Tag: One Winter’s Eve

Music Monday: Good King Wenceslas — Two Ways

I’ve been listening to Christmas music for the last month and a half, at least, while writing. That music has been all instrumental and rather relaxing, and I suspect I will be listening to it for that relaxing quality this week as I attempt to finish up what needs to be done before the weekend arrives. There is the decorating to finish, school tests to be completed by my son, baking to do, and groceries to get for our Christmas dinner. It will be a busy week.

I know I have shared Good King Wenceslas before on a Music Monday, but I just can’t resist sharing it again because it is one of my favourite carols and has been since I was just a girl. As I have said in previous posts, I love lyrics that tell a story. That is not a new thing. I have always loved songs like this which tell a story.

Below, are two videos of this carol. The first is short and is just the singing of the lyrics with some lovely pictures to tell the tale. The second is much longer but includes an elaborate telling of the tale of King Wenceslas with the singing of the lyrics interspersed.

Brousseau, Patrick. “Good King Wenceslas.” YouTube, YouTube, 19 Nov. 2009, youtu.be/N5E8CXQwtrg.
MormonTabChoir. “Good King Wenceslas – Jane Seymour and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.”YouTube, YouTube, 12 Nov. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=low_UI9zUfk.

I have selected this song today not just because it is a favourite of mine but also because it connects with the story I have coming out tomorrow.  Two Days Before Christmas contains acts of charity both for family members and those less fortunate. I will talk briefly about this theme in tomorrow’s Austen Authors post, so I won’t delve into it here.

It is the act of kindness from a king both to the peasant and the page that has endeared this carol to me.  On December 19, 1843, one of my favourite Christmas stories was published — A Christmas Carol. Again, it is the eventual acts of kindness by Ebineezer Scrooge are part of what has endeared this tale to me.  The other part of the story that I love is the ability for a grumpy, horrid, miserly, old character’s heart to change.

My sister, when she read Two Days Before Christmas, mentioned that there were things which made her think of A Christmas Carol. Those things were not intentionally done. They just happened.  For those who have gotten to read the story, you may know which parts those are, but for those who have not read it, I will not spoil the fun. So, I will remain silent on that for now.

Today, as a belated birthday present, my husband took me to see a wonderful movie that I had been longing to see — The Man Who Invented Christmas.  There is a part in the movie (without giving too many details) where the ability of a character such as Scrooge was discussed.  Two characters, in particular, insist that Scrooge possesses the ability to change and that if Scrooge does not change then the point of the story is lost. Can you imagine the story ending with Tiny Tim dying, and Scrooge going on his way to a cold and lonely grave, remembered and grieved by no one?  I would agree that the point of the story — the reason for Marley and the ghosts of Christmas showing up would be lost completely.  (And I would venture to guess that not many of us would know what A Christmas Carol was for it would not have been the success that it was.)

So, let’s circle back from this movie tangent to my writing since this post is supposed to be sharing writing news and all that. 🙂

I tend to side with those who were advising Mr. Dickens when it comes to writing my Austen-inspired stories.  There are few characters who cannot be “redeemed” — even some that I thought might not be changeable, have proven me wrong.  Often, it takes some studying of what their possible backstories might be and discovering fears that lead to a path of restoration.

As you know, in my current work in progress, I have been working with one such character whom many think is unworthy of a happy ending.  However, Caroline Bingley, in my opinion, is not as awful as Scrooge, and if Scrooge can change, so can Miss Bingley if she is drawn along by the right motivation — in this case, it is love and not a fearful ghost of Christmas future which provides the motivation and self-reflection. 🙂

I’m coming to the end of this story. In fact, I should have it done before the end of the year. Below is a rather longish excerpt from what I wrote this past week which delves into the change being wrought in Caroline. But remember, I just said the story is coming to an end, so read at your own risk as there may (ok, most likely will) be spoilers! 🙂

Oh, one more thing before I share: If you wish to read the full first draft as it is being created, you can do that by becoming my patron on Patreon.  For those who are reading along — the part below has not yet been posted over there as I am still working to catch up to where I am in the story.

AN EXCERPT FROM One Winter’s Eve: Continue reading Music Monday: Good King Wenceslas — Two Ways


Music Monday: I Want Crazy, Hunter Hayes

Sometimes you write the story simply because it presents itself as a challenge. Sometimes you do that business thing simply because you’ve been considering it for some time and don’t want to stand back and look at it anxiously anymore.  Some people would call this crazy. I call it life — and growth.

JMGuitarGirl555. “I Want Crazy ~ Hunter Hayes ~ Lyrics.” YouTube, YouTube, 8 Apr. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu0vyD7vyM4.

So what craziness have I been up to recently?

