I had some book mail arrive this week, and it gave me this lovely visual to illustrate how the page count and thickness of a book doesn’t always indicate how long the actual story is when compared to the book next to it. I get into the details in this video. I also share how I’m guilty of judging a book by its page count.
Hi. I hope your July is going well. Ours has been rather hot and humid for our part of the world. 🙂 It’s that time of year when I am certain that air conditioning is the greatest invention ever. Haha! I am not a lover of hot weather.
The day before July began (shall we call it Canada Day eve?), I had the opportunity to attend the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo. It was a lovely evening and this is a collage of sights from my night out on the town.
I also had the opportunity to meet a Facebook friend (Angela) in person when she was in Truro, Nova Scotia for an event. We met at Fletcher’s Restaurant and enjoyed a meal together, and then, she had brought some books for me to sign for her mother, so I happily did that before or conversation wrapped up and we each went our separate ways. It was was both a new and pleasurable experience for me – despite the rain! Oh! The rain that day was intense. And the food at Fletcher’s Restaurant was tasty. (I had never been there before, but I bet I might visit it again some time.)
In writing news, I’ve been plugging away at getting stories written, but the process is never as fast as I want it to be. 🙂 I am a very impatient author. 🙂 I did fall a little behind on all my projects due to just life things, but I am making progress. In fact, I managed to write over 19,000 words on various projects last month. It’s my highest word count total since January of 2022, which was about four months before I caught the sickness that has led to my current battle with post-viral issues. So, I am absolutely delighted to see June’s word count.
So what does that mean for where I am in each of my Leenie projects? Well, I have completed writing through chapter 9 of How To Marry…, and I have refreshed up through chapter 3 of part one in Oxford Cottage. Oh! And, I’ve just barely started a Harriet and the Colonel story, which you’ll get to read at the end of this newsletter. That’s it for Leenie project updates, so let’s get on with the rest of the book news so that you can get to that bit of new story.
NOW POSTING IN THE REPOSITORY ON REAM AND ON PATREON
First: a reminder that How to Marry… is now posting on Fridays on Patreon and Ream Stories (except for this week, since I fell behind on writing). We are at the point in the story where you do have to be a paid subscriber to read, but chapters 1-3 remain free to read as a preview to all unpaid subscribers.
Second: a reminder that on Thursday’s the Oxford Cottage Refresh project has started posting on Patreon and Ream for all followers (paid and unpaid) as well as on my blog, though you will need the code OCR24 to read it there.
This excerpt is from how the second chapter of the first part – which was what I shared last Thursday on my blog and in the Repository on Ream and Patreon – started.
IN THE TEAROOM
It was Rose Fairbanks turn to post in the The Sigh-worthy Romance Tearoom this month. She shared a teaser from her work in progress, A Letter in the Wind. (Isn’t that a great title?)
eBOOK DEALS
I only have one book promotion to tell you about, but it’s a biggie! All my books (which are not currently enrolled in Kindle Unlimited) are marked down 50% at Smashwords this month because they are part of their sitewide Summer/Winter Sale. We’re talking prices such as some boxsets for $3.99 and many single titles for $1.99 all month long!
You have to be at least a free follower/member at one of these sites to read this book. On Ream, just look for the title on the stories tab on the members page. On Patreon, it can be found on the collections page.
SOMETHING NEW TO READ
Remember that poll I had in the newsletter last month?
I was looking for some input about an idea for a new series of stories. Well, I didn’t get a whole lot of replies to the poll – 24 on Substack and not very many comments on my blog, Patreon, or Ream.
As you can see from the screenshot of the Substack poll below, most of the people who replied would be interested in this series, but 75% of 24 is only 18 readers for these stories, and even if I put in the maybe readers, that number of interested readers only increases to 22.
