Elizabeth could not agree more. Darcy’s love was the best Christmas gift she could have ever received, and every year, from that one forward, in addition to gifts being exchanged on Christmas morning in the Darcy home, gifts of the heart would be given as well. But these gifts, these special gifts of love, would neither be given nor received on Christmas morning but would always be shared, just as Georgiana’s had been — two days before Christmas.
[The final lines from Two Days Before Christmas]
Published to YouTube by Dean Brody, November 28, 2014.
Traditions. They are often a big part of the end of the year holiday season.
A tradition for me in my writing life, which is going on three years this week, is writing and giving a story to my readers on my email list. The process starts in the early fall as I decide on the story to be written. Then, I usually spend October writing and November editing, so that the book is ready to distribute in December.
This year, I started writing the first of the three novelettes in the book I am giving away in August. I wanted to learn how to write using dictation, so I knew the process would not be fast — and I was right. I wrote in small sections (while getting ready in the mornings). It was interesting how my brain was trying to get used to speaking a story rather than sending it through my fingers to the computer. (I am not sure that it is completely familiar with that process yet) The software also had to get used to my style of writing. (It’s getting better but still needs work.) Needless to say, these three stories needed a LOT of editing for typos and punctuation. 😀 However, it was a great learning experience, and I am going to do it again — after New Year’s.
Anyway… These three stories will be both given away to my mailing list and published to Amazon and on whichever of the other vendors are open and not on holiday hours. 🙂 (Thursday is the planned day if all goes well.)
If you wish to join my mailing list and pick up these stories for free, you can do that from now until the end of 2018.
I will be talking about this book and sharing an excerpt from each of the stories tomorrow, December 18, 2018, on Austen Authors.
Of course, I will also be posting a chapter of Frosted Windowpanes, which is one of the three stories in this collection. I will post the final chapter next week. Just because the book is being distributed this week does NOT mean I will not finish posting that story.
As you can probably guess, I was busy getting last edits done on Nature’s Fury and Delight’s: Thunder, Mist, and Frost this past week, but it was not all I was working on. I also…
sent off Delighting Mrs. Bennet to my final editor and have a tentative publication date set for January 10, 2019.
wrote the second chapter of Loving Lydia and scheduled the first chapter to post on January 3, 2019. 🙂
wrote chapter 3 of Tom: To Secure His Legacy — which means I think I am ready to start sharing a few snippets of that here. However, I cannot promise that I will have something to share each Monday during the holiday season. I think I will, but you know how busy it can be at this time of year. Therefore, I don’t want to make a promise I might not be able to keep. But anyway… Shall we take a peek at a few hundred words from Tom’s story?
The heaviness on his chest lifted, but instead of feeling relieved, he missed the warm, protection of whatever it was. Or whoever it was, he adjusted as a hand cupped his cheek.
“We will be to the dock soon.”
He attempted to open his eyes again, but they still would not allow him to look at the lovely lady who was now stroking his forehead.
“Rest,” Mary cooed.
A drop of something wet splashed on his cheek and was quickly brushed away. Sniffling. She was crying. He forced his eyes to open enough so that he could see her through his lashes. If he could get his arms out from under these blankets, he could touch her, and she would know she had nothing to fear. But he could not do more than lift his hand and place it on his stomach under the blankets.
(And remember that this story as well as Charles: To Discover His Purpose, Henry: To Prove Himself Worthy, and His Beautiful Bea are all available to read in Kindle Unlimited.)
It was a busy week getting things ready for the release of Mary’s story mixed in with other things such as going to speak to a class of young writers (grade 4) on Wednesday. It’s always such fun to go into my friend’s class and share my love of writing with such eager learners. I also got to read some of their stories — which were excellent!
The busyness of the week, however, contributed to my not quite getting everything done that I needed to do for Mary’s release. I did not get Advance Reader Copies out until Sunday — Sunday! I don’t usually send emails on the weekend, but this time I had to. I also do not have a print version of the book ready to go at this time. It should be ready by the end of the week.
