I just checked on Amazon and my book is FREE right now! It probably won't be for too much longer, so grab it while it's listed here. If you do manage to read it, reviews are highly, *highly* appreciated, especially because, as of this writing, I haven't gotten a single review yet, and I can't exactly review it myself.
This link leads to my book. Go ahead and download the book for later, and someday you can curl up when you want an exciting emotional read in a historical setting--happy ending guaranteed. Anyway, here's MY review. I'm not allowed to write one, obviously, but if I were, it might go something like this: I love this book. They tell you to write the book you want to read, and I wanted to read THIS. Is it perfect? No. (Very few books are.) But is it a solid, good read? Yes! I love the characters, the world, the tingly feelings I get during those delightful love scenes, the happy ending . . . It's a thoroughly rewarding read, and if you are looking for a reprieve from your difficult, stressful life, this will make a wonderful one. Cheers, everyone! Take care, and happy reading! P.S. For anyone remotely interested, rest assured that I have already started in on my revisions for the second book, which will be about Mr. Brougham. ;)
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I am excited to finally share the cover with you guys!! I can just imagine Harriet's apprehension as she comes up those stairs and out into the bright stage lights.
BUT WAIT--I know what some of you Regency purists are thinking. That cover is so far from historically accurate it's insane! And you'd be right. But I've fallen in love with this cover because I see it symbolically. Obviously a young Regency socialite would never be un-gloved with hair down at any occasion formal enough for a train (and how would she dance??), but I don't see this as a scene directly from the book. I see it as a representation of Harriet's inner feelings throughout her dramatic adventure. The red satin pooling down the steps is like a luxurious stage curtain. The stairs represent both social elevation and the limelight that Harriet is thrust into during act two. Her hands aren't gloved, her hair is down: she is herself when no one is around. In the image she is unaccompanied, showing her just as alone as she often feels on her often awkward adventure. Her "audience" is obscured from view by mystery, but her overall outlook of the future is bright, so although her tense hands show some apprehension, her bearing is proud and she is ready to carry herself to new heights. I hope that you can learn to love this book (and it's cover!) as I have, and that it can help brighten your day, as it has brightened many of mine. I'm excited for you to be able to read it! P.S. I think her little tush is quite fetching, too. Don't you? :) EDIT 3/25/2021: This story is available to download HERE!
Hannah shifted on the window seat and looked up from her novel. She breathed fog on the glass of her bedroom window to obscure the beautiful sunny day outside. She drew a little heart with a crack in it. “I shall never be free until I break out of this gilded cage.” There was a light knock at the door. “Shall we leave for our morning walk, my love?” her mother’s voice sounded. Hannah scurried off the window seat and began pulling on her spencer, bonnet and half-boots. “I’m coming, Mother!” she called. As her fingers tripped over the knots of her boots, in her mind she became a maid in the frigid servants’ quarters that she had sneaked into once as a little girl. She had been awakened rudely at the crack of dawn to light the fires and needed to hurry to prepare herself to serve her wicked employer. Her maid daydream flickered as she buttoned the peach satin-covered buttons at the front of her spencer. It really was a fine one—it had been part of her birthday present from her father, who said that she looked beautiful in the color no matter how vehemently she tried to deny it. She glanced up in the mirror as she tied her bonnet, and had to admit that her father was right. Peach was fetching on her. She looked as fresh and healthy as springtime, and knew that her glow would only be brighter as she strolled beside the gardens’ new blooms with her mother. It was almost too pretty a picture to bear. She groaned inwardly. “Nothing exciting ever happens to me,” she muttered, and flounced out of the door with a sigh. “There you are,” her mother said as she came down the stairs. “Are you ready? Mr. Green has just told me that our hydrangeas have begun to blossom.” “Of course,” Hannah replied sweetly. “That sounds lovely.” In her mind, however, she wished a violent death by fire to their insufferably perfect gardens—the hydrangeas would be the first ones to go. ***TO BE CONTINUED*** I will send a PDF of the whole short story (It's not that long--can be read during a long potty break, if you do that sort of thing!) to everyone who signs up to receive the newsletter I'm starting! I promise not to send an email out more than once a week, and I'll try to keep your interests and suggestions in mind. Ah! I'm so excited! It feels in some ways like it's snuck up on me, but my book is being released NEXT MONTH and it's already available for pre-order! A friend of mine told me that the code FALL20 doesn't work, but THANKS20 does, so try that. There's also code PRE15 that's for 15% off. It's kind of expensive, but I think that means they're going with a really great binding option so it should be a very handsome book when finished. I'm excited!
Preorder the book here: https://www.cedarfort.com/collections/pre-order/products/a-stage-for-harriet I can't wait to post the final cover online! Apparently they're still applying the changes I suggested to the initial cover, which was FABULOUS, but just was not *quite* there. I'm looking forward to seeing it and I hope you are too! <3 I've wanted to start a blog for years but never had the right stimulus to do so. I've oft wondered what it would be about if I did. I am one of those flighty intellectual "dilettantes," you see. I like almost everything, and I have a little bit of skill in a broad variety of arenas, but I'm not spectacular at anything. I majored in humanities in college because I couldn't decide on just one thing to love and focus on, and this problem has followed me around my entire life. My awesomely amazing author friend, Sally Britton (whom I strive to emulate) told me that hardly anyone actually reads author blogs anyway, so I feel safe writing just about anything here. So I guess I can confess all my deepest, darkest secrets!! My current confession: I've made brownies three times in the last week. I finally figured out a foolproof, easy memorized recipe that I always have the ingredients on-hand for. Knowing that I'm never more than 30 minutes from hot, fudgy homemade brownies is dangerous. Dangerous, I tell you!! M.C.'s fudgy brownies:
Here's my recipe and method: 1/2 c. each of flour, cocoa, and canola oil. 1 c. sugar dash of salt splash of vanilla 2 eggs That's it! I preheat to 375 and usually do the dry ingredients first but the order really doesn't matter. I throw it all into a single bowl, take a fork to it and beat it senseless, until it holds together and the batter is thick and glossy. Then I scrape it into an oiled, floured 9x9 pan and bake it for 22 minutes. Any more than that and it gets too cakey for my liking. Let's keep 'em fudgy! Anyway, there's my recipe. (Depicted: The last time I made them I swirled in some creamy peanut butter before baking and added white chocolate chips. Mm!) And I guess that's my first blog post! More another time, my friends. And since this blog is a tool primarily in use to promote my work--please buy my book! :) |
who am I?My name is Mary-Celeste, but my friends call me M.C. I am a writer, wife, mother, amateur gardener, sourdough bread baker, n00b video gamer, Austen enthusiast, tabletop gamer, Trekkie, and generally cheerful human being. I write Regency romances and I post about it here (among other things). Thanks for stopping by! Archives
May 2023
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