Be Your Own Heroine by Sophie and Charlotte Andrews ~ Spotlight!

Hello, my friends! I'm excited to be featuring Sophie and Charlotte Andrews' new book, Be Your Own Heroine! This is such a sweet and lovely book. I love that it takes a look at both modern and classic heroines from literature and the lessons we can learn from them!

Be Your Own Heroine

Life Lessons from Literature

by Sophie & Charlotte Andrews

Book Description: 

Having brought you the wisdom of Austen in Be More Jane, eager reader Sophie Andrews joins forces with her sister Charlotte and turns her attention to what can be learned from the heroines of other stories from past and present. Whatever your taste in authors, there will be strong female characters you can relate to, from Jo March, the tiger-sister in Little Women, to Eleanor Oliphant, the socially bemused heroine of Gail Honeyman's prize-winning first novel. There are spirited young women such as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, and Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series; and then there are the survivors – July in The Long Song and Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. Sophie and Charlotte show how these six inspirational young women can inspire you and guide you through life's challenges. Whether you are faced with hard times at home, in love, or at work, these characters have something to teach you.

Buy: Amazon US • Amazon UK

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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 Authors

Sophie and Charlotte Andrews are sisters who both love to lose themselves in books. Charlotte’s passion for reading and writing began in her earliest years. She studied Latin American literature as part of her degree at Warwick University, but especially enjoys historical fiction. Younger sister Sophie appreciates many different genres – however her true love is for all things Jane Austen, an enthusiasm that was initially sparked by studying Pride and Prejudice at school. She started her blog, Laughing with Lizzie, in 2012, aged 16, and soon began to participate in Austen events and festivals around the country. As a founder member of the Jane Austen Pineapple Appreciation Society, she organises house parties, balls and picnics and starred in the 2017 BBC documentary “My Friend Jane”. Her first book, Be More Jane, was published in 2019 by CICO Books. Sophie lives in Berkshire.

Connect with Sophie (Laughing with Lizzie)

Blog • Facebook • Instagram • Twitter

Be Your Own Heroine Tour Schedule

October 19 Diary of an Eccentric/Book review and giveaway

October 20 More Than Thornton/Book review and giveaway

October 21 Babblings of a Bookworm/Book review

October 22 So Little Time/Spotlight Post

October 23 My Jane Austen Book Club/Spotlight post

October 24 For Love of Austen/Book review

October 25 More Agreeably Engaged/Book review and giveaway

October 25 Sarah Johnson Books/Book review and giveaway

Be sure to check out the sites above! Many of them are giving away a copy of Be Your Own Heroine! 

Congratulations to Sophie and Charlotte Andrews on their new book!

Many thanks to CICO Books for including me on this blog tour!

So, friends, what do you think? Doesn't this book sound lovely?!

A Wilful Misunderstanding Blog Tour ~ Excerpt & Giveaway!

 Hello, my friends! I'm delighted to be part of the A Wilful Misunderstanding Blog Tour! I have a lovely excerpt to share with you. I hope you enjoy it! There's also a giveaway - details are at the bottom of the page! 

A Wilful Misunderstanding 

By Amy D’Orazio 

Book Blurb 

The moment he saw her at the assembly in Meryton, he knew he loved her. 

WHEN FITZWILLIAM DARCY MEETS ELIZABETH BENNET in the fateful autumn of 1811, their mutual infatuation is immediate and undeniable. Within months, they are married and spend a blissful winter at Pemberley, falling more deeply in love with each other than either might have imagined possible. But spring in London proves more challenging to them. Accident and artifice join to devastating effect for the young couple, destroying their felicity and creating an outcome neither might have imagined.  

TWO YEARS LATER, happenstance reunites them. Sorrow and anger have built walls between them but the love they once shared still remains. Will it be enough to conquer the sins of the past? Is the love they still hold within them strong enough to prevail over the anger and mistrust that tore them apart?

 

Excerpt:

     Having missed both the actual day of his son’s birth as well as the time he turned one, Darcy awaited eagerly Bennet’s second birthday. The night prior, Darcy went to the nursery just as his son was being prepared for sleep. He had purchased a small pony, which even now was happily frisking about in the stable. Darcy found himself quite at sixes and sevens with his own anticipation of his son’s joy in the animal. Bennet was quite sleepy, but still enjoyed having his Papa put him securely into his bed. 

