The Citrus Parlor

Back to Book 3

2012-02-24T10:17:00.004-08:00

September 2010 – I’m so removed from my story…

The kids are off to college and I’ve made the mistake of helping them move. My knee and my back are injured from lifting furniture.

Another unhappy realization . . . I’ve just seen the cover for The Suitor List. There’s no reference to it belonging to a series, no cool series logo of which I had had hoped. I mentioned it being Book 1 of my Gentlemen of Worth series in my Bio on the flap at the back of the book but the reference had been removed. And it’s too late for any changes. It’s too bad I was not able to see it at an earlier stage.

I guess it’s supposed to be a secret.

Back Home

2012-02-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

August 2010 – I’m back from conference and trying to get settled and back to Book 3. My kids are home from college, I don’t see me having any time to work. This might have to wait until the end of September when they return to school.

Book 2 Complete

2012-01-16T06:40:00.000-08:00

July 2010 – Book 2 is finished and mailed. Now I’m packing for the RWA Conference in Orlando, Florida.

The conference was to be in Nashville, Tennessee until they had that horrible flood. Now it's being held at the Swan and Dolphin Disney Resorts. What could be nicer?

I met with a dozen or so Avalon authors, met the new Editor Lia Brown, met her wonderful hubby—they make the most adorable couple—Romance novel worthy… but Gina Ardito has dibs on writing that story.

While I’m in Orlando why not hop over to the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter?

I meandered down Diagon Alley, marveled at all the paintings and statues in Hogwart's Castle, tasted Butterbeer, regular and frozen, had some pumpkin juice, shopped in Zonko’s, HoneyDukes, Filch’s Emporium, Dervish and Bangs, sent Owl posts.

I went on the Forbidden Journey THREE times, Flight of the Hippogriff, stood in line to see Olivander’s Wand Shop show.

Now I have regrets about sending in my last manuscript. I realize now I should have used owl post.

Book 2 Revisions Continue

2012-01-04T06:37:00.000-08:00

July 2010 – Finished with the book. I’m printing it out and giving it a last look, making sure it reads well. But I keep tweaking it, changing words, phrases . . . adding lines here and there.

I can’t seem to stop myself from changing it. I’m hoping to finish and send it to my editor by next week. With the small changes I keep adding . . . well, it’s going to take longer than I expected.

I do know that I WILL finish by the end of this month!

Back to Book 2 . . . revisions

2011-12-25T07:44:00.000-08:00

Late June 2010 - When it rains it pours. I’m still working on the end of the book I wasn’t pleased with in the first place. My critique group says one thing and I can’t help but think it is too simplistic. It needs more. I’m determined to find the right ending for Charlotte’s story.

I rework the scene, rearranging elements and adding a few new pieces, and I finally end up with something I’m happy with. I’ve read it to my critique group members and when I saw the smile on their faces as I approached the final paragraphs, I think I have done it.

Now I’m going back to write a couple of new scenes. I should be finished with this in another week. I’ll need to reread the entire book, just to make sure, before mailing it to New York.

Re-starting Book 1

2011-12-15T06:08:00.000-08:00

Early June 2010 -Two weeks after starting in on Charlotte’s story, Augusta’s book is back—the galleys.

I open the title page to read: THE SUITOR LIST—the alternate title is missing and there is no reference to it being book 1 of The Gentlemen of Worth series. Oh, well. Maybe it’ll be on the cover. We’ll see.

I sit and carefully reread the typeset pages. What surprises me is how much I enjoy it. I hope those readers who pick it up like it too.

Goodreads Giveaway

2011-11-27T13:39:00.001-08:00

You can sign up to win the first two Gentlemen of Worth series book.

The Suitor List and recently released Perfectly Flawed at:

Goodreads

The Middle of the Beginning

2011-11-19T09:31:00.000-08:00

June 18, 2010 - I'm waist-deep in my first series, nearly halfway through, and semi-overwhelmed by the amount of work I've accumulated today.

A month ago I was happily writing the third book of The Gentlemen of Worth series.

Two weeks ago I received the revisions on the second book. I put the third book on hold to work on the second book.

Yesterday the page proofs/galleys for the first book arrived. Not only is the third book on hold but the revisions for the second book have also slid to the back burner.