In other story news,
I have gotten my Nature’s Fury and Delight stories back from my final editor and have started on those corrections. Chapter two of Frosted Windowpanes will post this Thursday.
(Thank you to all who read and to those who commented on last week's post. It is so exciting to me to see people taking a chance on this Austenesque original tale.)
I picked the video above partially because I thought the images really fit with that story being set in the winter around Christmas time — and it is a story about a homecoming. As I explained in my author note last Thursday, this collection of stories was specifically written as a Christmas gift from me to my newsletter subscribers. If you are not a subscriber, you can click the link at the bottom of this post and be added to the list. Anyone who joins the list before the end of December will receive a copy of this book, and I am hoping to be able to give away a lot of copies. 🙂
I finished my first round edits of Delighting Mrs. Bennet and have sent that off to my first reader. Yay! Publication is still slated for the beginning of January.
I wrote the first installment of Loving Lydia, but I did not get any more of Tom’s story written. Therefore, there is no story excerpt this week (again — I’m starting to feel guilty about that 😉 ).
I think I need someone who can look at my writing plate when I am planning and tell me “No, that’s too much. Put one of those stories back” 😀 because it seems when I stacked this plate I definitely filled it too full. 🙂 [But there are just so many tempting story treats to pick up and play with.] Hopefully, by the new year, I will have it whittled down to manageable. And I thank you for your patience during this very scattered period of my life. <3
Richard rode in silence for a full two minutes before deciding that it was best just to lay out the whole sorry business before his cousin and endure whatever teasing might come. “I am considering selling my commission and applying to my father for the land he has promised me.”
“Have you had your fill of military life or is it more than that?”
Richard rolled his eyes both at the question and the way his cousin was tipping his head and studying him. That look always said that Darcy already knew the answer. “I do not wish to ask a wife to either follow the drum or wait for whatever remains of me to be returned to her, nor do I wish to leave fatherless children if there should be any such blessings to come our way.”
Richard cast a wary sidelong glance at Darcy, expecting his cousin to have some comment, but Darcy did not. Instead, Darcy just rode on, looking forward with an occasional glance in Richard’s direction.
Richard blew out a breath. “It was likely three or four o’clock this morning when I came to the realization that following a lady around and studying her finer qualities to assure her of her worth was not a good way to keep one’s heart from becoming attached to that lady.”
A lifted brow? That was all the response he was going to get? He sighed. Very well, he would continue as Darcy expected him to do. “In battle, it is good to scout out the enemy, study their tactics, and make notes of their strengths and weaknesses. It is not the same with ladies.”
Published to YouTube by Daughtry on September 28, 2012.
Well, today I have three excepts for you that contain gentlemen at that moment when they are about to admit that their lives need a lady — a particular lady — in them. The first one is from a book that is already published (above the video), the second (just below this paragraph) is from my new release, and the third is from a current work in progress (at the end of this post) which is currently posting on Patreon.
“Congratulations,” Darcy replied, and then after a moment to ponder Bingley’s words, during which he considered his friend married to the sister of the only lady who had, to this point in his life, captured his attention as none other had ever done, he added, “Do not play with her emotions.”
Bingley scowled at him. “I would not.”
“No, I do not think you would, but you must appear to be above such since if you are found wanting, then I shall also be found wanting, seeing as I am your friend. That is, of course, if we can prove to the younger Mr. Bennet that I am not as reprehensible as my actions have accused me of being.”
Bingley grinned. “You do not wish to be found wanting?”
Darcy shook his head. “I think your advice is excellent. I believe I must marry Miss Elizabeth.”
So that ^^ is my big news for this week. Assessing Mr. Darcy has been published! Thank you to those who have purchased the book and to who have left reviews.
