Today’s Guest Blog Post and Give-Away by Jack Caldwell
Hi, Darcyholics! Today’s Guest post brings with it a male view of Darcyholism. I am happy to have Jack Caldwell with us today.
Upcoming Guest Posts Are As Follows:
February 3--Jan Hahn
February 7--Abigail Reynolds
February 10--Ola Wegner
February 14--Sandy Cook! Celebrating Mr. Darcy and Valentine’s Day
February 17--Nancy Kelley
February 21--Janet Taylor
February 24--Nina Benneton
And Many more to come!
Jack is giving away a copy of each of Pemberley Ranch, US and Canada only. Entries will be based on comments on the blog post; but additional chances will be given for joining this site, tweeting this post, sharing this on Facebook or your blog, clicking 'like' on Barbara Tiller Cole, Author's Facebook page, or following BarbTCole on Twitter; you can also follow Jack on Twitter or Facebook or his blog on her blog. Please note any of these things that you do in your blog post for extra entries.
And Now...I present...Jack Caldwell!
MR. FITZWILLIAM
DARCY –Good day, everyone. The lovely hostess of this web site has requested a
favor of me. Of course, I have no idea what a “web site” is, but that is
neither here nor there. I have been asked most prettily, and as I have no
objection to the exercise, I have complied.
I have been asked
to interview Mr. Jack Caldwell, the
author of two Jane Austen themed novels: PEMBERLEY
RANCH and THE THREE COLONELS. As
you may know, Mr. Caldwell has been fond of interviewing characters from Miss
Jane Austen’s novels and publishing these so-called Austen Interviews in his Cajun
Cheesehead Chronicles at another web site. Without further ado—Mr. Jack
Caldwell.
JACK CALDWELL –
Thanks, Mr. Darcy. I’m glad to be here. We’re kinda casual on this side of the
pond, so what do I call you? Darcy, Fitz, or Will?
FD – Mr. Darcy
will do, thank you very much. Mr. Caldwell, I have a series of questions from
the mistress of Darcyholic Diversions,
but I would like to begin with two of my own. Firstly—what is a Cajun
Cheesehead?
JC – I’m a native
of the State of Louisiana in the United States of America. We’re known as
Cajuns. Upon moving several years ago to the State of Wisconsin, also in the US,
I became a Cheesehead, as they refer to fans of the local American professional
football team, the Green Bay Packers. You see, they tend to wear these large,
yellow foam cheese hats to the games—
FD – It sounds
very fashionable, I am sure. By the way, I know where both Louisiana and Wisconsin
are.
JC – Sorry ‘bout
that.
FD – Yes. Secondly—why
have you not interviewed either my wife or me for your Cajun Cheesehead Chronicles?
JC – You think
I’m dumb?
FD – I beg your
pardon?
JC – Mr. Darcy,
there’s no way I could get away with interviewing either you or Lizzy—
FD – Sir! She is Mrs. Darcy to you!
JC
– Oops. As I was saying, the fans have definite ideas about you and your wife.
As powerful as I claim my author’s imagination to be, I can’t overcome the
readers’ pride in their prejudiced opinions about their favorite couple in all
of literature —Mr. and Mrs. Darcy.
FD
– Pride in their prejudiced opinions? I suppose you believe yourself clever.
JC
– I do, actually.
FD – You think
that if it gives you comfort. As to the questions at hand: When did you first
discover Jane Austen Fan Fiction?
JC – It was over
a dozen years ago. You see, I discovered Jane Austen after I finished college.
In 1981 I saw the PBS broadcast of the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice. I had already decided to read the classics
that I had not in school, and I started with The Collected Works of Jane Austen because of that broadcast.
FD – Am I to
understand you have read all of Miss Jane Austen’s works?
JC – Her major
works, yes, several times. In 1995, I saw both the A&E production of Pride and Prejudice and the film
adaptation of Persuasion, and they
reignited my interest in Austen. In 2000, I began looking around the Internet
for sequels to P&P when I stumbled across JAFF. Abigail Reynolds was one of the first authors I read—this was
before she was published. I’ve been hooked ever since.
FD – When did you
begin your own writing?
JC – For about
five years, I read hundreds of stories. Many were good, and some were
excellent. But to be honest, there were some that were, to be kind, not well
written. I complained to my wife, the lovely Barbara, about it. She then asked,
“Well, can you do better?” That was a challenge I couldn’t resist. In 2005, I
wrote my first JAFF story, and the rest is history.
FD
– So you are saying it is Mrs. Jack Caldwell who is to blame for your writing?
JC
– ‘Fraid so.
FD – We have
solved that mystery.
JC
– It was Abigail who convinced me to send one of my stories to Sourcebooks.