A couple of weeks ago now, I set up an online store where I can create some interesting items related to my books because every bookseller needs a section where patrons can purchase a reading-related gift or novelty items, right? My reading-related items store, which is only beginning to be stocked with items, is called Bonny Lass Creatives (my husband came up with the name) and can be found on Society6 at this link >> BONNY LASS CREATIVES

I do enjoy making the graphics to go on the items. It’s a stress reliever, actually. 🙂

This week, I set up a Patreon page. I’ve had it started for some time as I pondered how best to use it.  For those who are not familiar with it — according to Wikipedia,

Patreon is a membership platform that provides business tools for creators to run a subscription content service, as well as ways for artists to build relationships and provide exclusive experiences to their subscribers, or “patrons.”

This means that you pay a certain monthly fee to support an artist, and the artist in return gives you a “reward” for doing so.  There are all sorts of artists such as podcasters, writers, and musicians on Patreon, and there are as many different ways of working the Patreon subscription/rewards system as there are artists.

For me, I have set up my page to have two levels of subscription:

$1/month for those who curiosity must be satisfied and just want to read along as I create stories – just a dollar will give you access to all my stories as I write them. You will also receive a link to download the Thursday’s Three Hundred story in your preferred format when it is ready for publication.

$2/month for those who not only wish to satisfy their curiosity but also fill their shelves, two dollars will do it. In addition to access to all my stories as they are written, you will receive a digital copy in your preferred format when each story is ready for publication, so you can fill your shelves – be they in a library or a lovely closet. 🙂

My intention is to post as I write, however, I am still catching up to where I am in my current WIP, so post as I go will be coming….soonish. 🙂

You can find me on Patreon here >> patreon.com/LeenieBrown

Now, to update you on Two Days Before Christmas. I am writing this post on Saturday night while my husband is at work, and so I am projecting (not promising) that by the end of the day on Monday, I will have the preorder set up and will be just waiting for the various publishers to make the links.  Hopefully, I will also have the print version uploaded so that can go through the review process.  I will, of course, share links on Facebook when they are ready.

Chapter 1 of Two Days Before Christmas is available to read here >> TWO DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS

And finally, we come to that challenging story that I am so enjoying writing, One Winter’s Eve. I am about halfway through chapter 10 as of last Friday night, and I have the first three chapters posted at Patreon for my subscribers.  I got to deal with Wickham this week while writing, and I got to delve a bit more into understanding Caroline — and she is growing and changing for the better. (Did you doubt that she wouldn’t? I will stand for no recalcitrant main characters — they will be brought up to scratch. 😉 ) Below is a sample from what I wrote this week.

AN EXCERPT FROM One Winter’s Eve:  Continue reading Music Monday: I Want Crazy, Hunter Hayes


Music Monday: Period Drama, Once Upon a December

Welcome to December — the month in Pride and Prejudice where, in volumes I and II, Netherfield sits empty, Mr. Collins returns to Longbourn for a short visit, Jane receives Caroline’s letter about Bingley not returning, and the Gardiners come for Christmas and leave with Jane. What a dreadful month! But then, what a difference a year makes! For in volume III, all is right by December, making it an exceedingly happy month. In fact, the Gardiners are expected at Pemberley for Christmas.

lilian hearts. “• Period Drama | Once Upon a December ♡.” YouTube, YouTube, 7 June 2015, youtu.be/_SLyhgk6fp4.

I’ve been stuck in the month of December for some time now, writing-wise. Two Days before Christmas (TDBC), which I began writing on October 24, takes place in December.  It begins with Darcy’s arrival at home at the end of November and concludes on December 23. The sequel to TDBC, One Winter’s Eve (OWE), begins on December 23 and will conclude in January. However, I am still in December in that story, and I do not see me finishing the first draft of that story for another week and a half or two weeks — and then I will have to edit that book. By the time all is said and done for these two books, it will likely be halfway through January 2018, meaning I will have been in December for almost three months! 🙂  But I have to say, my stay in writing-land December has not been dreadful but, for the most part aside from a few misty-eyed moments, exceedingly delightful!

Starting today, I will be working feverishly on final edits to TDBC because my timeline for accomplishing tasks for that book has adjusted forward by an email I received from Draft2Digital, whom I use to publish on iBooks and Nook, informing me that to ensure books are processed before various companies shut down for the holidays, all books should be uploaded by December 11! Yikes!

Therefore, I hope to have a preorder setup with a final ebook version of the story uploaded by December 11 for Draft2Digital and by December 12 for Kindle and Kobo. Then, I will work on the print book to get it uploaded, proofed, and ready to release before December 21. Here’s hoping all goes according to plan! 🙂 (And I suppose I need to toss some finishing up school units and preparing for Christmas in there as well — I am going to be one busy girl!)

I may have to take a pause in writing OWE to get the editing done that needs doing this week, but I am hopeful that I will be able to continue rolling along in that story. It has been keeping me up at night as possible scenarios for dealing with a couple of “issues,” aka plot points like Wickham, have been attempting to work themselves out in my brain. However, I am enjoying the story. Colonel Fitzwilliam is pretty awesome — as always — and I am liking (yes, I said liking) Caroline. Getting to know the characters as I wish to portray them is one of the fun parts of a challenging couple such as this — it is also the source of the story-induced lack of sleep as the actions and decisions in the story have to be true to the characters who are revealing themselves to me as I write.

