“I am not taking your money, nor am I giving you any of mine.”
“Then, let’s make a different agreement. If I can skip the rock – not if I can skip it further than you, but just if I can skip it – you truly do not think I can?” he asked in response to Roger’s look of disbelief.
“No, the angle is all wrong.”
“You might be right, but then again, you might be wrong.”
“Very well, if you can perform this feat, what do you require in payment besides my admitting that you were right?”
“You must answer one question.”
“What question?” Roger eyed his brother-in-law skeptically.
“No, I will not tell you. You must agree to an unknown question, which should not be too hard to do unless, of course, you are hiding something?”
[from His Darling Friend, A Touches of Austen Novella, and the current Sweet Tuesdays story]
Published to YouTube by Hauser on November 24, 2017.
Will Roger take the bet and possibly have to reveal his secret to Diana’s husband, Berk? That’s just one of the secrets that are contained in tomorrow’s chapter of His Darling Friend. That is why I thought this song’s title seemed like a good choice to share today — and it’s just a beautiful song! I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I do. 🙂 Continue reading Music Monday: Song from a Secret Garden (Hauser)
The morning had been as delightful as any ride through the countryside could be. The sun was shining in a nearly solid blue sky as only a few clouds were dotting the expanse above. The air was fresh and not at all close. The only thing which had dampened the enjoyment of the exercise had been that it was entirely too short. Well, maybe that was not the only thing which had not met with Victoria’s satisfaction. There had been one thing — or rather, person — missing.
“Have you seen Roger today?” Victoria had slipped into the library and taken a seat next to Diana on a sofa.
“He said good morning to me,” Diana replied, looking up from her book. “He was dressed to go riding. I had assumed he was going with the group.”
“He was not with us.” Victoria pulled her lower lip between her teeth. He could be anywhere. He had spoken of escaping after a few days of being at the house party when he first arrived, but then, when they had decided to help Grace find a match, he had said he would be required to stay longer. “Did he leave?” she whispered behind her book.
[from His Darling Friend, A Touches of Austen Novella, and the current Sweet Tuesdays’ story]
Published to YouTube by Brian Crain on Sep 20, 2016.
I know this video does not have any pictures with it, but the music is just so beautiful (and the title fits well with the excerpt from His Darling Friend). I find starting my day with music like this to be delightful, so beginning a week this way should be just as good if not better. 🙂 I just added this album to my Music to Write By playlist on Spotify this week. I’ve listened to songs from it many times on both Spotify and YouTube but hadn’t saved the album until this week. If you would like to listen to the full album, you can find the full Morning Light album playlist on YouTube at this link.
In writing news:
I am still one chapter behind on where I would like to be with Loving Lydia — as long as I get a chapter written later today. Otherwise, I will be two weeks behind.
I am still where I want to be with Roger’s story (4 chapters ahead), and I think I’m heading into the conclusion. Now, I am wondering what I will post on Tuesdays after this story is over, and currently, I have no clue as to what it will be. 😀
I wrote two more chapters on my newest work in progress which brings me up to a total of three chapters completed. I started posting this story on Patreon on Friday, and I’m going to share an excerpt from that story below. Continue reading Music Monday: Morning Light (Brian Crain)
He glanced down the table at Victoria once again. She had taught him many things over the years. Was there ever a better friend that anyone could have? She leaned toward Clayton again. Roger caught his scowl before it could form and turned back to his soup.
“If she is such a good friend,” Grace whispered, “why do we not attempt to find her a husband? Every young lady needs one eventually.”
“She does not wish to marry just yet,” Roger answered.
“But she does look very pretty sitting next to Mr. Clayton and talking as she is. I know he has his heart set on my sister, but…” she let her words fall away, replacing them with a simple shrug.
Victoria looked pretty no matter who was sitting next to her or whether she was talking, being silent, or scolding him. Roger applied himself to eating his soup and attempted to keep his eyes from too often wandering down to where his friend sat.
[From His Darling Friend, A Touches of Austen Novella]
Published to YouTube by elementoffun on January 4, 2010.
