Are YOU a Darcy-holic? Monica Fairview Confesses her Addiction
I confess, I have been a very bad blogger of late. I really am trying to finish writing my new novel. Really!
That's why I was thrilled when fellow Austen Variation Author Monica Fairview accepted my invitation to return for Coffee to share this fun and hilarious interview from Darcyholic Times - LOL! You might recall Monica stopped by in October to discuss Pride and Prejudice's (or PULSE and Prejudice's!) "Mr Darcy as a Type," as well as to introduce her new release Steampunk Darcy- which if you haven't read by now, stop everything and grab it!
Now she has returned to confess her struggles with Darcyholicism. Of course, aren't we all Darcyholics? So as with any 12-step meeting, grab your cup of coffee and join me in saying, "Hi, Monica!"
~Colette
Darcyholics Anonymous
This interview is reprinted from the Darcyholic Times: A Magazine issued by the DARCY Program. The owner of this blog is not responsible for any of the opinions expressed.
As our guest today we would like to welcome Monica Fairview, author of two traditional Pride and Prejudice Sequels: The Other Mr.Darcy and The Darcy Cousins as well as her latest novel Steampunk Darcy. As an expert on the epidemic of Darcyholism that is spreading rapidly across the world, we are fortunate to be able to bring you this exclusive interview on how best to control expansion of this dangerous drug before it rages out of control.
Tell us a bit about Darcyholism.
Darcyholism is a very dangerous addiction. It starts when a woman – males are less likely to be affected by it – is exposed to a “Mr. Darcy” and comes to believe that he is the only romantic hero worthy of the name. It is a very insidious addiction and at the end quite mind-altering. It begins when that woman becomes dissatisfied with the males she meets and prefers to gaze at YouTube images of Mathew MacFadyen or Colin Firth. Every minute, somewhere in the world, someone is affected and eventually spreads it to someone else through exchange of books, films and other such unhygienic practices. It is important that we learn to avoid this danger because it is costing the individuals hundreds of dollars to satisfy their cravings for Darcy-related products and there seems no end to it.
Is it true that you, too, experienced Darcyholism first-hand?
Yes, I was a Darcyholic for a long time. Fortunately, I have now been Darcy-free for almost week.
How did you become a Darcyholic?
It all started with the BBC 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. I’d read the novel many times before and considered Jane Austen’s writing very amusing and sharp, but the moment Colin Firth gazed at me from the screen with those expressive eyes I was lost in Austen. The addiction had only just begun.
There are many qualities, but three of them stand out for me. One is that he is capable of such depth of passion and emotion. The second that he’s willing to sacrifice his social position for love. The third is that when it most mattered, he was willing to stand by the woman he loved and give her all the assistance she needed. Those are such beautiful things. *Sniff*
[I am in serious danger of a relapse into Darcyholism. I’m sorry, but I have to take a few minutes to recover my self-control and repeat the mantras I was taught at DARCY: “I will not think of Darcy. Darcy is not a real person. Darcy is a fictional character. No real person would behave like Darcy.”]
We can continue now. I think I have matters under control.
Are you quite sure? We could stop right now if you’d prefer.
Thank you, but I need to stay strong and not succumb.
Ms. Fairview, in your previous novels you were quite conventional in the sense that you drew on the language of Jane Austen and provided a straight forward continuation of the lives of characters from Pride and Prejudice, except that you introduced Mr. Darcy’s American cousins. Steampunk Darcy is a bit of a departure for you. What made you decide to take on this new direction?
It was suggested by the DARCY Program as a way to heal my Darcyholic addiction. It was thought that writing a Darcy that was different from the original might help get him out of my system, so to speak.
Would you say that you succeeded in curing yourself of the addiction?
Not by writing this novel – at least not yet. You have to understand that the DARCY Program is in its infancy, and that many of its techniques haven’t been refined yet. The problem is, Darcy has taken many forms, and trying to give him an unfamiliar form isn’t necessarily the most effective approach. It’s true that, in his original form, he was a Regency gentleman. However, he has also been sighted as a werewolf, a vampire, a pirate and others. Darcy is the quintessential concept of what we would consider a “gentleman” or what in a medieval period would have been “a knight in shining armor.” He can exist in many different contexts and assume many shapes, but they’re all swoon-worthy.
The fact is, Darcy in any other form is still Darcy.
Are you optimistic that you will one day cease to be a Darcyholic ?
No doubt about it. I’ve had relapses, naturally. I just completed a novel called Mr. Darcy’s Pledge, which will be coming out in May, and I’m involved in a group project on Austen Variations, The Darcy Brothers, in which we’ve invented a brother for Darcy called Theo (who is quite a heartthrob in his own right). But relapses come with the territory, and I’m not going to tear myself up about it. The main thing is to continue onward, one step at a time, until I conquer my addiction.
Thank you very much for what I know must be a very difficult topic to discuss. We wish you luck in conquering your addiction.
As our guest today we would like to welcome Monica Fairview, author of two traditional Pride and Prejudice Sequels: The Other Mr.Darcy and The Darcy Cousins as well as her latest novel Steampunk Darcy. As an expert on the epidemic of Darcyholism that is spreading rapidly across the world, we are fortunate to be able to bring you this exclusive interview on how best to control expansion of this dangerous drug before it rages out of control.
Tell us a bit about Darcyholism.
