Inspiration Blog Tour ~ Guest Post, Excerpt, & Giveaway!

Hello, my friends! I'm delighted to have Maria Grace on the blog today talking about her new novella, Inspiration! (I'm currently reading this and loving it!) 

Thanks so much for having me, Candy. It’s great to get to visit with you again. I’m excited to share my new novella with you and your readers. Inspiration features Darcy as an artist tortured by his demanding muse. 

As luck would have it, I did not know a great deal about art in the Regency period, so I had to go digging about and I learned some very interesting bits that found their way into the story.

The Regency era upper classes as a whole were avid art collectors, sometimes having entire rooms devoted as private galleries to display their collections. The rooms usually had a northern exposure to provide even light while minimizing damaging exposure to sunlight. The windows and sometimes even the art itself would have curtains or shutters to protect the pieces from light exposure while not being viewed. Only on rare occasions would the art be viewed by candlelight. The smoke would damage the paintings, and the risk of fire from enough candles to properly light the pieces was high enough to discourage the practice. Mirrors were often used to make the most of the light available in a room.

Red, followed by green, were the most popular wall colorings for an art gallery, though personal preference could play a big part in this choice. Public galleries often used every available inch of space, hanging paintings from floor to ceiling. Private galleries often left more space between paintings, probably because they had fewer to display.

It was not unusual for a collector—usually a man—to have an additional private collection kept in a separate locked room or closet. This collection usually contained paintings of a more sensitive nature that were not appropriate for public display. The NSFW of the era, so to speak. Darcy has such a room in Pemberley, but the paintings there are private for a very different reason. You’ll have to read to find out though. (Yes, I know I’m being mean…)

Here’s a peek into the world of Darcy and his muse to whet your appetite.

***

     The journey to Kent proved nothing like the ride to Hertfordshire. Nothing. And yet, the promise of a journey was all it took to send his muse thrumming, awakening every nerve with agonizing precision. 

     It was not possible, but still his ears ached for Miss Elizabeth’s musical voice, his eyes sought her out in every shadow, ever flash of sunlight, he longed for the scent of her—what sort of flower was it that she wore? All hunger, yet knowing no satisfaction awaited him at the end of this journey. That should have been enough to quell the longing, but no, somehow it only increased the anticipation.

     If only to make the disappointment when he saw Anne all the more acute.

     Realistically, that he should look forward to that. The sight of Anne was enough to chill his muse into silence. Usually. But not this time.

     Why not this time?

     Why could he not cease to hear Miss Elizabeth’s voice on the wind, see her face in fleeting shimmers of light? Why had he come here at all? Dreadful fool he was to think he could flee the relentless cur nipping at the heels of his soul.

     He locked himself in his room with the curtains drawn against the sun. Perhaps he could sleep until it was time to depart this horrible place.

     Fitzwilliam insisted he drag himself to Holy Services on Sunday. While it was his habit to do so, the knowledge that the vicar was none other than Miss Elizabeth’s cousin made the entire affair unpalatable at best. But after Fitzwilliam’s years in the army, he could be a force to be reckoned with, and Darcy lacked the energy for the standoff. So, he went.

     Though the sun was bright and the air crisp and fresh, the walk to the stone parish church was flat and dull and grey. The birdsong seemed monotone and off key, even the sheep bleating rasped harsh against his beleaguered nerves. 

     The smell of cold, damp stone filled his nostrils as he settled into the family pew, trying to avoid eye contact. Yes, there were those with whom he shared an acquaintance, and he should deign to speak with them. He would fulfill all the obligations of etiquette at the first moment that civility was available to him. For now, it was not.

     A flash of blue caught his eye. His lungs seized and refused to breath.

     Wait. No, it could not be. That was simply not possible. There in the vicar’s family pew with a woman who must be Mrs. Collins. 

     Her.

     Darcy swallowed hard and blinked several times. Breathe, he must breathe.

     “Darcy? Darcy? Are you well? You look like you have seen the devil himself.” Fitzwilliam elbowed him sharply.

     Darcy jumped and shook his head. “Yes, yes, I am fine.”

     “You have noticed Mrs. Collins’ houseguests I see. Aunt Catherine was just telling me about them.”

     Them? Were there two? By Jove, yes there were two young ladies sitting with Mrs. Collins. The other must be her sister; they shared a very similar look. But the other—

     “… the other is Miss Elizabeth Bennet, I am told, a childhood friend of Mrs. Collins and cousin of Mr. Collins.”

     His heart swelled to fill all his chest and shut off any hope of breathing. It was her, it was her! Here in the middle of exactly where she had no reason, no hope of being, she was here. A strange sense overtook him. A foreign mix of peace and euphoria floated his limbs and left his head muzzy and light.

***

I hope you enjoyed this peek. If you’d like more, you can find Inspiration at all major e-book sellers. If you’d like to catch up on the short stories I mentioned, you can find them at RandomBitsofFascination.com.

Thanks!

Inspiration: Pride and Prejudice Variation 
(A Sweet Tea Novella, Bk 4)
by Maria Grace

Gentleman artist Fitzwilliam Darcy had never been able to express himself in words, but with his brushes and paints, he expressed what few men ever could. When his flighty muse abandons him, though, he finds himself staring at blank canvases in a world that has turned bland and cold and grey.  

Worried for his friend, Charles Bingley invites Darcy to join him in Hertfordshire, in hopes the picturesque countryside might tempt Darcy's muse to return. The scheme works only too well. His muse returns, with a vengeance, fixated upon the one young woman in the county who utterly detests him.  

Will his selfish disdain for the feelings of others drive her and his muse away or can he find a way to please this woman with the power to bring color and feeling back into his world? 

Buy: Amazon US • Amazon UK • Amazon CA • All Other Sellers
Add to Goodreads


FTC Disclaimer: Link to Amazon US. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provided, I will receive a small commission. Thanks! 

About the Author

Though Maria Grace has been writing fiction since she was ten years old, those early efforts happily reside in a file drawer and are unlikely to see the light of day again. After penning five file-drawer novels in high school, she took a break from writing to pursue college and earn her doctorate in Educational Psychology. After 16 years of university teaching, she returned to her first love, fiction writing. 

She has one husband and one grandson, two graduate degrees and two black belts, three sons, four undergraduate majors, five nieces, is has blogged six years on Random Bits of Fascination, has built seven websites, attended eight English country dance balls, sewn nine Regency era costumes, and shared her life with ten cats.

Connect with Maria Grace

Facebook • Twitter • Random Bits of Fascination • Austen Variations • English Historical Fiction Authors • Pinterest

* * * GIVEAWAY * * *

It's giveaway time! Maria Grace is generously giving away an e-copy of Inspiration to one of my lucky readers! For a chance to win, fill out the Rafflecopter below! 

• One person will win an e-copy of Inspiration.
• To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter below.
• Rafflecopter will randomly select the winner.
• Open Internationally.
• Last day to enter the giveaway is March 18, 2019, at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Many thanks to Maria Grace for visiting with us today and for offering one of my readers a chance to win a copy of Inspiration! 


So, friends, what do you think of Darcy being an artist? I can totally see him as a tortured artist!