tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40784096895708750272024-03-06T15:02:38.707-05:00Darcyholic DiversionsFor Those Addicted to All Things Darcy--If this is an Addiction, I Don't Want a Cure!Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.comBlogger229125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-4997340549751236622023-10-17T02:02:00.008-04:002023-10-17T02:50:01.446-04:00Mr. Collins Exclusive Interview With the Author of 'Mr. Knightley... In His Own Words<p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Mr. Collins Exclusive Interview </span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">With the Author of 'Mr. Knightley... In His Own Words'</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">(It is my pleasure to yet again be a part of the release of Shannon Winslow's Newest Novel. It has become a tradition, and maybe even a good luck charm for Shannon to stop by Darcyholic Diversions to present Mr. Collins latest interview when she releases a new book. We at Darcyholic Diversions are grateful to, again, be host for one of these special interviews! </span></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">As soon as I saw the cover, with Jeremy Northam's image as Mr. Knightley, I knew that I was going to enjoy this book. If you have always wondered how Mr. Knightley came to be in a large estate all by himself, as I have, don't miss Shannon Winslow's latest! ~~Barbara Tiller Cole)</span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjegfqSNNc2V9ips2SF11B5RnFwNX5HhSOvNAtQaj19d-djqcymG-tVR3WtjVDV61mEggGHpgfqID6zUJnu1SBweuKOUPmqYC-0CUK7dVNE-G4cKDWx1l4jLOmU6SuNbswWvqfpnFoBI3YmprlNK8ctsrXgfAdYZVNzj-TgaGaecNCpVeknbWguSSkliml2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="826" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjegfqSNNc2V9ips2SF11B5RnFwNX5HhSOvNAtQaj19d-djqcymG-tVR3WtjVDV61mEggGHpgfqID6zUJnu1SBweuKOUPmqYC-0CUK7dVNE-G4cKDWx1l4jLOmU6SuNbswWvqfpnFoBI3YmprlNK8ctsrXgfAdYZVNzj-TgaGaecNCpVeknbWguSSkliml2" width="155" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It has become a tradition that, with the publication of each new book, I sit down for an interview with Mr. Collins (now Sir William Collins). Did you know that, after his run as a legendary literary figure, he turned his talents to a new career as a talk-show host? It’s true.<br />He and I have not always been on the best of terms, I’m sorry to say. The awkwardness stems from the fact that I made his character’s early demise my top priority as a writer. In fact, Mr. Collins expired in the very first chapter of my very first novel (The Darcys of Pemberley). I’m afraid he has never quite forgiven me for that. Here’s our most recent interview:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">[House lights dim. Applause sign flashes. Stage lights come up to reveal a platform with twin retro club chairs occupied by host Sir William Collins and today’s guest, the modestly successful author Shannon Winslow. Collins lifts a hand in the style of a royal wave to acknowledge the audience before turning his attention to his guest.]<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Collins:</b> Welcome back to Meet the Author, Ms. Winslow.<br /><b>Winslow: </b>Thank you, Sir William. It’s a pleasure, as always.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Collins:</b> I had begun to wonder if we would see you again.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Winslow:</b> Oh? Why is that?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Collins:</b> Well, you have to admit it has been quite some time – over a year – since your last visit.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Winslow:</b> True. This book did take a little longer to write. Mr. Knightley didn’t give up his secrets easily. [laughs] It took some patience and persuasion on my part.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Collins:</b> Mr. Knightley in His Own Words. [holds up the book] It’s your third in this series of stories about Austen’s heroes, if I’m not mistaken.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Winslow:</b> You are not mistaken, Sir William; it is my third. First, there was Fitzwilliam Darcy in His Own Words, then Colonel Brandon, and now Mr. Knightley.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Collins:</b> And yet, you have so far failed to take up my suggestion, Ms. Winslow. Why is that?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Winslow:</b> Your suggestion? Oh! I suppose you mean Mr. Collins in His Own Words. No, you’re quite right; I haven’t. How observant you are to have noticed. As to why… Well, I don’t think we really have time to go into that right now. I’m sure your audience would be more interested in hearing about this new book. After all, that’s why I was invited here, isn’t it?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Collins:</b> [rolls eyes slightly and sighs] Very well. If you insist, tell us a little something about Mr. Knightley in His Own Words.</span></p><p><b style="font-family: arial;">Winslow:</b><span style="font-family: arial;"> Thank you. The first thing to know is that, as with the other two, this is not simply a retelling of the original story from the hero’s point of view. The last third of the book does cover that ground, but the first 2/3 is entirely new material. You could call it a very extensive prequel to Emma, since it divulges what happened in two key, earlier periods of Knightley’s life – as a teenager and a twenty-something. He really had quite a tragic past, you know, and I admire him so much for how he came through it and bravely carried on.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Collins:</b> Tragic, you say. Could you give readers a little hint as to what you mean?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Winslow:</b> Sure. I can say a few words without spoiling anything. Since I always begin with what Austen told us, we already know Knightley has little family – at least little remaining. He apparently lost his parents early, and yet we aren’t told when or how. If he had any siblings besides John, they must be gone as well. [drops voice to a stage whisper] And I will candidly tell you that he did have another brother – an older brother, in fact, named Miles. [resumes normal volume] My other big clue that I took for a starting point was Mr. Knightley’s incredible patience and devotion to Mr. Woodhouse. I went looking for what could possibly explain that, as well as all the other things.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Collins:</b> May I take it that you found the answers you sought, Ms. Winslow? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Winslow:</b> Oh, yes. It took some patience and persistence, as I said before. But it all came out in the end and made perfect sense. Knowing Mr. Knightley’s full story, has given me so much more admiration and appreciation for the man! I think readers will enjoy discovering the same.</span></p><p><b style="font-family: arial;">Collins:</b><span style="font-family: arial;"> Much too soon to tell, though, I presume.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Winslow:</b> [looking nonplussed] Well, early reviews are quite promising, but...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Collins:</b> [interrupting] I’m afraid that’s all we have time for, Ms. Winslow. Do stop by again… sometime or other.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Winslow:</b> Thank you, Sir William. I’ll do that.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">[Applause sign rouses studio audience to a loud ovation. Stage manager shouts, “Cut! That’s a wrap, folks.” Assistants scurry to remove Ms. Winslow’s microphone and touchup Collins’s makeup for the next segment to be filmed.]</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Collins:</b> So the next book, Ms. Winslow? Another “…in His Own Words”?</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Winslow:</b> Quite possibly. Readers seem to enjoy them, and so do I, actually.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Collins:</b> Any chance of your finally taking my suggestion as to your subject? I think I can promise to be more cooperative than Mr. Knightley, more forthcoming about my past and all my heroic adventures.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Winslow:</b> You must understand, Sir William… What I mean is… You see, readers are interested in… well, a slightly different style of hero – the leading man type. They want to know what makes him tick, and to experience vicariously through him the magic of falling in love all over again. They want to picture him and his lady living happily ever after. And, well, we all know that was never going to happen for you and Charlotte.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Collins:</b> [abruptly stands and raises his voice, accusingly] And whose fault is that? It might have turned into the greatest love story of all time, had you not chosen to cut me off before my prime! In the very flower of my youth. A man of the cloth, too! [continues to rant]</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Winslow:</b> [to assistant] Oh, dear. I was afraid this would happen if he forced me to answer that question. Perhaps I had better go now.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">[Assistant nods vigorously and hurriedly escorts Ms. Winslow away. Others rush to attend to the agitated Sir William]</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Thus ends another volatile Winslow/Collins interview at <i>Meet the Author</i>.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-align: center;">~*~*~*~</p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-align: center;"><u><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Mr. Knightley... In His Own Words</span></b></u></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-align: center;"><u><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Knightley-His-Own-Words-ebook/dp/B0CGPPHGPN/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1NLWW0H0DUC0J&keywords=mr.+knightley+in+his+own+words&qid=1697525214&sprefix=mr.+knightley%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Purchase at Amazon</a><br /></span></b></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.693334px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Mr. George Knightley. According to Emma Woodhouse, you won’t see one in a hundred who is so clearly the gentleman. Respected by all, he’s kind, unpretentious, and scrupulously honest, with an air so remarkably good that it’s unfair to compare other men to him. We also know he’s been his “own master” from a young age. But Jane Austen tells us little more. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.693334px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">What were his early years like, and how did he lose his parents? A man in his mid-thirties, he must have had at least one romance along the way. Did it end badly? Is that why he’s never married? When and how did his relationship with Emma shift from friendship to love? And what can explain his incredible forbearance towards the eccentric Mr. Woodhouse? Now, <i>Mr. Knightley</i>reveals these answers and more <i>in His Own Words</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.693334px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">This is not a variation from but a supplement to the original story of <i>Emma</i>, chronicled in the hero’s point of view. Two-thirds completely new material, it features key events in Mr. Knightley’s past – events that still haunt him and yet have shaped who he’s become, the superior man Emma can’t help falling in love with.<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-9292108500628551792022-10-06T12:43:00.004-04:002022-10-06T12:46:22.420-04:00Regina Jeffers Celebrates her 75th Birthday with a New Book Release!<p style="text-align: center;"><b> <span style="font-size: x-large;">In Honor of Her 75th Birthday</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Regina Jeffers Celebrates!</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>With a New Release of a Delightful New Book!</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>By Barbara Tiller Cole</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiz5hCZXODvdB-xa_1--2AcI9jS5oapi22Re05G-y75dEtnwAE-wj7j7k-hCHMtjVfrm2Jh2f1tXIPzLplw4RijRUSNfH7fSGWJYjCJ37XvRqpr7TKmU1OmD74MpKXO-33GxQu1bULziGzdM-MsUaLj8huvzUdfnhS6ojori2mbitfYwm9Y5D5ZNR9wfw" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiz5hCZXODvdB-xa_1--2AcI9jS5oapi22Re05G-y75dEtnwAE-wj7j7k-hCHMtjVfrm2Jh2f1tXIPzLplw4RijRUSNfH7fSGWJYjCJ37XvRqpr7TKmU1OmD74MpKXO-33GxQu1bULziGzdM-MsUaLj8huvzUdfnhS6ojori2mbitfYwm9Y5D5ZNR9wfw" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Recently, Regina Jeffers reached out to me for a brief chat. In just the last month she turned 75! And to celebrate that seminal milestone she has released a new book. When she told me both of her latest birthday and of her book, I was happy to be able to be a part of her celebration.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Let's face it. None of us are getting any younger. And each milestone we reach is to be commemorated. So when Regina and I chatted about her latest book release, in honor of it and her latest birthday I offered to have a little online Birthday Party to celebrate! </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhf5u7tb9oOSf_7Jqh_tXka033-ZR5jEmU2VwgRZ7nnMTXaavGCxCojjPSBjTlfVzOn0OLTNWqobmTuhWcVaFECou9Tt5uWUxprIl6bg2W-J_VbdivtzXr7neFKn18qzfHB6oMxyiEt2fe5GLeB8OPmHUeizNjOgJiWqQn8C_GbVE9FnOv9BhyWK7-3vg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3155" data-original-width="4355" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhf5u7tb9oOSf_7Jqh_tXka033-ZR5jEmU2VwgRZ7nnMTXaavGCxCojjPSBjTlfVzOn0OLTNWqobmTuhWcVaFECou9Tt5uWUxprIl6bg2W-J_VbdivtzXr7neFKn18qzfHB6oMxyiEt2fe5GLeB8OPmHUeizNjOgJiWqQn8C_GbVE9FnOv9BhyWK7-3vg" width="320" /></a></div>My hope is that each of you that read this will celebrate with her too! Maybe it will be a happy memory you will to share. Perhaps it will be some virtual presents you would like to offer to her! <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">I remembered today that I was able to share another birthday with Regina some years ago, and even found a picture of the cake! It was on the occasion of the Decatur Book Festival which was celebrated that year with a large gathering of Jane Austen inspired authors. I still remember it with fondly! </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJpLR1Xqap9GFDSLZl8_U9Yj0sS-ZPNUcWfI7d21sE5g5n9qEkjUuvAUR1LY-nc6dzD1FErVrElQdlFuE7YyYAlh6olw7vldr1tVfMqYsEMuawX_iMspHvxIQzySVaReVt1R4Jjb71vgp7mKkTHgA2sBSccYWQtbofkX43H8Yl23x4m1KwtT6SzSdODg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJpLR1Xqap9GFDSLZl8_U9Yj0sS-ZPNUcWfI7d21sE5g5n9qEkjUuvAUR1LY-nc6dzD1FErVrElQdlFuE7YyYAlh6olw7vldr1tVfMqYsEMuawX_iMspHvxIQzySVaReVt1R4Jjb71vgp7mKkTHgA2sBSccYWQtbofkX43H8Yl23x4m1KwtT6SzSdODg" width="320" /></a></div>Regina was one of the featured speakers on the City Hall Stage (on her birthday) and I was grateful to be chosen as the moderator for the session. (And yes, that is Abigail Reynolds in the picture as well). <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Birthdays are times for remembering good times as well as celebrating achievements. And this birthday season, for Regina she is celebrating the release of a wonderful new book. </p><p style="text-align: left;">As many of you know, I don't do formal reviews on Darcyholic Diversions. As an author myself, I would rather share what I like about the books my friends write and assist them as much as I can in letting others know about their latest treasures.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcZqf2y9f_52Hz2cyfhrvRExLKqcs0wLWV2y8jIQH9T5Mw7rn6iuqZNAdzqRV3E_ynWo9ydzyRjryeZunaClZdT5Ef9-hhfXM09U-ulz9AulFUe_BWc_Vgg_0vAp6GYjt4Cs2SrCfMczSTESF7QEHquiNid5Llmnu8sTIZjyVj1x-x7jFXD-mjH-FyTQ" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcZqf2y9f_52Hz2cyfhrvRExLKqcs0wLWV2y8jIQH9T5Mw7rn6iuqZNAdzqRV3E_ynWo9ydzyRjryeZunaClZdT5Ef9-hhfXM09U-ulz9AulFUe_BWc_Vgg_0vAp6GYjt4Cs2SrCfMczSTESF7QEHquiNid5Llmnu8sTIZjyVj1x-x7jFXD-mjH-FyTQ" width="180" /></a></div>I was so grateful to get a pre-release copy of Regina's latest release, <u>Elizabeth Bennet's Gallant Suitor</u>. I have always enjoyed stories with prior connections. The story opens with an unconventional house party held at Stepton Abbey in which Sir Wesley Belwood, a tyrannical baronet, is attempting to match Jane with Colonel Fitzwilliam! Just learning that I knew that it would be a unique story and it was! <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">It isn't long before Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth join forces to assist their relatives in being able to make their own choice, instead of a choice of Sir Belwood's making. And where the story goes from there I won't tell you you just have to read it! </p><p style="text-align: left;">I have always found Regina's stories compelling, and this one was equally so, if not more so. From horse racing, to matchmaking, you will thoroughly enjoy Regina's birthday present from HER to US!</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Elizabeth in this story is spunky and not afraid to say exactly what is on her mind. And, as she did not meet Fitzwilliam Darcy in a ballroom, but one-on-one, they formed a friendship very early in the book. It was delightful to me to see that relationship develop as the story proceeded.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I can highly recommend Regina's latest book. I am not going to reveal more as I hope that you will read it! It will be a 75th birthday present to Regina and to you if you do.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2OymYFLR5zQykoTObQzN61wDhB6Z4y4hN6yQSZCXZTRyWfNemeAKtr1H303vzdh4s1HkhRqsqQeaXvDoPzt10M6uGWcWUv_DfRqGu5N2YBAChaNUczvwY0_dmb3b-Eij-WOogg5vCTMgDpRT0-kBNRu8jyG62qA0-W1aAXEdSdZD2K8S3ETpr-mY0CQ" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1429" data-original-width="2000" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2OymYFLR5zQykoTObQzN61wDhB6Z4y4hN6yQSZCXZTRyWfNemeAKtr1H303vzdh4s1HkhRqsqQeaXvDoPzt10M6uGWcWUv_DfRqGu5N2YBAChaNUczvwY0_dmb3b-Eij-WOogg5vCTMgDpRT0-kBNRu8jyG62qA0-W1aAXEdSdZD2K8S3ETpr-mY0CQ" width="320" /></a></div>Regina has been busy this week. Her blog tour took off quickly and you might want to look back and see some of her previous stops as well as the one on October 10th. I am so grateful that I was able to be a part of it. <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">The blog tour has prizes! There are chances to win free eBooks at each stop along the way, plus those who show that they have purchased the book receive 5 extra chances to win a $75 Amazon Gift Card on N. N. Light's blog! Now that could be a birthday present for YOU! <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">So be sure and comment below or Regina nor I will know that you stopped by to read the birthday tribute AND for a chance to win! </p>Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-22905275580934455802022-07-05T14:27:00.003-04:002022-07-05T14:38:01.376-04:00What Do Shannon Winslow, Colonel VBrandon and Mr. Collins Have In Common?<div><p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">What Do Shannon Winslow, Colonel Brandon and Mr. Collins Have in Common? </span></i></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">It is such a treat to welcome back Shannon Winslow to Darcyholic Diversions! I have had the pleasure of hosting so many of her 'Mr. Collins Interviews' I am so grateful that she reached out to me to post this one as well. I just love these Interviews! They are ALL here at Darcyholic Diversions if you want to search and go back and read all of them! And be sure to give Shannon some love by leaving a comment below!<br /></span></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"> There has been something about the last 2.5 years of pandemic, isolation and challenges that have caused Darcyholic Diversions to go into a semi state of hybernation, but I am glad to be back up and running for Shannon. And for any other author that might wish to introduce a new work, or might wish to join the MANY people who have been interviewed here at Darcyholic Diversions. If you are an author, or an artist, or anyone else with something creative you would like to share here--please just send me a text at 404-735-9271. Or give me a call if you prefer. Barbara Tiller Cole</span></i><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHBZvOkdlFFSfRuhm-en-N1EDCDid-xCxb--wTHJizxW0aBGQxznuB7XQVGU821iJpJi_CUojNPLlJEHFmEdI-C5hChLvh6nNVDO42BbZKVOCvNsNzSB6NCbG3IOimJHvCxPf5oHXyMTESgxfjKsj3B1W4e5-5vDpz9pwINENK0jCdOjOqMuClQ7kH7g" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2545" data-original-width="1650" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHBZvOkdlFFSfRuhm-en-N1EDCDid-xCxb--wTHJizxW0aBGQxznuB7XQVGU821iJpJi_CUojNPLlJEHFmEdI-C5hChLvh6nNVDO42BbZKVOCvNsNzSB6NCbG3IOimJHvCxPf5oHXyMTESgxfjKsj3B1W4e5-5vDpz9pwINENK0jCdOjOqMuClQ7kH7g" width="156" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>A Mr. Collins Interview</b></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>By Shannon Winslow </b></span><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It has become a tradition that, with the publication of each new book, I sit down for an interview with Mr. Collins (now Sir William Collins). Did you know that, after his run as a legendary literary figure, he turned his talents to a new career as a talk-show host? It’s true. But he and I have not always been on the best of terms, I’m sorry to say. The awkwardness stems from the fact that I made his character’s early demise my top priority as a writer. In fact, Mr. Collins expired in the very first chapter of my very first novel (The Darcys of Pemberley). I’m afraid he has never quite forgiven me for that. Here’s our most recent interview:<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>[House lights dim. Applause sign flashes. Stage lights come up to reveal a platform with twin retro club chairs occupied by host Sir William Collins and today’s guest, the modestly successful author Shannon Winslow. Collins lifts a hand in the style of a royal wave to acknowledge the audience before turning his attention to his guest.]</i><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Collins:</b> Good day, Ms. Winslow, and welcome once again to Meet the Author.<br /><b>Winslow: </b>Thank you, Sir William! I’m delighted to be here with my new novel!<br />[enormous picture of the smiling author and her new book appears on the screen behind, and audience applauds again on cue]<br /><b>Collins:</b> Colonel Brandon in His Own Words. Catchy title, but not the one I suggested when you were last here.<br /><b>Winslow:</b> That’s true. William Collins in His Own Words is a great title, but you see, this book is about Colonel Brandon – his thoughts, his experiences from childhood on through to his marriage to Marianne, all in his own words.<br /><b>Collins:</b> [sighs] So you’re saying that I am not in it… not even a mention… near the end, perhaps?<br /><b>Winslow:</b> I’m afraid not. I hope that won’t prejudice you against the book, though. Do you at least like the cover?<br /><b>Collins: </b>[looks again at the screen] Quite a large picture of the man. You think him good looking, then?<br /><b>Winslow: </b>Yes, although the artist didn’t really do him justice. In person, he is much more handsome. Tall too.<br /><b>Collins:</b> [sits up straighter] His being tall is a very superficial reason to admire a man. After all, no one can take credit – or blame – for his height.<br /><b>Winslow: </b>Oh, but that is not the only reason the ladies find Colonel Brandon admirable and attractive. There is his excellent character as well: honorable, kind, and chivalrous. Plus, he distinguished himself in the army, you know. Promoted twice! But, in truth, he could just as well have been court marshalled! [chuckles] Quite a close call, actually. You see, there was this incident while he was in India, where he risked everything to save a lady in distress. It was a life and death situation, you understand… But I suppose we don’t have time for the whole story now.<br /><b>Collins:</b> [feigning boredom] Sorry. No. People will just have to read the book. That is what you want them to do anyway, isn’t it, Ms. Winslow?<br /><b>Winslow: </b>[smiling] Yes, I suppose it is. I’m hoping they admire Colonel Brandon as much as I do. Then they will quite naturally wish to know more of his story – all that Jane Austen didn’t tell us in Sense and Sensibility. But as for this incident in India I mentioned, suffice to say that I find what he did quite heroic, and I am not the only one. He really is a dashing man of action, in my opinion. If you want more evidence, there is, of course, his duel with Willoughby. [pantomimes sword slashing] Oh, and the time he knocked his brother down. [punches fist through the air] <br /><b>Collins:</b> [leaning back to a safer distance with an expression of distaste] That is all very well, I suppose… if you like that sort of thing. But let me ask you this. If Colonel Brandon is so handsome and heroic, why doesn’t Marianne fall violently in love with him at first sight? I thought perhaps you might have changed that part from the original, but I discovered you had not…<br /><b>Winslow: </b>[gasps loudly] <br /><b>Collins: </b>Why, Ms. Winslow, are you unwell?<br /><b>Winslow: Oh, no. Not at all!<br />Collins: </b>What is it, then?<br /><b>Winslow:</b> Can… Can it be, Sir William? Well, I suppose it must, for there is no other explanation. Can it be that you actually read the book this time? How wonderful! Oh, I’m so pleased!<br /><b>Collins:</b> [squirms in chair] Well, only half of it… maybe three quarters. I did not intend to, but then I had a little free time last night and nothing else to do. And there it was, lying on the table within easy reach, like it is now. I picked it up [does so, and opens to bookmarked page] and then couldn’t seem to put it down again.<br /><b>Winslow:</b> [laughing melodiously] I can’t get over it! I always have my publicist send you the books, just as a matter of course, but you’ve never before… You’ve always said that… Well, never mind. I’m just terribly delighted!<br /><b>Collins:</b> Please, do make some attempt to contain your raptures, Ms. Winslow. No miracle has occurred.<br /><b>Winslow:</b> Forgive me, but it was so… so very unexpected.<br /><b>Collins:</b> Yes, yes, that will do.<br /><b>Winslow: </b>As you say. I hope you will do me the compliment of finishing the book, though. And perhaps even reading some of my others at last? <br /><b>Collins:</b> Let us not get carried away. I am a very busy man!<br />Winslow: As you have repeatedly told me.<br /><b>Collins:</b> [still holding book] I suppose I must finish this one, though, unless you can be persuaded to tell me how Colonel Brandon gets out of that ticklish situation in India. With Rashmi, I mean. Have I got her name right? And of course, what happens with Marianne. He doesn’t seem to be making much progress with her, so I don’t see how it can possible end well.<br /><b>Winslow: </b>I would not spoil the ending for you, not for the world! As you yourself said a moment ago, people will just have to read the book. That includes you, Sir William. But I will at least assure you that you can trust me to provide a happy ending for Marianne and Colonel Brandon. That’s one of my trademarks: happy endings.<br /><b>Collins:</b> [indignantly] Happy endings for some, perhaps, but not for all of your characters!<br /><b>Winslow:</b> Oh, dear. I had hoped we would make it through this one time without an allusion to that bit of ancient history. We were doing so well, too. <br /><b>Collins:</b> [still glowering, says nothing]<br /><b>Winslow: </b>[looks about for assistance] Heavens! Is it perhaps time for a commercial break? I think that really would be best…<br />So ends another of Ms. Winslow’s infamous visits to Meet the Author.<br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0pILxhedJMiqnM6mz4S79tlRNjnqT6DRs18DV47VgJF-Ccj_LstZCeuo35Iv3jxX45Rdg3drQ1kBla7u_VCGr0OIojkIQtVQ4C4Z9lFpEJUxn4u33Zk0DxH_S5BavH5tIi-sDBFJPLbZ8CVIgVjtpJ0RUQtx-nKWiBNRLd2S5RXZO9lAHtcNPUgXAxg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1890" data-original-width="1256" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0pILxhedJMiqnM6mz4S79tlRNjnqT6DRs18DV47VgJF-Ccj_LstZCeuo35Iv3jxX45Rdg3drQ1kBla7u_VCGr0OIojkIQtVQ4C4Z9lFpEJUxn4u33Zk0DxH_S5BavH5tIi-sDBFJPLbZ8CVIgVjtpJ0RUQtx-nKWiBNRLd2S5RXZO9lAHtcNPUgXAxg" width="159" /></a><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Colonel-Brandon-His-Own-Words-ebook/dp/B0B2QHBQKB/ref=sr_1_1?crid=D48NHYBYXQS8&keywords=colonel+brandon+in+his+own+words&qid=1657045174&sprefix=Colonel+Brandon%2Caps%2C80&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Link For Colonel Brandon In His Own Words</a></span></b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Colonel Brandon is the consummate gentleman: honorable, kind almost to a fault, ever loyal and chivalrous. He’s also silent and grave, though. So, what events in his troubled past left him downcast, and how does he finally find the path to a brighter future? In Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen gives us glimpses, but not the complete picture.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Now Colonel Brandon tells us his full story in His Own Words. He relates the truth about his early family life and his dear Eliza – his devotion to her and the devastating way she was lost to him forever. He shares with us a poignant tale from his military days in India – about a woman named Rashmi and how she likewise left a permanent mark on his soul. And of course Marianne. What did Brandon think and feel when he first saw her? How did his hopes for her subsequently rise, plummet, and then eventually climb upwards again. After Willoughby’s desertion, what finally caused Marianne to see Colonel Brandon in a different light?</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">This is not a variation but a supplement to the original story, chronicled in Brandon’s point of view. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the things Jane Austen didn’t tell us about a true hero – the very best of men.</span><br /></div><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-46912880792937503412021-05-08T14:31:00.005-04:002021-05-08T20:53:52.993-04:00Another Interview Over Tea With Shannon Winslow and Mr. Collins<p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Another Interview Over Tea With Shannon Winslow and Mr Collins</span></b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQUNbxhnQ_tRjqoG34QA5OOoCE23IS5VbvqUV3p2REXkfIu7GMqFy8LRQmX-1IVl9QA9Bcwy2vH6-WNL_vUNdEHkzt8cW2DwriBSde7V81ycTPp3Vcql6Pd42GDwacByk6Xb4VJz4y1NT/s765/5B61425F-D64F-475A-91B8-4A14AC7E98FD.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="494" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQUNbxhnQ_tRjqoG34QA5OOoCE23IS5VbvqUV3p2REXkfIu7GMqFy8LRQmX-1IVl9QA9Bcwy2vH6-WNL_vUNdEHkzt8cW2DwriBSde7V81ycTPp3Vcql6Pd42GDwacByk6Xb4VJz4y1NT/s320/5B61425F-D64F-475A-91B8-4A14AC7E98FD.jpeg" /></a></div><i>(It’s been awhile since I have visited with you all but I could not let an opportunity to visit again with Shannon Winslow and Mr Collins go by! Thank you Shannon for spending some time here at Darcyholic Diversions and if any of you have an upcoming new release please send me a message on Facebook or email me. I am having a socially distanced reopening of my blog.)</i><p></p><p>It has become a tradition that, with the publication of each new book, I sit down for an interview with Mr. Collins (now Sir William Collins). Did you know that, after his run as a legendary literary figure, he turned his talents to a new career as a talk-show host? It’s true. But he and I have not always been on the best of terms, I’m sorry to say. The awkwardness stems from the fact that I made his character’s early demise my top priority as a writer. In fact, Mr. Collins expired in the very first chapter of my very first novel (The Darcys of Pemberley). I’m afraid he has never quite forgiven me for that, as you may be able to tell from the tone of our recent interview:</p><p>[House lights dim. Applause sign flashes. Stage lights come up to reveal a platform with twin retro club chairs occupied by host Sir William Collins and today’s guest, the modestly successful author Shannon Winslow. Collins lifts a hand to acknowledge the audience’s applause before turning his attention to his guest.]</p><p>Collins: Welcome once again to Meet the Author, Ms. Winslow.</p><p>Winslow: Thank you for having me, Sir William. I always look forward to our little chats, don’t you?</p><p>Collins: [coughs and mutters] Indeed. I might have described my anticipation of the event somewhat differently, but that is neither here nor there. You have a new book out, which is the material point. Fitzwilliam Darcy in His Own Words. </p><p>[He holds book up while promotional image of book and author displays on mammoth screen in background. Polite applause.] </p><p>Collins: So it appears you’ve come back to Pride and Prejudice for this latest book.</p><p>Winslow: That’s right. I love all Jane Austen’s novels, and my goal is to write at least one book related to each. So far I have Leap of Hope for Mansfield Park, The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen for Persuasion, and Murder at Northanger Abbey for… Well, you get the idea. Still, Pride and Prejudice is my favorite and I suppose it always will be. So I’ve come back to it once again, as you say, this time with a book from Mr. Darcy’s point of view.</p><p>Collins: I hope you have not gone in for the popular mania of turning everything in that classic story upside down and inside out – zombies, time travel, body swapping and I know not what else. I find such creative excesses most distasteful. </p><p>Winslow: Then, you haven’t read the book? …oh, what was I thinking; of course you haven’t. In any case, I am sorry you feel that way, Sir William. Why, I myself have written a time travel novel – Leap of Hope, that I mentioned a moment ago – and it was a great fun! But as it happens, this new book only adds onto what Miss Austen originally wrote; it doesn’t change it.</p><p>Collins: Thank heaven for that at least. </p><p>Winslow: Actually, that’s true of all my Pride and Prejudice novels, as you may recall. I take a kind of “world-building” approach by adding on to the established framework.</p><p>Collins: Yes, I do recall how you added on, [then, continues indignantly] but I more particularly recall how you subtracted, Madam! Eliminating a beloved character – a man of the church! – without so much as a second thought.</p><p>Winslow: [placatingly] Now, now, Sir William, I thought we agreed to put that sore subject behind us once and for all. And you must admit that what I said is true; I didn’t change anything in Austen’s original novel. In the case you’re thinking of, I added on – uh, or subtracted – by writing my idea of what happened afterward.</p><p>Collins: Pardon me, Ms. Winslow, but such a wound, such a painful blow cannot soon be recovered from.</p><p>Winslow: It has been nearly ten years, you know, since The Darcys of Pemberley was published. And we have both moved on, have we not?</p><p>Collins: I suppose, well… Now, where was I? Oh, yes. It occurs to me that you might find it limiting, your philosophy of not altering the facts of Pride and Prejudice for your novels, as others have done.</p><p>Winslow: Oh, no! Not at all. At least not so far. With the possibility of sequels and prequels, expanding on minor character’s stories and different points of view, there’s plenty of scope for the imagination.</p><p>Collins: So which is this new book? Prequel, sequel, or what have you?</p><p>Winslow: Really, Sir William, didn’t you read any of the press releases my publicist sent over? Or even the brief blurb on the back cover?</p><p>Collins: I am a very busy man, Ms. Winslow! My time and attentions are highly in demand. Please just answer the question.</p><p>Winslow: Yes, of course. I suppose Fitzwilliam Darcy in His Own Words could be considered partly prequel, since the first chapters take place before the timeline of Pride and Prejudice – Darcy giving us glimpses into his early years, his relationships with his parents, his sister, a young Wickham. Then there’s the “missing scenes” aspect of the book. For example, Jane Austen tells us through Darcy’s letter to Elizabeth that he went to Ramsgate just in time to save Georgiana from Wickham’s dastardly plot, but Austen doesn’t actually show us that scene. I do, as well as several others, like Darcy’s showdown with Lady Catherine. Mostly, though, this is a different-point-of-view book. We see everything from Darcy’s perspective: what’s going on in his life and in his head before, during, and a bit after the scope of the original story.</p><p>Collins: That’s all very well, I’m sure. But… [pausing and finally looking at the back of the book] What is this I see here about somebody called Amelia? I do not remember any person of that name in Miss Austen’s novel, so how can that be, when you claim not to have changed anything?</p><p>Winslow: Amelia Lambright is not a change but one of my little additions – a fairly major addition, actually. She, and Darcy’s interactions with her, fit seamlessly into the story, only we must consider that it all happens behind the scenes of the original – “off camera,” so to speak. There’s a lot of time unaccounted for when Darcy is missing from the page, you know, when Austen doesn’t tell us where he is and what he’s up to. When I set about filling in those blanks, it turned out he was up to quite a bit!</p><p>Collins: With this Miss Lambright, I gather.</p><p>Winslow: Yes, with her, with Georgiana, Bingley, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Anne and Lady Catherine. And of course Elizabeth. The readers would not be pleased if I neglected to give them plenty of Darcy and Elizabeth!</p><p>Collins: Of course not. So the whole original cast is back? Even those… One hesitates to call them “minor characters,” for they too may play critical roles. Let us say the ones less prominently featured?</p><p>Winslow: Well, hmm, let me think. There wasn’t much for Mary or Kitty or the Lucases to do, but… Yes, I believe pretty much everybody else got into the act… Oh, I see what you mean. Be assured that Mr. Collins plays an important role in the story.</p><p>Collins: [sardonically] And no dying involved this time? No choking on mutton? [shudders] I have not been able to eat the stuff since you told me. Even the smell of it…</p><p>Winslow: As I said, I changed nothing in the original story; Mr. Collins is alive and well to the last. </p><p>Collins: I’m relieved to hear it.</p><p>Winslow: Perhaps knowing that will give you the courage to actually read this novel someday.</p><p>Collins: Ms. Winslow, I assure you that it is not a want of courage that has prevented me in the past, but a want of time and inclination. But speaking of time, I’m afraid we are out of it. My thanks to you… [turns towards camera] and especially to my devoted viewers for joining me today here at Meet the Author. Until next time, good-bye and good reading!</p><p>[The tepid response from the studio audience, which is necessarily augmented by canned applause, is acknowledged by Collins with a self-effacing bow. The director then gives the all-clear and the house lights come up. Removing his microphone and handing it to a ready assistant, Collins turns to his guest again.]</p><p>Collins: What do you mean to write next, Ms. Winslow? I assume there will be more… and consequently more of these little visits between us. </p><p>Winslow: There will be if I have anything to say about it! As for what I’ll write next, I’m considering that, if this newest book does well, I may go on to write a whole series: Colonel Brandon in His Own Words, Mr. Knightley in His Own Words. I haven’t written anything for Sense and Sensibility or Emma yet, you know, and I did really enjoy writing from the hero’s point of view this time.</p><p>Collins: So you are interested in heroes? Might I suggest that William Collins in His Own Words would make a spell-binding tale. [Gestures with his hand as if tracing a movie marquee] His inspirational rise from humble beginnings to fame and fortune. That sort of thing. Perhaps I might even be persuaded to act as consultant on the project.</p><p>Winslow: Or at least to read the book?</p><p>Collins: As you say.</p><p>Winslow: I will take that under advisement.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fitzwilliam-Darcy-His-Own-Words-ebook/dp/B092DWPM6B/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Shannon+Winslow&qid=1620520668&s=amazon-devices&sr=1-1"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b><i>Purchase Ms. Winslow’s Latest Book Here!</i></b></span></a><br /></p><p class="s3" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 14.399999618530273px; text-decoration: underline;">Fitzwilliam Darcy,</span><span class="s2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 14.399999618530273px; text-decoration: underline;"> In His Own Words</span></p><p class="s6" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">What</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"> was Mr. Darcy’s life like before he met Elizabeth Bennet? – </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">before</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"> he stepped onto the </span><span class="s5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">Pride and Prejudice </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">stage at the </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">Meryton</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"> assembly? More importantly, where is he and what is he doing all the time he’s absent from the page thereafter? And what is his relationship to a woman named Amelia? </span></p><p class="s6" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">With </span><span class="s7" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">Fitzwilliam Darcy, in His Own Words</span><span class="s5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">,</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"> the iconic literary hero finally tells his own story, from the traumas of his early life to the consummation of his love for Elizabeth and everything in between.</span></p><p class="s6" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">This is not a variation but a supplement to the original story, chronicled in Darcy’s point of view – a behind-the-scenes look at the things Jane Austen didn’t tell us. As it happens, Darcy’s journey was more tortuous than she let on, his happy ending with Elizabeth in jeopardy at every turn in his struggle between duty and his</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"> </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">heart’s desire, between the suitable lady he </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">has </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">promised to marry and the woman he can’t stop thinking about.</span></p><p><br /></p>Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-54206194396578564482020-07-23T13:50:00.003-04:002020-07-23T13:50:58.019-04:00Murder?! Said Mr. Collins<style>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"> Murder?! Said Mr. Collins</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Shannon Winslow and Mr. Collins Traditional Book Release Interview for her latest novel!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdVHEgrnYdlWMMyxS-IVCi_5tiA4CoobvEvoqlnh8zHLb5G28QEe1Jedso390bvyF8KWDbZPt94_D0Gjg8ut6AYrUi_pxHvDHHyFHdxK0tnlagNGcdA28DQtgYEYcvv-l3KnrSQNrwLTp_/s1600/Murder+at+Northanger+Abbey_KINDLE+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdVHEgrnYdlWMMyxS-IVCi_5tiA4CoobvEvoqlnh8zHLb5G28QEe1Jedso390bvyF8KWDbZPt94_D0Gjg8ut6AYrUi_pxHvDHHyFHdxK0tnlagNGcdA28DQtgYEYcvv-l3KnrSQNrwLTp_/s400/Murder+at+Northanger+Abbey_KINDLE+Cover.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>
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<i>(First of all, before the interview, I want to thank Shannon for visiting with Darcyholic Diversions today. I look forward to each of Mr. Collins interviews! The two of them visit with us here after each of Shannon's new book releases. <u>Murder at Northanger Abbey</u> has a fun, comedic flare--in addition to the traditional gothic creapiness--that I believe those of you who decide to widen your Jane Austen fan fiction genre by reading this sequel to Northanger Abbey will really enjoy! You won't be sorry if you do! Very happy to be a part of Shannon's blog tour! Good luck on your launch Shannon! BTC)</i></div>
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It has become something of a tradition that, with the
publication of each new book, I sit down for an interview with Mr. Collins (now
Sir William Collins). Did you know that, after his run as a legendary literary
figure, he turned his talents to a new career as a talk-show host? It’s true.
But he and I have not always been on the best of terms, I’m sorry to say. The
awkwardness stems from the fact that I made his early demise my top priority as
a writer. In fact, Mr. Collins expired in the very first chapter of my very
first novel (<i>The Darcys of Pemberley</i>). I’m afraid he has never quite
forgiven me for that, as you may be able to tell from the tone of our recent
interview:</div>
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~~*~~</div>
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[The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Meet the Author</i>
set has undergone some changes since our last visit. Where before there had
always been two chairs close together on the raised platform at center stage,
now there is only one. The second has been repositioned approximately fifteen
feet away on the floor level. Sir William Collins enters at the director’s cue,
mounts the platform, and strikes a dignified pose. There is no live audience,
and so canned applause is substituted, rising in an impressive crescendo.]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b> Thank
you, thank you. No [motioning for the ‘audience’ to settle down], really, you
are too kind. But now allow me to introduce today’s guest, somewhat renowned Austenesque
author Shannon Winslow. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
[More artificial applause. Winslow enters, looking
uncharacteristically unsure of herself until Sir William points very
emphatically to direct her away from himself and towards the distant second
chair]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please do be seated, Ms. Winslow.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly, Sir William. [They both sit]
I see you have made some… some alterations since I was here last. I feel like I
need to shout, you are so far away… and above me.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No need for that, madam. The
microphones are perfectly adequate to the task. And we must abide by the
current ‘social distancing’ requirements. You understand.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, except I thought that was
only six feet. Well, regardless, thank you for having me. I am very glad to be
here to share with… [she peers into the empty, blackened audience area] …to
share with your viewers about my new novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Murder
at Northanger Abbey</i>. It’s a slightly spooky sequel to Jane Austen’s parody
of the Gothic novel. All very tongue-in-cheek like the original.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Murder? So you’re up to it again.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again? No, actually this is the first
time I’ve written a murder mystery. But it was great fun, and I certainly would
not rule out the idea of doing it again!</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You enjoyed it, did you?</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, very much!
</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suppose I should not be surprised.
And if it were ever permissible to contradict a lady, I should beg to disagree
with you on one point, Ms. Winslow; you have committed homicide before.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What do you mean, sir? I’ve never
written… Oh! Now I understand what you are driving at, Sir William. But that
was an entirely different situation. Mr. Collins’s death was accidental, not at
the hands of another. Choked on a mouthful of mutton, as you will recall. I
wrote that you were hurrying your dinner to avoid being late for an appointment
with Lady Catherine. She was always very strict about punctuality. No, contrariwise,
the victim in this new book dies by violence, not accident.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b> [hand
protectively at his throat and speaking with some difficulty] Choking was violent
enough, Madam, I assure you! [shudders and then seems to regain his composure]
Nevertheless, for the sake of my thousands and thousands of viewers, I might at
least inquire how this poor fellow – your latest victim – meets his end.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could not possibly give that away!
