Thursday, December 29, 2011

Review: Jane Austen Made Me Do It

The world of Austenesque fiction is filled with talented authors. With such an embarrassment of riches, the only logical thing to do is develop a project to involve as many of them as possible. Edited by Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose.comJane Austen Made Me Do It is just that. Twenty-two authors, all telling stories with one theme: their tales must be "inspired by literatures most astute observer of the human heart."

I was absolutely delighted with the entire book. There's a short story in Jane Austen Made Me Do It for every kind of Austenesque lover. Sequels, retellings, modernizations; Jane Austen Made Me Do It has them all. There's even a ghost story or two--all written in a very tasteful, Jane-like manner of course.

As a brand-new author myself, I was most anxious to read Brenna Aubrey's "The Love Letter." As you may know, Brenna won a contest last year to be included in this volume. This is her first publication credit, and I have to say, it was an excellent way to begin her career. "The Love Letter" is a fresh, modern take on Persuasion which I absolutely loved, and I cannot wait to read her next work--perhaps a longer piece of fiction?

Overall, this volume delivers exactly what it promises: a respite from today's busy world into the heart of Jane Austen. Five stars.

FTC disclaimer: Review copy provided by publisher.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

True Confessions, pt 3

Me at Shakespeare's Birthplace

After the geek-out confession posted, I received a tweet from someone wanting to know why Shakespeare didn't make the list. Well... Shakespeare is his own post. That's fitting for the man who is the only author to have his very own classification number in the Dewey Decimal System. Shakespeare, and Shakespeare alone, is 822.33.

Here's a secret for my Austen friends: I started reading Shakespeare before I read Austen.

And a secret for my Shakespeare friends? I still haven't read nearly as much of his works as I feel I should have.

That's why I devised a plan shortly after my return from England last spring. I will read all of his plays in reverse alphabetical order. The one exception is that I'm planning to read all the histories in one go, chronologically. (I am willing to be talked out of that madness, if anyone would care to knock some sense into my head.)

More than any other author, Shakespeare formed the English language. I used to own a little book called Coined by Shakespeare, which detailed all the words and expressions he invented. Granted, he had the good fortune to live in a period when the language was still fairly elastic, but I think there's something to be said for that level of creativity and imagination, no matter what era he lived in. If the word he needed didn't exist, he simply created it.

I may not be able to invent words, but I hope I can be even half as imaginative as he was.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Fan Vaulting, Fan Base


The outside of Bath Abbey is absolutely, breath-takingly gorgeous. Everything about the structure is impressive--its size, the high walls, the stone carvings on the outside of the building. Then you step through the doors, and the inside is just as lovely. Surely, you think, beauty like this doesn't happen on its own.

Something causes you to look up, and suddenly you realize that, no, it doesn't.




Fan vaulting was an invention of Gothic architecture designed to support the high, high ceilings of the period. The ceiling itself is actually the vault, and the fans are the support system. As impressive as the ceiling is, it could not remain where it is without the fans.

That's how I feel right now. This amazing ride with His Good Opinion owes so much of its success to you. I only wrote the book--you, my friends and family, have been the ones to support both it and me in a way that has absolutely astounded me.

Thank you so much for this beautiful, beautiful ride.

ETA: I just sold my 100th paperback! Yet another milestone to be thankful for. :)

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

True Confessions, pt 2

Last week I admitted my deep and abiding love for all things geeky. Today I want to share something even more important to me: Christmas.



I love everything festive. I am the annoying person who places Christmas music in July. I used to start itching to decorate right after Halloween, but in recent years November has been too busy with NaNoWriMo for me to even think about Christmas trees. I'm not entirely convinced my mother didn't have something to do with that.

And oh, the baking! Mint cookies, molasses crinkles, fudge, homemade caramel! The calories go on and on, but it's only for a few weeks, right?

I have a collection of Christmas headgear. The first piece was a regular Santa hat, of course. Then I got the reindeer, with little jingle bells attached. A few years later I bought a very stylish Santa hat, trimmed in leopard print fur. And finally, last year, Heather bought me this awesome penguin Santa hat.



And of course, there's always the Christmas baking. This is what I'm really known for in my family--cookies, candies, fudge, and more. In fact, as soon as I finish typing this I'll be making molasses crinkles.

What about you? What are your favorite parts of the holidays?

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Happy Birthday, Jane!


Over two hundred years ago in a small Hampshire village, Jane Austen was born. She died before her 42nd birthday, but in those four decades, she changed the course of English literature. The novel as we know it was birthed in her keen observations and clever wit.

More than most authors, I owe my own literary career directly to Jane Austen. I wrote stories before finding the niche of Austenesque fiction, but I never finished anything that was remotely publishable. Today, on her 236th birthday, I can say that I am a successful author thanks to Jane.


I've said my thanks before, but I wanted to once more: Thank you, Jane, for sitting down at that little table and writing books that would change my life. Happy birthday.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

True Confessions of Nancy

There's been a lot of blogging and talking about Jane Austen, Mr. Darcy, and His Good Opinion lately. That's not over, not by a long shot, but I thought it was time to throw some other topics into the mix. In that vein of thought, I'm calling Tuesdays for the rest of the year "True Confessions." Each week will feature something new that you might not know about me yet.

Today's confession:  I Am A Geek.

Yes, capped like that because it is so, so true. I am the geekiest of geeks.

I was recently asked what other interests I have besides Jane, and the irony of the question made me laugh. I collect interests the way some people collect stamps, only mine are always, always related to story telling somehow.

In middle school it was Zorro.
High school and college, Star Wars.
Then a series of television shows: JAG, Alias, The Pretender...
Lord of the Rings
Stargate: SG-1


I watch the shows, read the books, buy the DVDs, check out extra materials from the library. I write fanfiction (obviously) and I read it as well.

And, upon occasion, I buy merchandise.


I've confessed, now it's your turn. What things do you geek out over?

Sunday, December 11, 2011

1000 Sales!


Never in a million years did I think I'd be posting this after less than a month, but here I am--just a few minutes ago, His Good Opinion crossed the 1000 sales mark. I screamed and did a little jig, because honestly, this is one of the best things that's ever happened to me.

