I hope this email finds you safe and well. Below you will find information about what I got done in my writing life this week and links to two books that are on sale and two books (one that is mine and one that is a friend’s) which are free this weekend. Oh! And there is also a first look at the cover for Cherishing Kitty.
Writing News
I pushed myself to complete a long list of items this week, and as soon as I get this blog post and my weekly email written and scheduled, every item on my to-do list will be done! I’m a little excited about that, and I must admit that my brain is tired! 🙂
Here’s an update on my writing projects with a short excerpt from a couple of them.
His Irreplaceable Belle: I am up to chapter 14, and I am not sharing a clip from this as no matter what I choose, it will be a spoiler. Sorry. You’re going to have to wait to find out what happens in this chapter.
Matching Mr. Darcy: I wrote 2 chapters of this story this week! I am finally a week ahead of my Patreon posting schedule as of about 15 minutes ago when I finished writing chapter 9. 🙂 I am terribly excited about this. It’s a relief to have that one chapter cushion. Here is how chapter 8 began:
Mrs. Bennet bustled into the drawing room no more than twenty minutes after she had entered the house. “We will have a cup of tea and a light lunch.” She smoothed the clothe that a maid had just laid on a small table near the door. “As my husband said at the church, it will be nothing formal today. We are just gathering to enjoy one another’s company.” She smiled and took a seat. “The tea will be here soon.” She paused. “It is a delightfully fine day, is it not, Mr. Darcy?”
“Indeed, it is, Madame.”
“Do you like to walk?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Excellent. And, Mr. Bingley, do you also like to walk?”
“I do,” Bingley assured her.
“It would not do to be traipsing hither and yon across the wilderness, but a stroll in the garden might be just the thing. Both Jane and Elizabeth like to walk. They can accompany you.”
Protecting Miss Darcy: I am up to chapter 4. Here is how that chapter begins:
“Does it hurt much?” Kitty asked as she applied some salve to Georgiana’s red nose.
“Not overly much — less than last night, and it is no more than I deserve. I know that enjoying the sun so freely as I did yesterday is not proper.” She winced as she looked in the mirror. The pain of how such a red nose made her appear was greater than the stinging burn of the injury. “It looks dreadful.”
Kitty said nothing, choosing instead to hug her friend from behind as she sat at the dressing table.
“I shall stay to the shadows today and wear my bonnet with the widest brim.”
“You look lovely in any hat you wear.” Kitty’s head was in the wardrobe they were sharing. “This.” She pulled out a blue and white striped cotton day dress. “It will pair very well with your wide-brimmed bonnet if we change a ribbon or two.” Kitty fluffed the ruffles at the neckline and sleeves before checking the three rows of ruffles at the bottom of the dress. “It looks every inch the perfect dress for a picnic.”
Cherishing Kitty: I sent this off to my first reader for feedback and would you like to see the cover? I shared this earlier with my Leenie’s Sweeties Facebook group, but they are the only ones to have seen it until today. 🙂
I should have more information regarding the expected publication date next week.
I will be removing this story from my blog this coming week.
Book Promotions
If you follow my blog or follow me on social media, you have already seen this news. (You can find a post about this sale in the Book Promotions section of the blog)
These books are on sale for this weekend. The Free price ends at 11:59 PM (Pacific time) on Monday, March 30, 2020. The other prices will reset sometime on Tuesday as I have to do those manually. Prices are reduced in all currencies.
I intend to keep doing weekend sales for some time. I hope that they help us all have something to look forward to once a week. 🙂 We need to look for the joy and beauty around us. And for me, reading brings me joy and so does getting a great deal on the book I am reading.
Get Mary’s story for free here.
Book Review
Today, I selected Lynn Char’s review for a very specific reason.
Do you see where she admits that Mansfield Park is not her favourite Austen book? I know there are many who feel that way. (Not me, obviously. It’s one of my favourites. 😉 ) Lynn is not the only one to have read this book with a bit of apprehension because it was Mansfield Park or because it was Mary Crawford. That’s understandable. I didn’t like Mary before I wrote this story.
Now, so you see what else Lynn says? “I’ll admit I enjoyed this very much.” Yep, I like doing that — changing a character from someone we strongly dislike into a character we can like and hope gets a happy ending.
And one last thing — The hero, Gabe, is very likable, indeed. Lynn has that spot on! 🙂
Thank you so much, Lynn Char, for reading this book and leaving a review.
A reading note: This series is most enjoyable if read from the beginning to the end. That’s why books 1 and 2 are on sale this weekend while Mary is free.