Like I said, semi-overwhelmed. I never would imagine I'd be working on all three books at the same time. The last time I had all three stories bouncing around in my mind was while the ideas, the sisters were in development.

My head might explode.

November Break

2011-10-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a break at the Citrus Parlor blog while I head off for vacation for a few weeks.

Here's the cover for my latest release book 2 of the Gentlemen of Worth series Perfectly Flawed which can be ordered at:

You can follow this year's island adventures at:

Aloha!

Book 3 Comes to a Stop

2011-10-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

May 2010 - That was faster turnaround than I expected. I slide Book 3 aside to work on Book 2.

Charlotte’s story is back on my desk with a few suggestions from my new editor. What changes is she asking for? Let’s see less of Muriel and more of the hero.

I can’t say I disagree . . . and it is supposed to be a Romance novel. Perhaps my editor could speak directly to Charlotte’s sister and ask her to move into the background.

Starting Book 3

2011-10-15T09:20:00.000-07:00

April 2010 - I reread the chapters, browsed through the notes to reacquaint myself with the characters and the story. Muriel can feel free to take charge of this story. And I’m finding she does, without any urging from me.

Book 2 is Due

2011-10-04T06:02:00.000-07:00

My self-imposed deadline: March 15, 2010. Check. Book 2 is on its way to New York. I don’t expect to hear for a few months at least. I just make sure they’ve received it and it doesn’t go into the slush pile.

I’ll take a week or two off before diving back into Book 3. I have to reread, and rethink, what’s there. Is where I’d started it =really= the beginning of the book?

Book 2 - The Sagging Middle

2011-09-22T12:26:00.000-07:00

January 2010 -

Charlotte’s suitors are on the run.

Of course Muriel has helped her come up with ideas to reconsider their affection for her, making Charlotte not as perfect as they’d first thought.

By February I’m nearing the finish of the second book.

The end is in sight.

On the Homefront

2011-09-14T06:25:00.000-07:00

October 2009 - I’m trying to adjust to the empty nest and I’m taking advantage of the quiet. November is the annual vacation. I’ll be Blogging at the annual Mini Maui Blog for the first two weeks of November.

November 2009 – I’m enjoying myself in the tropical paradise. When I return home Thanksgiving is right around the corner. The kids return and we send them off a few days later.

December 2009 – The kids take their finals right when they get back to school. Then they head back home for their Winter Break and will stay until well past the beginning of next year.

The Name Game

2011-09-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

September 2009 - Charlotte’s suitors come and go very quickly. It’s a chore coming up with names, non-repetitive names, names that don’t sound similar—names I haven’t previously used.

I’m glad I spent the time making a list of characters back when working on the first book.

It's Real Now

2011-08-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

August 2009 - The contracts arrive in the mail. I sign and send them off. The revisions for Book 1 are minor and the revised manuscript goes in early. I want to get back to work on Charlotte’s book. Oh, the hero is too fun. Again, Muriel’s trying to take over the book.

I’m working really hard to make sure Charlotte stands out but she’s just not a strong character. Kind and sweet but not strong.

Then I realize we see the hero through Muriel’s eyes. And there’s more foreshadowing for Book 3 than I thought might be there.

I’ve got to admit that the hero does not look good when seen through Muriel’s eyes. He likes to tease her. He has to win her approval, it seems that Charlotte can’t help herself but fall for him the instant she meets him.

Back to the Keyboard

2011-08-19T08:28:00.000-07:00

End of July 2009 - After I return from the conference I figured if my editor liked Book 1, I best go forward with Book 2. I pulled out the notes and chapters I'd written.

I reread the chapters, browsed through the notes to reacquaint myself with the characters and the story. Charlotte, Muriel, Aunt Penny, and Edward the duke. Some of the suitors from Book 1 return, and then there are Charlotte's suitors . . . they make themselves known to me at once.

My editor calls me two weeks later and she’s going to buy the series.

What does she mean by the series?

"How many books?" I asked her.

"The whole thing," she says.

"What?"

The W-H-O-L-E thing!

I am completely speechless.

RWA National Conference – Washington DC

2011-08-12T06:42:00.001-07:00

Mid-July 2009

I meet up with other writers, catch up, and share ideas. It’s a place where I can get together with other Avalon writers.

It’s also a place where we can see our editors and agents face to face.

