I ended up taking the feisty secondary characters out of the strict Regency regulations in England, and plopped them into America at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. It seemed to have worked. The first book in my new Revolutionary War series was a finalist in a recent contest, and I've just received a contract for the book, to be published early next year.
All this reflection has made me realize my roots are in America, not England.
If you look at this past year and a half one way, I've wasted a lot of time and my loyal fans are losing patience with me. But on the other hand, I've found where my strengths are. I can't wait to begin promoting a new book, and launching a branding campaign for myself. Or rebranding, as it were.
I'm pretty excited to see what comes next.