Music Monday: North and South – What About Now (Daughtry)

Welcome to August. 🙂 Today, I have a movie meets music selection with a rocky edge to it. I chose it for a few of the lyrics that seem to go with the story I just completed writing. Here are the lyrics, and below the video, you’ll find a few lines of the story which I hope will help you see how this song seems to fit the plight Charles Edwards finds himself in at the end of Charles: To Discover His Purpose.

…can we see beyond the scars
And make it to the dawn?

AND

What if you’re making me all that I was meant to be?

AND

This broken heart can still survive
With a touch of your grace

AND (finally)

For all my life, I am yours

Published to YouTube by Elva Dögg Guðmundsdóttir on September 21, 2008.

“You, Miss Barrett, are perhaps the most compassionate, yet uncompromising, lady I have ever met. You do not only do great things, but you demand them as well. You inspire me to be a better man. You,” his lips curled into a small smile, “with all your scolding and reprimanding, have caused me to find something at which I am good…”

AND

“I will not present any other offer to you from this day forward. I will simply leave you with the option of choosing me. If someday, I should be so fortunate as to earn your good opinion as well as your heart, you have only to tell me, and I will be yours for time and eternity. I will not charm anything from you, Evelyn. Never from you. I will only ever take what you wish to give me, even if at this moment it is anger and distrust.”

Charles’s story is with my first reader, and I expect to get her notes on it this week.  It has finished posting at Patreon, and I am hoping to get the preorder set up by the end of this week so that it can go live next Tuesday.

Charles’s ebook cover is all ready to go, and a cover reveal to my mailing list and here on the blog are scheduled for next Monday.

I do, however, still need to write a blurb before I can set up that preorder. So, that will be on my to-do list this week.

Writing-wise, I took it a bit easy this week. I allowed myself a full week of non-writing days. During those days, I worked on other things, such as…

I was able to get more of the Dash of Darcy and Companions Collection re-covered. I still need to create a couple of print covers for ebooks which already have their new covers, and I have to create two Companions Duos.  That’s all that is left on that project. I’ll be very glad when this updating project is complete. It was a big job.

I spent some time playing with graphics and working on a few items for my Society6 store, BonnyLassCreatives. I figured since it is now August and school will be starting soon, I would work on making some stickers, notebooks, and note cards for my shop. I added a few new designs but only a few. However, it was the creative break my brain needed to relax after the completion of one story and slowly come back to ready to write.

By Wednesday of this week, after seven non-writing days, I was itching to get back to some story. Mary Crawford will be the focus of my next Other Pens book, and my mind has started to work on figuring out her whys. So, I have not written anything for her yet. I did work on Delighting Mrs. Bennet on Thursday and Friday, and I think that story is nearly complete. I will focus on it this week because I think it really only requires a few thousand more words.

Since I do not yet have a story from which I can pull an excerpt, there isn’t one for today and won’t be one again next week. So, instead, I will leave you with a couple of pictures of my stickers, note cards, and notebooks as well as this question:

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I’m currently working on figuring out Mary Crawford’s “need” and her motivation. They are usually intricately woven together. I have some ideas about her, but I would be fascinated to hear what you think about — How did Mary Crawford become who she is?  Drop your thoughts in the comments.

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Leenie B Books

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Music Monday: Christmas Present, Andy Williams

Sadly, this is the last Monday of Christmas in July. It’s been lovely taking some time to think about Christmas during a very hot and humid month for us here in Nova Scotia. Today’s giveaway is not a surprise since there is only one book left on my list. It is a book that has to do with a gift of love that is given from brother to sister, so I thought this song would be perfect for today.

Published on Youtube by TheSorrowfulFlower on December 20, 2012.

The giveaway link, as always, is right below the writing news and before the story excerpt.

Writing News:

The biggest news I have for you this Monday is that Charles: To Discover His Purpose is starting its way through the polishing process. I do not have a firm date on publication yet, but I am hoping it will be toward the end of August. 😀 There is an excerpt from the story in tomorrow’s Austen Author’s post and the last Monday excerpt from it below.

That means, next week, I may (probably won’t) have a story excerpt on Monday. 🙁 I hope to spend this week seeing if I can complete Delighting Mrs. Bennet.

