The book that practically wrote itself

How a fan's one-line tag gave way to a whole novel in less than a month

Dear readers,

Have you ever had an idea that just ran away with itself? That happened to me last year when I posted a caption on my Facebook page asking fans to write a tagline for a modern-day Pride and Prejudice story. One fan, Laura Vranes, wrote back “Swipe Right for Mr. Darcy”, and an idea popped into my head for a scene of Elizabeth overhearing Darcy rejecting her Tinder profile as he and his friend combed through potential candidates, unaware that she was in the room and knew they were talking about her, a modern take on the Meryton Assembly scene.

This one scene bore fruit for an entire 50,000 word novel that poured out of me in the span of about two weeks—the fastest I’ve ever written a story of that length. Seriously, I don’t think my family saw much of me, and I’m pretty sure the dishes and laundry stacked up during those weeks.

Lest you think that the book was written without any thought or effort, I did take some time to research the beautiful historical Hotel Fort Des Moines where the Netherfield Memorial Hospital holds its fundraiser ball. Here are some photos of the ballroom where Lizzy and Darcy dance and where Lizzy trips and tears her dress.

The story is primarily set in a small town in Iowa, not far from Des Moines. “Meryton”, Iowa is fictional, but based on many of the small towns that exist in real life. I have a lot of family in that region, and have been to Iowa many times, so of course, I had to include a few places I have visited in real life.

When dress-shopping for the ball, Lizzy and Jane go to Jordan Creek Mall and have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory there. This is a real-life mall that I remember shopping at with my grandmother and aunts and cousins, so of course I had to make mention of it ;-)

When researching Lady de Bourgh’s (yes, that’s not a mis-print) home in the Berkshires, I looked at photos of many different beautiful mansions. But it was really the Bellefontaine Mansion, currently home to the Canyon Ranch Spa, that was my primary inspiration for her perfectly manicured estate that looks like something built in the Georgian era.

When I pictured Darcy’s home in LA, I thought of the Mediterranean style homes common there. Something that exudes a mixture of old-world charm mixed with modern freshness. Here are some of the inspo pics.

I really enjoyed bringing Elizabeth and Darcy into the 21st century and seeing their story play out in the modern age. If you like clean, modern rom-coms, I hope you’ll check out my book “Swipe Right for Mr. Darcy.”

Happy reading,

Amanda Kai

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