Debut Author J Dawn King

Joy King has been a frequent visitor and supporter of my blog. I have enjoyed reading her comments on the various posts, but today I welcome her as my guest. She lives in Ecuador but is originally from Oregon. She is also having a giveaway of her book, A Father's Sins, which I will be reviewing in a few days. It is with pleasure that I introduce to you, debut author J Dawn King. I hope you will enjoy getting to know her as much as I have.

My life has always been filled with a variety of activities. I loved to read, but had little time for it. Two years ago I became very, very ill. Being confined to my bed was a challenge because I had always been a go-getter. However, this turned out to be a blessing. It was then that I read Jane Austen’s books for the first time. Pride and Prejudice was my favorite. I could not get enough.

What started me on the path to writing A Father’s Sins: A Pride and Prejudice Variation was The Journey, by Jan Hahn. That one book was my life changer. I read it four times back-to-back and could not quit thinking about it when I would put it down. That single story started me pondering over alternate paths for Darcy and Elizabeth. It also motivated me to read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice again.

A Father’s Sins delves into the consequences that decisions made by unthinking parents can have on their innocent children. Portions of Jane Austen’s original story played a huge factor in my setting. Fitzwilliam Darcy’s father showing favor to George Wickham at the expense of his own young son and heir played to Darcy’s shyness and social reticence. Elizabeth Bennet’s father not taking charge of Lydia and not caring properly for his estate to ensure a good future for his daughters affected everyone in his household. It created a sometimes hysterical, nervous mother and put pressure on the daughters to marry well to provide for sisters where their father had not.

From the first, I imagined Elizabeth loving adventure and Darcy loving Elizabeth right away. It frustrated me, in the original, that Darcy and Elizabeth would have reached their happily ever after sooner if they communicated. However, that would have not fit with the rest of Jane Austen’s story. The freedom to tell their     story my way was just too tempting to pass up.

The conduct and attitude of Mr. Bennet also impacted Jane and Bingley. In the original, the two were close to the same age but each lived a very different life. Charles Bingley was easily persuaded, both by his sisters and Mr. Darcy. He had not worked for his income and his only real accomplishments were the ability to make close friends and the finishing of his education. Jane Bennet, as the eldest child with a flighty mother, would have had much responsibility around the home. She also had the pressure to marry well. It was easy to see why she was attracted to Bingley. But, I wondered how a young woman whose father refused to make good decisions to benefit her family would feel after marriage to a young man who had no track record in standing up for himself to his sisters.

Thus, book two, entitled Mr. Bingley: A Pride and Prejudice Variation. It will build on those issues as Bingley does without Darcy’s guidance and influence for the first time in his adult life. I hope to have it done and in print by mid-summer. Charles Bingley and Jane Bennet are as loved by me as Darcy and Elizabeth and I long for them to have a wonderful ending. It will be a stand-alone story.

My plan for book three, Colonel Fitzwilliam: A Pride and Prejudice Variation, is to have the gentleman fall immediately and passionately in love with George Wickham’s sister, Constance. (Constance was briefly introduced in A Father’s Sins). She blames Colonel Fitzwilliam for her brother’s being separated from her family and loathes him with every fiber of her being. Their story will be filled with misunderstandings, disputes, and heated passions. However, it will be PG rated and will be a stand alone story.

I am currently having A Father’s Sins translated into Spanish. Definitely one of the many benefits of living in South America.

I think I had better quit typing here and get busy finishing book two. Bingley is calling…..

About the Author:

First time author Joy Dawn King fell in love with Jane Austen’s writings two years ago and discovered the world of fan fiction shortly after. Intrigued with the many possibilities, she began developing her own story for Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet.

Living high in the Andes Mountains of South America, Joy loves to take an occasional break from the Latin culture and bury herself in reading English literature about her favorite English characters.

Joy, and her husband of 34 years, live next door to their only child, Jennifer, her husband, and her twtin grandchildren and is a native Oreganian.

The author is currently writing about Mr. Bingley’s and Jane Bennet’s struggles with happily ever after and will follow with the tale of what happens when Colonel Fitzwilliam immediately falls in love with Constance Wickham, who hates him bitterly.

The Father's Sins may be found on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

I am so happy you agreed to be my guest, Joy. It has been such a 'joy' to have you visit in your role as author this time. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us and letting us get to know you better. I enjoyed reading your book and I wish you much success with it and future books!

J Dawn King  is generously giving away A Father's Sins to two lucky people. The international giveaway is for one paperback and one eBook. To be entered leave a comment below as I always love reading your 'share in the conversation'!  Good luck to all. Be sure to include your email address in the comment. To prevent unwanted spam, put your email address with (at) instead of @. Winners will be chosen in a random drawing. Giveaway will end at midnight, April 9, 2014.