Monday, January 11, 2016

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

40 comments :

  1. What a fun title! Congrats to Suzanne on her new book. I'm going to pass on the giveaway. I'm way behind in my reading right now.

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    1. Hi Natalie! Thanks so much for the good wishes.

      I know what you mean about being behind on your reading! Seems like my stack of TBR books is toppling!

      Blessings!

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  2. Thanks for hosting me today, Karen! I'm so glad to be hanging out with you all today.

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  3. Hi Karen and Susanne - what a fascinating idea ... and obviously there's a spin off - if you all took up the idea. Cheers Hilary

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    1. Hi Hilary! Yes, a volume II will be available in the autumn. The Austen novels retold are Mansfield Park, Persuasion, Lady Susan, and Sense and Sensibility (Elinor's story). Thanks for the cheers! Blessings!

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  4. Hi Karen, Thank you for hosting Susanne today and telling us about Austen in Austin. I have walked Austin pavement and would like to read their visits! Thanks, Susanne, for coming by today! Kathleen ~ Lane Hill House

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    1. Kathleen, I certainly enjoyed researching 19th Century Austin. The house we used as a model for our girls' school in the novellas was a beauty, but it was torn down and the plot is now used for a parking garage. Times change, I guess!

      So nice to meet you. Blessings!

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  5. Congratulations on two volumes! That's cool eight of you are working on the project.

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    1. Alex, it was so much fun to conceive and work on this project with friends. That's a rare gem of a blessing. Thanks for the good wishes! Blessings!

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  6. Congrats, Susanne. Wow, eight worked on it? That tells me writers can teach the world about working together. Can't wait to read these. Great job having Susanne over, amigo. XOXOXO

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    1. HI Robyn! Thanks for the kind words! And yes, eight of us brainstorming...we had a blast working together. I hope you enjoy the stories!

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  7. What a cool idea. I like how different authors overlapped these stories. Congrats to Susanne.

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    1. Thanks, Medeia. We had fun overlapping stories, although it took a flurry of email sometimes as we asked each other, would your heroine say this? Where is so-and-so right now?

      Thanks for coming by!

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  8. Natalie,
    It is a fun idea, I agree! Glad you were able to stop and see us! :)

    Susie,
    It's always a pleasure to have you stop by. So excited for you an your fellow authors! :)

    Hillary,
    It's such a wonderful idea, isn't it? Very inspiring too, for those of us who aim to write fiction in the future. :) Thanks for coming over!

    Kathleen,
    Nice to meet you! Thanks for coming by. :) It's always rather fun when you've been to where a story is set, isn't it?

    Alex,
    Thanks for coming by! Quite the undertaking, isn't it? Sounds like fun, I'm thinking. :)

    Robyn,
    Hey girl, thanks for coming to see us! Right back at you, amigo. xo :) This book is quite the accomplishment, isn't it? Can't wait to read the whole thing!

    Medeia,
    I know, right? Just started reading Susie's story - it is wonderful! :)

    Happy reading and writing,
    Karen

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  9. I'm trying to picture Mr. Darcy in a Stetson. ... I dunno. Either way, he still makes me wet behind the knees. The highlight of my summer was visiting the Jane Austen museum in Bath with my military son. It was fabulous. Everyone dressed in costume. Although, the girls couldn't keep their eyes off my son.

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    1. Oh, I'd love to visit the Austen museum in Bath, Joylene, as well as Chawton. What a wonderful trip with your son! What was your favorite part of the museum?

      So glad you could come by! Blessings!

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    2. Certainly not Colin Firth! but the stories are definitely set in late 1800s Austin. Settings and characters change, but the heart of Austen's emotional relationships are definitely there. It was certainly enjoyable to work together on this, and now, years later, we get to enjoy the reward of seeing it in print.

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  10. Congratulations! I always enjoy reading about how an author comes up with a story idea. This was certainly original!

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    1. I enjoy learning about how stories originate, too, Susan. It's encouraging to see how God provides inspiration from many sources! Thanks for your good wishes. I'm so glad to see you!