Not only are the sales looking great, people seem to be enjoying my book. The reviews have all been positive, and I've gotten so many nice comments on Twitter and Facebook from readers. This means as much or more to me as the sales figure, because while it's nice to know people are buying my book, it's even better to know they're enjoying it.

Thank you so much everyone!

His Good Opinion can be purchased in e-book format from AmazonBarnes and NobleSmashwordsAmazon UKAmazon DE, and Amazon FR. The paperback is available from Amazon.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

His Good Opinion Paperback!


The paperback is here!!

After a quick back-and-forth with CreateSpace, the paperback of His Good Opinion is finally available. The first proof I got back was missing page numbers on most of the even pages, so I had to correct that and ask for another proof. That came yesterday, and it is perfect. I am so pleased to see the actual book, with my name on the cover.

As a quick side note on indie publishing, I am very grateful I opted to release the e-book when it was ready, rather than waiting on the paperback. If you're thinking about self-publishing, I definitely recommend this.

His Good Opinion can also be purchased in e-book format from AmazonBarnes and NobleSmashwordsAmazon UKAmazon DE, and Amazon FR.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

His Good Opinion Blog Tour



I'm a little tardy in posting this, and I apologize. So many of my fellow bloggers have reviewed His Good Opinion or posted interviews. I will keep this list updated from here on, with newer posts at the top of the list.

Active Giveaways:
Honestly...
My Jane Austen Book Club
Author Jessica Grey

Reviews:
Indiejane
So Little Time...
Love Letters to the Library
Comedy or Tragedy?
A Word's Worth

Guest Blogs/Interviews:

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Another milestone!

500 copies sold!!


You are all awesome, my friends. Every single one of you, whether you are one of the 500 or not. You have all supported me in some way, either by purchasing His Good Opinion yourselves, or by sharing it with friends, tweeting about it, or simply just being here.

Thank you!!!

I'll see you at 1,000.

His Good Opinion can be purchased from AmazonBarnes and NobleSmashwordsAmazon UKAmazon DE, and Amazon FR

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Celebrate!!

Today is one of my favorite days of the year. No, it's not my birthday, or Christmas. (Um, hopefully you knew that already.)

Today is December 1, which means NaNoWriMo is officially done for another year! I love this event, I do, but it is also exhausting, both mentally and physically. I work far too many late, late nights trying to reach my word count, cheer on my region, and oh yeah! This year I added publishing a novel into the mix.

Side note: I will never again publish in November. There are 11 other months of the year when I can release books. It is simply insane to add all that extra work into an already packed month.

However! I am also excited because despite everything else vying for my attention, I am a NaNoWriMo Winner!! I'm thinking of buying the tshirt, which I've never done in the past. This year... I think I deserve it.

So, friends, I ask you: How did November treat you? If you were writing, did you reach 50K? And finally, what is your favorite day of the year?

(Oh, and also... after I wrote this blog post yesterday, I got a fantastic package in the mail. Two copies of my book, in paperback!! There will be more on this tomorrow over at Indiejane.org.)


His Good Opinion can be purchased from AmazonBarnes and NobleSmashwordsAmazon UKAmazon DE, and Amazon FR.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

NaNoWriMo: That Dream Within a Dream...

This month we’ve looked at The Princess Bride as an analogy for writing and NaNo. We learned not to listen to our Inner Fred Savage, to keep the faith even when it seems like our plot and our love for noveling has been killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts, to climb to the top of the Cliffs of Insanity, and to turn those random plot devices into Something Big.

Now, when I started doing these Princess Bride talks, I’m sure many of you wondered when I’d get to the Impressive Clergyman. I’ve purposely been keeping you in suspense, but now it’s time. After all… Novels are what bring us together today... That blessed arrangement, that dream with a dream.

Whether you wrote 50,000 words or 5,000 words, you have touched that dream. You took something that was inside of you and chose to share it with others. You stretched yourself, reaching for more than you thought you were capable of. The most amazing thing about National Novel Writing Month is not the novel you’ve written, but what it has done to your concept of possible versus impossible. You are capable of Big Things—we all are.

If your word count is somewhere in the 30s or even the 20s and you’ve already written this year off, think about this for a minute. 30,000 words in four weeks? That’s pretty incredible. Who’s to say you can’t push on and do another 20K in four days? People do it every year. Stretch yourself some more. You might reach 50K, you might not. Either way, you still will have written more than you thought possible 24 hours ago.

To do this, you might try taking a piece of advice from Prince Humperdink: Skip to the end. If you’re like many writers, you’ve discovered that your novel will take more than 50,000 words to tell. You’re probably somewhere in the middle section and you haven’t gotten to “the good stuff” yet. So skip to the end. Write a few paragraphs to sketch out what happens in the middle if you want (it does help the word count…), and then go straight to your climax. Draw out those awesome scenes as much as you want. Milk them for every word they have.

I have one more piece of advice for you: Love your novel. Love the whole experience. This is what matters in the end. And when December comes and another NaNoWriMo ends, we’ll all be able to say one thing: There were five months in the course of my life that I have labeled the most amazing, the most insane. This one surpassed them all.

PS: If you haven't heard, my 2008 NaNo novel, his Good Opinion, is now available for sale!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

First Milestone!

Last night, I sold my 100th copy of His Good Opinion.

100 COPIES!!!

To say I'm in awe would be an understatement. A writer always hopes people will read her work, but you never know what to expect until you put it out there. I was fairly confident that some would buy the book right way--those of you who have been so lovely and excited about my release, right along with me. Beyond that, I really didn't know.

I certainly didn't expect to pass 100 sales in just 9 days.

Thank you so much everyone--you are making this a fantastic ride for me.

For those interested in a paperback copy, I ordered the proof from CreateSpace on Thanksgiving and expect it in the mail sometime next week. As soon as I'm confident the formatting will meet my standards, I'll approve it for sale.

His Good Opinion can be purchased from AmazonBarnes and NobleSmashwordsAmazon UKAmazon DE, and Amazon FR

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving. It's a tendency in the blogging world to take off major holidays (as blog traffic drops significantly, and... well, we'd like a day off too). However, as I thought about it this week, I realized I have so much to be thankful for, there's truly no excuse for me not to post.


