Monday, 17 September 2018

OBSTACLES BLOG TOUR - AUTHOR GUEST POST & GIVEWAY


WHY OBSTACLES
Thank you, Maria Grazia, for inviting me to launch the tour for my debut book, Obstacles, on your blog. For this launch post, I thought your readers would like to learn about the inspiration for this book.
The inspiration for Obstacles came soon after I finished posting my second story, Paper Jam, when I was thinking about what to write next. My sister and I were having dinner at a friend’s house, who happens to be a horse breeder and trainer, when she told us about the foal she wanted to import from Germany and all of the issues she was having with the stable that was currently housing her horses. Like us, she was a middle class woman who was struggling to pursue a dream with only a few resources, while the rich and powerful gloated about their insanely expensive Grand Prix horses and achievements that can usually only been obtained with tons of money. As I listened to her, I thought, “Wow! This would make an excellent setting for a Pride & Prejudice story.” I mean, what a better backdrop for a battle of the classes than the equestrian world? While more and more people around the globe practice equestrian sports, it still remains the one most associated with wealth and royalty.

My own history with horses started when I was really small, about five years old. We lived in the suburbs of Buenos Aires and, believe it or not, my father bought us—my sister, brother and me—a mare. ‘Tintera’ was her name, which could be translated into English as ‘Inky’ because she was black. The mare didn’t stay much longer at home—you can’t just keep a big horse in the backyard—but that’s when my love story with horses began. After that, I took riding lessons and spent most of my time atop of my horse whenever we went to the farm that my family owned in the country.  A long time has passed since I last rode a horse, but my heart still flutters whenever I watch a horse jumping championship.
From the very beginning, I wanted Obstacles to follow the Pride and Prejudice storyline closely so that it felt familiar to readers. I wanted this so much that I chose a title that would repeat the first letter of each word, and named the story ‘Obstacles to Overcome’. The originality of the story came from changing certain characters, such as making Lydia a horse, and adding circumstances that would make the Bennet family less ”respectable” in modern times. I also wanted to emphasize the age gap between Elizabeth and Darcy and explore not only their social differences but their maturity levels in how they face certain situations. Elizabeth is young and naïve, and Darcy is…well, Darcy. For someone so worldly, he really has no clue what makes the world spin.
As a native Spanish speaker, one of my fears when I first posted this story was not being true to British idiosyncrasy. Unlike my previous stories, one Regency and the other happening in an imaginary country in South America, Obstacles takes place in modern England; a country I didn’t visit until almost twenty years after writing this story. It was the year 2002, and all I knew about England came from movies and TV shows, which happened to be translated into Spanish. There was no YouTube, and with dial-up Internet, so there wasn’t much information I could obtain online, so I bought books and searched everywhere to learn more about the modern Brits and the international show jumping world. As information became more accessible, and my English improved with constant practice—and the help of my very kind and patient betas—Obstacles has evolved to what it is now, and I have finally fulfilled my dream of becoming a published author.
I hope this little back story about my novel and about me inspires you to get into the pages of Obstacles’.

Belen Paccagnella


Book Description

Not all obstacles are restricted to the show-jumping arena… Though Elizabeth Bennet lives an uneventful life instructing young equestrians at Longbourn, the family farm, she dreams of winning a show-jumping competition on Liddy, her spirited mare. But her life is upended when a team of world-renowned riders arrives at Netherfield, the neighbouring estate, and uses it as their training headquarters. As she assists the newcomers and their prize-winning mounts, she meets William Darcy, a wealthy and arrogant—albeit talented—rider with Olympic aspirations. He first insults and then ignores Elizabeth, and her feelings teeter between disgust at his hauteur and admiration for his equestrian prowess. As she discovers first-hand the rigors of a world for the elite, will Elizabeth change her perspective about love, trust, and the foibles of her own family?
Originally known as “Obstacles to Overcome,” Obstacles pays homage to Pride and Prejudice in the highly competitive world of equestrian show jumping.