And who says it was a man at all. It might just as easily have been a woman,
don’t you think?
</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lord, have mercy! Is there no limit to
the atrocities you are willing to commit?</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why, Sir William, I am surprised at your
being so squeamish! It is only a story after all. And when you think of a
proper sequel to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Northanger Abbey</i>,
there must be some kind of skullduggery – a stormy night, a masked ball at an
ancient possibly-haunted house, strange noises are heard, the candles blow out,
a blood curdling scream, and a body is discovered. Then it’s up to Catherine
and Henry to solve the mystery. What could be better?</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What happened to ‘they all lived
happily ever after’? I thought that was your trademark, Ms. Winslow. It says
here in my notes that your favorite Jane Austen quote is from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mansfield Park</i> – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery…</i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I
quit such odious subjects as soon as I can, impatient to restore every body,
not greatly in fault themselves, to tolerable comfort, and to have done with
all the rest.</i> Yes, that’s right. And don’t worry; everybody lives happily
ever after at the end of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Murder at
Northanger Abbey</i>. Well… not absolutely everybody, I suppose, but at least
Catherine and Henry do. You can’t have 300 pages of that sort of thing, though,
or there would be no story. There must be a good deal of mischief and trouble
first before we can quit those subjects and restore our hero and heroine to
tolerable comfort again. In this case, I might even go so far as to say
‘sublime comfort.’ The newlyweds are still in their honeymoon period, after
all!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Honeymoon period? I hope you are not so
indelicate as to refer to… to refer to… Some things are best left...</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some things are best left to the
imagination, yes. I quite agree, and I think I can set your mind at ease on
that score. Much is implied in the book about the young couple’s love life, but
there’s absolutely nothing graphic. It’s all innuendo. You know. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nod, nod, wink, wink, and say no more</i>.
Strictly PG. [pauses] But I see you are still uneasy, Sir William. Remember,
Catherine and Henry ARE married, so therefore it natural to assume… </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b> Ms.
Winslow…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is to say, it is permissible, even
in an Austen-style book to at least imply…</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ms. Winslow!</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes?</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m afraid we are out of time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Already? Too bad, for I was enjoying
myself immensely. Weren’t you?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Enjoying myself? Can you be serious,
madam? I believe I would rather navigate an actual mine field than another
interview with you. [grimly] It would be safer. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
[Thus ends another colorful live <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Meet the Author</i> segment. The director quickly cuts to one of those
annoying car insurance commercials with the green lizzard<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>.
Meanwhile, Ms. Winslow is escorted from the set while Sir William Collins’s
personal assistant rushes to his aid.]</div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJRTABYRQiNAChjJVb5JqNda8RPCQ18fgtaAJ4gG4_NkC-o4A3EEnukfuuonJLHc_w_C66_c11X15Gvo9zy5U9MaoA1Dt4Z-hf7ID9RYuImRt5iEO1qA8VYQ6onHtWh9tAUlmFXn8zULpX/s1600/MNA+banner.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJRTABYRQiNAChjJVb5JqNda8RPCQ18fgtaAJ4gG4_NkC-o4A3EEnukfuuonJLHc_w_C66_c11X15Gvo9zy5U9MaoA1Dt4Z-hf7ID9RYuImRt5iEO1qA8VYQ6onHtWh9tAUlmFXn8zULpX/s320/MNA+banner.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<h3 style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #333333;">Murder at
Northanger Abbey</span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #333333;"> </span></i></span></h3>
<h3 style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #333333;">Sequel to
Jane Austen’s Spoof on the Gothic Novel</span></i></span>
</h3>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .25in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #333333;">Newly
married to her beloved Henry, Catherine’s eyes are now open to the grownup
pleasures of wedded life. Yet she still hasn’t quite given up her girlhood fascination
with all things Gothic. When she first visited Northanger Abbey, she only
imagined dreadful events had occurred there. This time the horror is all too
real. There’s been a murder, and Henry has fallen under suspicion. Catherine is
determined to clear her husband’<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>s name, but at the same
time, she’s afraid for her own safety, since there’s a very good chance the
real murderer is still in the house.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .25in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #333333;">This delightful
sequel reprises the mischievous spirit of Austen’s original spoof on the Gothic
novel, while giving Catherine a genuine murder mystery to unravel.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></div>
Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-8968208360915787722020-07-09T14:38:00.001-04:002020-07-09T14:39:38.032-04:00Reap Rewards With 'Rebellion'<style>
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<h2 class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> <span style="color: blue;">Reap Rewards With '<i>Rebellion</i>'</span></span></span></h2>
<h3 class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-size: large;">Guest Post by Victoria Kincaid</span></span></span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-Rl_7hRC0spHOEs9YcYRpFVCpAzaAqdq6a1PIXfpmX6ZYhKi8VA71cSNplZ95Sc3rcdfndR2hUKQdFX3aiyTHScQA1IKsIiTKTH3bWzLeNF82ug8RmUsCbkkeRFghe39zN5Bgf0_tIcz/s1600/rebellion-at-longbourn-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="307" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-Rl_7hRC0spHOEs9YcYRpFVCpAzaAqdq6a1PIXfpmX6ZYhKi8VA71cSNplZ95Sc3rcdfndR2hUKQdFX3aiyTHScQA1IKsIiTKTH3bWzLeNF82ug8RmUsCbkkeRFghe39zN5Bgf0_tIcz/s320/rebellion-at-longbourn-web.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I am very grateful to welcome, Victoria Kincaid, with very interesting information about the British agricultural revolution that was a significant part of the inspiration for Victoria's new book. I have a very good farmer friend who TODAY plants turnips in the winter and/or clover. So these methods had a remarkably noteworthy contribution to today's farming methods. Victoria is giving away an e-copy of her book to a lucky commenter. So please comment below. Extra chances for joining the blog, each repost of the blog post, friending me or Victoria on Facebook. List any extra in a separate comment below your comment on the post! Deadline for entries will be Monday 7/13/20. And enjoy Victoria's post below. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hi Barbara!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you for welcoming me back for a visit to talk about my
latest book, <i>Rebellion at Longbourn</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The premise of this novel is that Mr. Collins has taken
possession of Longbourn but he has proven to be a poor landowner since he
refuses to implement any modern agricultural practices while simultaneously
using the estate to support a lavish lifestyle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Pride and Prejudice</i> takes place during a time known
as the British Agricultural Revolution when agricultural techniques were
improving in sophistication and productivity was increasing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is what Wikipedia says about the
time: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: -4.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 40.5pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
British Agricultural Revolution, or Second Agricultural Revolution, was the unprecedented
increase in agricultural production in Britain due to increases in labour and
land productivity between the mid-17th and late 19th centuries. Agricultural
output grew faster than the population over the century to 1770, and thereafter
productivity remained among the highest in the world. This increase in the food
supply contributed to the rapid growth of population in England and Wales, from
5.5 million in 1700 to over 9 million by 1801, though domestic production gave
way increasingly to food imports in the nineteenth century as the population
more than tripled to over 35 million.[1] The rise in productivity accelerated
the decline of the agricultural share of the labour force, adding to the urban
workforce on which industrialization depended: the Agricultural Revolution has
therefore been cited as a cause of the Industrial Revolution.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 40.5pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 40.5pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">One
important change in farming methods was the move in crop rotation to turnips
and clover in place of fallow. Turnips can be grown in winter and are
deep-rooted, allowing them to gather minerals unavailable to shallow-rooted
crops. Clover fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere into a form of fertiliser. This
permitted the intensive arable cultivation of light soils on enclosed farms and
provided fodder to support increased livestock numbers whose manure added
further to soil fertility.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The four crop rotation system mentioned
above was pioneered in Belgium and championed by Charles Townshend (2<sup>nd</sup>
Viscount Townshend) who earned the nickname Turnip Townshend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because Townshend was from Norfolk, the
system was often called the Norfolk four course system. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The revolution also encompassed the use
of new plows, better fertilizer, seed drills, and other techniques. However,
the adoption of the agricultural revolution’s ideas was uneven, and it’s quite
conceivable that someone like Collins would cling to the old ways of doing
things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
Below is a scene from the beginning of <i>Rebellion at Longbourn</i> where
Elizabeth and Mary are trying unsuccessfully to convince Collins to try new
methods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Enjoy! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Mary
tapped her finger on the page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“This article by Thomas Coke, the noted agriculturist, explains how the
Norfolk four-crop system is a vast improvement on the customary three-crop
system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The greatest benefit is
that you are not required to leave fields fallow for a year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Using the Norfolk four-course system,
fields would be sown with wheat one year, turnips in the next, followed by
barley in the third, and clover in the fourth. This produces two cash crops and
two animal feed crops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since
Longbourn does not have many cattle, we could sell the fodder for a profit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>None of the fields must be fallow since
alternating the crops ensures that vital nutrients are replenished in the
soil.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Collins
appeared about to ask a question, but Mary raced ahead, opening a book to a
picture depicting a large wooden contraption, a little taller than a spinning
wheel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Seed drills sow seeds more
evenly and at a greater depth than sowing them by hand. This ensures that the
seeds are distributed evenly and are covered by soil, preventing them from
being eaten by birds and animals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As a result, more seeds take root and grow, so more plants grow and
flourish—” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Collins’s
officiousness finally overcame his reluctance to interrupt a woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Cousin, this is all very interesting,
and I am quite gratified that you are taking an interest in…<i>farming</i>.” He
said it as if Mary had suddenly developed an unhealthy obsession with
sewers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“But Longbourn simply does
not have the funds to invest in unproven theories.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“But they
are not unproven!” Mary objected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“If you would read—”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Collins
waved this away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Anyone may write
anything in a book or journal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How
would we know the truth of his words?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Mary
gaped, flummoxed at the idea that scientists might lie about their
results.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“This
seed drill would not be cheap even if we could locate one,” Collins
continued.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Furthermore, if we
tried this four-crop system and it failed, Longbourn stands to lose quite a bit
of money!” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We could
test the system in a few fields to start,” Mary suggested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Spring planting will begin soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now is the perfect time—” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Collins
shook his head with the patient condescension of a parent denying a child who
requested another sweet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The
system might work well in Norfolk, but there is no evidence it would flourish
in a climate like Hertfordshire’s.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“They are
not so different—” Mary said. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Collins
spoke over her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I refuse to
experiment with my own fields.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“It is
not an experiment!” Elizabeth exclaimed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“It is common practice on many estates.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, nobody near Meryton yet practiced the method,
so she could not point to their neighbors as examples.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Collins
arched a brow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“And yet your
father did not implement it.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Although
it felt disloyal to her father, Elizabeth had prepared for this argument. “My
father did not…expect Longbourn to yield the profits that you do.” It was a
diplomatic way to say her father had been a bit lazy, and Collins was rather
greedy. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Collins
shook his head in a mockery of sympathy at her grief. “No, your father was too
lenient with the tenants. Such was the reason why Longbourn was a shambles when
I took possession.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An enterprise
such as this must be run with a firm hand.” Elizabeth would have bet money that
he was quoting Lady Catherine de Bourgh. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">She
pressed her lips together and resisted the impulse to argue with him over a
claim she had heard many times before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Longbourn had fared well under her father’s ownership.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To be sure, he had taken a rather
laissez faire attitude toward much of the estate’s operations. It could have
been more profitable if he had expended more effort, but he had treated his
tenants fairly and everyone had prospered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
Collins was determined to portray her father’s ownership as nearly ruinous to
Longbourn and view his arrival as the estate’s salvation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This narrative served him well—at least
in his own mind—allowing him to justify many of his actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As with so many other things, it was
difficult to discern if the man actually believed his reasoning or was merely
using it as a convenient justification for his actions. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“These
articles are quite compelling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
you would—” Mary pointed to the journal. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Their cousin bestowed
the sort of smile one gives a child who endeavors to read a book that is beyond
her ability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I am quite impressed
with your efforts, Cousin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
perhaps your time would be better occupied with needlework, pianoforte
practice, or Fordyce’s sermons.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mary seemed crestfallen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Elizabeth knew that after they retreated from the room, she would need
to reassure her sister that an interest in farming was not unfeminine but quite
admirable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Summary</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Elizabeth
Bennet’s father died two years ago, and her odious cousin Mr. Collins has taken
possession of the Longbourn estate. Although Collins and his wife Charlotte
have allowed the Bennet sisters and their mother to continue living at
Longbourn, the situation is difficult. Viewing Elizabeth and her sisters as
little more than unpaid servants, Collins also mistreats the tenants, spends
the estate’s money with abandon, and rejects any suggestions about improving or
modernizing Longbourn. After one particularly egregious incident, Elizabeth
decides she must organize a covert resistance among her sisters and the
tenants, secretly using more modern agricultural methods to help the estate
thrive. Her scheme is just getting underway when Mr. Darcy appears in Meryton. </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Upon
returning from a long international voyage, Darcy is forced to admit he cannot
forget his love for Elizabeth. When he learns of the Bennet family’s plight, he
hurries to Hertfordshire, hoping he can provide assistance. Sinking into
poverty, Elizabeth is further out of Darcy’s reach than ever; still, he cannot
help falling even more deeply in love. But what will he do when he discovers
her covert rebellion against Longbourn’s rightful owner?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Falling
in love with Mr. Darcy was not part of Elizabeth’s plan, but it cannot be
denied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Darcy struggles to
separate his love for her from his abhorrence for deception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will their feelings for each other help
or hinder the Rebellion at Longbourn?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></i></div>
Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-40786630770875014842019-12-03T14:31:00.000-05:002019-12-03T14:56:04.670-05:00Shannon Winslow Interviewed by Sir William Collins<style>
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<h2 class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b> Shannon Winslow Interviewed by Sir William Collins </b></span></h2>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>(Fourth In the Series)</b></span></h2>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"> <span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">By Shannon Winslow</span></span></span></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Celebrating Shannon Winslow's New Devotional!</span></span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGBFGccLg0U63isOF_j0Tqpi77vwhgIywEZntlvmxtiUlXboG566CdBM-WUXYzs-11YVZZxkxTkk7pwDmZ-GffM62iU_34ELmxUOiEkmGB4Fnm_zffLb-9cX6eGE5nA7xQpVUQrKIuY9O/s1600/Prayer+and+Praise_Kindle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1037" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGBFGccLg0U63isOF_j0Tqpi77vwhgIywEZntlvmxtiUlXboG566CdBM-WUXYzs-11YVZZxkxTkk7pwDmZ-GffM62iU_34ELmxUOiEkmGB4Fnm_zffLb-9cX6eGE5nA7xQpVUQrKIuY9O/s320/Prayer+and+Praise_Kindle.jpg" width="207" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i> </i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>It is a big treat to have Shannon Winslow with us today! This Cyber Holiday week, it is wonderful to know about a very special Christmas gift you might want to get for your JAFF friends and family! Prayer and Praise: A Jane Austen Devotional is an inspired treasure by Shannon Winslow. I am very grateful to have my own signed copy to treasure and use in my own daily devotionals!</i></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>PS--Be sure to check out previous Mr. Collins and Shannon Winslow Interviews here:</i></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i><a href="https://darcyholic.blogspot.com/2012/06/william-collins-tv-talk-show-host.html">June 2016 Interview</a> </i></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i><a href="https://darcyholic.blogspot.com/2017/03/a-grudge-carrying-mr-collins-re.html">March 2017 Interview</a> </i></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i><a href="https://darcyholic.blogspot.com/2018/04/living-large-with-ladies-of-rosings.html">April 2018 Interview</a></i></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> </b>It has become something of a tradition that, with the
publication of a new book, I sit down for an interview with Mr. Collins (now
Sir William Collins). Did you know that, after his run as a legendary literary
figure, he turned his talents to a new career as a talk-show host? It’s true.
But he and I have not always been on the best of terms, I’m sorry to say. The
awkwardness stems from the fact that I made his early demise my first priority
as a writer. In fact, Mr. Collins expired in the very first chapter of my first
novel (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Darcys of Pemberley</i>). I’m
afraid he has never quite forgiven me for that, as you may be able to tell from
the tone of our recent interview:</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
_________________________________________________</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sir William Collins returns to the set to commence his
weekly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Meet the Author </i>segment. At
the stage manager’s cue, Collins politely addresses today’s guest: the modestly
successful author of Austenesque fiction, Shannon Winslow [seated]. Collins
smiles a bit stiffly and extends a limp hand to her for the obligatory shake. Then,
nodding several times to the camera and studio audience, he basks in their
‘spontaneous’ applause before taking the chair opposite his guest.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We meet again, Ms. Winslow. And I see
there is a new book. [He holds up a pristine copy of “Prayer & Praise: a
Jane Austen Devotional” for the audience to view] A devotional inspired by Jane
Austen’s prayers? That is a bit of a departure for you, is it not?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes! My first non-fiction piece. I’m
very pleased about the way it turned out and excited to share it with readers. I
hope they will find it uplifting and helpful in some way. Have you read it yet?
Considering your former profession, Sir, I should think a devotional would be right
in your line.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sorry, I have left all that behind me. And
as a celebrity, my time is in great demand – something I daresay you would know
little about. But <u>I</u> will ask the questions, Mrs. Winslow, if you don’t
mind. The first is, what made you think you had any business attempting such a
thing? What are your qualifications? As far as I know, you have not received a
doctorate degree in theology since last we met.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are quite correct about that, Sir
William. But the scriptures are open to us all, are they not? And you are well
aware of my credentials as relates to the study of Austen’s works. This project
simply gave me an opportunity to combine two of my prime interests. [Receiving
no immediate response to this, Ms. Winslow continues] I don’t mean to imply
that my efforts rise to the level of works of true scholarship, not like
Fordyce’s Sermons that you used to be so fond of… [Collins interrupts]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh! Fordyce’s Sermons! Yes, now <u>there</u>
is a fine volume of instruction on all things moral. Do you presume to likewise
tell your readers the difference between right and wrong, Ms. Winslow?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surely that is God’s job; not mine, Sir
William! As I said before, the scriptures are open for us all to read and learn
from. I only undertook to give people something to think about – some helps,
some encouragement, perhaps a little larger view of God and His love for us –
through the use of situations and characters from Jane Austen’s novels. That is
the most unique aspect of this devotional, I think. It was a rewarding challenge
for me to discover unexpected illustrations for spiritual principles in the
stories I love so much, especially <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pride
and Prejudice</i>, my favorite.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is no very remarkable distinction.
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pride and Prejudice</i> is <u>everybody’s</u>
favorite, as it should be.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I only mention it because of the title.
[Winslow takes up the discarded devotional from the table between them, showing
it to Collins and the camera in turn.] I can’t tell you how tickled I was when
I realized the names of the two books could be abbreviated just the same! It’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Prayer and Praise</i>: P&P. Do you see?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is all very clever, I’m sure, Ms.
Winslow. But what I want to know is <u>which</u> characters from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pride and Prejudice</i> are included in your
little devotional?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, let’s see now. Um, Mr. Darcy,
certainly, and Elizabeth. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. I remember mentioning your
cousins Mary, Jane and Lydia as well. And there is one entire segment devoted
to Lady Catherine. I know you would agree that she deserves nothing less. Now,
who am I forgetting? [Shakes her head and shrugs] Anyway, as you know, Austen
drew her characters so well – so very lifelike – that they would <u>all</u>
make excellent illustrations for situations and issues people face, even today.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m afraid that does not quite answer my
question.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>[With a flash in sudden recognition] Oh!
Of course. Now I see what you’re driving at, Sir William. But surely there’s no
need for dissembling, not between old acquaintances like us. You wish to know
if <u>you</u> are in the book yourself. Isn’t that it? And perhaps what I say
about your character?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well… I must admit to having a certain
curiosity. Who would not under similar circumstances?</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Quite right, Sir William. It’s only
natural. So allow me to set your mind at rest at once by assuring you that I
would never dream of omitting Mr. Collins! [chuckling] <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>Who
could resist the chance to point out your pompous… Oh, pardon me! What I meant
to say is that the character of Mr. Collins is far too… too <u>valuable</u> an
example to ignore. We can all learn something from him, I think it is safe to
say.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b> [With a
satisfied smile] Of course. I was sure of it. Indeed, how could it be
otherwise? You doubtless feature some of my finer moments.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Precisely! You remember that night at
the Netherfield Ball, when you were so good as to take the trouble of introducing
yourself to Mr. Darcy?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You found that particularly inspiring,
did you?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, yes! And then, in another segment…
Well, I don’t want to give away <u>all</u> my secrets. Let’s save the rest for
when you actually read the book yourself, shall we?</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like a surprise, do you mean?</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why not?</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hmm. I do not always enjoy <u>your</u>
surprises, Ms. Winslow. I seem to recall a rather alarming one upon the
occasion of our first interview together.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winslow:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come now, Sir William, I thought we
agreed we wouldn’t mention that old unpleasantness again. It is well behind us
and best left there. As Elizabeth Bennet advised, let us think only of the past
as its remembrance gives us pleasure.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Collins:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes. [Pauses, looking dubious, then
sighs] Well, perhaps that is the wisest course after all. [Turns to audience.]
Please join me in thanking Ms. Winslow for once again gracing us with her… her
somewhat controversial but always ‘interesting’ presence.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
[The “Applause” sign flashes and the audience responds with
enthusiasm, effectively bringing the awkward interview to a close.]</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Prayer-Praise-Devotional-Illustrated-Celebrated-ebook/dp/B07ZF3Y7HD/ref=sr_1_1?crid=LDW1UYAPRCAT&keywords=prayer+and+praise+a+jane+austen+devotional&qid=1575401242&sprefix=prayer+and+praise%2Caps%2C367&sr=8-1">Prayer And Praise on Amazon Here</a> </b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 2.75in; text-align: center;">
Did you know that Jane Austen wrote prayers in addition to her six
classic novels? She was not only a woman of celebrated humor, intellect, and
insight; she was a woman of faith.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 2.75in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 2.75in; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Prayer & Praise</span></i></b> is a
treasure trove of thought-provoking messages inspired by the lines of Austen’s
three preserved prayers. Atop a solid foundation of scripture, these 50
devotional segments (each finishing with prayer and praise) enlist familiar
characters and situations from Austen novels to illustrate spiritual principles
– in creative, often surprising, ways!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 2.75in; text-align: center;">
Which one of Austen’s characters developed a god complex? Who was
really pulling Henry Crawford’s strings? Where do we see examples of true
repentance, a redeemer at work, light overcoming darkness? With a Biblical
perspec-tive, Austen’s beloved stories reveal new les-sons about life, truth,
hope, and faith.</div>
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<br /></div>
Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-4894131883166958002019-11-12T10:41:00.004-05:002019-11-12T10:47:04.731-05:00A Chat With Colin About Covenant<style>
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<h2 align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><b><span style="font-family: "times";">A Chat With Colin About Covenant</span></b></span></span><b><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times";"> </span></span></span></b></h2>
<h2 align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times";">By Colin Odom</span></span></span></b></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_nS4v1x5Bo9sehmU2cyY6bxmlAgfE96ipUWT4ZQIzRktwB2eYaBobhP8bQs2r-SOf0FSNUPNhTDSJWPhVON3MA6L_dJNvyxtXTZ94bsGMcT7Fi7utZjTJzCJcnFvyBmfYCb7EKXVaOtQ/s1600/Colin+photo+2014.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_nS4v1x5Bo9sehmU2cyY6bxmlAgfE96ipUWT4ZQIzRktwB2eYaBobhP8bQs2r-SOf0FSNUPNhTDSJWPhVON3MA6L_dJNvyxtXTZ94bsGMcT7Fi7utZjTJzCJcnFvyBmfYCb7EKXVaOtQ/s320/Colin+photo+2014.jpg" width="280" /></a> </span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been such a pleasure to be able to visit with Colin this
week as he prepared for this stop on his blog tour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I first ran across Colin, back in the glory days of JAFF
online, at Hyacinth Gardens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Male
authors were rare, and he was recommended to me by several including my good
friend Linnea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">He is now a Meryton author and has
recently published ‘A Covenant of Marriage’, an intriguing spin on the original
Pride and Prejudice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know you
would enjoy his book and I hope you will enjoy his personal story here at
Darcyholic Diversions!</span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">As we began to work on his interview
he sent me the story below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
cannot improve on it by making it into an interview!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So read Colin’s story in his own words!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t forget to comment and also visit
Rafflecopter for a chance at the drawings!</span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Colin:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'll start by talking about how I found
Jane Austen. First of all, my bio mentions that my first wife passed away from
cancer. The year was 1995, and she was only 48. We had two sons, 11 and 15, at
the time, and I suddenly had to assume all the responsibility for their care as
well as holding down my job as an engineer. I also had things like bookcases
filled with a mixture of her books and mine. Most of hers were oriented toward
the home and family, but the exception was her beloved Jane Austen books. She
had tried to interest me in reading them, but I have to confess that I found
reasons not to do so. My interests lay more in science fiction, history,
popular authors like Tom Clancy, and what are now called DIY books about
woodworking, plumbing, electrical wiring, landscaping, etc.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">As I slowly
worked my way through the house, deciding what to keep and what to send to
Goodwill, most of Margaret's books wound up being donated to the local library.
I kept a selection, of course, like a few cookbooks, medical references,
vacation books for the trips we hadn't taken, etc. And I kept her Jane Austen
books.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">So the
years crept by. It was more than five years before I finished cleaning out her
side of the closet or could even contemplate that terrifying challenge of
dating when you're fifty years old. But finally friends at church pushed me to
break out of my shell, and I wound up meeting Jeanine, who's four years my
junior. She was the only lady I met who had not been previously married and so
badly wounded by her divorce that she was never going to trust a man again. I
liked most of them, and I came to understand why they felt the way they did.
They had been betrayed, and the wounds went to deep.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">But Jeanine
was different. She and I both shared the same Christian faith, and she had
truly forgiven her first husband, deciding that she was not going to let that
betrayal define the rest of her life. She had a son and a daughter from her
marriage, but, though she was now a single mom, she didn't feel as if she was
finished being a mother. On our first date, she informed me that she was in the
processing of adopting an orphan girl from China. I nodded, not worried in the
slightest. I had been surprised to find, after my own children were born, that
I really liked kids. Besides, I knew Jeannie and I were just going to be
friends . . .</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Hah!
Anyway, I re-married in early 2002, and settled down to raise a daughter who
didn't speak a word of English with my beloved and warm-hearted wife. And it
was the combination of Jeanine's warm heart and Margaret's beloved Jane Austen
books that led me to go back to the bedroom one Sunday afternoon when Jeanine
was visiting with her daughter in the living room. I had noticed that one of the
cable channels had a BBC mini-series made from a Jane Austen book called --
wait for it! -- Pride and Prejudice!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I had
messed up the time and caught it part way through, so I was trying to figure
out what was going on in that version of P&P -- the one made in 1995 with
Colin Firth as Darcy. By the way, did I mention that I've always had a sneaking
liking for a few movies that are referred to as Chick Flicks? Not all, by any
means, but I really liked You've Got Mail, An Affair to Remember, and a few others
(couldn't stand Sleepless in Seattle, though. Too far fetched and too dependent
of Deus Ex Machina coincidences).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">So, at the
end of the mini-series a couple of hours later, there I was wondering what had
taken place before I tuned in. I suppose I could have gone out to the video
store and rented it (we still had video stores back in 2003-2004), but instead
I dug out Margaret's copy of Pride and Prejudice and read it cover to cover.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">THEN I went
out to the video store. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">They didn't
have the 1995 mini-series, but they did have one from 1980 with David Rintoul
as Darcy and Elizabeth Garvie as Elizabeth Bennet. Later on, a couple of weeks
later, I ordered the 1995 version from Amazon and watched that one also. But
I'm one of the few Pride and Prejudice fans who prefers the 1980 version to the
much more popular 1985 version.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Anyway,
while I was churning through Austen's other novels, I picked up and watched the
other miniseries (except for Northanger Abbey). But I also got to wondering
about all the gaps in Pride and Prejudice. For example, Darcy disappears after
Hunsford and doesn't reappear until he and Elizabeth meet at Pemberley. I
wondered what happened when Austen didn't focus on him, and I did some online
searches to see if there was any information about that (at the time, I didn't
realize that everything that Jane Austen wrote (and still exists) was contained
in six novels). In doing those searches, found several novels by other authors
on Amazon with something to do with the Pride and Prejudice characters. I also
stumbled across Jane Austen fanfiction.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">At the
time, I didn't realize what fanfiction was! I found Darbyshire Writer's Guild,
Firthness.com, and Hyacinth Gardens. I found a number of novel-length
fanfiction that was quite good. Of course, I found a bunch that wasn't all that
interesting. And I started to wonder whether I couldn't do something along that
same line.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">One thing I
might mention is that I did quite well in English when in high school and
tested into Honors English in college. Most engineers don't really care for the
subject, but I was fortunate to have some really good (and demanding!)
instructors who taught me the elements of writing. During my career as an engineer,
I wound up writing a LOT of specifications, proposals, and reports, but that
experience was, I thought, more in the area of technical writing. I wasn't at
all sure that I could make a story interesting in the Pride and Prejudice
world. But I came up with an idea of changing one of the critical points in
P&P in order to see what happened. It was a very slow process to get going,
but eventually I had everything finished, and started to post A Most Civil
Proposal on Hyacinth Gardens.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The early
chapters were well received, and several of the people who commented on my
postings offered to "Beta Read" for me. Naturally, I had to have the
concept explained to me! It sounded too good to be true, because I was still
finding typos and contradictions and out-and-out blunders in what I had
written. Those beta readers were invaluable to me in reaching the end of that
story.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAnkIQUfc5c7onj8MzVSEYB7HKYSX8FdylVKqVVd32-M7ZdDByI7cAVcFwAT-vJdi7gSA9MEHfCmQfY54xhKGZDwFqSV5cP1DuFviC9-uv1U8LWu-Ov1eoq3xegUhur7VPPZL3AWWMmra-/s1600/Covenant+FC+M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAnkIQUfc5c7onj8MzVSEYB7HKYSX8FdylVKqVVd32-M7ZdDByI7cAVcFwAT-vJdi7gSA9MEHfCmQfY54xhKGZDwFqSV5cP1DuFviC9-uv1U8LWu-Ov1eoq3xegUhur7VPPZL3AWWMmra-/s320/Covenant+FC+M.jpg" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I published
several other fanfiction efforts to generally positive reactions, and several
people started to suggest I ought to look for a publisher. I wasn't at all
inclined to listen to that well-meant advice. I was still working as an
engineer, married to Jeanine, and we had adopted another daughter from China. I
was busy, busy, busy, so I knew -- KNEW! -- that I didn't have the time to pursue
that will-o-the-wisp, even if by some miracle I could write well enough to sell
my novels. I was familiar with several writers who had moved from fanfiction to
published authors, and I didn't think I was as good as they were.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">By 2011, I
was in my early sixties and still busy, but my business had taken a downturn. I
knew it was a chancy time for a senior engineer who made a high salary. Sure
enough, one day in June, me and 500 of my "closest friends" were
informed our services were no longer needed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">But I was
fortunate. I got a good separation agreement and was able to take early
retirement. It was a shock to my ego (for about eighteen hours!), but I soon
realized it was a blessing in disguise. Even better, I was contacted early the
next year by Meryton Press, who asked if I would be interested in publishing
"A Most Civil Proposal." By that time, I wasn't as busy as before,
and AMCP had been finished for years. So I agreed, and set to work reading
through it and getting it ready for publication. "This is going to be a
piece of cake," I thought to myself.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Well, for
the millionth time, I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Now I had to learn to work with
professional editors! That's another story, but I now realize how necessary a
good editor can be. Perhaps not to every writer, but certainly to me, and I'm
grateful for the way they helped me develop.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">So there's
how I got started writing in the world of Jane Austen. A lot of it was pure
chance. As far as the future, perhaps I need to spread further afield, because
I may have mined out Pride and Prejudice of interesting variations. But I still
have some other ideas that are semi-plotted and might be developed in an
interesting manner, so I'll see. That's for the future.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUB7FQOesalIRVaFsrOoQ4aJcrdS_yhF432HL2MV8rs4YGNTKCQftDqYlJQTYkoQFlIr95L0eF0sB8-LD1nHzSqamaS0WWAuOgWN8pzlkDvoGKtrCryw3nNPwRTDp1vkEbQ7oWXOkN-XT3/s1600/ACOM+Blog+Tour+Schedule%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUB7FQOesalIRVaFsrOoQ4aJcrdS_yhF432HL2MV8rs4YGNTKCQftDqYlJQTYkoQFlIr95L0eF0sB8-LD1nHzSqamaS0WWAuOgWN8pzlkDvoGKtrCryw3nNPwRTDp1vkEbQ7oWXOkN-XT3/s320/ACOM+Blog+Tour+Schedule%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0ca86b9b33/?">Rafflecopter Drawing Link</a></span></b></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">A
Covenant of Marriage Blog Tour Media Kit</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Blurb:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">A Covenant of
Marriage—legally binding, even for an unwilling bride!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Defined as a formal,
solemn, and binding agreement or compact, a covenant is commonly used with
regard to relations among nations or as part of a contract. But it can also
apply to a marriage as Elizabeth Bennet learns when her father binds her in
marriage to a man she dislikes. Against her protests that she cannot be bound
against her will, the lady is informed that she lives under her father’s roof
and, consequently, is under his control; she is a mere pawn in the proceedings.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">With such an inauspicious beginning, how can
two people so joined ever make a life together?</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Author
Bio: </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">By
training, I’m a retired engineer, born in Texas, raised in Oklahoma, and
graduated from the University of Oklahoma. Sandwiched in there was a stint in
the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marines, and I’ve lived in
Arizona since 1977, working first for Motorola and then General Dynamics. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">I
raised two sons with my first wife, Margaret, before her untimely death from
cancer, and my second wife, Jeanine, and I adopted two girls from China. The
older of my daughters recently graduated with an engineering degree and is
working in Phoenix, and the younger girl is heading toward a nursing degree. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">I’ve
always been a voracious reader and collector of books, and my favorite genres
are science fiction, historical fiction, histories, and, in recent years, reading
(and later writing) Jane Austen romantic fiction. This late-developing interest
was indirectly stimulated when I read my late wife's beloved Jane Austen books
after her passing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One thing led
to another, and I now have four novels published:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u>A <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Hlk19388232">Most Civil Proposal</a></u><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk19388232;"></span> (2013), <u>Consequences</u> (2014), <u>Pride,
Prejudice, and Secrets</u> (2015), and <u>Perilous Siege</u> (2019). Two of my
books are now audiobooks, <u>Most Civil Proposal</u> and <u>Pride, Prejudice,
and Secrets</u>. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">I
retired from engineering in 2011, but I still live in Arizona with my family, a
pair of dogs (one of which is stubbornly untrainable), and a pair of rather
strange cats. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My hobbies are
reading, woodworking, and watching college football and LPGA golf (the girls
are much nicer than the guys, as well as being fiendishly good putters). Lately
I’ve reverted back to my younger years and have taken up building plastic model
aircraft and ships (when I can find the time).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Contact
Info:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/colin.odom">Colin Odom Facebook page</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/C.-P.-Odom/e/B00BPT2BQQ/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1393834353&sr=1-2-ent">C.
P. Odom Amazon Author page </a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7073904.C_P_Odom?from_search=true">C.
P. Odom Goodreads page </a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://colinodom.merytonpress.com/">C. P. Odom Meryton Press page</a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Buy Links:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Covenant-Marriage-Pride-Prejudice-Variation-ebook/dp/B07ZL32WK5/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=C.+P.+odom&qid=1572404183&s=digital-text&sr=1-1">Amazon
US</a> eBook, Paperback, Kindle Unlimited</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Covenant-Marriage-Pride-Prejudice-Variation-ebook/dp/B07ZL32WK5/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=C.+P.+Odom&qid=1572404272&s=books&sr=1-5">Amazon
UK</a> eBook, Paperback, Kindle Unlimited</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Blog Tour Schedule:</span></b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">11/05 <a href="https://www.madamegilflurt.com/">A Covent Garden
Gilflurt’s Guide to Life</a></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">11/06 </span><a href="https://moreagreeablyengaged.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">More
Agreeably Engaged</span></a><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">11/07 </span><a href="https://frompemberleytomilton.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">From
Pemberley to Milton</span></a><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">11/08 </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://halfagonyhalfhopelove.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Half
Agony, Half Hope</span></a></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">11/09 </span><a href="http://forloveofausten.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">My
Love for Jane Austen</span></a><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">11/11 </span><a href="https://diaryofaneccentric.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Diary
of an Eccentric</span></a><u><span style="color: #0563c1; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">11/12 </span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://darcyholic.blogspot.com/">Darcyholic Diversions</a></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">11/14 </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="https://margiesmustreads.com/">Margie's Must Reads</a></span><u><span style="color: #0563c1; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">11/15 </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://www.austenesquereviews.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Austenesque
Reviews</span></a></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">11/16 </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://thesecretunderstandingofthehearts.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">My Jane Austen Book Club</span></a></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">11/17 </span><a href="https://babblingsofabookworm.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Babblings
of a Bookworm</span></a><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">11/18 </span><a href="https://myvicesandweaknesses.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">My
Vices and Weaknesses</span></a><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">11/19 </span><a href="https://interestsofajaneaustengirl.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Interests
of a Jane Austen Girl</span></a><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;">
<br /></div>
Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-39349781265964641012019-10-31T08:27:00.000-04:002019-10-31T08:35:38.842-04:00Treats Not Tricks This Halloween: An Interview with Victoria Kincaid<style>
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<h2 align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>Treats Not Tricks
This Halloween:</b></span></h2>
<h2>
</h2>
<h2 align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>An Interview with
Victoria Kincaid</b></span></h2>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #e69138;"><b>By Barbara Tiller
Cole and Victoria Kincaid</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnwBjoKLal1ELeccv2qSr0fxWozCTuLfat97SW3B1W-_PfWhf53ehqb1j2RvMLLpTTKMbnal2Ty6ML7z8OuSxFSjBMZkRPW5mMXxymVzQJPHyDyLNRyVS1lD2QtwrsHElwPmWdRmzD6nMG/s1600/CharlotteBecomesRomanticcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnwBjoKLal1ELeccv2qSr0fxWozCTuLfat97SW3B1W-_PfWhf53ehqb1j2RvMLLpTTKMbnal2Ty6ML7z8OuSxFSjBMZkRPW5mMXxymVzQJPHyDyLNRyVS1lD2QtwrsHElwPmWdRmzD6nMG/s320/CharlotteBecomesRomanticcover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I am excited to
have a special Halloween treat for you--An interview with Victoria
Kincaid!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her latest story may
‘trick’ your idea of Charlotte Lucas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In reading her latest book I had a new appreciation for an unsung
heroine in Pride and Prejudice and new insights into her character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><b>BTC:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Victoria, thanks for taking the time to
visit us here at Darcyholic Diversions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Tell us a little bit about yourself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>VK:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m originally from the
Philadelphia suburbs and I now live in McLean VA (outside Washington DC). I’m
married with two kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My daughter
is sophomore in college; she loves it, but I really miss her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My son is a junior in high school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I read a lot—it’s my primary form of
relaxation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But given my day job,
my writing career, and my parenting responsibilities, I don’t have a lot of
time for other hobbies at this point. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right now I’m also organizing a JAFF Reader/Writer Get
Together, which will be near me November 8-10.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m looking forward to meeting people I only know digitally.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>BTC:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been
a part of several get togethers!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
which I could come to yours, but I have another commitment at that time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Do you have to include the details
about the event in this interview?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If so answer the following..)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Can you give us the particulars about the event in case anyone has not
yet heard about it and is able to attend?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"><b>VK:</b></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’ll be November 8-10 near Washington DC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately the registration is
closed, but we may have another one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If anyone is interested, they should join the Facebook group and watch
out for future information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
looking forward to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Writing can
be a lonely profession; so it’s wonderful to meet readers and fellow writers. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>BTC:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b> </b> </span>I hope you
have a wonderful get together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
planned several events while living in Atlanta area, including 2 weekend get
togethers and participation by 27 authors at the Decatur Book Festival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, I had a job for around 7 years
which allowed me to travel the country and had smaller get togethers in
Phoenix, Boston, and Southern California!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It great to meet your variety authors, and to
meet the readers who love your stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hope to have a gathering either before or after the Jane
Austen Festival in Louisville next year!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So tell us how you started to write?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>VK:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like
most writers, I’ve been writing my whole life; but for a long time I was
primarily a playwright.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still
teach playwriting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>BTC:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b> </b> </span>I have a
dear friend who is head of the drama department at a university.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I worked with my husband for a number
of years producing industrial theatre and events, and was a music major who
performed in musicals and operas, so glad to know about your background. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>VK:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>I
only write novels now. Switching to novel writing was a little tricky at
first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In plays, most of the story
is revealed through dialogue—which can be hard to do well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so happy that novel writing
allowed me to reveal things through description, inner thoughts, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The novel writer has a lot more tools
at her disposal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Austen’s writing
is particularly good at revealing character through dialogue, which made her
writing easier to emulate for me. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>BTC:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can see
how her writing style would make the transition easier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I also know that showing not
telling is always the best way to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So your skill with dialogue makes your stories much more interesting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So you explained a little bit about why you chose Jane
Austen, but tell us more.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>VK:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All
writers start as readers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
writing impulse springs from that “what if?” that the reader asks herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if the protagonist had done x
instead of y?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if the
protagonist was a woman instead of a man?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What if we found out what happened after the story ended?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if this character met that
character from another story?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
if the character was a scientist instead of a soldier?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Austen’s world is a particularly fertile ground for these
what if scenarios.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I started
reading <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> variations out of idle curiosity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I got hooked (I literally bought a
Kindle so I could save money by buying ebook JAFF instead of print).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I started thinking of my own what
ifs for <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And now here I am!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>When
Charlotte Became Romantic</i> is my 15<sup>th</sup> <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>
variation—and I don’t seem to be in any danger of running out of ideas. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>BTC:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
always fascinating to me to learn how writers found the genre!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And you are no exception!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So what was the inspiration to write about
Charlotte?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>VK: </b>When you think about it, Pride and Prejudice is
full of women who are confined by their place in society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elizabeth’s refusal of these
limitations is one of the things we love about her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I am always interested in those other women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What would happen if their
circumstances were a little different and they had the opportunity to assert
themselves?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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That is how I ended up with a series I didn’t intend to
write.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first two books, <i>When
Mary Met the Colonel</i> and <i>When Jane Got Angry</i>, describe two Bennet
sisters deciding to defy conventions at critical points in their lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I had the idea for <i>When
Charlotte Became Romantic</i>, I realized I was writing an unintended series
about these “other” women in <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>. </div>
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<b>BTC:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b> </b> </span>I have enjoyed
your books thus far and will look forward to more!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would you like to give us a hint about your next project?</div>
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<b>VK:</b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good
question!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve written two modern
variations (<i>Darcy in Hollywood</i> and <i>President Darcy</i>) and was just
getting started with another one when a Regency era plot bunny bowled me over
and demanded to be written.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the
next will be set in the Regency—with Darcy and Elizabeth as the main
characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe after that I’ll
be able to write the modern version. <span style="font-family: "segoe ui emoji"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji";">😊</span></div>
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<b>BTC:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, I
want to thank you for sitting down to tea with me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please stop back by when your next book is
released!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Victoria
is giving away an ecopy of her book to a lucky commenter!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Extra entries are given for adding your
name to this blog, liking my author page on facebook. Sharing this post on
Facebook or twitter.</div>
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<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #b45f06;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Book Blurb:</span></b></span></h3>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #b45f06;">A Pride and Prejudice
Variation: When Charlotte Becomes Romantic</span></span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the original <i>Pride
and Prejudice</i>, Elizabeth Bennet’s friend, Charlotte Lucas marries the silly
and obsequious clergyman, Mr. Collins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But what if fate—and love—intervened? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Desperate to escape
her parents’ constant criticism, Charlotte has accepted a proposal from Mr.
