Hello dear readers! I’m very excited to welcome back author Jeanna Ellsworth today to Austenesque Reviews. Jeanna has kept herself busy since her last release, Mr. Darcy’s Promise in July 2013! Today she is here celebrating her new release, Pride and Persistence. Thank you, Jeanna, for stopping by and sharing a enticing little excerpt from Pride and Persistence with us!
I am so happy to be a guest on Austenesque and be able to talk about my book that just was 
published. Pride and Persistence was so much fun to write and it is even more thrilling to see how well people are enjoying it! The idea came to me as I was trying to prepare for a night shift on the Neurological ICU. As a nurse, there are certain injuries or diagnosis that are more difficult than others to take care of. One of them on my unit is any kind of frontal lobe injuries. The brain is a marvelous organ and more and more is understood about it now than ever before. One thing I have learned about frontal lobe patients is that they are some of the very taxing on my patience. For one, they are physically able to do everything they need to but cannot reason, are emotional, have memory problems and are irrational at times. These are the people who cry because they are in restraints, try to negotiate their brownie to get you to let them have a beer, perseverate on things that are the color blue, and can tell you their whole life story up until the injury yet unable to accept that they fell and had a bleed in their brain. So as I lay there trying to nap, I thought, wouldn’t it make a funny book if Mr. Darcy had a frontal lobe injury? And less than a day later I had written out a plot outline for the whole book.
Here is the back cover intrigue: Undaunted by a threatening storm, Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley insists he must deliver his letter to Miss Elizabeth Bennet–– then tragedy strikes. Riddled with guilt, Elizabeth comes to the aid of the comatose Mr. Darcy and stays by his side until he regains consciousness. She soon learns that although Mr. Darcy has awoken, he has not returned to himself. And with no memory of his first disastrous proposal, he has concluded that there is nothing he wants more than to propose to Miss Elizabeth. This humorous journey of love leaves one asking, can persistence pacify prejudice? Can Elizabeth see the real gentleman behind the injury, a man who persists in professing his love to her every chance he gets? In this Regency variation of Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet both learn the value of persistence.
I thought I would give you an excerpt to read. In this excerpt, Mr. Darcy has proposed several times and is slowly improving in his initial reaction to waking up. The day before, Elizabeth had him sign a reminder letter to help him believe that he hit his head and has a broken right foot. As usual, it is Elizabeth who he responds best to because the only thing he really wants to do is to propose. Of which, due to a misunderstanding, Mr. Darcy was led to believe that she had accepted his proposal the day before. As he wakes up in this scene, he has forgotten any of his proposals.
****
“Darcy, my man! How are you this morning?” The colonel took long strides over to him and slapped him on the shoulder. “You look terrible. Did you just wake up?”
Darcy rubbed his head. “Indeed, but for the life of me I cannot figure out why I am at the parsonage.”
“Ah! And you probably want to know why your head hurts, as well!”
Darcy looked surprised. “Indeed. Did I drink too much? I cannot explain it, but I am foggy in my brain. I keep thinking I am in some sort of dream.”
Elizabeth knew exactly the moment Darcy noticed her because he sat up straighter and a small smile graced his lips. She acknowledged his smile and said, “Good morning, Mr. Darcy.”
“What a pleasant surprise, Elizabeth! How are you this morning?” He started moving his legs off the chaise in an obvious attempt to stand and greet her, but she rushed over to his side.
“Oh, do not get up on my account. Here, let me get you something I think will help with that foggy mind.” She made sure he was settled back on the chaise before she turned to the writing desk. She shuffled papers and realized once again that her love letter was still there. She quickly folded it and tucked it into her dress. Will I ever learn? A thing like this cannot be left lying around!
She found the reminder letter and brought it over to him. “This, sir, is something you had me write to help explain why your head hurts. If you would just take a moment to read it, I think it will explain a great deal.” She handed it to him and stepped back, watching him as he read.