Belen Paccagnella’s Biography

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Belén Paccagnella discovered the world of Jane Austen fan fiction after watching the 1995 BBC miniseries of Pride and Prejudice. In her  teens, she lived in Brazil when her family moved to the city of Curitiba due to her father’s work. She moved back to Buenos Aires a few years later, where she studied agronomy but finally pursued a different career and started working in the development administration of shopping centres.

In 2001, she started writing both Regency and modern stories adapted from the Pride and Prejudice storyline, merging drama, humour, and adventure while creating  characters with unique traits.

Belén still lives in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, where she shares her home with her  daughter and her pets while spending her time working, reading, and writing.



Giveaways

Meryton Press is offering eight eBooks copies of Obstacles. The giveaway runs until midnight, September 30, 2018.






Terms and Conditions

Readers may enter the drawing by tweeting once a day and daily commenting on a blog post or a review that has a giveaway attached for the tour. Entrants must provide the name of the blog where they commented. If an entrant does not do so, that entry will be disqualified. One winner per contest. Each winner will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter and the giveaway is international.

49 comments:

Amy DOrazio said...

Belen, truly enjoyed your debut novel! Best of wishes on your blog tour!

Sonja said...

Looks like an interesting book! I would love to read it.

Unknown said...

Thank you Amy and Sonja!

Suzan Lauder said...

I enjoyed hearing the inspiration for the book and your personal story behind it. Congratulations on releasing your book baby! I look forward to the rest of your blog tour.

Lúthien84 said...

Thank you for sharing a bit of your background and your inspiration for penning your first novel, Belén. Btw, congratulations! From the premise, I think your book is enjoyable and I look forward to read it.

Christina Boyd said...

I loved this story years ago when I first read it online. I am looking forward to reading it again. It was such a favorite. Is it still set in 2002, or have you “updated” the novel to reflect today, like with texting and social media, etc? Congratulations! This is a great read.

darcybennett said...

Love the unique premise as I've never read any P&P book set in the equestrian world. Congrats on release!

Janet T said...

Enjoyed your post, Belén, and the book is great! I hope everyone will enjoy it as much as I did! Thanks, Maria, for hosting!

Eva said...

Thank you for your background. Congratulations on your book!

Just Jane 1813 said...

Thanks for hosting Belen and for welcoming her to the JAFF community as now a published author. I think lovers of Pride and Prejudice will find a lot to love in this story!!

Patty said...

Congratulations on this release.

Belén said...

Thank you all! Cristina, the story has been updated to 2018. It's interesting how much things changed with technology!

Anji said...

Congratulations on publishing your debut novel, Belén. Thanks for sharing some of your background and inspiration for it.

It's going to be an interesting take on the story we all know and love. Our future daughter-in-law has her own horse and her circumstances would certainly be a parallel to your Elizabeth's, but our son is in no way a counterpart of Darcy, either in wealth, background or character! However, she does actually work with horses in a stable that sounds very similar, though it's not quite up at the Grand Prix level, though it seems that money is no object, from what she's told us!

Belén said...

That's Great Anji! It's nice when the readers can relate to the story and find it realistic.

Belén said...

Thank you all for your lovely comments and warm welcome. It's a pleasure to be part of this blog.

PaydayAlabama said...

PaydayAlabama provides quick and hassle free process for applying Online Payday Loans Auburn University. The Process of applying is simple. Just fill the valid and up to date required information in the form and send it for approval. Our lenders would then contact you with an offer in case they approve your application. After approval, cash will be deposited to your account within 1 or 2 business days.

top research papers said...

Thanks so much for the blog post its very informative and I commend you for that. I will have to bookmark this site and show my friends. I also found below links helpful maybe you can have a look as you can get a research paper help or an assignment help. You can check our research questions examples , research questions as well as MLA Citation for the papers we have done before.

Joy Brick said...

Use Finance Assignment Help if you don’t find easy to solve your calculation part. Don’t waste your time by solving a complexes question under more than enough time; chose the best writer to get point-to-point information.
Finance Homework Help
Finance Assignment
Personal Finance Assignments
Finance Help Online

HRS Infrastructure said...

