Hello, dear readers!! I’m so honored to share another exciting cover reveal with you today! (I love doing these!)
What’s being revealed today you ask?
I’ll tell you! It’s this brand new debut novel by Catherine Lodge called Fair Stands the Wind, and it sounds fabulous!!! (I’ve heard many many wonderful things about it!)
~ Fair Stands the Wind ~
Expected Release Date: late August 2017
We all know that in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Mr Darcy is proud and prejudiced because he is a wealthy landowner who believes himself above his company; and that Elizabeth Bennet can afford to be proud and prejudiced because she believes she has the freedom to make choices for herself.
But what if Mr Darcy is the second son, sent to sea at a young age? What if Elizabeth is trapped by circumstances, with an ill father on one side and an understandably desperate mother on the other?
Meet Captain Darcy of the Royal Navy, a successful frigate captain, with ample prize-money and a sister he needs to provide for while he is at sea. Meet Elizabeth Bennet, who needs a husband and is trying to resign herself to Mr Collins, the worst “least worst alternative” in the history of literature.
~ From the Author ~
I am one of those people with very poor visual artistic skills, I can’t even tell when colours clash! However, I had some vague ideas. I looked at a lot of late 18th/early 19th naval portraits and sent Zorylee some links. They tend to feature heroic, uniformed gentlemen with hazy ships or even battles in the background.
Like these:
and a personal favourite, for young Midshipman Darcy
I, of course, entirely forgot that readers might like to see Elizabeth too. So Zorylee took my vague ideas and spun them into gold.
The only other thing I mentioned was that my Permberley is described as not being one of those smooth-columned paladian mansions the BBC like, but rather a building in an older style, based on Fountains Hall, near Ripon, North Yorkshire. This now forms part of the Fountains Abbey World Heritage site. The ruins of one of Europe’s largest Cistercian monasteries, with some 18th Century landscaped water gardens and a small 17th Century manor house. Zorylee kindly included a drawing of it on the back cover. If you are ever in England, I encourage you to take a tour of the Abbey, house and gardens. It’s one of my favourite places in the world, so I was, as we say round here, “made up*” that she included it.
* made up. Chuffed to bits**
** chuffed to bits. Highly delighted.
~ Author Bio ~
Catherine Lodge is a semi-retired lawyer and lecturer, living in Yorkshire–a part of the UK even more beautiful than Derbyshire. One of five daughters, although by birth order regrettably the Jane, she found 19th Century literature early in her teens and never looked back–even if that meant her school essays kept coming back with “archaic!” written in the margin next to some of her favourite words. She still thinks that “bruited” is a much nicer word than “rumoured.”
After years of drafting leases and pleadings, she finally started to write for fun in her forties and has never stopped since. Much of this will never see the light of day, having been fed to the digital equivalent of a roaring bonfire, but “Fair Stands the Wind” is the first book she thinks worthy of public attention.
She spends her day fixing computer problems for friends and family, singing in her local choir, and avoiding the ironing.
And without further ado….here is the big reveal!!!
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Connect with Catherine
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What do you think, friends? Isn’t the cover lovely?
And the premise sounds wonderfully original! Can’t wait to see what kind of changes these new circumstances bring about!
I, for one, love the idea of Darcy as a man in uniform!
And poor Lizzy, marrying Mr. Collins?!?
A big thank you to Janet Taylor, Catherine Lodge, and the team at Meryton Press for putting together this lovely cover reveal! All the best on the upcoming release of Fair Stands the Wind!!!
Very lovely! I really like when stories put Darcy and Elizabeth in different circumstances and see how that changes their lives. Congrats to Catherine and Meryton Press!
Another winner by Zorylee! Beautiful!
Isn’t it gorgeous? I was having nightmares out of that Tumblr terribekindlecovers. I wasn’t expecting anything quite this sophisticated, all those layers and references. I am a happy little author
Absolutely love this story and adore this cover interpreting so many key scenes and favorite bits. Brilliant work, Zorylee. Looking forward to the release, Catherine.
If any of you are kind enough to read my book, can I suggest you come back and look at the cover when you’ve finished. You’ll be able to see how skillfully Zorylee has hinted at the themes of the story without spoiling anything.
