Vignette + Giveaway with Author Catherine Lodge!!!

September 1, 2017 • Author Features, Giveaways • 77 Comments

Hello readers!  We are very excited to welcome back author Catherine Lodge to Austenesque Reviews today! A few weeks ago you may remember we participated in a cover reveal for Ms. Lodge’s debut release, Fair Stands the Wind, where we learned that our dear Mr. Darcy is actually a second son enlisted in the navy!! (Sounds so interesting, doesn’t it?) Today, Catherine shares some interesting little vignettes that feature the various ways her characters are spending a Sunday afternoon.  We hope you enjoy!

Sunday Afternoon

Mrs Bennet has always hated Sunday afternoons. Everyone is so slow and stupid after their midday meal and even her sister does not call. She glances at The Ladies Magazine in her lap. That gown would suit her to perfection, for even after five children she still retains much of her former figure, and the sleeves would drape so beautifully over her wrists and show off her hands, she is secretly very proud of her hands. At least she thinks it is a secret.

She wishes Lydia was still at home, she was such a cheerful girl and Kitty was driving her to distraction with that cough. Mary was hammering away at the piano in the parlour, she had half a mind to sell it and have a little peace and quiet in her own home. Only the fact that a gentleman’s home must have an instrument stops her.

She stifles a belch, she is sure Cook is not nearly so careful now Mr Bennet is not at home. That joint did not taste quite as it should. She had better have a dose of her cordial before tea. If only Brother were not so mean with the housekeeping! She has spent her allowance and quarter day is almost six weeks away. She should never have let herself be tempted by that cap and those slippers and the new carpet for the upstairs landing. And that was another thing, the carpet should have come out of the household account not her own money. Brother was being most unfair, if only there was someone…..

And then she had an idea, an absolutely wonderful idea. And Mr Bennet said she was a fool, she would wager he had never had an idea like this.

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The vicar’s son is feeling sleepy. Sundays are always so dull, father will not allow his family to have any fun on Sundays, so after they have eaten they have to sit around the house and Martha reads to them. He really hates “The History of Sandford and Merton”. They have been through it three times already but even so it is better than the Bible. He knows it is very wicked to say so but he cannot understand The Bible, it is full of thees and thous and eths and even when you get a good story like Samson and the Lion, or Gideon and Jericho, or Noah and the Ark it is spoiled by all the eths. He does not mind the Bible in church, you can look at the tombs and the stained glass windows and the girl he is going to marry is sitting in the pew in front of theirs so he can watch her sing. Martha drones on, at least Dickie does voices but he is away at school. His stomach is full of baked apples, the room is warm and stuffy, he falls asleep and as he does so he dreams of his love and her golden hair.

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Really that girl will be the death of her. She knows nothing and seems to want to know nothing, her manners are appalling and she has been taught to expect whatever she demands. They had known all that before she arrived, but this is the height of ……. words fail her. She knew that Lydia would require a lot of care, but to attempt to sneak out of the house to meet the young man apprenticed to the instrument maker at the bottom of Grace Street was beyond anything she had expected. How on earth had she managed to meet the boy in the first place? Well, Lydia could cry and storm all she liked, she would stay in her room until she and her husband had decided what on earth they could do about her.

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The captain sits in his great cabin just after noon. The cabin is flooded with light, it is Sunday, a fine day with an intensely blue, cloudless sky. The wind has died and he hardly notices the swell as he sits at his table and writes the next instalment of his letter to her. Somewhere aft, the Master at Arms is leading a party in the cutlass drill, but he doesn’t hear the clash of metal on metal, his pen moves almost without his thoughts to guide it.

Opposite his table sits his guest, sleeping off his noonday meal in the captain’s favourite chair. so he adds a quick pen and ink portrait, tactfully closing the open mouth which, to be frank, makes the man look more than slightly imbecilic.

