Friday 13 October 2017

Mistaken by Jessie Lewis - Blog Tour, Deleted Scenes and Giveaway

Blog Tour - Mistaken by Jessie Lewis
Today I'm very happy to be welcoming debut author Jessie Lewis to the blog with the blog tour for her new book, Mistaken, which is a Pride & Prejudice variation. First I'll share the blurb with you and then I'll hand over to Jessie for her guest post, which I think you'll really enjoy. It's a collection of scenes which you won't find in the book.

Blurb:

Fitzwilliam Darcy is a single man in possession of a good fortune, a broken heart, and tattered pride. Elizabeth Bennet is a young lady in possession of a superior wit, flawed judgement, and a growing list of unwanted suitors. With a tempestuous acquaintance, the merciless censure of each other’s character, and the unenviable distinction of a failed proposal behind them, they have parted ways on seemingly irreparable terms. Despairing of a felicitous resolution for themselves, they both attend with great energy to rekindling the courtship between Darcy’s friend Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth’s sister Jane.

Regrettably, people are predisposed to mistake one another, and rarely can two be so conveniently manoeuvred into love without some manner of misunderstanding arising. Jane, crossed in love once already, is wary of Bingley’s renewed attentions. Mistaking her guardedness for indifference, Bingley is drawn to Elizabeth’s livelier company; rapidly, the defects in their own characters become the least of the impediments to Darcy and Elizabeth’s happiness.

Debut author Jessie Lewis’s Mistaken invites us to laugh along with Elizabeth Bennet at the follies, nonsense, whims, and inconsistencies of characters both familiar and new in this witty and romantic take on Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice.

* * *
Book Cover - Mistaken by Jessie Lewis
Thank you so much, Ceri, for hosting today’s leg of the Mistaken blog tour.

It’s been enormous fun spending more time with Jane Austen’s characters, some of whom I kept firmly on track, whilst others I gave some slack to blossom to the fullest of their (not always salutary) potential. One of those I tried to keep exactly as he appeared (to me) in canon and whom I particularly enjoyed writing, was Mr. Bennet. His insouciant wit and eagle eye for human folly made him an ideal narrator for all the misunderstandings that occur throughout the story. Regrettably, since he wasn’t a main character, quite a few of his scenes never made the final edit.

I thought it would be fun to share a selection of deleted scenes that show his increasing amusement with Bingley’s indecisive attempts at courtship, though not all are told from his point of view. I hope you enjoy this peek at Mr. Bennet’s sardonic view of the unfolding events in the Bennet household!

~~~~~
Thursday, 28 May 1812: Hertfordshire

Mr. Bennet halted his amble to the library mid-stride, leant backwards, and peered around the parlour door. No, he had not been mistaken. Mr. Bingley was, indeed, engrossed in an apparently diverting tête-à-tête with Elizabeth—his third call on as many sisters in as many days. Mr. Bennet could not but marvel at the man’s indecisiveness.  

Tuesday’s choice had been Jane, with whom the young man had spent the better part of the day exchanging naught but protracted silences and mawkish smiles. The appeal of such a dull courtship eluded Mr. Bennet entirely, and he was not surprised when on Wednesday, Mr. Bingley had diverted his attentions to Mary. They had at least managed a dialogue of sorts and one that must have been more engaging than it appeared for in spite of Mr. Bingley’s appearance of ennui, he had yet stayed the entire day.

Today, it seemed nothing would do but to sample the company of a third Bennet, and very well pleased with his experiment he seemed too. Whatever it was Elizabeth was saying had him leaning almost out of his seat—so far, in fact, that Mr. Bennet was tempted to engineer some sort of commotion to see whether the pup toppled into her lap in fright.

Jane looked on with ill-concealed vexation (never had she looked so much like her mother), and he considered that for a girl heretofore unwilling to frown at a fart, her elevation to jealous inamorata was laudable. Mary seemed entirely unaffected by Mr Bingley’s defection, intent as she was on banging out a discordant bagatelle on the pianoforte.

Mr. Bennet wished his young neighbour luck and hoped he would not take overlong shedding his ambivalence, for he would prefer it if Mrs. Bennet remained ignorant of such vacillation for as long as possible, lest he be called to intervene.

~~~~~

Friday, 29 May 1812: Hertfordshire

The parlour at Longbourn was blessedly quiet, Jane’s youngest sisters having gone to visit Mrs. Philips with their mother. She, her father, and Elizabeth sat in companionable silence, they both reading, and she anticipating whether Mr. Bingley might call again today. She was not long kept in suspense. Not a quarter of an hour after her mother left the house, did Mr. Bingley arrive.

