Tag: Music Monday

Music Monday: The Reason, Hoobastank

Today, I have an excerpt from this week’s upcoming release, Unravelling Mr. Darcy (Dash of Darcy #4), as well as a Pride and Prejudice fan video. The lyrics of the song in today’s video fit quite nicely with the premise of my light-hearted novella.  Consider these two things…

BrokenDoll7. “Pride & Prejudice – The Reason.” YouTube, YouTube, 4 Mar. 2008.

The song ends with these lyrics:

I’ve found a reason to show
A side of me you didn’t know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you

The description of my upcoming new release says:

What’s a gentleman to do when he has laid his heart before a lady only to have it crushed beneath her dainty slipper? If you’re Fitzwilliam Darcy, there is only one thing to do ─ unravel your tightly wound pride, mend your ways, and convince the lady of your worth.

And what’s a lady to do when she has spoken harshly and knows she has done so unfairly?  If you’re  Elizabeth Bennet, you take a deep breath, swallow your dignity, give him a second chance, and perhaps along the way, discover a gentleman you didn’t know existed.

Can you see the connection?  I’m sure you can, but let me tell you a little bit more about this story anyway.

Unravelling Mr. Darcy begins immediately following the moment in Pride and Prejudice when Darcy says

Forgive me for having taken up so much of your time, and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness.

In the next paragraph, we read that he hastily left the room and the parsonage.

Available for purchase September 21, 2017

Not so in this new version of events.

In this version, he is not leaving quickly but is rather willing himself out of the room and praying for some sort of divine intervention — which he gets.  Elizabeth calls him back and apologizes for her rudeness.

Here I must pause and warn those who are looking for the utmost propriety in a story that they will be sadly disappointed in this tale, for it begins with a rather indelicate discussion about why Elizabeth is feeling ill and why her words were so harsh. 

This apology and the discussion of several topics in the parsonage’s sitting room that follows Elizabeth’s apology lead to Darcy being granted a second chance to win Elizabeth’s heart. To do so, Darcy is amending his ways in grand style. Therefore, prepare yourself to meet a Darcy who, though still noble and honorable, has made a 180-degree turnabout because

He’s found a reason to show
A side of him she didn’t know

Unravelling Mr. Darcy will be hitting the digital shelves beginning this Thursday, September 21, 2017, and a print copy will follow shortly thereafter.

One more little side note in relation to this story: Last week, I mentioned that I wanted to get the sequel to a point where I could include a small sample of it at the back of this book. That has not happened. I have begun what I think will be the sequel telling Anne’s story, but it is not to a place where I can say “Yes, this is definitely how the story will begin.” Therefore, revealing any of her story will wait until I can.  However, Anne’s story, Becoming Entangled, will be available in the late fall, around the time of American Thanksgiving or shortly thereafter as it will depend on my editors’ schedules as much as my ability to get the story written.  

AN EXCERPT FROM Unravelling Mr. Darcy: 
Continue reading Music Monday: The Reason, Hoobastank


Music Monday: I Don’t Want to Live Without You, Foreigner

This week, I started my writing sessions by watching a video while my document opened, and I got my notebook, pen, and calendar out.  The video below was one of the videos that served as an aide in shifting from school and family things to creative work mode.

MaCarmen De Rivera. “Foreigner – I Don’t Want to Live without You (Sub Español) ~ Orgullo & Prejuicio.” YouTube, YouTube, 29 June 2012.

This is not the first time I have shared this video on a Monday, but it has been more than a year since I did.  Last time I shared this video, I was working on His Convenient Choice, which is not a Darcy and Elizabeth story; however, this time around, I was working on a story that will (should?) end with Darcy and Elizabeth together. This current story, Confounding Caroline, is not complete, but it is going to get set aside for a while.

I have gotten my last set of edits for Unravelling Mr. Darcy back from my second editor and need to attend to those as well as begin writing the sequel, Becoming Entangled, so there is an excerpt to include at the end of the book (as per my first editor’s request). I am hoping to get a lot of that done this week in spite of school lessons to teach to my son and relatives arriving on the weekend.  (Yes, I am nuts — and a bit driven. 😉 Hopefully, there will be something left of me by next Monday! 🙂 )

And now for a portion of what I wrote this past week. One small word of caution for those who wish to avoid all spoilers — this excerpt contains the beginning of how our main characters will deal with the problem of Caroline.  As always on these days, read at your own risk. 🙂

AN EXCERPT FROM Confounding Caroline:  Continue reading Music Monday: I Don’t Want to Live Without You, Foreigner


Music Monday: Rescue, Hunter Hayes

Today, I am sharing a video but not just because of the music (which is excellent). Rather, I am sharing it because of what is happening in the background while the music is being played.  You’ll have to watch to see what I am talking about.  (I find it fascinating to watch artists do this sort of thing.)  However, don’t get so caught up in the moment that you forget to keep scrolling after the video is over and miss the writing news and story excerpt I am including.  🙂

hunterhayes. “Hunter Hayes – Rescue (Official Music Video).” YouTube, YouTube, 29 June 2017.

