Sunday 30 August 2009

In the UK!

















I was in Leeds yesterday and happened to go into Borders. I wasn't looking for Mr Darcy, Vampyre because it's not officially out until Sept 1st in the UK, so I did a double take when I saw the display! No sign of it in Waterstone's yet, but look out for it there on Tuesday!

Saturday 22 August 2009

Official trailer for Mr Darcy, Vampyre

Sourcebooks (my publishers!) have made an official trailer for Mr Darcy, Vampyre. Just click here to view.

Friday 14 August 2009

And now for the UK . . .

Although Mr Darcy, Vampyre is out in the US it will be another few weeks before it's out in the UK, on 1st September. There have been some interesting pieces in the press already, though, commenting on the Austen / paranormal trend, one in The Independent and one in
The Telegraph

Tuesday 11 August 2009

Release date!

Today's the official release date in the US! To celebrate, here's an extract from early on in the book:

Darcy’s companions claimed his attention and he turned reluctantly away. As he did so his hand moved to his chest as though he were lifting something beneath his shirt, pulling it away from his chest and then letting it drop again.
‘What is it he does there?’ asked Katrine. ‘Does he wear something round his neck?’
‘Yes, I bought him a crucifix yesterday. The shops in Paris are very tempting,’ said Elizabeth. ‘He refused to take it at first, but he had given me so much and I had given him so little that I insisted and at last he allowed me to fasten it around his neck.’
Katrine’s voice was reverent. ‘He must love you very much,’ she said.
‘Yes, I believe he does,’ said Elizabeth.

Thursday 6 August 2009

Horror, fantasy and romance Part 3

There are many horror and fantasy influences on Mr Darcy, Vampyre, but it's about Lizzy and Darcy and so at it's heart it's a love story. It picks up where Jane Austen left off, with Lizzy and Darcy getting married, on a rapturously romantic wedding day.

Elizabeth Bennet’s wedding morning was one of soft mists and mellow sunshine. She drew back her bedroom curtains to see the dreaming English landscape lying serene and beautiful beneath a soft white quilt. The mist was at its thickest by the river, lying voluptuously over the water, then thinning out as it spread over the fields and pastures before disappearing, wisp-like, into the trees.
The birds were silent, but there was a sense of expectancy in the air. It was as though the world were waiting for the sun to rise and burn away the gauzy veil, revealing the true colours of the countryside, not muted white and grey, but green and blue and gold.
Elizabeth sank onto the window seat and pulled her knees up in front of her. She wrapped her arms around them and her thoughts drifted to the ceremony that was to come. Images floated through her mind: she and her father walking down the aisle, Darcy waiting for her, the ring slipping onto her finger . . .
She was not the only one to have risen early. Her mother was already awake, complaining to anyone who would listen to her about her nerves, and Mary was playing the piano. Kitty was calling out, ‘Has anyone seen my ribbon?’ and Mr Bennet was adding a full stop to his dry reply by closing the library door.
Beside her, Jane was still sleeping.
As she watched the world waking outside the window, Elizabeth thought of the past year and of how lucky she and her sister had been. They had both met men they loved and now, after many trials and difficulties, they were to marry them.


The trials and difficulties of Pride and Prejudice are over, but new ones are just beginning, and this in the end is why I chose to write a paranormal sequel to Pride and Prejudice, because a sequel, like the original, needs problems.

Most sequels make those problems the real life problems of a move to Pemberley, but I wanted something bigger. I knew that Darcy and Lizzy were deeply in love and so I wanted something that could really challenge this, something that could put the outcome in real doubt, just as it is in real doubt in the original. And so I made Mr Darcy a vampyre. Even Lizzy and Darcy's love would be challenged by something like that!

Their love for each other is at the heart of the novel, and the test of that love will take them to hell and back.

Don't forget to check out the review on Review on Savvy Verse & Wit and drop by at Review on Savvy Verse & Wit tomorrow for an interview, with your questions at the ready!

Wednesday 5 August 2009

Now in Stock!

It's still not quite the release date (Aug 11th) but Amazon.com now have Mr Darcy, Vampyre in stock!

Tuesday 4 August 2009

Review and don't forget . . .

Don't forget to come over to Romance B(u)y the Book tomorrow (Wednesday)and join me in a chat about Darcy, Austen and vampyres!

Meanwhile, Amy's review - "A thought provoking and seductively gothic tale" - has provoked a lot of interesting comments. It sounds like there's going to be a lot to talk about tomorrow!

Monday 3 August 2009

Competition winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered the competition to win a signed copy of Mr Darcy, Vampyre! And the winner, chosen at random, is Cecelia Bedelia, who posted about the competition here

Just email me your address, Cecelia, by clicking here, putting Signed Copy in the subject line (things with competition in the subject line tend to go automatically into the junk folder) and a signed copy will be on its way to you!

Meanwhile, don't forget to head over to Bitten By Books for today's interview! I'll be dropping by later to answer any questions. See you there!

Sunday 2 August 2009

RSVP to Bitten by Books

Here's a great idea! If you send an RSVP to Bitten By Books accepting the invitation to visit the blog on 3rd August for my interview, you will get an automatic 50 entries into the contest to win one of FIVE copies of Mr Darcy, Vampyre. So what are you waiting for, head on over there and RSVP now!