At the Publisher’s party I saw my editor. She’d received my submission and liked it. The book, I asked. All of it, she said. She read the whole thing? And loved it!

I am thrilled beyond belief—but, I remind myself, it’s not a sale.

The Whole Vision

2011-08-05T08:07:00.000-07:00

Early July 2009 - I’ve finished the first three chapters of Book 2 and Book 3. I also have a general idea of what the stories are for the last three books. Do I include them or not? Well . . . I’d like my editor/my publisher to see what I have planned for the entire series. I’m hoping for a nice series logo, similar covers . . .

I think they will like Book 1. Maybe they’ll accept Books 2 and 3. That would be pretty cool. They’ll also have a peek at the last three stories and maybe they’ll consider buying them at a later date. I really hope the publisher wants them. I see bits of scenes which include some characters from Books 1 through 3, they’re exciting story ideas and I’d love to write every one of them.

While I’ve decided on book titles, I’ve kept my Gentleman title references. I add those below the title in parentheses. The editors can choose whichever ones they think works best.

I’m submitting the entire Book 1, three chapters each of Books 2 and 3, and on a separate sheet of paper a brief synopsis of Books 1 through 6, consisting of a few paragraphs every one of them. In my cover letter I promise delivery a time period of 6-9 months between each book.

I mail it all off. I’ve met my self-imposed deadline of “before” the conference. Now I can enjoy myself in Washington DC.

Then it dawns on me . . . what if they don’t like it? I don’t have a Plan B. I’ve put all my thought and energy into this book . . . these books, this series for the last two years.

A Third New Start

2011-07-29T07:27:00.000-07:00

June/July 2009 - I’m just getting into Charlotte’s story and I have to stop and do it all over again for Muriel. I know what happens in the book but where does the book start? It’s sort of frustrating to have to go through this again, so soon. But I push forward.

I learn that Moo was precocious at 12, at 15 she’s developing a mean streak, now at 17 . . . I’ll have to say she’s downright devious.

The inciting incident I have in my head happens at the end of Chapter 1. How fun it is to get it down on paper. I can see the end of the book, how event will play themselves out.

A New Start . . . again

2011-07-24T07:16:00.000-07:00

June 2009 - After finishing The Suitor List I need to work out what I think Book 2 is about. I know the basic story but where do I begin?

I know Charlotte even more lovely, with a sweeter disposition than her elder sister. I have to take care that she did not come across as weak. Worse than that, Muriel’s trying to take over the book. How could demure Char-Char possibly come to the forefront of her own book?

Some of the characters from The Suitor List will return. I make a list of their names.

I’m enjoying this book . . . it’s going to be such fun to write. I've reached the end of Chapter 2, Chapter 3 . . . and now I have to stop.

Selling the Series

2011-07-16T08:18:00.000-07:00

May 2009 - I have a happily ever after for Book One. The title: The Suitor List.

I spoke to my editor about what she needs to see to consider a series. She asks that I submit the entire first book, and two or three chapters from the next two books.

I need to finish up Augusta’s book and figure out where the next two begin. I know Book 2 takes place in 1813 and Book 3 in 1815. For everyone to be the age I’d like them to be, Book 1 has moved from 1801 to 1811.

Talking about leaping forward! And it does NOT make this a time-travel.

Heading for the Finish Line

2011-07-06T21:38:00.000-07:00

April 2009 - The end is in sight. As always my mind drifts to the next book . . . I need a hero. I need a title! I need a real title for this book. I need ideas for the last three books.

Now I’m seeing the whole series as two parts. The first three are the Worth sisters trilogy. The last three almost could be stand alone books, not nearly as interesting without the reoccurring characters.

I’ve got the Gentlemen titles for each book but I’m struggling with the real titles. I’ll need them when it comes time to submit. Now that I’m nearly finished . . . what will my editor want to see when I’m pitching a series? I’ve never done this before.

Duck, Duck, Goose

2011-06-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

March 2009 - I’m having difficulty keeping Augusta’s suitors straight. I need to know what they look like. I spend a few hours on the Internet looking at men dressed in Regency garb. I search under Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, and PBS.

Most of these men I’ve never seen before but others are familiar: Colin Firth, James Mcavoy, and even Sir Laurence Olivier. Don’t they look handsome in their cravats and tailored jackets? I’ve matched each character with an image. Now when I work on my book it’s like watching a period movie before my very eyes.