Something Extra
I am not the only author who is trying to give readers a little something extra to look forward to during this current challenging time in our world. My dear friend, Rose Fairbanks, is also running some sales on her books. This week she has had Courtship at Rosings marked free. This novella will remain free until Sunday night, March 29, 2020, at 11: 59 PM (PDT).
If you don’t want to miss out on any of her sales announcements, I would suggest that you follow her Facebook Page. I know that she plans on having another one of the books in this image marked free sometime next week.
Get Courtship at Rosing for FREE here.
Have a good weekend! Be safe and well. I’ll see you on Monday.
MAILING LIST | PATREON | SOCIETY6
Hi Leenie, In “Matching Mr. Darcy”, you wrote “She smoothed the clothe that a maid had just laid on a small table near the door” What does that mean?
Well, it means I have a typo as that should read cloth and not clothe. LOL And the idea is that a maid had just put a fresh tablecloth on the table to prepare it to receive the light refreshments, and when Mrs. Bennet came in she was inspecting how things were and that cloth must not have been perfectly smooth so she takes care of making it smooth. It’s also kind of a fidgety, almost nervous sort of action which tells us she is not totally at ease for some reason.
I’m glad you answered! A simple mistake, and not a Regency-era item about which I’ve never heard. 🙂
Well, my goodness. I love your new cover. I assume that is Langley. I can see why Kitty would get weak in the knees looking at him. Whew! I got a bit weak in the knees myself. [Sorry honey]
Leenie, you have been busy. Thanks for sharing the information regarding Rose’s books. I am taking advantage of all the sales. It is my goal to own all your books so I have been excited to do a bit of shopping from my home. Blessings and keep safe.
He is definitely easy on the eyes, isn’t he? 🙂 I’m glad you are getting to do some bargain shopping while at home. 🙂 (And I am attempting to take it kind of easy today after that week of work, especially since I have plans to have another busy week next week.)
Definitely easy on the eyes! Looking forward to Kitty’s release! You are definitely very busy and productive.
My house has never been so clean but we are all safe and sound here in Ontario as are my son/future daughter-in-law in Montreal. Fortunately, they are able to work from home! My daughter and family are all home too as she is a teacher, but they are ramping up to start on-line teaching on April 6th. Fortunately, they have enough devices so she can do her teaching and they can do their learning! I doubt they will be going back physically to their schools this year…maybe for the start in September. Time will definitely tell.
So all the best to you and your Leenie. These are interesting times and we just have to make the best of things.
Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay sane.
Keeping busy and holding to my usual work schedule as much as possible helps things feel more “normal” at present — so I have an excuse for my workaholic nature for now. LOL 🙂 My hubby and youngest son, who works with his dad, are mostly out of work (just a couple of places that are still open and needing cleaning), and my oldest son is out of work completely as the restaurant he manages is closed. So, I am the only one with work to go to daily, and I think it helps the others to know that there is still something that has not changed. Besides, I enjoy playing with my imaginary friends. 🙂 I just wish that those who were off work would do more cleaning of my house. LOL
Getting ready to shift to online teaching must be quite a task! I hope it goes well for your daughter. I’m sure there will be some pains as everyone gets used to it. It’s so hard to imagine school being out for that long! My husband also cleans for the school board here, and when or if he goes back is still an unknown. I’m sure they will need to do some end of school cleaning at some point if no one goes back, but no one knows how all that is going to work yet. We’re just taking it day by day.
We’re doing our best to stay as safe and healthy as possible. We did go for a drive in our “mobile self isolation unit” (aka our car) yesterday because we just needed to see something other than the world through the living room window. It was a beautiful sunny day, so we went and looked at the ocean and the empty trails marked closed with police line tape. It was a bit strange but also refreshing in a small way.
I’m glad to hear you are doing well so far, Carole.
Thank you for sharing this with us and for the great sales both you and Rose Fairbanks are giving us. I already had the three books of yours for this weekend but I hadn’t owned Courtship at Rosings. I had read it with Kindle Unlimited and really enjoyed it so it’s nice to own a copy now. I have been enjoying seeing all the eBook sales lately and do appreciate the authors doing this at this time. I look forward to seeing what books the two of you list next.
Hope you are doing well and staying safe.
Happy Reading Everyone!
Oh, I am so glad you were able to pick up Rose’s book to add to your library! 🙂 I love having books I have enjoyed available to re-read. 🙂
We’re doing well at the Brown’s house. No one has gone stir crazy yet. I’m used to being mostly at home all the time, and my boys are happily spending time playing games online with their friends. It’s my Bingley-like husband who is finding this confinement to be the most challenging. So, it’s good that he still has a couple of cleaning accounts that still want him to come in and do some cleaning jobs.