     “Bennet, I am eager to celebrate your birthday. Two years old! Quite a young gentleman.” 

     “Mama says cake,” Bennet replied. 

     “Ah, yes. A special cake for a most wonderful son.” Darcy stroked his boy’s soft, rounded cheek. He could not help himself, and asked, “So tell me, is there anything you would especially wish for your birthday? A toy or…perhaps—”

     “Butter,” Bennet replied sleepily. 

     “Butter?” 

     “Butter,” Bennet confirmed. “No sisters, just butters.” 

     Darcy sat back, surprised by the request. Bennet had never seemed particularly impressed by his interactions with other children, but it seemed that might be changing. 

     “Well, brothers do take time to arrive, my darling. I do not think I can procure one for you by tomorrow.” 

     Bennet mumbled something, having already succumbed to sleep. Darcy watched him for a few pleasant moments before going to the drawing room. Elizabeth was therein, playing some Christmas carols on the pianoforte. He joined her, always loving it when she sang to him. 

     When she paused, he informed her, “Our son would like a brother for his birthday.” 

     She laughed. “Is that all? Let me see whether I have one in a closet somewhere.” 

     He chuckled, his hand tracing her spine. After a short pause, he asked, “Bennet was…well, it was an easy birth, was it not? I believe you said it was.” 

     “Oh yes. Nothing to it at all.” 

     “So you would like more children or…” 

     She turned towards him then, giving him her attention in full. “I would love more children.” 

     “Is that so?” He leaned in to give her a series of light kisses on her mouth. “How many?” 

     “A lot. Ten, twelve. So many that we would run out of names for them all.” 

     “Seems we had better get started, then.” He rose and quickly swooped her into his arms, ready to take her up to their bed, but her next words stopped him. 

     “If memory serves,” she said with a little wink, “that fainting couch over there does very nicely.” 

     Thus, the Darcys spent Bennet’s birthday bleary-eyed, tired, and more in love with one another than ever. As Bennet stood in the stable shrieking with delight at his pony (who he named Horse, after being discouraged from naming it Pop), Elizabeth remarked, “This feels very much like the first days we were married, this feeling of…happy lethargy.” 

     She gave her husband a smile that seemed innocent, but there was a naughty twinkle in her eyes. 

     “I like that,” Darcy mused, and after seeing that the stable boy and Bennet were occupied with Horse, pulled her closer. “A felicitous fatigue, you might call it.” 

     Elizabeth laughed just a bit, then with an arch look said, “A satisfied sleepiness perhaps?”

     Darcy shook his head instantly. “Oh no, Mrs Darcy, not at all. I have missed you a very, very long time. Last night, delightful as it was, was not nearly satisfactory.”

     Elizabeth blushed and looked at him, murmuring, “I have missed you as well.”

     Spying the stable hand coming towards them, Darcy quickly said, “I adore you.”

     “As do I, you,” she said with a tender look that nearly melted him.

About the Author

Amy D’Orazio is a long time devotee of Jane Austen and fiction related to her characters. She began writing her own little stories to amuse herself during hours spent at sports practices and the like and soon discovered a passion for it. By far, however, the thing she loves most is the connections she has made with readers and other writers of Austenesque fiction.

 

Amy currently lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and daughters, as well as three Jack Russell terriers who often make appearances (in a human form) in her book. 

A Wilful Misunderstanding is Amy’s sixth book.

Connect with Amy D’Orazio

 Facebook • Amazon Author Page • Goodreads Author Page

Buy: Amazon

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

* * * GIVEAWAY * * *

Quill & Quarto Publishing is giving away an e-copy of A Wilful Misunderstanding to one of my lucky readers! To enter leave a comment below. Please include an email address so we can contact you. Remember to put parentheses around (at) and (dot)! 

Good luck!

Many thanks to Quill & Quarto Publishing for including me on this blog tour!

Congratulations to Amy D’Orazio on the release of her new book, A Wilful Misunderstanding! 

So, friends, any thoughts? Comments are always welcome!

