Karen Aminadra and bad boy Mr Wickham

If you've missed Karen Aminadra as much as I have you will be delighted to hear she is back. I am thrilled to have her on my blog this morning to tell us what she has been doing, and thankfully, it seems she has been writing. Go ahead, Karen, tell us all about it.

In 2012 I wrote my first book, Charlotte, the first in my Pride & Prejudice Continues Series. After Charlotte, came Rosings, and then my latest, Wickham.

Wickham was such a challenge to write. George Wickham is not your run-of-the-mill Jane Austen character, is he? He’s a rogue. And, love him or hate him, he was my next target along with his rather silly wife, Lydia. I toyed many times with reforming him, I toyed with straightening Lydia out and forcing my will as the author upon them, but characters like Wickham and Lydia have a will all of their own.  Add into the mix the fact that George Wickham is a Lieutenant in the British Army during the time of the Napoléonic Wars and you have all the ingredients for some explosive story-telling.

Here is a little taster to whet your appetites… 

Lieutenant George Wickham shivered. He was freezing sitting on the damp grass, but that discomfort was nothing compared to the pain in his wrists where the cold, hard iron from the manacles dug into his flesh. He tried to shift position to ease his pain, but with every movement, some other part of his body hurt. Sighing he gave up. He lolled his head back against the stake in the ground he was chained to. It serves me right. I do not deserve comfort.

A shuffling on the ground behind him and the touch of a gentle hand against his, reminded him sharply of his beautiful companion. It was entirely his fault that she now found herself chained and shackled beside him. Whatever her fate was to be—whether free or imprisoned, alive or dead, it was all his doing.

He closed his eyes and wished to God that he had been a steadier man, not prone to the whims of fancy. He wished he could think straight when his heart fluttered at the sight of womanly beauty; yet, he was no such man. He was a libertine and a blackguard, and his insatiable desires were the reason he found himself in his current predicament.

His thoughts returned to six months ago, to England, to where this whole regretful misadventure began…

Whatever will happen?  That’s up to you, of course, to find out.  I really enjoyed writing this book. Wickham took me to places I never thought I’d go and doing things I never thought I’d do.  But then, you’d expect that of George Wickham, wouldn’t you?

Wickham is the third in the series. You can check out the others on my website www.karenaminadra.com or through Amazon. Here

Wickham ~ Pride & Prejudice Continues, Book 3.

Wickham believes life is cruel to him until he comes face-to-face with an irresistible pair of dark brown glinting eyes and falls in love.

He is bored with his lot in life. His wife, Lydia, drives him as mad as a hornet’s nest, and he does not give her the attention and respect she demands.

They both yearn for change.

When Wickham leaves England to fight against Napoléon’s army in France, they both get their chance.

However, what they want is dangerous, foolhardy, and could wind up killing Wickham and ruining Lydia’s reputation forever.

Lydia’s wicked neglect of their infant son in favour of her own desires and need for attention could lead her into very hot water.

Wickham’s desire for the Frenchwoman he yearns for could be his complete undoing.

One Lovely Blog Award

                                            

I was nominated by fellow writer Janet Wertman for the One Lovely Blog Award. The award recognizes newer or up-and-coming bloggers who share their story or thoughts in a “lovely” manner, giving them recognition and helping them reach more viewers. In order to “accept” the award the nominated blogger must follow several guidelines. I have these guidelines listed below.

The Rules for accepting the Award(s):

    1. Thank and link back to the awesome person who nominated you.

    2. Add the One Lovely Blog Award logo to your post and/or blog.

    3. Share 7 things about yourself.

    4. Nominate 15 other bloggers and comment on their blogs to let them know.

So, first, thank you Janet Wertman for this wonderful compliment and opportunity. I love your blog and am sure others will too. janetwertman.com

Now then, seven things about me. It is quite difficult to think of seven interesting things about myself, so do forgive me:

I once knitted a jumper for Ed the Duck of Children’s BBC fame and he wore it on live television.

 

When I was at university I was selected to represent my year and meet Prince Charles. In this photograph he looks delighted at the prospect.

 I am very shy, hate crowds and enclosed spaces. I always position myself in a room so I can see the sky from the window.

Since I live in a secluded smallholding with no distractions, I am at liberty to write all day, every day and I very often do. This is the view from my desk.

I am going to be a grandmother in March (very excited).

 
 I am currently working on my seventh historical novel A Song of Sixpence, about Elizabeth of York and Perkin Warbeck. Look for it in the New Year.

I have a large family, four children of my own, three step-children, two step-grandchildren and a grandchild on the way. Here are some of us enjoying a raggedy day in the country. Christmas is very expensive (please buy more of my books). Ha ha!

 Perhaps I should add that I am hopeless at making myself sound interesting.

And finally, 15 bloggers and their blogs that deserve the same kind of recognition.

