I’m delighted that Anniina Sjöblom is my guest today to celebrate the release of her new Pride and Prejudice variation, Thaw. She has come bearing gifts: an excerpt and a giveaway! Please give her a warm welcome.
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Thank you, Anna, for inviting me to post an excerpt from Thaw at the Diary of an Eccentric as a part of the blog tour! The following is a part of a letter Elizabeth writes to her sister Jane when, shortly after her unexpected marriage to Mr. Darcy, a most seriously displeased surprise guest arrives to Pemberley.
Excerpt
Dear Jane. Since writing the above, something most unexpected has happened. It is late at night, but I am too restless to sleep. If my eyesight is ruined due to writing in the fading light of the candle, we have Lady Catherine de Bourgh to thank for it.
I am sure you remember that our dearest cousin Mr Collins was quite upset at my union with Mr Darcy. Shortly before he stormed out of Longbourn in November, he declared to me that his esteemed patroness—and now, to the infinite delight of both myself and said lady, my aunt—Lady Catherine de Bourgh would be quite displeased with my marrying her nephew.
As I did not hear a word from her ladyship before the wedding despite our cousin’s ominous threats, I did not spare the matter much thought. This afternoon, however, has taught me that making idle threats is not something we can count among our dear cousin’s many faults. Lady Catherine is, indeed, most seriously displeased with my marriage—or as she prefers to call it, that patched-up business with her poor nephew—and has now taken the trouble of disrupting her visit with Lord and Lady Fitzgerald at Ashbourne to come here and personally inform me of her displeasure.
Oh Jane, I confess I am so vexed that even Mama would be proud of me. On the matter of our marriage being a patched-up business, I am inclined to agree with her ladyship. As for the rest of what she had to express, not so much. I shall not repeat all of the things she had to say of my person; suffice it to say that I have never been so thoroughly insulted. While quite adept at slandering me, I am sure even Lettice Thompson would find that there is still a great deal more she could learn from Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
According to my new aunt, not only have I ensnared my husband to marry me with my feminine arts and allurements (I was tempted to laugh at this—if the man did not find me handsome enough to tempt him in a ballroom, I daresay finding me soaking wet and covered in mud did little to improve his opinion!), I have also ruined forever the hopes of another young woman: Miss Anne de Bourgh. I had already learned from Mr Wickham that such a union had been planned, but now I am told it was nothing less than the very fondest wish of both Lady Catherine and my husband’s mother that Mr Darcy marry Miss de Bourgh. I wonder if it was his fondest wish, as well. Perhaps that would explain his sour mood of late.
Alas, while he might have a tendre for his cousin, it seems that there is little love lost between my husband and his aunt. He and the colonel arrived from their tour of the estate just in time to hear some of the more memorable things she had to say to me—and I confess, I never imagined I could be as pleased to see my husband as I was at that moment.
To the utter dismay of Lady Catherine—and my unexpected delight—it turns out that the only person my husband allows to decry my connexions is himself. I know that he is as little pleased to be married to me as I am to be married to him, and he has made his thoughts of my family abundantly clear. Yet, to his aunt he showed nothing of it. Instead he declared that I was a gentleman’s daughter and that, if he did not object to my connexions, they could be nothing to his aunt. It was truly quite impressive. As disagreeable as my husband can be, he does have his gentlemanlike moments.
At present, the recalcitrant aunt rests in one of the more distant guest rooms, to be sent back to Ashbourne in the morning. The colonel tells me that I have himself and my husband to thank that I did not receive a visit such as this before the wedding. It seems her ladyship had every intention to pay a call at Longbourn, but the gentlemen prevented her. Do tell Papa—I am sure he will be sorely disappointed to hear that he has so narrowly missed the chance of meeting our cousin’s noble patroness.
I am at a loss as to why she has come now. If there were some way to undo all that has happened, I would do it—even at the risk of pleasing Lady Catherine. But I am married. There is nothing to be done for it. Like the rest of us, she will simply have to live with it.
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About Thaw
It is a truth universally acknowledged that one false step can involve a lady in endless ruin. On a rainy November day in 1811, Miss Elizabeth Bennet finds herself wondering why no one ever bothered to tell her about this.
A few blithe steps on a morning walk, taken after a succession of rain, lead to unexpected events that irrevocably change the course of Elizabeth’s life, placing her fate in the hands of the haughty and conceited Mr. Darcy – the last man in the world she had ever thought to marry.
As long winter days slowly pass, she writes letters to her loved ones, trying to come to terms with her new role as a wife and the Mistress of Pemberley. But can she ever learn to love her husband? Will he overcome his arrogant notions of rank and circumstance?
And most importantly – will the shades of Pemberley ever recover from being thus polluted?
