Darcy and Elizabeth – Page 9

Music Monday: Waiting for Christmas to Come, Johnny Reid

Last week, I mentioned that I have begun working on a story called Two Days before Christmas. Because this is a Christmas story, I have been listening to some “inspirational” music to get me thinking Christmasy thoughts. The song below is one of those songs that makes me want to get out the decorations or bake some Christmas cake. But, I don’t want to talk about that story in this post — although I will share an excerpt. No, today, I want to ask you a question.

JohnnyReidVEVO. “Johnny Reid – Waiting For Christmas To Come.” YouTube, YouTube, 24 Dec. 2009, youtu.be/wT9mJTYq-P8.

Do you ever judge a book by its title? This is a question I have been thinking about this past week. You see, I have a book coming out this Thursday. You’re probably familiar with the story if you have been reading my blog because the book’s title is With the Colonel’s Help, the story that just finished posting on Thursday’s a few weeks ago. We’ve now begun a new story titled Confounding Caroline.

Here’s why that book coming out and the new story that has started posting has me wondering if people judge a book by its title. My first reader, who happens to be my sister and the Jane to my Lizzy, asked me during our conference call where she told me about things she thought needed some attention — “Do you think people will pass over this story because of the title? Will they think it is a story about Colonel Fitzwilliam and not Darcy?”

She knows, from what I have told her about my sales figures, that Darcy and Elizabeth stories usually sell much better than any of my other stories. Darcy’s a favourite — which is understandable. He’s Darcy, after all. So, she has a point — she usually does. (She tends to be the annoyingly correct older sister at times 🙂 )

Adding to worry her question created, I read a comment somewhere from someone who saw a post about With the Colonel’s Help that said the person doesn’t normally read stories about the colonel. Hmmm… My worry may be well-founded. 🙂

There is a trend to give stories titles with Darcy in them, or so it appears from the number of titles that show up with that name in them when you do a quick search. Again, titles with Darcy in them tend to sell better from what I have observed and been told. (He’s a favourite. 🙂 )

It’s not my practice to include Darcy in a title unless that book is one of my Dash of Darcy book. For those books, I require myself to include Mr. or Mrs. Darcy in the title because I want the connection between book and collection to be clear.

But normally, I choose a title that contains a theme of some sort or highlights something important to the story. For example, the title With the Colonel’s Help lets the reader know that Colonel Fitzwilliam is instrumental in the story. He is actually the hero — not the romantic hero, that role is filled by Darcy, but the person who brings about the happy conclusion for Darcy and Elizabeth. Likewise, the title Confounding Caroline should let the readers know that Caroline is a problem that needs solving.

It might be of interest to note that even with my Dash of Darcy titles, I still have a theme referenced in them such as unravelling a character’s uptight manner or waking up to who someone is.

It’s important to me, as a writer, that my titles have a meaning, which is why I have chosen to keep With the Colonel’s Help as a title. Hopefully, when the book comes out, I will find out that I have worried for absolutely no reason. 🙂

Those are a few of my thoughts on why I name stories as I do. What I would now like to know is what you think about titles. Just drop your opinion in the comment section.

But, before we get to that, I suppose you would like an excerpt from what I wrote this past week? In fact, I am going to share everything I wrote this week because I only managed to get in one writing session — yes, one! It was a very low writing week for me! I was editing With the Colonel’s Help and getting that ready to publish, and I had an Austen Author’s post to get ready as well. My day on Austen Authors is tomorrow! I’ve got a different sort of giveaway going on, so drop by to see what that’s about. But thankfully, I still have the excerpt below to share with you.

AN EXCERPT FROM Two Days before Christmas:
Continue reading Music Monday: Waiting for Christmas to Come, Johnny Reid

Music Monday: The Reason, Hoobastank

Today, I have an excerpt from this week’s upcoming release, Unravelling Mr. Darcy (Dash of Darcy #4), as well as a Pride and Prejudice fan video. The lyrics of the song in today’s video fit quite nicely with the premise of my light-hearted novella. Consider these two things…

BrokenDoll7. “Pride & Prejudice – The Reason.” YouTube, YouTube, 4 Mar. 2008.

The song ends with these lyrics:

I’ve found a reason to show
A side of me you didn’t know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you

The description of my upcoming new release says:

What’s a gentleman to do when he has laid his heart before a lady only to have it crushed beneath her dainty slipper? If you’re Fitzwilliam Darcy, there is only one thing to do ─ unravel your tightly wound pride, mend your ways, and convince the lady of your worth.