Are you wondering what I will be writing next? Me, too. 🙂 Actually, I know that one story I will be working on is Mary Crawford’s story, which follows Charles’s story in the Other Pens series. However, I am also trying to decide on another Dash of Darcy title…but so far, I’ve got nothin’. 🙂

My reorganizing of the Dash of Darcy and Companion Collection is on-going, though it is getting closer to completion.

And one last thing: For those of you who frequent Facebook, I wanted to let you know that Rose Fairbanks, Zoe Burton, and I are doing a weekly Jane Austen Trivia game in our Longbourn Literary Society group. Each week on Tuesday, we will be posting two trivia questions from a different novel. You will have until Friday to participate by commenting on the posts, and for your participation, you will be entered into a draw for a giveaway.

And now for the last…


CHRISTMAS IN JULY GIVEAWAY:

CLICK HERE TO CLAIM ONE OF THE 5 COPIES OF Two Days Before Christmas.

The copies are available on a first come, first serve basis until all five have been claimed or the link expires on Friday, August 3, 2018.

Update: All five copies of this book have found homes.


The following is from the last portion of the book. It may include some spoilers, although I did try to select something that doesn’t contain the most spoilery spoilers. (There are three important chapters after this excerpt.) However, you will still want to read at your own risk.

ONE LAST (longish) EXCERPT FROM Charles: To Discover His Purpose:  Continue reading Music Monday: Christmas Present, Andy Williams


Wordless Wednesday: A Stack of Old Books

Stack of old books, source: Deposit Photos

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“If you do not wish to read, then why are you here?”

“To disturb you,” Jane replied with a laugh, “and to retrieve a book. Just because I do not enjoy reading as much as you do, does not mean I do not read.” She squeezed her sister’s arm and lowered her voice. “This could be your library.”

[from Delighting Mrs. Bennet]

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Leenie B Books

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Music Monday: Christmas Medley- London Symphony Orchestra

Christmas in July continues today with a Mary Merry Christmas Medley and another book giveaway. Can you guess which book? Did I give you a good enough hint?

Published to YouTube by pok12341 on December 26, 2011

There are only two books remaining on our list: A Very Mary Christmas and Two Days Before Christmas. The giveaway link is located, as always, after my writing news and just before today’s story excerpt.

Writing News: 

I don’t have a lot of news for you this week. I’m still working on writing both Delighting Mrs. Bennet and Charles: To Discover His Purpose. I managed to do three days of two writing sessions each. However, I worked on Charles’s story for most of those second writing sessions since that story needs to be completed first. (I would still like to have this story ready to publish in August — it’s just turning out to be longer than expected)

Because I put extra time into that story, there were 3 chapters posted at Patreon last week, and I know I have at least 2 chapters ready or almost ready to post this week. 🙂

My goal to have the Dash of Darcy and Companions Collection all updated by next Tuesday, the end of the month, is a faint possibility for the ebooks, but the print ones might push me past that deadline as will the fact that I would like to add a couple of bundles. So a more realistic goal for completion is before August 15.

And I think that is it for the writing news. Now, for the …


CHRISTMAS IN JULY GIVEAWAY:

Did you guess the right book? 😀

CLICK HERE TO CLAIM ONE OF THE 5 COPIES OF A Very Mary Christmas.

[Oh! This free copy features the never before revealed updated cover for this book.]

The copies are available on a first come, first serve basis until all five have been claimed or the link expires on Friday, July 27, 2018.

***Update: All 5 copies have found homes***


The following has not yet been posted on Patreon and is about half of Chapter 13.

AN (longish) EXCERPT FROM Charles: To Discover His Purpose: Continue reading Music Monday: Christmas Medley- London Symphony Orchestra


Wordless Wednesday: Bedroom, Haliburton House

Bedroom at Haliburton House, Windsor, Nova Scotia. Photo by Leenie Brown

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“I would say that you have all your life to become acquainted after you marry, but…” he paused and looked toward the far corner of the room where a dressing table stood next to a large wardrobe, “sometimes even twenty-three years is not enough for some to learn what they should know about their mate.”

[from Delighting Mrs. Bennet]

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Leenie B Books

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