October 11, 2025
Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving (Weekend)! 🙂
Monday is Thanksgiving Day for us here in Canada. It’s just one of the things that I love about October where I live. The other is the pretty colours of the leaves.
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
― L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
In personal news, my dizziness has diminished and my physiotherapy is moving along nicely. I got glowing comments from my physiotherapist yesterday along with a new exercise that I can replace one I was doing with. It’s called a monster walk. 🙂 Isn’t that a perfect exercise for October?
The next time I see her, we’re going to start working on getting me back into walking on the treadmill and hiking down trails in the woods. Oh, it feels like “normal” life is just about in my grasp. Is it? Or is that a mirage? (I hope it’s real.)
In my writing world, I’ve sort of settled into a schedule that seems to work well – except when it’s getting interrupted by appointments and such. And that schedule is getting me moving forward on my projects. Not at lightning speed but forward progress is progress! And I kind of doubt lightning speed is in my future if I want to keep my health moving along the proper path. (Oh, but it’s hard to not want to go faster though.)
I’m a couple chapters closer to being done with my Annilee Nelson novel that I’ve been working on. I need that done and sent to my editor this month so I can get it out before Christmas. So, there might need to be a little bit of pushing to get that done.
Then, I’ll need to decide on which Leenie story is getting written next. Hopefully, I’ll know which one that is before November’s Broadsheet reaches you.
I nearly have all my books completely wide now. I just need to finish adding the Marrying Elizabeth series and my Writing Glimpses of God’s Love journal to the Patreon library. Then, I need to get the two box sets for the Dash of Darcy and Companions series reformatted and added to all the retailers not named Amazon. 🙂
In audiobook news…
I have Hope at Dawn nearly ready to release to all the places. It will be shared on Patreon first, as always. Then, it will get marked public on YouTube for all to listen to, and finally, it’ll get published in all the other places through Voices by Findaway by the end of the month.
I hope to have it available on Patreon early in this upcoming week and live for public consumption on YouTube by next weekend.
Last week, I finished uploading the Choices series to the free ElevenReader library. I haven’t decided which series I will work on adding over there next. If you’re using ElevenReader, do you have a preference of which books you’d like to listen to next?
Now, let’s move on to the book deals before I share another installment of Harriet and the Colonel’s story.
eBOOK DEALS
Until October 31, Assessing Mr. Darcy is on sale everywhere for $0.99 USD, EUR, CAD, NZD, AUD, GBP, with all other currencies reduced.
As mentioned last month, I will be doing monthly freebies differently now that my books are no longer in Kindle Unlimited. Hopefully, you saw the post/email that I shared last Friday about Mary: To Protect Her Heart being free for the weekend on Smashwords. I mentioned in that email/post that I had another multi-book promotion planned for this month. That “Fall for Someone New” promotion – which includes all the books from my Other Pens and Touches of Austen series – begins today!
And it ends next Saturday, October 18.
So, make sure you get the books you need for your collection before the week is over.
Every Other Pens and Touches of Austen single title book is on sale at all the retailers for $0.99 USD, EUR, CAD, NZD, AUD, GBP, with all other currencies also reduced.
OCTOBER’S PATREON FREE READ and MEMBERSHIP PERKS
FREE READ: If you follow me for free on Patreon, there is a series starter that can be read for free each month. This month’s series starter read is Unravelling Mr. Darcy, which is part of my Dash of Darcy and Companion Collection.
MEMBERSHIP PERKS: Each month, I offer an eBook or two to download and keep to my $2 or more Patrons, and every time there is a new audiobook finished, I also make a link to download that available to them.
Hope at Dawn will be added to the audiobook downloads soon!
This month’s eBook offerings are Unravelling Mr. Darcy and Midnight with Mary. There is no new audiobook this month (at least, not yet).
SOMETHING NEW TO READ
Our story continues this month with Richard sharing his news about his new associate with Harriet and her brother.
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 3, part 2
Somewhere behind him, someone – namely Lillesley – cleared his throat. As if that was going to stop Richard from kissing his fill of his betrothed.
A second throat clearing. This time louder.
Harriet giggled, putting an end to the heat of their kiss. Still, he lingered with his lips on hers for a few seconds longer before holding her securely in his arms but not turning to face her brother.
“Do you know who they have paired with Samuels and Fredericks?” He tossed the question over his shoulder.
“No, I cannot say that I have heard,” Lillesley replied. “In fact, I was not even informed that there were more than four of you assigned to this task.”
“Yes. Well… there is one more than four.” Richard kissed the top of Harriet’s head and then released her from his embrace. “And it seems that you are not the only person willing to use a certain ne’er-do-well to gain information.
“Do you mean that Wickham fellow?” Harriet asked with no little amount of incredulity in her tone.
