Dear Reader,

Last week I told you I finished the first draft of Dangerous Drusilla (Book 1 in the forthcoming series, The Pinkstocking Club) and started editing it (a process I love).

But as often happens with pantsers and plantsers (for those of you who aren't familiar with those terms, a pantser writes by the seat of their pants, i.e. without outlining, and a plantser does the same but with a little more advance planning) the process spawned an idea that I had to pursue for various reasons.

What was it?

A prequel novella for the series.

I had always planned to write some kind of novella to use as a giveaway to attract new readers, but because this is a whole new series, I decided this prequel needed to serve a bigger purpose.

As you know I'm launching the series on Kickstarter and need to build advance excitement for something that doesn't yet exist. What better way is there to do that than to offer a teaser story (a complete story, but not a complete romance) that introduces Drusilla and the tone and world of the new series?

In the process of brainstorming and planning and beginning to write this, I discovered something interesting: I was fleshing out Drusilla's backstory in a deeper way, and planting seeds that will enhance not just Drusilla, but some of the other characters.

That made me realize that before I finish my edits I need to completely write this novella. And so I have been doing just that. It must be written this month so I can get it out into the world to loyal fans in September.

Now I need your opinion.

These are two potential directions (not final versions) for a cover for the prequel novella. I will use one of them to brief my wonderful illustrator/cover designer, Kristen Lee. The character illustration is hers, but the backgrounds are the best that ChatGPT could come up with, and by no means perfect.

Here is option A:

Here is option B:

I'd love you to tell my why you picked the one you picked! Just reply to this email.

I confess I love playing around in Canva, but when it comes to a final cover, I leave it to a professional.

A special promotion for Listen to the Wind

A many of you know, before I dove head first into writing Regency romance, I wrote historical fiction in a variety of time periods and with a variety of themes.

One of my biggest accomplishments is the Orphans of Tolosa trilogy:

If you read my low heat Regency, be aware that this trilogy is a little grittier than that.

The big news is that for one week only, from Thursday August 6 to Thursday August 13, Book 1 of the trilogy, Listen to the Wind is only $.99 on Kindle.​

It's a great opportunity to start the trilogy and get away during the dog days of summer to a wild and exciting time and place.

Don't forget the Dangerous Drusilla Kickstarter!

Speaking of Drusilla...

Just a quick reminder that I'd be so grateful if you would follow my Kickstarter pre-launch page. It won't cost you anything (you will need to give your email address because, updates), and it will help me a lot.

You will have my eternal gratitude. At this point, I'll have no idea who you are, by the way. Kickstarter only shows me the number of followers.

Any questions? Comments? As usual, just respond to this email. I read and respond to everyone who emails me from this newsletter list.

OK, now back to my novella manuscript!

I hope you're making progress on your creative projects, whatever they are. 😊

Susanne