“If you are not able to dance, there is always the chance of a stroll in the garden,” Mr. Carlyle said.
Felicity ducked her head and blushed but not before Victoria saw her cast an uneasy glance at Mr. Clayton. “I do enjoy gardens.”
“Indeed,” Mr. Clayton muttered. He turned and looked back towards the house. “They will likely start playing games soon. We should head back.”
“But I had hoped to see the far side of the rotunda,” Felicity said with a small pout.
“You do not need me for that,” Mr. Clayton said. “I find I have had my fill of gardens.”
Victoria’s eyebrows rose. It appeared Mr. Clayton had reached his limit for endurance. She could not help but feel somewhat happy for him.
[from His Darling Friend, A Touches of Austen Novella, and the current Sweet Tuesdays story]
Published to YouTube by Daniel Jang on November 22, 2014.
That Felicity! She’s a piece of work! In His Beautiful Bea, she was the character who was supposed to have touches of Maria Bertram in her, and she has not left those unsavoury details behind just because we are in a different book now. Oh, no! As you will see in tomorrow’s story, her unpleasant personality is flourishing.
I am keeping to the same format as I did last week and sharing an excerpt from something I was working on this past week, and then sharing a longer excerpt from a published book at the end of the post. Both excerpts take place at balls just as the video does.
This first excerpt is from near the end of Tom: To Secure His Legacy:
“I am glad to hear it,” she replied.
He tipped his head slightly to one side, his brow furrowed.
“Truly,” she assured him.
That returned his smile to his face just as the music began. For the duration of the set, they spoke in snatches about things of little significance – flowers, the weather, the crush of people, and so on. It was perhaps the longest and best conversation about the mundane things of the world in which Faith had ever taken part.
“I fear I will not be able to offer another set to you,” Mr. Bertram said as they made their way from the floor. “Unless, of course, you do not mind strolling in the garden rather than dancing during the set.”
He was limping more than usual. His leg must be hurting him most grievously. He had performed admirably while dancing, even if his hopping and skipping had been a trifle awkward at times when he began favouring one leg over the other.
“I am not a walking stick,” Faith whispered, “but you may lean on me if you wish.”
“I am certain I can make it to where I left my cane,” he assured her with a smile.
“Do you even think it wise to walk in the garden? Would your leg not do better if you were to rest it?”
“You sounded very much like Mrs. Durward just now,” he replied with a laugh.
“I promise not to instruct you to sit by the fire.”
“Very well, then, shall we adjourn to the card room?”
She shook her head. “My brother has made me promise to dance as often as I am asked. I fear he might not think I was doing as he requested if I disappear from the ballroom. However, I would not be opposed to a short stroll of the garden and perhaps a small rest on a bench during some other dance tonight.” It was almost as close as she dared come to declaring her feelings for him, there was one more thing she could say in that regard. “I was sorry to have missed your call yesterday.”
They had reached the edge of the room, near the door to the corridor, and with a look over his shoulder, he led her into the hall.
“My brother…” she protested.
“Might be out here. I did not see him in the ballroom just now,” Mr. Bertram replied with a grin.
Published to YouTube by Lily C on March 18, 2018.
I have begun the final read-through of Tom’s story and have set a tentative release date for March 11, 2019. I say it is a tentative date, but I firmly believe that date will hold fast. I just like to leave a little wiggle room at this stage of things.
I have not started any new stories, nor do I actually plan to start one for at least another week. I have decided that some of the projects I have been putting off really should not be put off any longer and deserve attention.
One of those projects is the rearranging of some book bundle content. I am, for various reasons, going to be unpublishing two anthologies: New Beginnings and Despite the Circumstances, and creating a new anthology (title and cover to be revealed later).
This new anthology will include Oxford Cottage, For Peace of Mind, Through Every Storm, Listen To Your Heart, and With the Colonel’s Help. I plan to put this anthology in Kindle Unlimited for at least three months. While that is great news for Kindle Unlimited readers, it is not so great for readers who do not read through Amazon as I will be required to remove those books from all my other vendors. Kindle Unlimited demands exclusivity.
