HUGE THANKS 
to everyone who followed the blog tour for
THE JOURNEY HOME TO PEMBERLEY
and the lovely people who hosted it!


THE WINNERS ARE:

'The Journey Home to Pemberley' Paperback:
KATE B

Kindle copies of 'The Journey Home to Pemberley':
DARCYBENNET
VESPER M.
JANET B
SHELLEY H.
GINNA
SHARON H.
SERENA A.
EVA E.

The Austen and P&P Goodie-bag:
DUNG

Kate and Dung, could you please contact me
​on Facebook Messenger or send me an email via the Contact tab here,
to let me know your mailing address?

DarcyBennet, Vesper, Janet, Shelley, Ginna, Sharon, Serena and Eva,
I hope it's OK for me to use the email address
associated with your Rafflecopter entries to send you your prize.
If you'd like me to contact you at a different address,
please let me know.

Many thanks again
for all your lovely comments and wonderful support on the blog tour! I hope you liked the posts and that you'll like the book as well.
All the best and have a sunny and beautiful autumn!

​The Journey Home
To Pemberley
is now out in Kindle Unlimited on Amazon!

Stay tuned for the ​Blog Tour.
​
It's coming soon,
with Guest Posts, Reviews
and Giveaways!

I love reading and writing JAFF, it's an irresistible addiction! I love scenarios where misunderstandings abound and, as my dear friend Jami so beautifully put it, our favourite characters hurt each other's feelings in a rich variety of ways. But then it's wonderful to see them talk – talk openly, without holding back – until all those dreadful misunderstandings are cleared and the path to their happily-ever-after opens wide and bright before them.

In my upcoming book, there is both angst and joy for our dear couple, and that’s thanks to the generous feedback I received over the years from my friends and readers, and often from readers who have become my very special friends. 

​
Once again, HUGE thanks to you all for sharing your thoughts and for making me see that once the heart-wrenching conflict is resolved, it would be nice to bask in the happily-ever-after.

The book will be released in a couple of days, but in the meantime please pop by to Austenesque Reviews for a chance to win one of the prizes in the Cover Reveal Giveaway.
 
All the best and thanks for reading!
 

HUGE THANKS
to everyone who followed The Darcy Legacy blog tour, and the lovely people who hosted it, much appreciated!!

Hope you had fun! I loved reading and replying to your comments. Thank you all so very much!

So now, without further ado -
THE WINNERS
of the Rafflecopter Giveaway!

Leah Pruett 
is the winner of the $25 Amazon Gift Card.





Leah, please let me know if the email address entered in Rafflecopter is the one I could use to send you the prize.

Kindle versions of
The Darcy Legacy

Denise M
Shirley S
Kate B
Jo's Daughter
Denise D S M
DarcyBennet
Glynis W
Beth R W
Agnes N
Maureen C

​Please let me know if the email address entered in Rafflecopter is the one I could use to send you the prize.

Audible codes for your very own copy
of one of my audio-books,
exquisitely narrated by Stevie Zimmerman 


The codes are redeemable on Audible.COM. 
If you're using Audible UK, please let me know.

Also, please let me know if the email address entered in Rafflecopter is the one I could use
​to send you the code.

The winners are:

​Christin
Krystyna H.
Vesper M.
Sarah M.
Carol S. R.
Victoria A.
James R.
Claire F.
Steve W.
Lúthien84
Ria
Dung
Robin R.
Bethanie I.
Bridgett W.
Ginna
Rachel G.
Colleen L.
Patricia F.
Denise

​

Many thanks again for taking part in the giveaway and for following the blog tour for the launch of The Darcy Legacy

Hello again!

This page hasn't had (m)any updates this year (sorry about that!) because apart from a couple of memorable trips    with wonderful friends, I spent the last 4-5 months beavering away on my WIP.

At last, today I have some news to share:
THE DARCY LEGACY
​is finally out at Amazon!

Many thanks to everyone who visited Claudine Pepe's
 Just Jane 1813 yesterday and had a peek at the cover.

Once again, Claudine, HUGE THANKS for hosting
the cover reveal and for organising a fabulous blog tour
for the launch of my new novel,
and HUGE THANKS thanks to all the wonderful people who are kindly hosting me on their blogs this July!

