Thaw Blog Tour! ~ Guest Post & Giveaway!

Hello, my friends! It's my pleasure to welcome Anniina Sjöblom to So Little Time...! She is here today to talk a little about her new book Thaw, and forced-marriage-scenarios! I hope you enjoy! 

Hi everyone, and thank you for stopping by at the second-to-last stop of the blog tour for Thaw—and special thanks to Candy for hosting it!

When I agreed to publish Thaw last summer and started working on expanding the original, shorter version of it for publication, I often spoke about it with friends and family members who are not acquainted with Austenesque. They were enthusiastic and supportive about my book project—and, more often than not, wanted to know what it was about. I would explain that it’s a variation of Austen’s original Pride and Prejudice; a what-if where small changes to the original chain of events eventually lead to a very different path to happiness for our favourite characters. They would nod, interested to hear how the plot would differ from the original, until…wait, what? Darcy and Elizabeth are forced to marry?

I’ve read countless Pride and Prejudice variations over the years, and a good part of my all-time favourite stories are ones where Elizabeth and Darcy, for one reason or another, have to marry early on in their acquaintance. It’s such a familiar, oft-used trope, that I had never really much thought about why I liked it so much—I just knew that whenever I saw those familiar three letters, FMS, typed in the description of a JAFF story, the chances of me not clicking to see what the story was about immediately became slim.

And thus, I was surprised to find out many of my friends thought the concept entirely odd and confusing. Did I like seeing my favourite characters miserable? No. Did I think it romantic that people who dislike each other are forced to marry? Of course not. So why is it that we love a forced-marriage-scenario so much?

When I started thinking about it, the answer, of course, was simple. We like Elizabeth and Darcy to spend time together, too see them interact. As much as possible, and preferably without chaperones. In modern variations, there’s more flexibility to how this can be achieved—and less societal norms that need to be taken into account when the two do interact. In Regency variations, the options are fewer. Unless in exceptional circumstances, unmarried adults of the opposite sex are not expected to spend a lot of time together. And certainly not without the company of others.

And thus, having them marry often comes to play. Marriage opens up the possibilities of interaction on a new level. Suddenly, there’s no end to awkward dinners alone and walks in the park with no chaperone you can put your favourite couple through. Certainly, there are many other aspects that make for a good FMS, but when I thought about it, to me, this is the key—the romance is not in the marriage, but rather in maximizing the time our dear couple spends together while working towards their happily ever after.

And that happily ever after, of course, is the second key. When I said earlier I don’t like to see my favourite characters miserable, I might have lied a little—because of course, I secretly do. But only as long as I know that it all works out in the end!

What do you think? Are forced marriage stories your guilty pleasure too? Let me know in the comments—I’d love to hear your thoughts! And if you want, you can look me up on Facebook (@AnniinaSjoblomAuthor).

Thaw
by Anniina Sjöblom

It is a truth universally acknowledged that one false step can involve a lady in endless ruin. On a rainy November day in 1811, Miss Elizabeth Bennet finds herself wondering why no one ever bothered to tell her about this. 

A few blithe steps on a morning walk, taken after a succession of rain, lead to unexpected events that irrevocably change the course of Elizabeth’s life, placing her fate in the hands of the haughty and conceited Mr. Darcy – the last man in the world she had ever thought to marry. 

As long winter days slowly pass, she writes letters to her loved ones, trying to come to terms with her new role as a wife and the Mistress of Pemberley. But can she ever learn to love her husband? Will he overcome his arrogant notions of rank and circumstance? 

And most importantly – will the shades of Pemberley ever recover from being thus polluted?

Buy: Amazon US • Amazon UK • Amazon CA
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

Author Biography: Anniina Sjöblom lives in the beautiful but

cold Finland and works in university administration. She has an MA in History and enjoys a long-standing love affair with the works of Jane Austen.

Her previous works include titles such as Thirteen Days, Fix You and When He Comes Back, published in various online Austenesque forums under the pen name boogima. The new novella Thaw, expanded from the original version of the story first published online in 2011, is her first commercially published work.

When not writing, Anniina spends her time hanging out with friends, binge-watching TV dramas and re-reading her favourite books while the stack of new ones still waiting to be read piles higher on her nightstand. She can ride a unicycle, and once, after losing an unfortunate bet, ate a bowl of ice cream with green dish soap as dressing. She does not recommend attempting it to anyone.

