Cover Reveal + Giveaway of My Dearest Miss Fairfax!!!

Hi friends! This week started with a post about Harriet Smith and will end with one about Jane Fairfax! I 💗 all this attention on Emma characters! 

Today, I’m excited to welcome author Jeanette Watts to Austenesque Reviews for her first visit! Jeanette is here to share the cover of her upcoming release – My Dearest Miss Fairfax! We hope you enjoy! 🙌🏼

~ From the Author ~

Only upon digging deeply into the text of Emma to pry out every last bit of information about Jane Fairfax’s engagement to Frank Churchill did I come to realize that Jane Austen had written a murder mystery…where the protagonist fails to solve the crime. The clues are sprinkled throughout the book. There are significant glances, there are unconscious revelations, there are easily-detectable lies. There are many times, for multiple characters, where actions speak louder than words. There are correct suppositions that are firmly ignored or denied.
I can only picture Miss Austen chuckling to herself as she wrote her brilliant manuscript: the tongue-in-cheek observations that only make sense once the secret is out are every bit as lightly cynical as her famous opening line of Pride and Prejudice. I like to think she would be chuckling while reading this tribute: while the Janes in Miss Austen’s books tend to be perfect, idealized women, this Jane Fairfax tells the truth behind the facade. The true woman isn’t perfect. But she’s a whole lot more fun.

~ Book Description ~

Is there a sin more wicked than a secret engagement? Not in 1814 England
For Jane, it was love at first sight. Frank was handsome, charming and rich – but he needed his aunt’s permission in order to get married. He didn’t think that would be difficult to obtain. His aunt adored him.
Of course, nothing ever goes quite as planned.

And without further ado….here is the big reveal!!!

(expected release date: March 14th)

Well, well, well! This is most intriguing!  😮

How fitting to see Jane at the piano and (I’m assuming) Frank is the shadowy figure – very symbolic. 👤

The Frank/Jane relationship sometimes feels incongruous too me in Emma, so I’m excited to see its secrets revealed. 😲

I have always sympathized with poor Jane. She was placed in such a difficult position.

What do you think, friends? 🤔

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~ Connect with Jeanette ~

Website   ❧    Twitter    ❧    Facebook    ❧   Goodreads   ❧    Instagram

~ About with Jeanette ~

Jeanette Watts has written television commercials, marketing newspapers, stage melodramas, screenplays, novels, and a textbook on waltzing.  When she isn’t writing, she teaches social ballroom dances and belly dancing, refinishes various parts of her house, creates Japanese Gardens and raised beds for herb gardens, and sews historical costumes and the occasionally useful thing, like face masks for all her dancers. She is a very poor housekeeper.

She was happily writing historical fiction when she got the idea for her first Jane Austen-inspired novel, Jane Austen Lied to Me. That lead to another work of JAFF, which has now led to a third – although, this time, it is a combination of both her favorite genres.

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GIVEAWAY TIME!

In conjunction with her cover reveal today, Jeanette is offering a lovely hand-quilted purse – or reticule, if you will 😏 – to one lucky reader!

To enter this giveaway leave a question, comment, or some love for Jeanette!!

  • This giveaway is open worldwide. Thank you, Quills and Quartos!
  • This giveaway ends March 18th

 

My Dearest Miss Fairfax is available for preorder now, and will be released in three days!

21 comments

    1. Hey, everyone! I feel I ought to clarify… I said that badly. “Emma” is LIKE a murder mystery… there’s a crime committed, and lots of clues, but it wasn’t a murder…

    1. I have a very quiet friend who gave me the “key” to Jane. In a conversation years ago, she told me that when she was being very quiet, that probably meant she was thinking a lot of things that might be too mean to actually say to someone! I couldn’t help but notice in Emma that Jane is VERY quiet….

  1. I’ve always had a soft spot for Jane Fairfax in Emma. This sounds like and interesting plot. Congratulations on the launch of your book baby, all best luck and wishes.

    1. Thank you, Michelle! It was fascinating pulling out and assembling all the clues in Emma, and figuring out who BOTH Jane and Frank were. So many people love Jane (is it a coincidence the two most perfect people in Jane Austen novels are both named Jane…?), and DON’T like Frank, and think that Jane should just jettison him. I think with some investigation I found that Jane is less perfect, but more human (and more fun!) and Frank wasn’t as awful as many Janeites think him to be.

  2. I’m a great fan of Emma, believe there are not enough JAFF stories that tie in with the novel. Looking forward to reading Jane’s story. We get teasing little glimpses into her life in Emma, will be interested to see her story fleshed out.

  3. This interests me very much as Emma is a favorite and learning about Jane is very special. Thank you for your writing.

    1. I only appreciated just HOW subtle and detailed “Emma” is when I started writing this book. Assembling all the clues about Frank and Jane’s relationship was complicated, and fascinating!

  4. I’m always looking for more Emma variations and this has me intrigued. Congratulations on the upcoming release. I look forward to reading it.

    1. My husband is my graphic artist, that was his first concept for the cover art. He designed four covers for me, and I put them up for a vote. His original concept won, hands down! It was immensely pleasing to know people liked his first instinct.

    1. Woot! I hope it loaded the way it was supposed to? Please, please consider going back and leaving a review when you’ve finished. I need 20 reviews in the first week and 100 reviews by the end of the month to avoid getting buried by “The Algorithm.”

  5. I know I’m quite late, but I really like how the brightness and full view of Jane is contrasted with the “shadowy” and secret Frank (although the secret was also hers). Thank you for showing that excellent cover!

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