It was several minutes before he reached the last page. Everyone was waiting for his response, but instead of giving one, he simply started over and read it again. Madeline stepped out to refresh herself, but both the colonel and Elizabeth stood by in anticipation. When he finally reached the last page again, he looked up, and took a good, long look at his right foot, rotating it one way and then the other, grimacing when he rotated it inward.
“Do you have questions?” Elizabeth asked hesitantly.
“Yes. When can I go home?”
The two onlookers chuckled slightly because they were expecting a much different response. The colonel spoke up first. “I am afraid you have about five more weeks of this. The doctor says not to move you until you can bear weight on it. It was a pretty bad break. How does the splint feel?”
“Tolerable. It only hurts when I move it. It is quite heavy, though. I take it that this accident was recent. The letter said it happened Tuesday. What day is it today?”
“Friday, sir,” Elizabeth replied. “May I just commend you on taking this all so well? This is the best morning you have had so far.”
“Thank you, Elizabeth. Where is this Madeline? Was she the woman who was in here running around? I am afraid I was ordering her like a servant. I should apologize. From the sound of this letter I should apologize for a great deal. It seems I have been somewhat . . .”
“Irrational?” Colonel Fitzwilliam suggested.
“Emotional?” Elizabeth added.
“No.” Darcy said. “I have been—”
“Confused?” Elizabeth proposed.
“Aggressive?” Colonel Fitzwilliam offered.
“Persistent and determined?” Elizabeth teased. Her eyes lit up at seeing how well the letter was working. It was resolving the morning crisis without any intervention.
Darcy took a look at the two in front of him. A small smile crept along his face. “I take it I have been all of the above?”
The three of them laughed, and Elizabeth felt the warmth of his gaze on her, and she suddenly blushed. His eyes were saying something to her. Did he remember any of it? Was it simply the letter that seemed to make things go smoother? Or did he still think they were engaged?
She reviewed his reaction to the letter and the news, and she was confident that he still had memory problems. But something was nagging the back of her mind. There was some minor detail she was missing. What was it? She shook her head, trying to dispel the unsettling suspicion that something was different this morning. She couldn’t help but ask him, “Mr. Darcy? May I ask if any of this seems familiar? Did the letter remind you of anything that has happened? Anything at all?”
Darcy genuinely looked surprised at the question. He shook his head and said, “No, not at all. I had to read it twice to retain all that was in the letter. I still cannot believe what happened. You all have been so helpful. I am so grateful to be alive.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam smiled and looked at Elizabeth. “Well, one thing that Miss Elizabeth did not put in the letter was how she was the one who saved your life. Her quick mind stayed rational during a time when many women would have fainted. She did not put it in the letter, because she did not want to boast, but I would say she is the reason you are alive.”
Darcy’s eyes were locked on Elizabeth’s. His deep, penetrating gaze was intense and thoughtful. Elizabeth looked away shyly and said, “It was not necessary to remind him of such facts, Colonel Fitzwilliam.”
Darcy’s gaze was not leaving Elizabeth’s face. “No, I believe that kind of information is vital. I am sure it will help me a great deal. Would you mind telling me about it, Elizabeth?”
That was it! He had called her by her Christian name! He had done it earlier too! She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. “Indeed, I will tell you, but I am afraid my telling of the story will not be as animated and grandiose as it would be if your cousin told the story. Why do I not leave you two so you can do your morning ritual while I will check on your breakfast?”
“Very well, but I would still like to hear the story from you.”
“Certainly, if that is your wish. Colonel Fitzwilliam? Do you have a moment?”
The colonel followed Elizabeth out of the room, and Elizabeth closed the door behind them. He looked at her expression and wondered what was wrong. He waited patiently while she wrung her hands, tucked stray hairs behind her ear, and took several deep breaths. “I can see you are disturbed. Out with it! What is nagging you?”
“He called me Elizabeth.”
