 |
| Available at Amazon |
I enjoyed reading about your meeting new people and how you felt. I have experienced many of those same feelings and thoughts when anticipating making new acquaintances. Isn't it interesting to know that probably most of us feel that way. We all want to be accepted for who we are. With that said, I'll turn the post over to you!
~~~~~~~~~~
Meeting
new people…and new characters
First, let me say, thank you, Janet, for having
me!
Sufficient
Encouragement is my tenth Pride and Prejudice variation and if you read my books in order of
how I wrote them (which is not the same as their publication dates) you will
probably see how I’ve grown as a writer. I don’t just mean in mechanics,
although I think I have improved there (as well as hiring an editor). My story
style has evolved. My earliest stories focused exclusively on Darcy and
Elizabeth. In later stories, I added in Jane and Bingley scenes. As best
friends of our dear couple, I felt like I knew them well.
In Sufficient
Encouragement, minor characters play a role in Elizabeth and Darcy’s story.
I feel like they’re the acquiantances of the story. The friends you know but
don’t know very well. Meeting them or spending a lot of alone time with them
can be nerve wracking. Often, the impression you have of them changes after
you’ve spent more time together. Such is the case in my story. Mary, Georgiana,
and even Caroline end up having more to them than meets the eye.
Sufficient
Encouragement also has several original characters.
They take such interesting roles in the story that I am giving them a series to
continue! In the rest of the “When Love Blooms” series, Darcy and Elizabeth
will continue to crop up, but it’s really an expansion of the P&P world.
Now, I know a lot of readers don’t particularly
like minor character stories, and they like original characters probably even
less. But isn’t that like meeting new people? It is better to not meet with
people, whether acquaintances or first introductions, with prejudice? Is that
not at the heart of Pride and Prejudice
itself?
I consider this not just as a writer and a
reader, but in my personal interactions. A few weeks ago, I visited Washington,
D.C. and met Jane Austen Fan Fiction authors Zoe Burton, Pamela Lynne, Cat
Gardiner and Victoria Kincaid. I have met Zoe in person once and talk with her,
Pamela and Cat online frequently. We wanted to have a meet-up and DC was agreed
upon. After learning we would be there, a reader approached the local JASNA
branch and soon a panel on JAFF was formed. As Victoria is a DC Metro area
local, we were pleased to have her included as well, although none of us knew
her very well.
As you might guess, I have an active
imagination. What is less likely for you to guess, is that I’m actually an
introvert. I like people and can talk openly with them, but then I need to pull
back and have some time to myself.
The weeks leading up to this trip, I imagined a
number of things. I imagined that the panel might go badly. The JASNA people
might not like JAFF for not being scholarly enough. What if only four people
would show up? I imagined what Cat and Pam would be like in person. I had never
even seen a photograph of Victoria and had quite a bit of fun in my head
imagining what she would look like.
Cat, Zoe and I were actually staying in the Pen
Arts Building, run by the National Pen Women, of which Cat is a member. We had
our own rooms, but would be sharing other spaces. Zoe and I were going to drive
to DC and back. What if I was too weird? What if I annoyed my friends? What if
I said the wrong thing? What if they said
the wrong thing? They are loads of fun online but what if they were different
in person? Oh, and then there were readers from A Happy Assembly coming, and I
knew them even less!
I attempted to keep an open mind with low
expectations. Different strokes for different folks, I told myself. Maybe
someone would clip their toe nails at the table. It wouldn’t be the end of the
world. Nothing an adult could do would be more shocking than my kids, right?
Well, all my worries were for naught! Zoe, Cat,
and Pamela were as darling in real life as they are online! Victoria looked nothing like what I imagined, which for
some reason was very Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma-esque. Instead, Victoria has dark,
curly hair and I didn’t see a devilish smile once. We all had so much fun
talking JAFF and life together!
The JASNA panel was amazing. There were far,
far more people than I expected. They were so friendly and open with us. All of
them were interested in JAFF, most of them had already read many of us. After
the panel, we had lunch with the A Happy Assembly members and it was so amazing
to talk with them and discuss our favorite stories, adaptations and more. I
feel energized just writing about all of it! And I’m happy to say there were no
bad table manners, which is much more than I can say for my children.
So, dear readers, I hope you can keep an open
mind and enjoy Sufficient Encouragement
as well as the “When Love Blooms” series. Meeting new people and new characters
doesn’t have to be met with dislike or cause anxiety, it can be an adventure
you never thought possibe!
~~~~~~~~~~
Book
Synopsis
We are all fools in love…
Some say a lady’s imagination is very rapid.
Such is the case when Elizabeth Bennet overhears that Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy
admires her eyes. She thinks nothing for herself, but immediately considers her
dearest sister’s growing attachment to Mr. Darcy’s friend. If Elizabeth spurns
such a wealthy—and proud—gentleman, he might do everything in his power to
separate his friend from her sister.
Raised in a world of expectations and pedigree,
Darcy knows Elizabeth Bennet can offer him nothing of material value. As his
attraction for her grows, he becomes increasingly convinced his feelings are
nonsensical. Still, he might forsake it all if only he had true encouragement.
