I’ve done something new. I’ve published a non-fiction book. It’s a writing journal in which I have taken excerpts from several of my books (11 to be exact) and used them as illustrations for what the scripture tells us godly love is like.
While the book’s genre might be a new one for me to publish in, the parts of me that went into creating it are not. I can see how God joined together my years of writing, those spent teaching (both in school and church), my lifetime of exposure to Him through church attendance and schooling, and this in-born love for love stories with happy endings.
It’s a little book – less than 18,000 words in length and only 80 pages in regular 5×8 paperback format – and yet, it feels monumental and if I’m being honest (which I am), scary. 🙂
Today is the day! An Accomplished Lady (of the best sort) is now available everywhere! (Get it here)
By proving his friend wrong, he might just make everything right.
This excerpt is from chapter one. Hurst is not wrong. This Bingley will do his best to get what he wants!
For the better part of an afternoon at Netherfield, Charles Bingley has listened to his sister promote herself to his best friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy. And for the same amount of time, he’s observed his friend trying not to give in to his desire to admire Miss Elizabeth Bennet. When the discussion turns to the qualifications of an accomplished lady, he listens closely and knows, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that marrying such a lady would only bring sorrow to his friend.
After the ladies have left the room, he attempts to address the issue in a friendly sort of manor. However, when Darcy goes a step too far in sharing his opinions of the lady Bingley loves, friendly tactics are tossed aside in favour of a more direct and calculated approach.
An Accomplished Lady (of the Best Sort) is a novelette of just over 17,000 words and is the sixth installment in Leenie Brown’s Teatime Tales Collection of Austen-inspired quick reads. If you’re looking for a romantic and entertaining escape from the everyday, then you’ll enjoy this story where a determined Bingley does what he must to secure not only his own happily ever after, but also that of his friend.
So put the kettle on, download your copy of An Accomplished Lady (of the Best Sort), and join Bingley and Hurst as they poke, prod, and arrange for Darcy to follow his heart and marry the right sort of accomplished lady.
Sketches and Secrets of Summer (Darcy Family Holidays, book 4) is now available at your favourite retailer.
It’s finally here! Sketches and Secrets of Summer (Mary Bennet and Stuart Alford’s HEA story) is finally available for everyone to read. This book is on my list of favourite stories I have written. One of the characters who made this story for me was sweet and timid three-year-old Rose Alford. She’s not sure she trusts her uncle at first, and he has to wait some time before she accepts him whole-heartedly. In contrast, she takes to Mary straightaway and snuggles in beside her new friend quite readily.
Here’s one scene where Rose just jumped off the page and into my heart a little further. I can just hear a little lisp on the s of her yes and see the delight sparkling in her eyes.
This is from chapter 11 so it’s a good way into the story, and Stuart, Maggie, and Rose have just arrived at Pemberley to call on Mary (and everyone else — but mostly Mary 😉 ).
The girls stopped at the foot of the stairs that led up to Pemberley’s door and waited for him to join them. Then, they followed him up the steps.
“Are you ready?” he whispered, crouching down, and looking each of his nieces in the eye.
They both nodded eagerly. Maggie was currently silent, but ever since he had returned home two days ago and told her about the upcoming visit to Pemberley, she had been an absolute chatterbox about her friend Miss Bennet and what she hoped would happen today.
“Best behaviour?” he asked as a reminder of Miss Leslie’s instructions before they had climbed into the carriage at Wellsworth. Miss Leslie was to have the day to herself. Harriet and Susan, the two nursery maids, had been sent as companions for the girls should their services be required.
Again, both heads bobbed up and down.
“You will say good day and thank you and other such things?” he asked Rose with a wink.
Her little mouth turned up into a smile that shone in her eyes. “Yes,” she replied.
“I am very happy to hear it.” Stuart stood and smoothed his jacket. He was not entirely certain why he felt as nervous as he did. But there were butterflies having quite the raucous party in his stomach. He silently told them to leave off as he lifted the brass knocker and let it fall with a thud.
Something pulled at the edge of his coat’s tails, and looking down, he saw Rose standing at his side with her hand firmly grasping the material of his coat. Maggie still stood beside her sister, holding her hand. Could it be that he was not so far from being trusted by Rose as he thought he was? That thought seemed to do a better job of quieting his nerves than the scold he had given them had.
The door in front of them opened, and soon they were all gathered inside, following Pemberley’s butler to the drawing room.
“Do you want to hold my hand?” Stuart offered Rose.
She shook her head and kept her grip on his jacket. Apparently, holding his hand was a step too far in trusting him and one that she was not yet willing to give him.
“Mr. Alford, Miss Margaret Alford, and Miss Rose Alford,” the butler announced.
When Stuart stepped into the room, his coattail followed, but not immediately, because Rose was somewhat reticent to greet everyone gathered. That is, she was reticent until she saw Miss Bennet. Then, Stuart found his coat freed so that Rose could do her duty in waving to her friend.
Isn’t she sweet? Maggie is wonderful, too. She’s five, much more talkative, and equally as enamoured with Mary as her little sister is.
Below is the book’s description.
Once betrayed, always a bachelor. At least, that was the plan.
Stuart Alford never expected to return to Derbyshire. Indeed, he never wanted to return. However, when his brother dies, leaving him both his daughters and the family estate, Stuart must do what he does not want to do.
When he arrives to claim his inheritance and take up guardianship of his two wards, he discovers they have befriended a young woman who is visiting her sister and brother-in-law at Pemberley.
Mary Bennet is not like any other lady he has ever met. She’s refreshingly candid, and he begins to understand why his nieces adore her.
Be that as it may, Stuart, whose heart is just beginning to mend, has sworn off marriage, and he’s not reticent in sharing that fact. But despite his adamant proclamations, as sketches are made and shocking secrets are revealed, he’ll discover that offering his heart to another might be the only way for it to ever be fully restored.
Sketches and Secrets of Summer is a Leenie Brown Pride and Prejudice variation novel of just under 45,500 words (spread between 16 chapters). The paperback edition of the book comes in at 280 pages, which includes all the front matter (like the table of contents) and back matter (like acknowledgments, contact info, and a sample of another one of my books).
I have two things to let you know about today — One Winter’s Eve is on sale for the next five days and Christmas in Gracechurch Street is now available.
Price reduced to $0.99* from December 18 until December 22, 2020.
He’s an annoyance. She’s a puzzle. Together, they make sparks fly.
Is love’s enchantment powerful enough for a gentleman bent on remaining single and a lady equally as determined to marry only a man with an estate to come to an understanding? Or will love find itself rejected and shivering under the stars of a winter’s night?
*$0.99 USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, with all other currencies also reduced.
Feeling himself drawn to the enchanting Miss Elizabeth Bennet, Fitzwilliam Darcy plans an escape from Netherfield. It isn’t until his arrangements are all in place that he discovers Elizabeth has made an escape of her own and is now right where he doesn’t want her to be. In town. And he’s about to spend a good amount of time with her and her relations.
I updated my book promotions page yesterday. (You can find that page in the menu at any time.) But, I thought I’d also make a short post so that the sales info shows up on the blog main page, too.
What happens when Mr. Darcy’s insult is overheard, and he knows it? Find out in this Jane Austen meets Hallmark-style sweet romance.
*$0.99 USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, with all other currencies also reduced.
This novelette-length sequel to Matching Mr. Darcy, starring Colonel Fitzwilliam, is always $0.99* unless you get it free when you sign up for my mailing list. 🙂
