Joy Dawn King - Guest Post and Giveaway

Today I am welcoming one of my favourite blog visitors, author J Dawn King. Joy has brought a conversation piece and giveaway, so channel your inner Lady Catherine de Bourgh; you must have your share of the conversation!

Usually when an author stops by, they are here to share their latest release, however Joy asked if we could play a game. Without further ado, I will pass over to Joy.

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Thank you, Ceri. I love board games and card games. My favorite is word games. However, I’m wanting to play the following to gain an understanding of the imaginary character qualities your readers/followers have when they read a Pride and Prejudice variation. I thought the best way to find out was to ask. Here goes!

TWENTY QUESTIONS

When you close your eyes and envision Miss Elizabeth Bennet, what does she look like? How about Mr. Darcy? Does he ALWAYS look like Colin Firth or Matthew MacFadyen? Do your opinions of their appearance change with the story or do they always stay the same? It is of interest to me how little details Jane Austen shared about the physical appearance of her characters. She left us with the task of bringing her people to life – at least mentally.

Therefore, in today’s blog post, we will challenge your imagination by asking for your response to the following questions. I must emphasize that there are no correct or incorrect answers. Your viewpoint is the right one in this exercise. How cool is that?

1) Do you see Miss Elizabeth’s hair as
a) dark brown
b) reddish brown
c) almost black
d) light brown
e) another color altogether

2) How tall is Elizabeth Bennet?

3) How is she proportioned?
a) hourglass figure
b) buxom
c) petite
d) hefty
e) another shape or combination of shapes

4) How long is her hair when it’s down? Does she have straight hair, waves, or curls?

5) What color are her eyes?

6) How tall is Mr. Darcy?

7) How tall is Mr. Bingley?

8) How tall is Colonel Fitzwilliam?

9) Is Mr. Darcy’s hair straight, wavy, curly? Light brown, dark brown, black? Does he have highlights?

10) What color are Mr. Darcy’s eyes? Does he have a unibrow? (sorry, I HAD to ask)

11) Is Mr. Darcy a cat person or a dog person?

12) Is Miss Elizabeth a cat or dog person?

13) Which food would you never serve when Mr. Darcy was at your table? Which would you ALWAYS serve?

14) If you were called upon to display your accomplishments, which do you think Mr. Darcy prefers – singing or playing an instrument like the harp or pianoforte?

15) Which modern song would you sing to the Netherfield Park gathering on the evening Jane Bennet came downstairs for the first time after being ill?

16) Which modern song would you serenade Lady Catherine de Bourgh with while at Rosings with the guests from Hunsford, her nephews, her daughter, and her daughter’s companion?

17) Which modern movie do you think Miss Elizabeth would love to watch over and over again?

18) What about Mr. Darcy? What movie do you think he would find entertaining?

19) What make and model of car would your Mr. Darcy drive as he meandered throughout the English countryside?

20) If you could personally meet any one of Jane Austen’s characters from any of her books, who would it be and where?

Thank you for reading this far. Phew! That was a lot of questions. Please feel free to leave any or all of your answers in the comments.

Again, why am I asking these questions? Because you get to know my characters through my stories. This way I can come to know yours. A fair exchange, I believe.

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Thank you, Joy, for these questions. I think Austen left the door open on many of the characters' physical appearances so I'll be really interested to see the replies. I have noticed that some Austenesque books that I've read clearly have one actor or another in the role of Darcy and sometimes it has jarred me out of the story for a second, because I was imagining something different. I am certainly going to join in with these questions but I will let my blog visitors have a go first in case they are persuaded by my views, which are very strong on some of these.

I have to say though, I think you are the only person I've ever seen pose the question of whether Mr Darcy had a unibrow!

Thank you so much for stopping by for virtual tea and pastries Joy.

Joy’s books can be found on Amazon by searching either J Dawn King or Christie Capps. She can be contacted via Facebook, Twitter, her website, or email.

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Giveaway Time!

Joy is very kindly offering a giveaway for commenters on this post. A $100 Amazon gift card can be won by one lucky winner, open internationally. To enter, answer this question: Why are you a Jane Austen fan? Please comment by the end of the day on Friday 28 July 2017, and leave a way to be contacted so that you don't miss out if you're the lucky winner.