A new blog for historical romance is on the web, and I am loving it!

Long Ago Love was started just last month by independent author Vicki Hopkins, and so far the posts are fabulous. And I really love the website graphics! Check it out, especially the May 21 post on Jane Austen’s Leading Men. My pick was Matthew Macfadyen, but that does not come as a surprise, right?

And since I am on the subject of historical blogs focusing on romance authors and the like, here is a short list of my favorites~~

The Beau Monde

Historical Hussies

Writing the Renaissance

Historical Hearts Through History

Historical Belles and Beaus

A Bit of Muslin

History Undressed

Regency History

Jane Austen’s World

Regency Reflections

Regency Reader

English Historical Fiction Authors

Romancing the Past

Georgian Gentleman

Book Expo America is THE largest event in North America for the publishing industry. Held in New York City, it is a week of packed events for anyone involved with books in any way, including readers. I have never attended a BEA – although my novels have along with my publisher – and I won’t be boarding a jet plane to the East Coast this year either. I doubt most of you are able to attend, or live in the vicinity and can pop in. If you do, let me know how it is and if you spy any copies of The Darcy Saga floating around!

Fortunately for those of us who must stay home, Armchair BEA was created to join in the fun from afar. From the website:

Armchair BEA is the experience for book bloggers to participate in Book Expo America (BEA) from the comfort of their homes. This experience is created lovingly by book bloggers specifically for our peers who for whatever reason are not able to participate in the main conference in New York each year. We bring publishers, authors, and bloggers together in celebrating our love for all things literary by hosting celebrations such as sneak peeks, daily discussion topics, and sponsored giveaways.

I am taking part in the fun as a sponsor and participant, including a giveaway of 3 copies of The Passions of Dr. Darcy. Be sure to check back next week, on Monday May 27, when the event is officially begun. Whoot!

For more information, and a list of the hundreds of bloggers and authors and publishers participating, here are the direct links–

Armchair BEA main page & blog

Armchair BEA 2013 Participants

A dear friend from my church, Calvary Chapel of Hanford, has written and published the first of several planned books for children, and I am so excited for her that I have to share!

Rachel Cook is a lovely young woman whom I have known since she was a child herself – then Rachel Rees, one of the many “Rees kids” at our church! When she first told me of her desire to take the stories she created to entertain her children, and have then illustrated and published for other parents and lucky children, I made her promise to keep me informed so I could spread the joy to my readers. Now that dream has become a reality!

Four Little Ducks Take a Walk is a delightful tale of an imaginative journey taken by four little ducks, written by Rachel Cook and illustrated beautifully by another Calvary Chapel youngster now grown into an incredible young lady with a marvelous talent, Shelby Groeneveld. I have no doubt whatsoever that if the Darcy children could get their hands on this fine book, they would love it – after Michael and Noella fight over who gets to read it first, that is!

Four Little Ducks Take a Walk on Kindle eBook at Amazon for $2.99

Four Little Ducks Take a Walk in paperback at Blurb for $14.99

A portion of the proceeds are donated to benefit the Crossroads Crisis Pregnancy Center in Hanford. Buy a wonderful book for your children or grandchildren, and contribute to a worthy cause! For more information about the book, and Rachel Cook, visit the website: www.fourlittleducks.net

Missing my wonderful mother, Marge Shelly, on this day to honor moms. I was blessed with one of the best moms EVER!

Left: Me with sister Janis & mom in 1985. Right: Me with mom in 2005.

In large part because of my mom’s example, being a mother myself was a yearning desire. Thankfully I was blessed with two amazing children:
Emily Justine born in 1988 and Kyle Taylor born in 1992. I love my kids!

2007, at Kyle’s 8th grade graduation

2011, taken in our backyard before Kyle’s high school graduation ceremony

A friend of mine in the town where I reside invited me onto her blog as a guest. Isn’t that sweet? Jessica Brooks is an author as well, her genre “young adult” fiction (see bio on Jessica down below) and her blog is My Thoughts Exactly where she has started a new program called “Local Author Wednesday” as a special time to highlight writers within the communities of the Central Valley in California. Nice!

