Oh, my! This has been a busy, busy week. Not much writing got done, but a lot of other tasks did. I’ll tell you more about that below, as well as about the books I have on sale, the book I have on preorder, and a little bit about a piece of exercise equipment that is mentioned in His Irreplaceable Belle. Ready to find out about all that? Here we go…
Writing News
This week, I wrote one chapter of Her Convenient Forever. That’s all I have gotten written so far this week. I hope to maybe have time to at least start a chapter of Protecting Miss Darcy later today, but we’ll see if there is time for that or not. Below is an excerpt from near the end of the chapter I wrote. The Loves have just arrived at Grenwood Hall to take a tour, and Mrs. Love is quite excited for the opportunity. (Little does she know just how eventful this tour will be — but I haven’t written that part yet, nor am I going to share that little secret.)
“I thought that we could start our tour in the drawing room with a glass of lemonade and a biscuit if youwish.”
“I just ate something on the way here,” Felicity admitted softly. It was not something she would have admitted to just anyone, but Mr. Hedrington had not judged her harshly for being with child. Therefore, she suspected he would not care one bit if she had consumed a full meal while travelling the few miles from their cottage to his home. “However, I would not turn down a glass of lemonade.”
“Then, we shall have lemonade and save the biscuits for later.” He paused before he reached the door. “Did you get a good look at the façade? It is quite grand is it not?”
“It is lovely, simply lovely,” Felicity’s mother cried. “Mrs. Adams – do you know her?”
“I do,” Mr. Hedrington said.
“Mrs. Adams told me that the house and grounds were well proportioned, and she was right. Oh!” One of her hands rested just above her heart. “It is delightfully proportioned. Even spacing on the windows and each matching the other. The symmetry is exactly as it should be.”
Today, I am pairing this song with a story where I would say the heroine has a very innocent heart. It is a heart that is not looking in the right place for its forever love, but the guy sitting next to her and attempting to help her catch the attention of her crush and his brother will make certain by the end of the story that her heart finds its true home.
The story I am talking about is His Beautiful Bea, which is the first book in my Touches of Austen series, and the innocent heart belongs to Beatrice Tierney.
Important note: This book is currently on sale for $0.99 but ONLY until today. At some point tomorrow, that price will be going up!
If you have been reading my Sweet Tuesday stories, I think you will recognize a name or two in this chapter.
His Beautiful Bea, Chapter 2
Touches of Austen Book 1
“You are a fair sight to see,” Max said later that afternoon as he plopped down next to his sister on a couch in Stratsbury’s drawing room. He flicked her book. “You’ve not finished it yet?” he queried. “I half expected you to be ready to peruse the library before we leave today, but you have more than half the book left to read.”
Bea smiled at her brother. He was not a great reader. He preferred being out of doors and doing things to sitting and reading.
“I promise I shall not disappoint you,” she replied. “I have completed my book of poetry and would like to replace it. Sir Herbert has already promised me that I might. Will you help me choose a new book?”
Max shook his head and laughed. “Not likely. My knowledge of poetry is limited.” He stretched out his arms, resting them on the back of the sofa with one wrapped around her shoulders. “I know a few poets and poems, but not a vast array. You would be better to ask Everett or even Graeme. They would know more.”
“Then if I require assistance, my dear brother, I will ask one of them and not you.”
I hope you had a good week and that you are staying safe and well. We are settling into a new routine at the Brown house as my husband has started back to work on a summer schedule, and my eldest son will be starting to go back to work part-time next week since his place of business has re-opened with limited hours. This all means my days are starting and ending a little earlier at present, which is great since the lawn will soon be long enough for its first mowing, and I like to get that over with in the morning. That’s it for my short personal life update. Now, let’s get on with my book news.
Writing News
This week, I wrote one more chapter of Protecting Miss Darcy. I’m up to chapter 11 in that story currently, and in this chapter, Wes makes an appearance and is his usual fun and slightly annoying self. I’ll let you have a little peek at that this week.
PUBLISHED TO YOUTUBE BY KING CALAWAY ON JANUARY 25, 2019.
This is one of those songs I just happened to see as a suggestion on YouTube. I had never heard of this Country Pop group before. So, I clicked play and decided it was a song worth sharing and pairing up with Assessing Mr. Darcy.
(You can find this song on Spotify at this link. I don’t get anything for sharing this link. I am just trying to do my part to help musicians earn a few pennies when listeners listen. 🙂 )
I’ve chosen the following chapter because it is when the first hints of a desire for “Building a World for Two” begin to filter into Darcy’s thinking. It is the moment he meets Elizabeth. (Yes, this is a story where Darcy falls for her immediately, and then they work through some stuff.)
Assessing Mr. Darcy, Ch. 4
Darcy had found his tea with Bingley to be refreshing, but not so refreshing as the feel of the wind against one’s person as he rode. At least, that is how Darcy saw it. He and Bingley had discussed the basics about which books were most important to look over first and what Bingley’s hopes were in securing an estate like Netherfield. It was for Bingley as it was for many gentlemen.