You can find the blog tour details at Just Jane 1813 
​and also below:

July 2 / Austenesque Reviews/Excerpt Post & Giveaway
July 3 / Diary of an Eccentric/ Guest Post & Giveaway
July 4 / More Agreeably Engaged/ Book Review & Giveaway
July 5 / Of Pens & Pages / Guest Post & Giveaway
July 6 / So Little Time… So Much to Read/ Guest Post & Giveaway
July 7 / My Love for Jane Austen / Excerpt Post & Giveaway
July 8 / Babblings of a Bookworm/ Book Review & Giveaway
July 9 / My Vices and Weaknesses/ Book Review & Giveaway
July 10/ Obsessed with Mr. Darcy/ Book Review & Giveaway
July 11 / Pemberley to Milton/Book Review & Giveaway
July 12 / Just Jane 1813/ Tour Finale & Giveaway

Please visit, and I hope you'll like what you see!

Don't miss the chance to enter
the Rafflecopter GIVEAWAY!
You can enter here and also along the blog tour

The giveaway is INTERNATIONAL
and will be open until 

the end of Monday, 16 Jul 2018
(midnight Pacific EST)

You can win 

one of the 10 Kindle versions of The Darcy Legacy
or
one of the 20 Audible codes with which you can listen for free to your choice of
Stevie Zimmerman’s exquisite productions
​of my other books
or
or a $25 Amazon Gift Card.

Best of luck and thanks for taking part!

What can be more inspiring for Regency and JAFF writers than the great country houses where Mr and Mrs Darcy might have stayed in the delightful season of their courtship, or as blissfully happy newlyweds?

​As always, I find them everywhere I go, and I love to sit and scribble in some quiet corner and imagine them strolling along secluded paths or seeking refuge in some walled garden to steal a kiss or two. 

Many thanks to all the entrants in the Rafflecopter Giveaway for the launch of 'Miss Darcy's Companion' in Audible, on my blog page and at 'Austenesque Reviews', 'Just Jane 1813', 'From Pemberley to Milton' and 'Obsessed with Mr Darcy'!

Drum roll for the Winners!

Winners of the signed paperbacks (Leah and Glynis) and of the Pemberley, Bath & Chawton goodie bag (DarcyBennet) - please contact me on Facebook Messenger or via the 'Contact' tab on my website (www.joanastarnes.co.uk) with your mailing address.

Winners of the Audible download codes for Stevie Zimmerman's production of 'Miss Darcy's Companion' (Gabriela, Kasia, Sheila, Susanne, Denise, Laurie, Desiree, Bethany, Stephanie, Sonia) - please contact me by Facebook Messenger or via my website to let me know if you are using Audible.com or Audible UK, and I will send the site-specific codes by email, at the address provided in the Rafflecopter giveaway (or please let me know if you'd like me to use a different email address).

Many thanks again for taking part in the giveaway, have a wonderful December and a very happy New Year!

Now that the days are short and they start with mist and end with rain, and you’re wondering how on earth you’ll be able to finish everything that needs doing at this time of year, maybe a little spell in our happy place will take your mind off the festive season conundrums, and drive the winter chill away, too.

What works for me every time is Pemberley and the Darcys (now that’s a surprise – not!)

Will we ever tire of their beautiful love-story, and of imagining all sorts of ways their courtship could progress towards the happily ever after?

I don’t think so – after all, we haven’t managed to in 200 years, and the what if’s are so tantalising!

I can’t wait for the holidays, so that I finally get the chance to catch up with my ever-growing TBR list, and thank goodness for audio-books!

One amazing Christmas present in 2016 opened the door into that magical land for me (WOW, Mira!), and in 2017, thanks to Rita Deodato and Stevie Zimmerman, my own books made it into the world of Audible.

​In her narrations, Stevie Zimmerman brings the story and the characters to life, her inimitable style enhances their every emotion, and her Mr Darcy is utterly irresistible! ​She portrays      his trademark blend of passion and restraint to perfection, and in doing so, touches every chord of your heart.

That was the case for all of my books that she has narrated, and the sample from the latest, Miss Darcy’s Companion, will show you what I mean.

You can listen to it here, to hear Darcy’s reaction when he discovers his true feelings, in a moment of crisis.