  1. I am thankful for my family. They gave me the love of books that has brought me to where I am today, and to a person, every one of them has loved me and believed in me in a way I know is rare and precious.
  2. I am thankful for Chris Baty and National Novel Writing Month for giving me the years of practice it takes to become successful at anything.
  3. I am thankful to all the people who've read my fanfiction over the years. Thanks to you, I wasn't nearly as nervous when I published my first book. 
  4. I'm thankful for the amazing team of beta readers and editors who helped me improve His Good Opinion this year: Jessica, Kaydee, Mom, Rebecca, Haley, Jaymi, and Carissa. 
  5. I'm thankful to Jess (again) for all the formatting help she gave over the last two weeks--right in the middle of moving and doing NaNoWriMo. 
  6. I'm thankful for the amazing cover, designed for me by Ed Melendez.
  7. I'm thankful for the tremendous amounts of help Jennifer Becton has offered as I traversed the unknown waters of self-publishing for the first time.
And I am so very thankful to everyone who has purchased His Good Opinion in the last week. It's an absolute thrill to know my book is in the hands of readers. You have made my dream come true--thank you so very much.

His Good Opinion can be purchased from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, and Amazon FR

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

NaNoWriMo: Hello, My Name Is Inigo Montoya

You killed my father. Prepare to die.

Of all the quotable lines in The Princess Bride, this one is perhaps the most iconic. With the exception of one character (whom we will get to next week), no one in the movie is more associated with a single line than Inigo. It is absolutely central to his character—the whole story of his father’s death and his subsequent quest for revenge has shaped his life.

How does this apply to noveling? Well, the line comes up for the first time fairly early in the story. Westley has made it to the top of the Cliffs of Insanity and Inigo offers him the chance to rest before they duel. While they rest, he asks, rather off-handedly, if Westley has six fingers on his right hand. When it’s established that he doesn’t, he proceeds to tell the story.

At this point, it could just be a nice story. However, a few scenes later Westley and Buttercup come out of the Fire Swamp right into the waiting arms of Prince Humperdink and Count Rugen. After Buttercup has been taken away, Westley notices Count Rugen—“You have six fingers on your right hand. Someone’s been looking for you.” Hmmm… now it’s been mentioned twice, and might actually play a role in the plot.

We learn quite a bit in the next few scenes about how twisted Count Rugen is, and then it’s time for Fezzik to locate Inigo. Once again, the subject of the six-fingered man comes up—at which point Inigo promptly passes out. He sobers up, and he and Fezzik go on a quest to find Westley. You see? The thought of finding the six-fingered man is enough to shake him out of his drunken stupor and finally do the one thing he was meant to do.

I could go on and on here, because really this is the strongest sub-plot in the entire film. By the time we get to that pivotal scene where he’s been stabbed several times by Rugen, we understand that this is no mere throwaway line. “Hello! My name is Inigo Montoya! You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

We are entering Week Four of NaNoWriMo. Right now, most of our stories are somewhere around the Miracle Max scene—build up to the climax—and hopefully, we will all reach our own duel scenes in the next seven days. If you’re stuck for words or don’t know what to do with your plot, look back at what you wrote in the first week (not to edit!!) and find some random line or action that you can turn into this kind of scene. You may find that you’ve unconsciously built one in. Good for you! Take that thematic hint and develop it into a fantastic crescendo of plotty and wordy goodness.

If you don't have one already, that's why I told you to look back at your early chapters. Without looking at the grammar or spelling, skim for something that sparks an idea for this kind of scene. Don’t worry about including extra references to it throughout your story. You can go back and add those later. For now, just concentrate on that climactic duel and boost that word count!

Next week: Marriage. Marriage is what brings us together today...

PS: If you haven't heard, my 2008 NaNo novel His Good Opinion is now available for sale!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

His Good Opinion--available now!


Yes! I hit go last night with Smashwords, and you can get the book there in any format you so desire.

ETA 11/21: And now also available from the Kindle store!
ETA 11/22: And now, NOOK!

Paperback formatting, thanks to Jessica Melendez, is finally finished. Once I get the revised cover I'll be able to request the proofs and get moving in that direction.

This week has been absolutely insane, filled with tons of last minute items. Some things were legitimately last minute, and some were of the, "Really? You haven't done that yet?" variety. It was crazy but now the hard work is over!

Thank you for all the help and support you have given me over the last ten months. I started this blog with very few expectations. I thought I might meet a few interesting people, and perhaps connect with some about books.

You have been so much more than that. I've got a whole blog post planned to thank you, but for now, just know that I appreciate you all more than I can say.

Hey guys? I'm a published author!

His Good Opinion can be purchased from AmazonBarnes and NobleSmashwordsAmazon UKAmazon DE, and Amazon FR

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

NaNoWriMo: The Cliffs of INSANITY!!!

This is where you are right now. Like Westley, you have been tenacious in your quest. You have not given up on the thought of holding your own complete novel in your hands at the end of the month. You have sailed across eel-infested waters to claim it, and now you find one more hurdle ahead of you. However, you shall not be daunted, and thanks to all the typing you’ve been doing, you definitely have strong arms.

If you are Westley in this scenario, then Week Three is the Cliffs of Insanity. It is bracketed by the two most important word counts with the exception of 50,000: 25,000 and 35,000. That 10K climb is one of the most important in your entire NaNo experience. 25,000 is obviously the halfway mark. There’s something really cool about being able to say you’re halfway to the finish line. This milestone should come for everyone at some point this week.

The second is even more important. Westley couldn’t just grab hold of the rope at the bottom of the cliff and say, “All right, I’m done now. Toss Buttercup down to me and we’ll be on our way.” No! He had to take the rope in hand and start climbing the cliff. When Vizzini cut the rope, he had to cling to the sheer rock face with his bare hands and continue to pull himself up.

Even though 25K is halfway, 35K is the top of the cliff. That’s where you start to feel like you’re on the downward slide toward home. Taking Westley as our inspiration, once he was at the top of the cliff, everything else was pretty easy. He had to fight a duel, but he won handily. Vizzini? Simple! Iocane power will take care of him!! And then he had Buttercup and all that work was worth it.

If your week is comparable to the Cliffs of Insanity, your story’s week is like the Fire Swamp. “Unless I’m wrong, and I’m never wrong, they’re headed dead into the Fire Swamp.”

