Ernst Haymann (1873–1947) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
~*~*~
Elizabeth held his arm a little more firmly, moving to walk closer to him as if somehow doing so might help him bear whatever burden he carried. His lips curled up softly as he looked down at her, and the same soft pleasure of his smile shone in his eyes.
[from Loving Lydia, book 3 in the Marrying Elizabeth Series]
Lucy’s hand flew to her heart and her eyes grew wide. “So much? Surely, that was not necessary.”
Philip took the items from her and placed them on the desk before taking her hands and drawing her to her feet and into his embrace. “For you, Mrs. Dobney, there is no price too high.”
“But…”
He placed a finger on her lips to stop her protest. “I have already had this argument with Darcy, and I assure you that neither he nor you will convince me that the money was spent in vain, for it has bought back your things and, I hope, something far more valuable, your peace. From this day forward, there is nothing left of what your uncle did which can harm you.”
She squeezed him tightly. “How can I ever thank you for such a thoughtful gift?”
He looked down into her eyes, which were peering up at him. “Love me, always, just as you do now.”
She shook her head and smiled at him. “I cannot promise not to love you more with every passing day, but I will always, always love you.”
Published to YouTube by Aaron Goodvin on October 4, 2018.
This song was an earworm for me last week, and so I decided to share it with you. So thoughtful of me, I know. LOL It’s a sweet song with a catchy tune that I heard played a couple of times on the radio as I was making supper last week, and it stuck.
Above the video is an excerpt from one of my already published books, And Then Love. The excerpt is from the ending but had the right feel to go with the song today. If you have read that story, you might remember that Lucy approaches Phillip to ask him to marry her so she will not have to go live with a horrible uncle. He decides to help her, and over the course of the book comes to realize that marrying her is the best decision he has ever made.
[A little side note: When I say horrible uncle here, I mean nearly as bad as they come. I tapped into my dark side for a couple of characters in the Willow Hall Romance series, and Lucy’s uncle was one of them. As bad as they come is reserved for another despicable character in this series.]
Along with humming or singing the above song throughout last week, I also managed to get a good bit of writing done.
Tom: To Secure His Legacy is not quite finished, but it is so close to being done. I’m hopeful that three more chapters will complete it. Therefore, it should be done by the end of Friday. I hope to get three chapters of this story posted at Patreon this week instead of the two chapters I have been doing.
(Oh! You might be interested in the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, as well as Mrs. Darcy’s sister Kitty, showed up in one chapter of what I wrote for Tom’s story this week. The Mr. and Mrs. Darcy here are the ones from Two Days Before Christmas. I figured I should clarify that since I have several stories which end with a Mr. and Mrs. Darcy.)
Roger’s story now has three chapters, and if I get one more written this week (which is the plan), then that story will begin posting on Tuesdays here on my blog. If you look at the menu options, you will see that Sweet Tuesdays has been added as a choice. However, there are no posts there yet. I just needed to set up the link so I could tag it at the beginning of each chapter for those who might need to go back and read previous chapters.
I have a title for the story, and if you are on my mailing list, you will receive a January update from me that will share that title with you. Everyone else will have to wait until next Monday when I share it here. 🙂 [hint but not a very good one: The title is three words long and is a reference to something that is said in Emma.]
Those are the stories in progress with the most news. The other writing I did was…
I wrote another chapter of Loving Lydia, and a few hundred words of Apple Blossoms got dictated this week. Nothing very interesting or new is happening with those stories right now. (Well, news-wise. Story-wise there is interesting stuff happening with both. But I can’t tell you about that just yet. 😉 )
On quick reminder that the Kobo 40% off boxset sale ends on February 3 at 11:59 PM EST. The promo code to enter at check out is 40JAN. The two box sets which I have in this promotion are
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
The Repository of arts, literature, commerce, manufactures, fashions and politics (1809); March 1809; [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
~*~*~
“We should like to view some muslin.” Lydia looked to her companions, Kitty and Georgiana, who both nodded. “And Miss Darcy would like to see what sorts of music might be acquired here in Meryton.” She glanced at Mrs. Annesley. “If that would be acceptable to you.”
“I think those are fine items for which to look,” Darcy replied.
Elizabeth was quite impressed by her sister’s demeanor until they were just about to go in search of their first store.
[from Loving Lydia, book 3 in the Marrying Elizabeth Series]
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
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…
The Butterfly by John Henry Dolph [Public domain] via Wikimedia
~*~*~
Darcy shook his head and took a proper sip of tea instead of attempting to inhale the liquid. “No, I was just wondering if Mrs. Bennet ever reads the paper.” He pulled back from the table in surprise when Oliver landed near his plate.
“You are not allowed on the table,” Bingley scolded, scooping up the kitten before it could scamper away.
[from Loving Lydia, book 3 of the Marrying Elizabeth Series]