Fresh Fiction Blog | Mary Ellen Dennis

I’m addicted to writing books. Reading them, too. Writing and reading and true love and chocolate--life doesn’t get much better than that. Well, maybe watching The Princess Bride while munching crème donuts.

When I was in grade school one of our assignments was to read a poem in front of the class. I couldn’t decide between Alfred Noyes’ "The Highwayman" and Shakespeare’s "Venus and Adonis" (I love horses).

Why yes, I was an overachiever, why do you ask?

I chose Alfred Noyes. The bell rang before I finished and no one moved. At that moment I decided I’d be an actress when I grew up. And I’d write a romance inspired by my favorite poem. I’ve achieved both goals, although THE LANDLORD’S BLACK-EYED DAUGHTER took longer (I played Nellie is South Pacific at age 19).

First, I want everyone to know that THE LANDLORD’S BLACK-EYED DAUGHTER has a happy ending. And now…here’s an excerpt:

1 April, 1787

Elizabeth Wyndham gazed at her reflection in the mirror above her dressing table. Dispassionately, she scrutinized her ink-black hair, which fell in ringlets on either side of her face, not unlike a spaniel’s ears. A scowl caused her delicately arched brows to descend toward her dark brown eyes--so dark that from a distance they looked like lampblack. "You’re a fraud," she said to her image. "A cheat."

"What did ye gabble, Mistress?" asked her servant, Grace.

"I wasn’t gabbling," Elizabeth fibbed, her lashes thick dark crescents against her cheekbones. "I coughed."

"It didn’t sound like a cough t’ me." Grace regarded her mistress with disapproval. While no one could deny that Miss Elizabeth was an attractive woman, Grace wondered how much longer her looks could possibly hold up. After all, she must be close to thirty. And yet she acted as if men would always flock ’round her, like pigeons. Truth be told, Elizabeth Wyndham should have been married for a good decade now, and mother to at least five children.

"What are you staring at? My gown?" Elizabeth allowed a thin smile to tug at the corners of her mouth. "In truth, this gown is so out-of-date, ’tis moss-grown."

"Ye never fret over fashion when we’re at home." Grace’s gaze touched upon Elizabeth’s powdered white shoulders, which contrasted dramatically with the red brocade of her gown--her very low-cut gown. "If ye want the naked truth, Mistress, yer bosom’s practically fallin’ on the table. What would yer mother-- "

"Stepmother!"

"--say if she saw such a thing?"

With a shrug, Elizabeth turned back to her reflection. She was aware of her shortcomings and strengths, and considered her beauty her most important asset. But only because of society’s dictates. Her quick intelligence, which would last far longer than her face and figure, would ultimately serve her better. Until that time, however, she would display her physical attributes, turning a blind eye--and a deaf ear--to the servant, chaperone, or even stepmother who expressed dissatisfaction.

"God blessed me with a generous bosom," she said, "and I see no reason to hide it."

Grace’s face flushed. "Ye’re an authoress, Mistress, not a . . . one of them . . . improper ladies."

"Whores, you mean?"

Grace looked as if she were about to faint. "Yer language," she reprimanded. "Wait till I tell your mother--"

"Stepmother!"

"Wait till I tell somebody," Grace cried, stomping toward the bed.

"I’m sorry," Elizabeth said. "It’s just that I’m so nervous."

It’s just that you’re a fraud, her reflection mocked. How could she face the 150 guests gathering in the ballroom below? Tonight was supposed to be the crowning moment of a career that, in all modesty, had been enormously successful.

She cradled her face in her hands. Her cheeks were so hot. While she prided herself on her iron constitution, her body was sometimes bothered by a variety of vague aches and pains. She attributed their origin to tension, unhappiness, confusion, and a host of the womanly maladies she had always disdained.

Perhaps I’m coming down with a fever and will die in the next few minutes, she thought hopefully. Then I won’t have to encounter all those smiling faces, and listen to all those compliments, and pretend I’m still the darling of Minerva Press.

She had already decided that her writing career was over. Pretending otherwise was artifice.

Grace captured two black velvet ribbons and lifted them from the four-poster’s gold counterpane. "What do you want me to do with these, Mistress?"

"Tie them around my neck and wrist, please."

"I’d rather fetch yer shawl."

