What happens when 4 Jane Austen Fan Fiction authors get together and write stories?
A boxed set called Mr. Darcy Loves Elizabeth Bennet.
What happens when they decide to play a game of Ask Me Anything all together? Well, take a look . . .
Elizabeth: Elizabeth Ann West
April: April Floyd
Barbara: Barbara Silkstone
Kristi: Kristi Rose
Elizabeth: So here are the rules, we each get to ask one question of the other, and unlike Truth or Dare, it’s all Truths! April gets to ask the first question!
April: Okay, this question is for Barbara because of something you said the other night when we were chatting on Facebook. Why would you need to carry around a sewing kit?
Barbara: I am grossed out by holes in fabric. Just the thought of them makes me quake. If I see someone wearing jeans or a T-shirt with holes, I will cross the street to avoid them. If I check into a hotel, I immediately uncover the sheets to do a hole-inspection. If I find one, I ask to be moved to another room.
I have had this affliction for as long as I can remember. I do believe in reincarnation, and think perhaps I was done-in by an icky, shredded cloth in a previous life.
Elizabeth: Oh boy, needle and thread stat for Barbara! You definitely win the right to ask the next question.
Barbara: Right, so this is for Kristi, everyone has a phrase they use repeatedly, what’s yours? And I bet I can guess from all of the Facebook chats we had to have to publish this book!
Kristi: That’s right up my alley. Or Ain’t nobody got time for that.
April, Elizabeth: We say that, too!
Barbara: Which one?
April: Ain’t NOBODY got time for THAT.
Elizabeth: Yep, it always brings a giggle on the phone! Okay, Kristi, it’s your turn . . . who is your question for?
Kristi: My question is for you, Elizabeth, what is something you can’t do well that people would be surprised to learn?
Elizabeth: ::deep breath:: I cannot bake. I know, I know, follow the instructions. But I just can’t seem to make most recipes work! I can cook, make sauces, but baking? My Achilles Heel. I mostly stick with boxed sets for that reason. Or like that scene in Bad Moms? I totally buy the baked goods for any school obligation.
Elizabeth: I get to ask April’s first question! Hmm, decisions, decisions, almost not fair since we’ve worked together for 4 years . . . how about what would you consider is your most annoying habit?
April: Well you know I like to talk! And my youngest and I both have to talk all through a movie, but only if we are watching at home. We never, ever do this in public because that’s just rude. My husband can’t bear to sit through a movie with us because we are constantly wondering what’s next and discussing what just happened.
April: I do the next question, right? Here’s another one for Kristi, are you more of a hunter or a gatherer?
Kristi: If by gatherer you mean hoarder then yes, that’s me. I horde paper. My office looks like a paper factory exploded. I’m ashamed of my role in not preserving the trees.
Elizabeth: Oh Kristi I am just as bad! I totally shopped my office supply stash to outfit my oldest for school this year. Sssshhh. Or don’t sshhh, you get to ask the next question.
Kristi: Hey, the stores might run out of paper and pens, you just never know! Now, it’s Barbara’s turn, because the first question about fears made me curious, what is your greatest fear if holes in clothes is your weirdest one?
Barbara: Oh boy, you’re really ganging up on me! Escalators! I get sweaty palms just thinking about them. In London they have multistory monsters that make me feel as if I am falling backwards. I grip the railing and look down at my shoes and pray.
One of the tallest escalators in London is the Angel Tube Station. You almost have to use it to get to the theater district, unless you go by cab. I have palpitations each time I plan to go to the theater. I stand around waiting for some burly guy to get into the queue, and then I jump in front of him. I figure he might be strong enough to catch me when I fall.
To overcome my fear of escalators I took up hot air ballooning. Don’t ask…it made sense at the time. I competed in hot air balloon races and overcame my fear of heights, but I still won’t set foot on an escalator. I will walk miles to find an elevator or stairs, anything to avoid a bloody escalator.
Elizabeth: Right, elevators only for Barbara. And hot air balloons if available! I think you have a question for me, next.
Barbara: Indeed, Chief!
Elizabeth: That and kiddo, I have the best nicknames from you!
Barbara: So if you were an animated character, who would you be?
Elizabeth: I am busting out some obscure character here, Bright Heart Raccoon. When I was a kid, I loved Care Bears. And Bright Heart Raccoon was different, and purple, and his friends liked him for his ideas.
I was that kid growing up. I was the one in my neighborhood that read Ramona Quimby and made stilts with 5-gallon drywall buckets and jump ropes. Or came up with all of the games we played, like riding bikes we went on journeys to crazy places with mailbox stops to “stamp our passports.” The backyard was Terabithia because I read it in a book. More or less, if I read it in a book and liked it, I tried to make it real life. 🙂
Elizabeth: Okay Kristi, I will give you a food related question since I had to confess I can’t bake! What’s the oddest thing you like on your pizza?