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  11. What a great concept for a series! Thank you for bringing them to my attention!

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    1. Hi, Lynn! It was certainly fun to write. There have been so many versions of Austen stories--contemporary remakes, vampire versions, etc...we thought, why not?

      Blessings!

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  12. Joylene,
    I am reading Susanne's book and somehow it just works! Loving it thus far. :) Sounds like you had a wonderful trip! :)

    Susan,
    I am with you - it is fun to see where the ideas come from. This sounds like such a great project! :)

    Lynn,
    You are welcome! I agree, it is a wonderful idea for a series! I think it will be popular. :)

    Happy writing,
    Karen

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  13. What a cool project, and so interesting how it grew organically, name and all---which I love, by the way---so memorable! Wishing you much success with the series.

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    1. Lisa, thanks so much for the good wishes! It has been a very fun project, indeed. Sometimes authors have to work so hard for ideas, and sometimes they just pop. I've had both things happen, and there's joy in both...but it's nice to work on this with friends! Thank you so much for coming by!

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  14. As Susie said, you don't have to be an Austen expert to enjoy the stories, Neither should you expect these to be plot-point by plot-point mirrored images of Austen stories, only with a different setting. I think we each took key aspects of a novel but, as with any story, our Austin characters took the story from there! Thanks Karen!

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    1. Deb--one of the authors in the collection--thanks for coming by to celebrate! Working on this project with you was such a treat. I loved every second of your story. Can't wait to hold the book in my hands!

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    2. Debra,
      Appreciate your input! Excited to have you stop by! :) I am so looking forward to reading all the stories!

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  15. Hi Karen and Susanne! What a treat to meet you today! It's fun to read how inspired you were by P and P, and the title of your new book is so clever too! You seem to be a prolific writer. I wonder how long it takes you to come up with your ideas, and then to get them to paper. What a wonderful gift you have!

    I'll be coming over to your website too :)
    Ceil

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    1. Hi Ceil! Thanks so much for coming by and for the kind words!

      Thinking about it, I'm not sure there's a consistent answer to how long it takes to come up with ideas. On occasion, something I come across in research sparks an idea; sometimes I'm inspired by things that come out of the blue. I've written proposals that take less than a week, and others that stump me and require brainstorming with a buddy. I'm a slow-ish writer, compared to some other folks, but the main thing is sitting down and writing!

      Blessings!

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  16. How fun! Now that sounds like a collection any woman would love. I'm putting it on my wishlist.

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    1. Crystal, that is so kind of you! Thank you! I hope you enjoy the stories. Blessings!

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  17. Lisa,
    I just love everything about this idea - it really is memorable! Hope you get a chance to check it out! :)

    Ceil,
    Isn't this a great idea? :) I agree, it is clever and should be a fun read. :)

    Crystal,
    I know! This is sure to be a winner in most women's eyes. :)

    Happy writing,
    Karen

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  18. Very interesting! I hope it is on Amazon.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Hi Joy! Thanks for asking...it's absolutely on Amazon. I put the link in but it was very long and messy, so try this: click here on my "books" page and then the button to Austen in Austin on Amazon is right there on the page. Thank you!
      http://www.susannedietze.com/books.html

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  19. Sounds like this one is right up my alley. Congrats, Susanne!

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    1. Thanks for the congratulations and kind words, Susan! One of the best parts of being a writer is being able to craft something I'd want to read. This collection definitely fits the bill. I love Austen and I love western romances. It's like Reeses Peanut Butter Cups--two things we love coming together!

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  20. Joy,
    Looks like Susanne gave you the link. You can also click on the Amazon link at the end of the post if you like. So glad you got a chance to stop by!

    Susan,
    I'm with you- it's right up my alley too! :) This is such a wonderful idea!

    Happy weekend,
    Karen

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  21. Thank you so much for hosting me, Karen! I had a blast this week. Wishing you and your readers a wonderful weekend!

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    1. Susie,
      It's always fun to have you visit! Wishing you all the best. Come back and see us soon!
      Blessings,
      Karen

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Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. Have a blessed day!