Your Inner Fred Savage is probably moaning a little at the thought. The Fire Swamp? We’ll never survive!! Smack it down with Westley’s chipper quote: “Nonsense. You’re only saying that because no one ever has.”

Week Three is one of the most awesome weeks for your story. This is when things start to happen. The characters you thought were pointless will suddenly step on a flame spurt, fall into the lightning sand, and be attacked by ROUSes. In other words, your story will start to develop… a PLOT! PLOT, you say? I don’t believe they exist. Oh, but you will my friend—you will. Just wait to see what week three brings to you. There’s a lot of craziness, and I’m not saying you’ll want to build a summer home there, but the trees are actually quite lovely.

So prepare yourself gang—Week Three is here.

Next week: Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya…

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Writing Updates! Mr. Darcy! Col. Fitzwilliam!

Today is the 1/3 mark of NaNoWriMo. I've been hard at work on my Col. Fitzwilliam story, and I am having an absolute blast. It was rough going at the start, partly because I was so dead tired on the first that I didn't write a single word. I'm on a roll now though--I've written a little bit of almost every chapter, and I'm going back through and fleshing things  out.

Are you doing NaNo? How is it going for you? Have your characters made any surprise announcements? I learned some interesting things about my villain on the second or third day of writing, and that's what really kicked the story into high gear.

As for Darcy, I am almost through with him. I'm sending digital ARCs out to reviewers right now, and then next week I'll order proof copies of the paperback from CreateSpace. Once I've got everything to my liking, I'll be hitting the big, red button marked SALE. (Okay, so there's not really a button, but I've always wanted to push one of those big, red buttons that say, "DO NOT PUSH," and this is as close as I'm likely to get.)

Unless something goes drastically wrong, I'll be hitting that button next Thursday or Friday--ONE WEEK LEFT!! I am truly in shock--I can't believe that in just a week, my book will be published. I've been doing the boring things this week, like attaching the book information to the ISBN numbers, but... really, I'm done. It's ready to go.

One week!!

His Good Opinion can be purchased from AmazonBarnes and NobleSmashwordsAmazon UKAmazon DE, and Amazon FR

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Giveaway winner!

There were 47 entries into the giveaway for the copy of the Pride and Prejudice. I stuck that number in the handy-dandy random number generator, and our lucky number is 23.

Counting down to number 23, the winning comment is:


Farida Mestek said...

I also retweeted at: https://twitter.com/#!/Nancy_Kelley/status/132552761127600128


Congratulations, Farida! Email me your address to nkelley.writes AT gmail DOT com, and I'll get your DVD in the mail by the weekend. Enjoy!

Thank you everyone for entering. I loved reading over your favorite moments of Pride and Prejudice.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

NaNoWriMo: Murdered By Pirates Is Good

During Week One, everything in your novel seemed perfect, almost idyllic. Your novel, and to a broader degree the act of novelling, became your “true love.” Perhaps a part of you wondered, as Buttercup does, if this fragile new relationship can withstand what life throws at it. The only answer you received was, “This is true love—do you think this happens every day?”

But one morning this week, you will wake up and find that your perfect novelling world is gone, your excitement killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts of Week Two. Your main character hates you… your plot is non-existent… that sub-plot you thought would wrap up everything neatly in chapter six creates more problems than it solves… and so on and so forth.

You’re also starting to realize the time commitment it takes to write a novel. There are stacks of dirty dishes in your kitchen and piles of laundry in your room. Your family has forgotten what you look like when your eyes aren’t glued to the monitor.

At this point, it would be tempting to echo Buttercup and say, “I will never write again.” Just as she wanted to close herself off from feeling this kind of pain ever again, you would like to avoid this deep feeling that you have let yourself down or lost one of your lifelong dreams. Here’s this week’s secret: Every single Wrimo I know has felt this way. It is normal and natural. The only question is what you will do with this feeling.

Because she vowed to never love again, Buttercup allowed herself to be betrothed to the Prince, betraying her true love. The first question Westley asked Buttercup when he revealed himself to her was, “Why didn’t you wait for me?”

“Well… I thought you were dead.”

His answer was simple: “Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.”

You and your novel have true love. Will you give that up, simply because your enthusiasm has been murdered by pirates?

Next week: The Cliffs of Insanity and The Fire Swamp

Thursday, November 3, 2011

I Have Seen the Enemy, and He Is .Mobi

Like Captain Ahab, I spent last weekend in search of Mobi. No, that's not a misspelling. (I work at a library, I can spell Moby Dick.) Mobi with an I is one of the e-book formats for Kindle.

First, can I get a cheer that I'm actually to the formatting stage? Thank you.

Now for the saga. I started Saturday with a pretty easy to follow set of instructions. I breezed through the first few steps, and then I hit a problem: The program recommended to create the mobi book is PC only. I switched to Mac at the beginning of the month.

No problem! I work at a library, I can do research! I searched for "formatting a Kindle book on a Mac." The top recommendation was for a program called Kindle Gen... and that's where I hit the second road block. I will spare you my deep and abiding hatred of this program and only say that it Is. Not. Easy.

Not easy, as in I spent hours wrestling with it.

Now, I had a really nice program on my PC called Calibre that is all about converting e-books to different formats. I did some searching and yes! Calibre works on a Mac!

So... first I saved the file as a PDF and uploaded it to Calibre, and then I converted the format. Eh, a few formatting errors, and I'm paying my Oops Detector $1/oops.

And this is where I made my fatal error. Instead of just trying again through Calibre, I went back to The Evil of Kindle Gen. More tears follow, more wailing and gnashing of teeth. I swore I would never format another one of my books, ever.

Finally, around 11:00, I decided to give Calibre one more shot. This time, I saved the file as an .RTF first and then converted. Beautiful! Perfect! As far as I can tell, anyway...

I'm calling this a victory. If it comes back from the Oops Detector with no formatting errors, I will write a step-by-step instruction sheet for Mac owners. There's really not a good one out there. (By which I mean, there's not one that doesn't include Kindle Gen.)

His Good Opinion can be purchased from AmazonBarnes and NobleSmashwordsAmazon UKAmazon DE, and Amazon FR

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Giveaway! BBC Pride and Prejudice DVD

As you know, friends, I am very nearly ready to publish His Good Opinion. This seems like a good enough reason to celebrate with a giveaway, and as my book is from Darcy's point of view, what better item to offer than a copy of the BBC Pride and Prejudice?