Oh i am liking everything about this so far. A lovely cover and an intriguing story?
I am really hoping that Elizabeth doesn’t give in and marry Collins and that Darcy sees her and realises what an asset she would be.
I think Mr Collins could marry Lydia. She is so self centred that she wouldn’t listen to his non stop compliments and ramblings
Not long to wait anyway so thank you for this reveal Meredith
I don’t think even Lydia deserves Mr Collins.
Oh Glynis, I hope somebody writes that book!!! Lydia and Collins, oh goodness. She’d give the ol’ battleax, a-hem I mean Lady Catherine apoplexy. Then she wouldn’t have time to take away Collin’s living….or she would and they’d end up somewhere where Lydia could REALLY make trouble for him.
My pleasure, Glynis! I am very excited to host this lovely event!
I love Zorylee’s covers, and this one is no exception, so gorgeous! I would have assumed it was a Persuasion-inspired tale from the cover, so I’m glad I stopped by to read more. All the best with the book, Catherine, and good luck in avoiding doing the ironing 😉
And the ironic thing is, Persuasion never crossed my mind. How thick can an Austen fan get?
Whoa! You’ve got everything there! Nice.
Looking forward to reading it.
I am speechless! Gorgeous cover! Congratulations Catherine and the team at Meryton Press! I find Darcy in uniform rather compelling and Elizabeth…what can I say but beautiful! The map in the background and the war ship on the cover was just icing on the cake…I mean cover! The back book jacket with the various scenes, building and the quill with ink pot just…well perfect! Can you tell I love it! Thank you Meredith for again introducing us to a new author and again hosting a wonderful cover reveal! This new spin on my two favourite characters sounds intriguing! I will definitely have to get the paperback!
I only have one of the old black and white Kindles, I really hope it looks this good in one of the newer ones. It is such a lovely cover, it demands to be seen in all its glory.
Very well said! The cover looks very elegant and thoughtful! Thanks for checking it out, Carole!
I love this story, one of my all time favorites. I look forward to being able to purchase this book
Thank you for a lovely cover reveal, Meredith! 🙂
Congratulations, Catherine, on your upcoming release. I keep hearing how fantastic this book is. I’m looking forward to reading it.
Zorylee, you’ve outdone yourself! The cover invites many questions about what’s inside! Great job!
Thank you so much for all you did to bring this cover reveal together, Janet! It was a honor to host this lovely event!
lovely cover, and another book to add to my wish list
I love this cover! Zorylee, it is just stunning!
Thanks for sharing this cover reveal, Meredith. I look forward to reading this story.
Thanks for checking it out, Claudine! I am looking forward to reading this one too!!
What a beautiful cover ! And the story is great – so happy to see it published by MP !
Looks great! I especially love the back!
I’ve heard so much praise for this story, I’m definitely eager to read it. The cover is beautiful and Mr Darcy very handsome, indeed! I don’t think I’ve ever read a scenario where he was a military man.
Congrats Catherine and Meryton Press!
Very nice cover. I read this story a while ago in its pre-published form and could never get a good picture of Dacy in my mind (for some reason a Johnny Depp like character kept coming to mind which was just wrong). This picture is so much better congratulations on publishing this book. I look forward to reading it.
I’ve been checking Meryton Press every few days to see when this book will be released. I absolutely love the cover! I hope the book sells tremendously well!
What a fantastic cover and a fresh,new perspective on our beloved Mr Darcy and Lizzy!
Looking forward to reading this one,I’m hoping Lizzy doesn’t agree to shackle herself to Mr C!!!!
You’ll have to read the book to find out! I can highly recommend it 🙂
Beautiful cover, and the book sounds fantastic!
JAFF at sea, any time. Love the whole idea!