Now that Assessing Mr. Darcy is published, I must turn my mind toward the next release. Mary: To Protect Her Heart has a “Release Day?” sticky note in my planner for next month. I am working diligently toward that goal, but I still do not have the first draft completed. Therefore, that sticky note might have to shift a bit. I hope it doesn’t but that is why it is on a sticky note so it can. 🙂
I am also working on my third short story in the Nature’s Fury and Delights collection. I hope that once I have this third story done, I can start releasing them individually and perhaps in a bundle for those who like bundles.
This third story has been more challenging than the others because I am taking elements of Persuasion and inserting them into a new plot with original characters who live in the vicinity of Willow Hall. It’s the combination of trying to let my imagination run but with a few boundaries that has created the challenge.
New (original) characters and plots take a different sort of effort compared to writing a story with familiar characters (such as Darcy and Elizabeth) because you have to establish who these new characters are and why a reader should care for them. There is also the need to create the source of trouble for the hero and heroine. In a Pride and Prejudice inspired story starring Darcy and Elizabeth, there are some handy villains one can always call up on to stir things up. Not so in an original work. 🙂 And honestly, that’s the part that had me thinking hard this week. I think I have it sorted out, however. This week’s writing sessions will test the veracity of that statement. 🙂
I want to say thanks to pedmisson, who left a comment on last week’s Music Monday, because the characters and the estate in this short story now have names. 🙂 Yay! (I can now stop calling the hero Mr. Bob because he’s Patrick Mullins.]
The next project that is written in my planner is to start the next Thursday’s Three Hundred story. I have two titles I am kicking around at present. They are Loving Lydia and Improving Miss Lydia. It will depend on the direction of the goals and motivations in the story and what the end result should be, and I won’t know that until I get elbow deep into it. But, I’d love to know which title you would pick. Just drop your choice in the comments. [To clarify, this story will be like Confounding Caroline and Delighting Mrs. Bennet. It will feature our dear couple as they move along the path to wedded bliss, but Lydia will be involved in some fashion as part of whatever it is that has to be overcome << that’s vague, huh? purposefully vague]
That’s all the writing news I have for you today, so now, that third excerpt I mentioned above.
Wickham wanted to run after her, to make her understand how much he had changed and how much she now meant to him, but he could not. His feet were rooted to the ground, and he could not seem to draw a full breath. He stood watching her, his heart aching a bit more with each step she took.
“Papa?” A small hand grasped his.
His knees buckled and he sank to the ground.
“Papa?” Louisa grabbed his face and looked at him.
He saw the fear in her eyes and smiled at her. “I am well. I just need a rest.”
She scrunched up her face and looked at him carefully. “You are not well. Mama is not well. And I am going to get help.” Before he could stop her, she had spun on her heels and was running.
“Louisa, come back,” he called as he pulled himself to his feet and soon overtook her. He snatched her up, crushing her to him. “Where are you going?”
“To get Aunt Kitty. She can make Mama feel better, and if Mama feels better, then you will feel better.” She thumped him on the chest. “You should have told her you loved her.” She thumped him again. “You should have told her. Why did you not tell her?”
“She would not have believed me,” he said softly as he stroked her hair.
“You still should have told her.” Her little body trembled as she gulped air between sobs.
Published to YouTube by txaggie321 on May 17, 2007
Ah, now, that’s a rather melancholy song and excerpt to start our week, isn’t it? 🙂 But I had a good reason (in my opinion) for selecting both. Let me explain…
On Thursday night, I finished the first draft of Assessing Mr. Darcy! Woohoo! I’m happy to be beginning the polishing process later today.
As I was writing this past week, I found myself needing to have a box of tissues handy, and as I was reaching for a tissue during one of those touching scenes, I thought to myself: “I don’t know if I have needed the tissue box handy so much while writing a story since I wrote Through Every Storm.” Whether that is true or not, I have no way of proving. I get teary eyed often when writing. But, that is the reason I had to chose an excerpt from Through Every Storm for today’s post.
