You
may have heard authors say that there are times when in the middle (or beginning
or even towards the end) of writing a manuscript, something happens quite unexpectedly.
Some little revelation or action occurs that suddenly threatens to send the
book in a whole new direction. This happened with me in my recent book, “Mr.
Darcy’s Rival.”
When
Mr. Darcy and his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, arrive at Rosings to visit their
aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, they discover another nephew is there, Matthew
Rickland. Mr. Rickland is not on the same side of the family as the two men –
he is the nephew of the late Sir Lewis de Bourgh, but the men are acquainted.
Mr.
Darcy also discovers that Elizabeth Bennet is just across the lane at Hunsford
Parsonage. This causes him to be quite unsettled, as he had tried everything to
rid her from his mind and heart in the months since he had seen her. But he
also begins to wonder if she has an interest in Rickland and finds that even
more disconcerting.
That
is the premise of the book.
But
when I wrote the book, Lady Catherine’s daughter, Anne, revealed something to
Elizabeth that ended up having a substantial part in the story. She confessed
to her that she is an author and had two books published. No one in her family
knew, except her companion, Mrs. Jenkinson.
One
of those books she had written was titled, “A Peculiar Engagement,” which
surprised Elizabeth when she began to read it and realized what it was about.
Here are the first couple paragraphs. Can you guess what this book is about?
Annabelle Drake distinctly
recollected the first time she had perceived Fitzpatrick Danbury as the
attractive young man he was. It was an inexplicable, sudden sensibility of his
presence, his person, and the prominence he would have in her life. It moved
something within her she had never before experienced. She trembled, despite
the warmth of the room.
