Hello, friends! I’m delighted to welcome Linda Gonschior to my blog today to celebrate the release of Parallels, the third book in the Reflections series, a modern take on Pride and Prejudice. Linda is here to share an excerpt that introduces you to the Darcy children. Please give her a warm welcome!
It has been many years since I embarked on a blog tour to promote and share a new book, but here I am and I can scarce believe it! Things have changed….. 🙂
Thank you, Anna, for welcoming me into your library for the third stop on this tour!
Parallels introduces the rest of Will and Elizabeth’s children, and while they feature prominently in the storyline, their parents are not forgotten. This is a family, after all, and a close one. Not to mention it’s not really P&P without our dearest couple!
But let us not tarry. Please let me introduce you to the rest of the Darcy offspring.
“Dad? Dad!”
Elizabeth Darcy looked up at the sound of her son’s voice in the front hall. Her face lit up, and she threw down her work to run to the door. “Ben!” she called. “Your father is out at the moment. Come here, my boy, and give your mum a hug.”
William Bennet Darcy—Ben for short, a name he adopted upon the death of his grandfather when he was twelve years old—flashed his mother a big smile and wrapped his arms around her to lift her up until her feet no longer touched the floor. At twenty-three, he was a strapping young man with the handsome good looks of his father, Will Darcy, and his mother’s facility with people. He was definitely not shy with the ladies and had a different one hanging from his arm every week, much to his father’s amusement and his mother’s consternation. “Hi there, Mum!” he said cheerily. “Where is everyone else?”
“What—you expected a welcoming committee?” Elizabeth laughed. “That’s what you get for never letting us know when you’re coming home for a visit.”
Ben laughed. “You must be the only one who doesn’t read my texts.”
“I don’t like texting. You know that.”
He looked over his mother’s shoulder at the desk behind her. “Dad still making you work?”
Elizabeth cuffed him lightly. “He doesn’t make me work. I enjoy it. So what brings you home this time? What do you need?”
Ben laughed. “You make it sound like I only come home when I want something!”
“Don’t you?” came a voice from behind them.
“Anna!” Ben turned towards his sister.
Elizabeth watched the familiar interplay between her two eldest children with a fond smile. As much as Ben’s popularity with the ladies irked her, Anna’s quiet beauty was a source of unease for her father as young men flocked around her on a daily basis. Anna’s first year at university was more difficult for Will than it was for his daughter, Elizabeth mused.
“Come on, Ben. We were all about to go for a swim,” Anna was saying.
Elizabeth frowned at them. “I hope you mean in the pool.”
Anna laughed. “Of course not! The pond is much more fun.” She raced up the stairs to get changed.
Ben looked at his mother.
“Oh, go on!” Elizabeth said in exasperation. The fact that Will had taught every one of their children to swim in the pond—and they still preferred it to the nice clean pool she’d insisted be installed—annoyed her to no end.
Ben kissed her cheek and ran up the stairs to his own room.
Elizabeth turned her attention back to the unfinished business on her desk. Although she had given up her original job when their fourth child had come along, Elizabeth had eventually wanted to return to it but had been forced to wait when their unexpected youngest child had arrived. Eventually she had taken her husband’s place as director of the publishing company he owned. She had been successful, and Will had never regretted the decision. Now they had a solid company to turn over to one of their children some day.
The sound of many feet pounding on the stairs brought her gaze to the doorway where she could see all of her children racing by on their way out the front door. Anna and Rebecca led the way, followed by Kathleen. Ben brought up the rear on the heels of his young brother, Rich. They sounded like a herd of elephants, and Elizabeth was glad her husband wasn’t home to see them tearing out of the house. She knew he’d be right out there with them, splashing in the pond too. Suddenly realizing that the cook wasn’t aware of Ben’s arrival, Elizabeth called down to the kitchen to inform her. Ben’s appetite had never diminished over the years, only increased. If there weren’t enough on the table, Ben would not be the one going hungry.
***
As Will walked around the wall that bordered the garden, he was nearly bowled over by his children as they chased Ben across the lawn.
“Whoa there!” Ben laughed as he grabbed his father’s shoulders to steady him. “Hi, Dad!”
Will shook his head. “I should have known you were responsible for all that racket. How are you, Ben?” He caught sight of two of his other children about to trample a flower bed. “Rebecca! Rich! Watch where you’re going! Good Lord, you’d think they were five years old the way they carry on.”
Ben chuckled. “Dad, you never change.”
“I hope not.” Will smiled. “Your mother likes me this way.”
“Is tea ready? I’m starved.” Ben was eyeing the path that led back to the house.
“What was that you said about never changing?” Will grumbled.
Just your typical family, don’t you think? Well, if you joined the tour at the beginning you already know there is trouble on the horizon. Nothing our favourite couple cannot handle, though. Right?
About Parallels
Love, heartbreak, and self-discovery are life’s greatest challenges, no matter who your parents may be.
Will and Elizabeth Darcy faced those challenges twenty years earlier, yet marriage taught them patience, understanding, and most importantly, the irreplaceable value of one another. Now their children are about to embark upon that path, hopefully to learn those lessons more gently and avoid the mistakes of their parents.
This third book in the Reflections series brings to a conclusion the story of a couple whose love drew them together in spite of themselves and continues to test them when least expected.
Buy on Amazon
About the Author
Linda Gonschior has entertained the art of writing since elementary school but never allowed it to come to fruition until Pride and Prejudice lured her into deeper exploration of characters, relationships and ‘what ifs’. Writing is not the breadwinner, however, as she has a day job and many other interests that compete for attention and time. Still, she has managed to squeeze in several dozen stories – long and short – and there are many more in the ‘incomplete’ folder on the computer. As retirement looms on the horizon, some may be dusted off to evaluate their potential to entertain those who share a fondness for Jane Austen’s characters and don’t mind straying a little off the beaten path.
Amongst her accomplishments Linda counts raising a son, stage managing live theatre productions, flower gardening, and website administration, but not netting purses or painting screens.
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Giveaway
Meryton Press is generously giving away eight ebooks of Parallels as part of the blog tour. The giveaway is open internationally. You must enter through the Rafflecopter link. The giveaway is open through June 17, 2021.
Thank you, Linda, for being my guest today and congratulations on your new book!
Diary of an Eccentric 