Susanne Dietze - Austen in Austin Giveaway!

Congratulations to Susanne Dietze! Her latest book, Austen in Austin, releases January 15. She's here today to share about the book and two special giveaways. Be sure and check out the details below.

Congratulations on your book, Susanne! Can you tell us a little about Austen in Austin and how it came about? 

Thanks for having me, Karen! I belong to a group blog, Inkwell Inspirations. One day we were chatting about Jane Austen adaptations—I can’t remember if we were chatting about movies, heroes, or books inspired by Austen’s works. But Anita Mae Draper, who writes western romances, said she might like Mr. Darcy better if he wore a Stetson. That was all it took: a few of us were inspired to write western-set novellas inspired by Austen novels, characters and plots.

Eight of us joined the project. We talked titles and I jokingly suggested Austen in Austin. It stuck! Now we’re thrilled to have two volumes of Austen in Austin releasing this year with White Fire Publishing! I’m included in the first volume, releasing January 15.

Each of the stories is set in historical Austin, Texas, around a fictional ladies’ finishing school, the Jeannette C. Austen Academy. The characters have a bit of overlap in each other’s stories, and even between the volumes.

Sounds like this collaboration was quite an adventure. How did Jane Austen's books influence your story? 

I love Pride and Prejudice, so it was a treat to write a P&P-inspired novella. The title, One Word From You, is taken from a quote spoken by Mr. Darcy to Elizabeth Bennet. Like Mr. Darcy, my hero Will Delacourt has family money, but in the spirit of 1880’s Texas, he’s also the owner of a railroad. My heroine Eliza Branch is modeled after Elizabeth Bennet, but unlike her Regency-era counterpart, Eliza is able to earn a little money to help her family by writing for a newspaper.

Our hope is that any lover of historical-set Christian romance novellas will enjoy them. If a reader is acquainted with Austen, she will recognize bits of dialogue, etc., but a reader doesn’t need any Austen experience to follow the stories. They are retellings with a Texas twist, and the characters have different names and occupations than the iconic Austen characters that inspired them.

It sounds wonderful. I am looking forward to reading this book. :) Thanks so much for stopping by today, Susanne. Wishing you and your fellow authors much success! 

Thank you Karen!

More About Austen in Austin 

These four Texas-set novellas based on Jane Austen's novels are available in paperback and e-book, and the individual novellas are also available as e-books.

Discover four heroines in historical Austin, TX, as they find love--Jane Austen style. Volume 1 includes:

If I Loved You Less by Gina Welborn, based on Emma. A prideful matchmaker examines her own heart when her protégé falls for the wrong suitor.

Romantic Refinements by Anita Mae Draper, based on Sense and Sensibility. A misguided academy graduate spends the summer falling in love . . . twice.

One Word from You by Susanne Dietze, based on Pride and Prejudice. A down-on-her-luck journalist finds the story of her dreams, but her prejudice may cost her true love . . . and her career.

Alarmingly Charming by Debra E. Marvin, based on Northanger Abbey. A timid gothic dime-novel enthusiast tries to solve the mystery of a haunted cemetery and, even more shocking, why two equally charming suitors compete for her attentions.

More on Susanne's One Word From You  

Urged by her family to marry for the sake of their dwindling finances, Eliza Branch prefers to pay for the remainder of her time at the Austen Academy by writing for the local paper. There’s plenty to write about now that railroad baron William Delacourt has come to Austin. His proposed northbound line may be good for local business, but she’s still stinging from his terrible first impression. If the rumors about William are true, then he deserves to be skewered in print. But when Eliza’s pen gets ahead of her conscience, it’s William who makes everything right—and the reasons behind his sacrifice just might be the story of Eliza’s lifetime.


Buy Austen in Austin Volume I

Buy One Word From You e-book by Susanne Dietze


Susanne's Contest Info 

Visit Susanne's website January 11-15 to enter. Prize package includes: paperback copy of Austen in Austin Volume I, The Jane Austen Devotional, and a pink dot notebook. Please visit her site to fill out the entry form.


Another Austen in Austin Giveaway 

Now through January 15, visit Inkwell Inspirations to enter for another great prize package.

About Susanne

Susanne Dietze began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she writes in the hope that her historical romances will encourage and entertain others. A pastor’s wife and mom of two, she loves fancy-schmancy tea parties, travel, and curling up on the couch with a costume drama and a plate of nachos. Susanne is the author of five new and upcoming novellas; her latest, One Word From You, is in White Fire’s Austen in Austin Volume I. Find Susanne at the following links: 

Website
Facebook 
Blog 
Twitter 
Amazon
Goodreads 

What's on your reading list for the new year? Do you have any questions for Susanne?

Happy reading and writing,

Karen