The Reluctant Debutante and other stories are taking a break over Christmas but will return much refreshed in 2026…
This is a general update for my readers on the state of play with some of my early books and some news that change is afoot. Don’t panic it’s nothing bad.
In addition to reading the Peninsular War Saga and the Manxman series, a number of you have also read my earlier books, in particular my two Regency romances. Both these are linked to the main series of books and to the short stories.
In between researching and writing new books, I’ve taken time out to re-edit some of those early books. Back then I didn’t have a ‘proper’ editor and I’ve known for a while that even some of the earlier books in the series would benefit from Heather’s eagle eye on them. That work is ongoing.
Having recently taken a long look at the two Regencies, I’ve made the decision to temporarily take them down from Amazon while we bring them up to the same editorial standard as my more recent books. I’m particularly keen to do this with The Reluctant Debutante as the romantic hero in that one is none other than Giles Fenwick, who has become an increasingly central character in the Peninsular War Saga.
There’s nothing wrong with Giles’ love story but having re-read it with a critical eye, I think I can make it a lot better. Nothing about the plot will change, but I believe that the new edition will be better edited, better written and that the Earl of Rockcliffe will sound a lot more like Giles. When I wrote that book back in around 2016, I didn’t really know Giles at all. I’d like to do him justice.
The rewrites shouldn’t take too long and once I’m ready for the relaunch I’ll let everybody know. There’ll be a free promotion followed by a period at a lower price for anybody who originally bought the book but would like to read the new version. For anybody who wouldn’t, it won’t make any difference to your understanding of the timeline. The story won’t change at all.
This is quite a useful thing to do over the Christmas period when there’s a lot going on and I’m deep in researching Manxman four. I’m also hoping to get the second volume of collected short stories out into the world before Christmas so I won’t be idle.
The books I’ll be taking down in addition to the Reluctant Debutante are my other Regency A Regrettable Reputation, which features Nicholas Witham and my two early standalone novels. I’ve always intended to replace the covers on A Respectable Woman and A Marcher Lord to bring them into line with my other covers and this will be a great opportunity to do so.
I’m looking forward to reissuing the books once they’ve been properly edited and I know I can be proud of them. Major Fenwick and the others deserve nothing less.
Thanks as always for your support and for reading and loving the books. The reviews so far for An Inexorable Invasion have been amazing. I’m so grateful.
