Spotlight & Giveaway: The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Lucy Parker to HJ!

Hi Lucy and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Austen Playbook!

 
Hi! Thank you for having me!
 

To start off, can you please tell us a little bit about this book?:

THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK is the fourth book in my London Celebrities series, but it’s a stand-alone story. The heroine, the very sunny, happy-go-lucky Freddy Carlton, is a young veteran of professional theatre, an actress who’s been starring on the West End stage since childhood. She comes from a family dynasty of English actors and theatre people, and feels that she has to follow in the footsteps of her grandmother, a legendary twentieth-century actress and playwright. When the book opens, Freddy is at a crossroads in her career, deciding whether she’s going to pursue the path that will make other people happy, or go where her heart is leading her. To give herself some breathing room, she accepts a short role for the summer, playing Lydia Bennet in “The Austen Playbook”, a live, televised adaptation of a popular video game in which characters from Jane Austen’s novels are transplanted into a murder mystery, house party scenario, and viewers vote on the outcome of each scene. When she arrives at the country estate where the production is filming, however, she discovers that the current owner is James “Griff” Ford-Griffin, the iciest, most notoriously difficult-to-please theatre critic in London, a man who’s consistently slammed her recent performances. With the two thrown into proximity, and suddenly working together to avoid the many secrets and scandals coming out of the shadows, they discover that sometimes opposites really do attract.
 

Please share your favorite lines or quote(s) from this book:

If anyone whistled at them this time, neither of them heard it. They were both short of breath when Griff lifted his head, his eyes still full of heat and something else that made her chest skip and flutter.
He ran his thumbs over her cheeks again. “You’re so beautiful.” As he had after the first time they’d kissed, he called her that so matter-of-factly.
Freddy’s instinctive, snorting disclaimer went unsaid, because he so obviously meant it. Stroking her lips, which felt plumped up and tingly—like the rest of her—she sought for the right words in response. Meaningful words.
“I fancy you like mad, too,” she said, because why be romantic when you could be tremendously anticlimactic.

What inspired this book?

I always wanted to include a Jane Austen adaptation play in one of the West End books, but since I couldn’t decide which Austen novel, I thought, why not all of them! It seemed natural that a play centred around a country house party should be staged at an actual country estate, and I think the switch in setting away from the city for this book makes a nice change.

When the heroine, Freddy, first appeared in an earlier book in the series, I didn’t initially intend her to go on to become a main character, but she proved to be such a delight to write that I wanted to see her get her own happy ending. And as I’m a huge fan of a Slytherin/Hufflepuff pairing, naturally the sunniest character in the series was going to cause the iciest character to fall (reluctantly, and with totally bafflement) head over heels.

How did you ‘get to know’ your main characters? Did they ever surprise you?

Freddy has such a bright spirit that it was honestly a pleasure to be in her head while I was writing this book. Whenever real-life things were stressful, I could escape for a little while into the outlook of this person who always looks for happiness, and wants it for others, and I really hope that anyone reading it also enjoys getting to know her. When Freddy first appeared in PRETTY FACE, the second book in the series, she was a bubbly young actress without apparently a care in the world; fast-forward a few years into THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK, and you see the depths of Freddy and not just the frothy, smiling exterior. She finds a lot of strength throughout the book, and proves to be an absolutely rock-solid support for the man she falls in love with.

Griff, the hero, is the proverbial grump with a (very well hidden) soft spot, mostly (eventually) for the heroine. A theatre critic and arts TV presenter, he’s working on a film about Freddy’s famous grandmother, a project he hopes will bring in enough money to save his family estate from the banks. Griff is the sensible, cool-tempered, biting-tongued member of an otherwise dreamy, spendthrift family, and feels that he’s constantly surrounded by people who need rescuing and refuse to face reality. He’s the exact opposite of Freddy personality-wise, and it was fun to watch him slowly open up to Freddy and his love for her, while still remaining fundamentally his grumpy self! If Freddy was a mood-improver to write, then Griff’s acerbic comments were cathartic in a different way!

What was your favorite scene to write?

The scene where Griff and Freddy, on a quest to discover more about Freddy’s infamous playwright grandmother, travel to a remote manor house, occupied by a very eccentric elderly lady, a very disapproving butler, and a parrot. Freddy’s amusement at the whole situation rapidly sours when she uncovers a long-buried secret, and when heavy fog sets in, she and Griff are trapped for the night. Together. Whatever will they do. All night long.

