Skip to main content

Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter

I worked on my first Kickstarter and it got approved! It’s for the Special Edition Hardcover of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer and the release of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 7: Spinster. I contacted my graphic designer about the Special Edition Hardcover of vol. 1: Archer—it’s going to be SO beautiful! The Kickstarter focuses on the Special Edition Hardcover, but it’ll also include vol. 7: Spinster so that it’ll sort of be like a launch day for vol. 7, too. A third special thing that’ll be in the Kickstarter is Special Edition Paperbacks of all the books in the series. They won’t be available in stores, just in the Kickstarter (and later, from my website, and also in my Patreon book box tiers if I decide to do them). The Kickstarter is not live yet, but you can follow it to be alerted when it has launched. (You may need to create a free Kickstarter account.) Follow Camy’s Kickstarter

Extra scene from Lady Wynwood's Spies, volume 3: Aggressor


The following scene is a little weird. It takes place around the beginning of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 3: Aggressor, but it has a few minor spoilers for the book, so you’ve been warned if you haven’t read it yet.

But the scene was not written to be included in Agressor. It was actually written as the first scene in a side novel of the Lady Wynwood’s Spies series, The Spinster Spy. I think I mentioned before that I’ve already plotted out the entire Lady Wynwood’s Spies series, and it will be 10 volumes plus the 2 prequels (The Spinster’s Christmas and The Gentleman Thief), and there will also be a side novel, The Spinster Spy.

The Spinster Spy will be kind of like the side series that are published alongside Japanese light novel series, like the Sword Oratoria side series of the Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? series, and the Sword Art Online Progressive side series of the Sword Art Online series. The side series take place on the same timeline as the main series, but are separate storylines, and they intersect with the main series at certain points.

The Spinster Spy is already plotted out, and it is an entirely separate story that will take place during the events of volumes 6 through 8 of the Lady Wynwood’s Spies series. The two storylines will intersect again in volume 9.

But the first scene of The Spinster Spy is an event that happens chronologically near the beginning of volume 3. Since it closely relates to what happens in Aggressor, I thought you guys might like to read it ahead of time, especially since The Spinster Spy won’t be published for many months.

Maxham in Portsmouth

Maxham was bored.

It didn’t help that he hated Portsmouth and the surrounding area. The wind bit sharply, and the air smelled too strongly of fish.

At the moment, he was simply killing time. He’d ridden several hours, only to discover the information he sought in less than an hour. He’d had an unexpected side errand, but that had been quickly taken care of, despite the fact it was broad daylight.

His horse was too tired for him to return to London immediately, so he headed into Portsmouth to look into a seat on the mail coach.

The next one would leave soon, but it was very full and he’d be cramped inside. He’d become more sensitive to smells the longer he took Ward’s serum (he refused to call it by the ridiculous name Ward had given to it), and being wedged into a coach with so many strange odors would curdle his stomach. So he decided to wait until his horse recovered.

He hadn’t been back to Portsmouth or the surrounding areas in more than two years, but he’d come because of a rumor that had reached him only yesterday through the various communication streams he maintained. So he’d hied himself to the little fishing village, questioned his sources, and discovered it was true. 

He’d never met Brigitte Despréaux,  but her reputation was rather infamous, and a tiny, buxom woman with straight, fine, ice-blonde hair had been spotted in the small village, having just disembarked from a smuggler’s boat with four male lackeys. Certainly, it was not necessarily her, but Maxham had reason to expect the emperor to send someone to England eventually, so he’d had his sources keep their eyes open and report to him about anyone from France who might be just a tad more unusual than most.

Since Brigitte answered only to the emperor, she could be on these shores for any number of reasons. But Maxham’s source had overheard a snatch of conversation, complaints about “the botanist’s sensitive stomach” from the Channel crossing.

That told him exactly why she was here. Napoleon had sent her to steal from Maxham’s group.

Ward was going to be livid, but Maxham couldn’t really blame the emperor. After all, why not try to recreate the serum himself rather than paying someone else?

Unfortunately, before Maxham left London, he hadn’t bothered to leave a note for Jack, since at the time, he hadn’t known if it had truly been Brigitte who had been sighted, nor had he known anything about her purpose. However, he hoped to return to London tonight to warn his compatriot to guard his greenhouses.

