Linda Wells worked for years in the environmental engineering
world until she traded her career as a geographer and technical editor for one
as a mom to a challenging and really great son. After seeing the 2005
production of Pride and Prejudice, she bought a copy of Jane Austen’s novel and
found JAFF. Eventually, a story of her own started nagging at
her until she finally wrote it down. It has become a wonderful
experience to stretch her imagination, but the true reward has been the friends
she has made along the way.
While she has no blog, she is always happy to hear
from people on her author page at amazon.com/author/lindawells
She is also on Facebook, or welcomes emails to lindawellsbooknut@gmail.com
Darcy & Elizabeth ... at the core of it all is passion
I was thinking about
Jane Austen, the author. While it is
wonderful knowing the details of her life, where she grew up, her family, her
experiences; it is Jane Austen’s imagination that I treasure. She did not marry her Mr. Darcy. She did not become the mistress of a grand
estate, or have a lost love return to sweep her off her feet, but what she
wrote about, and imagined, was passion.
It might have been expressed, or perhaps suppressed is a better word,
gently, like Jane Bennet’s feelings for Charles Bingley. Or it could be furiously spoken as in the
wordplay of Elizabeth and Darcy. But in
the end, it proves that an author need not experience a situation firsthand to
give it life in her writing.
When I fell into
writing JAFF, I was no expert in the life and times of the early nineteenth
century, although I have learned a great deal since I began, but I was deeply attracted to the timeless and
universal characters Jane Austen created.
And for me, it is Darcy and Elizabeth who drive my imagination. Jane Austen gifted me with the desire to find
the layers beneath these characters. No
matter how I look at it, how I chose to begin a story, how I change the circumstances
and have them meet, at the core of it all is passion.
I love the idea
of Darcy being an impossibly handsome and noble man striding into Elizabeth’s limited
world and opening her eyes to what life could
be. And him, used to spending his time
standing stiffly in corners making the proper polite conversation, where
laughing is frowned upon and order is expected, coming face to face with this sparkling,
challenging woman who is not the ideal beauty, but for him glows and turns his
world upside down. That is the heart of the stories I like to tell. I completely believe in their love being at
first sight, even if they don’t realize it.
I love the struggle of them both wanting each other despite their
differences. It is all passion.
Another word
that applies here is trust. For a man
such as Fitzwilliam Darcy to allow himself to love and be loved, and even more
to marry Elizabeth Bennet is an
exceptional show of trust on his part.
He had to believe that this woman who had absolutely nothing to offer
but herself was the only choice for his wife and the future of his estate. And for Elizabeth, upon opening her heart to this
man who was tearing her from everything she knew, and bringing her into a society
she could hardly imagine, had to trust him to care for her with the love and
respect she both needed and deserved as she learned her role in his world.
The book
Trust and
passion are the driving forces in Imperative.
All of the characters experience it on one level or another through
their various trials and dramas. But it
is Darcy and Elizabeth, and their love, that is at the center, and through them
everything revolves.
In Volume 1 of this
variation, Fitzwilliam Darcy is a man with a great many secrets to keep, one
involves his sister, and the other involves his heart. The problem is, he cannot just keep the
secrets. They demand attention, and
action, and in hopeless times, a good man does not always think things through,
even when he is desperately trying to do the right thing for the two most
important women in his life.
In Volume
2, Fitzwilliam Darcy has survived threats to his mind and body, exposure of his
deepest secrets, and endless challenges from his family. He could never have
come so far without Elizabeth Bennet by his side. She has accepted and excelled
in the position she has taken, and is the reason why he is so clearly the
Master of Pemberley. Now he must finish the task he began the day they took
their vows. He must safeguard his sister while protecting his estate, his
family, and their future. Hope is their byword, love is the key.
This
story contains scenes of a mature nature between a happily married couple. The entire story is 1500 pages.
Giveaway
1 complete set of the
ebooks to a non US reader.
