It’s that time of year when my wife and daughter leave to visit her mother for the summer. Of course, I’m not exactly on my own, as older sons are both still at home. They don’t go anymore, as they both are old enough to have responsibilities now.

One might think that with the lack of distractions I get lots done in the summer. While that usually is the case, it takes me a little while to get used to all the spare time I have and put it to good use. Eventually I will get to that state and be very productive, but at the moment, it is difficult. All is not lost, as I focus on less creative tasks, such as proofing and so on. The writing will likely start to flow pretty well next week. At least I hope it will as I have been in a bit of a dry spot lately!

In the way of announcements, I have a couple, including some covers to reveal. Yay!

The first is a mid-length novel I will release on July 11. The title is A Devoted Sister and it explores how the story might have proceeded if Jane were both a little more forceful and a little less milquetoast. (Come on, I know many of you have thought Jane was rather a pushover at some time or another!) This novel will be released in all the usual eBook and physical formats.

Jane Bennet is a mild-mannered and thoughtful woman, always looking for the best in others. Elizabeth, though she loves her sister, has always despaired over Jane’s inability to perceive the motivations of others. But what if Jane was just as discerning as her sister and more forceful about expressing her opinion while keeping the other traits that comprise her angelic character?

When a new family arrives at Netherfield Park, Jane Bennet has married and become Jane Harrington, and Mr. Bingley starts his tenure in Meryton with a faux pas, not realizing his angel is already married to another. Darcy, who has always deplored his friend’s tendency to become enamored with beautiful women, witnesses this, and while he laments his friend’s error, he appreciates the lack of Bingley’s usual infatuation in Meryton.

Darcy also quickly becomes enamored with Mrs. Harrington’s pretty and vivacious sister. However, Jane and Elizabeth note that Mr. Bingley has begun to pay attention to their younger sister, and while neither thinks he has serious designs on her, they worry for their sister’s sensibilities. Complicating matters is Darcy’s wish to avoid appearing officious to his friend.

As Darcy and Elizabeth’s appreciation for each other flourishes, the conflict within the Netherfield party grows, provoked by Bingley’s younger sister, who has no love for the neighborhood, and Bingley’s own actions toward a girl too young to accept his assurances. Together, they must forge through such trials in pursuit of a shared future, supported by Elizabeth’s dearest sister, who wishes for nothing more than Elizabeth’s happiness.

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The second is one that has been in the works for quite a bit longer. It is entitled No Indignity So Abhorrent and tells the story from the lens of a Bennet family already ostracized due to scandal when the Bingley party arrives at Netherfield Park. This book will be released in the usual formats and in audiobook too, and is scheduled for August 29.

“Assistance is impossible; condolence, insufferable. Let them triumph over us at a distance, and be satisfied.”

In a world where a single misstep by a woman is injurious to all her family, the Bennets of Longbourn finds themselves shunned and despised by all their friends when one sister runs away with an officer. Mr. Bennet rouses himself from his beloved books and pursues the lovers to London, but returns empty-handed, his daughter lost forever.

When the Bingley party arrives at Netherfield Park, they discover a neighborhood with a salacious scandal and a family ostracized from their midst. Though Miss Bingley revels in the gossip she learns from those with little sense and less discretion, Fitzwilliam Darcy keeps himself aloof, unwilling to join the condemnation without proof of poor behavior.

Thus, when Darcy meets Miss Bennet by chance on a secluded path of her father’s estate, he finds her strangely compelling. The compulsion to continue to meet with her is strong, in defiance of the consequences if they should be discovered. Elizabeth Bennet finds herself equally intrigued, so much so that she begins to dream of a life free of scandal, where the Bennets have some hope of redemption.

This re-imagination of Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice answers the question of what might have happened had Fitzwilliam Darcy arrived in Meryton to find a Bennet family mired in scandal, one that he can do nothing to repair. Though many challenges lay in their path, including fallen sisters, despicable libertines, and a neighborhood determined to denounce the Bennets as depraved, Darcy and Elizabeth are convinced that their future happiness lies together.