I was up first, my post on May 1 accommodating Jessica’s theme described like this: “In my book, Pity Isn’t An Option, Jonas, the male main character, writes a few meaningful words on a particular item and ends up giving it to someone. I thought this would be a fun theme to carry on in the Local Author Wednesdays.”

I think so too! What a fabulously unique idea! Naturally I chose Dr. George Darcy, the star of my most recent novel The Passions of Dr. Darcy. The exercise of seriously dwelling on which words he would consider the most memorable and important, and what object he would write them on, was really fun.

Come by My Thoughts Exactly to find out what George and I came up with. I am also hosting a GIVEAWAY of one copy of The Passions of Dr. Darcy (eBook or print, winner’s choice), so be sure to enter that!

Local Author Wednesday: Sharon Lathan, author of The Darcy Saga

About Jessica Brooks

Jessica Brooks, writer of YA and Adult Fiction, resides with her husband of almost sixteen years, three awesome daughters, and a plethora of pets in Central California, where fog, frost, triple-digit heat and various items of produce arrive bountifully, depending on the season. (We won’t even go there about all the cows.) She has an affinity for both coffee and owls, and loves to connect with other readers and writers whenever possible.

Pity Isn’t an Option – Seventeen year-old Jonas’ blood disorder has taken away everything that matters. Sixteen year-old Hattie’s father is losing his marbles. When Jonas’ perfectly healthy twin brother and Hattie’s crazy dad are drafted into the President’s army, Hattie’s dad disappears. Jonas and Hattie embark on a journey to find him, and find something they’d lost long ago in the process.

Ever noticed that practically every time you visit Facebook the powers-that-be have changed something? It is impossible to keep up on the constant “improvements” but if you are hanging out on FB once in a while just for fun, it does not matter all that much. In my case, since I use my Facebook author page as my top networking and marketing tool on an equal par with my personal website/blog, being aware of the new stuff is important. Recently a series of discussions on one of the author loops I belong to prompted me to seriously investigate how my Facebook experience could be better. This not only benefits me in reaching new readers, but in interacting with the fans I already have. And to be honest, I really like Facebook and want MY time there to be entertaining!

First off I decided to consolidate my personal profile and professional profile into one. In the process I did a whole lot of friending and unfriending, which felt really weird! Now everyone is all on my author profile – HERE. I learned some tricks in how to create “lists” so I can keep tabs on family and people I personally know through work, church, childhood, etc. Then there are my various author-related contacts who needed to be separated for easier following. Lastly, and just as important, my readers!

Sharon Lathan, novelist
For the latter, utilizing my PAGE and keeping the focus there better serves me, and you. Therefore, while one has to have a “profile” on FB in order to create a PAGE, I won’t spend as much time cross posting to both. My author page – found HERE: https://www.facebook.com/SharonLathanNovelist – is where the biggest action will be. SO, if you want to keep tabs on the Sharon Lathan Happenings, be sure to LIKE my PAGE!

So what is new on my Facebook Author Page? Glad you asked!

1) I recently added a new banner – very cool, I must say. It is the image I use for my bookmarks, created by me using the incredible program Gimp. To make it easy, clicking the banner image leads to an easy link to this website, as does clicking the profile image or the link listed below my name.

2) The best tip of all was learning how to tweak the “tabs” underneath the banner. Admittedly, I have largely ignored those options aside from adding the occasional photo. Wow! Talk about an eye-opener to realize what could be done there! Now I have a bunch of super-neat extras that you have to check out! Simply click the square to access. Only 4 are visible at all times, the others revealed by clicking the tiny arrow to the right.

Let me go over each one, in order of appearance—

PHOTOS: All pages and profiles have this. I went through and updated the albums, especially, and added a ton of new images that I hadn’t gotten around to uploading. All related to my publishing career in some way, and purely for fun and enlightenment.