As far as the song choice goes…well, there are a couple of things in Assessing Mr. Darcy that require apologies to be given. The excerpt I will share below refers to one of those things.
Now, you should know that this might be the last excerpt I will share from that story since it is done. Hopefully, I will have something to share from a different story next Monday.
In other story news, I wrote on Mary Crawford’s story, as well as adding a few hundred words to my dictated short story. It was a very productive week which ended with a lovely visit from my in-laws on the weekend.
And I think that’s all the news there is to share about my current works in progress. I hope you have a wonderful first week of October, but before you go here’s…
AN EXCERPT FROM Assessing Mr. Darcy:
Darcy descended the grand staircase at Netherfield slowly, one painful step at a time. His ankle was improving but placing weight on it was still difficult. Limping around a room with quick steps on a sore ankle was not so bad as attempting to walk down a flight of stairs.
“Are you going somewhere?” Bingley, still dressed in his riding clothes, leaned against the wall at the bottom of the stairs.
How Darcy wished he could have gone for a ride this morning. He was so dreadfully tired of being confined to the house. He had had his fill of his room. However, to venture out of it meant being tended to by Louisa and Caroline, and Caroline seemed just as determined as ever to attempt to sway his mind in her direction.
“Home,” Darcy replied.
“To town or Pemberley?”
“Town. I should l like to see my sister.”
Bingley nodded. “Will you, at least, have tea with me before you leave?”
“Not unless you wish it.” The man had not visited him in two days, and it was obvious from his expression that he was still not happy with Darcy. There was no way Darcy was going to impose on his friend if he was not welcomed to do so.
“I do,” Bingley replied, a small smile tipping his lips, giving away the fact that he was not as put out with Darcy as he pretended. “I do not wish for you to leave.”
Darcy blew out a breath as he completed his journey to the bottom of the staircase and lowered himself onto the second step to rest his ankle before he proceeded any further.
“It still hurts?” Bingley nodded to Darcy’s foot.
Darcy nodded. “It is not as strong as I would like it to be. I think it best to have my physician look at it when I am in town. Now that swelling has receded somewhat, he may see something that was missed before.”
“You are determined to leave then?”
Again, Darcy nodded. “My remaining will only hinder any chance you have of securing Miss Bennet.” He looked up at Bingley. “I did not do you harm intentionally, and I apologize for my temper.”
Bingley extended a hand to Darcy. “Come. Have tea with me. I would like to speak with you.”
Darcy looked at Bingley warily. “You would?” He allowed Bingley to help him rise from where he was seated.
“I would.” He took Darcy by the arm. “Lean on me if you need to.”
“Thank you,” Darcy replied and did just that. He leaned his weight partially on his friend as they moved down the hall to a small withdrawing room behind the larger sitting room.
“Caroline does not like this room,” Bingley whispered. “So, I have made it my own. It has only one smallish window and is therefore too dark for her liking. I do not mind the lack of sunshine so very much. I was about to eat some breakfast in here where it is free of female complaints when I was informed that your coach was being readied for travel.” He locked the door behind him. “I want to make certain my sister does not interrupt me for I would like to eat in peace,” he explained.
Bingley seated himself at a small round table that stood with four chairs near the window at the far end of the narrow room. There was a grouping of three cushioned chairs near the hearth and a ladder-backed chair near the door next to a cabinet which held a decanter and glasses. On the wall across from the hearth was a low bookcase with glass doors. Those pieces of furniture and a few paintings were the extents of the décor in the room. It was a very pleasant room. With the lamp lit, this would be an excellent place to while away some hours with a book.
Darcy carefully took his place at the table. He was slowly learning how to sit down gracefully without causing his ankle too much discomfort. He was still a bit awkward, but not as awkward as he had been just yesterday morning.
“I saw Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth while I was riding today,” Bingley began as he poured tea for himself and Darcy.