Occasionally, he glances at the last letter from her which is open on his desk before him. The letters from his mother were all lost when the Artemis was holed below the waterline off Ushant just after he first made lieutenant: he stores all his wife’s letters in a lead-lined box. He hopes she enjoys his letters as much as he enjoys hers, he wonders if she looks forward to them as much as he does, he wonders if he deceived her as thoroughly as he deceived himself.

Oohh!!  This was very sneaky of you, Catherine!  You didn’t really give much away!  We can’t tell for sure who is in each scene… I have so many questions!  Why is Mr. Bennet from home?  What is Mrs. Bennet’s plan? What is Lydia doing? What is going on in that last scene!  There is one thing I know for certain…I can’t wait to find out all the answers to my questions!! 😉  Thanks so much for sharing Catherine!

Connect with Catherine

Website    ❧    Facebook   

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GIVEAWAY TIME!!

Meryton Press is generously giving away 8 ebook of Fair Stands the Wind in conjunction with this blog tour!!  Woot woot!  Commenting and entering through the rafflecopter widget on this blog enters you in a chance to win.  

   

   

a Rafflecopter giveaway

  • This giveaway is open worldwide.  Thank you, Meryton Press!
  • This giveaway ends September 15th!

Thank you to Catherine Lodge, Janet Taylor, and the lovely people at Meryton Press for making this blog tour possible! Click the image below to check out the rest of the tour!

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Disclaimer: The Amazon links used in this post are affiliate links. 

77 comments

    1. The answer to some, all or none of these questions can be found in the book, if the bloody think ever gets published.

      Reply

    1. Amanda, the eBook will be available online but not sure of the date at this time. There is a holdup with Amazon due to someone plagiarizing Ms. Lodge’s novel.

      Reply

        1. 2 years ago, on my birthday no less, someone told me that my book had been plagiarised. I got in touch with Amazon and got them to take it off. Now they seem to think I’ve plagiarised my own book and are refusing to sell it, for Kindle or hardback. I’m trying to work it out with Amazon at the moment, so please all keep appropriate extremities crossed.

          Reply

          1. That is truly awful, Catherine! I’m so sorry! I am hoping all of this is sorted out for you, I know its hard to enjoy your big release when you stress and frustration popping in the way!

  5. I think we can tell who is in each scene. First Mrs. Bennet, then the vicar’s son, Mrs. Gardiner, and finally Captain Darcy.

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  6. I very much enjoyed these vignette snippets! They were lovely, Catherine! I agree with Meredith. They do pose more questions that need answering! You are sneaky.

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  7. Oooh! I love these vignette scenes. I’ve been checking Meryton Press and Amazon on a daily basis hoping that the release date has arrived.

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    1. Thanks, it’s really difficult to write something which doesn’t contain spoilers, so I went with some minor characters, and a scene from the book I couldn’t find a place for.

      Reply

  9. Oh! His incredibly clever of you to offer a little snippet of different characters’ lives!!
    Just when we were engrossed we find ourselves exasperated as we are left wondering who,what,why and how?!!!
    Loved each one and can’t wait to discover these answers for myself!!
    Cheers to all concerned for such a great post!!

    Reply

    1. You are welcome, please cross appropriate extremities that Amazon pulls its head out of its hindquarters and let me publish it for the Kindle

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  11. What??? NoooOOOooo!!! You can’t leave us like this… OMG!!! Who… What… When… Where… Dang! I have this on my wish list and sure hope to either win one or I simply buy it. Dang. I have to know what happens. No cool, my friend… not cool to tempt us this way and leave us high and dry. Ha… what fun.

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    1. Even odder, you can apparently buy it secondhand in the UK???? No wonder Amazon took years to make a profit, they could’nt organise their way out of a paper bag.

