Grace's Mosaic Moments


Thursday, November 10, 2011

Mistletoe Moment

Wow! Something NEW. I've spent the last ten months uploading my backlist to Kindle and Smashwords, but here is something brand new. My very first novella. It is available solo or as part of Cotillion's Christmas anthology, Christmas Kisses. The link below is to the solo version. And if you look below the cover and blurb, you'll find my confession: the all-too-true story of where I got the idea for this story.Pamela Ashburton's dreams of a London Season meet with disaster at her very first ball. When her humiliation is exaggerated by the unfeeling attitude of her mother and sister, she abandons all hope of entering society and goes to live with an aunt in Worcestershire. Four years later, she is well on her way to spinsterhood.

Will Forsythe, a veteran of the Peninsular War, retreats to Worcestershire hoping a quiet, solitary life will heal more than his physical wounds. But it's Christmas season, and he finds himself faced with a damsel distressingly in need of help to gather mistletoe for her aunt's Twelfth Night Ball. As an officer and a gentleman, what else can he do?

~ * ~

The sad tale behind the Mistletoe Moment:

A number of years ago, I was on a tour designed specifically for authors of Regency novels. While in Bath, we were part of a Georgian dance evening at the Upper Assembly Rooms. The dancers were there to perform for us, and also to help us through the intricacies of the dance figures of the day. We were all costumed in Regency gowns. Knowing dancing was not one of my skills, I demurred, but when one of the charming, costumed Georgian gentlemen invited me to do the Grand March, how could I resist?

After a romp down the middle of the floor, we did a U-turn around a line chairs. Half-way back to the "top" of the dance, my feet went out from under me, and I in my gorgeous green gown went down splat on the floor. Of course everyone was appalled. My charming partner seated me on a chair, rushed off to get me water. The dancers assured me the floor was the most slippery they had encountered anywhere, etc., etc. But, believe me, I was able to put all my feelings that night into poor Pamela's plight. I was fortunate enough to have kindness shown. Poor Pamela was not. But I knew exactly what sent her flying to Worcestershire, for I sat out the remainder of the night, chatting with Mary Balogh's mother, while wanting to sink into that highly polished floor.

Out of such things are novels born—well, at least a novella. The link to Mistletoe Moment:

http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9611-mistletoe-moment.aspx


Coming soon: A Cape Cod romance from my backlist - Love at Your Own Risk

Grace, who writes as Blair Bancroft

7 comments:

  1. Grace,

    What a wonderful example of making lemonade from lemons.

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  2. Congrats on the novella, Grace! I remember that evening so vividly--but I had completely forgotten your fall! I had a few unstable moments myself on that floor! But it was great night--even I am not built for empire waistlines!

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  3. Deb, I'm DELIGHTED to hear you don't remember my ignominious moment. Like poor Pamela, I was certain it was indelibly imprinted on the minds of everyone who was there. Which just goes to prove I'm really not the center of the universe!

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  4. I agree embarrassing moments are the stuff novels are made of:) In my YA, my main character falls into a septic tank. I'm sad to say that I wrote it from experience. It's the reason my hubby always says I'm full of crap;) Can't wait to read your book~Cheers

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  5. Jamie - you fell in the septic tank! That's about as horrible as it gets. And it was a fear through all the years I lived with one. One of the few pluses of moving to Orlando was that I had city water and sewer for the first time in over thirty years.

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  6. Hi Blair! I LOVE Regency Christmas stories! I found an older print Anthology, A Zebra one, that I loved. That was last year. Now that I discovered traditional regency AFTER the prints stopped of that line, I've been watching for them all over in re-release in ebooks as well as flea markets finding the print ones (which has been no luck since only have one flea market here). So I'm thrilled your earlier ones coming out too! I didn't see the Anthology as CHRISTMAS KISSES anywhere in the coming soon on the EC site. Is that going to be the print of it only, or will all the stories coming out singles coming out in one ebook at Christmas Kisses? Cuz its cheaper to get the one anthology than to buy the novellas separately.

    I love Mary Balogh's books and emailed her a couple times and she's the sweetest. What a memory and to put it into the story is awesome!

    Happy holidays Blair. Thanks for the beautiful joy it is reading your books! My favorite was LADY SILENCE (I'm deaf myself so in ways I connected with her as a mute character at times). Looking forward to reading more of yours!

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  7. Oops, here's my email address in case you can answer about the release, thanks
    cathiecaffey @ gmail.com

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