Collins despite recognizing his stupid and selfish nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when a mysterious man from her past
visits Meryton for the Christmas season, he arouses long-buried feelings and
causes her to doubt her decision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">James Sinclair’s
mistakes cost him a chance with Charlotte three years ago, and he is devastated
to find her engaged to another man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Honor demands that he step aside, but his heart will not allow him to
leave Meryton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their mutual
attraction deepens; however, breaking an engagement is not a simple matter and
scandal looms. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they are to be
happy, they must face her parents’ opposition, Lady Catherine’s disapproval,
dangerous figures from James’s past...and Charlotte’s nagging feeling that
maybe she should just marry Mr. Collins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Charlotte had
forsworn romance years ago; is it possible for her to become romantic again? </span></div>
</div>
Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-86948839764797299522019-09-10T14:03:00.001-04:002019-09-10T14:24:01.855-04:00A Tea Time Chat with Brigid Huey<h2 style="text-align: center;">
A Tea Time Chat with Brigid Huey</h2>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>by Barbara Tiller Cole and Brigid Huey</i></span></h3>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">It is always a delight for me to get to know a new Austen inspired Author. I was very grateful to have the opportunity to chat over virtual tea with Brigid Huey, author of the recently released A Chance Encounter in Pemberley Woods, during her blog tour. Discovering a fresh new author with an intriguing variation has been a treat! And even more is that we now live just about an hour from each other and hope to make our virtual tea a real one soon! Take time to read the post below. Comment below and don’t forget to enter the rafflecopter drawings! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Grab a Fresh Cup of Tea and a Scone and Join Us For Our Chat</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><b>Cole:</b> Hi Brigid. I’m glad to have the opportunity to get to know you today. It’s always a pleasure to meet any Jane Austen enthusiast. But even more so a new author.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5MXG0_DrK85taAXkNsyJilbaR7zboSRLZXM5bu4Uo1myfCnRubYC7lePc4Q3_AoWojNoQtKgY2oOaMKX_kM9B4cx_bL8sWKjY4b1XcH-tGXs06St11OtN-PTzw3v3nHRouey0JEsJ_aHh/s1600/ACEiPW+bt+banner+horzM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><b>Huey: </b>Hello Barbara and thank you for having me!<br />
<br /><b>Cole: </b> You are from Cincinnati I understand. Have you lived there all of your life.<br />
<br /><b>Huey: </b>I have lived here since I was 7 years old, so it feels like it's been all my life. I was born in New York and lived in New Jersey until we moved here. My husband and I did live in St. Louis, MO for three years, but decided to move back after we graduated from college.<br />
<br /><b>Cole: </b>So you are a true Cincinnati native! I am an born and bred Atlanta girl but met my husband while in grad school in Louisville. And we just moved to Crestwood, KY (outside of Louisville) in April.<br />
<br />So somewhere along the line we should get together for a real cup of tea.<br />
<br /><b>Huey: </b> Oh wow! So you're new to the area. I've been in Cincinnati now for over twenty years.<br />
Well over 20 actually!<br />
<br /><b>Cole:</b> My husband is a Louisville native. He’s very excited to be back home. And has family here. So I’ve spent a good bit of time here. In fact I drove through Cincinnati a month ago to help a friend get home whose car died.<br />
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I have eaten at Skyline Chili! And I have been to a Reds game. Lol! </span></div>
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<br /><b>Huey:</b> Haha. Good, you've hit up some classic Cincinnati things then.<br />
<br /><b>Cole:</b> Absolutely. So tell me a bit about your family.<br />
<br /><b>Huey: </b> My husband and I met when I was in high school. He was a freshman in college. We got married ridiculously young (I was 22!) while still in college. Now we have two kids, Evy is 9 and Tris is 5. We also have two chickens!<br />
<br /><b>Cole: </b> Are they pets? The chickens I mean. Lol. Do you get fresh eggs regularly<br />
<br /><b>Huey: </b> Yes, they are very much pets. Two bantam hens, Cookies and Chicky. They have just started laying! It's pretty exciting. My kids will come running in the house with the egg to show me! Actually, I just ordered three more birds to add to our little flock. So we'll have chicks soon! I love them.<br />
<br /><b>Cole:</b> Very nice. Our neighbors two doors down have chickens. I just have a dog. But our property has deer, a ground hog, bunnies and a feral cat.<br />
<br />
So how did you first discover Jane Austen’s books?<br />
<br /><b>Huey:</b> Back in 1995 my dad heard about the BBC adaptation and made a point to have us all watch it. Both my parents were already fans of Jane Austen, but I had never seen or heard anything about her. We all sat down to watch an episode each night. I was hooked. I was 13, so I don't think I read the book right away. I've read Pride and Prejudice so many times now, I can't remember the first time!<br />
<br />
I also fell in love with Emma when that movie came out. My parents took me to see it in the theater. Swoon!<br />
<br /><b>Cole: </b> I love Jeremy Northam! Not as much as much as Colin Firth! But there are days when Darcy betas Mr Knightley just by a nose. Lol.<br />
<br />
So when did you discover Austen fan fiction ?<br />
<br /><b>Huey: </b> A couple of years ago I was searching for Jane Austen on my library's e-reader app. A few variations came up and I was intrigued. I borrowed one because I was currious, and I was hooked. The library really only had about ten or so though. So I went online in search of more, and discovered a whole new world!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0bZIFYztd_qIhAvkjeVg9wBMxRxv6ARWW83-_nnaeNenzyIM49H9ZZ69Qg4186j61E5xKjhLdm_pp_4wGVjLjdlAZebv7TPWyQ6v1mMJt2F985RY6eH2Lazn8svqnRXE9KyLqUQfEEBZ/s1600/ACEiPW+Final+FC+wobld+082719M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0bZIFYztd_qIhAvkjeVg9wBMxRxv6ARWW83-_nnaeNenzyIM49H9ZZ69Qg4186j61E5xKjhLdm_pp_4wGVjLjdlAZebv7TPWyQ6v1mMJt2F985RY6eH2Lazn8svqnRXE9KyLqUQfEEBZ/s320/ACEiPW+Final+FC+wobld+082719M.jpg" width="212" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">That favorite story is "Yours Forevermore, Darcy" by Kara Lynn Mackrory, by the way. I am a fan of all four of her books.<br />
<br /><b>Cole: </b> Yes! It is a whole new world indeed. Did you post your story online first ?<br />
<br /><b>Huey:</b> No, I didn't. One of my favorite Austen variations was published by Meryton Press. After I had written my story, I thought, "Why not try?"<br />
<br /><b>Cole:</b> Oo. Interesting. Originally all of Merytons books were originally posted on their site. Exciting that they are expanding.<br />
<br />Well, I am very glad that you did try reaching out to Meryton. I saw your lovely cover recently! It’s gorgeous!<br />
<br /><b>Huey: </b>Thank you! Janet Taylor did such an amazing job! It was so wonderful working with her.<br />
<br /><b>Cole: </b> Janet does do an amazing job! And she just keeps getting better and better!!<br /><br />So what was your inspiration for your book.<br />
<br /><b>Huey:</b> It’s kind of strange. It just popped into my head. So I was at a friend's house watching my son climb a pine tree. It was a grey, blustery day. Kind of drizzly. And I just started daydreaming about Mr. Darcy (you know, the way we do). I could picture him flying off his horse in concern for Elizabeth.<br />
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The rest came from there!<br />
<br /><b>Cole: </b> Well it was a surprising and intriguing beginning to Elizabeth At Pemberley. I don’t officially review other authors works being another author. But I enjoyed your book a great deal. I won’t give away any spoilers, but I enjoyed the first chapter set up!<br />
<br />What specifically would you like readers to know about your story before they read it. Or to tease them to do so.<br />
<br /><b>Huey:</b> I'm going to answer this as a reader of romance. I would like my readers to know that after a little trouble, happiness abounds!<br />
<br /><b>Cole:</b> Always good to let people know that!<br />
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I understand you also home school your children. Do the book keeping for your husbands chiropractic practice. Make jewelry and still have time to write. A most accomplished woman.<br />
<br />
Are you Wonder Woman ? Lol<br />
<br /><b>Huey:</b> Haha! No, not at all! I think I am able to do all this because my husband and I work very much as a team. The jewelry business started as an artistic outlet after my daughter was born. Also, my husband understands that as an introvert, I need quiet alone time to recharge.<br />
<br />
So every Thursday he takes over the homeschool lessons and I head to the coffee house to write.</span><br />
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I do it because I enjoy it so much! And I can be in my own little world.<br />
<br /><b>Cole: </b>A friend of mine home schooled her daughter and she wrote a P&P variation about Lydia when she was 15.<br />
<br />Nice that your husband supports you like that. I was unable to have children of my own but have had many who call me their ideal mom.<br />
<br />I loved your jewelry. I saw a Cinderella piece. Have you thought about doing Jane Austen themed pieces.<br />
<br /><b>Huey: </b> Yes! I do have several in the shop right now. There is a necklace for Miss Darcy, hair pins for Jane Bennet, and I believe a pair of earrings for Mrs. Darcy. I create jewelry based on characters from literature. It's so much fun to imagine what a character might like.<br />
<br />
I actually do craft fairs and shows locally, so I have a lot more inventory than what's online. The challenging part for me is taking all the pictures and uploading everything. Too much computer work!<br />
<br /><b>Cole: </b> Yes I can imagine that can be a challenge. I am going to include a link to your Etsy shop so people can visit and find your Jane Austen inspired pieces like ‘Miss Bennett’ and Miss Croft’ ! (Link: <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/bhueydesigns/" target="_blank">Brigid Huey’s Etsy Jewelry Shop</a>)<br />
<br />
Do you have any upcoming writing projects you would like to hint at?<br />
<br /><b>Huey: </b> I am currently working on a couple of projects actually! I just finished the first round of edits for a romance novel set in the near future. Not Jane Austen based, but still a lot of fun to write. I do have a story in my head that marries Pride and Prejudice and the classic Cinderella story. I actually wrote my senior thesis on fairy tales in Jane Austen works! So I'd like to write a more obvious Cinderella version of P&P.<br />
<br />
Oh! And I want to expand the vignette I wrote this summer for the Meryton Press Summer Blog series into a novel. I have some good ideas for mystery and intrigue<br />
<br /><b>Cole:</b> That’s exciting! I love the Cinderella story. And have enjoyed movie versions. From the Rogers and Hammerstein musical. To <i>Ever After</i> and some of the Disney ones.<br /><br />
<b>Huey:</b> I love<i> Ever After</i>!!<br />
<br /><b>Cole: </b> By the way can I refill your virtual tea cup? <br />
<br /><b>Huey:</b> Yes, please! And an extra scone, if I may.<br />
<br /><b>Cole: </b> Of course. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Tell me more about the vignette you wrote and how you might expand that.</span></div>
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<b>Huey: </b> The vignette is about Darcy and Elizabeth traveling to an idyllic place in England, Rydal Mount. It's a beautiful home surrounded by gardens. They go and enjoy the scenery and each other's company. But I would like to expand it into a story involving espionage and family secrets!<br />
<br /><b>Cole:</b> Sounds very intriguing indeed. I have enjoyed some of the mystery Austen variations! Anything else you would like our readers to know ?<br />
<br /><b>Huey:</b> I would just like to extend my gratitude for the warm welcome I have received from my fellow readers and writers. It has been such a pleasure getting to know so many new friends!<br />
<br /><b>Cole: </b> It’s been a pleasure to get to know you. I look forward to a face to face visit in the hopefully not too distant future.<br />
<br /><b>Huey: </b> Thank you! Me too!<br />
<br /><b>Cole: </b> Thanks again for visiting. And I thank Meryton and Janet for asking me to be a part of this.<br />
<br />To all of you who have enjoyed this interview, please check out Brigid’s links. Be sure and comment below! And please link my author page and join this blog! And lastly,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> don’t forget to follow the rafflecopter link to enter the drawings for this blog tour event! </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Blurb:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>A surprise meeting<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>A baby alone in the woods<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>And a second chance at love<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fitzwilliam Darcy returns to his beloved Pemberley with one
thing on his mind ̶ to forget Elizabeth Bennet. Riding ahead of his party and
racing a storm, he happens upon the very woman he wants to avoid. To his
astonishment, she is holding a baby whose name and parentage are unknown. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Elizabeth Bennet never dreamed she had wandered into Pemberley’s
Woods on her afternoon walk. But when she finds an infant alone in the storm,
she turns to the last man in the world she wants to see ̶ and the only one who
can help them both. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As the mystery of the baby’s identity intensifies, Elizabeth
finds Mr. Darcy to be quite the reverse of what she expected. But when the
child’s family is discovered, will the truth bring them together, or tear them
apart?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Author
Bio:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brigid has been in love with Jane Austen since first seeing the
BBC version of <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> as a young girl. She lives
in Ohio with her husband and two kids, and spends her free time reading and
writing. This is her first <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> variation,
though many others live in her imagination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Contact
Info:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Website: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://brigidhuey.com/">https://brigidhuey.com/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Facebook Author Page: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBrigidHuey/"><span style="color: blue;">https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBrigidHuey/</span></a><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Email:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="mailto:brigidhueywrites@gmail.com"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">brigidhueywrites@gmail.com</span></a><u><span style="color: #1155cc; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Instagram: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>@brigidhueywrites
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Twitter:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/BrigidHuey"><span style="color: blue;">https://twitter.com/BrigidHuey</span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Buy</span>:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Chance-Encounter-Pemberley-Woods-Prejudice-ebook/dp/B07X236SWS/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=A+Chance+Encounter+in+Pemberley+Woods&qid=1567706282&s=gateway&sr=8-5">Amazon
US</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chance-Encounter-Pemberley-Woods-Prejudice-ebook/dp/B07X236SWS/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=A+Chance+Encounter+in+Pemberley+Woods+by+Brigid+Huey&qid=1567734103&s=books&sr=1-1">Amazon
UK</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4078409689570875027&pli=1" name="_GoBack"></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Blog Tour Schedule</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
September 9 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– <a href="http://candy-m.blogspot.com/">So little
time…</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
September 10 – <a href="http://darcyholic.blogspot.com/">Darcyholic
Diversions</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
September 11 – <a href="https://interestsofajaneaustengirl.wordpress.com/">Interests of a Jane
Austen Girl</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
September 12 – <a href="http://savvyverseandwit.com/">Savvy
Verse & Wit</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
September 13 – <a href="http://babblingsofabookworm.blogspot.com/">Babblings of a Bookworm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
September 14 – <a href="http://forloveofausten.blogspot.com/">My Love for Jane Austen</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
September 15 – <a href="https://mylifejourney.altervista.org/">My Life Journey</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
September 16 – <a href="http://Www.AustenesqueReviews.com/">Austenesque
Reviews</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
September 17 – <a href="http://halfagonyhalfhopelove.blogspot.com/">Half Agony, Half Hope</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
September 18 – <a href="https://diaryofaneccentric.wordpress.com/">Diary of an Eccentric</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
September 19 – <a href="https://frompemberleytomilton.wordpress.com/">From Pemberley to Milton</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
September 20 – <a href="http://thesecretunderstandingofthehearts.blogspot.com/">My Jane Austen
Book Club</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
September 21 – <a href="https://myvicesandweaknesses.wordpress.com/"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My Vices and Weaknesses</span></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0ca86b9b31/?">Rafflecopter Giveaway link</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-31948131990677013482019-08-01T05:13:00.000-04:002019-08-01T14:32:27.415-04:00Heart To Heart With Heather<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Heart to Heart With Heather</h2>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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By Heather Moll and Barbara Tiller Cole</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5eOLvDJXgI9aesUuzerP1pfKH22nYTshjIcYpHmhXH-bVZW5YJdlIqt728aTkKAF3YwBTaX0mhM_LqLmCyVTBQsNPdH0XUUEsFsgrm3buM0OGuLkn1abTsx6UDO4RFgV7H06mzx7kCPW/s1600/HCoaW+Blog+Tour+Schedule+M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5eOLvDJXgI9aesUuzerP1pfKH22nYTshjIcYpHmhXH-bVZW5YJdlIqt728aTkKAF3YwBTaX0mhM_LqLmCyVTBQsNPdH0XUUEsFsgrm3buM0OGuLkn1abTsx6UDO4RFgV7H06mzx7kCPW/s320/HCoaW+Blog+Tour+Schedule+M.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It is my pleasure to host heather on her current blog tour. I remember first reading Heather’s newest book when she was posting it on the Austen boards. It is always a treat to have one of the authors I have come to know publish! I am very happy for her and hope you will enjoy our conversation. Be sure to read the entire interview and go to the bottom for more information about winning one of Heathers book! Extra points for joining my blog, and/or commenting on this interview.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hi Heather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am so glad to
be visiting with you!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that is
what I like to do with my interviews.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is much more fun to read if sound like we just sat
down to chat over tea and biscuits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather: I love the idea of having more of a
conversation than filling out a bunch of answers in a questionnaire. I'm happy
to start here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
remember reading your story ‘way back in the day’ in my first couple years on
the JAFF boards and enjoyed it then! And I enjoyed reading the not
published version.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seeing a
finished product after living with a story a week at a time is very exciting
for the author and for the reader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Did I read it at Hyancith Gardens or AHA?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYf5WV_70j2yJ8pUVAlLTzqd-NkCeKbaSJ9_gjcB6zKHPtOaLedvDU_ArKPSqAupKKYBTXfzfBcy4VeBg28N0xJVI8clv-rqusksRYPxlPoM7B2FlkINIHghlspCKYbEVnzn64i22redYI/s1600/dressed+up+at+Lyme2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYf5WV_70j2yJ8pUVAlLTzqd-NkCeKbaSJ9_gjcB6zKHPtOaLedvDU_ArKPSqAupKKYBTXfzfBcy4VeBg28N0xJVI8clv-rqusksRYPxlPoM7B2FlkINIHghlspCKYbEVnzn64i22redYI/s320/dressed+up+at+Lyme2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather: I'm flattered you remember reading my
story. I posted it 8 years ago on AHA, a few years after I discovered both Jane
Austen and fan fiction. So, I haven't quite been in the Austen fanfic world
long enough to have been at HG, but close. This publishing project has been fun
for me in a lot of ways, but particularly because I hadn't thought about this
story in a long time even though it means a lot to me. It's the first piece of
fiction I ever wrote. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
know that feeling of birthing your book and that freedom to think about doing
something else!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tell me a little
bit about yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather: Telling you a little bit about me will
begin to answer about how I found Austen and started writing. I live in a
suburb in upstate New York, the same town I grew up in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Upstate New York has a very special place in my heart as my husband
found THE center of excellence for his cancer in Rochester.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, did you always plan to go to
school and return to your home town?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I didn't plan it that way, but as I was finishing graduate school in
archives and records management and planning on what city I wanted to move to,
I met and married my husband. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well returning home for the love of your life makes a LOT of sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Were you high school sweethearts?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 23px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No, we met when I was away at school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he had a house two miles from my parents' home and
he's in a narrow career field: there isn't exactly a need for nuclear engineers
or nuclear physicists in every town in America. We liked the area, he had a
great job, I could find work nearby; it just made sense to stay. That was in
2006. I worked in newspaper preservation at the NYS library and then worked in
a small-town library until I decided to stay home with my son in 2010. Since
he's started elementary school I volunteer at the school library a few days a
week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
am always curious how people find Jane Austen’s books in the first place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found my first variation back when I
was in high school. I don’t remember what it was but my mom found it and
brought it to me, so excited that she had found a Pride and Prejudice Part 2!
I wish I could have talked to her about it and when I was first writing.
My Mom passed in 2005 and was gone before I started writing
myself. It was part of my therapy to start with. I can’t remember
when I found my first JAFF story online but I know it was between 2001 when I
had surgery and my friend loaned me her P&P VHS tapes and when I spent many
hours helping my husband recovery from his cancer surgeries. I was hooked by
then and that was 2005. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
actually saw the 2005 P&P while my husband was still in the hospital in
Rochester.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So Heather, tell me
your story of how you found Austen and variations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even though I was a European history major, a librarian, an avid reader,
and Anglophile, I didn't read Austen until 2005. I know, it's a crime. I had no
idea what I was missing. And whenever I'm happily deep down in the Austen
rabbit hole (writing, Elizabeth Bennet England tour with a friend, ordering a
regency gown, researching, JASNA, being on AHA, etc) and my husband either teases
or tries to get me to do other things, I can say it's his fault. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thanks, by the way, for sharing some of the pictures from your Austen tour of
England which are weaved in and out of this entire post!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we will talk more about that in just
a bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But go back. I want
to know how you can blame your husband for your Jane Austen obsession.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Here's why--He thought he'd earn some points in 2005 by taking me to see
Pride and Prejudice because it seemed like a romantic date movie, but I wasn't
about to see a movie that was based on a book without reading it first. I think
they teach you that day 1 of librarian school ;). I got a copy from the
library and that was the beginning. I fell in love with the clever dialogue,
the humorous secondary characters, as well as the two good but flawed
characters who become better people and deserve one another. It was a slippery
slope from there! (No, I didn’t like the movie. Beautiful imagery, but too many things were different from the book. Give me the 95 version any day of the week!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now you are not going to get an argument from me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I am a Colin Firth Darcy fan!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then again, I did once begin a
war!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe we could begin it
again!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather: I think I'd even take David Rintoul and
Elizabeth Garvie over 2005. But if that's too inflammatory for your readers we
don't have to print that ;). No need to start a brawl.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As you can see Heather, I did include your comments!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now if you had been on the other side
of the Darcy war I may not have!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It's interesting to me that writing was a way for you to grieve for and
connect with your memories of your mom, and I started writing to find an
identity outside of my role as mom. I do think that our personal lives, our
families, can't help but have an impact on how and what we write. I suspect
most people in this fandom can remember either the story or the situation that
drew them in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
suspect that you are correct about that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That there is something that drew the majority of us in and healed something within us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I know it's only been a few paragraphs, but I feel like I've been
chattering about myself FOREVER. I'm an introvert and I'm not used to yet
confessing that I write Austen fanfic, so if we were at a party, you would have
gotten my name, my husband's job, my kid's age, and that I'm a stay at home
mom. And I would have asked all about you and you would have left without
knowing anything about my loving Jane Austen or writing a book or that I'm perpetually
stuck halfway through a couch to 5k training app. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, I personally think that making an interview into a conversation
makes an author feel more comfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So I personally am glad that you are chattering!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additionally, I admire anyone who is
committed to training for a 5k!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You mentioned Austen’s secondary characters. Any particular favorites amongst them?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px;">Each novel has their own character or two that I just have to laugh at because they add so much humor through their absurdities. Not the villains or the plot devices, but the sort of characters where readers can really get their personalities through just a few lines. I guess Miss Bates might be my favorite, the 'great talker on little matters'. I love how Austen just lets her loose on the narrative from beginning to end. She's a bore, and we're all made uncomfortable by how she goes on, but her monologues show us what's going on behind the scenes in <i>Emma</i>. I think that's brilliant writing and I can't help hate Emma a little bit for the way that she treats Miss Bates while she's on her road to self-discovery. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTCole:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Do you want to tell us anything more about where you live in upstate New
York?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I live near Albany, about 3 or 4 hours east of Rochester. Northwest New York
is a lovely area, but I can't imagine is has many happy memories for you. Two
months is a very long time to uproot your life and be a care giver. I'm so
pleased to hear that the team in Rochester were able to save your husband. I'm always cheered to hear
stories of survivors. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">I was a history major in college, so I spent a lot
of time with the research librarians, and I decided that I wanted to be the one
to find and catalog and preserve those original materials to make them
available to researchers. But I don't have any regrets as to staying where
we did. I'm close to my parents, and my son gets to know his grandparents. At
the time, I didn't want to go through the stress of finishing my degree,
getting married, and selling my husband's house and both of us moving across
the country to find new jobs all within a few months of each other. After we
were married, my husband always said we could move if I found a job. I had a
list of cities where he would be able to find work and there certainly were
libraries or archives nearby. But I realized I was happy where I was, and
moving away just to prove a point that I <i>could</i> move away and be an
archivist seemed ridiculous. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, there is a wonderful part of coming back home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am now living in Louisville KY which
is my husband’s home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is
thrilled to be back here and it is beautiful so I am grateful to be here!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Do you forsee reentering the work field at some point?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or do you have the writers bug and want
to just do that?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I get a variant of this question a lot: "Now that your son is in
school all day, are you going to get a real job"? I sigh and smile
politely. Sometimes the tone behind the question (and I don't mean to imply it
all in your case, Barb!) is that I have done no work for the past 9 years, but
now I'm free to <i>finally</i> DO something. That raising my son doesn't have
the same value as if I worked and got a paycheck. I want to be the one to put
my son on the school bus, and I want to be the one here when he gets home. I
like volunteering in the school to see all the kids and so the teachers know me
(his school has 600 students, the district as a whole 10,000). And, I like
having a few days a week free between 8 and 2 in order to write. So, I'm
content to let the masters degree hang on the wall while I re-teach myself how
to add fractions to get through math homework and write happy endings for Darcy
and Elizabeth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, I am glad I didn’t offend you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not like Carolyn Bingley!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I certainly don’t want something in the manner of my
speaking to offend anyone!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Anything particular you would like to let us know about the book itself?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I can honestly say that Mrs. Bennet in the book has not inspired by my
attitudes toward an identity beyond parenting! I think she's irrational and
willfully disregards the feelings of others. Not that she deserves to be mocked
by her husband or has no a reason to fear for her daughters' futures. Both she
and her concerns are cruelly dismissed by Mr. Bennet. But that doesn't change
the fact that she misbehaves, she won't save money for her children, she openly
prefers some of her children over the others, and she's self-absorbed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">What did inspire me to write was being at home with
a new baby after quitting my library job and wanting something outside the
feed-clean-play-nap routine. I thought that I could write a little drabble to
post on AHA, and I always liked those quicker resolution after Hunsford short
stories. The one problem with those for me was you never got to see the hard
work Darcy and Elizabeth had to do after that to get to the happy ever after.
It was implied that it would happen, but I wanted to see those discussions and
know their thought processes. I thought I would spend a few nap times setting
up how they could get to Longbourn after Kent, something cute and fun and
short. But after several thousand words they were still in London! I really
wanted to get right how Darcy and Elizabeth would have to both reform and see
the other in a better light to get a realistic and faster HEA. From there I
quickly saw possible implications for trouble with Lydia's trip to Brighton if
Darcy and Elizabeth had begun to reconcile, and what started as project for a
day or two turned into something much more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ok back to the Regency gown you mentioned!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been looking at patterns myself!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that I live in Louisville I need to
have one for the annual Jane Austen Festival here!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Hb9_bmOJCB9iiVYKlBc6F8qhK-D9Zo8JA0dr1YndgCvYRQddAwHA1I7sMffZTlHMjJc9O5iwhlls2wV59DltWCRxV61Svav3n0wtDYUV9b2HHo1AmcWjhyphenhyphenrB-emFtFA9iU0GbOnLBYIG/s1600/dressed+up+at+Lyme2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Hb9_bmOJCB9iiVYKlBc6F8qhK-D9Zo8JA0dr1YndgCvYRQddAwHA1I7sMffZTlHMjJc9O5iwhlls2wV59DltWCRxV61Svav3n0wtDYUV9b2HHo1AmcWjhyphenhyphenrB-emFtFA9iU0GbOnLBYIG/s320/dressed+up+at+Lyme2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don't have my regency gown <i>yet</i>. The picture on the cover of <i>His
Choice of a Wife</i> is by a woman with a store called RegencyCouture and she
is going to make me one. I should be all set for an AGM promenade. Or, maybe
just around the house. I do have pictures of me in a gown from my trip to
England in June, but that one wasn't made for me (it's way too short!). Lyme
Park (P&P 95 exterior) had a costume department and you could dress up
complete with gloves, bonnet, reticule, and shawl. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqoD41r5obOvDYoUVO8b_LIgOa9r7QmQ34j3fG0Lzj6FAw9sWgMvVptsm6Xj1Gs3EyhEeViKbOVT0Nh-GMjNwECq0vRGuPXix4kVh4Izv1pwgAubYoKG-gJdeJ6bNwWStlRBqe9Oc8Pobw/s1600/Dovedale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqoD41r5obOvDYoUVO8b_LIgOa9r7QmQ34j3fG0Lzj6FAw9sWgMvVptsm6Xj1Gs3EyhEeViKbOVT0Nh-GMjNwECq0vRGuPXix4kVh4Izv1pwgAubYoKG-gJdeJ6bNwWStlRBqe9Oc8Pobw/s320/Dovedale.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC: Well it is a lovely picture of you!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I envy you your trip!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was in England in the late 80’s but
it was before my Austen obsession started!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was based in York while my husband was working there for
several weeks and had a BritRail pass I will I had utilized more!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I did see some lovely things! Tell
us more about your tour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What my dear friend has called the Elizabeth Bennet Tour was our attempt
to see "all the celebrated beauties of Matlock, Chatsworth, Dovedale (and)
the Peak." We spent five days in Derbyshire and visited Dovedale, Lyme
Park, Matlock Bath, Chatsworth, and Haddon Hall. We stayed in Bakewell, a
possible inspiration for Lambton, and everything was absolutely stunning. Not
to mention all the inspiration for future stories! I would go back tomorrow if
I could. I attached a few pictures (I have hundreds!). You can include any that
you think readers will be interested in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
think some of my favorite scenes in your book were when Darcy interacted with
the Gardiner children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUGYJwiM5dTUTh-833Te74-vEZN_dLpapXldhS1d3_qHm7e-v_yR9yt4d_PnwMN4qHln1viSDGYgd9s35F4j9oK6MJrpfe4j8Cx9FrV_v4oL-mSecrLEL-GACAmoNHrh4yQEvU1YtLJpud/s1600/cliffs+above+Matlock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUGYJwiM5dTUTh-833Te74-vEZN_dLpapXldhS1d3_qHm7e-v_yR9yt4d_PnwMN4qHln1viSDGYgd9s35F4j9oK6MJrpfe4j8Cx9FrV_v4oL-mSecrLEL-GACAmoNHrh4yQEvU1YtLJpud/s320/cliffs+above+Matlock.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It caught my interest that you mentioned Darcy's interactions with the
Gardiner children because I hadn't thought about it before. In fact, there's an
extra scene that I wrote during editing that included the Gardiner children, so
taken altogether Darcy does have quite a few discussions with them. Children
are guileless, and Darcy can be so honest and resentful of deception that it
does seem like a good fit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Any other hobbies you would like to share?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Beyond researching regency era carriages or what certain words mean now
versus what they meant in 1812? Beyond writing and editing? Like, hobbies that
people outside this fandom could understand? I'm perpetually behind in
scrapbooking, my bowling average is 160, and I 'jog' on the treadmill, which
means I briskly walk while I wonder if I'll ever be able to run 5k. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Anything else you would like to tell us about your book?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Heather: Aside from writing a unique variation that
came from the desire to see a quicker resolution after Hunsford, I think
another theme is how women then, and even now, bear the consequences of
anything deemed to be misconduct whereas the man involved moves on without
having to take any responsibility. Lydia is thought to have 'come upon the
town' and her entire family is on the brink of scandal when she runs off with
Wickham, but his reputation for gambling and womanizing doesn't bar him from
anything. Maria Rushworth runs off with Henry Crawford and ends up being hidden
away for the rest of her life, but Henry can still flit around town. Willoughby
seduces Eliza Williams, gets her pregnant, and abandons her, and even though
his aunt and Colonel Brandon hold him accountable, he's still allowed to move
in polite society. Women bear any and all repercussions, be isolated and bring
scandal to their entire families, whereas the men can do as they please and are
welcome almost anywhere. <i>His Choice of a Wife</i> touches on this double
standard and I think in some ways it shows how much things have improved and
yet how that double standard is still very much relevant in our culture today
200 years later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">BTC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Heather I think that is a fascinating subject!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would like for you to come back and visit with me again
and we can have more of a general discussion about Jane Austen then and now and
the role of women in her stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She, herself, was a successful unmarried writer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And while her true success was not
until after her death, I think she did a great deal to former the rights of
women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Thank you so much for visiting with us today!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 20.0pt;">His Choice of a Wife</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 20.0pt;"> <b>Blog Tour Media Kit<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4078409689570875027" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Front cover photograph of Heather
Moll’s book courtesy and copyright RegencyCouture, <span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Regency fashion for today's Jane Austenista!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Blurb:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;">When a man’s honor is
at stake, what is he willing to risk for the woman he loves?</span></b><b><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">After a disastrous marriage proposal
and the delivery of an illuminating letter, Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth
Bennet hope never to lay eyes on one another again. When a chance meeting in
Hunsford immediately throws them in each other’s way, Darcy realizes his
behavior needs correcting, and Elizabeth starts to appreciate his redeeming
qualities. But is it enough to forgive the past and overcome their prejudices?</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jane and Bingley’s possible
reconciliation and Lydia’s ill-conceived trip to Brighton pose their own
challenges for two people struggling to find their way to love. When scandalous
news threatens their chance at happiness, will Darcy and Elizabeth’s new bond
be shattered, or will their growing affection hold steadfast?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Author Bio:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Heather Moll is an avid
reader with a B.A. in European history and a M.A. in library science, so it is
astonishing that she did not discover Jane Austen until her late-twenties.
Making up for lost time, she devoured all of Austen’s novels, her letters, and
unpublished works, joined JASNA, and spent far too much time researching the
Regency era. She is thrilled to have found fellow Janeites and the JAFF
community, if only to prove that her interests aren’t so strange after all.
