Dear Readers,

I must do my best to apprise you about all that has been going forward in the last week or two since the publication of the new book.

My dear Cassandra… I will give you some account of the last two days… We met only the Bretons at Chilham Castle… My brother and Fanny thought it the pleasantest party they had ever known there, and I was very well entertained by bits and scraps. (from a letter dated November 6, 1813)

I am very pleased to say that sales of the new book have been brisk, especially on Kindle. There, Return to Longbourn quickly passed by its esteemed parent (The Darcys of Pemberley) in the overall rankings and has been hanging out in the top 100 best-selling “fiction classics,” hobnobbing with the likes of Anne of Green Gables, The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, and Dracula – pretty distinguished company!

I’ve been busy too, making personal appearances in cyberspace and in the real world. I had the honor and pleasure of being a featured speaker at a Jane Austen Tea last Sunday – the culmination of a series of local events celebrating the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice. Meanwhile, my blog tour continues:

Today’s the last day to enter the drawing for a copy of Return to Longbourn at Austenprose. Return to Longbourn is in the “Spotlight” at Maria Grazia’s Jane Austen Book Club. And today I’m the guest of author Colette Saucier here, with a piece about why I write what I do, and my heart for the perennial underdog Mary Bennet. Excerpt:

Yes, Elizabeth is the lively, pert, popular, and beautiful one. She’s the Homecoming Queen type, and it’s easy to see how she wins over the handsome and aloof Mr. Darcy.  But does that mean there isn’t any hope for those of us more like Mary – socially awkward, somewhat plain, and bookish? “Nonsense!” I say. “Plain girls unite!” I say. “We too deserve our day in the sun!”

I hope you find these “bits and scraps” entertaining. There are several more scenic stops on my blog tour to come!