He had judged that the news was not so urgent that he would need to endure the discomfort of the mail coach—after all, Jack had taken great pains to hide the location of his London greenhouse, and even if Maxham arrived at Jack’s new place of business at this very moment, there was little chance he’d speak to Jack in person. He was rarely there in the mornings, and he was notorious for showing up whenever he felt like it. Even if Maxham left a message, it could be days before he read it.

Also, as insurance, Maxham had sought out the smugglers who had brought her and her crew to these shores, and killed them.

He had nothing against them—they were merely making a living, after all—but it would inconvenience Brigitte to find that her ride back to France was no longer available. Maxham felt it his duty to inconvenience her, seeing as she was here to steal from them.

So, stuck in Portsmouth, he headed into an inn and arranged to stable his horse. Strangely, the interior of the building looked familiar to him, as did the portly innkeeper.

Even more unusual, the innkeeper recognized him. With a wide smile, he said, “Welcome. Back again, sir?”

So he had been here before. He remembered vague snatches of conversation, so to test his theory, he asked, “How is your red-haired daughter?”

The innkeeper chuckled. “Thank ye for asking, sir. Married last year, she was, and a baby on the way already.”

It was early for lunch, but Maxham requested a meal and a pint of ale, and he settled in a table near the window, his back to the wall so that he had a full view of the common room, which was only half-full. He tried peering out the window, but the glass panes were wavy and not very clean. There was little traffic on the road that ran outside the inn.

Portsmouth was a busier town than the small fishing village he’d left, and he preferred the bustle of people and vehicles. But it was probably fortunate that the small village had made strangers stand out, especially as it was known a smuggler’s boat would arrive with the tides high and the new moon out. So Brigitte and her men had been easily noticed.

Unfortunately, Maxham would have been noticed this morning, also, even though he only spoke to his source—the owner of a tavern in the small fishing village—for barely fifteen minutes. He was more accustomed to fading into the background. It had made him unwontedly self-conscious when the innkeeper had recognized him, which was itself odd since most people’s eyes slid right over him.

For many years he had wished he wasn’t invisible. Now he found himself becoming nervous if he was noticed like any other person.

Like the innkeeper had been, the taproom was familiar to him. The fireplace had one brick that was a paler white color than the rest, and the room had a faint smell of cinnamon from the innkeeper’s wife’s spice cakes, which were popular.

Maxham sipped his pint and stared out the window. He recognized the dressmaker’s shop across the street from two years ago, when he’d been searching for Mifflin’s wife.

They had tracked her through several towns and finally lost her in this one. Maxham didn’t know if she even entered Portsmouth. He remembered kicking the stones at the base of the dressmaker’s building, feeling the frustration buzz through him like bees under his skin.

She had only been an hour ahead of them by the time they reached the village before Portsmouth. Their close proximity had perhaps made them arrogant, and looking back, Maxham thought they might have mistaken the direction she traveled.

In recognizing the dressmaker’s shop, his mind drifted back through the unsuccessful chase. He recounted the different villages they’d passed through, the steps they’d taken, the information they’d found about Mifflin’s wife at each stop.

And then they’d reached Portsmouth, and there had been nothing.

But time had mellowed his frustration, or perhaps it was also the ale and the relaxing lunch. His thoughts drifted to what they might have done differently, and then it occurred to him that perhaps he was starting from the wrong end.

He signaled the innkeeper and requested paper and pen, then he proceeded to write a letter to Jack, telling him about Brigitte but also asking for the name of the village where they had first seen Mifflin’s wife, at the start of the chase. If he was lucky, Jack would receive his letter quickly, although it often irritated Maxham how difficult it could be to contact him.

Even as he penned the message, he could imagine Jack’s inevitable annoyance, because finding the answer would be tedious. But he knew Jack would do it.

He gave the innkeeper the message and some coin and asked for a special delivery rider to carry it with all speed to London.

Even though the trail was two years old, he might still find something. Maxham didn’t like having loose strings.

Comments

Popular Posts

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures...

Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And...

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

Writing Progress on Camille's Next Book

Join my Patreon or my email newsletter to get regular updates in your inbox!

