Nine Ladies by Heather Moll: Guest Post + Giveaway

Hello, friends! I am thrilled to welcome Heather Moll back to Diary of an Eccentric today to celebrate the release of Nine Ladies, a novel that combines Pride and Prejudice and time travel. Doesn’t that sound fantastic? Heather is here to take you on a tour of Bakewell, which is featured in the novel. Please give her a warm welcome!

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Hello Anna and thank you for welcoming me back to Diary of an Eccentric! Today I’m going to take your readers on a tour of some of the real places mentioned in Nine Ladies. Now, I know what some are you are thinking: “Heather, I heard this story has time travel. What is real about that?” While you may not be able to travel through time 200 years by standing in a stone circle during certain solar events, the places that our modern Elizabeth visits before she goes back in time to meet Regency Darcy are real.

I finished the manuscript for Nine Ladies in 2018, and in 2019 I visited Derbyshire with a dear friend for our own Elizabeth Bennet tour. Bakewell was our home-base and it’s also where Elizabeth is staying in 2011 when Nine Ladies opens.

This is Bank House on Bath Street in Bakewell. When Darcy rode through Bakewell in 1811, it was a girls’ school, but by the time Elizabeth comes to England it was converted into 3 flats, and she’s renting the second one from Professor Gardiner.

Elizabeth’s friends from Sheffield decide that she needs some cheering up after her father’s death and they come to spend the weekend with her. They leave her flat and walk toward the town center to have breakfast. They pass the Rutland Arms, an inn built in 1804. Jane Austen is believed to have stayed here in 1811.

By the way, I had an amazing sandwich at the Lambton Larder. Nice name, right?

Elizabeth and her friends, Charlotte Lucas and her sister Maria, Willie Collins, and Missy King, then take a bus to nearby Haddon Hall.

Haddon is a 900 year old manor house that is still a private residence and one of the only houses in England that has remained in one family’s ownership. It was empty throughout the Georgian and Victorian era while the family lived elsewhere. When Elizabeth visits Haddon in Nine Ladies, she’s not impressed by the Tudor and Medieval styling, but she does like the terraced walled gardens.

Later, her friends have to decide to visit either a Bronze Age stone circle or the ruins of a Georgian-era home. They decide on the ruins, but the stone circle stays in Elizabeth’s mind.

Of course, they have to finish the afternoon with a Bakewell pudding. This is my friend’s dessert because I ate mine too fast before it even occurred to me to take a picture of it.

After her friends leave, Elizabeth decides to see the Nine Ladies stone circle herself. She walks to Stanton Moor and sees the real Nine Ladies, a stone circle that’s 4,000-years old.

In Nine Ladies, if you stand in the center of the stone circle at sunset on an equinox—in the 21st century—you’ll go back in time 200 years. The one-way portal opens again on a solstice, and anyone inside will move forward in time from the 19th century to the 21st.

I stood in the center of that stone circle for a while, but I didn’t go anywhere. No regency men for me. But if you read Nine Ladies you’ll find out what happens when a 21st century Elizabeth goes back in time to meet 19th century Darcy.

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About Nine Ladies

The Darcy family has grudgingly kept the secret about the power contained within a nearby stone circle called Nine Ladies. Fitzwilliam Darcy is forced to contend with this secret when a young woman from the future appears at Pemberley. Until the opinionated stranger can return to when she belongs, Darcy is responsible not only for her safety, but also for ensuring that nothing she does threatens Pemberley’s well-being.

Elizabeth Bennet has returned to England to take care of her estranged father, and her life was off track long before she walked into that stone circle at sunset. She quickly discovers that, as a poor and single woman, she’ll have to rely on the arrogant Mr. Darcy. She tries her best to survive in the nineteenth-century until she can return home but, as she and Darcy grow closer, the truth she knows about his and Pemberley’s bleak future becomes harder to keep.

How can Darcy and Elizabeth overcome 200 years of differences in this era-spanning love story?

Buy on Amazon

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About the Author

Heather Moll is an avid reader of mysteries and biographies with a masters in information science. She found Jane Austen later than she should have and made up for lost time by devouring her letters and unpublished works, joining JASNA, and spending too much time researching the Regency era. She is the author of Nine Ladies, Two More Days at Netherfield, and His Choice of a Wife. She lives with her husband and son and struggles to balance all of the important things, like whether or not to buy groceries or stay home and write. Visit her blog and subscribe to her newsletter for a freebie and monthly updates. Connect with her on Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, and Twitter.

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Giveaway

Heather is generously offering a giveaway of 6 ebook copies of Nine Ladies as part of the blog tour, open internationally. This giveaway ends on February 13. You must enter through this Rafflecopter link. Good luck!

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Thanks, Heather, for being my guest today, and congratulations on your new book!

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Excerpt & Giveaway: Two More Days at Netherfield by Heather Moll

I’m happy to welcome Heather Moll back to Diary of an Eccentric today to celebrate her latest release, Two More Days at Netherfield. Heather is here to share an excerpt, which I hope you all enjoy as much as I did. Please give her a warm welcome!