As expected, this week was a slightly lower productivity week for me as I took time out to take a day trip to Fort Anne and Port-Royal National Historic sites (pictured below) with my husband and boys.

But in spite of this full day break from my normal routine and an evening spent out and about with my husband, I did manage to get some work done.

Here’s what I accomplished:

  • I came very close to finishing the first pass edits of Unravelling Mr. Darcy, so that should get sent to my first reader this week.
  • I wrote my post for Austen Authors for this Tuesday, which includes an excerpt of Henry’s story and a giveaway.
  • I bundled And Then Love, The Tenant’s Guest, So Very Unexpected, and At All Costs into a one book Willow Hall Romance collection and have uploaded it to Kindle at a special sales price (USD 3.99).  I will be uploading it to my various other vendors over the course of this week, but the special price is only on the Kindle edition and only available until September 5, 2017.
  • AND I added about 3,000 words to my work in progress — Confounding Caroline, which will become the next Thursday’s Three Hundred story once October gets here and from which I am sharing an excerpt below.

EXCERPT FROM Confounding Caroline:  Continue reading Music Monday: Rescue, Hunter Hayes


Music Monday: She’s More, Pride and Prejudice

Today, I thought I would share the last video that I added to my Music Meets Movies YouTube playlist today.  Now, I like country music — the newer style stuff, the stuff that is less “twangy,” — but this video was just so enjoyable and the song lyrics are just story-inspiring (IMO) that I couldn’t resist adding it to my list. So give it a listen and read on to see what is happening in my writing life.

wantingyounear. “Pride and Prejudice – She’s More.” YouTube, YouTube, 7 Apr. 2008, youtu.be/LNiXUFSqexk.

This past week was a tad on the frustrating side as far as getting work done. There were a number of things that “popped up” and demanded attention. Some of which were really fun like the Thursday evening supper out and drive to Peggy’s Cove at sunset with my husband followed by an after-dark walk along the Halifax Waterfront. Others were not as enjoyable 🙂

(But then, what is as enjoyable as spending time with the guy you love?)

All of these unexpected things meant that almost all of Unravelling Mr. Darcy still needs first round edits — I only got one chapter done –, and my word count on the new story was a good bit lower than I had hoped it would be.  However, I did get some words written, and I am going to share a portion of those words with you below this short writing news section.

Two writing-related things that I have coming up this week are the release of Henry: To Prove Himself Worthy on Tuesday and a guest post on Diary of an Eccentric with an ebook giveaway on Wednesday.

On the non-writing-related side of life, I have a couple of day trips coming up, so I already know this will be a less productive week.  However, I’ll do my best to find time to write so that I have something to share with you next week.

Now, to share the last bit of what I wrote this week. This story is still the one that I plan to post on Thursdays here on the blog as soon as With the Colonel’s Help is finished.

AN EXCERPT FROM Confounding Caroline:  Continue reading Music Monday: She’s More, Pride and Prejudice


Music Monday: Wind, Brian Crain

When I write, I like to have instrumental music playing. This is not news to those who have been following my blog for any length of time. 🙂  I have several playlists of music that I can choose from when I sit down to write. Often, I pick randomly.  However, for this last story — the one I just finished the first draft of this week — I couldn’t pick a random piece of music. This story demanded I listen to Brian Crain.

29briancrain. “Brian Crain – Wind.” YouTube, YouTube, 26 July 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wfu6k8IGOXU.

There were two albums my brain favoured for this story.  One was Piano and Light. The other, which contains the above song, was Piano Opus. A few minutes of closing my eyes and listening to either of these albums seemed just the thing to let my brain know it was time to write. Even when I sat down to write this blog post, I put on “Wind” and before the song was half over, my brain had calmed and was focused on writing. I think it is amazing how our bodies can learn to react to signals like that!

Now that you know why I am sharing this particular piece of music, let’s move on to the writing news for the week and then enjoy a story excerpt.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 15 from 3-5 pm EST, Zoe Burton, Rose Fairbanks, and I are hosting an Austen in August Garden Party on Facebook. There will be opportunities to share some favourites, test your knowledge of Jane Austen’s novels in a scavenger hunt, and (hopefully) pick up one of our books in a giveaway. Giveaways (7 of them) will be scattered throughout the time, and you will have to be present to claim a book. You can join the party here:

Austen in August Garden Party.

Henry: To Prove Himself Worthy is now available for pre-orders with a release day scheduled for August 29.  You can pre-order that book at this link:

Henry: to Prove Himself Worthy.  

(Oh, by the way, this is one of the books I will be giving away at the party tomorrow.)

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I have completed the first draft of Unravelling Mr. Darcy.  I have let it sit for a couple of days, and will begin working my way through the first round of edits this week.

While it was sitting, I started writing what will be the next Thursday’s Three Hundred story which is called Confounding Caroline and is excerpted below.

AN EXCERPT from Confounding Caroline:  Continue reading Music Monday: Wind, Brian Crain