Lady Wynwood and the Senhora’s Bargain excerpt

  Here’s a snippet of the Lady Wynwood novella I’m posting on Patreon at the moment: “If you will follow me?” the butler said and led the way up the staircase. ​ The first floor hallway was long and sumptuous, with paintings on the wall and small statues on spindly tables next to elegant Chinese faces. The sound of music was slightly louder, but still muffled, and Laura could hear no voices at all. ​ On the second floor, after traversing a narrower hallway with closed doors on either side, the butler knocked at a door at the end. A deep, smoky voice bade them enter. ​ The room was dim but for the roaring fireplace and a few well-placed but low-burning lamps. The furniture looked comfortable and was upholstered in shades of burgundy and hunter green, and although the light did not reach the heavy curtains, she assumed they were the same colors. ​ From the far corner approached a woman who had been standing behind the heavy wooden desk situated there. She was dressed in a dark burgu...

January 11, 2025 Weekly Roundup

KICKSTARTER: My Kickstarter is starting next week! Look for a post here on Patreon and an email newsletter. THIS MONTH ONLY: Subscribe to Tier 3 to get a book box in May https://www.patreon.com/posts/119485728/ BONUS: Protection for Hire Behind-the-Scenes: Wings Domestic Abuse Shelter https://www.patreon.com/posts/119266114/ BONUS: Sneek peek video of the Special Edition hardcover of Lady Wynwood’s Spies Volume 1 https://www.patreon.com/posts/119321861/ REMINDER: I posted my book release/posting schedule in my New Year’s post https://www.patreon.com/posts/119127050/ REMINDER: “Bidding on Treason” novelette available for all paid subscribers for this month only! https://www.patreon.com/posts/119191277/ Free books: Sherri Wilson Johnson, Christian Romantic Suspense https://sherriwilsonjohnson.com/bayside-betrayal-rr2025/ In October, my novella Bento and Betrayal  releases in the multi-author Christian Suspense anthology, Don’t Blink.  C.D. Gill, who writes Clean R...

Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter

I worked on my first Kickstarter and it got approved! It’s for the Special Edition Hardcover of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer and the release of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 7: Spinster. I contacted my graphic designer about the Special Edition Hardcover of vol. 1: Archer—it’s going to be SO beautiful! The Kickstarter focuses on the Special Edition Hardcover, but it’ll also include vol. 7: Spinster so that it’ll sort of be like a launch day for vol. 7, too. A third special thing that’ll be in the Kickstarter is Special Edition Paperbacks of all the books in the series. They won’t be available in stores, just in the Kickstarter (and later, from my website, and also in my Patreon book box tiers if I decide to do them). The Kickstarter is not live yet, but you can follow it to be alerted when it has launched. (You may need to create a free Kickstarter account.) Follow Camy’s Kickstarter

Free short story: How Laura Met Aya

One of the perks of Tier 2 and higher in my Patreon is that they get a bonus short story twice a year. They voted to read about how Laura met the Senhora and so I worked on “Lady Wynwood and the Senhora’s Bargain” at the end of November and I’m just about finishing it up right now. When outlining this story, because it was so intertwined with how Laura meets Aya, I ended up writing a short story about how they met, which became the prologue. (And then the story of how Laura meets the Senhora exploded into a novella instead. I’m not sure exactly how. I just kept writing and writing and writing …) Anyway, as a Christmas gift, I decided to give my patrons the prologue of “Lady Wynwood and the Senhora’s Bargain” because it’s a complete short story about how she met Aya, which I think some of you might like to read. (In order to see the post, you may need to register for a free Patreon account and then Follow my page for free). Enjoy! “Lady Wynwood’s Encounter” (how Laura met Aya)

Camy’s upcoming publishing schedule

After the craziness of the Kickstarter, I hope to put Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 7: Spinster  up on Amazon probably in the first week of March. I am currently working on a Christian contemporary romantic suspense, Year of the Dog , because it’s due for the multi-author anthology I’m in that releases in May, Danger in the Shadows.  I’ll probably post the chapters (including the annotated chapters) on my Patreon, but I won’t be able to give a free .epub copy to my paid subscribers since it’ll release in the anthology in May 2025. The chapters will be taken down in May, so be sure to read it while it’s still up on my Patreon. I’ve been posting my Christian contemporary romantic suspense, Protection for Hire , but there’s a chance I might pause it in order to post Year of the Dog , because I am realizing I’m not very good at juggling two contemporary projects at the same time. If I do pause it, I’ll start up again after Bento and Betrayal  is done, probably sometime in the...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...