AUTHOR INTERVIEW & GIVEAWAY - KARALYNNE MACKRORY, FALLING FOR MR DARCY

Karalynne MacKrory

Dear friends and Janeites, 

I'm glad to introduce a new Austen-inspired author and her recently published variation of Pride and Prejudice: Karalynne Mackrory and "Falling for Mr Darcy". Have a look at the giveaway details below this post if you want  a chance to win the book!

If I say Mr. Darcy, what is the first image that comes to your mind? Colin Firth? Matthew MacFadyen? Laurence Olivier?

Would you understand what I meant if I said Colin MacFadyen?  Or Matthew Firth?  I don’t know about Laurence Olivier.  He was before I even knew about Jane Austen.  I am one of those people who read her books before actually seeing any of the movies.  But when I did see the movies I could not help but love Colin Firth in his gold-hued clingy pants at Pemberley – walking with Elizabeth after their surprise encounter – or Matthew MacFadyen in his heated, angry almost-kiss during the proposal scene.  Hmm... scrumptious.

Your favorite Darcy scene? Darcy quote?

It would have to be, hands down, the whole surprise meet at Pemberley scene – movie or book.  I love the tension and flux of emotions that you know both are feelings and I love that despite all that had been said between them, Darcy is charming and as much in her power as ever he was before.

My favorite quotes come from when Darcy and Elizabeth finally get their acts together in the end and secure their happily ever after.  My first favorite Darcy quote has got to be the most romantic thing ever written.  “I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.”  I mean, hello! Bless my rapidly beating heart!  My second favorite quote is also from their reconciliation scene.  It is from when Elizabeth asks Darcy about how he felt when they encountered each other at Pemberley and what his motives were with his manners.  He replies that he wished to show her he was a changed man and then adds, “How soon any other wishes introduced themselves I can hardly tell, but I believe in about half an hour after I had seen you.”  I just love the idea that it didn’t take him long to hope and wish for another chance with her.

Karalynne and her real-life Mr Darcy

When did you actually “fall” for Mr. Darcy?

My love affair with Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy probably started when I was first introduced to him in my 10th grade English class.  However, I would have to say that I really fell for him when I met my own version of him, being my darling husband.  From almost the beginning of my acquaintance with my husband, I was struck with what a gentleman he was and how much he reminded me of my favorite literary hero.  In fact, our relationship had so many similarities and parallels to the story of Pride and Prejudice that I purchased him an old leather-bound edition from England as a wedding gift.

In the game of first impressions and in your opinion, what is it that brought Darcy and Elizabeth to misunderstand/like each other at first?

I like to think that they were both so magnetically drawn to each other that his outright dismissal at the assembly was his way of denying that attraction and her obviously wounded pride as a result of such a slighting comment from him started the ball rolling. 

Does that mean they will always have a rather stormy relationship or a very conniving household?

Not at all.  Darcy and Elizabeth are both intelligent individuals who are equally passionate, affectionate and kindhearted.  I believe their love would not be the sort that would use harsh words against the other out of pride or spite.  Unless, of course, either had real reason to believe their actions were justified.  Remember, Elizabeth’s heated responses at the Parsonage at Hunsford were based on real, though mistaken, beliefs. 

If you could live in Pride and Prejudice like Amanda in Lost in Austen, what moment in the book would you dread living the most? Which one would you long for instead?

I actually scream at the page whenever I read about Mrs. Bennet at the Netherfield ball.  I just want to cry because I see what she is doing and I feel for Elizabeth and yet I cannot really blame Darcy for finding her so offensive.  If I was there, like Amanda, I might actually shake Mrs. Bennet and give Lydia and Kitty a good spanking on their hussy behinds.

As you might guess from my answers above, I would long for all of the Pemberley scenes.  And when he comes to the inn at Lambton, all concern and tenderness, I would toss my arms around him and not let him go (unless of course he then divulges his plan to save Lydia, to which I would hope to go with him.)  Then when together we find the two rotten lovers, I would spank Lydia and do worse to Wickham.

What has happened to me so far is that I have related differently to the several Austen heroes and heroine in the different stages of my life while re-reading the novels. Does that happen to you too?

Of course.  While reading Persuasion, I stand with Anne Elliot and my feelings prey upon me as I remember every moment of longing I have ever felt.  With Emma and Fanny Price, I remember falling in love with my best friend.  And of course, I relate in many ways to several of the characters in Pride and Prejudice when I reflect back on my own courtship with my real life Mr. Darcy. 