We are one of the most reliable and successful manufacturers pre-engineered buildings in India. By using the advanced technology and quality materials, we are fully committed to offer the best steel buildings structures for the valued customers. Our engineers are very proficient, skilled and trained to manufacture the best steel structure as per customer’s needs and demands.

Alejandraleo said...

There are five steps that a user need to follow if they want Cash app customer service, First, open the cash app account login page and then go with the Forgot password, Users need to enter the email address or phone number which they entered at the time of registration, You will get the confirmation code on your email id, Go to your email account and paste the confirmation code.

Alejandraleo said...

There can be a condition wherein you can't tap on the Digi-partition application's picture to recover my Yahoo mail forgot password. Considering everything, you should just interface with the client care by calling the help association number. You'll get all the techniques to manage the issue successfully.

aleon jhon said...

We provide an office.com/setup service firm. I have been offering quality support at a reasonable cost to all helpless candidates. I am working hard round the clock and active 24X7 at the helpline number to assist you in a better way.

Alejandraleo said...

Are you not able to handle your Cash app problems such as password issues, login troubles, security concerns, and many more? Do you want your Cash App problems and hurdles sorted out, within the least time frame? If yes, then you need to call at Can't add Cash to my Cash App anytime.

Alejandraleo said...

Cash app always monitors its user’s activity and this is why a user may face block cash app account issues. At the same time if any user unable to access their cash app account or Cash app transfer failed then they can use their cash app account on a different browser.

Alejandraleo said...

Has your Facebook account password been compromised or hacked by cyber terrorists? If yes, then all you need to make sure your recovery information is up to date and is in the active mode. Moreover, you can also contact the team’s specialists who are always at Facebook Customer Service helpline number anytime anywhere.

DrivenPerformancechiropractic said...

Really it was an amazing post and engaged the audience with your blog. keep writing more Blog. I also recommend visiting Driven Performance Chiropractic

bella smith said...

Can Investment Problems Be Sorted With Robinhood Customer Service?

Right at the moment you confront any kind of problems with your Robinhood account, you should immediately make a call at Robinhood Customer Service number. As quickly as you place a call, you will be able to have a word with a team of tech professionals who will eradicate your problems with optimum ease.

Canon Start said...

Get easy steps for canon Pixma wireless setup with a computer, laptop, mac & ios are available here. Set up your printer or with ij network device setup, and enjoy unparalleled image quality with our range of professional photo printers. To know more information, visit our ij.start.cannon site.

Perez Johnson said...

How does a cash app support phone number offer tech assistance?
The availability of the cash app support phone numberhelps to instantly connect the people with the deployed serviced team of the cash app. the technical obstructions are not a new aspect with the cash app. Therefore, it is crucial to choose the working factor that may enable the cash app users to overcome the problematic situation they face sometimes. The assistance from the service team can remove even the complicated issues at once.

Tech2review said...

The Asus TUF Gaming FX505 is finally live with a MIL.STD-810G rating, assuring that it will withstand the day-to-day rough & tough working strategy. With a ‘TUF’ design, it has proved to be one of the best mid-range gaming laptops.

Tech2review said...

Online streaming websites like Hdhub4u are used widely across the world despite the fact that some countries don’t consider them legal. However, Hdhub4u nit has built an exceptional place that is different from the rest of other similar streaming websites.

Steven Cohen said...

Automated Forex Trading: samtrade login Is An Automated Forex Investing Software. It Is An Algorithmic Trading Software That Provides Automated Forex Trading Signals.

james joy said...

Find Out A Relevant Info On How Can I Use A Fake Name On Cash App
Are you one of those users who are using a fake name on their Cash App accounts? All you have to do is to have a word with the troubleshooting experts on how Can I Use A Fake Name On Cash App. After clarify your doubts, you should proper utilize the real name of your Cash App account with optimum ease.
can i use a fake name on cash app

james joy said...

Wanna know how to increase cash app withdrawal limit?
Trying to Increase the Cash App Withdrawal Limit but could not do due to lack of knowledge of the procedure to increase the limit. If you want to increase the cash app withdrawal limit of your account then you have come in the right direction to know about the method to inverse the withdrawal limit of the cash app. to get the way to increase the withdrawal limit you just have to click on this link.

