CRIME & CULPABILITY: A JANE AUSTEN MYSTERY ANTHOLOGY

 

Hello and happy Sunday, dear readers! Today I'd like to invite you to step into a world where Regency elegance meets thrilling intrigue! In this upcoming release, Crime & Culpability: A Jane Austen Mystery Anthology, some of your favorite Austen characters find themselves entangled in captivating mysteries, with clues hidden beneath the surface of every story. Whether it’s Darcy investigating a murder or Emma Woodhouse solving an art heist, each tale invites you to join the sleuths and unravel the secrets within. Ready to discover how Austen’s timeless charm blends seamlessly with a dash of mystery? Scroll down and dive into this unique anthology where the game is afoot! MG x

THWARTED, A NEW AUSTENESQUE DELIGHT BY MJ STRATTON. EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY.

 

Dear Janeites,

Prepare yourselves for a new journey into the heart of Regency England with MJ Stratton's latest release, Thwarted. If you’ve ever wondered what might happen if Mr. Darcy faced an insurmountable obstacle in his pursuit of love, this novel is sure to delight and intrigue you.

MJ Stratton, a devoted aficionado of all things Austen, brings us a fresh and imaginative tale that seamlessly intertwines the beloved world of Pride and Prejudice with a tantalizing new twist.

NEW RELEASE! SOMETHING ABOUT LIZZY BY ROBIN ELIZABETH KOBAYASHI

 

 

Thank you, Maria Grazia, for inviting me to guest blog today. For many years I’ve wondered what it would be like to be friends with the lively, witty, intelligent Elizabeth Bennet of Pride and Prejudice, even after her marriage to Mr. Darcy, when she is a mother and the mistress of Pemberley. We know from Jane Austen’s novels and letters just how challenging and frustrating it was to be woman in a man’s world during the nineteenth century. My new novella, Something About Lizzy: Family Secrets Post-Pride and Prejudice, is my ode to Elizabeth Darcy née Bennet—her emotional journey as a married woman, her love and relationships and secrets.

WITHOUT AFFECTION: INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR CAROLINE CARTIER & GIVEAWAY

Today, here at My Jane Austen Book Club,  we have a new guest,  Caroline Cartier, author of a brand new Pride and Prejudice Variation, “Without Affection.” Welcome, Caroline and thanks for finding the time to answer our questions.  Could you start by telling us a bit about yourself and your journey into the world of writing?

 Hi Maria! Thank you so much for letting me stop by your lovely blog! Let me see, what can I tell you about myself. I’m 43 and married with one daughter. I used to be a surgical coordinator, but I injured my spine during the pandemic and now I write books. 

CYANIDE AND SENSIBILITY VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR: INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR KATIE OLIVER

Welcome, dear readers, to the much-anticipated kickoff of the Cyanide and Sensibility Virtual Book Tour here at My Jane Austen Book Club! We are delighted to bring you an exclusive sneak peek into the latest installment of The Jane Austen Tea Society Mystery series by the talented author Katie Oliver.

GODMERSHAM PARK BLOG TOUR: INTERVIEW WITH GILL HORNBY

  

I am so excited to kick off an exceptional historical fiction novel blog tour here at  My Jane Austen Book Club!  Godmersham Park by Gill Hornby is a story based on actual events, people, and locations in Jane Austen’s life, which takes place at the grand country estate of Jane’s wealthy brother Edward and his large family. 

To discover more about it, please read my interview with author Gill Hornby and, then,  feel free to leave your comments here and spread the good news! 

HEATHER MOLL - AN APPEARANCE OF GOODNESS BLOG TOUR

 

Thanks for the warm welcome back to My Jane Austen Book Club! I’ve loved mysteries since my mother handed me Nancy Drew and the Secret of the Old Clock when I was 9. Looking back, I’ve put elements that add to a good mystery in my other books, but An Appearance of Goodness is the first that could be called a mystery—even though it’s still firmly in the romance genre. Historical mysteries with slow burn romances are my faves, and that element is definitely in my latest release Pride and Prejudice variation.

THE LADY'S GUIDE TO DEATH AND DECEPTION BLOG TOUR: REGENCY SPY MARY BENNET IS BACK!

 

About the Book

What is a spy willing to do when both her heart and her country are at risk?

Life changes once again for British spy Miss Mary Bennet when Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from the Isle of Elba. Mary quickly departs England for Brussels, the city where the Allied forces prepare for war against the French. But shortly after her arrival, one of the Duke of Wellington's best officers is murdered, an event which threatens to break the delicate alliance between the Allies.