“Certainly not!” her brother exclaimed.
“Harry is right. As she often is.” Taking Harriet’s hand, he led them acrossed the room to the door to Lillesley’s study where the man was standing. “She’ll join us,” he added when his friend looked at Harriet and then back at him with a lifted brow. “It will make it easier for all of us.”
Lillesley shook his head and sighed but allowed Richard and Harriet to enter his study. “Not a word of any of this leaves this room,” he growled at his sister.
As if she would.
It was not the right way to approach her, and Richard smiled as his Harriet lifted her chin and glared down her nose at her brother for a half second before saying very primly, “I know far more secrets than one might expect.” She added a saucy grin as she took a seat and said, “Some you would be shocked to know I have discovered.”
Richard eyed her for a moment. If he was to guess by the way she squeezed her hands together tightly in her lap, she was bluffing – trying to draw her brother out to vent her displeasure with him questioning her ability to be discreet.
Thankfully, Lillesley did not fall for her ploy. “I am certain there are, but at present, I find I do not care to learn what secrets you know or how you know them.” He smiled, which caused his sister to huff softly. Then he turned to Richard. “Did Samuels say why Wickham has been included?”
“He did. Wickham has…” He paused when a knock sounded on the proper door to the study. Lillesley rose and opened the door just far enough to see who was there.
“A letter has arrived for you, my lord.”
It was the butler.
“And how did it arrive?”
“Through the kitchen by way of the stables, my lord.”
It was from someone in their network then.
Lillesley closed the door and broke the seal to the letter as he returned to his desk. “It seems I have been notified that a person with knowledge of the workings of the underbelly of society has been enlisted to help us come to a hopefully hasty conclusion to this mess,” he said as he scanned the missive before taking his seat again at his desk.
“Wickham claims he would know the man who likely killed the shopkeeper by site, though he does not know his name.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Samuels mentioned Wickham knew traitors. Is our theory about secrets being bought and sold along with maids, true?”
Lillesley shot a quick look at his sister. “From what I have just read, it appears to be substantiated though there are no details here.”
The room sat in silence for a moment until Harriet broke it with a question.
“Did Andrew know about the espionage involved in this matter?”
“I cannot say,” her brother replied, though he did not look at his sister. Instead, he remained focused on the letter he held. It was a sure sign that the answer he gave was accurate but not informative.
“And if he did – which he did since you did not glare at me –”
Richard chuckled as Harriet continued.
“Then, did the traitor know? Or was Andrew pretending to be a traitor to draw him out? Oh!” she gasped. “Did Penny discover something she was not supposed to know? Could that be why she ended up in washed up along the Thames like that shopkeeper?”
Lillesley held up a hand to stop the rapid questions. “We would like to know the answers to all those questions.”
“They are all plausible,” Richard said.
“I know,” Lillesley agreed. “And I have my thoughts on it.”
Harriet had risen and was pacing a small circuit from her chair to the small hearth and back.
Her brother settled back in his chair and motioned for Richard to remain silent as they both watched Harriet. They both knew that when she was close to figuring something out, she fidgeted or paced. She had done so since she was a girl.
She came to a stop. “Are you going out tonight?” she asked her brother.
“I have no plans to, since I knew the colonel was being relieved of his duty today.”
Her brow furrowed as she grimaced. “Perhaps you should go together.” She blew out a breath as if what she had just said was not something she wanted to say.
“Why?” Richard prompted. “What are you thinking? How will that help us?”
“If you were to go out and wear Andrew’s watch, making sure to show it off as you check the time in any of the places Andrew might have frequented…” She sighed and then, shook her head as she looked to the ceiling. “It would be dangerous, but it might bring the right people to you.” She returned to her seat. “Andrew had that watch when he was killed, and the shopkeeper was killed because of that watch – or so we suspect. It is the only thing I can think of to connect the events.”
“It is a worthy idea,” Lillesley agreed. “Perhaps I will start by having dinner at my club tonight.”
Harriet nodded. “Andrew did that often.” Her comment was soft.
Richard gave her hand a squeeze. “I will go with him, and then, return here for a while before I head home, if that meets with everyone’s approval.”
“I would like that very much.” She did not need to say so. Her smile had informed Richard of her approval before she could so much as form the first word of her response.
“And I suppose I can tolerate it as well,” her brother said with a laugh. “Now, if you would be so kind as to allow my best man to give his report about how tiresome his days at his apartment were to me without an audience, I will make sure he sees you before he goes home to change for dinner.”
Harriet rose.
“There is nothing of significance to report,” Richard assured her when she hesitated before leaving.
“If you are certain…”
“I am.” And with that reassurance, she left them alone. Though Richard was sure she had not gone far.
Thank you so much for being my readers! Have a lovely weekend!
<3 Leenie
