Two Days before Christmas

The July 2022 Saturday Broadsheet

The Saturday Broadsheet, with all my writing life updates, is now available at the link at the bottom of this short post.

In this issue of the Broadsheet you will find:

Info about what is posting on my blog. (As if you didn’t know, right? LOL)
An excerpt from my current work in progress, His Father’s Last Gift
Info about the two books I have on sale for $0.99 this month, a couple of other books that have been reduced in price, and one boxset that is on sale for this weekend only.
A link to a multi-author promotion I am taking part in
And in the something fun section at the end of the newsletter you will find, a music video that has been paired with an excerpt from one of the books in the boxset I have on sale this weekend. (It features one of my all-time favourite troublemakers. ;))

CLICK HERE TO READ THis Month’s SATURDAY BROADSHEET

Have a great weekend!

I hope you have time to read a book.

I’ll be back on Thursday with a new chapter of His Inconvenient Choice.

The Library at Dingestow (Charlotte Bosanquet)

For July, I am going to do the Wednesday post theme differently. Instead of picking a particular sort or topic of images to share, I am going to pick a series of books to feature. This month, I’m choosing the Darcy Family Holidays series for two reasons. First, it is the book bundle I have on sale this month so it’s a great time to pick it up if you haven’t already added it to your collection. And second, book four in this series will be published in August, and I’d like to spend some time celebrating the series as I am deep in editing and publishing details. 🙂

We’ll start with book 1, Two Days before Christmas.

I chose this image because the rather long excerpt below is of a conversation that takes place in a library.

Brush and watercolor and pen and black ink over graphite, c1840. *The Library at Dingestow*, Charlotte Bosanquet (1790 – 1852). Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

“Am I being a fool?”

Richard shook his head. “No.”

Darcy looked at him, hoping that his cousin would elaborate on his reply.

“What can I tell you that you do not already know?”

“Her family is ridiculous,” Darcy said.

“And so is Aunt Catherine.”

“Her father’s estate is mismanaged.”

“That is not Miss Elizabeth’s doing,” Richard replied with a smile. “Her father has an estate; that is the relevant point — she is a gentleman’s daughter.”

“But she has little to bring with her to a marriage.”

“Besides herself,” Richard countered. “Is Pemberley in need of funds?”

“No, but she will likely bring her younger sisters with her — all three of them, hoping to be thrown into the paths of wealthy gentlemen. Silly younger sisters.” Darcy shook his head at the thought.

Richard grimaced. “That could be a problem, but is it great enough to require that you give up Miss Elizabeth to another?”

Darcy scrubbed his face again. “No. I have argued all these points over and over, and the answer is always the same.”

Richard cocked a brow. “A fool does not put so much thought into a decision, does he?”

Darcy shook his head. “I suppose not.”

“Then marry her. Claim some happiness for yourself.”

“Darcy, I had heard you were here,” Lord Matlock said as he entered the library through the door that led to his study. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?” He tipped his head and surveyed Darcy from head to toe just as Richard had done.

“He’s getting married,” Richard replied.

[from Two Days Before Christmas]

Get *Darcy Family Holidays, Volume 1 (books 1-3*) for $2.99 until the end of July.

Fortepiano: Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven)

I thoroughly enjoyed last week’s video about recorders and Van Eyck, so this week, we’re going to do something similar. 🙂 I have two videos for you today. The first one is an informational video about the fortepiano, and then the second one is a musical selection that Miss Darcy might have played on her fortepiano.

And the music in the video is actually being played on the fortepiano, which means the piece of music sounds as it would have when Beethoven first composed it. Surely, I can’t be the only one who finds that cool, can I be? 🙂

I’ve paired the above musical videos with an excerpt from a book where Georgiana plays a key role in bringing her brother and Elizabeth together. This excerpt is from a scene where Georgiana and Darcy are about to have a disagreement.

Two Days Before Christmas is the first book in my Darcy Family Holidays series. Darcy has returned home from Netherfield sooner than expected, and he’s in quite the state. Georgiana thinks she knows what his trouble is and determines that she is going to give him the best Christmas present — an unbroken heart.

MAILING LIST PATREON

Music Monday: Christmas Ambiance

PUBLISHED TO YOUTUBE BY SERENE AMBIANCE ON NOVEMBER 30, 2020.

I’ve had several videos of fireplaces with Christmas instrumental music playing as I write lately. I picked this one because it is one of the shorter ones. (Some are up to eight or even eleven hours! I just pick up where I left off one day when I start the video again the next day. 🙂 )

Today, I am sharing a short excerpt from two books that have a specific location in common. So this post, like the video above, could be a longish one. 🙂

This first excerpt is from Two Days before Christmas.

December 2020 Saturday Broadsheet

Can you believe we are already at the end of the year? It’s been quite the year, hasn’t it? But before we bid farewell to 2020, let me tell you what I have been up to in my writing life this past month and what is on the horizon to happen (hopefully) before the year ends or just as the calendar turns.

Story Updates

Here are a few updates on stories I have been working on and what I am planning to work on next:

Christmas in Gracechurch Street: This story was supposed to be on preorder today. It’s not – which fits for this story. It has not been where I wanted it to be the whole time I was writing it. I am a person who likes schedules and routine. This year has been one of working on flexibility, whether I wanted to work on it or not. 😀 However, all the edits should be done by the end of next week, and I have penciled in December 15 as the release day for this book.