Music Monday: Ode to Joy to the World (The Piano Guys)

Merry Christmas!

Published to YouTube by ThePianoGuys on November 16, 2017.

I thought we should start this day before Christmas with a rousing, joyous song, and this arrangement of Ode to Joy and Joy to the World certainly fit that description! So click play and let your spirits be lifted as you read my writing news and enjoy a small excerpt from Tom’s story.

WRITING NEWS:

Frosted Windowpanes concludes this Thursday. I published this novelette along with two others last Thursday. (One is a Pride and Prejudice Variation and the second is a Sense and Sensibility Variation) This bundle of stories was also given out to my mailing list subscribers. If you wish to subscribe and get this collection of three novelettes as a gift, you can do that here:

Click the picture to be taken to the form to subscribe.

This mailing list offer is only good for another week. So if you’re a mailing list sort of person, sign up soon. If, however, you are not a mailing list sort of person and would prefer to purchase the book, you can do that here:

books2read.com/u/mvKkqX

Here’s a little bonus info thing for the curious (like me 😉 ):

Wondering how long a novelette is? This handy chart can help. I got this one from Wikipedia. I use a slightly modified version of these numbers for classification purposes.

I know that for one Romance Writers of America award (I think it is the RITA contest), they use 20,000 to 40,000 as the word count range for a novella. Therefore, since I write romance novellas, I use the RWA numbers for novellas, which means a novelette for me goes up to 19,999 words. The novelettes in my Nature's Fury and Delights book are between about 9,200 and 11,675 words.  :)

I think it is important to note that classifications can vary by genre. (The above chart is not a romance genre chart.) There is no one set guideline. I just thought you might like to know how  I am classifying my stories. :)

And one more thing I must include here before returning you to your regularly scheduled Music Monday post: Neither word count nor page count defines a good story -- story structure does that. ;) But that's a whole other discussion (and a topic I love discussing).

Ok, now back to my writing news:

Next Thursday, Loving Lydia will begin. I have written three Thursday posts of Loving Lydia so far, and hope to get another one written this week so that I am a month ahead of what is posting.

I have received the final edits for Delighting Mrs. Bennet back from my proofreader and will be starting on those this week. I hope to have the preorder set up for this book by next Monday — However, it is the holiday season so my plans may not go as scheduled. I’ll let you know next Monday. I still expect to have this book published on January 10, 2019.

My writing time was very limited this past week due to the book coming out on Thursday and Christmas preparations. However, I did manage to complete two chapters of Tom’s story. (I began one of those chapters last week, so really I only wrote one and two-thirds chapters. 🙂 ) I’m hoping to get at least that much written this week, but again, all story production plans are subject to change this week. [I will begin posting this on Patreon after the holidays are over.]

While working on Tom’s story this week, I discovered that dictation is a great way for me to do story brainstorming. There is something that happens when I talk out loud to myself that helps the ideas come together and start to connect better than any other method I have used previously. It was kind of exciting to see. I had noticed that using dictation when brainstorming for Lydia’s story had seemed to help, but I wasn’t sure if it was a fluke or not. It appears it is not. I think my brain works best this way. (And figuring out how my brain works best is exciting stuff to me.)

And now for…

AN EXCERPT FROM Tom: To Secure His Legacy: (This is the first look at our heroine) Continue reading Music Monday: Ode to Joy to the World (The Piano Guys)

Music Monday: The Woodshed is Full (Dean Brody)

Elizabeth could not agree more. Darcy’s love was the best Christmas gift she could have ever received, and every year, from that one forward, in addition to gifts being exchanged on Christmas morning in the Darcy home, gifts of the heart would be given as well. But these gifts, these special gifts of love, would neither be given nor received on Christmas morning but would always be shared, just as Georgiana’s had been — two days before Christmas.

[The final lines from Two Days Before Christmas]

Published to YouTube by Dean Brody, November 28, 2014.

Traditions. They are often a big part of the end of the year holiday season.

A tradition for me in my writing life, which is going on three years this week, is writing and giving a story to my readers on my email list. The process starts in the early fall as I decide on the story to be written. Then, I usually spend October writing and November editing, so that the book is ready to distribute in December.

