Monday, July 29, 2013

Holidays at Pemberley is DONE! Plus this is my 500th post! Lots to celebrate ...



I have so much to share. First of all, I spent the bulk of last week in a spa with my mother. sister, and daughter. I'm not sure it was really all that relaxing, but massages and saunas are to be relished, regardless of their lasting effects. Part of the problem was that I knew as soon as I got home, I would meet with my awesome designer to finalize the layout of Holidays at Pemberley, or Third Encounters, A Tale of Less Pride & Prejudice Concludes. I spent a good chunk of the vacation reading the story to my family, hoping to catch any last errors (of course, I'll find more after publication). Here's the finished front and back. I'll also be creating a tab where you can read the completed first chunk of story (a rough version is already available here). All I need now is for the publisher to agree to my timeline for release. I'm really hoping to convince Outskirts to agree to a specific publication date (November 20th). That would make marketing so much easier. I have never had the luxury of being able to say a book of mine would be available at a set time, instead being forced to reload Amazon every half hour for two days or more, anxiously waiting to see if it is yet listed. This is the biggest detriment I've found to the self-publishing process.


This is my 500th post! 500 opportunities for me to stick my foot in my mouth for all the world to see. I had no idea this blog would become such an important part of my life when I began, and while it doesn't ever seem to receive the attention I should give it anymore, it remains an important place for me to organize my thoughts and interact with other Janeites. Thanks to all who have stuck it out with me through these last years. You've helped me find myself, and I am forever grateful.

Now that Holidays at Pemberley is in holding mode, I'm starting to think about my writing plans for the fall. I know it's a bit early to be thinking of Halloween, but I have a plan for a new novella I want to write for the occasion, along the lines of last year's Emma & Elton: Something Truly Horrid (you can read it here for free). This was a very different kind of experiment for me. Usually I write feel good stories, and Emma & Elton was intentionally the opposite. You see, while I have mostly beautiful Austen-based dreams, I also have some very disturbing notions, indeed, and Emma & Elton was an exploration of one such nightmare. I knew it would be upsetting to many of my readers, and I tried to provide adequate warning of what it was, but I never received enough feedback on it to know if I caused anyJane & Bingley: Something Slightly Unsettling, I'm giving you one last opportunity to tell me to stop. Please see the poll in the right sidebar to provide anonymous feedback. Thank you!
lasting trauma. So before proceeding down a similar path in

Continuing to look ahead, I'm going to again participate in NaNoWriMo this year (though I still need to register). I'm really excited about the new Pride & Prejudice variation I plan to write for the occasion, and while I'm reluctant it say too much about it right now, just in case the plot takes a wildly different turn, I will reveal that it takes place in the 1830's, when Darcy and Elizabeth, having never married, meet again. As I said, I'm really excited about this, so I'm sure I won't be able to keep my thoughts contained for long. If I've sparked your curiosity, you should periodically check back here for the more information that is sure to come.

Thanks for reading!

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