Dear Reader,

October was a whirlwind for me: the Kickstarter plus three in-person events three weekends in a row. This introvert needs time to recharge after all that. But I'm relieved that everything went well, and I enjoyed connecting with other writers and potential readers.

My next in-person event is on December 12 at the Bangor Book Fair in Bangor, ME, with Maine Romance Writers. So I've plenty of time to re-energize myself before then!

This week I have a few goodies to announce:

A free trip into Medieval France awaits—ends Thursday at midnight!

Something about this time of year makes me think of the Middle Ages. Not in England, but in France. There was a time in what is now southwest France, Languedoc, when a culture was reaching its last gasp against encroaching French empire building. I'm speaking of Old Occitania—more familiarly called Languedoc, which refers to the language of Oc. (The north was the Langued'oïl. Why? It all boiled down to "yes." In the north, oui was yes. In the south they said oc.)

The story of the Christian sect of Cathars and their persecution by the Catholic Church captured my imagination so deeply that I went to that region in 2003. I climbed up to the ruined mountaintop castles and immersed myself in that part of modern France that still has a very different feeling—and all the signs are in both French and Occitan.

The result was what started as a single book, which I submitted to my editor at Touchstone Books as my "option book." They were about to publish my first historical novel, Émilie's Voice, and had first refusal on the second book. Although my editor loved the manuscript, she said they couldn't publish it, because, "Nobody's ever heard of the Albigensian Crusades." Possibly true, but they were the only crusades ever fought against fellow Christians.

Life and other books intervened. Nonetheless, this story never left my heart, and I eventually recast it as a trilogy and published the three books myself.

​So for the first five days of November, I've decided to offer the Kindle e-book of Listen to the Wind, Book One in the Orphans of Tolosa Trilogy free.​

But that's not all I have going on this month!

Discover Regency e-Books on Kindle+!

Yes, Kindle Unlimited has been rebranded as Kindle+. Who knows why exactly, except now there are some audiobooks in the program ...

In any case, click here to browse a delicious selection of Regency e-books—including my holiday novella, Miss Pauline's Perfect Present. Some are sweet, some are spicy, so there's something for every reading preference.

Dangerous Drusilla is now available for preorder!

If you missed out on getting an advance copy of the first book in the Pinkstocking Club series during the Kickstarter, you can preorder the e-book and have it delivered to your Kindle on January 5, 2027, its day of publication.

I'm excited for this launch, and thrilled with the early reader response to Drusilla's adventures!

That is exactly what I'm going for: a fun, exciting read. 🥰

Enough for one newsletter. I'm sending this early because of the limited-time free promotion. Next week I'll be back to my usual midweek schedule.

In the meantime, keep reading and writing!

Susanne

P.S. Is anyone using November to get a chunk of writing done? I still associate this month with NaNoWriMo (may it rest in peace). My goal is to finish the draft of Canny Cordelia: A Delightfully Devious Regency Spy Romance by December 1. I'll keep you posted on my progress! And let me know how you're getting on with your writing, too!