Interview & Giveaway: Jayne Bamber's Latest Gothic Mash-Up, "NorthFanger"

After sharing a couple of non-JAFF/Austenesque posts, I'm back with another fun author interview and book preview. I've not yet read the entire book but am looking forward to sinking my teeth into it...pun intended. This book is quite a departure from my preferred JAFF--namely, super emotional, angsty Pride and Prejudice variations (preferably with Mr. Darcy on his knees begging or otherwise in heartsick agony). A change of pace is long overdue, and I've needed to branch out a bit. Sadly, I've also been struck with a bit of ennui from some of the recent new releases I've read. 

I recently re-listened to my Northanger Abbey audiobook to get into the spirit. It's chock full of humor but just so different from Jane Austen's other novels. That's where Austenesque author Jayne Bamber's newest novel, NorthFanger changes it up. Described as, "a campy, vampy fusion of Pride & Prejudice with Northanger Abbey," NorthFanger is a book that doesn't take itself too seriously. The thought of mashing up my least favorite JA novel with my most loved is exciting! Add to that the even gothier (not a real word, but I like it) gothic vampire treatment, and it's bound to be an enjoyable cure for my recent Austenesque malaise. 

Before exploring the book in earnest, I thought I'd share a bit about the author. Jayne Bamber is a native Texan living in the Sam Houston National Forest outside of Huntsville, TX with her Aussie puppy, Mr. Bunbury. NorthFanger is her 7^th Austenesque novel. So far all of her novels have been regencies, with Pride & Prejudice being the focus of 6 out of the 7. The seventh, Outmatched, is a mash-up of Sense & Sensibility and Mansfield Park.

Ms. Bamber has a few more stories in the works--the next being another regency-era Pride & Prejudice adaptation. She hopes to one day branch out to other historical time periods as well. Continuing with her unique takes on Austen's world, her works in progress include a Pride & Prejudice adaptation with a Texas historical backdrop as well as an Austen medley set during the Wars of the Roses (Pride and Plantagenets, anyone?).

She reported NorthFanger is her first real deviation into the supernatural world, however. Her last novel, Madness in Meryton, pushed the boundaries of reality with a Groundhog's Day trope, but for NorthFanger, she created her own vampire lore and really let her imagination run wild!

Without further ado, check out the book teaser/blurb...

Elizabeth Bennet and her cousin Catherine Moreland travel into Kent to visit the recently married Collinses in the village of Hunsford near the great estate of Rosings Park. Elizabeth anticipates that the visit will be very dull indeed, while Catherine believes adventure and romance await them there, just as in the gothic novels she adores.

Within a week, both women have their expectations subverted by the sudden arrival of a vampire into their midst. The ladies at the parsonage take flight, accompanied by the outraged Colonel Fitzwilliam, his outwitted cousin, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy -- and an out-of-control fledgling vampire. Proving herself indispensable during the undead Darcy debacle, Elizabeth becomes the heroine her cousin Catherine always knew she was -- and enviously wishes to be herself -- as she leads them to Beth in search of the wily Silas Bennet, an expert in all matters vampiric.

But amidst the hunt for Uncle Silas, other predators enter the fray, all in search of one very old man, and a very young vampire. In Bath, they encounter the Tilneys, the Thorpes, and an array of familiar faces and viscous villains bent on wreaking bloody havoc, leading a merry band of misfits to take shelter in a place too spooky not to hold secrets of its own: Northanger Abbey.

Surely that piqued your interest! Let's go a step further with a longer excerpt...

In this excerpt of NorthFanger, Catherine Morland makes a shocking discovery about the Tilneys, whom she has befriended while staying in Bath – but is it too late to warn her cousin, Elizabeth Bennet?...

    Catherine and her new friend had been chatting amiably together in Eleanor’s bedchamber when there came a knock at the door - she recognized Mr. Tilney’s voice coming from the other side of it. “Ellie? May I enter?”

    

    Eleanor closed the book of lurid illustrations they had been examining and answered in the affirmative. “Henry, what is the matter?”

    He closed the door behind him after stepping into the room, shifting awkwardly. “Forgive my intrusion, Miss Morland. Unfortunately, my father’s business is of such a nature… we must leave Bath at once and return home.”

      “Home?” Eleanor gasped and clutched Catherine’s hand.