I am uncertain at this point if this collection will come out of Kindle Unlimited after the 90-day term is over or not. As I have mentioned in other Monday posts, I am shifting to work on things that are not Pride and Prejudice related more often this year. To do that, I have to try new tactics that might help keep royalties up where they need to be for me to draw my salary from my writing/publishing business, Leenie B Books.
Once again, I will say that removing books from other vendors and making them exclusive to Amazon has not been an easy decision, but I will not truly know if Kindle Unlimited can help keep royalties up unless I try it.
I have the Other Pens, Mansfield Park series and His Beautiful Bea in K.U. but they are not Pride and Prejudice based books and so have a smaller number of readers willing to give them a try. They are not doing poorly compared to how they did when non-exclusive, but the numbers are still on the lower end of things. So, I need to “experiment” with stories which have a larger reader base willing to read them.
If they do well, I might put other collections of books in Kindle Unlimited. This might be for an extended period of time or it might be on a rotating basis so that the books can be made available to readers on other platforms as well. I’m really uncertain how it is all going to work out, and there might be some bumps and missteps along the way.
To help me as I make some of my decisions, would you be willing to take a quick two-question survey? If so, you can find the survey at the link below. The questions are simple. Question one gives several options for ways you prefer to buy and read books. You can select as many options as apply to you. Question two gives you a blank to share anything you would like me to know about how you read that is not included in the survey.
I will leave the survey open until Friday. Thank you to those who take the time to participate.
And, I think, that is all the news I have for you this week other than I am still working on His Darling Friend and Loving Lydia.
Oh, no! There is one more thing. I will have a Friday Feature worth checking out this Friday. 🙂
And now it is time for the second excerpt I promised at the top of this post.
Below is an excerpt from the epilogue to Willow Hall, which can be found at the end of At All Costs. I thought it went well with the mood set by the video above. However, it is from the end of a book, so read at your own risk. 🙂 Continue reading Music Monday: The Last Dance (Samuel Sim – Emma 2009)
Graeme’s brows furrowed, and he shook his head in disbelief. “Of course, I love her. She’s Bea.” He moved to rise, but Shelton’s hand on his arm stopped him.
“No, not as a friend. She’s the one you spoke about when you visited, is she not?”
Graeme blew out a breath and turned to face his friend. “Bea loves my brother, and I only wish to see her happy.” No matter how the idea of his brother marrying Bea irritated him! She deserved better than a dolt who had to be convinced of her worth rather than recognizing it of his own volition.
Shelton nodded his head slowly as if he were considering what Graeme was saying, but Graeme knew better. Shelton was reasoning things out, piecing things together, and drawing conclusions. A gentleman did not survive as a rake and be generally well-liked as Shelton had without a keen mind.
“She loves my brother,” Graeme repeated. It had been foolish of him to speak to Shelton about a lady whom he found enchanting but was unavailable. However, his tongue had been loosened by alcohol that night after they had ridden out to purchase Shelton’s new hunter, and the things that Graeme had been pondering since the evening he had nearly kissed Bea during that blasted card game had come spilling out. He had been wise enough to leave out names, but still, he knew Shelton was no fool.
“You truly wish to see her happy?”
Graeme looked at Shelton warily. “Yes.”
Shelton smiled. “Then, capture her heart before your brother can break it.”
The hairs on the back of Graeme’s neck bristled. The smile Shelton was wearing was calculating. He had seen it before — often right before some poor chap was about to be fleeced or lose his lady.
“I consider myself the charitable sort,” Shelton continued, “and I am approaching that age where a wife will be expected. I could save her heart from harm.”
Graeme’s eyes narrowed. “You will stay away from her,” he growled.
Shelton chuckled, clearly enjoying taunting his friend. “Will you call me out if I do not?”
Graeme folded his arms and smirked in return. Shelton knew that Graeme would never call anyone out. It was, for one thing, illegal, and for another, Graeme was not the best shot nor all that adept with a sword. So to use a duel as a threat would be of no effect. However, there was a threat that Graeme knew would shake Shelton. “No, I will shoot your horse.”
