Monday 29 June 2015

REGINA JEFFERS, THE PROSECUTION OF MR DARCY'S COUSIN - AUTHOR GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY

When I began writing The Prosecution of Mr. Darcys Cousin: A Pride and Prejudice Mystery, I thought to use the actual Regency era case known as The Ratcliffe Highway Murders in the plot line for the although a suspect was identified, the man committed suicide and nothing was proved in court. P. D. James and T. A. Critchley discuss this case in great detail (and a bit of editorializing) in The Maul and the Pear Tree.

However, as I set up the story line for my novel, many changes needed to be made to the actual Ratcliffe mystery to fit my manuscript. Most importantly, the Ratcliffe murders occurred in December 1811. In my books, Major General Fitzwilliam (Colonel Fitzwilliam in the original Pride and Prejudice) married Miss Georgiana Darcy right after Napoleon escaped from Elba and right before the Major General returned to serve with Wellington at Waterloo. That means my story is set in 1816.

The Major General and Mrs. Fitzwilliam have been married sixteen months and are the parents of a daughter. The major general resigned his commission and became a landed gentleman in Oxfordshire. Yet, doing so brings Fitzwilliam no success for 1816 was the Year Without Summer, when the ash from the Mount Tambora eruption spread across Europe, England and America, disturbing the weather and disrupting crops. Fitzwilliam knew much success as an Army officer, and this failure plays hard with his nature.

I used the concept of the mass hysteria associated with the Ratcliffe Murders in this book. What would happen if several gruesome murders occur in Wapping? What if the prime suspect is the son of an earl? Would justice prevail? Would the victims, part of the poor of London, know justice? There are bits of Jack the Ripper-like hysteria in the tale.

Sunday 21 June 2015

VICTORIA KINCAID, WHAT IF MR DARCY'S PROPOSAL WAS TOO LATE? PRIDE & PROPOSALS: GUESTPOST, EXCERPT, GIVEAWAY

Colonel Fitzwilliam is an intriguing figure in Pride and Prejudice.  He appears for a rather short time in the novel, and his main function is to inform Elizabeth of Darcy’s role in separating Jane from Bingley.  We never even learn his first name.  Austen makes it clear, however, that Elizabeth and the Colonel get along well, in part because he enjoys the “easy manners” Darcy does not possess.  Thus, the Colonel serves to emphasize Darcy’s introverted, socially awkward nature while highlighting Elizabeth’s gregariousness.  Austen hints at the potential for a romance between Elizabeth and the Colonel, but he tells her he must marry an heiress, so any attraction goes nowhere. 

In the world of Jane Austen fan fiction, Colonel Fitzwilliam has a much more varied and extensive role than in the original novel.  He acquires a first name (Richard) which is used almost universally.  He is paired with Georgiana, Anne de Bourgh, Jane Bennet, or any number of other women.  He goes to war, inherits the earldom, fights with Wickham, and becomes involved in many other plots.  Because he is the son of an earl and a soldier, his character offers a lot of potential for interesting storylines.  But, above all in JAFF, the Colonel is always Darcy’s friend and confidante.  More than Bingley, he is the person Darcy can talk to about his conflicts over Elizabeth and his obligations to his family. 

Tuesday 16 June 2015

SUN-KISSED BLOG TOUR - LINDA BEUTLER ON HER DARCY TALE INCLUDED IN THE ANTHOLOGY + WIN A PAPERBACK COPY!


“So each had a private little sun for her soul to bask in…” —Thomas Hardy

If you desire a little heat, a summer flirtation, or an escape to bask in your own private sun, this whimsical collection of original short stories is inspired by all things summer. In collaboration with some of Meryton Press’s most popular and award-winning authors, this anthology debuts other promising and emerging talent.

·         In KaraLynne Mackrory’s “Shades of Pemberley,” Mr. Darcy, with some fantastic assistance, discovers Elizabeth Bennet in a most unlikely place.

·         Karen M. Cox’s “Northanger Revisited” modernizes Northanger Abbey at a fictionalized Georgia seaside.

Friday 12 June 2015

SPOTLIGHT ON ... MARIA GRACE, MISTAKING HER CHARACTER: A PRIDE AND PREJUDICE VARIATION + WIN EBOOK!


Mistaking Her Character: A Pride and Prejudice Variation (The Queen of Rosings Park Book 1)


Lady Catherine de Bourgh is prepared to be very generous when it comes to medical care for her sickly daughter, Anne – generous enough to lure noted physician Dr. Thomas Bennet to give up his London practice and move his family to Rosings Park. But his good income comes with a price: complete dependence on his demanding patroness’s every whim.  
Now the Bennet family is trapped, reliant on Lady Catherine for their survival. Their patroness controls every aspect of the Bennet household, from the shelves in the closet to the selection of suitors for the five Bennet daughters. Now she has chosen a husband for headstrong Elizabeth Bennet– Mr. George Wickham.
But Lady Catherine’s nephew, Fitzwilliam Darcy, is not so sure about his aunt’s choice. He is fascinated by the compassionate Elizabeth who seems to effortlessly understand everyone around her, including him. Lady Catherine has other plans for Darcy, though, and she forbids Elizabeth to even speak to him.

Tuesday 9 June 2015

KARA LOUISE, A BOOK IN A BOOK - MR DARCY'S RIVAL BLOG TOUR & GIVEAWAY



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.