romance – White Soup Press

The Last Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel by Jack Caldwell

The worlds of Jane Austen and the Baroness Orczy combine in a swashbuckling tale from the author of The Three Colonels.

Captain Frederick Tilney, dashing cavalry officer and rakish heir to Northanger Abbey, is interested only in fencing and carousing. That is, until he meets the girl of his dreams, the lovely and intriguing Violet Blakeney.

However, her father is not convinced of Frederick’s pledge to reform and the officer is banished from Violet’s presence. The baronet has a will of iron, for he is none other than Sir Percy Blakeney—the retired Scarlet Pimpernel!

Now, during the Hundred Days Crisis, an evil from the Pimpernel’s past menaces the Blakeney family while Sir Percy is crippled by age. Frederick must convince the baronet to accept his assistance in accomplishing the impossible—take on an entire country to recuse the girl they both love.

Book Two of the Jane Austen’s Fighting Men Series.

Ruin and Renewal: Volume Three of Crescent City by Jack Caldwell

August 2005. The greatest natural disaster in American history is fast approaching New Orleans. The lives of Elizabeth and William, Marianne and Chris, and Emma and George are turned upside down. Friend, family, stranger, and foe alike will meet their fates as a killer named Katrina tries to drown the Gulf Coast.

From a storm ravaged Gulfport to the miserable Superdome and a desperate Tulane Medical Center, the reader is shown a fuller picture of a story they thought they knew. While First Responders work against time to save the trapped, NOPD captain Richard Fitzwilliam’s quest to apprehend drug-dealer Greg “G-Daddy” Wickham comes to a shocking end.

The survivors must pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. Will bureaucratic bumbling by government officials prove too much for the kindness of strangers to overcome? Will those left in the Crescent City ever find normalcy again?

Elysian Dreams: Volume Two of Crescent City by Jack Caldwell

2004. Emma has married George, but the workaholic surgeon is neglecting his young wife. When she meets the smooth-talking Frank Church, her marriage is endangered. Marianne finds love with Chris and begins a singing career, but a figure out of her past is doing everything in his power to crush her dreams. Elizabeth is successful in business but not in love, and her job puts her face-to-face with William for the first time in five years; the man she almost destroyed, and who still owns her heart.

Meanwhile, NOPD captain Richard Fitzwilliam continues his crusade to bring down the one felon that has eluded him: the drug dealing murderer Greg “G-Daddy” Wickham, now more dangerous than ever.

Everyone is reaching for their own Elysian dream, but for those who dare live on the Gulf Coast, there is a price to pay. The life-giving waters can also be the birthplace of monsters…

Bourbon Street Nights: Volume One of Crescent City by Jack Caldwell

1998. Elizabeth Boudreaux is a daughter of the owner of a small oilfield service company in Chackbay, a small hamlet in the swaps of Louisiana. She is studying journalism at Loyola University in New Orleans. Her roommate is vocal music major Marianne Dashwood, whose divorced mother lives in Jackson, Mississippi. Mari’s friend is Tulane fine arts student Emma Weinberg, who lives in the Uptown neighborhood with her widowed father.

They will meet the men who love them and the men who will break their hearts. Elizabeth is both attracted to and repelled by overconfident graduate student William Darcy, heir to a vast shipping fortune. Marianne is caught in a triangle between the charming John Waguespack and the quiet Chris Breaux. Emma is so busy running other people’s lives she overlooks her life-long friend, Dr. George Katz. Chuck Bingley, from Baton Rouge, is bedeviled by his needy sister, Carrie, and harassed by his dominating mother, Catherine.

Meanwhile, Darcy’s cousin, NOPD Lt. Richard Fitzwilliam is searching the city for his nemesis, drug dealer Greg “G-Daddy” Wickham. All these lives, and many more, will collide in a year of love and friendship, trials and tribulations, tragedy and murder.

The Plains of Chalmette: a Story of Crescent City, by Jack Caldwell

B.R.A.G. Medallion Winner

It is 1814, and America’s second war against Great Britain is going badly. Now the enemy is ready for its knock-out punch. They seek to take New Orleans, and by doing so, control the Mississippi River and North America forever.

Major Matthew Darcy of Baltimore is dispatched to help defend the beleaguered city, and discovers an alien place that does not trust its new countrymen. He also finds forbidden love with a lovely Cajun-Creole lady.

Now, with a devastating invader at the city’s door, Darcy joins General Andrew Jackson’s rag-tag army of backwoodsmen, Creoles, free blacks, and buccaneers in the face of overwhelming odds.

