#PennedPossibilities #RomanceAwarenessMonth #HouseholdMagic

Does your MC consider themselves an introvert or extrovert?

Edmond would consider himself an introvert. He keeps his thought to himself. He is not prone to socializing. However, Who can be sure that wasn't more the nature of his job as Butler, not his personality.

Ilene grew up in a tavern that her mother ran. She's socialized since she was a baby. Honestly, she had little choice in that. Now that she is a Duchess, social events are becoming things that pull energy away from her especially since they are much less fun than laughing at drunks singing dirty songs.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXBK4FBW

#WritingWonders
#HouseholdMagic

May 25: Does your antagonist have a favorite food or drink?

Ilene loves yakitori and if she wasn't a noble, she would never be able to get it once she moves to Albi. Her peers find her penchant for serving Edoran food to be strange at best, offensive at worst. So far, only a few have appreciated it when first faced with it 9although some like Lady Karyn have come to enjoy it).

@heatherrosejones

You might like my fantasy duology #HouseholdMagic There are servants aplenty and they usually save the day and in the end have more powerful magic than many of the nobles.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BXBK4FBW

#WritingWonders
#HouseholdMagic

May 24: Secondary character POV: What was the best thing the MC has done for you?

Lady Karyn: I owe everything to Edmund and Ilene. I was a nobody, long disgraced and hidden. But they saw that I was a person with something to offer. They depended on my magic; the first time in decades that I had even been allowed to use it. They introduced me to my eventual husband. They gave me purpose and love and friendship and made me see that my life wasn't over.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BXBK4FBW

#WritingWonders
#HouseholdMagic

Oops missed one.

May 18: Do many people find your MC attractive?

Ilene is very beautiful. Edmund is certain of that. Most others see her as beutiful as well.

Except for people who are bothered by the fact that she is half Edoran. They don't find the mixing of features between Edoran and Albian to be attractive at all. What they don't realize is that this generally makes them unattractive.

#WritingWonders
#HouseholdMagic

May 19 If your MC knew who you were, would they save your life?

Duchess Ilene and Edmund Blake would likely try to save my life even if they had no idea who I was. That's just the kind of people they are.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BXBK4FBW

#WritingCommunity #HouseholdMagic

May 17 _ Secondary character POV. Do they trust the MC, why or why not.

Lord Finair Whitman: I'm not ashamed to admit I had reservations before I met Duchess Ilene. Especially once one of my men mentioned that she apparently loved her Butler.

Yes, she was clearly her father's daughter, but she was a bar maid from another country. Anyone would have had reservations.

But when there was a threat to not just her estates, but the whole country, she was willing to take steps to help. More than many of her peers who had been born to their honors.

And she insisted the ordinary people be offered a place of refuge. I can't think of any other high noble who would do that or even care what happened to the ordinary people. I see a lot of ordinary people in my work, so that sat well with me.

And of course, the way she treated Lady Karyn was unparalleled. Made me see how wrong society was and that's not easy for an old dog like me to admit.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BXBK4FBW

#Bookstodon #WritingCommunity
#HouseholdMagic
#Writing
#PleaseBoost

A snippet from The Duchess (which releases today)

Marjorie came back with a light blue dress that was not at all fashionable. Its value was that it was comfortable and, in this case, quick to put on. She gathered it up, and Ilene held up her arms, and she slid it down, pausing as Ilene stuck her arms in the sleeves. Then a quick buttoning up the front, and the dress was on. Ilene started to the door. “Wait, Your Grace. Shoes.” Marjorie held out a pair of indoor slippers, and Ilene put them on.

“You can’t go out there with your hair down. What would Lord Whitman think?” Glennis said.

“Why should he think anything about my hair?” Ilene asked. She thought it was a reasonable question until she saw the way both Marjorie and Glennis reacted.

“My dear, your husband is the only man who can see you with your hair down.”

“Why? He said it was an emergency. It takes forever to do my hair.”

“It’s…” Glennis tried to speak, but couldn't bring herself to say the words.

She looked helplessly at Marjorie, who rose to the occasion. “Hair down is considered to be sexual, Your Grace.”

Ilene had thought that her staff had done a good job of teaching her Albi ways, but it apparently never occurred to them that this one was not universal. She wondered what other traps for the unwary she might run into. “It’s what? How bizarre.”

“Women go around with their hair down in Edoran?” Glennis asked.

“We pull it out of the way when we are working, but sure. Anyway, it takes hours to put up my hair since it doesn't want to stay up. And Lord Whitman said it was urgent. He will just have to cope.”

“Perhaps I should go explain to him first why your hair is down, so he doesn’t take it the wrong way,” Marjorie said.

“For goodness sakes, Marjorie, the man must be seventy years old. He isn't going to seduce me or go into a faint because I’m not the picture of an Albi lady. And I am fairly sure I can trust his discretion on the matter.” With that, she swept out of the room before they could stop her again.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BXBK4FBW

I suppose I should also #intro

I'm a writer of speculative fiction, both fantasy and science fiction. The current WIP discussed this month is fantasy.

I'm retired with plenty of time to write. I've published 4 fantasy novels (counting one on pre-order) and 3 science fiction novels. And I have a book of poetry on pre-order on the subject of grief. It will be published on April 11, the 15th anniversary of my beloved's death.

Currently working on a science fiction novel in my #Coup Universe, a fantasy novel in my #HouseholdMagic Universe, and Gone Man, a fantasy in a completely new universe.

I've dealt with 50+ years of depression and 30+ years of anxiety attacks.

#Bookstadon #Writing #Read #TheButler #RomanticFantasy #Magic #MagicalBulter #HouseholdMagic #KindleUnlimited

@bookstodon

A magical butler, the illegitimate daughter of a duke. What could go wrong?

Edmund Blake’s Duke was dying. So Edmund was on a mission to bring back Duke Harold’s illegitimate daughter to become the Duchess. He finds Ilene working as a bar maid in her mother’s inn in Edoran.

Pursued by Witchhunters, attacked by the minions of the only other possible heir and the criminals he owes money to, can Ilene and Edmund make it safely to the Duchy? Will his household magic be enough to save them? And can he teach Ilene enough about how Albi nobles behave for her to be accepted in society? Downton Abbey meets My Fair Lady in this fantasy of magic, manners, and forbidden love.

The paperback of The Butler is finally approved and up on Amazon. Ebook is also available. Second book of the Household Magic duology, The Duchess, is in editing and will be available May 1.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW2RVQP8