Mary Lydon Simonsen's Blog: What readers are saying about The Second Date

That's All Folks - Blog-wise

Fifteen months ago, my main computer was attacked by malware. One of the results was that I was denied access to my blog. No matter what I did, Blogger would not recognize me as the owner of the blog on that computer. I spent hours in computer chat rooms trying to figure this out, with no luck. (Blogger was of absolutely no help, and there is no one to talk to.) The only computer it did recognize was a laptop that may have been the first laptop ever manufactured by Dell. It is sooooo slow. It takes about three minutes to load a picture, and it's as easy to maneuver as an aircraft carrier.
Things were not going well when, several months ago, Amazon notified its authors, for the benefit of said authors, that it was severing old links to book titles of a certain age (like me). Despite Amazon's assurance that their directions were easy to follow, I couldn't figure it out. To prove that I couldn't figure it out, you can look at my sidebar and see blank spaces where books should be.
I saw these two events as signs that it was time to sign off, at least as a blogger. If you are reading this post, bless you, because you are one of only a handful of people who have stuck with it despite months-long interruptions--without explanation I might add because I could not get on the blog.
I do have a Facebook page for Mary Lydon Simonsen; Mary Lydon Simonsen, Author; and for Patrick Shea Mysteries. I also have a website for my mysteries: patricksheamysteries.com. Those pages are where I will post any information on new releases, blog posts for Austen Variations, etc.
I am closing out this blog with the notice that I will be releasing a prequel to Mr. Darcy's Bite on October 15 on Austen Variations. Parts of this novella previously appeared on Austen Variations. At the request of readers, I was asked to expand the story and turn it into an e-book, and I have done that. (While I was waiting for this picture to load, I made lunch. That will give you an idea of just how slow this computer is.) I truly appreciate all those who have followed this blog. Signing off, with gratitude, Mary

Mr. Darcy - Bitten is available on Kindle and Nook.

All my books can be found on Amazon's Author's page at this link.

Murder by Moonlighting by Mary Simonsen

Murder by Moonlighting , the fifth book in the Patrick Shea mystery series, is now available on Amazon on Kindle and in paperback. Here is the blurb from the back jacket:
When a woman’s body is found in an alley in the City of London, Scotland Yard is asked to investigate. Initially, it appears that the deceased, a suburban housewife moonlighting as a prostitute, was killed by one of her clients. However, as DS Patrick Shea and DCI Tommy Boyle investigate, the enquiry uncovers the operations of an East European crime syndicate involved in human trafficking, drugs, and prostitution, and their only lead is a Polish prostitute. In order to secure her cooperation, it will be necessary for Patrick to take the greatest risk of his career
Available exclusively on Amazon in e-book and paperback.

Answered Prayers - The Third Short Story in the Pemberley Series by Mary Simonsen