Roger is just about to start listening to his heart in our Sweet Tuesday story, so I thought this would be a good song for this week. The video is a bit fuzzy, but I found it enjoyable anyway.
In writing news, I am continuing to work on Loving Lydia and His Darling Friend. I got a chapter of each written this past week. So, I am still one chapter behind where I would like to be with Lydia’s story, but both stories are progressing well. 🙂
I also finished the first chapter in the new story I mentioned in last Monday’s post. I also gave the story a name, which I will keep under wraps until I have an excerpt to share from it, and I changed my mind about who the hero will be. 🙂 So progress, even if it is not in the form of written words, is being made on that story, and I am feeling excited to get elbow deep in it. I’ve only spent about 2000 words or so with Kitty, but I’m really liking her.
If you saw my Friday Feature post, I also finally got that bundle of books I have been talking about published in Kindle Unlimited, where it will be until June. Because I intend to rotate some titles through Kindle Unlimited, I have also created a page on my website which will list them and have links to their Kindle sales pages. You can find that page by clicking on the drop-down arrow on the Leenie B Books item in the menu or here.
My newest book baby, Tom: To Secure His Legacy is doing well so far. He has out-earned the other books in the series when I compare their first month numbers and that is excellent even if that number is not a large one. I am delighted to see progress. 🙂 Thank you to all who have read or purchased that story. Your support of my writing is so appreciated. It’s still hard to believe after four years of publishing (as of yesterday) that I get to play games with my imaginary friends 😀 and share those stories with you. (I dreamed about being an author when I was young, but to have actually accomplished it is a wonderful feeling of being blessed. 🙂 )
Well, I do not have any new work in progress words to share with you today, so I am once again going to share an excerpt from an already published book. This book is in the bundle I just put in Kindle Unlimited and goes with the song/theme of following one’s heart.
Roger flopped back onto the grass and placed his hat over his eyes. “You will keep me safe from marauding females if I fall asleep, will you not?”
“Perhaps,” Victoria replied.
Roger lifted his hat and looked at her. She smiled in return, and he once again put his hat over his eyes. She would not let anyone accost him – at least, not anyone he did not wish to have accost him. The thought of him finally choosing someone to be his wife pricked her heart.
“You would not consider aparson, would you, Miss Hamilton?” Mr. Clayton asked.
“No, she would not,” Roger said from beneath his hat.
“I think I can speak for myself,” Victoria retorted.
[From tomorrow’s chapter of His Darling Friend, A Touches of Austen Novella]
Published to YouTube by Val on September 24, 2007
I really do not have a tie in between song and stories this week. I just happened to like this video. 🙂 So, let’s just get right into my writing news.
First, and absolutely most importantly…
Today is release day for Tom: To Secure His Legacy!
It is available in the Kindle store and in Kindle Unlimited. Currently, the price is reduced ($2.99 USD) and will remain that way until the end of the week, when it will go up ($4.99 USD). [All currencies are reduced and all currencies will be going up. I just could not list them all.]
Tomorrow, I will have a post about Tom’s story on Austen Authors. I hope you will drop by and maybe discover a few facts about coffeehouses, the London stock market, and how the two things go together.
Of course, don’t forget to also stop by and read Roger and Victoria’s story here tomorrow. 🙂 I managed to get caught up on this story this week! (But, I fell a week behind on Lydia’s story. 🙂 Eventually, it will all get caught up.)
Aside from writing two chapters of Roger’s story and getting my Austen Author’s post written. I started a new story! It has no title, and I have only written 1000 words or so. BUT… it is started! The plan so far has Kitty Bennet as the heroine and possibly Mr. Waller as the hero.
If you have read or when you read Tom’s story, there is a scene where Tom and Faith meet the Darcy’s (from Two Days Before Christmas) at a ball, and they have Mrs. Darcy’s sister Kitty with them because Kitty is visiting the Gardiners. The story I have just started will be set during this visit. The book will (probably) be the third in the Darcy Family Holidays series even though it stars a character from the Other Pens, Mansfield Park series. I am really enjoying having these two story worlds merging in places. I just love thinking of all these characters living in one big world.