Published to YouTube by Solis Music on March 5, 2017.
Mr. Shelton in the above excerpt is getting his own story! His story will have some definite nods to Jane Austen’s Emma just like His Beautiful Bea had nods to Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. And I am working on fleshing out an idea for a story for Bea’s brother Max that will have nods to Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. That book will be released in the fall as part of a multi-author project which I cannot yet tell you about but am nervously excited about being part of. However, you can start reading Mr. Shelton’s story tomorrow right here on my blog. I have chapters 1-3 scheduled and should have chapters 4 and 5 written before the end of the week. (I missed writing a chapter last week — but more on that later.) The name of Mr. Shelton’s story will be His Darling Friend, and even the title has a bit of a nod to Emma in it. In Emma, Mr. Knightley calls Emma dearest and most beloved. I wanted something similar but did not want to use those words, and darling has the idea of being dear and beloved, so that is why I chose that word for the title.
Needless to say, I am a bit excited to begin sharing this story with you tomorrow. 🙂
His Beautiful Bea is going through a little bit of a makeover. I have given it another reading and cleaned up yet more typos and such (although no matter how often you proof, there always seems to be something that gets missed.) I have updated the file for the ebook and given the book a new cover! The print book will hopefully be ready before next Monday. There are a few more hoops to jump through to get that done than to do an ebook. For those who read in Kindle Unlimited, His Beautiful Bea is in that program and can be read using your subscription.
Now, for the reason I did not get a chapter of His Darling Friend written this past week:
I finished writing Tom: To Secure His Legacy!
Yes, I am excited about that as well! This week, I might be a bit less excited as I reread it before sending it off to my first reader to check for story issues. 😀
The bad part of this news is that I will not have any new story excerpts to share here on Mondays for probably two or three weeks as I need to pick a story to work on then start writing. 🙂
I have no idea what that next story will be at this point. Hopefully, I will have that figured out by next Monday as well. It seems I have a lot of things to do this week! 🙂
So, here, for the last time as a Music Monday work-in-progress, is…
“Has Miss Linton told you about Eiddwen House?” He picked up his cup and saucer and rose from the table.
“Only that Miss Barrett helps match servants and positions.”
Charles stood at the window which overlooked the street. “It is a remarkable place.” He turned and faced Henry. “She took me on a tour of it today. It is all very organized and efficient – not that I would expect less from a proper chit like Miss Barrett.” He tipped his head. “She is very demanding.”
“Much like her mother?”
“Precisely,” he punctuated the word with his lifted cup. “But far more kissable.”
“Yet, you did not kiss her hand.”
“Strange thing that.” He shook his head. He still was not entirely certain why he had foregone such an opportunity. He had never hesitated to press his admiration of a lady in such a way. He shook his head again. She was different. He did not know why or how, but Miss Barrett was different. The same scheme as he always played would not work with her, nor – his brows rose – did he wish it to.
“As I was saying,” he began again, “I have promised to alert her if I hear of any quality positions for valets or groomsmen, and I am asking you to tell me if you hear of any. It is a good thing she is doing there at that house.” He turned back to the window. “Not a piece of money exchanges hands,” he added. “I am considering making a donation.”
There was a spitting and sputtering behind him.
“Yes, a donation,” he answered the shocked question that was drowning in Henry’s incorrectly swallowed tea. “I know I do not offer up my funds on anything easily, except a lark of a bet, but…” He turned toward Henry. “I believe I might actually be able to do some good. Me. How is that for a shocker? Charles Edwards, philanthropist.” He shrugged. “And it might well earn me that kiss I desire.”
[from Charles: To Discover His Purpose]
Published to YouTube by Home Free on April 26, 2016
I’ve decided that for the Monday’s in January, I am going to try to share motivational sorts of songs since it is the start of a new year and where I live, it’s often cold and grey, so a little light might be nice. 🙂 I’ll try to see if I can come up with story tie-ins for them, but I’m not promising I can. (If I can, they might be a bit of a stretch.)
