Today I'm happy to welcome a new visitor to the blog, author Sarah Courtney. Sarah has written two quite different Austenesque books. A Good Name was released back in November 2019 and Beauty and Mr Darcy, came out in January 2020. Sarah is visiting here with excerpts and giveaways of BOTH books, so whether you prefer modern or Regency we have something here for you today! I'll share a blurb and excerpt for each book, starting with the most recent book, the Regency-set Beauty and Mr Darcy.
As an aside, when Sarah sent me the excerpts I realised that although they are set in different time periods they actually have a common theme, which is - Caroline Bingley, please shut up :)
Book Description - Beauty and Mr Darcy
Elizabeth Bennet knows that Fitzwilliam Darcy is a beast. At least, that's what George Wickham tells her, and she is inclined to believe him. Why, then, is it so hard not to find him interesting and attractive? Is she just another young lady intrigued by a rogue?
Jane Bennet was in love once and has never quite recovered. When the object of her affections returns to Meryton, she is thrilled, until she realizes that the same problem that has frightened off all of her other suitors might drive away the man she truly loves.
Mary Bennet's pedantic pronouncements irritate her sisters and repel the man she longs for. Is there any hope for a happy ending for her?
Kitty and Lydia Bennet's giggles and foolish ways make the matrons of Meryton shake their heads. Without real parental guidance, they long for attention, even if means risking their reputations and hope for the future.
Charlotte Lucas has long since given up the idea of finding a husband and having the children she longs for. When an unusual suitor arrives in Meryton, she has one last chance to avoid spinsterhood.
Beauty and Mr. Darcy is a Pride and Prejudice variation in which romance and humor abound! The Bennet sisters' fairy tales intertwine as they each find their very own happy ending, but there is no fantastical magic in this retelling.
Excerpt from Beauty and Mr. Darcy, introduced by Sarah Courtney
Beauty and Mr. Darcy is my first Regency, and it
was a fun adventure writing it after my first novel, a modern. Regency language
is an interesting challenge, and I will admit to having had an etymological
dictionary open the entire time I was writing. I was amused sometimes to see
some words that sound rather new have been around since Shakespeare’s times and
other words that sound old are from the twentieth century!
In some ways, Beauty and
Mr. Darcy is rather like six novellas in one book. Elizabeth and Darcy’s
story runs throughout, but along the way we get to watch all of Elizabeth’s
sisters and her friend live their own fairy tales and find their true loves,
with the tales intertwined and dependent on each other.
The scene I have included
here is from Jane’s last day at Netherfield. She has recovered from her illness
and is ready to return home, but she and Mr. Bingley have a few last moments
together. Their relationship is not as new as in canon; in this story, they met
and fell in love in London several years ago but were separated by circumstance.
From Beauty and Mr. Darcy:
Mr. Bingley scooted the chair
closer to Jane, until the arms of the chair and the sofa touched. “This is such
lovely country. I have never seen any more beautiful.”
Beautiful. There was that
word again. Jane had heard it far too often. She sighed.
“There are more important
things than beauty,” she said.
“Of course! Like
productivity. The land here is excellent for farming and hunting. I have also
found a great deal to admire in the society here. So many friendly, engaging,
kind people.”
And now there was the other
word that always got applied to Jane: kind. Being kind, she supposed, was
better than being beautiful, at least in that she could choose to be one and
the other had been chosen for her. Usually people said that she was “kind” as
if she was a rather sweet and docile child, or as if it were the only thing
they could think to say about her. But somehow hearing “kind” from Mr.
Bingley’s mouth made it seem so much more.
“Kind,” she said softly.
“The most important of all
attributes, in my opinion,” Mr. Bingley said softly. “Truly kind people are few
and far between. Somebody who is kind sees the good in every person and wants
the best for them. It is such a rare quality, but there is nothing superior.”
Jane swallowed. “Do you
honestly think so?” She realized that she was leaning towards him, but she
could not make herself pull away.
“I do.” He must have been
leaning toward her as well, because his face was inches from hers. “I strive to
be kind, but you, Jane, are the kindest person I know. I love . . . I love that
about you.”
Jane took in a quick breath.
“I love that about you, too.” She dared not say more.
She swallowed hard at the
realization that his face was so close to hers that she could feel his breath
warm on her lips. Was he going to . . . would he dare kiss her?