And what’s a lady to do when she has spoken harshly and knows she has done so unfairly? If you’re Elizabeth Bennet, you take a deep breath, swallow your dignity, give him a second chance, and perhaps along the way, discover a gentleman you didn’t know existed.

Can you see the connection? I’m sure you can, but let me tell you a little bit more about this story anyway.

Unravelling Mr. Darcy begins immediately following the moment in Pride and Prejudice when Darcy says

Forgive me for having taken up so much of your time, and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness.

In the next paragraph, we read that he hastily left the room and the parsonage.

Available for purchase September 21, 2017

Not so in this new version of events.

In this version, he is not leaving quickly but is rather willing himself out of the room and praying for some sort of divine intervention — which he gets. Elizabeth calls him back and apologizes for her rudeness.

Here I must pause and warn those who are looking for the utmost propriety in a story that they will be sadly disappointed in this tale, for it begins with a rather indelicate discussion about why Elizabeth is feeling ill and why her words were so harsh.

This apology and the discussion of several topics in the parsonage’s sitting room that follows Elizabeth’s apology lead to Darcy being granted a second chance to win Elizabeth’s heart. To do so, Darcy is amending his ways in grand style. Therefore, prepare yourself to meet a Darcy who, though still noble and honorable, has made a 180-degree turnabout because

He’s found a reason to show
A side of him she didn’t know

Unravelling Mr. Darcy will be hitting the digital shelves beginning this Thursday, September 21, 2017, and a print copy will follow shortly thereafter.

One more little side note in relation to this story: Last week, I mentioned that I wanted to get the sequel to a point where I could include a small sample of it at the back of this book. That has not happened. I have begun what I think will be the sequel telling Anne’s story, but it is not to a place where I can say “Yes, this is definitely how the story will begin.” Therefore, revealing any of her story will wait until I can. However, Anne’s story, Becoming Entangled, will be available in the late fall, around the time of American Thanksgiving or shortly thereafter as it will depend on my editors’ schedules as much as my ability to get the story written.

AN EXCERPT FROM Unravelling Mr. Darcy:
Continue reading Music Monday: The Reason, Hoobastank

Music Monday: Rescue, Hunter Hayes

Today, I am sharing a video but not just because of the music (which is excellent). Rather, I am sharing it because of what is happening in the background while the music is being played. You’ll have to watch to see what I am talking about. (I find it fascinating to watch artists do this sort of thing.) However, don’t get so caught up in the moment that you forget to keep scrolling after the video is over and miss the writing news and story excerpt I am including. 🙂

hunterhayes. “Hunter Hayes – Rescue (Official Music Video).” YouTube, YouTube, 29 June 2017.

As expected, this week was a slightly lower productivity week for me as I took time out to take a day trip to Fort Anne and Port-Royal National Historic sites (pictured below) with my husband and boys.

But in spite of this full day break from my normal routine and an evening spent out and about with my husband, I did manage to get some work done.

Here’s what I accomplished:

I came very close to finishing the first pass edits of Unravelling Mr. Darcy, so that should get sent to my first reader this week.
I wrote my post for Austen Authors for this Tuesday, which includes an excerpt of Henry’s story and a giveaway.
I bundled And Then Love, The Tenant’s Guest, So Very Unexpected, and At All Costs into a one book Willow Hall Romance collection and have uploaded it to Kindle at a special sales price (USD 3.99). I will be uploading it to my various other vendors over the course of this week, but the special price is only on the Kindle edition and only available until September 5, 2017.
AND I added about 3,000 words to my work in progress — Confounding Caroline, which will become the next Thursday’s Three Hundred story once October gets here and from which I am sharing an excerpt below.

EXCERPT FROM Confounding Caroline: Continue reading Music Monday: Rescue, Hunter Hayes

Music Monday: Fields of Gold, 2Cellos

While I wrote this week — and it was a busy week of writing, my Music to Write By YouTube playlist, which includes the song below, got a good work out. Besides music to keep me company while writing, I also had a couple of author friends who joined me via the internet during writing time.

Mborray07. “2CELLOS- Fields Of Gold.” YouTube. YouTube, 06 Aug. 2011. Web. 29 Apr. 2017.

Every evening this week, I met up with my friends, Rose Fairbanks and Zoe Burton, for an hour of uninterrupted/undistracted writing time. Well, it was supposed to be uninterrupted and undistracted, but there are kids that wander through my corner of the living room and there is also the occasional “Oh, I need to know that” quick search that easily pulls one off onto some interesting tangents. However, despite these little diversions, I did accomplish what I wished to and a bit extra. Part of the reason for that is the fact that I didn’t stop writing at that hour limit unless I had completed a scene or had met my thousand-word minimum for that day.

