New book coming!

My life continues to be really busy and publishing another book has been on the back burner. However, now I am happy to say that I finished re-painting my entire house and have taken some time to ready my next book for publishing! I'm excited about this one. It was actually the very first novel I wrote in the Victorian historical romance genre. I have had it sitting in the computer for a couple of years fermenting. I say fermenting because I believed it to be lacking something major in the plot (and it was a bit too short). So, I published two other novels that I had deemed ready while I stewed over what to add to this one. Recently, it finally came to me and I excitedly added in the bits this book needed. I am really happy with it now and hope my readers will be as well.

 Let me give you a summary: Cathrine was born into a poor family, or so she thinks. After becoming an orphan, she is subjected to a life of a servant. She is given a different role of servant when she is forced to become the companion of a wealthy girl her own age. For ten years she lives a life of constant reminder that she is well beneath her employer's family. Strange and amazing things begin to happen in her life and in the end she is overwhelmed with acceptance, love, and happiness.
  I must once again thank my dear friend, Marti Hilderbrand, who does absolutely gorgeous drawings for my book covers. She is so talented and I feel the love from each of her drawings. I love that I can describe the character of my new book and she defines the person perfectly with her pencil. Thank you, dearie!! As a sneak peek, I am going to share the cover here!

Please share the links for this blog and also the links for my other two books! I need your help!

What I'm doing

My days have been so busy the past three weeks. Not only have been touching up the paint on our entire house, but I've also been working on my sixth novel. Add to this that I am finishing the sixth week of an online course from the University of Sheffield in England called Literature of the English Country House. It's been fascinating! I don't earn any credit for the course and it was free. Each week they covered a different aspect of country houses and how they are depicted and influential in classic literature. For my own writing it has been enlightening. I love studying the history of some of the famous country houses of England. Well, I shan't bore you with more about my class.

This is Chatsworth House, the believed inspiration for Pemberley in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I do believe that house would inspire most anyone. The truth is that a miniscule fraction of society could afford a house like this. Even the nobility who lived there earned extra cash by the tours which Jane wrote about in her book. For the moment, though, we can enjoy the serene situation of this house and enjoy nineteenth century literature! 
Here's a reminder to share the links for my books and recommend them if you have read them!

I watched it begin again

Pardon the title, which is a line from a Taylor Swift song. I was listening to the Piano Guys' version yesterday as I painted my daughters' bathroom. The song has nothing to do with the painting, but with the fact that I am penning my sixth novel. I have been staying up entirely too late writing page after page. I find I need to get it on the paper as soon as I have the idea, or I won't get any sleep. I realize I should be re-editing and proofing other books that I've finished, but I'm too excited about my new ideas. Book five sits here in the computer with not one proofreading having been done. Poor thing.

I have a confession: I am a pen hoarder. I've found the loveliest pens at Dollar Tree. Hmmm, I should go get more... Anyway, they are perfect for my late night scribbling.

This book has been funny. I have changed the names to protect the innocent several times! Actually, I just go through a process of finding a name that I think fits the characters perfectly. I will get there!

Friends please share the links to my books on Amazon and talk about them to those you know who love to read!

New blog, same me

Hi friends! A sweet friend of mine was kind enough to set up this blog for me to promote my books. Thank you!!! I am your proverbial introvert and could not sell a coat to an Eskimo; so promoting my books has been somewhat of an enigma to me. So here is a new forum to discuss my books and hopefully raise some interest.
 First of all, my books are situated in a rather complex genre. We have historical + fiction+ romance + Victorian + Christian = my stories (more or less). The tag I would like to emphasize the most would be "clean fiction for women"! However, they don't give you that option when you publish on Amazon. I write sweet stories, but more than that, I have a passion to write stories that give hope. I feel silly when my own stories make me tear up, but then, that is the idea! I have three daughters and I have a full time occupation monitoring what they put before their eyes. The books that are popular these days are complete trash! Can you imagine a Christian in the 1940s reading some of the books coming out today. No! It's a sign of the decline in morals, I know, but also that we have not put out books before our kids that teach purity.
  My books are a joy to me. I have so much fun writing the stories and dreaming up the next ones! I have a crazy imagination that does not quit. God has led me to channel my funny brain and use this talent for Him. On top of that, I watch my girls get inspired when I am writing. It's a lovely side effect!

So, I have now written 5 novels of this genre. I am publishing them as I feel that they are ready. First, is Helen Redding. She was the first one which I was satisfied with and certain of completion. Next, is Molly Allen. This one is my favorite that I have written so far. I had the whole entire story in my head at once and crammed it into the computer as fast as I could.

Well, shall I post a bit of Helen? I think all of my heroines are infatuated with books and reading. That is a part of me that I give them. haha!

     The parchment before her was getting more confusing by the moment. Helen found that packing her meager belongings was more complicated than usual with the prospect of spending the season in London looming over her. “Beth, please tell me we have already packed my spare chemise and I may cross that off of this horrid list!” she exclaimed. “Yes, ma’am. I think you will find that everything on that horrid list of yours is already tucked away neater than pleats on a French dress!” her efficient maid soothed. Helen sighed, “Ah Beth, what shall I do without you? Well, I am pleased you will be here to run the house in my absence.” Beth blushed and smiled grandly for her kind mistress. No one dared comment that one trunk was plenty for every stitch of her clothing and the other carried her beloved books. Her small library was more valuable to her than the finest clothes and she could not part with it. Satisfied, she crumpled her irritating list and tossed it in the waste bin by her desk. She thought a moment about going to sit with her father for a while, but then heard the familiar clink of the decanter and his beloved glass. “Beth, I will just stay here and read until supper,” she informed her faithful helper.

This is from the second chapter of Helen Redding.

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Here you'll find the most up to day information about my books! Stay tuned for updates!

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More and more these days, books rely on word-of-mouth. Things that might seem small — an email to friends, a review on Amazon, a post on Facebook, a mention to your book club, or even just telling a pal in conversation — can really help the books find their readers.