Before the idea had done more
than cross her mind, they were both startled back into sitting upright at a
noise in the hall. Caroline bustled into the room.
“Charles!” she said sharply.
“That chair does not belong there. Really, brother, how am I to keep order in
the house when you insist on rearranging the furniture at every opportunity?
And did you not tell me that you had important letters to write this morning?”
She turned to Jane and
hurried to her side.
“Dearest Jane, do say you
will take a turn in the gardens with me. My brother here”—she turned to smile
at Mr. Bingley—“is far too busy with his correspondence and cannot be
interrupted any further. Let us hurry outside to enjoy the sun, as I know the
carriage is to be ordered for you this afternoon.”
Jane was surprised at
Caroline’s haste and reluctant to leave Mr. Bingley’s company, but she knew she
should let him get his work done. She allowed herself to be dragged outside into
the gardens. She found herself short of breath and near laughter when Caroline
finally stopped, for Caroline had never so much reminded her of Lizzy as she
did now.
“I am sorry to be so abrupt,
Jane, but I wished to give my brother privacy,” Caroline said with a smile,
taking Jane’s arm in hers. They walked past a row of rosebushes which Jane
would have liked to stop and smell, but could not while arm in arm with
Caroline.
Jane was not going to ask,
but Caroline did not wait for her to do so. “He likes his privacy, you know,
when he is writing about delicate matters. He does so admire Miss Darcy, but it
is of course not quite proper for them to correspond.”
“Mr. Bingley writes to Miss
Darcy?” Jane asked, startled. Surely he would not do so unless there was an
engagement between them? But Caroline said it was not quite proper, and it
would be appropriate if they were engaged, so perhaps . . . Jane could not
think of a reason.
“Oh, forgive me,” Caroline
said with a giggle. “I have been shockingly indiscreet! Please do not tell
anyone I said anything about it. It is just that, now that Miss Darcy is of age
to marry, my brother’s wait is nearing its end. I have longed for the special
day when Miss Darcy and I become sisters for quite some time now.”
“I see,” Jane said, not
seeing any of the flowers as they walked. She fought to keep her eyes from
tearing up. How embarrassing if Caroline were to see how foolish Jane had been.
Of course Mr. Bingley was engaged, or practically engaged. He was too handsome
and amiable a man to still be single long. She had known that from the first
time she had met him when she was seventeen. She lost her struggle and tears
filled her eyes. She looked up and blinked them away quickly before Caroline
could see.
Beauty and Mr. Darcy is available on Amazon in
both ebook and paperback!
***
Book
Description - A Good Name
George
Wickham's childhood friendship with Lizzy Bennet saved his life. How will it
change her future?
Ten-year-old
George Wickham was hungry, lonely, and desperate until the day he met Lizzy
Bennet. She transformed his life with a peanut butter sandwich and the magic of
books. Losing her friendship devastated him, until his meeting with the Darcy
family set him on a course to a new life.
Will
Darcy insulted Elizabeth Bennet at their first meeting and accidentally injured
her a few months later. She is just starting to overcome her first impression
of him when something from his past comes to light. Will the revelation of
Elizabeth’s childhood friendship with George Wickham change everything?
* * *
Excerpt from A Good Name, introduced by Sarah Courtney
"A Good Name" is a clean modern variation of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," not a retelling. Is George Wickham born to be the villain, or can he be something more? At its heart, this is a Darcy & Elizabeth romance.
My first book, A Good Name is a
clean modern variation that is centered largely on George Wickham. Don’t let
that turn you off, though! It’s not a villain book, but a book about an
opportunity to be something other than what others might expect of you. Despite
the significance of Wickham, this is a Darcy and Elizabeth love story with a
happy ending.
In this scene, Will Darcy has been
invited to dinner at Jane’s house, where Elizabeth is staying temporarily,
along with his cousin Richard and Charles and Caroline Bingley. Will has meandered
into the kitchen, where Elizabeth is keeping an eye on dinner.
From A Good Name:
“Uh . . . so I heard you lost your job,” Will said, and then
immediately felt like hitting himself on the head. Not subtle.
Elizabeth kept her back to him, flipping the squash on the
stove. “Yeah.”
“So what did you do?” He was compounding his error, he knew,
but Charlie would never think to interrogate her and make sure she wasn’t going
to live off him forever. Not that Will was interrogating her, of course. Just
checking her story out. Charlie had said not to bug her about it at dinner . .
