I have three words for you:
Jane.
Austen.
Timeslip.
I'm pretty sure you all know me well enough to know that that sweet utterance means Jane Odiwe's
Project Darcy landed an instant spot on my wishlist... So of course, I'm super happy to have Jane drop by today to share a bit of
Project Darcy with you, as well as a chance to win a copy!
Thank you so much, Misty, for hosting me on your blog today to talk about my new timeslip book, Project Darcy.
The setting for most of the book is Steventon Rectory - in the present, five friends volunteer for an archaeological dig taking place on the site of the old rectory, which was pulled down some time in the 1820s. Whilst there, one of the girls, Ellie, experiences glimpses into the past at first, but then finds herself spending days away in another time - seeing life as Jane Austen lived it in 1795/96. In the past, Ellie sees life through Jane’s eyes at Steventon with the Austen family and their neighbours, and, in particular, she lives out Jane’s reactions to, and experiences with a young Irishman’s visit to the area. Tom Lefroy comes to stay with his aunt at nearby Ashe, and when Jane is introduced, she feels she has met her match!
Weaving two stories is always fun, and I had a lovely time travelling from the present to the past with Ellie who has four friends who also volunteer for the archaeological dig. Like the Bennet sisters from Pride and Prejudice, the five girls share similar initials and characteristics. Here’s an excerpt from the beginning of the book, which I hope you’ll enjoy!
Ellie asked herself again, for the hundredth time, how it was that she’d been persuaded to join in. Archaeology was hardly her thing and for that matter, neither was Jane Austen. But, in the end, it was impossible to refuse Jess this small request. Jess, her best friend, who she loved like the sister she didn’t have, had pleaded with them all. And it was Ellie who had made sure the others had agreed to come on the dig, reminding them when she’d managed to take them to one side that they were lucky to still have Jess around after her horrendous health scare of the previous year.
‘It’ll be fun,’ said Ellie, packing her sketch book into her bag as she walked along in the sunshine, ‘especially as it’s our last summer together before most of us have to join the real world and work for our living.’
‘So long as I can bring my straighteners,’ said Liberty, admiring her reflection and flicking back her chestnut mane as they walked past the refectory window on their university campus. ‘They do have electricity where we’re going, don’t they?’
‘Of course they do,’ Martha snapped, unable to disguise the irritation in her voice. With her nose buried in a book, she completely missed Liberty’s rolling eyes and the grin that passed between her and Cara. Although the five girls had struck up a friendship since sharing a student house, the mix of characters and personalities could hardly have been more different. Martha always remained just a little outside the group. It was Ellie and Jess, Liberty and Cara, and Martha drifted between the two, happy, for the most part, to be on her own.
Ellie purposely left out any suggestion that the trip might involve hard work or dirt, and made light of the fact that the archaeological dig was in a tiny Hampshire village in the middle of nowhere. Jess was obsessed with Jane Austen’s books and when she’d found out that volunteers were needed to find the remains of Jane’s childhood home in Steventon, she’d not talked about much else. Jess would never have done anything like that by herself; she’d always been timid with strangers. Ellie knew Jess wanted them all to go with her, but also realised that if Liberty and Cara had any idea of what was really expected of them, they might refuse the invitation. Instead, she focused on the parts she knew would keep them interested.
‘There’s a film crew going, and they’re making a documentary.’
Liberty, the drama student, could hardly contain herself. ‘OMG, do you think we’ll get to be in it?’
‘Oh, Liberty, our fifteen minutes of fame,’ said Cara, grabbing her friend’s hand and twirling her round. ‘I’ll have to tell my mum. When do you think it will be on the telly?’
‘I don’t know exactly, sometime next year, I should think, but I can tell you who will be presenting it.’
‘Who is it, somebody famous?’ Liberty looked as if she might explode.
‘Greg Whitely.’ Ellie knew she did not have to say any more.
Liberty threw her arms around Ellie. ‘But, I’ve been in love with him forever, and I’ve just always had this feeling that we were meant to be together. I think I might die at the thought of meeting him.’ Her hands flew to her mouth. ‘Do you think he’ll be there, Ellie?’
‘I don’t know, maybe not for the whole dig, but perhaps for some of it.’
‘Well, I shan’t be in any hurry to meet him.’ Martha closed her book and tucked her lank, mousy hair behind her ears. ‘My mother’s worked with him and she says he’s an insatiable womaniser.’
‘Even better! Perhaps I could be the one to tame him. I can just picture it – me in ‘Hello’ magazine on Greg’s arm swathed in satin and crystals,’ said Liberty, striking a pose, ‘as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge shower me with confetti.’
‘Dream on, Liberty,’ said Cara with a grin. ‘Martha, you’re so lucky. It must be wonderful to have an actress for a mother.’
‘No, it’s not,’ said Martha, instantly turning scarlet to the roots of her hair, a frown wrinkling her forehead. ‘I don’t think you can have any idea. My childhood was spent largely alone with a succession of nannies in school holidays, none of whom ever showed me the slightest affection, whilst my mother travelled the world pursuing her career.’
‘But, you must have seen some incredible actors and met some of them, too,’ said Liberty, who really excelled at saying exactly the wrong thing at the worst possible moment.
Ellie knew she should step in before Martha started to say she wouldn’t be able to come after all. ‘There is someone going on the dig who I think you’ll be interested to meet, Martha. He’s been on that documentary series where they only have a week to dig up some bones and then reconstruct the faces. Will MacGourtey – you know him – he’s an archaeologist – fair hair, young and quite good-looking.’
‘At least there will be someone worth talking to, then,’ Martha said as she opened her book again. ‘Intelligent conversation coupled with the informed knowledge of a first-rate academic is my idea of heaven – something quite sadly lacking from my life right now.’
The other three exchanged smiles, and Ellie, who was glad that she now had all three girls on her side, sent up a silent prayer that they would all continue to be so happy.
I’ve had a wonderful time writing this book, and imagining all the scenes - I’d love to know, if you could be a character from one of Jane Austen’s novels, who would you like to be?
****GIVEAWAY****
Jane has offered up a copy of
Project Darcy to one lucky winner in the US or Europe. Giveaway is open until December 1st at 12am EST. Fill out the Rafflecopter to enter; further rules and regulations in the Rafflecopter. Good luck!
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
Project Darcy by Jane Odiwe
326 pages
Published October 16th 2013 by White Soup Press
A LOVE STORY LOST IN PRIDE & PREJUDICE...
It is high summer when Ellie Bentley joins an archaeological dig at Jane Austen's childhood home. She's always had a talent for 'seeing' into the past and is not easily disturbed by her encounters with Mr Darcy's ghost at the house where she's staying. When Ellie travels into the past she discovers exactly what happened whilst Jane danced her way through the snowy winter of 1796. As Steventon Rectory and all its characters come to life, Ellie discovers the true love story lost in Pride and Prejudice - a tale which has its own consequences for her future destiny, changing her life beyond imagination.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jane Odiwe is the author of five Austen-inspired novels,
Project Darcy, Searching for Captain Wentworth, Mr Darcy's Secret, Willoughby’s Return, and
Lydia Bennet’s Story, and is a contributor to Laurel Ann Nattress’s anthology,
Jane Austen Made Me Do It, with a short story,
Waiting.
Jane is a member of the Jane Austen Society; she holds an arts degree, and initially started her working life teaching Art and History. When she’s not writing, she enjoys painting and trying to capture the spirit of Jane Austen’s world. Her illustrations have been published in a picture book,
Effusions of Fancy, and are featured in a biographical film of Jane Austen’s life in Sony’s DVD edition of
The Jane Austen Book Club.
Find her on