MEET SHARON: A bio, basically. Much more extensive than what is on the Facebook “about” area, but not as complete as the bio I have here on my website. There are links to my email, Twitter, website, and Austen Authors as well.

BUY MY BOOKS: This page is linked to Amazon. All of my novels are listed with the ratings, a few reviews, the synopsis, and a link to purchase. The “get a free chapter” button connects to The Writers Block where I have sample chapters to read.

CHAT: A new forum for discussion, questions, praise, or anything YOU want to add to interact with me. This page is all about connecting with me! Ask a question… I will answer. I already have two threads ready for a discussion of The Passions of Dr. Darcy. I am waiting to hear from my readers and fans of George! Comment here on my website are abundantly welcomed, naturally, and I will always respond, but since people seem to love cruising on FB, having a chat option right there will be a bonus.

WEBSITE & BLOG: Clicking the linked hearts will instantly transport you to this website. Well, not YOU as in your body – no Star Trek beaming going on! Facebook isn’t THAT cool… yet. But your browser will open automatically open a new page for my website.

NEWSPAPER: Have you seen and subscribed to my daily newspaper History, Romance, & Austen? You are missing out! Each evening a new edition can be delivered to your email inbox, the digital newspaper presented by Paper.li compiled of newsy bits pulled off the internet from sources I have designated. I am focusing on item of Regency and English history, Jane Austen, romance novels, literature in general, and a few other surprises. Clicking this link will show the latest edition for your reading pleasure, and offer you the option of subscribing if you wish.

PORTRAIT GALLERY: Clicking this tab will again take you away from Facebook, opening a new browser page for my fabulous Darcy Saga Portrait Gallery hosted by SmugMug. Literally thousands of pictures inhabit the ten albums in the gallery. There is an album for each novel in the Darcy Saga series, one for Matthew Macfadyen, one for Regency Era items, one for Fashion (Indian and Georgian Era), and the last stills from the 2005 Pride and Prejudice.

MY YOU TUBE: A feed from my YouTube Channel -
www.YouTube.com/SharonLathanNovelist – showing a few of my favorite videos, including my book trailer. More are on YouTube, but these are the ones I really love. An eclectic collective of humor, Austen bits, music videos, and more. I’ll add to this as I uncover videos I love.

MY PINTEREST: Yes, I am on Pinterest! More images I love on a bunch of boards. More Regency images, hot guys, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, funnies, Disneyland, movies, music, and lots lots more. Clicking here will bring up my Pinterest page, and all the boards and pins I have accummulated so far, as well as a link off-Facebook to my Pinterest page.

FAVORITE PLACES: Here on my website I have a comprehensive linking list of wonderful websites and blogs. I encourage everyone to check it out: LINKS. On my Facebook page, this tab opens to a page with a few relevant links, mostly ones to the pages on this website, but also a selection of others. I am sure I’ll add to this from time to time.

I have a few ideas for the other tabs, but haven’t gotten them worked out as yet. The above should keep you busy for a while! Now get over there, “LIKE” my page, and check it out! I’ll be waiting for some Dr. George Darcy discussions!

I can’t believe my fabulous novel – The Passions of Dr. Darcy – has already been out into the world for a week! My, how time flies! Sadly part of my busyness this week was getting taxes done, which is never fun. Probably should have planned such an unpalatable task for before my big launch week, right? Oh well, it is now accomplished and while poorer in the bank account, I remain rich in my enthusiasm and happiness over The Passions of Dr. Darcy!

Have you read it yet? NO!?! What are you waiting for? LOL! I am hoping to schedule a “discussion” in a week or so – either here or on my Facebook page. A sort of interactive and fun Q&A. How does that sound? I’ll keep you posted on that.

Those folks who have read the novel are loving it. At least all the feedback I have gotten thus far has been positive. I have to share some of the terrific feedback bits received–

Megan Bettag wrote: “The Passions of Dr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan – such a fantastic book! Better if you’ve read the other books Sharon’s written but you would still be able to follow the story even if you hadn’t read the others. Dr. Darcy is the uncle of Fitzwilliam Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. Great book, wonderful descriptions, interesting characters, funny at times, serious at others, heart warming and heart wrenching at times. I loved it!”

