Winner of Mr. Darcy Forever by Victoria Connelly

I'm trying to catch up on things so I'm finally posting the grand prize winner of the wonderful novel, Mr. Darcy Forever by Victoria Connelly.  And without further ado, the winner is Faith Hope and Cherrytea.  She was chosen using random.org and has been notified via email.  If I don't hear anything from her within a week, a new winner will be drawn.

Thank-you to all who entered the giveaway, to Victoria Connelly for the great interview, and to Sourcebooks for letting me host this giveaway.

Mr. Darcy Forever by Victoria Connelly

I love Victoria Connelly’s trilogy about Jane Austen addicts.  As a Jane Austen addict myself, it is truly wonderful to read a novel about women that share my addiction.  The jokes and references to Austen’s original novels and the many spin-offs, movies, and TV adaptations always gives me a good chuckle and a nod of appreciation.  My husband probably thinks I’m crazy at this point!

Mr. Darcy Forever is the third novel in this trilogy, but you could read it on its own merits without having read the other two (although why would you want to skip them when they are so good?).  Sarah and Mia Castle are sister and best friends.  Older responsible Sarah raised Mia in her teenage years after their mother abandoned them.  One perfect summer, Sarah surprises Mia with a vacation to the Barton Cottage of the 1995 movie Sense and Sensibility.  While there, Mia has a slight accident and meets the very handsome Alec Burrows.  This vacation causes a rift between the sisters, but the mystery is what exactly caused the rift?  The novel passes back and forth between the present when each sister is separately making their annual trip to the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, and the past trip to Barton Cottage. 

I was intrigued by this novel and I read it very quickly.  I really wanted to know what had happened between the two sisters, and I must admit - I was surprised.  I always love a good plot that keeps me guessing.  What I love even more is the very unique characters in Mr. Darcy Forever.  Sarah and Mia were two flawed, but loveable sisters, and I loved their friends and love interests.  The love for Jane Austen is an ever present third character and I really wanted to visit Bath (and Barton Cottage!) even more after reading this book.  I love Sense and Sensibility and this book was a great modern homage to that novel.

This book is not to be missed by any lover of Jane Austen or by anyone looking for a great character story about two sisters and the ups and downs of their relationship.

If you would like to read an interview with Victoria Connelly and have a chance to win a copy of this novel, please follow and comment on this link.

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

Interview with Victoria Connelly, author of Mr. Darcy Forever (and GIVEAWAY!)

I love Victoria Connelly's Jane Austen Addicts series.  They are smart, romantic novels for the Jane Austen lover in all of us. The latest in the trilogy, Mr. Darcy Forever is another wonderful novel.  I'm still catching up on my reviews, but I should have it posted within the next week.  Until then, you can read this fantastic interview with Victoria Connelly herself and leave a comment for a chance to win the novel.


LAG:  Say it isn’t so . . . I read all three and loved all three of your Jane Austen Addicts series. Does this trilogy really need to end? Is there any way you can be persuaded to continue the series?

VC:  Well, I am actually writing a novella sequel which I’m hoping to bring out on Kindle in November/December. It’s going to be called ‘Christmas with Mr Darcy’ and it will reunite the main characters from the trilogy as they gather for a special Jane Austen conference at Purley Hall in Hampshire. There’s also a bit of a mystery when Dame Pamela’s first edition of Pride and Prejudice goes missing!

LAG:  What was your inspiration for Mr. Darcy Forever?

VC: I kept thinking about Elinor and Marianna in Sense and Sensibility and wondering what they’d be like it they were alive today. I also wanted to write about the amazing Jane Austen Festival in Bath – people come from all over the world to take part. It’s really inspirational and I knew it would make a great setting for a story.

LAG: Would you consider yourself more of a “Marianne” or an “Elinor?” Why?

VC:  I think I have elements of both. The creative side of me that grabs hold of a new idea for a novel and runs with it is very ‘Marianne’ but I’m also very cautious like Elinor in most areas of my life. I plan and I think things through carefully.

