Dear readers, please join me in welcoming Austen author and my good friend, Mary Simonsen, to Leatherbound Reviews! Be sure to leave a comment answering Mary's question to be entered into the When They Fall in Love giveaway!
Thank you, Jakki, for the opportunity to visit with you to discuss
my latest Jane Austen re-imagining, When They Fall in Love. Here is
summary of the novel:
Spring of 1814 –
Fitzwilliam Darcy proposes to Elizabeth Bennet at the Hunsford Parsonage, but
his offer of marriage is rejected.
Spring of 1821 – A
recently widowed Fitzwilliam Darcy has taken up residence with his six-year-old
daughter, Alexandra, at a villa in the hills above Florence and invites Charles
and Jane Bingley and their daughter to come for a visit. Included in the
invitation is Elizabeth Bennet, who has taken on the responsibility of
governess for her niece.
In the intervening
years, Elizabeth’s opinion of the Master of Pemberley has altered greatly, but
has Darcy’s opinion of Elizabeth changed? Will they be able to put their
troubled history behind them?
When They Fall in Love
is set against the background of the greatest city of the Renaissance, a perfect
place to start over.
I first met Jakki through the world of Jane Austen. After
reading her reviews of Jane Austen re-imaginings on Amazon, I contacted Jakki
and asked if she would review some of my titles. Out of that request, a
friendship grew, and I was fortunate enough to visit with her when I was in
Atlanta last October. Jakki is bubbly, buoyant, a fast talker, and a woman with
a lot of ideas and the energy to execute them.
When I first started corresponding with Jakki, my books were
being traditionally published by Sourcebooks, but after publishing four books
with them, we parted company. Sourcebooks was withdrawing from the Jane Austen
market, and I wanted to self-publish my own work. I no longer had the patience
to wait the approximately eighteen to twenty-four months required for a novel
to go from manuscript to bookstore shelf. Besides, most people were buying
their fiction on-line through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other e-retailers.
But in leaving a traditional publisher, with its art department, story and copy
editors, and publicity department, I was on my own. I could do the covers, and
I had enough contacts on the internet to promote my books, but what I really
needed was a good story editor.
The first manuscript I sent
to Jakki was Captain Wentworth – Home
from the Sea. I was expecting some general comments and a few notes on
grammar and spelling. What I got was much more. Jakki is what I call an
emotional reader, and her many comments reflected her intense engagement in my
story. I was so pleased that I asked her to read Becoming Elizabeth Darcy. This was a much more complicated story as
it involved time travel. Not only did I receive her emotional reaction to the
story, but she insisted on clarification on some fuzzy scenes. If she thought anyone
was acting out of character, she let me know. After I cleaned up the
manuscript, I sent it back to her for a second reading, and she re-read the
manuscript as if reading it for the first time. I had found my story editor!
As with everything in life, some things come easy and some
things don’t. I wrote my best selling novella, A Walk in the Meadows at Rosings Park, in a week. When writing The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy, A Wife for Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Darcy’s Bite, it was as if I was
possessed. The words just poured out of me. That was not the case with my
latest effort, When They Fall in Love.
I had planned to write a story with Florence as the setting
for a very long time, but when I actually set about writing it, it was one long
hard slog. It took me months to pound out the first draft. After completing two
additional drafts, I was still not pleased with the results. I decided to send
it to Jakki, warts and all. Her comments reflected an emotional distance from
my story, and she made numerous suggestions as to where I needed to pump up the
emotions and back away from my emphasis on time and place. Because of her
comments, I saw When They Fall in Love with different eyes, and I knew what had
to be done. By the time I had finished, I was very pleased with my novel. I
truly had a love story about a more mature Elizabeth and Darcy, two people who
had had their share of heartache and who could only fully heal when they were
together.
What Jakki did for me is what a good story editor does for
her authors. She guides, nudges, and if necessary, yanks really hard to get the
writer to move her story in the right direction. I can’t imagine publishing a
Jane Austen story without having Jakki as my story editor. The good news is
that what Jakki did for me is now available for other writers. If anyone is in
need of an excellent copy and story editor, then you will want to contact
Jakki.
To help celebrate the launch of When They Fall in Love, I
am giving away one paperback copy of my novel to a US/Canada resident or one ebook for an international winner! All you have to do to enter is
to leave a comment by April 30 about your first introduction to the work of
Jane Austen or the JAFF world. The winner will be announced on May 1. Best of luck! =)
Connect with Mary Simonsen
Read It Now!