That was PEMBERLEY RANCH, which came
out in December of 2010.
FD – Is that the
story in which you move me to Texas and make me a … what is it called? A
cowboy?
JC – Yep.
FD – And you have
my Elizabeth riding a horse?
JC – Yep. A paint
named Turner.
FD
– You must know that Elizabeth does not ride horses of any type.
JC
– Beth does.
FD
– (*sigh*) I see there is no arguing with you.
JC
– You must be used to that by now with all us authors out there.
FD
– Too true. Let me refer back to my list of questions. Ah … You are man writing Austen-themed
novels, a genre dominated by women. That is very rare. Why Austen?
JC
– Two reasons. First, my real love is historical fiction. History is the great
story of humanity. I use my work to explain how we got where we are. Why our
civilization turned out this way. And how we’re not so very different from
people in our distant past.
FD
– Yes. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat
it."
JC – You’ve read
George Santayana? But Reason in Common
Sense didn’t come out until 1905!
FD – My friend,
Colonel Brandon, explained that one can move about in space and time. I believe
you are the one who taught him.
JC – Me and my
big author’s imagination.
FD – Your second
reason, sir?
JC
– I like Austen. Her characters are real, and their personalities transcend the
Regency. They’re timeless. Besides, Austen writes really good men. What I mean
is, she gets us. The male characters
act like men, not the way women think men ought to act. So, Austen is a good
hook to hang my stories. The reader enjoys the plot while I sneak in a history
lesson or two.
FD
– I cannot approve of that. Disguise of any sort is my abhorrence.
JC – Excuse me,
but how is that different from Shakespeare?
FD – You compare
yourself to the Bard of Avon?
JC – Of course
not, except that we’re using the same device. What better way to honor the
greats than to imitate their greatness? That’s how we learn and grow.
FD – I see your
point. I understand you have a second novel.
JC
– Yeah. THE THREE COLONELS will be
released by Sourcebooks Landmark on March
1, 2012.
FD – Do I appear
in this novel?
JC – Sure. It’s a
sequel to Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. Both you and
Lizzy—um, Mrs. Darcy are in it (and happily married, I may add), as well as
Colonel and Mrs. Brandon, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Anne de Bourgh, and Caroline
Bingley. There are other Austen characters, as well as original ones like
Colonel Sir John Buford.
FD – Must you
have Miss Bingley in this story? She can be so tiresome.
JC – Don’t worry,
she won’t be bugging you. Trust me.
FD – I will hold
you to that, sir. Let me see… Do you have anything else to promote?
JC – Sure. My web
site is Ramblings of a Cajun Cheesehead
– I have previews of my stories and free stuff, too. I post regularly at Austen Authors blog – Austen Authors-- I’m also on Facebook (/Jack-Caldwell-author)
and Twitter (@JCaldwell25).
FD – “Facebook.”
“Twitter.” Such silly names.
JC – Can’t
disagree with you.
FD – By the way,
I have noticed there are no pictures of me in this posting.
JC – Yeah,
because I don’t know what you really look like. Laurence Olivier? David Rintoul?
Colin Firth? Matthew Macfadyen? Which one resembles you the best?
FD – I cannot
say. I look just like myself.
JC – You know,
some fangirls can get into fisticuffs over Colin and Matthew.
FD – Really?
Women are far more violent today.
JC – This coming
from Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s nephew.
FD – I take your
point. Thank you for your time, Mr. Caldwell.
JC – Anytime. So,
you’re going home to Pemberley now?
FD – Directly.
JC – How are you
getting there?
FD – Just like
this. (SOUND OF MR. DARCY RISING FROM HIS CHAIR) I stand, click my heels together
and say, “There’s no place like
Pemberley!”
(SOUND OF A
MAGICAL EXPLOSION)
JC – Wow, it
worked!
(SOUND OF A
MAGICAL EXPLOSION)
LADY CATHERINE DE
BOURGH – Where is he? Where is my nephew? I must have my share of the
conversation!
JC – Damn that
shifting in space and time!
About the
Author - Jack Caldwell is an author, amateur
historian, professional economic developer, playwright, and like many Cajuns, a
darn good cook. Born and raised in the Bayou County of Louisiana, Jack and his
wife, Barbara, are Hurricane Katrina victims, and now make the upper Midwest
their home. Always a history buff, Jack found and fell in love with Jane Austen
in his twenties, struck by her innate understanding of the human condition.
Jack uses his
work to share his knowledge of history. Through his characters, he hopes the
reader gains a better understanding of what went on before, developing an
appreciation for our ancestors' trials and tribulations. A devout convert to
Roman Catholicism, Jack is married with three grown sons.
