Interview with Colette L. Saucier author of Pulse and Prejudice!

I am a huge fan of Pride and Prejudice and Colette L. Saucier offers a refreshing twist on it by doing the story through Mr. Darcy's eyes. But Mr. Darcy is a vampire! What I loved about this is that the vampire is not overdone. It is there with light traces. He is not shiny or too dark. He is Mr. Darcy. I loved them sitting around talking about life and music getting more into their past that wasn't touched on. I think I caught a few pop references in there as well that made me smile. But what really caught me off guard was the after Pride & Prejudice. The passion and how it played out. Still well done. I have read a few others, and of course Pride & Prejudice and Zombies and I loved this one sooo much it actually will be a reread again.

Blurb:
When the haughty and wealthy Fitzwilliam Darcy arrives in the rural county of Hertfordshire, he finds he cannot control his attraction to Elizabeth Bennet – a horrifying thought because, as she is too far below his social standing to ignite his heart, he fears she must appeal to the dark impulses he struggles to suppress. Set against the vivid backdrop of historical Regency England, this adaptation of Pride and Prejudice follows the cursed Mr. Darcy as he strives to overcome both his love and his bloodlust for Miss Elizabeth Bennet. This compelling variation remains faithful to the original plot and style of the Jane Austen classic but tells Darcy’s story as he descends into the seedier side of London and introduces Elizabeth to a world of passion and the paranormal she never knew existed.

Amazon buy link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1618853295/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0NDEX0QZHY7SGV8NPKWJ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846
Barnes & Noble buy link:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pulse-and-prejudice-colette-l-saucier/1110805137?ean=9781618853295

Colette L. Saucier agreed to answer a few of my questions which sprang to mind after reading this. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! And once again thank you Colette for letting me steal some of your time!

1. How did you come up with Mr. Darcy a vampire?

Really through my interest in Lord Byron – the man more so than the poet, although "The Giaour" always fascinated me (published the same year as Pride and Prejudice, by the way). What little we knew of the character of Mr. Darcy fit that concept of the “Byronic Hero” so well: arrogant, cynical, intelligent, introspective.

The notion of the “gentleman vampire” didn’t arise until John Polidori’s The Vampyre – before then, folklore defined them more like we describe zombies today – and Polidori based his vampire Lord Ruthven on Lord Byron. Much like with Mr. Darcy at the Meryton Assembly, Polidori similarly introduces the reader to Lord Ruthven skulking about a society gathering: “(T)here appeared at the various parties of the leaders of the ton a nobleman more remarkable for his singularities, than his rank. He gazed upon the mirth around him, as if he could not participate therein. Apparently, the light laughter of the fair only attracted his attention, that he might by a look quell it and throw fear into those breasts where thoughtlessness reigned.”

2. I grew up reading Pride and Prejudice and watching the movies we saw them all through Elizabeth Bennet's eyes was it hard to get into Mr. Darcy's head?

Mr. Darcy appears infrequently in Pride and Prejudice, and Miss Austen provided few details about his true character – particularly as we view the events through the unreliable, prejudiced point of view of Elizabeth. Today, so many people have been influenced by film versions of Mr. Darcy or even the standard formal for every romance novel since that they have imagined this idealized “historic Darcy,” which never existed. Miss Austen provided few details about her most famous hero. She tells us he is proud, resentful, selfish, overbearing, accustomed to having his own way, uneasy around those outside of his own circle, and even they he would intimidate if bored on a Sunday night! He admits to thinking “meanly of all the rest of the world; to wish at least to think meanly of their sense and worth compared with my own.”

In the novel, as opposed to any film adaptations, the reader has no notion of his intentions towards Elizabeth until she does – during his first proposal halfway through – and we are as appalled as she by his insulting remarks. Our opinions begin to soften as Elizabeth reads his letter and realize we may have misjudged him. Then in Pemberley, we learn more good of him in how he treats his staff and tenants; and upon his reunion with Elizabeth, we see him capable of redemption; but the reader has no knowledge of his interference in the Wickham/Lydia situation until Elizabeth learns of it herself in the letter from her aunt. Plus, he completely misreads human emotions!

