Music Monday: Pride and Prejudice – Apologize (OneRepublic)

Wickham wanted to run after her, to make her understand how much he had changed and how much she now meant to him, but he could not. His feet were rooted to the ground, and he could not seem to draw a full breath. He stood watching her, his heart aching a bit more with each step she took.

“Papa?” A small hand grasped his.

His knees buckled and he sank to the ground.

“Papa?” Louisa grabbed his face and looked at him.

He saw the fear in her eyes and smiled at her. “I am well. I just need a rest.”

She scrunched up her face and looked at him carefully. “You are not well. Mama is not well. And I am going to get help.” Before he could stop her, she had spun on her heels and was running.

“Louisa, come back,” he called as he pulled himself to his feet and soon overtook her. He snatched her up, crushing her to him. “Where are you going?”

“To get Aunt Kitty. She can make Mama feel better, and if Mama feels better, then you will feel better.” She thumped him on the chest. “You should have told her you loved her.” She thumped him again. “You should have told her. Why did you not tell her?”

“She would not have believed me,” he said softly as he stroked her hair.

“You still should have told her.” Her little body trembled as she gulped air between sobs.

[From Through Every Storm]
Published to YouTube by txaggie321 on May 17, 2007

Ah, now, that’s a rather melancholy song and excerpt to start our week, isn’t it? 🙂 But I had a good reason (in my opinion) for selecting both. Let me explain…

On Thursday night, I  finished the first draft of Assessing Mr. Darcy! Woohoo! I’m happy to be beginning the polishing process later today.

As I was writing this past week, I found myself needing to have a box of tissues handy, and as I was reaching for a tissue during one of those touching scenes, I thought to myself: “I don’t know if I have needed the tissue box handy so much while writing a story since I wrote Through Every Storm.”  Whether that is true or not, I have no way of proving. I get teary eyed often when writing. But, that is the reason I had to chose an excerpt from Through Every Storm for today’s post.

As far as the song choice goes…well, there are a couple of things in Assessing Mr. Darcy that require apologies to be given. The excerpt I will share below refers to one of those things.

Now, you should know that this might be the last excerpt I will share from that story since it is done. Hopefully, I will have something to share from a different story next Monday.

In other story news, I wrote on Mary Crawford’s story, as well as adding a few hundred words to my dictated short story. It was a very productive week which ended with a lovely visit from my in-laws on the weekend.

And I think that’s all the news there is to share about my current works in progress. I hope you have a wonderful first week of October, but before you go here’s…

AN EXCERPT FROM Assessing Mr. Darcy

Darcy descended the grand staircase at Netherfield slowly, one painful step at a time. His ankle was improving but placing weight on it was still difficult. Limping around a room with quick steps on a sore ankle was not so bad as attempting to walk down a flight of stairs.

“Are you going somewhere?” Bingley, still dressed in his riding clothes, leaned against the wall at the bottom of the stairs.

How Darcy wished he could have gone for a ride this morning. He was so dreadfully tired of being confined to the house. He had had his fill of his room. However, to venture out of it meant being tended to by Louisa and Caroline, and Caroline seemed just as determined as ever to attempt to sway his mind in her direction.

“Home,” Darcy replied.

“To town or Pemberley?”

“Town. I should l like to see my sister.”

Bingley nodded. “Will you, at least, have tea with me before you leave?”

“Not unless you wish it.” The man had not visited him in two days, and it was obvious from his expression that he was still not happy with Darcy. There was no way Darcy was going to impose on his friend if he was not welcomed to do so.

“I do,” Bingley replied, a small smile tipping his lips, giving away the fact that he was not as put out with Darcy as he pretended. “I do not wish for you to leave.”

Darcy blew out a breath as he completed his journey to the bottom of the staircase and lowered himself onto the second step to rest his ankle before he proceeded any further.

“It still hurts?” Bingley nodded to Darcy’s foot.

Darcy nodded. “It is not as strong as I would like it to be. I think it best to have my physician look at it when I am in town. Now that swelling has receded somewhat, he may see something that was missed before.”

“You are determined to leave then?”

Again, Darcy nodded. “My remaining will only hinder any chance you have of securing Miss Bennet.” He looked up at Bingley. “I did not do you harm intentionally, and I apologize for my temper.”

Bingley extended a hand to Darcy. “Come. Have tea with me. I would like to speak with you.”

Darcy looked at Bingley warily. “You would?” He allowed Bingley to help him rise from where he was seated.

“I would.” He took Darcy by the arm. “Lean on me if you need to.”

“Thank you,” Darcy replied and did just that. He leaned his weight partially on his friend as they moved down the hall to a small withdrawing room behind the larger sitting room.

“Caroline does not like this room,” Bingley whispered. “So, I have made it my own. It has only one smallish window and is therefore too dark for her liking. I do not mind the lack of sunshine so very much. I was about to eat some breakfast in here where it is free of female complaints when I was informed that your coach was being readied for travel.” He locked the door behind him. “I want to make certain my sister does not interrupt me for I would like to eat in peace,” he explained.

