Let the Revels Begin

This post was originally posted on Austen Authors by Abigail Reynolds.

November is a very special month at Austen Authors!

You are cordially invited to attend 

the 200th anniversary of the wedding of

Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy to Miss Elizabeth Bennet

& Mr. Charles Bingley to Miss Jane Bennet  

Naturally, this means LOTS and LOTS of P&P200 vignettes – so many that during the entire month of November we’re cancelling our regular daily post to make room for daily P&P200 and wedding-related posts. THIS is the event we have been working toward since our inaugural P&P200 post on September 18, 2011.

As of today, there have been 117 P&P200 behind-the-scenes vignettes. All of them can be read, in order, either by clicking anyP&P200 icon (start on the last page), or on The Writer’s Block P&P200 Board. This month alone we have over 40 additional P&P200 blogs planned surrounding the November 16 nuptials. WOW! You won’t want to miss a single day!

Here is a mere sampling of what is in store for your reading pleasure–

Colonel Fitzwilliam learns of Darcy’s engagement
Lydia complains that she can’t come to the wedding
Mrs. Bennet’s advice for the wedding night
Mr. and Mrs. Collins marriage
The Longbourn ladies go shopping in London
Lady Catherine & Anne de Bourgh talk about the wedding
Caroline Bingley explains it all
Darcy & Elizabeth’s last walk before the wedding
The wedding!
The wedding nights of the Bingleys & the Darcys
Numerous reflections of the wedding
~~and so much more~~ 

New Cover for For All the Wrong Reasons

I am happy to unveil my new cover for my Pride and Prejudice re-imagining, For All the Wrong Reasons. A few months ago, I purchased a book cover program, and I'm finally learning how to use it! I hope you like it, and if you do, that you will let me know. Here is the blurb from the back jacket:

For All the Wrong Reasons - A Novella - Pemberley, the Darcy estate, is entailed away from the female line. When Fitzwilliam Darcy learns that Peter Grayson, the prospective heir, is to marry Caroline Bingley, he realizes that he must quickly find a wife so that he might have a son. But will Elizabeth Bennet agree to a loveless marriage, and if so, will she marry for all the wrong reasons? This novella explores Darcy and Elizabeth's path to a happily-ever-after ending.

Also don't forget that Mr. Darcy's Bite is on sale on Amazon and Nook for the month of November for $1.99. This title is owned by Sourcebooks, so when the sale is over, it's over for good.

Mr. Darcy's Bite E-Book on Sale - $1.99

Exclusively for the month of October, Mr. Darcy's Bite will be available on Nook and Kindle for only $1.99. If you would like to listen to an excerpt, please visit Jakki's Leatherbound Reviews.

Available on Amazon

Available on Nook

Newark Star Ledger - Review of Mr. Darcy's Bite

This review of Mr. Darcy's Bite from the Newark Star Ledger (New Jersey's largest newspaper) is a year old, but because Halloween comes around once a year, I thought I would rerun it. This review is particularly gratifying because the Newark Star Ledger was the paper my family read every Sunday when I was growing up in North Jersey. It had a TV guide before there was a TV Guide, and my sisters and I would fight over the insert to see what movies would be showing that week.

Now, where was  I? Oh, yes, the review. Here it is in its entirety.

This book is written with enough originality, whimsy and respect for Jane Austen’s style to make it stand out in the crowded field of Austen genre mash-ups. Simonsen revisits Darcy and Elizabeth’s tempestuous courtship and provides an explanation for Darcy’s erratic behavior: He’s a werewolf. Bitten on a childhood sojourn in Europe, Darcy has guarded his secret: He transforms at the full moon.

Because Simonsen carefully imagines how a werewolf nobleman would adapt to society and how that would play out with Austen’s characters, the story works as earnest rather than camp. After Darcy reveals his nature to Elizabeth, she must decide whether she still loves him. Simonsen’s characterizations are faithful to Austen, but engagingly playful with the possibilities of a werewolf double-life. His werewolf nature connects Darcy to the passions of the natural world, letting Simonsen ratchet up the couple’s romance. The classic love story between Elizabeth and Darcy holds firm, even if things do get a little hairy once a month.

Newark Star Ledger: Five Books You Will Be Able to Sink Your Teeth Into by Elizabeth Willse

Mr. Darcy's Bite is available from: Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Mr. Darcy's Bite - $6.00 on Amazon

Mr. Darcy's Bite is now available in paperback for $6.00 and qualifies for Amazon's super saving shipping discount. This is cheaper than the e-book price! These promotions come and go without warning, so now is the time to buy Mr. Darcy's Bite--just in time for Halloween.