    “Northanger Abbey,” Mr. Tilney explained, smiling sadly at Catherine. “I am so sorry to disrupt a quaint evening between friends."

    Catherine had hoped her invitation back to Laura Place would prove an opportunity for her to spend more time with Mr. Tilney - perhaps even share another kiss. She had been disappointed enough that he had not elected to keep company with her and Eleanor after returning to the house, but this was ever so much worse! “Must I leave, then?”

    Eleanor folded her hands in her lap and cast her glance down at the floor, but Mr. Tilney came closer and crouched in front of Catherine. He took her hands in his, and whispered gently, “There is something else I must tell you, dearest Catherine. There was a fire at Camden Place….”

    She gasped and threw herself into his ready embrace. “God, no!”

    “Your friends are safe, but the Fitzwilliam House is a pile of ash by now. Your cousin and the others will journey to Northanger with us - that is why we must go directly.”

    Catherine released her grip on his neck, but Mr. Tilney kept one arm around her shoulders. “The ladies will need some clothes, Ellie; there is nothing to lend them at Northanger but frocks of your mother’s that are ten years old. How quickly can you pack?” 

    Eleanor stood at once and pulled three gowns out of her wardrobe. “Here, they may take these - will they need blankets? Oh, how cold and frightened they must be!”

    Catherine was touched by the generosity of her friends - surely the Thorpes would not act with such hasty consideration. But still she felt all the uncertainty of a young heart in love. “Must I go back to the Allens?”

    Mr. Tilney took both of her hands in his. “Come with us, Cathy. We can send for your things tomorrow - it is far too late for you to return to Pulteney Street and I - I should like you to see my home.”

    Her heart soared. “Oh - yes! Northanger Abbey, how fascinating it sounds! I am sure it shall be utterly romantic - that is, very grand….” She broke off with a blush, knowing that once again her imagination was on the precipice of a tremendous leap. 

    “I hope you will think so,” he said, placing another gentle kiss on her wrist, as he had done that night after the picnic. “I may not be the best of company - I never took my cure from Doctor Bennet, but someday I hope….”

    “I am sure I shall tend to you myself if you require it.”

    He stroked her cheek and gazed into her eyes, and for a moment they both forgot his sister was in the room. “You cannot know what you are saying, my sweet Cathy….”

    Eleanor cleared her throat as she opened a large wooden trunk at the foot of her bed and began to pack up her things. “The Darcys and their party - are they within the house?”

    “Miss Darcy is here - she will travel with us, as there will not be space in their carriage for her, and... Father thought it safer. He will drive them, since they do not know the way.”

    Eleanor nodded, and eyed her brother warily. “Are you well enough to travel? Tell me truly.”

    Catherine clasped his hand with concern, and he patted her idly. “I may need to eat a little something, and then I will be capable of driving us. Father saw to Miss Darcy’s refreshment.”

    Eleanor nodded and picked up one of her gowns. “She must want a change of clothes - surely she has no wish to… to smell of smoke, after the fire.”

    Mr. Tilney squeezed Catherine’s hand before releasing it. “Forgive me, Miss Morland, but we must leave you for a moment. Eleanor will return soon.”

    “Of course,” Catherine said, her heart and her imagination so full of the notion of a nighttime journey with her handsome beau that it was only as he was leaving that she belatedly remembered to ask, “Might I have a pen and some paper? I ought to leave a note of explanation for the Allens or they will be very cross. And James! He is to return tomorrow - but I am sure he will forgive me such a hasty departure.”

    “Of course,” Eleanor replied, leading her brother from the room. “You will find what you need in my desk there, and a maid will see your messages to the post in the morning. Stay here, dearest - I will return very soon.”

    Catherine supposed she had written rather quickly, for when both of her letters were finished, Eleanor had not come back. She paced with nervous excitement, indulging for several minutes in an incredible fantasy of what Northanger Abbey would be like….

