So when SB Sarah writes:

One, the hero, Tom Aikens, is adorable. He’s horse-mad, awkward, extremely active, and as unlike Mary as could be. She likes to sit and read; he can barely sit still let alone focus on a story. Yet he likes Mary, and swears his horse, Hyperion, whom he takes incredibly good care of, likes Mary, too. Mr. Aikens is not always wise in his actions, though, and can lose his temper – at one point he snaps at Lizzy that she doesn’t know Mary at all, and her understanding of her sister is sadly wrong.

I did a little happy chair dance, because she likes him! She really likes him! Also, Mr. Bennet made her laugh.

Oh, and also? Charlaine Harris read The Unexpected Miss Bennet and she liked it too.

* It was my crush before the review. Seriously. Just like Lizzy revised her opinion of Darcy before she saw Pemberley.

And Austenesque Reviewer Jeffrey Ward named The Unexpected Miss Bennet one of his top Pride & Prejudice sequels of the year as well.

I am very honored to be in such company. And thanks to everyone who read and loved Miss Bennet and shared their opinion with the Internet and their friends. As someone who is a reader first, I know the joy of finding a good book. To be able to give others that same experience is why I write.

Not much was happening, we were too stuffed to move.

The Christmas dinner was all eaten with care,

As was the Christmas Eve feast because that’s how we do things

In Connecticut — right.

Anyway, I’ve been hunkered down with my family, hiking in the woods and getting lost, taking awesome pictures of water and trees and family and non-Texas things. We’ve also been telling family stories, and believe me, you can’t make this stuff up.  It’s been wonderful.

I want to let everyone know that I will be back for the New Year with more news and snippets and other good stuff. And also, after you’ve read Death Comes to Pemberley, you really should read The Unexpected Miss Bennet. And compare the two. And tell me about what you liked about each one.

Please send me your address and I will send out a signed copy of The Unexpected Miss Bennet. Congratulations, and I hope you enjoy my book.

My thanks to everyone who commented on Jane Austen’s Birthday Soiree. It was so much fun to talk about favorite books. Thanks to commenters I have now put North & South on my TBR list. I am looking forward to reading it.

To everyone: have a wonderful holiday season and the very best to all of you in the New Year.

Patrice Sarath

Here is my gift to Jane:

Dear Miss Austen,

Because you are a great reader, I wanted to pass along the books that have given me great pleasure over the years. I am sure that you would have loved them too, had you been able to live as long as your own books have.

Not long after your death, if I may speak of so sad an event on this anniversary of your birth, a writer called Charles Dickens took the world by storm. You would have LOVED him. Your concerns were the same, even though his world was darker and coarser. But civility, society, and how we look upon people without prejudice and do our best to do right by even the poorest, would have surely captivated you.

The Bronte sisters. Everyone thinks you were so sheltered but I don’t think so. You wouldn’t have been scandalized by Wuthering Heights. I bet you would have liked Jane Eyre better though. It is the better book.

The United States was a fledgling nation during your life, but we produced some pretty good writers in the past 250 years. Mark Twain for one. Huckleberry Finn is his masterpiece, and rightfully so, but he also wrote numerous short stories, and his book about his travels in Europe in Innocents Abroad would have probably amused you and Cassandra and Fanny.

I think you would have admired Louisa May Alcott as well, and would have seen your influence in her novels.

What would you have thought of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky? I am sure that you would have preferred War & Peace to Anna Karennina and Crime & Punishment to The Brothers Karamazov, if only because you understood the importance of a well-placed ampersand in good title.

I have probably given myself an impossible task — how to provide a survey of world literature in a single blog post. I’m not that well-read and I’m leaving out a lot of my cherished books. Maybe my readers can help me out in the comments — what books do you think Jane Austen would have liked?

I will say that the Nora Roberts’ body of work would have probably appealed to you. I don’t know about science fiction and fantasy –you just missed Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and I doubt that Lord of the Rings or I, Robot or the Dragonriders of Pern would have fascinated you.

