Although this week's Mosaic Moments is about my latest Regency Christmas Story, there is something of greater importance that needs to come before the cover & blurb for my latest book. Here is the text of a new hymn written after the massacre at the synagogue in Pittsburgh. This is a tragedy for people of all faiths, for all times. Posting this hymn is my small contribution to the fight we all must make against Hate and Evil.
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A LADY LEARNS TO LOVE
A Christmas Story
When writing a blurb, I don't usually lay out the whole story, but this time I did. Perhaps to make it clear that this tale of Christmas isn't all sweetness and light, carols, wassail, mistletoe, and presents. It's a serious approach to the holidays, with a heroine not quite as difficult to please as Scrooge, but well, you'll see . . .
Author’s Note: This novella was first published in a Christmas Anthology as THE LAST SURPRISE, but I always felt more scope was needed to tell the tale of three girls who are orphaned while the eldest is in the midst of a glorious London Season. Therefore, more than ten thousand words have been added. A LADY LEARNS TO LOVE is a poignant tale of those faced with tragedy, amplified by unforeseen circumstances, who still manage to survive, aided by the spirit of Christmas.
The story:
Lady Christine Ashworth is enjoying her second London Season and about to receive an offer of marriage, when the sudden death of her father, the Earl of Bainbridge, results in Christine and her two younger sisters being exiled to relatives in Yorkshire, while awaiting the return of their father’s successor from the wilds of western Canada. Christine is promptly deserted by the man who thought to become her fiancé and constantly importuned by her Yorkshire cousin who is eager to add her inheritance to his family’s coffers. Her sisters are also miserably unhappy.
No wonder then, when Christine finally meets the new earl, she begs him to allow them to come home. But he is not married and the solution to this problem is painful—for Christine, who has become disillusioned with men, and for Harlan Ashworth, who never expected to inherit an earldom, the responsibility for three females, nor find himself married to a woman he just met. Not surprisingly, the marriage of Harlan and Christine does not get off to a good start and goes downhill from there. Only with the help of the youngest Ashworth and a hefty dose of the Christmas spirit is Christine able to lose her prickly edges and learn the true meaning of love.
The story:
Lady Christine Ashworth is enjoying her second London Season and about to receive an offer of marriage, when the sudden death of her father, the Earl of Bainbridge, results in Christine and her two younger sisters being exiled to relatives in Yorkshire, while awaiting the return of their father’s successor from the wilds of western Canada. Christine is promptly deserted by the man who thought to become her fiancé and constantly importuned by her Yorkshire cousin who is eager to add her inheritance to his family’s coffers. Her sisters are also miserably unhappy.
No wonder then, when Christine finally meets the new earl, she begs him to allow them to come home. But he is not married and the solution to this problem is painful—for Christine, who has become disillusioned with men, and for Harlan Ashworth, who never expected to inherit an earldom, the responsibility for three females, nor find himself married to a woman he just met. Not surprisingly, the marriage of Harlan and Christine does not get off to a good start and goes downhill from there. Only with the help of the youngest Ashworth and a hefty dose of the Christmas spirit is Christine able to lose her prickly edges and learn the true meaning of love.
For a link to A Lady Learns to Love on Amazon Kindle, click here.
For a link to Smashwords, including a 20% free read, click here.
For a link to Smashwords, including a 20% free read, click here.
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Next week: More on "What's next?"
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For a link to Blair Bancroft's web site, click here.
For Blair's Facebook Author Page, updated 11/5/18, click here.
For Blair's Facebook Author Page, updated 11/5/18, click here.
For a brochure for Grace's Editing Service, Best Foot Forward,
email: editsbyBFF@aol.com
Thanks for stopping by,
Grace
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