Title: MR. DARCY'S BITE
Gebre: Paranormal Historical Fiction
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Format: eBook & Print
Pages: 336
Order:
In the tradition of Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange (35,000 copies sold) this fresh, original paranormal Jane Austen sequel by bestselling author Mary Lydon Simonson explores Mr. Darcy as the leader of a secret world of werewolves threatened with extinction.
Elizabeth comes to realize that she loves him in both his incarnations, and all his servants protect his secret. But then Elizabeth must confront a shocking danger to her beloved with every full moon, when Darcy is alone and exposed to those who hate wolves...
~About Mary Lyndon Simonsen~
Mary Lydon Simonsen is the author of two Regency Austen re-imaginings, The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy and A Wife for Mr. Darcy, and a Jane Austen historical romance, Searching for Pemberley, which was acclaimed by Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and RT Book Reviews. She is well loved and widely followed on all the Jane Austen fanfic sites, with tens of thousands of hits and hundreds of reviews whenever she posts. The author lives in Arizona.
Hi Christine. Thank you for having me on your blog. You asked if I could take one of Jane Austen’s villains and reform him, how would I go about doing that.
Austen gave us so many delicious villains: George Wickham, John Willoughby, General Tilney, and some quasi villains, Frank Churchill and Henry Crawford. My first thought was to reform John Willoughby from Sense and Sensibility. He was so cruel to Marianne Dashwood, breaking her heart with his sudden departure from Devon to London. But I think he got his just desserts when he married Miss Grey. After all, it was Miss Grey who dictated the cold-hearted letter that Willoughby wrote to Marianne apologizing for any misunderstandings between them. After all, it was Marianne’s fault!
I also thought about Frank Churchill. I really didn’t like how he treated Jane Fairfax. When he sent her the anonymous gift of the pianoforte, he set her up to be grist for the rumor mill. On the other hand, Churchill did tweak Emma’s nose, a nose much in need of tweaking, so I liked him for that.
But I finally settled on Austen’s most famous bad boy: George Wickham. In most of my novels, Wickham is punished for compromising Lydia Bennet’s virtue. For example, in A Wife for Mr. Darcy, he ends up in debtor’s prison, and in Darcy on the Hudson, he dies of dysentery in the Peninsular campaign in Spain.
At your request, rather than killing him off, I decided that Wickham would be seriously wounded in Spain. After returning to England, he is nursed by his adoring wife, Lydia. Grateful for her excellent care, Wickham wants to do right by her. But there are difficulties. Wickham is no longer fit to serve in the army, and he must find a new career. Once again, he looks to the church. Although Darcy agrees to pay for his education so that he might take orders, he declines to provide him with a living. No living. No income. What is to be done? Enter, stage right, Elizabeth and Darcy.
Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam, now married, are caught in a terrible rainstorm near the Woodhouse estate in Highbury and must seek shelter. While there, they learn from Emma Woodhouse that Mr. Elton, the vicar at the local church, has given up the profession because his wife has expressed a wish to return to Bath. During the visit, Emma mentions to the Darcys that the vicarship is vacant. Elizabeth sees an opening and takes it. Of course, the Woodhouses offer the living to George Wickham, and everyone lives happily ever after.
I honestly have to say I prefer to punish my villains. It’s easy for me to imagine General Tilney’s wife haunting Northanger Abbey and keeping him up at night or Jane Fairfax giving Frank Churchill the old heave-ho or Willoughby finding out that his wife’s fortune is half of what he expected. One of the things I like so much about Charles Dickens is the man really knew how to punish his villains.
I hope your readers will share with me what Austen villain your readers would like to reform.
Thanks so much for having me. This was enjoyable.
In celebration of the wonderful paranormal historical fiction by author Mary Lyndon Simonsen's MR. DARCY'S BITE released by Sourcebooks Landmark Over the Edge Reviews will be giving two lucky readers their very own copy.
To enter please follow these few simple rules.
*Other than Mr. Darcy who would you like to see turned into
the undead? Why?
Contest is open to ALL readers.
*Other than Mr. Darcy who would you like to see turned into
the undead? Why?
***
Contest runs until November 1, 2011 .
I will contact winners directly on November 2, 2011.
One entry per reader.



















