Mansfield Park – Page 9

Music Monday: Kiss Me, Period Dramas + a Cover Reveal

Looking back at my list of Music Monday posts, I see that I have used this video twice before. I used it first in 2015 when I was busy publishing Her Father’s Choice and had no excerpt or much of anything to share with the video, and I used it again in 2016 when I was writing The Tenant’s Guest. That time I had a story excerpt to go with the video — and yes, that story excerpt did include a kiss. 🙂 Today, I am using this video because the desire for a kiss is at the heart of Charles’s story.

Published to YouTube on January 29, 2013 by Maggie Peters.

Finley handed Charles his left boot. “She deserves to be loved and kept safe. I should be very sorry to see her heart broken.”

With a final tug and a stamp of his foot, Charles’s boot was comfortably in place. “I have no intention of engaging her heart. I only wish to steal a kiss. Nothing more.”

Finley’s eyebrows rose as he handed the jacket to his master.

“You fear that I cannot do that without causing her harm.”

“She is so kind,” Finley replied.

“So you have said.” Charles pulled his sleeves straight as Finley smoothed the back of the jacket. “I shall do my best to not cause her harm. I can promise no more than that. She is too tempting.”
[from Charles: To Discover His Purpose]

Today, sometime after this blog post has posted, I will be setting up the pre-order for Charles: To Discover His Purpose, and while things are slowly swinging into motion for the publication of Charles’s story on August 28, 2018, I wanted to share with you a first look at the book blub and cover. So, without further ado, here they are. (Oh, and Henry’s cover got a small update, too, which I will also be uploading today.)

All he wanted was a kiss, but what he got was so much more.

Charles Edwards is no stranger to scandal. He lives an easy, carefree life, floating from one moment of pleasure to another. Or, at least, he did until one fateful night when two young ladies asked him to come to their aid. Since then, Charles has been hiding from society until his injuries heal, which is what he was attempting to do when one of those ladies – the one with the kissable lips – re-enters his life.

Evelyn Barrett loves nothing better than assisting others. Therefore, when she is presented with the possibility of guiding a shiftless gentleman toward improving himself, she just can’t refuse. It should be an easy task. All she needs to do is sidestep his charm and ignore is good looks while pointing him in the right direction.

However, Charles has no intention of taking Evelyn’s advice and then leaving her alone. A gentleman determined to claim a kiss from a lady must ingratiate himself with the lady. And that is where the trouble begins.

As the two spend time together, desires increase, affections are engaged, and Charles’s end goal shifts. But will his scandalous past be the very thing which keeps him from achieving what he desires, or will he find himself at the beginning of a new scheme and direction for his life?

*You might like to know that Charles is Henry’s good friend.*

Charles: To Discover His Purpose is the second episode in Leenie Brown’s Mansfield Park Continuation found in her Other Pens Collection of books. If you like well-written stories of sweet redemption, then you will love this story of facing the challenges that reformation can bring and discovering the pleasure that only deep, abiding love can provide.

So, put the kettle on, grab your copy of Charles: To Discover His Purpose, and let this sweet romance inspire a hope that even the most reprobate, wandering heart can, with care and proper direction, be transformed into that of a worthy gentleman ready to forge a new path in his life.

I have not quite decided how I am going to be doing my advance reader copies this time around, since I’m scheduled to take a short vacation with my husband soon, I don’t have the final edits back yet, and I’m not sure if my husband would appreciate my needing to work on edits during our time away. 😀 So, stay tuned. I’ll post on my social media pages when I am ready to send out the ARC newsletter to give you a heads up.

In other news, Delighting Mrs. Bennet is done. I just need to reread what I wrote on Friday and get that scheduled for the last Thursday in November. A release day for that will be announced later as we get closer to the story being finished posting. I like to publish a Christmas story in the first part of December (I have a couple of ideas in mind to chose from) and some publishing companies have limited hours during the holidays which makes publishing tricky, so I’m thinking Delighting Mrs. Bennet will not be released until January 2019.

So what will I be working on during my writing time this week? As I am writing this post, I don’t know for certain, but it will likely be Mary’s story. Thank you for the comments left last week. I have found them helpful as I begin to solidify in my mind where Mary is starting and what she needs to become her best self.

