Project: Skewed Magic
Status: First Draft, COMPLETE
Word Count: 76,768
Project: A Harmless Lie and a Dangerous Spy
Status: First Draft
Word Count: 26,727
FOR AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
I am pleased to report mission success on the Skewed Magic project. The first draft has been completed and revision planning is underway. A second draft should be completed by the end of February, put this book on track for its Spring 2019 publication date with CBAY Books.
In the meantime, I was also able to begin another project, this one for direct publication. A Harmless Lie and a Dangerous Spy is a YA romance set during the Crimean War—because nothing says romance like an obscure British War.
Lady Caroline is fleeing an arranged engagement while Lord St. David is pursuing a Russian spy who has stolen valuable documents from the British. Together the two must foil her fiancée, a spy, and perhaps find love along the way.
I cannot reveal my location at this time as I work on these projects, but I will leave you with this excerpt from this month’s writing.
Until next month’s dispatch.
Excerpt from A Harmless Lie and a Dangerous Spy
She stared off to the side not really seeing the faces that danced by her. Instead she was seeing a different sort of parlor, the one in her family’s townhouse. As if she were a ghost on a wall, she watched a slightly younger version of herself stumbling through the waltz while her older brother coaxed her on. Olive stood laughing and humming the tune so they could dance. “My older brother taught me,” she said, the laughter gone from her voice.
Jerry’s smile faded as well. He nodded, understanding who she actually referred to this time. “Do you miss them?” he asked softly.
Caroline thought for a moment, watching Olive laugh with a young clerk who seemed to be flirting with her. Brickwell still played their waltz, but he also seemed to be keeping a paternal eye on the girl, frowning when the boy moved a step closer.
“Yes,” Caroline said, turning back to Jerry. “I do miss them.” It surprised her that this was true. “I miss the easy smiles and laughs from before the country house closed and we all moved to London. I miss the days from before I was deemed such a disappointment that my parents felt the need to lock me away and tell the world I was ill.” Caroline didn’t hide the bitterness in her voice. She turned away so she wouldn’t have to endure Jerry’s pity.
The waltz came to an end. They stopped moving, but Jerry didn’t drop her hand or move his own from her back.
“Is that what you really think?”
Caroline didn’t bother to answer.
“Caroline,” Jerry whispered so softly no one else would have a chance of overhearing. “Look at me.”
Caroline took a step back so that Jerry’s arm was no longer around her waist, but she did look at him.
“From what you’ve told me, your parents have been in dire financial straits for years, yet they’ve been trying to live as if nothing is wrong. When you were born, your promised dowry was thirty-thousand pounds. Your parents didn’t hide you because you embarrass them. They hid you because they were embarrassed that they no longer have your dowry. When you had attracted a suitor, and you would have attracted many, they would have been forced to supply a dowry they did not have.”
Caroline made an inarticulate doubting sound. “I’m well aware I’m not the sort of girl men want to marry.”
Jerry looked at her as if she had sprouted orange spots on her face. “You are exactly the sort of girl lots of men would want to marry.”
Caroline wanted to ask if Jerry could be included in that group of men, but for once she didn’t blurt out every thought that came into her mind and glanced down at the floor in an embarrassed silence instead.