Available from Amazon

Launch and Giveaway of A Killing in Kensington

Today, I am launching A Killing in Kensington, the second mystery in the Patrick Shea series. Here is the blurb from Amazon:

Detective Sergeant Patrick Shea of London's Metropolitan Police and his new partner, Detective Chief Inspector Tommy Boyle, have been handed a high-profile murder case. In the penthouse of Kensington Tower, playboy Clifton Trentmore lay dead with his head bashed in, and the investigation reveals a man who was loathed by both sexes. With too few clues and too many suspects, Shea and Boyle must determine who hated Trentmore enough to kill him. But as Patrick digs deeper, he finds his suspects have secrets of their own.If you enjoy Law and Order UK, you will enjoy A Killing in Kensington.

To celebrate the launch, I am giving away two e-books, either Kindle or Nook. All you have to do is leave a comment and an e-mail address where I can contact you by Sunday, October 14. Winners will be announced on October 15.

To whet your appetite, her is an excerpt from Chapter 2:

Patrick studied the profile of the prostrate Trentmore. The dead man was in his early to mid fifties, tall, lean, with a full head of dyed blond hair and sagging jowls. When struck, he had been holding a whiskey glass that went flying through space, emptying its content onto the wood floor. A formal dinner jacket, hung over the back of the couch, indicated that the victim had been out at some time during the evening. After removing his shoes and opening his tie, he had poured himself a drink in preparation for settling in for the evening, but that was when the killer had come calling.

“Who found the body?” Patrick asked a detective constable standing behind him.

“Diane Namur, the chief financial officer of Trentmore World Imports,” Detective Constable Jane Millard said, handing Patrick Miss Namur’s business card.

“Where is Miss Namur?” Patrick asked, looking around the flat.

Wearing an uncomfortable look, DC Millard explained that because Miss Namur had been sick in the loo, she had been allowed to leave after agreeing to an interview the next day.

“Miss Namur couldn’t stop crying, sobbing actually, very near hysterical,” the constable explained. “She kept saying ‘no,’ ‘no,’ ‘no,’ over and over, and then she got sick. It seems she had stepped in the victim’s blood. We believe those are her shoeprints in the blood trail.”

“Did you get the shoes?”

“Yes, and they’ve been bagged and tagged by SOCO. Before leaving, she told us how she found the body, but anything else…,” she said, shaking her head. “It just wasn’t possible. But we were able to get hold of Trentmore’s driver, Charles Wyatt. I spoke with him thirty minutes ago, and he’s on his way here.”

“Thank you, DC Millard,” Patrick said, smiling. He wanted to reassure her that her decision to allow Miss Namur to leave had been the right one. Vomiting witnesses were rarely helpful. “We’ll contact Miss Namur in the morning.”

Last Chance for Free E-book

On October 8 and October 9, Three's A Crowd, my British mystery, will be available on Kindle for free download. Otherwise, it is a whopping .99. This novella is an introduction to my character, Patrick Shea, a police detective who wants to be on a murder investigation team at Scotland Yard. Here's the blurb from Amazon:

In Three’s A Crowd, we are introduced to Patrick Shea, a young detective sergeant with the Hampden Criminal Investigation Department, whose career is being fast-tracked by the Metropolitan Police in London. With an eye to an appointment with a murder investigation team at New Scotland Yard, Shea is doing everything by the book. Unfortunately, his love life is a bit of a mess and gets messier when he learns his former lover, Annie Jameson, has been assaulted on someone else’s patch. Will Shea’s involvement in the under-the-radar investigation of his ex-girlfriend put his career in jeopardy and possibly her life as well?

If you are a fan of the television series Law & Order UK, you will enjoy Three’s A Crowd. This novella is the first in the Patrick Shea Mystery Series.

Included is Chapter 1 of the second Patrick Shea mystery, A Killing in Kensington.

On Wednesday, I will launch the second Patrick Shea mystery series on this blog.

Amazon Review for Darcy Goes to War

One of the advantages of being a writer of Austen re-imaginings is that you get to meet so many wonderful people from all around the world. The review below was written by a young lady who lives in the UK. I have greatly enjoyed getting to know her. It is especially gratifying because my friend is British, and this novel is a tribute to her countrymen.

I loved this book. It was well written as you would expect from the genius that is Mary Lydon Simonsen.

I loved the detail in the book and the locations used. I would have loved to see Elizabeth see Pemberley for the first time and meet Georgiana. The other sisters were well developed and it was good to see another side of them. Darcy and Elizabeth's relationship was beautifully developed and the real danger that the bomber pilots faced really came across as well as the hardships faced by the women left behind. The little trips they made really made me want to find the love that they share. I would love to see a sequel to it.

