The genesis for my
time-travel Regency short story, “Lady Elizabeth’s Excellent Adventure”,
started very simply. A popular romance website was conducting a contest for
authors to submit a short story. The rules? The genre was up to the author, and
the story had to include at least four items from a list that the website had
prepared. The catch? The story was to be no more than 20K.
Okay, I have to be honest.
Math has never been my strong point. I saw 20K (20,000 words) as stated, and
for some reason, my brain picked it up as 2K or 2,000 words. That’s quite a
difference! I was immediately intrigued because telling a coherent story in
only 2K is quite a challenge.
Well, I was up for this one!
I’d never written about a character from the past traveling to the present, so
that was the scenario I chose. A Regency lady somehow makes her appearance in
contemporary times. The title, “Lady Elizabeth’s Excellent Adventure”, reflects
the refined... Lady Elizabeth, and contrasts with the ridiculous... Excellent
Adventure (a big thank you to Bill and Ted!)
For the four items to be
included, I selected: 1) Handcuffs, 2) Baby Oil, 3) Beach, and 4) Wrong
place/Wrong time.
You can imagine my chagrin
when I was informed by the website editor that the story needed to be 20K not
2K. But they did like the story and wanted me to resubmit. Frankly, as I was
pleased with “Lady Elizabeth’s Excellent Adventure” as is, I declined, and I
included it in my anthology LUCKY 13. LUCKY 13 is no longer available
electronically, but still available in print from my website.
Thirteen delightful stories for your reading pleasure
by Susanne Marie Knight
I
have now re-released it electronically at Amazon.com and Smashwords.com as a single!
The word count for “Lady Elizabeth’s Excellent Adventure” is almost 2,200
words. It sells for 99 cents.
Short
Story Alert: As with all of my *very* short stories, I’d like to reduce the
amount, however 99 cents is the lowest I’m allowed to go on Amazon and
Smashwords. Again, periodically Smashwords holds a sale, and I can set the
price to free at that time, so do check on the link every now and then.
Lady Elizabeth would rather be comfortable than go on adventure. She
isn't given a choice however, when she takes the plunge ... literally and
figuratively, and ends up in a New York cop's hot tub. Is it possible that they
can be the answer to each other's unspoken prayers?
Artist’s concept cover
Is a time-travel hot
tub possible? Ask Lady Elizabeth!
Amazon.com
and Smashwords
This short story is part of
the Elegant Regencies line.
Real life tidbit: I was very
fortunate to be able to travel to the Hawaiian island of Maui a few years ago, as
Lady Elizabeth’s hero Samuel Murdock did. Maui is a heaven-on-Earth location
and I hope to be able to return one of these days. Here’s a picture of me at
Iao Valley State Park. The famous Iao Needle is in the background.
Scene set up: Present Day:
The beauty of Maui contrasts with a lonely Samuel Murdock.
Sun-bleached sands, a turquoise ocean, and tall
majestic palm trees--the Hawaiian island of Maui truly was a Garden of Eden.
But even Adam had his Eve. Samuel Murdock had no one.
Easing into the warm waters of his own personal hot
tub, Sam allowed the frothy bubbles to wash over his nakedness, hoping it would
also take away the pain of his isolation. He had spared no expense on this
vacation; he’d gone first class all the way. Private view of the ocean, tender
chateaubriand beef to feast upon, the very best champagne to drown his thirst,
and high quality “companions” to cater to his every need. But after the first
few days of excess and fun in the sun on the beach, he chose to be alone.
Be sure to find out what happens when an oh, so
proper Regency lady suddenly materializes in a New York police officer's hot
tub! I hope you enjoy Lady Elizabeth and Samuel’s story.
Happy reading,
Susanne Marie Knight
Read outside the box: award-winning Romance Writing
With A Twist!
