Tuesday, December 01, 2015

Where Did Candy Go? UPDATE!

Full confession: I didn't go anywhere. I've been holed up, head down, hibernating and frantically trying to get Sebastian # 12 to the point that I can put it aside for a few weeks and focus on Christmas and my daughter's wedding and a thousand other things I need to do but have been putting off forever (taking four trips in one year is insane). It took longer than I'd expected and the book isn't quite finished, but it's at the stage where I can happily leave it alone and then go back for a few final tweaks before turning it in next month. That aaaaahhhhh sound you hear is me giving a huge sigh of relief!

My office clean-up in progress; normally I have a carpet in front of the sofa, but it's rolled up at the moment.

Because our Christmas tree goes in my office, I'm now cleaning my office (a chore I really, really hate). I have a bunch of other irons in the fire: I'll be making a book video for WHEN FALCONS FALL, due to be released 1 March. I'm chugging away with my plans to release my historical romances on ebook (a task that is way more work than I ever appreciated!). AND while cleaning my office I discovered the blogpost I wrote on Jamie Knox and then lost in the chaos (I tend to write out things that require a lot of thinking on paper, first); so after having been promised forever, it will be coming soon.

PLUS, I've been told that Penguin is dropping the price on the ebook of WHAT ANGELS FEAR as a promotion some time this month. So if you have a friend or relative who has been wanting to try the series, of if you'd like to get it yourself, watch because I'll be posting as soon as I know it's available.

UPDATE: Helena tells me that ANGELS is available in the UK for £1.60 as of Tuesday, December 1.

29 comments:

Helena said...

I bought the Kindle ebook of What Angels Fear earlier today in the UK for only £1.60, so it looks as though the reduction has started. (Thank you -- I already own it in print, of course, but it's lovely to have it on my Kindle too.)

Willa said...

Pleased to hear that the next book is almost in the bag! Just love this series. Am looking forward to the Jamie Know post too 😊

Willa said...

Ack! Jamie Knox post! Auto correct having fun! 😊

Lynne said...

Glad you're still among the living and that the book is almost ready to go. And of course, thanks for the tip on the book. Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving, too!

cs harris said...

Helena, thanks for letting me know! I'll add it to the post.

Willa, I feel so bad because I've been saying I was going to post it forever. It's long.

Lynne, thank you! Although I must admit a huge chunk of my Thanksgiving went to the book.

Barbara Butler McCoy said...

I was just thinking this morning, "Ooh, March is getting closer - Hero and Sebastian and Paul..." I can sympathize with you about the chaos in your life and office - I'm still digging out from a kitchen refurb that meant boxes obscuring my desk and dish washing in the bathroom sink. And, really, I don't care how long it may be the post about Jamie Knox will be eagerly read. Thanks so much for the post. Take care.

Charles Gramlich said...

We love 'em best when they're done!

Susan J. said...


It must be nice for people new to your books to be able to get the first book so cheaply and it might get new readers interested.
I gave in to modern technology recently and got a Kindle. I'm enjoying reading the free books. I'm currently reading Byron's letters for free. I've enjoyed reading all the reviews on Kindle, although some make me angry. I read one on your books that said you make Sebastian sound like a spokesman for the Guardian newspaper! I put a comment saying that if the real life Lord Shaftesbury could be a social reformer and champion of children's rights, why not Sebastian? Some people have no imagination.

JustWingingIt said...

I'm glad to hear you're at a point where you can take a breather. The holidays can be stressful enough as it is without throwing work deadlines into the mix.

Looking forward to that piece about Jamie Knox! You're not the only one that forgot about it but now that I've been reminded, I'll keep a sharp eye out for it.

Veronica

cs harris said...

Barbara, kitchen renovations are the worst, I think. I've only done it once, and that was enough.

Charles, yes!

Susan, I really hope so. I also enjoy reading free classics that I get as ebooks, even though I have a bunch of them on my shovels. For some reason I seem more likely to read them that way, although the only modern books I'll read on it are once my husband has already bought. And that's funny about the reviewer--I've had several readers who found Sebastian too progressive, which I find a sad comment on both their political views and their knowledge of history!

Veronica, yes, it's wonderful, although it will be even more wonderful when I finish this $%&#@ office. At the moment I have everything pulled out of the cupboards and strewn across the floor--there's only a very narrow path to walk and no place to sit. I don't usually end up with this much time before a book is due, so I'm taking advantage of it to tend to some very neglected items on my mile long "To Do" list.

Susan J. said...

