The Obstinate, Headstrong Girl Book Tour Starts Here!

#OMGItsOHG

I am SO excited that today, Drunk Austen is the first official stop on the ELIZABETH: OBSTINATE, HEADSTRONG GIRL book tour!

OHG is a collection of ten, Austenesque writers re-imagining Elizabeth Bennet’s character in scenes from the Regency era through the modern.

(I can’t even tell you all how much I love the title of this book; it’s such a near, and dear quote to my heart — literally! I have this quote tattooed on my ribs with a peacock quill above it!)

I think we all want to be obstinate, headstrong girls — it’s the ultimate compliment for a Janeite. We are women who know our own minds!

“I think her as delightful a character as ever appeared in print.” — Jane Austen, 1813

The anthology contains stories from some of Drunk Austen’s favorite writers, including Beau North and Christina Boyd, as well as Amy D’Orazio, Jenetta James, Christina Morland, Joana Starnes, Karen M. Cox, Elizabeth Adams, Leigh Dryer and J. Marie Croft, with a foreword by NY Times & USA Today bestselling author, Tessa Dare.

In ELIZABETH: OBSTINATE, HEADSTRONG GIRL, Elizabeth bares her most intimate thoughts, while offering biting social commentary about life’s absurdities. She overcomes the obstacles of others’ opinions (not to mention her own flaws) to find a love truly worthy of her — her Mr. Darcy — all with humor and sparkling charm.

You can find Obstinate, Headstrong Girl at Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51329630-elizabeth or on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998654051/

And if that wasn’t cool enough, the OHG team is doing a grand prize giveaway!

You could win a book of your choosing from each of the eleven authors’ backlists, as well as an additional giveaway: Silly Austen-inspired blank note cards and a coordinating coffee mug!

This giveaway is open worldwide, and all you have to do is:

1) Enter at Rafflecopter for the Grand Prize package of books, and

2) Comment on the blog stops to be counted for the additional giveaway.

(You don’t need to comment everywhere to be entered in that drawing, but we hope you’ll have fun participating in the conversation!) This giveaway ends March 31, so what are you waiting for?? Do it now!

As an extra special treat, we’re incredibly excited to be able to share an excerpt from one of the stories, “Resolution,” by Amy D’Orazio!

D’Orazio said she tried to explore a “what if” scenario with her entry in the anthology: “What if Darcy had not returned to Elizabeth after Lydia’s recovery, and what if she had decided to try and move on?”

“We’ve all read books where the heroine is the picture of perfection, unerring, unfailingly wise and faultless in her path… Elizabeth is not that heroine,” D’Orazio said. “Elizabeth is flawed. She makes questionable choices and she makes them impulsively. She speaks out of turn, she offends people, she misjudges — but she’s lovable and kind, she despises injustice, she takes up for the weak and downtrodden. Her mistakes do not define her but instead become the vintage patina on her halo.”

Check out an excerpt of “Resolution” by Amy D’Orazio below!

“Mr. Darcy, something tells me you disapprove of my choice of husband.”

He straightened immediately and even in the dim light, I could see that he flushed scarlet.

“Lizzy, do not misunderstand us,” Bingley said, always quick to intercede if he suspected a row should ensue. “Mr. Darcy merely noted that your spirits were rather low tonight for an engagement party.”

“I assure you that nothing is further from the truth,” I said icily. “Indeed, were I any happier, it could scarce be borne.”

“I am glad to hear it,” said Darcy with his customary hauteur. “All is as it should be then.”

“I am not surprised my intended husband does not meet your approval,” I told him. “After all, he cannot trace his ancestors back to the Conquest, nor does he own half of Derbyshire, or any county for that matter.”

“On the contrary,” said Darcy, meeting my biting wit head on. “By all accounts, most of the gentry and the nobility are bound to him. It seems he owns most of everyone.”

By now, Bingley’s man, Hodges, had come to tug his master away. He left us with a worried glance back, but he likely recalled too many of our spats at Netherfield to be genuinely fearful.

“I am not mercenary,” I retorted. “Nor have I ever been, as you well know.”

“Yes, I do.” The conversation paused then, and Mr. Darcy allowed himself to stare at me, to really consider me.

“In any case, what is it to you?”

“Do you love him?”

“I am marrying him,” I said, which is no answer at all, and we both knew it. I wondered at his meaning, speaking to Bingley of me, asking such impertinent questions. My anger rose, and I found myself quite unable to resist tossing a bit of it in his direction. “In any case, none of this is any of your concern.”

“I am very concerned,” he said in a sympathetic tone. “He is going to make you miserable.”

“What?” I laughed more heartily than I intended. “I beg your pardon. He makes me very happy indeed.”

“Once the thrill of baubles and fripperies wears off, you will wish you had never met him,” said Darcy.

“You have no idea of him, nor do you have any idea of me. He is a good man and would never be vicious or cruel to me.”

Something changed in Darcy’s eyes then. My words seemed to have smitten him although it was not at all my intention. “He has that advantage,” he said, seeming far off, almost as if he only spoke to himself. “But he could not possibly love you in the way that I do.”

With a little shake of his head, he seemed to recall himself to where he was, what he did. His eyes widened, briefly, with alarm.

“Love me? How can you speak so?”

But Mr. Darcy was turning away, wanting nothing more it seemed than to get away from me. “Congratulations, Miss Bennet, and do enjoy your new life.”

“Mr. Darcy, wait—”

But it was too late. He was gone.

Check out Obstinate, Headstrong Girl today!! And remember, you heard it here first! 😉 -R