Happy New Year - Glückliches Neujahr, by Mela Koehler ca 1910, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
It’s been a challenging couple of years, yes. I’m closing the door on all that, and hoping you’ll join me in a toast to better days to come.
I wish you a very happy, healthy, prosperous 2022.
Going into the New Year we’ve got a very nice deal.
From 27 December through 7 February, Silk is for Seduction, Kindle edition, will be $1.99. Because eBook retailers tend to match the Kindle prices, it’s reasonable to assume that Nook, Apple Books, and others will offer a similar deal at some point.
Meanwhile, if you haven’t read my Dressmakers series, this can be your introduction. It’s the first of what became a four-book trilogy (I know).
Inspiration for Marcelline’s “dust” dress.
Three slightly French modistes come to London, determined to become the Beau Monde’s premier dressmakers. There’s scandal, intrigue, and cutthroat competition. There are some persistent gentlemen determined to be irresistible. And there are the wild, exuberant fashions of the 1830s—including hairstyles—that make the 1980s look prim.
Smithsonian Institution
My holiday gifts came early, in the form of the responses to my recent blog post about the third Difficult Dukes book.
I must have the best readers ever, anywhere. You made me smile and you made me cry, but most of all you made me grateful. For the last century or so (give or take a little), I’ve been fortunate to write the kind of stories I want to write, and get them published. My books are all over the world, translated into I don’t know how many languages. So really, when a couple of stories prove recalcitrant, during times that have been brutally difficult—and for all too many people, vastly more painful and difficult than my little problems—it’s frustrating, but hardly catastrophic. Hello, perspective? Yes, I’ve got some, really. These are not the easiest times, and we’re all doing the best we can.
I wish you the best of everything during this festive, special season: good health, and good times with loved ones, celebrations or quiet time—as you prefer—reasons to smile and laugh, and yes, some peace of mind.
More anon. Meanwhile, I’ve got cookies to bake.
