August 15, 2026
Hi. It’s the middle of August… already!
My hubby is currently on holiday from his main job but has picked up some side jobs while he is off. We haven’t planned any day trips yet because he’s got those side jobs and because my car was having issues… again!
It now has two new CV joints and is driving quieter than it has in a long time. It is currently waiting for a new oil pan to come in so they can replace the one that has a leak.
The garden is growing, and we are slowly getting to enjoy some home-grown produce. We are also learning a lot and planning changes for next year. In fact, we may be rearranging the layout of our “hoop house” today. It’s on the schedule, but I am writing this on Friday, so anything could change our plans between now and then. We’d like to be able to reach both sides of the tomato plants for harvesting more easily. That’s the reason for the shuffling of things. (Again, it’s all part of the learning process.)
In my writing life, I’m still plugging away at my various projects slowly. They are creeping forward, and I am planning to start sharing my Lydia story with my Patreon subscribers as a work in progress at the beginning of September on Thursdays. You do have to be a $2 or higher subscriber to gain access to that.
And I have run into a little problem with my Harriet and the Colonel story, which I will tell you about when you get to that part of this Broadsheet.
But first, in…
AUDIOBOOK NEWS
I told you last month that I had started adding the Touches of Austen series to ElevenReader.
That series is now complete, and I am currently working on adding my final collection of books to the ElevenReader platform.
That’s my Sweet Possibilities and Sweet Extras books.
Sweet Possibilities are my Pride and Prejudice meets Hallmark-style romance stories. They are Darcy and Elizabeth variations which employ some of the tropes you might find in a Hallmark or similar movie. Such as: shared inheritance, Christmas traditions that force people together, an unwelcome suitor showing up to stir up trouble, and matchmaking friends and relations.
And each and every Sweet Possibility story has a Mary and the colonel Sweet Extra novelette sequel.
As of this week, I have two such pairs uploaded to ElevenReader and three pairs left to upload. I am still only uploading one book per week, so it will be the end of September when I finally get that project completed.
I am looking forward to finally having all my books listed at Elevenlabs as it provides greater accessibility for those who want or need their books to be read to them.
On YOUTUBE, chapter 1 of Not an Heiress posted yesterday. I have the next chapter scheduled and waiting for me to proof-listen to it to make sure no strange noises were added in the transfer from video creation software to my hard drive to YouTube. But that’s as far as I have gotten with work on that project as of this moment.
Discovering Mr. Darcy is now available as an audiobook in several places (other than YouTube) and is listed at an introductory price both on retail stores and library catalogues until the end of August.
BOOK NEWS
Book Promotions:
This month’s series highlight is my Sweet Possibilities series.
With Quill and Ink is the $0.99 book this month – which can be found at a variety of stores and is reduced in all currencies.
Matching Mr. Darcy is the Patreon follower FREE read this month and is also one of the two eBooks to Keep over there for subscribers. (With Quill and Ink is the other eBook to Keep.)
If you’re a subscription reader, Patreon is just one of the subscription places where you can read my books. In addition to Patreon, my books are included in the Kobo Plus and Everand subscription programs.
SOMETHING NEW TO READ
As I stated above, I have just found an issue with my Harriet and the Colonel story. I have been writing this new part as if it is to take place in the summer. However…
I had intended it to match with Oxford Cottage at the time when Darcy and Elizabeth meet Lord Lillesley at an inn while travelling to London from Oxford Cottage.
Um, that took place in October. Not summer. So, I will have to go back and adjust things in this story accordingly, but I’m going to write from here to the end as if it is early October and not the summer. This is just part of the story being a WIP. 🙂
I will not be changing the chapters that I have shared at any of the places below, but the corrected timeline will appear in the final product. (And no, I have not yet named the gentleman suspected of being the ring leader. He is still just Mr. (name).)
Please remember that there are sections where previous chapters from all the Harriet and the Colonel stories can be read on whichever platform you subscribe to.
On my blog, look for Harriet and the Colonel in the menu options.
On Substack, look for the Harriet and the Colonel section on the home page.
On Patreon, look for On the Way to a Wedding in the collections tab.
Chapter 3 (Part 1)
Two days later, Samantha and Harriet, along with her husband who had joined them just that morning, were returning from a walk in the garden when a rider approached the house.
“Who do you suppose that is?” Julian asked with a laugh, since Harriet was already nearly running toward the garden gate that would connect her to the driveway. But how could she not hurry when her colonel was nearly at her doorstep.
