Guest Post: Author Sharon Lathan on the Release of In the Arms of Mr. Darcy

I'm SO incredibly thrilled to have Sharon Lathan guest posting today on my blog for the release of her fourth novel, In the Arms of Mr. Darcy, which comes out today!  I have made it clear from the beginning how enthralled I was with this follow up series to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in each of my reviews of her first three novels: Mr. and Mrs. Darcy: Two Shall Become One, Loving Mr. Darcy, and My Dearest Mr. Darcy.  My review of her fourth installment will be posted tomorrow, but I wanted to share with you a little bit from Sharon about her experience of being a published author (with so many of us avid fans waiting for each new book). 

For Sharon's guest post, I really wanted to know more about how being a published author has felt and how things have changed for her.

Publishing a Happy Ever After Dream

Sharon Lathan

The first several dozen times anyone referred to me as a “published author” I looked over my shoulder to see whom they were addressing. I associated being published with being famous and rich and eccentric and wildly artsy. Of course that is not the norm for a published author, as I now know. The vast majority of us live in anonymity pursuing our ho-hum lives with little changing except that we are busier than we ever were before. I still encounter people at my work or at church who do not know I have books on a store shelf. I have yet to have a single person, even in my hometown where I have been in the newspapers several times, recognize me while I am shopping or waiting in the doctor’s office. I keep waiting though!

So although neither Oprah nor Ellen have called me up to guest on their TV shows – and I am not holding my breath! – there have been some nice experiences and perks along the way.

All jesting aside, I never wanted to be famous. I still don’t. Rich I would be willing to try though! But neither thought entered my mind when I began submitting my tale of happily ever after for Jane Austen’s famous lovers Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. My only motive was to reach a broader audience with what I believed was a positive story that people would enjoy and maybe even be inspired by. I knew that my prospects were limited within the online community and self-publishing world where I initially began. I knew that there were hundreds, perhaps thousands or tens of thousands, who would appreciate a warm story of marital happiness and a life lived to the fullest if only they could find my saga.

Thankfully Deb Werksman at Sourcebooks agreed with me and made my dream come true.

Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One was released in February of 2009. To my joy the response was overwhelmingly favorable. I was right! There were people who loved Austen, loved these characters, and loved the idea of them being happy together! Sure, some folks did not get it. They wanted the unhappily-ever-after. That’s fine. I trusted in the hope for love that we all hold inside our hearts. That search for Mr. Right – or in this case, Mr. Darcy – that compels us to read another love story or watch another sappy chick flick!

Loving Mr. Darcy: Journeys Beyond Pemberley came next in September 2009, followed by My Dearest Mr. Darcy in January 2010. I held book signings, was interviewed for articles, flittered all over the net to talk about my novels, received some excellent reviews, and went to conferences. I kept writing and preparing for the next novels. I joined the Romance Writers of America, joined JASNA, and joined local chapters for both. I connected with hundreds of writers, many who are now my dear friends and supporters in this crazy business. I have met some of those famous writers who are on Oprah or in People Magazine or hit the NYT bestseller list.

Every second of that has been fabulous. I am incredibly blessed and enjoying myself to the max!

But you want to know a secret? The best part of all, the experiences that I treasure closest to my heart are meeting the fans. Whether that is face-to-face, via an email, on Facebook, or on my website, nothing compares to hearing from the people who pick up one of my novels and read it. That is when I know that my dream has come true. I have reached people who want a happy story! I have given a multitude of readers the life they imagined for the Darcys. My tale has restored the hope in something remarkable transpiring after the curtain drops or final page is turned.

What have been my favorite experiences as a published author?

Making readers happy and hungry for more. I have never asked for anything else. I plan to continue doing so!

In The Arms of Mr. Darcy is officially released today and carries on my theme of Regency life with Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, their son, their family, and their friends. Love abounds not only with Darcy and Lizzy but everyone else! Arriving later this month is A Darcy Christmas, an anthology with Amanda Grange and Carolyn Eberhart. Find out how I envision the Darcys’ celebrating Christmas over the decades.

Thank you, Becky, for hosting me today. It is an honor to be on your website and an honor to say that you are one of those readers who have fulfilled my dream.

Learn more about my stories at my website: www.sharonlathan.net. You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter. I am also part of two fabulous blogs: Austen Authors at www.austenauthors.com and Casablanca Authors at www.casablanca.blogspot.com

IN THE ARMS OF MR. DARCY BY SHARON LATHAN—IN STORES OCTOBER 2010
If only everyone could be as happy as they are…

Darcy and Elizabeth are as much in love as ever—even more so as their relationship matures. Their passion inspires everyone around them, and as winter turns to spring, romance blossoms around them.

Confirmed bachelor Richard Fitzwilliam sets his sights on a seemingly unattainable, beautiful widow; Georgiana Darcy learns to flirt outrageously; the very flighty Kitty Bennet develops her first crush, and Caroline Bingley meets her match.

