Winner of The Three Colonels by Jack Caldwell

As I stated in my previous post, I've fallen a bit behind on my blog.  Look for mini-reviews this week as I attempt to tackle my stack of books/audiobooks that need review.

I really enjoyed The Three Colonels by Jack Caldwell, and especially enjoyed the interview with Mr. Caldwell.  The winner of this novel will have a very enjoyable book to brighten up their spring.

The winner was chosen using random.org and random.org picked lucky number 1!  Linda is the winner of The Three Colonels and has been contacted via email.  If I don't hear from her within a week, a new winner will be chosen.

Thank-you to all that entered the giveaway, to Jack Caldwell for the wonderful book and interview, and for Sourcebooks for allowing me to host this giveaway. 

Stay tuned for more great giveaways on Laura's Reviews.

Interview with Jack Caldwell, author of The Three Colonels (and GIVEAWAY)

I am very excited to have Jack Caldwell on my blog today discussing his new fantastic novel, The Three Colonels:  Jane Austen's Fighting Men.  Click here for my review.

LAG:  I loved the premise of THE THREE COLONELS – Jane Austen’s Fighting Men. What inspired you to write about Jane Austen’s fighting men and the battle of Waterloo?

JC:  During Jane Austen’s lifetime, England was in almost constant warfare with France. She had brothers in the Royal Navy; one because an admiral. She wrote about the politics of the navy in Mansfield Park and Persuasion, but never anything about what the navy did, or the army either, in any of her books. Fighting and dying, that is. There was a disconnect there I wanted to fill, and it just so happened that the epic Battle of Waterloo occurred only a few years after Pride and Prejudice was published. That was too close a coincidence to pass up.

LAG:  What is the most interesting fact that you learned about the Battle of Waterloo in your research?

JC:  The Emperor Napoleon was surprised that his marshals were uneasy over the plan to attack Wellington. They had fought the duke in Spain and knew how good he was, especially in defense. Napoleon had never fought Wellington, was overconfident, and dismissed his underlings with, “I tell you that Wellington is a bad general, the English are bad troops, and this will be a picnic!” Yes, the great Napoleon actually said that (in French – ce sera l’affaire d’un déjuner).

LAG:  In THE THREE COLONELS, Caroline Bingley has a change of heart and a wonderful love story. Why did you decide to write Caroline as a heroine rather than a villain?

JC:  I’m weird, in that I never thought of Caroline as a villain. I know many readers consider her the archetypical “Regency mean girl,” but IMHO, that’s a bad rap. Yeah, she wanted Darcy, but not in the way Elizabeth eventually would. She wanted the status being Mrs. Darcy would bring to her. She was trying to elevate herself from trade to society. She’s nowhere near as bad as Lucy Steele, Isabella Thorpe, or Mary Crawford.

She’s not all bad, even though she tried to break up Jane and Bingley. She did warn Elizabeth about Wickham—it was Elizabeth who blew her off.

I always thought the girl was redeemable, so I redeemed her. She’s still Caroline, but she uses her sharp tongue for good, not evil. She is vain—but really, so is Lizzy, to a certain amount. Caroline and Elizabeth are not BFFs, but I think they will, in time, grow to like and appreciate each other, now that they are not in competition.

LAG:  I loved your explanation for why Anne de Bourgh was an invalid. How did you come up with a unique, yet simple explanation?

JC:  I needed Anne to get well so that Fitzwilliam could woo her. Her illness had to be one that was caused by her environment, rather than some chronic disease. It had to be something Regency science would not recognize, but we would. It also gave me the chance to put some light moments in the book. I won’t say much more, but a character’s name gave me the inspiration.

LAG:  What was your favorite moment in this novel?

JC:  Wow, that’s tough. This one is very close to my heart, and there are many moments that I love to re-read. Caroline’s fight with her former friend at the engagement ball, when she “lets her inner witch free.” The moment Anne admits she loves Fitzwilliam. Brandon and Marianne’s leave taking at Delaford. But the part I like the best is the last chapter.

LAG:  How did you decide which of Austen’s military men to use for this novel? Any future novels planned with Captain Wentworth or General Tilney (I did like the General’s brief mention in this book!)?