Death of a Clergyman Blog Tour ~ Character Interview, Excerpt, & Giveaway!

Hello, my friends! Today, as part of the Death of a Clergyman Blog Tour, Riana Everly as stopping by with a lovely interview with Alexander Lyons! There is also an excerpt and a chance to win an e-copy of Death of a Clergyman!

I don't know about you, but I've been getting more and more into mysteries. I'm looking forward to reading this!

An Interview with Alexander Lyons

We love our favourite characters from Jane Austen and love seeing them in new and different situations, and Death of a Clergyman is no different. Here, awkward and pedantic Mary Bennet finds herself thrust into centre stage when it seems she is the only one who can save Lizzy from being accused of murder! But even quiet and observant Mary can’t do it all alone. Luckily Mr. Darcy has brought an investigator along from London to acquit Lizzy of this awful charge.

But who is this investigator? May I introduce Alexander Lyons.

Riana Everly: Thanks for joining us today, Mr Lyons. Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?

Alexander Lyons: Och, there is not much to say out of the ordinary. Sorry – I hope my Scottish accent is not too strong. I fear most people understand me well enough, but do not hide their scorn at my low origins.

RE: No, no, that’s not a problem at all. Some of us find a Scottish accent rather, er, appealing.

AL: Aye then, glad to hear it. Well, as you’ve by now surmised, I am from Scotland – a small town not too far from Glasgow, to be precise. My father was the town doctor and the local laird was generous enough to send me to university when I came of age. 

RE: One can study Investigating at university? How did you become an investigator?

AL: Would that not be an amusing course of study? Nae, one must take another degree other than investigating. In my case, I studied the law. When I moved to London to make my way in the world, I was called upon to investigate a situation in the course of my clerkship, and found I was quite successful at it. As more people came to me for help, so I decided to set myself up in that career.

RE: And is that how you met Mr. Darcy?

AL: Just so. He came to employ me just this last summer when his sister disappeared. I have little time for the toffs, as much as they keep me in business, but Darcy has some intelligence to him, and we became – dare I even think it? – friends. You can discover this adventure in a novella called The Mystery of the Missing Heiress. But we are not here to talk about that.

RE: I really want to hear about your involvement in this particular case, with Miss Elizabeth Bennet.

AL: Mr. Darcy arrived at my office one day to inform me that his aunt’s parson had been murdered. I thought, at first, he wished for me to help his aunt by proving that the woman accused, Miss Bennet, was guilty. But He surprised me by asking me to prove her innocent. I suspect he harbours affection for the young lady.

Why do you not join me as we travel to Meryton, there to discover what can be learned about the murder of Mr. Collins? I am certain there shall be a great deal of adventure to be had as we investigate the Death of a Clergyman.

Excerpt

Alexander Lyons wrinkled his nose in a grudging fondness for the area he claimed for both home and business. His small office, above a respectable chandler’s shop, sat in good company, with a solicitor to one side and a young bookbinder in the brightly lit rooms to the other. His living quarters were on the storey above, directly atop his office; and the bakery at the corner where the alley met the street provided inexpensive and tasty victuals. He smiled at the thought of Mr. Jacob’s leek and cheese pies. More importantly, the area provided its own amusements when there were limited funds for a night at the theatre, and he was conveniently situated for any gentlemen requiring his particular set of skills.

Deciding there was to be no more business conducted this day, he set about tidying his office before retiring up to his rooms. He swept the floors, straightened the two chairs that sat across the desk from his own, and ensured an adequate supply of tapers and firewood for the following day, and at last, perused his supply of pens and ink. Satisfied, he left one new quill lying across the pad of paper on his desk, right by the short stack of cards bearing his name and occupation: Alexander Lyons, Investigator.

He was about to draw the curtains and snuff the oil lamp when the sound of heavy feet resounded in the stairwell outside his office. It was too late for business, surely, but he stood motionless for a moment, waiting to hear where the steps would ultimately go. To some surprise, he heard the footsteps stop right at his door, and then with a knock and a tentative rattle, the visitor pushed open the door and stepped inside.

“Mr. Darcy!” This was a surprise indeed! “I am honoured by your presence, but what can I do for you?” He took a good look at his visitor, an automatic action borne of the necessities of his trade. What he saw alarmed him. The man looked upset, more rattled even than when he had first employed Alexander the previous summer to find his lost sister. Whatever could have happened?