BLOG TOUR - SHANNON WINSLOW, COLONEL BRANDON ... IN HIS OWN WORDS

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Colonel Brandon is the consummate gentleman: honorable, kind almost to a fault, ever loyal and chivalrous. He’s also silent and grave, though. So, what events in his troubled past left him downcast, and how does he finally find the path to a brighter future? In Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen gives us glimpses, but not the complete picture.

Now Colonel Brandon tells us his full story in His Own Words. He relates the truth about his early family life and his dear Eliza – his devotion to her and the devastating way she was lost to him forever. He shares with us a poignant tale from his military days in India – about a woman named Rashmi and how she likewise left a permanent mark on his soul. And of course Marianne. What did Brandon think and feel when he first saw her? How did his hopes for her subsequently rise, plummet, and then eventually climb upwards again? After Willoughby’s desertion, what finally caused Marianne to see Colonel Brandon in a different light?

LAURA MORETTI, WHO IS ELIZABETH BENNET'S SOULMATE? EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

What if you could hear, in your soul, the inner music of your soulmate, the person you are destined to marry?

England, 1811. Elizabeth Bennet has just begun to ‘hear’. The inner melody of her soulmate resonates in her soul. She is destined for someone…but who? Who is this mysterious gentleman who will one day ride into her life and change her existence forever? Is he living close by, or is she hearing his music from afar? Is he rich? Is he poor? Has she already met him?

Elizabeth flirts, she converses, she sketches the character of any gentleman she meets to determine whether their personality fits with the deep, beautiful, sometimes sombre notes she perceives. With the help of her sister Jane, who is happily married to her soulmate Charles Bingley, Elizabeth makes a list of all the possible soulmates in the area.
The haughty, disagreeable Fitzwilliam Darcy certainly does not appear on this list.

A shame. Because Darcy, who has no doubt that Elizabeth’s music is the one that haunts him, is falling more desperately in love with her each day.

But does Elizabeth really want to fall in love? In truth, does she really want to have a soulmate?

MY DEAREST MISS FAIRFAX, WHAT JANE AUSTEN'S EMMA DID NOT KNOW

Hello, Maria Grazia and lovely readers!

While I was innocently chatting away with people on Goodreads about Jane Austen related topics, a stray comment about Emma turned into a conversation, which turned into an idea…which eventually turned itself into my newest novel, My Dearest Miss Fairfax!

 Now I'm ready and more than willing to answer your questions!

Jeanette Watts

KATHERINE COWLEY, THE TRUE CONFESSIONS OF A LONDON SPY - Q/A POST, EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY

 

What is the book about?

The True Confessions of a London Spy is about Mary Bennet solving a murder mystery in London. A messenger for Parliament has been found dead, and there are fears that it is part of a greater plot against the government…

AMAZING GIVEAWAY: JAYNE BAMBER'S AUDIOBOOKS

Hello, dear Janeites! It is a delight to be back at My Jane Austen Book Club. I am hard at work on my eighth book, Five Daughters Out At Once, and I will be back later this month to share an excerpt from this novel after it is available on Kindle. For now, at least, I am happy to share other good tidings pertaining to the number five: my fifth audiobook is now available on Audible!

To celebrate the accomplishment, I am hosting my biggest giveaway ever, and raffling off five copies of each of my audiobooks. The newest release is NorthFanger, narrated by the fabulous Amanda S. Brown, who also narrated Madness in Meryton. These, and all my other novels, are still available on KU of course, and I hope to have all of my JAFF novels available as audiobooks by summer time.

For those of you that may have missed my newest release, NorthFanger, last fall, it is a short gothic parody that merges Pride & Prejudice with Northanger Abbey as Elizabeth Bennet leads the charge against a horde of vampires and their dastardly leader – a villain we all know and loathe.

I have included descriptions of all the audiobooks below, and raffle winners will be given their choice from among the five audiobooks. I always say happy reading, but for now, Happy Listening!

JAYNE BAMBER

SPOTLIGHT ON ... JULIE COOPER, TEMPT ME: EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY

 

TEMPT ME BY JULIE COOPER

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single vampyre must be in want of a wife. Someone biddable, her memories easily expunged to allow for strange, inexplicable deeds and baffling circumstances. A tractable creature, of average intelligence, willing to attend to the business of producing heirs and keep out of all else. A girl easily moulded, incurious, indifferent, and demanding nothing beyond access to his fortune.

MARIA GRACE: TWO NEW BOOKS IN THE JANE AUSTEN'S DRAGONS SAGA!

Thank so much for inviting me to visit, Maria Grazia! I’m excited to share my newest books with your readers!

Who hasn’t said Jane Austen books could really used a lot more dragons? Ok, maybe you need to be the mother of sons in order to heard that. So, I suppose you can blame my three sons for this adventure. We were having lunch at the local pizza buffet one day and started kicking around ideas and we hit on ‘what if dragons lived during the Regency…’ Well before I knew it, we’d hammered out an entire dragon culture and the story potentials went WILD. So much fun!

