Hi everyone! I’m still around. I get new subscribers on a fairly regular basis (hiya!) and it’s not entirely fair that I can’t keep up my former schedule of posts. For the newbies, I’ll just explain that it’s because I spend most of my time now writing novels, particularly in the Regency genre. I am a huge fan of Georgette Heyer, and the genre itself, and writing… and making money, which is not very easy to come by writing blogs.
But I have ten years worth of posts here and people are still coming for the recipes and a few other things. And I have some readers that have been with me nearly from the beginning. So I’m keeping my blog alive out of affection and the occasional desire to chat. (Or share a new recipe).
I’ve got a new release coming out on February 11 and I couldn’t be more excited about this book. I had a hard time letting go of the characters and moving on to another book when I finished it. So I’m going to give you some information about A Faithful Proposal below, particularly because the publisher has low pre-order prices that will go up when the book launches, and I want those of you who read my books to be able to take advantage of the good prices.
So what’s new? In keeping with the new style I started last November, I’ll organize it by topic. If one or all of the topics does not interest you, feel free to skip right down to the bottom where you can read about my book baby.
FAITH
Ministry has probably been the most time-consuming aspect of my life, apart from my children, and writing – (and all the social media and marketing that go with being an author). Something seems to have changed in my walk with God, and I’m spending more time on my knees – literally praying on my knees after reading a comment about how James (the brother of Jesus) was called “old camel-knees” because of how worn and calloused his knees were from kneeling in prayer. I’m going through the Bible in French and highlighting different aspects with different colors (faith, courage, promises, etc.) and I’m praying through the Lord’s Prayer every day and reflecting on each aspect. When I get to “your kingdom come” I pray for the church.
We’ve had 5 neighbours get baptised in the last year and our teen ministry has about 30 teens with many of them studying the Bible. (This is why I need to spend so much time on my knees). My husband and I have also started fasting regularly. We’ve been doing this for years, but it has sort of become a permanent part of our seasonal cycles. I wrote about fasting here. So I guess what has changed is really experiencing on a personal level how incredible God is and how much He wants to be invited into our small lives so that He can transform them into something great.
FAMILY
My kids are growing. I am so tempted to post a picture of them – I did on my author newsletter (which you can sign up for here. I send out personal and writing news once every 2 weeks) – but since two of them are in the teenage stage, they don’t love being on display. Juliet is in high school – in tenth grade. She’s an artist and takes specialised illustration classes, and we are considering having her change high schools to a private one focusing on art so she can have a less hectic workload. Gabriel just turned 14 and – except for his goofy expressions – looks 2 years older. He is taller than me and shaves. He’s diligent and sweet and still plays the trumpet well. William is in 6th grade (which is junior high here). He has an incredible imagination, but thankfully turns it off often enough to listen in class. He’s doing very well.
Our big struggle is lack of time. We’re working on limiting screen time, but it can feel like a losing battle. We can’t find the right parental control that works with their phones (Redmi) and that screens both for content and time spent hanging out with you-tubers. My husband works crazy hours, and I do too if you count all the running around. But today my kids cleaned the house so I feel like I’ve done something right. (Dad, aren’t you proud that I’ve passed on giving chores to my kids?) Plus the house looks beautiful. Construction-wise, it’s still unfinished and we’re in a law suit, but that doesn’t matter. Life is still good.
FOOD
I’m still eating a lot of vegan but have decided I can’t do it 100% – both for the cravings and the convenience. But I’ve been enjoying how light and energetic I feel when I do eat vegan. I did a cooking marathon for the holidays (we had a teen dance party on New Year’s Eve and with all the other activities I needed to sleep for a week to recover – I had some chest congestion too so it was partly illness-related). Thankfully things have slowed down since then.
But this Friday, our friends are having their civil wedding ceremony (the church ceremony will be in a few months) and since it’s very small, she asked me to make a wedding cake with fondant. So after breathing into a paper bag for a bit, I said, sure! So I’ll be doing that at the end of the week, as well as cooking my duck à l’orange recipe, which is also what they requested.
So yes. Life does not stop.
Let me at least share with you the book.
Back Cover Copy:
She was born to lead London Society. He could not leave it fast enough.
