Welcome to my website! My humble prayer is for you to enjoy the time spent here, and that you are encouraged to return every now and again.
Additionally, I hope that taking the time to read through these pages will inspire you to invest your hard earned money on my novels. Since I would never desire anyone to squander their cash unless it was on something they truly wanted, I will endeavor to reveal enough of myself, my motivation to write this tale, and what the themes are so that everyone can render an informed decision.
My name is Sharon Lathan… honest! No pen-names for me! I am a native Californian who in late 2013 relocated to Bardstown in the green, rolling hills of western Kentucky. I had an average middle-class upbringing and average family life as a child. I entertained no grand dreams or aspirations other than to be a wife, mother, and registered nurse – all of which I am blessed to say came true. In 1986 I married Steve, my own version of Mr. Darcy, and despite the typical ups and downs, I am delighted to say we are still in love. God blessed us with two beautiful, healthy children. Our daughter Emily, is married to Neil, her own wonderful Mr. Darcy, and they live in nearby Nashville, Tennessee. Our son Kyle married Serena, a fabulous Kentucky gal, and the two lovebirds live in our beautiful new hometown.
At the age of twenty-one I became a Registered Nurse, as I first dreamed of when I was nine. For the bulk of my thirty-five year career I specialized in Neonatal Intensive Care, passionately in love with the tiny babies and excitement of high adrenaline in an incredibly rewarding field. However, when my husband retired in September of 2013 and we moved to Kentucky, I decided to set aside my stethoscope and focus on my writing career.
Writing of the Darcys has become an obsession, so I am generally found busy at work on my Macintosh computer. In between, I do find the time to read books written by other folks, see the occasional movie, keep up on my favorite TV shows, commune with fellow romance novelist and Jane Austen fanatics, and enjoy the life gifted to me.
My first step onto the pathway that would change my life began over Thanksgiving weekend of 2005 when I entered a movie theater to watch Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. Although only expecting to enjoy a sappy chick flick, I walked out sporting a heart swelling with warm fuzzy sentiments and my mind blown by a truly amazing movie experience. Joe Wright’s version of the classic was my introduction to Jane Austen and literally within days an obsession was born. For two months I devoured anything cinema or literature that pertained to Austen or Pride and Prejudice. I read her novels, watched the various adaptations, and poured over the dozens of related websites.
Then I discovered Jane Austen fan fiction.
It was a world of delight for me! Mr. Darcy and Lizzy Bennet could live eternally by the clever imaginings of modern storytellers. How glorious! Yet I soon realized that I was searching for a tale of their future life together as I imagined it, and was dissatisfied to not find that story amongst the plethora of finely written fanfiction. Finally I began writing down what I saw flashing endlessly through my brain, and a novella I titled “The Wedding Night” was the result. On a lark I posted it onto a JAFF website, received positive responses, and since the honeymoon logically follows the wedding night, I wrote and posted that next! Several other novellas followed and then, similar to Mr. Darcy and his love for Elizabeth, I was wholly immersed and smack in the middle before I realized the path I had embarked on.
Those short stories quickly grew into a continuing serial that I titled Two Shall Become One. Eventually I created my own website to post the chapters, and coined The Darcy Saga as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the monster epic that showed no sign of diminishing.
The first dozen times a reader suggested I publish the saga I smiled indulgently, chuckled a bit, thought it was sweet, thanked them for the kind praise, and moved on. I was well past the middle of 2006 and far beyond the short stories I had initially written before I began to seriously consider the notion. The barest glimmer of a possible supplementary career began to flicker through my heart and mind. Could I perhaps find a way to share this tale of love and hope with a wider audience?
I turned my researching skills to the unknown world of publishing. One of the biggest shockers was that my humble tale was at that point enough for nearly three full novels! Thus my first order of business was to rearrange and edit the beginning chapters into a unified initial installment of the Saga. By October 2006 I began sending out the first query letters, met with little success so gave it a rest until February 2007. That second quest went no better than the first so I explored the options of self-publishing.
Convinced that traditional publishing was not in the fates, on May 26 I announced that Two Shall Become One: Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy was available on Lulu.com. Seeing my work in a bound form was indescribable and the response from my loyal readers was incredible. I was content to relish the moment while continuing to write more of the Saga and lay plans for self-publishing the next volume.
Nevertheless, it was assuredly an overwhelming delight to receive the call from an editor at Sourcebooks Landmark. Much to my surprise, one of those query letters reached the right person. The red letter day in my life was June 25, 2007 when the editor called a sleepy me – I had worked the entire night before and was a mere three hours into my daily slumber – saying she wanted to publish my books! Talk about surreal.
When my newly perfected debut novel Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One was released in February of 2009 it was slightly over three years since entering that dark theater and subsequently penning “The Wedding Night.”
My, how life can change!
Details on my inspiration, aspiration, and the series itself can be read in the FAQ Section of the Library at Pemberley.
Information about each of my novels are on pages dedicated to each one. Access via the drop-down menu at the top of this page.