Darcyholism is a very dangerous addiction. It starts when a woman – males are less likely to be affected by it – is exposed to a “Mr. Darcy” and comes to believe that he is the only romantic hero worthy of the name. It is a very insidious addiction and at the end quite mind-altering. It begins when that woman becomes dissatisfied with the males she meets and prefers to gaze at YouTube images of Mathew MacFadyen or Colin Firth. Every minute, somewhere in the world, someone is affected and eventually spreads it to someone else through exchange of books, films and other such unhygienic practices. It is important that we learn to avoid this danger because it is costing the individuals hundreds of dollars to satisfy their cravings for Darcy-related products and there seems no end to it.
Is it true that you, too, experienced Darcyholism first-hand?
Yes, I was a Darcyholic for a long time. Fortunately, I have now been Darcy-free for almost week.
It’s an ongoing battle, but I believe I can conquer it. I am currently enrolled in a program called DARCY (Darcyholic Addiction Recovery Center for Youth) and have high hopes that I will soon be able to put this strange obsession behind me.
How did you become a Darcyholic?
It all started with the BBC 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. I’d read the novel many times before and considered Jane Austen’s writing very amusing and sharp, but the moment Colin Firth gazed at me from the screen with those expressive eyes I was lost in Austen. The addiction had only just begun.
There are many qualities, but three of them stand out for me. One is that he is capable of such depth of passion and emotion. The second that he’s willing to sacrifice his social position for love. The third is that when it most mattered, he was willing to stand by the woman he loved and give her all the assistance she needed. Those are such beautiful things. *Sniff*
[I am in serious danger of a relapse into Darcyholism. I’m sorry, but I have to take a few minutes to recover my self-control and repeat the mantras I was taught at DARCY: “I will not think of Darcy. Darcy is not a real person. Darcy is a fictional character. No real person would behave like Darcy.”]
We can continue now. I think I have matters under control.
Are you quite sure? We could stop right now if you’d prefer.
Thank you, but I need to stay strong and not succumb.
Ms. Fairview, in your previous novels you were quite conventional in the sense that you drew on the language of Jane Austen and provided a straight forward continuation of the lives of characters from Pride and Prejudice, except that you introduced Mr. Darcy’s American cousins. Steampunk Darcy is a bit of a departure for you. What made you decide to take on this new direction?
It was suggested by the DARCY Program as a way to heal my Darcyholic addiction. It was thought that writing a Darcy that was different from the original might help get him out of my system, so to speak.
Would you say that you succeeded in curing yourself of the addiction?
Not by writing this novel – at least not yet. You have to understand that the DARCY Program is in its infancy, and that many of its techniques haven’t been refined yet. The problem is, Darcy has taken many forms, and trying to give him an unfamiliar form isn’t necessarily the most effective approach. It’s true that, in his original form, he was a Regency gentleman. However, he has also been sighted as a werewolf, a vampire, a pirate and others. Darcy is the quintessential concept of what we would consider a “gentleman” or what in a medieval period would have been “a knight in shining armor.” He can exist in many different contexts and assume many shapes, but they’re all swoon-worthy.
The fact is, Darcy in any other form is still Darcy.
Are you optimistic that you will one day cease to be a Darcyholic ?
No doubt about it. I’ve had relapses, naturally. I just completed a novel called Mr. Darcy’s Pledge, which will be coming out in May, and I’m involved in a group project on Austen Variations, The Darcy Brothers, in which we’ve invented a brother for Darcy called Theo (who is quite a heartthrob in his own right). But relapses come with the territory, and I’m not going to tear myself up about it. The main thing is to continue onward, one step at a time, until I conquer my addiction.
Thank you very much for what I know must be a very difficult topic to discuss. We wish you luck in conquering your addiction.
Steampunk Darcy
A Pride and Prejudice-Inspired Comedy Adventure
William Darcy is obsessed with his ancestors. So much so that he intends to rebuild Pemberley (destroyed during the Uprising) stone by stone, and he wants to employ reconstruction expert Seraphene Grant to help him.
Or does he? Seraphene wasn’t born yesterday. She can smell a rat, particularly when it stinks all the way up to her airship. She knows Darcy is hiding something. But with the Authorities after her and her other options dwindling by the moment, the temptation of genuine English tea and a gorgeous Steampunk gentleman are very difficult to resist.
But what if Darcy’s mystery job courts nothing but trouble? What if Darcy is harboring a secret to kill for? When kiss comes to shove, will Darcy’s secret destroy Seraphene, or will it be her salvation?
Join us on a romantic adventure like no other in this whimsical Pride and Prejudice-inspired tribute, featuring Darcy (of course) Wickham, dirigibles, swash-buckling pirates and a heroine with fine eyes and an attitude.
Find Steampunk Darcy and all of Monica's novels wherever fine books are sold or get more information from her website.
About Monica Fairview
Monica's first novel was An Improper Suitor, a humorous Regency. Since then, she has written two traditional Jane Austen sequels: The Other Mr. Darcy and The Darcy Cousins (both published by Sourcebooks) and contributed a sequel to Emma in Laurel Ann Nattress's anthology Jane Austen Made Me Do It (Ballantine). Steampunk Darcy is her latest novel.
Monica Fairview is an ex-literature professor who abandoned teaching criticism about long gone authors who can't defend themselves in order to write novels of her own. Originally a lover of everything Regency, Monica has since discovered that the Victorian period can be jolly good fun, too, if seen with retro-vision and rose-colored goggles. She adores Jane Austen, Steampunk, cats, her husband and her impossible child.
If you'd like to find out more about Monica, you can find her at www.monicafairview.com,
austenvariations.com, www.monicafairview.blogspot.com, on Facebook and on Twitter @Monica_Fairview
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