Author: Leenie Brown

Leenie Brown fell in love with Jane Austen's works when she first read Sense and Sensibility followed immediately by Pride and Prejudice in her early teens. As the second of five daughters and an avid reader, she has always loved to see where her imagination takes her and to play with and write about the characters she meets along the way. In 2013, these two loves collided when she stumbled upon the world of Jane Austen Fan Fiction. A year later, in 2014, she began writing her own Austen-inspired stories and began publishing them in 2015. Leenie lives in Nova Scotia, Canada with her two teenage boys and her very own Mr. Brown (a wonderful mix of all the best of Darcy, Bingley and Edmund with healthy dose of the teasing Mr. Tillney and just a dash of the scolding Mr. Knightley).

Music Monday: Shape of My Heart, 2Cellos

2Cellos. “2CELLOS – Shape Of My Heart [OFFICIAL VIDEO].” YouTube. 09 Dec. 2014. Web. 08 Jan. 2017.

Happy Monday! Isn’t this a beautiful piece of music to start the week? It is one of my favourites to listen to while writing. (Yes, I know I have a lot of favourites, but they are all so good. 🙂 )

I chose to feature this video today for a couple of reasons that are related to what I was working on this week.  First, the plucking of the strings makes me think of traveling by horse or carriage and the constant clip-clop of hooves as you roll or ride along for hours. There was a good deal of travel in what I was writing this week because Bingley had some business to take care of.

Second, the visuals of floating and burning papers made me think of things happening in the plot.  The business our hero left to complete was not of a pleasant nature, and it was the sort of which you do not really wish to have documentation.  (Yes, I am talking about Bingley as the hero here. There is something surprising hidden behind that pleasant exterior.)

I finished the story except for an epilogue, and, thanks to the help of a reader and friend on Facebook, I have a title for this fourth book in the Willow Hall Romance series. Yay!  The title is At All Costs, and I think it fits perfectly since the story, both for the hero and one of the “villains” (yes, one of them — there are several that cause trouble), is a story of fighting for and protecting your love at all costs.

I plan to write the epilogue in a few weeks after I have edited So Very Unexpected. That book is slated to be published on February 14, 2017, so I am busy doing the first round of edits so that I can send it to my first reader, fix what she tells me, and then send it on to my proofreaders/copy editors. This means the story has disappeared from the blog, but I have left a link to a two chapter preview on my Leenie B Books page. I am enjoying going back to this story after being away from it for about two months.  I still love Lydia!

I believe that is all the writing news I have for you today.  This week, I will be editing and working on my Austen Author’s blog post for next Tuesday (which will feature a giveaway).  Enjoy your week! Hopefully, you will get to stop by the blog on Wednesday and Thursday for a lovely painting and a full chapter of At All Costs. 

EXCERPT FROM At All Costs:  *Contains spoilers and a cliffhanger. 🙂 *

The sun was setting as Bingley and Richard wound their way through the streets of London.  They had paused long enough upon arrival to leave their bags at Bingley’s townhouse and for Bingley to stop at his solicitor’s office to check on the progress of marriage papers and a special license.  Now, however, he and Richard had left the favourable portion of town and were slowly making their way down toward the river. 

Bingley waved to some chap who was seated on a crate marking things off in his notebook. 

“She sails at dawn,” the man called. 

“Where to?” Bingley called back.  Continue reading Music Monday: Shape of My Heart, 2Cellos


Music Monday: Beyond Me, TobyMac

TobyMacVEVO. “TobyMac – Beyond Me (Lyric Video).” YouTube. YouTube, 13 Jan. 2015. Web. 31 Dec. 2016.

It will be the second day of 2017 when this posts, but as I am writing it, it is still 2016 — it’s New Year’s Eve to be exact, and the radio is on and playing a list of their top 103 country songs of 2016.  It is that time of year when we look back on what has happened and look forward to what might be in the new year.  And so, I am taking a few minutes to look back at my year in writing.

One of the biggest changes this last year has been moving from a regular paycheck to being self-employed.  This change also came with a move from a classroom full of students to one — my son.  And it has been a challenge figuring out how to mesh his classes, my work schedule, and just regular house things together. We’re doing ok, but I would not say we are “there” yet. 🙂  But it has been a wonderful change — a definite blessing!

So besides giving up the day job, what tangible things can I point to that show what I have accomplished this year in my writing life?  Well, I have made a few changes on the front page of this website.  I have completed two Thursday’s Three Hundred stories and have another one started — and I have published several books.

  • His Inconvenient Choice
  • Her Heart’s Choice
  • And Then Love (written in 2015)
  • Finally Mrs. Darcy
  • Waking to Mr. Darcy
  • The Tenant’s Guest
  • A Very Mary Christmas

aesop_bending-reedWow — I guess that feeling of always being busy was not imagined! It has been a busy year, and not everything both professionally and personally was wonderful. There were some definitely difficult times that twisted my heart and bent me under their weight, but this little reed is still standing. 🙂 But here’s the thing, (and I am going to get a little “spiritual” here because my faith is part of who I am) I am still standing and have accomplished what I have not through my strength alone. God has been good.  He has sustained me in the rough places and granted me moments of seeing His blessing being poured out. The lyrics of the song above say

But here’s the thing, (and I am going to get a little “spiritual” here because my faith is part of who I am) I am still standing and have accomplished what I have not through my strength alone. God has been good.  He has sustained me in the rough places and granted me moments of seeing His blessing being poured out. The lyrics of the song above say

Call it a reason to retreat
I got some dreams that are bigger than me
I might be outmatched, outsized, the underdog in the fight of my life
Is it so crazy to believe

That You gave me the stars, put them out of my reach
Called me to waters a little too deep
Oh, I’ve never been so aware of my need
You keep on making me see
It’s way beyond me

I have definitely felt this way this past year, and as I begin the process of looking forward to 2017 and sketching plans, I still feel this way — the dreams are still big, the waters still feel too deep, and I am so very aware of my need of His sustenance. But, even if there is a flutter of nerves in my stomach and that little voice in my mind that questions if I can reach my goals, I will be moving forward — in His strength.

Now, in order to accomplish my goals, I must do my part and be faithful in my work, which includes writing — daily or nearly so. Life does like to mess up the schedule some days. This week, there were a few days that writing did not happen, but then there was one day when I was able to write for hours and managed to type out somewhere around 6,000 words. A few of those words are below in a short excerpt.  I will remind you again…this is the current Thursday story and we are getting to the end. Things are starting to be resolved, so if you read this, there may be spoilers.

EXCERPT FROM Willow Hall, Book 4: Continue reading Music Monday: Beyond Me, TobyMac