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  13. Oooh sneaky! Who is the vicar’s son? & if it comes to that who is the vicar? Where oh where is Lydia? Why did Mrs Bennet buy a new carpet when she expects to be thrown out by Mr Collins at any moment? (Or maybe she doesn’t!!!) Hmmm! I’m totally baffled now and just hope that the Captain is Darcy and the wife whose letters he is keeping safe is Elizabeth?
    This is definitely a must read

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  15. This JAFF book is so different and fascinating. I had the same questions as Meredith. Each excerpt was tempting to know what was going on. Where is Mr. Bennet that Mrs. Bennet’s brother is managing the money. If Lydia is married, why is she back in the house. Too funny about the vicar’s son. Are Darcy and Elizabeth married? Thank you for the generous giveaway.

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    1. Sings “There are more questions than answers”. If it never gets published, I’ll come back and explain it all. Along with what the present for Lieutenant Miller contained and what happened to the first lady’s maid.

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  17. Thank goodness for a blog tour to add so much fun while we’re waiting for the eejuts at Amazon, who at the moment are a broken record of bureaucratic uselessness. Catherine Lodge, you and Nicole Clarkston (whose e-book was distributed in an odd sort of primitive publishing state for reasons that are beyond me) both have had quite the week with Amazon. Hopefully both problems will be fixed soon. Thanks to Catherine for an entertaining vignette (is Tease your middle name?), to Meredith for hosting, and to Janet for organizing the blog tour. What fun we’re having. Wait until we get the book to add to the fun!

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  19. Such a tease! I was wondering why every day I look for you on Amazon and nothing comes up! I’m so sorry for the ‘mess’ and will keep checking each day until it does! Here’s hoping very soon it will be resolved. I will keep my fingers crossed for you!

    Per Nicole’s message, I advised Amazon about Nicole’s book asking them to update my e-book with the correct file! They said they hope to have information for me in the next 2-3 days. Hopefully that will mean the correct file.

    Reply

    1. I got the same message, caroleincanada. Thing is, Nicole has uploaded the correct version already. It should be immediate.

      Regarding Fair Stands the Wind, the paperback version is available for sale but out of stock on Amazon. It’s a start!

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  21. Wow, so many cliffhangers. I am wondering so many things like who the captain and his wife is, what role does the vicar’s son play in this story and who his dream girl is, and why Mrs Bennet is so dependent on her brother’s money instead of her husband.

    I look forward to the day Amazon finally published the Kindle edition. If not, what about other distribution channel for e-books like Nook, iBooks, Google, Smashwords, Kobo, etc? Do they all rely on Amazon?

    Reply

  23. Oh my goodness… those excerpts left so many questions on what is happening or what’s going to happen next! I can’t wait to read your story! Congrats on your new release and for the giveaway opportunities.

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  25. Like many others, I’m left with more questions than answers after reading these snippets! In fact, I could almost say that you, Catherine, are taking great delight in vexing us!

    Sorry to hear about your problems with plagiarism. I’m not sure where that lies from a legal standpoint (hubby is a retired solicitor) but I guess you’ll know an awful lot more, given your “day job”. Let’s hope Amazon can get themselves sorted out soon.

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  28. Well, what a way to leave us hanging off a cliff. :/ What a crash to your Birthday party. 🙁 What a beautiful cover. I’ve been looking forward to this since the cover reveal.

    And Meredith. September is really starting out great! You need to bring Ms. Lodge on again and again. She is hilarious.

    Catherine Lodge, from your responses to above comments (and of course the little snippets of your story,) I know I’m going to like your writing. You are a hoot.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for your lovely visit, Michelle! I am glad you enjoyed both Catherine’s visit! She is lovely, isn’t she? I would be thrilled to welcome her back! 🙂

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  29. Indeed, Ms Lodge I am truly sorry for your frustrations with Amazon. The more I hear little glimpses of behind the Amazon ‘storefront’ re the treatment of authors, I am completely bewildered and angry on authors’ behalf. And they seem to be treating their customers worse these days, too. See customer discussions on A’s site about wish list organization and ‘price drops.’ Ok, rant over. blushing emoticon.

    Reply

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