JANE AUSTEN LIED TO ME
JANE AUSTEN LIED TO ME
Jeanette Watts
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GENRE: Romantic Comedy Audiobook
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BLURB:
What college girl doesn’t dream of meeting Mr. Darcy? Lizzy was certainly no exception. But when Darcy Fitzwilliam comes into her life, he turns out to be every bit as aggravating as Elizabeth Bennett’s Fitzwilliam Darcy. So what’s a modern girl to think, except….
How could my hero be so wrong?
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EXCERPT
Sept 5
Well! That was interesting. My roommate invited me along to this frat party she was going to. She went through something called rush week, and she is now pledged to a sorority. She said the frats are less formal than the sororities, and even though I wasn’t a pledge I could go with her. I figured, why not, it should be fun, right?
I got to meet the guy she’s chasing. I couldn’t blame her for being interested. He’s cute, and sweet, and considerate, and a total people-pleaser. One of his parents must be the demanding sort who is never happy.
He introduced us to his friend… whose name is Darcy Fitzwilliam! I wasn’t sure at first that the guy wasn’t just pulling our legs.
“Your mother obviously loves Jane Austen,” I laughed.
“Obviously,” he answered. Not much to go by.
“I love Pride and Prejudice,” I continued.
“I hate Pride and Prejudice,” I can only describe the look he was giving me as hostile.
“I think you will find yourself very much in a minority,” I answered, returning his look with one of my own.
We didn’t talk any more that night. Talk about getting off on the wrong foot!
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Jeanette Watts has written three Jane Austen-inspired novels and two short stories for Jane Austen Fan Fiction anthologies, two other works of historical fiction, stage melodramas, television commercials, and historical dance manuals. She is a regular contributor to MOMCC Magazine.
When she is not writing, she is either dancing, sewing, or making videos for her YouTube channel and TikTok accounts, “History is My Playground.”
Contact Links
Website: https://www.JeanetteWatts.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JeanetteWattsAuthor
Twitter: @JeanetteAWatts
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6967936.Jeanette_Watts
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jeanette2420/_saved/
Instagram: @jeanettewattsauthor
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClz5LwyUEhPYhBS6piNpBqQ
Or YouTube handle: @historyismyplayground1827
TikTok: @historyismyplayground
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RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
The author will be awarding a Jane Austen Coloring Book (US only) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter.
Enter to win a $15 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Q & A With …
Tell us about you as a person.
My friends tell me that I collect people. It’s a very apt observation. I love people. I am always interested to know their story, what makes them tick. My fourth grade teacher told my mother that’s what I do. She says I used to stay after school to talk to her just to figure her out how she ticked. It has never stopped being true. I talk a lot, but I also listen a lot. I want to be the dumbest person in the room. Otherwise, how are you going to learn anything? I know people who want to be the smartest person in the room. No thanks.
I am also very much a canine. I usually travel in a pack. One friend once referred to our group as herd animals. I corrected her “No, we are pack animals not herd animals.” My friend asked “What’s the difference?” I had to explain pack animals eat herd animals.
If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?
Well, of course, there’s only one answer for this question considering the nature of the book I’m here to talk about: Jane Austen! I have a lot of questions for her. The problem is, she would have to want to talk to me. She was something of a curmudgeon, so I would probably have to convince her to talk to me. But I believe I would win her over, because she and I share a great love of dancing. And pretty dresses.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
I am celebrating the release of the brand new audiobook for my romantic comedy, Jane Austen Lied to Me! It has been a long time in the making, but I am thrilled to be able to be the first audiobook released with the voice of the very talented Kristyna Zaharek. She will make you laugh, cry, and be very glad that you aren’t in college anymore.
What advice do you have for other writers who want to get the word out about their latest book?
Be prepared to work. It takes at least twice as much work to promote a book as it does to write it. Once the writing is done, the real work hasn’t even begun. Also, for the most part, you just cannot be cheap. You have to spend a lot of money to promote books. Once you include self- published books, there are 4 million new books being published each year. Every one of them trying to find an audience. What are you going to do to distinguish yourself from the rest of the 4 million new books that just came out? Remember, that’s just new books this year. There were 4 million books last year, too, still trying to find readers.
List 5 things on your bucket list.
1. I am currently working on this item: I am a historical dance instructor. I teach dances from the Renaissance through the 1960s at history museums, to Girl Scout troops, elementary schools, and workshops for elementary school teachers so that they can go home and show their students. In our currently fractured society, I think we suffer because people do not dance together in our communities. In order to heal, it would help if people danced together. In my myopic view of the Universe, every elementary school child in the United States should learn one dance the way the Continental soldiers danced in the Revolutionary War, and one dance from the year their state entered the Union. They should also know one dance from their own personal ethnic background, and a dance from the American tribe that once lived on the soil where they live. That obviously requires more dance teachers than just me. But these are ALL dances that are significant to our personal histories. They should be part of what makes us tick, part of what connects us to each other and our past.
2. I want to live in New England at some point before I die. I adore New England! Every time I get up to Massachusetts or Rhode Island, I am euphorically happy. I swear I used to live there in a past reincarnation, and a portion of my soul just wants to go home for a while.
3. I want to finish the long list of books that are sitting half-completed in my computer! I have books set in Elizabethan England, a third book to go with the two I have set in Pittsburgh in the Industrial Revolution, a trilogy on Abraham Lincoln, and a book set in Chicago around the Turn of the Century. I have multiple books that are partially set in New York City… but I was born in Chicago. I love New York, but I’m a Chicago girl, and I need to pay homage to the city of my birth.
4. I want to learn Argentine Tango, and flamenco dancing. I mean, really learn. I have been to workshops. But these are not dances that you learn by taking a few hours here or there, or even full weekends of classes. These are dances that you need to do for three years before you stop being a beginner. While I’m at it, I need to learn Carolina shag. I lived in North Carolina for three years, during which time I did not make the opportunity to go to shag classes. I thought I had more time, and then I had to move again. I am very annoyed with myself for having lost an obvious opportunity.
5. There are so many places that I need to travel to! I have wanted to go to Egypt since I was 10 years old, and my dad’s aunt Heddy, who was the coolest lady ever, just came home from her trip to Egypt. That’s when I found out that it is a perfectly reasonable life choice to not have kids, and travel instead. I have not yet been to Bulgaria for the big festival folk festival in Koprivchitsa. I really want to go to Norway and see the fjords, and to Poland to see where my grandparents came from, and Vienna to dance at all the balls during “The Season,” and to Australia and see… everything. I haven’t been to Alaska or Maine. Other than those 2, I think I have now been in the rest of the states. I also have not seen the northern lights since I lived in Minnesota, and I need to see the northern lights again. It is one of the most profound experiences to watch the sky dancing with light
Any final thoughts?
For any history lovers among your readers, I highly recommend checking out my TikTok account, and my YouTube channel, both labeled History is My Playground. It is a random collection of little historical mysteries, historical costuming, historical architecture, historical dancing of course, and other fun tidbits I love to share with other people who find joy in connecting with the past.