“Good day, sir!” said her father, folding his paper as he arose from his chair. “You have come for Kitty today, I suppose? I am sorry to disappoint you, but she is not at home.”

Jane often missed the gist of her father’s jokes and had grown used to ignoring them, but Mr. Bingley looked altogether baffled. He was saved from his stammering reply—and Jane’s spirits were raised considerably—by the announcement of a second visitor, Mr. Greyson. For Mr. Greyson was Elizabeth’s suitor and would monopolise her attention charmingly. Greetings were exchanged and Mr. Bennet excused himself, claiming five people were four too many for a truly civilized gathering.

~~~~~

Monday, 1 June 1812: Hertfordshire

Mr. Bennet had been uncommonly concerned at the prospect of Elizabeth walking to Meryton this day. Her rapid recovery notwithstanding, he did not think it wise for her to be venturing so far so soon. Nevertheless, she would not be deterred, and when his offer of the carriage had also fallen on deaf ears, he had taken the unprecedented decision to accompany her and her sisters on their walk. Thus, they had all—excepting Lydia and Mrs. Bennet, who tarried abed—enjoyed an agreeable morning in town.

Now almost home, he regarded Elizabeth with pride. The majority of their sojourn had been passed accepting well wishes from the good folk of Meryton. He had anticipated a certain amount of interest, but the ingenuous concern of his neighbours had far exceeded his expectation, speaking volumes as to the esteem his second eldest evidently commanded.

He was also disagreeably humbled, for the more people expressed their sympathy at her misfortune the greater swelled his own remorse. Had he but listened to Elizabeth’s warning, all the unpleasantness of the past days might have been avoided. Instead, she had borne the brunt of Wickham’s iniquity, Lydia’s stupidity and his own inaction and guilt poked incessantly at his equanimity.

As they approached the front door he patted her hand where it rested upon his arm. “I ought to have listened to you, I know. Though I cannot like of your method of proving me wrong.”

Elizabeth smiled at him weakly.

Relieved to have discharged his guilt, he continued more light-heartedly. “And now, with the militia departing next week sans your foolish sister, we need not concern ourselves with the preservation of her honour for at least another season. Our ruin has been wholly averted, and all with very little inconvenience to ourselves.” He chuckled and stood aside for Elizabeth, who now looked excessively weary, to go through the front door ahead of him.

As they entered the house, Hill informed them that Mr. Bingley waited upon them in the parlour.

“I should feel neglected were he not!” He left the girls to change their shoes and went to greet his guest—and knew not whether to be diverted or incredulous upon finding him this time in private conference with his fifth daughter. He allowed himself a modest smile and cleared his throat. “I commend your zeal for my progeny, Mr. Bingley, but even you cannot believe there is potential here!”

His delight in the man’s bewilderment was overshadowed by Elizabeth’s scowl as she trailed into the room after Jane. Hoping her recent travails had not permanently tempered her wit he excused himself and retreated to his library in search of sanctuary.

~~~~~

Thank you, everyone, for joining me here today at Babblings of a Bookworm to talk about Mistaken. Please feel free to ask me any questions in the comments section, or you can contact me via Twitter, Facebook or my blog (links below). I’d love to hear from you! 

Author Bio:


Author Jessie Lewis
I’ve always loved words—reading them, writing them, and as my friends and family will wearily attest, speaking them. I dabbled in poetry during my angst-ridden teenage years, but it wasn’t until college that I truly came to comprehend the potency of the English language.

That appreciation materialised into something more tangible one dark wintry evening whilst I was making a papier-mâché Octonauts Gup-A (Google it—you’ll be impressed) for my son, and watching a rerun of Pride and Prejudice on TV. Fired up by the remembrance of Austen’s genius with words, I dug out my copy of the novel and in short order had been inspired to set my mind to writing in earnest. I began work on a Regency romance based on Austen’s timeless classic, and my debut novel Mistaken is the result.

The Regency period continues to fascinate me, and I spend a good deal of my time cavorting about there in my daydreams, imagining all manner of misadventures. The rest of the time I can be found at home in Hertfordshire, where I live with my husband, two children, and an out-of-tune piano. You can check out my musings on the absurdities of language and life on my blog, Life in Words, or you can drop me a line on Twitter, @JessieWriter or on my Facebook page, Jessie Lewis Author,  or on Goodreads, Jessie Lewis.
  
