I thought this song title was appropriate since I just wanted you to know about a major shift in my writing life.
I think it was back in 2019…
I had spent a weekend reading (and not sleeping as much as I should have due to books 🙂 )
and I was getting ready on a tired Monday morning to “go to work” (meaning walk the few feet from my bedroom to my living room “office” and start putting in my six or so hours of work time),
that I was listening to some country music and one of my favourite groups, the Hunter Brothers, popped up in the playlist. I can’t tell you what song of theirs I was listening to but I can tell you that it was one of their songs when…
Before the beginning of the story Hope at Dawn, Nicholas and Kathleen, the hero and heroine, were separated by her father and brother because they did not find Nicholas, a banker, to be good enough for the daughter of an earl. Now, Kathleen is returning to England from a tragic time away in Ireland.
Today’s excerpt is the beginning of a letter Nicholas gave to Kathleen before she left, begging her to wait for him. Despite having little hope, Nicholas has been waiting for her, but has he waited in vain?
Because St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in March, I thought that this month would be a good month to feature some Celtic music on Mondays.
I’m pairing today’s song with a story where the father of the hero surely would have cried out to be saved from the waters of the Irish Sea. Unfortunately, he was not. (That’s a sad note to start the month on isn’t it? Sorry. The song, however, is much more upbeat than this quote. So, there’s that. 🙂 )
At All Costs is book four and the conclusion of my Willow Hall series. The hero of this story, who lost his father at sea, is perhaps my most-favorite Bingley. Bingley is not the only gentleman who finds his happily ever after in this book. The colonel is also so fortunate. Bingley and Richard work together on a few things in this book.
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Welcome to a brand new week and a brand new month. Shall we start it with a love song and a quote from a story?
Anne wants to marry the gentleman she loves and not the one her mother has chosen. Doing so will take some scheming but if things go well, she should find herself dancing at her wedding with Alistair and not Darcy. This quote from Becoming Entangled is from the scene where Anne presents her plan to Alistair.
Becoming Entangled is a sequel to Unravelling Mr. Darcy, and the timelines of the two books overlap. The quote above happens on the day Anne meets Elizabeth when she is walking near Rosings before she leaves for London (in chapter 4 of UMD), and it is also the day Anne sends her letter to Darcy (which Darcy reads in chapter 5 of UMD).
Fun Fact: Anne and Alistair are one of my most favourite couples. I love the way these two love each other so completely, which is why today’s song matches with their story so well.
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I selected this video to pair with a chapter of His Irreplaceable Belle, which publishes tomorrow, because that Touches of Austen story contains touches of Jane Austen’s Persuasion.
The late afternoon sun felt wonderful and warming as Fritz turned his face towards it. The brightness that filtered through his eyelids was restorative. It had always drawn him forward from his often deep ponderings with a cheerfulness that was unparalleled by anything else, save for the smile of a particular lady.
However, he was not sitting in the garden to think about Belle. He was here to clear his mind and turn it towards the task at hand – finding a wife who was not Belle.
He drew a deep breath and released it. But neither the freshness of the spring air nor the intensity of the sun could chase away the dark shadow of sadness that passed across his heart at the thought.
“Mr. Norman.”
Fritz straightened himself and opened his eyes. “Mrs. Blakesley.” He stood.
“Please call me Grace. I think we will be good enough friends for such familiarity.” Grace Blakesley took a seat on the bench next to where Fritz had been leaning backward and enjoying the sunshine. “My husband does not mind if you call me by my Christian name, do you, Walter?”
Walter Blakesley chuckled as he shook his head. Was there a happier man in all of Bath? Fritz was certain he had not seen one – not even Mr. Clayton and Mr. Shelton, who were each, without a doubt, happily and contentedly married and awaiting the arrival of a child, shone quite like Blakesley did. Joy effused every part of Blakesley’s person.
“You may call my wife whatever she wishes for you to call her.”
“I hate to disappoint your wife, but I may have to insist upon Mrs. Blakesley,” Fritz said. “I assume you will not be discharging me as your physician, Blakesley, will you be?”
Blakesley guffawed. “And give up the best physician in Bath? I think not!”
A rather grumbly part of Fritz’s mind wished that people would stop referring to him as the best physician.
“Then, I assume you will also call on me if Mrs. Blakesley should ever be in need of care?”
“Of course.” The answer was given without a moment’s pause.
“In that case, Mrs. Blakesley, I will have to insist upon calling you Mrs. Blakesley. It would be too improper for us to be on friendlier terms.”
Mrs. Blakesley scowled. “I do not see why it should be considered improper.”
“There are many strictures which might seem ridiculous and yet we must abide by them. I would not wish to be thought of as unprofessional or lacking in decorum in any fashion.”
Mrs. Blakesley’s eyes grew wide. “Oh, yes, right. I completely understand.” She paused to peek at her husband who had finally taken a seat next to her rather than standing and surveying their surroundings.
The man was incurably curious.
“Mrs. Blakesley is a lovely name,” his friend’s wife said happily. “I quite like it.”
“I am glad to hear it,” Blakesley said.
“As am I,” Fritz inserted before the two with him forgot he was there.
