Interrupted Plans – Publication Day!

The picture is of the cover of Brigid Huey's new book, Interrupted Plans. A painting of a lady in a long pink and green gown sitting on a bench is set on a peach background. The lady is looking out onto some trees with a pensive look.

Can we just take a moment to adore this cover art? Thank you so very much to Janet Taylor who designed the cover for Interrupted Plans! This painting is by Armand Point, the gentleman who painted Reminiscing by the Pond, the painting that serves as the cover for A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods.

Interrupted Plans is now available on Amazon in ebook or paperback format!

Let’s have a look at the back cover, too!

The picture is of the full spread of the book jacket for Interrupted Plans. The front cover has a woman in a pink and green dress with the author's name and book title. The back of the cover includes a few paragraphs about the book and a picture of an old-fashioned carriage.

Suppose Elizabeth Bennet never visited Pemberley…

It is October of 1812. Elizabeth Bennet and her family have seen dramatic changes in the past few months—none of them welcome. Her sister Jane needs a fresh start, and Elizabeth is no less eager to leave behind the pain and confusion of not accepting Mr. Darcy’s proposal.

Fitzwilliam Darcy has not seen Elizabeth since he offered for her—and she adamantly refused him. When she appears in London, he is determined to gain her friendship and make amends. When a carriage mishap throws them together, Darcy does all he can to demonstrate his changed behavior.

Though their renewed acquaintance seems to be growing into a genuine friendship, a family secret constrains Elizabeth. As she falls deeper in love with the man she rejected, does she dare tell him the truth?

Thank you to everyone who helped make this book possible. I hope you all enjoy!

Audiobook Giveaway!!

Did you know that A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods is now available as an audiobook? To celebrate, I’m hosting a giveaway! There are several ways to enter.

  1. Sign up for my newsletter
  2. Head to my Facebook Page and like this post
  3. Check out my Instagram feed. Like this post and tag a friend.

You can a chance to win for each action, so that’s three potential entries! Don’t worry, if you are already subscribed to my newsletter you automagically are entered to win a copy of the audiobook.

And to keep things legal and above board, here is the legalese:

➡️➡️TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

1️⃣ Follow @brigidhueywrites on Instagram

2️⃣ Like this post

3️⃣ Leave a comment tagging a friend who loves romantic things!

The winner will be selected by random draw and notified via DM. Just confirm that you received the message and I will send you your code for a FREE copy of A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods audiobook!

You have until Wednesday, September 30 at 9AM (EST) to enter.

Giveaway is open to everyone. By entering, you are agreeing to the Official Rules located at brigidhuey.com/giveaways. If you don’t want to enter through Instagram, you can also enter by sending an email to brigidhueywrites@gmail.com with “Audiobook Giveaway” in the subject line. Entrants release Instagram from any liability associated with entering this giveaway. This giveaway is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Instagram.

➡️➡️TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

1️⃣ Sign up for my newsletter via Facebook

2️⃣ Leave a comment tagging a friend who loves romantic things!

Already a newsletter subscriber? No problem! Just tag a friend and you’ll be entered.

The winner will be selected by random draw and notified via DM. Just confirm that you received it and I will send you your code for a FREE copy of A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods audiobook!

You have until Wednesday, September 30 at 9AM (EST) to enter.

Giveaway is open to everyone. By entering, you are agreeing to the Official Rules located at brigidhuey.com/giveaways. If you don’t want to enter through Facebook, you can also enter by sending an email to brigidhueywrites@gmail.com with “Audiobook Giveaway” in the subject line. Entrants release Facebook from any liability associated with entering this giveaway. This giveaway is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Facebook.

Audiobook Update

Shout out to Rachel for the excellent pencil.

Exciting news! I’ve chosen a narrator for the upcoming audiobook version of A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods! Her name is Emily Wylie, and she has the most fantastic British accent. I mean, of course she does. I certainly wasn’t going to narrate it (an Ohio accent just wouldn’t work).

Emily Wylie has narrated seven books on Audible already, including several Elizabeth Bennet mysteries. I’ll be listening to those soon 🙂

It was very, very difficult to choose a narrator. We had so many excellent auditions. Yet I have to say that I knew Emily was the one as soon as I heard her reading. I cannot wait until you can hear her too!

Stay well, dear readers. Take care of yourselves and each other.

Big News!

Keep those audiobook listening dreams big.

I am so completely excited to share that A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods is going to be an audiobook! Can we just take a moment and enjoy that?

Thank you.

I’m currently in the process of listening to auditions for the narrator. With the help of the ever-incredible Janet Taylor of Meryton Press, I am receiving auditions where the artist reads several pages of my book. It is amazing to hear the pages of my novella read by some lovely British people.

I’m not sure of the timeline yet, but I just had to share because…Oh. My. Goodness. This is going to be fun!

RWA Online Chapter Interview

I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Karen Jones of RWA Online, my “local” RWA chapter. Karen was kind enough to provide me with the opportunity to share it with everyone here.

Interview With Brigid Huey

by Karen Jones

What inspired the story line for A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods? A Chance Encounter is a Pride and Prejudice variation, so it is, of course, inspired by Jane Austen’s work itself. I was outside on a blustery day, and I kept imagining Mr. Darcy dashing up on horseback to lend his aid to Elizabeth Bennet during a blustery, stormy afternoon. The rest of the story came from there.

Book Blurb:

A surprise meeting.

A baby alone in the woods. 

And a second chance at love.

Fitzwilliam Darcy returns to his beloved Pemberley with one thing on his mind—to forget Elizabeth Bennet. Riding ahead of his party and racing a storm, he happens upon the very woman he wants to avoid. To his astonishment, she is holding a baby whose name and parentage are unknown.

