With Love, Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Valentine Short Story Collection

 Hello, my friends! A group of lovely authors have put together this wonderful anthology of short stories for Valentine's Day! But not only that, but the proceeds will be going to the Jane Austen's House Museum! Amazing! Thank you, Ladies, for doing for being so generous with your time! 

With Love, Mr Darcy

A Pride and Prejudice Valentine Short Story Collection

Thanks so much for welcoming us here today, as we celebrate the release of our Valentine’s Day short story collection. We’re so excited to share these stories with everyone, and even more excited to be helping the Jane Austen’s House Museum by donating all the proceeds from this volume to the museum. 

What is this collection, you ask?
 

Our tagline says it all.

Six authors, six stories, seven happily-ever-afters.


Join writers Michelle d'Arcy, Elin Eriksen, Riana Everly, Iris Lim, Laura Moretti, and S. Neha for a special Valentine's Day anthology of Pride and Prejudice variations, each crafted with love from Mr Darcy.

Wait? This is for an Austen-Amazing cause?


Indeed it is!



All proceeds will be donated to the Jane Austen’s House Museum at Chawton, England.
Swoon for a worthy cause!

What do you all have to say for yourselves, anyway? Why a Valentine’s anthology about Darcy?

A word from the authors…

“I loved the idea of putting together a collection of stories about, well, love! Valentine's Day just seemed the perfect opportunity to bring our favourite couple together in our unique ways.”

“The theme is both unifying and inspiring, and seeing how we all had such different ideas was wonderful. This is, for me, one of the great joys of JAFF. We have some fixed parameters, but rather than limiting our imaginations, they let our imaginations soar.”

“We love Jane Austen, and her legacy! And we would love to know we contributed even a bit to it. The House in Chawton is the very heart of this legacy.”

“And then there is Mr Darcy! We love Mr Darcy!”

“Yep, we do!”

Okay, you have our attention. So what’s in it?

Here are some tidbits to tempt you! Enjoy these excerpts!

Alone, by Michelle d'Arcy 

With every step closer, Darcy knew what he wanted and knew what he would do. He had no doubts remaining. The surprise, joy, and gratitude on Elizabeth’s beautiful face and the tears of happiness in her bright eyes would surely make his extended torment worth the while. She would surely forgive him for the weeks of silence and turmoil, during which he had given her the impression he was toying with her affections. 

He entered and found her alone in the parlour. She was pale and clearly not feeling well; she looked surprised, and he needed a little time to gather his thoughts and find the right words to address her. 

Then, their eyes met, and he lost himself in hers. She licked her lips, in obvious anticipation, so he opened his heart and held it in his hands, offering it to her. 

“In vain I have struggled. It will not do. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” He heard himself revealing the tumult that had tortured him for six months. 

She remained silent, wide eyed, completely still while he poured his very soul at her feet.

My Funny Valentine, by Elin Eriksen

Elizabeth curtseyed deeply. Far be it from her to show any lack of manners on her part. Oh no, she would be perfectly civil.

“Mr Darcy, we have not been introduced due to your lack of gentlemanly behaviour. I am willing to overlook that slight impropriety, which surely must count as insignificant and came as the result of you walking away in the middle of an introduction. I am referring to your party’s arrival, when my mother importuned you by asking you to dance with one of her daughters, and your immediate and hasty retreat to the opposite end of the room.”

Mr Darcy opened his mouth as if to speak, but Elizabeth had not finished, and she stopped him with a pointed hand gesture.

“I perfectly comprehend your feelings, Mr Darcy. You are an excellent physiognomist, and you should always judge people’s characters by their looks. One would not want to associate with anyone lacking in appearance, and certainly not dance with any lady slighted by other men.” 

Elizabeth drew a breath to allow her point to be understood. “You simply must allow me to express my gratitude. My dear grandmother has instilled in me the virtues of never expressing behind anyone’s back what you cannot say to their face. I, therefore, highly appreciate your sincere evaluation of my appearance. With that said, I shall not disturb you for a moment longer but shall promptly remove my unpalatable presence from your company.” 

A Coincidence of Connexions, by Riana Everly

Mr Darcy looked away and cleared his throat. Was he flushing pink? She hardly could believe so arrogant a man could feel such an emotion as embarrassment.

“I recall… when last we spoke, at the ball at—”

“Netherfield,” Elizabeth supplied.

“Yes. We danced.” He stopped and she waited. He surely had more to say than repeat such a fact. He cleared his throat again. “We were discussing your… our mutual acquaintance, Mr Wickham, before we were interrupted. You accused me of withdrawing from him my own friendship, in such a manner that he would suffer all his life. I did not know, then, how to respond. It hardly seemed the place…”

“Much better to bring out these matters at an intimate dinner party.” 

“You are, madam, always correct. I seem to have the ill fortune of a terrible choice of timing. But the topic was raised, and I had to address it. Forgive me.” He said this last with such genuine meaning that she could not help but be affected. 

Perhaps she had severely misjudged everything about Mr Darcy!

In Time for Valentine’s, by Iris Lim

“I shall be throwing a ball, here at Matlock House, that shall be the talk of the Season,” said Lady Matlock. 

Fitzy scoffed. “We already are the talk of the Season, mother dear.” 

“Not that sort of talk—the good kind.”

“A hardly think a ball could so easily distract the voracious ton.” 

“We shall have it on St. Valentine’s, a day many are coming to associate with love.” 

“Again, Mother, I do not think—” 

“Then we shall announce a betrothal—preferably, one of yours.”