Darcy and Elizabeth – Answered Prayers – Although four months have passed since Elizabeth Bennet’s rejection of his marriage proposal, Fitzwilliam Darcy has yet to come to grips with the idea of a future devoid of Elizabeth’s love and companionship. Riding through the rain to reach Pemberley, Darcy arrives at his home with his mood as gloomy as the weather. When he discovers that Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle are touring the gardens, Darcy decides to use the approaching storm as a way to keep Elizabeth at Pemberley. It is his last chance to convince Elizabeth that he is a man worthy of her affection. Will he succeed? Answered Prayers is the third and final short story in what I am calling the “Pemberley series” because all three stories take place at Pemberley. You may ask, why Pemberley? The answer is simple: I just love how Jane Austen brings it all together in the gardens at Mr. Darcy’s Derbyshire estate.By the time Darcy and Elizabeth arrive at Pemberley, they have had sufficient time to take a hard look at their own prejudices. In doing so, they realize that they have both fallen short. Elizabeth recognizes that she was too eager to think well of George Wickham and too quick to think ill of Mr. Darcy. But it is Darcy’s epiphany that allows the story to blossom. A self-centered, class-conscious man from England’s elite has fallen in love with the daughter of a gentleman farmer. What will the neighbors think! The wonder of it all is that Darcy doesn’t care! It is at Pemberley where our charming pair take their first steps toward reconciliation. By the time Elizabeth leaves the manor house, there is nothing but blue skies and smooth sailing ahead. Yes, I know that Lydia and Wickham happen, but we don’t believe for one minute that those two self-absorbed people will destroy the happiness of our beloved couple. The story of an immature teenager and a scoundrel almost gets in the way of the happy ending that we know is coming.I write about Pemberley because it is so hopeful. Although Austen never intended to write a romance, once an author releases her work to the world, it becomes the property of the reader. To millions of Jane Austen’s readers, Pride and Prejudice is a romance—and a satisfying one at that. I hope you will enjoy my short story. Now, here is an excerpt fromAnswered Prayers:The setting: The study at Pemberley with Darcy enjoying the port, i.e., he is a bit tipsy.With the firelight flickering across Darcy’s face, Lizzy saw a deep and abiding hurt and knew that she was the one responsible for it.“If I caused you any pain—”“Yes, I know. It was unconsciously done, and you hoped that it would be of short duration. Unfortunately for me, you were wrong.”“Mr. Darcy, I—”“I was never so surprised in my life. Whenever I saw you at Rosings, I felt ridiculous because my feelings for you were so obvious: my visits to the Parsonage, our encounters in the park, how I could not take my eyes off of you during church services, supper, while you played, and on and on.” Shaking his head, he added, “A moonstruck calf had more dignity than I did.”“I honestly did not know of your—”“Of my what? Interest, regard, affection, love. That was the progression. When you came to Netherfield, you piqued my interest. During all those interminable card parties, you merited my regard. At the Netherfield ball, you earned my affection, and by the time I saw you in Kent, I was in love. Well done, Elizabeth,” Darcy said, raising his glass, “and you did not even notice.”Darcy and Elizabeth – Answered Prayers is available on Kindle and Nook for .99.

Release of New Short Story - Behind Pemberley's Walls

I am pleased to announce the release of a Pride and Prejudice short story: Darcy and Elizabeth – Behind Pemberley’s Walls. As with  Lost in Love , this story takes place at Pemberley where a dejected Darcy has gone to try to get over Elizabeth’s rejection of his offer of marriage. Here is the blurb:


Four months after Elizabeth Bennet’s rejection of his offer of marriage, Fitzwilliam Darcy is still trying to puzzle through the reasons for her refusal. When he arrives at Pemberley, a place of reflection, he finds that Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle are touring the gardens. Is it possible that Fate has presented him with an opportunity to make amends for his awful proposal in Kent? Before doing so, he devises a plan to find out if Elizabeth is having second thoughts about rejecting him. The question is: Will he succeed? - Length: 10,000+ words


If it appears that I have been missing from the World of Austen, it is because I also write a police procedural series called The Patrick Shea Mysteries. Another, bigger reason, is that for the past eleven years, I have been researching a horrific train wreck that happened in 1888 at the Mud Run Train Station in Carbon County, Pennsylvania in which a distant cousin of my father’s was killed along with 63 others. A story this sad required pacing, but, eventually, I had to gather up all my research and write the story. The book,  The Mud Run Train Wreck ,  A Disaster in the Irish-American Community , is now available in paperback on Amazon and in an e-book format on Kindle. If you (or anyone you know) is interested, please click on the links below.

As always, my sincere thanks for your support of my writing efforts.


P.S. The artist for the cover of  Behind Pemberley’s Wall  is Alexander Francis Lydon. As my maiden name is Lydon, I am sure we are related, and I had to support a relation. ;)


Behind Pemberley's Walls: Kindle, Nook
The Mud Run Train Wreck: Paperback on Amazon, Kindle, Nook
Patrick Shea Mystery Series Website

My Apologies

Since May 2014, I have been locked out by Blogger from accessing my dashboard. Today, I was finally able to log in and post an explanation. I do apologize for disappearing for nearly a year.
Recently, I have been concentrating my efforts on writing a British police procedural series featuring Detective Sergeant Patrick Shea of London's Metropolitan Police Service. This has taken away from the time I have to write Jane Austen inspired stories. However, I do have a new short story, Darcy and Elizabeth - Lost in Love, that is available for .99 on Nook and Kindle. I hope you will have a look.
Thanks for staying with me.
Darcy and Elizabeth - Lost in Love is available on Nook and Kindle.

