All the Things I Know...Audrey Ryan

I am honored to be the final stop in the successful blog tour for Audrey Ryan's debut novel, All the Things I Know. It seems this New Adult P&P variation is being well received and I know that has to be exciting for you, Audrey. Congratulations! I'm sure the past two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity and I hope you have enjoyed every minute. I'm excited to be a part of your tour and I welcome you to More Agreeably Engaged. What a nice way to end your tour, on Jane Austen's birthday! :)

I love your book cover! Well done to both you and Zorylee.

*****

I brainstormed a lot about what kind of vignette I wanted to include for the last post of the blog tour. Should I write another outtake like I did for my post on My Love for Jane Austen? Or should I share something that I have sacrificed on the editing altar in order to not overstate a point? In the end, I decided that it would be fitting to share the cut prologue for All the Things I Know. It's the very first thing I wrote for the book and it defined the tone and Lizzie's voice. After all was written and done, the prologue was irrelevant, but I think it's fun to see what didn't make the final cut.

PROLOGUE

According to my mother, the measure of success and a blissful happiness is found when a young lady follows the correct path of ultimate achievement: "Having It All." Accordingly, life is incomplete until a woman has a comfortable income, fruitful career, perfect body and, of course, a loving man. Obviously, once said man is procured, the perfect wedding and 2.5 kids must soon follow. While the gainful perfect career is maintained and zen-like time management skills are applied.

In other words, in terms of achieving blissful happiness, I am totally fucked.

Not that I expected any less of myself. If anyone in my family could achieve the feat of "Having It All," it's my older sister, Jane, whose every decision has faithfully followed in each step toward life perfection.

For myself, each point in life has been an overly thought out and poorly executed excuse toward greater independence. Jane sailed through high school as class salutatorian, volleyball team captain, and prom court elect. I spent those years riding on her coattails; the little sister of the girl everyone loved. Some girls may have felt bitter cast in the shadow of an older perfect sister, but I could never let myself feel that way.

Jane is the kindest person I know and she always looks out for me. How can I harbor any resentment for the standard she set?

Three years ago, Jane graduated from Stanford Magna Cum Laude the same year I started as a freshman. In a few weeks she is finishing her law degree from University of Washington and I will be moving to Seattle with her after my graduation.

We are following the roadmap set for us: Mom will help us with rent for two months while we look for the correct jobs. For Jane, she will need to pass the bar and get a position at a reputable practice. There is no doubt she will succeed. Mom informs me that with my degree in Art History, no matter from what institution, my best hope is to work at Amazon.com and pray they don't care what I studied. Deep down, I long to be a curator. But Mom is right about one thing: the field is competitive and small. I am young and without experience. Who would hire someone like me? The best thing I could hope for is to curate a neighborhood art walk for a local coffee shop. But people do that kind of work for free.

Maybe I should be a ticket clerk at the art museum instead?

I can imagine the reaction from Mom if I went that route: "How can you be so frustrating, Lizzie? Do you expect me to supplement your income forever while you persist in that imaginary profession? If only you studied Law like Jane! Your sister is set-up to make a tidy income and you know it won't be long until she is married. She may not have a boyfriend right now, but she can't be so beautiful for nothing!"

At least Jane and I will be in a different city than our mom in phase one of our new life. I can struggle to some form of acceptable success without her breathing down my neck.

At least, I hope I can.

*****

Blurb:

Lizzie Venetidis is confident in her decisions. Moving to Seattle with her sister Jane after she graduated from Stanford, for instance, was a no-brainer. Adult life, however, turns out to be more difficult to navigate than she expected.

What career should she pursue with a bachelor’s degree in art history and no marketable experience amongst a tech-heavy job market? How responsible is it to drink that fourth cocktail while out with friends? And what should she do about Darcy—the aloof yet captivating guy she met her first night in town?

All the Things I Know is a one-mistake-at-a-time retelling of Pride & Prejudice, set against the backdrop of modern-day techie Seattle. Full of wry observations, heartache, and life lessons, All the Things I Know shares the original’s lessons of correcting ill-conceived first impressions and learning who you really are.

Author Bio:

Audrey Ryan is the nom de plume of Andrea Pangilinan: daydreamer, wife and step-mother, and obsessive story consumer. She studied writing in college, dreamt about becoming a novelist and slowly forgot about it when real life took over. With a particular affection for contemporary retellings, adapting Pride & Prejudice to modern day has always been a dream.

When she’s not reading and writing, Andrea is a marketing slave to the internet industry. She enjoys talking crazy to her weirdo cat, consuming copious amount of wine and coffee with her girlfriends, and record shopping with her husband. Oh yeah, and there’s that small Jane Austen obsession. That doesn’t take up any time at all.

Contact Links:

http://audreyryan.merytonpress.com
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAudreyR/
https://twitter.com/AuthorAudreyR
Audrey’s Goodreads is just as a reader, but it’s here: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3797528-audrey-ryan-andrea-pangilinan

Buy Links:

Amazon Kindle US

Amazon Kindle UK

Amazon Paperback UK

All the Things I Know Blog Tour Schedule:

12- 3   Austenesque Reviews;   Author Interview, Giveaway

12- 4   My Jane Austen Book Club; Guest Post, Excerpt, Giveaway

12- 5   Babblings of a Bookworm; Character Interview, Giveaway

12- 6   From Pemberley to Milton; Guest Post, Giveaway

12- 7   Night Owl Reader;  Review, Excerpt

12- 8   Just Jane 1813; Review, Giveaway

12- 9   My Love for Jane Austen; Vignette, Giveaway

12-10  Darcyholic Diversions; Author Interview, Giveaway

12-11  Of Pens and Pages; Review, Excerpt, Giveaway

12-12  Margie’s Must Reads; Review, Excerpt, Giveaway

12-13  Savvy Verse and Wit; Guest Post, Giveaway  

12-14  My Vices and Weaknesses; Character Interview, Giveaway

12-15  Diary of an Eccentric; Guest Post, Excerpt, Giveaway

12-16  More Agreeably Engaged; Vignette, Giveaway

Giveaway:

8 eBooks of All the Things I Know are being given away by Meryton Press and the giveaway is international.

Terms and Conditions:

Readers may enter the drawing by tweeting once a day and daily commenting on a blog post or review that has a giveaway attached for the tour. Entrants must provide the name of the blog where they commented. Remember: Tweet and comment once daily to earn extra entries.


Each winner will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter and the giveaway is international.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you for stopping by today, Audrey. It has been a pleasure having you visit. Too bad the prologue didn't make it in the final cut but I am glad that you shared it with us. Poor Lizzy. I did feel sorry for her. She has an uphill struggle it seems. It definitely says much about her character that she doesn't resent Jane.

I wish you the best with your book and look forward to seeing what you write next! Again, congratulations on the release of your first book.