Lory Lilian, author of the wonderful Rainy Days, Remembrance of the Past, His Uncle’s Favorite, The Perfect Match and  Sketching Mr. Darcy    

has answered your questions! 

Grab a cup of tea and some biscuits
because you don’t want to miss this!

 

What will be your favourite character from Pride and Prejudice if I do not let you choose Elizabeth or Darcy? and why?
(anadarcy)

Mr. Bennet – I just love his wit! But I admit to be partial, as he reminds me very much of my own father.

 

Apart from Darcy, which of Jane Austen´s gentleman do you prefer? and why?(anadarcy)

Mr. Knightley – because he had the strength to love Emma somehow hopelessly, and despite her sometimes spoiled and annoying behaviour, remained close to her, helped her and even censured her when needed.

 

Of all of Jane Austen’s characters, who would your closest friends say you are most like?
(J “Joy” Dawn King)

Probably Emma –- with a tendency to get involved in other’s lives sometimes too much, and getting burdened with everyone’s problems. lol.

 

Which Pride and Prejudice character would you most like to have over for tea?
(J “Joy” Dawn King)

Oh come on, do I need to say it? I would walk all way to Derbyshire to have ten minutes tea with Mr. Darcy!

 

What is your second favorite Jane Austen story?
(J “Joy” Dawn King)

Sense and Sensibility.

 

 

I know JAFF writers prefer to write stories based on the characters or themes of Pride and Prejudice from the plethora of new books published every month. Have you thought of writing books based on other Jane Austen’s novels like Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility or Emma?
(Lúthien84)

I’ve thought about it many times … the problem is that I have been in love with Elizabeth and Darcy’s story since I was 13 (more than 30 years ago lol) and I simply cannot stop thinking of new situations, new stories, new dialogs regarding them. So it is not so much my choice but that I cannot help myself lol.

 

If you could pair a hero and heroine from any of Jane Austen’s books with Lizzy (other than Darcy), who would it be?
(J “Joy” Dawn King)

Oh please, please do not ask me that – it is torture to think of this …. I love P&P precisely because I cannot imagine Elizabeth and Darcy with anyone else but each other. BUT, if you insist on torturing me, I would say Mr. Knightley again.

 

If you could ask Jane Austen one question, what would it be?
(J “Joy” Dawn King)

“Dearest Jane, have you been truly happy?”

 

If you could travel back in time to the Regency period with a small suitcase, what would you take with you?
(J “Joy” Dawn King)

Ohhhh …. Jane Austen’s books, my daughter’s pictures and my laptop to write.

 

Hi Lory, it’s Michelle, your UK stalker!! Have you ever been to England and visited where Jane Austen used to live or visited any of the locations where P&P was filmed? If not and you could only visit one location in England, where and what would it be?
(Michelle Hall)

I have only been to London twice – one visit was business related and the second visit was two years ago when I met Ellen, my editor. I would love (and it is my plan for next year!) to visit locations where P&P 1995 was filmed!!! I am dying to see “Pemberley” from where you send me some awesome pictures !!!

 

Since I have a blank mind… what is your favorite color?
(tgruy)

Ha ha – purple ! I will even have my Christmas decorated with purple this year.

 

You’re one of the longest standing JAFF writers. How has the genre changed over the years? Name one really good thing and one thing that makes you sad about the changes.
(Suzan Lauder)

Yes, I am 11 years old in JAFF … One good thing is that lots and lots of new readers and writers joined the genre in the last years and it seemed an ongoing process. It makes me sad to see some offensive arguments, reactions, tendency to “sabotage” others and some very nasty reviews from people who obviously did not read the specific book but only intended to hurt the author. I am not sure where this came from and why. I remember about 10 years ago when the only huge argument (sometimes very heated) in the JAFF community was Colin versus Mathew and P&P 1995 vs P&P 2005. Miss those days.