Release of Dying to Write by Mary Simonsen

Today is release day for Dying to Write , the fourth in the Patrick Shea mystery series. Here's the blurb from the back jacket:
In need of a break from his job at Scotland Yard, Detective Sergeant Patrick Shea of London’s Metropolitan Police is looking forward to some quiet time at a timeshare in rural Devon in England’s West Country. However, when he arrives at The Woodlands, Patrick finds himself in the midst of a Jane Austen conference. Despite their Regency Era dresses, bonnets, and parasols, a deep divide exists between the Jane Austen fan-fiction community, those who enjoy expanding on the author’s work, and the Janeites, those devotees who think anyone who tampers with the original novels is committing a sacrilege. When one of the conference speakers is found dead in her condo, Patrick is back on the job. Is is possible that the victim was actually killed because of a book?

Great! Terrific! Wonderful! Yes? It's a little more complicated than that. Find out why at Austen Variations.
P.S. There's an excerpt.

Dickens' London and Mr. Darcy's, Too

“Hell is a city much like London — A Populous and smoky city” Percy Bysshe Shelley
The excerpt below is taken from the opening paragraphs of Chapter I of Charles Dickens’s Bleak House. It is a brilliant description of what London was like in 1852-53 when Bleak House was serialized. However, it is not that far off from a description of London in the time of Fitzwilliam Darcy. By 1812, there were a million souls living in London, and most of them heated their homes and cooked their meals with coal. When combined with soot pouring out of industrial chimneys and the mists and fogs of the Thames Valley, the result was London's famous pea-soup fog, a thick and often yellowish, greenish, or blackish smog caused by air pollution containing soot particulates and the poisonous gas sulfur dioxide. With the arrival of the railroads in the Victorian Era, an already serious problem got considerably worse.
Nelson's Column - Trafalgar SquareLondon. Michaelmas term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln's Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill. Smoke lowering down from chimney-pots, making a soft black drizzle, with flakes of soot in it as big as full-grown snowflakes—gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the sun. Dogs, undistinguishable in mire. Horses, scarcely better; splashed to their very blinkers. Foot passengers, jostling one another's umbrellas in a general infection of ill temper, and losing their foot-hold at street-corners, where tens of thousands of other foot passengers have been slipping and sliding since the day broke (if this day ever broke), adding new deposits to the crust upon crust of mud, sticking at those points tenaciously to the pavement, and accumulating at compound interest.
Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls deified among the tiers of shipping and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city. Fog on the Essex marshes, fog on the Kentish heights. Fog creeping into the cabooses of collier-brigs; fog lying out on the yards and hovering in the rigging of great ships; fog drooping on the gunwales of barges and small boats. Fog in the eyes and throats of ancient Greenwich pensioners, wheezing by the firesides of their wards; fog in the stem and bowl of the afternoon pipe of the wrathful skipper, down in his close cabin; fog cruelly pinching the toes and fingers of his shivering little 'prentice boy on deck. Chance people on the bridges peeping over the parapets into a nether sky of fog, with fog all round them, as if they were up in a balloon and hanging in the misty clouds…Double-decker Bus
The raw afternoon is rawest, and the dense fog is densest, and the muddy streets are muddiest near that leaden-headed old obstruction, appropriate ornament for the threshold of a leaden-headed old corporation, Temple Bar. And hard by Temple Bar, in Lincoln's Inn Hall, at the very heart of the fog, sits the Lord High Chancellor in his High Court of Chancery.
Never can there come fog too thick, never can there come mud and mire too deep, to assort with the groping and floundering condition which this High Court of Chancery, most pestilent of hoary sinners, holds this day in the sight of heaven and earth.
It would be 100 years later, after the Great Smog of 1953, when an estimated 4,000 people died prematurely, and 100,000 more were made ill because of the smog's effects on the human respiratory tract, that laws were passed to clean up England’s polluted cities.

