Happy Friday, friends! I am excited to end my week by welcoming a new author, Laraba Kendig, to Austenesque Reviews for the first time! Laraba started publishing her stories during the pandemic, and now has released 5️⃣ Pride and Prejudice variations!  (I am Jael, The Blind Will See, The Banished Uncle, A Fortuitous Fall, and her newest release – Darcy Sails After Her). Laraba is here today to share about her inspiration for Darcy Sails After Her! 🏝 We hope you enjoy! 🤗

My husband and I are blessed to be parents to several children. During our twenty-one years of parenting so far, the two of us have managed a few vacation getaways with the help of grandparents, who nobly took on caring for the horde while we snuck away for a few delightful days together.

A few years ago for our 20^th anniversary, we traveled to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.Why St. Croix among the almost limitless possibilities, you ask? Well, because it has a beach and it’s a U.S. territory so we didn’t need a passport! It is tropical – which sounds really good right now! – so there are coral reefs and myriad fish, turtles, sting rays and the like. My beloved husband (and editor/publisher) adores oceans in general and snorkeling in tropical waters in particular. We found a lovely cottage to stay at right on the ocean. All we wanted was waves and ocean and time together relaxing away from our needy children and the daily grind of life, and St. Croix turned out to be everything we wanted and more.

We are not particularly adventurous people either, so having found a wonderful place in St. Croix, we have returned three more times. We even managed a trip this year in the middle of the COVID epidemic. We arrived the day that the island shut down again after opening back up to visitors for a few weeks, so the only places open were grocery stores … and the ocean. It was another wonderful and romantic week together.

My beloved husband suggested that I write a Pride and Prejudice variation book set in St. Croix. At first, my brain rebelled at the very thought. How could I make that work? And yet, when I did some poking around historically, I realized that actually it would work quite beautifully. St. Croix has an incredibly complex history and was ruled by several different countries in the 1700s and 1800s. During the time when Pride and Prejudice is set (1811-1812), the island was under British rule. Suppose that Elizabeth had to flee England for some reason and Darcy chased after her …

And thus my novel, Darcy Sails After Her, was born. When I write my P&P variations, I try to keep Elizabeth and Darcy true to their portrayals in the original book. I want them to cope with their own pride and prejudice, to struggle with issues of wealth and status. This book takes place after the Hunsford proposal where Elizabeth turns down Darcy’s marriage offer with such vehemence. Thus, both have already come to terms with some of their failings, which frankly made the romance between them easier to write. Because Darcy, in spite of Elizabeth’s bitter refusal, loves her dearly, and when he learns of her departure from England’s shores, he decides set aside his responsibilities to chase after her in the hope of winning her hand.

As I said earlier, I am not a great traveler so I cannot give eye witness descriptions of Paris or Hong Kong or other exotic locations, but I can, and did, give plenty of descriptive commentary about the beaches of St. Croix and the town of Christiansted. I also expanded the ocean voyage experience by including some sea shanties that Elizabeth and Darcy heard during their time aboard ship. I even reached out to a very talented group in the UK, called the Roaring Trowmen, and they assembled an official soundtrack for the book so readers can actually listen to these fun songs to enhance the experience a little more.

St. Croix is a remarkable island with remarkable people, and I hope that those who read my book will be transported away, at least temporarily, to a place where the sun shines and the waves ripple and the turtles lay their eggs in the sandy beaches … and Elizabeth and Darcy’s love blooms. Darcy Sails After Her is currently available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.

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~ Book Description ~

Fitzwilliam Darcy casts aside duty and family responsibilities to pursue Elizabeth Bennet. Where is Elizabeth and what will Darcy find when he follows his darling across the ocean?

Mr. Bennet is dead, and Mr. Collins has taken Longbourn and thrown the Bennet ladies from their beloved home. Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy returns to Pemberley to discover letters telling of the catastrophe which has devastated the life of his precious Elizabeth. Where has she gone and who knows her whereabouts? Despite his own doubts, he resolves to chase after her and recruits his friend, Mr. Bingley, to help. Darcy and Elizabeth both find themselves on the adventure of a lifetime. How will he find her and win her heart and hand in marriage?

Thank you so much for sharing, Laraba, and for writing a story about Darcy and Elizabeth that takes us to a tropical island!! I love the idea of traveling to a new destination and cannot wait to read Darcy Sails After Her!  🏝 I wonder what has befallen Elizabeth and necessitates her traveling over seas! All the best with your new release, Laraba!

*Special thanks to Laraba and her husband for providing the gorgeous images used in this post!

 

What do you think, friends?

Wouldn’t a trip to St. Croix and a little tropical sea bathing just “set you up forever?”