I Could Write a Book Excerpt & Giveaway

Good Afternoon everyone,

Today I am welcoming Karen M Cox with an excerpt of the much anticipated I Could Write A Book. This book is a modernization of Emma and could not have come at a better time as we keep seeing more and more Pride and Prejudice variations coming to life, but not so many stories inspired in Austen’s other novels, and who doesn’t like something a little different once in a while?

I’ve heard several friends praising this book, so I’m sure it will be a good bet for those who can not get enough of Emma and Mr. Knightley 🙂

Before leaving you with the blurb and excerpt (not to mention the wonderful giveaway) I would like to thank Karen for being such an attentive guest and to wish her all the best with this new book 🙂 Thank you Karen!

 

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“Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever and rich…”

Thus began Jane Austen’s classic, a light and lively tale set in an English village two hundred years ago. Yet every era has its share of Emmas: young women trying to find themselves in their own corners of the world.

I Could Write a Book is the story of a self-proclaimed modern woman: Emma Katherine Woodhouse, a 1970s co-ed whose life is pleasant, ordered and predictable, if a bit confining.

Her friend George Knightley is a man of the world who has come home to fulfill his destiny: run his father’s thriving law practice and oversee the sprawling Donwell Farms, his family legacy in Central Kentucky horse country.

Since childhood, George’s and Emma’s lives have meshed and separated time and again. But now they’re adults with grown-up challenges and obligations. As Emma orchestrates life in quaint Highbury, George becomes less amused with her antics and struggles with a growing attraction to the young woman she’s become.

Rich with humor, poignancy and the camaraderie of life in a small, Southern town, I Could Write a Book is a coming of age romance with side helpings of self-discovery, friendship, and finding true love in the most unlikely places.

You can find I Could Write a Book at :

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

 

 

Thank you, Rita, for letting the blog tour stop here at From Pemberley to Milton! Today’s stop is an excerpt post, and it’s a fun one.

It’s Christmas time in Highbury, Kentucky, 1975. Emma’s brother-in-law, Jack Knightley, has maneuvered her into riding to the Westons holiday party with Tim Elton. Not that she minds Tim, at least not until now, but he’s showing no interest in her friend Mary Jo Smith at all, and is starting to show a little too much interest in Emma herself as the evening wears on. Now, they’re on the way home, again, just the two of them, and disaster is on the horizon…

***

Tim Elton insisted on driving me to Hartfield Road.

“If I bring a girl to a party, I always see her safely home,” he insisted, opening my door, like we were on some kind of date. I growled under my breath and sent vile epithets to Jack Knightley, ten minutes in front of us.

My mild annoyance turned to incredulity when he turned onto a scenic overlook of the Kentucky River and stopped the car.

“What are you doing, Tim Elton?”

He grinned. “I thought we’d park for a while.”

“Well, un-park and get me to my house. My father will be frantic if I’m not right behind him.”

“Jack and Izzy can handle him for a few minutes.”

“I don’t know what you think we’re going to do here, but if you think for one minute that you can…make a move on me—”

He pulled back. “Emma, don’t be silly. I know we can’t fool around in the car.”

“Well, thank goodness you’ve got that much sense!”

“The gear shift is in the way.” He leaned toward me. “I thought we’d just neck a little.”

“Say what?”

“Come on, Emma.” He put an arm around my shoulders and tried to draw me close.

“Back off!” I shoved at his chest. “Do you honestly think I’d make out with you in your stupid car? What kind of a girl do you think I am?”

“A fun one, I hoped.”

“I could never do that to Mary Jo!”

“Mary Jo? Mary Jo Smith? What’s this got to do with her? You girls have some kind of lesbian affair going on?”

“What? No!” I glared at him, then shook my head. “You’re drunk. I can’t believe I let you drive.”

“I’m not drunk.”

“You’d have to be to come on to me after the way you led on poor Mary Jo.”

“What?” Now, Tim looked incredulous. “I never led Mary Jo on.”

“You did! You gave her all those tennis lessons and talked to her at parties. Dropped by Nina’s when we were there.”

“Emma,” he said patiently, “darling. I did those things because she was your friend. So I could spend time with you.”

“You mean you never were interested in Mary Jo? At all?”

He scoffed. “Of course not. Why would I be interested in some Hicksville secretary from the boonies? She’s nice—good enough for somebody or other—but you’re the girl for me.”

I put my head in my hands. “Oh, dear Lord! I’ve made a terrible, terrible mistake.”