. but technically they weren’t eating dinner yet.
“I managed a bookstore for my father,” she said curtly,
opening a cabinet and rummaging through it.
“Your father fired you?” he asked, stunned.
She took a spice down from the cabinet and added it
liberally to the squash. “No. He lost the store.”
“Ah.” Will paused. “I’m sorry.” Then how― “And your
apartment?”
Jane walked in and headed for the stove. She hip-butted
Elizabeth out of the way so she could turn on the light and check whatever was
cooking inside. Elizabeth hip-butted her back.
Elizabeth turned off the burner and brought the pan to the
counter, placing it on a trivet. She glanced at him briefly as she got out a
serving plate for the veggies. “I lived in the store’s building. He had to give
up the lease on the building, so that meant I lost my housing, too.”
Will was surprised. He wasn’t sure exactly what he expected,
but she didn’t sound like the leech he thought she was. Was there a possibility
she really would get a new job and move out soon?
“Something smells great in here!” Charlie walked into the
kitchen with Richard right behind him.
Caroline wrinkled her nose, looking down at the lovely
seared squash slices that Elizabeth was arranging. “Did you put butter on that?
You may not care about your figure, Liz, but I do!”
“I can see that,” Elizabeth said calmly.
Will hid a smile.
Elizabeth cocked her head at him. "I have to ask, Will,
do you happen to have a brother who looks like you? Or a cousin, maybe?"
"No brothers, just my sister Ana. Richard's my cousin,
but he looks nothing like me."
She frowned. "Ah. Okay."
He wondered why she asked, but before he could say anything,
dinner was ready and there was a flurry of activity to get it on the table.
Soon everyone was seated around the table enjoying Jane’s
meal. Will somehow found himself seated next to Caroline and almost across from
Elizabeth.
“So I heard you lost your job!” Caroline said brightly to
Elizabeth.
“I just love how this is everybody’s first topic of
conversation.” Elizabeth took a bite without looking up.
“Oh, but we all just feel sooo very sorry for you! It’s just
terrible to be fired, you know. I mean, I never have been, but I totally
sympathize anyway.”
“What do you do again, Caroline?” Elizabeth glanced up at
Jane, then back to Caroline.
Caroline smiled sweetly at her. “I’m Charlie’s social
secretary! I make sure he has time for the important things.” At that, she
frowned at Jane, then turned back to Elizabeth. “It’s a very important role,
you know. I have sooo much influence over Charlie’s commitments, and whether he
keeps them or not.” She gave a meaningful look at Jane, then raised her
eyebrows to Elizabeth.
“Do you?” Elizabeth turned back to her meal.
Charlie broke in. “Whether I keep them or not? What are you
painting me as, Caroline, some sort of flake? Of course I keep my commitments!”
Caroline turned her scowl to Charlie. “We’ll see,” was all
she said.
* * *
A Good Name is available now on Amazon in both
ebook and paperback!
* * *
About the Author
Sarah is a homeschooling mom of six kids, ages thirteen to two. Her first introduction to Jane Austen was the BBC mini-series of Pride and Prejudice, which aired when she was fifteen. The first scene she ever saw was Mr. Wickham telling his story to Elizabeth Bennet, and Sarah asked her mother if he was meant to be the hero. She didn't like him and didn't plan to continue watching if he was.
Assured by her mother that he was not the hero, she kept watching and fell in love with Jane Austen's most beloved work. The first time she read the novel, she read the final page and immediately flipped back to the first to start again, unwilling to let it go.
Follow Sarah on Facebook or check out Sarah's blog, for extra scenes, previews of new books, and updates on her writing
Giveaway Time!
Sarah is very kindly offering to give away an ebook of both A Good Name and Beauty and Mr Darcy to visitors to Babblings of a Bookworm! To enter, please leave a comment on this blog post by the end of the day worldwide on Tuesday 11 February 2020. If you have a preference for one book over the other, please indicate this in your comment, or I will assume that you would be equally happy with either.
Two winners will be chosen, one to win A Good Name and the other to win Beauty and Mr. Darcy.
Note Regarding Comments: I love to read your comments, but a few blog visitors have reported difficulties in commenting while using the Safari browser. If you are unable to comment, please try using another web browser, such as Google Chrome, or please contact me and I will add your comment for you :)
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