“You’re making a film about Henrietta and that maudlin piece of work she foisted onto the British public.”
Griff’s mouth twitched. “Some people consider it upbeat compared to Henrietta’s earlier work.”
“Henrietta’s earlier drivel,” Wanda corrected. “Imagine, perfectly good trees perishing for the sake of that tripe.”
“You’re not distantly related to the Fords, are you, Ms. Wanamaker?” Freddy asked, and the other woman gazed at her blankly.
“No, dear. Why?”
“I just thought I heard a family resemblance for a second,” Freddy said innocently, and caught Griff’s expressive sidelong look.

What was the most difficult scene to write?

Probably the final chapters. There are a lot of threads that all have to come together during the ending scenes, and it was trying to get the timing right, as one drama hits the characters after another.

The costume and makeup were a barrier to hugs, but he reached for her hands. “It’s going to be fine.” Deep, even, sure. “You’re prepared, you’re in your element with the material, and you’re going out in front of an audience of people who’ll love you, in this building and right across the country. You’ll be fantastic.”
“Griff.” Just the one word, just his name, but so much of what she was feeling was layered into that single syllable, and his eyes closed briefly.

Would you say this book showcases your writing style or is it a departure for you?

I would answer “yes” to both those questions, actually! THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK is very much my voice and it’s also very much my favoured grumpy-hero trope! There are enough consistent elements with the series as a whole that I hope anyone who enjoyed previous books will also enjoy Freddy’s story. However, structurally, I also feel this one is slightly different to the others, and there’s a definite nod to the classic detective fiction genre, that I love, threaded right through the plot.

What do you want people to take away from reading this book?

There’s an overall message in the book about seizing happiness when you find it, and being prepared to fight for it if it’s something really worth having. Sometimes life can lead you in unexpected directions, but if you keep an open mind and an open heart, you might find yourself somewhere wonderful. This is, for the most part, a positive, light-hearted book, and I very much hope that it cheers up anyone who needs to escape into someone else’s drama for a little while!

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

I’ m currently working on the fifth London Celebrities book, HEADLINERS, which is the story of Freddy’s older sister, TV presenter Sabrina, and Sabrina’s main professional rival. The fifth book moves the action into a London breakfast TV studio, where anything and everything can go wrong before nine o’clock in the morning, and I hope people will find it a lot of fun.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: 1 paperback copy of THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK by Lucy Parker (North America only)
1 digital copy of THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK (open internationally)

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK features a play based on a Jane Austen murder mystery game. If you were cast in the performance, which Austen character would you like to play? And which character would you nominate to be the body in the library?

 
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Excerpt from The Austen Playbook:

Walking around a column, she peeped gingerly into a small room, the function of which was undetermined. There was some sort of cage situation going on in the corner, which suggested either a menagerie or a sex cave. Either seemed feasible on this property.
And, standing on a ladder, one of her very favourite things in life, a handsome man nailing stuff.
Apparently Highbrook was now owned by Sir George’s grandson, who had a reputation for being an uncompromising, despotic dickhead.
She ought to have made the connection based on that description alone.
After the initial surprise, Freddy recovered the ability to speak. “Did you accidentally take a wrong turn on your way to a meeting at the bank?” she asked politely, and the critic who had every performer in the West End shaking in their tap shoes turned his head sharply to look over his shoulder.
When he saw her, J. Ford-Griffin’s lips flattened and thinned, and his whole body seemed to withdraw with an intense, deeply psychological sigh, like a doom prophet steeling for the incoming apocalypse.
Look at that, her mere presence could make a man’s entire being go instantly flaccid. As superhuman powers went, she didn’t really rate it up there with invisibility and flight.
“The bank?” He eyed her like she’d just arrived to repossess the property.
He could breathe easy on that one. As much as she coveted his theatre and his flowers, she had a plan for her first proper house and it didn’t involve fellatio carvings on the stairs.
“I’ve never seen anyone do DIY in a tie.” Freddy glanced at the beam he was fixing, then walked over and bent to grab another handful of nails from the bag at the foot of his stepladder. She held them up for him, and after a pause, he took one and drove it into the wood with one vigorous bang of his hammer.
“Thanks.” He pulled another one from her raised hand. “The cast is here, then, are they?” His tone conjured images of empty chocolate boxes, and the aftermath of a party, and missing the bus by thirty seconds, and all of life’s fleeting moments of gloom.
“Dude. You might want to dial it down a notch there. The enthusiasm is embarrassing.”
He caught his finger with the hammer and swore again. She’d always thought he had a very inspiring vocabulary.
“If you’re going to be rude enough to visibly grasp for patience,” she said, “I would suggest keeping your eyes open. At least while you’re whacking nails into a board.”
Ford-Griffin shook the pain from his hand, set the hammer down on the stepladder, and swung himself down. Straightening, he moved his broad shoulders to settle his shirt back into place, and coolly adjusted the knot of his tie with a single jerk of his hand. The only concession he’d made to the heat was to roll up his sleeves, exposing muscled forearms, but there wasn’t a visible bead of sweat on him. The assassin persona was firmly in place. Suave, efficient movements, immaculate clothing, and not a hint as to what was going on beneath the surface.
Freddy quite fancied the impenetrable demeanour. She could imagine several occasions when it would come in handy. For example, when dealing with co-stars who probably sashayed home at night to their coven.
He returned his hammer to the toolbox. “I’m surprised you’ve signed on for this shitshow.”
He didn’t look surprised. She couldn’t imagine him ever looking surprised.
She bent down again to tidy the screws she’d just knocked with her foot. “This production is pure entertainment and escapism. It’s fun, it’s funny, it’s a bit of whodunit, a bit of snogging under the stairs. It’s exactly the variety of light comedy-drama that you’ve been suggesting is my spiritual home for the past five years.” She felt sorry for his staff. They wouldn’t get away with much, with Perceptive Pete here striding around. “If you’re going to make judgmental comments—and I realise it’s what you’re paid for,” she added with silky kindness, “at least be consistent with your own advice.”
The pools-of-mystery eyes narrowed.
She smiled at him from her crouched position. “What’s your name?” she asked suddenly.
“What do you mean, what’s my name?” he said with a slight edge. “If your memory is that bad, good luck learning your lines. The script makes War and Peace look like a novella.”
“I can’t at all tell your opinion of this production. I hope the baffling fact that you’re letting it be staged on your property doesn’t mean I’ll miss out on the joy of a written review. They’re useful to have around if I’m ever in danger of developing self-esteem.”

Copyright Lucy Parker, The Austen Playbook, 2019

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

In which experienced West End actress Freddy Carlton takes on an Austen-inspired play, a scandal at a country estate, an enthusiastic search for a passion outside of acting…and the (some people might say icy*) heart of London’s most feared theater critic.

*if those people were being nice

Freddy Carlton knows she should be focusing on her lines for The Austen Playbook, a live-action TV event where viewers choose the outcome of each scene, but her concentration’s been blown. The palatial estate housing the endeavor is now run by the rude (brilliant) critic who’s consistently slammed her performances of late. James “Griff” Ford-Griffin has a penchant for sarcasm, a majestic nose and all the sensitivity of a sledgehammer.

She can’t take her eyes off him.

Griff can hardly focus with a contagious joy fairy flitting about near him, especially when Freddy looks at him like that. His only concern right now should be on shutting down his younger brother’s well-intentioned (disastrous) schemes—or at the very least on the production (not this one) that might save his family home from the banks.

Instead all he can think of is soft skin and vibrant curls.

As he’s reluctantly dragged into her quest to rediscover her passion for the stage and Freddy is drawn into his research on a legendary theater star, the adage about appearances being deceiving proves abundantly true. It’s the unlikely start of something enormous…but a single revelation about the past could derail it all.

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Meet the Author:

Lucy Parker is a contemporary romance writer and all-romance reader, who lives in the South Island of New Zealand. From a very early age, she looked for the romantic sub-plot in fiction — and would happily ‘ship characters anyway if there wasn’t one! In her early teens, the 1995 Pride and Prejudice mini-series led her to seek out the book, and then a family friend interested her to Georgette Heyer, and a lifelong devotion to romance novels began. Her favourite genres are contemporary, historical, and paranormal romance, and she also loves classic detective fiction and cosy mysteries.
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