Kristi: Pizza toppings? Well, this isn’t something I find many others like, so I’ll share this. I like peas. Green ones. In the south they call them English Peas.
Elizabeth: Well will you peas ask April her next question?
Kristi: Absolutely! April, we all sing alone, but if you don’t know the words to a song, do you improvise or just skip it?
April: Oh, even when I know the words I still improvise the lyrics to make them funnier! I will sing a tune as a country song if it is a pop song or turn it into a rap song if it’s country. I just act like a goofball whenever the radio is on. My youngest is not amused as he is now getting to the age where he likes the Top 40 on the radio. One favorite is Shawn Mendes Stitches. I replace stitches and kisses with fishes, wishes, dishes….just pulling a Dr Seuss basically.
April: And I get to put Elizabeth’s feet to the fire again. I know a lot about you since we work together and talk almost everyday, so let’s do another question about your childhood. What did you want to be when you were 10 years old?
Elizabeth: When I was 10 we did a really cool unit in science called Voyage of the Mimi, and I loved it! We even sponsored a whale as a class and had pictures of the fluke. I wanted to be an oceanographic cartographer and go to college at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. As I grew older, I wanted to be an international businesswoman, and so far, the closest I’ve come to the later is being a publisher worldwide, and the former, I married a submariner!
It actually turns out that now just footage of underwater scenes gives me the creeps. I can’t watch it! And a shipwreck? I hyperventilate. And when I was 10 I was all about learning about the Titanic and everything I could about maritime topics. And that has turned into a kind of strange phobia like Barbara’s which brings me to her last question.
Elizabeth: This is a dark question, but it was one you agreed to answer, so here goes. How would you like to die?
Barbara: Not on an escalator.
Elizabeth: I think that might be cheating, but we’ll let the judges decide! You get to ask April her last question.
Barbara: Well since everyone asked me about fears, here’s my question for April…On a scale from 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you?
April: That depends on several factors. My imagination for one. If I’ve been reading something creepy then I have to jump in bed and pull the covers over my head so that’s a 5. If it’s summer and lightning bugs are out, then it’s a wonderland and that would be a zero on the 1-5 scale. If it’s Halloween night and my 9 year old is acting silly saying he saw a werewolf across the street in the shadows and I look and there’s the figure of someone ducking behind a building then we’re zooming up to a 4 about to pass 5. So yeah, it’s situational.
Kristi: I think that’s a fair scale for the dark! So now it’s your turn! What questions do you want us to answer? Add them in the comments below and who you want to answer and we will go at it!
Thank you so much to Anna for hosting us on her blog, and we hope you all will check out our anthology of stories with our favorite Dear Couple!
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About Mr. Darcy Loves Elizabeth Bennet
Join authors Elizabeth Ann West, Barbara Silkstone, Kristi Rose, and April Floyd as they each share an exclusive short novella reimagining our dear couple falling in love! We all know Mr. Darcy loves Elizabeth Bennet, but the question universally wondered is how many ways can they show that love? Two Regencies, Two Contemporaries, there is a perfect story for every Jane Austen Fan Fiction lover!
Included in the anthology:
Darcy and Lizzie’s Wedding Breakfast by Barbara Silkstone
An Accidental Assignation by April Floyd
Much to Conceal by Elizabeth Ann West
Honeymoon Postponed: A Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Adventure by Kristi Rose
Check out Mr. Darcy Loves Elizabeth Bennet on Amazon | Goodreads
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About the authors
A Jane-of-all-trades, mistress to none! Elizabeth Ann West is the author of 4 novels and 7 novellas, 10 of which are story variations of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. Her books have won reader conference awards and hit the Historical Bestseller lists on Amazon, Kobo, and the iBooks stores multiple times. A lover of all things geeky, Elizabeth codes websites, dabbles in graphic design, and is always looking for new technology to learn and master. A Navy wife and mother of two, her family has lived all over the United States, currently residing in upstate New York. Originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, you can keep up with Elizabeth on Twitter @Eawwrites and on her website, http://elizabethannwest.com where she posts new fiction as she writes it!
Elizabeth is EXTREMELY proud and honored to have A Winter Wrong win Best Novella and Best Literary Fiction in the 2015 eBook Festival of Words. Thank you to all of the readers who nominated the novel and have voted for it. You made Elizabeth smile!