The other thing I was a bit shocked at is the reviewers who say that the classics are difficult to read because of what they see as dated language. Several complained about Jane Austen on that score, which I found hard to understand, she seems so modern to my mind. These are adults, who probably went to college! I remember first reading 'Pride an Prejudice' at thirteen! It doesn't say much for modern education.
It was good, though, to see the amount of people who say they are being introduced to classics they might not otherwise have read if they were not free on Kindle.

Ali said...

candy - welcome back- sort of. hard to believe book 12!!. and march is getting closer by the day. whoopee. i'm glad you are able to walk away and enjoy the holidays. for the first time in 5 years i will be spending xmas with my sister in South Carolina and cant wait. my niece has e-reader of some kind and i think i will buy her what angels fear as part of her stocking.
i will have to keep an eye out. i cant imagine thinking Sebastian is too progressive. but then i agree with you that most people don't know much about the time period. hope all goes well with office clean up and can't wait to read about Jamie - i still get a tear in my eye every time i think of that death scene. Best Ali

hwueste said...

I too find Jane Austin a slow and tedious read because of the dated language and have to literally force myself to finish any book I start. Realizing it's probably blasphemy, It would be so enjoyable reading her books if someone would take them in hand and modernize the language. Candace, I look forward to hearing more about Jaime Knox and his connection to Sebastian. Such a fascinating character. Holly

hwueste said...

I too find Jane Austin a slow and tedious read because of the dated language and have to literally force myself to finish any book I start. Realizing it's probably blasphemy, It would be so enjoyable reading her books if someone would take them in hand and modernize the language. Candace, I look forward to hearing more about Jaime Knox and his connection to Sebastian. Such a fascinating character. Holly

Lynne said...

With all due respect, hwueste, if Jane Austen were modernized it would no longer be Jane Austen. Dated language goes along with reading the classics. Dickens, Anthony Trollope, Wilkie Collins - just to name a few - are all difficult to get through in the beginning. But the writing is so rich and textured that it is well worth acquiring an appreciation for it. Don't give up on Jane. Each time I read her I appreciate her more.

cs harris said...

Susan, that is just sad. I reread Jane Austen when I was researching WHO BURIES THE DEAD and was surprised by how readable most of her books were.

Ali, have a wonderful Christmas with your sister! I think my last Christmas with my sister was something like 1969.

Holly, I'll admit I did not like Sense and Sensibility; it was so labored, I had to skim. But I loved Persuasion. And the post on Jamie is coming as soon as I get the tree up!

Susan J. said...

I can understand such comments on Dickens but Jane Austen? Never! Maybe it's because I'm English but her characters seem so real, you could meet them any day in modern England! I love her humour, her irony, her understanding of human nature, she speaks to me as if she were living and breathing today. She is not perfect, she laughs at people's failures, she laughs at people's petty snobberies, in 'Persuason' she even pokes fun at a mother's grief over a son who in life was a useless nothing, but in death becomes somehow respected, only because he is dead. But she is real, her novels are real life, they breathe real life, can people not see this?

Susan J. said...

I mean 'Persuasion', got carried away with passion defending my beloved Jane Austen!

Lynne said...

Beautifully put, Susan - I'm on your team, 100%. Jane seems to get better each time I read her.

cs harris said...

Susan, I think you're probably right that American speech patterns have diverged farther from Jane's than have English speech patterns. Interestingly, I don't think I recognized her humor when I read her as a teenager. When I reread her a few years ago, I was stunned to discover she could be laugh-out-loud funny. She had a very unblinkered, biting view of her fellow men's foibles. I wonder how many of her acquaintances recognized themselves in her books?!

Unknown said...

I am enjoying reading through your recent blogs and various points of view regarding the English language. Yes, American English has changed so much over the years. But that is the joy of reading the classics, getting an education in language as well as literature. It does take more time and concentration, also some rereading of paragraphs/pages, but eventually there will come a more natural flow along with true enjoyment. Perhaps some of the problem is living in such a fast-paced, technological society where people have become used to immediate results. They want to move quickly through one thing and on to the next. If you look back through letters written over a 150 years ago, you will find beautiful language and expression of thoughts from even the less educated. As a recently retired teacher, I recall taking my students on field trips to historical battlefields and reading such letters from the average soldier - so touching and beautiful. I really feel saddened by this loss in our present day speech and writing patterns.

Don't know whether it is appropriate to mention another author, and if not, I apologize. For Jane Austen fans, I would recommend Syria James, a Jane Austen enthusiast and wonderful researcher of Austen's life, work, and times. Her books are very readable, while maintaining a lot of the Austen flavor. But I wholeheartedly agree with Lynne that modernizing Austen's books would make them no longer Austen.

Unknown said...

Oh, forgot to mention that I love your office!

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