Music Monday: Persuasion 2007 – Lost(Michael Buble)

 

His brother stepped in front of him. “You are not going to follow her? You are just going to let her go?”

Nicholas pushed him aside and kept walking. “I do not know what I am going to do.” He knew what he wanted to do, but was that what he should do? She had returned, but she had not returned alone. The image of her standing on the deck of the ship with a baby in her arms would not be easily cast aside.

[from Hope at Dawn, a sweet Regency romance short story]
Published to YouTube by Liara I’Sorry on April 13, 2010

Have you read the first chapter of Hope at Dawn yet? The second chapter will post tomorrow. This short story revolves around the possible reunion of two separated lovers. The mood of the above song seemed to fit this story, and just as the song ends on a happier note than what it starts with, so does Hope at Dawn… eventually, at the end. 🙂

I am also writing a story that starts with separated lovers, and I am sharing chapters from a story that has a husband and wife who are currently separated. And when I finally get to starting the next Touches of Austen book, that story will also be about separated lovers. I tell you, it’s a bleak November for story characters. LOL

Of course, that Touches of Austen book might not get started in November (though I hope it does) because my to-do list is at that point where I look at it and just want to go back to bed and hide from it. 😀 Let me tell you what has been accomplished, as well as a bit about what is on that to-do list.

This week, I wrote two more chapters of Kitty and Mr. Langley’s story. He is likely going to be referred to as Lorcan in this story (which is still without a title) because he happens to have a cousin with him who is also a Mr. Langley.

I made progress on my read-through of Her Secret Beau, and I received feedback on Persuading Miss Mary and printed out the manuscript so I can start a final proofread. I hope to have HSB sent off to be checked for story issues at some point this week and to have PMM ready for pre-order by next week.

First Blooms and Second Chances is currently being read for any story issues.

I have created two book covers. Would you like to see them? I shared one of them with my mailing list readers in my Friday update email, but the other has not yet been shared publically. Here they are:

Oh wait, that’s three covers. 🙂 Well, that’s because I did get Marrying Elizabeth, Books 1-3 Compilation PUBLISHED! This omnibus contains Confounding Caroline, Delighting Mrs. Bennet, and Loving Lydia. You should be able to find it at your favourite ebook retailer.

I have an Austen Authors post tomorrow, Tuesday, November 19, 2019, which means I wrote that this week and got it scheduled.

Some wonderful readers answered my call for help by writing reviews so that Charles: To Discover His Purpose now meets the minimum required for a Book Cave promotion, and I submitted it for a promo day. It was accepted! Charles’s story will be free from 12:00 PST Tuesday, November 19, 2019, until 11:59 PM PST Thursday, November 21, 2019. #feelinggrateful

And ALSO ON TUESDAY, Willow Hall will be leaving Kindle Unlimited, and the Choices Series will be entering Kindle Unlimited. I’ll be working on getting the Willow Hall books returned to all my vendors as soon as I possibly can.

And finally, I think we are at the end of the update that seemed as if it would never end. 😀 Now, let me share an excerpt from Through Every Storm, which is the book I will be sharing on Mondays over the next several weeks. This week, you can read chapters 4 and 5 at the link below this excerpt, but you will have to use the password Flowers. The password will expire on Saturday, November 23, 2019, and a new password will be given out for some more chapters next Monday.

This excerpt is from chapter 5 and is the reason why I picked the password that you will need to read the rest of this chapter (and chapter 4) this week:

She sighed and prepared to go clean her hands and, if possible, lie down to ease her headache.

“Wickham,” she said in surprise as she exited the room. “Have you come for tea?” She tucked her stained fingers behind her back.

“I did. Thomas asked me to take tea with him today, but I cannot be long. The shop is busy.”

She gave him a tight smile. “Yes, it seems extraordinarily busy lately, but that is a good thing, is it not?” She tried to make her voice sound carefree. “Will you only be taking tea with Thomas?”

Wickham laughed. “I am sure Louisa will join us. She is not one to pass up an opportunity to entertain.”

“I am sure they will be happy to see you. Thomas has mentioned how he has missed your stories at night.” Lydia hoped he heard the hint in her words. It was not only Thomas or Louisa who missed seeing him.

“I have been busy.” Wickham shifted uneasily.

“So you said.” Lydia moved toward the stairs. Disappointment wrapped itself around her heart.

“Lydia,” he called after her.

She stopped but did not turn to face him.

“I have been busy.”