With a few well-placed words in the right ear, Anna Tunstall can direct anyone to do her bidding, exactly the skill needed for one destined to be the wife of a man in politics. A summer visit to a friend’s country estate is the perfect distraction before the London Season begins and Anna can achieve her ambition of a perfect match.
Harry Aston has spurned the noble aspirations of his family to enter holy orders where he might make a difference in people’s lives. His mother’s untiring attempts to find him a wife worthy—and wealthy—enough to suit him only serve to set up his back. He has never been in love, and she should not think that suitable wives dropped down from heaven, especially not in the village of Avebury.
When Harry finds Anna unconscious on the road, and she awakens in his arms, his world shifts at her gaze. But before he can think that heaven has come through at last, he must convince Anna that her prolonged stay in Avebury is not fate’s way of toying with her, but rather opening her eyes to a new direction for her ambitions—and her heart.
A SNIPPET FROM CHAPTER THREE OF A FAITHFUL PROPOSAL :
Emily clasped her hands on her lap. “How do you find our Mr. Aston?” she asked at last.
Anna was certainly not ready to share aloud any thoughts on how she felt about Mr. Aston when even in her private reflections, she could only muster the feeling of being aware of the man. She blinked. “No begging for details of the robbery? Only, ‘how do you find our Mr. Aston’?”
Emily laughed. “I do wish to know everything, and I am more thankful than you can know that you are safe.” She grasped Anna’s hand. “But I confess your unexpected meeting with Mr. Aston piques my curiosity because before your arrival, I had thought to present you to him. I wondered what you might think of him because I thought he might be… an interesting acquaintance for you.”
“Is he not a farmer? Or in trade?” Anna asked, perplexed. Although she had a sneaking feeling the matter did not weigh so very much with her as his location did. He was not in London, so there was nothing further to discuss. Nevertheless, her unruly mind continued on its own accord. Perhaps she would not be interested in a farmer, but a man in trade… her father was in trade, and he was a nobleman. A farmer—well, he might stink of pig by the end of the day. Although Mr. Aston did not stink of pig. He did not stink at all. He was…
Solid. The word came to her unbidden.
“He is not a farmer, nor is he in trade. He is a gentleman,” Emily said, with a mischievous smile that did not bode well for Anna. She knew what kind of trouble Emily’s smiles could mean.
“How fortunate for him,” Anna declared, at a loss for what else to say. Then to fill the silence, and perhaps to cover her confusion, she added, “He did not dress like a gentleman. And he drove the rudest vehicle.”
“Oh no.” Emily raised her eyes in studied innocence. “He does not like to set himself above the villagers.”
“I can see that,” Anna said. And when Emily offered no further information, she added, “So he is a landowner?”
“He is not,” Emily said. She stood suddenly and walked to the escritoire to take a magazine that was lying there, but Anna was not deceived. She recognised the tremor of laughter hidden in her friend’s voice.
Anna looked heavenward. “I am sure you will eventually tell me, but since we have many other things to discuss—like being held up at gunpoint—what does Mr. Aston do, if he is a gentleman, but not a landowner?”
“Oh.” Emily took her seat, her eyes brimming with amusement. “Mr. Aston is our rector.”
Chapter Four
The rector! Anna would have had more enthusiasm had he been a merchant. Or even a farmer. Her distaste for men of the cloth was high, as they were generally pious, dour sort of men—or they were hypocrites. She wondered which one Mr. Aston would be. Emily was studying her with an amused expression; most likely because she knew Anna well enough to know exactly what she was thinking.
“I did wonder how you might greet the news,” Emily said. “But I will say this. John thinks highly of him, and Mr. Aston is unlike any rector I’ve yet to meet. I believe you will find there is more to him than meets the eye.”
“Mr. Aston is of no matter to me.”
“Of course not.” Anna was not deceived by Emily’s prim voice.
KINDLE: Pre-order price is $2.99 and it will go up to $4.99 after the launch on February 11.
PAPERBACK: Pre-order book price if you order directly from Cedar Fort HERE is $15.19 down from $18.99 WITH an additional 20% off by using the code FAITH20. My friend paid around $3 in shopping. It’s available on Amazon for $18.99 (but the shipping will likely be free for you). I think buying from Cedar Fort on pre-order will be the most advantageous price-wise (plus I earn more that way, I must say).
I hope you’ll read it (and like it). Let me know if you do, and I’ll try to be back before too long.