The Sagging Middle

2011-06-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

February 2009 - There’s too much going on for the middle to sag. Here we are introduced to the Citrus Parlor at Faraday Hall. Charlotte plays a larger role in this book than I expected. It turns out that Muriel isn’t going to be ignored--even though she’s now 13. She’s had a birthday since the beginning of the book.

Interesting new characters, some, I believe, will be reoccurring throughout the series. And—Augusta has told me there is a younger brother . . . Frederick. Where did he come from?

Does this mean there are SIX books in this series?

From Miss Quinn's Quandary Comes . . .

2011-05-30T09:16:00.000-07:00

January 2009 – A character I’ve wanted to bring forward has emerged.

Lord and Lady Rushton (uncle and aunt to the Sir Randall and Larissa all characters from Miss Quinn’s Quandary host a small party where Lord William Felgate meets Lady Augusta.

I don’t know what is in store for Wills but I am glad he is to appear in this book.

The First Chapters

2011-05-14T06:05:00.000-07:00

January 2009 - The bad news: there are many characters added to the cast. The good news: I know what’s happening. I know who Augusta marries.

I’ve so many characters I need ways to distinguishing them. I’m writing their names in a notebook and keeping track of when they first appear. I’m thinking that it’s going to prove helpful down the road.

Family members are added. The family trees leaf and new branches grow. It’s exciting. I can see the far reaching possibilities of reoccurring and related characters spanning over several books.

Now there’s a concern regarding the ages of my main characters. I’m making charts like crazy… dates of births, marriages, and deaths. I’m thinking the timeframe for the first book may be 1801, a bit before the Regency period. . . Georgian.

My Ambitious Plan Continues

2011-04-22T05:07:00.001-07:00

December 2008 - It took a little over a week to work out what would happen in the first three books. I still had the “how” to work out. The struggle with titles continued. I tried using the sister’s names: Augusta’s Anguish, Charlotte’s Charade, and Muriel’s Muddles.

No. No. No.

I kept the Gentlemen’s titles which kept me on track because it gave me some sense of those men. While I worked on Augusta’s book, learning about the people, the family members, the neighbors, the townspeople, it occurred to me that the premise of my idea, about limiting Augusta’s London Season exposure, came from Aunt Penny. She had grown up in a family of legendary beauties.

They were the Darling sisters: Mary, Sarah, and Penelope. Mary, the eldest, had married a baron , Sarah, the most beautiful sister, a duke, and Penny, the dutiful daughter had an arranged marriage. Her husband, who was much older than she, passed away a year or so after they wed—about the time her sister Sarah died. Penny then removed to Faraday Hall and helped raise her nieces.

I wonder . . . now that I’m marrying off the three sisters. What happens to Penny? Then it occurs to me . . . I have a duke whose daughters have gone off to marry, what happens to him?

I’m thinking this might be a FIVE book series?

Character Names

2011-04-11T06:22:00.000-07:00

November 2008 - The name Muriel seemed to fit for the youngest sister. I like it. Moo. She was 12 years old. I wanted her young for the first book. By the time I reached her book, the third one, she’d be 17 or 18. Which, by the way, should have been Augusta’s age during the first book. If Muriel was 12 and August 18, it put Charlotte somewhere in between. I think I stuck her somewhere in the middle 15 or 16. I could narrow their ages down later when I knew more about them and the book.

I sat at the table every morning of my vacation with a mug of coffee in hand and worked out the plot of the first book. A young woman attending her first Season. How many ballroom scenes would I have to write? What would happen? How would her Season be any different than that of any other girl’s?

What if she didn’t attend as she should? What if it was known she’d have a target on her? Fortune hunters and social climbers would be seeking her out—or gentlemen who waited for just the right lady to come along. What if “someone” had had a similar experience and knew most of the pitfalls a young, beautiful, wealthy heiress to expect?

What type of a gentleman would win her heart?

Titles

2011-04-03T07:41:00.000-07:00

Still November 2008 - I thought that each book Gentlemen of Worth series would have a Gentleman title. Gentleman of Standing, Gentleman of Determination, Gentleman of Circumstance. Then I realized there were too many Gentlemen and it would confuse everyone, including me.

