Rolling up my sleeves for Spring Cleaning…and Rosewater Debutante is out!

As I write this, Alberta is being whipped about by a storm–a bit of snow, some rain, and lots of wind. Last night we had a rumble of thunder, too.

I’ve noticed that somewhere in the changeover of the seasons, from winter to summer and from summer to winter, there is always a few days of high winds, somewhere around the solstice. It’s like the weather is gearing up for the new season, sweeping out the old one and settling into the next six months.

We’re sort of doing that in our household, too. We have opened the windows on warmer days, the first time this year — and believe me, for Alberta, late March being warm enough to open windows is pretty damn good.

And it’s around this time of the year when the daylight is stronger and windows are open that I begin to notice the dust and debris that has accumulated over the winter.

I am a deplorable housewife. I would much rather be writing or reading, than cleaning. Although I do like a clean house, so sometimes I stir myself to a Herculean marathon of cleaning, before returning to my computer. I’ll enjoy the clean house for a while until the dust rebuilds, then remain vaguely unhappy until the dust and dirt and clutter has built to such a degree, I can’t stand it any more. Then the cycle starts over again.

But in Spring, I really notice the dirt that you usually don’t see. And I’ve come to the realization, very late in life, that this is why “Spring cleaning” is a thing.

I had to move to North America, where there were four distinct season, to understand the term fully, but now I get it.

And I can’t wait to pull all the rugs in the house outside and beat the crap out of them.

But I’m putting off actually doing it until I’ve got the current book written. 🙂

—

Today is the release day for The Rosewater Debutante–Book 2 in the Adele Becket historical suspense series.

Adele learns just how ruthless German agents can be.

In Edwardian England, Lady Adelaide Azalea Margaret de Morville, Mrs. Hugh Becket, continues her work for William Melville, spymaster, even though it has left her with no time to live the life she would prefer, which includes spending at least a little time with Daniel Bannister.

When she refuses to travel to Germany to watch over King Edward while he visits the German Emperor to discuss disarmament of their increasingly more competitive navies, Melville gives Adele an alternative, superficial task of watching over a young, sweet debutante, Lady Winnifred.

Adele perseveres with the useless, quite horrid task of trailing an innocent girl through the Season. It puts her in the path of German agents, who demonstrate just how dark and dangerous her new work really is…

This novelette is the second in the Adelaide Becket Edwardian espionage series.
1: The Requisite Courage
2: The Rosewater Debutante
…and more to come.

A historical suspense espionage novelette.

Enjoy!