But the path of true love never does run smooth, and Elizabeth and Darcy are kept busy navigating their friends and loved ones through the inevitable separations, misunderstandings, misgivings, and lovers’ quarrels to reach their own happily ever afters…

About the Author
Sharon Lathan is the author of the bestselling Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One, and Loving Mr. Darcy: Journeys Beyond Pemberley. In addition to her writing, she works as a Registered Nurse in a Neonatal ICU. She resides with her family in Hanford, California in the sunny San Joaquin Valley. Fore more information, please visit  www.sharonlathan.net.

Sourcebooks eBook Promotion: Sharon Lathan’s bestselling book, Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One, (epub: 9781402235184, pdf: 9781402228865) will be available for free download from 10/5 – 10/11. Please visit http://www.sourcebooks.com/special-offers/ebook-deals.html for more information!

Thank YOU Sharon for guesting today!  Check back for my review of In the Arms of Mr. Darcy, as well as a great giveaway of TWO copies of her newest novel, thanks to Sourcebooks. 

Review: Emma volumes 4 & 5 by Kaoru Mori

As far as manga goes, this has been a fantastically fun introduction into this new world.  Since I'm reading these in batches, I thought it best to introduce them in batches!

Synopsis:  In this installment, William finds himself pressured to develop a relationship with fellow socialite Eleanor.  While at the opera, Eleanor lets him know in no uncertain terms how she feels about him, pressuring William to address his future with or without Emma.

Review:  Once again, the tension of the story is built up to drive a wedge between Emma and William, even though their "relationship" has been of the Victorian, understated kind.  I found myself really despising Eleanor and am not sure if the pictures were meant to make her look quite so young?  In some ways she felt like a snivelling, insecure little girl looking to get her claws into William out of a sense of low esteem for herself.  Yuck!

Synopsis:  Emma is asked to escort William's mother back to London, where we begin to learn about a tense and sad back story about William's parents that has driven them apart.  Not only do we begin to feel a sense of sadness and tension for Emma and William, but also for his parents.  Emma's return to London as an escort inevitably throws the two together, where Emma learns of William's attachments.  How is she expected to feel or act?

Review:  Talk about drama in this installment.  In fact, I was flustered and frustrated when I flipped to the last page and found I had to wait for Volume six!  Even though these stories are driven by the nuance of pictures, the feelings of each character feel evident to the reader.  I hurt for Emma and kept hoping for her happiness and security.  As with a middle installment, there is still much to come, which I am eager to check out!

*FTC Disclosure:  This review is based off of library copies of both pieces.

Banned Book Week: An English Teacher's Perspective

Banned Book Week runs from September 25th through October 2nd, and is a great chance to think about and consider the power of books.  Most oppressed societies at one time or another have either banned reading altogether, or have banned the reading of certain books.  It's interesting to consider why, and what it is that books bring to the table for us to consider. Essentially, books challenge us all to look at someone's life and see it through their eyes, right?  Here are just a few of my own thoughts on book banning from my experience as a teacher.

  As an English teacher, I am painfully aware of book content as I read and prepare lessons for my classes.  The frequency that I hear complaints is not as high as one might think, but I do hear from parents and students alike about offensive content.  Obviously, I'm respectful of an individual's right to choose their reading material and have worked with students who have a legitimate claim to not be able to read a text.  We simply choose something different for them to read.

I have also found myself in the unique position of validating a lot of books that people have found unreadable.  These people rarely wish the book to be removed permanently from the school library, but wish me to know and see their opinions, which I acknowledge.  In fact, I really respect when a parent or guardian comes to me with questions about a novel that we can discuss.  I consider it an essential part of my job to be able to explain the rationale behind a novel I've chosen to teach or suggested on my reading list.  Once again, I can absolutely understand a person's right to choose the reading material of their child or to voice concerns.

While I haven't ever worked at a school where they have "banned" books, we have been asked not to teach certain novels for their content.  Actually, I should say we haven't been asked not to, but discouraged.  For instance, because of a pivotal scene in The Kite Runner that is deemed graphic and disturbing, we've been warned that it might be a bad idea to teach it to a class because of the complaints that might arise.  Interestingly enough, many of my students have read this book, and Hosseini's other novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, both excellent novels that I have have read and loved. Rarely have I heard a complaint, but have had many students attest to the power of the message in these novels.

Experience has taught me that students will approach a book if they feel ready.  Students that I thought would struggle with the content of a book have surprised me with their ability to reach greater meaning from stories I had to warn them about before reading.  Does that mean a student or reader is not "savvy" or "smart" if they don't wish to expose themselves to a book with questionable content?  I say no, because I respect their opinions as I would hope they would respect those who do want to read a challenged novel.  As with any conflict of interest, it seems to boil down to a respect for the beliefs and thoughts of others.

For this English teacher, I believe that reading is an amazing freedom of the mind!  I would hope that people would push themselves to explore good books, and to challenge themselves when the time is right.