“And the problem with that being . . . because it is improper? Miss Elizabeth, he hit his head. Not all of the rules of society are in place yet. For one, you two have had many private conversations without chaperones as well as the fact that—”
“Colonel, today is the first day he has done that. Do you not see? He must remember last night’s conversation when he asked if he could call me Elizabeth. He must think we are engaged!”
****
I hope you enjoyed this excerpt. It was fun to write and I am so happy to share it with you. I hope you all get a chance to read it. It is now available on Amazon.com as a paperback or eBook. Thanks again Meredith for allowing me a chance to talk about my latest book and share a bit of it. I would love to give away either a paperback (U.S. only) or an eBook (internationally) to a lucky commenter. Connecting with my readers is the best part of writing! After all, I write for you! It just happens to be fun along the way for me. Follow me on Facebook or twitter! Thanks again!
UGHHH!! Stopping right there is torture! 😉 I don’t know about you, but I am very eager to read on and see what happens next!! Poor Darcy, isn’t he adorable?
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Connect with Jeanna
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GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
Today, Jeanna Ellsworth brings with her one copy of newly released novel, Pride and Persistence, for me to giveaway to ONE lucky winner! (Paperback if the winner is from the US, ebook if the winner is international).
To enter this giveaway leave a comment, question, or some love for Jeanna!
- This giveaway is open worldwide (with some shipping restrictions). Thank you, Jeanna!
- This giveaway ends April 29th!
What a delightful extract. It really makes me want to read the whole story. Obviously I’d very much like to win but if I’m not that lucky, then it’ll be going on my TBR/Wish lists.
Thank you for your generosity in the giveaway. I’m in the UK so please only enter me in for the ebook draw.
I love that you thought it was delightful! I was a little evil and left you hanging! Thank you for commenting. I will be going to the UK next summer and I am getting really excited. Good luck in the giveaway.
Wow! You had a great idea! And I think that thanks to your job Mr Darcy’s illness can be accurate! Sadly my grandparents had such problems and I can understand the patience your job requires. Good luck for your work ad a nurse, you’re make a good service to the world with it and with your kindness!
Sadly – yes, it is very accurate. I had several frontal lobe patients in a row over a few weeks time but one in particular took more patience than I knew I had! I left that shift and said that after shifts like that I felt like Christ (he would heal the sick – no matter how CRAZY)! As a nurse we see a lot of sad things but we have an odd sense of humor. One person commented in one of their reviews that this was not accurate…..I wish I could respond to them that it is far more accurate than a creative mind could think up.
Thank you for your support as a nurse and an author. I tend to think both professions are helping professions
Good luck!
I only found this site about a week ago. So glad I didn’t miss this excerpt. I have this book on my wish list after reading the reviews already posted. Would love to win the paperback…but I have have JAFF books both on my kindle and in paperback. After retiring a little over a year ago I treated myself to a kindle and have been re-reading old books and reading new ones and now posting reviews for all. Very interesting to read the varying opinions. And, thank you for all the work you do with those patients. God Bless you in your endeavors.
This site is wonderful, isn’t it! Make sure you follow it on email so you get notified when a new post is posted. She does such a great job! I love love love her lists she makes. My wish lists sometimes come straight from those lists!
You do not have to thank me for being a nurse, I love what I do and that is the reward. I found a great post on Facebook that said that nurses are advocates for people when they are their weakest. I fully agree. Sometimes I have to go head to head with families and doctors and God knows pharmacists who do not get me my medications on time. P.s. God does bless me for all my endeavors. I have not even the slightest doubt.
Yes, I have checked both boxes to notify me of follow-up comments and new posts.
Inspired! I can’t wait to read it!
Jeanna, this is such a delightful story that I read it in one sitting. The cover is gorgeous. Love the calming blue tones and your daughter, the model, is beautiful. How wonderful that you could do this together.
I am so glad! I love to hear that it pulls people in and they can’t put it down! Thank you for commenting! The cover was so exciting to watch come to life. I never knew how so much goes into an artists thoughts and techniques. I am very lucky to have found Rebecca (the painter).
