Well, An Unexpected Harvest is also a modern, but this time it’s all in one book, and has a bit of a twist in the approach to the characters. I don’t have time to read a lot of stories posted online these days but I did read this one, and really enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to seeing how the published version turned out!
Cat is joining us as part of her blog tour to celebrate the book’s release, and she’s brought an excerpt and giveaway for Amazon US / UK /CA kindle customers. Let’s look at the blurb and then I’ll hand over to Cat for her excerpt.
Book Description
Elizabeth Bennet left her affluent New England home at the age of sixteen and never looked back. She’s built a fabulous life in Boston and loves everything about the city—especially her dream job as creative director at an advertising agency.
Will Darcy has never lived anywhere but in rural Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He lives the quintessential small-town life and loves everything about the country—especially his family’s farm, which he’s doing his best to modernize and return to prosperity.
When her older sister moves back to New England, Elizabeth reluctantly pays a visit to the hometown she left behind. Soon enough, the city girl meets the country boy and the insults and misunderstandings fly—but so do the sparks.
No one is more surprised than Elizabeth and Will when those sparks turn into a brilliant flame, and the 300 miles between them that once felt far too close suddenly turns into an unbearable distance.
The city girl and the country boy know a good thing when they see it—even if they don’t see it nearly enough. Can they overcome their greatest challenge and find common ground—and their happily-ever-after?
***
This
novel is a modern variation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, but with a
slight spin on the usual cast of characters. It contains adult content and is
meant for mature readers.
Excerpt from An Unexpected Harvest, introduced by Cat Andrews
Happy
Friday! I’m thrilled to be visiting Babblings of a Bookworm again, this time
with my new modern Pride and Prejudice
variation called An Unexpected Harvest.
Thank you, Ceri, for being a part of the blog tour!
Today, I’m including an excerpt for your reading pleasure. While An Unexpected Harvest is, at heart, a love story about two people trying to find common ground (in more ways than one), it’s also a story of family. It’s become a familiar theme for me; I like to delve into Darcy’s relationship with his father (also done in Sanctuary), and explore that dynamic. It’s always an undercurrent and fuels intense emotion, positive or negative. But because An Unexpected Harvest has some role- and personality-reversal elements, this particular Mr. Darcy is similar to Canon Mr. Bennet. He’s not a spitting image of that man, but they do share some traits, and the situation of the Darcy family in An Unexpected Harvest is a bit more in line with the Bennets of Canon. In my story, there’s a tug-of-war going on between father and son, and this scene, a spontaneous Darcy family meeting over breakfast, highlights Will Darcy’s struggle with his father’s stubbornness, and also addresses the issue of Mr. Darcy’s illness. FYI: George is Will Darcy’s younger brother; Abby is their mother.
***
Excerpt from An Unexpected Harvest by Cat Andrews
George
walked into the kitchen then, bleary-eyed and yawning, hair sticking up in
every direction.
“Oh, George,” Abby said. “I didn't know you were home.”
“Charlotte feels like she’s coming down with something. She doesn't want me
sick, too.”
“That's smart. Would you like some breakfast?”
He shook his head. “I'll make myself something later.”
He poured his coffee and made to leave the kitchen, but Will stopped him. “Can
you hang out for a minute? I want to talk about something, and I want you here
for it.”
George shrugged and sat at the table, while Abby filled plates for Will and his
father and joined them with her own.
“Is something wrong, Fitzwilliam?” she asked
“No, everything is fine. But I think we need to talk about hiring some help.”
Robert immediately began to shake his head, and Will’s patience slipped. “Dad,
hear me out. Don't say no yet.”
Abby patted Robert’s hand. “Let him talk.”
Will took a deep breath. “I can't do this by myself anymore. When you were running
the farm, you had Richard and George and me helping you. And when Grandpa
Preston was running it, he had you and
us boys. As soon as we were old enough we were out there, working alongside him
and learning as we went. It was easier.”
Robert leveled his gaze at Will. “It's–it’s never
been easy.”
“I'm not saying it was easy, just easier. You had three extra pairs of
hands, and Grandpa had four. I have one.”
George held up his hand and grinned. “Actually, you have half a pair.”
Will chuckled despite the tension. “And you said yourself you haven't been much
help.”
George nodded and looked at his father. “Dad, Will is doing all this stuff for
the farm and he's doing it by himself. If he says he needs help, then he needs
it.”
“I can help,” Robert answered. “I'm–I’m not useless.”
Will's shoulders sagged and his voice softened. “I'm not saying you are, but
you have a disease that's only going to get worse.”
“Fitzwilliam!” Abby whispered harshly.
“What? We know it, Dad knows it, and we have to be up front about it. It's no
one’s fault Dad got Parkinson's, and no one ever thought George would get his
arm torn off.” He paused. “You guys asked me to come home and help, and I did.
I left school and came back, and I've worked my ass off. You know I have, and you know I wouldn't ask
for help if I didn't need it. Production is going to skyrocket this season, and
with the inspection coming up… I need you to give me this.”
Robert shook his head. “We can’t afford it.”
“We can squeak by with paying someone part-time.” Will’s gaze flickered briefly
to George. “Some of George’s settlement is promised to the farm, and that will
help. It’s just going to be a little tight until then.”
Robert’s eyes dropped away from Will's. “It's a–a family business.”
“You’re right, it is,” George spoke up. “The last time I checked, there were
five of us in this family. One lives in another state, one has Parkinson's, and
one is missing an arm. That leaves Mom and Will. You good with Mom working out
in the fields?”