 

How do you come up with such wonderful ideas? I have read all your books numerous times including Sketching Mr Darcy and can’t decide which is my favourite – usually whichever one I am reading.
(Glynis)

As I said, I so much love Elizabeth and Darcy as a couple that they are always with me. lol (hmm, I wonder if this sounds normal lol). The ideas just keep popping into my mind and start developing, growing. If I only had time to write them all down…

 

What do you do to help your muse (walking, jogging, gardening, listening to music, etc.) when writing a story?
(Debbie Fortin)

Re-reading Pride and Prejudice (always back to the masterpiece), listening music but mostly the ideas came to me when I am driving long distances, hours and hours …

 

What is your native language?
(Debbie Fortin)

Romanian – born and lived in Bucharest all my life.

 

Because English is not your native tongue, you must work twice as hard to write. Are there areas where it’s harder to express yourself? Are there words in English that just make you laugh because they are so strange?
(Suzan Lauder)

Ha ha – there are no words that make me laugh, but my editors!!! lol. Now things are better, but in the beginning I used to use lots of expressions which sound so good in Romanian and so strange in English!!! The funny thing is that I CANNOT think and even less write my books in Romanian! I always wrote them directly in English, because I also read Pride and Prejudice and watched all the adaptations only in English. I cannot imagine Elizabeth and Darcy speaking in other language but English.

 

Do you write from an outline?
(J “Joy” Dawn King)

Not exactly. Usually, when an idea comes to my mind, it keeps growing and developing and in a couple of days I know pretty clearly how it will end. I do write down ideas, dialogs, situations – in fact, I used to dictate them to my phone as soon as they came to me. Before doing that, I used to lose lots of good stuff because I could not remember them well enough once I returned to my laptop.

 

Do you have a specific time each day when you are most creative?
(J “Joy” Dawn King)

Unfortunately – when I am at work and I have to do other things rather than write lol.

 

Do you have background music or complete quiet to write?
(J “Joy” Dawn King)

I prefer silence – me and Darcy’s voice in my mind (darn, again, this does not sound well …)

 

I know from talking to you that you’re among those of us who enjoy mild erotic romantic scenes. If you were giving advice to new authors, what would you say regarding writing steamy scenes? Similarly, you have some stories with high angst. What would your advice be in that area?
(Suzan Lauder)

Oh, I hate writing angst! I am an angst wimp and I can hardly bear to read it – even less to write it. But it is needed, I know. I could hardly give advice in this – there are some brilliant stories with huge angst in them. My own rule for myself is to solve any angsty situation as soon as possible – mostly in the next chapter.

But I do love writing hot mush! Again, I would not dare advise anyone but I write steamy scenes based on feelings, sensations, thoughts of both characters. I am trying to show not what they are “doing” but how they feel while doing it. Lol And I always use hot scenes for the development of the story. Those of you who read my book, I hope you noticed that each scene is different – usually showing Elizabeth’s increasing trust in her husband and in herself as his wife.

 

All your books published so far are based on Jane Austen’s time. How comfortable are you on writing modern stories? Have you attempted to begin writing them but found that it not to your liking?
(Lúthien84)

Yes – I have one in progress but it is not going too well. As I said, I am so much in love with Elizabeth and Darcy as Jane Austen wrote them, that I found it difficult to change the settings, their behaviour, the rules of their relationship, the restraint in speaking to each other and so on … I admire very much the authors who do a wonderful job with modern stories.

 

I have thoroughly enjoyed each of your books with Remembrance of the Past as the top of the list. Which of the books you have written is your favorite?
(Debbie Fortin)

I really cannot have a favorite – they are so very different from each other and I put a piece of my heart into each of them. Most readers preferred Rainy Days – it is low angst and all about Elizabeth and Darcy and their romance. I am so happy that your favorite is Remembrance – I really loved writing Lady Cassandra! People had mixed feelings about her – half loved her, half hated her because they thought she stole the “air time” from Elizabeth. Now, Sketching Mr. Darcy has seemed to become my readers’ new favorite.

