Blog Tour & Excerpt: The Bennets by K.C. Cowan

Posted March 21, 2023 by elzaread in Blog Tour / 21 Comments

Blog Tour & Excerpt: The Bennets by K.C. Cowan

Blog Tour & Excerpt: The Bennets by K.C. CowanThe Bennets: Providence and Perception by K.C. Cowan
Published by Meryton Press on March 20th, 2023
Genres: Regency Romance
Pages: 234
Source: Meryton Press
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Either ignored or ridiculed by her family, Mary Bennet desires only happiness—
Poor Miss Bennet—with three sisters married, she will no doubt be left “on the shelf” unless she takes steps to secure her own happiness. So, with the arrival of Mr. Yarby, a handsome new rector for Longbourn chapel, Mary decides to use her Biblical knowledge to win his heart.

Meanwhile, her recently widowed fatherfinds himself falling for the older sister of his new reverend. But Mr. Bennet is officially in mourning for his late wife—what a scandalous situation! Unfortunately, Longbourn’s heir, Mr. Collins, has the antennae for a scandal and makes blackmail threats.

Will an overheard conversation between the Yarby siblings break Mary’s heart? Or will it impel her to a desperate act that threatens everyone’s hopes for lasting love?

Greetings you guys! Welcome to our stop on the blog tour for The Bennets: Providence & Perception by K.C. Cowan. 

K.C. Cowan is a new author to Meryton Press who of course specializes in all things Austenesque. The Bennets: Providence & Perception, is a story about Mary and Mr. Bennet. Yes! All the other Pride & Prejudice characters are making an appearance in the book, but the main story line revolves around Mary and Mr. Bennet.

But see for yourself if you think this Jane Austen/Pride & Prejudice rendition will tickle your fancy:

Following luncheon, Mr. Bennet returned to his library, but only briefly. Going over the estate accounts held no appeal for him on such a fine summer day. The warm breeze coming through the open window enticed him to put down his ledger, grab his coat, and go out the back of the house for a brisk walk as had become his custom in the weeks since his wife’s death. Initially, his strolls were a way to cope with his grief after her accident, but lately he had felt invigorated after his time out of doors and had decided to keep up the habit. He noticed he no longer fell asleep over a book in the afternoons, and unless he was mistaken, his trousers felt looser in the waist.

Ambling with no particular destination, Mr. Bennet, to his surprise, found himself in the church graveyard. He walked to his wife’s grave and noted the wilted flowers there. He studied the new headstone, so clean and pristine compared to the many dirty and moss-covered stones nearby. Along with his wife’s name, and birth and death dates, were the words:

Beloved Wife and Mother
She Has Soared Away to a Better Land.

That last line had been Kitty and Mary’s touch. Considering how his wife had died—not soaring at all, but falling down the stairs—Mr. Bennet had thought the quote inappropriate, but he did not have the heart to argue against it. All he could think now was that Mrs. Bennet would have rolled her eyes at the sentimentality of the wording. He could almost hear her voice: “A better land, indeed—I was quite content living in this land, thank you very much!”

As he stood now, he felt a deep pang of remorse for some of the unkind jokes he had made at his wife’s expense. She had been an easy target for his wit, being highly emotional and not of an intellectual nature; indeed, had he ever seen her willingly pick up a book? But he particularly regretted a time when Mrs. Bennet was once again bemoaning the fact that she would live to see Charlotte take her place at Longbourn. He had cruelly replied that they should be more optimistic; perhaps he might be the survivor. He shook his head in remorse.

And amazingly, here I am, the widower now. Inconceivable! At fifteen years her senior, it never seriously occurred to me that she would pass first. We both assumed I should go before her, which is why she was so determined to find good matches for our girls. Well, credit where credit is due, she did fairly well—three of the five gone off now. Kitty is likely to find a husband soon. I may take Lizzy up on her offer to give her a Season in London. But Mary—my poor plain Mary. I must be certain to make provisions for her. Not enough for a fortune hunter, to be sure, but something to give her a bit of independence. Although dear Lizzy did mention once that she and Mr. Darcy would be glad to take her in after I go. She would make a good help in the nursery for the children, or perhaps be their governess one day.