Below, is a lengthy portion from what I wrote this week. In this excerpt, Richard has also been attempting to discover Caroline’s character. He thinks he has reached a correct conclusion. Caroline insists he is mistaken. But who is right — the colonel (and Caroline needs to discover some things about herself) or Caroline (and Richard will have to form a new hypothesis)?

AN EXCERPT FROM One Winter’s Eve:  Continue reading Music Monday: Period Drama, Once Upon a December


Music Monday: What Kinda Love, Dallas Smith

What kind of love is this story going to have? What is it going to look like? How is it going to develop and be realized? How is it going to be demonstrated? Those are questions I and my characters often wrestle with I’m writing — such as we were this past week and will continue to do this next week. To be honest, my current work in progress, One Winter’s Eve, is pushing me a little more in this area than some do because this is not an easy couple. They shouldn’t really like each other, but they seem to. I really do wonder at this point in the story, what kind of love this one is going to be (which is what led me to share the song below 🙂 )

DallasSmithVEVO. “Dallas Smith – What Kinda Love.” YouTube, YouTube, 5 Feb. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=csE5oAoDjow.

I’m going to share a little bit of Richard and Caroline’s relationship in the excerpt at the end of this post, but first I have some other writing news to share.

First and most importantly — This book goes “live” tomorrow!

Becoming Entangled can be preordered today and ordered tomorrow HERE.

The release day of any book is rather exciting because finally, the story gets to be enjoyed by others. Hopefully, Anne and Alistair will find many readers to enjoy their fun journey to happily ever after.  I know I loved writing their story and wanted to just stay there with them at the end of the book.

Next in excitement level on the writing list is the fact that Two Days before Christmas is out of my hands and into the hands of my first editor. That book will be out in December — and I have a kind of exciting plan for it, which I can’t tell you about yet.  🙂 Keeping exciting secrets is so hard! 🙂

I think that’s all the news I have, which means, we can now get to that story excerpt I told you I would share.

AN EXCERPT FROM One Winter’s Eve:  Continue reading Music Monday: What Kinda Love, Dallas Smith


Music Monday: Period Drama – Love Is A Battlefield

We are stepping back into the early Eighties for today’s musical selection, which someone has used to create a great period drama video with loads of dramas represented.  There is a”story” reason I selected this song today. However, before I get to that reason, let me give you an update on a couple of upcoming books.

Sossery. “Period Drama – Love Is A Battlefield.” YouTube, YouTube, 6 Oct. 2012, youtu.be/fT67IfffM1w.
  • Becoming Entangled:

I have gotten the files uploaded to various digital retailers and one by one, they are putting the book on preorder as I am working on creating the print copy.  Release day is scheduled for November 28, 2017. Yes, I did decide to push the date out instead of trying to rush to keep my original date.

One of the things I had to do this week to get this ready was finish writing the “blurb,” aka the book description. Here is how that turned out:

Click image to find Becoming Entangled at your favourite store.

Can she scheme her way out of one betrothal and into another?

Anne de Bourgh wishes to dance until she is dizzy, walk until she is tired, and marry a particular gentleman who causes her heart to skitter and skip and flutter.  There is, however, one thing that stands between Anne and her aspirations — her mother.  

Nevertheless, when a young lady is determined, things such as a mother’s restraints and a long-standing betrothal are merely impediments to be circumvented.

Practical and cautious, Alistair Pratt is smitten with Anne and has been patiently biding his time until he can make his intentions known.  However, with his mother’s desire to see him married increasing, Alistair, when presented with a scandalous plan, throws caution to the wind to secure his love. 

But,  the course of true love never did run smooth.

When a gentleman with a grudge discovers the lover’s plans, things become tangled and twisted. Will a love that was meant to be find its happy conclusion, or will it end up as only a tale of what could have been?

One more thing about Becoming Entangled — It will be featured in my Austen Authors post this Tuesday (as in tomorrow). I have created some graphics about some of the research I did for this project, and I am including an excerpt and a giveaway with my post.

  • Two Days before Christmas: I have reached “the end” of the first draft and have begun working my way through it checking the story and catching a few typos and errors along the way before I send it to my story editor and then start the real detailed editing work.  I am still hopeful that this book will be out by December 19th.  It’s going to be a busy month!

And that brings me to One Winter’s Eve, the story that has slipped into my writing block of time which was left open by the completion of Two Days before Christmas (TDBC). TDBC hinted at a sequel as I was writing it, and I have decided to explore that idea and see where it takes me.  So far, it looks like I have a fight or is that battle on my hands.  😉 Do you see the song title connection? If not, I am pretty sure you will by the end of the last paragraph of this —

AN EXCERPT FROM One Winter’s Eve: 
Continue reading Music Monday: Period Drama – Love Is A Battlefield