As I was sitting down to create this Saturday Broadsheet, I decided that I wanted to attempt to add a little brightness to this day. Therefore, you will find an impromptu free book weekend and sale for this weekend. Keep reading, all the info you need is just down a bit under book promotions.
Writing News
Hey, how has your week been? Kind of crazy? Mine was pretty routine except I had to shift my errand day to Thursday since we are supposed to be getting a heavy dose of rain starting later today (Friday) into tomorrow. I’m not fond of running errands in the rain. 🙂 I also ended up taking a trip to the doctor on Thursday to get some antibiotics and to refill a prescription that is one of those take it daily things.
Those errands and all took all day, so I am hoping to write a chapter of Protecting Miss Darcy this evening or tomorrow. Here’s the list of stories and the progress made along with a small snippet from each:
“No, do not turn your head,” Mr. Blakesley scolded as he once again sat in the drawing room at Erondale two days later — this time without Mr. Norman and with a screen and drawing paper in front of him.
“But I wish to see what you are doing,” Grace replied.
“I am taking your likeness, and I am not very accomplished. Therefore, I beg of you, stay still, or I shall not be responsible for your face looking more like an apple that has been trampled by a herd of pigs than the pretty shape that it is.”
“Are you truly so bad?” Grace peeked around the screen.
Truth be told, she did not care what the drawing on the paper looked like. She was far more interested in seeing his face while he sketched, and if that screen was not in the way, she could also see how his mouth moved and eyes narrowed as he shifted his head while studying her. The thought of a gentleman such as Mr. Blakesley studying her likeness so intently was both unsettling in a nervous sort of fashion and exhilarating in a rapid heartbeat that made one smile and sigh sort of fashion.
“You have ruined it.” Mr. Blakesley favoured her with a scowl. She was certain she had never met a gentleman who looked so dashing when he scowled.
[from Her Secret Beau, Touches of Austen Book 3]
Published to YouTube by anickamilujefilm on February 18, 2012
I have used this video before on a Monday. However, it had been over a year since I did so I thought it would be fine to use it again. 🙂 I was writing a Dash of Darcy Companion story when I used it last time. Therefore, today, I will share an excerpt from that book at the end of this post as I am not quite far enough along in my current work in progress to share from it. Continue reading Music Monday: Falling for You (Northanger Abbey)
I’m sharing something a little different from my usual Monday Music selections. However, it is a song that I have been enjoying lately and it has a connection to my writing life at this moment in time.
Published to YouTube by Tenille Townes on March 18, 2019.
I have been doing a lot of thinking about Persuading Miss Mary this week because I’m struggling a bit with finding the answer to what I think is the major question of the story. How is Wes going to persuade Mary to love him when he represents something of which she very strongly disapproves? Continue reading Music Monday: White Horse, Tenille Townes
Assessing Mr. Darcy has started to appear on some vendors for pre-order. Below is the cover image. If you click it, it will show you the vendor options. This link will continue to add vendors as they become available so it should be fairly accurate over time.
I have just a couple of notes for you regarding the pre-order:
First, I had to change the release day from October 25 to October 26 since by the time I got the files all ready to upload to draft2digital, which handles the publishing of this book to several vendors including Apple and Nook, the earliest date available for release on their site was October 26.
Second, I will be sending out a limited number of advance reader copies to my mailing list next week. At the same time or just before this email is sent, I will be making the book available to all my current Patrons on Patreon.
So what is this book about? Here’s the description as it will be found on the back of the book and on the sales page at various retailers:
Will her brother’s opinion keep her from finding true love?
The Bennet ladies are all eager anticipation. Netherfield has been let at last! And joy of all joys, it has been leased to a single young gentleman of good fortune! To Elizabeth’s delight, the new neighbor has not come alone but has brought with him a handsome friend. With any luck, if this gentleman proves to be more than just handsome, it will not only be Jane who finds a husband.