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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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Music Monday: Winter, Blackmore’s Night

Can you tell by the title of this instrumental selection which book might be today’s giveaway book? Below the video is the list of remaining book choices.

Published on YouTube, October 30, 2010, by kirelafonos.

A Very Mary Christmas

One Winter’s Eve

Two Days Before Christmas

You can find out if you have the right book by scrolling down to just before the story excerpt, but please come back and read my news and the excerpt after you take your chances at getting a copy of today’s Christmas in July giveaway book.

BOOK NEWS:

Delighting Mrs. Bennet has reached an interesting (and slightly dangerous) place in its plot. I think I can see the end coming soon, but I’m not exactly certain how long it will take to get to that ending I can see. There are still a few things to take care of. (Not the least of which is making sure that all the characters are safe. 😉 ) I will have all of October filled with scheduled Thursday posts before the week is out!

Charles: To Discover His Purpose is progressing well. I have passed the 20,000 word mark, and I have posted through chapter 7 on Patreon and should have chapter 8 posted there later today before I edit chapter 9 and then start on chapter 10. 🙂 I’m really enjoying writing this story. Charles is proving to be an interesting fellow to understand and help find his best self.

The Dash of Darcy and Companion Stories are getting a bit of a reorganization. Instead of being two separate collections, I am combining them into one and numbering them. This should make them easier for readers to find on Amazon. So, if you are looking at them over this month, you will likely see some have the new combined collection listed as the series and then a book number. These are being numbered mostly in the order they were published. The only exception to that is I am putting bundles in the line after the books which they contain rather than farther following their publication dates. All of the titles except perhaps the two Dash of Darcy Duos will be getting new covers and all of the older titles will be getting backmatter updates. The stories will stay the same. I am not redoing the books in order, so things will look odd for a while as I am working on completing this large project. I hope to be done by the end of July, but I am not certain that is a realistic goal. It might be early August before it is finished.

CHRISTMAS IN JULY GIVEAWAY:

Did you guess the right book? 😀

CLICK HERE TO CLAIM ONE OF THE 5 COPIES OF One Winter’s Eve.

The copies are available on a first come, first serve basis until all five have been claimed or the link expires on Friday, July 20, 2018.

[update: All five copies of this book have found homes. 🙂 ]

I was able to work with a couple of young boys, who helped me reveal some things about our hero in this…

EXCERPT FROM Charles: To Discover His Purpose: Continue reading Music Monday: Winter, Blackmore’s Night

Music Monday: Christmas Canon (Trans-Siberian Orchestra)

Welcome to Christmas in July. Each Music Monday this month will feature Christmas music and a giveaway. Scroll down below the video for a few details.

Published on YouTube Oct 26, 2009, by Atlantic Records

I have five books which are set around Christmas:

A Very Mary Christmas

For Peace of Mind

No Other Choice

Two Days Before Christmas

One Winter’s Eve

Each Monday, I will leave a link in my Music Monday post which will have 5 copies of one of those books at it. (Books will be given away in random order — not in the order listed above.)

There are five Monday’s in July.

That’s a total of 25 books being given away — just like the day on which Christmas falls 🙂

Two other pieces of information you might wish to know:

Each Monday post is scheduled for 8:05 am Atlantic time.

The link will be located just before my story excerpt each week because I would like you to read the post, but feel free to read after you have clicked to see if any books remain. 🙂 I get it — being quick on the click is important here.

Now, let me tell you about how I decided on the musical selection for today. I sent out an email to my mailing list to give them a heads up on this special month of Music Monday posts. I was, at that time, still undecided about what video I would share today. Well, before I had made my final selection, I received a reply to the email I sent out, and in that reply, there were two suggestions of groups with great Christmas music. One of those groups was Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and the other one was Blackmore’s Night. I went to YouTube and looked them both up and listened to a few songs. The song above I had never heard before, and it was so beautiful that I just had to use it today. (In case you’re wondering, it’s quite likely that I might use one from the other group on another Monday.)

