Peonies (Charles Courtney Curran)

Peonies (1915). CC Curran, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

I think I’ve discovered another painter to add to my list of favourites! This gentleman’s work is beautiful! It’s full of life and movement.

This painting made me think of Master of Longbourn because peonies are mentioned in that story. In fact, I find the scene in which they are mentioned to be quite as lovely as the flowers in the painting above – but then, I’m partial. I’ll let you judge for yourself as I am including the full chapter below. (It’s chapter 8 which is about 3/4 of the way through the book.)

Master of Longbourn is a sequel to Mr. Darcy’s Comfort and is the tale of how Mr. Collins becomes the master of Longbourn and finds not just his happily ever after but who he is and where he belongs. I found myself growing to love this version of Mr. Collins as I wrote this story. I hope you will find him to your liking as well.

Enjoy!

Continue reading Peonies (Charles Courtney Curran)

Pride and Prejudice Illustration by C.E. Brock

Charles Edmund Brock (1870-1938), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

On Friday, I have a new Teatime Tales story publishing called An Accomplished Lady (of the Best Sort). So I thought I’d share a little teaser from the story with you today.

You should know that it is a story that is told completely from Bingley’s point of view as he attempts to make his best friend realize that Miss Elizabeth is his friend’s perfect match. And, I’m sure when you read the excerpt, you will know both the setting place and time (as it relates to the timeline of P&P) and why I chose the above image for today’s post.

Enjoy!

Continue reading Pride and Prejudice Illustration by C.E. Brock

“Dance in the City” by Renoir

“Dance in the CIty” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. The woman is identified as artist Suzanne Valadon. Original is in Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France.

Ok, so I know that this is not a Regency era painting and that the couple is neither dressed or dancing as as a Regency era couple would be. How anachronistic!

Now that we have that out of the way 😉 let me tell you why I picked this image to share today with an excerpt from Delighting Mrs. Bennet. My reasons are pretty basic. First, the couple seems to be enjoying their dance very much, and second, her dress is blue. I know, not exceptionally deep reasons to match this with the excerpt below, but there you have it. 😀 By this point in the series, Darcy has learned to be rather swoony, so I hope you enjoy this snippet from Chapter 8.

[FYI for those who do not yet own this book, the ebook edition is on sale everywhere this month (May 2023). See the book promo page for a link and details, or click the book cover image below to find links to various stores.] Continue reading “Dance in the City” by Renoir


A Travelling Coach and Pair (Henry Bunbury)

Travelling Coach and Pair, Henry Bunbury, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

This drawing is the sort that will make me enlarge the image just to look at all the little lines that comprise the details in it. I also enjoy that it almost looks as if it could be moving.

I chose to share it today because Pretending to Love Mary begins in travelling coach, and I wanted to share the first few paragraphs of that story with you.

If you’re on my mailing list, you may have already read this story because I sent out an email with a link to download a copy yesterday. If you’re a Booksprout reviewer, you might have picked up a copy of the novelette to review. (Twenty out of the thirty-five review copies were claimed the last time I looked.)

If you’d like to join my mailing list, and you do so before March 7th (which is the release day for Pretending to Love Mary, you could also get a copy of this story for free.

If you’d rather just purchase the book, it’s on pre-order now.

With all that said, here’s the beginning of the book to pique your curiosity. 🙂

Continue reading A Travelling Coach and Pair (Henry Bunbury)

The Apothecary to See Miss Bennet

Pride and Prejudice Illustration, Charles Edmund Brock (1870-1938), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Today, I’m sharing an excerpt from my upcoming release, His Father’s Last Gift, (which is currently on pre-order everywhere). The story begins during Jane’s illness at Netherfield, and the apothecary is indeed called to see her… but not just because Jane is not feeling well. Mrs. Bennet needs his assistance for another reason. 🙂

Continue reading The Apothecary to See Miss Bennet