Mary Lydon Simonsen is one of my favourite authors and will remain so for many years to come. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a twist on that classic story. (5 Stars)

Meet the Greatest Generation - My Family

During World War II, everyone pitched in. If you were a farmer, you worked longer and harder to grow more food for civilians and the military. If you were a miner, you dug more coal. If you were a little kid, you collected rubber and metal and saved aluminum gum wrappers. Women moved in droves to Washington to work as clerk typists, including my Mom, for the princely sum of $1,440 per year.  But if you were a male between the ages of 18 and 35, there's a good chance you were in uniform. From left to right: Uncle Joe, Aunt Mim, Uncle Tom, Aunt Ann, and friend.

Uncle Joe was on Omaha Beach on D-Day and Uncle Tom was on the USS Pompoon that was sunk off of Cuba. He survived, but most of his shipmates didn't. Aunt Mim and Aunt Ann worked as clerks in Washington. After the war, Mim went to work for the State Department in Berlin where she met her husband who had fought in a tank in the Battle of the Bulge. My father's cousin, Patrick Faherty, died when his ship was sunk off the Carolinas. Unfortunately, there is no picture of him. These are just a few of the dozens of pictures I have of my family's contribution to the war effort.

Uncle John (fifth from left) on Omaha Beach
D-Day +1

Uncle Joe (top left) with his crew on a B-17 bomber

Mom getting ready to leave Minooka, PA for
a job in Baltimore with defense contractor, Bendix
When she married my dad, she moved to D.C.

Aunt Mim in Berlin

Uncle Bobby - Army Air Corps

Paperback of Darcy Goes to War Now Available

The paperback for Darcy Goes to War is now available at Amazon for $8.95. It takes awhile for a paperback title to connect to the e-book page, so if you are interested in buying the paperback, you may want to use this link.

Lancaster Bomber - Darcy Goes to War

In Darcy Goes to War, Fitzwilliam Darcy is the pilot of a Lancaster, the premier bomber of the Royal Air Force. There is an interesting article with pictures on World War II Today which commemorates events that happened 70 years ago today during the Second World War. Darcy is a fictional character. This is the story of the real heroes who flew these missions.

Below is a photograph of a Lancaster bomber.

So little time...: Review and GIVEAWAY: Darcy Goes to War

So little time...: Review and GIVEAWAY: Darcy Goes to War By Mary Lyd...: World War II is a time in history that has always interest me.  It was a time when so many people band together to fight for a cause... For more of the review, please visit Candy's blog.

Rosemary Clooney - I'll Be Seeing You

In Darcy Goes to War, Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy have a favorite song, I'll Be Seeing You, which was a huge hit during World War II. The lovely Rosemary Clooney (George's aunt), a mega star in the 40s and 50s, sings it here. Thanks to Angie Kroll for finding it on youtube.com. I dedicate it to my Mom and the entire World War II generation.

Launch of Mr. Darcy Goes to War and WWII Posters

Tomorrow, I am officially launching my newest Pride and Prejudice re-imagining, Darcy Goes to War on Austen Authors. Be sure to stop by for a chance to win one paperback or one e-book copy of my novel.

For me, the hardest part of publishing a book is creating the covers. Because I like to keep my prices as low as possible, I do not hire a cover designer, but with the help of my daughter, I do the covers myself. And that is why I am so proud of the cover for Darcy Goes to War! But a great cover is only as good as the image an author uses which is why I was so fortunate to find that the National Archives in Britain recently released dozens of World War II posters into the public domain. The poster I used, Barrage Balloons Over the Thames, is by artist Eve Kirk.

There is so much to see in this picture. The barrage balloons tell you that this is a country at war. Hundreds of balloons soared above London for the purpose of entangling Luftwaffe bombers or to snare the V-1 and V-2 rockets launched in 1944 and 1945. Despite the German air raids, the cranes, warehouses, and bustle of the ships show the port of London is alive and well, and the undamaged Tower Bridge represents the will of the British people to fight on. An aura of calm is created by the pastel palette. In my opinion, Ms. Kirk succeeded in putting on canvas a country that is fighting for its survival, but a nation that will prevail.

To see more British posters from World War II, click here.

Celebrate Labor Day - Thank a Worker

I am the great granddaughter of four coal miners, all Irish immigrants, who worked in the hard-coal country of eastern Pennsylvania. Two of them were killed in roof falls, and one died of pneumonia in his thirties. Both of my grandfathers worked at the coal breaker picking slate out of the coal chutes before they were 12. My father graduated with honors from the University of Scranton and worked in an office near Wall Street. From despair to success in three generations. Celebrate labor!