But as you know, writing is not all that is on my schedule. I also have a scheduled editing slot in the evenings with specific daily minimums of work that have to be accomplished there, too. 🙂

(A little side note: I am finding that I am rather driven by goals — I don’t like to miss those minimums at all. My husband would likely make some comment about my stubbornness here. 🙂 Also knowing I am going to write a post about what I did or didn’t do in a week is motivational. So keep reading these Monday posts, and you should get books/stories on a regular basis since I don’t want to have nothing to share. 😉 )

So, here are the particulars of what I accomplished:

Editing: I completed my edits for Not an Heiress and have sent that story on to my first editor. So, it is well on its way to being ready for publication in June.
Writing: I completed a first draft of the next Thursday Three Hundred story, With the Colonel’s Help. I used to write these stories each week, but when I got to At All Costs, I decided to write the full draft before beginning posting to make sure I had all the series things wrapped up as they should be. Well, I liked having it set to post each week. 🙂 So, I decided to try it again this time around because I am kind of into the whole scheduling thing at present in an attempt to maximize my productivity. 🙂
More Editing: I began final edits of At All Costs. The tentative publication date for that book is May 18. So, after the epilogue posts this Thursday, the story will remain up until next week. Then it will have to come down as I make final preparations to publish the story.
More Writing: Since I managed to finish With the Colonel’s Help, I have turned my writing attention to writing Caroline’s story. If it is going to be a short story, which I cannot tell quite yet, I am about a third of the way through it. I should be able to tell if the plot I have in mind will be more or less than ten thousand words soon….I hope. 🙂

So, since my new work schedule seems to be work quite well, I have a new problem for which to find a solution. Completing Caroline’s story will cross off all the stories on my “Write Me” list. One of the things that I am considering putting on that list is an Austenesque story. Back in January, I mentioned that I wanted to try one, so I think I am going to give one, based in part on Mansfield Park, a shot…maybe…. 🙂 There are also those fairytales I had wished to attempt as well as a set of three stories (find them here if you wish, beginning with A Change of Heart) that I would like to develop into a Dash of Darcy story, and I have an idea floating around for a companion story to that one. I just need to decide where to begin and write out that list, it seems.

Now, for a short clip of something I wrote this week. This is from With the Colonel’s Help and comes from the section of the story that is starting to wrap up the issues (the denouement), so, although I have tried to excerpt it without too many spoilers, it is, in of itself, a spoiler — read at your own risk. 🙂

EXCERPT FROM With the Colonel’s Help: Continue reading Music Monday: Fields of Gold, 2Cellos

Music Monday: Let Her Go, Passenger/Break of Reality

Today, along with some writing news and a short story excerpt, I have the same song two times for you. The first video is an instrumental cover of Passenger’s “Let Her Go” by Break of Reality. This video is on my writing playlist (no lyrics means it can play while I write).

Break of Reality. “Let Her Go – Passenger Cello Cover by Break of Reality.” YouTube. YouTube, 13 May 2014. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.

The second video (below) is a lyrics video that someone created. I thought I would share that one for those who might be curious as to what the words to the song are. It’s not a happy song, but I have not been writing happy stuff this week (see excerpt), so it fits.

Marcohordijk. “Passenger – Let Her Go (Lyrics).” YouTube. YouTube, 15 Dec. 2012. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.

So what have I been doing this week in my writing life?

I was worked on getting the print version of Discovering Mr. Darcy ready. That was not easily done as my computer did not wish to play nice with CreateSpace for a couple of days, and then, I forgot to change the font colour on the spine and didn’t notice until I got the digital proof back. That has been fixed, and I finally have a print proof on its way for approval. They say that I should have it by April 25th. I am hoping I have it sooner. 😉

I finished Not An Heiress — the epilogue is done! And it was fun writing a little bit about the Darcy and Fitzwilliam children. 🙂 And I began first round edits on the story in preparation for June publication. Although this story will not be ready to release for a couple of months, I am hoping to have a preorder up for it by Tuesday, so that when readers finish DMD, they can order NAH and be ready to continue the story that the epilogue of DMD hints at.

I returned to writing With the Colonel’s Help just in time for the story to take a sad, angsty turn. As a result, writing times have been shorter and word counts have been less because I struggle with the emotions of writing things like this in large doses. I internalize the emotions — happy or sad — when writing and reading. I have needed a longer “decompression” time after those sections. The good news is I think the story should be through its darkest part very soon, and then I can get things set right. That should be easier (and faster) to write.

And now for…

A SHORT EXCERPT FROM With The Colonel’s Help: Continue reading Music Monday: Let Her Go, Passenger/Break of Reality