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Hello Anna and thank you for hosting me again at Diary of an Eccentric! I’m very excited to share an excerpt from Two More Days at Netherfield with you and your lovely readers. One of the results of Elizabeth and Jane’s extended stay is a developing friendship between Darcy and Elizabeth. By the time Elizabeth leaves, they both realize that they have faults in their judgment in behavior that they have to work on. In this excerpt—on the Monday after they would have gone home in canon—they are walking to Meryton to mail letters and are discussing Darcy’s improving behavior.

“As much as I am loath to continue on a path of pride and conceit, I am unsure as to how to amend my behaviour.”

“You strike me as the sort of man who, once he arrives at a decision, is already in possession of the force of will to carry it out.”

“It is not a matter of will, but a matter of the appropriate action. I have no talent with the sort of amiability I ought to present when speaking with those I have never seen before.”

“I do not play the piano in the talented manner that I see many women do. I have always supposed it to be my own fault because I would not take the trouble of practising.”

Darcy smiled. “You are perfectly right.”

“Yes, you shall prove a delightful friend; tell me I am right, and your worth will be invaluable.” Darcy resigned himself to being laughed at. “You shall have to practice being engaging and courteous to those who are unfamiliar to you.”

“For the sake of argument, let us assume that there are people one suffers to meet who are unpleasant, whose presence is undesirable for no other reason than they are tiresome. It would be deceitful for me to imply I wish to further the conversation or the acquaintance.”

She was silent for just long enough for Darcy to mistakenly assume he had won his point. “If you find someone so tiresome such that you cannot hold a brief yet polite conversation, I am of the opinion the fault lies with you.”

His own conduct was once again before him. There was much to blame in it, but he had little he could say. They fell into companionable silence as they completed their errand. Darcy proved himself capable of possessing an obliging nature as Elizabeth made a point to look in every shop window they passed. Darcy suspected he was being punished.

“No doubt you are grateful we have not crossed the threshold of any of these shops,” she teased. “I am tempted by everything I see, and I am always very long at a purchase.”

“I do not believe it, but by all means, let us go inside. Do you desire a new bonnet? There is one in the next window; it is not pretty, but you might as well buy it as not.”

Elizabeth turned from the window displaying the dreadful hat, her eyes full of mirth. “I concede! I could never buy an ugly bonnet, even for the gratification of having you carry it. Let us return to Netherfield.”

He gratefully led them in the opposite way down the street and observed a man on the other side take notice of Elizabeth.

“Is that gentleman known to you?”

“That is Mr Denny; he is also known to you. You have dined with him along with the other officers.”

“Their conversation is all the same; I hardly know one from the other.”

“Let us greet him. This is a perfect opportunity for you to practice.”

Darcy resisted his natural disinclination. They crossed the street, and Mr Denny bowed. “Good day.”

Elizabeth remained silent. She adjusted her grip on her reticule and lightly touched his arm, and Darcy knew she expected him to reply. Behave in a gentlemanlike manner.

He touched his hat. “Good day, Mr Denny. I trust you are well?”

“Yes, thank you. I was in town; I have just alighted from my carriage at the posting inn.”

Darcy silently begged Elizabeth to speak, but he would not be granted a reprieve. What would I say if this were an influential, titled gentleman from my club? “I trust your business was conducted to your satisfaction?”

“Indeed it was, how kind of you to inquire. Also, I renewed my acquaintance with a gentleman who, I am happy to say, has accepted a commission in our corps. May I make him known to you?” Elizabeth nodded. “He is there, leaving the inn.” Mr Denny looked over Darcy and Elizabeth’s shoulders, raising his arm to beckon his friend.

“You need to overcome your reserve to be agreeable, but I applaud your first effort,” Elizabeth whispered.

“I shall never share your enjoyment of company, particularly of an unknown person,” he murmured.

“You need not fear; we are not meeting a single lady who will set her cap on you. We are meeting a gentleman who is to join the militia; how is there any harm in that?”

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About Two More Days at Netherfield

While her sister Jane is ill at Netherfield, Elizabeth Bennet overhears Miss Bingley and the proud Mr Darcy discussing his admiration of Elizabeth and her fine eyes. Not sure what to think of his praise after all of their previous disagreements, and more flattered than she wants to admit, Elizabeth teases him for the disparaging remark he made about her at the Meryton Assembly. Darcy is then forced to reconsider his opinion of a woman who has truly bewitched him more than any other.

The result of this unintended eavesdropping leads to confrontations and apologies on both sides and, eventually, the beginnings of a friendship between Darcy and Elizabeth. Their warming acquaintance impacts the courtship of Darcy’s friend and Elizabeth’s sister, the jealous temper of Miss Bingley, and even the behavior of Mr. Wickham after he arrives in Meryton.

How are the events of the winter drastically affected by the Bennet sisters choosing to spend two more days at Netherfield?