Today’s tie-in is the fact that Charles is willing to try just about anything to get a kiss from Evelyn, and it is this willingness, by the way, that brings about his discovery and change. Trying new things can lead to some wonderful results. (Or devastating disasters as might just happen in the above story before the wonderful results.)
I have some plans to try some new things this year. One of those things is that I hope to begin posting a second story on Tuesdays. My goal for the first post is February 5. I’ll share a bit more about that right before the story excerpt today since I made an attempt at starting that Tuesday story and am going to share it with you.
As I did last week with the poll I included, I am planning to be more “interactive” in my Monday posts from time to time. I do not have any survey questions for you to answer today, but I do have the results from last week’s poll, which I closed on Saturday morning so that I could get this post ready on Saturday night. 🙂
The chart images are a little small, so let me copy the summary here:
Q1. Mr. Darcy’s Comfort is the most read book, but every book has been read at least once. Yay!
Q2. This one was fun! Master of Longbourn (Mr. Collins) wins as favourite. 🙂 (Sorry, Darcy. 😀 but it could have been worse. Poor Charles, Mary, and Georgiana were nobody’s favourites in this group.)
Q3. There seems to be the most interest in reading Assessing Mr. Darcy, but none of the books look like they will be sitting on the side like an unloved wallflower. 😉
I found looking at the results to be great fun. I hope you enjoyed being part of that fun.
Now, before we get to the story excerpt, I have some publishing news. I wish it was better publishing news, to be honest, but it is what it is. I have submitted my files of Delighting Mrs. Bennet to Amazon for a preorder. At the time of my writing this post on Saturday night, those files were still not published. However, the print copy of Delighting Mrs. Bennet, which I submitted after the ebook, has been published. In addition to that, I had a question at one of my uploading platforms which I sent to their help desk on Thursday, and I am still waiting for a reply from them.
However, on a brighter note, I had not one issue with uploading to Kobo, so here is the only link I have at present for pre-ordering Delighting Mrs. Bennet (it is a Canadian link since that is where that site directs me, but you should be able to switch between stores easily): https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/delighting-mrs-bennet
You will notice that the cover for Confounding Caroline has changed (or is changing — Amazon has not yet put the new cover up, and I have no idea why). This cover change was made out of necessity. I need the cover images to be similar for this series, and I had selected a few images of the same couple used in the first Confounding Caroline cover for use in the future series books. However, when I returned to the site to purchase those images, I learned that the site has closed its doors. I was so saddened by this, but feeling bad was not going to change things. So, I developed a plan B — and made a new cover. 🙂 These stories have Darcy at their center. Therefore, I have gone with a Darcy image on them.
Finally, we can get to that excerpt. (My, this is a long post!)
Sometimes, as I am in the beginning stages of brainstorming a story, I find it helpful to just jump in and write an opening scene. That is what I did this past Tuesday, and the excerpt below is that initial partial scene I wrote. I am nearly 100% certain this is where I want this story to start, but there is a small chance that it could change.
The story has no title yet. It will star Roger Shelton, who was Graeme Clayton’s friend in His Beautiful Bea, and will be the second story in my Touches of Austen collection.
These stories are original sweet Regency romances with intentional nods to Jane Austen’s novels. His Beautiful Bea nodded to Mansfield Park but was in NO WAY a variation or a retelling. It has an original cast of characters as well as an original plot line.
Roger’s story will give a nod or two to Jane Austen’s Emma. As you read the excerpt below, see if you can see anything which might make you think of something from Emma. Leave your thoughts in the comments.
(one note: I don’t have it woven into the story yet that this is taking place at the house party Bea’s cousins were planning to attend. It is a very first draft so it’s likely missing a few things. 🙂 )
Welcome to the month of December! The last month of the year! Can you believe it?
Since it is December, I am going to be posting Christmas songs all month long. Here’s the first one. I did pick this one for a specific reason.
Published to YouTube by Christmas Channel on October 31, 2017.
