The Mid-Point

Well, dear readers, I am more than half-way through writing THE EARL'S ENGAGEMENT. My poor innocent Rosamund has gone through several ups and downs, most notably dealing with the Earl of Bailey. As she says, "He is a mordant, vexing, prig of a man!"

And that he may be, but he is also a gentle man, and kind, and thinking only of Rosamund's best interests. Unfortunately, his plans for her will soon be filled with all kinds of bumps and bruises, and in the end, it will take some strong convincing for her to truly believe he is in love with her.

Yes, that is a spoiler, but as everyone knows, romance books are written with the intention of a happy ending, so it should be no surrprise to you that Rosamund and Rory will end up together at the end. It is the journey to how they actually get there that is the story.

In this book there are also several appearances by old friends -- Haverlane and Violet, Robert and Fiona, of course Lady Olivia has another best supporting actress role, and William and Penny also make a very brief appearance toward the end.

I like adding characters from my other books, as a writer it allows readers to think about reading those other books, but more importantly, it keeps my sanity intact. Having developed this series as a wrap-around series instead of sequel-driven, it's like I have all my old friends near me if I need them. And as I'm getting closer to completing series, I want to utilize everyone equally.

I had wanted to get this book finished and published by the end of September. Well, as we all know, months fly by like leaves falling from the trees and December is no exception. Unless I somehow manage to get several marathon writing sessions in, I'm now looking at January. I hope you don't mind.

However, I am going to publish LADY CADORET'S LONGING as a separate novella, even though I said I wasn't. I think her story should have equal billing among the others. And as also it's a lead in for another novella I'm going to write next year, I think it's important for the characters in that book to be heard from.

So that's what I'm doing, and where I am, closer to the end, but not quite. Perhaps I'll have some better news for you next week.

And also, just wanted to let you know, I've finally figured out how to do the conversion process for the NOOK, so look for my books at Barnes & Noble coming soon.