Yesterday was TALK LIKE JANE AUSTEN DAY. Tonight is Halloween. Let's meet half way with a versitle author who writes Austen inspired fan fiction plus Austen inspired paranormal romance! Please join me in welcoming Mary Lydon Simonsen:
After crisscrossing the country, my husband and I finally settled in Peoria, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, where our two grown daughters, Meg and Kate, and our grandchildren also live. Paul and I spend most of our time in the Valley of the Sun, but when the temperatures hit the triple digits, we head up to our second home in Flagstaff—a cool retreat and a great place to write a book.
Because of my love of history, I spent about three years researching and writing a history of my Irish ancestors in Ireland and in Minooka, a small coal-mining town near Scranton, Pennsylvania. I have been able to trace my ancestors as far back as the late 18th Century in counties Galway, Mayo, and Cork. Considering that they were all illiterate peasants, that’s pretty good.
Among my ancestors is my Irish-born great great grandfather, William Mahady, who joined a volunteer Pennsylvania Regiment during the Civil War, probably for the bonus money, and ended up being captured at Petersburg along with six other soldiers. He was the only one of the seven captured who survived internment at Andersonville Prisoner of War Camp in Georgia.
Whether it is documenting family stories or reading American and European history, I enjoy doing the research. My books have been nominated for Pulitzer Prizes for best historical novels. (Actually, I'm only kidding. I wanted to see if you read my entire biography.)
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| Sunset over Valley of the Sun pacificalumni.org |
Kim: Can you share a favorite sight, sound, and smell of Arizona?
Mary: I love going up to Arizona’s High Country (above 7,000 feet) on the Mogollon Rim. It’s a whole different world up there. Because the temperatures can be between 20 and 30 degrees cooler than Phoenix, you actually see people out during the day. During the summer in the Valley of the Sun, most people are vampires. We only come out at night. My favorite view is looking out from a vista on Hart Prairie near the Snowbowl Ski Resort in Flagstaff. Without a town in sight, you can see forever.
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| Hart Prairie from Volunteers of Outdoor Arizona voaz.org |
Kim: Drawing upon your family research, let's relocate one of Jane Austen's stories to Ireland. How would it be the same to the original? different from the original?
Mary: If you were a person of means, it would have been great to live in Ireland. It was fabulous horse country, and because labor was so cheap, you could build great houses, like Pemberley and Highbury, for a song. On the other hand, if you were poor, like my ancestors, you existed on cabbage, potatoes, and milk (i.e., mashed potatoes). If you were lucky, you owned a pig, but the pig was to be sold to pay the rent not to be eaten. The division between rich and poor was even greater in Ireland than in England, and that is saying a lot. Austen set her stories in the middle and upper classes. The only time the poor are mentioned is when her heroine is acting on their behalf. An example would be Emma visiting a poor, sick neighbor to deliver a basket of food.
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| Blessingbourne House in County Tyrone dungannon.gov.uk |
Kim: Suppose you could go back in time to take tea with Jane Austen - what would you ask her? While you are in England, what would you like to visit?
Mary: I would ask Miss Austen how she wrote her brilliant manuscripts using a quill pen. How did she do revisions? I just can’t imagine it because I retype every sentence over and over again. I hope to be in England next spring, and I would like to visit Chatsworth and Chawton House. But I also love World War II history. I’d like to visit the RAF Museum at Cosford and the National Code and Ciphers Center at Bletchley Park where they broke the German code with the Enigma machine.
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| Chawton House - home of Jane brother Edward Austen chawton.org |
Kim: You wrote, “As part of the research for Darcy on the Hudson, my husband and I spent a week traveling up and down the Hudson River Valley from Manhattan to Troy, New York.” Can you share a tidbit from your research that surprised you?
Mary: There was one interesting bit of historical data involving an instrument used to clean ears that I saw at a Dutch museum across the Hudson from Albany. I can’t say anymore than that because your readers would lose their lunch. I nearly did. While touring Van Cortlandt Manor, I did learn that oyster shells were ground up and eaten as an antacid for heartburn. It probably helped women with osteoporosis as well.
Kim: What's next for Mary Lydon Simonsen?
Mary: Right now, I’m very busy. I’ve recently published three novellas (For All the Wrong Reasons, A Walk in the Meadows at Rosings Park, and Mr. Darcy’s Angel of Mercy), and a novel (Darcy on the Hudson). I have a Pride and Prejudice story set in World War II on a back burner as well as a Persuasion re-imagining in the works. I love Persuasion, so writing a novella about Anne Elliot and Frederick was a pleasure. There’s also a Pride and Prejudice story involving time travel that is quite a departure for me.
My next big writing project is my first attempt to write a mystery. I don’t know if I can do it, but I’m going to give it a shot.
Mary: Right now, I’m very busy. I’ve recently published three novellas (For All the Wrong Reasons, A Walk in the Meadows at Rosings Park, and Mr. Darcy’s Angel of Mercy), and a novel (Darcy on the Hudson). I have a Pride and Prejudice story set in World War II on a back burner as well as a Persuasion re-imagining in the works. I love Persuasion, so writing a novella about Anne Elliot and Frederick was a pleasure. There’s also a Pride and Prejudice story involving time travel that is quite a departure for me.
My next big writing project is my first attempt to write a mystery. I don’t know if I can do it, but I’m going to give it a shot.
Mahalo, Mary, for joining at SOS Aloha! I am curious about your new book, MR. DARCY'S BITE, available in print and electronic formats:
Mr. Darcy has a secret.
Darcy is acting rather oddly. After months of courting Elizabeth Bennet, no offer of marriage is forthcoming and Elizabeth is first impatient, then increasingly frightened. For there is no denying that the full moon seems to be affecting his behavior, and Elizabeth’s love is going to be tested in ways she never dreamed.
Darcy has more than family pride to protect: others of his kind are being hunted all over England and a member of Darcy’s pack is facing a crisis in Scotland. It will take all of Elizabeth’s faith, courage, and ingenuity to overcome her prejudice and join Darcy in a Regency world she never knew existed.
Oh, a Regency classic with a paranormal twist! Mary posted a vignette on Austen Authors at this link. I am giving away a copy of MR. DARCY'S BITE - winner's choice of format - to one randomly selected commenter. To enter the giveaway,
1. Leave a comment about what costume you are wearing tonight for Halloween. Or if you hadn't planned to dress up, what costume would you wear if you had a faery godmother who could make one for you?
2. This giveaway is open to all readers.
3. Comments are open through Saturday, November 5, 10 pm in Hawaii. I'll post the winner on Sunday, November 6.
Mahalo,
Kim in Hawaii
To learn more about Mary and her books, check out her blog at
Mary also contributes to Austen Authors at