LAG:  Do you have a sister? If so what does she think of the sisterly relations in Mr. Darcy Forever?

VC:  I’m afraid I don’t have a sister. I have a brother but I don’t think he’ll be reading the novel!

LAG:  I love how part of the novel took place in Barton Cottage from the 1995 Sense and Sensibility. Did you stay in Barton cottage yourself for research? How did you find out about it as a place to rent out?

VC:  I discovered a marvellous company called Pride and Prejudice Tours and they hire the cottage out so you can stay there. I went in a weekend in May and it was glorious – all the bluebells, red campion and cow parsley was out. It’s a beautiful house overlooking the estuary and I kept imagining that Willoughby and Colonel Brandon would turn up on horseback at any moment!

LAG:  I love how the story is set in Bath. Do you attend the Jane Austen Festival?

VC:  I was lucky enough to attend for three days in September 2010 and I loved every minute of it. I went to a dance displays and a talk about costume, and I followed the amazing promenade through the streets of Bath.

LAG:  What Jane Austen “knick-knacks” do you have around your house?

VC:  Other than the Jane Austen’s books, critiques, spin-offs and DVD adaptations, I have Jane Austen bookmarks, a locations calendar, keyrings and a framed picture of Colin Firth as Mr Darcy on my desk!

LAG: What is next for you? I’d love to read more of your novels.

VC:  In the UK, I have a romantic comedy called The Runaway Actress about a movie star who swaps Hollywood for the Highlands. I’ve also published two collections of short stories on Kindle – The Retreat and One Perfect Week and will be publishing an autobiography soon called Escape to Mulberry Cottage about our move from London to rural Suffolk.

Thank-you for the great interview Victoria Connelly!!

Giveaway Details


Sourcebooks has graciously offered a giveaway of one copy of Mr. Darcy Forever by Victoria Connelly.

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 Victoria Connelly.

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 on Friday May 4, 2012.

Good luck! 

Dreaming of Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly

Dreaming of Mr. Darcy is the perfect novel to escape into.  I’ve been very stressed lately with teaching a class, taking a class, work, kids, etc., but this novel helped me to forget my worries each night before bed and take delight in the story. 

Kay Ashton is addicted to Jane Austen.  After she inherits a bit of money, she moves to Lyme (one of the locations in Jane Austen’s novel Persuasion) and buys a bed and breakfast.  Before she even has time to open, the stars of a new production of Persuasion knock on her door looking for rooms after their hotel is flooded.  Kay is more than a little excited to have the sexy actor Oli Wade Owen, aka Captain Wentworth, staying at her B&B.  The screenwriter and producer of Persuasion, Adam Craig, is a quiet guy who has harbored a crush on Kay since she moved to town.  Adam is the perfect man for Kay, but with Oli blinding her, she thinks that Adam is in love with Gemma (Anne Elliot in the Persuasion movie).  Will true love conquer all?

Once again Victoria Connelly has written a novel that is a love letter for all Jane Austen lovers.  Besides being a wonderful romantic story, it has many nuisances and references that Janeites will pick up as they read the book.  Persuasion is tied with Pride and Prejudice as my favorite Austen novel so I loved a novel that keyed into my favorite book so much. 

One of my favorite lines in the novel was, “It’s hard to think of the Regency period as being anything but perfect, isn’t it?  I don’t think it was perfect, but it was pretty damn close.  Apart from the mortality rate and lack of medicine and the hygiene issues.” This pretty much sums up my thoughts on the Regency period as well.

Dreaming of Mr. Darcy is a modern day Austen inspired novel that will be sure to encourage you to fall in love with the characters, Lyme, and Austen.  It is a wonderful novel.

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

Winner of Dreaming of Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly

The lucky winner of Dreaming of Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly is Marci of A Joyful Heart and Noise.  Marci was chosen using random.org and has been notified via email.  She has one week to send me her mailing address, otherwise, a new winner will be chosen.

