Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Book Excerpt and Giveaway: The Secret Betrothal by Jan Hahn

Today The Calico Critic joins the Blog Tour of the new Austenesque diversion, The Secret Betrothal by Jan Hahn. I hope the excerpt below will whet your appetite, and that you'll enter the giveaway below, sponsored by Leatherbound Reviews. Be sure to check out the other stops on the blog tour, featuring other excerpts, giveaways and more!  The tour schedule is listed below. Thanks for stopping by!



From the author:

I’m so pleased to be a guest at The Calico Critic today and share an excerpt from Chapter Fourteen of my latest book, The Secret Betrothal.  It takes place in Brighton some months after Elizabeth refused Darcy’s first proposal at Hunsford Parsonage.

The sea was rough that day, its roar deafening, but Darcy welcomed it, for it drowned out the voices in his head, the voices that repeated what a fool he had been for falling in love with a woman who did not want him, and what a fool he continued to be for seeking her out once again.  He resolved to use that walk to collect his thoughts and prepare himself for her presence.  Darcy would refuse to allow his emotions to rule his actions.  He would make enquiry of her sister’s true feelings for Bingley, and then he would know how to act.  If he had wronged the couple, then he would make it right.  Once that was done, he need have nothing more to do with the Bennet family.  He need never see Elizabeth again. 

There, he had performed it in his mind.  It was a good plan, one that he would accomplish, one that he would carry through without diversion.

As Darcy congratulated himself on this sensible resolve, he leaned against the huge black rock jutting out into the ocean.  He remembered that, as a boy, he and Fitzwilliam had often climbed on its points.  What sport it had been!  He smiled in remembrance as he looked up—and to his utter amazement, he saw Elizabeth climbing down from that very rock!

“Mr. Darcy!” she cried when she recognized him, her eyes wide.

“Miss Bennet!” was all that he could utter.

“I—that is—I thought you were in London, sir.  I had no idea—”

“I just arrived an hour ago.  You are . . . all wet.”

She glanced down at her damp clothing and her hand flew up to smooth her soaked ringlets.

“Yes, an . . . an unexpected wave,” she stammered.  “I hoped to return to Waverley without being discovered in such disarray.”

Darcy’s eyes took in how the damp gown clung to Elizabeth’s body, outlining her curves, the pale peach colour now appearing almost the colour of her skin when wet.  When his eyes returned to her face, he could see how mortified she was, and he made a powerful attempt to avert his gaze. 

He raised his arms to assist her, but as he did so, Elizabeth’s foot slipped on the moist rock, and she started to fall.  Instinctively, Darcy’s hands encircled her waist, and he caught her in his arms, causing her face to be thrust next to his, her scent provoking him, and his senses catching fire with the intimacy of their embrace. 

When her feet touched the sand, Darcy held onto her, his eyes upon hers, neither breaking the gaze.  Then his eyes travelled to her lips, and he was helpless to resist the fascination.  Slowly, so very, very slowly, he leaned down toward her mouth.

Elizabeth had evidently caught her breath when she first began to fall, but now her breath came forth in a gasp, her bosom moving against his chest, her body trembling within his embrace, and with sudden realization of how vulnerable she was, Darcy forced his eyes from her lips and released her.

“Here, take my jacket,” he said quickly, shaking off his coat and placing it around her shoulders.

“Thank you,” she murmured, obviously shaken.  “If you will give me a moment, sir, I must find my shoes.”

Darcy smiled slightly.  “So you have misplaced them once again?”

Elizabeth turned away from him and closed her eyes. He wondered if she recalled how she had lost them in the library at Rosings. 

“I know where they are as I tucked them safely inside this cleft at the base of the rock,” she said. She disappeared around the side, but upon returning, she remained barefoot.  She pursed her lips. 

He struggled to keep a straight face. “Is there some difficulty, Miss Bennet?”

“It seems that the sea has claimed my shoes.”  With a slight curtsy, Elizabeth turned away and swiftly began walking toward Waverley.

Darcy could not refrain from smiling at the lovely girl’s attempt at dignity when placed in such an awkward position.  She held her head up and gave every appearance that she was quite used to walking down the beach in a thoroughly wet gown, without shoes, and clad in a gentleman’s jacket that dwarfed her slender figure.  He started to call out to her but decided to let her go.  Perhaps she might even consider that the gentleman-like thing to do.




Connect with Jan Hahn and Meryton Press




Giveaway: The Secret Betrothal
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About the Author

Jan Hahn is fascinated by Jane Austen, 19th Century England, and true love. Having spent years in the world of business, she is now content to leave it behind and concentrate on writing about Austen's characters finding true love in 19th Century England. A storyteller since childhood, she's written skits and plays for local organizations and owned a business recording, writing and publishing oral histories. Jan is a member of JASNA and began writing novels based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in 2002.

Jan's first novel, An Arranged Marriage, won the award for Best Indie book of 2011 from Austen Prose. The Journey, published in 2012, was selected by Austenprose as one of the Top Five Austen Inspired Historical Novels of 2012, and it won the Favorite Pride and Prejudice Variation/Alternate Path of 2012 award from Austenesque. Jan has five children, seven grandchildren, and is a native Texan. In her dream world, she lives in England in a place called Pemberley.