JC:  When I thought up THE THREE COLONELS, both Brandon and Fitzwilliam instantly came to mind. After all, Waterloo was fought on land—I had to use soldiers. Since I also sent Wickham to Waterloo, I threw in Denny. But I also wanted to write about Caroline Bingley’s reformation, so I needed a love interest. It had to be someone new—a “Dark Darcy,” if you will. Since the title came to me immediately, I needed a third colonel, and he was it. Thus was created Colonel Sir John Buford.

Interesting that you bring up future novels. Fan fiction readers know I’ve written two companion manuscripts to THE THREE COLONELS. One is a sequel to Persuasion named Persuaded to Sail (formerly The Unexpected Passenger), featuring Captain Frederick Wentworth and his lovely wife, Anne. The other is a Jane Austen/Scarlet Pimpernel crossover entitled The Last Adventure, staring Captain Frederick Tilney. We’ll see if Sourcebooks picks them up.

LAG:  What are you currently working on?

JC:  I’m writing a sequel to THE THREE COLONELS named ROSINGS PARK. It deals with life in Regency England after Waterloo.

LAG:  Thank-you for the great interview - I am so happy to see there will be a sequel!  I can't wait to read it!
________________________________________

About the Author - Jack Caldwell is an author, amateur historian, professional economic developer, playwright, and like many Cajuns, a darn good cook. Born and raised in the Bayou County of Louisiana, Jack and his wife, Barbara, are Hurricane Katrina victims who now make the upper Midwest their home.

His nickname—The Cajun Cheesehead—came from his devotion to his two favorite NFL teams: the New Orleans Saints and the Green Bay Packers. (Every now and then, Jack has to play the DVD again to make sure the Saints really won in 2010.)

Always a history buff, Jack found and fell in love with Jane Austen in his twenties, struck by her innate understanding of the human condition. Jack uses his work to share his knowledge of history. Through his characters, he hopes the reader gains a better understanding of what went on before, developing an appreciation for our ancestors' trials and tribulations.

When not writing or traveling with Barbara, Jack attempts to play golf. A devout convert to Roman Catholicism, Jack is married with three grown sons.

Jack's blog postings—The Cajun Cheesehead Chronicles—appear regularly at Austen Authors.

Web site – Ramblings of a Cajun in Exile – http://webpages.charter.net/jvcla25/

Blog – Austen Authors – http://austenauthors.net/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jack-Caldwell-author/132047236805555

Giveaway Details

Sourcebooks has graciously offered a giveaway of one copy of The Three Colonels:  Jane Austen's Fighting Men by Jack Caldwell.

If you would like to win a copy of this book please leave a comment about what intrigues you about the this book or this interview with Jack Caldwell.

As part of your comment, you must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner.

For an additional entry, blog about this giveaway or post it on your sidebar. Provide a link to this post in your comment.

I will be using random.org (or a monte carlo simulation in excel) to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is only open to US and Canadian residents (Sorry!).

No P.O. Boxes.

The deadline for entry is midnight, Friday April 13, 2012.

Good luck!

The Three Colonels: Jane Austen’s Fighting Men by Jack Caldwell

This book had me at its title The Three Colonels: Jane Austen’s Fighting Men. A book about Austen’s beloved heroes in uniform, count me in! Then I noticed who wrote the book – Jack Caldwell. Caldwell is the author of the wonderful Pemberly Ranch. I couldn’t wait to read what he had in store next for Austen’s characters. Add to that a beautiful cover and I couldn’t wait to read this novel.

I was not disappointed by the story, especially as a great fan of Caldwell, Austen, and historical fiction. The Three Colonels blends together the worlds of Austen’s beloved novels Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. The three colonels include Colonel Brandon from Sense and Sensibility, Colonel Fitzwilliam from Pride and Prejudice, and a new hero Colonel Buford. Military men Denny and Wickham from Pride and Prejudice also make an appearance.

Marianne and Colonel Brandon are happily married and enjoying their young daughter Joy. Colonel Buford is soon to be married to a reformed Caroline Bingley, and Colonel Fitzwilliam is discovering that love has been right in front of him all along. The romance in the novel is very enjoyable. When Napoleon escapes form Elba, the three Colonels are called to their duty and to the horrific battle of Waterloo for God and country. Will they survive and how will this battle affect their loved ones?