Mary Bennet Assists Elizabeth - A Vignette

This was one of my first vignettes (much edited) that I wrote for a fan-fiction site. I penned it before I rehabilitated Mary Bennet in The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy in which Mary finds true love. I believe Mary got the short end of the stick in Pride and Prejudice. As a middle child, I sympathize.Mary Assists ElizabethUpon hearing the letter carrier’s bell, Charlotte took out her coin purse so that she might pay the postman. She was not surprised to find that she had received a letter from Mary Bennet. In fact, Mary had become her most prolific correspondent. Charlotte was not sure how this epistolary friendship had come about, and it truly was a friendship that existed only on paper as Mary had never ventured into Kent. Whatever its origins, it certainly turned out to be fortuitous for a certain couple.Despite declarations to the contrary, Mr. Collins loved gossip, especially about his cousins in Hertfordshire, and encouraged his wife to continue her correspondence with Mary. It cheered Mr. Collins to know that at least one member of the Bennet family recognized his manifest qualities.The letters, filled with interesting tidbits, had begun almost immediately after Charlotte’s arrival in Hunsford, and it seemed there was nothing that happened at Longbourn that Mary was unwilling to share. As a result, she knew that Mr. Bingley had left Netherfield Park to return to London almost as soon as it had happened. And Mary was quite liberal in sharing the depth of Jane’s heartache: “With Mr. Bingley now gone for four weeks, Jane has decided to go to London to visit with our mother’s brother in the hope of restoring her spirits, which are very low. Unfortunately, Jane and Mama had pinned all of their hopes on Mr. Bingley even though he had never once used the word ‘marriage’ in any of their conversations. It is now generally believed that Mr. Bingley will not return to Netherfield before the spring. It is my belief that he is never coming back.”
Charlotte, being well acquainted with the Bennet family, knew that Mary was unfortunate in being caught between two witty, beautiful, and intelligent older sisters and two pretty, vivacious, and witless younger ones. Because of her situation, Mary found comfort in books and tried desperately to earn her father’s approval by expounding on subjects that were of no interest to him. As the plainest of the daughters, she had long abandoned any attempt to engage her mother because Mrs. Bennet was all about “the getting of husbands” and believed Mary had no chance of ever marrying.But Mary would have her revenge. It was she who revealed to the Collinses that Lydia and Wickham had left Brighton together in the middle of the night. “It pains me to tell you, Charlotte, that Lydia and Wickham have not gone to Gretna Green to be married but are hidden somewhere in the bowels of London living as man and wife without benefit of clergy! Please keep this information from Mr. Collins as long as possible. However, if your husband makes inquiries as to what has been written here, as his wife, you are obligated to share our unfortunate news with him.”With Wickham and Lydia’s hasty marriage, the Bennets had hoped to limit the damage so that none beyond their closest family members would learn the particulars of the unhappy event. But it was not to be. Upon reading Mary’s letter, Mr. Collins felt compelled to share the tawdry tale with Lady Catherine De Bourgh.But life does have its twists and turns. It was Mary who wrote to Charlotte of Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley’s surprise return to Netherfield Park, and it was an observant Mary who had noticed how frequently Mr. Darcy looked at Lizzy during his visits to Longbourn with Mr. Bingley, confirming Charlotte’s belief that Mr. Darcy was in love with her friend. Charlotte shared her expectation that Mr. Darcy would soon become engaged to her friend with her husband.Unsure of which way the wind would blow, Mr. Collins informed Lady Catherine of the possibility of an engagement and his disapproval for such a match, but he had also written to Mr. Bennet offering his congratulations for Elizabeth making such an advantageous marriage to "a most illustrious personage” without actually naming the prospective groom. The words of a possible engagement had barely left Mr. Collins’s lips before Lady Catherine was in her carriage and on the road to Longbourn. Her purpose in coming so far was to insist on assurances from Miss Elizabeth Bennet that she would never enter into an engagement with her nephew. The promises so eagerly sought by Her Ladyship were denied. Far from ending the romance, it restored Darcy’s hopes that a renewal of his attentions would be welcomed.What a chain of events Mary had begun! As Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy exchanged their wedding vows in the Bennet's parish church, Charlotte was thinking of Mary’s role in bringing Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth together and wondered if she had any idea of what she had accomplished!What is your opinion of Mary Bennet. She's been a very popular subject of late.