This is the production that gave us Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. I hope I'm not giving away too much when I say that I tested my dialogue by imagining Colin saying it.

I have one copy of the Restored Edition. As someone who owned the previous Special Edition, I can verify that the color, the texture, everything about the Restored Edition is absolutely incredible. Did you know the curtains in Mr. Darcy's room are red, or that the many of the dresses were made of patterned fabrics? Both of those facts had escaped me, due to the poor transfer quality of earlier versions.

Now, for the nitty gritty. This giveaway is open internationally. To enter, reply to this post with your favorite moment from Pride and Prejudice. For extra entries, you may:

Follow me via Google Friend Connect.

Follow me on Twitter: @nancy_kelley

Tweet about the giveaway. Here's a sample tweet: Hey #JaneAusten fans, want to #win a copy of the BBC Pride and Prejudice? Enter @nancy_kelley's #giveaway! http://bit.ly/sLRTYU

Please come back and comment for each additional entry. You can tweet about the giveaway once a day for more entries.

The giveaway closes on November 8 at 11:59 pm PST.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

NaNoWriMo Starts Today!

On Tuesdays in November, I'll be running  series of NaNoWriMo pep talks.




I was re-watching one of my favorite movies a while back, and suddenly I realized that NaNoWriMo is like The Princess Bride—both are adventures narrated by one very excited participant (you) and derided by one very snide bystander (your Internal Editor).

During the first week of NaNo, you will have all the energy and enthusiasm of the Grandfather. You’ve got a book to offer, and nothing could be better. The Grandson is your Internal Editor, constantly questioning and doubting that your story will be any good. Right from the start, the Grandson is unconvinced of the story’s appeal. “Are there any sports in it?” he asks.

How many of us have heard that little voice asking if we actually have a plot? Was our answer as good as the Grandfather’s? “Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles…” (Sounds a lot like a NaNo Bingo card, doesn’t it? And whose story doesn’t include a few of those elements? I can personally check off fighting, torture, revenge, escapes, true love, and miracles.)

If you watch The Princess Bride, you learn that the secret to telling a good story lies in ignoring the heckler. He’s barely into his story when the Grandson interrupts: “Hold it, hold it! Are you trying to trick me? Where’s the sports? Is this a kissing book?”

Does the Grandfather put the book down and say, “You’re right, I’m sorry… What was I thinking, imagining I could tell an interesting story? I’ll just go on home now, and you can get back to your game.” No! He tells the kid to sit still and wait! There’s good stuff coming, and he knows it.

Here’s the secret I want you to learn this week. Your Internal Editor does not know your whole story. All it knows is the part you’ve already told, and we all know that the first chapter, or even the first third a book doesn’t show the whole picture. When that little voice starts whining at you, wondering if this is ‘a kissing book,” tell it to be patient. The good stuff is yet to come.

Next Week: The Dread Pirate Roberts



Thursday, October 27, 2011

Countdown To The End

This month has given me a whole new respect for traditional publishers and all they do. Let me tell ya, it's a long list! To date, I have:

  • Applied for and received business licenses from both the state and city
  • Commissioned and received cover art
  • Written back cover copy
  • Purchased ISBNs from Bowker
  • Finished my edits, including critiques, on His Good Opinion
  • Contracted with an editor, who sent me wonderful edits
  • Incorporated said edits
  • Contacted a proofreader about "oops detection"
I still need to:

  • Record my business expenses
  • Start a business bank account
  • Start the process with Create Space
  • Get the full cover finished--back cover included
  • Format the book
And that's all on top of writing a 50,000 word rough draft of my Col. Fitzwilliam story next month for NaNoWriMo, and running the local events, and my regular day job. (I have never been so grateful for long weekends in my life--I get two in November, and they will be Godsends.)


It's been a busy month, and some of these things caused undue stress. However, it's done. My book will be published within the next month. Once I have it in my hand, it will all be worth it.

His Good Opinion can be purchased from AmazonBarnes and NobleSmashwordsAmazon UKAmazon DE, and Amazon FR

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

NaNoWriMo: Tips and Tricks



After, "How much should I plan?" the second most common question I get is, "How do you do it?" Writing 50,000 words in 30 days is, after all, not an every day (or every month) accomplishment for most of us. Those who are lucky enough to write full time might tell a different story, but the average Wrimo also holds either a full time job or is a full time student. Adding a novel on top of that can be daunting.

Here's the first thing to remember: You are not writing 50,000 words in one day. The daily total to stay on track is 1,667 words. That comes out to about 5-6 pages, depending on font. On a normal day, it takes me about an hour of actually writing (read: not looking at the internet) to finish the day's word count. Most of us can carve one hour out of our day to dedicate to writing.

That brings me to the second tip: Turn off your internet. You can do this in a variety of ways. On my old PC, I would actually switch the wi-fi receptor off. Now that I'm using Scrivener on my Mac, I've fallen in love with full-screen mode. It blocks everything out, including those applications down in the dock that always call out for my attention. If you need to do research, set a timer and look for the one piece of information you need before you get back to writing. Do not get sucked into the Wiki Trail!

One more thing. Writing a novel in a month means write, don't edit.  Chris Baty, the founder of NaNoWriMo, puts it like this. "Make no mistake, you will be writing a lot of crap." There is no way you can write 50,000 words in 30 days and have every one be perfect. Oh, there will be some passages that just sing... but an equal amount that just suck. Do not edit! There will be time for that in December and beyond. The point of NaNoWriMo is that until you actually get the rough draft down, there is nothing to edit.

So there you have it. Of course, if you check the website, there's a whole forum devoted to little cheats you can use to reach 50K. I admit to using a few, like the no contractions rules (though since my novel is historical, I have an excuse), but here I wanted to give you some advice on how you could honestly reach 50,000 words.

One more thing: If you haven't checked in with your local region, I highly recommend it. There's nothing like meeting up with a few other crazies like-minded individuals to keep you going throughout the month.

Good luck!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Darcy From The Back

There are two primary weapons in the author's sales arsenal. The first is the front cover. No matter what people say, we all judge a book by its cover. If the art is unattractive, the title obscured by a strange reflective coating, or the author's name too distracting, we won't read it.