I loved the story in this novel and thought it was a very unique spin on Jane Austen’s tale. I love historical fiction and it was intriguing reading about Napoleon and the infamous Battle of Waterloo as fought by Austen’s beloved characters. I loved how so many of my favorite characters returned including Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy, the Bingleys, the Collins, etc. I also like how Caroline Bingley was given a great depth and an ability to redeem herself. Anne de Bourgh is also fleshed out and given a great depth. Napoleon is not the only villain in this novel with appearances from Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Wickham, and Willoughby. If I had to face Napoleon or Lady Catherine, I’m not sure which would be the safer route!

The only complaint I had about the novel is that there are a lot of characters with a lot of story going on. I want to learn more. How about a sequel, The Three Colonels and a Captain, with Captain Wentworth?

Overall The Three Colonels is sure to delight lovers of Austen, romance, and historical fiction. This book is another winner from Jack Caldwell.

Book Source: Review Copy from Sourcebooks. Thank-you!

Winners of Pemberley Ranch by Jack Caldwell

The two lucky winners of Pemberley Ranch by Jack Caldwell are Molly of Book Reviews by Molly and Linda. Both winners were chosen using random.org and have been notified by email. They have until this Friday, December 31st, to send me their mailing addresses. Otherwise new winners will be selected.

Thank-you to all who entered this great giveaway, to Sourcebooks for providing the giveaway books, and especially to author Jack Caldwell for his fabulous guest blog. I think it was one of the best guest blogs I've ever read! If you haven't had a chance to read it, please check it out and see all of the reasons to read and love Jane Austen.

Sad you didn't win? There are giveaways aplenty on Laura's Reviews right now. Check out this link for a giveaway of The Polski Affair by Leon H. Gildin or this link for a giveaway of two audiobook copies of Rescue by Anita Shreve. I also have a new giveaway I will be posting later today and check out Laura's Review Tuesday for an author interview with Grace Burrowes, author of The Heir and a giveaway of this novel.

Jack Caldwell Guest Blog (and GIVEAWAY!), Author of Pemberley Ranch

Last week I blogged about a fantastic new novel, Pemberley Ranch by Jack Caldwell. In overview, I said that "Pemberley Ranch is an excellent western and is the perfect blend of Pride and Prejudice with the old west. Caldwell makes the characters his own and has his own unique plot. I loved it."

Today I am honored to have Jack Caldwell on Laura's Reviews with a fantastic guest blog post. Without further ado . . .

Jack Caldwell Guest Blog, Author of Pemberley Ranch

Hi, folks! Jack Caldwell here, the author of that rip-roarin’ Western re-imagining of Pride and Prejudice, Pemberley Ranch.

I’m honored that Laura gave me the opportunity to write a guest blog for you, but then she pulled a dirty trick. She asked me to expand on what draws me to Austen’s novels. What? Talk about what I like about one of England’s greatest novelists?

All right, but I’m going to leave stuff out.

I started reading Austen in 1981, after watching the BBC mini-series. Never one to do things by halves, I got a copy of Jane Austen, The Complete Novels, which has all her major works, including Lady Susan. So I have read them all, several times.

Why do I keep going back to Austen? Let me count the ways.

JANE AUSTEN IS FUNNY. This is where most of the movie and television adaptations go wrong. Austen is hilarious. In virtually all her works, the protagonist is surrounded by well-meaning fools. Take Pride and Prejudice. Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Collins are very silly, but if you think about it, so are Mr. Bennet, Sir William Lucas, and even Lady Catherine de Bourgh, in their own fashion. Elizabeth disarms and charms with her wit, but it is Jane Austen’s wit that has us returning to the novel.

This is a theme throughout Austen’s works. We all know Emma is a lovable fool, but in a gentler way, so is Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey. John Thorpe is a bloody idiot. You have Sir Walter, Elizabeth Elliot, and Charles Musgrove in Persuasion. Mr. Rushworth and John Yates in Mansfield Park. Only in Lady Susan is there an absence of amusing characters.

The one that always gets butchered is Sense and Sensibility. Marianne doesn’t just start out as overly romantic—I think she is actually very immature and silly. She learns to become more mature and serious throughout the novel. We know about Sir John Middleton, Nancy Steele, and Mrs. Jennings, but what about the duo of Thomas and Charlotte Palmer? Can John Dashwood be any more ridiculous? C’mon, people, put the humor back in Austen!

JANE AUSTEN CAN TURN A PHRASE. Austen’s sparkling dialogue is a gem, meant to be enjoyed over and over again.

