January 10, 2026
Happy New Year!
I hope your holiday season was a good one and that you’re settling into 2026 without too much struggle. It’s always a bit of a shock to the system to go back to real life and schedules after the holidays are over. But the good news is, it’s easier to keep track of which day it is now that things are getting back into regular routine.
Our holidays were good. We spent them quietly at home with just a couple of gatherings that we attended.
And over the holidays my Annilee Nelson novel, Don’t Tell My Best Friend I Love Her, went live. It’s a friends-to-more, love triangle contemporary Christian romance novel with a hero named Frederick (after Captain Wentworth because his mother is an Austen fan).
Now, I just need to work on doing some promotion for it so that all those months of work won’t be for nothing. 🙂 Such is the life of an author. You work, work, work, and then hope the work pays off once the book is released.
But since that book is out in the world now, I will soon be able to start working on my next Leenie novel. (Hopefully, this next week.) For financial reasons, I have had to increase the number of hours I am doing Uber Eats deliveries, so finding time to do all the writing things is a bit more difficult at present. They’ll get done. They just may not get done as quickly as I would like for them to get done.
I’ve only set a couple of writing-business related goals for myself as I start this year.
- Produce one audiobook chapter of a book to share on YouTube each week. I’d really like to hit full monetization of my channel this year.
- Write one chapter of a book each week. One week each month will have to be spent on newsletter stories. At this pace, I think I can produce one Leenie book and one Annilee book this year.
Those are the two things I want to be consistent at first. I do hope to insert a few sporadic YouTube things as time goes on, but these two have to be top priorities. Then, if they go well, maybe, I can think about adding more goals if I wish to do so.
Healthwise, I’ve set goals to…
- continue to do my strength exercises three times a week with increases in weight and repetitions at regular intervals
- and talk to my physio about working towards going for a mile walk once a week.
I don’t know if that’s too much for my system with all the work I’m doing writing and delivery driving right now or not, but that’s why I’m going to ask my physiotherapist about it.
How about you? Do you have any goals set for yourself as you begin the year?
In Book News:
As the new year begins, I am focusing on my Other Pens series when it comes to book promotions. I had wanted to get an email/post for them done before the Broadsheet, but it was Wednesday before I had everything set. So, I decided to wait until today to share them with you.
If you’re unfamiliar with my Other Pens series, it’s a Mansfield Park sequel series that steps into Henry Crawford’s world and contains stories for him and some of his friends and relations. It also crosses over into my Darcy Family Holidays series in a couple of places – including the new story in that series, which is my next writing project.
This month Tom Bertram’s story is reduced in price to $0.99 USD, CAD, AUD, NZD, GBP, EUR, with all other currencies also reduced. Or download it as part of your paid Patreon membership.
Henry Crawford’s story is the free read on Patreon this month for free followers, or if you upgrade to paid, it is also available as a download as part of your membership.
In Audiobook News
The most recent addition to the ElevenReader library is Frosted Windowpanes, which is a novelette set in my Willow Hall world at Christmas time with a touch of Persuasion vibes.
Find me on ElevenReader here https://bit.ly/LeenieBooks-11R
And, as of yesterday, we are up to chapter 6 of Two Days Before Christmas on YouTube. This is the halfway point for that story.
Go to the By the Chapter playlist https://bit.ly/AudioChapters-Leenie
SOMETHING NEW TO READ.
Next month WILL bring the conclusion to this story, so today’s entry begins wrapping things up for this part of Harriet and the colonel’s story. I think there will be some sort of story about them which will follow this, since they have not yet gotten married and we do need that to happen. However, I am not certain what form that will take just yet.
Please remember that there are sections where previous chapters from this story 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 The Colonel’s Lady in the collections tab.
Chapter 5 (part 1)
Richard tucked Harriet close to his side as he sat in the hack outside the townhouse that stood at the address on the note found in the watch. “This is not a good idea,” he muttered.
“It is the only way,” Harriet assured him.
He shook his head and blew out a breath. “We could have put your clothes on someone else.”
“That would have been too big a risk,” she countered.
Before he could find a way to refute her argument – which was true, and he knew it – the door to the house opened, and both Louis and another man exited and made their way toward the hack.
“Stay deep in the shadows until I am out and the door is closed,” Harriet said to Richard before giving him a quick kiss and sliding toward the door.
“If anything happens to you….” He would never be able to live with himself or forgive Lillesley for allowing her to take part in this scheme.