Both Darcy and Richard sprung up with alacrity.

“You cannot mean—”

“And given that Richard shall be leaving for the Continent soon, the better candidate would be Darcy.”

“Aunt, please, you must see—”

“Georgiana would benefit, would she not?” Lady Matlock continued, unperturbed by Darcy’s clear agitation. “Besides, I already have several ladies in mind. I am sure you shall be able to find at least one of them suitable.”

“This is madness. I cannot possibly—”

“Oh, but you can.” The countess pinned him in place with a glare. “Have no fear, Darcy, we shall have you betrothed in time for Valentine’s.”

Ten Valentine’s Days, by Laura Moretti

“Darcy had been so in love with her, ten years ago. Paradoxically, he’d only realised how much after his drunken declaration. When days had passed. When his hangover had subsided. When he’d had time to reflect. 

He missed Elizabeth like hell.

He’d cut Elizabeth from his life cold turkey, like one would just stop smoking, stop eating sugar, stop doing drugs. And yes, it was hell.

The withdrawal. Everything hurt. Before the…‘The Events at the Pub at Hunsford’, Darcy had spent two years in Elizabeth’s presence, in the same circle of friends. Darcy and Elizabeth had celebrated Bingley and Jane’s engagement together, their attendance mandatory at the intimate dinner and during the huge party that followed; they’d been best man and chief bridesmaid at the wedding. 

Elizabeth had been a constant in Darcy’s life. Her banter. Her laugh. Their heated debates. The love she showed her sister, her friends. It was in her absence Darcy realised how much he was—hooked.

Seven years. Why couldn’t he move on? 

Mr Darcy's Matchmaking Valentine, by S. Neha

Yellow? Oh… no! Rosie’s favourite doll has a cap of the exact same colour. It was now evident to Elizabeth why her aunt was standing close to those two gentlemen and why Rose was so upset. But how did Rosie’s doll wind up in the lake in the first place?

The gentleman with the stick suddenly, and somewhat improbably in Elizabeth's opinion, stretched his arm a little bit further and stumbled, just as she had feared. It was only the second gentleman holding on to him that saved him from a dunking in the frigid waters. The very next moment, the man was lifting the stick in the air, Rose’s doll dangling from it. That young lady’s squeals of joy indicated that she, too, had observed the rescue of her poor, beleaguered doll.

The gentlemen then turned to face the others, both beaming proudly, and Elizabeth’s thoughts scattered in shock. It was Mr Darcy who was holding the stick with the dangling doll, and very poetically, it was Mr Bingley who had been hanging on to his coattails! Although in this instance, one could be charitable and argue that he was making himself useful.

* * *

Available for a limited time!

Amazon (paid link)

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So, my friends, what do you think of this short story collection? We'd love to hear from you! 

The Second Ending by Riana Everly ~ Guest Post, Excerpt, & Giveaway!

Hello, friends! Riana Everly is here with her third book in her new series Austen Echos! How lovely, these books came out so quickly! One a month! Nice!

Thanks so much, Candy, for letting me stop here today to talk about my new book, The Second Ending. This is the third and final book in my Austen Echoes series of contemporary Austen retellings, all centred around members of a concert choir in my home city of Toronto. This book, just released a couple of days ago, is inspired by my favourite of Austen’s novels, Persuasion, and trust me, you’ll love it!

One of the fun challenges about re-setting a Regency-era novel into the present is how to make the characters keep up with the times. For the most part, women today just don’t sit at home and sip tea while waiting for their heroes to come dashing across the fields on a jet-black horse. A modern heroine needs a modern life, and that is probably going to involve a career of some sort.

Likewise, the men need new lives as well. Even if I were to keep Austen’s military characters in that field, times have changed. Naval captains now draw a salary, rather than keeping a chunk of loot from whatever foreign ships they capture. It’s a different world, and our characters need to reflect that.

When I began thinking about this contemporary take on
Persuasion, I knew right away that Ashleigh Lynch (my modern Anne Elliot) would be a lawyer. It’s a career acceptable to her snooty family, but it also lets her be a helper. Just like Anne Elliot is the one helping her sister Mary with the children, taking care of packing up Kellynch hall after her father and sister Elizabeth take off to Bath, managing the crisis when Louisa has her dreadful accident in Lyme, modern Ashleigh is the one helping as well. She takes legal aid cases, working with people who can’t afford to pay a lawyer from their own pockets, helping abused women escape their tormenters, assisting families get new starts in life. 

It’s not the sort of career to make someone rich, since legal aid rates are far below what a lawyer can charge private clients, but it’s the sort of career that suits someone like Ashleigh, who wants to make a difference for people who need her.

What about Marcus, my modern Frederick Wentworth? He had to come from a place that’s absolutely unacceptable to
Ashleigh’s family. He had to start off with a job that the Lynches would hold their noses at, but that would also give him the possibility of doing extremely well for himself. Here, I decided to put him in the trades.

Marcus Fredericks met Ash when he was a construction worker, and she was a university student. But in the years since they broke up, he took his uncles small business and turned it into a huge success, building a development corporation that made the construction worker into the CEO. 

When Ash and Marcus cross paths again, eight years after her family managed to break them up, they’re very different people from who they were back then. Or are they?

Do these new interpretations work? Do these careers suit a modern take on Austen’s wonderful characters? You’ll have to read the book and decide that for yourself!

To give you a taste, here’s an excerpt from The Second Ending: A Modern Austen Persuasion Improvisation.