“You did?” Darcy asked in surprise.
The left side of Bingley’s lips tipped up and his brows flicked upward and back down quickly. “I did. They were waiting for me.”
Darcy added sugar to his cup. “It was not an accidental meeting?”
Bingley shook his head. “No, Miss Elizabeth wished to speak to me and arranged it so that she could. I am not entirely certain how she knew I would be riding where I was, but she and her sister were waiting and called to me to join them.”
“Her brother must not know of this meeting,” Darcy grumbled.
“You are correct. He does not.” Bingley took a bite of his scone, following it with a bit of tea. “She asked about you.”
“Who asked about me?”
“Miss Elizabeth.”
Darcy could not help the small smile that crept onto his lips. Whether or not he had a hope of ever discovering if they would suit, he still found the information that she had inquired after him to be pleasing.
“She wanted to know if you are well enough for callers.”
Darcy held his cup suspended in the air almost to his lips. “Is she thinking of calling on me?” What sort of lady called on a gentleman? It was supposed to be the other way around.
“Are you well?” Richard wrapped one arm around Anne’s waist and pulled her back against him.
“I am.” She leaned back into him lightly.
“I’ll not break or topple, Anne,” he whispered in her ear.
“But your leg…”
“Is healing as it should. I have been a very good patient…a task which has not been easy, I assure you.”
She laughed. “I have seen you scowl. I know it has tried your patience.” She leaned back a bit more and tilted her head up to look at him. “Thank you. I know you do it for me.”
“I would do most anything for you.”
“You always have,” said Anne. “I have been thinking about this lately. Darcy would often question when I asked for assistance, but you would do whatever I asked without a moment’s hesitation. If it made me happy, it was done ─ even if it put you at risk of getting into trouble. You only ever refused if you thought it would do me harm.”
“But it is Darcy’s nature to question.”
She turned to face him. “Yes, but it is your nature as well. You always questioned him. You were not so willing to bear your father’s wrath for him.”
“But he was a boy.”
She smiled at him. “Perhaps.” Her arms wound around his neck. “Or perhaps you have always held a special place in your heart for me.”
Published to YouTube by saved by grace on Jan 22, 2015
I cannot tell you how excited I was to find this video this past week. This song has been a longtime favourite of mine — and I love Sense and Sensibility. I think the song fits Colonel Brandon so well!
But my love of the song is not the only reason I decided to share this video with you today. I have finished my first short story in the series of short stories that I wish to do (called Nature’s Fury and Delights), and I have moved on to the second one. It has only 430 words to it at present, but it has been started!
The first story (Thunder) is a different first meeting for Darcy and Elizabeth. The second story (Morning Mist) is going to be another first meeting and for two characters and a Jane Austen book that I have never before attempted. This story will be a different sort of meeting for Colonel Brandon and Marianne…and that’s all I am going to tell you about it for now.
I hope to have at least three short stories written and edited before I start releasing them, but that plan is flexible and will be dependent on how my writing times go because I do have a deadline in mind. There is a short excerpt from Thunder in my Austen Author post tomorrow, and for now, that’s the only excerpt that I plan to share. I’m trying very hard to keep these under wraps until I have more of the series idea fleshed out and written. You have no idea how hard that is for me! LOL I just want to share it all right now. 😀 But I am going to be good and refrain.
In other writing news, poor Miss Crawford has been neglected for yet another week. 🙁 I hope to get to her story this week, but I am pushing to get Assessing Mr. Darcy finished soon, so choices have to be made and unfortunately, Miss Crawford is not the most pressing choice. I also have excerpts from each of these stories as well as Delighting Mrs. Bennet in tomorrow’s Austen Authors post.
Below is a portion of the chapter from Assessing Mr. Darcy that I will post on Patreon later today. As always, this excerpt may contain spoilers, so read at your own risk. 🙂
AN EXCERPT FROM Assessing Mr. Darcy:
Jane took her hat from the hook on the wall near the door at the rear of the house.