I hope Marci enjoys Dreaming of Mr. Darcy as much as I did - it was a wonderful book!  I'm still running a bit behind on my reviews, but I hope to have one up of this book within the next week.  Stay tuned!

Thank-you to Victoria Connelly for writing such a fabulous book and for the great interview for this blog.  Thank-you to Sourcebooks for allowing me to host this giveaway, and thank-you to all who entered.

As you can see by my right sidebar, I'm currently out of giveaways!  Have no fear, I have a stack of brand new Pengiun audiobooks to giveway.  Stay tuned over the next two weeks to see what they are and for a chance to win!

Interview with Victoria Connelly, author of Dreaming of Mr. Darcy (and GIVEAWAY!)

 I apologize for my absence from the blog this week.  I have a large "pile" of reviews that I need to get posted.  Hopefully if I get them out one a day I will get caught up again.    I am a new instructor at our local technical college.  Sadly I am not teaching a course on Jane Austen or on Victorian Literature, but I am using my day-job experience to teach a bunch of great students about some hand drafting skills.  It's taken up a lot of my time to get the class planned, but now that I'm into it, hopefully I'll be able to keep up more with my blog!

This interview is coming a day late, but I'm sure you'll still find it as fascinating as I do.  I am happy to welcome, Victoria Connelly to this blog to talk about her new book, Dreaming of Mr. Darcy.  She also wrote the excellent A Weekend with Mr. Darcy, a book that I LOVED and that is the first book in this trilogy. As I get caught up posting my reviews over the next week, keep your eye out for my review of Dreaming of Mr. Darcy.  And now without further ado, Victoria Connelly. 

LAG:  How did you first fall in love with Austen?

VC:  Jane Austen is such a special writer. I love her warmth and her wit. I adore her characters and the family relationships she portrays, and I love that they make mistakes but are allowed second chances at happiness. I read Pride and Prejudice when I was a teenager and saw the lovely 1940s film version starring Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson. After that, it became a lifelong obsession!

LAG:  What gave you the inspiration for your current trilogy?
VC:  I’d been visiting lots of Jane Austen locations including her home in Chawton, Hampshire, which is now a lovely museum. I kept thinking how beautiful these places were and how much fun it would be to write about them and the idea for a trilogy happened very quickly. It would be three separate books about three sets of Austen addicts and each would be set in a different Austen location: Hampshire, Lyme Regis and Bath.

I also wanted to explore what it was like to be an Austen fan in the twenty-first century and how so many of us use Austen to escape from the stresses and strains of the modern world. It’s fascinating to me that she’s as popular as ever.

LAG:   Do you dream of Mr. Darcy or Captain Wentworth?
VC:  Of course! They are two of literature’s most wonderful heroes. I think Mr Darcy will always be my favourite because he learns so much from Elizabeth and is willing to change for her. He also wants to protect her and her whole family which is so touching.

Captain Wentworth is fabulous too. A man who can tell their loved one: ‘I am half agony, half hope’ gets my vote!

Dreaming of Mr. Darcy Description (from the publisher):

A romance worthy of Jane Austen herself

Praise for A Weekend with Mr. Darcy:

"Sunshine on a rainy day. A charmingly written slice of warmhearted escapism."

- Lisa Jewell, bestselling author of Roommates Wanted

"Lively, funny characters ... the romances of this novel brilliantly reveal one thing that Miss Austen always knew: true love is often a complicated, but beautiful, mess."

- Luxury Reading

Fledging illustrator and Darcy fanatic Kay Ashton settles in the seaside town of Lyme to finish her book, The Illustrated Darcy, when a film company arrives to make a new adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion. Kay is soon falling for the handsome bad boy actor playing Captain Wentworth, but it's the quiet screenwriter Adam Craig who has more in common with her beloved Mr. Darcy. Though still healing from a broken heart, Adam finds himself unexpectedly in love with Kay. But it will take more than good intentions to convince her that her real happy ending is with him.