How did it come that you wanted to write a variation of Pride  and Prejudice?

I don’t think I ever did want to write a variation.  That is to say, I never set out to write one or planned on writing one.  I had a dream that came to me so vividly that I had to write it down.  This dream was the first chapter or so of my book and Darcy and Elizabeth were the characters.  After that I thought, “Great! Now I have a first chapter of...what?”  When the rest of the plot came to me a few days later I knew I had to at least give it a try.  I love to write and I love Darcy and Elizabeth.  It seemed like a fun idea.

When as it that you first read Jane Austen and understood you loved her work. You know, it is not always love at first sight with her…

I should be ashamed to admit it, but it was not love at first sight for me either.  Pride and Prejudice was a required reading for my English class so I dutifully began the book.  The first 50 pages or so felt like they dragged for me and I was not enjoying it.  Before long though, I was devouring it, falling in love with it to such a point that I could not put it down.  I cannot say the word, or the paragraph or the chapter that first laid the foundation for loving Jane Austen.  I was in the middle before I knew I had begun.

What do you most appreciate in her world?

The classiness.  Men didn’t burp, pass gas or scratch themselves in front of a lady back then.  In fact, to be considered a gentleman, your every behavior was geared toward the welfare, comfort and tender sensibilities of the female sex.  Men stood when a woman entered a room.  They opened doors for them, offered them their arm to assist them.  I don’t feel like this at all diminishes our femininity or makes us look like the weaker of the two sexes.  If men were to act thus towards females now it would in no way negate the progress women have made in society since the feminist revolution.  In my opinion being treated thus only intensifies and emphasizes how special women are.  Let them treat me like a queen – my value is only added upon by being so revered.

Which of her heroines do you most sympathize with?

When I read Emma, I sympathize with Emma.  When I read Persuasion, I sympathize with Anne.  When I read Mansfield Park, I sympathize with Fanny.  When I read Pride and Prejudice, I sympathize with Elizabeth.  Etc. Etc.  Jane Austen had such a wonderful talent for creating scenes, people and stories that all readers can find something to relate with.  That is why her stories are so timeless and so loved even 200 years later.

Is there any of her work you still have to read/ want to re-read soon?

I have read all of her works and I loved each of them (some more than others).  I just finished re-reading Persuasion and I’m thinking I might tackle Pride and Prejudice again soon.

What is next for KaraLynne the writer?

I am currently in the negotiation process for getting another book published with Meryton Press.  It is another Pride and Prejudice variation and I am very anxious and excited to see it through.  Beyond that, I will just have to see what other dreams come to me.

The author 

KaraLynne is an amazing mother who never makes mistakes, never gets upset with her children and never ever has a dirty house. Ever. She always has her dishes done and the floors spotless and dinner is always prepared and ready on time. Her kids are always clean, polite, respectful and loving, especially to each other. She never gets irritated with her husband when he doesn’t turn his socks right side out for the laundry and they always agree on everything. She delights in nothing else but to serve her family and never wants or needs time for herself. She takes great care to shower every day and put make up on so that she is always beautiful and presentable. She never wears her pajamas all day or for days in a row and she is the epitome of womanhood. Most of all, she has a great sense of humor and loves to write.

Falling for Mr. Darcy, released May 1st, 2012, is KaraLynne’s first venture in to the world of book authorship.  Although, admittedly a Darcy addict, she enjoys many things, such as: Mr. Knightly, Edmund Bertram, Captain Wentworth, Mr. Tilney and John Thornton.  She is happily married to her own Mr. Darcy and together they share the insanity inducing responsibility of raising three children.

The Book

In this Regency adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice, the simple truth is proven that sometimes a gentleman never knows his heart until a lady comes along to introduce it to him.  When Mr. Darcy encounters Elizabeth Bennet injured after a fall, his concern for her welfare cracks the shell of his carefully guarded heart and a charming man emerges.   Elizabeth sees an appealing side of him she never believed possible from the stoic, proud master of Pemberley.  They find the simple gentlemanly act of assisting her home will test both Mr. Darcy’s resolve to keep his heart safe and Elizabeth’s conviction that this is the last man on earth she might have ever been prevailed upon to marry.  Soon, falling for Mr. Darcy becomes a real possibility.

Available in paperback and Kindle/Nook ebooks.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS 

Leave your comment + your e-mail address to be entered in the giveaway contest for one paperback copy of FALLING FOR MR DARCY. The giveaway is open internationally and ends on June 20th.