"No." Elizabeth extended her wrist, but her servant just stood there, holding the ribbons gingerly, as if she’d caught two mice by their tails. "All right, hand over the damnable things. I’ll put them on myself."

Grace gasped at the word "damnable." Her thick brows shot up toward her mob cap. Without further comment, she thrust the ribbons at her mistress.

Elizabeth’s fingers felt like chips of ice as she fumbled with her accessories. She knew she shouldn’t snap at Grace. Her servant wasn’t responsible for B.B. Wyndham’s inability to finish Castles of Doom, and Grace certainly wasn’t responsible for Elizabeth Wyndham’s related problem, or more precisely, her obsession.

"My obsession," Elizabeth whispered to her reflection.

She squeezed her eyes shut, but it didn’t help. Behind her closed eyelids, she conjured up the raven-haired knight whom she hated and feared and loved--the raven-haired knight who existed only in her imagination. His face remained elusive, but the more she wrote, the more frequently she caught flashes of him--the width of his back beneath his surcoat, his thick hair curling over his ears and brushing his nape, the way he held his lithe body so straight and tall. She had fled the Yorkshire Dales in a virtual panic. That way she wouldn’t have to confront her knight’s forthcoming death. Yet he had followed her here to London, invading her publisher’s palatial townhouse. She now knew he would follow her everywhere.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Former singer/actress and perennial rule-breaker Mary Ellen Dennis is the author of several award-winning historical romance novels and culinary mysteries and is growing her audience for both. She is married to novelist Gordon Aalborg (aka Victoria Gordon), whom she met online through a writer's group; they live on Vancouver Island. She has two books in stores this month, released by Sourcebooks Casablanca: THE GREATEST LOVE ON EARTH--set in the exotic world of a 19th century circus and sweeps readers into death-defying feats, dangerous rivalries, and a love that has all the thrills and romance of the greatest show on earth., and a reissue of THE LANDLORD’S BLACK-EYED DAUGHTER: A fast-paced and passionate retelling of the story of two timeless lovers who would die for each other. If only they didn’t have to. This gorgeous romance gives the poem a whole new depth and a happy ending. For more information, please visit www.maryellendennis.com.

One commentor will receive a copy of THE GREATEST LOVE ON EARTH and a copy of THE LANDLORD’S BLACK-EYED DAUGHTER. Tell us if you like happy endings or why not!

Comments

beautiful cover and the book sounds great. i can't wait to read it.
(Tammy Ramey 1:11am August 10, 2011)

Thank you, Tammy. I think the cover is beautiful, too. Above my computer desk I have a huge, framed poster of Daniel Day Lewis in The Last of the Mohicans. He was the "model" for my highwayman, Rand.
(Mary Ellen Dennis 2:25am August 10, 2011)

Story sounds great, I am glad it has a happy ending.
(Barbara Hanson 4:41am August 10, 2011)

I always loved The Highwayman as a poem and Lorena McKennet singing it. Great!
(Karen Gervasi 8:07am August 10, 2011)

Happy endings of course, unless there is a sequel to follow ...Thanks for sharing as it sounds like a very good book!
(Dawn Staniszeski 9:08am August 10, 2011)

Love all the drama of your excerpt! Can't wait to read the book.
(Beth Elder 9:20am August 10, 2011)

I love happy endings! I also love Loreena McKennitt's music. Thank you for sharing your excerpt...I am hooked & cannot wait to read the book.
(Beverly Beltz 10:35am August 10, 2011)

Thank you for your comments. I've wanted to write a book based on the poem ever since I was a little girl and read it aloud in grade school. I changed the ending then, too :)

The Landlord's Black-Eyed Daughter is dedicated to Loreena McKennitt. She was partly responsible for MY happy ending: meeting my husband on-line through a writers group and discovering that we had Ms. McKennitt (and a love for "The Highwayman") in common.
(Mary Ellen Dennis 11:13am August 10, 2011)

i love happy endings!! it's a way to escape the sadness and disappointments in our lives.
(Anne Harris 12:44pm August 10, 2011)

Anne, you're so right! In my circus historical,THE GREATEST LOVE ON EARTH, my heroine, Calliope, says, "The circus is forever and so is love." But before she finds her forever-love, a diddy (Gypsy) says she'll have to search a long, long time. So I'll give y'all the mantra I use as a writer and in my every-day life: "If you drop a dream, it breaks."
(Mary Ellen Dennis 12:53pm August 10, 2011)

