After years of writing in the ad world for brands such as Diet Coke and Johnnie Walker, Karen Doornebos has switched to tea with her debut, Definitely Not Mr. Darcy. Living and working in London inspired the book, but the reality of living in a Chicago suburb with her husband, two children, and various pets provided the opportunity to write it. As an English Literature graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and life member of the Jane Austen Society of North America, she is appreciative of the benefits that a gown and above-the-elbow gloves offer.

 

 

Visit with Karen on her website/blog:  Karen Doornebos

Karen’s Facebook Fanpage and Twitter @KarenDoornebos

 

 

 

 

Karen’s Novel ~

 

Definitely Not Mr. Darcy

This is no ordinary Regency romance. It’s reality.

Chloe Parker was born two centuries too late. A thirty-nine-year-old divorced mother, she runs her own antique letterpress business, is a lifelong member of the Jane Austen Society, and gushes over everything Regency. But her business is failing, threatening her daughter’s future. What’s a lady to do? Why, audition for a Jane Austen-inspired TV show set in England, of course.

What Chloe thinks is a documentary turns out to be a reality dating show set in 1812. Eight women are competing to snare Mr. Wrightman, the heir to a gorgeous estate—and a one-hundred-thousand-dollar prize. So Chloe tosses her bonnet into the ring, hoping to transform from stressed-out Midwestern mom to genteel American heiress and win the money.

With no cell phones, indoor plumbing, or deodorant to be found, she must tighten her corset and flash some ankle to beat out women younger, more cutthroat, and less clumsy than herself. But the witty and dashing Mr. Wrightman proves to be a prize worth winning, even if it means the gloves are off…