*** 

Still, law had been a good choice for her. She’d excelled at her classes and passed her exams with ease, and discovered that, all stereotypes aside, there was a great deal of good she could do in her profession. It wasn’t all money laundering and overcharging clients, but instead, it was a way to help people out of bad situations. Whether that meant supporting a small business
owner in a lease dispute or advocating for a new immigrant with little English when his employer decided not to pay him, she found she went to bed each night with the sense of having made a difference in someone’s life.

Law had also engendered in her a passion for helping others, something that had not been part of her rather pampered childhood. Her father was, as she joked, a poor trust-fund baby. The family once had quite a lot of money. Some forward-thinking grandfather had put it all into reasonable investments, and the interest was enough to live on more than comfortably.

One of those investments had been a house in Rosedale, where Ashleigh’s father had lived since he was a baby. Living there, in that most prestigious part of town, an enclave of old money and new sports cars, Walter Lynch could consider himself part of Toronto’s elite. He was certainly well-connected, having been to the right schools and having made the right contacts, and if his wealth didn’t quite extend to summer homes in the south of France, it was enough to keep up appearances without having to resort to actually having to work.

Because Walter Lynch, for all his insistence that his daughter train for a suitable career, had never worked a day in his life. Ashleigh suspected her parents would be quite horrified at what she really did with the precious law degree they had insisted so vehemently that she achieve.

Ashleigh sighed as she glanced around her slightly tatty flat once more. Oh, her father would have a fit if he saw it. Her sister would drag her to the nearest real estate agent in seconds, and her mother would smile in her absentminded way and say, “It’s not very fancy, is it, dear? Wouldn’t you prefer something nicer?” As if wishing would make it so.

She had, once, had something nicer, back eight years ago, when her life was full of promise and when the future looked wonderful. When she was still with Marcus.

Seeing him again today had disturbed all the ghosts, bringing long-buried memories flooding back. Her mind replaced the faded paint and worn furniture with the sweet place they had shared for not nearly long enough. She recalled the butter-yellow walls, the deep burgundy curtains, the lovely long couch that one of his friends had found for them, the comfortable chair, the elegant dining room table… 

Did he still have them? Or had he burned everything after she’d walked out? 

She let out another deep sigh. Probably, by the anger he had vented then, and by the hard expression he’d borne today when he had seen her for the first time since their awful break-up, he’d burned them, then burned the ashes, and then buried them. Like her heart.

Because that was the second time her family had destroyed her dreams.

The Second Ending

A Modern Persuasion Improvisation

by Riana Everly

Blurb:

The last person Eglinton Echoes member Ashleigh Lynch expected to see across the table from her was her ex, Marcus Fredericks. Eight years ago when they were in love, she was a law student and he was a construction worker, not nearly good enough for her elitist family. But times have changed. Now she’s a lawyer, and he owns the development company threatening the playing fields she’s been engaged to protect. 

Her family managed to crush her dreams and her confidence back then, and seeing Marcus again has rocked her to the core. But as talks over the playing fields continue, they are forced to confront each other again and again, and even the hardest hearts aren’t always impervious to old, tender feelings. 

But rekindling their romance won’t be easy. They are on different sides of a dispute, and Ashleigh has caught the eye of a charming guy from the city’s planning department. When the development project is threatened and Ashleigh discovers who her real enemy is, her very world begins to crumble around her, and not even her precious music is safe. Can she find the inner strength to deal, at last, with an old threat and reclaim the happiness that was ripped away from her eight years ago? 

This musical reimagining of Jane Austen’s beloved Persuasion will have you cheering the characters on, pulling you into their world and into their hearts.

 

Buy: Amazon (paid link)

Add to Goodreads

All The Wrong Notes, Book 1 (paid link)

The Matchmaker's Melody, Book 2 (paid link)

FTC Disclaimer: Links to Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate. I will receive a small commission (at no cost to you) if you purchase a book through the link provided. Thanks!

About the Author

Born in South Africa, award-winning author Riana Everly has called Canada home since she was eight years old. She proudly boasts one husband, two grown(ish) children, three degrees, four recordings, five instruments (of varying proficiencies), six languages (also of varying proficiencies), and thirteen novels (and growing). She also can’t count very well.

When not indulging her passion for Jane Austen, Riana loves cooking, travel, and photography. She’s a historian and trained classical musician, specialising in viola, and is delighted to be able to combine her love of writing and music in her novels. 

She now lives in Toronto, Canada, with her husband, a secret stash of chocolate, and far too many books.

Connect with Riana Everly

Website • Blog • Facebook • Amazon • Instagram

* * * GIVEAWAY* * *

Riana is hosting a giveaway! Here's a message from her:

I’m delighted to be able to offer a giveaway of an eBook at each stop on this blog tour. I will randomly select one person who comments on the post here through random.net. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if you win! I will take comments until midnight, North American Eastern time, five days after the blog post goes live. Good luck everyone!

Congratulations, Riana, on the release of The Second Ending! That's awesome! Also, many thanks for visiting with us and offering one of my readers a chance to win an eCopy of The Second Ending.

The Matchmaker's Melody by Riana Everly ~ Guest Post, Excerpt, & Giveaway!

Hello, my friends! Riana Everly is joining us today with her second book in her Austen Echos series! These books look truly delightful! I'm hoping to read the first one before Christmas. Goals!

Please give Riana Everly a warm welcome, and don't forget the giveaway! Details are at the bottom of this page. 

Thank you once more, Candy, for letting me stop by your blog today. It’s always lovely to be here.

