Hello, friends! If you’re on the lookout for a new and very different take on Pride and Prejudice, well, you’re in for a treat! Sue Barr is here today to celebrate the release of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Undone. Please give her a warm welcome!
What would Pride & Prejudice be like if Darcy and Elizabeth had a touch of magic in their lives?
What is more challenging – tackling a character as renown as Fitzwilliam Darcy or having to give life and voice to a character fresh out of your imagination?
For me, a fresh character is harder to give voice because in JAFF the readers already know the background of the key players. Yes, we massage them into different situations and storylines, but the key components of WHO they are remains the same. In a new novel, you have the task of building their back story and showing their personalities/quirks. How they think and feel, their goals and motivations. All of this has to be done in a way that doesn’t bog down the story line and put the poor readers to sleep.
What did you feel was the greatest message that would resonate with readers?
Something extremely simple. When you meet the one you are fated to love, nothing will keep you apart. In fiction, our heroes and heroines battle against odds that would stagger mere mortals and in Fitzwilliam Darcy ~ Undone, Fitzwilliam is willing to give his life in order to save Elizabeth, and Lizzy, upon seeing him fall unleashes her full potential. They are inexorably intertwined for eternity.
Was there anything different in writing this novel compared to your previous books?
Ummm… yes….? The biggest difference being a mature, sensual scene. My previous books, written under my own name, have been sweet with a little heat but the bedroom door remained firmly closed. In Fitzwilliam Darcy ~ Undone, we not only peeked through the keyhole but took a ringside seat. Not a long scene, but very… ahem… informative. *cheeky wink*
How did your impression of Darcy change from “Pride and Prejudice” to “Fitzwilliam Darcy, Undone”?
Not a lot, if I’m being truthful. As stated before, I’ve always seen him as a deeply passionate man. Once he gave his heart and knew his love was returned, there would be no holding him back. In this book I was allowed to ‘show’ his nature rather than hint at it.
When you’re not writing, what renews your spirit?
Other than my faith, which renews my soul on a daily basis, I’m a big proponent of #KnowWhatsInYourFood. This means eating as close to the ground as you can. I make almost everything from scratch. I’m lucky there are lots of farms and orchards in the area and I preserve fruit and vegetables in season. I make my own brown sugar, jams/jellies, vanilla – Bourbon vanilla being the latest – tomato sauce, and bake bread/buns weekly. For me, cooking and baking to feed my family in a healthy way makes my heart smile.
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About Fitzwilliam Darcy, Undone
She’s the outcast in her family…
Elizabeth knows she’s different from the rest of her family. She has visions and strange dreams and sees things others do not. With the advent of the odious Mr. Darcy and his friends from Netherfield Park, as well as the amiable Mr. Wickham of the _____shire Militia, her powers seem to increase and her greatest fear is that she won’t be able to contain them and will be discovered.
He has eight hundred years of tradition to uphold…
No Darcy has married a non-magical woman since arriving on the shores of England with William the Conqueror in 1066. However, his kind – Miatharans – are dwindling in numbers. Miatharan magic only flows through aristocratic blood lines, so his strange obsession with Miss Elizabeth Bennet is puzzling as she is not of noble blood. Just a country squire’s beautiful daughter who has him slowly becoming undone.
Fitzwilliam Darcy ~ Undone is available in Kindle Unlimited (Amazon) until Dec 12 when it will be released to other major digital retailers.
Buy on Amazon
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About the Author
‘The prairie dust is in my blood but no longer on my shoes.’
Although it’s been over forty-two years since Sue called Saskatchewan home, her roots to that straight-lined province and childhood friends run deep. The only thing strong enough to entice her to pack up and leave was love. When a handsome Air Force pilot met this small-town girl, he swept her off her feet and they embarked on a fantastic adventure which found them settled in beautiful Southwestern Ontario when hubby retired from the military and began his second career as an airline pilot.
Sue started writing in 2009 and sold her first manuscript in 2010. Always a reader of Regency romance, she discovered Jane Austen Fan Fiction in 2014 and almost immediately wanted to know – Whatever happened to Caroline Bingley after her brother and Mr. Darcy became engaged to a Bennet sister? From that question, her first JAFF book was launched.
Connect with Sue: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon Author Page
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Giveaway
Sue is generously giving away an ebook of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Undone to 3 random winners for the entire blog tour. Follow the tour and join in the comments to be entered to win. Sue will choose the random winners and announce them on social media on Dec. 5, 2020. Good luck!
Thanks, Sue, for being my guest today, and congratulations on your new book!
I already have this on my “want-to-read” list so thank you for a chance to win.
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I do hope that Collins turns to Charlotte and not Mary after Elizabeth refuses him
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Having read only one other book by Sue Barr (“Georgiana“) and even though I have “Caroline” and “Catherine”, I think this sounds quite different.
Thank you both for the opportunity to see whether that it’s true! 😉
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Oh dear, you picked the hardest one to read first as previous readers were VERY angry with the way Max (Duke of Adborough) behaved. However, thank you for visiting today and I hope, when you finally read the others, you enjoy the Pride & Prejudice series. Mary is the next and last one. (for now)
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Alexandra, you are one of the three recipients of a digital copy of Fitzwilliam Darcy – Undone. Could you please forward me your e-mail address so that I can send you a link to download your book? Thank you so much for participating and having your share in the conversation! I will also post the winners on social media.
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It seems I got an early Christmas present!
It pays to be nice (and only a little naughty…)
Thank you!!!
My email is alexandrariverstories@gmail.com
I’m looking forward to reading your Darcy who I’m sure will be nothing like Max. (Sorry for that, but I could teach the man a few lessons…in feminism. 😛 At least his family was way better than him.)
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I am so thankful you decided to write something with more heat that is usual. There are times I love my JAFF chaste and sweet; but there are those occasions that, just as the Regency in reality wasn’t always virginal, I have to have smoldering fire become a multi-alarm blaze. Thank you for stopping by!
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Even before I fleshed this story out to become Fitzwilliam’s, I knew there’d be a roaring flame in his fireplace, although I wasn’t sure exactly when/where. No smoldering embers this time around. I go where the characters take me and it led me there with Elizabeth, staring at the man in his buckskin breeches and Hessian boots. I laughed out loud when I wrote that line. 😉
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Sounds delicious!
Thanks for sharing this excerpt!
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I cannot wait to read this book! It sounds like a great read.
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This sounds so good!
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I am looking forward to see how Elizabeth saves Darcy. How sad that she is san outcast. Book sounds fantastic!
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Don’t include me in the drawing… I won a copy at another stop on the tour. I read it and LOVED it. OMG! Let me just say… that cover is amazing. That model is absolutely gorgeous and that bedroom scene of yours… you know the one… would have Darcy looking just like that. I thought I would swoon right onto the floor. Man… that was amazing. Blessings on the success of this book.
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Between us girls, I liked that bedroom scene as well. *wink*
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I’m looking forward to reading how Darcy unleashes his passionate self. Thanks for the opportunity to win a copy.
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I too loved the passion! Please don’t enter me in the draw as I have this lovely book!
I was definitely enthralled by the determination of both Darcy and Elizabeth to protect and defend the other! Wonderful!
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I look forward to reading this! I do love a passionate Fitzwilliam Darcy 😉
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Thank you for hosting me today.
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You’re welcome!
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Enjoyed this interview. I can feel Mr Darcy’s passion with Ms Barr’s words.
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