To contact Elizabeth, please visit her reader site: http://elizabethannwest.com or writer@elizabethannwest.com
Barbara Silkstone is the best-selling author of the MISTER DARCY SERIES OF COMEDIC MYSTERIES ~ PRIDE AND PREJUDICE contemporary variations. Light comedies based on Jane Austen’s timeless tales of love denied and love discovered.
“I enjoy doing playful things with language, blending two distinct words to create a new word. If I’m laughing out loud when I’m writing, then I know I’ve hit the mark. I laugh so loud while I’m writing that the neighbors think I’m having wild parties. I’m not. I live in South Florida where I survive on buttered popcorn and fried chicken… extra crispy.”
~ Barbara Silkstone
Kristi Rose was raised in central Florida on boiled peanuts and iced tea. Today, she’s a wife and a mother. She’s been lucky enough to travel the world and has lived by an active volcano, almost fallen off a German Alp, and eloped in Arkansas. No matter where she is, she enjoys watching people and wonders about their story. That’s what Kristi writes about: everyday people, the love that brings them together, and their journey. Kristi is a member of RWA. The Girl He Knows is her debut novel.
April Floyd lives in Alaska with her husband and youngest son. She loves happy endings, nice people, and reading great stories. Once upon a time, she was an Army wife and a phlebotomist and recently ran a successful ebook deals site for four years. Historical fiction, Jane Austen, and fantasy/dystopia are her favorite genres.
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A big thank you to Elizabeth, Barbara, Kristi, and April for being my guests today. I really enjoyed learning more about each of you through this post! Stay tuned for my review of Mr. Darcy Loves Elizabeth Bennet!
© 2016 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
What a fun back-and-forth Q&A!
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Yes!
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Thank you sagustocox! Disregard any mention of me with a sewing kit. There is no way I would ever touch a piece of cloth with a hole in it. Ewww… run away, quickly!
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Reblogged this on Second Act Cafe and commented:
Great chat but technical error. There is no way I would ever patch a hole in fabric—I would not remain in the same room with a piece of cloth that had a hole in it. Just want to set the record straight. Now enjoy and Q and A’s.
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Ha ha!
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This was a fun way to do it 🙂
I have a hole in my shirt right now…or do I? Mouwhahah
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🙂
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OK, here is a serious question: I grew up poor and wore many hand-me-downs and, yes, sometimes there were holes. And I over heard remarks about the car my dad drove or the house we lived in. Have any of you run into class snobbery, i.e. Mr. Darcy and Caroline looking down on the residents of Meryton? We all know about Mean Girls but beyond that – at church, in an exercise class, PTA mtg., etc. (don’t you hate the skinny beauties who exercise with full regalia on? Makeup, hair perfect, etc.)
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I did. I grew up with financial insecurity . . . we weren’t exactly poor, just many times things were mismanaged so the water was shut off because a bill wasn’t paid. There was not any extra money though and I knew that, I hated asking for things like field trip money etc. because I knew it would make my mother upset. For clothes for school, we got handmedowns from my mother’s friends big, black trash bags of clothes before they would go to Goodwill for us to pick out, sometimes the tags still on them. Now that I have a single daughter, I understand more why those other girls HAD such extra clothes, my daughter has the same thing and I often pass them down to friends with more than one kid. When you just have one kid you still have the same number of aunties and grandmothers etc. and birthdays and holidays to get gifts and little girls get A LOT Of clothes when they are young. But when I was a kid, I felt like those other girls with dresses they never got to wear must be so much richer than me.
Anyway, when I was in 8th grade, I got to where I only had 1 pair of jeans that fit me and had to wait until the next paycheck to get more. Then I got a stain on those jeans, so suddenly all of the kids at school KNEW I was wearing the same jeans everyday, and one boy teased me relentlessly for it.
After that, my babysitting money all went to buying myself clothes. I would walk, or ride my bike, or get a ride to the mall and do my shopping at Deb’s clearance rack.🙂 I can’t say the teasing helped me build character, but I think taking on the responsibility of providing for myself in a small way at a young age definitely helped shape my “I can just take care of that . . .” mentality when I’m faced with problems.
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Thank you for this fun and funny guest post! Love the rapport here! 🙂
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I really enjoyed it, too!
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I grew up extremely poor. Often not enough food to go around. And yes, I was belittled at school. I had/have close girlfriends and we had each other’s backs and still do. But the holes in fabric have nothing to do with poverty. I can remember sitting in my highchair at less than two years old and totally losing it when my grandmother touched my little baby cheeks with a washcloth that had a hole in it.
I noticed the note above about having a hole in your shirt. I am going to pretend the post isn’t there. Ewww…a hole on this post. Help!
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