I’m thrilled to announce that the second story in my Austen Echoes series is now out. These three modern retellings of Austen’s classics have been so much fun to write, and I’ve loved getting to know the characters is very different ways. You’ll find they are very much the same as Austen’s beloved originals, but with modern ideas and sensibilities, and as such, they have slightly different responses to things that Austen’s characters would.

In this second story, The Matchmaker’s Melody, our main character is Emma. And Emma is, well, Emma! I’ve given her a new last name, which I’ll explain briefly. 

These stories all take place in Toronto’s music scene, and I’ve worked hard to reflect the city around them, while keeping it in the background. Still, being set in Toronto, I thought Emma should be from the closest thing we have to Toronto Royalty. In other words, she’s from an old and established family. One of
these families is the Massey family. They’re the one with the fancy mausoleum at the main cemetery, the one a university college is named after, the one a concert hall is named for. Hence, Emma Woodhouse has become Emma Massey.

Emma is a tricky character to write about, since she’s not everybody’s favourite. Even Jane Austen herself proclaimed Emma to be a rather unlikeable creature, and it has been interesting creating her is such a way that she’s true to her roots, but (hopefully!) is a worthy heroine. It’s been a lot of fun, trying to create a character who has a very high opinion of herself and her actions, while keeping her human, and with a genuinely good heart. What she does, she does for the best of motives, even if she doesn’t always see things so clearly.

I love the modern version of Knightley in this book. As in Austen’s Emma, he’s known our heroine since she was a child, and he’s a sensible and level-headed man. I have made a few changes, though, to keep the story more in line with a modern mind-set. 

First of all, I’ve renamed him Gordon Knight, a more modern name. His father and Emma’s father are business partners, and yes, they knew each other as kids, but unlike in Austen’s novel, they didn’t really grow up together. First Gordon went off to university, and then Emma went her own way, and despite a long history, they only really come together as adults, needing to get to know each other again.

Gordon is a sweetheart. He’s an engineer by day and a pianist in his spare time, and he’s a lot of the glue that holds the entire choir together. He features fairly prominently in all three novels, since he is friendly with Randall, the choir director. And yes, Randall is my nod to Mr Taylor who lives at Randalls, and Randall is, indeed, married to Taylor! I had to get them in. Of course I did!

Have I succeeded in creating new, modern characters who we cheer for? What about the rest of the crew? Only one way to find out! If you read The Matchmaker’s Melody, I do hope you love it as much as I loved discovering these fun characters and their story.

Here’s an excerpt to give you a taste.

*** 

Emma

The phone rang just after dinner the next night.

“Gordon?” Emma rolled her eyes as she saw the name on the
screen. “No one uses phones to actually call. Can’t you text like a normal person?”

“Hello to you, too, Emma. You’ve been busy this weekend.” His voice was disapproving, and she could picture his brown eyes narrowing as he spoke.

“What? Are you following me?” 

“Only on Instagram. You’re fairly well-known, if you’re the sort to get your information on social media. Someone saw you, snapped you, and tagged you. Isn’t that what you want?”

“Well, yes, but…”

“I’m glad you’re taking some time for Halli, but what’s with that other chap? Phil Elton, right? Did you invite him along? I’ve only had a few words with him, and he didn’t really impress me. He’s out for himself and no one else, from what I could tell.”

“Seriously? Now you’re monitoring and criticising the people I hang out with? Are you reporting this to my mommy as well?”

“Don’t be silly. But what’s going on in your head? You were so smug about fixing up Randall and Taylor, you surely aren’t trying to do the same with Halli and Phil. Are you? Emma, please say you’re not.”

She huffed into the phone. “It is precisely none of your business what I do.”

“And it is precisely none of your business to interfere in other people’s lives. Someone is going to get hurt, and I don’t think it will be Phil. He’s not more than an adequate singer, but he’s a go-getter, and the choir looks good on his resume. He told me as much, so don’t go huffing and puffing. As sweet as Halli is, he’s not the sort to moon over a nineteen-year-old university student with nothing to offer him. He wants to move up, and he wants connections, Halli is very pretty, I’ll grant you, but she doesn’t have connections.”

If they had been together in person, Emma would have thrown her phone at him. What gave him the right to say that?

“Well,” she all but shouted, “for your information, it was his idea to join us. I just mentioned that I was going to show Halli around the city a bit, and he asked to come along. And Halli certainly didn’t have any objections.”

Gordon

Gordon’s voice grew very quiet. “Are you certain you understood his intentions?”

What the hell was that supposed to mean? Phil wasn’t some stalker or anything. God, Gordon was a bit creepy. And really, she was the one who read people so well, not Gordon. He was just an engineer. He did buildings or stuff, not people. Sheesh!

She gave another huff. “They got along very well together. I know what I’m doing. So you can stop being my party-pooping big brother and go back to ignoring me, like you have since I was five years old.”

“You know that’s not true—” he started, but Emma had heard enough.

“And you accuse me of being too involved, but isn’t that exactly what you’re doing now? If Halli and Phil want to hang out together, and if I can facilitate it, what business is it of yours, anyway? They’re grown-ups. No one is forcing them to do anything.”

He let out a huff that was audible over the phone. “Emma, you don’t understand how this could turn out, what sort of influence you have over people.”

“You're talking nonsense. I know exactly what sort of influence I have. It’s my job, Gordon, remember? That’s what I do. I influence. And I’m just trying to make a couple of people happy, so enough with the doom and gloom.”

Her tirade was met with disapproving silence. Well, she had no time for his grumpy nonsense. 

“Goodbye, Gordon. And next time, text like a normal person.”

