Mages and Mysteries: A Fantasy Pride and Prejudice Variation by Victoria Kincaid - Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway

I’m really pleased to be welcoming Victoria Kincaid today, with her latest book, Mages and Mysteries: A Fantasy Pride and Prejudice Variation. As you will have gleaned from the title, this is a P&P variation set in a world where there is magic. I love to see magic incorporated into P&P, because each author’s magic world is different. Victoria is also giving away an ebook of Mages and Mysteries to a commenter on this post! Let’s look at the blurb and then I’ll hand over to Victoria for a guest post and excerpt.

Book Description - Mages and Mysteries

In Regency England, women are expected to confine their magical acts to mending dresses or enhancing their beauty, but Elizabeth Bennet insists on crafting her own spells to fight goblins and protect the people of Meryton.  She even caused a scandal by applying for admission to the magical Academy. When Hertfordshire is beset with a series of unexplained goblin attacks, Elizabeth is quite ready to protect her family and friends. If only she didn’t have to deal with the attitude of the arrogant mage, Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Mr. Darcy doesn’t need to be associated with a scandalous woman like Elizabeth Bennet—no matter how attractive she is. But as the goblin attacks accelerate and grow more dangerous, Darcy realizes that he could use her help in identifying the cause—and is forced to recognize her magical ability.

Unfortunately, continued proximity to Elizabeth only heightens his attraction to her—which is particularly inconvenient in light of his engagement to Caroline Bingley.

Can Elizabeth and Darcy unravel the mystery of the goblin attacks before more people are hurt? And how can they manage their growing mutual attraction? It’s sure to be interesting…because when Darcy and Elizabeth come together, magic happens. 

Guest Post from Victoria Kincaid

Hello Ceri!

Thank you for having me as a guest!  I always enjoy visiting Babblings of a Bookworm. Although Mages and Mysteries is my 17^th Pride and Prejudice variation (I can hardly believe it!), it’s the first one with a fantasy twist—which is why it took so long to write (the pandemic didn’t help either).

Authors who write fantasy always talk about “world building,” but it’s definitely harder than it looks. Not only did I need to make sure that all the details were period appropriate, but I also had to ensure that all the magical elements were internally consistent. I thought I had it all worked out and then one of my beta readers flagged all of the inconsistencies where some bit of magic in one part contradicted the rules I had set up elsewhere. Thank goodness for beta readers.

Although it was challenging, I really enjoyed writing Mages and Mysteries; it’s fun to step outside the boundaries of the traditional plot while still remaining true to the characters and their personalities. From the comments I’ve been receiving, it sounds like the readers are enjoying the book as well.  I hope you like the excerpt below.

Excerpt from Mages and Mysteries

“Sir William gestured expansively toward the family of worthies arrayed behind him. “Allow me to introduce the Bennet family. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and three of their daughters, Miss Jane Bennet, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and Miss Mary Bennet. Their younger two daughters have already found dancing partners.”

Everyone exchanged bows and curtsies. Bingley’s gaze lingered on Miss Jane Bennet, who was quite lovely, with a blonde halo of hair framing a serenely beautiful countenance. Darcy’s attention was particularly arrested by Elizabeth Bennet.  Her hair was a mass of dark curls, and her smile held a faint hint of amusement in it. How intriguing. Something about her name was familiar, but Darcy would remember meeting a woman of such striking beauty.

Mrs. Bennet burbled about how wonderful it was to see such fine young men at their “fair assembly.” By “fine,” Darcy understood her to mean “wealthy.” He was accustomed to this reaction, but that did not render it less tedious.

While the others spoke of inconsequential subjects, the question of where Darcy had heard of Elizabeth Bennet nagged at him. When Mr. Bennet said something about the Academy of Magic, Darcy remembered. “Miss Elizabeth, are you the woman who petitioned the Convocation for admission to the Academy?” He blurted out the words.

She did not appear nearly as abashed as he would have expected.  “I am, but that was three years ago. I am intrigued to find that you still recognize my name.”

“I was part of the Convocation panel that heard your petition.” Only after uttering those words did Darcy realize it was hardly the most politic thing he could have said.  The panel had been unanimous in rejecting her application; the Academy had never admitted a woman.

Fortunately, she appeared more amused than irritated. “It is a shame the panel did not see fit to test my magical abilities before denying my request. That might have altered their opinion.” Darcy expected the other mages in the group to be embarrassed by this forwardness, but her father laughed an agreement and Sir William nodded.  The sisters regarded Miss Elizabeth with sympathy. Only Mrs. Bennet colored and glanced away. Apparently Miss Elizabeth’s application to study magic was well known in the community. How curious.

“Magical studies in the Academy are quite rigorous and even dangerous,” Darcy said. “They should not be undertaken lightly.”

“I assure you, I had every intention of undertaking them quite heavily.”  Her father snorted a laugh and even Bingley smiled.

Darcy’s friend broke the ensuing awkward silence by inviting Miss Bennet to dance the next set, which was just beginning to form. After her shy agreement, they hurried toward the dance floor. Politeness suggested that Darcy prevail upon Miss Elizabeth to dance, but he could not bring himself to do so. She had created a minor scandal, and he had no intention of associating himself with her any longer than the length of the discussion. Obviously she rated herself rather highly if she believed her abilities equal to the most talented young mages in the country. 

“I understand you are from Derbyshire, sir?” Mrs. Bennet asked.

“Yes, my estate is Pemberley—near Matlock,” Darcy answered shortly.  Questions about his income hovered unspoken in the air. Darcy wondered if there were a polite way to hint at how fruitless any matrimonial efforts would be. Mrs. Bennet babbled about a distant relative from Lambton, relieving Darcy of any social obligations save nodding at appropriate moments.

Everyone knew that women’s magic was better suited to small domestic tasks such as mending clothing, embroidery, or beautifying charms.  Female servants might use a little magic to enhance food they made, make cleaning easier, or light a kitchen fire. However, most women were not adept with higher level spells. 

History did offer a few exceptions to this rule, such as the notorious Jane Dee during Elizabeth I’s reign. But customarily women did not possess the capacity for greater magic, leaving male mages to fight magical wars and perform other dangerous tasks.

Darcy understood why Miss Elizabeth was without a dance partner despite her beauty. If the woman’s doomed application was widely known in the neighborhood, scandal would have attached to the whole family.”

* * *

I hope you enjoyed the excerpt as much as I did, and am sure you all joined me in booing the engagement with Caroline Bingley. I will trust to Victoria to satisfactorily retrieve Darcy from that as well as giving him an attitude adjustment!

* * *

Buy Links 

Mages and Mysteries is available to buy now in Paperback, Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.  

• Amazon US • Amazon UK • Amazon CA • Add to Goodreads shelf

Giveaway Time

Victoria is kindly offering an ebook giveaway - comment on this post by the end of the day worldwide on Sunday 12 December 2021 to have the chance to win an ebook of Mages and Mysteries. If you have any problems adding your comment please contact me and I will add your comment for you :)

Thank you so much to Victoria for visiting, and for offering the giveaway!