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Hello Maria Grazia and readers of My Jane Austen Book Club! I am happy to be here with you all today to share a little more about my latest Pride and Prejudice variation novel—The Cherry Trees of Rosings.
As you must have seen from the blurb, this book is a mashup of supernatural elements and comedy (with generous heartstring pulls along the way) to give you a Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth love story that is both sweet and compelling. I hope the interview below will give you a deeper look at some of the inner workingsof the story (without any spoilers, of course). Please enjoy the read!
The story introduces us to a very unusual situation — Elizabeth quite literally walking through Mr. Darcy! What was your favourite aspect of exploring this “haunting” dynamic between them?
When I started writing The Cherry Trees of Rosings, I wanted the story to have at least one jumpscare early on. And I felt this—having Lizzy walk right through him!—would hit all the marks, while creating some drama for the next chapters. But I did not want the haunted aspect to be scary for my readers at all. So I had to find ways to make the scenes that follow this revelation more like a cat getting spooked for peak comedy! Of course, the nature of the plot also creates a natural sort of slow burn between Lizzy and Mr. Darcy.
I wanted them to experience growing feelings while being unable to find even the slightest of reprieve for it… not even through the brush of hands. And I wanted them to struggle with the mystery of whether Mr. Darcy was truly dead or simply out-of-body, while working around the problem of propriety that was bound to be an issue between them.
This variation blends humour with a slightly paranormal twist. How did you approach balancing the comedic tone with the more mysterious elements of the story?
I think this comes back to my original inspiration for this variation. I was actually spurred into writing it right after I finished reading Ashley Poston’s The Dead Romantics.
That book—while not in Austenverse at all—has the plot of a copywriter who is suddenly haunted by the spirit of her new editor who she met barely a week ago. And there was a ton of comedy in it because of this ghostly trope!
Of course, The Cherry Trees of Rosings has a completely different plot with Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth in Hunsford, going about their misunderstandings while dealing with the shenanigans of Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins. But this initial inspiration helped me keep the storyline more lighthearted and emotional.
I would also like to give a shoutout to my amazing team of alpha readers (from within our Austenesque community!) who went through the first draft and gave me some excellent feedback. That helped me make the plot more intricate without sacrificing the plotpoints.
Elizabeth and Darcy are both confronted with a version of each other that challenges their first impressions. How does this unique situation change the way they understand one another?
I wanted to retain Elizabeth’s natural aversion to Mr. Darcy at the start of my book. But I also wanted to show the discrepancy and incongruence between what she was experiencing with Mr. Darcy’s spectral form and what Mr. Wickham had told her about the gentleman.
I mean, can a person be any more beastly and bad than when no one is there to force them into good behaviour? Or when no damage will be sustained to one’s reputation while in spectral form because no one shall be any wiser to what is seen, felt, heard, or done? Exactly! I wanted this jarring reality to underline in bold the gentlemanliness of Mr. Darcy. And through it let Elizabeth slowly come to the conclusion that he may not be what she believed him to be at all, or what was being said about him.
Of course, this change of perception had to be made most obvious through an incident much later in the book. But I won’t spoil anything. In terms of Mr. Darcy’s perception of Elizabeth, I have not touched on it as much in The Cherry Trees of Rosings, since the book follows a close third-person POV of Elizabeth’s thoughts and actions. But I wanted my readers to nevertheless keenly feel Mr. Darcy’s growing regard and love for Elizabeth—beyond what he already felt in Meryton—from how the formality between them reduced as time went on, and how they each struggled with being in the other’s presence, knowing it was probably transient and might end abruptly, and that they would not even have the memory of having held hands because they just could not!
Rosings and Hunsford are already such vivid settings in Pride and Prejudice. What was it like reimagining them with this added supernatural element?
I absolutely adored writing about Hunsford and its various greens and trees and singing birds! I mean, Jane Austen gave us such beautiful fictional settings and named them so well, how could I not celebrate that? The only conscious choice I made with the setting of the story was the avenue of cherry trees I placed on the grounds of Rosings, which Elizabeth is extremely fond of in my book.
