Beginnings

Beginning a new story...dipping one's toe into that uncharted water...

This time it's a new regency series. I use the term 'series' loosely, since my stories haven't really been series. I just frequently end up becoming interested in a secondary character and then have to go on and tell his or her story in another book.

So far, for this series, I only have two books in mind, one for the sister, and one for the brother. I've already turned in the sister's story, which is due out this coming August. Notes on that are in earlier posts; it's entitled The Making of a Genleman. The manuscript I'm just beginning this month is the brother's story; he's a curate in an outlying parish of London in 1815. I've tentatively entitled the story A Man After God's Heart, but that's only a working title, and I won't be surprised if it changes.

The wonderful thing about this story is that I already know pretty much where it's going. The Lord has given me a well-mapped out plot and fully-formed characters. Glory be! It can make all the difference in writing.

Still, there'll be blood, sweat and tears before it's through.

Debut of new Steeple Hill line

It's kind of exciting to be part of the debut of a new line of fiction, in this case, Steeple Hill's new series of historicals: Love Inspired Historicals. Their previous Love Inspired lines (Love Inspired contemporaries & Love Inspired Suspense) have been so successful, that they are now taking the plunge and publishing a line of two titles per month of historical romances.

Time periods and storylines in the first few titles run the gamut from medieval to World War II. My own story, Hearts in the Highlands, is a Victorian setting, a time period which I love. This story takes place in London and in the Scottish Highlands. A woman who thinks she is safely a spinster and beyond all foolish romantic ideas has another think coming when she meets handsome Reid Gallagher, fresh from the archeological digs of Egypt. Imagine a combination of Indiana Jones & Denys Finch-Hatton (of Out of Africa fame).

I love the cover the Steeple Hill art department came up with for this story. It fits soooo well! The Scottish Highlands scene accurately portrays one of the scenes in the books, and the hero and heroine are perfect!

The line officially debuts in February with books by veteran authors Catherine Palmer and Jillian Hart. As part of the promotion, Steeple Hill is hosting a forum featuring LIH authors and editors. Come join us this month at www.eharlequin.com.