Becoming Entangled – Page 4

Music Monday: Moonlight Sonata, Dan Gibson [Beethoven]

Below is a piece of music that Georgiana might have had in her music room since Ludwig van Beethoven completed Moonlight Sonata in 1801. This version of that sonata happened to be included on a CD that I picked up recently at a thrift store and has been playing in the background during part of my writing time this past week.

Phyllo GP. “Moonlight Sonata – Dan Gibson [Beethoven].” YouTube, YouTube, 14 Sept. 2012, youtu.be/FIVn7hmnfmc.

While my blog might have sat idle this past week, my fingers have not. I had a great week of writing, even after taking time off for Thanksgiving. There are perhaps a few projects that are not as far along as I would like them to be, but the short pause was refreshing. As of today, the blog is returning to its regular posting schedule, and, as promised, a new story, Confounding Caroline, will begin posting this Thursday.

If you look in the Thursday’s Three Hundred section, you will see that it is currently empty. That is because I have removed With the Colonel’s Help as I move down my publication checklist and get the book ready for release in just a couple of weeks. I had hoped to get a short preorder set up, but it’s not looking promising. However, the publication date of October 26 for the ebook version looks to be on schedule with the print version to follow shortly thereafter.

I was also able to complete the first draft of Becoming Entangled, the sequel to Unravelling Mr. Darcy. I will share an excerpt from that below. I expect this story to be published by the end of November — maybe in time for American Thanksgiving. We shall see.

I have started a brand new story called Two Days before Christmas, which features a spunky Georgiana whose Christmas wish is to see her brother happy even if it means doing some meddling. I am just a few thousand words into that one and would like one more week with it before sharing any excerpts. Of course, that means you will get a peek at that next Monday.

But for now, here is

AN EXCERPT from Becoming Entangled:

[Warning: this piece is from near the end of the book. Therefore, read at your own risk.] Continue reading

Music Monday: New Day, David Garrett

This coming Saturday, October 7, 2017, I am going to do something I have not done in a long time. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I did this. Want to know what it is? Hit play and while you listen to some lovely music accompanied by some beautiful pictures, I will tell you. 🙂

HelenaPrats. “New Day ~David Garrett~.” YouTube, YouTube, 28 July 2011.

I am going to take a day off from creating blog posts. I am not going to do extra posts this week to make up for it. I am actually going to let my blog sit idle for a week. As I write this, a little voice questions my ability to follow through, but I am determined. With the Colonel’s Help, the current Thursday Three Hundred story ends this week, so this is a natural time to hit pause for a day — or part of one. I feel a need to recharge. I’ve felt it for a while, so I am going to listen for once. 🙂

But don’t worry, even if the blog is idle next week, I won’t be. I will be writing and editing.

I have set a tentative release day of October 26, 2017, for With the Colonel’s Help. I will finish first round edits today or tomorrow, and it will begin its journey through the rest of the editorial process. Fingers crossed that there will be a short preorder for this one.

I am just a little over a third of the way through Becoming Entangled. I hope to have that book ready for you by the end of November, and then, I would like to (maybe) do a Christmas short story. So there is plenty for me to be writing during the blogs downtime. 🙂

I have just started tangling things up in Becoming Entangled this week and attempting to sort out how I want to present Anne. Currently, she is naive as well as sly. She is young for her age — likely due to her mother’s constraints, under which Anne is chafing and is rather desperate to leave behind. Will she do it in a good way or will she make a muddle of things and end up worse than she considers herself to be at present? I am not one hundred percent certain of that answer yet as my brain has been toying with shaking up what I had planned. I suppose with another couple of weeks of writing, I will know. 🙂

You may read a little about her below in the excerpt if you wish and let me know what you think. This is a first draft, so it is written in wet cement not set in stone at this point. 🙂 Remember, if you choose to read the excerpt, it may contain spoilers, so read at your own risk. 🙂

AN EXCERPT from Becoming Entangled: Continue reading Music Monday: New Day, David Garrett

Music Monday: Rolling in the Deep Cover, Piano Guys

Do you ever just start typing in a URL and when the computer suggests a full address for that site, you just click enter, not caring that when you get to your desired destination, you will have to do a bit more clicking to find what you really want? I do. Often. Especially when going to YouTube.

ThePianoGuys. “Adele – Rolling in the Deep (Piano/Cello Cover) – The Piano Guys.” YouTube, YouTube, 7 Sept. 2011.

I did that very thing all this past week when sitting down to write. The suggested address always took me to the above video, and so, each of my writing sessions began with The Piano Guys’ cover of Adele’s Rolling in the Deep. 🙂 I would then hit shuffle and randomly listen to other music from my writing playlist. This song though seems to have just the right melody, rhythm, and dissonance for the story I am attempting to craft because, while the story will be sweet with a happily ever after, I do hope to stir up some trouble along the way. So far, things are sailing along smoothly for everyone involved in the story. However, I’m 6K words in, so it’s time to start tossing issues at the hero and heroine. I suppose that will be my “fun” during my writing time this week.

As I look forward to this week of writing, I am planning to continue writing Becoming Entangled, and I’ll likely start editing With the Colonel’s Help as the last post for that story is next week!