I have to have a HEA in a book... it is the best feeling to read the charscters getting together and being happy and in love...
(Colleen Conklin 1:02pm August 10, 2011)

I would say that I prefer happy endings most of the time, but it would really depend on my mood. If I'm in the mood for a good cry, I love books with a sad ending. When I can read a book with an author that can get me wrapped up in their story, I love to cry my heart out at the sad endings!! I have no idea how your books slipped away from me, but after reading that excerpt in your post, you left me hungering for more!! All I can say is Bravo!! I'm hooked!!
(Peggy Roberson 1:13pm August 10, 2011)

I love happy endings, they leave me with a great feeling that lasts through the day.
(Maureen Emmons 1:15pm August 10, 2011)

Quite a selection for a grade schooler!
Blessings,
Marjorie
(Marjorie Carmony 1:29pm August 10, 2011)

I love happy endings : ) I have read some that did not have happy endings and it kinda left me feeling incomplete and kind of feeling un-resolved. Congrats on both of your books being released this month i know that has got to be very exciting and they sound like wonderful n interesting stories !!
photoquest(at)bellsouth(dot)net
(Lori Barnes 1:45pm August 10, 2011)

that good you have the happy endings i been reading a lot of book and dont have good endings
(Desiree Reilly 2:25pm August 10, 2011)

I do love Happy Endings. I read for pleasure and an HEA puts a smile on my face.
(Diane Sallans 2:32pm August 10, 2011)

I want to read and feel the Happy ending....Thanks for the chance..
(Doris Stewart 2:37pm August 10, 2011)

I suspect that most of us love happy endings for the same reason that impells some towards the art of story-telling/writing in the first place: They fulfill a basic human need to conjure order from chaos. Who doesn't prefer a world in which both justice and mercy prevail -- and love conquers all?
(Tracy Thurber 2:38pm August 10, 2011)

I love happy endings. There's enough bad news in the real world.
(r w 2:40pm August 10, 2011)

Ooooh - I can't wait to read this! The Highwayman is one of my all-time favorite poems, so this story is right up my alley. Best of luck with this, and all your writing endeavors!
(Keith Cronin 2:46pm August 10, 2011)

I don't like to read books that don't have happy endings---I read to escape from the real world where way to many sad endings are happening.
(Sue Farrell 3:17pm August 10, 2011)

In general, happy endings are a very good thing, but every once in a while, they just don't work out like they should, no therefore, no HEA.

And sometimes, those books are the best books one reads in a long, long, time.

Later,

Lynn
(Lynn Rettig 3:21pm August 10, 2011)

I love that you compared authoress, improper
ladies.. whores. Brillant.
Happy Ever After is wonderful to read, dream,
hope for.. heck, I would love to join a class action
suit to pay for getting over the idea of Prince
Charming riding up to rescue, leading to the
HEA- darn Disney. But I am hooked. Love
reading about it, love watching movies/tv about
it, and love dreaming/searching for it.
(Carla Carlson 3:36pm August 10, 2011)

I guess it cheating, but I always check the ending of a book to make sure it has a happy ending. It doesn't spoil the story for me and that way I know it's something I want to read.
(Anna Speed 3:41pm August 10, 2011)

I love happy endings for the world is not full of happy endings. Too much war, unrest, saddness, etc. At least in happy ending books, I feel at peace with myself and the world!!!!!!! Addicted to reading and loving happy ending, then I can sleep at night!!!!!!!!
(Joanne Bozik 3:48pm August 10, 2011)

I def love heas. The world could surely use more of them.

Would love to win a set of books.
(Helen Livermore 4:05pm August 10, 2011)

I do like happy endings about 90% of the time but every once in a while I'm willing to be surprised. Keeps me on my toes lol. And sometimes it's just my mood.
(Jeanne Sheats 4:12pm August 10, 2011)

Happy endings make my day. Can't wait to read it
(Carol Conerly 4:22pm August 10, 2011)

I love happy ending, but the sad ones are more memorable. Like "Frankly Scarlet I don't give a D*#^ ".
(Deb Pelletier 4:22pm August 10, 2011)

I love happy endings! Sounds like a great read!
(Jane Limback 4:27pm August 10, 2011)

I've been wanting to read this book ever since heard about it!
(Jennifer Langford 4:28pm August 10, 2011)

