A Peek Ahead to 2019

2019 will be a busy year for Mary Balogh books–one new edition to the Westcott family series and six e-book republications of old, out-of-print books. I have no new covers to show here yet, but at least I can give you advance notice of what you can look forward to–and show you a few old covers. Note that publication months may change–it often happens for one reason or another.

The new book, Book 6 of the Westcott series, will be SOMEONE TO HONOR in November. It is Abigail’s story and begins three years after Elizabeth’s story, told in SOMEONE TO TRUST–due out in November, 2018. At the age of twenty-four, Abigail is still unmarried and not even looking. The family is worried about her and doing what they do best, They are plotting and planning on her behalf. But Abby will have none of it and, as it turns out, she does not need anyone’s help. I am within a couple of weeks or so of finishing her story. I still have two more books planned for the series. Jessica (Lady Jessica Archer, sister of the Duke of Netherby) still needs her story told and so does Harry (Major Harry Westcott, formerly the Earl of Riverdale).

The e-book republications will begin with SECOND CHANCES on February 5, an anthology of four novellas:

The Treasure Hunt

The Forbidden Daffodils

The Betrothal Ball

Another Dream

The last-named of these novellas, “Another Dream,” first appeared a couple or so years ago in a novella duo with a story by friend Grace Burrowes. We have just taken it off the market after it had a good run of success. My story is one that might especially interest you if you did not discover that duo. It is the story of Eleanor Thompson, sister of Christine in SLIGHTLY DANGEROUS. Christine, of course, married Wulfric, Duke of Bewcastle, who seems to be everyone’s favorite hero of mine. He makes a significant appearance in his sister-in-law’s novella, as do all the Bedwyns, I believe. I did not intend giving Eleanor her own story. I had left her as the happy owner and headmistress of the school in Bath that figured in all the SIMPLY books. However, a number of readers wanted her to have her own happily-ever-after, so I decided to oblige.

The other five e-book republications are all full-length novels:

AN UNACCEPTABLE OFFER, originally published as a Signet Regency romance, will be out on April 2.

DECEIVED will be published in on March 5. It was originally published as a longer-length historical (even longer than the books I am currently writing) back in the ’90s

THE UNGRATEFUL GOVERNESS, to be out on May 7, is also an old Signet Regency

THE FIRST SNOWDROP will be published on June 4.

CHRISTMAS BELLE will be out on September 3. These last two books have linked characters. Both were Signet Regencies.

Readers often ask with some dismay why these republications are available only as e-books and not also in print. I can understand the disappointment. However, publishers have full publication schedules of new books and limited budgets and cannot be expected to take on old books in huge numbers as well. Also, bookstore shelves would be clogged with all the old stuff and not have enough room for the new (or the other way around). Modern technology has given us the wonderful opportunity to publish and to read books that have been long out of print. I am certainly not too old to remember the frustration of discovering a new author and being eager to read everything he or she had ever written only to find that the treasure of that author’s backlist was forever lost to me except sometimes through used bookstores. I know many people do not enjoy reading books in electronic form, but at least they are there for anyone who really wants to read them. So forgive me, please, if you are disappointed at the lack of a physical book. But commenting as a reader, I must say that I find it wonderful indeed to be able to access the backlists of almost all my favorite authors, especially the recently discovered ones–Patricia Wentworth, for example.

Happy reading for the rest of this year and throughout 2019.