addictive because I just need to find out more about the family members. But they aren’t “perfect.” There are things which I notice as I am reading and think things such as “oh, that could have been done better” or “wait, shouldn’t they…”
Out of curiosity, after reading one of these books on Wednesday, I went to Amazon to see if it was just me noticing a particular “flaw” or not. I found the book and scrolled down to the reviews and started reading the critical reviews. Sure enough, there was that flaw being mentioned, and I could agree with parts of what the reviewers were saying. Then, I scrolled up to the more positive reviews (which, by the way, out-numbered the critical ones) and read a few of those. Again, I could agree with what those reviewers were saying.
I had never really done this sort of experiment before. Usually, if I’m going to check reviews, I check them before reading. But not this time.
I found it interesting that if I had read those critical reviews before I downloaded the book from my library, I might not have read the book because the tone of the reviews was so critical — in the “I just couldn’t get past this” sort of way. AND (scary thought) I would have missed out on several hours of entertainment (even if there were a few moments of “seriously?” — the heroine did a few things to annoy me even more than the hero did and he was a bit of a jerk at times because he was working from a mental/emotional view of himself that needed some love and understanding to help him through it — and he even said as much to the heroine and yet she didn’t get it…but I digress).
I tend to be a reader who, if I am well entertained, can overlook some flaws in a story — I don’t need it to be perfect — which led me to another interesting realization. I could agree with both the reviews of praise and the reviews of discontent. I guess I hadn’t really thought about how a reader, such as myself, could agree with all the reviews at the same time. So, the next time I am looking at reviews before picking up a book, I’m going to look at both the positive and negative reviews and remember that there are things in both sorts of reviews that will hold true and that it’s not a either you like it or you don’t situation because sometimes it can be both.
And that is it for this week’s news and updates. Remember that this upcoming Thursday there will be no new Thursday’s Three Hundred post. I’ll be back the following week with the new story.
Have a wonderful weekend!
MAILING LIST | PATREON | SOCIETY6
Oh, fun… a name that horse. Darcy usually picks a Greek name as he is such a student of Greek. I looked at a website that has 343 Greek Names and their meaning… such as Achilles meaning warrior. I’ll give you the link. I especially liked Ale or Alejandro = Defender of Man. There should be a scene where the horse helps Darcy in some way. Snicker. That would be cool. If not… no worries.
https://thoughtcatalog.com/holly-riordan/2018/05/ancient-greek-names/
Thanks for the suggestions and the link. 🙂 I often like to use names from Greek mythology for horses for some reason, so this is great. That could be a fun scene, but I don’t know if it will happen in this story or not.
Haha! Can’t wait to see which one you decide on Leenie! Thank you for posting my review. Yes, Kitty and the Colonel were just delightful! I’m looking forward to ‘Cherishing Kitty’ when it gets released. I am, however, behind on some of your latest books but I will get to them!
You’re welcome, Carole. I appreciate your willingness to read and review. I love Lord Rycroft, which is the draw to No Other Choices. However, Richard and Kitty are just so sweet and determined and focused on each other in their story that I think it nudges just ahead of Mary and Lord Rycroft. (I’ve been contemplating it since I wrote this post yesterday LOL) 🙂