1 complete set of
either the ebooks or Volume 1 of the paperback to a US reader.
The name of the winners will be announced on March 9th. Leave your comment + e-mail address + country of residence to enter the giveaway contest.
The name of the winners will be announced on March 9th. Leave your comment + e-mail address + country of residence to enter the giveaway contest.
The ebooks are
available at Amazon (worldwide sites) and Barnes and Noble, $9.99
The paper books are available
only at Amazon.com, Volume 1: $24.00, Volume 2: $22.25
Volume 1
Great post! Thank you for sharing. Wow! 1500 pages of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth... I'd love to have the chance to savour them :-)) Thank you for the giveaway.
ReplyDeletefaridamestek@yahoo.com (Ukraine)
I agree. Passion is the key word in these stories. Lovely, mind-expanding passion. Nobody does it better than you, Linda.
ReplyDeleteA chance to win the books? Yeah, baby.
Gayle
scmema at yahoo dot come
I would LOVE to win this! I have all of Linda's other books and can't wait to read these! Thanks for the chance to win them!
ReplyDeletecanapple7(at)cox(dot)net USA
This is a great giveaway. I liked your post and agree that passion is what stirs our souls. I can't imagine 1500 pages of Darcy and Lizzy!
ReplyDeletejbtaylor12@gmail.com
usa
oh my goodness - could it get any better? a chance to win Imperative - woohoo! I have budgetted in for April to get Vol 1 and vol 2 in May for my birthday - but I might win it now - major woo-hoo!
ReplyDeleteweek by week, every Wed and particularly every Sunday, reading the next posting was a highlight. (still miss you as a companion for my Sunday brunch). I am very anxious to sit down, book in hand, and read the final version, chapter after rolling chapter with only RL to cause a pause.
Linda, you know how much I love your D&E and all your characters; their dialogue and interactions are some of the very best put to paper.
I do so hope your sales go well because you definitely rank up there in the very top of JA inspired writers.
Sounds really interesting! Can't wait to read them!
ReplyDeletearaminta18 at gmail dot com
United States
Wow, 1500 pages! I have heard such wonderful praise of Linda's stories but have yet to read them myself. I definitely look forward to doing that, and would be thrilled to win a copy. Thank you for the opportunity :)
ReplyDeletemonicaperry00 at gmail dot com
(I'm in the US)
Hi!
ReplyDeleteI met Linda's work recently and I loved all about it. English isn't my first language so, reading fanfics has been a chance for learning and her creativity is very inspiring!
e-mail: ana_rbk_22@hotmail.com
Brazil.
Linda,
ReplyDeleteI already bought your book on Kindle but I would LOVE to win a paperback copy. What you must know is why I bought it. I already have enough e-books from JAFF to keep me entertained for months but I have a small book club on facebook where we talk all things Jane & JAFF. The other girls live in Brazil but they know a lot more about JAFF than I do and made me buy your book so we can read it together (they also bought on kindle). We also watch movies and series together to comment online. They started reading your book before me and can't stop talking about it. I have some catching up to do. Off to Imperative here I go!
Thanks,
ritalacerdawatts@aol.com
Congratulations on publishing your latest, LInda.
ReplyDeleteI just LOVE those covers. Your cover artist did an excellent job!
Wow, Linda -- even your comment about PP makes me feel your passion for our favorite couple. Your stories are not tales of infatuation but of true mature love, tested by families, enemies, and circumstances (like cliffs). My Sunday and Wednesday mornings are still reserved for your updates.
ReplyDeletee-mail address is junewilliams7 at yahoo dot com (U.S.)
My goodness, so many comments!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Farida! Yes, I have a reputation for long stories, so there is a lot of D&E in this one. I really love this particular couple.
Hi Gayle! Oh, thank you so much, you are too nice!
Candy, wow, thank you for telling me that you love the stories!