It would work for a working title because I didn’t know what the books were going to be about. I didn’t even know who the characters were . . . I didn’t even know the names of all the main characters.

So it was time I began, or tried to. I need to learn about these people. Besides marrying off each daughter what are the books about? What makes each story unique?

Not until I placed the three girls in the Breakfast Parlor and allowed them to move and speak for themselves did I become acquainted with them. Book 1, Chapter 1, scene 1 resulted. Augusta, the eldest, scolded her youngest sister Moo, short for Muriel.

What's in a Name

2011-03-28T08:42:00.000-07:00

Still November 2008 - I realized the Duke could not have raised his daughters on his own. Yes, they had nannies and governesses, a houseful of servants but they needed more . . . another family member, female perhaps, to guide them to young adulthood. The middle daughter Charlotte called out to her . . . Aunt Penny.

Penny . . . Penelope Parker. Mrs. Penelope Parker, their mother’s sister. Younger sister, just as Whatshername was the younger sister of Augusta and Charlotte. And I knew that Mrs. Parker, Aunt Penny, was a young widow.

Then I wondered if the Duchess and Aunt Penny, two sisters, might have been three, mimicking my three young heroines.

I still needed a family name for them . . . something meaningful. I would have three stories set during three different time periods with all three sisters looking for a worthy gentleman.

Playing around with that idea I decided upon the idea that each daughter searches for a Gentleman of Worth.

Position in Life is Everything - Part 2

2011-03-17T07:50:00.000-07:00

The Duke and Duchess of Faraday were invented, loving parents in a loving family. It was a marriage the daughters would want to emulate.

I wanted to use the family name of Darling. The Darling sisters? I liked the sound of it but decided it was too cute. The idea was discarded. I still struggled with a family surname. But a title had come to me.

Come to think of it, the whole family felt too happy, and a happy family does not make for conflict. I decided one of the parents had to go. That is when the Duke of Faraday became a widower.

Position in Life is Everything

2011-03-10T06:26:00.000-08:00

November 2008: Armed with my coffee, pens, and many notebooks, I got to work. I wanted three sisters, cause two isn’t enough, and three is a good number is a perfect number for a trilogy. My current problem: I had no clues to the identity of the youngest sister.

I figured it would come to me.

The girls had to have parents, and I did so much want to call Augusta, Lady Augusta, and Charlotte, Lady Charlotte, and Whatshername, Lady Whatshername. Thus their father must have been an earl, marquess, or duke.

One of the difficulties I wanted for young ladies was to be that they were very sought after which meant not only did they need to be very wealthy, very beautiful, and very well connected. Thus we have daughters of a duke.

Before the Beginning . . . a bit of history

2011-03-02T18:21:00.000-08:00

It all started in February 2008. I wanted to come up with a concept, a world, I could create that would provide me with enough ideas for several books, with stories that connected through an entire series.

I spent the spring of 2008 working on various stages of three Regency novels: An Agreeable Arrangement, His Lordship’s Chaperone, and Lady Eugenia’s Holiday. But in the back of my mind I kept thinking about starting a series.

In October I had visited my family in San Luis Obispo. The new additions to the family were twins: Augusta and Charlotte, which their parents had shortened to Gusta and Char-Char.

Those names sparked my imagination. I didn’t know who those characters were. I didn’t know how to distinguish them. Were they blonde, brunette, have long straight or short curly hair?

By the time November, and my two week vacation, rolled around I was ready to come up with a plan

To Blog or Not to Blog . . . that is the question

2011-02-24T06:18:00.000-08:00

A new book, a new series, and a not so new author. I’ve never written a series before. Will I like it? Would I do it again?

My only blogging experience is my two week Maui Mini Blog I do every year. Do I want to commit to a Blog? It’s a lot of work.

While reading, rereading the galleys for the first book I realized how much I enjoyed it . . . them, the Worth sisters, and the other characters in the story. Then I wondered if anyone else wanted to find out more about them, details that hadn't made it into the stories, facts only I would know about these people, and how all of this came about.

That is where the idea for this blog came from. The Blog name: The Citrus Parlor? It's the small, cozy parlor at the rear of Faraday Hall where the Worth sisters retire in the evenings. I thought it might be a nice place to meet for news, gossip, discussion, and tea. Unfortunately it’s only virtual tea.