So, now, I have to decide if it’s an idea I should push ahead on anyway and hope that these percentages are representative of a wider selection of readers, or if I should shelve the idea for now since it doesn’t look like one that will earn back the capital needed to create it. Honestly, the way my business finances look right now, this idea has to be shelved for a while. I don’t really have a choice because sadly, I can’t afford to put time into it, so I’ll just have to wait until I can. 🙂
But, regardless of whether or not I write any further stories about Harriet and the colonel in the future, I am writing one now. I had hoped to extend A Music Room Meeting, which I shared in last month’s newsletter, into a novelette like I had with other Teatime Tales short stories.
However, after a great deal of thinking and fiddling with ideas of how to do it, I came to the conclusion that it really wasn’t going to work as I wanted it to, and so, I have started an extended story for Harriet and the colonel set one year after A Music Room Meeting and while Richard is in Hertfordshire during Oxford Cottage.
I honestly know very little about how long this story will be or what it will include. I’m a discovery writer, which means I set out with a little bit of an idea and a couple of characters and let it unfold as I write. So, we will discover all the details together along the way. I do know that I will be sharing a small section of it with you each month as I am writing. Those sections will likely be about as long as the one today is. Perhaps a bit longer. Perhaps a bit shorter. (Today’s is 888 words long.)
I’ll figure out a way to store previous story segments so you can re-read and catch up as needed, and I’ll let you know how that works next month when there’s actually a previous story segment to read.
And now, let’s begin our tale about Harriet and the Colonel.
Harriet Phillips ran a hand lovingly over the piano in her sister’s music room as a memory from last year’s ball flitted in three-four time through her mind. Had it truly been a year already since she had waltzed with the man she loved in this very room? What a wonderful night that had been!
Well, not all of it had been delightful. There had been all those other gentlemen to dance with. She blew out a soft breath. There still were many hopeful suitors who spoke prettily to her and requested dances and drives and the like. However, they had no hope. Even before she had danced with Colonel Fitzwilliam and discovered he loved her, her heart had not been available to them. It had always and only ever belonged to her colonel.
“Are you going to play for us tonight?” Her sister Samantha’s question was asked with a laugh. Anyone who knew Harriet knew that she did not play the piano.
“No, I was just remembering.”
“Ah,” her sister whispered. “Do you plan to dance with Colonel Fitzwilliam again tonight?”
“Has he accepted his invitation?” She would be surprised if he had.
Her sister sighed. “No, he has not, though I had hoped he would.”
“I thought not, since he is in Hertfordshire. It would be very strange for him to return just to play your piano and secretly dance with me.”
Samantha chuckled. “Actually, I would not be surprised if he did. Anyone who has been watching him for a year, like I have been, would know just how much he adores you. I dare say even Edmund cannot deny the truth of that.”
Edmund was their brother – their sole surviving brother. He, too, was a colonel, but now, since Matthew’s death, he was also Lord Lillesley and – she sighed – her guardian, who seemed set on the idea that she should marry higher than a second son with a somewhat dangerous profession. How he could deny her the chance to marry his dearest friend was beyond her. She was also not certain how Colonel Fitzwilliam bore with such nonsense – fort that was what it was – utter balderdash. For her brother’s opinion was foolishness through and through.
“It really does not matter to Edmund how much his friend loves me or how much I love his friend. He is bent on doing as father wished when he was alive. At least Matthew had softened to the idea of letting me choose where my heart led.”
“Aw, Harry, you know Edmund will eventually relent. Despite his formidable personality, he is not father. He could never say no to you any more than Matthew could. Indeed, I dare say Edmund is less likely to be able to deny you anything because you have always been his special little shadow.” She hugged her little sister tightly. “He just has not figured out all the ins and outs of being a viscount and whatever else it is that he has on the go.” She gave Harriet a questioning look.
“I cannot say,” Harriet whispered. Her brother had not been pleased to discover how much she knew about the operations he directed from his study at Lillesley House, and she was not about to give him another reason to refuse her wish to be Mrs. Richard Fitzwilliam.
“But you do know?”
“Mostly.” There were still some questions she had not uncovered.
Her sister crossed the room and peeked out the door before turning back to Harriet. “Did Matthew do the same things?”