So Miss Austen gave me a sketch of Mr. Darcy – arrogant, aloof, thinking meanly of the rest of the world, unable to interpret the feelings of others – and yet capable of redemption. I expanded on those Austen-given qualities to create a three-dimensional character.

3. I noticed some pop reference quotes were those intentional?

Although I painstakingly adhered to Miss Austen’s style and language and did not use any words, idioms, or slang that were not in use in 1813; I never wanted the reader to forget that, although a serious novel, Pulse and Prejudice is still about vampires and ought not to be taken too seriously. The Acknowledgments in the front of the book lists all of the hidden references, and readers have had so much fun finding the pop culture references, my publisher and I put together The Pulse and Prejudice Pop Culture Challenge offering prizes for those who find the most. (Check it out at www.pulseandprejudice.com.)

Yet all of these I blend into the prose only when appropriate and while still maintaining the style and tone of the Regency era. I also slip in the occasional vampire reference as well. When I write of Bingley that “Darcy had taken the lost boy under his wing,” the term “lost boy” is a clear reference to the 1987 vampire film The Lost Boys, and “under his wing” alludes to vampires turning into bats – a quality not bestowed upon them until later that century by Bram Stoker, but the idiom “under his wing” dates back to the 13th century. I heard recently someone, clearly not well-read in Austen or the Regency period, stated that the use of “drool” in the novel was “modern” when in fact it had been in use in that context since 1802. I assure all readers, they will not find any clashing styles or anachronisms in the prose, even as they search for the pop culture clues.

4. From your bio you are a big fan of the regency period have you dressed the part?

Yes! I have dressed in Regency day dresses for Jane Austen events and book signings, and for a costume ball, I dressed as the Empress Josephine.

5. How far do you plan on taking the series? Will you be touching on some of the other Jane Austen novels as well?

The sequel, Dearest Bloodiest Elizabeth, will conclude Vampire Darcy’s story. Although my novel All My Tomorrows is something of a modern take on Pride and Prejudice, I don’t have any other Austen-inspired works in mind at the moment; but who knows when inspiration might strike.

6. Will we learn more about Lord Byron in the upcoming books?

No, but we will meet John Polidori, his personal physician who immortalized him, so to speak, in The Vampyre. I thought Polidori must have had some inspiration for writing about vampires, so he becomes acquainted with the entire vampire culture in Dearest Bloodiest Elizabeth. Then the circle is complete, since Polidori’s novel inspired me!

7. What is next if you can give us a little hint?

Right now, I am pursuing a completely different sub-genre: romantic suspense. My romantic suspense thriller Alicia’s Possession is scheduled for publication in July, but I should warn readers that this novel does push boundaries and may not be for everyone.

Currently, I am writing another romantic suspense tentatively called The Widow. I have written about 40,000 words but I’m not quite to the half-way point, so I have no idea when it might be released. After that, I will return to Dearest Bloodiest Elizabeth, but I do hope while readers wait for the second volume in the story of the vampire Darcy, they will join me as I explore this new genre.

Bio:
Colette has been writing poems, short stories, and novellas since grade school and experienced early success in having several of her poems published in her junior high school newspaper. Her interest in literature led her to marry her college English professor, but eventually a love of history encouraged her to trade up to a British historian.

Technical writing has dominated Colette’s career for the past twenty years; but finding little room for creativity in that genre, she has spent the last several years traveling to Europe and Britain, researching Regency England and vampire lore and literature, to complete her first full-length novel, Pulse and Prejudice (Austenprose Readers’ Choice: Top 5 Books of 2012) - a paranormal adaptation of the Jane Austen classic, which tells the story of Mr. Darcy, vampire. She is currently researching and writing a sequel to Pulse and Prejudiceset in Antebellum New Orleans.

Colette was named “Debut Author of 2012″ by Austenprose and selected a 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Semi-finalist for her novel All My Tomorrows. Her romantic suspense thriller, Alicia’s Possession, is scheduled for release in July of 2013.

Colette lives in South Louisiana with her historian husband and their two dogs.
http://www.colettesaucier.comColette’s BlogFind Colette Saucier on Facebook