Great excerpt! I am definitely intrigued and will be putting on this to-read list. Thanks!!
Thanks Shannon! I hope even if you don’t win that you will read it! It is the favorite of several of my readers. Personally it is a fun read but my personal favorite is the one that will be published in November. To Refine Like Silver is very dear to my heart. This is a close second!
Thank you for the giveaway! The book
just sounds so interesting and I’d love to
win a pb copy.
You are very welcome! Good luck in the giveaway! If it was me, I’d want the paperback signed by the author as well! It feels so much more romantic when the book is in your hands.
This except is amazing!! Thanks for the giveaway. I’m italian so please only enter me in for the ebook copy.
Thanks. I think it is great that someone all the way from Italy is interested! Now I hope you win! Glad you liked the excerpt! I admit I definitely ended with a teaser. I can be cruel sometimes. Ha Ha.
A delightful excerpt…I would love to read the whole thing!
What an interesting story! I want to read it. Thanks for excerpt.
Ha Ha! i love all the “delightful” and “interesting” and other fun adjectives. So fun to see what people pull away from a random page or two of the book. I’m glad you want to read it! Good luck! Mrs. Bingley is so kind to host me and let me tease you all with a bit of fun. Glad you liked it. Good luck!
I have to admit that I was a bit horrified that writing about a brain injury would be interesting, due to my ignorance of that type of injury. However, your explanation and excerpt now have me anxious to read about what happens!! I’ve put your book on my wish list.
Thanks for the giveaway.
Horrified? Yes, to be honest occasionally what I do at work is horrifying. There is no doubt about that. But often it is about perspective and priorities. Elizabeth has always looked at the things in life and laughed at them (“I dearly love to laugh”). You will find the first 3 chapters have little humor, and you might find yourself wondering how the back cover intrigue can claim it is a humorous journey but the truth is….. healing is a process. Once we get over the initial shock of the injury, we have a choice in front of us. We can either make the trauma claim all our hope and joy or we can look for its usefulness. In this, Elizabeth finds Darcy’s particular behavior rather “interesting” as so many have said in the comments. I tried to make it as real as possible and as he heals, as he improves, everything that he lacked at the beginning also improves. All the emotional volatility and irrational behavior all improves. I kept it close to a true to life timeline as well. The initial first few days truly are horrifying….but then…well, things can get rather entertaining. Therefore the book becomes quite fun.
It’s amazing where ideas come from! This is an interesting premise and this book will be added to my TBR/Wishlist! Thank you for the chance to win it!
I admit that the plot bunny can come out of random places! Most disturbing times too! I really needed that nap that day! But no, Mr. Darcy had to get me giggling. I hope you enjoy it. Good luck in the giveaway.
Sounds fabulous!! Win or not, I will be buying this book to read. Thanks for the tease.
Thank you so much! It was such fun to write. It flowed out of me so fast too! I think I wrote in in about a 3 1/2 month period with only a few days between writing when work would interfere. When a story has momentum, it just comes very very fast. Glad to know that even if you don’t win that you will still read it! Good luck!
What an interesting concept to the story would love to read it.
I love it! Everyone is so kind in their comments! I hope you do read it, even if you do not win it. But good luck in the giveaway!
Congrats on the new release and thanks for sharing the tantalizing excerpt. Thanks for the giveaway opportunity.
Thank so much! It is always a very exciting (and busy!) time when a book is released. It gets rather hectic but being a guest on the blogs and hearing how everyone is excited to read it makes it all worth it! I am happy to giveaway a book because there is something so fun about winning that makes the book even better! I have won several books over the last several years and they are always so fun to read!
Fascinating! Can’t wait to read more!
Hee Hee. Yes, it is fun. I hope even it you don’t win that you will still read it. Good luck though!