Bingley wished to gain the prominence that such an estate would bring him as well as a place into which he could put some of his inheritance in such a fashion that it would continue to reap benefits well past when he departed this earth. Bingley was no fool. He was happy and amiable as well as obliging to a fault at times, but he was no fool once he put his mind to a matter. It would take some doing, but Darcy did not expect it would be overly long before Bingley understood the workings of an estate as well as any gentleman did. Darcy smiled wryly. Bingley had the added advantage that he was likely to gain the approval of all his neighbours with very little effort. That was how Bingley was. He liked people, and they liked him. It was an enviable quality.
“I see the knoll,” Bingley circled back to where Darcy was riding at a slower pace. “There.” He pointed to his left. “And that fence there must be the one of which the groom spoke. We are nearly at the end of Netherfield’s lands in this direction. I shall have to ask him tomorrow for a marker of where it ends in the opposite direction.”
“Do you truly care to know?” Darcy teased. “Are there pretty ladies at an estate in all four directions?”
I hope you are all safe and well. We are still doing well here in Nova Scotia. A few lockdown regulations are loosening — for instance, parks are open but we’re still being encouraged to stay in our own communities. My husband will be returning to a more normal schedule of work next week. I’m going to miss seeing him so frequently and having his help doing the laundry and cooking the supper. He’s a pretty awesome guy. 🙂 But enough about my home life. Let’s get on with my writing life details. Here are a few highlights of what you will find below. I have a free book from now until May 12. This week, I will begin posting a new story on Tuesdays on my blog. And, the books available in Kindle Unlimited will change up this week.
Writing News
I’ll keep this short since I don’t have any story excerpt that I want to share this week. I did write two chapters of Protecting Miss Darcy. However, I think if I share from either of them, it might give a spoiler, and I don’t want to do that. They are part of a pivotal moment in the story for our main characters as they have decisions to make about moving forward or retreating. I am probably going to have to write at least one more chapter of that story before my brain will let go of it long enough to focus on other things that need to be written.
I did not write anything else this week because I spent a lot of time rereading His Irreplaceable Belle so that I could get that sent to my first reader. (She’s the one that checks the manuscript for any story issues or things that don’t make sense to her but might to me.) I have some publishing news about this book below.
And I think that is all the writing-related news. So let’s move on to the publishing news.
Publishing News
Thank you to all who have purchased Cherishing Kitty already, and a special thank you to those who have already left reviews. I used a few snippets to make a short video, which I will share below. You can find the book at your favourite retailer at this link.
Coming Soon!
I have His Irreplaceable Belle scheduled to release during the final week of May. I hoping for May 26 but might have to push that out to May 29. I should have a definite date for both the preorder and release day next Saturday.
I shared a sneak peek of the cover for His Irreplaceable Belle in my Leenie’s Sweeties Facebook group and in this week’s newsletter to my email subscribers. I’ll be sharing it here on the blog soon.
Book Promotion
This book, along with the other books in A Dash of Darcy and Companions Cottage Collection 2, will be leaving the Kindle Unlimited program as of May 13, 2020.
Before they do leave, I have set this book to free for a few days. In this book, Elizabeth has a brother of sorts. He’s actually her cousin who came to live with them when he was ten and has become more like a protective older brother than a cousin. He (William Collins) and Elizabeth are especially close, and he is more protective of her than any of his other sisters. Unfortunately, he’s not always wise in how he makes his decisions, and his judgment will be clouded by some stories he has heard from a particular scoundrel who doesn’t like Darcy. (Did you guess Wickham? If so, you get a gold star.)
You can download a FREE copy of this book at this link.
Book Review
Thank you, David and ForeverHis reading and reviewing Cherishing Kitty and for providing such lovely comments in your reviews that I could use to make this video.
Kindle Unlimited Comings and Goings
LEAVING KINDLE UNLIMITED ON MAY 13, 2020
A Dash of Darcy and Companions Cottage Collection 2 omnibus
Unravelling Mr. Darcy
Becoming Entangled
Enticing Miss Darcy
Mr. Darcy’s Comfort
Master of Longbourn
Assessing Mr. Darcy
ENTERING KINDLE UNLIMITED ON MAY 11, 2020
Darcy Family Holidays, Volume 1 ominbus
Two Days before Christmas
One Winter’s Eve
Scandal
Thunder, Mist, and Frost
First Blooms and Second Chances
See my Books Currently in KU page on my blog for links to all the books currently available to read with your KU subscription.
Something Interesting
In my writing, I often use the term wedding breakfast. However, did you know that the term was not in common usage until probably the 1830s and did not get entered into the Oxford dictionary until quite a bit later than that?
So, why would I use a term that may not have been common in the year in which my story is set? Simply put for clarity. The term conveys the meaning of what is happening very clearly and is not a modern term. Add to that the fact that terms such as wedding day and wedding clothes are used in Jane Austen’s work. I figure it is not too far a stretch to use wedding as an adjective to describe the type of breakfast one might have after a wedding ceremony on a wedding day while wearing wedding clothes. 🙂 Therefore, I choose to use it.
Below is a clip of some information you can find about Regency weddings on Sharon Lathan’s blog. She has an abundance of information there for those who are looking for something interesting to read.
One more little detail about wedding breakfasts — it was at Mary and Wes’s wedding breakfast where all the trouble started for Kitty and Lorcan when the two of them were caught in a compromising position. Do you remember that?
Have a good weekend! Be safe and well. I’ll see you on Monday.
Click to find all of Leenie’s books at your favourite retailer.
