Happy New Year!

Image (public domain) by George Wolfe Plank for Vanity Fair magazine, November 1917 or October 1913 (depending on the source), with my slight interference.

2025 saw the release of the third Difficult Dukes book. After much whining and beating-head-against-wall, I turned My Inconvenient Duke into an actual book. It went out into the world, was greeted with kindness and affection, and I—and all those who have to deal with me—celebrated.

This year I’ll be working on what looks like a spinoff. There will undoubtedly be more whining and beating-head-against-wall, because that’s the way I roll these days, it seems. Maybe that’s the way I always rolled. Who can remember?

It was a rocky year in many ways, private and public, but there were certainly some major bright spots, like the month in London, which resulted in so many discoveries and rediscoveries that I’ll continue to share them with you for at least the first half of 2026.

My talented assistant Jessica and I have set up my YouTube Channel, which will finally get some material in the coming weeks. This, I believe, will make it easier for you to watch the short videos. Squarespace is a good space for blogs/newsletters like this, but the process can get tedious and clumsy when one is uploading numerous videos, brief though mine are. Much simpler to offer a link, and let you view the things at a size of your own choosing.

You can also expect some reports from warmer climes as my husband and I make our annual escape to parts south. We’ll be trying a new location, and I’m looking forward to exploring and finding some history, nerdy or otherwise, to share with you. And/or botanical wonders. And/or other wonders.

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On the nerdy history front, historical novel author Susan Holloway Scott & I (aka Two Nerdy History Girls) will once again join our host, Meena Jain, Library Director, Ashland Public Library,* for conversation about the way people lived in the past. Unlike those secondary school history courses you may remember not so fondly, our chats don’t focus on politics and wars, but on daily living: what people wore, what they ate, how they traveled, how they managed hygiene, what their environments were like—that sort of thing. If you’d like to join us, please set aside 7-8PM on Monday 5 January for our gathering on Zoom. (Details here.) And don’t hesitate to bring questions. We won’t know all the answers, but we’ll do our best, then we’ll do some digging afterward for better information—because of, you know, the historical nerdiness of us. You can expect an official invitation/update in the coming days.

In other words, there’s plenty to look forward to.

So let’s say a cheerful Bye-Bye to 2025, and look forward with hope for a brighter, gentler, and more peaceful 2026. Thank you for spending time with me and my books. I’ll continue to try to make it worth your while.

*Ashland, Massachusetts

Happy Holidays

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Here in New England we’ve ridden a winter roller coaster, from arctic temperatures to something vaguely like spring. We’ve had snow at an untimely time as well as the dreaded icy mix and torrential downpours. We’ll probably go through another series of ups and downs before too long. It’s been good weather for staying in and reading, maybe thinking about characters and what to do with them.

I’m not sure that weather is a good excuse for my lack of communication with you. While in London, all I had to do was go places and share them. Then I came home to real life. That slowed my pace, which eventually came to a standstill as the holiday season seemed to rush in out of nowhere. But there’s a lot more to share from the London visit, along with news, and I plan to do better as the New Year gets rolling. As to the YouTube Channel: I’m definitely resolved to get that filled with, you know, YouTube things.

Thank you for taking the appearances and disappearances in stride, and for all the comments and messages. You’ve made me laugh and cry and grow a head several sizes too large. For better or worse, you’ve encouraged me to continue during difficult times. I’m one very fortunate author.

May yours be truly happy holidays, in exactly the form you like best: quiet and tranquil, lively and noisy, in crowds, in small groups, or peacefully solitary.

An eBook Deal & a New Italian Edition

Yesterday brought some nice holiday surprises. One came to my doorstep (in a downpour) and one to my email via Bookperk.

My Inconvenient Duke

First off, we have a limited time only eBook deal on My Inconvenient Duke. From now until 2 January, it’s on sale for $1.99 in the U.S. and Canada. Since publishers don’t always let me know when deals are coming up, and it’s impractical to haunt the various bookstores daily to find out, sometimes my news does not come as far in advance as I’d like. But there’s time! If you haven’t yet read the third Difficult Dukes book, here’s a chance to do so and save a few bucks. Or maybe you’ve a friend who might enjoy Blackwood and Lady Alice’s story.

The second item was Il Duca Libertino, the Italian edition of A Duke in Shining Armor. The copies were a little damp, having landed on the stairs instead of the porch, but they survived near drowning. (It was quite a storm.) And they would be readable if only I could. But the Italian I learned in repeated lessons has for the most part either evaporated on gone into deep hiding in my brain. Also, the vocabulary I did learn was limited to beginner level. Italian is not easy for an American, believe me, especially one of very mature years. All those articles and pronouns. But it’s so beautiful that I find myself opening pages and trying to comprehend. And no, I don’t comprehend much, except insofar as I wrote the book and know how it goes. But I think we can all appreciate the cover design. It’s always interesting to see the way other countries do it—how they dress the characters, what scenes they choose, the poses, etc.