There are so many unhappy and sad things going on in the world just in general; I like the happy endings because of the escapism.
(Cate Sparks 4:39pm August 10, 2011)

I love HEA but it's the journey that really counts for me. The ending has to do justice to the journey.
(Na S 4:53pm August 10, 2011)

I agree the cover for The Landlord’s Black-eyed Daughter is marvelous, the story line is interesting as well! Given the date the heroine was brave to be an authoress.
(Marcelle Cole 5:09pm August 10, 2011)

I love them. In the real world, things don't always conclude with a happy ending so when I sit down to read I want one.
(Maude Allen 5:44pm August 10, 2011)

I am honored and humbled by all your comments. YOU are the reason I write books!

Peggy, I like to cry my heart out, too. Many times I've sobbed while writing an emotional scene and then cried (for happy) at the Happy Ending. That's the best of both worlds, yes?

Marjorie, can you say "overachiever"? *grin*

Carla, I loved your comment. I must admit I have a "thing" when it comes to Disney's Cinderella. Because Cindy never took control of her own life, never said, "I'm going to start a chimney-cleaning service, call it 'Cinder Maids,' and make a fortune." Everything was given to her by her Fairy Godmother.

Deb, as a kid I stopped reading GWTW when Scarlett runs through the mist, toward Rhett. I also tried to hide my mom's hardcover GWTW inside a Dick and Jane reader...and got caught! (So I began hiding my mom's paperbacks, like Forever Amber, instead.)
(Mary Ellen Dennis 5:52pm August 10, 2011)

I thought that title sounded familiar, though I had to think for a few seconds to remember where it was from (senior moment.) Is your hero a highwayman? I love the last paragraph of the excerpt and I'm wondering if your heroine is clairvoyant. For me, endings, at least in romances, have to be happy, too. I'm just finishing Alison Weir's biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine; no happy ending there, but I loved the journey and relived some of her travels in remembering my visits to quite a few of the places mentioned. It took me more than a week to finish the book because of all the reliving and looking up places and people, but it was worth it--even without a happy ending. By the way Loreena McKennitt is one of my favorites too. So I'll have to find my CD with the Highwayman on it. P.S. I live in ON.
(Sigrun Schulz 6:02pm August 10, 2011)

Cannot wait to read the book. Am always up for a bunch of books. Count me in. Who doesnt like a Happy Ending?
(Karen Triolo 6:07pm August 10, 2011)

I love happy endings,I cant carry on reading a book if I
know it will end badly! I end up getting so unhappy everyone
thinks something is wrong with me! I always just get so
sucked into books that I feel as though I know and become a
part of that character and if the story ends badly I feel as
though its personal. Silly Huh! I'm strange LOL.
(Bex Challoner 6:31pm August 10, 2011)

Sigrun, my hero (Rand) is a Highwayman who robs from the rich and gives to the poor (a'la Robin Hood). Naturally, the rich want him caught and hanged. My heroine isn't clairvoyant. But she and Rand both believe they lived in the 13th century and, at that time, Rand was betrayed by Bess. The most difficult part of writing 'The Landlord's Black-Eyed Daughter' was staying true to the poem and still giving my readers a happy ending. I wrote three or four different endings, until I felt the one I use in the book DOES echo the poem (you'll have to see how I do that *grin*). My favorite chapter is Bess and Rand's "escape from Newgate Prison." I was lucky to find a map of the prison from that time period: the 1790s.
(Mary Ellen Dennis 7:09pm August 10, 2011)

30 and should have 5 kids. Hmm. Can you imagine? Book sounds great!
(Vicki Hancock 7:25pm August 10, 2011)

ADORE happy endings.....especially as there are too few in alleged reality.....most often because most women seem to avoid "carpe diem!" Thanx for providing this one borrowed from one of romance's most winsome advocates--a poem!
(Carla Schuller 7:55pm August 10, 2011)

That's wonderful dialogue. It sounds like an exciting book.
Susan Oleksiw
(Susan Oleksiw 8:00pm August 10, 2011)

I like happy endings...they make me feel good!
(Leanna Morris 8:31pm August 10, 2011)

Of course I love heas - they make me.....HAPPY. LOL. Thanks for the giveaway.
(Pat Lieberman 8:39pm August 10, 2011)