“Lyons,” the visitor greeted him politely. Not even the most dire of circumstances could remove the deeply entrenched manners that every gentleman carried before him as his calling card in society. “How have you kept? You are well, I hope. You look well. Your mother? Your sisters? Please pass along my regards the next time you write. And please, no need for titles. We are friends, I hope. ‘Darcy’ will do well.”

Alexander regarded the tall man before him. What had begun as a business relationship had deepened into something that approached friendship during their weeks working together, first to find Miss Darcy after those rumours originated about some affair, and afterwards to determine the habitual haunts of her erstwhile lover, George Wickham. Their mutual regard, born of similar tastes and a deep respect for the other’s understanding and character, had never quite blossomed into a true friendship, for the chasm of societal and economic differences was too great between them: Alexander was a working man from a middle class family in the valleys near Glasgow, whilst Darcy was a gentleman of the highest ranks, almost aristocracy, with an income to match his status. Nevertheless, Alexander was most pleased to see Darcy once more and welcomed the chance to work for him again, should that be the man’s intention.

“Do sit, Darcy. Thank you, we are all well, and I shall pass along your regards. What news of Miss Darcy? Is she recovered from her adventures? She was a brave young lady to write to you as she did, in opposition to Wickham’s expressed commands. I wish her only the best. But sir, you did not come here to discuss my sisters, nor yours. I see on your face that you have received news that alarms you. How may I help?” He took his own chair and turned up the flame in his lamp once more, so the room was filled with enough light by which to conduct business.

Darcy took his seat and leaned forward, elbows on the desk, then straightened his back and ran weary fingers through his hair, before returning to his initial pose, chin resting on one fist. He expelled a heavy sigh and then spoke. “I need you to solve a murder,” he stated.

Death of a Clergyman

by Riana Everly

Mary Bennet has always been the quiet sister, the studious and contemplative middle child in a busy family of five. She is not interested in balls and parties, and is only slightly bothered by the arrival of the distant cousin who will one day inherit her father’s estate. But then Mr. Collins is found dead, and Mary’s beloved sister Elizabeth is accused of his murder. Mary knows she must learn whatever she can to prove Elizabeth innocent of this most horrible crime, or her sister might be hanged as a murderess! 

Alexander Lyons has made a pleasant life for himself in London, far from his home village in Scotland. He investigates missing documents and unfaithful wives, and earns an honest living. Then one day Mr. Darcy walks into his office, begging him to investigate the murder of Mr. Collins and to prove Elizabeth innocent of the crime. It seems like a straightforward enough case, but Alexander did not count on meeting a rather annoying young woman who seems to be in his way at every turn: Mary Bennet. 

As the case grows more and more complicated, Mary and Alexander cannot stop arguing, and discover that each brings new insight into the case. But as they get close to some answers, will they survive the plans of an evildoer in the midst of quiet Meryton?

Buy: Amazon • Universal Links

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FTC Disclaimer: Link to Amazon. 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

Riana Everly was born in South Africa, but has called Canada home since she was eight years old. She has a Master’s degree in Medieval Studies and is trained as a classical musician, specialising in Baroque and early Classical music. She first encountered Jane Austen when her father handed her a copy of Emma at age 11, and has never looked back.

Riana now lives in Toronto with her family. When she is not writing, she can often be found playing string quartets with friends, biking around the beautiful province of Ontario with her husband, trying to improve her photography, thinking about what to make for dinner, and, of course, reading!

Connect with Riana Everly

Facebook • Website • Amazon

* * * GIVEAWAY * * *

Riana Everly is giving away one eBook to one lucky blog visitor today. To enter, just leave a comment on the post and she will randomly select a winner five days after this blog is posted. Riana will contact the winner and email the book directly, so there are no concerns about not being able to receive Amazon gift copies, which sometimes happens.

Please leave an email in the comments so Riana is able to contact you! Remember to put parentheses around (at) and (dot)! Thanks! 😃

Good luck!!

Many thanks to Riana Everly for stopping by here today and for offering one of my readers an eBook of her new book, Death of a Clergyman!