Blog Tour: A Life Worth Choosing by Anngela Schroeder - with giveaway!

“You could not have made me the offer of your hand in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it.”

Reeling from the unexpected rejection of his proposal, Fitzwilliam Darcy prepares to quit Hunsford for London but not before he defends himself against Elizabeth Bennet's accusations. He cannot forgive her harsh words; her assertion Mr. Wickham would have made a better son has cut him to the core. 

Suffering an accident while delivering the fated letter, he wakes to a world he does not know—and to those who do not recognize him. With a new life, a different  name, and a fresh chance at winning the woman he loves, Darcy must decide which is “A Life Worth Choosing”––the past he remembers or a future he has created for himself.

Hello, Sophie!  Thank you so much for having me here today at Laughing with Lizzie. I hope you and your readers are having a wonderful holiday season and are looking forward to the New Year. I am grateful you’ve given me the opportunity to guest post and also share a bit about my newest book, “A Life Worth Choosing,” with you.

In the summer of 2019, I was able to take my family on a dream trip to England. My husband and I had traveled there before, but we wanted to take our three sons to experience the UK. Deciding to do a two-week home exchange near London, we added an extra week at the beginning of our trip in the North. Miraculously, about three months before we left, Chatsworth House advertised a summer Pride and Prejudice Ball. Without telling my husband, I purchased tickets, and then set out to convince him that this was integral to every bucket list/wish list/desire of my heart. He is a good man, and after making me worry for a week, he consented. It was then that I told him I had already purchased tickets, and he had passed ‘The Greatest Husband in the World’ test.

We arrived at the Cavendish Hotel the day before the ball, and my boys and husband wanted to rest a bit before dinner, so they napped. I popped in my airpods, and began the 30 minute walk from the hotel to the estate house, all the while listening to the soundtrack from the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice. As I came ‘through’ a grove of trees, I looked up at the climax of “Liz on Top of the World” to have the façade of Chatsworth before me. I began to cry. Although there is an argument about which is the better version of P&P (I won’t begin that discussion here), the music for the 2005 version speaks to my soul, and I listen to it constantly while I write. I had not felt as at peace as I did at that moment, on a ramble through the British countryside like Lizzy Bennet with a herd of red deer running in the distance.

My husband and I had a wonderful time the next evening, getting a private tour of a section of Chatsworth with the other attendants after appetizers, before then being escorted through the garden to a courtyard restaurant where the ball was held.  We danced, and felt like the Bennets as we were truly the last to leave the ball! We didn’t dance every dance, but we did speak of books, even if only for a moment.

While being engrossed in the world of Jane Austen, I could not help but feel like Mr. Darcy, from my newest book “A Life Worth Choosing.” In the novel, Mr. Darcy finds himself in an alternate life, and although he initially yearns for his old one, he realizes just how wonderful things can be and must determine which life he’ll choose to live in.  Although I had no such choice (our boys were back at the hotel loving the wi-fi and air conditioning—so I couldn’t make any permanent changes), for an evening, I was a lady of the ton enjoying the Season. Once again, my husband (a history teacher) was a good sport, and even dressed up without much fuss, saying that he wouldn’t mind doing that again (but not in the too near future).

I want to thank Sophie again for allowing me to come out today, and wish you all a Happy and safe New Year!  

*** Giveaway - ends 20th January ***

Today’s international giveaway is to win an ebook copy of A Life Worth Choosing, when it is released later in January. 

All you need to do to win is to comment on this blog post.

Please include your email so I can contact you easily if you are they lucky winner. The winner will be chosen at random.

What a wonderful trip you had! And such a beautiful dress. I have never done the Chatsworth ball myself, but have done many others - balls are what I enjoy the most! I look forward to the release of your book in January - goo luck with it! And thank you for the giveaway!