“Confined with Mr. Darcy” by L.L. Diamond, guest post. Help a house :)

Dear all,

How is it going? Are you still in lockdown? Have the restrictions changed a bit where you live? I hope that whatever the case, you are fine as well as all your loved ones.

I am very happy to introduce you to L.L. Diamond’s latest book: Confined with Mr. Darcy. Yes, confined, it is very appropriate for this time and that was the idea when writing it. Moreover, this book is not only a book but it is helping one of the most important places related to Jane Austen, I will let Leslie to tell you about it.

Have a peek of what the book is about but I am not even giving you all the description! I am only showing you the part about Darcy.

William Darcy has gone completely mental! Despite Elizabeth Bennet’s less than stellar opinion of him, some unknown force possessed him to invite her to Pemberley to wait out lockdown. Just because she’d be closer to her sister Jane, who’s isolated in the gamekeeper’s cottage with her husband wasn’t a legitimate excuse either. He’d invited Elizabeth—the only woman he’d ever really fancied—Elizabeth, who’d refused him without reservation at the Rosings Book Festival. Now, he spends part of every day in Elizabeth’s company while struggling to keep his feelings hidden from not only her but also his nosy sister and motherly housekeeper. What a bloody nightmare!

What do you think? Can you believe it? Confined with Mr. Darcy in Pemberley!! Take me, take me 😉

Let me (re)introduce you to L.L. Diamond, I am very happy that I can keep reintroducing you to her with so many of her books!

L.L. Diamond is more commonly known as Leslie to her friends and Mom to her three kids. A native of Louisiana, she spent the majority of her life living within an hour of New Orleans before following her husband all over as a military wife. Louisiana, Mississippi, California, Texas, New Mexico, Nebraska, and now England have all been called home along the way.

Aside from mother and writer, Leslie considers herself a perpetual student. She has degrees in biology and studio art, but will devour any subject of interest simply for the knowledge. Her most recent endeavours have included certifications to coach swimming as well as fitness instructor and personal trainer. As an artist, her concentration is in graphic design, but watercolour is her medium of choice with one of her watercolours featured on the cover of her second book, A Matter of Chance. She is also a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. Leslie also plays flute and piano, but much like Elizabeth Bennet, she is always in need of practice!

Visit Leslie’s website lldiamondwrites.com. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter @lldiamond2

Leslie has a fantastic guest post for us today and apart from Leslie, I will like to invite a lovely girl who shares my name: Ana Darcy 🙂

Thank you for having me today! I’m so excited at the response I’ve had to Confined with Mr. Darcy. Jane Austen House Museum has had a Covid-19 Survival Appeal since March, and I’ve donated but wanted to do more to help them reach their goal. I wrote the original short this book is based on, and someone mentioned possibly making it a longer story. That’s how Confined with Mr. Darcy was born. 50% of the first month’s royalties are going to the museum’s survival appeal, so if you haven’t read it, I’d appreciate you giving it a shot! You’ll be getting a fun book and helping a great cause while you’re at it.

I was struggling to come up with something for today, so I thought it might be fun to interview Ana, get her take on things—particularly her dishy brother.

Leslie: Hi, Ana, thanks for talking to me today.

Ana: No worries. I never thought I’d be interviewed for anything. Should be fun—like being on Graham Norton.

Leslie: Not quite the same as Graham Norton, but I’ll do my best. I definitely do not have a red chair, although I admit it would be fun to dump people over. I suppose let’s start with the easiest question first. Tell me about your brother. What would you say are his best qualities?

Ana: Oh! Fitzwilliam is simply the best! Since Mum and Dad died, he’s been there for me whenever I need him. He makes sure I go to the best schools and researched like mad to help me decide what sixth-form was best for studying music. He’ll do anything for his friends and family. I’ve never known anyone as loyal.

Leslie: He sounds ideal. So, why don’t you tell us about his worst qualities?

