Weekly Reading Round-Up

I’ve given myself a bit of a break from Bronte and Gaskell this week, and bounced around between time periods and genres a bit. Here’s what I’ve been reading: — Dodie Smith, The Town in Bloom I’ve been hoarding this ever since I found it in Hatchards (yes, that Hatchards) in June. It’s by the…

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Impromptu Contest!

The first of the major Ashford Affair ARC contests is going to be starting on the Contest page on Saturday, but, in the meantime…. Earlier today, I made a joking comment on Facebook about Miss Gwen’s coat of arms being two crossed parasols on a field of fallen fops. This seemed to amuse people (in…

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ASHFORD en Francais!

I am thrilled to announce that there will be a French edition of The Ashford Affair! So far, The Ashford Affair will be available in: — English (St. Martin’s Press) — French (Presses de la Cite) — German (Rowohlt) — Italian (Fabbri) — Polish (Amber) — Spanish (Espasa) If I hear of others, I’ll let…

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If You Like: A Call for Queries

After the success of last week’s “Which Victoria Holt?” query, I’m curious to know whether anyone else has any book requests. Is there a specific author you’ve been meaning to try, but don’t know where to start? Or a plot type of which you’d like to read more? Let me know and I’ll run an…

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Upcoming Contests!

First of all, huge thanks to everyone for the fantastic contest ideas. Thanks to you, I now have a Grand Contest Plan for my three Ashford Affair ARCs. The first contest will appear September 15th on the Contest page, using Angel B’s fabulous question suggestion (I’d post it here now, but only answers on the…

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Weekly Reading Round-Up

I’ve been going full steam ahead on research for the next stand alone novel, so all of my leisure reading has been focused around the late 1840s. Luckily for me, it was a particularly fertile literary period. — Anne Bronte, Agnes Grey. You know my thing for governess books, right? I’ve heard Agnes Grey referred…

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Writing Wednesday: Fits and Starts

The other day, I received an email asking for advice on how to deal with a fragmented schedule that necessitated constantly putting down and then picking up again that work in progress. I’d say that’s a real concern for all of us who write around other things, whether it’s family, work, school, or, in my…

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Teaser Tuesday: Eloise & Colin in Pink X

I really should stop calling it Pink X and start calling it The Passion of the Purple Plumeria, shouldn’t I? Old habits die hard. As we all try to get back to work after the long weekend, here’s a little something to lighten up that first back-to-school Tuesday: the complete, unabridged first modern chapter of…

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Which Victoria Holt?

I was just asked which Victoria Holt to read as an introduction to the Holt oeuvre. And since I know there are many Holt fans out there– with many strong opinions– I thought I’d fling it open to all of you…. My gateway Holt was Curse of the Kings: Victorian Egyptologists, ancient curses, all that…

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Weekly Reading Round-Up

Now that Pink X, The Passion of the Purple Plumeria, is off in the hands of my editor, I finally have a chance to catch up on some leisure reading. This week’s haul included: — Caroline Llewellyn, The Masks of Rome. I’d found this book in the library back in Middle School and have been…

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