A Darcy Christmas by Amanda Grange, Sharon Lathan, Carolyn Eberhart

A Darcy Christmas
by Amanda Grange, Sharon Lathan, Carolyn Eberhart (2010)

Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Wish You a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Share in the magic of the season in these three warm and wonderful holiday novellas from bestselling authors.

Headstrong Girls by Debra Anne Watson, June Williams, Enid Wilson

Headstrong Girls
A bit of mystery, a bit of love,
all inspired by Jane Austen
by Debra Anne Watson, June Williams, and Enid Wilson

Book Excerpt | Enid's Website
Published: 2013
Publisher: CreateSpace
Genre: Jane Austen, Short Stories
Paperback: 252 pages

In Jane Austen's beloved classic, Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet's relationship with the wealthy Fitzwilliam Darcy suffers misunderstanding, heated argument, and family interference on the way to love. Darcy's opinionated aunt, Lady Catherine, demands that Elizabeth give up Darcy, and calls Elizabeth headstrong for failing to keep to her lower social sphere.

Elizabeth is headstrong -- determined, stubborn, fiery, strong-willed, adventurous, yet sensitive to others. This is what readers love about her and what inspires the creation of this book.

Headstrong Girls has seven short stories and a short film script: Who is in the secret passage at Pemberley? Did Lizzy Bennet commit murder? What is mailroom-clerk Lizzy hiding from CEO Darcy? Who is creating havoc on a South African wildlife preserve?

With a little mystery and a little romance, across the Regency, fantasy, and modern genres, the book takes Jane Austen's characters to wonderful new adventures. May headstrong girls find their hearts' desire!

On The Nightstand: Wayfarers

The Wayfarers series Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space-and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe-in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
by Becky Chambers
Published: 2014

A Closed and Common Orbit
by Becky Chambers
Published: 2016

Record of a Spaceborn Few
by Becky Chambers
Published: 2018

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
by Becky Chambers
Published: 2021

Sun-Kissed: Effusions of Summer edited by Christina Boyd

Not too late to capture summer romance vibes with...

Sun-Kissed: Effusions of Summer
by KaraLynne Mackrory, Linda Beutler, Abigail Bok,
Karen M. Cox, J. Marie Croft, Natalie Richards,
Sophia Rose, Morgan K. Wyatt, Christina Boyd (Editor)
Published: 2015
Publisher: Meryton Press (Website | Blog
Genre: Romance, Short Stories, Jane Austen theme
Paperback: 228 pages

If you desire a little heat, a summer flirtation, or an escape to bask in your own private sun, this whimsical collection of original short stories is inspired by all things summer. In collaboration with some of Meryton Press’s most popular and award-winning authors, this anthology debuts other promising and emerging talent.

Contemporary and Regency alike, each romance was dreamt as a perfect summer refreshment to bring a smile to your own sun-kissed face.

• In KaraLynne Mackrory’s Shades of Pemberley, Mr. Darcy, with some fantastic assistance, discovers Elizabeth Bennet in a most unlikely place.

• Karen M. Cox’s Northanger Revisited 2015 modernizes Northanger Abbey at a fictionalized seaside in Georgia.

• Linda Beutler takes us to Paris as a young gentleman is schooled in the ways of amour in The Incomplete Education of Fitzwilliam Darcy.

• In Spyglasses and Sunburns, J. Marie Croft takes the Miss Bennets to the seaside where they chance upon handsome acquaintances.

• In Abigail Bok’s A Summer in Sanditon, a little sea bathing seems just the thing to cure what ails Anne de Bourgh.

• In Natalie Richards’ Midsummer Madness, an honest confession and a promise between strangers at a masque ball mend a misunderstanding.

• Sophia Rose re-imagines a modern-day Persuasion in Second Chance at Sunset Beach.

• In Morgan K Wyatt’s Dream Spinner, a near-death car accident and an unlikely trucker bring new perspective to a young co-ed’s life and love.

On The Nightstand: Wolf Hall

Lovely Books and Things - 2.4.24

Lovely Books and Things
My Books and Films Update
~*~
HAPPY THINGS:

1. February is Loveuary Jane Austen movies at the Hallmark channel (details)
2. A yummy cannoli from Mara's Italian Pastries on Columbus Avenue, San Francisco
3. New York city themed collage piece using The New Yorker magazine images for art club

~*~
Library: audiobook

Leslie F*cking Jones
by Leslie Jones
Memoir, Comedy | Published: 2023
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Library:

American Mermaid
by Julia Langbein
Literary | Published: 2023
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To Be Featured:

The Blueprint
by Rae Giana Rashad
Dystopian, African American | Published: February 13, 2024
courtesy of author -Thanks!
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The Secret of Lillian Velvet
by Jaclyn Moriarty
Fantasy, Middle Grade | Published: 2023
courtesy of publisher -Thanks!
[{ details/order }]


~*~
AND watched: HBO Max

True Detective (2024)
Night Country; season 4
Director: Issa Lopez
Stars: Jodie Foster, Kali Reis
Crime, Drama, Mystery | imdb

In Ennis, Alaska, the men that operate a research station vanish. To solve the case, Chief Danvers and Navarro will have to confront the darkness themselves, and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice.

AND watched: theatre

American Fiction (2023)
Director: Cord Jefferson
Writers: Cord Jefferson, Percival Everett
Based on book: Erasure by Percival Everett
Stars: Jeffrey Wright
Comedy, Drama | imdb

A novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from "Black" entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him into the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.

Zone of Interest (2023)
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Screenplay: Martin Amis, Jonathan Glazer
Based on book by Martin Amis
Stars: Sandra Hüller, Christian Friedel
Drama, WWII | imdb

The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.

AND watched: Kanopy

Four Daughters (2023)
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Stars: Olfa Hamrouni, Eya Chikhaoui, Tayssir Chikhaoui
Documentary, Tunisia | imdb

Between light and darkness stands Olfa, a Tunisian woman and the mother of four daughters. One day, her two older daughters disappear. Filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania invites professional actresses to fill in their absence.
~*~
Linking up with:
Sunday Post (details)
Mailbox Monday (details)
Sunday Salon (details)

Thanks for stopping by :-)

Happy release: The Blueprint by Rae Giana Rashad

The Blueprint
by Rae Giana Rashad
Dystopian, African American | Published: February 13, 2024
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In the vein of Octavia E. Butler and Margaret Atwood, a harrowing novel set in an alternate United States—a world of injustice and bondage in which a young Black woman becomes the concubine of a powerful white government official and must face the dangerous consequences. ~*~ Solenne Bonet lives in Texas where choice no longer exists. An algorithm determines a Black woman’s occupation, spouse, and residence. Solenne finds solace in penning the biography of Henriette, an ancestor who’d been an enslaved concubine to a wealthy planter in 1800s Louisiana. But history repeats itself when Solenne, lonely and naïve, finds herself entangled with Bastien Martin, a high-ranking government official. Solenne finds the psychological bond unbearable, so she considers alternatives. With Henriette as her guide, she must decide whether and how to leave behind all she knows.
Inspired by the lives of enslaved concubines to U.S. politicians and planters, The Blueprint unfolds over dual timelines to explore bodily autonomy, hypocrisy, and power imbalances through the lens of the nation’s most unprotected: a Black girl.

First sentence:
The men called her Henriette, but it wasn't her name. She promised herself she would never think it, never say it, never answer to it. It wouldn't be her name.