On Thursday, I am going to be posting the first chapter of a Touches of Austen novelette called Frosted Windowpanes and every time I go to open that document, this song pops into my head because of frosted windowpanes line. 🙂
Frosted Windowpanes is one of the novelettes in this collection:
I am currently working on final edits for Mary: To Protect Her Heart because I have to have the final document uploaded to Amazon by Thursday, but after that is done, I will be doing final edits on this Nature’s Fury and Delights collection.
I wrote this book with a specific purpose. Even though it will be published, it’s a gift, first and foremost. I attempt to write a book to give to my mailing list each year. So far, I have succeeded three years in a row if you count this year. 🙂
I’ll mention this again on Thursday, but I’m not just giving the book to those who are currently on my mailing list, I am extending it to anyone who wishes to join that list before the end of December. I know not everyone is a mailing list sort of person. There are some who would rather purchase the book. (I know because that’s me. I’d rather buy. 🙂 Is it ok to admit that?)
For those interested in signing up to my mailing list, there is a link at the bottom of this post in the signature area where my Leenie B Books logo is.
In other news — one week from today, Mary: To Protect Her Heart will be live on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited. I just put Henry: To Prove Himself Worthy, Charles: To Discover His Purpose, and His Beautiful Bea into Kindle Unlimited. I’m a bit excited and nervous to see how this Kindle Unlimited experience goes.
For those who don’t know, Kindle Unlimited is a subscription service provided by Amazon. A reader pays a certain amount of money per month and can then borrow and read books that are part of the program. I don’t know much more about how it works as a reader since I am not a member of the program.
For the author of the book, being in the KU program means that his or her content is exclusively distributed through Amazon. It can be purchased just as any other book can be with the author receiving a royalty (35% or 70% depending on pricing), but it can also be borrowed with the author receiving a fraction of a cent per page read.
One of the last numbers I saw for how much was being paid per page was something like $0.004. That means a reader must read at least 3 pages before an author earns a penny.
Let’s say my book is short and only 90 pages long (because that is an easy number to work with in calculating this). If I am earning approximately a penny for every three pages read, I would receive about 30 cents for a complete read of that 90-page book.
That same book if it were sold for say $2.99 (the lowest allowed price for a 70% royalty payout), the author would receive about $2 for that book. That’s a big difference, isn’t it? Kindle Unlimited works best for long books because they have lots of pages or for books that are read by tons of people (more people than would normally purchase a book).
Since I write books on the shorter side, I’m a bit nervous about how much money these books will make. (This is a business after all. A business based on a passion, but a business none-the-less.)
My hope in putting these books in KU is to attract more readers to a series of stories that are not Pride and Prejudice based and that do not star Darcy and Elizabeth. It’s just easier to take a chance on a book when you’re borrowing and not seeing the money go out when you click on the book to read. (You’re still paying for the book with your subscription, but it feels free.)
If this experiment goes well, then I might be putting other books in the program. Time and statistics will tell.
I do not have a story excerpt for you again this week. I have been spending more time editing than writing. I’d say maybe next week, but I won’t bank on it. This week will have lots of editing time as well.
Have a great week. I hope you join me on Thursday for that first chapter of Frosted Windowpanes.
Now, before we get to the story excerpt, I have some publishing news. I wish it was better publishing news, to be honest, but it is what it is. I have submitted my files of Delighting Mrs. Bennet to Amazon for a preorder. At the time of my writing this post on Saturday night, those files were still not published. However, the print copy of Delighting Mrs. Bennet, which I submitted after the ebook, has been published. In addition to that, I had a question at one of my uploading platforms which I sent to their help desk on Thursday, and I am still waiting for a reply from them.
You will notice that the cover for Confounding Caroline has changed (or is changing — Amazon has not yet put the new cover up, and I have no idea why). This cover change was made out of necessity. I need the cover images to be similar for this series, and I had selected a few images of the same couple used in the first Confounding Caroline cover for use in the future series books. However, when I returned to the site to purchase those images, I learned that the site has closed its doors. I was so saddened by this, but feeling bad was not going to change things. So, I developed a plan B — and made a new cover. 🙂 These stories have Darcy at their center. Therefore, I have gone with a Darcy image on them.