Take this scene from Pride and Prejudice. At Netherfield, while Jane lays sick upstairs, Caroline has just finished her silly fawning over Darcy’s letter writing, and Lizzy and Darcy are enjoying a little argument.

[Elizabeth] “You appear to me, Mr. Darcy, to allow nothing for the influence of friendship and affection. A regard for the requester would often make one readily yield to a request without waiting for arguments to reason one into it. I am not particularly speaking of such a case as you have supposed about Mr. Bingley. We may as well wait, perhaps, till the circumstance occurs before we discuss the discretion of his behavior thereupon. But in general and ordinary cases between friend and friend, where one of them is desired by the other to change a resolution of no very great moment, should you think ill of that person for complying with the desire, without waiting to be argued into it?”

[Darcy] “Will it not be advisable, before we proceed on this subject, to arrange with rather more precision the degree of importance which is to appertain to this request, as well as the degree of intimacy subsisting between the parties?”

“By all means,” cried Bingley, “let us hear all the particulars, not forgetting their comparative height and size; for that will have more weight in the argument, Miss Bennet, than you may be aware of. I assure you that, if Darcy were not such a great tall fellow, in comparison with myself, I should not pay him half so much deference. I declare I do not know a more awful object than Darcy, on particular occasions, and in particular places; at his own house especially, and of a Sunday evening, when he has nothing to do.”

Spectacular.

JANE AUSTEN’S PLOTS ARE ENGAGING. Her plots are either “boy meets girl; boy loses girl; boy gets girl back”, “Boy and girl want to get together, but someone/something is keeping them apart” and/or “boy/girl has no idea that girl/boy likes them until almost too late.” However, it is due to Austen’s genius that she can make each of her stories bright and new. They all are different and delightful.

JANE AUSTEN WRITES ABOUT SERIOUS STUFF. Austen might have been a gentle writer writing about gentle things, but an undertone is always present: The battle between immorality and morality. Greed, jealousy, infidelity, fornication, dishonesty—it’s all there in her works. Take her masterpiece of principles over fashionable behavior, Mansfield Park. I know Fanny Price is not everyone’s favorite heroine, but she remains steadfast in her behavior in the face of her beloved Edmund falling for the charms of the brilliant and morally weak Mary Crawford. Because she remains true, she gets her heart’s desire, while the worldly Maria Rushworth destroys herself with an affair with Henry Crawford. The good and righteous always triumph in Austen’s stories.

JANE AUSTEN’S CHARACTERS ARE ALIVE. Setting aside that loud-mouthed plot device, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Austen’s characters seem familiar. It is because they are. We all have a friend who talks before she thinks. We know a wallflower just waiting to bloom. We have a buddy who is strong and ironic, but they’re hurting deep inside because of a woman. We’ve met Mr. Collins, Lady Catherine, John Willoughby, Maria Bertram, and Marianne Dashwood. We love reading about them and writers love making these figures their own.

There—under one thousand words. I know I left some stuff out. What about you? Why do you read Jane Austen time and time again?

Remember—it takes a real man to write historic romance, so let me tell you a story.

PEMBERLEY RANCH BY JACK CALDWELL – IN STORES DECEMBER 2010
When the smoke has cleared from the battlefields and the civil war has finally ended, fervent Union supporter Beth Bennet reluctantly moves with her family from their home in Meryton, Ohio, to the windswept plains of Rosings, Texas. Handsome, haughty Will Darcy, a Confederate officer back from the war, owns half the land around Rosings, and his even haughtier cousin, Cate Burroughs, owns the other half.

In a town as small as Rosings, Beth and Will inevitably cross paths. But as Will becomes enchanted with the fiery Yankee, Beth won’t allow herself to warm to the man who represents the one thing she hates most: the army that killed her only brother.

But when carpetbagger George Whitehead arrives in Rosings, all that Beth thought to be true is turned on its head, and the only man who can save her home is the one she swore she’d never trust…

“It’s Pride and Prejudice meets Gone with the Wind—with that kind of romance and excitement.”—Sharon Lathan, bestselling author of In the Arms of Mr. Darcy

About the Author
Jack Caldwell, a native of Louisiana living in the Midwest, is an economic developer by trade. Mr. Caldwell has been an amateur history buff and a fan of Jane Austen for many years. Pemberley Ranch is his first published work. He lives with his wife in Minnesota. For more information, please visit http://webpages.charter.net/jvcla25/ and on http://www.austenauthors.com/, where he regularly contributes.