Here is a list of Banned or Challenged Classics posted by the ALA (American Library Association).  Their site also offers other suggestions for learning more about banned books.

Film Review: Jude the Obscure

It's been awhile since I last reviewed a film, but recently put a couple of period dramas in my Netflix circulation that I can talk about.  Since finishing the novel Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy, I really felt as though I secured my fan status of Hardy's work.  My admiration for his guts in tackling hard social issues surrounding marriage and women really have me in awe at his bravery!  Now I realize that his novels, and this one in particular, have received mixed reviews because of their often gloomy topics and outcomes.  For whatever reason, I really like the buttons that Hardy tried to push, and can continue to push in his readers today.  Having said that, I was curious to see this novel about poor Jude, the stone mason and academic, put to film.  Unfortunately, most of Hardy's novels have not been updated as Tess of the D'Urbervilles has been, so I had to settle on a BBC Masterpiece Theater version from 1971.  (See my Jude the Obscure review for more specific information on the storyline.)

The film itself was in broken into six mini-episodes that covered each of the sections of the original novel.  The filming felt very similar to a video recording of a stage play though, with its strange jumps and one dimensional shooting.  There was very little movement to capture the actions of the characters, but one film shot to show an entire scene.  Some of the backdrops, especially of Christminster looked like painted backdrops, since I didn't notice the people moving?  The acting was also a bit jarring.  Besides the characters looking out of date and garish in a lot of ways, I thought that the acting was reminiscent of the overacting that would be done in an older, classical version of a Dickens story.  In fact, it reminded me a bit of an old Christmas Carol film that was in black and white.  It was all just a bit much. 

The one thing that I thought was the most out of character with this out of date telling of Hardy's novel was the nude scenes.  Honestly, for something that would have been aired on PBS, I had a hard time imagining the scenes of the women undressing and showing their breasts and torsos being allowed on television.  Besides, having read the novel, I was confused as to the reason behind artistically choosing to shoot partial nudity?  It was just a bit odd is all.  If it was a necessary element to forward the character development and story I would understand, but this just felt thrown in there in a really bizarre way.

To be honest, the film was too long for me.  After about two and a half hours I started fast-forwarding drawn out dialogue scenes to get to the scenes that I remembered with  great interest, such as when Jude's wife returns and he finds out he has a child, or when Sue joins Jude and overlooks the downcast opinions of society to be with him.  Other than a few interesting interpretations, I can't say that my modern sensibilities caught on to this rather long, drawn out film.  In my estimation, I would definitely stick to the book until a better film adaptation rolls down the pike!

In closing, I have to say that while I ADORE my Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell films that have been made and remade of late, I really wish that some of these old films would get a good update.  In fact, I'd love to see someone conquer books such as Don Quijote or Brave New World.  Filmmakers have such a great wealth of stories to choose from in these classic novels! Maybe it's time for them to tackle some of them again?


Are there film adaptations of any novels or plays that you wish they would update? 

Review: Splendor by Anna Godbersen

One good thing about losing your voice is that you get a chance to really sit in and read!  Well, to be quite honest, I've been grading papers like crazy.  It's not my favorite thing to do, but now is a great time to try to get caught up (which never happens). 

Last week I came home one night and picked up the fourth in the Luxe series, Splendor, by Anna Godbersen and couldn't put it down.  I've really liked this series, so it was good to wrap it up.  I'm not 100% sure exactly how I feel about the ending, but it was good to see it through to the end.

Synopsis:  In the final installment, we find Diana searching for Henry Schoonmaker in Cuba, Elizabeth is embracing her new position as wife and soon to be mother, and Carolina Broad has taken on her new role as a New York socialite.  In turn of the century New York City, the lives of the upper class make every paper, whether accurate or not.   For each of the women it's less a question of what is accurate and more a question of what is real.


Review:   This is a fun series and one that I found myself falling into pretty easily.  Having always loved Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence, this felt reminiscent of that era and style.  Godbersen's writing style and descriptions are delicious and keep the story moving, not to mention the list of characters that you readily care about and want to continue following. 

In some ways it becomes obvious what direction the story is heading in, but there is still a chance that it might take a different turn.  In this case, it did take a slight turn at the end that had me floundering.  Okay, I'll be honest.  I was a little angry.  The final decision that some of the characters' make is understandable, as they come to realize what will make them happy, but I can't say that after four books that I was quite as happy.  I'm still not really sure how I'm feeling about it all, but can say I liked the series as a whole. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the entire Luxe series and would recommend them to readers of YA or historical fiction.  In the past I've mentioned that I lack imagination for things such as Science Fiction, so I'm thinking that where my imagination lacks with Sci Fi, it makes up for in historical pieces such as in this series.  There is a lot of implied beauty, crazy drama, and masked emotion to behold.  For high drama and plot twists, this series fits the bill.

*FTC Disclosure:  The review was based on a personal copy of the novel.