“I heard you,” she snapped. “I have been busy as well.” She spun to face him. She held out her hands. “My fingers did not become stained from lack of work, and my apron did not become soiled from sitting about the house. I have been busy, but I have not neglected our children. But then they are more a mother’s responsibility and not a father’s, are they not?” She saw the moment of pain in his eyes and immediately regretted her words. “I am sorry,” she said, dropping her head to look at the floor. “I am tired and my head aches.”

“Lydia, things between you and me are just…” He searched for the correct word.

She shook her head. “Go. Enjoy your tea with your children.”

“I am eating with Denny tonight.”

She nodded and forced a smile to her face. “Give my regards to my sister and remind her of her promise to visit next week.”

“I will.” He watched her start up the stairs.

“Mr.Wickham,” said Harriet. “Your bowl of flowers.”

“Will Mrs. Wickham enjoy them more in the sitting room or the entry?”

“There are already flowers in both of those places, sir.”

“Then where would you suggest?”

“She’s not had any in her room for nearly a week, sir.”

Wickham’s brows rose in surprise. “A week?” It was no wonder she was a bit out of sorts with him.

“Yes, sir.”

“Then, please, place them in her room. And Harriet?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Would you be so kind as to inform me when these flowers need to be replaced?” If his arms could not hold her and tell her of his love, then he hoped the flowers would surround her and speak for him.

“Of course, sir.” Harriet smiled and gave a quick curtsy before hurrying to do as he had asked.

Here is the link to Through Every Stormthrougheverystorm.pressbooks.com

You will need to use the password Flowers to unlock chapters 4 and 5.

~*~*~

Leenie B Books
Click to find all of Leenie’s books at your favourite retailer.

MAILING LIST    PATREON


Music Monday: White Horse, Tenille Townes

I’m sharing something a little different from my usual Monday Music selections. However, it is a song that I have been enjoying lately and it has a connection to my writing life at this moment in time.

Published to YouTube by Tenille Townes on March 18, 2019.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about Persuading Miss Mary this week because I’m struggling a bit with finding the answer to what I think is the major question of the story. How is Wes going to persuade Mary to love him when he represents something of which she very strongly disapproves? Continue reading Music Monday: White Horse, Tenille Townes


Music Monday: Mayapple Road (Thad Fiscella)

“More, Mama! More!”

Thomas Prescott heard the small child’s squeal of delight before he rounded the bend in the path and saw her, a small bundle of excitement, dancing with her hands in the air attempting to catch the white petals falling from the apple tree above.

Thomas stopped where he was. He would eventually have to continue on his way, but he did not wish to disturb the child’s fun just yet. He would let her twirl and giggle for a few moments longer before intruding on her play.

“More, Mama!” the child pleaded when the shower of petals slowed.

“One last shake,” the lady, who must be the child’s mother, said from her perch on a bench beneath the apple tree. “But we must save some flowers so that we can make apple pies for Christmas.” Rising up on her toes, she grasped a branch and gave it a gentle shake. The flurry of white petals caused by the action was met with clapping hands, bouncing curls, and happy laughter.

[From Apple Blossoms, an original sweet Regency romance short story, and the Sweet Tuesdays story for the next four weeks]

Provided to YouTube by CDBaby, October 19, 2015.

The excerpt above is how the new Sweet Tuesdays story, Apple Blossoms, begins — with Mr. Prescott, a bachelor, meeting his new neighbours, Miss Abigail Watson and her mother the widow Watson. This short story will be shared in four parts, starting tomorrow.

Apple Blossoms is a short story of about six thousand words. It has a complete story arc (beginning, middle, end sort of thing). It has characters that are developed, and the main character does grow (learns something new to him). There is a desire that the main character has, as well as obstacles (of his own creation) to overcome. In other words, it is a complete story.

However, because of the short length, the plot of a short story has to be kept tight so there are no side plots, and the number of characters is limited as is the time frame and the number of problems. It should be a sweet little tidbit which will (hopefully) leave you with a smile and a sigh. I hope you will join me for this story starting tomorrow.

Apple Blossoms will be one of the stories eventually included in my next Nature’s Fury and Delights collection whenever I get the rest of the stories written. 😀 I have really fallen down on that goal for this year. I have an inspirational image selected for the next story for the collection, but that is as far as I have gotten with that project. There have just been so many other things needing attention.

Let me tell you about some of those other things which have claimed my time this past week:  Continue reading Music Monday: Mayapple Road (Thad Fiscella)


Music Monday: I Will Never Stop Trying (Emma and Knightley)

“Diana,” he called to his sister before he followed the Uptons into the library.

She turned toward him.

“I’m sorry.”

She stood looking expectantly at him.

“For making a mess of things.”

She smiled at him.

“You will tell Victoria that?

[from His Darling Friend, A Touches of Austen Novella, and the current Sweet Tuesdays story]

Published to YouTube by xxnumber27xx on February 10, 2013.

