Undressing Mr. Darcy with Karen Doornebos! (and you can win!)

Good morning, my dear readers! 

 I admit, I have been a bad blogger as of late.  Last year I received one of those "Very Inspiring Blogger" awards. Now I should get a "Very Terrible Blogger" Raspberry. Fans of my Facebook Page follow the daily drama that is my life - although my mother-in-law says I primarily bitch about my day job and talk about drinking wine (I told her the two are not unrelated!). I even got my blog date for Austen Authors confused and had to  post something late and fast. I was dreadfully disappointed, too, because I thought my date was December 7th, and I was going to blog about the death of John Lennon on December 8th, 1980; but I suppose that has nothing to do with Jane Austen anyway! (I bet I could have found some sort of tie in...)

Through it all, one Austen Variations Author, who I cannot believe to this day even knows I exist, has been amazingly gracious. Words cannot express how thrilled I am to host the gorgeous and talented Karen Doorenbos for Coffee this morning - and I'm supposed to be a writer! OK - I guess the word would have to be ineffable. I became a fan of hers a few years ago with Definitely Not Mr. Darcy, and now she is here to introduce her latest release, Undressing Mr. Darcy - and who hasn't wanted to do that? Why do you think I wrote my own variation (with Colin Firth in my mind - oh my! - the whole time)? PLUS if you leave a comment below, you could win a copy of this tantalizing title and be entered for a special Grand Prize! So grab your double espresso or your skinny grande pumpkin latté and join me as I visit with someone I hope to call a friend...

~Colette

UNDRESSING MR. DARCY – Blog Tour & Giveaway


Hello from the Pump Room in Bath!

As an ice-breaker to each leg of my Blog Tour for UNDRESSING MR. DARCY, I’m taking you along for a ride to England, where I traveled during the summer of 2012 to do some research for the book.

Where am I on this stop? The gorgeous Pump Room in Bath where, once my heroine touches ground in England, she stops daily to “take the waters.” You can see the gorgeous pump here, enhanced with fish—their mouths open. The pump sits in a gorgeous solarium in the Pump Room where visitors can have high tea. A trio plays classical music, and, although the photo is dark, you can see the shape of the fabulous windows topped with a “fan” 

window. The room is stunning and I had to set a couple of scenes here, didn’t I?

The water, by the way, was warm and tasted of various minerals—an acquired taste—but I liked it and it only cost 50 pence. The Pump Room also happens to be the place where the climactic scene in UNDRESSING MR. DARCY takes place. Speaking of daily beverages…

Thank you, Colette, for the coffee…

Without further ado, I want to thank my fellow Austen Author, Colette, for having me over for coffee today. So nice of her. I take my coffee: seriously! I couldn’t have written either of my books without it! I’m a huge coffee drinker, enjoying everything from a regular cup of Joe to cappuccinos and complicated lattes. My usual latte is a non-fat, decaf latte—the largest possible. When I order it I usually tell the barista it’s my “cup of nothing.” My teenage son just told me that the latest research shows that latte drinkers go out of their way to please others…well…I certainly hope my latest book UNDRESSING MR. DARCY pleases! I might add that I drink tea too, sometimes as a chaser to my coffee…but all of this is just to keep me from eating chocolate while I write. My heroine loves coffee too. The question is: does falling for a Brit open up her vistas to tea? 

What’s all this about Undressing?

I have two men in my new book. One of them happens to come to the states to do his Undressing Mr. Darcy show to help sell his book and save his crumbling estate. He lectures about each article of clothing on stage as he proceeds to take it off—down to his drawers. Sound intriguing?

The other man in the book is a pirate. Well, not a real pirate, but a modern guy who, in his spare time, does some pirate reenacting. Did I mention he looks a lot like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Carribean?

My heroine, despite her addiction to her social media, gets caught up between these two…characters…and finds herself surprisingly swept away by the old-fashioned
“Mr. Darcy.” But can he really find his way to her heart without so much as GPS?

You can read the first chapter here!

Buy now at Berkley Penguin – Indiebound - Amazon – B&N – Kobo – BAM - iTunes

WIN!

Writings & ramblings readers, comment below for your chance to win a copy of UNDRESSING MR. DARCY… If you’re stumped for what to say, you can answer the question: Could falling for a man ever convince you to switch from your beverage of choice—say from coffee to tea? To increase your chances of winning you can share this post on your Facebook page or Twitter—let us know you’ve done that! You can also increase your odds by following me on Twitter or Facebook, or, if you’re not already, following Colette on her Facebook—don’t forget to let us know about it in your comment, thanks! Contest limited to US entrants only.

UPDATE:  The WINNER of is Erika Messer (as selected by Random.org). Please send me a message through my Facebook Author Page with your email address so we can get you your prize! Congratulations!

Mr. Darcy’s Stripping Off…

His other boot! At each blog stop Mr. Darcy will strip off another piece of clothing. Keep track of each item in chronological order and at then end of the tour you can enter to win a GRAND PRIZE of the book, “DO NOT DISTURB I’m Undressing Mr. Darcy” door hangers for you and your friends, tea, and a bottle of wine (assuming I can legally ship it to your state). US entries only, please.

Karen Doornebos is the author of UNDRESSING MR. DARCY published by Berkley, Penguin and available here or at your favorite bookstore. Her first novel, DEFINITELY NOT MR. DARCY, has been published in three countries and was granted a starred review by Publisher’s Weekly. Karen lived and worked in London for a short time, but is now happy just being a lifelong member of the Jane Austen Society of North America and living in the Chicagoland area with her husband, two teenagers and various pets—including a bird. Speaking of birds, follow her on Twitter and Facebook! She hopes to see you there, and on her website www.karendoornebos.com.

JOIN THE BLOG TOUR:

12/3: The Penguin Blog

Launch! 12/3: Austenprose

12/4 Laura’s Review Bookshelf & JaneBlog

12/5 Chick Lit Plus - Review

12/9 Fresh Fiction

12/10 Writings & Ramblings

12/11 Brant Flakes & Skipping Midnight

12/12 Risky Regencies Q&A

12/13 Books by Banister

Jane Austen’s 238^th Birthday! 12/16 Jane Austen in Vermont, My Jane Austen Book Club & Author Exposure Q&A

12/17 Literally Jen

12/18 Savvy Verse & Wit - Review

12/19 Kritters Ramblings

12/20 Booking with Manic- Review

12/23 BookNAround

12/26 My 5 Monkeys - Review

12/27 All Grown Up - Review

12/30 Silver’s Reviews

1/2 Dew on the Kudzu