Ana: (giggles and rolls her eyes) Which ones? Fitzwilliam is brilliant when you know him, but he can be a bit of a bear when he’s in a personal-type situation with someone new. He’s so stand-offish and reserved at parties or anything social, really. I’ve always wanted him to find a girlfriend, but I can’t imagine anyone getting through his Mr. Hyde personality. Well, until now.

Leslie: His Mr. Hyde personality?

Ana: He hates it when I call him that. He’s usually so busy reading work-related material that hopefully, he won’t read this.

Leslie: Then let’s change the subject a bit. Tell me about Elizabeth Bennet.

Ana: Oh! She’s brilliant—absolutely brilliant. She’s certainly more outgoing than my brother, which is a good thing. He needs someone like her to drag him away from Darcy Publishing so he doesn’t spend all of his time poring over books. He works entirely too much. Her cat is lovely as well. Lately, I’ve found him cuddling up and purring against my stomach in the middle of the night.

Leslie: Elizabeth lets him out now?

Ana: She has to leave the door cracked. Once he was accustomed to Pemberley, he started scratching and begging to go out during the night. From what Elizabeth has said, he’s back with her by morning to give her kisses and cuddles. 

Leslie: Tilney is a dear. Now, I know your brother spends most weekends in Derbyshire so he can spend time with you, so you see him often. When did you first realize that your brother had fallen in love?

Ana: You know, I’m not sure. I do know that he’s been distracted for a while now. After the Rosings Book Festival, he moped around this house and drank entirely too much scotch. I noticed it on the weekends when I was home, but Mrs. Reynolds told me how he was the same during the week. She seriously considered hiding the Scotch in the cellar so he wouldn’t find it. I still can’t believe he spent the week working from Pemberley after Rosings. He never does that.

Leslie: Has he ever told you what happened?

Ana: No, but Elizabeth did. I can’t say I’m the slightest bit surprised. He can be such a daft prick when he wants to be. It seems she was completely clueless that he liked her, and he had no idea how to flirt or show her how he felt about him. I’m sure he deserved it when she ripped him a new one. I probably would’ve done the same if a boy behaved the same way towards me. Fitzwilliam would’ve probably told me to forget about him.

Leslie: Did you do or say anything to get them together?

Ana: Well, you know part of it since you wrote it into the story. I certainly told off Fitzwilliam for being so dense. He had this brilliant idea to invite her to Pemberley, then he goes off and hides in his study. Bingley’s suggestion to take her to Mum’s sculpture was well done, and Fitzwilliam seemed to gain some points from that, but he just had to go and offend her once he started making progress. I mean, Charles and Jane and I did the best we could to help them along, but the two of them are so bloody stubborn. Of course, my brother and his overblown sense of gentlemanlike behaviour didn’t do him any favours.

Leslie: I believe I can agree with that. You’re being very harsh, though. Don’t you think Elizabeth deserves some of the blame for them taking so long to get together?

Ana: Oh, definitely! She was exceedingly stubborn. There were times I wanted to knock her on the head so she’d finally see Fitzwilliam’s good side, but I knew forcing them wouldn’t put them together. They had to find one another on their own.

Leslie: That’s true. Thanks for talking to me, Ana. It’s been fun to get some of your perspective on William and Elizabeth’s romance during lockdown. Out of curiosity, what do you want to do first when you’re allowed to do anything or go anywhere?

Ana: I’m not sure. There’re so many places. I miss the cinema, school, and going to the café with my friends. Maybe a holiday somewhere warm. Fitzwilliam can take us to the villa in Santorini. That would be lovely.

Leslie: Sounds like paradise to me. Thanks, Ana.

Thanks again! If you haven’t read it, I hope you’ll check out Confined with Mr. Darcy! Now out on paperback, Kindle, and Kindle Unlimited!

How do you like Ana? I think she seems such a lovely sister!

I have purchased my copy of Confined with Mr. Darcy and I just need some time to read it, holidays are coming soon and then, I will devour this story!

More links to buy it:

Amazon US           Amazon UK         Amazon CA          Amazon ES         Amazon DE

Thank you very much, Leslie, for being with us today and sharing your latest book, I wish you all the best and many more of your books to share!