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Monday, January 16, 2012

Victoria Connelly Q&A & Giveaway

I would like to thank Victoria Connelly for this lovely Q&A!

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1. When did you have your first encounter with Jane Austen?

When I was a teenager, I saw the 1940s black and white film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice staring Laurence Olivier as Mr. Darcy and Greer Garson as Elizabeth Bennet. I just fell in love! I adore the love/hate relationship of the hero and heroine, the amusing characters and the happy ending, and I read the novel shortly after. I was then lucky enough to then study Sense and Sensibility at university. It’s a life-long long affair, I think!

2. And who is your favorite Austen hero (or anti-hero!)?

I think it has to be Mr. Darcy because he is willing to change for the woman he loves which is irresistible! I adore how he works away quietly in the background, helping Elizabeth’s family and not drawing attention to himself. He does it all because of his love for her. I do have a soft spot for Henry Tilney, though - he always makes me smile - and I’ve always adored Bingley from Pride and Prejudice. I’ve often thought that I’d be far more likely to end up with Tilney of Bingley than Darcy!

3. How did you choose which Austen locations to feature in your trilogy?

I picked the three main ones: Hampshire, Lyme Regis and Bath. I’d visited all three before but made special trips there to research them for my Austen addicts’ trilogy.

Hampshire is where Jane Austen was born. You can visit her final home in the gorgeous village of Chawton and see where her mother and sister are buried in the local church.

Jane Austen also spent time in Lyme Regis and wrote so lovingly about it in Persuasion – I had to set a novel there and write about the famous Cobb.

Austen also spent many years in Bath and two of her novels are set there: Northanger Abbey and Persuasion so it’s a very important Austen setting and there are so many beautiful buildings from the period there.

I feel very lucky to have spent the last couple of years writing about such beautiful places and following in the footsteps of one of my favourite authors.

 

Dreaming of Mr. DarcyShy, brilliant screenwriter and producer Adam Craig throws himself into  work to forget his broken heart. And Jane Austin addict Kay Ashton purchases a B&B in the seaside town of Lyme so she’d have a peaceful place to finish her book, The Illustrated Mr. Darcy. Neither is looking for a romance. Until they meet-and Kay tries to set Adam up with another woman.

All the sparkling drama of Jane Austen’s Persuasion comes to life as old Lyme Regis becomes the site of the new big-screen adaptation of the classic. Kay attracts the attention of handsome actor Oli Wade Owen, Adam struggles to know the secrets of his own heart, and life in quiet Lyme gets very interesting indeed…

I have two copies to giveaway.

International

To enter please leave your name and tell us about your first Jane Austen encounter.

Giveaway End February 8.

If you would like to double your chance you may do so on our Facebook page HERE!

25 comments:

miki said...

To be honest, i haven't read anything by her yet. There was only one citation of her is one of my lessons.

i would be very happy to win this book thanks you for the international giveaway

all the best

isabelle(dot)frisch(at)gmail(dot)com
gfc follower

Literary Chanteuse said...

My first was just curiosity. I had heard about her novels and decided to try an read one. I couldn't get through it. Then years later a good friend had encouraged me to give them another try so I picked it up again and I was hooked.

Thanks for the giveaway and I'm in Canada.

Margaret
singitm(at)hotmail(dot)com

petite said...

What a wonderful giveaway. This is so meaningful and special. My late mother introduced me to reading, and especially classics which I loved from a young age. this has been with me forevermore.

traveler said...

When I became a library user way back I was drawn to British books of all types. thomas Hardy and Austen as well as Daphne Du Maurier. I became enamoured with this writing and still enjoy it greatly.

rhonda said...

scince a young age i`ve loved reading classice &especially britsh authors fro me they are exotic.lomazowr@gmail.com

Mystica said...

I haven't read anything by her yet. This would be a wonderful start!

mystica123athotmaildotcom

Unknown said...

Hello: I would like to win this give away, right now I start reading last week Pale Rose of England, for now is my first book of the year.

My e mail is

kititagor1@hotmail.com

Thank you very much.....:)

Natasha said...

Pride and Prejudiced of course:) After watching You've Got Mail! I was pretty young..like nine or ten. hehe

natashajennex(at)gmail.com

Gigi said...

My firts encounter was with the movie of Pride & Prejudice, them I bought the book and I became an Austen fan for life!
Thank you so much for the Intl giveaway!