Misunderstandings lead to betrayals, and the
couple soon learns falling in love takes courage but staying in love requires
forgiveness. Traversing from the groves of Hertfordshire to the drawing rooms
of London to the complexity and danger of Luddite revolts in Yorkshire, Sufficient Encouragement follows Darcy
and Elizabeth’s journey of love and forgiveness.
*This story contains a scene of nonexplicit
sexual violence.
~~~~~~~~~~
About
the When Love Blooms Series
“Love is like a flower, for it is well worth the toil to
cultivate it.” She shrugged her shoulders, “Love is beautiful.”
Take a stroll in the garden of love and enjoy
the unique blooms of the intersecting lives of the Bennet, Darcy, Fitzwilliam,
de Bourgh and Bingley families. Sufficient
Encouragement follows Darcy and Elizabeth as they fight to save their love
from an unexpected frost while Jane and Bingley’s love grows strong roots. The
companion story, Renewed Hope, adds
depth to the bouquet with the love stories of Darcy’s cousins and Miss Bingley.
The third book in the series, Extraordinary
Devotion, follows Darcy and Elizabeth’s marriage while their younger
sisters experience a London Season.
~~~~~~~~~~
About
the Author
Rose proudly admits her Darcy obsession and addictions to reading, chocolate, and sweet tea. Always in the mood for a healthy debate, she also dearly loves to laugh. Having completed a BA in history in 2008, she plans to complete her master’s studies...someday. At the moment, having a career combining her life-long interest in history and research with her love for Jane Austen and the Regency Era consumes all of her professional time. When not writing or reading, Rose runs after her two young children, ignores housework, and profusely thanks her husband for doing all the dishes and laundry.
~~~~~~~~~~
Sufficient Encouragement Blog Tour
Schedule
~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you, Rose, for stopping by today. It has been a joy having you visit again and I wish you the best with Sufficient Encouragement. It sounds like a great book and I look forward to reading it soon!
Dear Readers, have any of you read it yet? What are your thoughts? If you haven't made a stop at the other blogs, be sure you do. There are giveaways, excerpts, reviews and other great posts. Don't miss out!
I at the moment prefer minor character stories so I am looking forward to reading the next in the series
ReplyDeleteI've heard this from several people now and that's really encouraging! Thanks for commenting!
DeleteI love minor character stories too, Rose. And there are some wonderful original characters that have been created by yourself and your fellow authors. I suspect that Darcy and Elizabeth will always be the mainstay of JAFF but it doesn't mean that there isn't room for so much more.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to meeting new people, I'm exactly the same as you Rose. I've 'met' many amazing people online since I became part of this wonderful community. A couple of years ago, I had the chance to meet one of our British JAFF authors and exactly the same thoughts went through my mind as you've described. I needn't have worried as we got on really well when we eventually met. I think that because we all have this common interest, be it as writer or reader, then we're more likely to get on well than not.
Good luck with the launch of your new book. I'm looking forward to reading the copy that I've just won on the tour.
There's a lot of pressure with writing Darcy and Elizabeth that isn't there for writing the minor or original characters. I've even seen Wickham successfully turned around! But everyone has their own ideal of Darcy and Elizabeth and it can be so hard to balance that. I'm having a lot of fun playing with other characters (and finishing) for the first time!
DeleteI think you're right about knowing ahead of time we have a common interest to unite us in conversation. We would certainly already know the answer to "What think you of books?" even if we ask it in a ballroom!
Starting giggling over the story leading up to the author meet up in DC. I could definitely see myself getting stuck inside my own head like that. Haha! Glad it was a splendid time had by all.
ReplyDeleteThis latest story that flushes out the minor characters more sounds terrific.
I've seen a cartoon pic of a girl dressed like a super-hero. She's called Anxiety Girl and she's able to leap to scary conclusions in a single bound! She might be my alter ego. ;)
DeleteI have read a number of Rose's books and I too have noticed a real progression both in their quality and complexity. Really looking forward to this one as I, too, like to learn about the period through the story being told. Congratulations on the new release!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words! This one is definitely my most complex story yet. Weaving Darcy and Elizabeth and the minor characters, a Wickham conflict and historical conflict all in one story was quite the work!
Deleteisn't it lovely to have someone admire one's eyes
ReplyDeletedenise
Lol! She can hardly believe it! He has a long way to go, however, to repairing the first poor impression and insult!
DeleteLovely post Rose and Janet! I recently met up with my JAFF mentor, Sheila M., who writes such amazing reviews. We saw two Austen shows in NYC and had so much fun being together. Therefore, I certainly agree that keeping an open mind is important to going out of our comfort zones and enjoying new people and experiences.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who reviewed "Sufficient Encouragement," I hope other JAFF readers try this new series because I think books 2 & 3 will be lovely reads as well!
Thanks for your kind words! I'm excited by how much people are loving the minor characters and looking forward to the next books!
ReplyDelete