A Chance Encounter – Page 2

Next Chapter

October 1, 2019September 26, 2019 Brigid Huey

Review, Reorganize, & Reboot

When one project closes, I tend to get a pulse of energy to review, reorganize, and reboot. What’s working for us? What’s not? Now that the blog tour for A Chance Encounter at Pemberley Woods is over, I’m looking forward and examining the multiple facets of my life. It strikes me that I am very busy, but it’s a purposeful busyness. A chosen way of living right now, in this season of my life.

So as I look ahead, I’m feeling full of energy about upcoming projects, ideas, and plans. I have three writing projects in the revision stage–two adult romance novels, and a young adult fantasy/romance. I’m excited to get these projects ready for some beta readers.

I also have a chicken coop to build! I’m excited and scared about that one. It will involve circular saws and drills. Yikes.

Isn’t it beautiful?? It’s from The Garden Coop, and I’m so excited about it. It will have plenty of room for our five hens, AND it’s modular. So I can expand the run later if I want. But first I have to build it. *Gulp*

Blog Tour Dates & Stops!

September 9, 2019September 8, 2019 Brigid Huey

Here is the official schedule for my blog tour. What is a blog tour? I hear you ask. I shall tell you. A group of talented and generous ladies have welcomed me onto their blogs to share something about either myself, or my new book. At each stop, a fun tidbit, interview, vignette, or review will be shared.

How do I follow along?

I will be posting links all over the shop. But if you happen to miss those, just Google the name of the blog and you’ll find the post! There’s also chances to win a copy of my e-book!

September 9th!!

The blog tour starts TODAY! So head on over to So Little Time… and check out the first stop on my blog tour!!

Hey there, Mr. Blue

August 31, 2019August 23, 2019 Brigid Huey

Sun is shinin’ in the sky
There ain’t a cloud in sight
It’s stopped rainin’ everybody’s in the play
And don’t you know
It’s a beautiful new day, hey hey

I am packing up and taking my little family to Florida for a whole week! We are pretty excited. When I come back, there will be a blog tour AND baby chicks. I couldn’t help myself. I may have added three more birds to my flock. A Rhode Island Red, a Speckled Sussex, and a Partridge Cochin. Now to build a bigger coop…

But all that will wait until after we say hello to Mr. Blue Sky in Florida! See you all on September 9!

P.S. The quote above is from Mr. Blue Sky by the Electric Light Orchestra.

Blog Tour

August 27, 2019August 23, 2019 Brigid Huey

The dates and stops for my blog tour are all set and ready! The tour will begin on September 9, and run until September 21. There will be excerpts from my novel, brand new vignettes, reviews, and giveaways! There will also be a character interview, and an interview with yours truly! I’m so excited for all the fun to start!

The blogs, the dates

I am so honored to have so many talented bloggers hosting me in September. First up is So little time… Candy will be hosting me on September 9. I will post a link to each stop on my Facebook page. That way, you don’t have to keep track!

Remember, there will be lots of giveaways! Please join me as I tour my way around the Austenesque world!

Cover Reveal Date!

August 20, 2019August 18, 2019 Brigid Huey

A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods Cover Revealed on August 28!

Pride and Prejudates

My daughter came up with that very clever title for me. She knows titles aren’t my strong suit.

I’m very excited to announce that a cover reveal date for A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods has been set! Meredith at Austenesque Reviews is hosting my cover reveal on August 28th! I am beyond excited. Janet Taylor has been working hard on the cover, and I’m so excited to share it with everyone. I hope you love it as much as I do!

The blog tour for my book will run from September 9-21. Stay tuned for more information about which blogs are participating!

Publication Time Approaches!

August 16, 2019 Brigid Huey

Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle as Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet -Copyright Alan Weller / The Times.

It’s just around the corner

I am so excited to announce that my book, A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods, will be published by Meryton Press at the end of this month! Stay tuned for exact dates for the cover reveal, pre-order, publication, and blog tour!

I am a strange mixture of excitement and nerves. Sharing a story is akin to revealing a part of your inner life to the wide world. However, I must say that I am so happy to be able to share my story with everyone. Cheers to the end of the month!

