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.
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.
PUBLISHED TO YOUTUBE BY MICHAEL ORTEGA ON NOVEMBER 3, 2019
When I heard this song on a day when I was working on finding music to pair with stories, I knew I wanted to share it, and when I turned my mind to what story might pair well with this song, His Beautiful Bea came to mind first. I just think that the song has the same sort of feel that His Beautiful Bea has. It’s soft and lovely with a touch of sadness that is lifted up and turned into something far better than what was lost by true love. Hopefully, that explanation makes sense to more people than just me. LOL
Just a note before you read: His Beautiful Bea is a novella of 8 chapters. I am sharing chapter 6. Those facts should let you know that there may be some spoilers in here for those who have not read this story already. 😉
His Beautiful Bea, Chapter 6
Touches of Austen Book 1
For two long and tiresome days, Beatrice was confined to either a sofa in the sitting room at Heathcote or a bench in the garden. Her mother was not known to coddle her children, but she was not the sort who foolishly flouted precautions, especially when it came to Beatrice. Having nearly lost her daughter to a fever when Bea was just eleven, Mrs. Tierney stuck firmly to all prescribed restrictions, and a turned ankle that showed signs of bruising required, according to Bea’s mother, a full two days of rest with little walking. Mrs. Tierney would not confine Bea to her bed, but she would not have her hobbling about ─ not even with a cane. Bea was to rest with her foot on a pillow.
It was, therefore, a happy morning on the third day when Bea could rise from bed and take a walk around the garden — a short walk around the garden, one that would not aggravate her injury. Her mother’s words and expression when giving her directives had been stern, and Bea knew better than to disobey.
So it was that Bea was in the garden near the hedge when her brother, Graeme, and Shelton returned from their ride.
“Miss Tierney!” Shelton doffed his hat and greeted her from where he sat on his horse. “I missed our rematch. I am confident I could have been victorious today.”
^^That’s not the most creative title, is it? 🙂 I was running low on creativity when it came time to create this blog post. The clock just rolled past midnight here — which means it is now Saturday in Nova Scotia as I write this. I’m pretty sure that has a lot to do with why my creativity is running low.
Writing News
This week, with the help of a friend, I managed to add another chapter to both His Irreplaceable Belle and Marrying Elizabethbook 5. These chapters were not easy ones for me to write — not because the content of them was challenging but because I felt stuck, which, I think, happens at least once with every story. There were a few questions I needed to answer before moving on. This is where my very patient friend, Zoe Burton, helped me by being a sounding board when I needed to talk through some details. She also helped me come up with a possible title out of a long list of options for Marrying Elizabethbook 5.
No, I have not yet started that third writing project. Maybe I’ll get some planning done this coming week? Maybe. 🙂
Publishing News
There’s nothing new here. Just a reminder that Her Secret Beau is now available in the Kindle store for purchase or to read with your Kindle Unlimited subscription if you have one of those.
Book Promotions
Listen to Your Heart (ebook edition) will be $0.99 from February 1-15, 2020. This sale is across all sales channels and in all regions of the world with all currencies being reduced. Continue reading The Saturday Broadsheet for February 1, 2020