“Never worry, my dear, Mary will not be left on her own if I have anything to say about it,” he spoke aloud.

“I beg your pardon,” a voice replied.

Mr. Bennet spun around. Mrs. Withers was approaching, holding a bouquet of cut roses tied with a bit of twine. She made a small curtsey.

“Forgive me if I intrude on your solitary reverie, Mr. Bennet. I came to put these fresh flowers on your wife’s grave—that is, if you don’t object. I noticed just yesterday how shriveled the others were and thought to—” She broke off and shook her head. “Oh, but I should not presume. It is not my place. Please understand: I merely wished to brighten the grave a bit. Wilted flowers always…sadden me.”

“Not at all. You are very kind, Mrs. Withers, and quite welcome to do so. I should have brought some flowers from our own garden but did not actually intend to walk here, you see. I found myself in the cemetery quite by accident.” He leaned down, plucked the shriveled blooms from the grave and tossed them aside. Then he took the bouquet from Mrs. Withers and set it down gently. “That does look better—thank you.”

“I wish I had had the chance to meet her,” Mrs. Withers murmured. “Shall I leave you now?”

“I was going to continue my walk actually. If you would care for a stroll, I should be glad of your company.” He saw her eyes brighten at the invitation.

“With pleasure,” she replied.

The two walked out of the graveyard in a comfortable, easy silence.

That sure does sound delightful and definitely a book we will keep for our upcoming holidays. What’s your thoughts on the excerpt?

We wish K.C. Cowan and Meryton Press good wishes and best of luck with their latest publication!

About the Author

KC Cowan spent her professional life working in the media as a news reporter in Portland, Oregon for KGW-TV, KPAM-AM and KXL-AM radio, and as original host and story producer for a weekly arts program on Oregon Public Television. She is co-author of the fantasy series: Journey to Wizards’ KeepThe Hunt for Winter, and Everfire. The Hunt for Winter and Everfire were both awarded First Place OZMA citations from Chanticleer International Book Awards for fantasy writing.

KC is also the author of two other books: “The Riches of a City” – the story of Portland, Oregon, and “They Ain’t Called Saints for Nothing!” in collaboration with artist Chris Haberman, a tongue-in-cheek look at saints. She is married and lives in Tucson, Arizona.

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21 responses to “Blog Tour & Excerpt: The Bennets by K.C. Cowan

  1. The excerpt answers quite a lot of questions that I have about Mrs Bennet. Thank you for sharing this poignant scene with us, K.C. I wish you all the best in your writing and hope to get to read another published novel by you.

  2. Buturot

    Thank you for this excerpt. It was nice to know he regret his previous actions towards his wife. Glad he visited her grave. That was nice of Mrs Withers to replace the wilted flowers. I like her already

  3. What a great read! I love the Regency era and this book does a great job of capturing the flavor of that time. I can’t wait to read more by this author. Thanks for giving us a chance to review it!

  4. Taswmom

    The 2nd excerpt I’ve read now. A Mr. Bennett romance is not one I’ve found very often.

  5. Brigid

    This premise is fresh and interesting! I’d like to hear more of Mr. Bennet’s thoughts. What a beautiful cover too! I’ll be adding this one to my list.

  6. Suzan Lauder

    Interrresting! Mr. Bennet is going on a walk with Mrs. Withers, the friendly lady from the other excerpt.

  7. Janet T

    Hi Mareli and Elza. Thank you for hosting K.C. today. It’s fun to visit your blog again. You did a purrffect job with the post. It looks nice. 🙂 I enjoyed your excerpt, K.C. and look forward to the next one.

  8. KC Cowan

    Thank you so much for supporting me on my first blog tour, Mareli and Elza! I so appreciate it!