But mysteries! Ah, there’s a genre for you! Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers would have probably been favorites, and I can see you enjoying the Sherlock Holmes books too. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has fans that are almost as rabid as us Janeites, did you know that?

Happy birthday dear Jane Austen. Thank you for some of the best literature in the world.

Patrice Sarath

To my readers: What books do you think Jane would have liked? Make your suggestions in the comments and be entered for a chance to win a copy of The Unexpected Miss Bennet. And don’t forget to visit the other bloggers! Thanks for visiting!

Here is a list of participating sites:

Sharon Lathan
Giveaway : Miss Darcy Falls in Love

Emily Snyder
Giveaway: Letters of Love & Deception

Laurel Ann Nattress
Giveaway: signed copy of Jane Austen Made Me Do It

C. Allyn Pierson
Giveaway: Mr Darcy Little Sister (open worldwide)

Cindy Jones
Giveaway: a signed copy of “My Jane Austen Summer” and a package of Lily Berry’s Pink Rose Tea by Bingley’s, Ltd.

Farida Mestek
Giveaway: I was Jane Austen Best Friend by Cora Harrison

Marilyn Brant
Giveaway : A canvas ACCORDING TO JANE tote bag and a pair of A SUMMER IN EUROPE luggage tags.

Prue Batten
Giveaway : Anna Elliot’s “Georgiana Darcy” (Kindle book)

Erin Blakemore
Giveaway : a set of Potter-Style Pride and Prejudice notecards

Velvet
Giveaway: Jane Austen’s Little Instruction Book (Charming Petites) By Jane Austen, Edited by Sophia Bedford-Pierce, Illustrated by Mullen & Katz, Introduction by Barbara Paulding

Karen Doornebos
Giveaway: 2 Jane Austen Candles and 2 signed DNMD books plus drink coasters and tea!

Regina Jeffers
Giveaway: An autographed copy of “Christmas at Pemberley “

Alyssa Goodnight
Giveaway: Jane Austen Action figure

Deb
Giveaway: JASNA 2012 calendars from the Wisconsin JASNA Region

Laura Hile, Susan Kaye, Pamela Aidan, and Barbara Cornthwaite
Giveaway:
•    One copy of Young Master Darcy: A Lesson in Honour by Pamela Aidan
•    One set of Frederick Wentworth, Captain (Books 1 and 2) by Susan Kaye
•    Two copies of Mercy’s Embrace: So Rough a Course (Book 1) by Laura Hile
•    George Kinghtley, Gentleman (Books 1 and 2) by Barbara Cornthwaite

Juliet Archer
Giveaway: a copy of “Persuade Me” and one of “The Importance of Being Emma”

Jane Greensmith
Giveaway: a copy of “Intimations of Austen” and Sense & Sensibility (Marvel Illustrated)

Jenny Allworthy
Giveaway: a copy of Northanger Abbey DVD starring Felicity Jones and JJ Feild (The winner will choose region 1 or 2 DVD)

Sitio Jane Austen
Giveaway: – Spanish edition of Sense and Sensibility for the 200th Anniversary + A DVD package with adaptations of Jane Austen
(It’s only zone 2, but it’s in Spanish and English ) + blu-ray of the BBC’s Emma with Romola Garai

Kaitlin Saunders
Giveaway: “A Modern Day Persuasion”

Becky Rhodehouse
Giveaway: selection of Austenesque Reads

Adriana Zardini
Giveaway: DVD – Sense and Sensibility (1995) – English / Portuguese subtitles

Jane Odiwe
Giveaway: a mug with one of Jane Odiwe’s illustrations and a copy of her “Mr Darcy’s Secret”

Courtney Webb
Giveaway: Noble Satyr by Lucinda Brant (Regency Romance)

Jennifer Becton
Giveaway: An ebook of the Personages of Pride and Prejudice Collection, which contains all of my Austenesque works: Charlotte Collins, “Maria Lucas,” and Caroline Bingley. The giveaway will be open internationally.