Fitzwilliam Darcy has heard many times over the past weeks about the fabled beauties of Longbourn from his friend who is leasing the estate next door. However, he is not prepared for just how unexaggerated those claims are when he meets two of the ladies from Longbourn and their brother while on a ride.
While Darcy and Elizabeth would like to get to know more about each other, Elizabeth’s brother is not as favourably inclined to the match. He knows a secret, and, unless he can learn to trust that anyone could ever be worthy of his beloved sister, his censure may just be the thing that keeps them apart forever.
Assessing Mr. Darcy is the first novel-length addition to my Dash of Darcy and Companions Collection of Pride and Prejudice inspired stories.
I have shared several excerpts from this book in my Music Monday posts while I was writing it. This link will take you to a search result for Assessing Mr. Darcy on this blog. While most of these will have excerpts, you should be aware that some might just have a mention of the book.
Georgiana’s eyes grew wide with understanding. “How dreadful!”
Mary nodded. “I felt a fool for having fallen for such a man.”
Georgiana stood with her hands on her hips. “But he was a deceiver! You could not have known.”
“I should have known when he chose me over my sisters,” Mary said quietly.
“Why?”
Mary smiled sadly at Georgiana. How did one explain one’s lack of beauty?
“Oh, no!” said Georgiana. “Stand here.” She pointed to a spot in front of the mirror. “I do not know what you looked like then, but look at yourself now. You are beautiful. Your cheeks are perfectly rosy. Your nose is small. Your eyes shine with your emotions, and your mouth is lovely ─ neither too thick nor too thin. And your figure…” Georgiana studied Mary for a moment. “Although you are not tall, your height is by no means deficient, and you have ─ Oh, I do not know how to say it politely ─ you have softness in all the proper places. You shall turn many heads this season, and one of them may possess that healing love of which you spoke.”
Mary’s cheeks were glowing quite rosy, and she had to blink against the tears that had formed in her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I have never before heard myself described as anything so pleasant.”
[from No Other Choice]
Published to YouTube by Dean Brody on May 23, 2014.
I have been enjoying having a tv hanging in my “office” and playing some YouTube videos while working. (We use the tv for our homeschool videos — that’s why it is there.)
As I have said before, writing time means songs with no words, but other work times, when I am making a graphic or doing something that does not require full mental engagement so that there is a little space open to enjoy the story a song might tell, I enjoy music with words. Dean Brody is EXCELLENT at telling stories with his songs.
This one, which I listened to this past week, has a beautiful story to it, and when I went through my viewing history, it seemed to be a great one to share — simply because it tells such a lovely story.
However, I have been challenging myself the last few weeks to see if I can come up with story excerpts from my stories that fit in some way with the music video I am sharing. I am not sure how long I can keep doing that, and I thought I had hit my limit when I chose this song to share. BUT then, I remembered this conversation between Mary and Georgiana in No Other Choice. I think it fits well enough. What do you think?
I’m still working on getting the new school schedule integrated with the writing schedule. Therefore, I do not have a lot of writing news to share today, as I did very little writing last week, and the writing I did, I ended up scrapping. It was good writing, but it just did not feel right for the story. So after two days of just letting it simmer, I could not shake the feeling and cut the words.
However, in more positive news, I have a title for Mary Crawford’s story. I have been pondering the ideas both for the title and about why Mary is as she is that you left in comments. Much of what you said really meshed with what I was thinking. Mary has not had an easy life as far as men go. Her examples of how men treat women have been tragic. As I was contemplating these things on Saturday morning, I thought, “She’s been attempting to protect her heart.” And that thought sent a little shiver of goosebumps up my arms, and I knew I had found her story’s title and the central theme.
Because I actually have a title for that story and I wrote no new words that I kept on Assessing Mr. Darcy, I’m going to share the first nearly five hundred words of Mary’s story.
Just one side note here before we continue to the excerpt. If you are a patron following Assessing Mr. Darcy on Patreon, I have two chapters that I have written before and did a bit of editing on during this past week; therefore, I will have two posts for that story this week. 🙂