This year, I started writing the first of the three novelettes in the book I am giving away in August. I wanted to learn how to write using dictation, so I knew the process would not be fast — and I was right. I wrote in small sections (while getting ready in the mornings). It was interesting how my brain was trying to get used to speaking a story rather than sending it through my fingers to the computer. (I am not sure that it is completely familiar with that process yet) The software also had to get used to my style of writing. (It’s getting better but still needs work.) Needless to say, these three stories needed a LOT of editing for typos and punctuation. 😀 However, it was a great learning experience, and I am going to do it again — after New Year’s.

Anyway… These three stories will be both given away to my mailing list and published to Amazon and on whichever of the other vendors are open and not on holiday hours. 🙂 (Thursday is the planned day if all goes well.)

If you wish to join my mailing list and pick up these stories for free, you can do that from now until the end of 2018.

I will be talking about this book and sharing an excerpt from each of the stories tomorrow, December 18, 2018, on Austen Authors.

Of course, I will also be posting a chapter of Frosted Windowpanes, which is one of the three stories in this collection. I will post the final chapter next week. Just because the book is being distributed this week does NOT mean I will not finish posting that story.

As you can probably guess, I was busy getting last edits done on Nature’s Fury and Delight’s: Thunder, Mist, and Frost this past week, but it was not all I was working on. I also…

sent off Delighting Mrs. Bennet to my final editor and have a tentative publication date set for January 10, 2019.

wrote the second chapter of Loving Lydia and scheduled the first chapter to post on January 3, 2019. 🙂

wrote chapter 3 of Tom: To Secure His Legacy — which means I think I am ready to start sharing a few snippets of that here. However, I cannot promise that I will have something to share each Monday during the holiday season. I think I will, but you know how busy it can be at this time of year. Therefore, I don’t want to make a promise I might not be able to keep. But anyway… Shall we take a peek at a few hundred words from Tom’s story?

AN EXCERPT FROM Tom: To Secure His Legacy: (this is from chapter one) Continue reading Music Monday: The Woodshed is Full (Dean Brody)

Music Monday: I’ll Be Home For Christmas (The Carpenters)

“Shhh. Rest quietly.”

The heaviness on his chest lifted, but instead of feeling relieved, he missed the warm, protection of whatever it was. Or whoever it was, he adjusted as a hand cupped his cheek.

“We will be to the dock soon.”

He attempted to open his eyes again, but they still would not allow him to look at the lovely lady who was now stroking his forehead.

“Rest,” Mary cooed.

A drop of something wet splashed on his cheek and was quickly brushed away. Sniffling. She was crying. He forced his eyes to open enough so that he could see her through his lashes. If he could get his arms out from under these blankets, he could touch her, and she would know she had nothing to fear. But he could not do more than lift his hand and place it on his stomach under the blankets.

[from Mary: To Protect Her Heart]

Uploaded to YouTube by christamtime4u on October 21, 2011

Wouldn’t you like to know what is happening in that scene with Mary and Gabe?

Well, today is the day when you can because today is release day for Mary: To Protect Her Heart!

(And remember that this story as well as Charles: To Discover His Purpose, Henry: To Prove Himself Worthy, and His Beautiful Bea are all available to read in Kindle Unlimited.)

It was a busy week getting things ready for the release of Mary’s story mixed in with other things such as going to speak to a class of young writers (grade 4) on Wednesday. It’s always such fun to go into my friend’s class and share my love of writing with such eager learners. I also got to read some of their stories — which were excellent!

The busyness of the week, however, contributed to my not quite getting everything done that I needed to do for Mary’s release. I did not get Advance Reader Copies out until Sunday — Sunday! I don’t usually send emails on the weekend, but this time I had to. I also do not have a print version of the book ready to go at this time. It should be ready by the end of the week.

In other story news,

I have gotten my Nature’s Fury and Delight stories back from my final editor and have started on those corrections. Chapter two of Frosted Windowpanes will post this Thursday.

(Thank you to all who read and to those who commented on last week's post. It is so exciting to me to see people taking a chance on this Austenesque original tale.)

