Mrs. King tilted her head and smiled at him as a proud mother might gaze upon a child who had done something of merit. “Now, see, Miss Grace, this is why I thought you should set your cap at him instead of Mr. Norman.” She shrugged. “But, it seems you were correct, and he is not free.”
No, he was not free. His heart was irrevocably gone both now and forever.
[from Her Secret Beau, Touches of Austen book 3]
Published to YouTube by AnneDarcy on January 8, 2008.
We’re stepping back a few decades for today’s song. I remember hearing this when I was young, but even then, it was not a new song. 🙂 However, it is a fun and uplifting song, perfect for a Monday morning.
On the list of all the people who were not to know about Mr. Blakesley, her sister sat at the top.
[from Her Secret Beau, Touches of Austen book 3]
Published to YouTube by Luisa Moreta Pérez on November 16, 2014
Today, I am only sharing one line from tomorrow’s story — but I think it is a good tantalizing line. 🙂 What do you think?
I’m also just plucking a song off my Music to Write By playlist because I listened to it several times this week while writing. And I did get a good bit of writing done this week.
I have reached the end of Addie’s story, but this one is going to need more work in the editing department than most of my stories do. I talk a bit more about why that is in tomorrow’s Austen Authors post. So, for the curious, you can find out there. 😉
To get to the end of Addie’s story and then figure out why it didn’t feel right meant that Addie’s was the only story I wrote on last week, so I am going to have to focus on my Tuesday and Thursday stories this week or next week there might not be anything to post. Yikes! 🙂
“An assembly?” Clara questioned as if uncertain that such a thing was a good idea.
“It will be two years next month,” Mr. Watson said softly. “I think it is time.”
Clara drew and released a small breath. “You are likely correct.”
Her eyes dropped to study her hands. It was the first time since meeting her that Thomas had seen Mrs. Clara Watson look anything less than assured of herself.
[From Apple Blossoms, an original sweet Regency romance short story, and the current Sweet Tuesdays story]
Published to YouTube by Edelweiss on December 31, 2017.
Happy Victoria Day!
I just could not let this day pass without a holiday-appropriate music video, 🙂 and I think the bittersweet tone of the song goes with the above snippet from Apple Blossoms, as well as the tone of tomorrows story excerpt.
Now, I do not have an excerpt from any new story to share in today’s post because I am ‘between stories,’ but I will share a bit from a previously published story. However, that will come after I update you on my writing news.
If you saw the Friday Feature post last week, you will know that I have several books on sale from now until May 27, 2019. You can find the details about that sale here.
Chris Hammond (1860-1900) [Public domain] via Wikimedia CommonsEvery H/h needs a good wingman — a person who…
has your back (or wishes to stab you in the back),
helps you succeed (or hopes to see you fail so they can trample you once you’re down),
points out your flaws to help you improve (or illustrate your ineptness),
makes you look good (or ensures you look ridiculous).
For good or ill, all stories NEED secondary characters.
But how do we create these important, though not headlining, cast members?
In this episode of the LLS Society Papers*, we’re talking about how we created and used a few of the many secondary characters we have written into stories.
Live Stream will begin at 3 PM EST or 4 PM Atlantic. 🙂
*Longbourn Literary Society is a Facebook group founded by three friends, who share a love of writing and Jane Austen for the purpose of promoting those loves and our work.
~*~*~
You can find Rose and Zoe’s websites at these links:
Welcome to the month of December! The last month of the year! Can you believe it?
Since it is December, I am going to be posting Christmas songs all month long. Here’s the first one. I did pick this one for a specific reason.
Published to YouTube by Christmas Channel on October 31, 2017.
On Thursday, I am going to be posting the first chapter of a Touches of Austen novelette called Frosted Windowpanes and every time I go to open that document, this song pops into my head because of frosted windowpanes line. 🙂
Frosted Windowpanes is one of the novelettes in this collection:
I am currently working on final edits for Mary: To Protect Her Heart because I have to have the final document uploaded to Amazon by Thursday, but after that is done, I will be doing final edits on this Nature’s Fury and Delights collection.
I wrote this book with a specific purpose. Even though it will be published, it’s a gift, first and foremost. I attempt to write a book to give to my mailing list each year. So far, I have succeeded three years in a row if you count this year. 🙂
I’ll mention this again on Thursday, but I’m not just giving the book to those who are currently on my mailing list, I am extending it to anyone who wishes to join that list before the end of December. I know not everyone is a mailing list sort of person. There are some who would rather purchase the book. (I know because that’s me. I’d rather buy. 🙂 Is it ok to admit that?)
For those interested in signing up to my mailing list, there is a link at the bottom of this post in the signature area where my Leenie B Books logo is.
In other news — one week from today, Mary: To Protect Her Heart will be live on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited. I just put Henry: To Prove Himself Worthy, Charles: To Discover His Purpose, and His Beautiful Bea into Kindle Unlimited. I’m a bit excited and nervous to see how this Kindle Unlimited experience goes.
For those who don’t know, Kindle Unlimited is a subscription service provided by Amazon. A reader pays a certain amount of money per month and can then borrow and read books that are part of the program. I don’t know much more about how it works as a reader since I am not a member of the program.
For the author of the book, being in the KU program means that his or her content is exclusively distributed through Amazon. It can be purchased just as any other book can be with the author receiving a royalty (35% or 70% depending on pricing), but it can also be borrowed with the author receiving a fraction of a cent per page read.
One of the last numbers I saw for how much was being paid per page was something like $0.004. That means a reader must read at least 3 pages before an author earns a penny.
Let’s say my book is short and only 90 pages long (because that is an easy number to work with in calculating this). If I am earning approximately a penny for every three pages read, I would receive about 30 cents for a complete read of that 90-page book.
That same book if it were sold for say $2.99 (the lowest allowed price for a 70% royalty payout), the author would receive about $2 for that book. That’s a big difference, isn’t it? Kindle Unlimited works best for long books because they have lots of pages or for books that are read by tons of people (more people than would normally purchase a book).
Since I write books on the shorter side, I’m a bit nervous about how much money these books will make. (This is a business after all. A business based on a passion, but a business none-the-less.)
My hope in putting these books in KU is to attract more readers to a series of stories that are not Pride and Prejudice based and that do not star Darcy and Elizabeth. It’s just easier to take a chance on a book when you’re borrowing and not seeing the money go out when you click on the book to read. (You’re still paying for the book with your subscription, but it feels free.)
If this experiment goes well, then I might be putting other books in the program. Time and statistics will tell.
I do not have a story excerpt for you again this week. I have been spending more time editing than writing. I’d say maybe next week, but I won’t bank on it. This week will have lots of editing time as well.
Have a great week. I hope you join me on Thursday for that first chapter of Frosted Windowpanes.