Kelli Crowe: “I just finished The Passions of Dr. Darcy. If I had realized the last page was the last page…I would have savored it more! I was like, “Glossary…what? It’s over!” It was so well done. Now, please tell me you are working on the next one:)”

Karen Stone:  “This book provides a slow build up of romance wherein George first comes to terms with his own self identity. His character is one of beautiful generosity and unselfishness. This novel is a scrumptious bundle of deliciousness: one that tricks you into believing you are finding your special someone and solidifying relationships with those closest to you.”

Christa Vail: “Of all her books thus, far this one was so wonderful I could not put it down. Her vivid explanations make one feel as though you are taken back in time, you feel as though you could actually speak to Dr. Darcy yourself. Her descriptions of medicine and traditions are amazing.

“Saroya Naomi: “This story provides Pride and Prejudice fans another lovely member of the Darcy family. Dr. Darcy’s character, like William Darcy, is easy to fall in love with. He is humorous, caring, intelligent, a truly lovely Englishman. This book provides a beautiful portrayal of the medicine world in British India. And of course we also again briefly meet our beloved Elizabeth and William. I would highly recommend this book to all the Jane Austen fans, and everyone who loves historical romances.”

Highlighting my week was a stunning review from the New York Journal of Books. The entire review is incredibly long, and very detailed (Read *SPOILERS*) but I loved this because it revealed how intently the reviewer, Toni V. Sweeney, read and appreciated the novel. Far too many “professional” reviewers make remarks about the novels they review that leave me wondering if they read past the back cover blurb or first two pages! Toni clearly did, AND as evidenced by her fabulously written review completely understood the plot and purpose of The Passions of Dr. Darcy.

The entire review can be read here: New York Journal of Books review of The Passions of Dr. Darcy

In case you want to avoid spoilers until you read the novel – Again, what are you waiting for?!?! – here are my favorite remarks:

“. . . a splendid tale of one man’s determination . . . to be the best in his chosen profession . . . and to find love.”

The passion of the title pertains to love, of course . . . of that George Darcy has for women, but it also relates to his concern for his patients and his integrity in treating them. In this context, Dr. Darcy has three passions women . . . of India . . . and his love of medicine . . . not necessarily in that order.

Though there’s sex in the story, it’s couched in the vernacular of an Austen novel so it’s more emotionally than graphically descriptive. Nevertheless the narrative is evocative of great passion.

A portion of the story is told through George’s journals, written to various deceased family members. His observations on the development of his nephew Fitzwilliam as an infant, a child, an adolescent, and later the adult man winning Elizabeth Bennett’s heart, bring new facets to that character as originally presented in Jane Austen’s novel.

Anyone who has read Pride and Prejudice will enjoy this story though that isn’t a prerequisite. One doesn’t even have to read the other entries in this series since this could also be a stand-alone.

Indeed I am happy dancing! So, how about those of you who have read it? Thoughts? Questions? I am open for discussion!!

Many thanks to author Linda Banche for this lovely review of The Passions of Dr. Darcy. Posted on her blog – Linda Banche and Her Historical Hilarity – Linda has nothing but wonderful praise for George Darcy and his tale of adventures. I’m posting the review in its entirety below, but feel free to visit Linda’s blog as well.

Review of The Passions of Dr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan–

The Passions of Dr. Darcy, the latest of Sharon Lathan’s Darcy Saga, sweeps us along on a voyage to the exotic India of 200 years ago as seen through the eyes of the flamboyant, arrogant, and compassionate physician, George Darcy, Mr. Darcy’s uncle.

English, but embracing all things Indian, George bridges the gap between the European and Indian ways of life with his skill in medicine, his humanitarianism and his joy for life. For thirty years, he travels to the every reach of the subcontinent, healing the sick and injured, while experiencing his own share of joy and tears along the way.