I shared the front cover of His Good Opinion with you last week--thank you for all the lovely comments! I have high hopes that it will draw readers to at least take a peek at the second weapon I have: the back cover copy.

I have struggled and struggled with this. Summarizing a novel in a few short paragraphs is never easy, but when the basic story arc is one the reader is already intimately familiar with, the task is daunting. How exactly do I change things up so it still sounds like Pride and Prejudice but gives enough of a feeling of what makes this story unique.

Here's what I finally came up with:

Though tired of Society's manipulations, Darcy never thought to be enchanted by a country maiden. Yet on a visit to rural Hertfordshire, Elizabeth Bennet captivates him. Lovely and vivacious, she is everything he is not, and everything he longs to have.


Unfortunately, her connections put her decidedly beneath him, and the improprieties he observes in her family do not win his favor. Putting her firmly out of his mind, Darcy returns to London, but Elizabeth is not so easily forgotten.

When chance throws them together, Darcy can no longer deny his love, but Elizabeth, put off by his manners, refuses him. To change her mind, he must set aside his proud ways and learn how to please a woman worthy of being pleased. It takes a serious incident for his true character to shine, and for Elizabeth to learn just how valuable is…

His Good Opinion

I like this. It's short and to the point, and focuses on the main difference my story has: the personality of Darcy himself.


What do you think? Is Darcy as appealing when viewed from the back as he was last week when you saw his face?


His Good Opinion can be purchased from AmazonBarnes and NobleSmashwordsAmazon UKAmazon DE, and Amazon FR

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Pre-NaNoWriMo: There's No Wrong Way

As a long time NaNo participant and Municipal Liaison, there is one question I am asked more than any other: How should I prepare?

The answer is much more vague and postmodern than most people expect or wish. Do the kind of preparation that works for you. Just like eating a Reese's, there is no wrong way.

I personally plan every big detail of the story. I like to know exactly what's going to happen, I know this conversation I'm writing will have great significance in four or five chapters. I like to know why my characters are this way. If I try to write without a detailed plan, I crash and burn.

There are people who are the exact opposite. They use something--an image, one scene, a song--as a launchpad, and then they just push off on November 1 and write their entire novel. I have no idea how they do it. I'm a little in awe of them, to be honest.

So, those are the two major ways to prepare. If you think you might be a planner and you're looking for a bit more detail, I wrote a series  on building a novel this summer. It covers the 3 Cs of plot: Plot = Conflict that forces your Character to Change.

However you go approach NaNoWriMo, have fun, and good luck!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Northanger Abbey Event!

We just started a Northanger Abbey event over at Indie Jane. On the blog so far we've got a review of There Must Be Murder by Margaret Sullivan, with a guest blog post from her on Wednesday. If you're not familiar with her wit, you should also be reading her own blog, Austenblog.

Next week, I'll review Nachtsturm Castle by Emily C.A. Snyder on Monday, followed by a guest post from her. She blogs over at O Beauty Unattempted, often about her Austen related works, or about her theater work.

We're also halfway through our group read of Northanger Abbey, and you're more than welcome to join in. Discussion questions are posted every week in the forums.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

This Cover is DIMH Approved

"...Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien, and the report... The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man, the ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening..."


Pride and Prejudice, chapter 3

When I started decided to go indie last spring, cover art was at the top of my concerns. (I've since learned there are other things far more stressful and less pleasant, but that's a post for a different time.) Despite all we say, people do judge books by their covers, and I want His Good Opinion to jump off the virtual bookshelf and scream, "Pick me, pick me!"  

Conversation between me and DIMH*: 
DIMH:  That shows a shocking lack of decorum.
Me: You'd better get used to it, Darcy.
DIMH: I beg your pardon?
Me: You're #hotdarcy. The ladies will be throwing themselves at you.
DIMH: ...

Thanks to some stellar picture finding by Jessica and the amazing graphic design skills of her husband, I now present #hotdarcy, in the flesh:



*DIMH: Darcy In My Head

His Good Opinion can be purchased from AmazonBarnes and NobleSmashwordsAmazon UKAmazon DE, and Amazon FR

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Top 5 Reasons Caroline Bingley Is a Great Character for a Sequel


Austenesque author Jennifer Becton joins us today. Her latest book, Caroline Bingley, left some Janeites wondering--why write about Miss Bingley? (You can see my review on Indiejane.)

Top 5 Reasons Caroline Bingley Is a Great Character for a Sequel

I hear what you’re thinking: Caroline Bingley as the hero of her own Pride and Prejudice sequel? Jennifer, what are you smoking? She’s horrible! Just think of what she said to Lizzy and how she treated Jane. Why should anyone want to read a book about her?

Well, I’ll tell you my top 5 reasons for deciding to write about dear, sweet Caroline, and you can decide if you want to read a book about her.

5. Caroline speaks her mind. Sure, she may not always say the nicest things, but at least she is willing to make her opinions known. In Elizabeth Bennet, we find pert opinions to be a benefit. In Caroline, not so much. Caroline was happy to speak negatively of the Bennet’s vulgar relations and on many other similar subjects of decorum and dress, but in reality, her opinions on wealth and status were not dissimilar to those held by many people in the Regency period. She was an outspoken product of her time and social influences.

4. Caroline is funny. Consider her attempts to woo Mr. Darcy while he demonstrates his letter-writing prowess: “You write uncommonly fast,” “I am afraid you do not like your pen. Let me mend one for you. I mend pens remarkably well,” and “Do you always write such charming long letters to [Georgiana], Mr. Darcy?” (Austen, P&P, ch. 10). Okay, so she may not be intentionally funny, but that is comic gold!

3. Caroline is complex. Caroline is “of a respectable family in the north of England; a circumstance more deeply impressed on [her memory] than that [her] brother’s fortune and [her] own had been acquired by trade” (Austen, P&P, ch. 4). Caroline has a secret. She is a wannabe. She may have money, but it was not gained through socially acceptable channels, and she is trying to hide her lowly past. That’s conflict and it makes for good reading and interesting character development.