Paperback
Kindle
2011 Novel
2012 Novel

Blog Tour Dates:
April 7: Review at The Darcy Obsession
April 8: Excerpt at My Jane Austen Book Club
April 9: Review at Addicted to Jane Austen
April 10: Excerpt & Giveaway at Everything Books and Authors
April 11: Guest Post at More Agreeably Engaged
April 13: Guest Post & Giveaway at My Love for Jane Austen
April 14: Review at Songs and Stories
April 15: Excerpt & Giveaway at The Calico Critic
April 16: Review at Diary of an Eccentric
April 17: Guest Post & Giveaway at Laughing with Lizzie
April 18: Review at Warmisunqu's Austen

Monday, April 7, 2014

Book Review: Steampunk Darcy by Monica Fairview

William Darcy is obsessed with his ancestors. So much so that he intends to rebuild Pemberley (destroyed during the Uprising) stone by stone, and he wants to employ reconstruction expert Seraphene Grant to help him.

Or does he? Seraphene wasn’t born yesterday. She can smell a rat, particularly when it stinks all the way up to her airship. She knows Darcy is hiding something. But with the Authorities after her and her other options dwindling by the moment, the temptation of genuine English tea and a gorgeous Steampunk gentleman are very difficult to resist.

But what if Darcy’s mystery job courts nothing but trouble? What if Darcy is harboring a secret to kill for? When kiss comes to shove, will Darcy’s secret destroy Seraphene, or will it be her salvation?

Join us on a romantic adventure like no other in this whimsical Pride and Prejudice-inspired tribute, featuring Wickham, Georgiana, dirigibles, funky fish, and swash-buckling pirates.




Steampunk Darcy is my first foray into the unusual world of steampunk storytelling. This culture of science fiction, blended with some not-too-distant historical eras has risen in popularity in the last few decades. For those who aren't familiar with this conceptualization, imagine a blend of Victorian England, America's Wild West and a touch of modernized Jules Verne. It is at times whimsical, yet in other aspects there is a dark edginess to it. This amalgam of ideas has piqued my interest in the last few years, and I’ve been interested in sampling a bit of it within the pages of a novel.  The closest I’ve come is having Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan sitting on my shelf, untouched. I do intend to get to it one day, but an Austenesque novel within this particular paradigm was too tempting to pass up.  The minute I heard that Monica Fairview was working on this title, not only was I delighted, but I was surprised that no one had thought of it sooner!  The original characters are already set in the 19th century, the same period for much of steampunk lore.  It was just a matter of pointing Austen’s creation in that direction.  Purists may find this to be a wild notion, but I was willing to take the literary leap into this fantastical vision.

Because I’m new to the world of steampunk, I’m not thoroughly acquainted with the ground rules for what will or will not be a part of it. Monica could have easily thrown in random external elements and I would have been none the wiser.  As a reader, my highest interest was not in remaining incredibly true to Austen (just the concept is a wild diversion), nor was it focused on how this frameowork would fit into steampunk fans’ definition of the genre. Those notions are important, but the ultimate priority was to have an enjoyable story. The fantastic elements make this genre intriguing, but without a quality narrative to support them, my interest would fade quickly.

I’m pleased to report that Monica Fairview has succeeded on all fronts with Steampunk Darcy. I loved the amazing environment she created in her vision of Jane Austen’s England, adjusted with a post-rebellion, modern-yet-steampunky tone.  Main character William Darcy is a descendent of Austen’s Darcys, and there are other elements that tie the story back to the original material. In Steampunk Darcy, Jane Austen is a “biographer” of the Darcy family, with the text of Pride and Prejudice being a non-fiction account, rather than a classic novel. Other characters, such as the lead-female Seraphene seem to be completely new inclusions. She is a welcome addition, as the repartee between the high-spirited Seraphene and pretentious Darcy is quite entertaining.  There is a romantic element of course (conservative readers might find it a bit steamy), but their story also involves their relationship as employer and employee.  Through Darcy’s obsession with his family history, he hires Seraphene to help him with his work on a top-secret project.  The following quote exhibits much of what I refer to—the ties to Austen, mixed in with the steampunk elements:

“Give me a chance to explain. As you know, Pemberley was my ancestral home before it was destroyed, first during the Blitz, then by the slime rain before the Uprising. What I require-- in a nutshell-- is a detailed record of Pemberley as it was at its height, during the Regency period. I want to know everything about it, from the paintings on the wall to what the servants ate for breakfast. I would also like a detailed rendition of Fitzwilliam Darcy and his wife Lizzy at the beginning of their marriage. I want to know their manners, their personal peculiarities, their interactions with each other, their food preferences, their taste in music-- just about everything there is to know.”

This leads to high adventure, as well as opportunities for Seraphene to deal with important issues within her family’s past, especially the struggles her kin have endured since the culture-altering Uprising years ago. Adversaries include the culture around them, a very interesting character based on George Wickham and more.  Surprises, romance, humor and drama abound in a way never before seen through a filtered derivation of Austen’s imagination.  I highly enjoyed my first experience with the steampunk genre, and Monica Fairview has crafted an interesting and compelling story which can stand on its own, regardless of classification.  Steampunk Darcy is a rousing, amazing adventure, one that breaks new ground in Austenesque fiction and does not fail to entertain.


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More Jane!
Leviathan




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