Misunderstandings & Ardent Love by Susan Adriani ~ Blog Tour ~ Author Interview & Giveaway!

Hello, my friends! I'm delighted to have Susan Adriani visiting with us! She has a new book out - Misunderstandings & Ardent Love! Woohoo! I had the pleasure to ask Susan a few questions about her new book. I hope you enjoy the interview and check out her new book! Plus, there's a chance to win an eCopy! Details are at the bottom of the page. 

Hello, Susan! I’m so excited to have you here today! Congratulations on your new book, Misunderstandings and Ardent Love! Your book Affinity and Affection (republished as The Truth About Mr. Darcy) was one of the first variations I read—way back before there were eBooks. Gosh, I remember waiting for what seemed like forever before someone would publish a paperback! Lol! How was this experience different from your first?

Hi Candy! It’s a pleasure to be your guest today—thank you so much for having me!

Wow, Affinity and Affection was written a long time ago! That was such an exciting time for me. I was brand new to writing, and the idea of sharing something I had written was not only scary, but daunting. I had found an online community I enjoyed, and, after much deliberation, I decided to take the plunge and post. I had a beta reader, and my editor was my best friend. I slapped together a cover, uploaded everything to Amazon, and hit the ‘publish’ button before I could change my mind.

My experience this time around was very different. And by different, I mean everything moved with the ease of a well-oiled machine. I had a great team of editors at Quills & Quartos to guide me through every step. Jan and Kristi were not bashful about telling me what I should cut and what I should expand upon and why. And they were wonderful listeners as well. If I felt strongly about something (be it a significant scene or some minuscule detail), they were supportive, encouraging, and always open to compromise. Misunderstandings & Ardent Love would not have become what it is without them, and I am incredibly grateful!

Since then, you’ve written a couple of novellas and some short stories. Misunderstandings and Ardent Love, a novel, is 474 pages (Kindle edition). Nice! What was your inspiration for writing M&AL?

To be perfectly honest, I love the characters in Pride and Prejudice, I love the regency period, and I love to tell stories. What drove me to write this story was not so much the storyline (there’s nothing unusual or overly dramatic about it), but the dialog and relationships between the characters and what I could do with those elements. I am not a fan of over-the-top angst. Since we’ve all had enough angst with the pandemic, I wanted to keep everything lighter and focus, not only on the relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth, but also on the relationships they have with their family members and friends. 

What is your favorite thing about M&AL?

I think my favorite thing about M&AL is that I finally finished it, lol! It was years in the making, and at one point abandoned completely. It feels great to be writing again.

Ooh, reading the book blurb, I like that Jane isn’t so forgiving of Mr. Darcy’s interference into her happiness. What insights can you give us about that?

While I don’t want to give away too much, I can tell you that Jane is hurt. She has begun to see Elizabeth’s melancholy and credits that to Darcy and his letter. She has no idea whether he means to attend her wedding and has also begun to realize he may have played a part in keeping Bingley from returning to Hertfordshire last winter. To put it bluntly, after years of being compliant, reliable, and forgiving, Jane’s patience has worn thin.

A question I like to ask is, when did you discover Jane Austen, and what is your favorite story of hers?

I was late finding Jane Austen, but I was first introduced to her through my best friend. I was in my early 20s, and she sat me down and said, “You have to watch this,” and popped a VHS recording of Andrew Davies’s 1995 BBC version of P&P into her VCR. We watched all six episodes that day, back-to-back and I bought the book the next day. The rest is history.

What inspired you to start writing Jane Austen Fan Fiction?

I love Jane Austen’s stories. I had read them all multiple times over the years, but Pride and Prejudice was the one I kept coming back to over and over again. I think what it boils down to is that Mr Darcy fascinates me. While we get to know him to some extent throughout the book, there is much about him that is still left to our imagination. Elizabeth Bennet (who I absolutely adore) misreads him again and again. Our own opinion of his character is based on hers, but we know there is more to him than meets the eye. I take immense delight in constructing my own interpretations of him (and many other beloved P&P characters) through my writing. It’s challenging and I love doing it. I love having a guideline to follow, be it a timeline, or social etiquette. I don’t always get it right, but when readers think I do there is no better feeling.

I also like to hear about your writing style. Do you map out your stories, or are you more of a seat-of-your-pants kind of writer?

Ha! I suppose that depends on what I’m writing at the time. I’ve written short stories where I’ve mostly just followed where the characters led me, and longer stories where I’ve mapped most everything out beforehand. With M&AL, it was a little of both. While I generally have an idea of where I’m going and how I want to get there, sometimes chapters and scenes and characters run astray and I end up with a very different outcome than the one I had thought to write. That’s not always a bad thing, by the way! I tend to embrace that whenever it happens…after mumbling a few choice words and shaking my head, of course! 

Lastly, are you working on anything now?

I am! But you will have to wait until July 2022 to read it. My lips are zipped.

On that note, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today, Candy. It’s been wonderful being here with you and your readers!

Absolutely! I loved having you here! Thank you for answering my questions. 

Misunderstandings & Ardent Love

by Susan Adriani

“I have never been able to forget you...I am yours, in body and soul, for as long as I am able to draw breath.” 

AFTER MONTHS OF BROODING DESPAIR while Bingley prepares to wed Jane Bennet, Fitzwilliam Darcy realises he has no choice but to put his heart at risk and try to win the only woman he will ever love.

ELIZABETH BENNET WOULD MORE THAN WELCOME his return to Longbourn. Yet despite such mutually ardent feelings, her most beloved sister and Darcy’s own uncle hold quite the opposite points of view. 

TORN BETWEEN PERSONAL LOYALTIES and responsibilities, the couple must balance finding a discreet solution for a family scandal in London and dealing with new outrageous actions by Mr and Mrs Wickham, all while facing a Jane Bennet who cannot forgive Darcy his interference in her love story. 

Can the two overcome misunderstandings and meddling and find their way to one another at last?

 

Buy: Amazon US • Amazon UK 

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

When she was five, Susan Adriani wanted to be an opera singer,
but changed her mind when she realized she would have to perform in front of an audience instead of her bedroom mirror. She attended art school instead and became a graphic designer who spends more time writing stories and researching the social niceties of Regency England than she does cleaning her house. She has a teenage daughter who dearly loves to laugh, and a handsome husband who is not the least bit intimidated by Mr Darcy. She makes her home in New England, and cannot imagine a world without books, Google maps, copious amounts of tea, or Jane Austen.

* * * GIVEAWAY * * *

It's giveaway time! Quills & Quartos is giving away an eBook of Misunderstandings & Ardent Love to one of my lucky readers! Leave a comment to enter!  The winner will be picked shortly after the end of the blog tour. Open Internationally!

For more chances to win, visit and leave a comment at any of the other blogs on the tour!

Again, thank you to Susan for being here today!

Also, many thanks to Quills and Quartos Publishing for having me on the tour!

So, friends, are you excited about Susan's new book?! I am!