 

Who is your favorite character in the stories you have written and who is your least favorite?
(Debbie Fortin)

My favorite is Lady Cassandra, because I developed her story in-depth. But I am also very proud of Becky, Lady Matlock, Lord Matlock in His Uncle’s Favorite … The least favorite – Lord Markham in Remembrance. He was a horrible character, truly… it pained me to describe Caroline’s suffering.

 

Who is the easiest character to write – Darcy or Lizzy?
(J “Joy” Dawn King)

Lizzy; I understand her better than Darcy and I can put myself in her shoes easier.

 

Do you have a specific actor in mind when you write your main characters? (Firth/Macfadyen or Ehle/Knightley)
(J “Joy” Dawn King)

P&P 1995 is the reason why I started writing jaff … So – Colin and Jennifer. I liked M/K pair, too, but I had some major issues with the script and dialog in P&P 2005.

 

Hi, Lori! Now that you are a veteran author…. which of your books was the easiest to write? The most difficult to write?
(junewilliams7)

The easiest – Rainy Days ! 390 pages in less than three months !!! The hardest – Sketching Mr. Darcy, because it was written during a very, very difficult time of my life and also had more angst.

 

After reading that blurb, I really want to read what happens for them to getting married, what bond is that??
(anadarcy)

I would say it is a very sweet one – Elizabeth met Lady Anne Darcy and Georgiana 10 years before – and also Darcy, but this secret will be revealed later in the story. I always love to have a touch of originality in my stories – something that was not done before

 

His Uncle’s Favorite is one of my fav Austenesque books of all time. I was always curious though if the title referred to Wickham, Elizabeth or both? Was the side plot of the Earl and Mrs. Gardiner originally part of the plan for that book or did it come about as you were writing?
(Shannon)

So happy to know you liked His Uncle’s Favorite so much ! Well, it was meant from the beginning to be a “words game”: the favorite was Elizabeth, Wickham and also Darcy – who is the favorite nephew. Yes, the Earl and Mrs. Gardiner plot was part of the story from the very beginning.

 

I read from the back cover of your last release, The Perfect Match, you will be releasing a book titled My Husband, Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy. Has the title been changed into Sketching Mr. Darcy or is it still in progress?(Lúthien84)

Indeed, the first title was “My husband, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.” I changed it after a short brainstorming with my editors. Mostly because it was too long for the cover LOL

 

Does your family know you write Jane Austen fiction and are a globally famous author?
(J “Joy” Dawn King)

Ha – thanks for the compliment, Joy, you are very sweet. Yes, they know and so are my colleagues.

 

I am wondering whether your next book will be a continuation of P&P or another re-imagining? I must admit I love it when we get to see life after the wedding.
(Lynn Bischoff)

My next very close project is a sequel to Rainy Days – which was requested by readers for ten years now lol. It will be also a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, as it will show our dear couple’s life after their marriage.

 

Finally, do you already have another book in progress?
(Shannon)
I have all of your books and read them often. I have 2 questions: What will the next book be about? When will it be published?
(klb0823)

I have three new books in progress! One is the sequel to RD – which will be published next month – hopefully – the other one is a sweet love story from Elizabeth’s point of view which might be out around the new year, and the third one is a much more difficult one … more complex and more angst…

 

Lory–Please give us a preview of your next book. Are you working on sequel to Rainy Days?
(Barbara)
How is the sequel to Rainy Days coming along? Any ideas on a release date yet?(Glynis)

I already answered that but it is my pleasure to do so again – the sequel will be out hopefully next month – to celebrate ten years since I finished Rainy Days.

 

 

 

Thanks so much Lory for stopping by
and being so generous with your time!
We all appreciate it!

 

**Before you go don’t forget to leave a comment because Lory is offering one paperback of Sketching Mr. Darcy and one e-book as a giveaway and the giveaway is open internationally! Everyone who has left a question or more gets their name put into the pot once, but if you leave a question and give a comment on the final interview, you get two chances to win!

Final date for comments to be entered into the drawing Wednesday, 16 September.

Winner will be announced Friday, 18 September! 

Leave Lory your comments below!

Good luck everyone!!