Bijouxjewel said...

Here are simple steps to Get a stimulus check from the cash app. First you need to open your Cash app on your device and then tap on the “banking” option, you need to choose direct deposit then, the Cash app will require you to activate your Cash app card after that you will find and choose account and routing number, make sure you click on the link here to see the entire procedure.
Get a stimulus check from the cash app

Bijouxjewel said...

Cash app clients can request help from the Cash App Support group. They are specialists at settling issues right away. In the period of innovation, people choose an internet-based app like a cash app to manage transactions. However, clients experience difficulties dependent on the tech glitches. Nonetheless, those are exceptionally baffling and clients discover the stage that may engage that to dispose of the issues at once.
Cash App Support

amara aley said...

We, at Helplinek-Australia, assist customers being a third-party service provider and help Netflix being its helping hand. If you’re confronting some technical issues frequently or on some occasions, we can help you through our Netflix Phone Number Australia.

Anonymous said...

Whenever you run into problems while streaming Netflix videos, such as password issues, network connectivity issues, or any other issues you can contact Netflix Phone Number Australia immediately to get the issue resolved. We will be happy to take care of your problems at any time you call our toll-free number 1-800-431-401.

Tourtoreview said...

If you’re confused about the term Synapomorphy and Symplesiomorphy, you don’t have to worry. In this guide, we will elaborate on these two terms, also discuss Synapomorphy vs Symplesiomorphy to make the description more clear.

Tourtoreview said...

The dream is a major part of human experience, and we all have dreams, but it can be differ from each other, like business, profession, dancing, singing, sports, and more. But we are talking about here “What Does It Mean When You Dream About Your Crush”. We are human and it is a common thing to be a crush, during the crush you will get some amazing feeling and full of excitement.

garima said...

One of the option of doing investement is by investing in Crypto currencies. You can invest in Fudxcoin company that deals in the selling and purchasing of Crypto Currency. It is a reliable company. One need not doubt in investing in it as i have also bought crypto currency from it and feeling very satisfied with their services.
crypto currency blockchain technology

Tourtoreview said...

There are wicket keepers who not only have fulfilled the above expectations, but also have done tremendously well and listed their name in the history of cricket as the most inspired and loved cricketers and Best wicket keepers in the World.

Tourtoreview said...

Symplesiomorphy. is a scientific word, which helps to understand the aspects of different kinds of species and their ancestors. There are thousands of species in the world that keep increasing their generation continuously.

nyc said...

NYC Art Installation can help you with picture hanging NYC services that can easily hang one-of-a-kind pieces.

AFM Logistics said...

AFM Logistics Pvt Ltd is an international freight forwarding and customs clearing company established in Delhi. The company was constituted in 2012 and is indulged in providing complete logistics solution. The company has its own setup and wide network of agents throughout the world. Best Custom Clearing Company in Delhi . They are the best air cargo and ocean freight forwarding company in Delhi, India. AFM Logistics Pvt Ltd has been working as Import and Export Agent in India since 2012. They have been providing personal baggage shipping services in India for a very long time.

Leo Oliver said...


Extremely good! Our Consultants provide Management Assignment Help at an affordable cost. Prices have been kept modest in order for all students to be able to access our students' writing services. Our management assignment writers provide high quality assignment projects for students. As a result, students who are who are having issues with unusually worded management duties can contact us with ease.

leothomas said...

Netflix is a well-known OTT medium and it is recognized for web series like Squid games And Money Heist etc. and movies like The Grey Man and Extractionetc. You can select your plan according to your expectation or requirement for your Netflix content. It is an online platform so technical glitches and Non-technical problem situations are general for Netflix. As a third-party service provider, we solved countless issues related to only Netflix and we have a special Netflix Phone Number Australia +61-480-020-996 Toll-free.

Gamers arena said...

an 1 | car mechanic simulator 21 mod apk | cyberika mod apk

Amelia said...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate
your efforts and I am waiting for your further post thanks once again.
Visit this Website