Heather is a former librarian turned stay-at-home mother who struggles to find
time for all of the important things, like reading and </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 23px;">writing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Contact Info:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt;">Facebook
Author Page:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/HeatherMollAuthor/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12.0pt;">https://www.facebook.com/HeatherMollAuthor/</span></a><u><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="font-size: 23px;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Twitter Author Page:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><a href="https://twitter.com/HMollAuthor?lang=en"><span style="color: blue;">https://twitter.com/HMollAuthor?lang=en</span></a><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Amazon Author Page:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Heather-Moll/e/B07V5KLGB8/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1"><span style="color: blue;">https://www.amazon.com/Heather-Moll/e/B07V5KLGB8/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1</span></a><b style="font-size: 23px;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Goodreads Page: </span></b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/HeatherMoll"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; font-size: 12.0pt;">https://www.goodreads.com/HeatherMoll</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #999999; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Buy</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V58B8QV/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amazon
US</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/His-Choice-Wife-Prejudice-Variation-ebook/dp/B07V58B8QV/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=His+Choice+of+a+Wife&qid=1563555871&s=books&sr=1-1"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amazon
UK</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Blog Tour Schedule<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">July 25 </span><a href="http://moreagreeablyengaged.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">More Agreeably Engaged</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">July 26 </span><a href="http://babblingsofabookworm.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Babblings of a Bookworm</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">July 27 </span><a href="http://forloveofausten.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My
Love for Jane Austen</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">July 28 </span><a href="http://www.halfagonyhalfhope.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Half
Agony, Half Hope</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">July 29 </span><a href="http://www.AustenesqueReviews.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Austenesque
Reviews</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">July 30 </span><a href="http://frompemberleytomilton.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">From Pemberley to
Milton</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">July 31 </span><a href="https://savvyverseandwit.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Savvy
Verse & Wit</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Aug. 1 </span><a href="http://darcyholic.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Darcyholic
Diversions</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Aug. 2 </span><a href="https://diaryofaneccentric.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Diary of an Eccentric</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Aug. 3 </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://margiesmustreads.com/">Margie’s
Must Reads</a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Aug. 5 </span><a href="https://candy-m.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So
Little Time…</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Aug. 6 </span><a href="https://myvicesandweaknesses.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My Vices and
Weaknesses</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Giveaway<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Meryton Press is giving away 8 eBooks of Heather Moll’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">His Choice of a Wife.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Rafflecopter:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Use
the link below to go to rafflecopter on website.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MGNhODZiOWI4ODNmNDRkMjQ1ZDA5MDg0NTQ1MWExOjI5/?">Rafflecopter Link For Entering the Blog Tour Drawings!</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-76325671282186435062019-01-20T05:11:00.003-05:002019-01-20T23:46:39.985-05:00A Very Austen Valentine Interview with Robin Helm and Wendi Sotis<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>A Very Austen Valentine Interview with Robin Helm and Wendi Sotis</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-size: large;">by Barbara Tiller Cole</span></div>
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Please help me welcome Robin Helm and Wendi Sotis to Darcyholic Diversions today as we get to know them and their stories in the newest Austen Anthology, A Very Austen Valentine. Be sure to comment and follow the rafflecopter link at the end of the post for a chance to win the give aways that are a part of the Blog Tour.</div>
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And now to visit with Robin and Wendi:</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">BTCOLE: Wendi and Robin, I am so excited that you and Robin are visiting with us here at<br />Darcyholic Diversions today to chat a bit and talk about A Very Austen Valentine. Let’s start with you Wendi. Remind me where you are from and a little bit about your family.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wendi Sotis</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">WS: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Hi Barbara! I’m thrilled to be here! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I grew up on Long Island, New York, USA, and have a BA in Psychology. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I married my Mr. Darcy… goodness, it will be 30 years in April! We </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">have triplets who just entered college this past fall. When they were </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">very young and I needed a bit of mommy-time, I’d read. However, with</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">three toddlers, most times I would be only be able to get through a few sentences at a time before being interrupted, so I stuck with books that I knew very well, like re-reading Jane Austen’s novels.<br />BTCOLE: Triplets! It is the first thing I remember about you! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Have you </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">written a story where our couple has triplets yet?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">WS: I came this close to doing it once, but I decided to limit it to twins instead. Maybe someday!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />BTCOLE: Robin, let’s hear from you. I understand that </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">where you were born has a historical story in</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">itself. Tell us about that.<br /><br />RHELM: I was born in Monroe, North Carolina, but lived five miles out of the small town of Pageland, South Carolina, until I was twenty-two. The house was part of what had been the tiny burg of Hornesboro during the<br />pre-Civil War era. General Sherman marched through there during that war, burning everything but the house. He used it to quarter his troops.<br /><br />I went away to college in Winston-Salem, NC when I was eighteen, but I<br />always returned to the one hundred fifty year old plantation-style<br />farmhouse my family owned and renovated.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">BTCOLE: Wendi, How did you discover Jane Austen inspired writings?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />WS: I became interested in Jane Austen-Inspired fiction when a fellow mom of multiples, also a Janeite, told me she’d read a version of Pride and Prejudice from Darcy’s point-of-view, and I went online to search<br />for it. I struck gold by coming across a forum where people shared their stories. I was hooked instantly!<br />My story is similar yet completely different! That feeling of striking gold though I certainly remember! What was your initial inspiration to write Jane Austen inspired books? While reading Austen-inspired stories, I had a lot of ideas for stories of my own, but for a long time, I lacked the confidence to try writing one. One morning I woke up from an especially good story-idea-dream and decided I HAD to write it, so I did. It took a great deal of courage to actually post that story on the forum. To my surprise, people liked it! :-) I haven't stopped writing since. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robin Helm</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">BTCOLE: Robin, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">How did you meet your own Austen man?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />RH: He’s from Michigan, and I’m a Southern girl. We met our freshman year at college in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I actually remember the very first time I saw him, and I can’t say that about any other man.<br />He was sitting on a low wall with his girlfriend. I looked at that handsome, kind face and thought, “The good ones are always taken.” When we were twenty-two, we married, living in Winston-Salem for a year before we moved to Fort Lauderdale, taking a position at the first church we ministered in full-time. At that time, he was a Music<br />Minister. Now, he’s a Senior Adult Pastor.<br /><br />BTCOLE: Attending the seminary myself I know that there are many things expected from the spouse of a minister. What have your done for a living besides the responsibilities that are attached to being the<br />wife of a minister?<br /><br />RH: We lived in Fort Lauderdale for six years where I worked in a bank and for Holiday Inns. Larry and I then moved to Palatka (Florida) for eight years. I taught in two different Christian schools in Palatka. For the past twenty-seven years, we’ve been at the same church in Lancaster, South Carolina, about twenty-five miles from where I grew up. For seventeen of those years, I taught in a Christian school in my hometown.<br /><br />I was a full-time schoolteacher for twenty-five years before I started writing. I taught music part-time in a charter school for eight years after I left the classroom. I founded a Music Academy at our church nine years ago, and I teach piano, flute, and (occasionally) organ. I’m also Associate in Music at our church.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">BTCOLE: Wendi, I haven’t had time to be active on forums for awhile now, but I do<br />remember reading the first story you posted online! What inspired the<br />particular story you are writing about for this anthology?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />WS: When we decided the theme of this anthology to be Valentine’s Day, I started researching Valentine’s Day in Regency times. I found two “Valentine Writer” books that had been reprinted, one from 1780 and the other from 1794. Each has many verses to give young ladies and gentlemen ideas as to what they could write to their valentines. Everything else just filled in around the idea of using some of them in the story.<br /><br />BTCOLE: I enjoyed the history you shared in your story about Regency Valentines. Your Colonel and Anne were definitely devious in how it came to be that Elizabeth received Valentines! What was your favorite part of this story?<br /><br />WS: Thanks! This question is so difficult to answer! I always seem to love the scene I’m writing at that moment the most.<br /><br />BTCOLE: I was intrigued by the Bingley’s empty townhouse! Many stories speak of remodeling but I don’t honestly remember one that was empty! Did you have dollhouses as a kid? Do you particularly enjoy decorating?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />WS: I have to admit it was something I didn’t research (shame on me!), but I figured if the previous family sold their house instead of leasing it out, they would take most of their things with them, just like we would do now. I imagined the house would be pretty much empty at this stage. I had Barbie houses which mostly came with furniture built in, LOL! I do love to dress up the house at Christmas.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">BTCOLE: Robin, back to you. How did you discover Jane Austen and Austen inspired literature?<br /><br />RH: As a student and later as a teacher, I have long loved the books Austen wrote, and I instilled that love in my husband, my daughters, and many of my students.<br /><br />My sister Gayle and I were in Myrtle Beach at a teachers’ convention when she told me about the Austenesque books she’d found. I thought it was amazing, so we went to a book store, and I bought several of them. I was hooked immediately. I read all the Austenesque books Gayle had, as well as the ones I bought. Then, she introduced me to the online readers’ forums. I read on your forum, Barbara, and on A Happy<br />Assembly, Derbyshire Writers’ Guild, and Darcy & Lizzy. I now have my own readers/writers forum, Beyond Austen, I post my WIPs along with other like-minded authors.<br /><br /><br />BTCOLE: What was your inspiration to write Austen inspired literature of your own?<br /><br />RH: Probably two years or so after that, I decided to write, and I settled on the idea of Darcy as Elizabeth’s guardian angel. There are many who think The Guardian Trilogy has nothing to do with Mr. Darcy, but in my<br />mind, it was a perfect fit. According to Scripture, Christ was made a little lower than the angels when He became human. That means that angels are higher beings than we are – just as Darcy had a higher place in society than Elizabeth Bennet did. Angels and humans aren’t supposed to marry, so loving Elizabeth in the way he did was<br />forbidden. He took a lower form to marry her. I think Xander (Fitzwilliam Alexander Darcy) is a good representation of the honorable gentleman from Derbyshire.<br /><br />I posted Guardian, SoulFire, and Legacy on the same forums where I read. I recently put all three books in one volume – The Guardian Trilogy.<br /><br />BTCOLE: What inspired the particular story you are writing about for this anthology?<br /><br />RH: Actually, I Dream of You was the third story I wrote for the anthology. My original story was More to Love. It grew to fifty thousand words, and Laura Hile reminded me that our stories were supposed to be around twenty to thirty thousand words. She insisted that instead of cutting words from More to Love, it should be a<br />standalone, and she was right.<br /><br />Immediately, I dropped More to Love (which I am now finishing), and began working on Maestro, a story close to my musician’s heart. I felt it so deeply that it is some of my best work, but again Laura balked. She told me Maestro deserved to be a full-length novel, not a short story. She was right. Again. (Don’t you just hate when that happens?)<br /><br />After a few sleepless nights worrying about the looming deadline, she suggested I look back at one-shots and shorts I had written a few years before. When I did that, I came up with the concept of using Elizabeth’s dreams to develop the story. I wrote I Dream of You in a month or so. It just flowed with no struggle, and that was a first for me.<br /><br />BTCOLE: How exciting that we will expect two more works from you inspired by your novella for A Very Austen Valentine! But about this story, was there personal inspiration for Elizabeth dreams? Do you have vivid<br />dreams yourself?<br /><br />RH: Yes. I have very vivid dreams. In fact, I dream storylines in color. How weird is that? My dad used to go to bed worried about problems with his machines (motor graders, backhoes, bull dozers), and he’d dream the answer to repairing them. He told me God sent him the dreams. I believed that with him, and I believe it in my own case.<br /><br />BTCOLE: Elizabeth had a determination to be a fine horse woman in your story. Have you ever ridden yourself? </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">RH: I use to ride although it has been many years. <br /><br />I rode my brother-in-law’s horses when I was in college. I had a<br />friend who lived on a farm a few miles away. She had her own horse,<br />and we would ride when I was home on the weekends and during summers.<br />Our boyfriends would join us. It was so much fun.<br /><br />BTCOLE: Back to you Wendi, Do you have any special Valentine’s planned yourself this year?<br /><br />WS: It will be just before our 30th anniversary, so we should do something special, but I’m not sure what it will be yet!<br /><br />BTCOLE: Do you have any works in progress you would like to tell us about?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />WendiS: I’m working on an Austen-Inspired Regency now, but as usual, life keeps getting in the way and it’s not as far along as I’d like it to be. My goal is for it to come out summer 2019. Fingers crossed! It’s untitled as of yet. More than likely, I’ll need others’ help finding a title after I’m finished writing the entire story unless something jumps out at me from the start. Canon timeline is a bit scrambled… Miss Elizabeth Bennet has just<br />returned from Hunsford, where she stayed with Mr. Collins and his new wife, Charlotte. We understand she has met Lady Catherine, Anne, and Col. Fitzwilliam, but only caught mention of a "Mr. Darcy" who was another nephew of her cousin’s benefactor. From what she’s heard, he sounds like a male version of Lady Catherine, so she has no interest in meeting him—ever. Soon after her return from Kent, Elizabeth leaves for a holiday trip with the Gardiners. Their journey to the Lake District is redirected when they receive an express letter stating<br />Mrs. Gardiners’ sister and two nephews have fallen ill, and her brother-in-law desperately needs their help. The trio proceeds to assist the ailing family, who lease a tenant farm on the estate of Pemberley.<br /><br />BTCOLE: Anything else you would like to share with the readers here at Darcyholic Diversions?<br /><br />WS: I’d just like to thank all your readers for their interest, and I wish you good luck in the giveaway!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">BTCOLE: And back to you Robin, Do you have any special Valentine’s Day plans for your own Darcy this<br />year? Or are you afraid he will read this post?<br /><br />RH: I’ll probably cook some of his favorites. My Mr. Knightley doesn’t eat chocolate, and I’m diabetic, so the obvious choices are out. My hubby is not a Darcy. He has never been a proud man, and he has never been<br />wealthy by the world’s standards. Everyone loves him. Definitely a hard-working, dependable, genial Mr. Knightley of unimpeachable character, a wonderful husband and the best father I’ve ever seen. He could give lessons in how to be a father.<br /><br />BTCOLE: Anything else you would like to let us know about your works in progress?<br /><br />RH: More to Love addresses body image. When Darcy first sees Elizabeth at the Assembly, she’s eating a cookie (and, yes, Americans had developed cookie recipes by then). He says, “She is tolerable, I suppose, but<br />there’s too much of her to tempt me.” You can imagine how that goes. Ha!<br /><br />Lawfully Innocent is part of The Lawkeepers series. I’m contributing a book along with many other authors. Mine is an historical romance set in the pre-Civil War South. Benjamin Beckett (youngest of the four Beckett brothers) is a U.S. Marshal for the District of South Carolina. He’s from England, and he’s against slavery.<br /><br />Maestro is the story from my musician’s heart. Alessandro Landini is a concert artist. He sings, conducts, and plays. Mary Bennet is in London with the Darcys (who are married). Darcy takes Elizabeth and Mary to one of Landini’s concerts, and she is shocked at the depth of the connection she feels with him through the music. In this story, I write how music makes me feel – how it affects me. It may be my best work.<br /><br />I haven’t yet started my story for A Very Austen Romance: Austen Anthologies, Book 3, but it will, of course, be an historical romance novella. It may be a sequel to I Dream of You, my story in A Very Austen Valentine. I like that idea.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">BTCOLE: Well I thank you both Robin Helm and Wendi Sotis for visiting with us today! And I hope that all of you readers will begin making some fun plans for Valentines Day inspired from the anthology!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Contact Information:<br />Robin Helm<br />Amazon Author Page: <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FRobin-Helm%2Fe%2FB005MLFMTG&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNE77f7-B-rzx7NmiFHjmToOjBlq4g" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #0000cc;" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/Robin-<wbr></wbr>Helm/e/B005MLFMTG</a><br />Website: BeyondAusten.com <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beyondausten.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGMqHrzjRuBDIF0GkM_rvR_q3dC0Q" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #0000cc;" target="_blank">https://www.beyondausten.com/</a><br />Twitter: @rmhelm<br />Facebook: Robin Helm <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FRobinHelmAuthor%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNE5d3Dx_3wITw7HJXA5JFqTWcWhZA" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #0000cc;" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/<wbr></wbr>RobinHelmAuthor/</a><br />Facebook: Austen Anthologies<br /><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FAustenAnthologies%2F%3Fmodal%3Dadmin_todo_tour&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFjPwDsfx7m3QI4BPXEA5IAgzVRnw" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #0000cc;" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/<wbr></wbr>AustenAnthologies/?modal=<wbr></wbr>admin_todo_tour</a><br />Instagram: @jrhelm or @AustenAnthologies<br />Goodreads: Robin_M_Helm<br /><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fauthor%2Fshow%2F5210675.Robin_M_Helm&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEh0Jbs4jQeKtQsTtTJqOou0NaM1A" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #0000cc;" target="_blank">https://www.goodreads.com/<wbr></wbr>author/show/5210675.Robin_M_<wbr></wbr>Helm</a><br />Blogging: Robin M. Helm <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Frobinmhelm.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGRkVaxDSo_VItOjtpt3QSIQ8zlnQ" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #0000cc;" target="_blank">https://robinmhelm.com/</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Wendi Sotis<br />Amazon Author Page: <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FWendi-Sotis%2Fe%2FB005CSBVFS%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGisgedNFl8T1uvLnVSAjI3LHEmWA" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #0000cc;" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/Wendi-<wbr></wbr>Sotis/e/B005CSBVFS/</a><br />Website: <a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwendisotis.com&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHe4orGJH8rtS9IUZqCfm3Hzcqbfg" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #0000cc;" target="_blank">http://wendisotis.com</a><br />Facebook: Wendi Sotis, Author <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fauthor.wendi.sotis%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNE-PwiAUEJCMhk81g5-uQljdSW3tQ" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #0000cc;" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/<wbr></wbr>author.wendi.sotis/</a><br />Twitter: @WendiSotis<br />Forum: BeyondAusten.com <a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2FBeyondAusten.com&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNH-pbde1n4mvlUW-aK7zDzV7T-XTQ" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #0000cc;" target="_blank">http://BeyondAusten.com</a><br />Goodreads: <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fauthor%2Fshow%2F5009020.Wendi_Sotis&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHF3AUFTIpiark5PbjO12SRssWUfA" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #0000cc;" target="_blank">https://www.goodreads.com/<wbr></wbr>author/show/5009020.Wendi_<wbr></wbr>Sotis</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">A Very Austen Valentine Blog Tour Schedule<br />01/06 Just the Write Escape; Guest Post, Giveaway<br />01/07 Margie’s Must Reads; Review, Giveaway<br />01/08 So Little Time…; Guest Post, Excerpt, Giveaway<br />01/09 Babblings of a Bookworm; Author Interview/Character Interview, Giveaway<br />01/10 Half Agony, Half Hope; Review, Excerpt<br />01/11 Austenesque Reviews; Vignette, Giveaway<br />01/12 My Love for Jane Austen; Vignette, Giveaway<br />01/13 open<br />01/14 From Pemberley to Milton; Excerpt, Review or Vignette, Giveaway<br />01/15 My life journey; Review, Excerpt, Giveaway<br />01/16 My Vices and Weaknesses; Guest Post or Vignette. Excerpt, Giveaway<br />01/17 open<br />01/18 Diary of an Eccentric; Review, Giveaway<br />01/19 open<br />01/20 Darcyholic Diversions; Author Interview, Giveaway<br />01/21 Austenprose; Author Interview</span></div>
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Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-57295562248399275552019-01-18T00:53:00.000-05:002019-01-18T01:08:51.050-05:00Interview with Jayne Bamber: Happy To Be Her Friend And Not a Family Member!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">Interview with Jayne Bamber: Happy To Be Her Friend And Not A Family Member!!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeCPnzPXNJ2pzWX6x4O5HkrEItGGf9V18oRROi_6Tvqnq7teFRvxFt6LEocjdFG0Akt99IzhCJe4HtMRr-DyQcD-lYGyRnF9tBZIZk_Jm4-qJagQqVnwUjYFbk1Pn5-hWDpk2WwDwvc392/s1600/catherine.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="500" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeCPnzPXNJ2pzWX6x4O5HkrEItGGf9V18oRROi_6Tvqnq7teFRvxFt6LEocjdFG0Akt99IzhCJe4HtMRr-DyQcD-lYGyRnF9tBZIZk_Jm4-qJagQqVnwUjYFbk1Pn5-hWDpk2WwDwvc392/s400/catherine.gif" width="400" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">by Barbara Tiller Cole</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I am happy to welcome Jayne Bamber to Darcyholic Diversions today! Her new book, <u>Happier In Her Friends Than Relations</u>, you will find an enjoyable, meaty (at 260k pages), creative read with over half of Jane Austen’s characters who seem to make an appearance at some point during the story! With a particularly evil Jane, the death of at least one of Pride and Prejudice’s characters and a redemption for Lady Catherine there is a lot here to appreciate! Hope you enjoy getting to know her and the inspiration for her latest book!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Oh, and be sure to comment AND follow the rafflecopter link for Jayne’s give aways!! And don’t forget to join Darcyholic Diversions, like my page book page or join our Facebook Group</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Jayne, when did you first discover Jane Austen’s writings?</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I discovered Jane Austen in high school, and was instantly hooked. I have my mom to thank for that - she took my siblings and I to the<br />library regularly throughout my childhood, and I was an even more avid reader than she had expected - I remember being reminded more than once that it was not appropriate to bring books with me to the dinner table!<br /><br /><b>I also had a mom who loved to read and spent many happy hours with her at the library as well as sharing books. While I didn’t bring book to dinner in childhood I have been known to do so these days much to my Darcy’s distress. When and how did you truly fall in love with Jane’s works?</b><br /><br />By college I had read all of Jane Austen's books, and the completion<br />of Sanditon by 'a lady' was my gateway drug to the wonderful<br />(addictive!) world of JAFF. In the last dozen years I've read a couple<br />hundred fanfics, if not more.<br /><br /><b>Yes, who would have thought there were so many Jane Austen inspired works and the number grows exponentially now that so many people have read and been inspired to write more. So many Darcyholics out there!<br /><br />Tell us about your family.</b></span><br />
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</b><br />In addition to my bibliophile mother and father, from whom I got my oddball sense of humor, I have a younger brother who is still<br />finishing up high school, and has been dabbling in writing like his big sister! I have a sister in Colorado who has got me itching to move there myself and hoard all the fuzzy dogs together! I have 2 other sisters here in Texas, who read the book and presumed that the characters of the Parker Sisters were based on them – they weren’t, as they are characters from Sanditon, but I did begin to see the resemblance! I also have wonderful husband of 4 years, who is equal parts Mr. Darcy and Mr. Tilney, and is finishing up his residency here in Houston. No kids, but we have 2 very spoiled fur babies, Ringo and Pearl.<br /><br /><b>I know that writing is something you are enjoying. Did you or do you have a career outside of writing?</b></span><br />
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</b>Other than writing, I am in between careers for now. I’ve done all<br />sorts of things in the best, from waiting tables to insurance,<br />pharmacy, and a brief (awful!) stint in wedding planning. Most<br />recently, I was in the hotel industry for 7 years, but took a break to<br />finish my first novel and get it published. Perhaps writing will be my<br />new career - that would literally be my dream job!<br /><br /><b>What inspired you to write Jane Austen inspired literature of your own?</b>I have wanted to write for as long as I've been reading. Like Jane<br />Austen, I went through a 'juvenilia' phase - lots of emo poetry,<br />journaling, and early novellas that were entirely too light-hearted. I<br />started jotting down book ideas more seriously a couple years ago, and eventually my list of ideas started taking shape.<br /><br /><b>What inspired Happier?</b><br />To be honest, it was a bit random. I had wanted to write a JAFF story<br />for a while, and I was always adding to the list of story scenarios<br />and ‘what-ifs’ I have – there’s probably enough plot bunnies on there<br />for a lifetime of writing, finally I decided to just pick one and<br />start really writing, and this was the one I chose. It started as just<br />a quick paragraph on my list of ideas, based on the concept of chain<br />reactions taking place at the beginning, and affecting how Lizzy and<br />Darcy get together. On Darcy’s side, the chain reactions have to do<br />with Georgiana’s mischief at Ramsgate, while on Lizzy’s side the chain<br />reaction begins with Bingley never coming to Netherfield, which leads<br />to Jane marrying Mr. Collins, and changing her quite a lot as a<br />person.</span><br />
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<b>In reading your book, I was so intrigued how many of Austen’s<br />characters you managed to fit into just one book! And yet, Rebecca<br />Fitzwilliam is in many ways your central character. As Emma doesn’t<br />leave Highbury, she has much of Emma’s determination for matchmaking.<br />What was your inspiration for her character?</b><br />You’re definitely on to something with that! So yes, Rebecca Fitzwilliam is very similar to Emma, so much so that by the end of the book I had decided that the two should be cousins on the maternal side. The first inspiration for Lady Rebecca, though, was actually myself. She started out as my voice in the story, saying what I would have been thinking in any situation – telling off Caroline Bingley when she deserves it, and trying to push Lizzy and Darcy to admit their feelings for one another. Also like myself, she is small, snarky, a bit bougie at times, and fiercely devoted to the ones she loves. She was tremendously fun to write!<br /><br /><b>That answers SO much about her character in the story and I am sure I would love hanging out with her or with you! Jane Bennet has never been a favorite character of mine, yet you<br />appear to really dislike her! Was there any particular inspiration to create such an evil Jane?</b><br />I didn’t always dislike her, though I think at this point it’s going<br />to be difficult to be difficult to ever write her as a good person, in<br />future stories! I had originally intended for Jane to get some<br />redemption, but I posted chapters weekly on A Happy Assembly and<br />Archive of Our Own as I was writing, and the overwhelmingly positive<br />reaction I got to Bad Jane encouraged me to take her wickedness past the point of redemption – I have no regrets!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /><b>Who is your favorite character in your book?</b><br /><br />Oooh, that’s a tough one! Lady Rebecca is dear to my heart, being my own creation, but I suppose it would almost be cheating to prefer a character based on myself. I will say I’m very partial to Mary Bennet and how she develops in this story; I think she has the potential to be the kind of friend Lady Rebecca doesn’t yet realize she needs. I’m also unapologetically fond of Lady Catherine, even in the canon, but definitely with the character arc I’ve given her. I could almost see myself, to quote Oscar Wilde, turning into her in about a hundred and fifty years.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>I understand you are looking at doing a sequel to this book. Will the title be Happiest? And do you want to give us any hints about what will happen from here? We have yet to meet the characters from Persuasion? Will they make a presence in the sequel?</b><br /><br />I am planning to do a sequel! In fact, I have plans to make this a<br />series. The series name is Friends and Relations, and the working<br />title for the sequel is A Wider Circle of Friends and Relations. The<br />end of Happier drops a lot of hints about where book 2 will go. Lady<br />Rebecca will be making good on her threat to Mr. Knightley, to visit<br />her cousin Emma in Highbury. Mary Bennet will play a larger role in<br />the story, and there will be a conclusion to where we leave off with<br />Jane and the damaging information she possesses about Georgiana. We haven’t seen the last of Caroline, either, and we’ll even find out who Harriet Smith’s real parents are, so it should be a wild ride! The<br />characters from Persuasion and Northanger Abbey have yet to make an appearance, but I do plan on pulling them in to Book 3.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /><br /><b>Is there anything else you would like to share with the Darcyholic<br />Diversions readers?</b><br /><br />I’d like to close by thanking everyone who has helped me get to this point! I have made some delightful friends in the JAFF community. I also want to thank everyone who read this story as a work-in-progress on A Happy Assembly and Archive of Our Own. I think that getting so<br />much positive feedback encouraged me to keep going, when I might not have otherwise done so. There were times when the comments and responses I got helped shape how the rest of the story developed, and though it turned out differently than I had originally planned, I am so pleased that this was the case. I intend to post updates on my Facebook page as I write, and like I did with Happier, I will absolutely take reader feedback into consideration, so if there is<br />anything readers want to see in the sequel, I hope they will let me<br />know!<br /><br /><b>So I understand you want to share an excerpt of Happier in Her Friends Than Relations with us….</b><br /><br />Yes! I’ve talked a lot about Lady Rebecca, who is Richard<br />Fitzwilliam’s sister, and Darcy’s cousin. The following excerpt is<br />from her first meeting with Elizabeth Bennet, when they cross paths in the park in London, introduced by their mutual friend Mr. Bingley.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Happier-her-Friends-than-Relations-ebook/dp/B07M5RXSJD/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1547790273&sr=8-1&keywords=happier+in+her+friends+than+relations">Happier In Her Friends Than Relations at Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Exerpt:</b></span></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Lady
Rebecca rolled her eyes, offering Elizabeth a private smile as she moved
closer. “Would you care to join me in walking this way, Miss Bennet? There is
a </span></span><span class="spellingerror"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">prettyish</span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> little sort of wilderness I should like
to take a turn in.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“It
would be my pleasure,” Elizabeth agreed, and her arm was instantly seized by
Lady Rebecca, who swiftly steered her away from the others.</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“Indeed
I believe it shall be <i>my</i> pleasure, for I have been eagerly
anticipating this interview since first I heard of you.” Elizabeth could only
gape in astonishment, and Lady Rebecca continued. “Have no fear I am about to
warn you off Mr. Bingley, though no doubt that is what his sisters are hoping
for. You shall not find a true friend in either of them, whatever they
dissemble.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Finding
her voice at last, Elizabeth replied, “I believe I am under no illusion as to
where I stand with Miss Bingley.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“Yes,
I thought as much. Very good. Mr. Bingley said you were clever, but I must
admit he is… easily impressed. I have seen others fooled by certain ladies’
insincerity, and I am glad you suffer no such delusions.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“That
is very forthright of you, Lady Rebecca. I wonder at your divulging as much to
a complete stranger.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“</span></span><span class="spellingerror"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Pah</span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">!
I am determined we are to be the best of friends, Miss Bennet, and I must
advise you that it is in your best interest to let me have my way in this
matter, for I would like to be of assistance to you, if I can. And I must make
this perfectly clear, whatever his sisters say, I am certainly <i>not</i> a
rival to you for Mr. Bingley’s affections. Does this please you, Miss Bennet?”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Elizabeth
hesitated. “If we are to be friends, might I take the liberty of expressing
equal candor with your ladyship?”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“I
should like nothing better.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“That
is certainly a relief. What is celebrated as frankness in ladies of one station
may be scorned as impertinence when exhibited by others of less importance.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Lady
Rebecca laughed. “I do hope you shall pardon my rank, Miss Bennet.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“Perhaps,
in time, I shall forgive you for it,” Elizabeth quipped, pausing a moment
before answering Lady Rebecca’s question. “To be honest, I have not yet decided
the extent to which I welcome Mr. Bingley’s attention. My situation is
complicated—recent events… I find I am not myself of late. And if my assumption
is correct, his sisters would prefer he marry a lady more like yourself, one
who could offer the connections in society they desire.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“And
I suppose I need not describe to you how very unlikely that event would be? Not
merely because my family would disapprove of the match ten times as much as
Miss Bingley objects to you—this would really be nothing to me if I believed we
would suit, but we do not. I should drive him out of his wits, I am sure, if he
did not drive me mad first.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Elizabeth
gasped, her eyes wide with astonishment at such a speech. </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“I
see. Perhaps you like him more than you realize,” Lady Rebecca said with a
gentle laugh. “He is a very affable gentleman, but he is not for me, and I
would not have his dreadful sisters convince you I am a threat, when in fact
you shall find me a most willing ally. It would amuse me very much to thwart
those two sour sisters, and if it would bring about Mr. Bingley’s happiness in
the process, so much the better!”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“You
are very kind, Lady Rebecca.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“Well,
Elizabeth, I shall hardly trespass on your privacy by demanding any further
answer as to your feelings towards Mr. Bingley—</span></span><span class="contextualspellingandgrammarerror"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> though</span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">, of course, should you care to venture any,
I should be most willing to listen.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“As
I said, I am not yet sure.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“I
understand it is an acquaintance of short duration.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“You
might say that. I met him at a ball, and he has called but once since then.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I suspect his sisters will do
everything in their power to prevent his calling as often as he may prefer, and
he will remain entirely too good-natured to see through their machinations.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“I
can well believe it. Miss Bingley has made her sentiments quite clear.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“</span></span><span class="spellingerror"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Strange,</span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> when you think about it,” Lady Rebecca
mused. “You are the daughter of a gentleman, while his family comes from trade.
Any alliance between you would be an elevation for <i>him</i>, whatever
your fortune.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“Yes,
I suppose you are right,” Elizabeth agreed, wondering just how much her new
friend already knew about her. </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“You
shall find that is often the case, Elizabeth. Now, I shall detain you no
longer, for I can see Mr. Bingley is quite eager to have you returned to him,
and my brother seems most interested in furthering the acquaintance well. Or
perhaps he means to vex Miss Bingley! You will find him a closer match to your
wit, I daresay.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Elizabeth
arched an eyebrow. “And is he your equal in frankness?”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“No
indeed, he is far my superior in that respect! He was a colonel in His
Majesty’s army for many years, until this past twelvemonth when our elder
brother’s passing elevated him to the position of viscount. He has retained
many of the qualities of a military man in spite of his new responsibilities.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Lady
Rebecca led Elizabeth back to where the rest of the group was walking along the
bank of a little stream that ran through the park. Lord Hartley smiled almost
as broadly as Mr. Bingley on perceiving their approach. “Miss Bennet, I am
delighted my sister has seen fit to return you to us. I trust you two are old
friends by now.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“Bosom
sisters,” Elizabeth replied, hoping her cheer concealed her astonishment at all
that had passed in their quarter hour of conversation. </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">***</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 19px;"> </span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Rebecca
watched with satisfaction as Elizabeth worked her magic on Richard and Mr.
Bingley. There was no artifice in the girl’s manners—no, she was perfectly
genuine, perhaps unaware of the full extent of her charms. After months of fending
off Caroline Bingley’s determined overtures of friendship, Elizabeth Bennet was
certainly a breath of fresh air. </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Rebecca
hung back from the rest of the group, more interested in observing on this
occasion. The </span></span><span class="spellingerror"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Hursts</span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> sat a little away from the others on a
bench beside the stream, sharing what appeared to be as dull a conversation as
one might expect from the two of them. Mr. Bingley had offered Elizabeth his
arm and was strutting with pride at having his lady at his side. Richard was
walking nearby, speaking with great animation to Elizabeth despite Miss
Bingley’s covetous grasp on his arm. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">As
Rebecca looked on, she felt certain she had made the right decision in offering
Elizabeth her friendship. She was poised and graceful, her appearance genteel,
without any of the airs that ladies such as Miss Bingley put on. Most
importantly, Elizabeth struck her as honest and forthright, and such a person
was a rare gem in the fashionable but vicious social circle Rebecca had been
born to. There were advantages to her position in the <i>ton</i>, to be
sure, but having friends she could trust had never been one of them.</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Too
often, Rebecca had found the ladies she thought were her friends were simply
using her to get to her brothers, or wooing her and her dowry on behalf of
their own brothers. Caroline Bingley, guilty on both counts, was by no means
the worst of them, though she was persistent. </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Richard
had finally extricated himself from her clutches and seemed to be adorning
himself with flowers from a nearby bush, while Elizabeth and Mr. Bingley
offered laughing advice. Miss Bingley finally grew vexed enough at their
neglect to retreat, seeking out Rebecca to voice her displeasure.</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“Miss
Bingley, I rather wonder at your deserting my brother in the midst of such folly,”
Rebecca observed.</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Pursing
her lips with displeasure, Miss Bingley replied with a haughty sniff. Rebecca
smiled, enjoying the sight of Mr. Bingley offering a small crown of flowers to
a rapidly retreating goose. Richard shouted his encouragement as Elizabeth
laughed and teased them both. </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">After
a few minutes of strolling sedately behind the others, Miss Bingley observed,
“How disappointed I am to have missed your little conversation with Miss Eliza
Bennet. I am sure you must have delivered one of your famous set-downs, for she
looked entirely discomposed.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“Indeed?
Why ever would I do such a thing? Have I some tendency, of which I am unaware,
towards rudeness?” </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“No
indeed, it is only that—well…”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“Perhaps
you believe that I may perceive her as a rival of sorts?”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“Oh
no, there is simply no comparison! She is certainly <i>nothing</i> to
your own natural grace and beauty.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“That
is kind of you. In truth, I am very glad to see that your brother has taken
such interest in her. She would be a fine match for him.” </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“Oh,
Rebecca, surely you tease me!”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Rebecca
could scarcely suppress her amusement. Perhaps it was wrong to needle Miss
Bingley so, but the wretched harpy had brought it on herself. “I assure
you, <i>Miss Bingley</i>, I am perfectly serious. Miss Bennet is the
daughter of a gentleman. In this regard, she quite outranks your brother, for
all his wealth, until such time as he becomes landed gentry. I understand he
was quite close to leasing an estate this past autumn. It is such a shame he
did not follow through with the plan, for it would have been quite an elevation
for him.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Miss
Bingley scowled. “I believe there were some serious objections to the property.
The environs were quite remote, and the neighborhood entirely unrefined, the
nearest village hardly deserving of the word.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“And
yet, it is often the case with large estates that the surrounding townships are
smaller and more parochial. It is up to the neighboring landowners to elevate
these little villages through commerce and patronage. This is something you
must learn, Miss Bingley, if you aspire to such a station yourself. The local
village supplies the servants who come to work at the estate, the food and
goods that are purchased by the landholders, and the services they often
require. Should you like to have your carriage repaired by a craftsman who is
bitterly aware that you hold him and all of his acquaintance in contempt? I
think not.” Rebecca eyed Miss Bingley triumphantly, as the lady struggled for a
reply. </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“What
an edifying perspective, Lady Rebecca. I believe I shall collect my brother,
for I find I am quite fatigued. I thank you for your company.” Miss Bingley,
appearing a little flustered, dipped into a curtsy before making a hasty
retreat.</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .3in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Rebecca
gave a slight nod. “The pleasure has been entirely mine.”</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arabic typesetting"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-66826371793539319932018-10-13T17:38:00.004-04:002018-10-14T15:07:38.031-04:00Darcy’s Melody with Jennifer Redlarczyk<!--[if !mso]>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt;">By Jennifer Redlarczyk</span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="border: none 1.0pt; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0in;"><i>(It is my pleasure to welcome Jennifer Redlarczyk today to Darcyholic Diversions. I first met her on the forums, and found her delightful. I am happy to let you know about her latest book. Be sure to read through to the end as you need to comment to win one of 2 copies of her book. Post your comment by October 16th by 9 pm est. BTCole...)</i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="border: none 1.0pt; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0in;"><i><br /></i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="border: none 1.0pt; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0in;">Greetings! </span></b><span style="border: none 1.0pt; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0in;">I am pleased to here on Darcyholic Diversions today
with my new release, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Darcy’s Melody, </i>inspired
by Jane Austen’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pride and Prejudice.</i>
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In the year 1811 the war with France continues to rage, sending many
injured men home to England where accommodations are limited. Raising funds to
build an additional structure at the London Hospital for the wounded has become
a top priority for Lady Eleanor Fitzwilliam, Countess of Matlock. She has not
only enlisted members of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ton </i>to
assist with her committee, but women who are well-known throughout the trade
community. It is within this endeavour that Elizabeth Bennet and Georgiana
Darcy first meet through a mutual love of music. In this particular scene,
however, Darcy and Elizabeth encounter each other under very different
circumstances.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">FROM CHAPTER ONE</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">London<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Tuesday,
21 May 1811<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Early
afternoon<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ballard’s
was an eclectic treasure trove of rare first editions and unusual books located
on the thoroughfare of Piccadilly. Although it appeared somewhat dingy and
dimly lit from the outside, inside the ageing building the atmosphere was
inviting, and a vast array of literature beckoned lovers of the written word. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Promptly at one o’clock, Fitzwilliam Darcy
entered the bookshop and walked directly towards his favoured section. While
paging through a military war journal, he instinctively glanced toward the back
of the shop. Even with several patrons milling about the establishment today,
Darcy’s eyes were drawn to a young lady who appeared to be examining a small
book in the poetry section. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Closing the journal, Darcy ambled over to
where the woman stood and began perusing the titles on a nearby shelf. After
taking a book in hand, he purposely turned his head towards the young lady. Captivated
by her large, dark emerald-green eyes sparkling with mischief, he felt his lips
curve into a half smile when she spoke.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Pray, sir, may I trouble you to hand me the
book of Cowper poetry on the upper shelf?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Darcy nodded. “With pleasure. Cowper is an
excellent choice.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">As he reached for the book, she continued, “One
poem in particular reminds me of Oakham Mount in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hertfordshire</i>. I find I am rather desirous of its solace today if
only through the eyes of the poet.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Handing her the book, he answered in kind. “I understand
your sentiments for I, too, am from the country and have longed to return to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Derbyshire</i>.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Arching an eyebrow in his direction, she
inclined her head and said, “I thank you, sir.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“You are most welcome.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">As she turned the pages of her selection in
search of the poem, Darcy heard the young lady gasp when both of her books slid
out of her hands and onto the floor. “Oh dear,” she sighed, stooping down to
retrieve them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Allow me,” he immediately offered. Both
reaching for the books, Darcy felt her small, warm hand carefully slip a folded
piece of paper into the palm of his own. The young lady had not replaced her
glove after perusing her own book, and her skin was soft to the touch. Leaning
closer, the faint scent of lavender seemed to strengthen, causing his chest to
tighten and his heart to quicken in response. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Feigning innocence, she looked up at him and
said, “Again, sir, I am in your debt. Perhaps I should make my purchases before
I have another mishap.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Permit me to carry these to the desk for
you.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Acknowledging his offer with a slight curtsey,
the young lady whispered, “Sir, I think we are being observed.” Then speaking
louder, she added, “Thank you again. You are most kind.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Your servant.” He bowed. With his senses
heightened from being forewarned of impending danger, Darcy spoke softly in
return, “How did you come? I would not have you leave here unescorted.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“There is a carriage waiting, sir. A
manservant is nearby and a maid is within.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Then leave now and be careful.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">♫<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">As you can tell
from this opening scene, there is a bit of intrigue, not to mention Darcy feels
an immediate attraction to Elizabeth when they first meet. Not long after, Darcy
is made aware of Elizabeth’s identity, and because of her standing in society is
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4078409689570875027" name="_GoBack"></a>resolved to keep his desires under good regulation. In
this scene, however, we see that our hero’s subconscious is equally determined.