I also will be taking my turn on Austen Authors with a look at how I used research about Vauxhall Gardens in Unravelling Mr. Darcy. This post will, of course, contain an excerpt and a giveaway. I’d love to have you stop by and say hi!

The launch of Unravelling Mr. Darcy last week went well. As I am writing this Sunday evening, it is ranking in the top 20 bestsellers in a couple of categories, and it currently has seven five-star reviews! Thank you to everyone who has purchased and read the book as well as those lovely readers that took time to tell others that they enjoyed the book.

If you read Unravelling Mr. Darcy, then you know that Anne de Bourgh’s story is left up in the air. Becoming Entangled is her story and the one on which I have been working this past week and have excerpted below.

EXCERPT FROM Becoming Entangled: Continue reading Music Monday: Rolling in the Deep Cover, Piano Guys

Music Monday: The Reason, Hoobastank

Today, I have an excerpt from this week’s upcoming release, Unravelling Mr. Darcy (Dash of Darcy #4), as well as a Pride and Prejudice fan video. The lyrics of the song in today’s video fit quite nicely with the premise of my light-hearted novella. Consider these two things…

BrokenDoll7. “Pride & Prejudice – The Reason.” YouTube, YouTube, 4 Mar. 2008.

The song ends with these lyrics:

I’ve found a reason to show
A side of me you didn’t know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you

The description of my upcoming new release says:

What’s a gentleman to do when he has laid his heart before a lady only to have it crushed beneath her dainty slipper? If you’re Fitzwilliam Darcy, there is only one thing to do ─ unravel your tightly wound pride, mend your ways, and convince the lady of your worth.

And what’s a lady to do when she has spoken harshly and knows she has done so unfairly? If you’re Elizabeth Bennet, you take a deep breath, swallow your dignity, give him a second chance, and perhaps along the way, discover a gentleman you didn’t know existed.

Can you see the connection? I’m sure you can, but let me tell you a little bit more about this story anyway.

Unravelling Mr. Darcy begins immediately following the moment in Pride and Prejudice when Darcy says

Forgive me for having taken up so much of your time, and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness.

In the next paragraph, we read that he hastily left the room and the parsonage.

Available for purchase September 21, 2017

Not so in this new version of events.

In this version, he is not leaving quickly but is rather willing himself out of the room and praying for some sort of divine intervention — which he gets. Elizabeth calls him back and apologizes for her rudeness.

Here I must pause and warn those who are looking for the utmost propriety in a story that they will be sadly disappointed in this tale, for it begins with a rather indelicate discussion about why Elizabeth is feeling ill and why her words were so harsh.

This apology and the discussion of several topics in the parsonage’s sitting room that follows Elizabeth’s apology lead to Darcy being granted a second chance to win Elizabeth’s heart. To do so, Darcy is amending his ways in grand style. Therefore, prepare yourself to meet a Darcy who, though still noble and honorable, has made a 180-degree turnabout because

He’s found a reason to show
A side of him she didn’t know

Unravelling Mr. Darcy will be hitting the digital shelves beginning this Thursday, September 21, 2017, and a print copy will follow shortly thereafter.

One more little side note in relation to this story: Last week, I mentioned that I wanted to get the sequel to a point where I could include a small sample of it at the back of this book. That has not happened. I have begun what I think will be the sequel telling Anne’s story, but it is not to a place where I can say “Yes, this is definitely how the story will begin.” Therefore, revealing any of her story will wait until I can. However, Anne’s story, Becoming Entangled, will be available in the late fall, around the time of American Thanksgiving or shortly thereafter as it will depend on my editors’ schedules as much as my ability to get the story written.

AN EXCERPT FROM Unravelling Mr. Darcy:
Continue reading Music Monday: The Reason, Hoobastank

Music Monday: I Don’t Want to Live Without You, Foreigner

This week, I started my writing sessions by watching a video while my document opened, and I got my notebook, pen, and calendar out. The video below was one of the videos that served as an aide in shifting from school and family things to creative work mode.

MaCarmen De Rivera. “Foreigner – I Don’t Want to Live without You (Sub Español) ~ Orgullo & Prejuicio.” YouTube, YouTube, 29 June 2012.

This is not the first time I have shared this video on a Monday, but it has been more than a year since I did. Last time I shared this video, I was working on His Convenient Choice, which is not a Darcy and Elizabeth story; however, this time around, I was working on a story that will (should?) end with Darcy and Elizabeth together. This current story, Confounding Caroline, is not complete, but it is going to get set aside for a while.

I have gotten my last set of edits for Unravelling Mr. Darcy back from my second editor and need to attend to those as well as begin writing the sequel, Becoming Entangled, so there is an excerpt to include at the end of the book (as per my first editor’s request). I am hoping to get a lot of that done this week in spite of school lessons to teach to my son and relatives arriving on the weekend. (Yes, I am nuts — and a bit driven. 😉 Hopefully, there will be something left of me by next Monday! 🙂 )

And now for a portion of what I wrote this past week. One small word of caution for those who wish to avoid all spoilers — this excerpt contains the beginning of how our main characters will deal with the problem of Caroline. As always on these days, read at your own risk. 🙂

AN EXCERPT FROM Confounding Caroline: Continue reading Music Monday: I Don’t Want to Live Without You, Foreigner