I picked the video above partially because I thought the images really fit with that story being set in the winter around Christmas time — and it is a story about a homecoming. As I explained in my author note last Thursday, this collection of stories was specifically written as a Christmas gift from me to my newsletter subscribers. If you are not a subscriber, you can click the link at the bottom of this post and be added to the list. Anyone who joins the list before the end of December will receive a copy of this book, and I am hoping to be able to give away a lot of copies. 🙂

I finished my first round edits of Delighting Mrs. Bennet and have sent that off to my first reader. Yay! Publication is still slated for the beginning of January.

I wrote the first installment of Loving Lydia, but I did not get any more of Tom’s story written. Therefore, there is no story excerpt this week (again — I’m starting to feel guilty about that 😉 ).

I think I need someone who can look at my writing plate when I am planning and tell me “No, that’s too much. Put one of those stories back” 😀 because it seems when I stacked this plate I definitely filled it too full. 🙂 [But there are just so many tempting story treats to pick up and play with.] Hopefully, by the new year, I will have it whittled down to manageable. And I thank you for your patience during this very scattered period of my life. <3

Until next Monday — have a blessed week!

Leenie

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Music Monday: I Saw Three Ships, Jennifer Thomas

“What I would not give for a book or a bit of stitching,” Margaret said.

“I do not think I could enjoy either with all this rocking,” Mary said. She would do well to not become ill from the motion.

There was nothing to do besides pace their small confines in a staggering fashion as they attempted to grow accustomed to the motion of the ship or sleep. And so, they did one for a period of time, and then endeavoured to do the other when their legs grew weary. They huddled together as comfortably as they could in a corner they created by pushing around a couple of crates. It felt secluded and gave the illusion of being safe.

[from Mary: To Protect Her Heart]

Published to YouTube on November 14, 2017, by Jennifer Thomas.

*music ends at about 3:30 with information about the performer after that mark

As I mentioned last week, we are on a short break from any work in progress excerpts on Mondays as I am just beginning some new stories and have nothing ready to share. However, when I found this music video I just couldn’t help using a small excerpt from Mary’s story to go with it. (And I’ll admit to wanting to tempt everyone into reading her story. 😉 ) Those few lines above are from when the real trouble (and danger) begin in the story.

Mary: To Protect Her Heart is on pre-order for a special price until December 10, 2018. After December 10, the price will go up. Henry’s and Charles’s stories are also on sale until Mary’s release day, so this is a great time to pick up all the books in the series.

During the pre-order period, I will be working on the print edition, making final corrections to commas and typos, working on promotional graphics, and sending out a limited number of advance reader copies to my mailing list as well as sharing some of those ARCs in my Leenie’s Sweeties Facebook Group.

But that’s not all I am working on. At the same time, I need to get Nature’s Fury and Delights: Thunder, Mist, and Frost ready to publish on December 18 (my next Austen Authors post day), and I am working my way through the first round of edits on Delighting Mrs. Bennet, which will be published in early January 2019 (probably January 3 or 10). It is a busy but exciting time of year in my writing world.

You would think that all those activities would be enough to keep me scurrying and wondering how I will get it all done — and you’d be right 🙂 However, I just don’t feel right when I don’t get to write. 😀

So, I have started Tom Bertram’s story. I’ve only written about 1000 words so far, but I have done many hours of research before I wrote any of those words. (Yes, I am once again pushing myself to explore new things with this story. I really don’t know why I do this to myself. 🙂 I guess I just like the challenge of learning.)

By the end of this week, I hope I might be ready to start writing Loving Lydia. I want to get my first read through/edit of Delighting Mrs. Bennet done first, and I think I can have that finished by about Thursday if my schedule works. I think you might have some idea from where part of the conflict in Loving Lydia might stem after seeing Wednesday and Thursday’s posts.

