IN ESSENTIALS BLOG TOUR: AUTHOR GUEST POST, EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY

 

Hi Maria Grazia! Thank you for inviting me to write this guest post for the My Jane Austen Book Club.

 In Essentials is very close to my heart. Not simply because it is my first published novel, inspired by a piece of beloved, classic English literature by an author I adore, but because the story itself is very personal to me.

Sadly, I am not referring to the romance at the heart of Pride and Prejudice – I have no Mr Darcy in my life, yet! – but to the new challenge I have thrown at Elizabeth and Darcy. Six years ago I had the first of two pituitary tumours and my life has changed dramatically as a result. I have always wanted to write a story using my experiences as inspiration, and In Essentials was the result.

KAREN M. COX, "UNDECEIVED: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE IN THE SPY GAME" GETS A SECOND EDITION

Hi everyone! Thank you, Maria Grazia, for hosting me today to help spread the word about my re-release of Undeceived: Pride and Prejudice in the Spy Game. It’s the story of a unique Elizabeth and Darcy, CIA officers in the last years of the Cold War. He’s arrogant and standoffish—and heroic and handsome, of course. She’s bright and sparkling and naïve at the beginning, and learns from her mistakes with the grace we’ve come to expect from Elizabeth Bennet.

Undeceived is available now for preorder on various ebook platforms and will be 0.99 cents for the first 30 days after release (until 8/22/19.) The print version is in the works and will follow shortly after the ebook release.

SHARON LATHAN, THREE WAYS TO WED DURING THE REGENCY - GUEST BLOG & GIVEAWAY

My sincerest thanks to Maria Grazia for hosting me on My Jane Austen Book Club today. It is an honor to be here, and a great pleasure to share a bit of my research with your readers, as well as my latest novel. Darcy and Elizabeth: Hope of the Future is the second book in the two-volume Darcy Saga Prequel Duo, which began with Darcy and Elizabeth: A Season of Courtship. These two novels perfectly fit with my Darcy Saga Sequel to Pride and Prejudice, the series now including nine lengthy novels and one novella.

Three Ways to Wed during the Regency

Today I thought I would talk about the legitimate avenues for a legal marriage in England during the period our beloved characters lived. As a result of the Hardwicke Marriage Act of 1753, the rules and requirements were strictly detailed, in large part to prevent the rash marriages of the prior decades. 

The five major points of the 1753 Marriage Act were:

      1.  A license and/or the reading of the banns were required to legally marry.

2. Essential parental consent if either person was under the age of 21.
3. The ceremony must take place in a public chapel or church where at least one of the two resided AND by an authorized Church of England clergyman.
4. The marriage must be performed between 8am and noon, AND before designated witnesses.
5. The marriage had to be recorded in the marriage register with the signatures of both parties, the witnesses, and the minister.

MOIRA BIANCHI, AUSTEN LOVE FROM BRAZIL - GUEST POST, EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY

Moira Bainchi

Hello there!

Thanks for having me here, Maria Grazia!  I love Italy and everything Italian, including my hubs who has half-Portuguese-half-Italian heritage. I’m Brazilian, love and live in Rio de Janeiro, have a healthy fixation with Darcy and Lizzy since I first read Pride and Prejudice.

It was love at first line. When Austen told me exactly what was going on in Darcy's head I fell for him. What I like most in P&P is their imperfection, how real they seem. She is stubborn, strong-willed; he is haughty and conceited. Well, he is also stubborn, she is also conceited… I can never tell who is more prejudiced and who is more proud.

I spent years reading fanfic, silently at first and then commenting and making friends until I gave in to a particular scene that looped in my head constantly. From the barbecue sequence from ‘Friendship of a special kind’ to today, it’s been four years, countless short stories and drabbles and six books; I can’t seem to leave Ms. Austen’s characters alone. Neither they leave me… They talk to me in the wee hours of the night, right before falling asleep and sometimes I dream a whole scene, a whole plot even! A friend teases me saying I’m slightly crazy, I call it inspiration.

SHOULD ELIZABETH HAVE ACCEPTED DARCY'S FIRST PROPOSAL?

(guest post by Victoria Grossack)

I always want to play “what-if” with stories.  Juliet should not have faked her death; Romeo should not have swallowed the poison, and heck, maybe the Montagues and the Capulets should have ended their feud earlier.  So here’s a question: when Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth in Kent, should she have accepted him?

Some will cry out: Of course not!  Because in that case we would not have had the second half of Pride & Prejudice (and amazingly, the proposal scene occurs at the exact midpoint of the story).  And the second half, in which Elizabeth revises her opinion and Darcy atones for all his defects, is absolutely delightful.

But let us put aside the fact that an acceptance by Elizabeth would ruin the story.  If you were living in the novel, how would you advise Miss Elizabeth Bennet?