***

The Matchmaker's Melody

A Modern Pride and Prejudice Improvisation

by Riana Everly

Blurb: 

Beautiful and successful, Emma Massey has the world figured out. She’s the star soprano in the Eglinton Echoes, a popular Internet influencer, after all, and didn’t she just make the best match ever for her choir’s musical director? So, it makes perfect sense for her to use her matchmaking powers to help others find their perfect mates. Right? Like that pretty new girl in the choir, and that rather handsome tenor who keeps hovering about. 

What a pity her annoying childhood friend Gordon Knight isn’t on board with her plans. He might be the choir’s pianist, but that doesn’t give him the right to step in and tell her she’s making a big mistake. Especially since he’s usually correct, annoying man. 

Gordon is always sure he’s right, but Emma is equally sure he’s wrong. Wrong about the gorgeous new baritone just arrived from Montreal, and definitely wrong about boring Ashleigh, who he insists is far more interesting than Emma could imagine. 

But despite her supposed matchmaking skills, it seems there’s one heart Emma doesn’t understand at all, and that heart is her own. When her eyes are finally opened, will it be too late? 

This musical reimagining of Jane Austen’s beloved Emma will have you cheering the characters on, pulling you into their world and into their hearts.

 

Buy: Amazon (paid link)

Add to Goodreads

Here's a link to the first book in the series!

All the Wrong Notes

Buy: Amazon (paid link)

Add to Goodreads

FTC Disclaimer: Links to Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate. I will receive a small commission if you purchase a book through the link provided. Thanks!

About the Author

Born in South Africa, award-winning author Riana Everly has called Canada home since she was eight years old. She proudly boasts one husband, two grown(ish) children, three degrees, four recordings, five instruments (of varying proficiencies), six languages (also of varying proficiencies), and ten novels (and growing). She also can’t count very well.

When not indulging her passion for Jane Austen, Riana loves cooking, travel, and photography. She’s a historian and trained classical musician, specialising in viola, and is delighted to be able to combine her love of writing and music in her novels. 

She now lives in Toronto, Canada, with her husband, a secret stash of chocolate, and far too many books.

Connect with Riana Everly

Website • Blog • Facebook • Amazon • Instagram

* * * GIVEAWAY * * *

Riana is hosting a giveaway! Here's a message from her:

I’m delighted to be able to offer a giveaway of an eBook at each stop on this blog tour. I will randomly select one person who comments on the post here through random.net. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if you win! I will take comments until midnight, North American Eastern time, five days after the blog post goes live. Good luck everyone!

Thanks so much for stopping by, Riana! And for offering one of my readers a chance to win an eCopy of your book!

How's everyone doing with their reading challenge this year? I'm behind! Yikes! Remember to leave a comment below to enter the giveaway! Good luck!

All The Wrong Notes by Riana Everly ~ Guest Post, Excerpt, & Giveaway!

(Post contains affiliate links)

Hello, my friends! I’m so excited to have Riana Everly here today! She’s written a new series, and the first book, All the Wrong Notes: A Modern Pride and Prejudice Improvisation, is already out.

Please read an excerpt from All the Wrong Notes below! Plus, she’s giving away an eBook from the series to one of my lucky readers! Details are at the bottom of this page.

Origin of a Series

Thank you so much, Candy, for hosting me here today. I’m honoured and delighted to be able to spend a bit of time here on your blog.

As some of you might know, I’ve just released the first of three books in a new series of contemporary Austen-inspired novels. This series is called Austen Echoes, and I’ll explain the name.

First of all, it will be no surprise that the stories all echo the wonderful originals that Jane Austen left us. These are not scene-by-scene retellings, cast in modern clothing, but rather, they’re stories that are strongly influenced by Austen’s work. Anyone who knows Austen will have no problem recognising the story arcs or the characters, but I’ve let the narrative take me where I feel the story needs to go, even if that doesn’t line up 100% with the original.

When I sent the first draft to my editor, one of her first replies was, “I literally gasped out loud when I worked out who Wickham was!” That brought a huge grin to my face.

The second reason for the series name is a reference to a unifying aspect. The three books in Austen Echoes all revolve around members of the same choir, who know each other and who interact between stories, and this choir is called The Eglinton Echoes.

Since the stories echo Austen, and the characters are part of the Echoes, the series title just came to me. Welcome to Austen Echoes!

But where did the idea come from?

Last year, I published Preludes, a contemporary musical retelling of Persuasion, my favourite of Austen’s novels. I loved seeing how Austen’s characters translated into the modern world, and as a musician myself, I loved writing about music. Then I began to talk to Romance Café Publishing, who specialise in contemporary romance, and an idea quickly began to form. I wasn’t ready to leave my modern musical world, and a series of shorter novels would let me spend more time in the city I love, and in the musical world that I love, while getting to know modern versions of the characters we love so much. 

I presented them with a general idea, and they were as excited about it as I was. The three books that make up this series all but wrote themselves, and I just thrilled with the response from the editorial team. 

At the same time as I was writing about a choir, my son began to think about auditioning for the local concert choir. He sang in a couple of choirs while he was away at university, including in the Ottawa Choral Society. The musical director from that ensemble has since moved to Toronto to take up the baton at The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and since my son knows him and enjoyed working with him, he was encouraged to try out. Through his connections, I was even able to sit in on a rehearsal, just to make sure that I had the details right.

Everything just seemed to snap into place.

So, what about the books themselves? Well, you’ll have to read them to find out!

The first one, which was released just last week, is my reimagining of Pride and Prejudice. Elise (my Lizzy) and Will (my Darcy) have a terrible first meeting, and do not get off to a good start. You might say they hit all the wrong notes!

