Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Copyright © 2011 by Karen Doornebos
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PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley trade paperback edition / September 2011
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Doornebos, Karen.
Definitely not Mr. Darcy / Karen Doornebos.
p. cm.
ISBN : 978-1-101-55110-3
1. Divorced mothers—Fiction. 2. Austen, Jane, 1775–1817—Influence—Fiction. 3. Dating shows (Television programs)—Fiction. 4. Americans—England—Fiction. 5. Chick lit. I. Title.
PS3604.O67D44 2011
813’.6—dc22
2010054197
http://us.penguingroup.com
Warning: this wil not be brief; writing may be a solitary pursuit, but I’ve had a lot of support. The good news is you don’t have to read this, you can just skip to chapter one.
Before I acknowledge my fabulous agent, Paige Wheeler of Folio Literary Management, and my very cool editors, Leis Pederson and Cindy Hwang at the Berkley Publishing Group, I’d like to thank my incredibly supportive husband, Jacques, without whom this book wouldn’t be possible, and my two children, Remy and Samantha, who have been a little neglected of late. In so doing, I hope I’ve thanked you al equal y!
Thanks to my artist parents, Judie, and the late Bil Anderson, for the creative upbringing. Thanks to Barry Kritzberg, the ultimate English teacher, for the early encouragement, and Laurel Yourke, faculty associate emeritus at University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Continuing Studies in Writing, who went out of her way to pul me aside to say I had “something.”
My beta readers, who read the entire book when it perhaps shouldn’t have been seen by anyone include: Kim Delich, Susan Havel, Jen Kovar, Barry Kritzberg, Kim Lutes, Alice Peck, and Katie (Meenan, at the time) Walsh.
Two critique groups helped with this manuscript, and I need to thank the first: Pat Dunnigan, Stephanie El iot, and Elyce Rembos; and my current critique group: M. J. Bressler, Rita Chhablani, Chris Foutris, Barbara Harrison, Fredericka Meiners (writing as Ann Macela), Jan Moretti, and Sherry Weddle.
Thanks go to author and fabulous teacher Christine DeSmet; Ariel e Eckstut, author of