Connect with Anniina

Facebook • Goodreads 

Blog Tour Schedule

Jan. 6 - Austenesque Reviews
Jan. 7 - Babblings of a Bookworm
Jan. 8 - Savvy Verse & Wit
Jan. 9 - My Jane Austen Book Club
Jan. 10 - My Vices & Weaknesses
Jan. 13 - From Pemberley to Milton
Jan. 14 - So Little Time...
Jan. 15 - Diary of an Eccentric

* * * GIVEAWAY * * *

It's giveaway time! Quills & Quartos Publishing is giving away one ebook of THAW per blog tour stop. All you need to do to enter the giveaway is comment on this blog post, and Quills & Quartos will randomly choose winners for the entire blog tour on January 22. So, make sure you join in the conversation!

Thank you for visiting here, Anniina! And yes, forced-marriage-scenarios are my favorite Pride and Prejudice stories! I can't wait to read your story! 

Many thanks to Christina Boyd for organizing and including me on this blog tour!

And thank you, Quills & Quartos Publishing, for offering one of my readers an e-copy of Thaw!

Friends, do you love forced-marriage-scenarios too? Let us know! And remember, to enter the giveaway you, have to leave a comment below! :)

Speechless Blog Tour! ~ Excerpt & Giveaway!

Hello, my friends! I'm very excited to have Jessie Lewis on the blog today! I have read and LOVED her new book, Speechless. From the first page, I was hooked! It's one of my favorite scenarios in a P&P variation! 5 stars!

I hope you enjoy the excerpt below and be sure to enter to win an e-copy of Speechless! Details for the giveaway are at the bottom of the page. 

Hello, Candy, and thank you for inviting me to stop here at So Little Time... on my blog tour for Speechless. It’s a story that I hope will please fans of Darcy and Elizabeth because it’s almost exclusively them throughout. That fact is precisely what horrifies them the most at first, which makes for some interesting exchanges! In this excerpt, Darcy is only just coming around after having sustained an injury and is trying in vain to make sense of what’s happened to him.

***

     “Come, Darcy. I must have you breathe. I hate to see you thrashing about in this stupid manner.”

     Darcy opened his eyes. “Bingley?” The man standing over him in full evening dress did not look like his friend, but he sounded like him, and his cocked hat was placed the wrong way on his head, which seemed apropos. “What has happened to me?” 

     “Strangled, old fruit.”

     “Strangled? By whom?”

     “A bear.”

     “What?” 

     Bingley was gone, however, and all was dark again. 
Darcy sipped, for there was water upon his lips. “Who did this?” he begged, though this time, he had no voice, and the question hurt to ask. He found he no longer cared. The means mattered little; that he was injured remained true whatever the cause. He sipped more water and prayed for everything to cease hurting. Never had he known pain that permeated even the deepest sleep. It did not relent even for a moment.

     “Physician?” he begged—or attempted to. His numb lips misshaped the word, and the obstruction in his throat stole what was left of the plea. “Poppy?” he mouthed. “Milk of the pop—” He gave up, exhausted.

     “I am sorry,” a voice too feminine to be Bingley’s said, “I have nothing to give you for the pain. Though—” A loud scrape muffled whatever words were spoken next, and the voice faded away. Time pulsed in Darcy’s ears awhile. Pain throbbed in his neck, and he drifted helplessly in obscurity. 

     An icy touch at his throat awoke him. He flinched away from it, and then grimaced at the agony of so sudden a movement. He lifted a hand to identify the coldness that stung his skin but was pushed gently away.

     “Pray, leave it a moment, Mr Darcy. ’Tis only snow.”

     He frowned, baffled, yet snow was a less threatening delusion than a murderous bear, and he had not the wits about him to query it. In any case, its icy burn had begun to affect a small but sublime reprieve from his torturous breathing—and he felt certain he knew that voice intimately enough to trust it.

     “What has happened to me?”

      He received no response. Somebody dabbed at the rivulets of melted snow that ran behind his ears and into his hair, but whomever did so gave him no answer. Perhaps it was another hallucination. He asked again. The fussing ceased.

     “Forgive me, I cannot understand you. Could you move your lips more slowly?”

     He thought he had spoken aloud. Though, he also imagined he had been talking to his sister and, it would now seem, this was not she. Was he losing his mind?

     “What happened?” he mouthed slowly and pointed at his throat. 

     “You were kicked by a horse.”

     It was more probable that he had been strangled by a bear. A man kicked in the neck by a horse would like as not be too dead to enquire about it, mutely or otherwise. Perhaps he was dead. He asked if it were so.

     “I am sorry,” came the answer after a pause. “I simply cannot understand what you are trying to say. Pray, rest for now. I can answer your questions when you are better recovered.”

