By THOR (Paris 2008) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
(Just a few words 😉 I had seen a chair on Pinterest just before writing tomorrow’s story excerpt. It is the one I had in mind as I was writing. You can see that picture here if you are curious: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/89227636352488692/ )
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She took a seat in the one chair that faced the door but was positioned in such a fashion that its occupant could share in the conversation at the hearth to their right or with Darcy while he sat at his desk on the left. It was a plush chair with a wide seat of creamy fabric decorated with flowers and vines.
She smoothed her skirt and looked up to see Darcy staring at her.
“Am I not supposed to sit here?” She made to move.
“No. Stay as you are. You are so charmingly arranged.”
If, someday, I should be so fortunate as to earn your good opinion as well as your heart, you have only to tell me, and I will be yours for time and eternity.
[from Charles: To Discover His Purpose]
Published to YouTube by FallingforJJ on December 15, 2010.
This song seemed to fit the scene from which I took the quote above so well that I had to share both today. 🙂
The quote on this graphic is from the same scene as the one above.
Charles: To Discover His Purpose is ready to be delivered to ereader devices everywhere next Tuesday, August 28, 2018!
I finished the final edits and was able to get advance reader copies distributed this week. I am so relieved to have that done before I run away for a few days with my hubby. 🙂 I will be able to relax much better knowing that part of the publishing process is complete.
I would like to say the print book is almost ready, but it still has not been started beyond some formatting. Therefore, this time, the print book might arrive later than the ebook.
You can find a link to all my vendors by clicking this picture. There is also a description of the book there.
Charles’s story is the second in my Other Pens, Mansfield Park episodes. Mary Crawford’s story will be the third, but that is not yet started. It is waiting until after my vacation time is over.
I started a new story this past week. This one will be a Dash of Darcy story. There was a reader on Facebook who suggested making Mr. Collins into a member of the Bennet family from a young age, and I have taken that little idea for this story. I have no idea if I will even get close to what she had in mind when she gave me that suggestion, but so far, the story is really enjoyable. I should have enough of it written soon (maybe even by next Monday) to start sharing some excerpts here.
I should also tell you that I have almost finished my Dash of Darcy and Companions Collection re-organization project. This week I created two Companion Duos. These were also the result of a reader’s suggestion on Facebook. She had the Dash of Darcy Duos and was wondering if I would do a Companions Duo. I hadn’t thought to do that at that time, but after considering it, I created these two:
Duo 1 includes A Very Mary Christmas and Not an Heiress (both are Mary Bennet stories).
Duo 2 includes Becoming Entangled and Enticing Miss Darcy (both are sequels to Unravelling Mr. Darcy).
I only need to complete a few print copies for this collection, and the project is done! All the ebooks are ready and available.
And that’s it for the news this week. Even though I will be away for a few days this week, both Wordless Wednesday and Thursday’s Three Hundred will post as usual. I just might be slower responding to comments.
Joseph Caraud [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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“Fanny Gardiner had more ability to run an estate than the young ladies of my circle. She was not the most intellectual of the lot of ladies, but she knew how to manage things and,” he smiled at some imaginary object far in the distance, “she was prettier than any lady I had ever seen before or indeed have ever seen since. Save for my daughters, but then they all resemble their mother.”
Looking back at my list of Music Monday posts, I see that I have used this video twice before. I used it first in 2015 when I was busy publishing Her Father’s Choice and had no excerpt or much of anything to share with the video, and I used it again in 2016 when I was writing The Tenant’s Guest. That time I had a story excerpt to go with the video — and yes, that story excerpt did include a kiss. 🙂 Today, I am using this video because the desire for a kiss is at the heart of Charles’s story.
Published to YouTube on January 29, 2013 by Maggie Peters.
Finley handed Charles his left boot. “She deserves to be loved and kept safe. I should be very sorry to see her heart broken.”
With a final tug and a stamp of his foot, Charles’s boot was comfortably in place. “I have no intention of engaging her heart. I only wish to steal a kiss. Nothing more.”
Finley’s eyebrows rose as he handed the jacket to his master.
“You fear that I cannot do that without causing her harm.”
“She is so kind,” Finley replied.
“So you have said.” Charles pulled his sleeves straight as Finley smoothed the back of the jacket. “I shall do my best to not cause her harm. I can promise no more than that. She is too tempting.”
[from Charles: To Discover His Purpose]
Today, sometime after this blog post has posted, I will be setting up the pre-order for Charles: To Discover His Purpose, and while things are slowly swinging into motion for the publication of Charles’s story on August 28, 2018, I wanted to share with you a first look at the book blub and cover. So, without further ado, here they are. (Oh, and Henry’s cover got a small update, too, which I will also be uploading today.)
All he wanted was a kiss, but what he got was so much more.
Charles Edwards is no stranger to scandal. He lives an easy, carefree life, floating from one moment of pleasure to another. Or, at least, he did until one fateful night when two young ladies asked him to come to their aid. Since then, Charles has been hiding from society until his injuries heal, which is what he was attempting to do when one of those ladies – the one with the kissable lips – re-enters his life.
Evelyn Barrett loves nothing better than assisting others. Therefore, when she is presented with the possibility of guiding a shiftless gentleman toward improving himself, she just can’t refuse. It should be an easy task. All she needs to do is sidestep his charm and ignore is good looks while pointing him in the right direction.
However, Charles has no intention of taking Evelyn’s advice and then leaving her alone. A gentleman determined to claim a kiss from a lady must ingratiate himself with the lady. And that is where the trouble begins.
As the two spend time together, desires increase, affections are engaged, and Charles’s end goal shifts. But will his scandalous past be the very thing which keeps him from achieving what he desires, or will he find himself at the beginning of a new scheme and direction for his life?
You might like to know that Charles is Henry’s good friend.
Charles: To Discover His Purpose is the second episode in Leenie Brown’s Mansfield Park Continuation found in her Other Pens Collection of books. If you like well-written stories of sweet redemption, then you will love this story of facing the challenges that reformation can bring and discovering the pleasure that only deep, abiding love can provide.
So, put the kettle on, grab your copy of Charles: To Discover His Purpose, and let this sweet romance inspire a hope that even the most reprobate, wandering heart can, with care and proper direction, be transformed into that of a worthy gentleman ready to forge a new path in his life.
I have not quite decided how I am going to be doing my advance reader copies this time around, since I’m scheduled to take a short vacation with my husband soon, I don’t have the final edits back yet, and I’m not sure if my husband would appreciate my needing to work on edits during our time away. 😀 So, stay tuned. I’ll post on my social media pages when I am ready to send out the ARC newsletter to give you a heads up.
In other news, Delighting Mrs. Bennet is done. I just need to reread what I wrote on Friday and get that scheduled for the last Thursday in November. A release day for that will be announced later as we get closer to the story being finished posting. I like to publish a Christmas story in the first part of December (I have a couple of ideas in mind to chose from) and some publishing companies have limited hours during the holidays which makes publishing tricky, so I’m thinking Delighting Mrs. Bennet will not be released until January 2019.
So what will I be working on during my writing time this week? As I am writing this post, I don’t know for certain, but it will likely be Mary’s story. Thank you for the comments left last week. I have found them helpful as I begin to solidify in my mind where Mary is starting and what she needs to become her best self.
“Do you think we will get to purchase some ribbons today?” she asked Kitty. “I should like one for my bonnet. Red would be delightful to go with my sprigged muslin dress, do you not think so, Colonel?”