JT . . . LOL Yeah, 1500 pages for this one, can you believe that I was proud it came out shorter than my other epic, Memory? I thought that was a great accomplishment.
Hi Jan! Ohhh, you are making me shy, thank you for the very kind praise, I do appreciate it so much. I hope that you enjoy the story again (hopefully much better than the original) whether you win or not. It’s so nice to be considered birthday gift worthy!
Araminta, thanks! I hope that you enjoy the story.
Hi Monica! Well it’s nice to know that you’ve heard good things about the stories! I hope that you will enjoy whichever one you decide to give a try, and thanks!
Hi Ana, wow, thank you! I am forever impressed with how many readers I have whose first language is not English, and you are not alone in using fanfic as a great way to learn.
Rita, LOL, so you were forced to read Imperative? That’s great! I thank your group of friends who twisted your arm. I hope that you are soon caught up with them and that you think it was a good read!
Thank you, Nina! Congratulations to you, too. And my cover artist is me, so I guess I’ll pat myself on the back.
June, thank you. I don’t think that I could spend the time writing the stories if I didn’t feel strongly about the characters, and Darcy and Elizabeth are a very passionate pair. Cliffs and all! I look forward to starting to post the next story and giving you sleepless nights again! We officially began yesterday.
Love the story behind your writing Linda - your stories are so wonderful!
ReplyDeletegailwarner(at)verizon(dot)net
USA - ebook (either Nook or PDF)
I have read several of your other books and loved them. I am intrigued by this as well. 1500 pages of D&E! Bring it on! Thank you for the giveaway. Would love a chance to win an ebook set. (US)
ReplyDeletecherringtonmb(at)sbcglobal(dot)net
Thank you so much, Gail! I'm just a big romantic escaping RL with the writing.
ReplyDeleteHi Becky! I'm glad that you enjoyed the other stories! I know, it's a long one, and it only covers one year, but it's a really, really eventful year!
this sounds like such an awesome read for Austen fans!!!!
ReplyDeletethank you for the giveaway!!!
i would LOVE the ebooks of the set.........i'm in the US.....
cyn209 at juno dot com
Hi cyn209! Thanks, I'm pretty happy with it, and I hope you will be happy, too! I really want to continue the story one day and see what happens to this couple.
ReplyDeleteI like the covers. Very inviting.
ReplyDeleteCanada
Margaret
singitm(at)hotmail(dot)com
1500 Pages of Elizabeth and Darcy sounds like a treat! It would definately keep me busy for awhile. I have my fingers crossed!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much.
Sue
US-ebook
Hi Margaret, thank you! Whenever I get stuck in the writing I go looking for cover pictures.
ReplyDeleteSue, thanks! I wish you good luck! It's a nice long read!
Cover-love! :) The covers are beautiful and the stories sound fantastic. Can't wait to read them :)
ReplyDeletebrendapwood@gmail.com (New Zealand)
Thank you, Brenda! If you go on Facebook and look me up, you can see the whole covers. One of my readers drew a beautiful picture of some important places in the story and I put it on the back of the second book. If I could post it here, I would.
ReplyDeleteSounds like Darcy and his secrets get him into trouble. Sounds like a wonderful read. The cover is wonderful. Recently I read a post on people judging thier books by the covers and I think this one would pick me. Can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteU.S
bookreviewclub@yahoo.com
Well, not quite, Darcy's secrets just give him a lot of trouble, and he really needs Elizabeth to help him to find some good solutions, I'm so glad that you like the covers, thanks, Krista! I love the mystery of the partially open door since the first half of the story is pretty dark, and then the warmth of the open door as things slowly improve in the second part.
ReplyDeleteI have all your books and have enjoyed reading your stuff on meryton.com. I look forward to reading Imperative.
ReplyDeleteJennifer W
jandjwebb@msn.com
USA
Thank you for telling me, Jennifer! I imagine you have already read the original story, so I hope that you like the "new and improved" version.
ReplyDelete