     Dead people did not recover. With the snow at his neck now merely warm dampness and the constant scraping sound of his breathing showing no sign of abating, that seemed as much comfort as he was likely to find at the present moment. He released the last of the air in his chest and surrendered once again to darkness.

Speechless
by Jessie Lewis

Could anything be worse than to be trapped in a confined space with the woman you love?

Fitzwilliam Darcy knows his duty, and it does not involve succumbing to his fascination for a dark-eyed beauty from an unheard of family in Hertfordshire. He has run away from her once already. Yet fate has a wicked sense of humour and deals him a blow that not only throws him back into her path but quite literally puts him at Elizabeth Bennet’s mercy. Stranded with her at a remote inn and seriously hampered by injury, Darcy very quickly loses the battle to conquer his feelings, but can he win the war to make himself better understood without the ability to speak? 

Thus begins an intense journey to love and understanding that is at times harrowing, sometimes hilarious and at all times heartwarming.

Buy: Amazon US (paid link) • Amazon UK • Amazon CA
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

Jessie Lewis, author of Mistaken and The Edification of Lady Susan, enjoys words far too much for her own good and was forced to take up writing them down in order to save her family and friends from having to listen to her saying so many of them. She dabbled in poetry during her teenage years, though it was her studies in Literature and Philosophy at university that firmly established her admiration for the potency of the English language. She has always been particularly in awe of Jane Austen’s literary cunning and has delighted in exploring Austen’s regency world in her own historical fiction writing. It is of no relevance whatsoever to her ability to string words together coherently that she lives in Hertfordshire with two tame cats, two feral children and a pet husband. She is also quite tall, in case you were wondering.

You can check out her musings on the absurdities of language and life on her blog, LifeinWords.blog, or see what she’s reading over at Goodreads. Or you can drop her a line on Twitter, @JessieWriter or on her Facebook page, JessieLewisAuthor.

Blog Tour Schedule

Dec 2 - Austenesque Reviews
Dec 3 - Savvy Verse & Wit
Dec 4 - Diary of an Eccentric
Dec 5 - So Little Time...
Dec 9 - From Pemberley to Milton
Dec 10 - My Jane Austen Book Club
Dec 11 - Babblings of a Bookworm
Dec 12 - Facebook Live Quills & Quartos: A Reading with Jessie Lewis

* * * GIVEAWAY * * *

It's giveaway time! Quills & Quartos Publishing is giving away one ebook of Speechless per blog tour stop. All you need to do to enter the giveaway is, comment on this blog post, and Quills & Quartos will randomly choose winners for the entire blog tour on December 19. So, make sure you join in the conversation!

So, friends, what do you think? Did that excerpt grab you? Poor Mr. Darcy! Don't you just love it when Darcy and Elizabeth are forced to be together in some way?

The Perfect Gentleman Blog Tour! ~ Guest Post, Excerpt, & Giveaway!

Hello, my friends! It's my stop on The Perfect Gentleman Blog Tour! I'm very excited about this book! It's the kind of tale I look for in a Pride and Prejudice retelling! I hope you enjoy this excerpt Julie Cooper has selected for us, and be sure to check out the awesome giveaway! Details are at the bottom of the page! 

Greetings all, and thank you for letting me talk a little bit about this story! Every Pride and Prejudice variation needs a “Hunsford” moment, and The Perfect Gentleman is no exception.

One drawback to most Hunsfords, however, is the sense of helplessness we feel as readers, watching our favourite couple make decisions that could potentially destroy any chance of a future together. I will admit that I don’t always mind watching Darcy make a muck of things—but Lizzy’s participation in any ugliness can get to me. I suppose I always want Lizzy to be a much better human than myself—more patient, more charitable, and most of all…wiser than Fitzwilliam Darcy.

I believe this Lizzy achieves this lofty goal. In The Perfect Gentleman, Lizzy is a girl with dreams. Born of a mother who is “sunk beneath reproach” so to speak, and abandoned by her father, she might have turned to her mother’s scandalous means of supporting herself. But she can always see through the false glamour of her mother existence, even while recognising that Mrs Bennet did the best she could with the means she had. Lizzy doesn’t judge—she simply believes in herself, and that she can do better and become more than society expects.

By the time we come to the following excerpt, we are rooting for Lizzy to triumph over the circumstances of her birth and realize her goals. We’re also pretty sure that nothing will stop her, despite her upcoming confrontation with the arrogant Mr Darcy:

Excerpt from The Perfect Gentleman: 

SHE FOUND HIM pacing impatiently near the carriage. For just a moment, Lizzy was simply captivated by his appearance. From shoulders needing no buckram padding to the long legs leather-tipped in polished Hessians, he was a picture of wealth, masculinity, and authority. His wardrobe alone priced him beyond her reach; she ought to have known better. To have kissed him was a blunder of monumental proportions, for she could not imagine anyone else ever making a better job of it. 

