Darcy Family Holidays – Page 3

The Library at Dingestow (Charlotte Bosanquet)

For July, I am going to do the Wednesday post theme differently. Instead of picking a particular sort or topic of images to share, I am going to pick a series of books to feature. This month, I’m choosing the Darcy Family Holidays series for two reasons. First, it is the book bundle I have on sale this month so it’s a great time to pick it up if you haven’t already added it to your collection. And second, book four in this series will be published in August, and I’d like to spend some time celebrating the series as I am deep in editing and publishing details. 🙂

We’ll start with book 1, Two Days before Christmas.

I chose this image because the rather long excerpt below is of a conversation that takes place in a library.

Brush and watercolor and pen and black ink over graphite, c1840. *The Library at Dingestow*, Charlotte Bosanquet (1790 – 1852). Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

“Am I being a fool?”

Richard shook his head. “No.”

Darcy looked at him, hoping that his cousin would elaborate on his reply.

“What can I tell you that you do not already know?”

“Her family is ridiculous,” Darcy said.

“And so is Aunt Catherine.”

“Her father’s estate is mismanaged.”

“That is not Miss Elizabeth’s doing,” Richard replied with a smile. “Her father has an estate; that is the relevant point — she is a gentleman’s daughter.”

“But she has little to bring with her to a marriage.”

“Besides herself,” Richard countered. “Is Pemberley in need of funds?”

“No, but she will likely bring her younger sisters with her — all three of them, hoping to be thrown into the paths of wealthy gentlemen. Silly younger sisters.” Darcy shook his head at the thought.

Richard grimaced. “That could be a problem, but is it great enough to require that you give up Miss Elizabeth to another?”

Darcy scrubbed his face again. “No. I have argued all these points over and over, and the answer is always the same.”

Richard cocked a brow. “A fool does not put so much thought into a decision, does he?”

Darcy shook his head. “I suppose not.”

“Then marry her. Claim some happiness for yourself.”

“Darcy, I had heard you were here,” Lord Matlock said as he entered the library through the door that led to his study. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?” He tipped his head and surveyed Darcy from head to toe just as Richard had done.

“He’s getting married,” Richard replied.

[from Two Days Before Christmas]

Get *Darcy Family Holidays, Volume 1 (books 1-3*) for $2.99 until the end of July.

Summer (Brian Crain)

I think I need a sign that says “Gone Editing” for this month. I have come to the end of the manuscript for Sketches and Secrets of Summer, and that means it is time to start editing and getting all the things done for publishing. I expect the release day for this book to be in early August. (Stay tuned for the exact date and preorder info.)

Since I will be editing and getting Sketches ready for publication this month, July’s Music Monday story excerpts will all be from that book! And since this book is set in the summer (and it is currently summer in my part of the world), the theme for our music selections this month is “Summertime.” We’re starting July’s theme this week with a song that often plays while I am writing or editing and has the perfect title to get us started on our summery theme. 🙂

Now, here is your first peek at Sketches and Secrets of Summer (Darcy Family Holidays, book 4):

And here’s a little info about the story:

Stuart Alford is the romantic hero of this story. He is a second-born son who has unexpectedly inherited his family’s estate and his older brother’s children. Aaron is Stuart’s younger brother and holds the living at Kympton, which means this story is set in Derbyshire.

While you are waiting for *Sketches* to publish, why not give the first three books in this series a read (or reread 😉 )? If you don’t already have these titles, they are on sale in this bundle for the month of July. Just click the image above to find all the stores where this book is available.

Titles in this compilation are *Two Days Before Christmas, One Winter’s Eve,* and *A Scandal in Springtime*.

MAILING LIST PATREON

The July 2021 Saturday Broadsheet

The Saturday Broadsheet, with all my writing life updates, is now available at the link at the bottom of this short post. In this issue of the Broadsheet you will find:

Info about what is posting on my blog — which you probably already know except for new Monday and Wednesday themes for this month.
My progress on my writing and publishing projects. (I finished a manuscript!) There is a sneak peek at Sketches and Secrets of Summer included.
Two books that I have on sale for the month of June, plus a link to a multi-author promotion that one of the books is in, and a link to a fellow JAFF author’s current countdown deal.
A video that I find inspires my imagination and makes walking on my treadmill enjoyable (and turns it into an imagination workout and not just a walking workout. 🙂 )

Click here to read the July 2021 Saturday Broadsheet

Have a great weekend!

I’ll be back on Monday with a story and song pairing. (July’s theme is Summertime << in case you didn’t read that in the newsletter or forgot.)

I Remember Spring (Robin Spielberg)

Welcome to a brand new week. Shall we start it with some relaxing piano music and a quote from a story?

If you’ve been following Charles’s story, which is currently posting on Fridays, you’ll recognize Trefor Linton, the hero of A Scandal in Springtime, as a fellow who follows the rules and is never the source of scandal. That is he wasn’t the source of scandal until he met Kitty Bennet and his world turned on its head. (FYI: This quote is from a conversation Charles and Trefor are having a ball.)

A Scandal in Springtime is book three in the Darcy Family Holidays series.

When Kitty’s world collides, quite literally, with Trefor Linton’s, the result is going to be a tantalizingly delicious tale that will set tongues wagging and make for a spring Kitty will always remember.

MAILING LIST PATREON

Music Monday: Christmas Ambiance

PUBLISHED TO YOUTUBE BY SERENE AMBIANCE ON NOVEMBER 30, 2020.

I’ve had several videos of fireplaces with Christmas instrumental music playing as I write lately. I picked this one because it is one of the shorter ones. (Some are up to eight or even eleven hours! I just pick up where I left off one day when I start the video again the next day. 🙂 )

Today, I am sharing a short excerpt from two books that have a specific location in common. So this post, like the video above, could be a longish one. 🙂

This first excerpt is from Two Days before Christmas.