Enjoy!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">FROM
CHAPTER SIX</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">Darcy’s Bed
Chamber</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
curtains fluttered back and forth as a cool, soothing breeze blew in through
the open window. Darcy rolled over and reached for her soft, warm body, but she
was not there. The mellow sound of her lovely voice humming a simple tune brought
a smile to his lips. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rubbing the
sleep from his eyes, he asked, “Where are you, my love?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I am
here,” she answered from the balcony of their bedchamber. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bathed in
moonlight, he could see every curve of her silhouette beneath the thin sheath
of her nightgown. Tempted by the sight, he stole out of bed and hurried to
where she stood gazing at the stars. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“William,
is it not beautiful?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Beautiful,”
he whispered although his eyes were fixed solely on her. Gently wrapping his arms
around the one he loved, Darcy inhaled the scent of lavender as he burrowed his
face in her long tresses. Then, ever so softly, he placed tender kisses on the
side of her neck, continuing down to her exposed shoulder. She willingly turned
in his arms and began sliding her hands up his chest until her fingers slipped
into his hair, clasping him firmly behind the neck. Her eyes were inviting, and
his breath quickened as he lowered his head to claim her lips. In one swift
motion, he picked her up and carried her to their bed. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“My darling,
I love you.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I am
yours,” she whispered.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">To his
dismay, a sudden gust of wind sent a shiver through his body, causing him to
feel something was terribly wrong. Studying her face in the dim light, he
wondered if the shadows were playing tricks on his vision. Pulling back in
fear, he gasped when the woman in his arms leaned forward, allowing him to
clearly see she was not his Elizabeth. She was....<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“NO!” Darcy sat up in bed, drenched in
perspiration. Struggling to be free of the sheets and regain his senses, he
exclaimed, “Merciful Heaven, what is happening to me?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rising, he groaned while pushing the tangled
mess aside and donning his robe. Immediately calling for a bath, he ordered his
valet to have the water tepid for, at present, the heat radiating from his body
was unbearable. Needing a few minutes, he walked over to a window, gripped the
sashes, and breathed deeply. Every night since she was last in his home, he had
dreamed of Elizabeth Bennet, and each and every night, the dream had become
more vivid. “This has to stop. I shall <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i>
give in to this madness!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">♫<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Thanks
so much to Barbara Tiller Cole for having me as her guest today. I hope all of
you have enjoyed these short excerpts from my new book and will let me know how
well you think Darcy is controlling his desires in your comments. Feel free to
speculate about the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">other</i> woman who
was brazen enough to interrupt his dream. I look forward to hearing from you,
and from those who comment, two winners will be chosen in my giveaway to
receive a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Darcy’s Melody</i> eBook. (International)
Good luck! Jen Red </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">♫<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>ABOUT
THE AUTHOR</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;">Jennifer
Redlarczyk</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I am a private music
instructor living in Crown Point, Indiana where I teach voice, violin and piano
and work as an adjunct music professor at Purdue University Northwest. As a
teen, I was introduced to Jane Austen by my mother who loved old books, old movies
and old songs. In the summer of 2011, I stumbled upon Jane Austen Fanfiction at
a Barnes and Noble store and became obsessed with this genre. From there, I met
several talented JAFF authors and devoted readers who were active on social
media and eventually became a moderator for the private JAFF forum,
DarcyandLizzy.com. It was there that I first tried my hand at writing short
stories. I have the greatest appreciation for the creative world of Jane Austen
Fanfiction and am thrilled to be a part of the JAFF community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12.0pt;">You can find me at:
DarcyandLizzy.com, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and on YouTube. On my
Pinterest page you will find inspiration pictures for each chapter of Darcy’s
Melody as well as my other books, and on my YouTube channel you can listen to
my recordings of all of Lizzy’s songs. ~ Jennifer Redlarczyk (Jen Red) </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">♫</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06;">Jennifer’s Links: </span></b> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><a href="http://www.darcyandlizzy.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">www.darcyandlizzy.com</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><o:p><a href="https://twitter.com/jenred88?lang=en"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Twitter</span></a></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: large;"><a href="https://youtu.be/aFwhPuzl5EE">YouTube</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana";"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=jennifer+redlarczyk"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Amazon</span></a></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-80112216877909574902018-04-18T02:56:00.001-04:002018-04-18T03:08:54.955-04:00The Tomato or The Bamboo? Who Are You?<div style="text-align: left;">
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;">The Tomato or The Bamboo? Who Are You?</span></span></span></b></div>
<h3 align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;">By Barbara Tiller Cole</span></span></span></span></h3>
<h3>
</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLwQ1rbh3etjg6EDwwJ3qBHNYCxx_7GIP9u6C4uFqLk2U6QX3gRdW_hI5OzuLLcgVkyc0hi0SRlVEiNDcpFNDHhaB8vl4w2SUZ2FN5DpJb8hChx1q0dLuDdjgVBca85UWHKNjVNksG5Gui/s1600/DianneVenetta_AIB-Logo_2015-250x250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLwQ1rbh3etjg6EDwwJ3qBHNYCxx_7GIP9u6C4uFqLk2U6QX3gRdW_hI5OzuLLcgVkyc0hi0SRlVEiNDcpFNDHhaB8vl4w2SUZ2FN5DpJb8hChx1q0dLuDdjgVBca85UWHKNjVNksG5Gui/s1600/DianneVenetta_AIB-Logo_2015-250x250.jpg" /></a><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="hoenzb"></span></span></span><span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;"></span></span>
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<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;"><i> (I am honored to be invited to join Dianne Venetta's Authors in Bloom Hop again this year! If you are new to the hop there are some great prizes available including a grand prize of a Kindle or Nook. If you want to win the grand prize, you need to visit and comment at ALL stops on the hop. Most of the individual destinations will be giving away something as well. I will be giving away two eBook copies of either of my novels including international winners, as well as either Tomato or Bamboo seeds to a USA winner. To win one of my prizes join my site, friend me on Facebook and like my author page as well as comment below and be sure to let me know if you think you are a tomato or a bamboo person. Be sure and include a way for me to get in touch with you in your post unless I am already your friend on Facebook. Be sure and read to the end of this post for more information. )</i></span></span></div>
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<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;">A father took
his two sons aside and asked them if they were interested in having a contest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wanted both of them to develop a
plan, a plan to grow something from seed that would benefit the entire
family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t tell them
anything other than that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both of
the brothers contemplated what they would grow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He gave them a week to return with a plan including the
reasons for why they selected it. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75eCvChVVoQegowBHOddMTc8a5MUJBCU8rJTHxqs4c-_EmWLb7wcTJchVc-bDNfDMo9GvkGCwd2HxraR-hqA3n6vdcbkcKXgnEkzFN-ap-v9qrzt3ksZ6oeC01LgxDI6QmX_pZV6vjDYg/s1600/Nature___Plants____Juicy_tomatoes_064798_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75eCvChVVoQegowBHOddMTc8a5MUJBCU8rJTHxqs4c-_EmWLb7wcTJchVc-bDNfDMo9GvkGCwd2HxraR-hqA3n6vdcbkcKXgnEkzFN-ap-v9qrzt3ksZ6oeC01LgxDI6QmX_pZV6vjDYg/s320/Nature___Plants____Juicy_tomatoes_064798_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;">One of the
brothers decided to grow tomatoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He envisioned the first bite into a fresh tomato, as well as the grin on
his dad’s face when he ate a tomato sandwich from the first crop. The first son
had been watching cooking shows and loved to try out some of the recipes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wanted to try to make some special
salads and even some tomato bisque.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His mother would love to be able to have fresh homegrown tomatoes to
make her special tomato sauce for pasta and pizza.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was going to be perfect. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3AHk4BfJ2BJkDpR9nSNVbMZZHCH-p9FMb2b2VxVMVi33PxpM1z-glrA93_LeUNwN6ffVMfPMLB5s-Zr2aAPGu5hMp8dMuWq_esLLUdzYYdhNDJnWO_pcK8totUv16jqRmpqcKTsVB60l/s1600/Growing-A-Live-Bamboo-Fence-Home-Design.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="902" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3AHk4BfJ2BJkDpR9nSNVbMZZHCH-p9FMb2b2VxVMVi33PxpM1z-glrA93_LeUNwN6ffVMfPMLB5s-Zr2aAPGu5hMp8dMuWq_esLLUdzYYdhNDJnWO_pcK8totUv16jqRmpqcKTsVB60l/s320/Growing-A-Live-Bamboo-Fence-Home-Design.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;">The second
brother loved to spend time in their backyard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He and his dad had an old Mustang that they were
rebuilding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The entire family
loved to grill out and have dinner on their patio, and they were considering
installing an above ground pool. His mother was longing for the day when they
could have a Jacuzzi as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
older sister loved to sunbathe, but there was no barrier between their family’s
backyard and their neighbors’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
thought that by growing bamboo he could have privacy between the family and
their neighbors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The entire family
would benefit and it was going to be perfect.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;">Dad approved
both plans and let them both know that the contest was not over until he said
it was over (which neither of them understood at the time) and they were off to
the garden store to get everything that they were going to need to grow their
plants from seed. The first brother decided on Heirloom tomatoes and the second
decided on Chinese bamboo.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;">(I won’t go
into all the steps of growing each plant but will give you some links at the
end of this article in case you want to grow your own tomatoes or bamboo.)</span></span></i></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyiz0jdSgHfpZcnDWWJT9hYClXpwp14Ni9uGOz5ONC3HQZxVRGo4Qpr_yKLpnOSld7Dj4M0TzWGJw4okY_Bl6YWKM9ks0PjmMF81FO46Pk3kImpjALXmKmN2K0xfl74-li5wwWYUGa4BI6/s1600/BS-0777_09_1130x480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="481" data-original-width="1130" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyiz0jdSgHfpZcnDWWJT9hYClXpwp14Ni9uGOz5ONC3HQZxVRGo4Qpr_yKLpnOSld7Dj4M0TzWGJw4okY_Bl6YWKM9ks0PjmMF81FO46Pk3kImpjALXmKmN2K0xfl74-li5wwWYUGa4BI6/s320/BS-0777_09_1130x480.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;">Within a month
the first brother was thrilled with his progress he had moved from seedlings to
beginning to grow full-grown plants. The second brother had barely had his
seeds sprout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His father told him
to have patience that bamboo would take more time, more patience and perseverance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Hang in there,” the father told
the second son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It will be worth
it in the long run.”</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;">The first
brother went from being proud to gloating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He teased the second brother and even went so far as
laughing at him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second
brother didn’t understand why his plants weren’t growing but did as his father
told him to do and remained patient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHjkacwl0FKE-bGwe8k3Acx8LKpQnev2ZFWU0-d9vCMMWau8LTX3e_87kMOVKNXmvw1CcukWlFnO5ujQ9ezWntXHCOpdjSu-uZIiwFnafkdBF58Tt56H0i1unjF9OnQe4xZsZDr-Adclyv/s1600/Tomato-Blight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="987" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHjkacwl0FKE-bGwe8k3Acx8LKpQnev2ZFWU0-d9vCMMWau8LTX3e_87kMOVKNXmvw1CcukWlFnO5ujQ9ezWntXHCOpdjSu-uZIiwFnafkdBF58Tt56H0i1unjF9OnQe4xZsZDr-Adclyv/s200/Tomato-Blight.jpg" width="145" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;">The tomato
plants grew and grew until they bloomed and the blooms turned into little small
green tomatoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a week of
rain, the first brother noticed that his tomato plants were wilting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tomatoes did not look healthy. His
dad told him that it was due to fungus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They went to the garden store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They listen to the experts and did what they could do, but in the end
the plants all died.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAgOCTdzvQX62cGzgaGLx3fU0ytNoWZJJNBOWgfE9U1vMLfi-yZajHgfrpSpAgv2wzYXt-8pPKhha8p5EuyY6HYewAPBQnJ56XjaWhL9QRQ3RLLmU8H_r82t2RV-qbhrUC_YIEmjBkWaD/s1600/227156944_3a10d33d60_o_d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAgOCTdzvQX62cGzgaGLx3fU0ytNoWZJJNBOWgfE9U1vMLfi-yZajHgfrpSpAgv2wzYXt-8pPKhha8p5EuyY6HYewAPBQnJ56XjaWhL9QRQ3RLLmU8H_r82t2RV-qbhrUC_YIEmjBkWaD/s200/227156944_3a10d33d60_o_d.jpg" width="150" /></a><span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;">The younger son
didn’t understand why his plants weren’t growing, but the father took him to
visit with a kind old Chinese gentleman who specialized in bamboo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What he learned was that bamboo grows
under the ground at first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
root system has to be extensive before the bamboo plant begins to grow above
the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Chinese man told him, “Be like
bamboo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trees break in the
wind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bamboo will survive by
bending in the wind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do not worry
young one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bamboo will grow
when its roots are strong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
when the roots are strong you cannot stop the bamboo from being all that it
wants to be.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;">The next year
the first son tried again with his tomatoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had a modest crop, but the tomatoes were wonderful when
ripe and fresh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second year
the bamboo was still setting its roots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The second son was tempted to dig it up and look, but he remembered he
needed to bend and be flexible and willing to do what it took to wait on the
bamboo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggNEvBbfDbyAPD86bf0DYUs-b9esSKR3jzovXxcW13pd5yQ_6M7Wr5A1HtG4dWrxZmS-xQYNGC1F9-69-uURxlZS2prUVm_RZiR877m6x_EL-n7rqxX-M3BmHpGUjhzN1ShsYtKpkD39MU/s1600/tomatoes%252Bon%252Bvine%252B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1052" data-original-width="1600" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggNEvBbfDbyAPD86bf0DYUs-b9esSKR3jzovXxcW13pd5yQ_6M7Wr5A1HtG4dWrxZmS-xQYNGC1F9-69-uURxlZS2prUVm_RZiR877m6x_EL-n7rqxX-M3BmHpGUjhzN1ShsYtKpkD39MU/s200/tomatoes%252Bon%252Bvine%252B2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;">The third year
the first son took classes with a master gardener.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He learned all he could about potential threats to his
plants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He prepared and planned
and had a wonderful crop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;">Two months into
spring of the third year the bamboo began to grow, and it grew and it grew and it
grew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The privacy fence of bamboo
grew up sooner than anyone could imagine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And the second son had to then visit the old man and learn how to manage
his bamboo and crop it and began selling part of the crop it grew so fast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before he knew it he had enough money
to give his father to put the down payment on the above the ground pool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the next year, he was able to
finance his mother’s Jacuzzi.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYqRm_77r74zmyMDZCm-9JAAIPRoV24qcqSdJpOUPoe418hmIHYYw9wq9Ae7xOopDl2f5b4QRHOUAdONxdkK-5BS5VDpAF2_WeuhzAMIK23Bno-NrvYttE4G2Jycd_x7DRWvWsowd6iIxV/s1600/beautiful-bamboo-wallpaper_110457968_62.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYqRm_77r74zmyMDZCm-9JAAIPRoV24qcqSdJpOUPoe418hmIHYYw9wq9Ae7xOopDl2f5b4QRHOUAdONxdkK-5BS5VDpAF2_WeuhzAMIK23Bno-NrvYttE4G2Jycd_x7DRWvWsowd6iIxV/s200/beautiful-bamboo-wallpaper_110457968_62.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;">What kind of
gardener are you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you patient
enough for bamboo?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or do you want
a quick crop?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Learn from the first
brother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Study and learn what you
need to know about possible dangers before you plant.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRCDpox4w8c1pFNvWBQIeK1KtX4k3neYooGekhpcXT-_d2BM2iC_FiIxg7fSKgElK0fmQ7qutNdu-5toObPtSZ2Q2oj1WzCHCIIqyeu2yhIpR5J6LCxcoukiV0WX4yBBW35SvK-pJvdJGS/s1600/sliced-tomatoes-dan-iggers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="610" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRCDpox4w8c1pFNvWBQIeK1KtX4k3neYooGekhpcXT-_d2BM2iC_FiIxg7fSKgElK0fmQ7qutNdu-5toObPtSZ2Q2oj1WzCHCIIqyeu2yhIpR5J6LCxcoukiV0WX4yBBW35SvK-pJvdJGS/s320/sliced-tomatoes-dan-iggers.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><br />
<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;">What does this
teach us about life?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may
remember the quote,</span></span> ‘Pride goeth before the fall’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which actually comes from the Bible verse: <span style="color: black;">Proverbs 16:18 "Pride goeth before destruction, and a
haughty spirit before a fall."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The younger son had
much to learn about pride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also
had to learn that even when things are going very well, sometimes we fail
because of unforeseen events or challenges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, we can learn how to plan for those things to begin
with and often have greater success when we look at the potential pitfalls we
may face along the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was
why the first son was eventually successful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is how we can often be successful by looking at the
potential ‘what ifs’ we may encounter along the path.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ__n9_lirF-QqTFdGTK5VVIZbt9Pzt2WImCK5Xvr9AzwJDLrRlLGsCX1Ja0-ehLzxfJrzyI8blLo2IRDqpsVwTbGkauK23W0nMu5C2XSbbpNORUUvpFj1_zMi0Dzfw4pXz3NUq8_PkMx7/s1600/bamboo_fancy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="437" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ__n9_lirF-QqTFdGTK5VVIZbt9Pzt2WImCK5Xvr9AzwJDLrRlLGsCX1Ja0-ehLzxfJrzyI8blLo2IRDqpsVwTbGkauK23W0nMu5C2XSbbpNORUUvpFj1_zMi0Dzfw4pXz3NUq8_PkMx7/s320/bamboo_fancy1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: black;">But often success and life is like
the bamboo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our project, our life
endeavors may not look like they are doing much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But by putting down roots and allowing them the time that
they need to grow (there were many different forecasts of how long it takes for
the bamboo to take root, so I used an estimate in my story) with patience it
will bear fruit. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No success will
come without a healthy, vibrant root system. It may look completely fruitless
at times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We may want to give up
all together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we are willing to
put in the patience to wait, with time, it will succeed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And life is so much better if we have a
good attitude and live in the moment while the growth takes its time.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;">So what kind of life gardener are
you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you a tomato or a bamboo?</span></b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;">@~@~@~@~@ </span></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;">I Am A Life Gardner, Not a Real One! So if you want to plant tomatoes or bamboo you might Start with the following Links...:</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;">Tomatoes</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.bhg.com/gardening/vegetable/vegetables/how-to-successfully-plant-and-grow-tomatoes/">How To Successfully Plant And Grow Tomatoes</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=planting+successful+tomatoes+from+seed&view=detail&mid=A65509236AE9837A5B4BA65509236AE9837A5B4B&FORM=VIRE">The Tomato Success Kit</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/tomato/growing-tomatoes-from-seed.htm">How To Start Tomato Plants From Seeds</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;">Bamboo</span></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weuDsvDya-k">How To Grow Bamboo Successfully</a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.bamboo-inspiration.com/bamboo-seed-germination.html">Bamboo Seed Germination and Growing</a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://isleofbamboo.com/growing-bamboo/">Growing Bamboo For the Newbie</a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="hoenzb"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: black;"> </span>
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--</style><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>GRAND PRIZE: </b>We are giving away a Kindle Fire or Nook (winner’s choice)
along with a 2nd prize of $25 gift card. Be sure and check out Diane Venetta's site for the Rafflecopter entry location. For my prize, check out the instructions in italics before my post. And be sure you post at ALL locations on the Hop if you want to be considered for the 1st or 2nd prizes.:</span></div>
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Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-55735211605336585452018-04-16T12:26:00.000-04:002018-04-16T12:27:43.748-04:00Living Large With the Ladies of Rosings Park<style>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;">Living Large with the Ladies of Rosings Park:</span></b></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">William Collins Exclusive Interview with Shannon Winslow</span></b></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Darcyholic Diversions is very happy to welcome Mr. Collins as he shares his interview with Shannon Winslow</span></i> </span></b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b></b></span></h3>
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[Legendary literary figure and talk-show host Sir William
Collins returns to the set after the commercial break to commence his weekly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Meet the Author</i> segment. Today’s guest
is Shannon Winslow, mildly successful author of Jane Austen based fiction.
Collins politely shakes her hand, smiles for the camera, and then nods several
times to the studio audience until the applause finally dies down. He takes his
seat and turns his attention to his guest.]</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WC:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, well, Ms. Winslow, how kind of you to visit us again
here at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Meet the Author</i>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SW:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you, Mr. Collins, but the pleasure is mine. When I was
here last, we ended with such a good understanding that you graciously invited
me back anytime I liked. Do you remember?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WC:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, yes. I can truthfully say this much for you Ms. Winslow;
your visits are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">always</i> memorable. And
I must tell you that I was very intrigued when I heard the title of your new
book: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Ladies of Rosings Park</i>! How
those words warm my heart and take me back to a time I remember with great
fondness.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SW:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the same for me Mr. Collins. It seems I am always
drawn back to the world of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pride and
Prejudice</i>, wanting to spend a little more time there with the characters I
so admire.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WC:</b> Ah, no doubt in this case you mean my
noble former patroness, Lady Catherine, and Miss Anne de Bourgh. I assume they
are the ladies to whom you refer in the title.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SW:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Primarily, yes, although there are also a few contributions
by Mrs. Jenkinson and Mrs. Collins as well. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WC:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ah, dear Charlotte. Yes, this all sounds very promising. It
is high time that someone paid the Rosings family the homage they deserve. I
presume that Lady Catherine herself is the heroine of the piece. Indeed, how
could it be otherwise? But here I must confess that I haven’t actually read the
novel. You must understand that I am extremely busy. You would have no way of
knowing this yourself, but when one has achieved a certain level of fame, one’s
time is not entirely one’s own anymore. My public clamors for more and I must
not deprive them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SW:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course. As for who is the heroine of my book, that’s not
as clear cut as you might imagine. Lady Catherine certainly gets her share of
space on the page – she would stand for nothing less – and I must say that she
has most if not all of the best lines.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WC:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is only right, for nobody can deliver a line like Lady
Catherine. What timing! What a noble air! What a commanding presence!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SW:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you say. But you know as well as I do that there must be
a courtship story in a Jane Austen style book, and Anne is the focus there. So,
strictly speaking, the daughter not the mother is the heroine.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WC:</b> [gasps] Oh, dear! Does her ladyship
know? I cannot help thinking she will not approve of anyone upstaging her, even
her own daughter! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SW:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She may know it by now… and some other things in the book
she will like even less. In any case, she did not hear these things from me. I
interviewed her early on in the process, and I’m afraid we did not part on good
terms. She seemed very annoyed when I asked her about her late husband, Sir
Lewis.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WC:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, Ms. Winslow, you didn’t! That subject is strictly taboo.
It was one of the first things I learned when I came to Hunsford all those
years ago.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SW:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently, Mr. Collins, the subject is no more palatable to
Lady Catherine today. Even if I had been forewarned, however, I would have had
no choice. It was imperative to establish some background information on Sir
Lewis, for how he and his early loss affected his wife and daughter. All we
know from Miss Austen is that he is absent, and, so we must presume, dead. But
I asked myself if that really were the whole story. Then I asked Lady
Catherine. That’s when she terminated the interview. I can’t say as I blame
her. From what I learned later through other sources… Well, let’s just say I now
understand why she was so touchy on the subject.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WC:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cannot imagine Lady Catherine had anything to hide, so
fine and upstanding a woman as she is!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SW:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suppose we all have things we would prefer to conceal, Mr.
Collins. If I were to look closely into your background, for example, who knows
what I might discover?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WC:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, you mustn’t! That is to say, surely there can be no occasion
for your going to so much unnecessary trouble. After all, I am but a minor
character in these events, and such idle speculations are profitless. Now, Ms.
Winslow, one final question. It occurs to me that, by coming back to revisit
events in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pride and Prejudice</i> and
what followed, it might have given you the opportunity to revise what you had
written before. That upon further reflection, you might have thought better of the
unfortunate choice to prematurely eliminate…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SW:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Excuse me, Mr. Collins.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WC:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SW:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forgive me for interrupting, but I could see where you were
headed. I’m sorry, but you must understand that events in this new book had to
agree entirely with what I wrote in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Darcys of Pemberley</i>. The same is true of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Return to Longbourn</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Miss
Georgiana Darcy of Pemberley</i>. They’re all part of the same series, you see.
So despite my personal fondness for you and how sincerely I value our
friendship…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WC:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still dead, then, am I?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SW:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m afraid so. But if it’s any consolation, I actually have
sometimes regretted being so hasty in bringing about your character’s demise.
You truly are one of a kind, sir, and a delight to write for. That’s why I
always look forward to opportunities like this to renew our acquaintance. Plus,
in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Ladies of Rosings Park</i>, there
are about a hundred and fifty pages prior to… the unfortunate event, so you
have plenty of opportunity to shine before…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></b>Before I go out in a blaze of glory. I think that is the phrase you
are looking for.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SW:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></b>Yes, thank you, Mr. Collins. And of course, that was not the end for
you. You have not allowed yourself to remain trapped in the past. You have moved
on and made a huge success of this, your second career, as well. I find that
very admirable. Very inspiring. In fact…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: -.25in;">
WC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ms. Winslow, you cannot outdo me at my
own game. Besides, I’m afraid we are out of time for today. [Mr. Collins turns
to address the audience.] Let us take this lesson from Ms. Winslow’s visit:
make the most of every day, because one never knows when some lunatic person or
event will come along to cut one down in one’s prime. Until next time, then –
if indeed there is a next time for any of us – I thank you all for being here.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
[The ‘applause’ sign lights, and the studio audience
responds tepidly, looking a little uncertain. “Cut,” shouts the director.
“That’s a wrap.” Mr. Collins’s personal assistant hurries to his side to blot
his brow, offer him a cold adult beverage, and, at his instruction, escort Ms.
Winslow away. Thus ends another memorable day on the set of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Meet the Author</i>.]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b> ^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At first glance, Anne de Bourgh
doesn’t seem a promising heroine. But beneath that quiet exterior, there’s a
lively mind at work, imagining how one day she will escape her poor health and
her mother’s domination to find love and a life worth living.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Now Anne finally gets the
chance to speak her mind. But Lady Catherine demands equal time. Even Charlotte
Collins and Mrs. Jenkinson get into the act. Chapter by chapter, these ladies
of Rosings Park take turns telling the tale from the moment Elizabeth Bennet
sets foot in Hunsford, changing everything. Is Anne heartbroken or relieved to
discover Mr. Darcy will never marry her? As an heiress, even a sickly one, she
must have other suitors. Does Lady Catherine gracefully accept the defeat of
her original plan or keep conniving? Will Anne’s health ever improve? And what
really happened to her father? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Complete in itself, t<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>his work expands <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Darcys of Pemberley</i> series laterally, beginning during the timeline of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pride and Prejudice</i> and carrying beyond
to reveal the rest of Anne’s story. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">When
a young lady is to be a heroine… something must and will happen to throw a hero
in her way. </i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">(Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey)</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></div>
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Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-2773510468063880942018-02-25T13:52:00.002-05:002018-02-25T13:52:33.305-05:00Don Jacobsen Shares a Lost Scene From His Latest Book<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">A Character Interview of Lieutenant George Percival Wickham: A Lost But Now Found Outtake from <i>The Exile: The Countess Comes to Longbourn</i></span></h2>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>by Don Jacobsen</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2tBMmi3U8a_sn37749ZMPpa7YkeydQf6V7nvbg7cX5QoqI9G9XdnxjuLApBONv_bV2erZ55LsAJxBIZ5iHr_ZthQkViBhWH1Pd1yIPs9nkPSPtrIUfVH30qdjk21IqC6Ovrnqb-g5fHt/s1600/Don+Jacobson+Head+Shot.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2tBMmi3U8a_sn37749ZMPpa7YkeydQf6V7nvbg7cX5QoqI9G9XdnxjuLApBONv_bV2erZ55LsAJxBIZ5iHr_ZthQkViBhWH1Pd1yIPs9nkPSPtrIUfVH30qdjk21IqC6Ovrnqb-g5fHt/s320/Don+Jacobson+Head+Shot.jpg" width="306" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>(Darcyholic Diversions is happy to Welcome Don back to Darcyholic Diversions with this special additional scene! Be sure to comment and Follow the Rafflecopter Link for a chance at the Blog Tour GiveAways.)</i></div>
<h2>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This character interview of
Lieutenant George Percival Wickham has been composed in the form of a short
vignette which, if it had been included in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Exile: The Countess Visits Longbourn</i>, would have fallen within Chapter
XXXIV of the book. © 2018 by Don Jacobson. Publication or other use of this
work without the expressed written consent of the creator is prohibited.
Published in the United States of America.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">March
24, 1815, <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A
café in Hietzinger Hauptstraße opposite Sch</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">ö</span>brunn
Palace, Vienna<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The man stepped
from the street into the café. His black suit, if one looked closely, betrayed
considerable wear with fraying threads drooping from the cuffs of the jacket’s
sleeves and his pant legs. Shiny spots and knees and elbows likewise suggested
that his chosen trade paid little and irregularly at that. His deep-set eyes
scanned the tables distributed around the cheerily decorated room, candlelit now
even though the first day of spring had heralded longer days. Finding his
desired target, he doffed his hat, ran his fingers through unkempt brown hair,
and wove between guests and furniture toward a lone British officer seated by a
window looking out onto the boulevard. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">While the city was
full of officers of all stripes given the Great Congress, this man, handsome to
be sure, was one of the lowliest but, in his own way, one of the most
important—at least to a reporter for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Times. </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was only a
lieutenant in a city where colonels were often used to fill gaps on the lower
end of countesses’ tables. However, his regimental facings were easily
identified as being of the 33<sup>rd</sup> Infantry, Wellington’s Own. That and
the silver cords of an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">aide de camp</i>
looping down from his left epaulet made him the object of the journalist’s
desire. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Reaching his
destination, the fellow unceremoniously dropped into the vacant chair opposite
the lieutenant. Barely acknowledged by his quarry, the reporter dug into a
pocket under his left lapel. Successfully removing a well-folded and somewhat
grubby newspaper he dropped the publication next to the officer’s cup of
chocolate. Using an ink-stained finger, he stabbed at a column-length article
under a screaming header.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Without ceremony
he addressed the Lieutenant, “What you gave me a few weeks ago was pure gold,
Wickham. My editor is beside himself wondering what comes next. And if John
Stoddart<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4078409689570875027#_edn1" name="_ednref" style="mso-endnote-id: edn;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[i]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
is asking, that means that everybody from the Prince Regent to the charwoman at
Carlton House wants to know.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">“And that means, I
need to know what the Duke plans to do now that the Emperor is back in Paris.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">George Wickham
grinned back at the earnest newshound. Brigadier Fitzwilliam, his master,
already had given him his remit: he was to feed Tomlinson <u>exactly</u> what
the Duke was planning to do. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As his old
playmate had put it, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Well, George, his
Grace wants that bloody man to come to him. Rather than leave him to wonder, we
will let him know exactly where to find us. <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<i style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">“So, tell the Times that the Coalition will
defend the path to Antwerp somewhere outside of Brussels. We will feed his
spies the same information, thus confirming one with the other. With luck,
Napoleon will have to prove his claim to the throne by showing his followers
that he can defeat our best and avenge Leipzig and Toulouse. That means he will
want to take on Wellington.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<i style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">“But he still has to raise his force and arm
his men. So do we. That should take the better part of two months, time enough
for us to scarper from Vienna up to Brussels with stops along the way to get
our Allies committed to sending their troops to the Low Countries. Nothing
should happen until sometime in early June.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In several curt
sentences delivered in low tones to convey the seriousness of the information,
Wickham passed on the general outlines of Wellington’s plans. Tomlinson had
fished out a pencil stub and took notes at a furious pace. In a few minutes,
all was as the Duke wished it to be. Wickham signaled a waiter who bowed over
the table before scuttling off with Tomlinson’s order.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">While he had
fulfilled his commission, Wickham still had something else he wanted to cover
with the scribe. However, he did not know how to begin.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tomlinson sensed
his hesitation and employed his own interrogator’s skill.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">“How long have we
known one-another, Wickham? Four, five years? Certainly since before your
marriage. When was that? The year ’11? So, at least five years. You crossed my
path when you were still one of the ‘leading lights’ of the demimonde.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">“But, since then,
I have heard just that little tidbit about you and some elderly French
Countess. After that, nothing,” Tomlinson quizzed.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Wickham sighed and
leaned back into his seat. He tipped his head to the side and regarded the
reporter much as a bull mastiff would consider a puppy intent upon disturbing
his afternoon nap in the sun; he wondered how much energy he would expend explaining
himself. Eventually he chose to offer some meat to cover the bones knowing that
Tomlinson would be more inclined to fulfill Wickham’s request if he understood
what rested behind it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In the same low
tone he had used before, thus, he hoped, placing the information on par with
his earlier tip, Wickham related his thoughts, “I am not the man you first met.
On the contrary, that young lady who married me has become quite dear. That
tittle-tattle your gossipmonger printed back in December ’11 could have sorely
hurt Mrs. Wickham’s trusting heart.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">“You know she is
nearly three-and-ten years my junior. I will own that my motives for marrying
her were less than honorable, but shortly after we were wed, I began to
reconsider the path down which the currents of life had been carrying me. I
began to find that I wanted to comport myself in a manner that would give
credit to my name and raise myself in her eyes.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tomlinson
interjected, “So, poor fool that you are, you fell in love with your wife?”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Wickham chuckled,
a relaxed smile easing his features, and replied, “There you have it. George
Wickham, dissolute rake and gambler, had his locks shorn by a Delilah from
Hertfordshire. Yes, I will own up to it; I have discovered that I love my wife.
She has made me a better man, although, the Good Lord knows that anyone could
have made me better given the state of my soul at the time.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">“But, Mrs. Wickham
made me think. And, then she captured me lock, stock, and barrel one chilly
January eve early in ’12. After that, I really changed my ways.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So saying, he
raised his cup of chocolate in silent salute to a woman who waited for his
return at her old family home, although she was in mourning for her father’s
recent passing. They had rarely been together since the Second Battalion had
posted to Portugal in the spring of 1812. Lieutenants were not colonels or
majors. Unlike in the past years, leave had not been granted often to any
officers as Wellesley pursued the French from Iberia across the Pyrrenes and
into the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Midi</i>. However, there was a
lively correspondence between himself and Lydia, augmented by another stream
between his color sergeant, Henry Wilson, and his wife, the former Laura
Jenkinson. Wickham read his letters from Lydia to an attentive Wilson while the
blonde giant related his from Laura. Between the two of them, they managed to
patch together a fairly clear picture of the goings-on in Meryton.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Then he continued,
“I have truly come to treasure my wife. But, I am worried about what the future
will bring. There are no guarantees in my business. The fight we are going into
will be desperate indeed…and the infantry will take the worst of it. A <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">voltagieur </i>could easily place a ball
between wind and water (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">his hand touched
first his shoulder and then dropped to his stomach</i>)<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>and put paid to old George. Rather not think about what a 32
pounder from the Beast’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">le Brutal</i>
would do to me.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">“I have made sure
she will be provided for. I’ve invested in a closed trust set up by some of
those clever men from the City. But, money is not the sort of legacy I want to
leave. I wasted too many years chasing gold. I have something else much more
important to my posterity.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">“No, t’is nothing
anyone else would care about. But, I think Lydie would find comfort that her
husband had grown to be more akin to her other brothers who are serious,
thoughtful, and upright men.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He reached
underneath the table and pulled out a leather valise, its straps securely
buckled. The thump it made when he dropped it to the table was noticeable,
giving testament to the weight of what was contained inside.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Wickham added,
“This is my journal. I have been writing in it since December of ’11. I am
going to presume that you will read it, however, I beg of you to give me your
word of honor that you will not publish a word of it, and that you will deliver
it only to me if I survive or my wife if I do not. If the latter, make whatever
arrangements with Mrs. Wickham you will.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">“I would, however,
remind you that those brothers I mentioned are Fitzwilliam Darcy and Charles
Bingley. Her uncle is Edward Gardiner. Between the three of them, they could
buy your <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">great </i>newspaper and use
every copy they print to wrap fish from Wapping to the mouth of the Estuary.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Having said his
piece, he pushed<a href="" name="_GoBack"></a> the case across the table into
Tomlinson’s waiting hands, the Lieutenant stood and shock hands with his
messenger. He then shook the other’s hand, gave him a quick nod, and, wrapping
his cloak around him against the Austrian chill, swiftly strode out the door
into history.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">&&&&&</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Bennet Wardrobe books are best
read in the following order:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<i style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The
Keeper: Mary Bennet’s Extraordinary Journey<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<i style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Henry
Fitzwilliam’s War<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Exile: Kitty Bennet and the Belle </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">É</span>poque<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">
<i style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Lizzy Bennet Meets the Countess<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">
<i style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Exile: The Countess Visits Longbourn</span></i></div>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4078409689570875027#_ednref" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[i]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Editor of <i>The
Times </i>of London from 1812 to 1816</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Exile: The
Countess Visits Longbourn</span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Blurb:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I have been shaped
by the events of over forty years. The world is a nasty place full of awful
persons, Mr. Wickham, and does not get any lighter through complaining or
blaming.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Countess: An Enigma? A Mystery? Or
a young girl all-grown-up?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kitty Bennet, the
fourth daughter of the Master and Mistress of Longbourn, had spent far too long
as the shadow of her youngest sister. The all-knowing Meryton chinwaggers
suggested that young Miss Bennet needed education—and quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How right they
were…but the type of instruction Kitty Bennet received, and the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">where/when</i> in which she matriculated was
far beyond their ken. For they knew nothing of that remarkable piece of
furniture which had been part of the lives of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">clan Bennet</i> for over 120 years: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Bennet Wardrobe.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Forty-six years from
when she left her Papa’s bookroom, the Dowager Countess of Matlock returned to that
exact same moment in 1811 to tend to many important pieces of Family business. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the process, Kitty
Fitzwilliam helped her youngest sister find the love she craved with the hero
who, as the Duke said, “saved us all.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Who can resist the magic of
time-travel? Pages of worldwide history rustle back and forth between Regency
grand salons, Napoleonic battlefields and more recent conflicts as, guided by
Don Jacobson’s masterful pen, the Bennet sisters grow as people and come into
their own. ‘The Countess Visits Longbourn’ is a wonderful new instalment, and
we cannot fail to revel in the excellent writing and the abundance of detail as
the mysteries of the Wardrobe continue to unfold. This captivating series, that
brings together real and much-loved fictional characters from all walks of
life, is one to savour, and I will revisit it again and again.</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Joana
Starnes, author of<i> Miss Darcy’s Companion </i></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Author Bio:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don
Jacobson has written professionally for forty years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His output has ranged from news and features to advertising,
television and radio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His work has
been nominated for Emmys and other awards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has previously published five books, all non-fiction. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2016, he published the first volume
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Bennet Wardrobe Series</i>—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Keeper: Mary Bennet’s Extraordinary
Journey</i>, novel that grew from two earlier novellas. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Exile</i> is the second volume of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Bennet Wardrobe Series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></i>Other JAFF P&P Variations include the paired books <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Of Fortune’s Reversal” </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Maid and The Footman.” <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jacobson holds an advanced degree in
History with a specialty in American Foreign Relations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a college instructor, Don teaches
United States History, World History, the History of Western Civilization and
Research Writing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
is a member of JASNA-Puget Sound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Likewise, Don is a member of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Austen
Authors</i> collective (see the internet, Facebook and Twitter).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He
lives in the Seattle, WA area with his wife and co-author, Pam, a woman Ms.
Austen would have been hard-pressed to categorize, and their rather assertive
four-and-twenty pound cat, Bear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Besides thoroughly immersing himself in the JAFF world, Don also enjoys
cooking; dining out, fine wine and well-aged scotch whiskey.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">His
other passion is cycling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most
days from April through October will find him “putting in the miles” around the
Seattle area (yes there are hills).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He has ridden several “centuries” (100 mile days).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don is especially proud that he
successfully completed the AIDS Ride—Midwest (500 miles from Minneapolis to
Chicago) and the Make-A-Wish Miracle Ride (300 miles from Traverse City, MI to
Brooklyn, MI).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Contact Info:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://donjacobsonauthor.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Website</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Don-Jacobson/e/B001IQZ7GC/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1496271585&sr=1-2-ent"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amazon
Author Page</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15235321.Don_Jacobson"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Goodreads
Author Page </span></a><u><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/@JAFFwriter"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Twitter</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Buy Links:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Paperback & Kindle<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Exile-Countess-Visits-Longbourn-Wardrobe-ebook/dp/B079FH13FT/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1517450450&sr=8-4&keywords=don+jacobson"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amazon US</span></b></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Exile-Countess-Longbourn-Prejudice-Variation/dp/198433932X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1517943562&sr=1-4&keywords=Don+Jacobson"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amazon UK</span></b></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Blog Tour Schedule:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Feb. 14 </span><a href="http://austenesquereviews.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Austenesque Reviews</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Guest Post,
Excerpt, GA</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Feb. 15 </span></span><a href="http://thesecretunderstandingofthehearts.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My Jane Austen Book Club</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Guest Post, GA</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Feb. 17 </span></span><a href="http://forloveofausten.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My Love
for Jane Austen</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Character Interview, GA</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Feb. 19 </span></span><a href="http://candy-m.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So little time…</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Excerpt, GA</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Feb. 20 </span></span><a href="https://interestsofajaneaustengirl.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Interests of a Jane
Austen Girl</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Review, GA</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Feb. 21 </span></span><a href="http://babblingsofabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Babblings
of a Bookworm</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">; Guest Post, GA</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Feb. 23 </span></span><a href="http://www.moreagreeablyengaged.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">More
Agreeably Engaged</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Review, Excerpt, GA</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Feb. 24 </span></span><a href="https://darcyholic.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Darcyholic
Diversions</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Character Interview, GA</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Feb. 26 </span></span><a href="https://frompemberleytomilton.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">From
Pemberley to Milton</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Excerpt</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Feb. 28 </span></span><a href="https://justjane1813.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Just Jane 1813</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Review, GA</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Mar. 2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><a href="https://diaryofaneccentric.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Diary of
an Eccentric</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Guest Post, Excerpt, GA</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Mar. 3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><a href="https://myvicesandweaknesses.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My Vices and Weaknesses</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">; Author Interview,
GA</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Mar. 5<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><a href="http://laughingwithlizzie.blogspot.co.uk/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Laughing
With Lizzie</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">; Guest Post, GA</span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Giveaway: (12 books – 10 eBooks and 2 Paperbacks)<a href="" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0ca86b9b21/?">Follow This Link To Rafflecopter For Giveaway</a></span></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Terms and Conditions:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Readers
may enter the drawing by tweeting once a day and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">daily</b> commenting on a blog post or review that has a giveaway
attached for the tour. Entrants must provide the name of the blog where they
commented (which will be verified). If an entrant does not do so, that entry
will be disqualified. Remember: Tweet and comment once daily to earn extra
entries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
winner may win ONLY 1 (ONE) eBook or Paperback of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Exile: The Countess Visits Longbourn</i>
</b>by Don Jacobson. Each winner will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter and
the giveaway is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">international</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-55800948926241550162017-12-14T01:12:00.001-05:002017-12-16T16:49:55.237-05:00So Many Rogues, So Little Time!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-size: x-large;">So Many Rogues, So Little Time</span></span></b></h2>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">An Interview with Karen Cox by Barbara Tiller Cole</span></span></b></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivePspHFmWha9RCjjJsOmMmYX-15tU2eHJ5RTuUkyc-EdSrvFtI2PwsazSuPBLpxhraLZ6_aKEZM-8s0YUGwTe0HVAyJMxV6F7Q1DcZrIzfvf4GjntPwp_OYkxEkqqIbRsuLj2IKgSRWr4/s1600/DTK+PLAYLIST+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivePspHFmWha9RCjjJsOmMmYX-15tU2eHJ5RTuUkyc-EdSrvFtI2PwsazSuPBLpxhraLZ6_aKEZM-8s0YUGwTe0HVAyJMxV6F7Q1DcZrIzfvf4GjntPwp_OYkxEkqqIbRsuLj2IKgSRWr4/s320/DTK+PLAYLIST+image.jpg" width="320" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">Let’s welcome Karen Cox to Darcyholic Diversions. She is talking with me today while participating on the blog tour for the Dangerous to Know anthology! It’s a chance to get to read stories from a number of your favorite Austen inspired authors all in one book! So let’s start the interview.</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">BTCole: So, Karen tell us a little bit about yourself and where you grew up. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEo4CG_7DbPq3RIgdLwSuubno68OwIjDR648SA8Q4PDFv-BNNJVPf-a1Nkluwa_tnoFVSStxJ0Bs-GaGVCfj018srce9eMzXTddxTPVIsb7cxIYiSkG6zFLAave4mwp6UNtCPm9EbUGbDg/s1600/Karen+M+Cox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEo4CG_7DbPq3RIgdLwSuubno68OwIjDR648SA8Q4PDFv-BNNJVPf-a1Nkluwa_tnoFVSStxJ0Bs-GaGVCfj018srce9eMzXTddxTPVIsb7cxIYiSkG6zFLAave4mwp6UNtCPm9EbUGbDg/s320/Karen+M+Cox.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><b><br />KCox: </b>I’m
originally from Everett, Washington, because my dad was in the US Air Force,
and he was stationed there when I was born. Until he left the USAF when I was
about 2 ½ , we moved around a lot. I lived in Mom’s hometown in Kentucky for a
year while Dad went to Thailand. This was during the Vietnam War. He was gone
from the time I was about 8 months old until I was about 20 months old. I think
this is why those returning veterans videos just gut me; I cry every time I see
one. I don’t remember my dad leaving or his return, but I remember him saying
how much he wanted to be home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">After
the Air Force days, we still moved around some. He went to University of
Tennessee in Knoxville, so we lived there until I was six. My sister was born
there. Then, we lived in western New York state for a few years (hello, snow!),
and then when I was eleven, we moved to Kentucky. It was a move home for my
parents, but it was like another planet for me, and I had a hard time adjusting
at first. But I did grow to love it after some time had passed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">I do
think that I’ve always had a kind of ambivalence about the South—a sort of
push-pull thing, probably because I’m of the South by birth/family, but I’m a
bit of an outsider too, by environment. I love Kentucky, think of it as my
place, but I observe it too—in all its glory and beauty, and its sorrow and
weakness. But maybe I would have done that wherever I lived, I don’t know.