Tomorrow’s chapter of His Darling Friend is the final chapter. The book will be going on pre-order tomorrow, and so, ahead of that, I have password protected most of the chapter posts so that Amazon will hopefully not flag the story as being available elsewhere and refuse to list it until the story is removed. The password for all protected chapters of His Darling Friend is ROGER2019.

In other writing news: Continue reading Music Monday: I Will Never Stop Trying (Emma and Knightley)


Music Monday: Period Drama Couples, Breathe Again (Sara Bareilles)

One horse cleared the hedge, followed closely by the second just as Nicholas, who as attempting to turn his horse, reached that very spot.

“Let me out. Please, let me out.” Tears streamed down Mary’s face as she helped push open the door and jumped down. “Oh, please, do not let him be dead,” she cried as she gathered her skirts and raced across the field, the sounds of men shouting and horses screaming were drowned out by the hammering of her heart. He had to be alive. He just had to be, or her heart was going to die with him.

Gasping for breath, she pushed her way through the crowd that had gathered around the injured men and beasts. “Fred,” she said, clutching the shoulder of the man bent over the still form of Nicholas. “Fred, is he alive? Please, tell me he is alive.”

[from A Very Mary Christmas]
Published to YouTube by pinkperel on October 10, 2012

ETA: Apparently,  the above video only plays on YouTube. Sorry about that. I think it is worth a watch, but if you’d rather just stay on this Web page, there is also this video by KatSw3 from December 12, 2010. Let’s see if this one will play here, shall we?Thank you for alerting me to the viewing issue J.W.Garrett. 

I thought that little scene from A Very Mary Christmas went well with today’s song, and since it is just one of the stories included in the two book bundles of mine that have been included in a Kobo sale, which is part of my writing news, it seemed like a good day to share it.

I have two sales going on today.

One is just ending. That one I told you about in last week’s Friday Feature. The price has been marked down worldwide and across various vendors. The price will be going up at some point later today depending on the timezone of the vendor. So, if you want to grab this book at this price, don’t wait.

Click the image to find the book at your favourite retailer.

The second sale does not end until February 3 and is only on Kobo. Of the three box sets I submitted to the January 40% off Box Set Sale, two were accepted. 🙂

The Choices Series which includes all four novellas in that series: Her Father’s Choice, No Other Choice, His Inconvenient Choice, and Her Heart’s Choice

A Dash of Darcy and Companions Cottage Collection (1) which includes five novellas: Finally Mrs. Darcy, Waking to Mr. Darcy, A Very Mary Christmas, Discovering Mr. Darcy, and Not an Heiress

You will need to use the following promo code at checkout in order to take advantage of the 40% discount.
Promo Code: 40JAN
Expiry:  Feb 3rd, 11:59pm EST
Ok, now that the sales info is out of the way. Let me update you on what I have been doing in my writing life and then, share an excerpt from this past week’s writing.
First of all, let me say that a lot of writing got done. I was able to stick pretty close to the new schedule. It was not easy, but I was determined which meant that I was able to:

Write one more chapter of Loving Lydia. I now have seven chapters written. Chapter 4 will post this Thursday

I have dictated the first chapter of Apple Blossoms, the Nature’s Fury and Delights story I am working on. I know that this week’s dictation time will also get interrupted by appointments and such, but the story is progressing at a snails pace. 🙂

I have tentatively scheduled the first chapter of Roger’s story to post here on the blog on February 5. I also wrote chapter two of that story this week. If I can write chapters 3 and 4 this week and next, that tentatively scheduled post will become definitely scheduled. I like to stay at least 4 weeks ahead of what I am posting as works in progress here.

OH! I also have a title for Roger’s story. But… I’m not telling what it is just yet. When we get closer to the first post day here, I will tell you the title to be watching for.

And lastly, which is actually the bulk of what I wrote last week, I wrote three chapters of Tom: To Secure His Legacy and discovered that my planning and plotting had to be adjusted as the story just did not want to follow my path. But honestly, this path is better. I think it was the path the story needed all along and when I look back at the first chapter I can see the hints of it there. I just had not gotten far enough into the foggy trail to see that this is where it was going. I love it when a story says, “Great idea. That’s part of it, but here’s what you really want to do” and then drags me along for the ride. [Yes, I talk to and listen to my imaginary friends 🙂 ]

That’s it. That’s all I wrote. My writing news is over for the week, which means it is time to read a little of the writing I did. Here’s an…

EXCERPT FROM Tom: To Secure His Legacy Continue reading Music Monday: Period Drama Couples, Breathe Again (Sara Bareilles)