Harriet shrugged. That was still one of her unanswered questions. “I wish I knew.”
“I still cannot believe it was an accident that took him from us.”
And there was another question without an answer. “Nor can I.”
“Even my dear Julius wonders about how Matthew came to be in that part of town, and you know that my husband is only half as curious as either you or I ever are.”
According to what they had all be told, a paving stone that was loose and wet had caused their sure-footed brother to stumble and die from a head injury before anyone found him. It would have been a more believable tale had he not been found without a pound on his person and his watch chain empty. Someone had most certainly seen him before he was officially discovered, and therefore, a robbery gone wrong seemed a more plausible scenario. However, that possibility had never been put forward. Not even once. It was rather strange that it was not.
She still searched for Matthew’s watch whenever she could find an excuse to enter a shop that might do trade in articles gained through less than proper channels. Not all of them looked as if they were selling ill-gotten wares. Many carried all the standard baubles a lady such as herself or a gentleman of high standing might wish to procure. But she had heard a conversation here and there about special items kept in back rooms and particular cupboards whispered about by shop owner to interested patron. She was likely not supposed to have heard those discussions, but then, all the truly interesting and oddly useful information was obtained by pretending to do one thing while actually listening to what was not supposed to be heard by her.
To be continued…
What do you think? Will he show up at the ball, stay away, or… (fill in the blank)?
Bibliotheek van Strawberry Hill te Twickenham, Jean Godefroy, 1784. Rijksmuseum, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
I love libraries! How about you? They’ve always been one of my favourite places since I learned what they were. I even worked at the library during my college years and while going to work wasn’t necessarily “fun,” I did enjoy the environment — quiet and book filled. 🙂
Today’s excerpt from With the Colonel’s Help takes place in a library. It’s a shorter excerpt since I didn’t want to run the risk of sharing too many spoilers. While this lets you know that there is some trouble that has happened, it doesn’t tell you how or why, so I hope it’s more of a teaser and not a spoiler. 🙂
…While Jane and Richard continued their conversation regarding Mr. Bingley, Darcy pulled yet another book from the shelf, flipped through it and with a nod of satisfaction declared this to be a book he suspected Elizabeth would enjoy.
Elizabeth took the book from him and paged through it. “A fine selection,” she said as she closed the book and gave him a smile of delight. “Mr. Coleridge is very good.”
“That he is,” Darcy agreed with a smile. It was so very pleasant to be once again in a library discussing books with Elizabeth. He had not done so since he was at Netherfield, save for those few moments in Rosings’ library when he had given her the book she returned to him today. He sighed. “Has Bingley called?”
Elizabeth nodded. “He has.”
“I sent him a note regarding your sister’s being in town and my apology for having been so grievously wrong. Richard delivered it for me.” He motioned to a pair of chairs in one corner of the room.
“You have not seen him?” Elizabeth asked in surprise as she took a seat and glanced to where Jane was talking with Richard. Jane said something that caused Richard to turn and look in Elizabeth’s direction. Then after giving her a nod of his head, he led Jane to a place where they could sit while continuing their discussion.
“I have only seen you since arriving back in town,” Darcy admitted. “I have not wished to see anyone else.” He blew out a great breath. “It was good of you to come, but I do not see how…” He paused. “I do not see a way…” He shrugged. “You cannot continue to borrow books forever.”
Elizabeth nodded her understanding as her eyes swept the shelves. “Not for lack of items to borrow.” She lifted a brow and gave him a small smile. “If only I could borrow each and every book,” she added sadly. “I would read them rapidly so that I might return regularly to retrieve a new one.” She blushed under his close scrutiny of her face. It was as if he were attempting to read her mind for the desires that lay behind her words.
“And when you had come to the last book, what then?” he asked. The fluttering of hope he had felt earlier was stirring and increasing in his chest.