Dreams and Goals

August 13, 2019 Brigid Huey

Goals are good for the mind

People have goals in life. Goals are good things–attainable things. I have a goal of doing yoga most days of the week. I plan to build a new chicken coop so we can get more chicks next spring, really clean out the brush pile in the back yard, and redo the landscaping in the front yard. In my mind, you take an idea and plan it out; this creates a goal.

In my writing life, I have goals as well. I came to a happy place when I made my goal to have fun and enjoy writing just for me. There have been plenty of goals regarding A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods. Most of those have been checked off my list by now! But before these were goals, they were dreams.

Dreams feed the soul

You know what I’m talking about. Dreams are like a flower you imagine in your mind. Flowers are real, sure, but you might not ever actually see that flower. A dream in your soul is like a little burst of energy–something you can use to move forward, but not necessarily something you can plan for.

One dream of mine was to have something I wrote published. To have this dream realized still makes me shake my head in wonder. Did that really happen? It’s been an amazing experience.

Another dream came almost true for me today. Well, let me say that this dream turned into a goal. I spoke to a librarian today at my local branch, and we created a plan for how to get my book into circulation. Circulation in the library.

I’ll bask in the glow of this realized dream for some time. On rainy days, when it might be hard to get moving, I’ll take it out and remember it.

Raising Novels

August 6, 2019August 5, 2019 Brigid Huey

The editing process reminds me of raising children. It’s difficult, humbling, sometimes embarrassing, and often imparts feelings of being an ineffectual dolt. On the other hand, it’s completely rewarding and helps you do things you never knew you were capable of.

That’s a bit of a long-winded metaphor. You get it. It’s hard work editing a piece of work that you love, but it is so worth it! I was incredibly nervous to begin the editing process on my novella, A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods. Once my editor and I began working on it though, I realized I had nothing to be afraid of. The editing process truly did bring out the best in my work.

And now it’s finished! Yes, after several months of hard work, we are finished with the editing process. I’m so excited to take the next steps!

Cover Designs

August 1, 2019 Brigid Huey

So many options

Over the last few weeks I’ve been working with Janet at Meryton Press to create a cover for my book. Time out! Let me just read that first sentence again. Okay, still not believing it, but ready to move on. Ahem.

Janet is an super-talented designer and I cannot wait to share the finished product with you. Until then, I thought I would share a few of my favorite covers from other Austenesque titles. I found these inspiring, and they helped me communicate to Janet what I love in a cover.

To Conquer Pride

First, this is a great book and you should go read it right now. Second, look at this cover! The painting itself is beautiful, but the placement of the artwork and the mystery of the lady are so intriguing.

These Dreams

Another wonderful story, this cover is just beautiful. So much feeling is conveyed in this painting. As you can see, I love a painting for a cover. Somehow it places the work in an historical context for me.

In the weeks to come, I’ll be able to share more about my own cover (!!) and release date (!!). Until then, check these two books out. Jennifer Altman and Nicole Clarkston have written lovely works that are definitively worth reading!

Acceptance

June 27, 2019 Brigid Huey

Dreams

I’ve been writing since I was a child, and though I have had a few pieces published in some form or another, I had not yet achieved my dream of seeing one of my longer works published. Well, that changed recently, and I find that my mind and heart are still trying to catch up.

Enter Meryton Press

I wrote a piece of romantic fiction, a Pride and Prejudice variation called A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods. It was fun to write, and I quite liked the story, so I decided to try and publish it. Feeling like I had little to lose, I submitted the work to Meryton Press. You may imagine my surprise at receiving an email from them, asking for more of the work.

With my heart in my throat, I sent on the entire manuscript. When the positive response came, informing me that the editors at Meryton Press liked my work, and wished to publish it, I was thrilled. Okay, I cried. Yep, I actually started crying right there at my kitchen table.

And now…

That was a month or so ago. Since then, I’ve been working with the lovely folks at Meryton Press to edit and refine the manuscript. The whole experience has been so informative and more fun than I imagined! I can’t wait to share more details about the process. For now, I can tell you that we are in the midst of editing, and I’m enjoying every moment.