“It’s okay, baby. We’ve got it all straightened out now.” He leaned in again.

“Get back!” I hissed through gritted teeth. “Put your hands on the steering wheel, put it in gear, and take me home. Now!”

“But Emma,” he wheedled, “we’re made for each other. You, with your old family and elegant ways, and me with my ambition and charm. You and I, we could be one of Frankfort’s power couples. But Mary Jo? She’d be an embarrassment. My father would never approve of me going after her. But you? You’re the real deal: sexy and smart and classy, all rolled into one. He’d definitely approve of you.”

“There is no way on earth I would ever…” I sputtered. “Even if I felt that way about you, which I don’t, it would never work. We don’t suit—not at all.”

“Why ever not?”

“My father is a founding partner of Knightley and Woodhouse. My mother was a Taylor—her family owned half this county for over a hundred years! And you’re a…a…a politician!”

If I hadn’t been so mortified, I would have laughed myself silly. Handsome, debonair Tim Elton, who always had that slick smile on his face was now opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. It made him just about that attractive too.

After about a half minute of staring at me, he drew his lips together in an angry line and slammed the car into reverse. Fishtailing in the light blanket of snowflakes, he sped off down the road, driving so fast that I was thankful I made it to my driveway in one piece.

I got out and slammed the door. Tim sped off into the dark, and I—embarrassed and furious—marched into the house.

***

Well, that escalated quickly! I wonder what gave Tim Elton the idea that Emma had a thing for him?

 

 

Karen M Cox is an award-winning author of novels accented with romance and history, including 1932 and its companion ebook novella The Journey Home, and the novels Find Wonder in All Things and Undeceived. She also contributed a short story, “Northanger Revisited 2015”, to the anthology, Sun-Kissed: Effusions of Summer, and a story titled, “I, Darcy” to The Darcy Monologues.

Karen was born in Everett WA, which was the result of coming into the world as the daughter of a United States Air Force Officer. She had a nomadic childhood, with stints in North Dakota, Tennessee and New York State before finally settling in her family’s home state of Kentucky at the age of eleven. She lives in a quiet little town with her husband, where she works as a pediatric speech pathologist, encourages her children, and spoils her granddaughter.

Connect with Karen:

Website: http://www.karenmcox.com

Amazon Author Page

Visit Karen on several of the usual social media haunts such as Facebook, (karenmcox1932), Twitter (@karenmcox1932), Pinterest (karenmc1932), Instagram (karenmcox1932), and Tumblr (karenmcox).

If you would like bits of authorly goodness in your inbox once a month (updates, sales, book recommendations, etc.) sign up for News & Muse Letter

Karen loves to hear from readers, so don’t be shy. Contact her through social media, her website, or online sites like Amazon and Goodreads.

 

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So little time… / September 7 / Book Excerpt / Giveaway

Book Lover in Florida / September 8 / Guest post / Giveaway

Austenesque Reviews / September 15 / Book Review/ Giveaway

My Love for Jane Austen / September 16 / Guest Post / Giveaway

Granny Loves to Read  / September 17 / Book Review / Giveaway

My Jane Austen Book Club / September 18/ Guest Post/Mr. Knightley / Giveaway

Just Jane 1813 / September 19 / Author Interview / Giveaway

Sophia’s Sofa Chat / September 21 / An Interview with Karen M Cox on Goodreads

Babblings of a Bookworm/ / September 22 / Book Review/ Giveaway

Silver Petticoat Review / September 23/ Guest Post/ Giveaway

From Pemberley to Milton / September 25 / Book Excerpt / Giveaway

Margie’s Must Reads / September 27 / Book Review / Giveaway

My Vices and Weaknesses / September 30 / Book Review / Giveaway

Diary of an Eccentric / October 2 / Book Review / Giveaway

More Agreeably Engaged / October 4 / Book Excerpt / Giveaway

 

 

Karen Cox has set up a Rafflecopter for two winners. One winner will receive The Tea Pack: JA mug, Mr Knightley & Emma teas from Bingley’s teas, and a set of Jane Austen coasters The second winner will receive a Jewelry Pack, which contains a Little Emma charm on a necklace, Regency cameo earrings, Emma Bangle Bracelet, and a Jewelry Roll.  These giveaways are open internationally.

To enter the giveaway click here.

The giveaway ends on October 7th and the winners will be announced through the Rafflecopter widget on participating blogs.

Good Luck everyone!