Exploring the Consequences of a Critical Decision With C.P. Odom

Dear readers, I am so excited to have author C. P. Odom as my guest this week. I have been looking forward to his post since his calling card was presented. Mr. Odom was the very first guest of my new blog in March 2013.  I was honored to have him then and am just as honored today! Thank you, for agreeing to come back for a visit and to share with us a little about your latest book, soon to be released. I must tell you that from what I have read here, I am hooked already! Enough from me, let's hear from C.P. Odom on Consequences!

I want to thank Janet for giving me an opportunity to talk about Consequences, which is my second book for Meryton Press (actually, my second book, period!), which will be published later in December.  Like my first book, A Most Civil Proposal, it’s a variation on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and both books originated as fan-fiction postings on the old Hyacinth Gardens website.  I kind of stumbled into reading and then writing Jane Austen fan-fiction by accident, and it still surprises me that an engineer and former Marine would wind up writing in Jane Austen’s world.  But that’s life—always full of surprises.

 

Anyway, both Consequences and A Most Civil Proposal explore what might have happened if one little thing in Austen’s work was changed.  A Most Civil Proposal, examined what might have happened if Darcy had decided to make a more civil proposal at Hunsford rather than the proud and arrogant proposal as in the book.  Consequences focuses on Elizabeth’s fiery and angry rejection of Darcy’s proposal as a critical decision point, and the book is made up of two parts that explore two different consequences resulting from that critical decision.

In Book 1, “The Road Not Taken,” the fortuitous meeting of Elizabeth and Darcy at Pemberley and the re-kindling of their romance does not take place.  After all, that meeting was highly coincidental in Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.  What if Darcy had come along ten minutes later, when Elizabeth and her party had already started their tour of the Pemberley grounds? He would have entered the house and been in consultation with his steward when the Gardiners and their niece emerged from the grounds, boarded their carriage, and departed. And if he had been ten minutes earlier, he might well have entered the house before they saw him. And even if Elizabeth had seen him at a distance and recognized him while he didn’t see her, would she have run after him and spoken to him? Highly doubtful, I would think. More likely, she would have counted herself lucky to avoid the mortification of meeting him.  Thus, Darcy doesn’t learn of Lydia’s elopement and doesn’t find the couple in London and rescue the Bennet family’s reputation, and events go from bad to worse.  High angst.

In contrast, in Book 2, “The Sleeper Wakes,” Elizabeth wakes from a horrendous nightmare (which was everything that occurred in Book 1) at Hunsford prior to Darcy’s proposal, and the lingering effects of that mostly-unremembered-but-still-emotional event cause her to accept instead of reject that proposal, which doesn’t turn out to be nearly the horrible mistake that she thinks it will be.

When I originally posted the story at the old Hyacinth Garden website, the (mostly female) readers wanted to lynch me at the end of Book 1!  I hope the publication of this new book doesn’t end my writing career (such as it is!).

One thing that I want to mention, for those readers who might have read the fan-fiction version I originally posted, is that the preparation of Consequences for publication required a significant amount of both rewriting the originally posted version and the addition of quite a bit of additional material.  My editor, Christina Boyd, really challenged me in several areas, and, while the experience was not always pleasant, I think she helped me correct some of my, let us say, “awkward” tendencies.  I’m rather pleased with the improvement of the flow of the story, and I hope the readers agree.  I’m a trained engineer, remember, not a professional writer, and I’m still learning.  As for the additional material, that was necessitated by the different audience I was writing to.  When I wrote it for the fan-fiction audience, I considered that I was writing to an audience that had likely committed Pride and Prejudice to memory, and so I could leave out a lot of background material.  I could not do the same when writing for a wider audience, though I also couldn’t just repeat what Austen originally wrote.  So there’s a lot more content than in the original posting.  In addition, my editor suggested the addition of an “Author’s Q&A” section at the back of the book, with a number of potential questions that readers might have as well as my answers to those questions.  I was skeptical at first, but she said that such a section could be very helpful if it was discussed by a book club.  That was news to me, but you have to trust your editor, right?  So we put together a list of questions, such as:

• What was the main rationale that inspired the writing of Consequences?
• Was Elizabeth Bennet’s rejection of Darcy’s first proposal at Hunsford justified in the context of her times?
• Was the financial situation of Elizabeth’s family really as extreme as postulated in “Book 1,” or was that a case of an author taking liberties to justify his plotline?

Thanks again to Janet for again having me post again on her blog, and I hope I haven’t scared off any potential readers.  Below is a short excerpt from Consequences for your perusal.  Thanks for reading!