If your primary concern were money, you would recommend that she accept the proposal immediately. We have not seen Pemberley yet, but Mr. Darcy seems to be very rich and Elizabeth Bennet’s expectations are fairly bleak.  So if we were to take the attitude of Mrs. Collins, we would tell her to accept the proposal immediately.  In fact, Mrs. Collins is one of the few (other than Miss Bingley) who detects Darcy’s interest in Elizabeth, and she is convinced that if Elizabeth knew of his interest in her that her dislike would vanish.

SO FAR AWAY BY P.O. DIXON - READ AN EXCERPT AND WIN A COPY!

From the Author

I am happy for the chance to visit My Jane Austen Book Club once again to share an excerpt from my newest release, So Far Away. Thank you so much, Maria Grazia!

In Lady Elizabeth: Everything Will Change Book One, Darcy made an astonishing discovery that set him on a course destined to change Elizabeth’s life forever. So Far Away: Everything Will Change Book Two centers upon the aftermath of Darcy’s discovery.

The Book

So Far Away: Everything Will Change Book Two

Now that Elizabeth knows the truth about her past, she has returned to Longbourn. Wanting to reclaim her rightful place in the lives of her Bennet relations, she needs time before considering a life far away in Derbyshire with Mr. Darcy.

He promised he would wait for her for as long as it takes. With so much distance between the two of them the question soon became how long is too long.

SPOTLIGHT ON ... DARCY AND ELIZABETH, A MOST UNLIKELY COUPLE BY BRENDA J. WEBB + GIVEAWAY

Darcy and Elizabeth, A Most Unlikely Couple

 

With his persuasive tongue, Andrew Darcy is a very charismatic scoundrel. Having dealt for years with the scandals created by this wayward cousin, Fitzwilliam Darcy has grown weary. Thus, when yet another gentleman confronts Darcy about Andrew’s blatant betrayal of his daughter, Darcy decides he has had enough.

He sets out for Meryton to find Andrew, but no sooner has Andrew left for Manchester to offer for the unfortunate lady, than Meryton is abuzz with a new scandal involving Andrew and a local woman.

Feeling obligated to offer his assistance to the father, Darcy has no idea that accompanying Bingley to Longbourn will change his life forever. For the lady whose reputation is now at stake, Elizabeth Bennet, is the very reason he fled Meryton only weeks before.

Read an excerpt 

DARCY!” Charles’ voice penetrated his senses and he realised his friend was standing behind the open carriage door. “Are you well? I called several times, but you paid me no mind.”

“I . . . I apologise—”

“Never mind, we must hurry! Mr. Bennet has agreed to see you.” As William stepped out of the carriage and they started towards the door, Bingley cautioned, “Please try not to upset him. Just remember that he has had a great shock and has a lot of things on his mind.”

William stopped in his tracks. “Bingley, do you think me bereft of good manners?”

“No, not at all! Just try not to appear superior! I know that you do not think yourself superior, but those who are not acquainted with you have no way of knowing. From your manner—”

William broke in. “Thank you for the vote of confidence.”

SPOTLIGHT ON ... MRS DARCY'S DIAMONDS - A JANE AUSTEN JEWEL BOX NOVELLA BY JANE ODIWE. NEW RELEASE!

Mrs Darcy's Diamonds

Elizabeth is newly married to Fitzwilliam Darcy, the richest man in Derbyshire, landowner of a vast estate, and master of Pemberley House. Her new role is daunting at first, and having to deal with Mr Darcy’s aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, is a daily challenge. But, Elizabeth is deeply in love and determined to rise to every test and trial she is forced to endure. When her husband presents her with a diamond ring, part of the precious and irreplaceable Darcy suite of jewels, she feels not only honoured and secure in her husband’s love, but also ready to accept her new responsibilities and position.

Elizabeth knows she will face exacting scrutiny at the approaching Christmas Ball, but it will be her chance to prove that she is a worthy mistress, and she is excited to be playing hostess to the Bennets, the Bingleys, and the gentry families of Derbyshire, as well as Mr Darcy’s French cousins. Antoine de Valois and his sister Louise have arrived at the invitation of Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Elizabeth is delighted that this young and lively couple are helping to bring Miss Georgiana Darcy out of her shell. However, when her ring goes missing before the ball, Elizabeth is distraught, and her dilemma further increased by the threat of a scandal that appears to involve the French cousins. 

 

Read Jane Odiwe's Book Launch Post  

Read an excerpt from the book

Longbourn House, Hertfordshire - 11th December 1812
 
‘My dear, you are determined to vex me at every turn,’ said Mrs Bennet to her husband on the day before they were to travel to Pemberley House in Derbyshire. ‘I simply must know your opinion.’

