The Cherry Trees of Rosings - Morgan Blake visits My JAFF Obsession. Excerpt & giveaway!
Today My JAFF Obsession is joined by Morgan Blake, to talk about her first full length novel The Cherry Trees of Rosings. Available now on Kindle Unlimited.
Welcome Morgan!
Thank you so much for hosting me today, Gill!
Book Blurb for The Cherry Trees of Rosings
A Pride & Prejudice variation with a slightly paranormal, mainly comic twist!
When Elizabeth Bennet visits her newly-married friend, Charlotte Collins, at the Hunsford parsonage, she has no idea that Mr. Darcy (he of the arrogant demeanor and perpetual cause of annoyance!) shall turn up to ruin her blissful, idyllic days.
Only, Mr. Darcy is not himself. And then Elizabeth stumbles straight through him one day....like one would an apparition! Goodness gracious!
“Mr. Darcy, I do not know what you mean, but I would appreciate it if you would desist from haunting me!”
“I apologize, Miss Bennet, for scaring you,” Mr. Darcy said, almost regretfully.
To solve her haunting problem, Elizabeth must team up with Mr. Darcy to find out what happened to him, and along the way discover that maybe he is not all that he seemed at first. And that maybe... she doesn’t hate him after all.
“You wish to write the letter now?” he asked as she moved past him with the candle.
“Well, to be honest,” she glanced at him. “I would prefer to sleep. But since you are here, I do not see why not.”
From the antics of Lady Catherine de Bourgh to the hilarity of Mr. Collins’ advice on staying fit, The Cherry Trees of Rosings shall make you laugh and cry in equal measure. And wonder: Will our favourite couple find their happy ever after?
Spoiler: Yes, they will!
This Pride and Prejudice variation features our favourite Regency romance couple from Jane Austen's original classic in a somewhat spooky setup. ✨ But fear not, dear readers! ✨ This story is not scary in the least. Prepare for a chuckle fest and abundant cups of tea!
Morgan Blake writes regency romance novels and Austenesque variations of Pride & Prejudice that are sometimes steamy, sometimes not. Satire is the name of the game and happy ever afters the goal!
Morgan loves exploring themes of personal identity, inner strength, social discourse, and hope alongside enduring love in her stories.
She also believes that strong heroes and heroines are not enough to make a tale worth telling. They need a supporting cast of both good and not-so-good characters that add more punch and vibrancy... and some dramatic ridiculousness!
Morgan is a cat friend, tropical girl who prefers winter clothes, perennial fantasy/scifi/historical fiction nerd, and a night owl.
Excerpt from The Cherry Trees of Rosings
Chapter 1: An Eerie Encounter
Elizabeth Bennet had only been at the Hunsford parsonage for three days when she saw Mr. Darcy under the cherry trees.
Her heart raced—a quick thump, thump, thump!—as she sped off the walking path to hide behind an ash tree. What was Mr. Darcy doing at Rosings?
That was when she remembered: he was the esteemed nephew of Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
Elizabeth had yet to meet the benefactress of her cousin, Mr. Collins—though he spoke of her in practically every sentence, of every conversation, every day. She was certain one would not find a more devout champion of any patron anywhere in the lands if they tried. But she would not have to wait much longer to satisfy her curiosity about the lady. After all, they had received an invitation just that morning to present themselves at Rosings for tea.
Elizabeth glanced at Mr. Darcy from around the trunk of the ash tree. It appeared she had one less surprise waiting for her in those quarters.
She quickly turned around and started off on a different path for her morning walk.
The way she saw it, there was no need to inconvenience the gentleman with frivolous civilities and hellos. He would surely be the last person to welcome such overt social mores.
***
Later that evening…
Elizabeth finished arranging her hair in a simple fashion before stepping out of her room. The rest of the inhabitants of the parsonage were already at the foyer of the cottage.
“Hurry along! Hurry along! Charlotte, Sister Maria, Cousin Elizabeth!” Mr. Collins called. “We must not keep her ladyship waiting!”
He was sweating profusely. Perhaps at the thought of arriving a few minutes late and having to prostrate at his patroness’ feet. Elizabeth coughed into her hand to cover her smirk as she joined them.
“Oh! What was that?” Mr. Collins asked, turning towards her. “Cousin Elizabeth, are you unwell?” He looked comically red in the face. “Perhaps you should stay behind. Her ladyship has strict rules about bringing disease into the great house!”
Elizabeth barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes. Though she did arch her eyebrows in amusement.
“I think I swallowed some dust. Nothing to worry about surely.”
“Dust? Did you say dust?” Mr. Collins’ eyes widened. He turned to his wife. “Charlotte! You must tell Mrs. Bishop to be more meticulous! I cannot have her humiliating me if her ladyship visits one day and sees such deplorable state of affairs. You know how…”
Elizabeth tuned out her hapless cousin’s words. It was surely an irony that the man had a housekeeper named Bishop—one who had arrived at the recommendation of Lady Catherine herself—while he worshipped nobody higher than his patroness. She only hoped that Charlotte would not be too vexed at her for stirring up Mr. Collins’ humors.
“Mr. Collins, I assure you,” Charlotte said, with the patience of a saint once her husband stopped to catch his breath. “I have matters well in hand. Perhaps we should start for Rosings if we wish to arrive on time.”
“Yes, yes, at once!”
The party soon left the cottage.
…and reached Rosings, right at the dot of four o'clock.
It never failed to amaze Elizabeth how Mr. Collins managed to arrive everywhere at just the precise hour. But she could not ponder on it too long as they found themselves following the butler (rather briskly), as he led them to the west parlour of the house, where her ladyship was to be found. Though, she did notice—along the way—how unerringly accurate Mr. Collins had been in his description of all the interiors. Right down to the number of stained glass arches above every window set!
“And there, you see, right beside the doors are the prized suits of armour that were gifted to Sir Lewis de Bourgh during his lifetime. By the Earl of Nottingham, no less!” Mr. Collins announced helpfully. “Her ladyship prefers the light in this particular parlour at this time of the day. But not when her gout is acting up.”
A steady stream of commentary on such matters had accompanied them all the way from the gates of the parsonage. And it did not appear Mr. Collins would stop anytime soon.
Elizabeth eyed the armours. They were polished to a shine and clearly well-maintained. So much that she wondered if they might spring to life any moment. But her attention was soon drawn away.
Because, just then, the butler pushed open the grand doors of the parlour and held up a hand for them to wait.
He walked in. Nose in the air.
“Mr. Collins and Mrs. Collins are here, your ladyship,” he announced. “As are Mr. Collins’ two relatives.”
Elizabeth felt her eyebrows arch at the excessive ceremony. Then she wondered if she would find Mr. Darcy inside, sitting beside his aunt, and possibly his cousin. All their noses high in the air. Collective disdain palpable at the substandard guests about to enter their inner sanctum.
Her lips twitched into a grin.
“Yes, send them in!” A loud—slightly shrill but decisive—voice boomed out from within the parlour.
It startled Maria Lucas. Enough that she clutched at Charlotte’s arm. But there was no time to offer any reassurances.
They were now very much within the lioness’ den.
Contact Info for Morgan Blake
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Giveaway ★★★★★ Morgan is graciously giving away one e-book to a commenter from this blog. End date for the giveaway is November 30th. The winner will be chosen at random. So add a comment below. ★★★★★ |
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