2. Caroline is flawed. Mr. Darcy and Caroline were very much alike when they were introduced in Pride and Prejudice: “Darcy was continually giving offense,” and he said many unkind things about Elizabeth’s family and relations. He even participated in the plan to separate Jane and Bingley. However, he mended his ways. Caroline did many of the same things, but she never saw the error of her ways. Caroline has lots of room to grow and overcome her flaws just as Darcy did.

1. Caroline doesn’t mess around. She acts. She may not always do the right thing, but at least she is doing something. She does what she believes is best for her family. There is no dithering or whining. She sees a need and she acts upon it. That is just what we love in a heroine.

So Caroline Bingley may not be the most obvious choice for a heroine, especially because her goals in Pride and Prejudice were in direct conflict with Elizabeth’s. She was the antagonist, but not a true villainess who was out plotting her opponent’s destruction. She just wanted what she wanted, and she tried to make her desires come to fruition. She failed in all ways.

Did Caroline learn from her mistakes? Did she end up marrying a stuffy, old aristocrat? Or did she learn the joys of love?

If you’d like to check out my view on her future, Caroline Bingley is available in ebook format at Amazon, BN, and Smashwords. The paperback will be available soon, but you can preorder a signed copy at my website.

Nancy: There is also a giveaway running at Indiejane that ends today. Whether you purchase a copy or win one, this is a sequel to read and re-read.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Why I Do NaNoWriMo


I have participated in National Novel Writing Month every year since 2003. For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo is a crazy attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days. There are no judges; there are no prizes; it is the biggest un-contest of them all.


So why bother? Why spend thirty days slaving over something no one will see but myself?


I believe the self-challenge is the key to NaNo's success. We all have things in life we would like to do, but oftentimes they remain empty dreams. NaNoWriMo comes with an international audience. People from around the world watch to see if you actually complete your novel. At the same time, you watch them and cheer them on. It is, in fact, the world's largest accountability group.


I wrote my first stories when I was in elementary school. With the encouragement of my middle school English teacher, I started an historical romance series. It was then I decided I wanted to be a novelist when I grew up. However, I approached this as if it were some kind of airy, theoretical future. I wrote fun stories for my friends, and, when pressed, I claimed these were practice for my "real writing."


NaNoWriMo taught me to take my writing seriously. When I told people I was going to write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days, all of a sudden I had a deadline. The theoretical future was now.


I won that first year. Even though the 50,000 words became 24,000 upon editing, I still look back on it as the turning point in my career as a writer. Since then I have had three false starts and written four more novels. Three years ago, I wrote the start of His Good Opinion, and you all know what that led to.


This year will be my ninth NaNoWriMo, and it will also be a first: it will be the first year that I attempt to do publish one book while writing another. I know, I know. If 50,000 words this crazy then surely adding anything to that is insane.  Why am I doing this to myself? That's just how the timing worked out--at least, that's what I tell people. However, there is another secret part of me which simply wants to see if I can. And that, my friends, is what National Novel Writing Month is all about.


PS: Come find me on NaNoWriMo.org!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Collected Samples of His Good Opinion

I've shared three samples of His Good Opinion over the last few months. They're all scattered around my blog however, so I've gathered them here in one place.


Chapter One

"I will never understand, Darcy, why you insist on going out in Society only to be displeased with everyone you meet."

Fitzwilliam Darcy poured two glasses of brandy and handed one to his friend before he took the chair opposite him. "I go out because it is expected of me, Bingley. You know that."

Charles Bingley pointed at him. "Ah, but that does not answer the question, does it?"

Darcy conceded the point with the barest shrug of his shoulders. Here, in the comfort of his own study, there was no need to pretend. "I admit that I find little in Society of which to approve."

"Only because you are determined to disapprove." Bingley protested. "What of the young lady you sat out with tonight? Let me hear your opinion of her."

Darcy ran his fingers down the side of his glass. "Her aunt approached me and said her niece had sprained her ankle, and would I be willing to keep her company? Good manners forbade I refuse, though you know how little I enjoy making conversation with someone I am not intimately acquainted with. I have not your ease of speaking on subjects in which I have little or no interest." His lips curled in disdain, and he took a sip of brandy to wash the sour taste from his mouth.

"That is a commentary on your own character, not the lady's."

He ignored the familiar needling. "After two minutes of idle chatter, I inquired after her injury."

Satisfaction gleamed in Bingley's eyes. "Ah, you are capable courtesy after all."

Darcy leaned forward, his forehead creased in a frown. "Perhaps you will not be so victorious, Bingley, when you hear the rest of the story. She did not understand what I spoke of. When she returned to her aunt shortly thereafter, she did not have a limp. The entire incident was manufactured so she could gain my attention. No doubt they have heard that I do not dance often —"

"Or ever."

The leather chair creaked in protest when Darcy stood. He took Bingley's glass and strode to the table, glad to have something to do, even if it was only refilling their drinks. This topic never failed to rile him, but he found a measure of calm in pouring the liquor into their glasses.

"They sought a way to get time with me, and they found it. You wish to know why I so seldom give my good opinion to those I meet; it is this dishonesty, this deception of which I cannot approve. I cannot—I will not—marry a woman I do not trust."

Bingley took his refilled glass, and Darcy noted his frown with some vexation. "You are being a bit presumptuous, Darcy. How can you be so certain she wished to marry you? It was simply a dance."

Darcy set the decanter down on the tray with a hard clang. "Surely even you will acknowledge that a single woman in possession of no brothers must be in want of a husband."

Bingley shook his head and laughed. "You can hardly claim that to be a universal truth."

Darcy ran his hands through his close-cropped dark curls. Has it truly escaped his notice that he too has received such attentions? Though it was this very ability to see nothing but the good in people that recommended Bingley to him, at times his amiable nature bordered on naiveté. 

"Perhaps not universal, but a truth nonetheless." He paced the confines of the study. The paneled walls, usually calming, pressed in on him tonight. London always wore on his nerves, but this Season had been worse than most. "I need to get out of town, Bingley."

Bingley eyed Darcy over the edge of his glass. "You sound as if you had a plan in mind."

Darcy stood in front of the empty fireplace and tapped his fingers on the mantle. "I believe it is time I visited Georgiana in Ramsgate."

"Is that what has made you so tense of late? I know you take great care of her."