About Victoria Connelly:

Victoria Connelly was brought up in Norfolk and studied English literature at Worcester University before becoming a teacher in North Yorkshire. After getting married in a medieval castle in the Yorkshire Dales, she moved to London where she lives with her artist husband and a mad springer spaniel. She has three novels published in Germany and the first, Flights of Angels, was made into a film. Victoria and her husband flew out to Berlin to see it being filmed and got to be extras in it. Her first novel in the UK, Molly's Millions, is a romantic comedy about a lottery winner who gives it all away. A Weekend With Mr Darcy is the first book in a planned series to be set in the world of Austen addicts, which is a wonderful excuse for Victoria to read all the books and watch all the gorgeous film and TV adaptations again. Victoria is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association and has a short story called Mummies and Daddies - set in the mummy rooms of the British Museum - in their 50th anniversary anthology, Loves Me, Loves Me Not.

Giveaway Details

Sourcebooks has graciously offered a giveaway of one copy of Dreaming of Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly.

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 Victoria Connelly.

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 February 3, 2012.

Good luck!

A Weekend with Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly

It is no secret that I am obsessed with all things Jane Austen. I remember flipping through a People magazine as a teenager back in 1996. I saw an ad for an intriguing looking mini-series on A&E, Pride and Prejudice. I had heard of the novel by Jane Austen, but hadn’t read it at that time (and strangely it was never taught about it my high school). I didn’t have cable TV at home at the time, so I had my Dad’s girlfriend tape it for me (back in the glory days of VHS tapes). My sister Kristi and I sat down and watched it for a six-hour marathon, and we loved it. My best friends Jenn and Elina also watched it and we could talk of nothing else, but Pride and Prejudice and Mr. Darcy. It was also during this time frame that I saw the Emma Thompson Sense and Sensibility in the movie theatre with friends for the first time. Soon I was picking up my first copy of the novel Pride and Prejudice while I was visiting my soon to be future college, Michigan Technological University. I read it and admired it even more than the mini-series (although I would be picturing Mr. Darcy as Colin Firth as I read the novel). Soon I was reading all of Jane Austen’s other novels, reading biographies of Ms. Austen, watching any and all adaptations, reading spin-offs, sequels, modern take-offs, etc. Sixteen years later, the obsession hasn’t stopped. I only find as the years go by that my appreciation for Austen and her witty observations on life to have increased with age and experience.

What does this have to do with A Weekend with Mr. Darcy? Well, A Weekend with Mr. Darcy is a book written for a person as obsessed with Jane Austen as I am. I laughed with appreciation throughout reading the references to various Austen productions and spin-off novels. The main characters also have an Austen obsession like me, but unlike me they live in England and are able to attend a weekend Austen conference in Hampshire. They not only visit Austen’s birthplace, but also her beloved cottage in Chawton. I read with delight about the gift shop at Chawton and wished I could purchase some Colin Firth Mr. Darcy paraphernalia for myself. I also loved the call out of other Pride and Prejudice inspired works such as Mr. Darcy’s Diary and the Other Mr. Darcy.

A Weekend with Mr. Darcy focuses on two Austen obsessed ladies that attend the Jane Austen Conference. Katherine Roberts is a respected literature professor at Oxford with her expertise in Jane Austen. What she hides from her colleagues is the depth of her obsession with Austen and her secret passion for racy regency romance novels. She especially loves the regency romance novels by her favorite novelist, the popular, but reclusive Lorna Warwick. After becoming friends with Lorna Warwick through writing letters, she hopes to meet her favorite novelist at the conference. Katherine has been burned by love in the past, but after having a misunderstanding with a handsome stranger at the conference, she soon learns they have more in common then she originally thought.

Robyn Love is obsessed with Austen and is thrilled to be attending the Jane Austen conference. What she is not thrilled about is that her long time boyfriend Jace has decided to drive her to the conference and to hang out in town waiting for her. Jace hates all things Austen, and has not taken Robyn’s hints that she wants to break up with him. After meeting a handsome man on horseback, she learns that this man, Dan, also loves animals and reads Pride and Prejudice after her recommendation. Will Robyn get the courage to finally express her feelings to both men in her life?