Here’s an excerpt from my new book, All the Wrong Notes: A Modern Pride and Prejudice Improvisation. Elise and Janet have just been at a speed-dating event. It went wonderfully for Janet. It was less wonderful for Elise. (By the way, you can read about Janet and Carlos in my free short story, The Perfect Love Song.)

*** 

“There wasn’t anyone you liked?” Janet tutted as the two women headed to the doors. “I thought some of them were very nice.”

“You seemed to like that Spanish fellow, Number Twelve. From what I saw, he could hardly bear to move from your station after the bell rang.”

Janet’s eyes went dreamy for a moment. “Carlos. His name is Carlos. I know we weren’t supposed to give our names, but… he’s lovely, isn’t he?”

Elise had enjoyed her eight minutes with him. “He was definitely charming.”

“And so handsome.” If Janet were a little bit dreamier about him, she would dissolve in a pastel-coloured mist of rose petals and singing birds.

“Handsome, indeed. As every man should be, if he can at all help it!”

Janet rolled her eyes. “You are impossible, Elise! I really liked him. He enjoys reading and cooking, and he’s a music lover, too. He sings, if you can believe that! We only had a few minutes, but I really liked him. I hope we match.” She let out a happy sigh, full of more rose petals and fairy dust. “Come home with me. We’ll order pizza, and I’ll go on and on about Carlos, and then I’ll drive you home.”

Elise stifled a snicker and glanced at her watch. It was 8:30, and she was hungry. They had taken a short break in the middle of all that speed-dating for a snack, but a handful of pretzels and a ginger ale didn’t fill the belly. It might help keep her mind off that miserable Number Seven who couldn’t even be bothered to try. 

“Thanks. Maybe we can order now, so it will be ready by the time we get to your place. The usual?”

“Absolutely,” Janet replied. She ran a hand through her hair and gasped. “Oh! I’ve lost an earring. These are a favourite pair, too.” She shook her head, and only one golden spiral danced from an earlobe. “Do you mind? I’ll run back into the room and see if I can find it.”

She dashed back into the meeting room without waiting for a reply. Elise moved to the wall by a large plant, to stay out of everyone’s way while she waited.

“You were awful in there.” 

A man’s voice sounded from a few feet away. The plant hid him from view, but by the slight accent, it was Carlos, the charming guy Janet had gushed over. He did not sound pleased. 

“Why did you bother coming at all, if you weren’t even going to be pleasant?”

A sharp exhalation of breath, almost a snort. Then another man spoke. “I said I would attend. I never promised to find pleasure in it.” 

That was Mr. Snootypants, Number Seven. A pause. 

“There was nobody attractive or interesting enough to waste my time on. What sort of desperate person comes to these things anyway?” 

“I came,” Carlos grunted. “And so did you. I thought some of the women were charming. Did you see the redhead? She’s stunning.”

Another snort. “That can’t be denied. But she was the only woman in the room worth looking at, and she seemed only to have eyes for you. Anyway, she smiled too much. She giggles.” 

“She is lovely, isn’t she? And sweet, and smart, and so funny! But what about some of the others? There was the brunette with the yellow shirt…”

Elise blinked. That was her! It was flattering to be considered almost in the same zone as Janet.

“I was there to keep my promise to you. I don’t need to waste my time on people who can’t even be bothered to dress for the occasion. Here’s the car. Let’s go.”

Not so flattering. Jerk.

Warm air rushed in as the two men opened the door and left the lobby, leaving Elise with the sight of their departing backs and a rather bad taste in her mouth.

Janet might fancy Carlos, she huffed to herself, but hopefully she would never have to set eyes on Number Seven Snootypants again in her life.

All The Wrong Notes

A Modern Pride and Prejudice Improvisation

By Riana Everly

Blurb: 

Elise Benzion has everything she wants. The arts centre that she’s built from the ground up is thriving. She has a circle of great friends. Her concert choir, the Eglinton Echoes, is in top form and gives her an artistic outlet to satisfy her musical side. What she does not want is an annoying, rude, and far too handsome man hovering around. But Will is her best friend’s new beau’s good friend, and she’ll play nice, for Janet’s sake. 

Eventually she begins to discover the man beneath the unpleasant veneer, and tolerance warms into a tentative friendship, and possibly something more. 

Then disaster strikes, and everything she loves, everything she’s worked so hard for, crumbles in an instant. With all her dreams dashed and her beloved arts centre destroyed, her biggest regret might just be losing Will. 

Is there any hope? Or will a demon from his own past keep them apart forever? 

This musical reimagining of Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice will have you cheering the characters on, pulling you into their world and into their hearts.

 

Buy: Amazon (paid Link)

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

About the Author

Born in South Africa, award-winning author Riana Everly has called Canada home since she was eight years old. She proudly boasts one husband, two grown(ish) children, three degrees, four recordings, five instruments (of varying proficiencies), six languages (also of varying proficiencies), and ten novels (and growing). She also can’t count very well.

When not indulging her passion for Jane Austen, Riana loves cooking, travel, and photography. She’s a historian and trained classical musician, specialising in viola, and is delighted to be able to combine her love of writing and music in her novels. 

She now lives in Toronto, Canada, with her husband, a secret stash of chocolate, and far too many books.

Connect with Riana Everly

Website • Blog • Facebook • Amazon • Instagram

* * * GIVEAWAY * * *

Riana is giving away an eBook! Here is her message:

I’m delighted to be able to offer a giveaway of an eBook at each stop on this blog tour. I will randomly select one person who comments on the post here through random.net. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if you win! I will take comments until midnight, North American Eastern time, five days after the blog post goes live. Good luck everyone!