GFC follower: Gisele Alvarado
ilepachequin(at)hotmail(dot)com

cyn209 said...

i have to admit that my first JaneAusten encounter was the movie version of Pride & Prejudice, the KeiraKnightley edition......
but my 1st reading of her book was an Austen variation, ReginaJeffers' CaptainWentworth'sPersuasion.....but my 1st REAL encounter was finally reading Jane's own Pride&Prejudice!!!
thank you for the giveaway!!!

cyn209 at juno dot com

Vickie said...

My first was reading Pride and Prejudice. My mom told me I would love it and she was right. The first movie I watched was the 1941 Black and White version. Still one of my favorites!

Phoebe's Sisters said...

Your book sounds wonderful and I'd love to have the chance to read it - thank you very much for the giveaway!

My first encounter with Jane Austen also happen through the film, mainly BBC TV adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice" - it was love at first sight :-))

faridamestek@yahoo.com

DDCKnitt said...

Pride and Prejudice and I was very young.

Thanks for the giveaway.

Debra

ddcknitt@yahoo.com

The Lit Bitch said...

I have heard lots of good things about this book! I am really excited to read it! Thanks for hosting the giveaway and posting this interview it was lots of fun to read :)

I would love to enter the giveaway, my email is
thelitbitch@me.com
and I am in the US. Thanks!

ily said...

book Sense and Sensibility
blogmicia(at)yahoo(dot)it
thanks

phastings said...

My first encounter with Jane Austen was in 1995 when the Colin Firth version of Pride & Prejudice aired. Since then Persuasion has become my favorite Jane Austen novel.

pamo321(at)comcast(dot)net

Ranurgis said...

I can't remember in which grade we read P&P. I must admit that I wasn't all that enthusiastic about the book since I'd been reading a number of more modern historical novels by Elswyth Thane, Thomas B. Costain, Shellabarger, and others, not romances which came about 15 years later. There just didn't seem to be enough "history" in the book for my taste. I gained a greater appreciation of the book by seeing the "historical" aspects first in the 1940s film, and later in two TV series. For once, the movies brought something extra that made P&P more real to me. However, I still haven't read all her other books, though I've seen several of the TV shows or movies.

Ranurgis said...

I can't remember in which grade we read P&P. I must admit that I wasn't all that enthusiastic about the book since I'd been reading a number of more modern historical novels by Elswyth Thane, Thomas B. Costain, Shellabarger, and others, not romances which came about 15 years later. There just didn't seem to be enough "history" in the book for my taste. I gained a greater appreciation of the book by seeing the "historical" aspects first in the 1940s film, and later in two TV series. For once, the movies brought something extra that made P&P more real to me. However, I still haven't read all her other books, though I've seen several of the TV shows or movies.

sraschulz at inbox dot com.

Ranurgis said...

Hmm. I'm not sure how the double entry occurred. Sorry about that.

ayaki-chan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ayaki-chan said...

i live in france, so british literaure isn't very avalaible in middle school library, i saw once the poster of "pride and prejudice" 2005 and i get curious about it, the librarian woman told me that i shoudln't try this book now....i was 14 yr i think, I SUPPOSED it was a "adult" content XD ..but I get curious...! and i decided to read this book..i was amazed, and totally in love with her writting and charcater and i found darcy charming XD .then I watched the movie, read all her books..became fond of . ^__^
and now studying english in university :)
thank you for openning in to worldwide, it si hard to find giveaway when I live in france !
i did the double entry by "like" used my name mariam chaudry on Facebook.
jandia4junpyo@yahoo.fr

Maureen said...

My first Jane Austen encounter was watching Pride and Prejudice.
mce1011 AT aol DOT com

Pam S (pams00) said...

I haven't read this author yet but loved the sound of the book...and being a big P&P fan of course pushes me to want to read it even more :).

My first P&P encounter was also the 1940's film which I fell in love with immediately after viewing and had to engulf the book right after.

pams00 @ aol.com

LĂșthien84 said...

This book sounds like a fantastic read. Please include me in the giveaway.

evangelineace2020(at)yahoo(dot)com

Colleen Turner said...

My first Jane Austen experience was in high school when I read Pride and Prejudice. I loved it! Thanks for the giveaway!
Colleen Turner
candc320@gmail.com