Giveaway Details

Danielle of Sourcebooks has been kind enough to offer two copy of Pemberley Ranch by Jack Caldwell for a giveaway.

If you would like to win a copy of Pemberley Ranch, please leave a comment about what intrigues you about the novel or this fantastic guest blog.

As part of your comment, you must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner.

For an additional entry, blog about this giveaway or post it on your sidebar. Provide a link to this post in your comment.

I will be using random.org to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is only open to US and Canadian residents (Sorry!).

No P.O. Boxes.

The deadline for entry is midnight, Friday December 24th.

Good luck!

Pemberley Ranch by Jack Caldwell

Pemberley Ranch is a wonderful new western starring my favorite literary couple, Mr. Darcy (known as Will in this book) and Elizabeth Bennet (referred to as Beth).

The novel starts with William Darcy and Charles Bingley in the thick of action during the American Civil War. After an altercation with crooked Yankee officer George Whitehead, Darcy and Bingley are shipped off to a prison camp for the rest of the war. Afterwards, Darcy goes back to his ranch, Pemberley, near the small town of Rosings, Texas. Bingley moves to town as the town doctor, but unfortunately, George Whitehead shows up after receiving a government appointment. Darcy tries to avoid town and Whitehead in order to forget the past, but he finds it hard to avoid when he meets the lovely Beth Bennet.

Beth Bennet grew up with her family on a farm in Ohio. After her elder brother Samuel’s death in the war, Beth finds herself unable to forgive Southerners. In order to better their situation in life, Mr. Bennet moves his family to a new farm in Rosings, Texas. Beth has prejudice against the townspeople as they were on the side of the South during the Civil War. Although she hates the ex-confederate officer Will Darcy and all he stands for, she can’t help but be attracted to him.

Will’s cousin Cate Burroughs owns the other half of the land around Rosings that Darcy does not own. Together with George Whitehead and Billy Collins, Cate embarks on a scheme to make money in a nefarious way. Will Darcy and Beth Bennet have to work together to stop them and find romance along the way.

I really enjoyed this novel. I loved the Civil War action at the beginning of the novel, but I thought the novel got a bit slow when it moved to Rosings Texas five years after the war. Luckily the action picked up after that point and I had a hard time putting it down. Pemberly Ranch had a great historical fiction background, and I loved the footnotes that explained certain historical items in more detail.

Caldwell did a fantastic job creating wonderfully unique characters. The characters use similar names as our beloved characters in Pride and Prejudice, but Caldwell made them his own by changing each slightly in unique ways. For instance, Charlotte Lucas is the plain outspoken daughter of the Sheriff who has a secret romance with Darcy’s foreman, Richard “Fitz” Fitzwilliam. I loved this change in Charlotte and I also loved how Mrs. Bennet is a good farmer’s wife that talks too much. She and Mr. Bennet have a much deeper love than what is seen in Pride and Prejudice. And of course, Beth and Will are fantastic lead characters. I was a bit annoyed with Beth’s automatic hatred of Will at the beginning, but soon the two characters were sharing a passionate (though chaste) romance that was riveting to watch unfold on the page.

It was also delightful how characters from other Austen novels would make “guest” appearances. Henry Tilney, Edmund Bertram, Mr. Knightly, etc. all make appearances. Each arrival of an old favorite made me smile.

I thought the novel did an excellent job of using the theme of pride and prejudice. There is much exploration of pride and prejudice between the north and south and that war is actually a grey zone with wrongs and rights on both sides. There was also prejudice against religion (a nice twist was that the Darcys were Catholic) and race (the Darcys have Native American and Mexican heritage and an ex-slave family moves to town). It was intriguing.

I was initially drawn to this novel as it says on the cover that it is a mix of Gone with the Wind and Pride and Prejudice. I love both novels so I was excited by that. As I read the novel though, I thought this description is actually a disservice to the novel. Pemberley Ranch is an excellent western and is the perfect blend of Pride and Prejudice with the old west. Caldwell makes the characters his own and has his own unique plot. I loved it.

Jack Caldwell will have a guest post on my blog on Thursday December 16th. Please stop back by and see what he has to say about this novel. I can’t wait!

Pemberley Ranch is my thirteenth item in the Everything Austen Challenge II.

Book Source: Advance Review Copy from Sourcebooks. Thank-you!