Mini-cliffhanger! I love your premise, and am sure I’d enjoy hearing more about your patients and your work. This letter that Elizabeth had him write and sign – is that something you’ve done with your own patients? How many weeks before Darcy remembers everything without help from the letter? Glad the Colonel is there to help! Thanks for the preview.
Thank June. Yes, it was a little cliffhanger. Of course I cannot deny that was my intention! I could tell lots of stories about my patients. So the letter is something that we do sometimes to help the patient. Usually it is simple stuff like “Today is Wednesday, April 23, 2014” “Do not get out of bed without asking for help”. They are simple things that help them. Usually frontal lobe patients are kind of funny that way because they will argue with you and negotiate with you to let them do something they cannot do. They usually do not take it so well as Mr. Darcy but in this excerpt he has been awake for several days.
I cannot answer how long it takes for Darcy to remember but I will say these kind of patients get their memory back slowly, all at once, or not at all. There is no rhyme or reason. Every patient is different. I wrote it fairly true to life to patients who have frontal lobe injuries.
The colonel helps a great deal. you will love him in this book.
This reminds me of the movie “50 First Dates” with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, 2004, in which she also has a brain injury and every day has to watch the video to remind her of who she is and her relationship with him.
I was about 5 chapters into it before my beta emailed me and laughed and said that this could be called 50 first proposals! There is definitely some carryover. I see the resemblance and it is a fun movie. If you like the movie, you will probably like the book, although the book has fewer innuendoes. 🙂 Good luck in the giveaway!
Fantastic excerpt, although you’re leaving us hanging a bit! Looking forward to reading it, and thank you for the giveaway opportunity 🙂
I know! I am so sorry, well, not really. I’m hoping you will want to buy the book and find out what happens next! It was fun finding which excerpts to use on by blog tour. This one was one of my favorites.
Uh-oh, how will she correct his belief in their engagement? Maybe by the time she has time to, she won’t want to! 😉
Elizabeth and Colonel Fitzwilliam get pretty creative in figuring out if Darcy actually remembers the night before. I will tell you that Darcy did not mean to call her Elizabeth.
And there will come a time that Elizabeth most definitely wants to be engaged to the man and accept any one of his multiple proposals. You will just have to see!
Hello again! I am persistently stalking this book through the blogs 🙂 It sounds brilliant, great excerpt!
Thanks Brenda! I love that I have a stalker. maybe you will win it this time! 🙂 By your use of the word “brilliant” I am assuming that you hail from the UK?
Good luck with the giveaway……keep persisting! 🙂
I’m actually from New Zealand but we’re a British colony from way back so maybe we’ve carried on some UK sayings? I’ll have to research the origins of “brilliant” now, I’m curious as to why you connected that with me being from the UK.
I didn’t win the giveaway but I’m going to stalk your book through an Amazon checkout soon lol
Sounds great, how “massive” that moment when he calls her Elizabeth… Made me hold my breath for a second or so too 😀
It is the little things in Regency romances that mean so much, isn’t it? It makes me giggle to think it made you hold your breath! An author wants to ignite all the feelings that they hope the reader will feel and you just told me you did! So cool. Thanks for commenting! Good luck in the giveaway!
Oh, no! I want to know what happens next!! That was a great excerpt 🙂 Thanks Jeanna for sharing it. I loved your first book and I’m sure this one will be as enthralling as the other. Your Darcy is always very charming! Thanks also for the giveaway 😉
I’m so glad you liked Mr. Darcy’s Promise! I have to admit I have a better editor and since this is my second book, I have learned a few things. I think most people will like this book better. Hope you do too! My heart is in Mr. Darcy’s Promise, but if I need to laugh, I read Pride and Persistence. I do like my Darcy’s to be charmingly imperfect! I think if Darcy hit his head hard enough then he might even become devastatingly charming….you will have to tell me if that is the case.
I just read the reviews for your first book and had to add that to my wish list. I am sure I will be buying and reading that soon. I have another one from a different author I am reading at present but when that is done – so easy to add to my kindle, I will be reading it.