Exploring the premise of Miss Darcy’s Companion was very rewarding. I always love to imagine them cutting to the chase, bypassing some of the obstacles and getting to bask in their happily ever after just that little bit sooner. Take for instance the Meryton Assembly. It was masterful, from beginning to end: the embarrassing Bennets, the arrogant newcomers (except sweet, lovely Mr Bingley) and of course the gratuitous insult that, from the very beginning, tainted Elizabeth’s view of Mr Darcy. But I must admit, I love the variations where they don’t get off on the wrong foot, which is one of the reasons I couldn’t resist the temptation to write one where Elizabeth meets Darcy at his best, not his worst. She sees him on his own territory, where he isn’t weighed and measured as a potential prize, where he has no need to play a part, and is free to be himself: a loving brother, a fair and considerate master, and an eminently nice man (albeit a little too masterful and self-confident, but who can blame him?)
 
Of course, that premise introduces other obstacles, such as the even greater disparity in their stations, which would influence the battle between head and heart.
 
Stevie Zimmerman exquisitely gives voice to Mr Darcy’s dilemma, as both he and Elizabeth embark on their separate journeys of self-discovery, while alongside them Georgiana blossoms from a shy girl into a confident young woman (and Wickham can’t resist throwing a few spanners in the works).
 
For a chance to sit back while Stevie brings the story to life, or win a signed paperback of 'Miss Darcy’s Companion,' please enter the international GIVEAWAY, and the very best of luck!

Please follow the blog tour for more chances to win. The posts, kindly hosted by Meredith Esparza, Claudine Dimuzio Pepe, Rita Deodato and Mira Magdo, will take you on a trip into Darcy Wonderland, reveal a conversation with Miss Darcy, tell you more about the audio-book backstory and what comes next, and ensure you’re all prepared for THE Chocolate Rating.
 
You can find out more on:
 
27 Nov 2017 – Austenesque Reviews
29 Nov 2017 – Just Jane 1813
30 Nov 2017 – From Pemberley to Milton
2 Dec 2017 – Obsessed with Mr Darcy
 
Thanks for reading, best of luck in the Giveaway, and have a magical December!

​Photos © J Starnes

​This time I ventured all the way to the battered western shoreline, to the famed Tin Coast near St Just, where to this day we can still see poignant and impressive monuments to industry, ingenuity and grim determination; where people have toiled for generations, and few – the very few and very, very lucky – have made staggering fortunes.

Such was the case of Stephen Harvey James from Botallack Manor Farm – “a local Poldark figure”, a National Trust information board tells us. When the mine workings at Botallack had apparently become exhausted, he stepped in to try to rescue the mine. For five years this seemed a dreadfully bad investment. The mine kept emptying the shareholders’ pockets and eventually the agent reported that “he knew not where to find two penny weight of ore in the mine.” Mere days later the tributers cut a rich lode of copper which over the following 12 months yielded a profit of £24,000 (over £2,400,000 in today’s money). Two decades later there were 500 people and 11 steam engines working at the mine.
 
It’s easy to believe that this story might have inspired Winston Graham when he wrote about Capt. Poldark’s changing fortunes. And what better location for the family mines of Wheal Leisure (in real life Wheal Owles) and Grambler (Wheal Crowns)? 

​If you have a good head for heights and aren’t particularly fazed by sheer drops you can make your way along a narrow footpath from the upper engine house of Wheal Crowns to the lower – both hanging to the cliffs in defiance of centuries of raging storms. 

​If you’d rather have a wider stretch of ground underfoot, you can still brave the extremely picturesque coastal path, where every step along the way entices you with glimpses of romantic coves (which, by the bye, are far too dangerous for swimming. If you’re thinking of the famous swimming scene you might wish to visit Porthgwarra Beach further south, on the St Aubyn Estates).

You can find out more about the filming locations here, and then arm yourself with a camera and a pasty and go on Poldark walks.

​​Or you could visit the delightful little port of Charlestown to see the ships at anchor, stroll along the Georgian quay and treat yourself to a jolly dinner at The Rashley.

Other locations are a long way from Cornwall. Trenwith (Chavenage House) is near the Cotswolds. Some of the Truro scenes might have been filmed in Charlestown, but others were shot 150 miles away in Wiltshire, in the charming market town of Corsham, not far from 1995 Meryton, a.k.a Lacock.

I have not visited Nampara yet, nor Godolphin House, used as the home of Francis Poldark in the original series, but they're both on next summer's list. By the way, did you know that you can actually stay at Godolphin, this hugely atmospheric 17th century manor house?

​​So what do you think, are you tempted to don your best apparel and have an Early Georgian house party at Godolphin? Or is your heart forever set on the Regency and Pemberley?