Love the cover. Read the book, forum style, some time back and I can’t wait to read the published version. Best wishes with your publication. I know this book will do well. Jen Red
Thanks, Jen, I’m looking forward to it myself. Nearly as much as I am terrified
Wow! Captain Darcy is bang on for the characterization in the story! And I love Elizabeth’s sleeves. As usual, Zorylee’s cover has all kinds of details and nuances that tell the story as well as add visual interest. This is one of those books where I’ll wait until the paperback release because I can’t just settle for the Kindle version. Well done. I’m keen to read the updated version, since I’ve read the unpublished one so many times, I can quote bits, particularly the swoony ones. Congratulations on the cover reveal and best of luck on the upcoming release.
Thrilled that you modeled gyour Pemberley after The Fountains. I used a modified version of their abbey ruins for Pemberley’s folly in one of my books, The Secret Betrothal. I’ve only seen pictures, but I’d love to visit the estate some day. Congratulations on your cover reveal and new novel. Sounds like a fascinating story!
If you ever do visit,let me know and I’ll give you the tour. Everyone should see it at least once. And the tea shop does a good cream tea too!
Absolutely gorgeous!!!! Congratulations!!!! 😀
Warmly,
Susanne 🙂
OMG!!! That simply took my breath away. Wow! There are some very talented people out there and man are we lucky to hook up with their work. Whew!! That depiction of Darcy was amazing and that Elizabeth complements him so well. Whew!! Can’t wait for the launch. Thanks Meredith for sharing with us.
My pleasure, Jeanne! And I agree with you that the talent out there is amazing! We are so lucky that authors and artists are brave enough their gifts with the world!
Gorgeous cover with fantastic details. Cannot wait for this books publication date. Congratulations!
I can’t wait either! Picture me like one of those motorcycle sideshows at the fair, doing the Wall of Death round and round my sitting room.
Ooooo, lovely story idea, really looking forward to this. Gorgeous cover too. Loved hearing about how you went about collaborating and researching for the cover’s completion. So glad you showed the wraparound back cover. With e-books, you don’t always get to see the back cover of the book! I’m looking up Fountain’s Hall now.
Best of luck!
Love the artwork and can’t wait to read your story
Congrats to you and Zorylee for her beautiful art
Great cover, and so sweet. 🙂 Congratulations Catherine on the book release. 🙂 Looking forward to reading it.
As one Kate to another, thanks very much. My heart is in my mouth every time I think about it but even with the nerves, it’s really, really exciting!
I LOVED this story when I read it online. LOVED it! LOVED it! LOVED it! My husband was a sea captain for over 20 of our married years. You got everything right – the anticipation of letters, trying to keep them straight and in order, and the difficulty of having an absentee mate when problems came up. What Elizabeth told Darcy when she reunites with him is priceless. Well done!
I’m sorry. I forgot. Z is brilliant!
I remember you commenting when I first posted it. It was really encouraging when you said that about letters to absent sailors.
Lovely cover! Congrats on your new book!
I keep hearing wonderful things about this book! Congratulations on the coming release, I can’t wait to read it. Lovely cover!
Meredith, I never wrote to thank you for hosting the reveal. My only excuse is a nasty attack of real life, followed by the disappearance of my Internet connection for a week.
So, thank you – you were and are very gracious to we anxious authors, looking for a launch for our precious babies.
It was such a pleasure, Catherine! You were wonderful to work with and I am so looking forward to learning more about your book and having you come visit again! Wishing you all the best on your upcoming release!!
I’m so excited to see this story published after being a long time fan of it! The cover is gorgeous. Congrats on publication and best wishes!
Simply gorgeous! Thanks so much for sharing this reveal with us all. Darcy as a naval captain certainly sounds like a unique variation to me.
As a fellow resident of Yorkshire, Fountains is a very familiar place to me. It’s only about half an hour’s drive from home for us and we visit often. I’ll certainly be looking at Fountains Hall with new eyes on our next visit! I can certainly vouch for the quality of the cream teas that Catherine mentioned earlier. The cafe by the lake in the Water Gardens also makes some pretty mean paninis, too!
I’d no idea that Jah Hahn had used Fountains in her book but I did know that Abigail Reynolds had been inspired by the ruins in Mr. Darcy’s Noble Connections. How cool is it that there are now three JAFF books (that I know of) with parts of them inspired by somewhere near where I live?
Harrogate by any chance?
Got it in one, Caroline!