Buy on Amazon

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About the Author

Heather Moll

Heather Moll is an avid reader of mysteries and biographies with a master’s in information science. She found Jane Austen later than she should have and made up for lost time by devouring Austen’s letters and unpublished works, joining JASNA, and spending too much time researching the Regency era. She is the author of Two More Days at Netherfield and His Choice of a Wife. She lives with her husband and son and struggles to balance all of the important things, like whether to clean the house or write. Connect with her on Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, and Twitter.

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Giveaway

Quills & Quartos Publishing is giving away one ebook at each blog stop of the Two More Days at Netherfield blog tour. All you need to do to enter the giveaway is comment on this blog post, and Quills & Quartos will randomly choose one random winner after February 21. So, make sure you join in the conversation! Good luck!

Thank you, Heather, for being my guest today, and congratulations on your new release!

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Guest Post & Giveaway: Heather Moll, author of His Choice of a Wife, on Regency-Era Jewelry for Gentlemen

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming Heather Moll to Diary of an Eccentric to celebrate the release of her new Pride and Prejudice variation, His Choice of an Wife. I hope you find her research on Regency-era sleeve buttons as interesting as I did. Please give Heather a warm welcome!

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“My aunt and uncle Gardiner undertook a commission in town on my behalf since I could find nothing in Meryton that would suit. I had not planned to give these to you so soon, but I want you to have them before you must leave me again.”

He gave her a bemused look before opening the box to see the four bright-green oval sleeve buttons set in silver. He picked up one linked pair and held the delicate stones between his finger and thumb.  

Thank you for hosting me today, Anna! I’m pleased and proud to be able to share His Choice of a Wife with your readers and talk about something I incorporate into every JAFF I write: jewelry.  If anyone follows me on social media, you’ll see me post about #GeorgianJewelry. As much as I love all historical detail, I know I have too much fun searching for unique and gorgeous pieces.

Who doesn’t love jewelry … and a sharp-dressed man? We tend to think of Regency-era women decked out in garnets, topazes, and emeralds, but let’s not forget the gentlemen.

Since the 17th century, sleeve buttons were used to keep closed the large cuffs on gentlemen’s coats. Often they were bespoke and made from either silver or gold, or alloys that had the look of precious metals. They were meant to be swapped out to wear with different coats. They were a pair of matching buttons joined at the shank to be put through the sleeves of the coat.

Men’s shirts were an undergarment and only the collar and long lace cuffs were meant to be seen. The lacy trim disappeared by the 19th century—good style choice, gentlemen. With the long frilly lace cuffs gone, coat sleeves narrowed and the plain shirt cuff now extended beyond the coat sleeve and needed to be held closed.

What is a sharp-dressed young man to do? A ribbon or plain button won’t do when everyone can see it. He moved his decorative sleeve buttons from his coat to his shirt. Large cuffs on coat sleeves fell out of fashion, but 2 or 3 fabric or gilt buttons remained on the sleeve, and that’s still seen in men’s suits today.

Not that any man rolls up his suit sleeve any more…

By the time of the Regency, these sleeve buttons were made of metals, enamel, or paste as well as precious stones and gems. They were a way to convey personal style and could be either plain or more ornate for formal dress. Around this time these linked sleeve buttons—now only used to secure shirt cuffs— began to be called cufflinks.

Darcy’s gift in His Choice of a Wife is a nice transition from lacy sleeves with coat sleeve buttons and the men’s cufflinks we’re more familiar with.

What kind of sleeve buttons did Darcy get? What was the reason for the gift? And why does he have to leave Elizabeth again?

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About His Choice of Wife

When a man’s honor is at stake, what is he willing to risk for the woman he loves?

After a disastrous marriage proposal and the delivery of an illuminating letter, Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet hope never to lay eyes on one another again. When a chance meeting in Hunsford immediately throws them in each other’s way, Darcy realizes his behavior needs correcting, and Elizabeth starts to appreciate his redeeming qualities. But is it enough to forgive the past and overcome their prejudices?

Jane and Bingley’s possible reconciliation and Lydia’s ill-conceived trip to Brighton pose their own challenges for two people struggling to find their way to love. When scandalous news threatens their chance at happiness, will Darcy and Elizabeth’s new bond be shattered, or will their growing affection hold steadfast?

Buy on Amazon

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About the Author

Heather Moll

Heather Moll is an avid reader with a B.A. in European history and a M.A. in library science, so it is astonishing that she did not discover Jane Austen until her late-twenties. Making up for lost time, she devoured all of Austen’s novels, her letters, and unpublished works, joined JASNA, and spent far too much time researching the Regency era. She is thrilled to have found fellow Janeites and the JAFF community, if only to prove that her interests aren’t so strange after all. Heather is a former librarian turned stay-at-home mother who struggles to find time for all of the important things, like reading and writing.

Connect with Heather: Facebook | Twitter | Amazon Author Page | Goodreads

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Giveaway

Meryton Press is giving away 8 eBooks of Heather Moll’s His Choice of a Wife. You must enter through the Rafflecopter link. Good luck!

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