And yet, in an odd way, she was proud of herself. She had captured the interest, however briefly, of a formidable, aristocratic man. In this, she could understand what had driven Fanny Bennet to sacrifice herself for Sir Eden; there was a thrill in it, an imitation sort of power, for a female so often at the mercy of others.

And yet, unlike Fanny, Lizzy had not succumbed. Her hopes and dreams remained intact. She would not sacrifice or give them away, not in return for fleeting—if wonderful—sensation. And though the odds of seeing Mr Darcy again were sadly slim, she could not be sorry she had known him just a little. A deep-seated fear that she was her mother’s daughter was forever banished. 

She was Elizabeth Bennet, a sculptor, and Fitzwilliam Darcy thought her beautiful. 

How many could say that? 

***

Of course, our Mr Darcy isn’t exactly stupid, and we can have perfect confidence in this “perfect” gentleman that, despite the upcoming setback, he won’t let her get away. 


It was great fun writing this couple, who from an “outside looking in” view were exact opposites, but along the way of their Regency Road Trip, discover that they aren’t so far apart, after all.

The Perfect Gentleman
by Julie Cooper

Book Blurb 

’Tis no secret that Lizzy Bennet has dreams. The uniquely talented daughter of a woman with a dubious reputation, Lizzy knows she must make her own way in a world that shuns her. Fitzwilliam Darcy carries the stains of his family’s disgrace upon his soul and only by holding himself to the strictest standards has he reclaimed his place in society. 

Now Georgiana Darcy has gone missing. If his fifteen-year-old sister cannot be found quickly, the scandal could destroy Darcy’s years of perfect behaviour. Lizzy Bennet know just what to do to find Georgiana. She is willing to join the pursuit to get what she wants but will Darcy be willing to trust her with his secrets? And what will they do when the search for Georgiana reveals what neither expected to find? 

The Perfect Gentleman is a romantic adventure so big it needs two volumes in one book. Follow the adventure in A Not-So-Merry Chase and discover the surprises and temptations that await at Pemberley in Love Wisely But Well.

Buy: Amazon US (paid link) • Amazon UK • Amazon CA
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

Julie Cooper, a California native, lives with her Mr Darcy (without the arrogance or the Pemberley) of nearly forty years, two dogs (one intelligent, one goofball), and Kevin the Cat (smarter than all of them.)  They have four children and three grandchildren, all of whom are brilliant and adorable, with the pictures to prove it. She works as an executive at a gift basket company and her tombstone will read, "Have your Christmas gifts delivered at least four days before the 25th."  Her hobbies are reading, giving other people good advice, and wondering why no one follows it.

You can connect with Julie Cooper on Facebook.

Blog Tour Schedule

Oct 28 - My Jane Austen Book Club

Oct 29 - Savvy Verse & Wit

Oct 30 - Diary of an Eccentric

Oct 31 - From Pemberley to Milton

Nov 1 - Babblings of a Bookworm

Nov 5 - So Little Time...

Nov 6 - My Vices & Weaknesses

* * * GIVEAWAY * * *

It's giveaway time! Quills & Quartos Publishing is giving away a $50 Amazon gift card! To be eligible, just comment on any of the blog tour stops. You need not visit all the stops (one point per stop and comment), however, it does increase your chances of winning by earning more entries. The contest ends on November 13, 2019.

• To enter, leave a comment below!
• For more entries, comment on any of the blog tour stops.
• Open Internationally
• The last day to enter the giveaway is November 13, 2019.

Many thanks to Quills & Quartos Publishing and Christina Boyd @ The Quill Ink for having me on this book tour! 

Congratulations to Julie Cooper on the release of The Perfect Gentleman, and thank you for visiting us here today!

So, friends, what do you think? Do you like stories where Elizabeth and Darcy are thrown together in some way and have to work with each other? 

A Case of Some Delicacy Blog Tour! ~ Guest Post & Giveaway!

Hello, my friends! I'm delighted to be part of the A Case of Some Delicacy Blog Tour! KC Kahler has stopped by to tell us a little about her new book, and she has a cute interactive timeline to show us the plot alterations from the original Pride & Prejudice. Plus, there is an awesome giveaway going on! Details are at the bottom of the page!

Thank you, Candy, for hosting the final stop on the A Case of Some Delicacy blog tour here at So Little Time...! 


