Category: Author Real Life

  • A Final Excerpt

    A Final Excerpt

    I am sad to say that this will be my last post with Always Austen. To commemorate this moment, I thought I would share one more excerpt from 12 Months of Darcy. It is, of course, for March, and one of my favorites. This month, Elizabeth gets to see a softer side of Darcy. MARCH…

  • A Fond Farewell and Giveaway Results

    A Fond Farewell and Giveaway Results

    As the Always Austen blog draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on the many years spent typing away in the company of Darcy, Elizabeth, and an endless parade of tea cups. Writing Jane Austen fan fiction has taught me a few things—some practical, some philosophical, and some just plain ridiculous. Here’s a small…

  • Down Another Rabbit Hole

    Down Another Rabbit Hole

    Hi there. Well, this is my last post here on Always Austen. Thanks for reading my goofy and off the wall posts. I know I am not everyone’s cup of tea. I have been doing some research again tonight, which means its rabbit hole time. If you have ever done research, you will understand what…

  • On bombs, Austen, AI – and erotica

    On bombs, Austen, AI – and erotica

    By Alice McVeigh #MariannebyMcVeigh #historicalfictionnovel My first experience of being bombed was on holiday in Israel, when very young, when the Six-Day War broke out, and the hotel just across the road from us got bombed. (My family flew out the next day.) My second bomb was in Belfast, in the 90s, during the “Troubles”…

  • Another P & P Play

    Another P & P Play

    Hello everyone! As I mentioned last month, I went to Nashville to visit my daughter and see yet another stage adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. I arrived on February 14th and my husband had arranged for flowers and ice cream cake to be waiting for me. It was a wonderful extended weekend. We went to…

  • Common Themes in Several Stories + the Upcoming Release of “Lost in the Lyon’s Garden” from Dragonblade Publishing [Available 18 March 2026]

    Back in January 2021, I released my Austenesque novel, The Mistress of Rosings Park. In that story, draper’s shops play a strategic role. In my upcoming novel from Dragonblade Publishing [book 4 of 5 in the Lyon’s Den Connected World Series, Lost in the Lyon’s Garden], my heroine is employed at a draper’s shop and…

  • Rochester Cathedral and the Villages Surrounding It During the Regency Era and How They Fit Into My Writing Process

    Rochester Cathedral and the Villages Surrounding It During the Regency Era and How They Fit Into My Writing Process

    I am writing this post on New Year’s Eve 2025, with the idea that I will need this information for the release of the 5th book in my Dragonblade mystery/romantic suspense series. Actually, the first draft of the book,Lyon on the Inside is finished. I am busy typing it. Yes, I know that sounds laborious.…

  • How I Spent my Non-Vacation

    How I Spent my Non-Vacation

    A snow and sleet storm, coupled with Arctic temperatures, left me a prisoner in my own apartment. After a week of riotous living, I began to write again. It’s going well.

  • ReRelease of “Darcy’s Passions” from Ulysses Press, Arriving 2/3/2026

    ReRelease of “Darcy’s Passions” from Ulysses Press, Arriving 2/3/2026

    In June 2025, my original publisher of “Darcy’s Passions” approached me about rereleasing the book, along with another title from the nine books I did for them back in the early 2000s. Like many publishers they wanted back on the Austen train, especially with the resurgence of Austen’s popularity after her 250th birthday. When all…

  • My Husband, Mr. Darcy, and Me: An Anniversary Trip to England

    My Husband, Mr. Darcy, and Me: An Anniversary Trip to England

    This summer my husband and I are planning a trip to England to celebrate our 35th anniversary. Huzzah!!! Now, to be clear, my sweet husband is not a Jane Austen fan. I doubt he could name all six of her novels, or perhaps even two of them. But he knows the plot of Pride and…