The Ladies of Rosings Park – Time to Wrap It Up

“That’s a wrap!”

Isn’t that what the director shouts when the last scene has been shot and it’s time to go home? It has to be a bittersweet moment. Everybody on the set has worked hard for months. They’re exhausted and desperately in need of rest. And yet, if it’s been a great project, it must be sad to see it come to an end.

That’s how I’m feeling now. The Ladies of Rosings Park took approximately a year to write and prepare for publication. Then I began sharing chapters every week here with you about four months ago, along with the whirlwind of activity surrounding the book launch itself. I’m a little tired, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. And part of me doesn’t want to see it end.

The other obvious analogy is when you see your kids grown up and ready to set off into the world. You’re glad all the work of raising them is finished at last. You’re proud of how well they’ve turned out. But you know you’ll miss spending time with them every day like you used to. Once they leave home, will they remember to call? Will they ever visit?

Okay, so maybe I’ve stretched that analogy a little too far. I always have my books close at hand when they’re finished, sitting on the shelf, on my Kindle, and available on my computer. And unlike some authors who say they never look at their novels again once they’re published, I do go back and read mine again every year or two. It’s like the pleasure of sharing a nice long lunch with a dear friend you haven’t seen for ages.

As for The Ladies of Rosings Park, I don’t actually have to let go just yet. The audio book is beginning production any day now, so I’ll have the fun of listening to and approving the narrator’s interpretation of the book. (It’s a bit surreal hearing your own words read back to you!) Marian Hussey, who has done all my other P&P books, will be doing this one as well, so I know the story is in good hands!

I hope you have enjoyed reading Part One of the novel here at Austen Variations. (If you missed anything, see last week’s post for all the links.) I’ve had fun sharing it with you, and naturally I hope you will (or already have) read the remaining 75% of the novel too. We can’t leave Anne sickly, alone, and under her mother’s thumb, can we? I could not! Oh, that’s right, Anne doesn’t want our pity. She says…

I ask no sympathy for myself; I truly wished them well. And I would live to enjoy much better days, although I had no assurance of that fact then.

You see, I did not yet know I would soon meet a gentleman who would utterly transform my prospects. I did not know that I could learn to consider another, one whom I had been acquainted with all my life, in a very different role. I still had no notion that I might find greater courage within myself and, alongside it, a new independence. And I could never have imagined that compelling echoes from long ago would shortly arrive to rewrite the past as well as the future of my family. (The Ladies of Rosings Park, chapter 16)

Who are these two gentlemen she alludes to? It sounds to me as if she has at least a couple of very promising options on the romantic front. And it’s so encouraging to hear her speak of finding courage and independence. How we long to see Anne stand up for herself at last! What do you suppose she means by the cryptic business of “echoes” from the past, though? Perhaps some kind of deep, dark, family secret? Hmm. Hard to tell if that will turn out to be a good thing or not. But whatever else happens, I feel certain there’s a happy ending ahead for Anne. I wonder if the same can be said for Lady Catherine? What she and her daughter want are probably very different things.

So there’s your teaser. Thanks for reading, and my particular thanks to those who have blessed me by posting some lovey early reviews for The Ladies! That is about the nicest gift you can give an author.

I thought I’d also give you a second chance at any of the blog tour posts you may have missed. They’re all different and some of them quite amusing, though I say it myself. I would especially recommend the two interview pieces.

Just Jane 1813 – Anne de Bourgh: Unlikely Heroine

Austenesque Reviews – Excerpt: “It taught me to hope…”

My Jane Austen Book Club – An Interview with Lady Catherine

From Pemberley to Milton – Following the Prime Directive or Mashing Things Up?

More Agreeably Engaged – Darcy’s Duty to Anne

So Little Time – Excerpt: An Heiress’s Fate

Darcyholic Diversions – Mr. Collins Interviews Shannon Winslow

Now I’m off to decide what to write next – a Northanger Abbey sequel, Gothic mystery style? a Sense and Sensibility variation, perhaps with a different ending? a P&P prequel? a JA inspired devotional?  So many ideas; so little time!

The Ladies of Rosings Park is currently available in paperback and Kindle, with audio coming soon. Learn more about Shannon Winslow and her books at www.shannonwinslow.com