Abigail, I’m thrilled to be welcoming you once again to Austenesque Reviews! It is a distinct privilege to be interviewing you once again. As you – and my readers – can probably guess by now, I am one of your many ardent admirers! I’m very excited that you are here celebrating the release of your fourth Pemberley Variation, What Would Mr. Darcy Do? (From Lambton to Longbourn).

Tell us what inspired the plot for What Would Mr. Darcy Do? (From Lambton to Longbourn). I remember reading somewhere that it came when you were rereading Pride and Prejudice and experiencing some exasperation with Darcy and Elizabeth.

I remember that well! It was shortly after 9/11 and I was trying to escape into P&P from all the frightening images while stewing about how much better the world would be if people talked to each other about their problems rather than flying airplanes into buildings or dropping bombs. I got to the scene at the Lambton Inn where Darcy departs silently, leaving Elizabeth under the impression that he wants nothing to do with her, and I found myself saying, “That stuff about talking to each other – that applies to the two of you as well! Now go to it!” But every time I turned the page, Darcy stubbornly kept leaving the Inn silently, so it was left to me to solve the dilemma by making them talk.

I understand that you penned this novel in serial format and posted each chapter online. How did this influenced your writing? Did you write any of your other novels in serial format?

To Conquer Mr. Darcy/Impulse & Initiative, Mr. Darcy’s Undoing/Without Reserve and By Force of Instinct were all written as serials. It was a good format for me because it forced me to keep the dramatic tension up so that readers would come back for the next chapter, and the feedback from readers inspired me to keep writing. When I published them as novels, I had to make some adjustments from the serial versions to make the stories flow better.

Are there many differences between the self-published edition of From Lambton to Longbourn and this edition of What Would Mr. Darcy Do?

There’s a new opening scene that I like very much and I’ve toned down overblown descriptions, but most of it is the same.

In what ways has your writing has changed or evolved since your first novel? In what ways has it remained the same?

My technique has improved substantially (I hope!) after taking some writing classes and I take on more challenging story lines with more character development, but my intent hasn’t changed. I write books that are meant to be comfort food for the soul, books with beloved characters and happy endings that make people smile when they read them. I’m always most complimented when readers tell me they turn to my books to get them through hard times.

In What Would Mr. Darcy Do? (From Lambton to Longbourn) Darcy and Elizabeth deal with a lot of internal conflicts as opposed to external conflicts. Insecurity, vulnerability, and anguish – what motivated you to give Darcy and Elizabeth internal obstacles instead of external ones?

Very insightful, Meredith! Part of it was that I was trying to follow P&P’s plot as faithfully as I could, so I didn’t want to introduce new obstacles, but mostly, it was because it was fun. I loved plunging deep into the characters.

Speaking of external obstacles, I noticed that Lady Catherine does not make an appearance in this variation. What prompted you to exclude the ole battleaxe?

Oh, dear, this is embarrassing! I excluded her and Mr. Collins because I didn’t like them and didn’t want them messing up my pretty story when all I wanted to do was to talk about Elizabeth and Darcy.

Ha Ha! That’s understandable.  I greatly enjoyed the friendship and transformation of Georgiana, Kitty, and Mary in this novel. What inspired this beneficial friendship? Would you ever write a story about just them?

Georgiana had been pretty isolated from other girls her age since leaving school and had always had good behavior drummed into her. Kitty’s liveliness and mild misbehavior seemed like it would be appealing to her, and Mary would benefit from someone she esteemed as a superior who could widen her horizons. I’ve never thought about writing a book just about them, but it could be fun.

What is next for you? What is the next publication your avid fans can eagerly anticipate? Will we be seeing Without Reserve or By Force of Instinct republished soon?

Like many writers, I’m making a return to self-publishing, and my book of short stories, A Pemberley Medley, should be coming out in a month or so. The much-delayed Morning Light, sequel to The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice/Pemberley by the Sea will be released if and when I get over my current crisis of confidence in the story. A brand-new full length P&P variation is in the works within the next few months, but the title is still up for grabs between Mr. Darcy’s Letter and The View from Pemberley. Sourcebooks will be re-releasing Without Reserve as Mr. Darcy’s Undoing in October, and By Force of Instinct is scheduled for Spring 2012 under the title of The Provocation of Fitzwilliam Darcy. Most of the new titles, incidentally, come from suggestions by my talented readers. I’m terrible at coming up with titles, and I’m very grateful that my readers seem to be much better at it!

So many wonderful books being released so soon!  Goodness gracious! “I shall go distracted!” Abigail, since I have had you here so many times and have already asked you loads of questions, I thought it might be fun to do something a little different! So, I comprised a list of short questions à la of James Lipton and Inside the Actors Studio just for you!

– Who is your favorite character (besides Darcy and Elizabeth) in P&P? Charlotte Lucas

– Who is your least favorite character in P&P? Mr. Collins. He makes me cringe.

– Out of your own character creations, who is your favorite? It’s a tie between Aunt Augusta and Charlie the urchin in Mr. Darcy’s Obsession.

– What is one of your favorite scenes in P&P? Oddly enough, Elizabeth’s reactions after reading Darcy’s letter is a favorite of mine. It shows more depth than we see in Elizabeth elsewhere in the book.

– From your own novels what is one of your favorite scenes? Only one??? I’m going to have to cheat. The Lambton Inn scene in What Would Mr. Darcy Do?, the church scene in By Force of Instinct, the riverbank scene in Conquering Mr. Darcy, the wedding in Mr. Darcy’s Obsession… ok, ok, I’ll stop now!

– What is one of your favorite quotes from P&P? “My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me.”

– From your own novels what is one of your favorite quotes? “I had not realized I was marrying a closet Anabaptist.” – Impulse & Initiative/To Conquer Mr. Darcy

– What do you love most about P&P? The characters

– Whose team are you on: Darcy’s or Elizabeth’s? Team Darcy, of course!

– If you were to meet Jane Austen, what would you like to hear her say? I’d like an explanation of what Darcy was thinking in the time between Netherfield and Rosings.

Excellent answers Abigail!  Thank you so much for once again visiting Austenesque Reviews.  It is always a pleasure to have you here!  Best of luck with your many new and upcoming releases!

Thanks so much for hosting me!

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!  Thanks to Beth Pehlke of Sourcebooks, Austenesque Reviews has ONE lovely copy of What Would Mr. Darcy Do? to give away to you wonderful readers! (US and Canada only)

You can enter the giveaway by sharing which new or upcoming release by Abigail Reynolds you are most excited about!  To protect your inbox from unwanted spam, please DON’T leave your email address.  Just check back April 10th!

• What Would Mr. Darcy Do? (From Lambton to Longbourn)
• A Pemberley Medley
• Morning Light
• Mr. Darcy’s Letter or The View From Pemberley
• Mr. Darcy’s Undoing (Without Reserve)
• The Provocation of Fitzwilliam Darcy (By Force of Instinct)

As for me, I cannot decide!  I want to read them all!  But perhaps I would put Morning Light at the top of my list.  I’ve heard it has some parallels to Persuasion!

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This contest ends April 9th!  Thanks for entering and best of luck!