TWELFTH-NIGHT CAKE & THE ROSINGS GHOST: GUEST POST, EXCERPT & 5 EBOOKS GIVEAWAY

Is there a scarier place than Rosings to have a ghost? I mean, we already have the scary and snappish Lady Catherine at Rosings. But what if this mischievous ghost appears only during the twelve days of Christmas? That’s the story within a story in my Christmas novella, Twelfth-Night Cake & the Rosings Ghost.

The novella opens with Colonel Fitzwilliam and his eight-year-old daughter, Sofia-Elisabete, travelling to Rosings, where they will spend a winter’s month. If you haven’t met my plucky girl hero Sofia-Elisabete before, see I, Sofia-Elisabete, Love Child of Colonel Fitzwilliam: A Perfect World in the Moon, a humorous and poignant novel about an abandoned girl who is born in Portugal during the Napoleonic Wars and who turns out to be the illegitimate child of the colonel.

I wondered how Sofia-Elisabete feels to be half-Portuguese, Catholic and a love child living in England during the Regency Era. She’s not getting along with Lady Catherine, and then the ghost arrives to play its tricks. I imagined a crazy, troubled world for Sofia-Elisabete because Lady Catherine, who doesn’t believe in the Rosings Ghost, blames the girl for everything that goes wrong. What’s a young eight-year-old to do?

Ever since my “perfect moon world” novel, I’ve been immersed in writing YA historical fiction that appeals to all ages, finishing three novellas about the lovable, strong-willed Sofia-Elisabete and her close relationship with her father, Colonel Fitzwilliam. Twelfth-Night Cake & the Rosings Ghost is the first novella to be released in this series. My sincere thanks to Maria Grazia for helping me launch the Rosings Ghost novella on her site!

 Robin Elizabeth Kobayashi

LOVE WITHOUT TIME BY ELAINE JEREMIAH - AUTHOR INTERVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

Hello and welcome to My Jane Austen Book Club, Elaine! Let’s start from your book, 'Love Without Time’.  Is it a variation/modern day retelling of one of Austen’s works or something different? Could you tell us more about it?

‘Love Without Time’ is my own original story about a Jane Austen-mad girl called Cassie Taylor who accidentally walks into Regency England. It’s best described as a Jane Austen-inspired time travel romance. It’s the first in a trilogy and I’ve nearly finished the first draft of the second book, ‘By Time Divided’.

My heroine Cassie is in the grounds of a hospital when she finds herself walking into Regency England. The reason she’s at a hospital is that the man who she only just met that day, and who saved her life, has been badly hurt and she’s waiting for news of him. I won’t give anything else away, except to say that once in Regency England, she has to learn to fend for herself in a world that’s very different from the twenty-first century one she’s been used to.

Do you have a best favourite among Austen’s novels? Why do you like it more than others?

I know nearly everyone lists ‘Pride and Prejudice’ as their favourite Austen novel, but it’s mine too! It’s just so witty and fun and Elizabeth Bennet is the kind of person I’d love to be. She’s feisty, intelligent and confident and she’s not afraid to speak her mind. She won’t settle for anything less than true love and that’s why she refuses Mr Darcy the first time. She doesn’t love him – in fact at that point she can’t stand him. And Mr Darcy – the archetypal hero. Tall, handsome and brooding, what’s not to like?

Another aspect of it that I love is how it goes deeper than just a formulaic love story. Both Elizabeth and Darcy are forced to examine themselves and their behaviour. The fact that they’re both willing to change, to admit they were wrong is a sign of their integrity as people. They feel like such real characters and I think that’s why they’re so loved.

UNWRAPPING MR DARCY BLOG TOUR - GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY

Hello! Thanks so much Maria Grazia for having me today! I can’t wait for everyone to read Unwrapping Mr. Darcy, but in the meantime, I have an extra scene for you. When I first posted the prologue of Unwrapping Mr. Darcy as a sneak peek, someone wished they knew what Charlie said to Lizzy to keep her from quitting on her first day. I liked the idea so much, I wrote it. I’ve overlapped a little and added some in so Darcy’s insult is in the clip. I hope you enjoy it!

L.L. Diamond

Charlie exhaled, sounding a lot like a growl. “You always make a point of meeting new employees. Why are you being so stubborn about this one?”

Darcy slapped the papers in his hand on the work surface. “I’m busy, Bingley. If you haven’t noticed, I have a mountain of paperwork on my desk. I can’t be expected to take the time to welcome a new company attorney—especially one who required her sister’s boyfriend to get her the job. You hired her, Bingley. You make her feel welcome.”

What? Elizabeth gasped, they both looked up, but she backed from the door. She couldn’t stay—not in his office and certainly not at this job! She walked as fast as she could to the elevator. What a mess! Charlie insisted Darcy Holdings needed her, but apparently, he created the position for her. She never asked him for special treatment—after all, he’d been the one who bugged her for months about “moving to the dark side” as he liked to joke. She touched the down button, and thankfully, the door opened quickly.

Charlotte wasn’t around when Elizabeth returned, so she went into the office where her briefcase still remained sitting wide open on the desk. That would definitely make things easier! She reached up over the computer, pulled down her calendar, and threw it inside.

She certainly wasn’t staying where she wasn’t wanted! Charlie had sworn they needed someone with her skills. Why would he lie? She hadn’t been looking for a new job. She’d been happy where she was, but working for Darcy Holdings was a move up she couldn’t ignore. The company was larger than the law firm, and the position held more room for advancement.

“Don’t you dare put another thing back in the case!”

EMMA THE MUSICAL STREAMING ONLINE: SPECIAL DISCOUNT FOR MY JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB READERS!

I love musicals and theatrical performances. I go to the theatre as often as I can, which is not that often considered that I live in a very small town in the centre of Italy with no cinemas and no theatres. When I read or post about Austen inspired stage shows I'm really jealous of those lucky audiences who will have the chance to enjoys those performances in the UK or the US.