MURDER AT NORTHANGER ABBEY BLOG TOUR - SHANNON WINSLOW: MR TILNEY'S LETTER

I especially enjoy writing the many letters included in my novels, trying to make each one a little work of art, as Jane Austen did.  Who can forget Darcy’s 8-pager to Elizabeth after his failed first proposal or Captain Wentworth’s iconic love letter to Anne? You pierce my soul…

But I bet you didn’t know that Henry Tilney can be just as passionate.

Today I’m sharing an excerpt from Murder at Northanger Abbey, (my new Northanger Abbey sequel) that illustrates what I mean. It’s a letter – a slightly steamy love letter, actually – that Henry wrote to Catherine during the time they were separated and waiting to marry. Since the action in this novel takes place after the wedding, this letter is included as something Catherine is remembering to help her through another difficult separation from Henry.

MR DARCY'S PERFECT MATCH BLOG TOUR: AUTHOR GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY

Austentatious and Covent Garden

If you live in London or ever travel there, do yourself a favor and go see Austentatious at the Fortune Theatre. The theatre is located within the Covent Garden section of London, a delightful area to have dinner and explore. Covent Garden is served by the Piccadilly line at Covent Garden Tube station on the corner of Long Acre and James Streets. During my family’s first ever vacation in England this past June, we found London’s subway system to be a wonderfully efficient, economical, and speedy way to travel throughout the city.

When strolling the streets of Covent Garden, you are apt to find a restaurant to suit anyone’s tastes. All manner of shops are scattered throughout the area, ranging from the most exclusive upscale shops to popular chain stores. Covent Garden’s Apple Market offers a wide range of homemade goods and art. The East Colonnade Market features a variety of gift items, jewelry, and sweet treats. Street performers often entertain the passersby on the pedestrianized piazza.

BOOK REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY - JANE AUSTEN & KATE RIORDAN, SANDITON

Jane Austen's Sanditon

When Jane Austen was chronically ill with a mysterious disease in early 1817, she turned her thoughts to a happier subject. She started working on a witty and delightful novel set in a seaside town, Sanditon.  She never finished it. She just left us 11 chapters, about 60 pages.

Sanditon tells the story of Tom Parker, who is obsessed with turning the sleepy seaside village of Sanditon into a fashionable health resort. He enlists the backing of local bigwig Lady Denham. Through a mishap, Tom makes the acquaintance of the Heywoods and invites their eldest daughter, Charlotte for an extended stay at Sanditon.

Meanwhile, Lady Denham, a widow, is playing matchmaker for her destitute nephew, Sir Edward, who is determined to seduce Lady Denham’s ward, Clara. The arrival of wealthy, mixed-race heiress Miss Lambe, under the protection of Tom’s upright brother Sidney, adds an interesting complication. Eligible men naturally find Miss Lambe fascinating, while Charlotte is intrigued by Sidney…

NEW RELEASE! A SISTER'S CURSE BY JAYNE BAMBER: GUEST POST, EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY

Hello, it’s good to be back at My Jane Austen Book Club!

I am so excited to share an excerpt with you from my new release, A Sister’s Curse. The story is another high-angst tale, with Elizabeth meeting Fitzwilliam Darcy – and his entire extended family – much earlier on. In fact, she finds herself a part of his extended family long before they ever fall in love – it’s complicated!

A LADY’S REPUTATION BLOG TOUR: EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY

About the Book

“Mr. Darcy, I am eager to hear your explanation for the fact that quite a few people believe we are engaged.”

It starts with a bit of well-meant advice. Colonel Fitzwilliam suggests to his cousin Darcy that, before he proposes to Elizabeth Bennet in Kent, perhaps he ought to discuss his plans with their families first. 

What neither man could have predicted however was that Lord Matlock would write the news to his sister or Viscount Saye would overhear, and tell his friends, or that his friends might slip a little and let their friends know as well. The news spreads just as quickly through Hertfordshire once Mrs Bennet opens the express Mr Bennet receives from Mr Darcy, and in a matter of days, it seems like everyone knows that Mr Darcy has proposed marriage to Elizabeth Bennet. 

Everyone, that is, except Elizabeth herself. 

Her refusal is quick and definite—until matters of reputation, hers as well as Jane’s, are considered. Then Mr Darcy makes another offer: summer at Pemberley, so that Jane can be reunited with Mr Bingley and so that he can prove to Elizabeth he is not what she thinks of him. Falling in love with him is naturally impossible…but once she knows the man he truly is, will she be able to help herself?