Joy Dawn
King is a native Oregonian grandmother of five-year-old twins. When the parents
of the twins moved to the Andes Mountains of Ecuador several years ago, Joy and
her husband of 34 years packed up and moved with them. Grandchildren have
power! Two years ago, she had read Pride and Prejudice for the first time. It
was love at the first sentence. Not long after Joy discovered the world of Jane
Austen fan fiction, a story was born. She has always been a storyteller, but
had not put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard until early this year. Two
months later, A Father’s Sins was
available.
Hello, Joy.
Does this book continue on where Jane Austen left off in Pride and Prejudice? Please tell us about your novel.
A Father’s
Sins is an alternate path for the central characters, Fitzwilliam Darcy and
Elizabeth Bennet. The premise is based
on terrible decisions that the fathers make earlier in their children’s lives.
It is these children that suffer the consequences. They meet by chance in
London a year before tragedy strikes both families and reconnect five years
later. Fitzwilliam Darcy is a quiet, taciturn man who is honorable,
responsible, and gorgeous. Due to circumstances, Elizabeth Bennet is a much
more independent young woman who is kind, knowledgeable, and compassionate.
In the original Pride and Prejudice, the turmoil,
misunderstandings, and trouble comes between Darcy and Elizabeth as their
personal imperfections and incorrect attitudes inflict emotional pain on them
both. In A Father’s Sins, the couple,
who are far less prideful and prejudiced, pulls together as outside events try
to pull them apart. There is humor, pain, sadness, and joy and enough melodrama
to satisfy the most avid adventure lover. It is a morally clean variation that
can be read by young and old.
My story follows Darcy and Elizabeth as deal with the
fallout from their father’s decisions and come to terms with these men that
they had once adored. It is a story of compassion and forgiveness.
What kind of
research did you have to do for this story?
My research for this project covered Regency fashion,
transportation, weapons, disease, and travel to India, Italy, Greece, Egypt,
east Africa, and Portugal by ship during this period. It fascinated me to learn
so much of history as my story took shape.
Who is one
of your favorite characters in this story and what do you love about him or her?
I absolutely fell in love with Fitzwilliam Darcy. His
love and tender care for his sister, Georgiana, showed the feelings that lurked
behind that stoic exterior. Even his responses to Miss Caroline Bingley (his
best friend’s sister who was intent on becoming his wife), his half-brother
George Wickham, and his aunt (Lady Catherine DeBourgh) showed his strength of
character and his goodness. He, too, was imperfect in my story just as he was
in the original. However, once he realized that he loved Elizabeth, his
determination to cherish and protect her was exemplary. Sigh!
I do have to mention the Fitzwilliam family too. Darcy’s
Matlock relatives on his mother’s side were delightful. His aunt and uncle,
Lord and Lady Matlock, epitomized family members that would go to the ends of
the earth in efforts to help their beloved nephew. Darcy’s cousins (Colonel
Fitzwilliam and his older brother along with Anne DeBourgh) also stepped up and
provided comic relief as well as genuine support. You just loved them as they
stood together as a strong family unit to help our dear couple.
Now it’s
time to tell us something about the real you that we’ll never forget.
While I love
to cook, eat, and read – I hate, no I ABHOR, Brussels sprouts, sewing machines
and snakes – not necessarily in that order.
That is so funny. Thanks, Joy, for
this interview. I hope Jane Austen fan fiction followers enjoy your new take on this
story.