Winners of Love at First Slight

The winner of the paperback copy of Love at First Slight is BrendaNZ. The winner of the e-book is Patricia Finnegan. Thanks to everyone who participated in the giveaway. 
Jakki Leatherberry, on behalf of Meryton Press, will be e-mailing you to get your information. Thanks everyone.

An Interview with Fitzwilliam Darcy by Mary Simonsen

Today, I am visiting with Jakki at Leatherbound Reviews where I interview Mr. Darcy about time travel in connection with my new release, Another Place in Time . Previously, I interviewed modern-day time traveler, Christine O'Malley, regarding her first impressions after her initial meeting with Fitzwilliam Darcy. You can read that post here.
Christine O'Malley also visited with Maria Grace on her blog Random Bits of Fascination where she wrote about what it would be like to visit Regency-Era London. I am reposting her blog post here. 
An excerpt from Another Place in Time: Soon after the carriage exited Manchester Square, they plunged into the chaos that was London, the capital of the commercial world. The cacophony was extraordinary. Hackney drivers shouted, sellers advertised their wares, pamphleteers screamed scandalous headlines, and horses neighed. It was like New York City at rush hour, except with horses, dogs, cats, and the occasional pig thrown in for interest.
By Christine O'Malley, Time Traveler
Prior to journeying to London in 1812 with Fitzwilliam Darcy, I had visited modern London three times. I consider it to be the most vibrant city in the world—then and now. In 1812, London was the undisputed capital of the commercial world. Its main highway, the River Thames, was chock-a-block full of ships of every shape and size, and those ships carried every imaginable commodity. For the well-heeled of London, the world came to their doors with coffee, tea, spices, muslin, and so much more.
But London paid a price for its success. The only way to get around Town was by horse. As a result, its streets were clogged with even worse traffic than there is today, and you crossed the street at your peril. The most efficient way was to travel by river, but if you chose that route, you had best bring a bouquet of posies or a handkerchief dipped in vinegar as the Thames served as London’s sewer, serving more than one million people. Because the city was powered by coal, the beautiful dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral that Londoners see today was covered with soot as was Westminster Abbey and every other building (thus the reason for black umbrellas).
London Street Scene
My first stop on my tour of London with Fitzwilliam and Georgiana Darcy was Lackington’s, also known as the Temple of the Muses, a bookstore that would be the envy of any modern urban store. After returning to the carriage, Mr. Darcy ordered the driver to take us down the Strand where we were able to catch glimpses of the river traffic, St. Mary le Strand, Somerset House, and Northumberland House (now gone). Nearby Fleet Street served as headquarters to a vibrant press, and Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, a pub still in existence, was serving pub grub and ale. 
Northumberland HouseAnother day, while Mr. Darcy rode with Mr. Bingley in Rotten Row, Georgiana and I paid a visit to Westminster Abbey, but the familiar narthex (vestibule) was not built until the mid 20th Century. We visited the south transept and the grave of Chaucer. Because later poets requested that they be buried near the first poet to write in the vernacular, the transept would come to be known as Poet’s Corner.
Georgiana and I also visited Carlton House. Fitzwilliam had been invited to join us, but because he disapproved of the Prince Regent’s lifestyle, he declined, preferring to spend his afternoon at Brooks’s, one of London’s many men’s clubs.
The White Tower (aka Tower of London) stood high above the city, but public executions at Tyburn (now the site of the Marble Arch) had ceased to provide entertainment for the public. Although Trafalgar Square had yet to be developed, Charles I was already sitting on his horse in front of what would become, two decades later, the National Gallery. After bumping along in a carriage, dodging hundreds of other conveyances, and stepping gingerly whenever we exited the carriage, we returned to the Darcy home on Manchester Square.
While Georgiana enjoyed London during the Season and visiting the shops, Darcy loved London for its history, architecture, and energy. During his time in Baltimore, when he saw photographs of modern London, he nodded his head in approval. Although the man’s sensibilities were firmly rooted in the early 19th Century, he admired the engineering required to build the Gherkin, the efficiency of the Underground, and the crowds walking the streets listening to iTunes and talking on their smart phones because Mr. Darcy loves gadgets! Unfortunately for Mr. Darcy, cell phone reception in 1812 is terrible!
Another Place in Time is available at Barnes and Noble in e-book and on Amazon in e-book and in paperback.