“Nothing will happen.” There was a slight tremor in her voice. “I will be fine.” The tremor was gone. It was as if she had swallowed whatever fear had arisen and vanquished it in a heartbeat. “We will save Louis’s sister, and I will be Mrs. Richard Fitzwilliam. I will be.”
The determination in her voice made him smile despite his nervousness. How he loved his lionhearted lady!
“Where is your sister?” she asked Louis as soon as the door to the hack was opened.
“She is inside the house,” the man behind Louis said. “She will be allowed to leave as soon as you are inside.”
“No.” Harriet shook her head even as she began sliding out of the carriage. “She must come out before I go in.”
The man’s replying laugh was as icy as a winter’s day. “I do not think a lady with her hands and feet tied is in a position to negotiate with me.” He threw her over his shoulder and grunted. “You are not a slight thing, are you?”
“Are you the man who killed my brother for his watch?” she asked.
Richard quietly exited the carriage through the door on the opposite side as Louis closed the door through which Harriet had gone.
“No. I keep track of the ladies like you.”
Richard heard a thwack.
“I will thank you not to hit my person,” Harriet cried.
“I will hit what I want to hit,” the man said. “Especially when you are asking questions about things that are none of your business. I will remind you only this once that you belong to me now.”
“Oh, I will not be with you long. My brother and his friend will find you. They are both very good shots you know.”
Again, Richard heard that cold laugh.
“But will they find you?” he asked.
Richard sneered at the back of the man holding Harriet. They did not even have a need to find her. He was here, and Edmund was close by.
“Before we go in, call my sister to the door.”
Louis had stepped between the door and the man they were here to capture.
“One goes in while the other comes out,” he added.
The man cursed. “If it will get rid of you sooner and get her in the house faster, then, open the door.”
Louis obliged.
“Carrick bring the girl,” he called.
“You could put me down while we wait,” Harriet suggested. Her head was up, and she was looking around until she saw Richard standing near the head of the horse attached to the carriage. She gave him a nod. “It cannot be good for your shoulder to be holding me like this. I hear that aches and pains mend less quickly as a man ages.”
Richard could see that Harriet’s hands were free. A few shakes of her feet and the loosely tied rope at her feet would also fall away. She touched her hat as the man grumbled his reply.
“I am not old, and you are not running away. You are mine.”
Her hat fell to the ground.
“How would I run with a rope around my feet?”
“I will not take the chance. You are needed.”
“For what am I needed?”
“For what do you think?” the man replied.
“I am sure I do not know.” That was a blatant lie. Harriet knew far more about what this man was involved in than any proper young lady should.
“For pleasure, of course,” the man answered.
Harriet’s gasp in reply to this was louder than normal. It was a sure sign she was acting the part of a naive lady.
Carrick was at the door with a young maid. My, she was a little thing. Likely younger than her brother Louis, who now had her wrapped in his arms.
“Get out of the way so I can go in,” the man grumbled.
Richard sprang into action as Louis, with his arms still wrapped around his sister, hurried away from the door.
“I think I would like to join you,” Richard said as he bounded up the steps and pushed his way into the house ahead of Harriet. “Put her down.”
“Get out of my way. Carrick!”
Behind him, Richard heard the unmistakable sound of a pistol being made ready to shoot. “I have only to duck or step to the side and you’ll kill your own man. Indeed, at this range, the bullet might go through me and into him.” He grabbed the guy holding Harriet and pulled him close. “Put her down.”
He pushed Richard away. “She’s mine.”
“No, she is not,” Harriet said right before the man holding her cried out and dropped her.
“My back!” He shouted as he spun around.
Harriet scooted away and freed her legs.
“What did you do to me?” he lunged toward Harriet.
Richard pushed him backward, causing him to fall down the steps.
“I have him,” Jimmy said as he jumped down from his horse. “Go get the others. Lillesely and the rest should be in there already.”
Harriet handed the rope from her feet to Jimmy. “Go,” she said to Richard. “I will stay right here.”
“Promise me?”
“I promise.” She handed him a slightly bloody hat pin. “I case you need it.” He smiled. She would always try to keep him safe, would she not?
“I will make sure nothing happens to her,” Louis added from the door to the hack where his sister was now safely stowed.
And with that assurance, Richard entered the house.
—–
Thank you so much for being my readers! Have a lovely weekend!
<3 Leenie
