One Thread Pulled: The Dance with Mr. Darcy

Posted on by Wendi Sotis

One Thread Pulled:

The Dance with Mr. Darcy

by Diana J. Oaks

Although I’ve read it twice before, I decided to revisit this excellent story—full of sweet romance, intrigue, and even a mystery—for The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge. I highly recommend this book!

What if, from the story of Pride and Prejudice, weaved by Jane Austen, one thread was pulled? Diana J. Oaks imagines just that when she pulls the thread that has Elizabeth Bennet overhearing Mr. Darcy’s insult at the assembly ball. As a result, One Thread Pulled goes off in  directions increasingly dissimilar to the original as the story unfolds.

Since there was no knowledge of the insult, Mrs. Bennet declares that they should forgive Mr. Darcy’s pride, and Elizabeth agrees. Jane suffers a fall on her way to Netherfield rather than an illness, resulting in some rather amusing scenes which explain the changes in her character from the original.Without Elizabeth’s injured pride, her behavior toward Mr. Darcy is friendlier, causing both their feelings to develop sooner. Colonel Fitzwilliam and Georgiana Darcy appear earlier, as well, and the characters we love to hate are even more hate-worthy in this adaptation—a very satisfying deviation.

I was sorry to see this book end, and I am looking forward to the second of the series to be published! Diana’s first draft of the sequel is being posted to BeyondAusten.com, titled Constant as the Sun.

Loving Miss Darcy (Brides of Pemberley)

Posted on by Wendi Sotis

Loving Miss Darcy (Brides of Pemberley)

by Nancy Kelley

You know it’s a really good story when you hit the end and you still want to read more. If one listened closely when I finished this book, they would have heard a very audible, “Awww! There’s no more?!” and noticed that I kept flipping to see if there was any mention of a sequel.

In Loving Miss Darcy, Elizabeth and Darcy are very happily married. Richard Fitzwilliam is now out of the army at half-pay and has been taking care of his father’s estates in lieu of his brother, who does not really care for the land. His brother decides to take an interest after all—mainly, it seems, in order to spite Richard. Wanting nothing to do with his brother, Richard leaves Matlock and heads over to Pemberley.

Upon arrival, he finds that, after putting off Georgiana’s season in order for Elizabeth to be presented, it is now time for Georgiana’s coming out. The gentlemen are rather reluctant about it—as is Georgiana. As Mary Bennet has no interest in having a Season, and Kitty is all for it, the Darcys ask Kitty to accompany them to London to be presented at court as well, hoping some of her enthusiasm will wear off on Georgiana.

As the Season begins, Richard can’t understand the extreme discomfort that comes over him whenever he thinks of Georgiana having suitors, and heaven forbid anyone should mention that the purpose for a Season is so that she shall marry!

Although at times I wanted to shake some sense into poor Richard, experiencing his confusion was all part of the fun—an Austen-inspired story would be nothing without misunderstandings!  I think this is one of my favorite Colonel Fitzwilliam characterizations, and I really loved Georgiana, too. I enjoyed all the new characters that Nancy Kelley came up with, as well.

A big “thumbs up” from me for Loving Miss Darcy!

~~~~~~

I read this novel as part of the

The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge 2013

at Austenprose.com

Text of Pride and Prejudice – 200th Anniversary personal challenge

Posted on by Wendi Sotis

I woke up this morning and remembered a dream I had – for the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice, I was typing the entire text.  Since many of my ideas for my stories also come from dreams, I decided that”s just what I’m going to do!

Check out the new page on my website.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Since I’m afraid it might disappear if I type it here, I’ll be typing in Word and pasting it from time to time.  I certainly hope it all fits!

~~~~~

I was going to simply read Pride and Prejudice as part of

The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge 2013

at Austenprose.com

but this is one step better!

Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match

Posted on by Wendi Sotis

Since I’m suffering from writer’s block, I might as well take advantage of the time “off” and get started on the challenges I’ve signed up for this year.

First up in the Pride and Prejudice Bicententary Challenge is

Marilyn Brant’s new release, Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match

The premise of Dr. Will Darcy and single mom Beth Bennet meeting through “Lady Catherine’s Love Match Website” sounded interesting, so I grabbed it. Once I started reading it, only sheer exhaustion forced me to put it down, to be taken up the following day as soon as I was able, and reading straight through to the end.

Both Will and Beth have their motives for signing up for online dating, and “looking for love” is not among them. Beth, a sociology student, fakes her profile as research for her final paper. Will is more honest with his answers, but it is in response to a bet he can’t refuse – what he’ll win will help make a lot of people’s lives so much better.

After corresponding through email for a while, they meet. Attraction grows into something much more, but to take their relationship to a more serious level, they’ll have to confess their deceptions. Will either be able to trust the other once the truth is out? Can Will get past his prejudices and accept who Beth really is?

Although this story didn’t hit all the marks one expects from a Pride & Prejudice modernization, I thoroughly enjoyed every word of this sweet, romantic tale.

The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge 2013

Posted on by Wendi Sotis
hosted by Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose.com

2013 is the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and I’m joining the celebration at Austenprose.com.

Between January 1, through December 31, 2013, participants can read, listen to, or watch movie adaptations of Jane Austen’s novel, or choose from the multitude of variations, sequels, and re-tellings.

Really, this should be a breeze for fans of Pride and Prejudice, but since I’ve never participated in a reading challenge before this year, I’m going to start off slowly, choosing a participation level of Neophyte: 1 – 4 selections.

If you’d like to participate, head on over to Austenprose.com to sign up before  July 1, 2013.

Decisions, Decisions!

There are so many, I’m having a little trouble figuring out just which novels, movies, or audio books to use for the challenge!

  1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – not only am I reading it, but I’m typing the whole thing out on my website! Update: I’ve had a shoulder injury and can’t type for very long, so this is on hold. (I haven’t checked for typos yet, but I will eventually.) I have to save my typing time for my new story 😉
  2. Pride, Prejudice, and the Perfect Match by Marilyn Brant – Review 1/19/13
  3. Attempting Elizabeth by Jessica Grey – Review 1/26/13
  4. Loving Miss Darcy by Nancy Kelley – Review 2/2/13
  5. One Thread Pulled by Diana J. Oaks – Review 2/17/13
  6. The Man Who Loved Jane Austen – Review 4/26/13
  7. Yours Affectionately, Jane Austen – Review 4/30/13
  8. I’ll be watching as many movie versions as I can lay my hands on.

I’ll update my list to include more as I read them.