In other news…

Master of Longbourn has launched successfully and has several lovely reviews. 🙂

Tomorrow, Tuesday, July 3, 2018, on Austen Authors, I will be discussing part of the plot structure of Master of Longbourn as it pertains to Mr. Collins’s inner journey.

I managed one day of writing on two stories this past week. So, not exactly a great success for the new writing routine, but it’s a good start.

I have Thursday Three Hundred posts scheduled all the way through September now, and still, Delighting Mrs. Bennet has not reached its conclusion. That means the release date is still unknown and will likely not be any sooner than sometime in November.

The first three chapters of Charles’s story have been posted at Patreon, and I am beginning work on Chapter 4. I hope to get at least one more chapter completed and posted at Patreon this week.

Before I get to the excerpt from Charles’s story, here is the link where there are five copies of For Peace of Mind waiting to be claimed. The copies are available on a first come, first serve basis until all five have been claimed or the link expires on Friday, July 6, 2018.

CLICK HERE TO CLAIM ONE OF THE 5 COPIES OF For Peace of Mind.

[update: All five copies have found homes.]

And now for…

AN EXCERPT FROM Charles: To Discover His Purpose:
Continue reading Music Monday: Christmas Canon (Trans-Siberian Orchestra)

Music Monday: Falling Slowly (Period Dramas)

“Why just last year, three young ladies made very eligible matches after I had shown them particular attention. I tell you, I am a good luck charm for the matrimonially-minded miss.” {Charles Edwards in Henry: To Prove Himself Worthy]

Those are just a few of the lines from Chapter 1 of Henry: To Prove Himself Worthy where we are introduced to Henry Crawford’s friend, Charles Edwards.

Posted on YouTube by FANNYJKL, May 18, 2018.

Why am I sharing a quote from that book when I have another book coming out this week?

Because Charles happens to be the next character who will be subjected to my particular sort of reformation and improvement. At present, he is a rake — a bad boy through and through. But, we all know that that will change. 🙂

The above video is one that I have pinned to my Pinterest board for Charles’s story — but I’ll get to more information about that in a moment.

For now, I want to remind you that the story for another gentleman, William Collins, who underwent a transformation releases this Thursday, June 28, 2018! That’s only three more sleeps until Master of Longbourn goes LIVE. It is currently on pre-order and can be found at your favourite retailer by following this link.

There are a few advance reader reviews that you can read on Bookbub here. Thank you to those who read and reviewed early copies. 🙂

Ok, now back to Charles. 🙂

This week, I was able to get just under 5,000 words written on this new work in progress. Here’s what I can tell you about the story at the moment:

The title is Charles: To Discover His Purpose

The Hero and Heroine are Charles Edwards and Evelyn Barrett. As I said before, Charles is Henry’s friend (and also Trefor Linton’s friend). Evelyn is Constance Linton’s friend.

Charles is rakish. He’s drifting along through life having a great time.

Evelyn is a proper young lady — well, mostly — she does have a mischievous streak, and she can be direct in her words. She also has a carrying heart which sees her doing all manner of charity work.

As you can probably guess from that information, Charles is going to hit a rough patch in his easy, take-what-you-can-get life, and that rough patch’s name is Evelyn. For him, it might start as a bit of a game to see if he can break the proper Evelyn and steal a kiss or two or more. But as Henry Crawford discovered in Mansfield Park, games such as this can be dangerous as they may end up breaking the player’s heart. (And yes, there is at least that one deliberate nod to Mansfield Park in this story. There may be more. Time will tell.)

Can you see how the song I shared today seems to fit with this story? Charles and Evelyn will be slowing falling for each other and there will be some games played and there will some struggle and there is a need for being pointed “home,” etc. That is why I chose this song to share as it’s theme feels like it fits well with Charles’s story.

Would you like to read a short excerpt from what I have written so far? If so, keep reading 🙂 This is a portion of what I wrote on Friday of last week. It’s part of chapter 2 and will be posted soon on Patreon. (Probably tomorrow)

This portion focuses on Evelyn and her not well-pleased mother.

AN EXCERPT FROM Charles: To Discover his Purpose: Continue reading Music Monday: Falling Slowly (Period Dramas)