Buy on Amazon
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About the Author
Anniina Sjöblom lives in the beautiful but cold Finland and works in university administration. She has an MA in History and enjoys a long-standing love affair with the works of Jane Austen.
Her previous works include titles such as Thirteen Days, Fix You and When He Comes Back, published in various online Austenesque forums under the pen name boogima. The new novella Thaw, expanded from the original version of the story first published online in 2011, is her first commercially published work.
When not writing, Anniina spends her time hanging out with friends, binge-watching TV dramas and re-reading her favourite books while the stack of new ones still waiting to be read piles higher on her nightstand. She can ride a unicycle, and once, after losing an unfortunate bet, ate a bowl of ice cream with green dish soap as dressing. She does not recommend attempting it to anyone.
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Giveaway
Quills & Quartos Publishing is giving away one ebook of THAW per blog tour stop. All you need to do to enter the giveaway is comment on this blog post, and Quills & Quartos will randomly choose winners for the entire blog tour on January 22. So, make sure you join in the conversation!
Thank you, Anniina, for being my guest today, and congratulations on your new release!
I read and enjoyed this book and recommend it also.
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Thanks so much, Sheila!! 🙂
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Sounds like they still have not had an open and frank talk
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Sadly, no — but this excerpt is still from the very early days of their marriage. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Vesper!
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I just left be Elizabeth’s humor. Her personality is captured perfectly. Thank you for the giveaway and excerpt.
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Thanks so much, Eva & good luck in the giveaway! 🙂
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A fellow European writer! How can I not wish you good luck with your debut?
So… Good Luck! And thank you, Anna, for the post and giveaway. 🙂
Good day from Greece!
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Hi to Greece from Finland – hopefully it’s a bit more sunny there than it currently is in Helsinki! Thanks so much for stopping by and good luck in the giveaway! 🙂
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Hi to Greece from Finland — I hope it’s a bit more sunny there than it currently is in Helsinki! Thanks for stopping by and good luck in the giveaway! 🙂
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Oh goodness! ODC is being quite stubborn I see! Look forward to reading!
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They really are, but it’s still quite early in their marriage. 😀 Thanks, Becky!!
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This excerpt is fantastic.
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Thank you, Serena!! 🙂
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Oh, Lady Catherine, always a pleasure. Still, so nice to see Darcy defending his wife. This excerpt makes me want to read about the part where Elizabeth realizes that things might work out with that disagreeable man after all…
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I just realized that, of the several excerpts I’ve shared during the blog tour, all are from before or from the early days of their marriage. For a bit of balance, it might have been a good idea to throw in one a bit further in the thaw… 😀 (But I can safely promise that the book does have those parts, as well!) Thanks for stopping by, Heather!!
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Congrats on your debut! Great excerpt.
Looking forward to whatever next you might be working on!
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Thank you so much, Christina!
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Good for Darcy, putting his Aunt in her place! How dare she turn up at Pemberley and abuse Elizabeth.
I do hope his support of her will start to improve her opinion.
I’m totally enjoying this tour so thank you for another enticing excerpt.
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Nobody deserves a bit of comeuppance more than Lady Catherine! And this one of the first moments Elizabeth starts to see beyond her prejudices when it comes to her husband. 🙂 Thanks so much, Glynis, it’s been such a fun tour!
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Wonderful excerpt! Thank you for this giveaway. I will add it to my blog’s sidebar.
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Thanks so much, Suko! And good luck in the giveaway! 🙂
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Loved the excerpt and that they are united when it concerns Lady Catherine. Perhaps, she will turn out to be quite a matchmaker for them.
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Perhaps – let’s not tell her, though, for I expect she would not be happy about it. 😀 Thanks for stopping by and good luck in the giveaway!
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Thank you for the excerpt. I enjoyed EBD’s narration of Lady C’s visit. Funny and great timing of her husband!!!
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Thanks so much! Darcy does have his moments. 🙂 Good luck in the giveaway!
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Oh dear. So Darcy, too, made his opinion of Elizabeth’s connections clear, did he? Poor Elizabeth, it is a unique situation that she wishes to oblige Lady Catherine but can’t. (to the luck of all devoted JAFF readers, of course).
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Oh, he did – on their wedding night, no less. 😀 But fortunately, by the time of the excerpt, he had started to reconsider his opinions a bit. Thanks stopping by & good luck in the giveaway!
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This was a fantastic story! Well done
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Thanks so much, Angela, I’m glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
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Love reading theses letters! Congrats again on your debut published book!
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Thanks so much!! 🙂
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I really like the snow on the cover!
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Thank you, I love the cover, too! Good luck in the giveaway! 🙂
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