A Weekend with Mr. Darcy is a delightful novel, and a fun, romantic read. I related to all of the Austen love in the novel, and I thought it had one of the best twists in a book that I’ve read for quite awhile. I won’t spoil it for you here, but a few chapters in I was like, “WHAT?” You got me! And I like it! The romance in the novel is sweet and I loved the character growth of each of the main characters. The secondary characters were also fun. I read this book quickly and was left wanting more. Luckily it said at the end of the novel that Victoria Connelly is working on a trilogy about Jane Austen addicts so I have two more books to look forward to!

I learned from this novel that if a man is looking for love, if he reads and likes Pride and Prejudice, the odds will be in his favor.

For more about Victoria Connelly, check out this interview.

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

Winner of A Weekend with Darcy by Victoria Connelly

The lucky winner of A Weekend with Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly is Donna of My Life. One Story at a Time. Donna was chosen using random.org. She has been notified via email and has one week to send me her mailing address or a new winner will be chosen. Congrats to Donna!

I really enjoyed A Weekend with Mr. Darcy. My review of this fabulous novel will be posted tomorrow so stay tuned. If you missed Victoria Connelly's interview, please check out this link.

Thank-you to Ms. Connelly for answering my questions and for writting such a delightful book. Thank-you to all who commented and entered the giveaway and to Sourcebooks for providing a giveaway copy (and a review copy for me!).

I still have three great giveaways ongoing so please check out my right sidebar!

An Interview with Victoria Connelly, author of A Weekend with Mr. Darcy (and GIVEAWAY)

As readers of this blog know, I am always excited by great new Pride and Prejudice inspired novels. I am honored today to have Victoria Connelly as a guest on my blog answering some of my pesky questions about her love for Austen. Without further ado . . .

LAG: Are you as obsessed with Austen as the characters in your novel?

VC: I am, indeed, as obsessed with Jane Austen as the characters in A Weekend with Mr Darcy. There are fewer greater pleasure for me than sitting down with a Jane Austen novel or enjoying one of the many beautiful film adaptations of her books. I also had the great pleasure of visiting many Jane Austen locations: her beautiful home at Chawton in Hampshire, the little church at Steventon, Lyme Regis on the Dorset coast and the magnificent Georgian city of Bath. I also have many books about Jane Austen from her novels to collections of her letters and biographies, and some very cute trinkets like my ‘I heart Darcy’ keychain, bookmarks and an ‘I Love Darcy’ T-shirt!

LAG: When did you first discover Austen?

VC: I first became aware of Jane Austen through the 1940 black and white film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice starring Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson which I watched when I was about 13. I fell in love with it immediately even though the costumes were more Gone with the Wind than Regency England! I didn't read Pride and Prejudice until I was 17 but I was hooked for life, and I went on to study Sense and Sensibility at university and then read the other books too.

LAG: How did you apply what you loved about her novels in your novel?

VC: I hope that some of my enthusiasm for Austen comes through in my Austen addicts trilogy. I think many of the characters in A Weekend with Mr Darcy are very like me. Robyn uses Austen as an escape. Katherine’s love is through her work as an academic, and Warwick has been inspired by Austen to write his own books. I can relate closely to all three of these characters and maybe my readers will recognize something of themselves in them too.

Thank-you Victoria for being a guest on my blog today. Anyone who owns an "I Love Darcy" t-shirt, is definitely an author that I would like to read! Stay tuned for a review of A Weekend with Mr. Darcy on Laura's Reviews.

Giveaway Details
Beth from Sourcebooks has been kind enough to offer one copy of A Weekend with Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly for a giveaway.

If you would like to win a copy of A Weekend with Mr. Darcy please leave a comment about what intrigues you about the novel or this interview.

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 July 22nd.

Good luck!