Many thanks to Riana Everly for being my guest today! Thank you for offering one of my readers a chance to win an eCopy of your new book, and congratulations on this new series!!

Ok, friends, please leave a comment to be entered into the giveaway. 

"Death in Sensible Circumstances" by Riana Everly ~ Guest Post, Excerpt, & Giveaway

Hello, friends! Today, it's my pleasure to have Riana Everly visiting with us. Her new book, and the 4th in the Miss Mary Investigates Series, Death in Sensible Circumstance, was released on March 1, 2023. Riana is here with a fun word from Elinor Dashwood and an excerpt from the book! Plus, details for a giveaway are at the bottom of this page. 

Elinor Dashwood Speaks

Good day, friends,

It is I, Elinor Dashwood, who am here to talk with you today. My friend, Miss Mary Bennet, had so hoped to join us, but she was called away on a most urgent matter, and begged me to entertain you in her stead. It was unavoidable and was, I believe, the sensible thing to do.

I recently made the acquaintance of Miss Bennet whilst we were both staying in London, she with her aunt and uncle, and I with a relation of sorts, a generous woman named Mrs Jennings. I had expected something of a tedious stay in Town, for my sister Marianne was in very low spirits. We had been invited as a diversion from the small society at home, but had Marianne hoped to find the suitor who had abandoned her there. Alas, when we did discover him, it was to learn that he was engaged to somebody else, and Marianne has been inconsolable since. I had resigned myself to months of tedium listening to my poor sister’s woes, when, to my delight, I happened across Mary Bennet at a bookshop.

What a delightful friend; so interesting and informed, and yet so sensible. I am very pleased to have met her.

How much more unusual still the summer became when, first, tragedy struck in the form of a most tragic death, and later, when I became involved in the pursuit of the killer. This unexpected turn of events was rendered more yet extraordinary when the man suspected of instigating the murder was somebody I… esteem greatly. And that is only the beginning of the how convoluted affairs became!

How clever my friend Mary was, to have solved this baffling mystery. She and her companion, a rather handsome investigator named Alexander Lyons, had all manner of tales to tell me when, at last, the killer was discovered. 

But I shall not tell you that tale at the moment. Instead, here is an account of how all these adventures began, when first I made the acquaintance of Miss Mary Bennet. 

From Death in Sensible Circumstances: A Sense and Sensibility Mystery

March 23, 1814

Mary Bennet could not name how many times she had walked past this particular shop on the corner. From the outside, it was an unassuming establishment, mere steps from the Bond Street Bazaar. Whilst walking down the street, one could see a small display of books in a window, but there was no apparent door, and a passerby might well believe the shop merely to be another of the booths in an arcade near The Exchange. But if one were to take a few strides down that other street—little more than a laneway, really—there one would find the green painted door that said At the Sign of the Phoenix.

Every time in the past, Mary would stare at the door and wonder what was inside, but had never entered. She was always on some errand for her aunt, or expected somewhere, or simply too unsure of herself to walk unescorted into an unknown establishment. She ought, she told herself, to know better. She was Mary Bennet! She had solved—with some help, of course—three murders! She was not some simpering and helpless chit to be scared of a bookshop. And yet she always found some reason not to take that final step and enter the establishment. 

Today, however, was to be different. Aunt Gardiner had told her in no uncertain terms to go and enjoy herself, and had even given her a whole guinea to spend “on matters completely frivolous.” When added to the ten pounds her brother-in-law Darcy had sent her for her stay in London, she felt as rich as the Prince himself. Yes! Today she would enter the Phoenix and buy herself a book!

She turned the corner and reached for the door. It swung open easily in her hand and she stepped through. And then her eyes widened and she gasped. Never had she expected this! 

The room, though not large, was larger than the outside promised, and was stacked from the floor to ceiling with books! More shelves than she could count crossed the floor from the side walls, all filled almost to bursting with every manner of tome. Here and there, scattered with no seeming sense of pattern, a chair leaned near a wall, a few occupied by an avid reader, and in the scant open space between shelves, a handful of small tables supported piles of what looked to be several copies of the same title. As Mary gaped, a ginger cat wound itself about her ankles and drew her forward a few steps, where she could now see, at the far end of the shop, a staircase leading upwards, with a sign that read More Upstairs. It was an emporium of books! 

Heaven, Mary mused, must be exactly like this, and then she chastised herself for having such improper thoughts about the nature of God’s heaven.

The cat rubbed itself up the backs of her shins and she stepped forward again. Now she could see a little desk in one corner, behind which sat a man of indeterminate years, neither young nor old, with thinning hair and spectacles. He peered at her through narrow eyes and gave a brief nod. He must be the bookshop’s proprietor. She nodded in return and hoped she looked friendly and trustworthy enough to be allowed in his establishment. 

“May I help you?” the man asked in hushed tones. 

She swallowed and her face flushed hot. Could she voice her request to this unknown man? He would surely judge her most lacking. A serious, sensible young woman like herself ought to be reading a certain sort of literature. Improving manuals, for example, or sermons on the proper deportment of young ladies, or edifying poetry perhaps. But what Mary really wanted, and what she was going to buy with her small fortune of coins if her courage did not fail her, was a novel. Perhaps something horrid, like Regina Maria Roche’s The Monastery of St. Columb. Or Mary Brunton’s Discipline, perhaps. She had heard this latter had all manner of Highland scenes, which interested her greatly, although it really ought not to do so at all.