Wonderful! I really hope you enjoy it! Happy reading! It is especially close to my heart. Don’t you love that you have a buy with 1 click button? It makes it sooooo easy but dang it if it makes it so that our to be read lists gets longer and longer. Since I just finished writing Hope For Fitzwilliam, I am now in “research mode” where I reward myself with catching up on all the books that looked good while i was writing. I have about 15 books that I want to read so that will be the next thing I do before I start Hope For Georgiana.
Sometimes it is too easy! I am retired and so attempt to not go overboard. Since I just about never posted a review while working I am now re-reading (again) all the JAFF books (paperbacks) I own and posting reviews. Plus I have 47 books on my kindle which i have only owned since mid-December. (Some are e-books for which I have the paperback but I got them free or for very little money.) I try to put a lot of thought into my reviews as that helps keep my mind active. Right now I am starting Fate and Consequence by Linda Wells for about the 3rd time. Bought and read your first book yesterday – couldn’t resist!
Thanks for this wonderful giveaway and fascinating feature. The paperback would be a delight.
Thank you! Good luck on the giveaway. I would choose paperback every time as well.
Oh, it sounds wonderful! I thoroughly enjoyed the excerpt and the new twist that Darcy and Elizabeth are engaged so what happened while at Rosings? Thank you for the giveaway.
Eva, I am so glad you enjoyed the excerpt. It was a fun one. I suppose you will have to read it to see what happens! Can I be any less helpful? 🙂
It is intriguing. I put it immediately on my wish list
I love hearing that! I hope everyone puts it on their wish list so that even if they do not win it, they will remember that it sparked their interest. Thank you. Traumatic brain injuries are always intriguing. I think you will enjoy it.
a definite ‘must-read’ for me!!!
thank you for the giveaway~~~
I am so thrilled you think so! To be honest….after having the first initial plot come to me, this ended up being a “must write”! Ha Ha. And the book literally write itself! Good luck!
interesting plot! Sounds like a P&P variation of that movie “50 first dates!” I’d dearly love to win a copy so I can find out what happens next! 🙂
It really could be called 50 first proposals…..but there really are not 50 proposals. I never intended it to be similar but after a few chapters I could see that there was some correlation. The best part of writing this book was writing the proposals. Each one was unique and Darcy seemed to learn from his mistakes even though he still had memory loss. So in that sense, he improved some each time. I do have a favorite proposal but hurry up and read it and tell me what yours was!
As a connoisseur of P&P variations I can’t wait to read this one – very promising! I’d love to be in the running to win a copy.
ya, they are kinda like fine Belgian chocolate truffles. Must try them all! Good thing I plan to share. Good luck
Looks like a very entertaining read. Loved the excerpt!
Thanks Ginger! Glad you liked it. Good luck in the giveaway
Fabulous excerpt, I really enjoyed that! Thanks, Jeanna, and thanks for the chance to enter the giveaway! Not much hope, with so many entries, but I’ll just have to try my luck for a while until I can’t take it anymore and buy it 😀
Ha Ha yes – keep trying. Winning makes it so much more fun to read! Hope you win!
I just wanted to thank all the readers and commenters on this blog. Thanks again, Meredith, for posting this! I loved seeing all your Facebook picts of your vacation. Hope you and Mr. Bingley had a blast! I have had so much fun being a guest and connecting with all of you. I wish I could let all of you win! They were such great comments! If you do not win here, there will be another chance on Candy Morton’s blog on the 29th. I am so glad you liked the excerpt, and thank you all who have already supported me and bought your own copy. Happy reading!
Thank YOU, Jeanna! Was such a lovely treat to have you visit Austenesque Reviews! Wishing you much success with your new release! Thank you for the wonderful post and giveaway opportunity! I’ve enjoyed reading all the comments and conversations!
Awesome Excerpt Loved it… *fingers Crossed* I hope I win 🙂
Sounds great! I’d love to read it!