Bingley seated himself at a small round table that stood with four chairs near the window at the far end of the narrow room. There was a grouping of three cushioned chairs near the hearth and a ladder-backed chair near the door next to a cabinet which held a decanter and glasses. On the wall across from the hearth was a low bookcase with glass doors. Those pieces of furniture and a few paintings were the extents of the décor in the room.  It was a very pleasant room. With the lamp lit, this would be an excellent place to while away some hours with a book.

Darcy carefully took his place at the table. He was slowly learning how to sit down gracefully without causing his ankle too much discomfort. He was still a bit awkward, but not as awkward as he had been just yesterday morning.

“I saw Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth while I was riding today,” Bingley began as he poured tea for himself and Darcy.

“You did?” Darcy asked in surprise.

The left side of Bingley’s lips tipped up and his brows flicked upward and back down quickly. “I did. They were waiting for me.”

Darcy added sugar to his cup. “It was not an accidental meeting?”

Bingley shook his head. “No, Miss Elizabeth wished to speak to me and arranged it so that she could. I am not entirely certain how she knew I would be riding where I was, but she and her sister were waiting and called to me to join them.”

“Her brother must not know of this meeting,” Darcy grumbled.

“You are correct. He does not.” Bingley took a bite of his scone, following it with a bit of tea. “She asked about you.”

“Who asked about me?”

“Miss Elizabeth.”

Darcy could not help the small smile that crept onto his lips. Whether or not he had a hope of ever discovering if they would suit, he still found the information that she had inquired after him to be pleasing.

“She wanted to know if you are well enough for callers.”  

Darcy held his cup suspended in the air almost to his lips. “Is she thinking of calling on me?” What sort of lady called on a gentleman? It was supposed to be the other way around.

“She wishes to apologize.”

~*~*~

Leenie B Books

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Music Monday: A New Day Has Come Pride & Prejudice Fan-Made

She shook her head. Mr. Marsh truly was the complete opposite of Mr. Edwards. She stood and looked around her room – the room in which she had been wallowing in self-pity for two days now. She had been wallowing! She did not wallow. She shook herself and pulled herself upright. Two days was enough.

“Did you need something, miss?” her maid asked as she entered.

“Yes, Sally, I need several things. First…”

[From Charles: To Discover His Purpose]

Published to YouTube by Liz Rockfiles on April 1, 2016.

Every romance has a new day at least once in the telling of the tale and often more than once. These new days might include the moment when two young lovers meet for the first time, or, as in the excerpt above, one or the other of the pair has that epiphany moment when he or she realizes what (or should I say who) will truly make them happy. In the snippet from Charles, Evelyn has dried her eyes and put away her hurt feelings and is ready to begin her new day.

In the excerpt from one of my works in progress that I will share below, we have the dawning of a new day just about to happen. The excerpt shows Bingley and Darcy just before they will meet the lovely ladies that reside at Longbourn.

But first, before I get to that, here’s just a little update on what I have been working on:

I have three projects in various stages.

First, I have a short story that is helping me practice my dictation skills and has reached about the 5,000-word mark where trouble has just literally walked through the door.

Second, I have written the first 1423 words of Mary’s story for Episode 3 of the Other Pens, Mansfield Park series. I still need to finalize her title. I had originally thought to call it Mary: To Discover Her Heart, but I used the word discover in Charles’s title. So I need a verb to go into this blank –>

Mary: To _________ Her Heart

She had really been guarding and hardening her heart for a good portion of her life, so I have considered using Unlocking, but I’m not sure if it is best or not. If you have suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments.

Third, I think I am about halfway through the first draft of Assessing Mr. Darcy. I had some great writing days this past week! I would be thrilled if this week was as good. However, there is that pesky thing called school that is starting.

This is not terribly writing related, but…

I did rearrange my office/school room/living room/dining area.  🙂 (Our house is not large and this room has many purposes.) I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

And I have all my school stuff ready to go except for the TV which needs mounting on the wall. (There will be many video lessons this year, so I wanted a good screen for watching.)

Oh, and the house has been painted! It is now a pretty blue/grey colour instead of the olive-y brown/green it was before! There are a few little details that my husband has to work on, but the big part is all done. He worked hard on it in some very warm weather. But, he wanted to get it done before his work schedule shifts with the beginning of school. And he did it!

I think that’s all the “news” from me for today, so now, how about an excerpt from chapter 4 of Assessing Mr. Darcy? (Patrons, you will have this full chapter before the end of the week. 🙂 )

AN EXCERPT FROM Assessing Mr. Darcy Continue reading Music Monday: A New Day Has Come Pride & Prejudice Fan-Made


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:

~*~*~

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: 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: 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)