I like happy endings. It doesn't really matter if the plot is great as long as something good happens at the end.
(Cheryl English 9:10pm August 10, 2011)

I love happy endings because they make me smile
(Shirley Younger 9:19pm August 10, 2011)

Happy endings are fine, but I want something different or that makes me think and question for some of the stories. I don't like everything to be so predictable.
(Alyson Widen 9:34pm August 10, 2011)

I love happy endings. That is why I read the book... to get to the happy ending.
(Lisa Kendall 9:43pm August 10, 2011)

I am really intrigued by the history of the circus. I love your list of addictions. My only switch out is popcorn in place of dougnuts (I can't have the wheat). Thanks for the giveaway.
(Jennifer Beyer 9:55pm August 10, 2011)

Love happy endings... Love Princess Bride the movie AND the book. :) The book is slightly different than the movie and more of a satire but it's still terrific
(May Pau 10:22pm August 10, 2011)

I love happy endings; especially when you don't know if they will be happy or not. I love horses like you do; everything I wrote or read in school revolved around horses. Your books sounds awesome!
(Jody Hollenbeck 10:58pm August 10, 2011)

I like happy endings. It brings closure to the story in a good way.
(Christine Arcidiacono 11:43pm August 10, 2011)

I like a happy ending as much as anyone, but sometimes it is
more intriguing and makes for a better sequel for it not to be
a happy ending. It has to fit the story line, of course.
(Mary Baker 12:46pm August 11, 2011)

I love donuts and chocolate and reading as well! This is a good book, I can tell. I'm upset I can't keep on reading the story!! I like endings that aren't happy, because I'm a bit strange like that!
(Stephanie Bondlow 1:59am August 11, 2011)

The Princess Bride was written by William Goldman. When I was young I read a Goldman book called Boys and Girls Together. My mom was in the same room, reading something else. I finished my book, put it down, sighed and said, "Mom, I'm going to be a writer someday. Hopefully, I'll be half as good as William Goldman."
(Mary Ellen Dennis 3:35am August 11, 2011)

Do I like happy endings?--sure--but I think a satisfying ending is also
necessary. That said, I do love a good book and I can't wait to read yours.
(Sandra Spilecki 7:37am August 11, 2011)

of course I lke a happy ending. books are escape into different lives. want happy.
(Rhonda Laney 10:35am August 11, 2011)

This book sounds really interesting. Do I like happy endings.. yes but I like endings happy or sad that aren't predictable. I don't want to be able to guess the ending before I get to it.
(Holly Caulfield 12:05pm August 11, 2011)

Real life has enough angst, I want a HEA when I read. God's in his heaven and all's right with the world!
(Lisa Elwood 12:44pm August 11, 2011)

Daniel Day Lewis, yum. The Highwayman, a fave. Happy endings preferred.
(Shirley Nienkark 3:22pm August 11, 2011)

Life is always iffy so HEA are a must in what I read.
(Lisa Richards 5:52pm August 11, 2011)

Endings don't always have to be happy for me, just believable. I've been reading the Iris Johansen books about Eve Duncan for years and have never had a happy ending in them, but the next book just might have that ending I've waited for. Finding Bonnie will finally happen and I'll have that ending I've waited for. It probably won't be happy since Bonnie (her daughter) is dead, but an ending for them all none the less.

I do love the happy endings in a single book or a series that isn't meant to bring you back to look for that satisfaction of happily ever after in every book, but those Eve Duncan books are meant to rip your heart out and search for the next book to have that satisfaction.
(Christina Harrison 8:11pm August 11, 2011)

I love happy endings. I was listening to the radio this morning and they spoke about three sad situations in the lives a three different families. There are enough sad things that happen to good people in the world. I get involved with the characters in a book that I am reading. I know that they are not real but I want them to have happy endings.
(Kathleen Yohanna 4:12am August 12, 2011)

This is a book I've been wanting to read. Happy endings are always good.
(Shirley Nienkark 1:08pm August 14, 2011)

I need a satisfactory ending, it does not have to be happy.
(Mary Preston 12:08pm August 16, 2011)

I love a great ending where all of the problems are all tied up by the end. Some times I swear authors get to the number of pages they are to turn in and they just throw together an ending, leaving all kinds of things hanging, I hate those types of books! I love a great ending!
(Brenda Rupp 7:54pm August 28, 2011)

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