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Today I have Victoria Connelly over for an interview and there is a chance to win her book, Dreaming of Mr. Darcy.1. Could you tell me a little bit about yourself?
- I’ve written all my life and I’m so happy when at my desk thinking about characters falling in love! My favourite books and films are all romantic comedies and I grew up on a diet of Doris Day and Marilyn Monroe films. I also adore animals and have a rescue spaniel and several ex-battery hens. I love spending time with them.
2. Your new book is called Dreaming of Mr.Darcy, could you tell my readers a bit about it?
- Dreaming of Mr Darcy is the second book in my Jane Austen addicts’ trilogy. It’s set in beautiful Lyme Regis where a new adaptation of Persuasion is being filmed and my heroine falls in love with the actor playing Captain Wentworth. But is he really the hero for her?
3. From where do you get your inspiration for these modern Jane Austen stories?
- I’d been visiting lots of Jane Austen locations including her home in Chawton, Hampshire and I kept thinking how beautiful these places were and how much fun it would be to write about them and the idea for a trilogy happened very quickly. It would be three separate books about three sets of Austen addicts and each would be set in a different Austen location: Hampshire, Lyme Regis and Bath.
I also wanted to explore what it was like to be an Austen fan in the twenty-first century and how so many of us use Austen to escape from the stresses and strains of the modern world.
4. Considering what you write, which is your favorite Jane Austen book and couple?
- It has to be Elizabeth and Darcy from Pride and Prejudice because they just spark against each other and it’s so much fun to watch their mistrust turn to love. But I also have a soft spot for Catherine and Henry Tilney from Northanger Abbey. I love the way he teases her!
5. I kept seeing a certain actor when reading the character Oli Wade Owen, but now I am more interested in knowing who you might see as Adam Craig?
It has to be said that I rather fell in love with Mr Rupert Penry Jones as Captain Wentworth in the recent adaptation of Persuasion and I was highly inspired by him when writing my own hero, Oli Wade Owen. Who would I like to play Adam? I adore Henry Cavill and can just imagine him wearing Adam’s cute little glasses!
6. What’s next up from you?
The third book in my Austen addicts’ trilogy – Mr Darcy Forever – is out in April in the US. This is about two estranged sisters who meet once again during the Jane Austen festival in Bath.
I’m also just finishing a new romantic comedy called The Runaway Actress about a film star who swaps Hollywood for the Highlands of Scotland. It’s due out in the UK in April 2012 and I hope US publication will follow.
And watch out for Christmas with Mr Darcy – a novella sequel to my Austen addicts’ trilogy which will be released on Kindle in time for Christmas!
Thanks!
Giveaway
1 copy of Dreaming of Mr.Darcy
1. Open to US and Canada
2.Ends Feb 3
3. Go ahead and enter, that is all :)
Or comment, ask something or tell me if you like Persuasion...
Dreaming of Mr.Darcy -OUT NOW
Fledgling illustrator and Darcy fanatic Kay Ashton settles in the seaside town of Lyme to finish her book, The Illustrated Mr. Darcy, when a film company arrives to make a new adaptation of Persuasion. Kay is soon falling for the handsome bad boy actor playing Captain Wentworth, but it's the quiet screenwriter Adam Craig who has more in common with her beloved Mr. Darcy. Though still healing from a broken heart, Adam finds himself unexpectedly in love with Kay, but it will take more than good intentions to convince her that her real happy ending is with him.