Bingley's insight startled Darcy. "Yes, I imagine so. I trust Mrs. Younge of course or I would not have consented to the plan. Still, I will feel better once I see for myself how she is getting on." He turned back to his friend, at ease for the first time in weeks.

"When will you leave?"

"Tomorrow morning."

Bingley raised his eyebrows. "That is rather spontaneous, Darcy—indeed, it is the kind of precipitous decision you often tease me for."

Darcy tossed back the rest of his brandy before he answered. "In truth, I have been thinking about it some weeks," he replied. "I just did not realize it until tonight."

"Well, if you are decided, then I wish you safe travels."

Bingley rose and shook his hand in farewell, and Darcy retired for the night soon after. He slept well, content with the knowledge he would soon be free of the artifice of town, once again in a comfortable family setting.


From Chapter 11: The Netherfield Ball

Darcy glanced at his watch one last time. Guests had begun arriving over half an hour ago, and he had purposely delayed his own entrance in order to avoid the Bennet family. For Mrs. Bennet surely saw to it they were among the first to arrive.

He walked through the open doors, and all his good intentions were lost. Elizabeth Bennet stood not ten feet away. Her back was to him, and though Darcy told himself to turn away, to pretend he had not seen her, he could not.

She took his breath away. The delicate fabric of her ball gown revealed more of the lithe lines of her figure than he had previously seen, and the candlelight caught and reflected off the jewels in her hair.

 Darcy approached her slowly, gauging his own reaction. Only when he was certain he could maintain his usual reserve did he speak. "Miss Elizabeth?"

She turned, and he wondered if perhaps he had overestimated his own control. Up close, he could see the smooth texture of her creamy skin, and he clenched a fist to keep himself from taking her hand to see if it felt as satiny as it looked.

"Yes, Mr. Darcy?"

He flushed at the question in her voice; how long had he stood without saying a word? "I trust the weather has not dampened your sprits this evening?"

He thought her smile was a little forced, but as he himself struggled to find enjoyment in balls, he did not wonder at it. "You will find, sir, that I rarely allow anything to interfere with my enjoyment."

He bowed and walked away to hide the emotions those words stirred in him. "You will find…" Could this possibly be a hint that she would welcome further attentions from me? Darcy had thought himself immune to her charms, inured against them by the knowledge of her family connections. However, the idea that she would encourage his suit enthralled him, and none of his previous arguments held any weight against it. 



From Chapter 25

Richard left the following morning for the Fitzwilliam family seat near Matlock, and Darcy, in desperate need of distraction, threw himself into the affairs of his own estate. In consequence of his lengthy absences over the last year, there were many things that have been left unattended to.

Nothing, however, could drive Elizabeth from his mind. With every task he completed, he was conscious of how much easier or pleasanter it would have been with her by his side.

 When he walked the estate with his steward, he remembered Georgiana commenting that he needed a wife who could walk with him, and he thought again of Elizabeth and the walks they had shared in Kent. How he had looked forward then to showing her the grounds of Pemberley and his favorite walks through the park. Those spots he had loved all his life lacked luster, now that he saw them without Elizabeth. 

Not long after his return to Pemberley, one of his best tenants celebrated the birth of his first child. By rights, the mistress of the estate would visit the family—but Pemberley had no mistress. 

When Darcy appeared on the Coombs' doorstep, the man could not hide his surprise. "Mr. Darcy!"

"Good day, Coombs. I hear your wife has provided you with a son."

Coombs snapped his gaping mouth shut and swallowed. "Yes sir. That is… Well, yes sir. May I ask, sir, why you are here?"

Darcy raised an eyebrow. "I should think that obvious, Coombs. I came to congratulate you."

Coombs nodded slowly. "Of course, Mr. Darcy. Would you like to come in and see James?"

Darcy took his hat off and followed Coombs into the cottage. Mrs. Coombs smiled up at him when he entered. "Mr. Darcy, this is such a surprise!"

He knit his brows together for a moment. Why are they both so shocked to see me pay this form of courtesy? 

Before he could think any more on the question, a babe was thrust into his arMiss "This is our James—isn't he the sweetest lad you ever did see?"  

Darcy held the child six inches out from his chest, and when James yawned and stretched, he panicked. Please do not wake. But young James had not yet learnt that the master of Pemberley was always to be obeyed, and the tiny eyes opened. On beholding an unfamiliar face, his mouth opened in a wail that would have scared years off the life of a grown man, had he not known where it originated. 

Mrs. Coombs bustled over and took her child back into the comfort of her arMiss "There there, Jamesey—Mama's here. You aren't afraid of Mr. Darcy, are you?"

Darcy watched in wonder as the child immediately quieted and settled back to sleep. Never had he been more aware of his own awkwardness, or longed more for Elizabeth's ease of manner.

The incident did not quickly leave his thoughts. Late into the evening he pondered it, always coming back to one thing: his own tenants, who knew him to be a generous landlord, had been surprised when he also showed them courtesy. 

"Your manners impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance…"

Was there truth in her words? Did he look down on those he saw as beneath him and not treat them with the same kindness he treated those of his own class?

Darcy paced the length of his study, an empty brandy glass in his hand. How do my fellow landowners see me? Would they be likewise surprised to receive a note from me on the birth or marriage of one of their offspring? The answer came in an instant—they would not. Those common forms of politeness were de rigueur among the upper class.

Am I then so caught up with social standing that I cannot offer simple congratulations to a family without it being a noteworthy event? Was Elizabeth so right about me? 

Darcy had long acknowledged he had not the ease or openness of manner that many did. Of course he had pride in his family and his land, but he had never taken the time to consider how that was presented to others. In truth, he had never cared enough for the opinion of others to care how they saw him, but now he wondered if it was more than how he appeared. Am I truly prideful?

Over the next few weeks, he examined his interactions with all he met: staff, tenant, and landowner alike. What was his first response in all of these situations? Was it one of habitual pride? Did he consider himself so far above even his friends? Were Elizabeth's accusations true?

Such self-examination is never a pleasant course of study, and therefore, Richard's return in late May was welcome for the diversion it offered. "Did you grow tired of your family so soon?" Darcy gibed when they were seated in the study.


His Good Opinion can be purchased from AmazonBarnes and NobleSmashwordsAmazon UKAmazon DE, and Amazon FR