I am thrilled today to be part of the blog tour for the lovely Beau North's release, Longbourn's Songbird. My thanks must also go to Jakki of Leatherbound Reviews for asking me to be part of this tour.
Book
Blurb:
“Someday
some lark is gonna spell you with a song, Will Darcy. She’ll call you with
music and you’ll be as good as lost.”
In
the autumn of 1948, young millionaire Will Darcy comes to the sleepy, backwater
town of Meryton, South Carolina to visit his best friend, Charles Bingley. When
Darcy becomes enchanted by a local beauty with a heavenly voice, his business
dealings with Longbourn Farms may close the door to his romantic hopes before
they are given a chance to thrive.
Still
healing from heartbreak, Elizabeth Bennet takes solace in her family, home, and
the tight-knit community of Meryton. That foundation is shaken when Will Darcy
makes a successful offer to buy the family farm. Blinded by hurt, will
Elizabeth miss the chance to find in him the peace and comfort her heart truly
needs?
Confronting
the racial, economic, and social inequalities of the times, Longbourn’s
Songbird is an imaginative romance inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride &
Prejudice and told through the lens of post-WWII America, a story layered with
betrayal and loss, love and letting go.
I’d like to first off thank Laughing with
Lizzie for participating in my blog tour! I feel so lucky to have landed such a
great blog with such an engaged following.
For those of you who don’t know, Longbourn’s Songbird is set in 1948 in
South Carolina. A romantic time and place for some, a terrifying and oppressive
one for others. I try as best I can to show both sides of that coin. I haven’t
lived in the South for quite a few years now, but it is the place that made me,
for better or worse.
The Southern United States is a beautiful,
difficult place. It’s a wilderness tempered with strict, if unspoken, rules of
society. Like in Austen’s time, a young southern lady’s reputation was her most
valuable asset. Genteel good manners were lauded, and proper comportment
expected at all times. The public display of high emotions were taboo and even
speaking above a certain volume was frowned upon.
Naturally, over time many of these rules have
relaxed somewhat. A lady may slouch if she wishes, though she should expect
some side-eye from any nearby matronly types. A lady may let her displeasure be
known when she is met with cruelty or unkindness. And, thankfully, a lady may
speak at any volume she chooses.
The final draft of Longbourn’s Songbird was not as colloquial as it could have been.
Many of my “southernisms” I removed from the manuscript. For my first stop in
the blog tour I thought it might be fun for the girls to let loose a little, so
to speak. I’m going to take this opportunity to provide you with some of my
favorite southern expressions, spoken the young ladies of Longbourn’s Songbird, who are for this engagement only, allowed to
be as informal as they please.
A’Larking
- harmless mischief
“Papa’s
gone and hidden mama’s smelling salts again.” Jane shook her head, a small
smile playing across her lips. “You’d think he’s too old to go a’larking like
that.”
Bowed
Up - In ill humor, disapproving
“Who is
that man and why is he so bowed up after just walking in the door?” Elizabeth
asked. “Why, that’s Mr. Darcy!” Charlotte replied.
Cain’t
Never Could -roughly, “you’ll never know if
you don’t try”
“Mama I
can’t walk all the way to Netherfield!”
“Well,
Jane, cain’t never could. Do you want to see Mr. Bingley’s sisters or not?”
Dills
My Pickle - annoys
“That
Mr. Darcy is always looking down his nose at us. He really dills my pickle.”
Fixin’
- To be on the verge of an action, to prepare
Kitty
pulled her gloves as she called to her sisters in the next room. “We’re fixin’
to walk into Meryton if anyone wants to join us.”
Horse
Sense - common sense
“Jane
and Lizzy at least have horse sense,” Mrs. Gardiner said to her husband. “But
those other three!”
Make
Lincoln Wink - frugal, miserly
“Oh
please,” Anne said. “You know mother’s can squeeze a penny hard enough to make
Lincoln wink.”
Reckon
- to believe something is true
Charlotte
looked down at her hands. “I reckon you think I’m making a mistake, marrying
Mr. Collins.”
And of course, we can’t forget the best, most
well-known, and quite possibly the most complex bit of Southern terminology…
Bless
Your Heart - 1. term of sympathy 2. term used to indicate someone not blessed
with an abundance of education, wit, or sanity 3. term used to indicate
misfortune
“I can’t
walk into to Meryton today, Elizabeth.”
“Bless
your heart, Jane, are you feeling poorly?”
“Here
comes Aunt Phillips to wag her tongue at Mama,” Mary said with a sigh.
Elizabeth
rolled her eyes. “Yes, I guess Mr. Bingley’s return has given her plenty to
discuss, bless her heart.”
“That’s
quite a story Eliza, are you sure that Mr. Darcy was so very cruel to George
Wickham?”
“Of
course I’m sure, Charlotte! That devil Darcy took everything from the poor man,
bless his heart.”
I hope that any readers from the area will
chime in with some of their favorite Southernisms. Or, what are some of the
more perplexing/charming phrases from where you hail from?
Thanks everyone!
Author
Bio:
Beau
North is a native southerner who now calls Portland, Oregon home with her
husband and two cats. She attended the University of South Carolina where she
began a lifelong obsession with English Literature. In her spare time, Beau is
the brains behind Rhymes With Nerdy, an internet collective
focused on pop culture. This is her first novel.
You
can connect with Beau on Twitter @beaunorth and on Facebook, or via http://beaunorth.merytonpress.com. If you’ve enjoyed this book, we
welcome your fair and honest review on Goodreads and Amazon.
Links:
** GIVEAWAY - ends Wednesday 18th November**
One lucky winner will receive an ebook copy of Longbourn's Songbird. It is open internationally!
To enter, leave a comment below and the winner will be picked randomly.
Please leave your email address. If you are the lucky winner, I will pass on your email to Jakki who will be in touch.
Good luck! (All giveaway books are ordered at the same time. Therefore, winners from the beginning of the blog tour will have to wait longer to receive their book than winners from the end of the tour. Thank you in advance for your patience.)
My thanks again goes to Beau North for this fun post - I have learnt a lot from it! My thanks also to Jakki for setting up this tour!
I wish Beau all the best with this release as well as any stories in the future!
Your affectionate friend,