She arched a brow. “Is your library complete? Would you not add to it with time? I cannot say that I would expect you to be satisfied with what is here and never increase your holdings by even one new volume of work. Why, what will you do when Wordsworth or Coleridge put out a new collection of poems? Shall you leave them for others to read and have no curiosity to read them yourself?”
He chuckled. “You know me well. I will certainly add to my library in time, but what if I did not?”
“Do you doubt my determination, sir?”
“Never, Miss Elizabeth, but I should like to know its extent.”
Her eyes followed her hand as it ran nervously over the cover of the book she held. “I dare say I could read this book a thousand times over.” She lifted her eyes to him. “And each of the others as well.”
His lips parted, and his brows furrowed. Was she saying what he wished or was his mind merely twisting her words to its purpose? Had he indeed won her affections? There was only one way to know. “Do you wish to see me so often or just my books?” He watched her lips tip up, and her eyes spark with impertinence.
“Might I not wish to see both?’
“If you had to choose,” he pressed on. He needed to know if her heart was engaged as his was. If it was, then come what may, he was going to find a way to win Mr. Bennet over and claim Elizabeth as his wife.
Elizabeth swallowed. She had spoken of her heart to her sister, and Jane, much to Elizabeth’s surprise, had urged Elizabeth not to hide her feelings if an opportunity should present itself. Jane had endured much because of being circumspect. She had tried to guard her heart against hurt, but her doing so had been the very cause of her own grief. Elizabeth had promised to not do the same, and so, as she drew a breath, she gathered her courage and replied, “I would choose you.”
A smile spread across Darcy’s face. “You would choose me?”
She nodded.
“And I would choose you,” he replied. “Forever and always you. If you would have me.”
Her lips trembled, and tears gathered. It was so very wonderful to hear such things, but reality was not such that she could choose him, nor could he choose her. Her father would not allow it.
He grasped her hands. “I will find a way if you will say that you will be mine. I love you, and I always shall. Please give me a reason to hope. Would you marry me if you were free to do so?”
A tear crept out of the corner of her eye and raced down her cheek as she nodded. “I would.”
He lifted her hand to his lips and gave it a quick kiss. “Then, I will find a way. I promise you. I will find a way.”
All currencies reduced at all stores until June 30, 2024
I made this graphic some time ago. Probably right around when this book was a new release. Maybe a bit later. I’m not sure exactly when it got made, but I like it, and when I was thinking of finding a image of punch to share for today, it popped into my mind so I dug it out of storage.
In Matching Mr. Darcy, Darcy’s evening at the Meryton assembly goes from determined to not be introduced to or dance with Elizabeth to being able to think of little else than dancing with her — even if his stockings are doused in punch.
Below is the scene from chapter two when the punch mishap happens.
For us, it is just around the corner. Next month, when school is no longer in session, it will be officially summer here. Of course, for some of you, summer is a couple seasons away. 🙂
Whether it is summer where you are or not, we have reach the middle of the year.
My older sister and I were talking about that this week when she called and neither of us could believe that nearly half a year had passed so quickly. That either means, I’ve been busy, or I’m just “old.” I remember time dragging when I was a kid, waiting for school to end. Ah! That’s it! I’m not teaching anymore so time seems to go faster — phew! It’s not because of age. 🙂 Haha!
I think having been under the weather for two weeks has also helped with the “time is flying without my noticing it” feeling. I’m almost all the way better now. However, my brain is feeling the effects, so catching up on work has been slower than I’d expected.
That being said, I have managed to get up through chapter seven of How to Marry an Accomplished Lady (without losing one’s mind) written. So, that’ good progress, and puts me at about the halfway point on that story.
Oxford Cottage is still awaiting attention. I’ve redone one chapter and have the document set up to do the second, but I haven’t gotten to it yet.
I’ve also got a few other writing and non-writing projects on the go, so really, it’s been a good, productive month since I last shared a Saturday Broadsheet with you. (Even with having to take time off to convalesce.)
So, now, let’s get on to the book news and then, a throwback story vignette (that goes with Oxford Cottage) to conclude this broadsheet.
