Hi, I'm Wendi And I AM a Darcyholic!

Today's Guest Post and Give-Away is From Wendi

Hi, Darcyholics.  It is your chief addict, Barbara Tiller Cole!  I am honored to have a guest post from Wendi today.  She didn't provide a picture of herself for me to share with you, so I am going back to my FIRST picture (above) as it is one of the best examples I have been able to find for the love we have of the Mythical Mr. Darcy!

Unless otherwise stated, all of the give-aways winners here at Darcyholic Diversions will be selected one week from posting.  So you still have till Tuesday midnight to enter Maria Grace's Giveaway, by commenting on her guest post.

Wendi is providing 2 copies of Promises.  Anyone living outside of North America will win an eBook. Winners living in North America have a choice between an autographed copy of the soft cover book or an eBook--Winner's preference.  Anyone who wins an eBook can have an autographed bookmark mailed to them.  Entries will be based on comments on the blog post; but additional chances will be given for joining this site, tweeting this post, clicking 'like' on Barbara Tiller Cole, Author's Facebook page, or following BarbTCole on Twitter (please note any of those in your blog post).

And Now....I present.........Wendi.........

Hi, I’m Wendi and I am a Darcyholic. 

It began simple enough.  I had read Jane Austen’s novels repeatedly through the years, Pride and Prejudice quite a number of times more often than the rest.  

The first true symptom of dependency showed itself soon after I had purchased the 1995 BBC miniseries when my mother asked if she could borrow my set of tapes.  As I tried to hand it to her, my heart beat wildly and we found that no matter what we attempted, the box could not be pried from my grip.  “Mamma!” exclaimed I, “Is this to be endured? It must not, shall not be!” She rented it.

At some point after what I refer to as “the lost years” (having triplets will do that to your memory, trust me), something started niggling at the edges of my mind, eating away toward the center of my awareness until it became almost a physical need.  I had to know what Darcy had been thinking throughout the novel and what he had done during his time apart from Elizabeth! I guessed that there must be an author out there somewhere who felt the same way and had attempted to write it.

I searched the internet for four little words:

Darcy point of view

Little did I know that typing that phrase into a search engine would change my life – there would be no turning back!  Jane Austen fan fiction (or JAFF to those of us who live with this dependency) became a daily part of my existence. I could actually spend time with my favorite characters and not know exactly what would happen next?  From the moment I read the opening sentence of the first story online, I was utterly obsessed. There were a limitless number of possible “what if” scenarios, and I wanted to read them all!

Then one day it happened; my very own JAFF story was literally dreamt up.  It was an original story, coming straight out of my imagination, and the entire thing was bursting to come out yesterday!  I found myself scribbling phrases, scenes, and bits of dialog on scraps of paper and receipts no matter where I was.  Researching every aspect of the story became a normal part of my life. 

Ever since childhood I had wanted to be a writer, and I am doing it... combining two things that I love.  It is a dream come true.

So yes, I must confess – I am a Darcyholic... but I wouldn’t want it any other way!

Wendi’s novel, Promises, is available at Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes and Noble .  Her next novel, Dreams and Expectations, should be available sometime this spring.  

Her website is: https://wendisotis.wordpress.com/

Book blurb:  

Adopting characters from Jane Austen's much loved tale, this novel takes Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy on a much different journey than Austen originally had in store for them in Pride and Prejudice.

Through their fathers' friendship, Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy meet as children. Over the years, their feelings for each other grow and they promise themselves to each other, but unfortunate circumstances and interfering family members seek to keep them apart.

Will misunderstandings and mistaken impressions divide Elizabeth and William forever?