I’m delighted to welcome Elaine Jeremiah to Diary of an Eccentric today with an excerpt from Love Without Time, in which a modern-day Jane Austen fan somehow finds herself in Regency England. Please give her a warm welcome, and stay tuned for a giveaway!
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I was hit by bright sunlight and drew in a breath, blinking furiously. What on earth was going on? I looked around me, not really taking anything in, expecting everything to return to how it had been a moment ago. But it didn’t. When I took another, closer look around me, I saw that I was standing under a tree, on the edge of an immaculate lawn of a large, well-maintained garden.
I gasped. Where am I? I asked myself. Squinting, I shielded my eyes against the relentless sun. Across the other side of the garden, I saw a huge house, a mansion, a place which could easily be Mr Darcy’s home of Pemberley.
There were people on the lawn ahead of me, smiling and laughing. It looked as though they were playing croquet. And they were dressed in clothes which would be the perfect costumes for a Jane Austen-inspired TV drama…
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment. Suddenly, my throat felt parched and dry, like I hadn’t had anything to drink in hours. Although thinking about it, it had been a while. I opened my eyes again, hoping that I would be back in the dark, standing by the gate.
I wasn’t. When I looked behind me, I saw that the gate was still there, but now it was in pristine condition. I walked back to it and pushed it open, desperate to get back to the hospital grounds. But walking through it, I was dismayed to find that there was only dense woodland ahead of me, no sign of the hospital.
My breathing became laboured and for some reason my chest felt constricted. The fabric of my underwear felt scratchy. I frowned. Had I put a vest on this morning? I couldn’t remember doing that… But I had better things to think about. Panic rising inside me, I turned around and walked back through the gate, nearly bumping into someone standing in front of me. It was a young woman dressed in a white, sprigged muslin dress. She could have stepped out of the pages of any Jane Austen novel.
I stood there staring at her, my mouth hanging open. She was a little shorter than me; her hair was pulled back into a bun, its golden tendrils curling on her temples. Her blue eyes surveyed me with interest and I surmised that her expression must have been as surprised as my own, because I saw that her brow was furrowed as she gazed at me intently.
I gulped; my heart began thumping in my chest and I felt breathless. I made a move to turn and walk away and almost tripped over a large trunk. It hadn’t been there a second ago, I was sure of it. It was then that I noticed what I was wearing.
Gone were my jeans and favourite heeled leather ankle boots. I was wearing a pale yellow, sprigged muslin dress, very like the one of the young woman standing in front of me, except for the colour. But on top of that I was also wearing what looked like a blue pelisse, or something like a coat to twenty-first century people. No wonder I was so hot.
‘May I help you, miss…’ the young woman began.
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About Love Without Time
When Cassie Taylor meets an ordinary-looking man in a bookshop, the last thing she imagines is the encounter will lead to her time travelling to Regency England.
Jane Austen-obsessed Cassie would love a romantic hero of her own to sweep her off her feet, but meeting Ted is seriously underwhelming. Then everything is turned upside down when Ted saves her life – and she nearly ends his.
Guilt-ridden and panicked into saying she’s Ted’s girlfriend at the hospital, Cassie takes a walk outside at night, loses her way and finds herself in the past. She meets a young Regency woman, Isabella, who takes pity on her, allowing her to stay at the majestic Westerleigh Hall. But not everyone there trusts her and Cassie will find there are many pitfalls to be avoided if she’s to survive in this world.
Can this be real? Is she dreaming? Will she ever get home?
Buy on Amazon | Amazon U.K.
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About the Author
Elaine lives in Bristol, South West England with her husband and their golden retriever, Dug. But she was privileged enough to grow up in Jane Austen country, in Hampshire.
She’s always loved writing, but it’s only been in recent years that she’s been able to devote more time to it. She decided to self-publish with the help of her wonderful husband who’s very tech-savvy! In 2013 she self-published her first novel, but it’s only now with her fourth, her novel ‘Love Without Time’, that she feels she’s finally found her niche: Jane Austen Fan Fiction!
She’s always loved Jane Austen’s writing and the Regency era, so this felt like a natural thing for her to do. ‘Love Without Time’ is the first in a trilogy and it’s best described as a Jane Austen-inspired time travel romance. She’s currently hard at work on the second in the trilogy, ‘By Time Divided’.
If you want to connect with Elaine online, her Facebook page can be found here. Her website is here.
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Giveaway
Elaine is generously offering a signed copy of Love Without Time to one lucky reader, open internationally. To enter, please leave a comment with your email address. This giveaway will be open through Sunday, December 2, 2018. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced in the comments section of this post. Good luck!
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Thank you, Elaine, for sharing that intriguing excerpt and for being my guest today! I can’t wait to read the book, and I bet my readers are thinking the same thing right now!