I have removed Oxford Cottage, For Peace of Mind, Listen To Your Heart, Through Every Storm, and With the Colonel’s Help from all vendors except Amazon in preparation for the publication of Darcy and… A Pride and Prejudice Variations Anthology later this week. This anthology will be available in Kindle Unlimited for a minimum of three month. I have not committed to a definite plan on this yet as this is the first Pride and Prejudice work I have offered ever in Kindle Unlimited. Depending on how it does. If page reads stay high or sales are good, I might extend the Kindle Unlimited enrollment for a second three-month period. This is all a grand experiment at this point. But I know that just as there are some readers who only read in Kindle Unlimited, there are also parts of the world where buying books from Amazon is not a possibility. Therefore, I would love to figure out some way of rotating books through the Kindle Unlimited library and then back out to other distributors. I’ll do my best to keep you up-to-date on that here as well as in my newsletter.
And, that, I believe, is all my writing news for this week. I am still not far enough along in that new story to share from it. So, once again, here is an excerpt from a previously published story, and I think this excerpt might sort of go with the theme presented by today’s music choice of “Better Together” — even if not all the participants in this scene are terribly willing to cooperate 😀 and work together.
“Then, you might wish to stop glaring as if you want to run through the next person to step up to the piano.”
Perhaps he did not wish to gravely injure the next person to perform, but there was Carlyle. Roger would not mind seeing that gentleman properly laid out on the lawn with some sort of wound.
“Mr. Carlyle has a lovely voice.” Diana had followed Roger’s glare and found the object of his discontent. “He is singing ‘The Ash Grove’ since Victoria is so familiar with that piece of music.”
Roger’s scowl deepened. That was the song he sang with Victoria.
[from His Darling Friend, a Touches of Austen novella]
Published to YouTube by oiznas on May 17, 2012
For today’s post, I reached into Georgiana’s Music Folder (a playlist I have on YouTube) and pulled out a song that makes an appearance in tomorrow’s chapter of His Darling Friend. As you can tell, Roger is not pleased to know that the song he usually sings with Victoria is going to be sung by Mr. Carlyle. 🙂 Make sure you stop by tomorrow see if Roger’s scowl continues to deepen or not. (I’m going with it continues to deepen. 😉 )
In writing news:
This week I got one more chapter of Loving Lydia written — one where Netherfield receives another surprise guest. 🙂 And I managed to write two more chapters of His Darling Friend so that I am almost as far ahead as I want to be. If I can write two more this week, I will be exactly where I want to be — four weeks ahead of posting.
Also this week, I finished final edits on Tom: To Secure His Legacy. Yay! That means I will be sending out Patreon and advance reader copies this week. My final files are due to be uploaded by Wednesday and the preorder will be over with in a week! That’s right! Tom’s story will be available to add to your bookshelf next Monday! It seems like it has been so long in coming. [I’ll also be working on the print version this week.]
For my upcoming Kindle Unlimited bundle project that I wish to have out on or before March 18, I pulled down my two previous book bundles (Despite the Circumstances and New Beginnings) from all vendors to make way for this new arrangement of previously published stories. I also purchased a picture so I can start working on the cover image. I still need to write the book description and then remove the individual books from all vendors save Amazon. As a reminder, the books in this bundle will be Oxford Cottage, For Peace of Mind, Through Every Storm, Listen To Your Heart, and With the Colonel’s Help.
This month was a bit lower on the writing new stories front. (Only 24,712 words written compared to the 43,088 words I wrote in January) My brain was tired. I tend to push until the well runs dry and needs refilling. 🙂
So, I have been doing some relaxing (sort of). I have been reading and watching movies and discovering new recipes to try. I have discovered that I can find recipes which fit with my many sensitivities in the realm of the paleo diet. 🙂 This has been truly exciting for me. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen several pictures of food.
This has been a very beneficial time. I am starting to feel that urge to push forward building again, and this morning (I am writing this on Friday), I actually found myself awake when I should have been sleeping because of a couple of new story ideas. 🙂 I might actually know what book I am going to be starting next. 🙂
Well, that’s all for my news, so let me leave you with a scene from one of my already published books that has two schemers making plans to see Darcy and Elizabeth come to an understanding.
