Amazon 99 Romances Sale!

US Marketplace only . . .  An Agreeable Arrangement and . . .

. . . all 5 books of the Gentlemen of Worth series are on sale for 99 cents each!

Gentlemen of Worth series US Kindle Monthly Deal!

$1.99 US Marketplace from October 1 to October 31!

A Grand Deception

April 2012 – Release of Book 3, Muriel’s story . . .

Work on Book 3

End of November 2011: Page Proofs for Book 3 arrive. I ::think:: it’s coming out in 2012 but I do not have an official date. They’re due: Dec 2^nd.

I send in my corrections, six of them, and return to Book 4. I’m still hoping I’ll finish this by the end of the year.

Back to Work on the Book ... 3 not 4

October 2011: The hubby and I are still rushing around. I have a quarter of the book left to write. I’d like to finish the first draft before I leave for Maui. I can do it, there is time.

 A Grand Deception arrives from my editor. I’m to proofread it and answer the Copy Editor questions before they send this to press. I have a week to turn it around.

Starting Book 4

April 2011: I’d begun the Duke’s book right after I submitted Muriel’s. I had a rough idea where the story started and what was 

to come next. The first chapter, after some considerable time had passed, had come together and I was moving on to chapter two.

After learning of the new word count I realized I needed to slow the pacing down and rethink the scenes. Chapter one has been pulled apart and new scenes added. Chapter two has the original chapter one scene and needs new scenes around it.

The good news is that it made me REALLY think about the Duke and his world. I found it inhabited with different characters. His children know of these people but they are not of THEIR world.

A real surprise is that I’ve discovered is that he has a friend. I’m sure Edward has many but I’d never seen them before now. I also have a feeling that they’re more integrated in the story than I anticipate. We will just have to see.

Book 3 Revisions Finished!

Mid March 2011: I found an extra 8,000 words, a few extra scenes, for Muriel’s book. I like the idea that I could liberally add to areas I thought could “use more.” 

I’m sending in the Revised manuscript and moving on to the Duke’s book with the new word count in mind. 

Book 3 – The Revisions

March 2011:  All work on Book 4 stops.  The revision letter for Book 3 arrives.  On top of that… this round will be electronically done.  I’m not afraid but I’ve never done this before.  The editor is being a doll and giving me some help on how “Track Changes” works. 

I’m not panicking.  I do take my time and move through the manuscript addressing the editor’s comments and making corrections. I truly value her “new pair of eyes” looking at my story and I believe this will make the book better.

And there is something new… the publisher has moved from the “old” way of calculating word count to using the “actual/digital” word count.  This makes my story 8,000 words short. This means I need a few more scenes.

Yeah, it’s gonna take a bit of work. I’ve only got a couple weeks.

Back To Book 3

End of January 2011: I finished the final edits and sent off A Grand Deception.  I’m pleased with the ending yet as I move through the end of the book I feel there could be a bit “more” there. 

I’m reading the last four chapters to my critique group, hopefully they’ll have some suggestions to where I can make improvements.

Finished!

Late December 2010: Last day of the year . . . 

the first draft of A Grand Deception is finished.  

I’ll let it sit for a week and do a final revision before handing it over to the hubby for his comments.

During that week, I’ll pull out my notes for Book 4.  It’s the Duke’s story.

2012 Literacy Signing

I'll be signing A Grand Deception at table 306 
as a new Montlake Romance author 
along with HUNDREDS of other Romance authors at the . . .

2012 “Readers for Life” Literacy Autographing 

Wednesday, July 25, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. 

Anaheim Convention Center, Ballroom (third floor) 
Anaheim, California

 Proceeds from book sales go to:

 ProLiteracy Worldwide, Read Orange County, 

and Literacy Volunteers—Huntington Valley 

 No outside books are allowed in the event.

Book 3 … For Real

November 2010 – Week 1: My annual trip to Maui. I’m thinking maybe there’s a follow up book to Honeymoon Husband… Is that only because I’m working in 1815 and need to distract myself?

Going back to Book 3 . . . I’ve discovered I have the beginning of a story and the end of the story… how do I get these two halves to meet?

Book 3 Comes to a Stop

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

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 - The Sagging Middle

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.

It's Real Now

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

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.

The Sagging Middle

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?

My Ambitious Plan Continues

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

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?