This sounds wonderful. I love a good time travel book and you can’t go wrong with Jane Austen’s time. Thank you for doing the giveaway. saganchilds(a)gmail(.)com
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Thank you! So glad it appeals to you. I’ve always loved time travel stories – there’s so many possibilities for adventure, romance and much more!
Good luck with the giveaway!
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A delightful excerpt 🙂 Congratulations and thank you for the chance to win a copy.
stluc3@sbcglobal.net
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Thank you Virginia! So glad you enjoyed the excerpt. Good luck with the giveaway! 😀
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Sounds like my kind of time travel story.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
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Thank you Mary! Good luck in the giveaway. 🙂
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This story sounds interesting. I enjoy time travel mixed with Jane Austen fans.Looking forward to reading this story. Thank you for the generous giveaway. skamper25 at gmail dot com
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Well I hope you get to read the story soon. Thank you for your comment and good luck in the giveaway!
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Well, yes, this does sound fun. I love exploring what it would be like for a modern person to go back to the past or vice versa (from my chair of course).
Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
sophiarose1816 at gmail dot com
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That’s what’s always fascinated me: what it would be like for someone of our time to travel back in time 200 years. How would they cope? There are so many possibilities for what could happen.
Thank you for your comment and good luck in the giveaway!
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I love time travel stories so I am intrigued by this story. Congrats on its release and thank you for the chance to win a copy. jadseah4(at)yahoo
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Thank you! Hope you get the chance to read it sometime soon – good luck in the giveaway!
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Oh this sounds like a lovely beginning … can’t wait for the rest of the story! Many thanks for the excerpt and generous giveaway.
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Thank you so much! Hope you enjoy it if you get the chance to read it. Good luck in the giveaway. 🙂
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Thanks for this lovely novel. The time travel always interests me greatly and sounds unique.
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Thank you! Hope you get to read it soon. 😀
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Congratulations on your JAFF book! Although one often thinks it would be fun to time travel to Regency England, I’m afraid that I would rather read about it. It will be interesting to read the obstacles that are faced. Thank you for your generous giveaway. evamedmonds(at)gmail(dot)com
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Thank you and you’re welcome! Good luck in the giveaway. 🙂
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Interesting premise – I’d love to win a copy! suzsak55(at)gmail(dot)com
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Great! Good luck in the giveaway. 😀
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I enjoy time travel stories so would love to read this JAFF variation of such. odara7rox(at)rcn(dot)com. Thanks for the chance to win and for sharing here.
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Thank you Sheila! Hope you get to read it. Good luck in the giveaway!
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I love these time travel retellings…so creative. This sounds cute. Thanks for sharing the excerpt
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Thank you! Hope you get to read it sometime. 🙂
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The title is clever, and I enjoyed the excerpt, and think I’d enjoy the book as well. Thank you so much for hosting this generous giveaway. I will add it to my blog’s sidebar.
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So glad you like the title! I do too. 😉 I really hope you get to read it sometime.
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Loving the second book in this series and looking forward to book three. Jen Red
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Thank you so much Jen! And thank you for all your lovely comments re book 2 – you’ve been so helpful. You’ll be seeing the finished version at some point soon. 🙂
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Love books that take me back in time. Frequently it’s the deprivations that surprise me. Look forward to this! Lynnchar77@gmail.com
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Yes, the deprivations are a tough one! If I did travel back in time, it wouldn’t be for long! Thank you for your comment and good luck in the giveaway.
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Normally, I am a tried and true vagary or variation fan, but in period. THIS however, may change that. Can’t wait to read it!!!
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Thank you very much! Hope I do change your mind and that you get to read it sometime soon. 🙂
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I loved this except and I’m definitely adding this to my TBR list. Congratulations on your new release and thanks for the chance to win.
Kimpru1@ aol.com
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Thanks Kim! So glad you appreciated the excerpt. Good luck in the giveaway.
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I’ve got a huge weakness for this kind of story! Time-travel plus Regency: what could be better than that! 🙂
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Thank you! Hope you get to read it soon!
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I adore time-travel books as well as regency ones, so this is right up my alley! Thank you for the chance to win a copy!
pamh5230@yahoo.com
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Oh great, glad this appeals to you! Good luck in the giveaway. 😀
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I have read Laurie Viera Rigler’s Austen-inspired time travel books and I find them brilliant. I would love to compare how your trilogy series measure up to her two novels. Thank you for the giving us an opportunity to win your book, Elaine.
evangelineace2020(at)yahoo(dot)com
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Thank you so much! I absolutely loved those two by Laurie Viera Rigler. I do hope you enjoy ‘Love Without Time’ and its sequels (when they’re finished!). Thank you for your comment and good luck in the giveaway!
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Thank you all for checking out the excerpt! The winner is Mary Preston! Congrats and happy reading!
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