Free Kindle E-book Three's A Crowd

On August 28 and 29, Three's A Crowd, my first mystery, will be available on Kindle for FREE! Tell your maw, tell your paw, tell everyone down in Arkansaw. In other words, I hope you will spread the word. This is very helpful to someone who is trying to break into a new genre. Thanks. Mary

Review: The English, Portrait of a People

In Jeremy Paxman’s The English, A Portrait of aPeople, the author attempts to establish a national identity for the English, not British, people. With their Celtic roots, he argues that the Welsh and Scots have a strong “national” identity. The Welsh have managed to hold on to their language and their songs while the Scots have their bagpipes, Parliament, legal system, and field their own football teams in World Cup competitions. So what about the English?

Paxman traces the history of the British stereotype, beginning with the obese, meat-eating, ale-drinking John Bull in the 18^th Century followed by the stiff-upper-lipped Englishman of the 19^th and early 20^th Centuries. The latter stereotype is the result of the British public (private in the U.S.) school system in which boys are treated badly as a matter of course, made to eat vile or tasteless food, and are expected to just “take it.” Their training served them well in the two world wars. But what about their 21^st century identity? That is the essence of the book.

For 266 pages, Paxman wanders the country in search of a national identity for the English, and in some cases, with amusing results. An editor and uber patriot, Roy Faiers, contends that you don’t have “to be English to be English.” “The actor James Stewart was an American, but he has Englishness.” By the time you get to the end of the book, you still have no sense of who a late 20th-Century Englishman is (other than he loves football and prefers lager). But in a country as ethnically diverse as England, is it even possible?

In the U.S., I have lived in the Northeast, Mid Atlantic, Southwest, and Texas (which is its own region). In Arizona, many of my friends are from the Midwest—refugees from the region's harsh winters. I can tell you that, like the English, it is difficult to say what a typical American is like. There are generalities: we are very patriotic and more religious than most Western nations, but you only have to look at our politics to see the great divide.

Although I enjoyed Paxman’s book, I was looking for something to hold on to—a Eureka moment where Paxman would reveal the true Englishman, but it never came. And so I ambled along. Because it was written 14 years ago, it is dated. But even in 1998, Paxman came up with very little to show for his efforts to find an English persona. I would think his task would be impossible today.

Three's A Crowd Giveaway Opportunities

There are two giveaways going on for my mystery, Three's A Crowd. Maria Grazia is hosting the giveaway of two Kindle e-books on her blog Fly High that ends on August 15. Your chances of winning are excellent!

I am hosting a giveaway of a paperback copy of Three's A Crowd on Goodreads that will end on August 17. I have received nine four or five-star reviews which thrills me to no end because this is my first mystery.

If you can't wait, and who could blame you, the e-book is available on Amazon for .99. Here's a summary:

Thank You!

Yesterday was a big day for me. On Kindle, my first mystery, Three's A Crowd, could be downloaded for free. Why would I just give my book away? Mostly because few people knew that, in addition to my Jane Austen re-imaginings, I am also a mystery writer. (I can say that now!) It was the only way I had to get the word out. So after posting a notice on Facebook, I crossed my fingers hoping my friends would help me out. And, boy, did they! Three's A Crowd landed in Kindle's Top 50 for mysteries and Top Ten for Police Procedurals for free Kindles on 8/1/12. I've already seen a boost in sales. Most importantly, I was able to let my friends in the UK know that I have written a British Police Procedural!

As a way of thanking all you lovely people, I am giving away two paperback copies of Three's A Crowd. All you have to do is leave a comment here on my blog (with e-mail address please) or on Facebook or send me an e-mail at quailcreekpub@hotmail.com.

Hugs to all!

FREE - Three's A Crowd on Kindle

Today my mystery, Three's A Crowd, is available for FREE on Kindle. I hope you will download it and meet my character, Detective Sergeant Patrick Shea of Scotland Yard. Even if you don't like mysteries, you can still download it and share it with a friend. I would appreciate it so much, especially if you share its release with your friends. Here's the blurb from the back jacket:

In Three’s A Crowd, we are introduced to Patrick Shea, a young detective sergeant with the Hampden Criminal Investigation Department, whose career is being fast-tracked by the Metropolitan Police in London. With an eye to an appointment with a murder investigation team at New Scotland Yard, Shea is doing everything by the book. Unfortunately, his love life is a bit of a mess and gets messier when he learns his former lover, Annie Jameson, has been assaulted on someone else’s patch. Will Shea’s involvement in the under-the-radar investigation of his ex-girlfriend put his career in jeopardy and possibly her life as well?

If you are a fan of the television series Law & Order UK, you will enjoy Three’s A Crowd. This novella is the first in the Patrick Shea Mystery Series.

Thanks to everyone for their support! Mary