TALKING JANE AUSTEN WITH ... LINDA BEUTLER ON HER LONGBOURN TO LONDON BLOG TOUR + DOUBLE GIVEAWAY

Welcome  to My JA Book Club, Linda ! Welcome back at My Jane Austen Book Club and thanks for accepting to talk Jane Austen with me.

You are very welcome, Maria. Thank you for being the very first stop on the Longbourn to London Blog Tour.

This is my first question for you: Longbourn to London is not your first Austenesque novel, it comes after The Red Chrysanthemum. But when and how you came to think of writing a Jane Austen – inspired book?

Actually, Longbourn to London came first. When I discovered Jane Austen Fan Fiction, in September 2011, I positively devoured every book I could get my hands on. I started with my local library, then on to Amazon and at Powell’s City of Books here in Portland (they also sell online). Through it all, I had no idea about the whole universe of blogs and posting sites like A Happy Assembly. Anyway, operating in something of a vacuum, I decided to try my hand. The sequels were probably my least favourite sub-genre, and I didn’t have a plausible what-if in mind at first, so I decided to look into Pride and Prejudice itself and was drawn to that great gulf Jane Austen left at the very end, rushing us through Elizabeth and Darcy’s betrothal with merely a couple of conversations. Hence, I expanded on the journey of discover Darcy and Elizabeth embarked upon when they became engaged.

     If you read Longbourn to London carefully, you’ll find the exact question Elizabeth asks Darcy that ending up being the inspiration point for The Red Chrysanthemum. By January 2013, both books were essentially complete.

THE GENTLEMAN'S IMPERTINENT DAUGHTER BLOG TOUR - GUEST POST BY AUTHOR ROSE FAIRBANKS + GIVEAWAY

Finding inspiration ...

It took me a few days to think of a good topic to post about. I finally realized my lack of focused inspiration could be a topic. It’s very timely, in fact. I am new to published works, but I have been writing for online forums for just under a year and have written one full length story, three novella length works, and eight works ranging from 800 to 7,000 words. I also made additions to and recreated two of those novellas into something much better. Let’s not discuss the stories that are dying and/or patiently waiting in my hard drive to see the light of day.

I just finished writing and sending my third novella length story, A Sense of Obligation, through the editing process before posting online. And as you may have guessed, I’ve basically been writing non-stop for the last year. I have seven stories that show a lot of promise, and I am trying to pick between three of them to become the next story. It’s been over a month since I finished writing A Sense of Obligation and while a few short stories have come, my muse is just not captured by anything long at the moment. I will eventually finish each of the stories I am working on; I have an outline and know what I want to do. I’ve just never needed to just write before like it was a job. Just log in the hours and complete the sentences and get it done. I’ve always been inspired, possessed perhaps, by scenes and stories.

SPOTLIGHT ON ... PRIDE, PREJUDICE & THE PERFECT BET BY MARILYN BRANT + GIVEAWAY

Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet

The course of true love doesn’t always run smooth… 

Everyone thought Beth Ann Bennet and Dr. Will Darcy had an unexpected romance in Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match (Perfect #1, January 2013). Now, Beth’s best friend, Jane Henderson, and Will’s first cousin, Bingley McNamara, begin their own unlikely love story in Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet (Perfect #2), which starts at the Darcy/Bennet wedding when they find themselves in the roles of maid of honor and best man for the newlyweds. 

Jane is an interning school psychologist and a woman who wears an angelic mask in public, but she’s not as sweet tempered as she’d like everyone to believe. Turns out, she may have just crossed paths with the one person who’ll unnerve her enough to get her to reveal her true self. 

As for Bingley, he’s a wealthy, flirtatious and compulsively social guru of finance, who likes to wager on stocks and, let’s face it, on just about anything that strikes his fancy. But this dedicated ladies’ man may have finally met the woman who’ll challenge his bachelor ways! 

Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet…where life’s biggest gamble is the game of love. 

**Note to Readers: Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet is part of the "Perfect" series, but it can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.**

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.

TALKING JANE AUSTEN WITH ... VICTORIA KINCAID: THE SECRETS OF DARCY AND ELIZABETH. WIN ONE OF THREE EBOOK COPIES!

My special guest for these Easter holidays is Victoria Kincaid, author of The Secrets of Darcy and Elizabeth. Victoria has a Ph.D. in English literature and has taught composition to unwilling college students. Today she teaches business writing to willing office professionals and tries to give voice to the demanding cast of characters in her head. She lives in Virginia with her husband, two children who love to read, and an overly affectionate cat. A lifelong Jane Austen fan, Victoria confesses to an extreme partiality for the Colin Firth miniseries version of Pride and Prejudice.

You'll find updating about her writing and releases at her site. You can purchase her Pride and Prejudice variation here. There's a giveaway contest for 3 ebook copies below this post, it is open internationally, so,  please, take your chances.  Good luck and Happy Easter time, everyone!