Vera Nazarian
Giveaway: a copy of Vera Nazarian’s gift hardcover edition of her inspirational calendar and diary, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

Abigail Reynolds
Giveaway: a signed copy of “Mr. Darcy’s Undoing”

AustenAuthors
Giveaway: Georgette Heyer’s Regency World by Jennifer Kloester

Katherine Cox
Giveaway :$10 B&N Gift-card (US only)

Maria Grazia
Giveaway : A selection of Austenesque reads

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE JANE AUSTEN’S BIRTHDAY SOIREE

Sharon Lathan
Giveaway : Miss Darcy Falls in Love

Emily Snyder
Giveaway: Letters of Love & Deception

Laurel Ann Nattress
Giveaway: signed copy of Jane Austen Made Me Do It

C. Allyn Pierson
Giveaway: Mr Darcy Little Sister (open worldwide)

Cindy Jones
Giveaway: a signed copy of “My Jane Austen Summer” and a package of Lily Berry’s Pink Rose Tea by Bingley’s, Ltd.

Farida Mestek
Giveaway: I was Jane Austen Best Friend by Cora Harrison

Marilyn Brant
Giveaway : A canvas ACCORDING TO JANE tote bag and a pair of A SUMMER IN EUROPE luggage tags.

Prue Batten
Giveaway : Anna Elliot’s “Georgiana Darcy” (Kindle book)

Erin Blakemore
Giveaway : a set of Potter-Style Pride and Prejudice notecards

Velvet
Giveaway: Jane Austen’s Little Instruction Book (Charming Petites) By Jane Austen, Edited by Sophia Bedford-Pierce, Illustrated by Mullen & Katz, Introduction by Barbara Paulding

Karen Doornebos
Giveaway: 2 Jane Austen Candles and 2 signed DNMD books plus drink coasters and tea!

Regina Jeffers
Giveaway: An autographed copy of “Christmas at Pemberley “

Alyssa Goodnight
Giveaway: Jane Austen Action figure

Deb
Giveaway: JASNA 2012 calendars from the Wisconsin JASNA Region

Laura Hile, Susan Kaye, Pamela Aidan, and Barbara Cornthwaite
Giveaway:
•    One copy of Young Master Darcy: A Lesson in Honour by Pamela Aidan
•    One set of Frederick Wentworth, Captain (Books 1 and 2) by Susan Kaye
•    Two copies of Mercy’s Embrace: So Rough a Course (Book 1) by Laura Hile
•    George Kinghtley, Gentleman (Books 1 and 2) by Barbara Cornthwaite

Juliet Archer
Giveaway: a copy of “Persuade Me” and one of “The Importance of Being Emma”

Jane Greensmith
Giveaway: a copy of “Intimations of Austen” and Sense & Sensibility (Marvel Illustrated)

Jenny Allworthy
Giveaway: a copy of Northanger Abbey DVD starring Felicity Jones and JJ Feild (The winner will choose region 1 or 2 DVD)

Sitio Jane Austen
Giveaway: – Spanish edition of Sense and Sensibility for the 200th Anniversary + A DVD package with adaptations of Jane Austen
(It’s only zone 2, but it’s in Spanish and English ) + blu-ray of the BBC’s Emma with Romola Garai

Kaitlin Saunders
Giveaway: “A Modern Day Persuasion”

Becky Rhodehouse
Giveaway: selection of Austenesque Reads

Adriana Zardini
Giveaway: DVD – Sense and Sensibility (1995) – English / Portuguese subtitles

Jane Odiwe
Giveaway: a mug with one of Jane Odiwe’s illustrations and a copy of her “Mr Darcy’s Secret”

Courtney Webb
Giveaway: Noble Satyr by Lucinda Brant (Regency Romance)

Jennifer Becton
Giveaway: An ebook of the Personages of Pride and Prejudice Collection, which contains all of my Austenesque works: Charlotte Collins, “Maria Lucas,” and Caroline Bingley. The giveaway will be open internationally.

