Second Impressions by Amy George - Blog Tour, Author Interview and Giveaway

The blog tour for Amy George’s ‘Second Impressions’ stops by today. Amy George is a new author so I don’t know much about her – luckily for me, my stop on the blog tour is the author interview, so I get to be nosy and ask some questions!

Here’s some more information on the book and the author:

Second Impressions blurb:
Once, Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet were foes, then tenuous friends. After Elizabeth discovers Darcy is engaged to another woman, she flees to Boston to seek solace with her cousin, the brash and worldly Emeline Poston.

When she returns to England after years spent abroad, Elizabeth must face the man who shattered her heart, and is shocked to find that the proud man she once knew is drastically altered. Does she have the courage to seek out the man whom she fell in love with—whatever the cost?

Fitzwilliam Darcy has spent his days regretting what might have been and his nights being tormented by the decisions he has made. His life in tatters, he can barely face the once-respectable man in his mirror. Now that Elizabeth has returned, will he atone for his mistakes and win her heart for good?
This alternate path reimagining of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice is recommended for adult readers.

Author Bio:
Amy George is a middle-aged woman who hates her "old lady/grown-up" car and refuses to listen to its radio at a reasonable volume, especially when the Beastie Boys or the Violent Femmes are playing. She lives in a town in the middle of the country where the county fair is one of the biggest social events of the season and everything is fried. Her household consists of a dog, a cat, a man, a hermit, and stubborn soap scum.

She has been writing since she was a child and was a frequent contributor to the Hyacinth Gardens, a popular but defunct JAFF site.

Author Links:
• Twitter • Blog • Facebook •

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Amy, thank you so much for stopping by at Babblings of a Bookworm! I’d like to start out by asking you how you first found your way to Jane Austen, and whether first impressions were enough to win you over or whether you needed a second? ;)

I was in college, taking an English lit course. I’ve never been very good at assigned reading so I got ’95 P&P, and, of course, fell in love. I did read the book for class and several times since. I warmed up to P&P immediately. Who doesn’t love a good Cinderella story, even if there are no magical shoes?

Which is your favourite Austen book and which is your favourite character?

It’s not very original, but P&P is my favourite book. (Although Jane’s History of England is probably my favourite piece.) My favourite character is probably Mr Bennet. He’s a terrible father and a terrible husband, but I don’t think he’s a bad man. He’s a product of his circumstances. I like that complexity.

What first prompted you to write Jane Austen Fan Fiction (JAFF)?

It’s been such a long time. That’s a difficult question. There was just something about the story pulled me in. I wanted to know more about the characters and so I wrote how I thought things might have continued. My first story was a modern, which I actually prefer to write, and it just flowed. I look back now and see the immaturity of it, but, at the time, it was a lot of fun.

Are there any other authors that might inspire you to write fan fiction? If so, who?

I wrote boy band fan fic well before Jane Austen. That was a truly embarrassing phase because I Mary Sue’d the hell out of myself. I could see myself writing some fan fic based on a couple of favourite comics—“Lucifer” & “Ruse”—and maybe Batman fic.  I’ve been on a horror/sci-fi kick lately.

I understand that you started out at Hyacinth Gardens, a JAFF site that no longer exists; many relative newcomers to JAFF, such as myself, weren’t aware of the genre at that time and might not know that HG was one of the earlier JAFF sites. How have things changed in JAFF since those days? What brought you back to this genre?

Well, I honestly can’t say how things have changed. I’ve been away for a very long time and am not an active member in the community. That’s very likely about to change because I remember how warm and lovely so many of the people were. I loved going to Hoedows (HG gatherings) and meeting all these amazing, talented women. I’ve made remarkable friendships that continued even having been away from the community. (My ties with the JAFF community actually go even further back to the Derbyshire Writer’s Guild, where I posted my first story.)

“Second Impressions” being published is the culmination of the effort of one of those remarkable friends, Debbie Styne, who was my editor on this book. She’s been trying to get me to publish something for ages. 

Do you read JAFF yourself? What type of JAFF do you prefer reading (modern/historical etc)? Do you like reading a similar style of book to the stories you write?

When I was active in the community, I read a little bit of everything. Abigail’s  [Reynolds] were so well written and magical. I loved “The Great Game,” a historical by Ayden and “The Luxury Gap,” a modern by Sharla. (I consider both classic JAFF.) I remember the first incarnation of “Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star” because it was originally published on HG. In fact, I’m one of Richard’s groupies.
As I mentioned earlier, I prefer writing modern—“Second Impressions” was actually a bit of an experiment for me—so reading historical is always a fun escape.

Now onto your book – what inspired the story of ‘Second Impressions’?

The most fun part of FF, in my opinion, is the “What If?” factor. What if Darcy or Lady Catherine didn’t bother to tell Elizabeth about his arrangement with Anne? What if he never shows up to propose a second time? How does the story end then? What path does ODC walk in that instance? Those questions are interesting. So I wrote this book to answer them for myself. And maybe for a Lovely Reader or two.

From the blurb, it sounds as though you put Mr Darcy through the mill – does he deserve it?!

I don’t know that he deserves it, but he certainly brought it upon himself in some ways. If he just wasn’t so damn haughty! Part of what I wanted to do with this book was to make Darcy a tragic figure mostly to see what he would do, and I think I managed to accomplish that a bit.

Do you promise us a satisfactory happy ever after? (Please note, answers in the negative may not be acceptable here!)

Who in their right mind would deny JAFF readers a happy ending? What if those people found out where I live? I’m a writer. I’m not completely crazy.

Who is the child in Darcy’s nursery (just kidding, that would be spoiler territory!)?

Oh, I’ll answer that. She’s Grace.

Last but not least: which Austen character do you think would suit you best for a happy ever after?

Oh, dear. That’s a hard one, but let’s go with Knightley. Just to save him from Emma.

Amy, thank you so much for your time, and for indulging my nosiness! It's been great to get to know a bit more about you.

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Giveaway Time!

Meryton Press, the publisher of ‘Second Impressions’, is giving away 4 e-books / 4 paperbacks as part of the blog tour. To enter, log in to the rafflecopter via the link below. Please note that commenting on this blog post alone won’t enter you to the draw, you have to use the rafflecopter. The paperbacks are only available for residents of the contiguous United States to win but everybody can enter to win an e-book.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
But what if you can’t cope with the suspense of entering a giveaway, and need to read the book sooner? Don’t worry, you can buy a copy! The e-book is available to buy now: Amazon UK / Amazon US.

As this is a blog tour there are other stops where you can learn more about the book and read excerpts and guest posts from Amy George and reviews of ‘Second Impressions’. The blog tour stops are listed below.

15 Aug: Review at Margie’s Must Reads

16 Aug: Excerpt & Giveaway at Romance Novel Giveaway

17 Aug: Guest Post & Giveaway at My Jane Austen Book Club

18 Aug: Guest Post & Giveaway at Skipping Midnight

19 Aug: Review at Tomorrow is Another Day

20 Aug: Review at Liz’s Reading Life

22 Aug: Excerpt & Giveaway at More Agreeably Engaged

23 Aug: Review at Half Agony, Half Hope

23 Aug: Excerpt & Giveaway at So Little Time…

24 Aug: Review at My Kids Led Me Back to Pride and Prejudice

25 Aug: Guest Post & Giveaway at From Pemberley to Milton

26 Aug: Review at Diary of an Eccentric

27 Aug: Review at Just Jane 1813

28 Aug: Author Interview & Giveaway at Babblings of a Bookworm