The writings and ramblings of Colette Saucier

Good morning, dear readers!   We are BACK! Coffee with Colette returns, and it is only appropriate that  Abigail Reynolds should be the first guest joining me as we begin anew! (I know, I've been gone awhile; but that's a topic for a separate blog post. This time has, however, allowed me to catch up on all the JAFF I'd been missing!)  As I mentioned when Abigail joined me here in March , I had been harassing her for quite some time to release her new Pride and Prejudice variation. Well, it seems that my diligence paid off because.....here it is!!!  (She may come to regret this kind of negative reinforcement.) Seriously, as soon as Alone with Mr. Darcy was available for pre-order, I pre-ordered it; and then, approaching the appointed date, I waited until midnight for it to appear magically on my Kindle. Because it was so late, I think I did take until the next day to finish it, but only because of that annoying thing called a "day job." I know I say th...

Happy St. Valentine's Day, dear readers! Before I address the title of this post, there is a question that continues to pop up: What explains the lasting longevity and popularity of Pride and Prejudice , over 200 years after its release? Is it the Cinderella-like idea of a (relatively) impoverished girl being rescued by a wealthy and handsome suitor? Is it because its plot became the boilerplate for almost every romance novel or film that followed? (Boy meets girl. Boy and girl dislike each other. Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy back. Conflict separates them. Boy and girl are reunited. Happily ever after.)   Or is it the endearing and unforgettable performance by Colin Firth in the 1995 BBC miniseries? So tell me: Do you think Mr. Darcy is the ultimate book boyfriend?  My answer? An unequivocal NO. (Now despise me if you dare.) Not a popular answer, I know; but that's just me! For one thing, he is barely even in the novel; and when he is, he has little to recomm...

ARe Romance and Amazon Best-seller NOW AVAILABLE! eBook only 99 cents through the end of the year! (Regular price $2.99) The Proud and the Prejudiced: A Modern Twist on Pride and Prejudice AMAZON BREAKTHROUGH NOVEL AWARD SEMI-FINALIST AUSTENESQUE REVIEWS FAVORITE MODERN ADAPTATION "Engagingly written & entertaining: Laugh-out-loud funny and filled with endearing characters, the novel's greatest strength is its masterful dialogue and the banter between the players. Skillfully rendered love scenes add heat to the romances, which the author keeps interesting through a roller coaster of plot twists." - Publishers Weekly Barnes and Noble for Nook Amazon for Kindle AllRomance eBooks for most formats OmniLit for most eBook formats All eBook formats

Greetings, dear readers!   It is, indeed, Jane Austen's birthday; but since she isn't around to accept a gift, I have one for you! As you may have heard, All My Tomorrows , the critically-acclaimed modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice (a semifinalist - among 20 in a field of 10,000 - in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards) has been retired . Today, December 16th, for Miss Austen's birthday, I am releasing an expanded and enhanced version of that "masterpiece" entitled The Proud and the Prejudiced: A Modern Twist on Pride and Prejudice ! The Proud and the Prejudiced has 9500 more words, 3 additional chapters, and 4 more scenes of our hero and heroine battling their pride and prejudices as well as their intense attraction to one another. The retail price of this eBook is a mere $2.99 ; however, because I know so many of you have already had the pleasure of reading All My Tomorrows , for two weeks only , all ebook formats will be available for on...

" This week’s theme is A Sexy Morning. Don’t you just love it when you see characters have a snuggle down day that starts with an awesome morning? Or how about making love at dawn on a planet far away? Or watching the morning sky together for the very first time as the sun tops the ridge?  This is a theme about that special time of the day where only lovers go. Do they wake up next to each other and wonder how they got there? Or are they all over one another?" Good morning, dear readers, As you see, this week's theme is "A Sexy Morning." Well, I'm not going to give it to you. Not really, at least. I am sharing an excerpt from Dearest Bloodiest Elizabeth - the upcoming sequel to Pulse and Prejudice , the award-winning paranormal adaptation of the Jane Austen classic, which tells the story of Mr. Darcy, vampire. Since appearing in Entertainment Weekly introduced Pulse and Prejudice to a new audience, I thought  this might be a good time to let read...

Gentle Readers, I cannot deny that I am thrilled that the appearance in the October 31st edition of Entertainment Weekly has generated new interest in this award-winning paranormal adaptation of Pride and Prejudice ! I am so excited that new readers are discovering Mr. Darcy's story, written as though Jane Austen herself had always conceived the dark and brooding character as a vampire . Although the trailer for Pulse and Prejudice was featured on USAToday.com , this is the first time (as far as I know) that it has appeared in the national print media, exposing the tale of the cursed Vampire Darcy to a whole new audience two years after publication! Pulse and Prejudice is available in eBook, print, and audiobook ; and right now, ALL eBook formats are on sale for $3.99! ( Click here to find it. )  Also, for anyone in the Southeast Louisiana area, I will be signing copies of it and all my novels at the Louisiana Book Festival tomorrow, Saturday November 1st, along with fell...

Good morning, dear readers!   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...