Elizabeth Bennet never dreamed she had wandered into Pemberley’s woods on her afternoon walk. But when she finds an infant alone in the storm, she turns to the last man in the world she wants to see—and the only one who can help them both. 

As the mystery of the baby’s identity intensifies, Elizabeth finds Mr. Darcy to be quite different from what she expected. But when the child’s family is discovered, will the truth bring them together or tear them apart?

What was the most difficult aspect of writing A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods? Because my work is a variation, I have to walk a fine line of creating something new while staying true to the characters as they were created by Jane Austen. It was hard to create something original within an established literary world so loved and admired.

What is the sexiest thing you had a character in A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods do? At one point in the story, Mr. Darcy falls asleep while holding an infant. Elizabeth accidentally happens upon him while he is sleeping — he’s disheveled and generally ruffled in a delightful way.

This book is set during the Regency period in England. What aspects of the Regency period interest you? There are many things I love about Regency England, but I think my favorite might be the clothing. I love researching the different styles of the day, especially the gowns the ladies wore.

As an author, what has been the most joyful thing that has happened to you? The day I got the email from Meryton Press that my novella had been accepted for publication was hands down the most joyful author moment of my life. I was blown away that a complete stranger had read my work and liked it enough to publish it. Like many of us, I suffer from imposter syndrome!

What is the most difficult aspect of writing? For me, the most difficult aspect of writing is finding the time to write. I homeschool my two children, and they are both still young. Within the actual process itself, I would say final edits are the hardest part. I want to rush through them and be done! For some reason it’s easier for me to slog through the first couple of drafts. The cleaning up that happens in the final draft tends to overwhelm me.

Did you ever have a character surprise you? Yes! In one of my current works in progress, I just found out that a character is gay. He had been the whole time, of course, I just hadn’t noticed. He’s a minor character, and now I find I want to develop his story more! This is actually the first time this has happened to me as a writer.

When did you start writing and why? I have been writing since I was a kid. I don’t remember consciously deciding to write — I just had a story in my head that I wanted to get out onto paper. I had a wide ruled notebook (I still have it) that I filled with a story about college friends, aliens, and dating. I never finished that story. Someday I will! 

Why did you decide to become a romance writer? I had completed three stories before I realized I was a romance writer. I had some fantasy, science fiction, and historical works in progress, but they were ALL romances really. One day when I was reading about romance novels online, I read about the defining attributes of the romance genre. That is, the story must revolve around a romantic relationship and it must end happily. In a flash I realized that romance was all I wrote. I cannot write a sad ending — I don’t think I have it in me. I write stories that I would like to read. And I like to read romances!

Where is your book available? My book is available on Amazon in both print and e-book formats.

What is your next project? My next project is to find an agent! I am also polishing up two novels: one untitled and The Foll Stones. My goal is to find a publisher for them in 2020.

Published in the January 2020 issue of LoveBytes, the newsletter of RWA Onlinehttp://rwaonlinechapter.org/

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Meryton Press Holiday Giveaway

Head to the Facebook Page to enter!

The lovely folks at Meryton Press are hosting weekly giveaways this holiday season! All you have to do to enter is comment on each new post that contains a quote from a Meryton Press book. Today you can head to the Meryton Press Facebook page and you’ll the above quote posted! Enter for a chance to win a free e-book from Meryton Press!

50,000 Words

Another pseudo-version of me – typing.

It’s November, which means it’s NaNoWriMo! What is NaNoWriMo you ask? It’s National Novel Writing Month, when a bunch of writers the world over try to write 50,000 words in one month. Check out their official website here.

I am not doing NaNoWriMo this year, because, life. But I love keeping up with other writers’ progress all the same. It gives me a creative boost just to think about all my fellow writers out there, working so hard this month to realize their dreams.

It’s also got me thinking about 50,000 words. I am not sure I have ever reached that goal. A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods is a novella, around 35,000 words. The current draft of Fidelity is 49,500 words. The Foll Stones is stalling out at 49,000. It seems I have trouble hitting that magical number – 50,000.

Why 50,000? Because that’s the average novel length. And to be honest, that’s pretty short. I’ll give you an example. One of my all time favorite books, A Wrinkle in Time, is about 50,000 words. I would not consider that to be a long book.

It’s really got me thinking. Maybe my style is just succinct. In fact, this is not a new thing for me. In college, my papers would rarely reach the requested number of pages. I would fall short by half a page or so, almost every time! I remember worrying about it, and speaking to my professor and advisor, Dr. Germaine Murray. She reassured me that I said what I needed to say and supported my ideas with fewer words, which was perfectly fine.

Now, a novel is not the same as a research paper. However, I’ve started to think about the possibility that I may not write long novels. Maybe shorter work is just my style. As a new writer, it’s hard to know when something is my style, and when something is happening because I’m a novice. For now, I’ll keep working on my 45,000 average. Perhaps I’ll hit that magic number this month, during the amazing creative juju of NaNoWriMo.

Book Signing

I will be having a book signing at the White Oak Coffee House on November 22! I’ll be there from 4-7 signing books and feeling very shy. I will have a limited amount of books to purchase, so bring your copy if you have one!

Planning a book signing has felt so surreal. It’s almost as if I’m planning this for someone else. I have been writing since I was a kid, so this next step into the author world is particularly gratifying. I hope to see you there!

A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods – Now on Kindle Unlimited!

My book is now available through Kindle Unlimited 🙂

I am super excited to let you all know that A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods is now available through Kindle Unlimited. If you don’t know, Kindle Unlimited is a program through Amazon in which you pay one monthly price and can read as many KU books as you want.

I’m excited for this next stage for my little book!