The carriage sped along a road cut through dense, dark forest; she and Henry Tilney sat atop, and her hair blew loose in the wind. He smiled at her, this devastatingly handsome man who had carried her off in the night, and stroked her hair before pulling her into a lusty embrace. When he broke away from their passionate kiss, the first light of dawn lit the sky gold and pink, the light dancing across the treetops, and he spread his arm wide across the magnificent landscape before them. A vast, ancient structure came into view on a low crest in the distance, a lurid and ghostly place that stirred her heart with violent excitement. “Welcome to my home, dearest Catherine,” he said, drawing her closer. “Soon, I hope, to be your home, too, my love.” He made a low, growling sound, and wantonly devoured her…

Catherine roused from her reverie and began to grow impatient to be on their way. Still Eleanor did not come back. Catherine packed her friend’s trunk full of garments and books - the only true essentials - hoping it would hasten their departure, and when she was finished, and still alone, she grew anxious. She checked the clock - half an hour had passed. She began to worry - was Mr. Tilney too ill to travel? And if Georgiana Darcy was within the house, what was she doing while they waited?

Catherine opened the door and crept out into the hall, careful not to make a sound, for the house was dreadfully silent. She moved toward the candelabra at the end of the hall, and meant to take it in hand as she continued to explore, but then she heard muffled voices. She had eavesdropped once and bitterly regretted the confusion it aroused in her mind, but when she heard her name she could not resist the temptation.

She left the light behind and crept around the corner under the cover of darkness, stopping outside an open doorway - the voices came from within. “If that is the case, you will have to tell her ere long. I know you care for her,” Eleanor said softly.

Henry spoke with pain in his voice as Catherine pressed her back against the wall, just outside the door. “I know, I know. I had hoped to have the cure by now - to have an ordinary life with her.”

“Cure? What cure?” This was another female voice - Georgiana Darcy.

“Doctor Bennet….”

“Oh - but, no. He can treat the symptoms of our condition with potions, but that is all. We will never fully change back.”

Catherine’s eyes went wide with surprise - was Miss Darcy ill, too? She leaned around, peeking into the room, and what she beheld within was more horrifying than any novel. The light of the full moon poured in through the window, and three figures were just barely discernible. 

Henry Tilney groaned as he bandaged a bloody wound on his sister’s wrist. Blood dripped from one corner of his mouth, and Georgiana Darcy raised a finger to his face, wiping it away and then licking her own finger clean. Her tattered white ball gown was drenched in blood, her hair a wild tangle. 

Catherine drew back from the doorway, and just in time, for Miss Darcy asked her companions, “Do you smell that?”

Catherine fled back to Eleanor’s room as quickly and quietly as she could, her heart racing. She closed the door and sat down on the bed, then stood and began to pace. She had not imagined that word, spoken by the colonel at Camden Place: vampire.

Could it really be true? But Mr. Tilney cared for her, he had told his sister so - he had not known Catherine was listening - why should he lie? And yet… what were his intentions, if there could be no cure for him? As to the rest of it - the fire, the journey to Northanger - how much of it was even true? How much danger was she truly in, and what could she possibly do about it now?

A minute later the door opened. Miss Darcy had donned one of Eleanor’s frocks, and there was no trace of blood on her or on Mr. Tilney. Eleanor tugged her sleeve down over her wrist and smiled tightly. “Cathy, you have packed my things! You are such a dear, sweet friend. I suspect you are eager for our journey!”

“And I am sure Randall has managed to throw together a few changes of clothes for me - that is all I require, and the pleasant company of you fine ladies,” Mr. Tilney said with all his usual gaiety. “I will carry your trunk down myself, and then we shall be off!”

Eleanor gathered the two letters from her desk. “I will make sure these are posted as soon as the sun comes up.” Catherine stuck out her hand as if to reach for them, but stopped herself - it was mad, but she did not entirely wish to stop whatever was to come next. 

“Will it not be dangerous, Mr. Tilney?”

He took her hand in his and gave a little sniff. “Do not fear, Cathy, I would never let any harm come to you. I swear it.”

She glanced down at his hand and saw a little smear of blood there. His eyes flicked downward; she could see that he perceived it as well, and then he looked back at her. The room spun for a moment, a blur of flickering candlelight, and Catherine fainted in Mr. Tilney’s arms.

I'd like to thank Jayne for visiting the blog and sharing a bit about herself and the new book! I can only imagine you're ready to cut your teeth on this humorous mashup! What better way to do so than to win a free copy! Jayne Bamber has graciously offered one free eBook copy of NorthFanger for a lucky reader of Jane Austen State of Mind blog.

Click the link below and follow the instructions to enter the giveaway!

Rafflecopter link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/01b2829a7/?