Buy Links:

Mistaken   (Amazon US)
Mistaken   (Amazon UK)
Mistaken is also available on Kindle Unlimited

Book Cover - Mistaken by Jessie Lewis

Giveaway Time

There is a giveaway to accompany the blog tour. To enter, please use the rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please note that this just my stop on the blog tour, and there are loads more posts for you to enjoy. Here's the schedule!

Blog Tour Schedule:

Blog Tour - Mistaken by Jessie Lewis
03 Oct   My Jane Austen Book Club; Vignette, Giveaway
04 Oct   Darcyholic Diversions; Author Interview, Giveaway
05 Oct   Just Jane 1813; Review, Giveaway
06 Oct   Diary of an Eccentric; Guest Post, Excerpt, Giveaway
07 Oct   My Love for Jane Austen; Character Interview, Giveaway
08 Oct   Of Pens and Pages; Review, Giveaway
09 Oct   From Pemberley to Milton; Guest Post, Giveaway
10 Oct   Half Agony, Half Hope; Review, Excerpt
11 Oct   Savvy Verse and Wit; Review, Giveaway
12 Oct   So little time…; Guest Post, Giveaway
13 Oct   Babblings of a Bookworm; Vignette, Giveaway
14 Oct   Interests of a Jane Austen Girl; Review, Giveaway
15 Oct   Laughing With Lizzie; Guest Post, Excerpt, Giveaway
16 Oct   Austenesque Reviews; Vignette, GA

52 comments:

  1. What is Bingley doing, has he lost his wits

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tee hee! He’s not as bad as Mr. Bennet is making out - it’s just Mr. Bennet being tongue-in-cheek, teasing Bingley for being useless with women. And we know from canon that Bingley was pretty indecisive when it came to the fairer sex! :) Thanks Vesper!

      Delete
    2. Hehe! We know from P&P that the Bennet sisters were known as local beauties. I suppose if Jane gave him no encouragement he thought he might try his luck with another one!

      Delete
  2. Enjoyed the deleted scenes. I am especially amused at Mr. Bennet's amusement over the situation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He sees sport in everyone else’s confusion. At least he’s happy! Thanks for stopping by :)

      Delete
    2. I can just see Mr Bennet behaving this way, sitting back and enjoying a situation rather than helping out like the rest of his family would.

      Delete
  3. Having read the unpublished version I want to read the released edition. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you win a copy Sheila! Good luck with the draw :)

      Delete
    2. I saw the version on AHA but I don't get much time to read on there these days. I am glad it's been published. I hope you enjoy the published version even more and that your favourite bits have made it into the published version.

      Delete
  4. Ah, Mr. Bennet. Yes, I'm sure he was excessively diverted by Mr. Bingley's method of courting! I can understand why these little gems had to be edited out, but they are good for a chuckle. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a pleasure to have the chance to share, Debbie. It was sad to lose so many scenes, but honestly, I'd have been edging towards a War and Peace-esque word count if I hadn't some serious snipping! Thank you for dropping in to comment :)

      Delete
    2. I was so glad to be able to share these scenes with you all, Debbie. I'm pleased that you enjoyed them.

      Delete
  5. These outtakes are precious, thanks for sharing. I enjoyed every one of them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, thank you, that's great to hear :) It's lovely to have the chance to share them!

      Delete
    2. Glad you enjoyed them, Kate!

      Delete
  6. Aww, these were fun deleted scenes. I enjoy reading about Mr. Bennet and his 'take' on the surroundings. Thanks for sharing, Jessie, and for hosting Ceri! Enjoyable post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The blog tour is all thanks to your organising, Janet, so thank you! And many thanks to Ceri, too, for having me here at Babblings of a Bookworm :)

      Delete
    2. Glad you enjoyed them, Janet.

      I would like to second Jessie's comments - thank you for all your work in organising the blog tour, Janet, and for letting me take part!

      Delete
  7. Have really enjoyed reading these deleted scenes and finding out a little more about Mr Bennett.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, that's great, Catherine. It's been a pleasure sharing them with people. So good that they didn't have to stay languishing on the cutting room floor, unloved for the rest of eternity! LOL!

      Delete
    2. Glad you enjoyed them, Catherine! They are in line with my view of Mr Bennet, certainly :)

      Delete
  8. Yeah, I'm blog stalking. No worries... I'm harmless... just toss me a book and I'm happy. LOL!!

