April Author Spotlight 2015
Letter ‘O’ is for Lara Ormiston, author of Unequal Affections
Why do I recommend Unequal Affections?
When I finished reading Unequal Affections, I felt as if I had been transported through a time-tunnel to Longbourn and Pemberley and into Elizabeth and Darcy’s lives two hundred years ago. I had been an invisible visitor, observing them both throughout their month of courting. I loved the way Lara Ormiston gets inside both their minds equally, something I always miss in Austen. I felt I knew them, and understood their reasons and motivations perfectly.
Unequal Affections is one of the most beautiful, engrossing, and haunting books I’ve read. It’s clever, original and enthralling, and I relished every chapter, every page, and every word, and I’ll no doubt be reading it again, because it’s a book to be savoured slowly and repeatedly. Absorbing reading if you’re in a romantic mood.
By the way, I’m begging for a sequel. I hope Lara S. Ormiston writes one, because I need to go back and see how they coped with the challenges their marriage would no doubt face.
What kind of readers would enjoy Unequal Affections, Lara?
I think my book would appeal to anyone who enjoys character-driven romances, and in particular anyone who loves period stories—and of course, Jane Austin fans! It’s a character study, really, that focuses on attitudes toward love and marriage, in the early 19th century but now too. People were more practical about marriage then, but questions of physical and emotional intimacy are just as complicated as they are now. Among other things, it asks: how far will the desire to love someone take you? What does it mean to truly love? How can you begin to build a life and relationship with someone you don’t really know?
What are you working on now?
I am working on way too many books! I have a hard time focusing on just one project, with the result that I can write a lot and still not get much of anything finished. I’ve never been a very quick writer, either. I think a lot and write a little most of the time. The next thing I hope to publish is a volume of humorous short stories and novellas featuring the cast of Pride and Prejudice. I’m very fond of writing comedy, and Austin’s characters provide all sorts of possibilities for the inventive writer. The stories in question range from a few thousand words to almost 40,000, and all of them are very funny.
What would you like readers to know about you?
That I’m a Christian. While I don’t always write directly about faith or religion, the things I believe definitely form the philosophical basis for all the ideas that permeate my writing. Someday I hope I will be able to write a truly Christian novel, but in the meantime, I enjoy writing about both some of wonderful things that God created and put in human hearts, such as love, laughter, imagination, courage, honor and beauty.
How can we find out more or contact you?
My Blog (not very active, but has lots of my shorter stories):
Find me on Goodreads
Unequal Affections on Amazon.com
Unequal Affections on Amazon UK
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Please take some time to check out some of the other blogs on the A-Z Challenge. There are plenty of interesting and varied topics.
Rereading Jane Eyre 
What a savory review. Definitely makes me want to put this book in my ‘to read’ list. There – just did it. Thank you, and nice to meet Lara here.
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Thank you for dropping by and commenting 💗🌹 I’m sure you’ll love it:)
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I’m always amazed by someone who can take on someone else’s characters and make them work 🙂
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Thank you, Georgia 💟 That’s a lovely thing to say to Lara, and I also feel included 🙂
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