The Passions of Dr. Darcy is not your typical Regency tale, and Ms. Lathan’s George is not your typical Regency hero. While he is gorgeous, rich and a gentleman, he is also a talented, skilled physician who worked hard to achieve his proficiency. And with all his advantages, not everything goes his way, especially in the matters of love. Ms. Lathan’s talent for evoking emotion makes us laugh and cry along with George as he experiences the heady joy of love found, and all too often, the blackest despair of love lost.

The larger-than-life George’s story could only take place against a canvas as spectacular as he is. India, the lush, vibrant land of fairy tales, is the perfect locale. Sumptuous descriptions and a wealth of historic detail set a stage as compelling as the hero.

The Passions of Dr. Darcy is that rarity these days, the large novel. Right from the beginning, the story grabs you and never lets you go. A true joy to read.

I am thrilled to report the first reviews from readers! Thanks to the ARCs I sent out and my publisher providing early access, I am seeing a few lovely reports filtering in. On Amazon, there are three 5-STAR reviews! Thanks to Vee, Cherri, and Anasheh. Read their thoughts HERE. Since the nature of the review-game means not all of them will be positive, I am determined to enjoy the excellent ones when they come along. LOL! On Goodreads there are 3 reviews so far (including Ahasheh’s), this one posted today a 4-Star review with this section a wonderful summation–

This story provides Pride and Prejudice fans another lovely member of the Darcy family. Dr. Darcy’s character, like William Darcy, is easy to fall in love with. He is humorous, caring, intelligent, a truly lovely Englishman. This book provides a beautiful portrayal of the medicine world in British India. And of course we also again briefly meet our beloved Elizabeth and William from Pride and Prejudice. I would highly recommend this book to all the Jane Austen fans, especially to the Pride and Prejudice fans and everyone who loves historical romances.

In other cool news, The Passions of Dr. Darcy is steadily climbing in the Amazon sales ranking. At this moment, the novel is ranked #24 in Kindle sales and #99 in print sales for “medical fiction” – Sweet! How that translates to actual numbers is impossible to know, but I’ll assume it means thousands. Hehe…..

The funny thing about celebrating a novel release is that the party is entirely within the cyberworld, while I sit before my computer wearing my comfortable clothes and fuzzy slippers. I have little idea what is really happening, unless I read a review or the comments on Facebook, my blog, Austen Authors, and so on. Not that I really want to get all dressed up and trade the comfy slippers for tall heels, mind you! It is simply a tad surreal, and even after seven previous novels with their “launch parties” I am still not used to how odd it is to celebrate without real balloons or firecrackers. Ha!

That is why the above mentioned enthusiastic comments and early reviews are so awesome! Makes the whole thing feel real. Knowing that people besides just me are holding The Passions of Dr. Darcy in their hands helps tremendously. Knowing at least a few people have actually bought the book is a nice boon too!

So thanks to all who have whooped and hollered with me. I love every last remark and exclamation point! I love the pictures that have been shared and the hundreds of Tweets! You have made my release party possible! And to let you know how special the connection is, here are a few samples–

It was just delivered at work. Squee! Goodbye productivity! Hello Dr Darcy! ~ Courtney

Congratulations, Sharon! I am so excited to read this book! Ever since you first told me about it, I have looked forward to its release. ~ Syrie James

Aargh! I thought I would be able to download on the iPad, but no such luck, and I am in airports all day today. Nooooooooo ~ Jenni

I can hardly wait to start reading this book and just might make my daughter do chores allll day tomorrow for not letting me know this came in the mail today!! Haha! You are the BEST and have captured my heart with this Darcy Saga! ~ Shannon

Thank you, thank you, thank you, got my new book last night on my Kindle – can’t wait to dig in! ~ Kelly

I’m saving this book for tomorrow. I’ve read every other part of it already, studied the map, and avoided the story. Tomorrow I have all day and night to read! YAY!!! Thanks, Sharon! I’ve loved the little tidbits you’ve shown us along the way. I can’t wait to dive in and get lost in George’s story. ~ Roz

