Barbara Tiller Cole: The Inspiration for Darcyholic Diversions

Christmas In July With Barbara Tiller Cole

Hi, Darcyholics!  Today's post is by me!  I am celebrating Christmas in July!  My gift to you is Fitzwilliam Ebenezer Darcy's Kindle edition both on the 24th and 25th.  More information later in the post!

If you have not yet reviewed the updated information about the Decatur Book Festival Jane Austen: Then And Now, review the tabs above.  The deadline for authors registering to join us is July 31st.  We are up to 18 authors participating (with 2 more close to committing in the wings)! It is NOT too late to join us!  We just added another tent today so we have room for you!

During the month of August we will be featuring many of the authors that are going to be at the event.  And don't forget to comment on the other July posts as there are still some give aways up for grabs!

Upcoming Guest Posts Are As Follows:
July 27--Amy Cecil
July 29--William Deresiewicz
July 31--Maria Grace
August 3--Wendi S.
August 5--Laura Dabundo
August 7--Moira B.
August 10--Abigail Reynolds
August 12--Cynthia Hensley
August 14--Colette Saucier
August 17--Regina Jeffers
August 19--KaraLynne Mackrory
August 21--Sally Smith O'Rourke
August 24--Amber Godat
August 26--Lory Lilian
September 18--Laura Hile
November 2--Amy Patterson
November 13--Karen Doornebos
And Many more to come!

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Comments on Barbara's post will be entries into the monthly drawings here at Darcyholic Diversions, as WELL as you getting to get a FREE Kindle Copy of Fitzwilliam Ebenezer Darcy just for taking the time to read the blog post!.  Entries will be based on comments on blog posts; but additional chances will be given for joining this site, tweeting this post, Joining this site as a member via Google Friend Connect (GFC) (See the left hand column on the blog to join!), sharing this on Facebook or your blog, Friend me on Facebook, clicking 'like’ on Barbara Tiller Cole, Author's Facebook page, Join Darcyholic Diversions Facebook Page or following BarbTCole on Twitter.

 The Inspiration for Darcyholic Diversions

Some of you who have been following my blog for awhile may wonder how I came up with the name Darcyholic Diversions in the first place?  Well, obviously if you are going to create a site with this particular name you probably ARE a Darcyholic?  But how did it start?

It all began in 2001 after having surgery.  A girl friend brought over her VHS set of the BBC Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice to cheer me up. I pushed rewind countless times to see Colin dive into the pond at Pemberley (of course I do now know that scene was Jane Austen inspired literature and NOT in the novel itself)!  But it was more than just that. I was caught by the language, the period, the characters, the costumes--but most of all caught by Mr. Darcy himself.  

Earlier in my life, my mother had introduced me to Jane Austen and I had loved her novels then.  We even found and read some early sequels, but it was 2001 that caused me to begin to 'mainline' Darcy. 

My surgery was in March of 2001. Low and behold the very first movie I saw, still in sweatsuit and not driving (long before I returned to work) was Bridget Jones Diary, released April 1, 2001.  There he was again, Mr. Darcy.

Since BOTH Mr. Darcy's were portrayed by one Colin Firth, I was HOOKED!  I began searching for anything and everything I could find about Mr. Darcy (and Colin Firth) and happened upon online sites filled with Jane Austen inspired literature (also called JAFF) one day by accident.  The first site I came to was Sharon Lathan's back when she was posting her Darcy series online.  But that was just the beginning! An addict was born.

I will share more of the middle of the story at a later date, but some of you might want to know how I decided to coin the phrase Darcyholic.  You see, in my real life I have been working in the field of addiction for going on 25 years.  If there is a work field in which you need a divergent hobby to escape, it is work in addiction. I have a work-in-progress that may one day see the light of day about an alcoholic Will Darcy.  I began to write that story and shortly after beginning its development my uncle committed suicide from complications of his disease of alcoholism and losing his vision.  I lost my heart for the story for a time.  

Last fall, however, I wanted to write again and I decided to write THAT story's flip side.  A comedy!  I got the inspiration to write a story that will be published late this fall, Adventures of a Darcyholic.  It started out as a short story, but now has become a full fledged book with what I hope is a plot full of fun and Darcyholic adventures! 

So why am I posting about this TODAY?  I wanted to share with you a Christmas in July gift.  In the process of doing that, I had to look up and find the origins of Christmas in July.  In the Northern Hemisphere we celebrate Christmas in December, but there are some in the Southern Hemisphere that chose to celebrate in July; because it is much closer to the type of weather that is commonly associated with Christmas.  The earliest reference to Christmas in July that I could find was in an opera libretto of Werther in 1894.  

The earliest known occasion to make the phrase Christmas in July literal was in July 1933 at Camp Keystone, a girl's summer camp in North Carolina.  They celebrated with a Christmas tree, gifts, and a visit by Santa Claus. In 1935, the National Recreation Association's journal Recreation described what a Christmas in July was like at a girl's camp, writing that "all mystery and wonder surround this annual event." QUITE a coincidence, my niece is at that camp as I write this!

So we come back to THIS year's Christmas in July Gift to YOU, the readers of Darcyholic Diversions! July 24th and 25th--All Day Christmas in July Eve and Christmas in July Day--Fitzwilliam Ebenezer Darcy is scheduled to be Free on Amazon!  So pass the word, and Merry Christmas in July!

With that gift, I am also pleased to announce my next novel.  The novel whose name inspired THIS blog!

Coming This Fall--Adventures of a Darcyholic

It is a proven fact that when a man or woman become obsessed with an object of desire, particularly when that personification is a fictional character such as one Fitzwilliam Darcy, it may be necessary to surrender and admit defect to intervention, and seek help when simple infatuation becomes an addiction.  In Adventures of a Darcyholic our hero and heroine have a deep need to find some balance in their lives. Is support available to assist them to find a path back to normal?  But then again, if Darcy is the problem do they wish for a cure?

Barbara Tiller Cole, an Atlanta native and author of her third novel, brings to light this Jane Austen inspired laugh-out-loud comedic delight.