Are you ready for another clue in the Pop Culture Challenge? I hope you are having fun finding all the allusions strewn through the chapters of Pulse and Prejudice like Easter eggs. Do you think YOU will be the winner of the iPad and the Cash Jackpot? All of the pop culture references are listed on the Acknowledgements page of Pulse and Prejudice - the paranormal adaptation Jane Austen's classic, which retells the story from Mr. Darcy's point of view as a vampire - and today I will share a passage from the novel that contains one of the allusions! PLEASE NOTE: If you have not yet read Pulse & Prejudice or Pride & Prejudice , first of all, get to it! But secondly, the following will contain spoilers. This scene takes place immediately after Mr. Darcy has left Miss Elizabeth Bennet at the Lambton Inn, weeping after learning that her sister Lydia has "eloped" with the nefarious Mr. Wickham. From Miss Austen's novel, we only learn Elizabeth's pe...

I am honoured that Ellie Potts - the amazing author of Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, and Horror such as Blood Witch , The Unicorn and the Serpent , and Flights of Delusion - asked to interview me about writing my novel Pulse and Prejudice . She asked me about Vampire Darcy, Lord Byron, and all the pop culture references throughout the narrative. She even asked for a few pictures of me in my -eek! - Regency wear! I hope you'll take a look.... ~Colette Interview with Colette L. Saucier author of Pulse and Prejudice! I am a huge fan of Pride and Prejudice and Colette L. Saucier offers a refreshing twist on it by doing the story through Mr. Darcy's eyes. But Mr. Darcy is a vampire! What I loved about this is that the vampire is not overdone. It is there with light traces. He is not shiny or too dark. He is Mr. Darcy. I loved them sitting around talking about life and music getting more into their past that wasn't touched on. I think I caught a few pop referenc...

I have to say, I couldn't have been more thrilled when I was offered the chance to be a Featured Author at this year's Authors After Dark Convention ! I attended the event last year in New Orleans - quite convenient for me! - and had a blast, but I am so looking forward to going to Savannah this year! It's such a beautiful city, so I hope you will be able to come as well. Recently, the lovely Sophia Rose contacted me on behalf of Delighted Reader , one of the Official Blogs for Authors After Dark, and asked to interview me for their Author Spotlight   feature about writing and researching Pulse and Prejudice and how I used deep point of view (almost too well!). I confess, sometimes it was more like being under an interrogation lamp! You can read the complete interview here or below. (Also - on a completely different topic - I am visiting  Sydney Aaliyah's blog for Tattoo Tuesday telling the stories behind my own ink, in case you want to check that out.) ...

Good morning, dear readers.  I hope your week has not been as hellacious as mine! Due to crazy technical snafus, I am reposting this week's Coffee with Colette because I want to be sure you don't this one! Joining me for coffee this week is another Austen Variations Author , the lovely and talented Shannon Winslow ! She empathizes with all lovers of Pride and Prejudice . Although "(h)appy for all her maternal feelings was the day on which Mrs. Bennet got rid of her two most deserving daughters" (I believe Miss Austen had a modifier dangling there, as I doubt "the day" had maternal feelings!), we readers, on the other hand, were not so eager to see the story end! Shannon has taken pity on us - first with her sequel The Darcys of Pemberley , and now with her newest release Return to Longbourn . I know I can't wait to go back as the Darcys' and Bennets' tale continues , and I'm sure you'll agree. So grab a cup of coffee, get an ample ser...

(Originally written last month for Austen Authors ; republished now in honour of Valentine's Day.)   "In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." These words first published 200 years ago - and just before St. Valentine's Day - perfectly express a theme found not only in literature but in our lives as well. The heart wants what the heart wants, despite any reasoning against it. Two central motifs dominate Pride and Prejudice : love and money. For some characters, the two go hand in hand, as with Mrs. Bennet's hope that a young man of large fortune "will fall in love with one of" her daughters. Even she is not so callous as to hope for marriage without love; and once Mr. Darcy has insulted the least favourite of her children, his ten thousand a year loses its luster. The association of the human heart to love and, indeed, all passions goes back...

Today I am a guest at the Dark Jane Austen Book Club discussing the inspiration for Pulse and Prejudice , their featured selection for February. Be sure to pop over there for a chance to win a signed copy... In this, the bicentennial anniversary of what is arguably the most beloved novel of all time, I am asked with increasing frequency, what on Earth possessed me to write a vampire adaptation of Pride and Prejudice ? Often this is asked of avowed Jane Austen devotees with a tone of incredulity, if not outright scorn. I would like to take this opportunity to put that question to rest:  Lord Byron made me do it. Continue reading Leave a comment on the Dark J ane Austen Book Club website   for your chance to win a signed copy of Pulse and Prejudice .

Welcome to Sneak Peek Sunday for February 10th!  Yes, the "official" Six Sentence Sunday may be gone, but now we have a new way to share little snippets every week. Today I present an excerpt from Pulse and Prejudice , my paranormal adaptation of Jane Austen's classic, which tells the story of Mr. Darcy - vampire. In this scene, Mr. Darcy is in conversation with his valet Rivens, discussing the plausibility of pursuing a relationship with Miss Elizabeth Bennet even though he is immortal....      “She will die before I will.”      “She will die before you regardless.”      Darcy paced his chambers in Rosings hours after Lady Catherine’s carriage had conveyed Elizabeth and the others back to the parsonage, each minute spent second-guessing himself and pondering how decisions made years ago might affect all his days to come.      Darcy stopped and turned to his valet. “And your wife? When you l...