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Excerpt from Consequences:

Prologue

“The main thing history can teach us is that human actions have consequences and that certain choices, once made, cannot be undone. They foreclose the possibility of making other choices, and thus they determine future events.”

—Gerda Lerner, historian, author, teacher

Charlotte Collins was engaged in inspecting her hens when she saw Mr. Darcy approaching the gate of the Parsonage, having come from the direction of Rosings Park. When he spied her, he greeted her in his usual polite but restrained manner, and she invited him to precede her to the house.

“I shall be there directly, Mr. Darcy,” she called. Turning to the servant who held the basket partially filled with eggs, she said, “I will finish here, Susan. Please go into the house and see the tea is set for our visitor. And please inform Miss Elizabeth and my sister that Mr. Darcy has called and I shall return to the house directly.”

Susan gave her mistress both the basket and a quick curtsey before running into the house, followed at a more reasonable gait by Mr. Darcy. Charlotte clucked her tongue disapprovingly, considering whether to admonish Susan yet again for running, but decided against it, for the young girl seemed naturally to break into a run whenever dispatched on an errand.

Of greater import to her was the thought of Mr. Darcy and his frequent visits to the Parsonage. After his first impromptu visit, she suggested to Elizabeth he must be in love with her, but her friend’s description of the way he sat so silently, unable or unwilling to talk, made the idea seem unlikely. Since then, Mr. Darcy and his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam made almost daily visits to the Parsonage, sometimes together, sometimes separately, and even occasionally accompanied by their aunt.

Whatever Mr. Darcy’s motives, it was plain Colonel Fitzwilliam visited because he had pleasure in their society, a conjecture making him even more agreeable. Elizabeth remarked that his company was so affable and his admiration of her so evident, it reminded her of her former favourite, George Wickham. However, she continued, her assessment was that the good colonel appeared to have the better-informed mind, even if he did not have the same ability to captivate as did Mr. Wickham.

Charlotte had made no response to this evaluation since her own opinion of Mr. Wickham was much at variance with that of her friend.

In any case, she thought, as she finished gathering the eggs, I was thinking on Mr. Darcy and his reason for coming so often to the Parsonage. It is most difficult to decipher since he does not appear to come for the society. He frequently sits there for ten minutes without opening his lips, and when he does speak, it seems to be driven by necessity and not by choice — a sacrifice to propriety rather than a pleasure to himself.

The way in which Colonel Fitzwilliam occasionally laughed at Mr. Darcy, for what he termed his cousin’s stupidity, made it seem likely he was different on most other occasions. However, since she never witnessed such pleasant behaviour from Mr. Darcy, she had no way of validating that possibility. Charlotte would have liked to believe this change was due to love—and the object of his love, her friend Eliza—so she set herself the task of working it out. She watched him whenever they were at Rosings and whenever he came to Hunsford, but she had little success. He certainly looked at Elizabeth a great deal, but she had never been able to tell whether his earnest, steadfast gaze was due to admiration or absence of mind.

Of late, after she observed Mr. Darcy most carefully, she again suggested to Elizabeth the possibility of his being partial to her, but this suggestion met with no more agreement than previously. Her friend simply would not consider the suggestion seriously and always laughed at the idea. Charlotte did not press the subject on those occasions; she did not want to raise Eliza’s expectations for fear they might end in disappointment. In any case, she was not worried by Elizabeth’s oft-professed dislike of Mr. Darcy, for she was certain in her own mind that Elizabeth’s objections would vanish if she ever had reason to believe he might be in her power. On that point, she had no doubts whatever.

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Well, you certainly have not scared off this reader, Mr. Odom. You have, most unquestionably, served to whet my appetite for reading more of this book! The aforementioned knowledge that the tide turns in the second part, will keep me from total despair (and wanting to lynch you) as I read Book I. Much appreciation for giving us that highly welcome assurance. (smiles and sighs with relief)

Thank you again for agreeing to be my guest. Congratulations on this new release and I wish you much success. I feel quite confident that it will not end your writing career! I, for one, will be looking forward to more books from you. By the way, I cannot close without mention of the cover of your book...quite fascinating and intriguing! I love it! 

Michele Reed at Meryton Press is generously offering two books for the giveaway. One is a trade paperback and the other is an eBook for your eReader. Both are international. Good luck to all. Be sure and leave a comment to be entered. We want to hear your say in the conversation. Be sure to include your email address in the comment. To prevent unwanted spam, put your email address with an (at) instead of @.  Winner will be chosen in a random drawing. Giveaway ends at midnight, December 26, Boxing Day. I am allowing extra time due to Christmas!

NOTE:  This book has not been released yet so winners will not receive their copies until after the release date!