This avenue is not an exact central point of the story, but it features in many of the important scenes. I felt the need to do this lest I veer into the “rose” aspect of Rosings and the book begins to feel more like Sleeping Beauty or some other gothic fairytale. To be fair, though, cherry trees bloom for just a few days. So I wanted the avenue of pink and white falling petals to subtly nod to the transient nature of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy’s interactions while he was in his ghostly state, and the not-knowing when it would be the last day… if it was even the last day…
Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins always bring a certain energy to any variation! How did you enjoy writing their roles in this particular story?
I had a right blast writing Lady CdB and Mr. Collins! Like, can there be anything more comical than these two going on and on about their various obsessions… whether it’s Mr. Collins’ extreme fixation on his esteemed patroness, or Lady Catherine’s fixation on having Mr. Darcy wed Miss Anne de Bourgh, alive or dead?
I wanted the ridiculousness of these characters to be so over the top that it was a counterfoil to the melancholic nature of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy’s interactions.
I think I would have cried myself into a puddle if I did not have these two (Mr. Collins and Lady CdB) doing what they do best: wag their tongues most infuriatingly and bring all the eye rolls, while being royally condescending and just ridiculous!
The idea of “seeing beyond appearances” feels central here — especially in such an unusual circumstance. Was this a theme you consciously wanted to highlight?
To be honest, I did not set out with this intention. But when you try to adhere to the principle of show don’t tell in storytelling, readers will often see a lot that’s left unsaid between the lines. I feel that makes for a better reading experience. And I like my brain tickled in that manner too when I am reading.
If you were to place yourself in Elizabeth’s position, how do you think you would react to Darcy’s… rather ghostly predicament?
Well, I am a total scaredy cat when it comes to ghosts and spirit stuff—I don’t even watch horror movies anymore! So if anyone was wondering why The Cherry Trees of Rosings had to be more comical, this is why! Having said that, I feel I would have behaved more like that kid from the M. Night Shyamalan movie “The Sixth Sense”. I would have gotten totally freaked out and scared at first, and then did exactly what Elizabeth did—which is help Mr. Darcy in whatever capacity she could.
So folks! If you are kinda scaredy about supernatural stuff as well, have no fear! I wrote the book in such a manner that my readers do not feel scared when reading it and can, instead, enjoy the supernatural mystery/romance between Lizzy and Mr. Darcy. I wanted people to have an emotional experience and leave the last page feeling satisfied, if a little curious for what might have happened next.
There’s a strong sense of humour running through the story. Were there any scenes you especially enjoyed writing or found yourself laughing at?
Thank you so much for acknowledging that! One of my biggest worries while writing The Cherry Trees of Rosings was if the humour would be received well, since that’s such a subjective terrain. But I am happy that my readers so far have found the funny bits just as funny too.
My favourite, though, has to be the bit about Lady Catherine’s obsession with hiring employees who have names that fit their service station. I don’t want to spoil the joke for anyone who hasn’t read the book yet, but let’s just say that Mr. Collins goes on and on about it in one particular dinner scene!
What do you hope readers will take away from this variation — beyond the romance and the fun twist?
Honestly, I am a bit of a cry baby in real life. So I hope my readers can feel the emotions just as deeply as I felt them while I was writing the book. I mean, is it even a romance if it’s just an inclination for the flesh? I would hope that a romance would touch one’s heart and make them feel life in all its various colours and emotions. I wanted Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth’s story to be like that in my book. To be tinged with joy, and dread, and laughter, and jump spooks, and annoyance, and tears, and the sweetest kiss of all sweet kisses. (I am seriously biased, folks!)
Finally, if your version of Elizabeth and Darcy could give one piece of advice to their original counterparts, what do you think it would be?
Should I even attempt to answer this? I wouldn’t want to step on Miss Austen’s toes, in the least. She’s fabulous after all! But I do want to say that I am thankful to have come across Pride and Prejudice and connected so deeply with it. Enough to write my own stories in Austenverse! I feel that every variation author either builds upon the original classic or explores facets of human life and experience through these beloved characters. Mine have simply chosen to do it in a supernatural manner in this book.
So there is truly no piece of advice to offer, other than the hope that my fellow Austenesque enthusiasts and aficionados will give The Cherry Trees of Rosings a read and find it an enjoyable diversion! Enough to laugh, and cry, and cheer when Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy finally come together in their own slightly spooky happy ever after! The book is available in paperback and also for borrowing on Kindle Unlimited.
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