Leenie Brown

Wordless Wednesday: Meditation, Frederic Soulacroix

Frédéric Soulacroix [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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Music Monday: Pachelbel in the Garden

Happy Victoria Day! Today, the plan is that I will be spending some time in the garden with my husband getting some things cleaned up and planted. I am not a great gardener, but I appreciate a good garden — and writing scenes that happen in gardens (see the excerpt below). I also appreciate lovely, relaxing, imagination-stimulating music. The video below is the soundtrack that has been playing in the background as I wrote this week.

Crystalkaleidoscope. “Pachelbel in the Garden (relaxing Music, Sounds of Nature).”YouTube. YouTube, 11 Apr. 2014. Web. 20 May 2017.

Pachelbel’s Canon in D is a favourite of mine, so I was delighted to stumble across this music on YouTube this week. It makes great background music, so click play and read on to see what I managed to accomplish this week.

It was another good productive week for me. I finished edits on Better Than She Deserved. I got the print copy of At All Costs finished, proofed, and approved — it is all ready for release day this THURSDAY! [You can get your copy at this link.] 🙂

And then, I managed to almost finish writing the first draft of the story I started last week! It is amazing how just a couple thousand words a day adds up! It appears that it is going to be a short novella, but I never expected it would be very long for a couple of reasons. First, I ~~like~~ LOVE novellas, and I tend to write what I like. Second, it is the first story of this type that I have written, so short seemed a good place to begin my learning journey. (Of course, I might find I like writing these just as short novellas — there is a very good chance that might happen.)

Now, having reached nearly the end of that story, I am faced with the need to design a cover and give it a title. I had given it a name that went well with the idea I had in mind as I began typing words into my document. However, the characters as I got to know them lead me down a different path. So, that title no longer fits the idea of the book. I think I am going to call it His Beautiful Bea because the main element that I took from Mansfield Park when planning this story was to model my heroine after the quiet, reserved Fanny Price. I have tried out a couple of other ideas and my mind keeps coming back to this one.

So, here is part of a garden scene from His Beautiful Bea that I wrote this week: Continue reading Music Monday: Pachelbel in the Garden

Wordless Wednesday: The Billiard Room, Mentmore

billiards room — By Roger Fenton (English, 1819 – 1869) (1819 – 1869) – photographer (English) Details of artist on Google Art Project [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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Music Monday: Mansfield Park, Friend of Mine

I’ve spent some time again this week watching period drama music videos between my editing and writing time — partially because I love them and partially because I needed a bit of inspiration as I began a new writing project, which I am excited to tell you about. 🙂 In fact, I am so excited, that the “excerpt” today is a full chapter.

Wantingyounear. “Mansfield Park – Friend of Mine.” YouTube. YouTube, 25 Apr. 2007. Web. 13 May 2017.

However, before I get to the new story, I will give you a quick update on a couple of other stories. At All Costs is getting very nearly ready to be published. In fact, I expect it will be available on May 25, which is about a week later than I had hoped. But I really want Better than She Deserved to be ready at the same time, and by pushing the publication date out by a week, I think I will be able to accomplish that. Remember, that short novelette is going to be published but also used as a mailing list perk — for new subscribers and those with the excellent taste to already be part of that list. 😀 Be watching your inboxes both for info about a limited number of ARC’s for At All Cost and for your copy of Better Than She Deserved.

Now, on to the shiny new story. 🙂

At the beginning of the year, one of my goals was to write an Austenesque story — a story that had elements based on one of Austen’s novels but original characters and plot. When I came to the end of Caroline’s story, the time just felt right for crossing that goal off of my list — no matter how anxious the thought of stepping out of the comfort of JAFF stories with its familiar palette of characters and plots as a base on which to build and instead, having a nearly blank canvas asking me to fill it with colour and form — with life and love.

I say the canvas is nearly blank because I am not leaving Jane behind — these stories will be categorized in my Touches of Austen series of books.

A Touches of Austen story will incorporate small touches from some Jane Austen Novel. The one I am writing right now will pay homage to Mansfield Park. The heroine in this story, Beatrice Tierney, will share some characteristics with Fanny Price. The hero, Graeme Clayton, is loosely based on Tom Bertram — yes, Tom and not Edmund. Gasp! I couldn’t believe it either. I am a big Fanny and Edmund fan – and I had planned to match Bea with the younger of the Clayton brothers, but Graeme is not Tom, and his brother, Everett, is not Edmund. And Beatrice is not Fanny. So who are these characters? Here’s what I have at the moment. However, you should be aware that these are working notes and subject to change as necessary. 🙂

The Tierney Family of Heathcote

Father: Captain Tierney (navy)

Mother: Mrs. Tierney

Son: Maxwell (Max) Tierney (25, best friends with Everett Clayton)

Daughter: Beatrice (Bea) Tierney ( 19, sweet and quiet, wishes to please, was a daddy’s girl so took the loss of her father hard, suffered a fever when young and has some lasting effects from it)

Cousins who are visiting: Felicity (youngest, 17) and Grace (19, eldest and betrothed) Love

The Clayton family of Stratsbury Park

Father: Sir (needs a name) Clayton

Mother: Lady Clayton

1st Son: Graeme (27, more on the wild side ─ just too fun-loving)

2nd Son: Everett (25, looking for a wife before he takes his orders)

Can you see some of the influences of Austen in that list? In addition to these touches of Austen, I have decided to set this story in 1814, which is the year Mansfield Park was published.

So, now, would you like a peek at Graeme and Beatrice in action? How about a look at the first chapter as it is right now? Click the link to keep reading, and let me know what you think of the story so far. Do you see any other nods to Mansfield Park? And, after reading, can you see why I chose to share the song I did today? (Oh, and please ignore the errors — this has not been edited much at this point.)

STORY EXCERPT from (it has no title just yet):
Continue reading Music Monday: Mansfield Park, Friend of Mine