Maybe that’s just what writers do ;) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><b>BTCole: </b> <b>Well, we have that in common! I loved the four years I lived in Louisville. And I still have family there. In fact am headed up your way for Christmas although we won’t be there but for a few days. </b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><b>So do you have any career other than writing?</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2mh6YxMH-j9ZWGLXLS-7tSRI1oH9E-AaPqF59hph-aKIL68nFyCUsOGyneLOplW76F8M5UKLuz5vPrU0DnjnGoATMDUZfxEos3cFn9Un4CFk9JIAybMTTZeRFh_6gwe9qDe3uP8EabiaO/s1600/Churchill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2mh6YxMH-j9ZWGLXLS-7tSRI1oH9E-AaPqF59hph-aKIL68nFyCUsOGyneLOplW76F8M5UKLuz5vPrU0DnjnGoATMDUZfxEos3cFn9Un4CFk9JIAybMTTZeRFh_6gwe9qDe3uP8EabiaO/s320/Churchill.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><b>KCox: </b></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">I
went to the University of Kentucky and got my bachelor’s degree, with a major
in psychology and a minor in linguistics. (I met my husband and got married
during college too.) Then I stayed at UK for my graduate work—I have a master’s
degree and a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology. And somewhere in the midst of
all that, I got interested in Speech Language Pathology, once I realized that I
would most likely be looking for work and staying in Central Kentucky, so I
have a master’s degree in Communication Disorders as well, and that’s the field
I work in. I’ve done hospital work, nursing home work, private practice, and
for the last several years I’ve worked in the public school system in my little
town. I’ve worked in most of the schools here, with all age groups, but now,
I’m working with preschool and kindergarteners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">BTCole: Well, don’t get me started on UK! Or we will have to start talking about basketball! And our Jane Austen inspired authors might not find that as fascinating as UK fans do. So why don’t you tell me a little bit about your family. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSK3I0pJqZXt-czF8jMjtOXKUZTZ9OV28e-7KMmNaMLES_920TpvWnyxST0y2Yx-MnQnyTfoOd6dhk73tUnQX5VD7oPOcGV42h9jk4iSInpbXPxrMTP1AwmfDg7pIcVge87DGvhAmVpDPx/s1600/DangerousToKnow_ebook_frontCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSK3I0pJqZXt-czF8jMjtOXKUZTZ9OV28e-7KMmNaMLES_920TpvWnyxST0y2Yx-MnQnyTfoOd6dhk73tUnQX5VD7oPOcGV42h9jk4iSInpbXPxrMTP1AwmfDg7pIcVge87DGvhAmVpDPx/s320/DangerousToKnow_ebook_frontCover.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><b>KCox: </b> I’ve
been married for 31 years, and have 2 grown children. My son is an electrical
engineer like my husband. He lives here in town and has an amazingly gifted
two-year old daughter that I get to help take care of, cover with hugs and
kisses, and spoil mercilessly </span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "wingdings"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My daughter is in college, and she is
also studying to be an electrical engineer (I guess we just make them one way.)
She’s one of only 6 female EE majors in her class, so I’m really proud of her,
and the trail she’s blazing in that area. I think she’s much more together than
I was at her age! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">BTCole: I can tell that you are a proud mom! Do you have any hobbies other than writing? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><b>KCox:</b> Reading
and writing are my biggest hobbies right now. I used to sew, and I like to
travel, and at one time, I did some gardening. I’d like to get back to some of
those things, maybe after I retire, but my days are pretty full of work and
family, reading and writing at the moment. Sometimes I don’t think I’ll ever
get done what I want to do! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">BTCole: How did you discover
Jane Austen and ‘fall in love with her works’. </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><b>KCox: </b> I
encountered Austen later, in my 30s, when I saw the Emma Thompson “Sense and
Sensibility”. I tried to read S&S then, but put it aside. Then I saw the
BBC “Pride & Prejudice” miniseries (yes, the Colin Firth one), and I was hooked
on the stories. After that, I went back to the original Austen novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pride & Prejudice, </i>and then I was
hooked on her writing. I devoured P&P, then went back to S&S, barreled
through <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Persuasion, Emma. </i>I didn’t
read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mansfield Park </i>or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Northanger Abbey </i>until after I found
Jane Austen Fan Fiction, but I love them now too. Each story is unique, and
Austen has so much to tell us about the human condition. She was a genius, a
one-in-a-million kind of writer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">BTCole: What initially
inspired you to write Austen inspired stories? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><b>KCox: </b> Austen
herself inspired me to write and adapt her stories. I wanted to convey the
themes I saw in her works to different time periods, because I think they’re
still so relevant. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc3Ya4pB1Z6B8OCiSVC03pidQGADzc4x_Z_JBEGLmb5rLeENveqrUhHc4JDqjCqbglx3XAnPYD2dDbcReARNsBAeTEaYuil3slJZEBNXOC8vS_5NAG1gmrGK2buW-wSgNGo-Z52t71qsMu/s1600/d2k.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc3Ya4pB1Z6B8OCiSVC03pidQGADzc4x_Z_JBEGLmb5rLeENveqrUhHc4JDqjCqbglx3XAnPYD2dDbcReARNsBAeTEaYuil3slJZEBNXOC8vS_5NAG1gmrGK2buW-wSgNGo-Z52t71qsMu/s320/d2k.png" width="320" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">BTCole: Did anything inspire your story in this anthology? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><b>KCox:</b> I
was just putting the finishing touches on my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Emma </i>re-telling, called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I
Could Write a Book, </i>when Christina approached me with the opportunity to
“pick a rogue, any rogue!” and write his story. Frank Churchill seemed like a
natural choice, since he and I had spent so much time together recently – ha! I
felt like I knew him (and I’ve known some men like him over the years). As a
reader, I always wanted to know what happened with Frank and Jane Fairfax,
before, during and after the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Emma </i>story
takes place. So I re-read several parts of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Emma,
</i>and studied David Shepard’s annotated edition, and found my Frank, waiting
to tell me his story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">BTCole: And if there is
anything you want to say about the other stories feel free. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmMlmQkOf5DsksVlfj-iV8Gp1FnHp_fn0kEMgDkOlwOrFzXTB24yb-qzeF_Ho3Zu0ZcKnTp7LRc8LlNOhdjkMZhyphenhyphenKodEu0oA6gPaKcxybufMDleVig-0L4jMdaTZOmNyg_VSQkm4j0j_GG/s1600/DangerousToKnow+GrandPrize2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmMlmQkOf5DsksVlfj-iV8Gp1FnHp_fn0kEMgDkOlwOrFzXTB24yb-qzeF_Ho3Zu0ZcKnTp7LRc8LlNOhdjkMZhyphenhyphenKodEu0oA6gPaKcxybufMDleVig-0L4jMdaTZOmNyg_VSQkm4j0j_GG/s320/DangerousToKnow+GrandPrize2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><b>KCox: </b> A
friend who read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dangerous to Know </i>said
to me recently that the stories are so interesting, because with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Darcy Monologues, </i>there is Darcy
canon that has to be contended with, but not so with the Rogues. They’re in the
canon, but how they got there is wildly speculative, which makes for some very
interesting tales. I’m paraphrasing a little, but she said exactly what I was
thinking myself. The stories are familiar, but novel enough to be intriguing,
and the writing—my goodness, it’s just exceptional! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">BTCole: So what are your working on now? Got a next story in the works? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhxLDIZpDgYC0DPNVueRxaQy6C-dC8EHUDrOptMSkUAvpySb_UF4Hib20LXyLGaRAWUGszTsHIcW4OizYRkVvSdyovqSvcvrbYPAemm6myoULUfJsBZGeGqmVW46TAXFdeYHVg66bip0N/s1600/DangerousToKnow+GrandPrize1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhxLDIZpDgYC0DPNVueRxaQy6C-dC8EHUDrOptMSkUAvpySb_UF4Hib20LXyLGaRAWUGszTsHIcW4OizYRkVvSdyovqSvcvrbYPAemm6myoULUfJsBZGeGqmVW46TAXFdeYHVg66bip0N/s320/DangerousToKnow+GrandPrize1.jpg" width="247" /></a><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><b>KCox:</b> I
have a lot of ideas floating around in my head, and none have really settled in
yet. I am planning a re-release of my award-winning <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">At the Edge of the Sea</i> for next year. It will be the 5<sup>th</sup>
year since its first release. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">Thanks
so much for hosting the<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4078409689570875027" name="_GoBack"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
Dangerous to Know</i></a> blog tour on Darcyholic Diversions! I hope your
readers enjoy this anthology. It’s really a one-of-a-kind project in the
Austen-inspired genre. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"><b>BTCole: </b> <b>Yes I agree! A fun read with lots of variety. A perfect Christmas present to yourself! </b> </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .1in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Excerpt from <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen’s Rakes &
Gentlemen Rogues</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .1in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">“An Honest Man” by Karen M Cox<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4078409689570875027" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .1in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The distance from Yorkshire to Weymouth was a long, arduous
journey, so I broke the trip with several stops, including one in London, where
I visited White’s for an evening of whist, and, shall we say, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">other</i> entertainments. Glad to leave the
city, for the heat in July was unbearable, I set out for the coast in the early
morning hours. The turnpike from Dorchester to Weymouth was dry and dusty, but
the air improved as I descended the Narrows leading to the town itself. I
stopped for a brief moment to breathe in the tang of the salty, sea air. In
another life, perhaps I should have been a sailor, or a merchant like my
father’s forebears, living an ordinary existence in some harbor town. At times,
that simple life appealed to me—the freedom to go where I wanted, do as I
pleased, with no responsibilities, and no servants to observe my every
movement. Yet, as my aunt often reminded me—in a veiled threat of
disinheritance—my mother learned too late for her health that poverty is a
heavier burden than familial duty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .1in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">My lodgings on one end of the Esplanade were simple but
satisfactory, and since Hayward would not arrive until the next day, I decided
to explore. Up one side of town and down the other I roamed, listening to the
conversations as they drifted by me, hearing the seagulls cry, and appreciating
the many fine-looking women bustling about, some walking arm-in-arm, some with
stern-looking chaperones. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .1in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I had written a letter informing my family of my safe
arrival, so I stopped at Harvey’s to post it. A queue had formed to pay for
postage, so I joined in, rocking back and forth on my heels while I waited. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .1in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">“Lovely day,” I commented, to no one in particular. The
young woman in front of me turned her head and nodded curtly, barely sparing me
a glance. She appeared to be one of those shy, wallflower-type creatures that
found male attention terrifying, so naturally, I tried to engage her further. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .1in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">“I say, miss, do you happen to know where a man might find a
coffee around these parts? You see, I have just arrived, and I am still not
familiar with the best places for food and drink.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .1in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">She turned her head again, in such a way that I could only
observe her profile, and answered in a quiet, yet melodic voice. “Granger’s is
but three doors down.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .1in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I grinned, now more determined than ever to make her face
me. “I believe I might be interested in a tart as well.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .1in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">“Granger’s sells mincemeat tarts, I believe, sir.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">“I think I fancy a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">jam-tart</i>
instead. Pray, might I inquire where are the best jam-tarts in Weymouth?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">She turned to face me now, deep set, gray eyes slightly
rounded with surprise, pink flags in her creamy, delicate complexion. She
narrowed those eyes, a most unusual color, now that I took more notice of them,
and said with a quirk of her eyebrow, “I imagine that depends upon your taste,
sir, for what is considered best for one is not for another.”<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Impudent—and
simultaneously elegant! </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">She
was certainly not intimidated by my double entendre, although her expression
indicated that she had apprehended it, and that intrigued me. Alas, we had not
been formally introduced, so the interaction could not be sustained much longer
in the polite society of a public post office. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .1in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">“Pardon me, madam, you are exactly correct in your
observation. So, in which directions lies Granger’s?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .1in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">She pointed and turned back around as the postmaster
beckoned her forward. I listened as she requested postage in the amount to send
correspondence to Highbury. Interesting, as Highbury was the town of my birth,
and where my father still resided. I wondered vaguely who this delicate looking
flower might be, and if I should know her, but then she turned and marched out
the door without looking my way. I watched her go, and then promptly forgot her
as the postmaster called me forward. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Feature:
Karen M Cox, Darcyholic Diversions, December 14<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Dangerous
to Know: Jane Austen’s Rakes & Gentlemen Rogues BLOG TOUR<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Contact info should you wish to
have Karen M Cox write a feature or interview: </span><a href="mailto:karenmcoxbooks@gmail.com"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">karenmcoxbooks@gmail.com</span></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4078409689570875027" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Author
Bio:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">KAREN M COX</b> is an award-wining author
of four novels accented with romance and history: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1932, Find Wonder in All Things, Undeceived, </i>and<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> I Could Write a Book, </i>as well as an
e-book novella companion to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1932, The
Journey Home.</i> She also contributed short stories for the anthologies <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sun-Kissed: Effusions of Summer</i> and<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> The Darcy Monologues. </i>Originally from
Everett, Washington, Karen now lives in Central Kentucky with her husband,
works as a pediatric speech pathologist, encourages her children, and spoils
her granddaughter. Like Austen’s Emma, Karen has many hobbies and projects she
doesn’t quite finish, but like Elizabeth Bennet, she aspires to be a great
reader and an excellent walker.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Information on the Two Grand Prizes</u></span></strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are two grandprize giveaways. The first is set signed paperback books from the authors'. You can enter at this rafflecopter link: <a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/fe4b734812/?"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">Click On This Link To Enter</span></a><br />
<br />
The other grand prize includes autographs from Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle plus other Austen items. To enter this give away you need to comment at each of the blog tour sites.<br />
</div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<!--EndFragment--><br />Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-84069916246265907052017-12-12T21:29:00.003-05:002017-12-14T00:22:20.297-05:00Marvelous Merry Christmas With Maria Grace<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Marvelous Merry Christmas With Maria Grace</span></b></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7SBClLrj8HK3IVX1hDmZz53rsEuBXAoFS-TuQBRLugBhJb1S0abryfn6HzXWDErX_91coIQFRXy5oNQBlP6rriXCZLuOd3UZl9QKPX-i3-FVALnMRJpWql5zj7tVUk-Wr8qq_r8qfyhu4/s1600/2014+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7SBClLrj8HK3IVX1hDmZz53rsEuBXAoFS-TuQBRLugBhJb1S0abryfn6HzXWDErX_91coIQFRXy5oNQBlP6rriXCZLuOd3UZl9QKPX-i3-FVALnMRJpWql5zj7tVUk-Wr8qq_r8qfyhu4/s320/2014+poster.jpg" width="256" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thanks so much for having me Barbara! I’m so excited
about this Christmas season! It’s been a doozy of a year in these parts, so
much that it calls for not one, but two Christmas books. They were released on December 1. The two books go along
with <i>The Darcys’ First Christmas</i>,
kind of forming bookends to the story. <i>Darcy
and Elizabeth: Christmas 1811</i> tells the behind the scenes story of what
might have happened during the Christmastide Darcy spent in London, while the
militia (and Wickham!) wintered in Meryton. <i>From
Admiration to Love</i> tells the story of the Darcys’ second Christmas as they
try to hold Georgiana’s coming out at the Twelfth Night ball as Lady Catherine
and Anne de Bourgh descend as very unwelcome guests. (The story was such fun to
write, I hope you love it as much as I do!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of my favorite parts of writing is getting to
‘dress the set’ as it were with bits and bobs from the era. Food is often one
of those bits; the sights and smells and tastes of a place are so evocative,
aren’t they? So I often find myself in a deep dive looking for what my
characters would have been eating and what it would smell and taste like.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From
Admiration to Love </span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> has
a scene that includes sitting down to breakfast that just screamed for a
cinnamon roll—it was exactly what needed to be on the table. BUT, the big
questions was whether or not such things actually existed in the day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Naturally, the answer was ‘sort of’. Obviously,
Cinnabon wasn’t around then, but apparently, there was a Georgian era
doppelganger lurking about, ready to supply a cinnamon roll fix. Seriously, the more things change, the more
they stay the same.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the Chelsea area of London, there was the Chelsea
Bun house, famous for its namesake, the Chelsea bun (as well as hot cross
buns.) The place was so famous, it was patronized by Kings George II and George
III. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1w_fW_pPUTYjGCRUVM8yse2MiXDW0qpG5g7nlBT83l_F-KLsDbtoukjUCpfBFZbSscZiOIj6Iteyau-ftCh7SdysGjliTLp4fYY1WTkLapZ0vOleu9UrzxZQaFyQ7dgDMSQmdmjlCAduf/s1600/Christmas+1811-final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1w_fW_pPUTYjGCRUVM8yse2MiXDW0qpG5g7nlBT83l_F-KLsDbtoukjUCpfBFZbSscZiOIj6Iteyau-ftCh7SdysGjliTLp4fYY1WTkLapZ0vOleu9UrzxZQaFyQ7dgDMSQmdmjlCAduf/s320/Christmas+1811-final.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Chelsea Bun House appears to
have started business early in the 1700’s, appearing in a journal entry by Jonathan Swift in 1711. Over a hundred years later Sir Richard
Phillips wrote in A Morning's Walk from London to Kew that the shop
had been operated by the same Hand family for four generations. Unfortunately,
the last of the family died in 1839, and with him, the Chelsea Bun House came
to an end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The buns continue to be made
though. They start with a rich yeast dough that may be flavored with lemon
peel, cinnamon or other mixed spices. Currants, brown sugar and butter are
spread over the dough before it is rolled and cut into individual buns. After
baking it is covered with a sticky sugar glaze. Sounds nothing like a cinnamon
roll at all, huh?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Here’s a modern version of the
traditional Chelsea Bun. I may just be making these for New Year’s. I’ll share
pictures if I do—and you must do the same if you try them!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">2
cups all-purpose flour<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">pinch
of salt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">2
1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) yeast<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">1/4
teaspoon sugar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">5
tablespoons butter, divided<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">1
3/4 cups milk, divided<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">1
egg, beaten<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Vegetable
oil<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For the Filling:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">1
cup raisins or currants<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">1/2
cup brown sugar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">1/4
teaspoon cinnamon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For the Icing:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">4
tablespoons confectioners’ sugar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; vertical-align: top;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Combine
the flour and salt in a large bowl; make a well in the center. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; vertical-align: top;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sprinkle
yeast and sugar into the well. Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 1 1/2 cups milk
over medium heat until the butter has melted and the milk is just warm. Cool for
2 minutes. Pour the milk into the flour well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; vertical-align: top;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Mix
and add beaten egg. Mix until a dough forms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; vertical-align: top;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Knead
by hand for 5 minutes. Coat with thin layer of vegetable oil and place in a
bowl covered with a towel. Leave to rise
in a warm place, until roughly doubled in size, about 1 hour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; vertical-align: top;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Press
down dough, and turn out onto a floured work surface. Roll dough with a rolling
pin into a rough 8- by 13-inch rectangle. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter. Brush
dough with butter, leaving a 1-inch border along the top (long) edge. Add
raisins and brown sugar on top of butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Gently roll along
to long side to form a 13 inch-wide roll. Cut the tube into 8 equal pieces.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; vertical-align: top;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Butter
an 8- by 11-inch baking dish and place rolls in dish. Let the buns rise in a
warm place until doubled again, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake in
center of the oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; vertical-align: top;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Combine
the remaining 1/4 cup milk and the confectioner's sugar in a saucepan and whisk
until smooth. Simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Pour over buns while still warm.
Serve warm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<h1>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">Here’s a sneak peek into <i>From Admiration to Love.<o:p></o:p></i></span></h1>
<h2>
<i>Sunday, November 21, 1813<o:p></o:p></i></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After
a light nuncheon, Elizabeth invited Darcy, Georgiana, and Fitzwilliam to the
kitchen, just as her mother had done every Stir it Up Sunday since Elizabeth
could remember. Pemberley’s kitchen was huge compared to Longbourn’s, filled
with servants baking, making plum puddings, and working on dinner preparations.
The air was thick with the fragrances of brandy and spices hanging in the humid
heat of the great boiling cauldrons that already contained prepared puddings.
How many were needed to distribute on the estate and in the parish? Elizabeth
had lost count. Thankfully Cook had not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A
worktable had been set up in a more-or-less out of the way corner of the
kitchen, with all the sweet-smelling makings for plum pudding ready and waiting
in small bowls. The menfolk would have no patience for chopping and measuring,
so it was best done for them. Even this was a little too much like cooking to
be for their comfort. She gestured for them to stand around the table.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I
do hope you are going to tell us what to do.” Fitzwilliam laughed and elbowed
Darcy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“What,
you do not know how to cook, too?” Elizabeth reached for the large earthenware
bowl in the middle of the table. “You would have me believe an officer of His
Majesty—albeit former officer—capable of anything.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I
can roast a haunch of meat over a campfire, if that is what you are asking. But
more than that I am told is not the province of men.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“But
are not French man-cooks considered the height of culinary expression?”
Georgiana stared at the table. She had grown far more bold and able to
tease—and be teased—good-naturedly, but still was not fully sure of herself in doing
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I
stand corrected.” Fitzwilliam bowed at Georgiana. “I shall immediately find
myself an apprenticeship with one of them and shower you with fine offerings
from the kitchen.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Georgiana
giggled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I
would be pleased if you would simply bring back some venison when you go
hunting.” Elizabeth lifted her brows and stared at him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Fitzwilliam
laughed heartily.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Perhaps
we ought to attend to the pudding?” Darcy struggled not to smile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“A
very good suggestion indeed. Now, we have thirteen ingredients to add—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“A
most auspicious number, thirteen. I am told it is unlucky.” Fitzwilliam peered
at the small bowls on the table and counted under his breath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Thirteen
for Christ and the apostles.” Elizabeth drummed her fingers on the table. “Has
your mother not taught you—” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“My
mother had nothing to do with the kitchen, even for the sake of a Christmas
pudding, unlike Aunt Darcy who was quite as fond as stirring them up as you.
You, my dear cousin, must make up for my mother’s lack.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Then
pay attention, or I shall have to send you out like a recalcitrant school boy,
and have our master deal with you.” Elizabeth gestured toward Darcy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Darcy
snorted. Poor man might hurt himself trying to keep a straight face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“A
dire threat indeed. I shall behave myself with all decorum now.” Fitzwilliam
raised open hands in surrender.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“See
that you do. Now, I shall add the flour and suet and pass it to the east.” She
pushed the bowl toward Fitzwilliam. “You have the dried fruits and nuts—just
pour them in on top, like that. You might make a man-cook yet.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Fitzwilliam
lifted his hand high and sprinkled in the chopped nuts with a flourish, then
passed the bowl to Georgiana.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Add
in the bread crumbs and milk. Here is the citron already soaked in brandy. Pour
that in, too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“You
have kept the brandy from me?” Fitzwilliam wrinkled his face into a pout.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“My
wife is very wise in all things.” Darcy took the bowl from Georgiana. He poured
in the spices, eggs and sugar from the small bowls near him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“And
you my dear are the most sensible of men.” Elizabeth took the bowl again and
reached for a wooden spoon. “This spoon is to remind us of the wood of the
Christ child’s crib. Now stir it clockwise with your eyes closed and make a
wish.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“That
is a relief, I thought you might hit me with that.” Fitzwilliam took the spoon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I
will have to keep that possibility in mind. Now, stir the pudding.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“By
Jove, this is heavy! I had no idea!” He struggled to pull the spoon through the
pudding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Georgiana
crowded him away from the bowl. “Here, here, stop complaining and let me.” She
struggled against the heavy batter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .3in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Stir
up, we beseech thee, the pudding in the pot. And when we do get home tonight,
we'll eat it up hot.” Fitzwilliam crossed his arms and pressed his tongue into
his cheek. “Or not, at the rate you are going.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .3in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Help
me, brother.” Georgiana handed Darcy the spoon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .3in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Cradling
the bowl with one arm, he dragged the spoon through the thick slurry. A fine
sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead. “I think I do not pay our cook
enough.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .3in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Fitzwilliam
slapped his thighs and chortled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .3in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Is
it done now, Elizabeth?” Georgiana asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .3in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Only
one more thing to add.” She took the bowl from Darcy. “We cannot forget the
charms! They are very dear to my family. You see, each year when someone has
found the silver ring, they have indeed become betrothed. It began with my
mother and father.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .3in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Did
you find the ring the year my brother offered you marriage?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .3in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“No,
but the husband of one of my sisters did, so the tradition continued.” No need
to mention it was Wickham who found the ring that year. She dropped the silver
charms into the pudding and stirred until they disappeared amidst the dried
fruits and nuts and she was quite short of breath. “Georgiana, hand me that
buttered cloth, and you two strong gentlemen—who do not pay the cook enough for
this chore—dump out the pudding and tie it up to boil.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .3in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Darcy
and Fitzwilliam struggled with the pudding, finally calling in Cook’s
assistance to tie it up and haul it away to a large boiling cauldron.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“With
that, I think I shall seek out some far easier recreation. What say you
Georgiana, would archery suit you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“You
consider that easier than making a pudding?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Far
easier and cleaner.” He dusted flour off his jacket. “Shall we have a quarter
of an hour to clean the flour from our hands and don our shooting dress? I will
see you on the back lawn then?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I
am a frightful bad shot you know.” Georgiana followed him out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Not
an incurable malady I assure you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Darcy
shook his head as he watched them leave, then turned his gaze on Elizabeth. “You
have flour on your cheek.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Do
I?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He
pulled out his handkerchief and dusted her cheek, gently, tenderly, almost like
a kiss. “There, much better.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I
am certain this is not the way your mother must have stirred up puddings.” She
bit her lower lip.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“What
matter is that? Pemberley needs laughter, and I am thankful to hear it. I look
forward to many more Christmas puddings stirred up just this way.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She
leaned her head on his shoulder. “I am glad to hear that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“There
is one favor I might ask, though. Is there any way to prevent that ring from
finding its way into either Fitzwilliam’s or Georgiana’s pudding? I can see no
good coming of it, especially in the presence of a large party.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“You
mean this one?” She opened her hand. A tiny silver ring twinkled in the
sunlight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“My
wife is indeed the wisest woman in Derbyshire!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Not
in all of England?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I
am not far from being convinced of that as well.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thanks so much for letting me come by and visit Barbara!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7fjg6fWcKZa4cJglDZ69zJdBGrOtonb_3NzWEPgde-hfJz20taxBd31iOuFVKYViCkOkmYWc3YrQaLV3ze2v-CuzGz7vxSPpZeUDej-1FPccYMhCKXJ9-0YCC37iJ8dYEUmzcDlKBVgz/s1600/Three+Christmases+tour+banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7fjg6fWcKZa4cJglDZ69zJdBGrOtonb_3NzWEPgde-hfJz20taxBd31iOuFVKYViCkOkmYWc3YrQaLV3ze2v-CuzGz7vxSPpZeUDej-1FPccYMhCKXJ9-0YCC37iJ8dYEUmzcDlKBVgz/s320/Three+Christmases+tour+banner.jpg" width="106" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<h1>
Darcy and Elizabeth: Christmas 1811<o:p></o:p></h1>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Sweet,
Austen-inspired treats, perfect with a cup of tea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Full
of hope and ripe with possibility, Christmastide tales refresh the heart with
optimism and anticipation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Darcy and Elizabeth: Christmas 1811<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Jane
Austen never wrote the details of Christmastide 1811. What might have happened
during those intriguing months?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Following
the Netherfield ball, Darcy persuades Bingley to leave Netherfield Park in
favor of London to avoid the match-making machinations of Mrs. Bennet. Surely,
the distractions of town will help Bingley forget the attractions of Miss Jane
Bennet. But Bingley is not the only one who needs to forget. All Darcy wants
this Christmastide is to forget another Miss Bennet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Can
the diversions of London help Darcy overcome memories of the fine eyes and pert
opinions of a certain Hertfordshire miss? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Without
the Bingleys, the Bennets are left to the company of Mr. Collins and the militia
officers—entirely suitable company, according Mrs. Bennet. Elizabeth disagrees,
refusing an offer of marriage from the very eligible Mr. Collins. Mama’s nerves
suffer horridly until Elizabeth follows her advice to make the most of the
officers’ company.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Even
Mr. Bennet seems to agree. So, whilst Jane pines for Bingley, Elizabeth admits
the attentions of one agreeable Lt. Wickham. What possible harm can it cause,
especially when her parents are so pleased?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<h1>
The Darcys' First Christmas<o:p></o:p></h1>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Sweet,
Austen-inspired treats, perfect with a cup of tea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Full
of hope and ripe with possibility, Christmastide tales refresh the heart with
optimism and anticipation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">The
Darcys' First Christmas</span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Elizabeth
anxiously anticipates her new duties as mistress of Pemberley. Darcy is
confident of her success, but she cannot bring herself to share his optimism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Unexpected
guests unsettle all her plans and offer her the perfect Christmastide gift,
shattered confidence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Can
she and Darcy overcome their misunderstandings and salvage their first
Christmastide together? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">From
the award winning author of <i>Given Good Principles, Remember the Past </i>and<i>
Mistaking Her Character</i>, <i>Sweet Tea</i> short stories offer the perfect
bite to transport readers back to the Regency era for the first days of new
love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h1>
From Admiration to Love<o:p></o:p></h1>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Sweet,
Austen-inspired treats, perfect with a cup of tea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Full
of hope and ripe with possibility, Christmastide tales refresh the heart with
optimism and anticipation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">From Admiration to Love</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWR4CNN_S4xI8S4jFooXTAMsZ4dQFODocXN93PASUwfgY4IScAYT6kmrlj4_UH_oDwHCCRbjfUXMIoCZ4tKnTwuZ_OQj6jR5PQ3zsNG3x5MHT5e0Q-6VUHYE2FETjl3AHb-4luiw7sMcHw/s1600/From+Admiration+to+Love-final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWR4CNN_S4xI8S4jFooXTAMsZ4dQFODocXN93PASUwfgY4IScAYT6kmrlj4_UH_oDwHCCRbjfUXMIoCZ4tKnTwuZ_OQj6jR5PQ3zsNG3x5MHT5e0Q-6VUHYE2FETjl3AHb-4luiw7sMcHw/s320/From+Admiration+to+Love-final.jpg" width="198" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">After
the debacle of the previous holiday season, Darcy and Elizabeth joyfully anticipate
Christmastide 1813, Georgiana’s come out at Pemberley’s Twelfth Night Ball
culminating the season. With months of planning behind the event, even Lady
Matlock is satisfied and sends Colonel Fitzwilliam to represent the family,
assuring there will be no repeat of the previous Christmastide. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">On
St. Nicholas’, Anne de Bourgh and Lady Catherine arrive on Pemberley’s doorstep—never
a good sign—demanding sanctuary against the de Bourghs who (according the Lady
Catherine) are trying to retake Rosings Park for their family with plans to
seduce and marry Anne. Needless to say, Darcy and Fitzwilliam are skeptical.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Not
long afterwards, three gentlemen suitors appear at Pemberley, hoping to court
Anne and obliging Darcy to offer holiday hospitality. Anne adores the attention
whilst Lady Catherine makes her displeasure know, throwing Pemberley into
turmoil that threatens the Twelfth Night Ball. Can Darcy and Elizabeth, with a
little help from Fitzwilliam, soothe Lady Catherine’s nerves, see Anne to a
respectable match, and still salvage Georgiana’s come out? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">From
the award winning author of <i>Given Good Principles, Remember the Past </i>and<i>
Mistaking Her Character</i>, <i>Sweet Tea</i> short stories offer the perfect
bite to transport readers back to the Regency era for the first days of new
love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: #365f91; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">About the Author</span></i><span style="color: #365f91; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgeIB7D4TvyRFqbeAPjpTgr-vc2N-1Rpm7B7rFWCfaZBd2saJeGgHh-xB6MBTP0Wmf0fkaJM23f0zYAePHarkvjgxMC9WGVEIfwphYDgJie5X1MxONjWpJHR46l27fFg7Pyo2V7OIc9ZJ/s1600/grace-38-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgeIB7D4TvyRFqbeAPjpTgr-vc2N-1Rpm7B7rFWCfaZBd2saJeGgHh-xB6MBTP0Wmf0fkaJM23f0zYAePHarkvjgxMC9WGVEIfwphYDgJie5X1MxONjWpJHR46l27fFg7Pyo2V7OIc9ZJ/s320/grace-38-L.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Though
Maria Grace has been writing fiction since she was ten years old, those early
efforts happily reside in a file drawer and are unlikely to see the light of
day again, for which many are grateful. After penning five file-drawer novels
in high school, she took a break from writing to pursue college and earn her
doctorate in Educational Psychology. After 16 years of university teaching, she
returned to her first love, fiction writing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">She
has one husband and one grandson, two graduate degrees and two black belts,
three sons, four undergraduate majors, five nieces, is starting her sixth year
blogging on Random Bits of Fascination, has built seven websites, attended
eight English country dance balls, sewn nine Regency era costumes, and shared
her life with ten cats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">She
can be contacted at:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="mailto:author.MariaGrace@gmail.com"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">author.MariaGrace@gmail.com
</span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="http://facebook.com/AuthorMariaGrace"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Facebook:</span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/103065128923801481737/posts"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">G+ </span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/WriteMariaGrace"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Twitter</span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="http://randombitsoffascination.com/"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Random
Bits of Fascination </span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="http://austenvariations.com/"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Austen
Variations</span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="http://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">English Historical Fiction Authors </span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p>
</o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="http://pinterest.com/mariagrace423/"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Pinterest</span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-52481683551211110262017-12-09T22:30:00.001-05:002017-12-09T22:30:56.672-05:00Applause and An Audacious Audience with Audrey Ryan<h2>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Applause and An Audacious Audience with Audrey Ryan, author of <i>All the Things I Know</i></span></b></h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">By Barbara Tiller Cole</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1t7c-Gp31-qFLFZRf5ghEfPijpAS1rBoxGcDYRqwZ5PU8641FpQzuZ_wSrfBYg85pYn6rE9-kZABGJwg-HFJzMt14nC-D8wxXpkbkZAA6kyBPzTbid1p1YUmbD8SZ3MLv6dUR5qogmha-/s1600/NK2A4608-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1t7c-Gp31-qFLFZRf5ghEfPijpAS1rBoxGcDYRqwZ5PU8641FpQzuZ_wSrfBYg85pYn6rE9-kZABGJwg-HFJzMt14nC-D8wxXpkbkZAA6kyBPzTbid1p1YUmbD8SZ3MLv6dUR5qogmha-/s320/NK2A4608-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7hYSKjhqEoeyOyBHP9DgAiZbd9EYkLuR2rp4R97wKd70jRUK6L01DJj_jl2W28XYMS_QDmXcsPXJ3NZbaAqnNBqux0vhecBnHuliC-8DBb8Rc0u6YJ1i9RBbaZlvZo4pHOS7YMcOaFiTA/s1600/December92017snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7hYSKjhqEoeyOyBHP9DgAiZbd9EYkLuR2rp4R97wKd70jRUK6L01DJj_jl2W28XYMS_QDmXcsPXJ3NZbaAqnNBqux0vhecBnHuliC-8DBb8Rc0u6YJ1i9RBbaZlvZo4pHOS7YMcOaFiTA/s200/December92017snow.jpg" width="200" /></a><i>I am happy to have the opportunity to visits with Audrey Ryan today as the next stop on her Blog Tour. Enjoy a little inside information about her and about her latest novel. Be sure to read till the end and comment for a chance to win her latest novel. And A Very Merry Christmas season to you all from VERY snowy Atlanta--and yes I said Atlanta where we got over a foot </i>of snow at my house yesterday! <i>And now for the interview...</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>BTCole: </b> Hi Audrey. Tell us a little bit about yourself.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>ARyan:</b> Let’s see, I'm 35 and a Seattle native. I do email
marketing for Expedia.com by day. I majored in English with a writing
concentration and have always wanted to a published author. Took me a
while to get around to it! I think I really wasn't ready to publish
anything till now though. I had a lot of grand plans in my twenties, but
I never finished anything. Then, of course, there was the recession and
making ends meet took away a lot of my focus.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>BTCole:</b> Separate from writing and reading, and working for Expedia, what do you like to do with your time?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>ARyan: </b>Some
of my interests aside from reading and writing are small pleasures. For
instance, I'm a big fan of lavender and there are some lovely lavender
farms here in Washington state. Have you ever had lavender chocolate?
Divine! There's also a small wine country outside of Seattle, in a
suburb called Woodinville that my girlfriends and I like to visit.
Interestingly enough, almost all of my besties have names that start
with an 'A'. I think it's an 80s thing. When we were all roommates, it
was kind of hilarious.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5zDPD2tYuRddQn3n5qJj9xa2P9SJC3qOjSzAHubZv2xdDPe3Ekp_9oyxjqeOwZ2rqcIh-bQ1kEMWp3z2OpS6ZyoR9iiY0sVeBWONwTs9mXDkYIxb_KsCekIlPelHoUaUf5WZpJkb0IoX8/s1600/PALavendar+Farm.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5zDPD2tYuRddQn3n5qJj9xa2P9SJC3qOjSzAHubZv2xdDPe3Ekp_9oyxjqeOwZ2rqcIh-bQ1kEMWp3z2OpS6ZyoR9iiY0sVeBWONwTs9mXDkYIxb_KsCekIlPelHoUaUf5WZpJkb0IoX8/s320/PALavendar+Farm.png" width="213" /></a><b>BTCole: </b> Actually I have had lavender chocolate! And lavender honey! And have some lavender soap, etc. I got to visit a gorgeous lavender farm in Pennsylvania several years back. Here’s a picture from there. What else would you like for us to know? Any hidden secrets?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>ARyan:</b> I’m secretly in love
with the Coppola family (specifically Sofia Coppola). Beautiful
artistic movies and a Vineyard in Napa? Yes please! I love to get cans
of Sofia wine on my birthday every year. If you can't guess, wine is
kind of my thing. Although not in a formal way -- I taste only to enjoy.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>BTCole:</b> Tell us about your family.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>ARyan:</b> I’ve
been married for 2 and a half years to by husband Ryan. Yes, his first
name is the last name of my nom de plume! Ryan and I are both creative
people. He's also a writer (of non-fiction personal essays), a DJ, and
the bassist in a band. Writing is my favorite way to be creative, but I
also draw and paint for fun. We like to surround ourself with creative
people -- so many of my friends make such awesome things! My friend Mark
shot my author photographs, for instance. I also have a step daughter
who's 14. She is Ryan's mini-me, except with a lot more sass! Emme helps
me feel uncool and informs me on what all the teenagers are doing. We
have a journal we keep together on all the best macaroons in the city.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>BTCole:</b> Some how from what you are sharing U doubt you are ever ‘uncool’. Sounds like Emme keeps you ‘hip’. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>ARyan:</b> Hmmm,
other facts: I adore Mazzy Star (the band) and drony 90s shoegaze. I
love touring all the local coffee shops to write. I think switching up
environments is helpful to my productivity. My brain loves novelty. I
could be called a but of a compulsive shopper (I love pretty things). I
have a 10 year old cat named George who's seen me through a lot of my
life ups and downs. He's so weird and awesome. I don't think there's a
friendlier cat out there, which is great since Emme like to torment him.
Ryan and I were set up by a friend who I nicknamed "Emma". The week
before we met we made a 500 song joint playlist through Spotify -- a
great way for music snobs to connect!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<b>BTCole: </b>OK, let’s shift gears a little bit. Tell us about how you discovered Jane Austen and her books.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-S28NZzt15cgeonvg20KKmvKOUyOke_tpHEUyNhnNdtFLgSg9wQXqyIrSjRsiD2IHP99EoMHGMMWWQ099lh4Hlomv1ZiVwXklQR6vhYgnoDqpM_03FqwDlRENN3kTe_fVBkcW7mahkn9/s1600/CEF18BFF-8DBC-4374-9E41-BFDEC5BF50A7.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-S28NZzt15cgeonvg20KKmvKOUyOke_tpHEUyNhnNdtFLgSg9wQXqyIrSjRsiD2IHP99EoMHGMMWWQ099lh4Hlomv1ZiVwXklQR6vhYgnoDqpM_03FqwDlRENN3kTe_fVBkcW7mahkn9/s320/CEF18BFF-8DBC-4374-9E41-BFDEC5BF50A7.PNG" width="213" /></a><b>ARyan: </b> Initially, I was instructed to watch the '95 <i>Pride & Prejudice</i>
when I was in Jr High and was a little too young to appreciate Colin
Firth and the Darcy craze (I was more interested in my tween crushes),
but I started to catch on in college as an English major. However, it
wasn't till after I graduated and experienced the sudden passing of my
mom that I really became addicted to Austen. My great aunt Naomi (who I
looked to for book recommendations) told me how she reread <i>Pride & Prejudice</i> at
least once a year, and more when she needed cheering up. I turned to
Austen and all the Austen film adaptations I could find (and some
general books like <i>Austenland</i>, because I had no idea what JAFF was). I found the escapism a great comfort.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>BTCole: </b> I think that Jane Austen and her works have helped to heal many a broken heart or a wounded spirit. How did you go from reading and watching to writing something of your own?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>ARyan: </b>I had the idea that I wanted to adapt <i>Pride & Prejudice</i> in a similar manner to <i>Clueless</i>, being not only modern, but tapping into cultural trends of the time. <i>Clueless</i>
identified (and even started) a lot of trends that spoke to it's
audience. I wanted to not only adapt, but also represent millennials. I
started writing when we were in a period of time when we needed to save
money, so my husband (who is also a writer) and I had "writing dates" at
a favorite coffee shop. The bug just bit me and I started adapting! I
read annotated versions of <i>Pride & Prejudice,</i> listened to
podcasts and lectures through iTunes U about Austen and spent a
considerable amount of time analyzing her motivations and the
motivations of the time and translating them to the values today. You
would be surprised the amount of upfront research I did for this novel
before I actually started adapting; in all of the plot points I changed,
I worked to translate them to something relevant, but with the same
emotional impact.</div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg95c6efOJKSkFQJ-pVCr-9B3dhEq-hqK1tFyTP-YLg38wdK-yZ_eu2Dnaz3teZdQj0Nnl5sExi2_n98WDddcoZ-oaqblam5z-1ORXocF0wmvZqXeRU6qvTqvBiuA6MM9ifH0b2JlCXsUEs/s1600/ATTIKcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg95c6efOJKSkFQJ-pVCr-9B3dhEq-hqK1tFyTP-YLg38wdK-yZ_eu2Dnaz3teZdQj0Nnl5sExi2_n98WDddcoZ-oaqblam5z-1ORXocF0wmvZqXeRU6qvTqvBiuA6MM9ifH0b2JlCXsUEs/s320/ATTIKcover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<b>BTCole: </b> I have to confess that I actually loved <i>Clueless</i><b><i>.</i> </b>So what is your favorite of Jane Austen’s novels and why? <b> </b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>ARyan:</b><i> Pride & Prejudice </i>has a very warm place in my heart. I will say, counting that out, that I love <i>Northanger Abby</i>.