“Forgive me,” Elizabeth said as soon as their feet had reached the garden path. “I should not have argued.”
“No, you should not have,” Jane agreed. “When will you learn to hold your tongue?”
Elizabeth sighed. “Not soon enough, I am afraid.”
Gaining Jane’s forgiveness was only the first step in setting things to right. She also needed to speak to William, whom she had seen circling the garden from the window in the sitting room.
“Let me talk to William. There must be something we can do to fix this mess I have created. Mr. Darcy’s response to my insistence was not so very unusual. I am certain any gentleman would have been less than polite when his foot was injured. I should have considered that.”
Jane wrapped her arm around Elizabeth’s. “I cannot believe William wishes to cut ties with both Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley over a few cross words.”
“I do not believe he truly will once he has had time for his anger to cool.”
“He is very protective of us,” Jane said. “He may not change his mind.”
It was a possibility that Elizabeth had considered. William could be stubborn to a fault at times, especially when it came to family and how they should be treated. While it was an endearing trait of his that he cared so much for his sisters, there were moments when it did become a hindrance – such as now.
“Even if he does not change his mind, I will find a way for you to see Mr. Bingley, even if I have to walk to Netherfield myself and apologize to Mr. Darcy.”
“You would do that for me?”
Elizabeth nodded. “I would do just about anything for you, my dear sister, even humiliating myself by begging forgiveness from a gentleman who should be seeking it from me.”
Jane laughed lightly. “You are too good.”
“I am not, and you know it. That is why our brother is stomping about the garden. Be careful of the rose bushes,” she called to William, who was swatting at the trees and bushes with his walking stick as he moved along the path.
“I would not dare harm them,” William called back. “And, I am not going to change my mind, Lizzy.” He straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin. “No matter how pathetic Jane might attempt to look. Those gentlemen are not the sort who deserve my sisters.”
“Everyone spits an angry word at one time or another,” Elizabeth replied. “And I am very good at provoking such words.” She smiled at William.
He sighed and shook his head. “You are a proficient at it, but it is more than that. They are just not the sort of gentlemen with whom I would like to see my sisters.”
“What is it then?” Elizabeth asked. “You cannot just declare someone unfit to marry without reason. You know I will not just accept your decree without proof.”
William scowled at the veracity of such a statement.
“You have not liked Mr. Darcy since you heard his name,” Elizabeth continued. “You were cautious about him as if you knew something about him. Yet, Lydia has not found anything unflattering in the papers tied to his name, so what are you not saying?”
William held Elizabeth’s gaze for a long, silent, stubborn minute. “Very well,” he finally said. “I have heard that he is not as he appears, but gossip is not right.”
“Neither is sending away a perfectly amiable and handsome gentleman who I like very much for no apparent reason,” Jane said firmly. “I do not wish to die a beautiful spinster, William – at least, not without knowing why it must be so.”
William handed her his handkerchief. “There is no need for tears.”
“There is when you are three and twenty and not allowed to marry anyone!” Jane cried with a stamp of her foot – a rare display of temper for her.
William turned away from them, walking three paces forward and then returning. That he did not wish to say anything was evident in his every feature, yet he could not look at Jane dabbing her eyes with his handkerchief without shaking his head and beginning an explanation.
This year, I started writing the first of the three novelettes in the book I am giving away in August. I wanted to learn how to write using dictation, so I knew the process would not be fast — and I was right. I wrote in small sections (while getting ready in the mornings). It was interesting how my brain was trying to get used to speaking a story rather than sending it through my fingers to the computer. (I am not sure that it is completely familiar with that process yet) The software also had to get used to my style of writing. (It’s getting better but still needs work.) Needless to say, these three stories needed a LOT of editing for typos and punctuation. 😀 However, it was a great learning experience, and I am going to do it again — after New Year’s.