Vera Nazarian
Giveaway: a copy of Vera Nazarian’s gift hardcover edition of her inspirational calendar and diary, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

Abigail Reynolds
Giveaway: a signed copy of “Mr. Darcy’s Undoing”

AustenAuthors
Giveaway: Georgette Heyer’s Regency World by Jennifer Kloester

Katherine Cox
Giveaway :$10 B&N Gift-card (US only)

Maria Grazia
Giveaway : A selection of Austenesque reads

Came across another lovely review of The Unexpected Miss Bennet, from Barnes & Noble’s Romantic Reads book blog:

 I always thought Mary probably had a rich inner life and would therefore make an admirable heroine, and Patrice Sarath has taken up that challenge. What results is a moving character study of a middle child, a woman at a point in her life in which she must take her life into her own hands or remain devoid of any sort of happiness.

You can read more here.
Due to the magic of e-books, when I turned on my Kindle this morning, The Unexpected Miss Bennet was waiting for me there as well.

And Savvy Verse & Wit has a guest post by me about writing spaces.

Tonight will be a further celebration of Book Day with the holiday Christmas concert at my son’s high school. Although probably that has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the holidays.

I love Book Day. It’s like Christmas and birthdays all rolled up into one.

From a commenter on Lauren Willig’s blog:

I’m reading a new release through for the second time for the pure joy of it: The Unexpected Miss Bennet by Patrice Sarath. It is one of the very BEST P & P sequels I have ever read and my review will be posted on Nov 30th on a neighboring website. The author has created an unlikely hero much like our loveable Turnip!

(Note: Turnip refers to Lauren Willig’s novel “The Mischief of the Mistletoe,” and she writes more about him in “A Very Turnip Wedding,” and yes, Mr. Aikens is like Turnip. All hail the nice guy, y’all. Sexier than any alpha male out there.)

From Five Minutes for Books:

I enjoyed following along as Patrice Sarath developed Mary into an accomplished young woman. I appreciated that most of the characters from Pride and Prejudice appeared in the tale, some with more prominent roles, and I thought the new characters added to the appeal as well.

The weather is colder–it is the perfect time to snuggle with a good book. The Unexpected Miss Bennet is a wonderful choice, and it would make a great gift for an Austen fan.

“It’s a little bit of immortality,” I said.

(Note: Children are too of course; my friend calls her son her genetic legacy, and it’s true — that lure to reproduce has as much to do with immortality on a cellular level as it does with S-E-X. And in her Vorkisigan saga, Lois McMaster Bujold writes about how Cordelia is awash with an atavistic sense of genetic greed when she realizes she can have as many children as she wants. But we’re talking about books now, so for all those people who think a female writer or artist who thinks of immortality in terms other than children is unnatural and a terrible mother, you can hush. We covered it.)

Everyone wants to live forever. I hope my little books give me the kind of immortality I crave; but I know that’s not likely. Also, it’s harder nowadays, because there’s far more noise to signal.We can’t all be famous!

However, I feel very lucky that I can write my books and create my worlds and bring the characters who live in my head to the page or screen. It’s a privilege.

Here’s my latest little legacy to be birthed upon the world.

The new arrival!

We celebrate with the fancy teapot when the new book comes in the mail.

I just got my copy of the US edition of The Unexpected Miss Bennet — and my editor is right, it does look better in person! There is nothing like holding one’s own book, and I got to experience that twice this year.Whee!

I would have pictures except that my camera’s battery died. No problem — I’ll just put in the spare … oh yeah, the spare that I didn’t charge. So, pics tomorrow, promise, after the battery charges up.

For now, Vicariously Jane Austen has an interview up with me.

Here’s an excerpt:

Carolyn: What intrigues you about Jane Austen?

Patrice: Her genius as a novelist puts her on the same level as Shakespeare, yet she is absolutely unpretentious and accessible. Six books, all of them some of the best writing in the English language. Plus, she’s funny, and timeless and her characters are recognizable.

Remember, December 6 is the pub date for The Unexpected Miss Bennet, just in time for Christmas or Hannukah. You can pre-order online or at your favorite bookstore. My favorite bookstore just happens to be the lovely BookPeople in Austin, Texas.