Something about Catherine Moreland is incredibly endearing to me -- I
think it's because I identify with her more than any other Austen
heroine; she is well meaning, sometimes naive, but incredibly earnest.
Her attraction to Henry Tilney and his snark reminds me of my marriage
to my smart snarky hubby. I am a bit wiser now than I was at 17, but
there are many ways that I'm still that young girl who tries too hard. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>BTCole: </b>Do you have a favorite character? <b> </b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>ARyan: </b> I
think I love Catherine Moreland so much because I identify with her and
would probably want to be her friend in real life. On the other hand, I
want to <i>be</i> Elizabeth Bennet with her sparkle and magnetism. I think she has a lot to do with why <i>Pride & Prejudice</i> variations
are the most popular. There's a reason Darcy pines for her and who
doesn't like to see a romantic hero pining? She's worthy to be pined
for, for sure!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>BTCole: </b> Am I Writing Anything Now?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>ARyan: </b> Before I started editing <i>All the Things I Know</i>
for publication, I had written 7 chapters of a variation. Regency is so
much harder than moderns! I think I will keep that one going on my back
burner, but that one may be a slower writing project for me. I've set
up several characters in <i>All the Things I Know</i> to have their own
Austen adapted sequel. My muse is telling me to follow Katrina's story
next. Katrina Mori. I wonder who she could be? ;)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
BTCole: Thanks again for visiting us here at Darcyholic Diversions! I have really enjoyed getting to know you! Come back when you finish your next book! I love the idea of ‘author dates’. I think I may have to mention that to my husband! Have a wonderful Holiday Season!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
*~*~*</div>
</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Blurb:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Lizzie Venetidis is confident in
her decisions. Moving to Seattle with her sister Jane after she graduated from
Stanford, for instance, was a no-brainer. Adult life, however, turns out to be
more difficult to navigate than she expected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">What career should she pursue
with a bachelor’s degree in art history and no marketable experience amongst a
tech-heavy job market? How responsible is it to drink that fourth cocktail
while out with friends? And what should she do about Darcy—the aloof yet captivating
guy she met her first night in town?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">All
the Things I Know</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> is a
one-mistake-at-a-time retelling of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pride
& Prejudice</i>, set against the backdrop of modern-day techie Seattle.
Full of wry observations, heartache, and life lessons, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">All the Things I Know</i> shares the original’s lessons of correcting
ill-conceived first impressions and learning who you really are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Author
Bio:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Audrey Ryan is the nom de plume of Andrea Pangilinan:
daydreamer, wife and step-mother, and obsessive story consumer. She studied
writing in college, dreamt about becoming a novelist and slowly forgot about it
when real life took over. With a particular affection for contemporary
retellings, adapting <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pride &
Prejudice</i> to modern day has always been a dream.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">When she’s not reading and writing, Andrea is a marketing slave
to the internet industry. She enjoys talking crazy to her weirdo cat, consuming
copious amount of wine and coffee with her girlfriends, and record shopping
with her husband. Oh yeah, and there’s that small Jane Austen obsession. That
doesn’t take up any time at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Contact
Links:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://audreyryan.merytonpress.com/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">http://audreyryan.merytonpress.com</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAudreyR/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAudreyR/</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/AuthorAudreyR"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">https://twitter.com/AuthorAudreyR</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Audrey’s Goodreads is just as a reader, but it’s here: </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3797528-audrey-ryan-andrea-pangilinan"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3797528-audrey-ryan-andrea-pangilinan</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Buy Links:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/All-Things-Know-Audrey-Ryan-ebook/dp/B0784KTKX4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1512238992&sr=1-1&keywords=Audrey+Ryan"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Amazon Kindle US</span></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Things-Know-Audrey-Ryan-ebook/dp/B0784KTKX4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512239111&sr=1-1&keywords=audrey+ryan"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Amazon Kindle UK</span></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Things-Know-Audrey-Ryan/dp/168131021X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1512239111&sr=1-1"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Amazon Paperback UK</span></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All the Things I Know</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Blog Tour Schedule:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12- 3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://austenesquereviews.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Austenesque
Reviews</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Author Interview, Giveaway<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12- 4<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://thesecretunderstandingofthehearts.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">My Jane Austen
Book Club</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">; Guest
Post, Excerpt, Giveaway</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12- 5<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://babblingsofabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Babblings
of a Bookworm</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">; Character Interview, Giveaway<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 256.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12- 6<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://frompemberleytomilton.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">From Pemberley to Milton</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">; Guest Post, Giveaway<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12- 7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \0022http\:\/\/www\.nightowlreader\.com\/\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022";"><u><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Night
Owl Reader</span></u></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Review, Excerpt</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12- 8<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://justjane1813.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Just Jane 1813</span></a><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">; </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Review, Giveaway</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12- 9<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \0022http\:\/\/forloveofausten\.blogspot\.com\/\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022";"><u><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">My
Love for Jane Austen</span></u></span><u><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">;</span></u><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"> Vignette,
Giveaway</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12-10<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://darcyholic.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Darcyholic Diversions</span></a><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">; </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Author Interview, Giveaway</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12-11<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="" name="_Hlk484593607"></a><a href="http://www.ofpensandpages.com/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk484593607;"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of Pens and Pages</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk484593607;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk484593607;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">; Review,
Excerpt, Giveaway</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12-12<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://margiesmustreads.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Margie’s Must Reads</span></a><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">; </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Review, Excerpt, Giveaway<span style="color: blue;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12-13<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://savvyverseandwit.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Savvy
Verse and Wit;</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> Guest Post, Giveaway </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12-14<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://myvicesandweaknesses.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My Vices and Weaknesses</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">; Character
Interview, Giveaway</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12-15<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://diaryofaneccentric.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Diary of an Eccentric</span></a><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">; </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Guest Post, Excerpt, Giveaway<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12-16<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://moreagreeablyengaged.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">More Agreeably Engaged</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">; Vignette, Giveaway</span></div>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 17px;"><a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MGNhODZiOWI4ODNmNDRkMjQ1ZDA5MDg0NTQ1MWExOjIw/?">Click on this Link for Chances to Win Audrey’s Book, and Be Sure to comment!</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;"> </span></h3>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Terms and Conditions:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Readers may enter the drawing by
tweeting once a day and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">daily</b>
commenting on a blog post or review that has a giveaway attached for the tour.
Entrants must provide the name of the blog where they commented. Remember:
Tweet and comment once daily to earn extra entries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Each winner will be randomly selected
by Rafflecopter and the giveaway is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">international</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thanks again for taking part in the
Blog Tour for Audrey Ryan’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">All the
Things I Know</i>. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me!</span></b></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-63758302611955925442017-10-28T16:00:00.000-04:002017-10-28T16:24:13.557-04:00Saucy Salutation with Suzan<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-size: x-large;">Saucy Salutations with Suzan:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d; font-size: x-large;">An Interview with Suzan Lauder</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">by Barbara Tiller Cole</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcj0Bs2UrNbMtltojeGtBDFh5K2NO16NZOy7ePmf04Wqfg_SetcLMLrSUf9uegLw5ow8DOYffPTjNzjDmTq4t-3UOQ-eddICGcfPLWdnlxEx5BWd-Pe8VMsOJXcur_6XYJEp3ldUwZ9tLN/s1600/IMG_20150318_114408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcj0Bs2UrNbMtltojeGtBDFh5K2NO16NZOy7ePmf04Wqfg_SetcLMLrSUf9uegLw5ow8DOYffPTjNzjDmTq4t-3UOQ-eddICGcfPLWdnlxEx5BWd-Pe8VMsOJXcur_6XYJEp3ldUwZ9tLN/s320/IMG_20150318_114408.jpg" width="233" /></a></div>
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I am thrilled to have Suzan Lauder with me today here at
Darcyholic Diversions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
have so much in common, that I have really enjoyed exchanging emails with
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope you enjoy her
interview as much as I did!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I DO want to apologize to all of you, and particularly Suzan, for the font formatting in this post. I have spent 2 hours trying to make it look the same why I have put it into the post when I post it for publication and I just can’t fix it. I will try again later, but I want to get the post out there since it is late today! Please use your magnifying glass if you need to, but this is a delightful post from Suzan! Thanks to all! </span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">BTCole:</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"> </span></b> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Hi Suzan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am so happy that you decided to stop
by Darcyholic Diversions today and give us a chance to know you better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s start by getting to know a little
bit about you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where are you from
and who lives with you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Suzan: </span></b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">I'm a proud Canadian. Have a husband of
32 years and two cats, no kids. I'm originally from the prairies but I now live
on beautiful Vancouver Island (off the west coast) for half the year in an
ocean view modern loft condo. For the winter, we go to our tiny Spanish
colonial house in the Centro Historico of a city in Mexico.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">BTCole: </span></b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Wow!</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">That’s exciting!</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">From the beauty of Vancouver Island to the charm and history of Mexico.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Suzan:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">We bought the 150-year old house
because no one would rent to us with cats, and I couldn't go away for that
length of time without my kitties.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsdlK4KgWVDsJyWbx3rvmkyyOh21wcl6YSi3h64wOw9y4-IT8s9v71YfmzgLCxKyDszP84iSdz_bEZG_T5RhrHN93h8CuuH3U1vyG3zZsPoGX0tVaOOSvXnc6abE1Qii90W5ZE5cn71BE6/s1600/AMHG+Blog+Tour+Banner1M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsdlK4KgWVDsJyWbx3rvmkyyOh21wcl6YSi3h64wOw9y4-IT8s9v71YfmzgLCxKyDszP84iSdz_bEZG_T5RhrHN93h8CuuH3U1vyG3zZsPoGX0tVaOOSvXnc6abE1Qii90W5ZE5cn71BE6/s320/AMHG+Blog+Tour+Banner1M.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">BTCole: </span></b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Well, I couldn’t go away long without
my dogs!</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">So I understand that
part!</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Owning a house in Mexico!</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">How exciting!</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Do you have a job other than writing?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Suzan:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">As for work, I'm a
mechanical engineer with an MBA and hold a position at a university as a
mid-level manager. However, I'm on a medical leave. I struggle with PTSD and
treatment-resistant depression so it takes me about three times as long as
other authors to write a book. I'm very open about my mental illness.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">BTCole:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Well, I admire your willingness to
share about your struggles. In my ‘other’ life I have worked in behavioral
health for many years now.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">And
have had some struggles of my own.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">So I appreciate your willingness to talk about it.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">I have learned that the worse
experiences I have had in my life, with time, God spins them into gold to help
someone else.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Suzan:</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span>I have social anxiety disorder so I have
a hard time making friends, but once you know me, I'm a chatterbox.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">BTCole: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Well, I hope that I am now considered a
friend because I have loved your openness in sharing!</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">I</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">bet you have
travelled a lot, living in Canada and Mexico.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Suzan: </span></b> <span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Over my career as an engineer, I've travelled in northern and
remote Canada, and I love to travel. As a result, I've used practically every
type of toilet invented. I'm fascinated by the evolution of the toilet, and how
far it was evolved in the Regency, yet I haven't yet used it in a book.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">BTCole: </span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">What about hobbies?</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">
Suzan: </span></b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Hobbies include independent
travel (that means "seat of the pants" itineraries and inexpensive
trips), creating original designs for Regency costuming, reading JAFF and
Regency romances, researching Regency trivia for my books, beta reading for a popular
JAFF author, yoga and weights classes, and trying to learn a little Spanish so
I can speak with our neighbours in Mexico.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">BTCole:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">How did you discover Jane Austen?</span><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">
Suzan: </span></b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">I discovered Jane Austen
when I was 49 and very depressed and I say she saved my life. I had decided to
read classics that I’d missed out in the past—I’m an engineer, so I don’t have
any literature classes beyond high school. Someone had given me a dog-eared
copy of Northanger Abbey, and I recalled that a couple of my friends liked Jane
Austen and thought I’d give her a try. WOW. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">My first
novel was therapy, but it's turned into fun. A few years later, my online
JAFF friends helped me through a difficult time when I changed medications. So
JAFF is very important in my life.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">BTCole: </span></b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">I agree. I think that Jane saved my
life as well.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">I know you have
written more than just your recent novel...</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Suzan: </span></b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">On top
of the three published books, I have a novel and a novella at AHA that will
likely never be published. One has too much music in it and would cost too much
for the royalties. The novella is just a bit too amateurish, though other
authors would have published the latter ages ago! LOL. I love being a beta and
when I get better, I'd like to take an editing course and do better quality editing. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">I'm known on the JAFF posting boards as redhead, and I identify with the hair
colour that's now streaked with grey as a special part of who I am. Grandpa
used to call me "Rusty.”</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">BTCole:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">NOW I
know who you are!</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Isn’t it
interesting how well we get to know each other with our screen names.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">That just clicked!</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">What else would you like us to know
about you?</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Suzan:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">I live in a home with organized
messiness, that is, I have little stacks of books, magazines, files, or similar
items here and there, but I know what's in them, and they're out to remind me
to read them. My husband dislikes it but he lives with it!</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">BTCole:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">I am not the neatest of housekeepers
either!</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">I see you are a fan
of comedy. What are your favorite comedies and did any inspire your latest
book?</span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohEMfOl1zNvqDFS5y3gZ7BTdfRhVsjnexYK1DGHGuZyh_9RcC-SZIhOLFr833-UvTyYQnSqhr1KhsE2py2bzYOesBCxdE_LyjbSaY3NiyoYaC-KU2NWqsRsKk_Ip8xvZLE3OQpsSF2V9n/s1600/AMHG+Final+Cover+091317H+wobld+M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohEMfOl1zNvqDFS5y3gZ7BTdfRhVsjnexYK1DGHGuZyh_9RcC-SZIhOLFr833-UvTyYQnSqhr1KhsE2py2bzYOesBCxdE_LyjbSaY3NiyoYaC-KU2NWqsRsKk_Ip8xvZLE3OQpsSF2V9n/s320/AMHG+Final+Cover+091317H+wobld+M.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Suzan: </span></b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">There are too many classic comedies
both in movies and on television to mention, but I particularly liked “Cheers”
on TV and practically anything with Jamie Lee Curtis in it. Sam Malone was a
bit of a #HOTCollins. But I don’t like all comedy—I avoid those ones aimed at
teen boys.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">BTCole:</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">I love comedy!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Scrooged was one of my primary
inspirations for Fitzwilliam Ebenezer Darcy!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">And I WANT to finish my long incomplete Adventures of a
Darcyholic with a It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World ending.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">But I am having trouble writing it,
hence it being incomplete.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">So, when and how did you fall in
love with Jane Austen and her characters?</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><b>Suzan:</b><b> </b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">As soon as I read the snarky “asides”
about liking novels in Northanger Abbey, I was hooked. It’s Austen’s
hard-boiled side that I enjoy the best. I see her books as comedies of manners,
as skewering the class system, marriage habits, women’s roles, etiquette, and
rules of her day. The romance is just a platform for that social commentary.
Although I try to emulate her voice a little bit, my books aren’t nearly so
clever.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">BTCole:</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">I like the comedienne in Jane
myself!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">How were you inspired to
write your latest story ?</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Suzan: </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">I got the idea for “What if Mr. Collins
was the handsomest man you’d ever seen, but otherwise still himself?” and ran
with it. It was pretty easy to imagine the reactions of each character based on
their personalities in Pride and Prejudice, because Austen is a master at
drawing out characters in her work. All I had to do was take the slice of the
book where Collins arrives and have everyone react to it, kind of like improv
comedy. It almost wrote itself!</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; color: black; display: inline; font-family: "times"; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">BTCole:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Was your handsome but shallow Mr.
Collins inspired by anyone in particular in your life? Did you have any
particular actor or character in mind when you wrote his section?</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><b>Suzan:</b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Collins
wasn’t inspired by a real person, but his personality was straight out of
Austen, with embellishments to make him vain about his looks as well. Visually,
I had actors Joe Manganiello and Ben Stiller and artist John Constable as
muses, as noted in the blog post at JustJane1813 on October 27 </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><b>BTCole: </b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Are you working on anything new now?</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Suzan:</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"> I’m writing a mystery-suspense that
involves dreadful injury, mistaken identities, and an enduring love for Darcy
and Elizabeth throughout the book, even though they’re separated. It’s yet
unnamed. I also have several stories that are about 1/3 completed and need my
attention to finish them, including a sequel/prequel for Letter from Ramsgate.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">BTCole: </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Well you will have to come back to see
us when you finish one of those!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Or better, both! </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Any</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">thing </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">else you would like our
readers to know? </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Suzan:</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">I’m fairly shy and have Social Anxiety Disorder, so you have
to know me to get a taste of my teasing wit. Mr. Suze told me he thought Colin
Firth was goofy lookin</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times";">g so my rebound comment was that Colin sort of looks a
little like Mr. Suze—I said “he has the same face shape as you, at least!” I’m
saving the hair comparison for later!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p><b><u>Book Links:</u></b></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076JJV6TW/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1508373896&sr=1-1&keywords=suzan+Lauder">Amazon
UK</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Most-Handsome-Gentleman-Suzan-Lauder/dp/1681310201/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1508342917&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=suzan+lauder">Amazon US Paperback</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076JJV6TW/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1508373896&sr=1-1&keywords=suzan+Lauder">Amazon UK Kindle and Kindle Unlimited</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Most-Handsome-Gentleman-Suzan-Lauder/dp/1681310201/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1508373896&sr=1-6&keywords=suzan+Lauder">Amazon UK Paperback</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">A
Most Handsome Gentleman</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Media Kit<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">By Suzan Lauder</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Book Blurb:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Elizabeth Bennet’s life is uncomplicated until she meets a
quartet of new men: the haughty but handsome Mr. Darcy, the pert-with-a-pout
Mr. Bingley, the confident and captivating Mr. Wickham—and then there is her
father’s cousin, the happy man towards whom almost every female eye has turned.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Mr. Collins is HOT—well, incredibly handsome in
Regency-speak—beautiful of face, fine of figure, elegant of air, his perfect clothing
and hair matching his Greek god-like form. Unfortunately, when he opens his
mouth, Elizabeth wishes he were mute. With affected servility and prideful
self-conceit, he capitalizes upon his exquisite appearance and fixes on Jane
Bennet as his bride.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Can Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy form an alliance to stop Jane’s
suitors from issuing challenges—and will Elizabeth coax a smile from Mr. Darcy?</div>
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Bestselling Regency romance author Suzan Lauder delivers a
hilarious Austenesque romance suitable for all readers of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pride and Prejudice</i>.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Author Bio:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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A lover of Jane Austen, Regency period research and
costuming, cycling, yoga, blogging, and independent travel, cat mom Suzan
Lauder is seldom idle.</div>
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Her first effort at a comedy, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Most Handsome Gentleman</i> is the fourth time Lauder has been
published by Meryton Press. Her earlier works include a mature Regency romance
with a mystery twist, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alias Thomas Bennet</i>,
a modern short romance <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Delivery Boy</i>
in the holiday anthology <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Then Comes
Winter</i>, and the dramatic tension filled Regency romance <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Letter from Ramsgate.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">She and Mr. Suze split their time
between a loft condo overlooking the Salish Sea and a <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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150-year-old Spanish colonial home near the sea in Mexico.</div>
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Suzan’s lively prose is also available to her readers on her
blog, road trips with the redhead <a href="http://www.suzan.lauder.merytonpress.com/">www.suzan.lauder.merytonpress.com</a>,
on her Facebook author page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SuzanLauder">https://www.facebook.com/SuzanLauder</a>,
and on Twitter @suzanlauder.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p><a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0ca86b9b19/?">For Suzan’s Give Aways Click Here!</a></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<b>Terms and Conditions:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Readers may enter the drawing by tweeting once a day and <b>daily</b> commenting on a blog post or review that has a giveaway attached for the tour. Entrants must provide the name of the blog where they commented. Remember: Tweet and comment once daily to earn extra entries.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A winner may win ONLY 1 (ONE) eBook of <b><i>A Most Handsome Gentleman </i></b>by Suzan Lauder. Each winner will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter and the giveaway is <b>international</b>.</div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Contact Info:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(with links embedded)</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.SuzanLauder.MerytonPress.com/">Website</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7438723.Suzan_Lauder">Goodreads
Author Page </a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/SuzanLauder/">Facebook</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/SuzanLauder">Twitter</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Suzan-Lauder/e/B00GXO64UM"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Amazon Author Page</span></a><span style="font-family: "bookman old style"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/SuzanLauder/"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Pinterest</span></a><span style="font-family: "bookman old style"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Blog Tour Schedule:</b></div>
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10/20<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://thesecretunderstandingofthehearts.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: blue;">My Jane Austen Book Club</span></a><u><span style="color: blue;">; </span></u>Character Interview, Excerpt, Giveaway</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
10/21<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://forloveofausten.blogspot.com/"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc;">My Love for Jane Austen</span></a><u><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc;">;</span></u><span style="background: white;"> Guest Post, Giveaway</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
10/22<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://obsessedwithmrdarcy.wordpress.com/"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Obsessed with Mr. Darcy</span></a>; Review</div>
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10/23<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://austenesquereviews.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Austenesque
Reviews</span></a>; Vignette, Giveaway</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
10/24<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://tomorrowisanotherday.altervista.org/">Tomorrow is Another Day</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">; </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Review</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 256.5pt;">
10/25<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://babblingsofabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/"><span style="color: blue;">Babblings of a Bookworm</span></a>; Guest Post, Giveaway</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 256.5pt;">
10/26<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://frompemberleytomilton.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: blue;">From Pemberley to Milton</span></a>; Review, Giveaway</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
10/27<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://justjane1813.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Just Jane 1813</span></a><u><span style="color: blue;">;</span></u> Guest Post, Giveaway</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
10/28<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.darcyholicdiversions.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Darcyholic
Diversions</span></a><span style="color: blue;">; </span>Author Interview, Giveaway</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">10/29<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://myvicesandweaknesses.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">My Vices and Weaknesses</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-decoration: none;">; Character
Interview, Giveaway</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
10/30<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://halfagonyhalfhopelove.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Half
Agony, Half Hope</span></a><u><span style="color: blue;">;</span></u><span style="color: blue;"> </span>Review, Excerpt</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
10/31<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://laughingwithlizzie.blogspot.co.uk/"><span style="color: blue;">Laughing
With Lizzie</span></a>; Vignette, Giveaway</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
11/01<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://diaryofaneccentric.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: windowtext;">Diary
of an Eccentric</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;">;</span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> Review, Giveaway</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
11/02<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://candy-m.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: windowtext;">So little
time…</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;">;</span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> Guest Post, Excerpt, Giveaway</span></span><br />
11/03<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://margiesmustreads.com/">Margie’s Must Reads</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">; </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Review, GA</span></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-58950838964064030962017-10-13T23:42:00.000-04:002017-10-13T23:45:19.879-04:00The Why Behind the Bennet Wardrobe Books<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">The Why Behind the Bennet Wardrobe Books</span></b></h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">by Don Jacobson</span></b></h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span"><i>(BTCole: I am very happy to have Don Jacobson here with us again at Darcyholic Diversions. Don has released the latest novella in his Bennet Wardrobe series. Don will be giving away an copy of the his latest novella to a lucky commenter.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span"><i>For any of you who missed his my interview with Don earlier this year, the link is:</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://darcyholic.blogspot.com/2017/06/a-dash-of-pride-and-prejudice-sprinkle.html">Barbara Tiller Cole’s Interview with Don Jacobson</a>)</span></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZKxFbdvvZPUiVcJ4J323TUmSMh564F0fG6gxHGDPjPg2auL9JGpkz5FHUmAFOi2hb2ySjr_GYXErhD0ckzvraa665OTPpOp6m328n7g_eX-USGkJdjbUgMQa45XE8DIsT9dmFwC6K23he/s1600/LBMtC+Final+Full+Cover+wobld+092817+rgb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZKxFbdvvZPUiVcJ4J323TUmSMh564F0fG6gxHGDPjPg2auL9JGpkz5FHUmAFOi2hb2ySjr_GYXErhD0ckzvraa665OTPpOp6m328n7g_eX-USGkJdjbUgMQa45XE8DIsT9dmFwC6K23he/s320/LBMtC+Final+Full+Cover+wobld+092817+rgb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Sometimes I get
way inside of my head. Usually it happens when I am trying to understand the
motivation of one of the characters in a Bennet Wardrobe or Pride &
Prejudice Variation novel/novella scrolling its way through my keyboard.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
However, I also
tend to do a lot of self-analysis…to try to better understand my own
motivations. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
In other words:
why do I write?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Early in my life,
I wrote to make a living. My first “real job” was as a wire service reporter in
Chicago. Learned to get and tell the 4-1-1. Learned to write to deadline. Then
I worked as a copywriter for both consumer and business products. Learned to
understand and communicate the needs of both the clients and the users. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The one common
question I had to ask as I was developing each of these efforts “Why?” Whether
it was a victim of a car wreck, a perpetrator of a robbery, a company selling a
2-way radio, or a person looking to buy a forklift, I had to ask what would
motivate them to take the action that would be under the microscope.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Asking why became
a habit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Of course, my
parents would have asserted that I had an infuriating predilection to asking
“Why” when they would have wished that I would have nodded!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I began to deeply read JAFF in
2013…and to revisit the Canon…I found myself asking “Why” quite a bit. Not
necessarily “Why did Austen sketch (insert character name) like this,” but rather
“Why would (insert character name) act as he/she did?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Of all of the
novels (and I do dearly love <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mansfield
Park</i>), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pride and Prejudice </i>stands
out as a masterpiece of caricature—prosy and bookish Mary, coughing and nervous
Kitty, fun and (charitably) flirtatious Lydia, indolent and resigned Thomas,
excitable and oblivious Mrs. B…and…well you get my drift. That evil child deep
inside me clamored to ask Ms Austen “why?” But, of course I could not.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
That brings me to
the Bennet Wardrobe. This arose from my unconscious mind as a solution to
whatever problems may have been holding back Mary, Kitty, Lydia, and Thomas.
And, with the alterations in their personalities brought about by their
understanding of their problems caused by their experiences in the future, what
sort of persons would they become?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Keeper: Mary Bennet’s Extraordinary
Journey</i>, I took the opportunity to explore the roots of Mary’s difficulties
and then her emergence from Austen’s trop-driven image. Ultimately, the moralist
evolves into an activist for social justice. Of course, the Wardrobe intervened
by sending a man from the 18<sup>th</sup> Century into her time in the early 19<sup>th</sup>.
And then Mary took matters into her own hands.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Later, I
considered why Kitty would retreat into coughing nerves even though she was a
beautiful young woman of one of the leading houses in the neighborhood. Part 1
of the second volume of the Bennet Wardrobe, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Exile: Kitty Bennet and the Belle </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">É</span>poque,
</i>examines how the roots of Kitty’s personality were shaped as a six-year-old
child. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
I wrote <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Henry Fitzwilliam’s War</i> before <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Belle </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">É</span>poque
</i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">to
explore the personality of a totally new character, one destined to become
Kitty Bennet’s love interest, the Viscount of Matlock, Henry Fitzwilliam. The
Wardrobe was integral in this.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then there were
questions about Thomas Bennet’s treatment of his children. Why would an
obviously intelligent man begin to withdraw deeper into his own bookish self?
The suggestion that he could not control his wife’s behavior, and thus withdrew
into his bookroom to endure rather than shape seemed far too convenient for
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the current novella, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lizzy Bennet Meets the Countess</i>, is
primarily about one half of ODC, I chose to use her time travel as a way to
suggest a possible reason for why Thomas Bennet acted as he did.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Subsequent volumes…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Exile: The Countess Visits Longbourn,
The Avenger: Thomas Bennet and A Father’s Lament, </i>and<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Pilgrim: Lydia Bennet and the Soldier’s Portion</i> will explore
resolutions for each of the title characters.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
And, then there
will be one final volume that will explore the motivations of the Wardrobe
itself. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Grail: The Saving of
Elizabeth Darcy</i> will bring the saga of the Bennet Wardrobe to a close. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
I hope that you
will join me in the journey into the “Why” of it all.</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-28190193792450362662017-10-04T05:22:00.001-04:002017-10-04T12:56:06.996-04:00Brooding around with Jessie Lewis<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-size: x-large;">Brooding around with Jessie Lewis</span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">by Barbara Tiller Cole</span></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNFO4QOP__dfBU0eYImTQmFPKLfkIHi9ykaX0dYm-fufOmfgrJwp7yFwh6WbTufRObC56Bq6C8CLeLsJB07Tb0XjqcAMWTGGT6qP6Ou4jrSVx1_o2RshKKVJWj0ITizhfBgeQI6vYNNWHT/s1600/Jessie+Lewis+Head+Shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNFO4QOP__dfBU0eYImTQmFPKLfkIHi9ykaX0dYm-fufOmfgrJwp7yFwh6WbTufRObC56Bq6C8CLeLsJB07Tb0XjqcAMWTGGT6qP6Ou4jrSVx1_o2RshKKVJWj0ITizhfBgeQI6vYNNWHT/s320/Jessie+Lewis+Head+Shot.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times";">Jessie,
I am so happy to have you visiting us here at Darcyholic Diversions. Your new
book, Mistaken is a treasure trove! Today with so many people
writing shorter multi book series, it is nice to find a solid, fun meaty book
to read! </span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9900ff; font-family: "times";">Thank
you for having me here, Barbara! It's great to be able to chat. Ask away - what
would you like to know? </span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times";">I
know you are from England, land of Jane Austen herself. Tell us where you
have lived so we can know how it might have influenced your writing!</span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9900ff; font-family: "times";">I
grew up in a sleepy little naval town on the south coast of England. My school
was on the beach and when you were in the maths classrooms in
the turret (yes, it had a turret! It was an old Victorian house), you
could just make out Queen Victoria's Summer Residence, Osborne
House, over on the Isle of Wight. The story I'm currently working on
is based in this location. </span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9900ff; font-family: "times";">I've
lived in Hertfordshire for may years now - Bennet county! I adore it here and
am lucky enough to be surrounded by huge, grand Georgian houses and parks to
inspire my writing.</span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times";">Is
writing your career job?</span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9900ff; font-family: "times";">Yes, I'm
lucky enough to be able to treat writing as my day job. Before I took the
plunge into writing, I used to work in academic administration, but it was a
means to an end and writing is my vocation. I'm thoroughly enjoying being
able to concentrate on it more.</span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times";">Well,
academic administration might have given you a desire to do something else from
what I have heard from a friend of mine, lol. When you are aren't writing
what do you do with your time? </span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9900ff; font-family: "times";">Well,
it might sound silly, but I love writing. I often choose to write over any
other activity - especially TV which I rarely watch (apart from Game of
Thrones, of course!).</span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times";">Oh,
I am a GOT fan as well! I knew there had to be some cross over GOT lovers
out there! </span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjbv0OS8IO-pEeFrTVXHfwjJ3iy6lDqrzH6SUrR3_NH0v8abXldhQz9Yqv4UU258pX13YKJyeLEyi5bU6E15XU34XU3Ozc9_bSOPcC66MrlAY5EG1vAsR4a7VkFCJuTA7FRKvzY_zqZK-/s1600/image2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjbv0OS8IO-pEeFrTVXHfwjJ3iy6lDqrzH6SUrR3_NH0v8abXldhQz9Yqv4UU258pX13YKJyeLEyi5bU6E15XU34XU3Ozc9_bSOPcC66MrlAY5EG1vAsR4a7VkFCJuTA7FRKvzY_zqZK-/s320/image2.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #9900ff; font-family: "times";">I'm
secretly proud of having discovered the books years before HBO got hold of
them, but I love the series just as much. But as well as writing and immersing
myself in dragon-lore, I love spending time with my kids, family and
friends. I enjoy reading, though I do far too little of it. I play the piano -
about as well as Elizabeth Bennet, if not a little worse - and I love
walking. For the last four years I've taken part in endurance walking events
for charity. It's great fun and keeps me in shape - which is good because
my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">favourite </i>hobby is
eating chocolate and drinking wine. </span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9900ff; font-family: "times";">I'm
also fascinated by old houses. Probably because my parents used to
take my brother and me visiting them all the time when we were younger. I adore
trying to imagine how people used to live. Also, my own family history is
quite interesting - my 4xgreat uncle was Roger Fenton, famous photographer of
the Crimean War. He and his family were quite well to-do and owned estates and
houses and bank balances that would have rivalled Mr Darcy's back in that era.
Sadly, the whole lot was lost on bad investments (darn it!) but I love trawling
through all the family records, seeing all the houses they used to own and all
the people they used to associate with, peers and royalty included. There's a
novel in all of that somewhere that I will write one day. I'm brewing that plot
bunny while I work on other things ;) </span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times";">That
is fascinating. My great grandfather owned a large section of what is now the
high rent district in Greater Atlanta. Glad I didn't know that until I
got older... I will be interested to see where that plot bunny goes. I
have an entire farm of bunnies I am afraid. How did you discover
Austen's works and what inspired you writing etc. </span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9900ff; font-family: "times";">I
studied Austen at school and loved her. I watched the 95 P&P miniseries and
loved her even more. But it wasn't until I was at home with very young
children that I really got stuck into Pride and Prejudice with a bit more zeal.
(You go a bit stir crazy when you only have babies to talk to, so Austen's wit
was a welcome sanctuary!) I adore Austen's humour. It's
quintessentially English; sarcastic, tongue in cheek, but never
mean-sprited. I wish directors of TV and movie adaptations would show more
of it, but they always focus on the drama and the brooding. It's a shame,
because I don't think most people associate Austen with humour and they
ought to. </span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times";">I
think that is why over the years I have come to really like Emma. At
least when adaptations are done of that novel we see the humor of Jane
Austen. It is hysterical that you mention the work 'brood'. I was
part of a work group that wanted to name themselves the brood. I just
insisted on not doing that. We ended up being the 'colony' which I don't
like either, but it much better than than the brood.</span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times";">So
did you become addicted to brooding Mr. Darcy? </span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9900ff; font-family: "times";">Well,
he's difficult not to love, isn't he? Once I got myself re-hooked (as it were)
on Mr Darcy, I discovered JAFF, and read an embarrassing quantity of that
before I decided to have a go myself. It was nice to get back to writing.
My job before I had kids didn't involve writing, because, frankly, it doesn't
pay the bills! But I studied Literature and Philosophy at university and adore
writing and playing with words, so finding that I hadn't completely lost the
ability to string a sentence together was a very pleasant
surprise. </span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ7s36XlMlkN-4jP5y-js7K-eEaOyRDBKJ1uOZ-aQXhPlqc1pWdEnhADvFNXsLrGf0KQvb7XNlGh7xfH0K2LPhwHg1nkR1sPxp8RrjhBDGZhxTblu0Sl1KrmxACRL-4Mv6vabOQUkyiO5F/s1600/MistakenFullCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ7s36XlMlkN-4jP5y-js7K-eEaOyRDBKJ1uOZ-aQXhPlqc1pWdEnhADvFNXsLrGf0KQvb7XNlGh7xfH0K2LPhwHg1nkR1sPxp8RrjhBDGZhxTblu0Sl1KrmxACRL-4Mv6vabOQUkyiO5F/s320/MistakenFullCover.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: red; font-family: "times";">So
what was the inspiration for 'Mistaken'? </span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9900ff; font-family: "times";">Mainly
- and I think this is probably true for most people who read JAFF - I
just wanted to see Darcy and Elizabeth's 'what next' told my way. I have a
lot of favourite JAFF stories - many that I absolutely love and re-read very
often - but inevitably there are always parts where I say "No! Don't do
that to them! Don't let this happen!" I wanted to try and write
a story that answered all my personal wishes for how they would succeed as
a couple. There were a few unfortunate side effects for other characters along
the way, but I soon learnt that the tension in a story has to come from
somewhere, and I was determined that in mine it wasn't going to come from Darcy
and Elizabeth.</span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times";">I
enjoyed your humor! I think that I have an comedian inside of me so I
appreciate that in others. Without giving away too much, I enjoyed the humor of
Bingley's character. I have trouble with Bingley. I often accidentally
leave him out... Tell me what inspired you in regards to his character in
your story?</span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9900ff; font-family: "times";">In
canon, I see Bingley as quite immature, with too little conviction in his own
opinions, too much reliance on the opinions of others, and not enough
responsibility to accept the fault when it's his. His thoughtlessness when he
leaves Jane without word simply because Darcy and his sisters tell him to,
makes him selfish. That's what I played with in Mistaken. I've kept him in
character, in that he is still well-intentioned and affable, and also still
capricious and thoughtless. What's different in Mistaken is that he's
unchecked (Darcy refuses to advise him any more) and as a result, his
worst traits are accentuated. He is not unkind and never malicious, but
he's completely oblivious and far too ready to blame everyone else for his
misfortunes, simply because nobody told him NOT to make those
bad decisions. He's funny because he's clueless, but there does come
a point in the story when clueless ceases to be amusing. </span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9900ff; font-family: "times";">Writing
a JAFF story that begins after Darcy and Elizabeth's awful 'Hunsford' moment,
enables the exploration of how they both set about correcting their misconceptions.
It was fun dealing with a character (Bingley) who'd had no such self-awakening
and was still bumbling along entirely unawares, just as Elizabeth and Darcy
were before they smacked each other down with a few home truths. It's
surprising just how much of a pickle a person can get themselves into just by
being oblivious to his own faults! </span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times";">Do
you have a new story that you are writing?</span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9900ff; font-family: "times";">Yes,
I'm working on another regency story, though this one isn't JAFF. I have a few
plot bunnies for other P&P spin offs which I will hopefully get to, but
this other one is champing at the bit to be written so I'm pandering to the
muse and going with it. To anyone who knows how long it took me to finish
Mistaken I will just say that I am aiming to get this one finished
sooner! </span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times";">Anything
else you would to share with the readers here at Darcyholic Diversions?</span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9900ff; font-family: "times";">Thank
you for popping in to listen to me chat with Barbara, everybody! Feel free to
ask me other questions in the comments if there's anything you want to know that
we haven't covered, or you can interact with me on Twitter, FaceBook or my blog
(links below). I hope you enjoy the story!</span><span style="font-family: "times";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mistaken
</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Media Kit<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">By Jessie Lewis <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">Blurb:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">Fitzwilliam Darcy is a single man in possession of a good
fortune, a broken heart, and tattered pride. Elizabeth Bennet is a young lady
in possession of a superior wit, flawed judgement, and a growing list of
unwanted suitors. With a tempestuous acquaintance, the merciless censure of
each other’s character, and the unenviable distinction of a failed proposal
behind them, they have parted ways on seemingly irreparable terms. Despairing
of a felicitous resolution for themselves, they both attend with great energy
to rekindling the courtship between Darcy’s friend Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth’s
sister Jane. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Regrettably, people are predisposed to mistake one another,
and rarely can two be so conveniently manoeuvred into love without some manner
of misunderstanding arising. Jane, crossed in love once already, is </span>wary
of Bingley’s renewed attentions. Mistaking her guardedness for indifference,
Bingley is drawn to Elizabeth’s livelier company; rapidly, the defects in their
own characters <span style="line-height: 150%;">become the least of the impediments to Darcy and Elizabeth’s
happiness. </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">Debut author Jessie Lewis’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mistaken</i> invites us to laugh along with Elizabeth Bennet at the
follies, nonsense, whims, and inconsistencies of characters both familiar and
new in this witty and romantic take on Jane Austen’s beloved <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pride and Prejudice.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">Author Bio:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">I’ve always loved words—reading them, writing them, and
as my friends and family will wearily attest, speaking them. I dabbled in
poetry during my angst-ridden teenage years, but it wasn’t until college that I
truly came to comprehend the potency of the English language. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">That appreciation materialised into something more
tangible one dark wintry evening whilst I was making a papier-mâché Octonauts
Gup-A (Google it—you’ll be impressed) for my son, and watching a rerun of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pride and Prejudice </i>on TV<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. </i>Fired up by the remembrance of
Austen’s genius with words, I dug out my copy of the novel and in short order
had been inspired to set my mind to writing in earnest. I began work on a
Regency romance based on Austen’s timeless classic, and my debut novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mistaken</i> is the result. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">The Regency period continues to fascinate me, and I spend
a good deal of my time cavorting about there in my daydreams, imagining all
manner of misadventures. The rest of the time I can be found at home in
Hertfordshire, where I live with my husband, two children, and an
out-of-tune piano. You can check out my musings on the absurdities of language
and life on my blog, <a href="https://lifeinwords.blog/"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Life in Words</b></a>, or you can drop me a line on Twitter, <a href="https://twitter.com/JessieWriter"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">@JessieWriter</b></a>
or on my Facebook page, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JessieLewisAuthor/"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jessie Lewis Author</b></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">, </b></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="text-decoration: none;">or on
Goodreads, </span></span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/65549648-jessie-lewis"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jessie Lewis</b></a>.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">Contact Info is within the author bio.