Happy launch day for the spectacular novel ‘The Passions of Dr Darcy’ by the wonderful and very talented Sharon Lathan. Well it’s the 2nd here in Sydney so I couldn’t hold in the excitement any longer! ~ Vee

Reading now.. so moved by the first 5 chapters already! love it ~ Nancy

I downloaded my copy this morning! I can’t wait to embark on this journey with Dr. Darcy!!! ~ Natasha

I have managed to get through about half of the book whilst life has been overwhelming me and I love it!!! Once I finish I will post a review on my normal spots. You’ve done it again my dear!! I loved George before, I adore him now. ~ Stephanie L

Hello my friend!! Congrats, the book is beautiful and I can’t wait to dive in!! Enjoy your day. ~ Kerry

Isn’t everyone so AWESOME! Love you all, so much! And thanks to Anasheh for the picture below, taken at a Los Angeles area Barnes & Noble. I don’t have a book store close to me, so love seeing it on a shelf outside my office. Don’t forget the giveaway happening on Austen Authors, and come back to see what fun I have in store for The Passions of Dr. Darcy Launch Party here on my blog!

There they are!

THE PASSIONS OF DR. DARCY

My author copies arrived early last week, and talk about excited! There was some happy-dancing going on in the Lathan household, let me tell ya. Shiny, thick, perfectly printed – it is a masterpiece. I may be a wee bit prejudiced, I’ll admit, but so far the consensus from everyone who has seen the finish product is the same as mine. See how fabulous it looks on my office shelf?

For the most part, my work is done. Now I can breathe a deep sigh of relief as I sit back and simply enjoy the satisfaction of a job excellently concluded. I have no control over who will purchase the novel, who will enjoy it or hate it, or who will write a positive review. Individual choice is not up to me. I can only flip through the pages, relive the journey I took with George Darcy, and know without a shred of doubt that I wrote a remarkable story about a remarkable man.

This time around I decided not to kill myself with a plethora of blog stops. I’ll be sharing news flashes on my Facebook page – Sharon Lathan, Novelist – and here on my blog. This is where the best information is anyway! If you haven’t already, scroll down the blog page to read the recent posts about George Darcy, or click the following links–

Meet the Cast of The Passions of Dr. Darcy
The Places Dr. Darcy Travels
Get to know George Darcy

I have additional information at theses links–

Complete Cast of Characters
The Passions of Dr. Darcy Portrait Gallery album
Georgian and Indian Fashion album
Excerpts
Chapter Five on The Writers Block

I may not be dashing hither and yon across the glittering blog-o-sphere, but I am gonna do some partying!

First up is my BIG celebration on Austen Authors. Yippee! Gotta share the joy with my special pals in the Austenesque fiction community. Come on over and join in the fun happening today, and be sure to enter the giveaway contest. I will be handing out 1 signed, print copy of The Passions of Dr. Darcy, and 2 eBook versions. Deadline April 8.

Sharon’s celebration on Austen Authors

Also today, I am honored to be the guest on the blog of fellow Austen Author Colette Saucier – Pulse and Prejudice and All My Tomorrows. She is a peach to have me, and I had lots of fun writing my Top Ten Reasons why The Passions of Dr. Darcy is my favorite. Hopefully you will enjoy learning why too!

Click the image to the left, or the link below–

Top Ten Reasons 

In other interesting giveaway news, Fresh Fiction is hosting a contest for a copy of my awesome novel. This one is sponsored by my publisher, so the book won’t be signed by me, but a free novel is always worth a shot, right? Click the image or link, and fill in the simple online form. Deadline April 30.

In the days and weeks ahead I will be frequently posting updates, fabulous reviews (I hope), and a number of cool surprises I have up my sleeve. *Hint: Rumor has it that the intrepid reporter for the Derby Chronicle, Miss Austen, has interviewed Dr. Darcy! More than anything, I want to hear from YOU! Tell me what you thought of the novel! Share images of my lovely book sitting on a book store shelf! Alert me to internet chatter! Ask me a question! Anything!!