I just finished the first draft of my historical romance novel tentatively titled The Heiress Bride Scandal. There is still a lot of work to be done on the novel but I’m so excited to have finished it! I think that that is the hardest part! The creative stuff sometimes comes so slowly, and it can be hard to get your internal editor out of the way long enough to keep pushing through the difficult bits.

But now the draft is done and I’m looking forward to starting some new work while I let my brain forget about the story. I find that it is much easier to edit your own writing when you’ve given yourself enough time away from it to distance yourself from it. The parts that don’t work very well, or sound awkward and silly stick out so much more clearly when you are re-viewing it as though it wasn’t you who wrote that “oh-so-witty” dialogue that actually falls flat and doesn’t help the story move along.

So, before I put it away in a corner to ferment into a fine wine, I’ll tell you very briefly what it’s all about:

Inspired by Downton Abbey‘s first love story, that of a British earl and his American bride, comes a new story about the struggle for love and belonging. 

Lillian Blythe would rather be painting in the cramped classrooms of New York’s Cooper Union with all of her bohemian artist friends than dancing a waltz in one of London’s most fashionable ballrooms. But her mother has threatened to cut her off without a cent if Lillian can’t find a titled man to marry her. How would she paint then? So, when the charming, elegant Earl of Stanfield, starts paying her attention she encourages it, even though she doesn’t quite care for him as much as she might wish. Besides, the earl seems to understand the nature of a marriage for convenience, and will let her paint in peace as long as she bring a big dowry. When then does his younger half-brother, Morgan Spencer, seem to have such a problem with her? If he’s not staring at her he’s insinuating that she’s doing something wrong. It’s enough to make Lillian’s temper spark and the man seems to enjoy watching her flare up at all the worst moments.

Morgan Spencer gave up the rules and strictures of London’s high society when he followed his heart and returned to the land to work with his hands. He knows his brother’s friends call him “Farmer Morgan” but he doesn’t care anymore. In fact, despite his rank he’d be happy to live out his days on the farm. If only he hadn’t been dragged back into their world. If only he hadn’t met his brother’s intended fiancee– the lovely, fiery American, Lillian Blythe. Even though he knows her motives for marrying his brother aren’t pure, there is something about her incandescent beauty and spirit that keeps drawing him in.

When tragedy strikes Morgan is the one Lillian turns to and Morgan is the one who protects her when all else seems lost. Slowly, they start to see the other’s true selves, but is truth, art, and love enough in the cold, hard reality of society’s expectations?