NOW MR DARCY HAS A HANDSOME YOUNGER BROTHER ... THE DARCY BROTHERS - BLOG TOUR & GIVEAWAY

Are you as curious as I am to discover more about Theo Darcy, Fitzwilliam's brother?  Theo Darcy is everything his disapproving elder brother, Fitzwilliam, is not – easy-going, charming, and full of fun. A tragic event as children severed their bond of friendship, but now they are together again. They are still at odds, though, this time over the love of Miss Elizabeth Bennet and the truth about George Wickham. Will Wickham manage to divide the brothers again? And more importantly, which Mr. Darcy will Elizabeth choose? 

Find out as the two brothers lock horns in this unique Pride & Prejudice variation collectively written by five respected authors: Maria Grace, Abigail Reynolds, Cassandra Grafton, Susan Mason-Milks and Monica Fairview.

INTERVIEW WITH SAMANTHA ADKINS, AUTHOR OF BANFF SPRINGS ABBEY: JANE AUSTEN'S NORTHANGER ABBEY REIMAGINED + DOUBLE GIVEAWAY

Hello and welcome, Samantha. It's great to have you here at My Jane Austen Book Club. First of all I'll invite you to tell us something about your writing background 

 I’ve always enjoyed reading and writing, especially fiction.  I come from a family of writers. Both of my grand-fathers wrote nonfiction and my Dad writes both fiction and nonfiction.  In grade six, my teacher gave us a novel-writing project.  I wrote a fantasy story called The Amazing Dollhouse and I’ve been hooked ever since.  English was my favourite subject in junior and senior high and I went on to study journalism and professional writing in college.  I have since self-published seven books and one picture book.

Why do your write Jane Austen-related fiction?

My sister loved the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice as well as the Bridge Jones books and movies.  For her birthday, one year, I thought I would write her a short sequel to Pride and Prejudice.  The planned 20 page story turned into a novel called Expectations and I fell in love with all things Jane Austen.  I loved her books, researching the time period and watching all of the movie and television adaptations.  I was then asked to write a murder mystery tea for our church and chose to do a Jane Austen murder mystery involving six characters from different books.  This led to an interest in Jane Fairfax from Emma which turned into Suspiciously Reserved: A Twist on Jane Austen’s Emma.

THE SECRET OF PEMBROOKE PARK BLOG TOUR - JULIE KLASSEN: "WHAT INSPIRED MY NEW WORK" + GRAND GIVEAWAY!

Hello dear Austenite friends! I'm really glad and honored to give the start to this great blog tour. 

Award winning historical romance author Julie Klassen tours the blogosphere February 16 through March 2 to share her latest release, The Secret of Pembrooke Park. Twenty five popular book bloggers specializing in historical and Austenesque fiction will feature guest blogs, interviews, book reviews and excerpts of this acclaimed gothic Regency romance novel. A fabulous giveaway contest, including copies of all of Ms. Klassen’s eight books and other Jane Austen-themed items, is open to those who join the festivities. 

Inspiration for The Secret of Pembrooke Park, 

Guest post by Julie Klassen

People often ask me where I find the ideas for my books. And the answer varies. Most ideas have come from research—historical practices, professions, or events that spark the idea for a situation or premise. Some ideas have been inspired by movies I’ve seen, or books I’ve loved, especially those by Jane Austen or Charlotte Bronte. Others have come from historic places I’ve visited in England—if only I could travel there more often!

My latest book, The Secret of Pembrooke Park, is about a young woman who moves with her family into a mysterious manor abandoned for eighteen years. With help from a handsome neighbor, she searches the house, hoping to find its secret room and rumored hidden treasure—but finds danger instead. The idea for this setting came from closer to home.

I grew up in rural Central Illinois. We could only see one house from ours, and that was across a field. (I spent a lot of time playing alone as a girl, which likely helped develop my imagination.) About a half mile behind our house was a wood. I liked to walk there, all the while making up stories in my head. In these woods, I stumbled upon an abandoned house. The roof and most of the upper story was gone, but three walls still stood. Through the gaped opening, you could see the entire ground floor, still furnished. A moldering piano listed in one corner, a tattered blue dress hung on the wall, a set of stairs lead upwards to nowhere… Behind the house I discovered a root cellar—a hollowed out mound of earth with stairs leading down into it. Inside there were still shelves filled with mason jars of home-canned peaches and vegetables.

THE MATCHMAKER BLOG TOUR - GUEST POST BY SARAH PRICE & GIVEAWAY

Hi Maria Grazia and thank you so much for inviting me to share a little bit about myself on your blog. I’ve been writing for almost forty years, starting when I was just a little girl when I would write stories about gnomes in little notebooks (which I still have!). I gravitated to writing about the Amish genre because my heritage is Anabaptist and I find the Plain culture fascinating. 

Unfortunately, there is often a misconception that Amish fiction books are poorly written and formula romance. And then there is often a problem concerning many authors’ accuracy of the portrayal of Amish. Many authors do not have first-hand experience with the Amish or readers are basing what they know on “reality” shows. 

SUMMER LOVIN' - MERYTON PRESS SHORT STORY CONTEST

BEGINS – 9:00 a.m. Feb 1, 2015 (US Pacific time)

ENDS – 11:59 p.m. March 15, 2015 (US Pacific Time)

Meryton Press is conducting a contest to find the best short stories.

The theme of the contest, “Summer Lovin’,” represents the summer season. The interpretation of the theme is left to the writer’s imagination; the story may have summer as a backdrop or may convey a sense of happiness and light. It might be a romantic comedy set in the South Pacific, a thriller in the everglades of Florida, a romance in Queen Victoria’s summer court, an ode to the ocean and Elizabeth Bennet, or a mail -order bride in the Old West—anything your summer muse suggests.

Any genre is acceptable as long as there is ROMANCE. Austenesque is a plus, but is not required. In other words, so long as there is a commonly accepted or acceptable interpretation of the theme embedded in the plot, it works for us. However, this contest is not for children’s stories. Our target audience is readers over 18 years old.

The contest will be judged by a panel of independent judges, and the results will be announced by mid-April 2015.

A long list of entries will be selected for final judging by a panel of expert editors and reviewers. The long list will consist of at least eight quality entries. All entries on the long list will receive a letter with constructive criticism on how the story could have been improved. Four winners will be selected from the long list and will be awarded prizes as detailed in the guidelines below (see “Contest Prizes”).