My book tour continues at Austenprose, the most popular Jane Austen blog on the planet, as far as I know.  Its lovely proprietress, Laurel Ann Nattress, invited me to share with her readers my inspiration for writing For Myself Alone, and specifically how it does or does not relate to Jane Austen and her novels. Once again, the post starts here and continues there. And once again, there are copies of the book being given away!

Miss Bingley immediately fixed her eyes on his face, and desired he would tell her what lady had the credit of inspiring such reflections. (Pride and Prejudice, chapter 6)

First, I should say that I might never have authored one word were it not for Jane Austen and my desire to spend more time in her world. I adore her subtle stories of love triumphant, and her witty, elegant prose suits my taste exactly. I longed for more, though, and so decided to write the sequel to Pride and Prejudice that I envisioned. I had the time of my life creating The Darcys of Pemberley, and I was totally hooked on writing after that.

 On to the next challenge! Not a sequel or tie-in this time, but a new story – one I imagined Miss Austen might have written next. But what would that have been? Well, she was very progressive for her time and would, I believed, have looked for a new angle or a different way of telling a story. So I didn’t feel forced to confine myself to ground she’d covered before. How about giving the heroine a lot of money for a change? And the problems that come with it? That opened up all kinds of possibilities… (continue reading here)