Delighting Mrs. Bennet will conclude this Thursday. I will be leaving it up for about a week (and a few days since I do my blog post work on Saturdays) before removing it from the blog. That means there will be a month between when this story ends and Loving Lydia begins. But don’t worry. I am not going to skip any Thursday posts. I just happen to have something else planned for the month of December — which you can find out about next week. 😉

One last little writing news item that is not so little to me. I have always sold all my books on as many sales platforms as possible. However, based on past experience and my analysis of previous sales numbers as well as the direction in which I would like to go with my writing career, I am going to be pulling Henry: To Prove Himself Worthy, Charles: To Discover His Purpose, and His Beautiful Bea off all of my vendors except for Amazon so that I can place these books in the Kindle Unlimited program for at least 90 days. My hope in doing this is to make the stories available to a large group of readers who might feel more willing to take a chance on a Mansfield Park-based story by borrowing and reading it rather than committing money to something they don’t realize they will enjoy. (I mean, they will enjoy the stories. I just need to give them the chance to discover that they will enjoy them, ya know what I mean?) It wasn’t an easy choice to make. I am not a fan of the exclusivity that Amazon demands to be part of the Kindle Unlimited program, but, after talking to several people I respect, it seemed that trying this approach is a good business decision. I will be asking to have them removed from other sellers after Wednesday this week since Charles’s story is still in the Kobo Plus program until that day.

I’ll share more about the direction I would like to go in my writing career later — probably in January. For now, I’ll just say that I have always said I was an author of Austen-inspired and original fiction, and I think it’s time to start working more original fiction into my catalog of books. Don’t worry. I don’t plan to stop writing sweet stories. I’m just shifting a bit. But, I’ll explain more when I have more of a plan in place. I’m just starting to attempt the planning part. 🙂

I think that’s all the writing news I have for now.

Have a great week!

Leenie

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Music Monday: Unsafe Haven (Simply Three)

Georgiana clung to Elizabeth. “You were so brave. I could not even look at them.”

“I was not brave, Georgiana. I was angry. I am angry. Come, we should try to get some rest.” She pulled the young girl onto the bed with her, wrapping her in her arms. “Your brother will find us.” Elizabeth ran her hand gently over Georgiana’s hair smoothing it away from her face with a soothing caress. Soon, she could hear the steady breathing of a sleeping child. It was only then that Elizabeth allowed her body to tremble and a tear to escape her eye before drifting off to sleep.

[from Oxford Cottage]

Note: For those who might be sensitive to flashes of light, the video is very "flashy."

Published to YouTube by Simply Three on September 22, 2017

From the title of the video and the excerpt from Oxford Cottage, can you tell what sort of tone the excerpt from Mary: To Protect Her Heart might have? 😉

This will be the last excerpt from Mary’s story that will be shared on my Monday posts, and I am leaving you with a bit of a spoiler from the portion of the story when trouble starts to brew and bubble over. But before I get to that, I have some exciting…

WRITING NEWS:

First, I want to tell you that there will not be a Wednesday post this week. I just did not have enough time to get everything done over the weekend, and so that is the item that got cut off the to-do list.

Second, I have an Austen Author’s post tomorrow. There will be an excerpt from and a chance to win a copy of Mary: To Protect Her Heart included in that post.

Third, I am not sure if all the stores will reflect this price at the time when this blog post goes live or not, but both Henry’s and Charles’s stories are on sale for $2.99 USD with other currencies adjusted accordingly. These will be on sale until Mary’s story publishes. And that info brings me to…

Fourth, Mary: To Protect Her Heart will be on pre-order by the end of the week. I have finished first round edits, and it has been sent to my first editor. I believe the publication date will be December 10, 2018.

Fifth, I have also finished first round edits on Nature’s Fury and Delights: Thunder, Mist, and Frost! They will be sold in a bundle of three novelettes instead of individually. I do not have the publication date set at this point. Mary has to be attended to first, so by next week, I should have a date for you. (Should being the important word there 😉 )

I did no new story writing this past week as I spent all my time editing, so there will not be a story excerpt with next Monday’s post, and at this point, I am not sure when I will be ready to start sharing from a new story as I haven’t gotten anything started. I have Loving Lydia on the to-write list as one of my next projects so that can be ready to start posting on Thursday’s in January, but I haven’t even thought about which other project will be started at the same time. It could be Tom Bertram’s story or something completely different. I’ll be giving that some thought this week.

In addition to the editing I was doing this week, I was also finalizing ebook covers for the two upcoming releases. And here is the first look at those covers.

And now for that last…

STORY EXCERPT FROM Mary: To Protect Her Heart: Continue reading Music Monday: Unsafe Haven (Simply Three)