Maria Grazia

Jane Austen and the 21st century. She lives in book clubs, conversations, sequels and movie adaptations. Do you think she has travelled through the centuries unchanged?

I think how we view Jane Austen changes constantly because our culture is always in flux.  If you look at the 1940 version of P&P, it’s quite different from any Austen adaptation today because they were focused on different aspects of her work.  She’s enjoying a surge in popularity today because particular aspects of her writing are particularly appealing to our culture at this moment.  I guess I would say that Austen hasn’t changed, but how we see her changes quite a bit.

ON JANE AUSTEN AND ACTIVE VOLCANOS. MEET JOY DAWN KING, WIN HER "A FATHER'S SINS" + AMAZON GIFT CARDS

Welcome to our online club, Joy.  I'm really glad you accepted to be my guest at My Jane Austen Book Club and I'm so curious to discover more about  you and your debut novel, A Father's Sins!

Thank you so much for inviting me Maria. This has been an exciting adventure for me, both in writing, publishing, and promoting my book “A Father’s Sins” and in learning the finer points of modern technology. In the last three weeks I’ve Twittered, Googled, Blogged, and posted more than I have in the 57 years before that time and I do not think it will stop now that I have started.

Your book was released on March 22^nd of this year. What has been the biggest change so far?

It is funny that you should ask that, Maria. My husband and I had just been discussing that very question. I think the biggest change is the number of my friends that want to tell me the stories that they have been thinking of writing or those that ask for help to get published. This is delightful to me because I love to hear what goes through the minds of the people that I am around. The tales vary so much. Other Jane Austen fans seem to be pouring out of the woodwork and the support I am getting from friends, family, and even complete strangers is phenomenal. My circle of friends is certainly much wider now than it was before publishing.

BLOG TOUR: SPOTLIGHT ON ... JAN HAHN, THE SECRET BETROTHAL + DOUBLE BOOK GIVEAWAY

  

Why would a gentleman ask a lady to conceal their betrothal?

Jane Austen writes of secret engagements in more than one of her novels, and in The Secret Betrothal, author Jan Hahn explores the question of what would happen if Austen’s most famous heroine from Pride and Prejudice reluctantly agrees to accept such a proposal.

When Fitzwilliam Darcy learns that Elizabeth Bennet has committed herself to such an arrangement, his hopes of winning her hand are shattered.  After circumstances continue to bring the two together—from Hertfordshire to Rosings Park to the seaside town of Brighton―he finds he is unable to tame his desire for the woman who has stolen his heart.

Will Darcy’s efforts to win Elizabeth succeed, or will his sworn enemy lead her to the altar?

COUPLES WHOSE LOVE REMINDS US OF ELIZABETH AND DARCY

(from Bookish)

In vain they struggled, but it wouldn’t do. Their feelings would not be repressed, and as readers, we eagerly read on as their love overcame them and finally culminated in a moment of passion and truth. It's hard to believe it's been over 200 years since the publication of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. In honor of this anniversary, allow us to share how ardently we admire and love these literary lovers who remind us of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.

1.Tiger Lily

Though Neverland is “the second star to the right and straight on til morning” from the world of the English aristocracy, the same difficulties of love exist. Like Lizzie, Peter is energetic, social, and doesn’t often take in evidence that shakes his view of the world. Tiger Lily shares Mr. Darcy's stoicism and aloofness. Competition between these couples is fierce, with Darcy and Lizzie trying to best each other through wit, while neither Peter nor Tiger Lily would stand to be second bravest. All four should have “stubborn” as their middle names.

2. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows

“It’s Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the ‘gar’ nice and long.” Since the day they met, Ron and Hermione have been getting under each other’s skin. It took them six years to get it together, so that when they first kissed at the end of the final Harry Potter book, there was not a single person who didn’t shout, “Finally!” Not even Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth were that stubborn. It’s easy to imagine that if Lizzie was a witch, she’d have sent conjured canaries at Mr. Darcy’s head, too.

SPOTLIGHT ON ... A LASTING LOVE AFFAIR: DARCY AND ELIZABETH BY P. O. DIXON + GIVEAWAY

From the Author: I never tire of imagining various ways for Darcy and Elizabeth to overcome their pride and prejudices and fall in love. I enjoy introducing challenges easily relatable to those faced by young lovers today especially. It speaks to the timelessness of Darcy and Elizabeth’s relationship—a lasting love affair.

 P. O. Dixon 

The Book

                                                  

A Lasting Love Affair: Darcy and Elizabeth

It’s the centuries old love affair that keeps us coming back for more.

Darcy was not looking to fall in love. He thought he had it all: wealth, privilege, and ardent passion for his sport. Then he meets Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and soon thereafter he knows that she is the woman with whom he is destined to spend his life.