    Oh, these deleted scenes will haunt me when I'm reading the book. I'll watch and say... this is where that scene was pulled. Yeah, I know you have to pull them and you have to admit... they make great posts on a blog tour. Best of luck on the success and launch of this book Jessie. Thanks Anne for hosting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't you worry about stalking the blog tour - it's lovely having everyone along for the party! Thank you for your good wishes!

      Delete
    2. Hi Jeanne, thank you for your blog stalking ;)

      I agree, these things make for an entertaining blog post. I'm glad you enjoyed reading them.

      Delete
  9. Hi Ceri and Jessie,

    It must be so difficult and a little heartbreaking having to cut these delightful scenes from a book that you lovingly laboured over for a decidedly long period of time!
    I know it's a necessary evil that goes hand in have with the writing process but slashing scenes with a red pen must take heroic efforts!!
    Loved these scenes with the ever indecisive Bingley bring gently mocked by the sprightly and keen observant Mr B!
    Warmest wishes for you,your book and your future ventures,Jessie!
    Ceri,as always,thank you for hosting such a heartwarming and humorous post!!��

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Mary! You're right, editing can be a very difficult exercise, but in all honesty I enjoyed it. And the story, overall, is much better for it, so it felt good. A bit like going to the gym really - it's something you have to grin a bear, but it's bearable because you know it's doing you good! LOL! Thanks for your warm wishes :)

      Delete
    2. Thank you so much, Mary. I was glad to be able to bring these scenes to you, that otherwise you might not have been able to enjoy.

      Delete
  10. I enjoyed this in its unpublished form. Would like to read the released edition.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you get the chance to Sheila, good luck with the draw!

      Delete
    2. Hopefully if you enjoyed the unpublished version, the polished up published version will be even better :)

      Delete
  11. I have been following this blog and this last post really has me curious. What exactly happened?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, that is the million dollar question! I hope you get the chance to read it and find out! Thanks for stopping by, Eva :)

      Delete
    2. I was a bit concerned by the last one too, Eva.

      Delete
  12. Carole in Canada14 October 2017 at 16:10

    Oh Mr. Bennet!!!! I believe you have captured Mr. Bennet perfectly! I am now really curious to see the rest of his sardonic wit! I think I will print these off and save them for when I either get the book or if I am lucky enough to win it! Thank you both for a delightful diversion!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He really was fun to write. He's not always kind - unlike his daughter, his wit isn't tempered with compassion - but he's pretty much always amusing (or at least amused!). Thanks for popping in to let me know you enjoyed the outtakes!

      Delete
    2. I think Jessie's done a wonderful job of capturing Mr Bennet here, Carole. I'm looking forward to reading the bits that made it into the novel!

      Delete
  13. Great premise, and what an excerpt! And OMG the gorgeous cover!! Congrats, Jessie Lewis, this promises to be an amazing read.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, thank you so much Joana, that means an awful lot. I was so lucky with the cover Zorylee Diaz-Lupitou created for Mistaken. I really hope you enjoy the story as much ;)

      Delete
    2. I love Zorylee's covers too. They are always stunning and I love the story hints they give, the connections etc.

      Delete
  14. Love the deleted scenes. Oh boy, Bingley is all over the place. It's going to be a bumpy ride...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha, so true! He's every bit as fickle in Mistaken as he is in canon, only with less direction from others. The results are ... interesting! Thanks for stopping in to comment :)

      Delete
  15. I do love Mr. Bennet! Enjoyed the deleted scenes very much!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm really happy to hear that, Pam, thank you! It was a shame they had to go but I'm so glad for the opportunity to share them here. (Thanks Ceri for having me here at Babblings of a Bookworm!)

      Delete
    2. Glad you enjoyed them Pamela!

      Delete
    3. And a huge thank you to you, Jessie, for coming here with your blog tour, and providing me with this wonderful guest post. I wish you all the very best with your book <3

      Delete
  16. I've enjoyed what I've read so far, including these deleted scenes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm delighted to hear that, Miriam. I hope you enjoy the story too :)

      Delete
    2. Me too, Miriam. This is looking like a definite for my TBR list.

      Delete
  17. From the deleted scenes, I am all curious as to how all of this will play out.

    Congratulations on this new release and for it being your first, too. It will be added to the TBR pile. Thank you for the giveaway.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Patty! It’s always wonderful to know people are reading Mistaken - a story isn’t a story until it’s told after all :)

      Delete
    2. Hi Patty. The deleted scenes piqued my curiosity too!

      Delete

If you're not logged in to Google please leave your name in your comment or it will post as anonymous. Thanks! - Ceri