Interview and contest: Maria Hamilton and Mr Darcy

 Help me welcome Maria Hamilton to my blog :) She is the author of Mr Darcy and the secret of becoming a gentleman. The book is out now and at the bottom of this interview there is a contest to win a copy.

Welcome to Mur-y-Castell!

Could you tell us something about yourself, so we can get to know you better?

I live in southern New Hampshire with my husband, son, and daughter, and my neurotic (half black lab/half greyhound) dog, Poseidon.  I attended Boston College where I earned a B.A. and then a M.A. in history.  I received my J.D. from Harvard Law School.  I presently work as an attorney in Boston.  I am an avid bicyclist.  I love movies, the Red Sox, and travel. 

Your newest book is called Mr. Darcy and the Secret of Becoming a Gentleman; can you tell me what it is about?

In Pride & Prejudice, the evolution of Fitzwilliam Darcy from an aloof man unable to understand his emotions to a gentleman worthy of Elizabeth Bennett's love occurs primarily out of the reader's view.  My novel Mr. Darcy and the Secret of Becoming a Gentleman allows the reader to explore his unseen heart, his struggle to understand Elizabeth's rejection, and his determination to win her regard despite his previous failings. 

I introduce the reader to Mr. Darcy after Hunsford when he is attempting to overcome Elizabeth’s rejection and struggling with the knowledge that he has unfairly separated Mr. Bingley from Jane.  He determines to correct his mistake much earlier and in the process of doing so has to return to Hertfordshire.  He asks Jane for a private interview in order to determine if she still has feeling for Mr. Bingley and Mrs. Bennett assumes that Darcy has come to court Jane. Once Darcy is thrown into Elizabeth's company again, he vows to show her, by every civility in his power, that he can please a woman actually worth having.  Without the barriers of preconceived notions between them, Darcy is forced to learn how to express his passion and gain her respect.  Through his determination, Elizabeth is able to overcome her poor first impressions and understand the value of his love.

How did you get started on writing Jane Austen variations?

When the film Bridget Jones Diary was released, it reminded me of how much I loved Pride & Prejudice.  I reread it and then watched a DVD of the 1995 BBC miniseries.  Afterwards, the characters just sort of stuck with me. I then read Abigail Reynolds’ Pride & Prejudice variations and some other stories that at the time were available on the internet and they slowly inspired me to write my novel. 

I gravitated toward writing a variation because I always felt there were missing scenes from Pride & Prejudice that I wanted to flesh out and explore.  For example, Darcy asking Mr. Bennett for permission to marry Elizabeth, Darcy telling Bingley that he was in love with Elizabeth and had wrongly separated him from Jane, Caroline learning that Mr. Darcy had asked Elizabeth to marry him (twice), and how Darcy and Elizabeth navigated the transformation from suitors to intimacy.  In particular, I wanted to write the dialogue between Darcy and Elizabeth while they are courting and becoming comfortable in each other’s company.  I felt that this could be best done by to envisioning a different course for the story where all of those scenes could be played out more fully.  I think my new novel Mr. Darcy and the Secret of Becoming a Gentleman succeeds in doing so.

Who is your favorite Jane Austen hero/heroine? And why?
Mr. Darcy is my favorite because he has is so steadfast.  His good qualities aren’t really apparent at first but you eventually come to respect him and then love him. He is smart, loyal, and if you listen very carefully, funny in a wry sort of way.  Moreover, unlike most people, he has the capacity to change.  He seems so self assured and even arrogant, but in the end, he has enough courage to humble himself in order to reassess his behavior. That sort of mix self-awareness and confidence is rare to find and very appealing to me.

If you could become any Jane Austen heroine, whose life would you choose?
Elizabeth Bennett, of course.  She’s smart, witty, kind, thoughtful, well read, and occasionally petty and stubborn– what is not to love about her.  I know Jane Austen once said that she thought her “as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print” and I agree.  Her family situation is not ideal but there is real affection there.  Each member of the Bennett family has both virtues and flaws and as a result, they all seem very real to me.  I can therefore imagine what it would be like to live at Longbourne and imagine I would be as alternately happy and exasperated as Elizabeth is.  Besides, wouldn’t I eventually get to marry Mr. Darcy and move to Pemberley.

Are you working on something new and exciting right now?
I am working on two new variations.  One explores a darker version of Pride & Prejudice where Mr. Darcy is not able to find Wickham or force him to marry Lydia.  It has less traditional elements than other variations and focuses on how harsh it was for a woman to live in regency England.  The other is a more traditional variation based on a short story I previously published on the internet.  I alternately work on them depending on whether I am in a dark or light mood.   

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Sit down and write every day.  As you write, keep track of your plot as it unfolds temporally and then go back and reexamine each character’s motives and separate journey to ensure each person in the story has full and logical “life” of their own.  Each day you write, go back and edit what you wrote the day before.  Try not to use the same adjective more than once in a chapter. Write for yourself and then worry about how you get published afterwards.   


If you are interested in Maria’s writing style, she has two Pride & Prejudice short stories available on the internet at http://www.austeninterlude.org/maria/maria.html 

Thank you Maria :)

GIVEAWAY

1. Open to US and Canada

2. Ends May 16th

3. Just go ahead and enter. 

If you want to you can ask Maria a question, comment on the interview, or the book. Or tell me which JA heroine you would want to be (or the man you'd choose ;)

Closed: winner Missie

OUT NOW

When Elizabeth Bennet refuses his hand, Darcy is devastated and makes it his mission to change. By every civility in his power, Darcy slowly tries to win her affections, but Elizabeth is not easily swayed. Darcy vows to unlock the secrets that will make her his. He curses himself for his social awkwardness and appearance of pride, and sets out to right the wrongs he's done her family.

Elizabeth's family and friends misunderstand his intentions, and being in Elizabeth's presence proves to be both excruciating for the shy Darcy-and a dream come true. For the first time in his life, he must please a woman worth having, and the transformation leads him to a depth of understanding and love that he never could have imagined.