“I have a message for the lady of the house,” Colonel Fitzwilliam said as drew his horse to a stop near her. “It is an acceptance of your dinner invitation from Mrs. Darcy.” He swung down and withdrew a letter from his pocket. “She is anxious to meet you. Nearly as anxious as I was to see you – which is why I am playing the part of an express rider.”
He swept her into his arm and kissed her soundly before she had a chance to do any more than say, “You are here.” No other words of welcome were spoken. But did she care? Not one wit. Kissing was exactly how she had hoped to welcome him.
“Julian is here,” she said, once they had stopped kissing. “He and Samantha are in the garden sitting room.” She added this part after peeking over her shoulder to see if her sister and brother-in-law had followed her. Thankfully, they had not. “I am so glad you came.”
“You will need to thank your brother for that. He thought it would be a good show of things surrounding your returning to town a bit earlier than you normally do.” He wrapped her arm around his, and they began walking toward the gate to the garden. “Apparently, a dinner party has been arranged, since the Darcys will only be in town for a short time, before retiring to Pemberley for a few months. And I have not been granted any extended time away from my post – just a few days to see to the safety of my betrothed as she travels to join her brother.”
“That is a very good plan, and my brother concocted all that on his own, did he?”
Richard chuckled. “How could he have, since it was you who extended the invitation to the Darcys? The rest was all his; although, I do believe Elizabeth had a hand in part of it in an indirect fashion.”
“Mrs. Darcy inspired part of my brother’s story about your arrival and my return?”
“You would have been impressed.” He led her down a path away from the door to the garden sitting room and began to regale her with the story of the mock abduction that he had helped Elizabeth stage at the inn where he was to meet with Lillesley. “It was after this that he decided to have me come here to accompany you to London as a good faith demonstration to Elizabeth that her words about protecting those in need of protection had not fallen on dull ears.”
Harriet shook her head as she smiled broadly. “You are correct, as you often are. I am quite impressed with Mrs. Darcy.” She drew a breath.
“She is expecting a child, but I am not to tell anyone,” Richard whispered. “Therefore, any scheming you may have in mind to do with your soon to be cousin through marriage will have to wait and likely be confined to safer pursuits that do not involve guns, knives, abductions, or criminals that are more hardened than a young child who steals a cookie or breaks a vase.”
“You do know that will not be easy, do you not?” Harriet almost teased. Her tone was teasing, but the truth that lay in the statement was just that – truth. “These past two months in the country have been rather boring, or at least they were until (name) called on us and Edmund departed for London.”
Richard has slowed his pace to nearly standing still. “What do you mean by that? What have you been doing while your brother was away?”
“I believe that Samantha and I have discovered who is behind the whole operation.” Or, at least, she hoped that what she had discovered from Mrs. Cooper’s visit was the final piece of their puzzle. For she truly wished to be a married woman before Christmas.
“You will need to elaborate on that,” his tone was rather demanding.
“We did not do anything dangerous,” she assured him. “It was merely a bit of tea and all the accoutrements that accompany such a call between ladies.”
“Gossip? You are basing your discovery on gossip?”
She shook her head. “My information is just that – details that hold a great deal in common with our current assignment. A flirtatious maid named Muriel, a family who took her to town, who had a son with a dangerously charming friend named George whose last name likely started with a W, and the head of that family is not at his estate presently. He is, rather, in town.”
“And you discovered this over a cup of tea?” Richard asked in surprise.
“Well, not the part about Mr. (name) being in town. That information was gained at the milliner’s shop. There are two other gentlemen in the area who are not in residence as would be normal, but the one who seems the most likely to be the person in whom we are interested is Mr. (name).” She shrugged. “Edmund would not tell me the name of the gentleman in town that he wished to see.”
“He had mentioned that to me, which is another reason he gave for me to come see you.”
“He expected me to discover what he would not tell me?”
Richard nodded.
Harriet smiled. “I am once again impressed. It seems my brother is finally realizing that I do possess some skills.”
Richard laughed. “I do believe he has. Although, he has always known you were clever.”
“Not that he ever wished to acknowledge it.” She shook her head. “That is not entirely true. He used to think it was a good thing, and then, he went away to war.” She snuggled into his side closer as they walked. “It changed him. And then Andrew died, and that also changed him. But he was not alone in changing. We all were touched by those things in different ways.”
“You are not just clever, my love. You are wise. And I do think your brother will come to realize that more and more as he settles into his new role. I will assist him in seeing it.”
Harriet laughed lightly. “Is that your way of telling me that I do not need to continue to prove my cleverness and wisdom to him?”
“You are wise,” Richard said before kissing her fingers. “Now, I do think we should enter the house and discuss our preparations for travel.”
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Thank you so much for being my readers! Have a lovely weekend!
<3 Leenie