(with embedded links)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Buy Links: </b><span style="font-family: "bookman old style"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4078409689570875027" name="_Hlk490323072"></a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075RPWV5Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1505921549&sr=1-1&keywords=Mistaken+by+Jessie+Lewis"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mis<span style="mso-bookmark: _GoBack;"></span>taken</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span></a><!--[if !supportNestedAnchors]--><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4078409689570875027" name="_GoBack"></a><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>(Amazon US)</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mistaken-Jessie-Lewis-ebook/dp/B075RPWV5Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1505921667&sr=1-1&keywords=Mistaken+by+Jessie+Lewis"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mistaken</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></i>(Amazon UK)</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mistaken</i> is also available on Kindle
Unlimited</span></span></div>
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">Blog Tour Schedule: <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">10/03<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://thesecretunderstandingofthehearts.blogspot.com/">My Jane Austen Book Club</a><u>; </u>Vignette, Giveaway</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">10/04<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.darcyholicdiversions.com/">Darcyholic
Diversions</a>; Author Interview, Giveaway</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">10/05<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://justjane1813.com/">Just Jane 1813</a><u>;</u> Review, Giveaway</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">10/06<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://diaryofaneccentric.wordpress.com/">Diary
of an Eccentric</a><span class="MsoHyperlink">;</span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="text-decoration: none;"> Guest Post, Excerpt, Giveaway</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">10/07<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \0022http\:\/\/forloveofausten\.blogspot\.com\/\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022";"><u><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">My Love for Jane Austen</span></u></span><u><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">;</span></u><span style="background: white;"> Character Interview, Giveaway</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">10/08<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.ofpensandpages.com/">Of Pens and
Pages</a>; Review, Giveaway</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">10/09<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://frompemberleytomilton.wordpress.com/">From Pemberley to Milton</a>; Guest Post, Giveaway</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">10/10<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://halfagonyhalfhopelove.blogspot.com/">Half
Agony, Half Hope</a><u>;</u> Review, Excerpt</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">10/11<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u>Savvy Verse and Wit</u>; Review, Giveaway</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">10/12<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://candy-m.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt;">So little time…</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt;">;</span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;"> Guest Post, Giveaway</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">10/13<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://babblingsofabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/">Babblings
of a Bookworm</a>; Vignette, Giveaway</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">10/14<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://interestsofajaneaustengirl.wordpress.com/">Interests of
a Jane Austen Girl</a><span class="MsoHyperlink">;</span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="text-decoration: none;"> Review, Giveaway</span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">10/15<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://laughingwithlizzie.blogspot.co.uk/">Laughing
With Lizzie</a>; Guest Post, Excerpt, Giveaway</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">10/16<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://austenesquereviews.com/">Austenesque Reviews</a>; Vignette, GA</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0ca86b9b18/?"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;">Click Here to Enter the Drawings for Jesse’s book</span></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">Terms and Conditions:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">Readers may enter the drawing by tweeting once a day and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">daily</b> commenting on a blog post or
review that has a giveaway attached for the tour. Entrants must provide the
name of the blog where they commented. Remember: Tweet and comment once
daily to earn extra entries.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">A winner may win ONLY 1 (ONE) eBook of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mistaken </i></b>by Jessie Lewis.
Each winner will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter and the giveaway is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">international</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment--><br />
<!--EndFragment-->Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-90886452227630718402017-09-29T01:16:00.001-04:002017-09-29T01:18:15.467-04:00A Heart-to-Heart with Nicole--Author of 'These Dreams'<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"> <span style="color: purple;">A Heart-to-Heart with Nicole--</span></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Author of 'These Dreams'</span></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">By Barbara Tiller Cole</span> </span></span></h2>
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<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Hi Nicole Clarkston. Welcome to Darcyholic Diversions. I am glad that you had the time to drop by during your blog tour. I am very glad to get a chance to meet you and read your novel, <u>These Dreams.</u> It is an intriguing and fresh variation and I enjoyed it. Thanks for allowing me a chance to get to know you and your latest book.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><br />Tell us a little bit about you...</span><br />
<br />
I have been married 16 years, with 3 kids. I homeschool them (and I am ignoring “school” at the moment! Naughty mom!). My husband is an engineer, and we live on a quasi-farm in Oregon.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">What is a quasi Farm exactly? </span><br />
<br />
Haha! Well, it was the shortest description I can come up with. We have a small equine facility, and we care for a few horses who board here, as well as our own. I grew up with that rather lamentable addiction, and now it’s a joy to share it with my family. We only bought this place in May, after house hunting for well over a year, and the property was in a state of neglect (which is why we were able to purchase it). It’s quite a little bit of work to get everything cleaned up again!<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Did you have a career before writing? </span><br />
<br />
I went to Oregon State University for agriculture, and my degree is in Animal Sciences with a poultry emphasis. I joke that I got the degree that was on sale, because there was a discount on tuition for choosing that emphasis rather than Dairy or Horse, etc. I also wanted a job, so poultry seemed a logical choice. As a consequence, I went to work for Foster Farms, a west coast poultry corporation. I held a couple of different positions there, but my last was as a hatchery supervisor. I loved that job in many ways. It was a small group, about 24 employees in all at that location, so I did everything from scheduling chick deliveries to planning egg settings and reporting quality control, overseeing health and safety concerns, employee relations, and planning my boss’ backyard barbecues… he was computer illiterate . I did that until our daughter was born, and I was blessed to stay home with her. We have since had two more, both boys.<br />
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While I was pregnant with our third child, my husband and I started an RV rental business. That’s not common knowledge in the JAFF world, but we did that for 5 years. We rented toyhauler RV trailers, and we were an instant success because those trailers are hard to find as rentals. Another popular service was that I would deliver the trailers and pick them up at the customers’ houses. We got a loan through the Small Business Administration, and it was a great business for a few years. After the trailers started wearing out (they do that) and we could not replace them due to the structure of our loan, we made the decision to sell them off, pay off our loan, and close the business. That was a relief, because by then I had nursed one infant and potty-trained all three toddlers while spending most of the summers in the big Excursion, driving trailers around town! The good news is that I met a lot of wonderful people and we listened to a lot of audiobooks.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Did you discover Jane Austen on audiobooks? Or was it a different way? I am always intrigued to discover how people initially find Jane Austen's works.</span><br />
<br />
You know, I took all the “hard” English and literature classes, and not one of them introduced me to Jane. Sadness! I was a mom of three and starting preschool with the eldest when some of the mom-friends I was starting to make would name-drop P&P. I decided it was above time to find out about it, so I got hold of the 1980 version on Netflix, as well as the Gwyneth Paltrow version of S&S. I am glad I did that, because I always love the book more. After waiting a month on a library hold for both books, I took them camping and read both books twice in three days. I was hooked!<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />Was it love at first site? When you discovered Austen? Or was it an acquired taste?</span><br />
<br />
When I found Pride and Prejudice, I was smitten. Darcy and Elizabeth possessed my imagination completely, until, one fateful day, I stumbled upon North and South. That clinched it. I spent over two years and could not get those couples out of my head during my waking moments. I was obsessed! I read fanfic nonstop, even hiding under the blankets to finish any particularly good stories, but I kept wanting to write my own. One sleepless night, I simply couldn’t stand it any longer. I resolved to use a pen name and just start writing. I had no idea if anyone would read them, but I had to do it. I snuck out of bed and had the first chapter written in two hours!<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Do you have a favorite of Jane Austen's books and her characters you would like to share with us?</span><br />
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She’s not flashy, but I adore Mrs Gardiner. She is grace personified. She finds tactful ways to shepherd and guide these girls, even the Lydias who do not wish to be guided. She is the kind of woman we would all wish for a friend, and she’s who I want to be when I grow up. We writers love characters who lend themselves well to drama—Elizabeth Bennet, with her sparkling wit and her propensity to leap to conclusions; Mr Darcy, with his massive wealth and ability to change to please a woman beneath his station; Eleanor and Marianne, with their tragic backstory and their wildly different approaches to love. Still, I think it is the Mrs Gardiners (and Fanny Prices) of the world who make it a better place and who inspire us all to grow into functional, rational people.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">What inspired you to write an Austen inspired novel of your own?</span><br />
<br />
I always wanted to write, but I thought I couldn’t. As a kid, I always had my spiral notebook of very badly written stories, and I wouldn’t let anyone see them. As an adult, I just kept them stored in my head, along with special turns of phrase which struck my fancy. I never dared publish them, though. The stories I kept wanting to write were too mushy for me to be comfortable sharing with my family. I think you could say I always loved dreaming up spin-offs, because whenever a story would touch my heart, I couldn’t help tweaking it in my mind, imagining how future events would play out, etc.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Is "These Dreams" your first novel? </span> <br />
<br />
It is my fifth completed novel. I started on No Such Thing As Luck almost exactly three years ago. About a month after that, I got the idea for Rumours and Recklessness, and I wrote them both tag-team style for several months. Whenever I would get stuck, I’d switch stories. I do that less and less now, partly because I’ve gotten a little more practiced at keeping things moving in my head, but I do have a half-finished N&S story to complete. I’ve vowed this time that I won’t start a second (or a third) until I finish it, but it’s going to be difficult!<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">What inspired the idea for 'These Dreams'?</span><br />
<br />
I am an angst weenie as a reader, but as a writer, I wanted to challenge myself. I started wondering “What is the worst thing that could happen to D&E, but could still be redeemable in the end?” A kidnapping and presumed death seemed an interesting premise. Darcy was a man of sufficient influence to make him a worthy target, and the timing of the story’s beginning (after Elizabeth had acknowledged her feeings but not confessed them) lent an extra degree of heartbreak.<br />
Rita Deodato had mentioned to me that she always wished someone would write about Colonel Fitzwilliam finding a love in Portugal, and as I began researching the history, I learned that it was, in fact, very possible. In addition, I needed Darcy to be completely beyond reach, so sending him to Portugal was a fortuitous notion. <br />
The dreams aspect was my solution to the problem of creating a link between Darcy and Elizabeth. We all want to see them together, and I can only imagine how they would cry out in their grief in such a situation. For Elizabeth, it is the lashings of guilt and loss which torment her. For Darcy, it is his last thread to sanity. He endures quite a bit of trauma, and even when he returns to England and all he holds dear, he spends some time learning to trust again. <br />
THIS is a big question between me and you...Nicole.... Many people just won't read a story where Darcy dies. Do you want to share anything as a hint that he lives? It’s not too much of a spoiler, because even in the book blurb, Darcy is “presumed” dead and unable to do anything to help himself but to dream of Elizabeth.<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />If there anything you would like to share with readers about your latest book?</span><br />
<br />
PTSD is an underlying theme in this book. Darcy could not endure what he did, return to his home, and have everything go back to the way it was. Anyone would be shaken. Naturally, I did some academic research on the topic, but the most valuable insights I gained were personal. I spent some time talking to a dear friend about the effects of trauma on a family and on relationships. I hope I have done justice to Darcy’s recovery, making it as authentic as possible, without allowing it to dominate the story.<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br />Do you have anything else that you are currently writing? Want to give us any hints?</span><br />
<br />
I am working on another North and South book currently titled Nowhere But North. I began it in July of 2016 and had a good bit of it complete when These Dreams took over and stole my laptop. I’m eager to get back to it, because it will be wildly different from anything else I have written. While TD dwells on a dream aspect which links the characters together, NBN is written along two separate timelines. It’s a tricky format, because I have two different story arcs (three, actually, since both John and Margaret had a past which led them to their present point). The “main” story begins with a marriage of convenience because Margaret’s father has died, and, in my version of a twist, all her family are still out traveling the world. She appears to have nowhere else to go, so John offers again and she accepts. Their relationship develops as it is reflected off their experiences in the past. It’s a bit of a risky premise, but I am loving it so far. I hope others do as well!<br />
After that N&S story is finished, I have two more P&P books rattling around in my brain. One is a pure romantic comedy, which is something else I have never done. It will be novella length. The other will be darker in tone, with plenty of angsty longing. It will be set in the early 1900’s, and Elizabeth is a *gasp* American! The horrors, I know. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Anything else that you would like to share with the readers here at Darcyholic Diversions?</span><br />
<br />
The release of These Dreams ended up being more akin to a nightmare. The pre-sale version had a placeholder file while the book underwent final chapter updates and revisions, so the file was not only unedited, but incomplete. There was an error in processing when the CORRECT book was approved for release, and several hundred of the wrong files went out. It was TWO WEEKS before Amazon sent the automated update. <br />
I have stopped receiving questions and head-scratching emails about it now, so I believe almost everyone has their correct book, but during those first two weeks, I had an opportunity to appreciate the JAFF community. Everyone was so perfectly lovely through the whole affair! I cannot describe how that touched me, because that would not happen in any other genre. Perhaps something of Jane Austen’s generous spirit lives on in her fans, because I can even say I survived the experience having made a few friends I hadn’t known before. What a joy you all are!<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Thanks again for taking your time to visit us here. For those that are following the blog tour, be sure to follow the give away links and comment in the comment section here as well. </span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">All About</span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> These
Dreams </span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">By Nicole Clarkston </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Book Blurb: </b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">An abandoned bride</span></i></b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A
missing man</span></i></b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And
a dream that refuses to die...</span></i></b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Pride and patriotism lend fervor to greed and cruelty, and Fitzwilliam
Darcy</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">is caught at the centre of a decades-old international feud. Taken
far</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">from England, presumed dead by his family, and lost to all he
holds dear, </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">only one name remains as his beacon in the darkness: <b><i>Elizabeth</i></b>.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Georgiana Darcy is now the reluctant, heartbroken heiress to
Pemberley,</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">and Colonel Fitwilliam her bewildered guardian. Vulnerable and
unprepared,</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Georgiana desperately longs for a friend, while Fitzwilliam seeks
to protect her</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">from his own family. As the conspiracy around Darcy's death widens
and </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">questions mount, Colonel Fitzwilliam must confront his own
past. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">An impossible dream, long ago sacrificed for duty, may become his
only hope.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Newly married Lydia Wickham returns to Longbourn- alone and under</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">mysterious circumstances. Elizabeth Bennet watches one sister
suffer and</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">another find joy, while she lives her own days in empty regrets
over what might</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">have been. Believing Darcy lost forever, she closes her heart
against both pain</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">and happiness, but finds no escape from her dreams of <b><i>him</i></b>.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Author Bio: </b></div>
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Nicole Clarkston is a book lover and a happily married mom
of three. Originally from Idaho, she now lives in Oregon with her own romantic
hero, several horses, and one very fat dog. She has loved crafting alternate
stories and sequels since she was a child watching Disney’s Robin Hood, and she
is never found sitting quietly without a book of some sort. </div>
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Nicole discovered Jane Austen rather by guilt in her early
thirties―how does any book worm really live that long without a little P&P?
She has never looked back. A year or so later, during a major house renovation
project, she discovered Elizabeth Gaskell and fell completely in love. Her need
for more time with these characters led her to simultaneously write <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rumours & Recklessness</i>, a P&P
inspired novel, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No Such Thing as Luck</i>,
a N&S inspired novel. Both immediately became best selling books. The
success she had with her first attempt at writing led her to write three other
novels that are her pitiful homage to two authors who have so deeply inspired
her.</div>
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Nicole was recently invited to join <a href="http://austenvariations.com/">Austenvariations.com</a>, a group of
talented authors in the Jane Austen Fiction genre. In addition to her work with
the Austen Variations blog, Nicole can be reached through Facebook at <a href="http://fb.me/NicoleClarkstonAuthor">http://fb.me/NicoleClarkstonAuthor</a>,
<a href="https://twitter.com/N_Clarkston">Twitter @N_Clarkston</a>, her blog at
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14175642.Nicole_Clarkston">Goodreads.com</a>,
or her personal blog and website, <a href="https://nicoleclarkston.com/">NicoleClarkson.com</a>.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Contact Info: (Link
is embedded in the name)</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://nicoleclarkston.wordpress.com/">Website</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14175642.Nicole_Clarkston">Goodreads
Author Page</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14175642.Nicole_Clarkston/blog">Goodreads
Blog</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/getting_started?page_id=1730162270587796">Facebook</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nicole-Clarkston/e/B013LFODMG/ref=pdp_new_following_mf_vp">Amazon
Author Page</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"></span></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/N_Clarkston">Twitter</a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Buy Links: </b><span style="font-family: "bookman old style"; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Hlk490323072"></a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/These-Dreams-Pride-Prejudice-Variation-ebook/dp/B074SYW889/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503087143&sr=8-1&keywords=These+Dreams+by+Nicole+Clarkston"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;">Amazon US</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/These-Dreams-Pride-Prejudice-Variation-ebook/dp/B074SYW889/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504012299&sr=8-1&keywords=nicole+clarkston"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;">Amazon UK </span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Buy Links for Nicole’s other books:</b></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">CreateSpace:</b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style";"></span></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span><a href="https://www.createspace.com/5664272"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rumours & Recklessness</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;"></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span><a href="https://www.createspace.com/5700010"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No Such Thing as Luck</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;"></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span><a href="https://www.createspace.com/6303083"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Northern Rain</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Hlk490950776"></a></span><a href="https://www.createspace.com/6578018"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490950776;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Courtship of Edward Gardiner</i></span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490950776;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;"></span></i></span></span></div>
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490950776;"></span>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Amazon:</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Courtship-Edward-Gardiner-Prejudice-Prequel-ebook/dp/B01LYETZ6C/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Courtship of Edward Gardiner</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;"></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Northern-Rain-North-South-Variation-ebook/dp/B01H6ELU7Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1466609552&sr=1-1&keywords=nicole+clarkston#nav-subnav"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Northern
Rain</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;"></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/No-Such-Thing-Luck-Variation-ebook/dp/B011SQDMW2?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc#nav-subnav"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No
Such Thing as Luck</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;"></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rumours-Recklessness-Pride-Prejudice-Variation-ebook/dp/B015X16FGI?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc#nav-subnav"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rumours
& Recklessness</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;"></span></i></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Blog Tour Schedule: </b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
09/19<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://candy-m.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: windowtext;">So little
time…</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;">;</span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> Guest Post, Excerpt, Giveaway</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
09/20<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://thesecretunderstandingofthehearts.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">My Jane Austen Book Club</span></a><u><span style="color: #0563c1;">; </span></u>Vignette, GA</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
09/21<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://frompemberleytomilton.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">From
Pemberley to Milton</span></a>; Review, GA</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
09/22<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://interestsofajaneaustengirl.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Interests of
a Jane Austen Girl</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">;</span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> Review, Excerpt, Giveaway</span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
09/23<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://justjane1813.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Just Jane 1813</span></a><u><span style="color: #0563c1;">;</span></u> Review, GA</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
09/24<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://myvicesandweaknesses.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My Vices and Weaknesses</span></a><u><span style="color: #0563c1; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">; </span></u>Excerpt,
GA</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 256.5pt;">
09/25<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://babblingsofabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Babblings of a Bookworm</span></a><u><span style="color: #0563c1;">;</span></u><span style="color: #0563c1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>Guest Post or Vignette, GA</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 256.5pt;">
09/26<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://diaryofaneccentric.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: windowtext;">Diary of an Eccentric</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;">;</span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> Review, Giveaway</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
09/27<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://halfagonyhalfhopelove.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Half
Agony, Half Hope</span></a><u><span style="color: #0563c1;">;</span></u><span style="color: #0563c1;"> </span>Review, Excerpt</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">09/28<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://darcyholic.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Darcyholic Diversions</span></a><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">; </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Author Interview,
GA</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
09/29<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \0022http\:\/\/forloveofausten\.blogspot\.com\/\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022";"><u><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc;">My Love for Jane Austen</span></u></span><u><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc;">;</span></u><span style="background: white;"> Charcter Interview, GA</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
09/30<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://margiesmustreads.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Margie’s Must Reads</span></a><u><span style="color: #0563c1; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">; </span></u>Guest Post, Excerpt, GA</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
10/01<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u><span style="color: #0563c1;">Savvy
Verse and Wit</span></u>; Review, GA<u> </u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
10/02<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://austenesquereviews.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Austenesque Reviews</span></a>; Character Interview, GA</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
10/03<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://obsessedwithmrdarcy.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Obsessed with Mr. Darcy</span></a><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">; Review, GA</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
10/04<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://frompemberleytomilton.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">From
Pemberley to Milton</span></a>; Guest Post, GA</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Giveaway:</b><u><span style="color: #c00000;"></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The giveaway will
consist of 10 eBooks and is international. For bloggers hosting a giveaway,
paste one of the following Rafflecopter links into your blog. If you do not
have GA by your date and want to participate, please include the Rafflecopter
in your post. Reviews may include a GA. </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0ca86b9b14/?" target="_blank">To Enter the Drawings for Nicole's Book Click Here!</a></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Terms and Conditions:</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Readers may enter the drawing by tweeting once a day and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">daily</b> commenting on a blog post or
review that has a giveaway attached for the tour. Entrants must provide the
name of the blog where they commented. Remember: Tweet and comment once
daily to earn extra entries.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A winner may win ONLY 1 (ONE) eBook of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">These Dreams </i></b>by Nicole
Clarkston. Each winner will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter and the
giveaway is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">international</b>.</span></div>
Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4078409689570875027.post-48061029659938505302017-09-03T05:32:00.000-04:002017-09-20T01:21:46.852-04:00A Cheerful Chat with Catherine Lodge<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>A ReVisit with Catherine Lodge</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Catherine Lodge's book is now available on Amazon! Great news. So she is dropping back by with that news and another chance to read her interview here at Darcyholic Diversions.</span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB">Catherine Lodge: It all started on my birthday in 2015 and,
however much one claims that one doesn't care about birthdays, there is still a
lingering feeling that nasty surprises shouldn't happen on that day of all
days.</span></span></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></i></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB">We are having cake, Happy Birthday had been
sung and the children had gone off to run round the garden and I got the ping
of email arrived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought it was
someone wishing me Many Happy<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Returns - it wasn't.</span></span></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">"Hi," it said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Thanks for publishing your
story." The only trouble was, I hadn't.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">With only a smart phone and a small tablet,
I scoured Amazon and there it was, or rather there they were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two of my stories, packed into an
"anthology" with an ugly cover and an illiterate title:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but worst of all under the pen name I
had used while posting on the forums at meryton.com.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone from what I had assumed was a safe space, someone I
might even have interacted and corresponded with, had stolen my stories to make
money from them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They hadn't even
bothered to correct my mistakes - I don't tend to use a beta or editor when
posting on-line so there were more than a few misspelt words and odd
grammatical constructions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">After a couple of days frantic emailing, I
managed to get first Amazon and then Google books and the Nook people to take
the nasty thing down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn't see
a sniff of the money people had spent on it, but I thought it likely that the
plagiarist hadn't either and that Amazon had just kept it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Then I forgot about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Flash forward a couple of years,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was encouraged to submit "Fair
Stands the Wind" to The Meryton Press and they accepted it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was edited to within an inch of its
life and the published. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
paperback was there for all to see, with a gorgeous cover by the way, but there
was no sign of the ebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Enquiries by the Press revealed that they thought that Amazon thought
this submission was another attempt to plagiarise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amazon refused to sort it out with Meryton Press because the
published wasn't one of the parties to the original dispute.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">So I started emailing Amazon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I emailed the department I'd dealt with
over the plagiarism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Nothing for four days then a reference to
another department.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I wrote
again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Nothing for four days then a request for
the information I'd already sent them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So I sent it again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Meanwhile, the blog tour had been and gone
and the people asking when they could buy it had been told "We don't
know."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Once again, nothing for four days then,
stuck at a bus stop, I thought I'd check Amazon and there, at last,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>was the Kindle edition of my book. In
all its glory, complete with the gorgeous cover,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never did hear from Amazon again</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I've been spamming the hosts of the blog
tour in the hope that people who were interested in<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>buying have been contacted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope I haven't annoyed anyone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">And I've been left with an odd
feeling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Quite apart from the
disappointment and worry, how could he or she do it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What do you get from passing someone else's work of as your
own?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other than a very few dollars
and the knowledge that you are a thief, that is.</span></div>
</span></i><b><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b> A Cheerful Chat with Catherine Lodge</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnefTvj-nKxKsPM20D9aggSkydOIQQ5ph3DvMoVjGP-PLD1a_Vibq-Qgli65fNOZlztCRP6_jiZSuU0N57xKRkF6m5Hcm-ApBPXU4WiOPoWTKgRoaMZWxhBC_xJha7uKyvAmfKvEOE13UW/s1600/Catherine+Lodge.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnefTvj-nKxKsPM20D9aggSkydOIQQ5ph3DvMoVjGP-PLD1a_Vibq-Qgli65fNOZlztCRP6_jiZSuU0N57xKRkF6m5Hcm-ApBPXU4WiOPoWTKgRoaMZWxhBC_xJha7uKyvAmfKvEOE13UW/s320/Catherine+Lodge.jpg" width="320" /></a> </b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Interviewed by Barbara Tiller Cole</span></b></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>BTCole: UPDATE---September 20, 2017--Amazon NOW has Catherine's book AND the drawings have already been held, but if you missed the interview before, please take the time to read now...</b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b>I
have had a few technical issues with Darcyholic Diversions but am very
grateful that I managed to save my blog with the help from a few
friends. </b></span><br />
<br />
<div class="gmail_extra">
</div>
<div class="gmail_extra">
<span style="color: blue;"><b>Today
I am interviewing Catherine Lodge as she celebrates her new book,
<u>Fair Stands the Wind</u>. Please be sure to read to the end to
learn about the give-aways available. Catherine is having her own
technical issues as the soft cover of her new book is available at
Amazon but not the Kindle version. Keep an eye out for it though as
many 'elves' are working behind the scene to be sure that you get to
read her novel soon! And without further delay, I present Catherine
Lodge...</b></span></div>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<br /></div>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<b><span style="color: blue;">BTCole:
Catherine, I am so glad to have you here with us at Darcyholic
Diversions! Welcome! So tell us, who is Catherine Lodge?</span></b></div>
<div class="gmail_quote">
</div>
<div>
<b>CLodge: Thanks for having me, Barbara! <span class="m_-2947283139885438371m_5360770241410151490gmail-">Catherine
Lodge is a pseudonym as I am incredibly shy about people I know,
knowing what I write. I've always been worried that my writing reveals
more about me that I am comfortable with my family and friends knowing
about - I suspect this is mere vanity since probably no one would care
to do the dissection, but there it is</span></b></div>
<div>
<div>
<b><span style="color: blue;">BTCole: I
do understand that Catherine as I initially developed my penname to be
sure that people in my real life would never know that I had written a
sex scene lol. In fact more Austen writers know my real name than the other
way around. Where are you from Catherine?</span></b></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<b>CLodge: <span class="m_-2947283139885438371m_5360770241410151490gmail-">I
live in Yorkshire in the UK, an impossibly beautiful part of the world -
in fact I live quite near to the Pemberley of my imagination, Fountains
Hall near Ripon - only my imaginary one is a bit bigger :D</span></b></div>
<div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=c33fa7c76f&view=fimg&th=15e44b317461d301&attid=0.1&disp=emb&realattid=ii_15e443a3ae6911be&attbid=ANGjdJ9azJ51JzVKIeo1fOMojeLslA7serixP9cSCD-2ZrEYpZgTTlBGSaA0pCh8CzCKlceytG1dthhDbiUqDqcxD0X9_u6cSin60VHqPIl0OHfn7Nxej0hM56wzLM0&sz=w856-h570&ats=1504424657076&rm=15e44b317461d301&zw&atsh=1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Inline image 1" border="0" class="CToWUd a6T" height="285" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=c33fa7c76f&view=fimg&th=15e44b317461d301&attid=0.1&disp=emb&realattid=ii_15e443a3ae6911be&attbid=ANGjdJ9azJ51JzVKIeo1fOMojeLslA7serixP9cSCD-2ZrEYpZgTTlBGSaA0pCh8CzCKlceytG1dthhDbiUqDqcxD0X9_u6cSin60VHqPIl0OHfn7Nxej0hM56wzLM0&sz=w856-h570&ats=1504424657076&rm=15e44b317461d301&zw&atsh=1" tabindex="0" width="428" /></a></div>
<div>
<b><span class="m_-2947283139885438371m_5360770241410151490gmail-"><b><span style="color: blue;">BTCole: Do
you have a picture of your Pemberley that you would like to share with
us? Would love to know more about your about your Pemberley inspiration?</span></b> </span></b></div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<b>CLodge: There
that should give you an idea. My Pemberley would look that that but a
little larger. You can't tell from the photo but behind the house there
is a very steep hillside so the house is only a couple of rooms wide,
mine is a little wider, perhaps a square with a central courtyard.</b></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<b><span style="color: blue;">BTCole:</span> <span style="color: blue;">I
understand that your profession was as an attorney. Tell us a little
bit about that. </span></b></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<b>CLodge: I am a more or less retired now. I
trained and worked as a lawyer, prosecuting corporate crime mostly
until my health forced me to look for something a bit less stressful and
I took to lecturing, mainly for a training company specializing in
Environmental Law for Business and Industry. Since a lot of my work
arose about the time that the Water Industry was privatised in the UK, I
have an encyclopedic knowledge of the development of Britain's sewerage
system. You must let me tell you about The Great Stink sometime, when
the Thames was so smelly they nearly moved Parliament to Oxford. Or the
day the River Fleet exploded.</b></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<b><span style="color: blue;">BTCole:</span> <span style="color: blue;">Well now you have gotten my attention! You have to tell us about The Great Stink! What a name! </span></b></div>
<div>
<b>CLodge: Well,
in the mid-19thC London grew at a phenomenal rate and the fact that
there was no sewerage system soon became apparently to every nose for
miles around. So, in an effort to deal with it, the Government decreed
that all houses should be plumbed into the existing surface water
drains, the ones that were supposed to just deal with rainwater by
funnelling into the Thames and then out to sea. In the Summer of 1858,
two hot months and some high tides on the Thames had the effect of
keeping the er..... contents in the river, right in the bit where a lot
of people lived and the Houses of Parliament were sitting. It was so
ghastly that they considered moving Parliament to Oxford until the
Summer Recess happened and the reliable old English Rain arrived to
flush everything out. This led to the construction of Bazelgette's
great interceptor sewer, which goes all the way down the North Bank,
picking up the sewers, drains and rivers that used to go into the Thames
- frequently within feet of where drinking water was extracted - and
funnelling them all so far downstream that the tide had to take them
out. It's why The Thames has a road beside the river called "The
Embankment" - underneath is still Bazelgette's great sewer.</b></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<b><span style="color: blue;">BTCole:
This reminds me that I have been checking in with my Austen inspired
friends that live in Texas. Grateful that Maria Grace, Jan Hahn and
Janet Taylor are all well and dry. All had a little damage to deal with
in their yards but their houses were spared from the flood and
winds. Well, now you need to tell us about the day that River Fleet
exploded?</span></b></div>
<div>
<b>CLodge: By the mid-19thC the River Fleet which used to run above
ground into the Thames, was almost entirely build over and enclosed. It
was also full of er..... waste. One dry month in the 1830s the
contents fermented, exploded and the explosion was channelled down the
river into the Thames where it flattened two houses and swamped a boat.
I tried to find newspaper reports but it's too early to find anything
easily and I've never been able to visit the National Newspaper Archive
at Collingdale.</b><br />
<b><span style="color: blue;">BTCole: </span></b> <b><span style="color: blue;">What else would you like to share with the readers here so that they get to know a little bit more about you.</span></b></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<b>CLodge: <span class="m_-2947283139885438371m_5360770241410151490gmail-">Um
what else. Never married, never met the right man. Oh, once won a five
figure sum on a TV quiz show in the middle of the night, which is why
my house is now paid off. Winnings aren't taxed in the UK so that was
nice.</span></b></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<b><span class="m_-2947283139885438371m_5360770241410151490gmail-"><span style="color: blue;">BTCole:</span> </span></b><span class="m_-2947283139885438371m_5360770241410151490gmail-"><b><span style="color: blue;">Winning the lottery! Now I envy you there! What do you do with your time other than write now?</span></b></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<b><span class="m_-2947283139885438371m_5360770241410151490gmail-">CLodge: </span><span class="m_-2947283139885438371m_5360770241410151490gmail-">I
like the Opera and taking the children in my family - I have 9 niblings
and two great-nieces - out and about. I volunteer at the local library
giving computer classes to people who are stuck. I specialise in the
even-older-than-me category. My record is a 93 year old nun I taught to
use the Internet so she could learn Spanish on-line. </span></b></div>
<div>
<div>
<span class="m_-2947283139885438371m_5360770241410151490gmail-"><b><span style="color: blue;">BTCole: How
did you discover Jane Austen's works? Was it love at first site? Or
did you give it a studied air, like Mr. Collins did his delicate
compliments?</span></b></span></div>
<span class="m_-2947283139885438371m_5360770241410151490gmail-">
</span></div>
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<b>CLodge: I
was always a voracious reader, in the 60s and 70s it was either reading
or the TV and I didn't enjoy much of that. There were 5 secondhand
bookshops where I lived, so for a pound or so you could pick up all
sorts. I read a huge amount of 19thC literature, starting with Dickens
and the Brontes (they were local lasses, you see) and then Jane Austen.
Starting with Pride and Prejudice and then Sense and Sensibility and
then on and on. The only one I can't say I really like is Northanger
Abbey, which I put down to being made to read it in High School but an
unsympathetic teacher. Every time I think, "I really must give it
another go," the voice of Mr Sessions starts droning on and on and I
lose the will to live. </b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Now I come to
think about it, he had some really odd ideas about what to give to 14
year olds - what the heck were we supposed to make of Sons and Lovers?</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Full Book Cover for Catherine's New Book</i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="color: blue;">BTCole: No Wonder you wanted a penname! </span> </b><b><span style="color: blue;"><b>I
read in one of your other posts about your writing style and how
'Guerilla Writing' has helped you. Can you tell us a little bit about
that?</b></span> </b></div>
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</div>
<div>
<b>CLodge: I
am a perfectionist, if I let myself be. So much so, that I end up
paralysed by the fear of failure. I wrote some stories in various
fandoms which were well received: I then became morbidly convinced that I
would never write anything as good ever again. So I stopped.</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>After
a bit, I told myself not to be so damn silly. All my life, I've been
afraid of other people's reactions. Why? So I made myself write, check
it through the same day, and then post it to discussion boards. I
didn't fret about where the plot was going, I just had a vague idea
where I wanted to end up. A very vague idea. And you know what? Ideas
rushed in to fit the space available. I'd write myself into a corner,
go for a walk and have an idea of how to get out of it.</b></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">BTCole:</span> </b><b><b><span style="color: blue;">How did the inspiration for this book come to you? And was Persuasion a part of your inspiration at all?</span></b> </b></div>
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</div>
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<b>CLodge: Not
at all. Nope, there's a shout out to Persuasion in a latish chapter,
but that was the earliest it even crossed my mind. I was posting in
parts, so people mentioned it in comments but I did not have it in mind
at all. What sort of Janeite am I?</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>As I
mentioned somewhere else, I was packing my books away before the
builders came to replace my kitchen roof, and when I got to the shelf of
CS Forresters, Patrick O'Briens and Alexander Kents, thought I to
myself, thought I, "Hmmmm Captain Darcy, now *there's* an idea.</b></div>
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<b>It's
taken me years to pluck up the courage to send my baby-book out into
the world, where I can't wait to see how it makes it's way.</b></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">BTCole: </span> <span style="color: blue;">There
are not many Austen inspired stories with Darcy as a second son, so
that in itself made this book unique. Anything else you would like to
tell us about your story?</span></b></div>
<div>
<b>CLodge: Um
- go and buy it? At least as soon as Amazon drags its head out of its
fundament and lets me publish it. I was plagiarised a couple of years
ago and wrote to Amazon to assert my copyright. They now seem to think
I'm plagiarising myself and are sitting on my book. Anyone who has a
voodoo doll of Mr Bezos is cordially invited to stick pins in it.</b></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">BTCole: Are you writing anything now? Want to give your readers any hints?</span></b></div>
<div>
<b>CLodge: Weeellll,
I have an idea for a book called "The Wicked Mr Darcy" which I ought to
write <span style="font-size: large;"><i>before</i></span> someone gets there first, at least with the title, but it
will have to wait until this one is out. After that I'd like to
get A New Beginning out. Elizabeth and Darcy meet in circumstances
where they each come to a proper realisation of each other's sterling
qualities. So everything turns out fine....... or does it? </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">BTCole: Thanks for being spending some time with me today, Catherine! Hope you will come visit with us again. </span></b><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><u> Enter to Win</u></span></span></b></div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf9ypjDNvxRc6FYXxmi7vuhyycBAQtnyfz-Pa13dWqu6wl4IboL1sMlXpKP-d3sHaOrSeLXJEVc26Frfzoi0ywgLURKC-aMkqb2SCqFCIqPlgVipWAbK_IKLe5qkyWK-MLHYRNABR0kCXl/s1600/fstwhorizontalbanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf9ypjDNvxRc6FYXxmi7vuhyycBAQtnyfz-Pa13dWqu6wl4IboL1sMlXpKP-d3sHaOrSeLXJEVc26Frfzoi0ywgLURKC-aMkqb2SCqFCIqPlgVipWAbK_IKLe5qkyWK-MLHYRNABR0kCXl/s320/fstwhorizontalbanner.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: blue;">For Give Aways, comment on the interveiw here and register on the Rafflecopter link below:</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: blue;">
</span></b><br />
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<i><a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0ca86b9b12/?"><b><span style="color: blue;">Click Here to Enter the Drawings for Catherine's New Book</span></b></a></i></div>
<b><span style="color: blue;">
</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: blue;">
</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;"><u>Book Blurb</u>: </span></b></div>
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</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b></div>
<b><span style="color: blue;">
</span></b>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">We all know that in Jane Austen’s <i>Pride and
Prejudice</i>, Mr Darcy is proud and prejudiced because he is a wealthy
landowner who believes himself above his company; and that Elizabeth Bennet can
afford to be proud and prejudiced because she believes she has the freedom to
make choices for herself.</span></b></div>
<b><span style="color: blue;">
</span></b>
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<b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b></div>
<b><span style="color: blue;">
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But what if Mr Darcy is the second son, sent to sea at a
young age? What if Elizabeth is trapped by circumstances, with an ill father on
one side and an understandably desperate mother on the other?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Meet Captain Darcy of the Royal Navy, a successful frigate
captain, with ample prize-money and a sister he needs to provide for while he
is at sea. Meet Elizabeth Bennet, who needs a husband and is trying to resign
herself to Mr Collins, the worst “least worst alternative” in the history of
literature.</div>
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<u><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Author Bio: </b></u></div>
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<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222;">Catherine Lodge is a semi-retired lawyer and lecturer,
living in Yorkshire–a part of the UK even more beautiful than Derbyshire. One
of five daughters, although by birth order regrettably the Jane, she found 19<sup>th</sup> Century
literature early in her teens and never looked back–even if that meant her
school essays kept coming back with “archaic!” written in the margin next to
some of her favourite words. She still thinks that “bruited” is a much nicer
word than “rumoured.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222;">After years of drafting leases and pleadings, she finally
started to write for fun in her forties and has never stopped since. Much of
this will never see the light of day, having been fed to the digital equivalent
of a roaring bonfire, but “Fair Stands the Wind” is the first book she thinks
worthy of public attention.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;">She spends her day fixing
computer problems for friends and family, singing in her local choir, and
avoiding the ironing</span></div>
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<u><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Contact Info for Catherine Lodge: </b></u></div>
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<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100014450386919"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 9.5pt;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 9.5pt;"></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="mailto:catherinelodgebooks@gmail.com"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 9.5pt;">Email</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 9.5pt;"></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Buy Links Not Yet Active:</u> </b><span style="font-family: "bookman old style"; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Hlk490323072"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fair
Stands the Wind <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>(Amazon US)</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fair Stands the Wind<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>(Amazon UK)</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk490323072;"></span>
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<u>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Blog Tour Schedule: </b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
08/30<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://babblingsofabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Babblings
of a Bookworm</span></a><u><span style="color: #0563c1;">;</span></u><span style="color: #0563c1;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>Guest
Post or Vignette, GA</div>
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08/31<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://myvicesandweaknesses.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My Vices and Weaknesses</span></a><u><span style="color: #0563c1; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">; </span></u>Character
Interview, GA</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
09/01<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://austenesquereviews.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Austenesque
Reviews</span></a>; Vignette, Excerpt, GA</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
09/02<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://interestsofajaneaustengirl.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Interests of
a Jane Austen Girl</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">;</span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> Review, Excerpt, Giveaway</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
09/03<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://darcyholic.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">DarcyholicDiversions</span></a><span style="color: #0563c1;">; </span>Author Interview, GA</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
09/04<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://halfagonyhalfhopelove.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Half
Agony, Half Hope</span></a><u><span style="color: #0563c1;">;</span></u><span style="color: #0563c1;"> </span>Review, Vignette</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 256.5pt;">
09/05<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.ofpensandpages.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of Pens and
Pages</span></a><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">; </span>Review, Excerpt, GA</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 256.5pt;">
09/06<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://diaryofaneccentric.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: windowtext;">Diary of an Eccentric</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;">;</span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> Guest Post, Vignette, Giveaway</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
09/07<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://frompemberleytomilton.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">From
Pemberley to Milton</span></a>; Guest Post or Vignette, Excerpt, GA</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
09/08<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://candy-m.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">So
little time…</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">;</span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none;">
Guest Post, Excerpt, Giveaway</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
09/09<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \0022http\:\/\/forloveofausten\.blogspot\.com\/\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022";"><u><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc;">My Love for Jane Austen</span></u></span><u><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc;">;</span></u><span style="background: white;"> Vignette, GA</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
09/10<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://margiesmustreads.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Margie’s Must Reads</span></a><u><span style="color: #0563c1; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">; </span></u>Review, Excerpt, GA</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
09/11<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://thesecretunderstandingofthehearts.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">My Jane Austen Book Club</span></a><u><span style="color: #0563c1;">; </span></u>Guest Post, Excerpt, GA</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
09/12<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://justjane1813.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Just Jane 1813</span></a><u><span style="color: #0563c1;">;</span></u>
Review, GA</div>
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Barbara Tiller Colehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237523278334072442noreply@blogger.com18