THE INNKEEPER OF IVY HILL BLOG TOUR - 5 QUESTIONS FOR ... AUTHOR JULIE KLASSEN

About the book

The lifeblood of the village of Ivy Hill is its coaching inn, The Bell. When the innkeeper dies suddenly, his genteel wife, Jane Bell, becomes the reluctant landlady. Jane has no idea how to manage a business, but with the town's livelihood at stake and a large loan due, she must quickly find a way to save the inn.

Despite their strained relationship, Jane turns to her resentful mother-in-law, Thora, for help. Formerly mistress of The Bell, Thora is struggling to overcome her losses and find purpose for the future. As she works with Jane, two men from her past vie for her attention, but Thora has promised herself never to marry again. Will one of them convince her to embrace a second chance at love?

As pressure mounts from the bank, Jane employs new methods, and puzzles over the intentions of several men who seem to have a vested interest in the place, including a mysterious newcomer with secret plans of his own. With the help of friends old and new, can Jane restore life to the inn, and to her empty heart as well?

Visit talesfromivyhill.com to find a map of the village, character profiles, a book giveaway, and more!

THE SECRET OF PEMBROOKE PARK BLOG TOUR - JULIE KLASSEN: "WHAT INSPIRED MY NEW WORK" + GRAND GIVEAWAY!

Hello dear Austenite friends! I'm really glad and honored to give the start to this great blog tour. 

Award winning historical romance author Julie Klassen tours the blogosphere February 16 through March 2 to share her latest release, The Secret of Pembrooke Park. Twenty five popular book bloggers specializing in historical and Austenesque fiction will feature guest blogs, interviews, book reviews and excerpts of this acclaimed gothic Regency romance novel. A fabulous giveaway contest, including copies of all of Ms. Klassen’s eight books and other Jane Austen-themed items, is open to those who join the festivities. 

Inspiration for The Secret of Pembrooke Park, 

Guest post by Julie Klassen

People often ask me where I find the ideas for my books. And the answer varies. Most ideas have come from research—historical practices, professions, or events that spark the idea for a situation or premise. Some ideas have been inspired by movies I’ve seen, or books I’ve loved, especially those by Jane Austen or Charlotte Bronte. Others have come from historic places I’ve visited in England—if only I could travel there more often!

My latest book, The Secret of Pembrooke Park, is about a young woman who moves with her family into a mysterious manor abandoned for eighteen years. With help from a handsome neighbor, she searches the house, hoping to find its secret room and rumored hidden treasure—but finds danger instead. The idea for this setting came from closer to home.

I grew up in rural Central Illinois. We could only see one house from ours, and that was across a field. (I spent a lot of time playing alone as a girl, which likely helped develop my imagination.) About a half mile behind our house was a wood. I liked to walk there, all the while making up stories in my head. In these woods, I stumbled upon an abandoned house. The roof and most of the upper story was gone, but three walls still stood. Through the gaped opening, you could see the entire ground floor, still furnished. A moldering piano listed in one corner, a tattered blue dress hung on the wall, a set of stairs lead upwards to nowhere… Behind the house I discovered a root cellar—a hollowed out mound of earth with stairs leading down into it. Inside there were still shelves filled with mason jars of home-canned peaches and vegetables.

"THERE WERE TWENTY DANCES AND I DANCED THEM ALL.." - MEET AUTHOR JULIE KLASSEN + BOOK GIVEAWAY: THE DANCING MASTER

“There were twenty dances & I danced them all…” –   Jane Austen

In Jane Austen’s time, dancing was one of the few ways young men and women could spend time together and court one another. “Every savage can dance,” Mr. Darcy says, but unless one wished to dance very ill (Mr. Collins comes to mind) lessons were crucial. Dancing was considered such an important social skill, that parents hired dancing masters to come into the homes and teach their sons and daughters not only dance steps, but also deportment and etiquette. So, as an author of half a dozen other books set in the Regency era—and someone who loves to dance-- it was probably only a matter of time until I wrote about a dancing master.

To research the book, I read old instructional guides and journals written by dancing masters of ages past. But the best and most enjoyable kind of research was actually learning dances from that time period. My dear, longsuffering husband and I went English country dancing several times. It was research, after all! We learned a lot and enjoyed ourselves.

I also attended the annual general meeting of the Jane Austen Society of North America, held in Minneapolis in September 2013. It was my first time attending the conference, though I have been a JASNA member for several years. A sold-out crowd of nearly 800 gathered to celebrate the 200^th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice—a favorite with Austen fans everywhere.