Hello, readers! If you’ve been following along on the blog tour already, you’ll know that A Case of Some Delicacy is a Pride and Prejudice variation. But any JAFF reader also knows that P&P variations can, well, vary quite a bit. Some of them stray so wildly from canon that they might be considered an AU (alternate universe), while others only have a small change at one crucial point in the plot. 


A Case of Some Delicacy is an example of the latter type of variation. I like to say that the plot “hugs” the original P&P plot. Most of the familiar early events (the Meryton assembly, the stay at Netherfield, meeting Wickham for the first time, the Netherfield ball) still happen in A Case of Some Delicacy, but they are slightly altered. These small changes all combine into a sort of snowball effect by the end of the story.


So what is the crucial change in A Case of Some Delicacy? Mr. Collins visits the Bennet family earlier, right before the Meryton assembly. That small difference in timing cascades into the early plot. For example, Mr. Collins expresses his interest in Jane as a possible bride, just as he does in canon. But rather than warning him off Jane and pushing him toward Elizabeth instead, Mrs. Bennet encourages him! Jane hasn’t even met Mr. Bingley yet, so why shouldn’t Mr. Collins pursue her? 


What about the Meryton assembly, you ask? Well, Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy are introduced to the neighborhood just as in the original. But Mr. Collins is also introduced to the neighborhood that night, and rumors of a connection between him and Jane are already spreading. 


I’ve created an interactive timeline comparing the early plot of A Case of Some Delicacy (on the top) to the original Pride and Prejudice (on the bottom). (Interactive Timeline)

Click on the image to take you to the interactive timeline.

A Case of Some Delicacy
by KC Kahler

Blurb: 

A secret alliance grows when an unwanted suitor arrives at Longbourn... 

When rumours of Jane Bennet’s impending betrothal to her father’s heir begin spreading at the Meryton Assembly, Elizabeth vows to save her dearest sister’s happiness from being sacrificed in marriage. 

She finds an unlikely accomplice in Mr Darcy, the taciturn man whose heroics on the cricket field have managed to turn Lydia Bennet’s infatuation away from redcoats. Upon overhearing a heated exchange between Elizabeth and Mr Bennet, Darcy is stunned not only by her devotion to her sister, but also by her defiant words to her father. An inexplicable desire to help Elizabeth draws Darcy into the match-breaking scheme, despite knowing that he should want nothing to do with a family like the Bennets. 

As the new allies work together, their friendship deepens into mutual admiration. But they must navigate a complicated web of sisters, parents, friends, cousins, and aunts, some of whom may be attempting their own manipulations and romantic schemes. Eavesdropping and jealousy abound, cricket balls go astray, and love blooms in spite of Mrs. Bennet’s misguided matchmaking.

Buy: Amazon
Add to Goodreads

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

KC Kahler lives in northeastern Pennsylvania and works in online education, after having dabbled in sandwich making, bug collecting, and web development. She discovered Jane Austen fan fiction in 2008 and soon began dabbling in writing her own. 

KC blogs about Austen and other pop culture topics. In 2015 and 2017, her popular Austen + The Onion Headlines meme was featured in The Atlantic, Flavorwire, and AV Club. In 2017, she made the requisite pilgrimage to Jane Austen country, where she took the waters in Bath, walked the lanes of Steventon, didn’t fall off the cobb in Lyme Regis, and stood awestruck in Chawton.  


KC’s first novel, Boots & Backpacks, was published in 2014. Her second, A Case of Some Delicacy, released in 2019.

Connect with KC

Blog • Tumblr • Facebook • Twitter • YouTube • Goodreads • Amazon


* * * GIVEAWAY * * * 

It's giveaway time! You can win a $50 Amazon gift card from Quills & Quartos Publishing! The contest ends on October 18. To be eligible, just comment on any of the blog tour stops. You need not visit all the stops (one point per stop and comment), however, it does increase your chances of winning by earning more entries. 


Wow! That's a fantastic giveaway! Thank you Quills & Quartos Publishing! 


Blog Tour Schedule

Oct. 2 Austenesque Reviews
Oct. 3 My Jane Austen Book Club
Oct. 4 From Pemberley to Milton
Oct 8 Diary of an Eccentric
Oct 9 Savvy Verse & Wit
Oct 10 My Vices & Weaknesses
Oct. 11 So Little Time...






Many thanks to Christina Boyd for organizing and including me on this blog tour!

Congratulations to KC Kaher on the release of A Case of Some Delicacy! And thanks for being a guest here at So Little Time...! 


Ooh, I'm curious to see Darcy and Elizabeth teaming up! What about you? Also, please show KC some love by leaving a comment or question below!