Will knew what George was doing and was thankful for the support. He'd fought
this battle with his father a year ago, and came out on the losing end. This
time he was determined to make his point.
“I need help,” Will said. “Why are you having such a hard time understanding
that, Dad? Do you think I want help so I can slack off?”
Robert’s eyes traveled to Will’s. “No.”
“Then help me out. There’s a guy moving to Lee who was the manager of a farm in
Connecticut. He might be a good fit. He did a lot there, really turned the place
around.”
Robert frowned. “You–you talked to someone before talking to–to me?”
“No, someone approached me at
the Chamber party and asked if I was looking for help.”
“What–what do people think, Pemberley is–is falling apart?”
Will dropped his fork to his plate and sat back. “Pemberley is falling
apart. You know as well as I do that it’s not what it was twenty years ago. Hell, it's not even what
it was ten years ago. I'm bringing it back, but I’m barely
hanging on. I can’t do it by myself.” He paused. “You asked me to come back
here and make Pemberley my
future. But if you don’t trust me, it won’t work.”
“He's right,” George said. “Everything Will is doing is growing the farm. Time
to hand over the reins, Pop.”
Robert glanced at George and then stared at Will for a long moment. “I'll think
about it.”
Will wanted to shout and curse, but instead he calmly rose from the table.
“Great. You think about it. I'm going for a ride.”
* * *
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:
Cat Andrews has always been an avid reader, but didn’t discover Jane Austen until her love of a certain British actor led her to the BBC’s 1995 production of Pride and Prejudice, because she just had to know—why all the fuss over this Darcy guy? What followed her viewing of that glorious miniseries was an inhalation of and immediate fixation on all of Austen’s novels, though Pride and Prejudice remains her favorite.
Her discovery of Jane Austen Fan Fiction opened up a whole new world, and thus began her addiction, and months and months of sleep deprivation, as she immersed herself in JAFF. After reading a modern Pride and Prejudice variation that she fell in love with, she was inspired to begin a cautious but earnest foray into the world of writing.
In real life, Cat has spent thirty-plus years working in healthcare. She enjoys life on the shores of Cape Cod, Massachusetts where she grew up, fell in love with her own Mr. Darcy, and raised a family (and a three-legged dog). More often than not, you can find her at the beach with a book in her hand and her toes in the sand.
An Unexpected Harvest is her second novel.
An Unexpected Harvest is available to buy now in Paperback, Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.
•
Amazon US • Universal buy link • Add to Goodreads shelf
Giveaway Time
Cat
is kindly offering a giveaway of an e-book of An Unexpected Harvest,
open to people who buy their ebooks from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.ca.
To enter, just leave a comment on this blog post by the end of the day on Thursday
10 June.
If you have any problems adding your comment please contact me and I will add your comment for you :)
Please join Cat on the other stops of her blog tour!
June 1 – author’s blog – www.catandrews.com
June 4 – Babblings of a Bookworm
June 7 – From Pemberley to Milton
June 9 – Jane Austen State of Mind
June 11 – Austenesque Reviews
June 14 – Diary of an Eccentric
June 16 – Probably at the Library
June 18 – My Vices and Weaknesses
* * *
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Congratulations on this newest release. I read the chapters posted and look forward to reading this book.
ReplyDeleteThanks Patty! Hope you enjoy it.
DeleteHope you enjoy it when you read it, Patty.
DeleteOhh, this excerpt is so good, and I'll admit that I have read what was posted on-line. Looking forward to reading all of this story. Cat Andrews has the talent to spin intriguing tales which are well written and edited. Congrats on a new release!
ReplyDeleteThank you! And hey, you won an eBook at my blog stop! Get in touch!
DeleteHope you enjoy reading your ebook, foreverHis!
DeleteThanks so much for your kind words! I hope you enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteLove getting the family and the emotions about the complicated situation of the farm from the excerpt. Sounds like a really good one.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sophia! Love writing about the family dynamics of the Bennets and the Darcys.
DeleteHi Sophia, I haven't read the published version yet, but I read it when it was originally posted online. The dynamics in both families are interesting, but quite different from each other.
DeleteI have a comment to add from Eva:
ReplyDeleteI like modern P&P adaptations. The excerpt is intriguing. I appears that Darcy is in a different situation financially than canon. I can't wait to see what types of sparks and insults will fly between Elizabeth and Darcy. Thank you for the excerpt and giveaway.
This is a modern that flips Canon on its head a little, so yes, Darcy is not wealthy, but Elizabeth is. I hope you enjoy it!
DeleteHi Eva. The Darcys are the less wealthy family here. And yes, there are definitely sparks flying!
DeleteI am presently reading this story. Good luck with its release.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're enjoying it, Sheila. Thank you!
DeleteHope you enjoyed it, Sheila!
DeleteSounds great. Congrats on the release!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteThanks darcybennett!
DeleteWas a little confused. The comments helped enlighten me. Thank you for the excerpt and looking forward to another promising P & P variation
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy it when you read it, Buturot!
DeleteI hope you enjoy it! Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to post how good that excerpt was here! I know I'm late for the giveaway, but I still loved the Darcy family interaction in this.
ReplyDeleteThey are the most lovely family Jen, and poor Will is really working hard to keep the farm going.
DeleteThanks to everybody who stopped by to enjoy the post and especially those who commented. Cat chose a winner at random, which was Sophia Rose, who has been contacted. Congratulations to Sophia and the best of luck to Cat with An Unexpected Harvest!
ReplyDelete