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In my last post I introduced the first book in the Hartdale Brides series. The Clothier’s Daughter … but that was in 2020, way too many years ago.

I am very sorry about the delays in publishing a new book and more books in the series. I know it’s not great for an author to have really long gaps between books. Believe me, I know. Readers will have forgotten me, given up on me, been disappointed. I’m disappointed in myself. But life has been, well, Life. Paid work, family, health and the difficulties in this crazy world of finding the mental space to focus on creating a rich, well-written and engaging story have slowed down my writing. To be honest, I was pretty-much burnt out. Just when I thought I was getting back on track, my older sister was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer in late 2023 and died a few very distressing weeks later, leaving a lot of grief and a complicated estate situation to be sorted out. A few months after that, I received some great but life-changing news, and it’s meant packing up all my belongings and putting them in storage, staying with family for 5 months, and moving 1400km (900 miles) from my bush home of 36 years to a regional city near Melbourne.

Through it all I have been trying to write, and more books will come. They’ve been bubbling inside me all this time. If I could just download my brain and soul into actual, compelling words and sentences instead of ideas and emotions, it would be so much easier! (No, I am not going to use AI to write my books. Never, ever. Every word and word placement in my books comes from my brain and my heart.)

I’m really hoping that the new Hartdale Brides book will (finally!) be out before the end of the year. The working and probably final title is A Spy’s Honor. I love the lead characters – David Penry and Lucy Shelbourne, née Braithwaite – I just need to get their somewhat complex story under control and to the finish. When I’ve hit road blocks with it, I’ve worked on another story in the series. And I have notes for (at least) two others. And ideas for just about every character who appeared in The Clothier’s Daughter.

I haven’t given up. I hope you haven’t given up on me, either.

The Clothier’s Daughter is the first in the planned series of The Hartdale Brides, following the families and friends of two families living near the town of Hartdale, in the West Riding of Yorkshire in the early 19th century.

In the unseasonable summer of 1816, Emma Braithwaite struggles to keep her family’s traditional wool cloth manufacturing company afloat. Her father has died, her brother is missing, and the new cotton factories are spreading, rendering the fine worsted fabrics the Braithwaites have made for generations, expensive and unfashionable. Being a woman in a man’s world of trade is challenging enough, but when her warehouse catches fire it brings her only a step away from financial ruin and debtor’s prison.

After eight years of war, Major Adam Caldwell is returning for the first time to his family home, Rengarth Castle, when he stops to assist at a warehouse fire … and comes face-to-face with the woman he once loved and lost. Despite all his efforts to forget her, in truth she’s never been far from his thoughts. He was unworthy of her then, and even more so now.

But as the threats against Emma escalate, they discover that someone wants control of Emma’s family company and is prepared to murder anyone in the way of getting it – including Emma.

What reviewers have said:

Lovely, thoughtful romance with wonderful characters. Great evocation of the period in a way we don’t often see in Regencies – and a tight, suspenseful plot. Excellent HEA,too! (Jonathon Wild on amazon.com)

What perfection. The story , the characters and the writer. As I read, I forgot this was a new book and read it as a classic... With sub-plots that enhance the main story this became a book I could not put down until I had finished it. WOW. What a ride. Buy and enjoy. (Kathi Harris on Barnes and Noble)

If you want to read a Regency with an unusual setting and a strong heroine and a strong hero who might have a little bit of PTSD, this is the book for you. If you want an incredible Regency romantic suspense, this is the book for you. If you simply want gorgeous romance with impossible stakes, look no further. A wonderful read. (Malvina, in Romancing the Tome, ARRA Newsletter, December 2019.)

Buy links:

The Clothier’s Daughter is currently available in e-book and paperback. Large print edition coming soon.

amazon.com Universal ebook link Book Depository Booktopia