There was Mrs. Roche’s book. She picked up a copy and turned to the first page. Was it horrible, like Clermont? Or worse, like The Mysteries of Udolfo? She had never dared to read something as scandalous as Udolfo, but she had heard so much about it… Still, she could not stop herself from reading the first page or two, or perhaps five, oblivious to the rest of the world. 

Perhaps she would do better with Mrs. Brunton’s Discipline. She replaced the copy of The Monastery of St. Columb and reached for Discipline instead, her eyes full of the stacks about her. But rather than her hand alighting upon the cool hard cover of a book, she touched soft flesh instead. She pulled her hand back as if burned, only to see another young woman do exactly the same thing.

“Please forgive me,” Mary blurted out, as the other woman exclaimed, “Oh, I am so sorry!”

Then both of them smiled and both began to laugh, which brought the shopkeeper around to ask them to please be a little quieter.

“Have you read Mrs. Brunton’s book?” Mary asked the other lady, her voice now low.

“No, although I do wish to. But I must hide it from my sister. She thinks me far too serious to read novels! I saw you looking at The Monastery. Do you like the Gothick stories?”

Mary felt herself blush and hoped the red did not go badly with her mustard yellow pelisse. “Oh no! That is, I ought not… I dare not. I am far too sober-minded for that! Although I must confess, I would like to see what it is about…”

The other lady began to laugh again and then quickly quietened down to a delicate titter. “We are much alike then. Which shall you buy?”

Mary pinched her lips together and frowned. “I cannot say! I would like to read both, but really must not spend that amount of money.”

“And I likewise.” Her companion shook her head and sighed.

“Ah, wait! I have a grand idea.” Mary beamed. She felt a great connection with this unknown lady, who seemed so similar to her and who had such excellent taste in books. “Perhaps I can buy the one and you the other, and when we have read them through, we might meet and lend each other our books so we can read both.”

“How very clever! Here, may I introduce myself? It is not quite the thing, and yet there is no one else to do the honours, and we are hardly at a ball or an at-home. It must be excusable. My name is Elinor Dashwood, and I am staying in town with my cousin for some months.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Miss Dashwood. I am Mary Bennet and I am staying with my aunt and uncle. What fun this is!”

Before long, the two ladies had made their purchases and, seeing there was ample time before either needed to return home, they decided to take tea at an elegant tea shop by The Exchange. They talked of this and that and the other, and by the time both had to depart, they had become fast friends.

Death in Sensible Circumstances

A Sense and Sensibility Mystery

Miss Mary Investigates Series 

Blurb 

A Jane Austen-inspired mystery, set in the world of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, being the fourth novel in the Miss Mary Investigates series. 

When Mary Bennet befriends Elinor Dashwood, she expects to become part of the young lady’s circle and be introduced to her friends and relations. She does not expect that one of this circle should die, far too young, and in most unfortunate circumstances. Worse, Elinor is secretly in love with one of the suspects, Edward Ferrars, and he is inconveniently engaged to somebody else. When an investigator is called in to assist, Mary is more surprised still. 

Alexander Lyons expects to find death and deceit in his line of work, but he does not expect to come face to face with Mary, who hasn’t replied to his letters of late. What is she doing in London? And how is she involved with this sorry business of murder? Still, despite the tension between the two, they make a good team as they seek to unravel the mystery surrounding them. 

From the elegant drawing rooms of Mayfair to the reeking slums of St. Giles, the two must use every bit of wit and logic they possess to uncover a killer, all the while, trying to puzzle out the workings of their own hearts. 

Join Mary Bennet, Lizzy’s often overlooked sister from Pride and Prejudice, and her intriguing and handsome friend Alexander Lyons, as they are pulled into the world of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility in this, their latest adventure.

 

Buy: Amazon US (paid link) • Books2Read

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

About the Author

Riana Everly is an award-winning author of romance, both contemporary and historical, and historical mysteries. 

Born in South Africa, she moved to Canada as a child, bringing with her two parents, two younger sisters, and too many books. Yes, they were mysteries. From those early days of The Secret Seven and The Famous Five, she graduated to Nancy Drew, and then to the Grande Dames of classical English whodunnits, including Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh. Others followed, and many sleepless nights ensued.

When not matching wits with Miss Marple and Adam Dalgliesh, Riana keeps busy researching those little, but so-important, details for her next fabulous novel.

Trained as a classical musician, Riana has degrees in Music History and Medieval Studies, and enjoys photography, hiking, travelling, learning obscure languages, and experimenting with new recipes. If they include chocolate, all the better.

Her Miss Mary Investigates series has charmed both Jane Austen fans and serious mystery lovers alike, and readers are always asking when the next story will be available.

Connect with Riana Everly

Website • Blog • Facebook • Twitter • Amazon

She loves meeting readers!

* * * GIVEAWAY * * *

From Riana: I am delighted to be giving away one eBook of Death in Sensible Circumstances: A Sense and Sensibility Mystery at each blog I visit. I will randomly select one person who comments as a winner. I’ll make the draw five days after the date of the blog visit. I will email the book directly to the winners, so please check back on the site, or make sure I have a way to contact you. 

Riana's email is riana.everly@gmail.com

Good luck!

Thank you so much, Riana, for stopping by today! Also, for generously giving away an eBook to one of my lucky readers! 

Thank you, everyone! I hope you enjoyed Riana's post and that you are as excited to read this series as much as I am! Be sure to leave a comment to enter the giveaway!