TALKING JANE AUSTEN WITH ... MEDEA YORBA, AUTHOR OF "DARCY'S LAST PROMISE"

Welcome  to My Jane Austen  Book Club, Medea ! I’m always very happy to let my readers and Janeite friends meet new Austen-inspired writers, so thank you for  joining our on line club and  accepting to talk Jane Austen with me.

Thank you so much for inviting me and for such a lovely warm welcome Maria.

First of all,  I challenge you to advertise your  Darcy’s Last Promise  in less than 50 words. Ready to go?

Jane Austen’s beloved characters, Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet and their deliciously romantic love story have captured imaginations for over two hundred years. In their final moments together, Darcy makes his Last Promise to Elizabeth. He vows that somehow he will find her and they will be together again.

This is my second question for you: when and how you came to think of  writing  a Jane Austen – inspired book?

In 2008, my mother introduced me to the wonderful world of Jane Austen. I fell absolutely in love with Darcy and Elizabeth and of course the other beloved characters from Pride and Prejudice. Naturally, once I had gobbled up the original, I went on to enjoy several movie versions and to read a great number of the sequels, spin-offs, and prequels based upon Pride and Prejudice. Like so many others, I couldn’t just stop when the story ended. I yearned for more, and then more. So I had the idea of writing a book that not only gave us more, but put them in a tailspin. Two hundred years later, they not only had to rediscover each again, but to go through the challenges of falling in like and then love again.

Time travelling is another main feature in your Darcy’s Last Promise. What is the funniest  or most awkward event in Darcy and Elizabeth’s journey to the 21^st century?

Each of them experiences vague “memories” or feelings of recognition that aren’t congruent with their 21^st century background and circumstances. Just as in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Darcy’s recognition and determination to woo Elizabeth appear fairly early on in the story, while Elizabeth continues in her misguided dislike and resentment of his exalted status and “arrogant” ways. The classic dynamics of Pride and Prejudice keep the two legendary lovers in thrall once again – much to everyone’s satisfaction.

What would you miss the most if you could go back living in the Regency Era?

I would miss my Kindle, LOL, – perhaps modern-day plumbing, microwaves and medicine. More than anything, I would miss having the right to choose – in so many ways.

What would Jane Austen appreciate the most in our contemporary world,  if she had had the chance to live nowadays?

A woman’s right to be strong, independent and successful.

The huge spreading  of Austen fan fiction is due to a desire to preserve Jane’s messages, atmospheres, techniques and prolong the pleasure or more to the ambition to correct and adapt  what in her work is considered too distant or different?

Darcy’s Last Promise is in no way, written in the Jane Austen style. Her work is incomparable and I am not arrogant enough to think that I could improve on Jane Austen’s original words. Many other authors of JA fan fiction have expressed the same. My main purpose in writing Darcy’s Last Promise was to keep Darcy and Elizabeth alive and well, with an entertaining new twist, and to quench our collective thirst for more of them. I simply enjoyed adding a little different spin while doing that.

Thanks a lot, Medea! It’s been a great pleasure to talk Jane Austen with you. Best wishes and good luck with your new release.

About the book: Darcy’s Last Promise

In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet's beloved characters and deliciously romantic love story have captured imaginations for roughly the last two hundred years. But the story did not end there. Elizabeth receives Darcy's Last Promise in his final moments in that lifetime. He vows that somehow he will find Elizabeth and that they will be together again. This promise is not as simple as it sounds and the journey takes them through misunderstanding, desperation, and perseverance. The story is full of humor, hope, frustration, pain and joy. As an added twist, they are not the only original Pride and Prejudice characters who show up in the 21st century. Watch for the sequel Darcy's Last Promise Tested

Darcy's Last Promise at Kindle Store

About the Author  

Medea Yorba is a single widowed mom of a special needs child born late in her life. She and her son live in Southern California where she was born and has spent most of her life. She has five other beautiful children who are living lives that make her very proud. 

Darcy’s last Promise is Medea’s first novel. With a new authors trepidation she dares to offer the work of her heart for all to see. It is Medea’s great hope that Darcy’s Last Promise will bring joy and a smile to those who read it. 

Medea Yorba invites her readers to watch for the sequel to Darcy’s Last Promise “tentatively entitled Darcy’s Last Promise Tested” and to follow her beloved characters on the next phase of their big journey. 

 Visit www.medeayorba.com