Rachael Thomas, Mills and Boon author, follow her journey to publication. http://rachael-thomas.blogspot.co.uk/

Kate Murray, author and artist writing and drawing her way out of dyslexia. http://kate0murray.wordpress.com/

Wendy Steele, Author, Wisewoman, gossip http://wendysteele.com/blog/

Karen Aminadra, keeping Jane Austen alive. http://kaminadra.blogspot.co.uk/

Elizabeth Ashworth, author of historical fiction and non-fiction. http://elizabethashworth.com/

Catherine Curzon, tireless provision of historical information.http://www.madamegilflurt.com/

Jackie Buxton, Agenthood and submissionville http://jackiebuxton.blogspot.co.uk/

Anna Belfrage, eclectic mix of wonderful stuff. http://annabelfrage.wordpress.com/

E.M. Powell, historical medieval fiction author and blogger. http://empowell.blogspot.co.uk/

Linda Root, Indie writer and historian. http://lindaroot.blogspot.co.uk/

Paula Lofting, Historical fiction author. http://www.paulalofting.com/

Louise Rule, Trials and tribulations of an indie author.http://louiseeruleauthor.blogspot.co.uk

Ann Swinfen, a mine of historical knowledge. http://annswinfen.com/blog/

Beth Elliot, writing the regency.  http://regencytales.blogspot.co.uk/

Stephanie Moore Hopkins, Author interviews of the best by the best. http://layeredpages.com/

I hope  you enjoy these wonderful  blogs as much as I do.

Interview with historical novelist Karen Aminadra

My guest today is Karen Aminadra (pronounced Amin-ah-dra) who is the author of Charlotte: Pride and Prejudice continues. She also teaches English language. Karen was born in London and grew up in Hertfordshire, 'the land of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice’.

Most of us are familiar with Pride and Prejudice and will recall the character Charlotte Lucas who wed Lizzie Bennet’s rejected suitor Mr Collins.  Karen’s novel follows Charlotte’s story and gives us the chance to be reunited with the characters we came to know and love in Jane Austen’s classic novel.

 Charlotte did not love Mr Collins when she married him but had at least secured her future. However, she soon begins to feel trapped and discontent. The easiest thing to do would be to do as she is told. But Charlotte must decide to remain as she is or to begin a chain of events that will change not only her life but also the lives of those around her forever.

Hello Karen, thank you so much for agreeing to appear on my blog. I really enjoyed Charlotte; Pride and Prejudice Continues but rather than hear my opinions I’d like you to tell us all about it. For instance, what inspired you to begin?

I began to write Charlotte ~ Pride & Prejudice Continues after a conversation about her.  I had always wondered about her, and what her life would have been like after she married Mr Collins.

I think it would be far too easy to be cold-hearted towards Charlotte and say, “well she made her bed, let her lie in it.”  I was never happy with that.

 What was it like to take characters that someone else (and one of our greatest authors too) had originally created and bend them to fit your story?

I wished to stay as true to Jane’s work as possible.  I did not want to change Charlotte’s personality at all.  She is witty, intelligent, and strong and I wanted that to come out in the book, but I also wanted her to grow.
She learns a lot about herself, that she can manipulate her husband a little and that she is not as strong as she first thought.  She battles with emotions, due to her loneliness and that leads her to places she should not be.

 What changes have you implemented as Charlotte matures from a girl to a woman?

I also never believed a word of it, when she said she was not romantic, and that she would be fine without affection in her marriage.  There is not a human being alive who can live without affection.  Charlotte had said that to Lizzy before her marriage, when she was surrounded by friends who cared for her and a large family who must have shown their affection some way or another.
I thought that upon arriving in Kent that she must have felt lonely.  She encouraged Mr Collins to be out in the garden, in the parish, at Rosings or in his book room.  How lonely! 
I also wondered about her need for conversation.  Mr Collins was never shown to be the kind of person you could talk to for hours or bare your soul to, and Lady Catherine would likely bite your head off and scold you for some trifling matter, so who did Charlotte have to talk to?

Charlotte is not perhaps everyone’s idea of a heroine, what was it about her that made you choose her?

Charlotte might not be most people’s idea of a heroine but I was always drawn to her and I always remembered Jane Austen’s own words to her sister Cassandra that every girl should marry for love if possible.  I wanted love for Charlotte too.
And what about Mr Collins?  Who could be married to him and not try to change him in some way?  The least a wife would do is point out his errors or flaws, delicately. 

 Yes, I wanted to ask you about Mr Collins. He is a bit of a toad to begin with, isn’t he? How did you manage to understand how his mind worked?

Jane wrote a wonderful character in him.  He is a real parody of the people she had obviously encountered but I wanted to ask, why was he like that? We all change over the years, and due to things that happen in our lives, could the same happen in the Collins household?

 I can see it must have been quite a challenge. Which of the characters did you enjoy writing the most?

Once I had introduced new characters in the shape of Hunsford Villagers, they took on their own personalities and they were quite entertaining to write.  I personally love Mr Abbot.  I think he is a blend of Charlotte’s own father Sir William Lucas and King George III “what, what!” and possibly one of my husband’s many characters!  I found that those characters also wanted to help Charlotte, so together we hatched a plan!

Well I for one loved Charlotte: Pride and Prejudice continues and I’m busily recommending it to all my friends. I wish you every luck with it. Can you tell us a little about your next project just so we have something else to look forward to?

The new one is begins in 1911 and goes into 1912... and is a historical crime/ mystery.
Driven by jealousy, greed and desire, nothing will stop Gregory Rogers from taking that which he believes is his. He'll do anything to gain money, Bancroft Hall and the power that comes with the title of Baronet. Including murder.
....Until his eyes fall upon the beautiful Jane. Can she rescue him from himself? Will she be the one thing that he cannot ruin in order to have?

Sounds excellent. I will wait with baited breath. thanks once again, Karen, for sparing time for us today and I hope you will be back to talk more about your next one very soon.

Charlotte: Pride and Prejudice Continues is available on Amazon Kindle and will be available soon in paperback.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Charlotte-Pride-Prejudice-Continues-ebook/dp/B0080ELL9M/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

http://www.amazon.com/Charlotte-Pride-Prejudice-Continues-ebook/dp/B0080ELL9M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337080814&sr=8-1