The Companion of His Future Life by Jack Caldwell

One of the great “what-ifs” among Pride & Prejudice aficionados is: if Mr. Collins married Mary Bennet instead of Charlotte Lucas, how would that influence Mr. Darcy’s dogged pursuit of the elusive Elizabeth?

In this breezy and hilarious re-telling of Jane Austin’s classic novel, the author explores what would have changed — and what would have not — had two of literature’s most self-righteous characters found their way together. Jane goes with Elizabeth to Kent, and the fur flies! A wonderful, mad-cap romp!

The Companion of His Future Life by Jack Caldwell

Mr. Darcy Came to Dinner by Jack Caldwell

Oh, how the mighty have fallen!

In this humorous re-imagining of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet’s pet cat causes an unfortunate accident to befall the haughty Mr. Darcy, forcing the injured gentleman to reluctantly take up residence at Longbourn — more specifically, in the parlor of Longbourn! In pain, forbidden to leave by his doctors, Mr. Darcy cannot escape the ridiculous antics of the Bennet clan. And when Georgiana Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Lady Catherine de Bourgh arrive to visit the invalid, chaos, confusion and hilarity ensue!

Inspired by the classics of comedy, author Jack Caldwell transforms Austen’s beloved novel into a tour de force of farce. The Regency will never be the same!

Mr. Darcy Came to Dinner by Jack Caldwell

Oh, how the mighty have fallen!

Elizabeth Bennet’s pet cat causes an unfortunate accident to befall the haughty Mr. Darcy, forcing the injured gentleman to reluctantly take up residence at Longbourn — more specifically, in the parlor of Longbourn! In pain, forbidden to leave by his doctors, Mr. Darcy cannot escape the ridiculous antics of the Bennet clan. And when Georgiana Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Lady Catherine de Bourgh arrive to visit the invalid, chaos, confusion and hilarity ensue!

Mr. Darcy’s Noble Connections by Abigail Reynolds

jane austen

But when Darcy discovers that Lord Charles’ new target is none other than Elizabeth Bennet, the woman who refused Darcy’s offer of marriage, he cannot stand by and watch as the woman he still loves is callously ruined. What he doesn’t know is that Lord Charles has a dark secret, and that his attentions to Elizabeth may not be what they seem. After a midnight rescue, clandestine meetings, a long-lost son, conspiracies, blackmail, and an attempted elopement, everyone can agree that this house party is anything but dull.

~ Read the first chapter ~

~ Photos of the settings for Mr. Darcy’s Noble Connections ~

Mr. Darcy’s Noble Connections by Abigail Reynolds

jane austen

There’s only one fact that notorious rake Lord Charles Carlisle and his cousin, Fitzwilliam Darcy, can agree upon: a house party given by the Marquess of Bentham is bound to be intolerably dull. To relieve his boredom, Lord Charles accepts a bet that he can seduce his sister’s pretty friend during their stay at Bentham Park. But when Darcy discovers that Lord Charles’ new target is none other than Elizabeth Bennet, the woman who refused Darcy’s offer of marriage, he cannot stand by and watch as the woman he still loves is callously ruined. What he doesn’t know is that Lord Charles has a dark secret, and that his attentions to Elizabeth may not be what they seem.

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Mr. Darcy’s Refuge by Abigail Reynolds

jane austen

Trapped for three days by a flood, and trapped forever by society because of it….

It is a proverbial dark and stormy night when Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth Bennet. He is interrupted when the residents of the flooded village of Hunsford seek refuge from the storm at the parsonage. Even worse, the flood has washed out the only bridge leading to Rosings Park, leaving Darcy stranded with Elizabeth at the parsonage. The river isn’t the only thing that overflows in Hunsford when Darcy and Elizabeth are forced to work together to deal with the crisis under the worst possible circumstances. And it may already be too late to redeem Elizabeth’s reputation…

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A Pemberley Medley by Abigail Reynolds

Five pathways to Pemberley!

It’s the best of all worlds in this collection of five short Pride & Prejudice variations. Can Mr. Darcy win Elizabeth Bennet’s heart… or are they doomed to misunderstand one another forever? Can Mr. Darcy stand by and watch while Elizabeth loses everything she holds precious… including him?

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Morning Light by Abigail Reynolds

Morning Light

Artist Annie Wright likes her life free of complications of the male persuasion. She has her dream job running a gallery in Woods Hole, her volunteer work rescuing abandoned dogs, her best friend Cassie Boulton Westing, and that’s enough for her. She doesn’t like to talk about how she became a widow after just a few years of marriage. But one day her past walks right into the Cape Light Gallery in the form of her dead husband’s best friend Jeremy, the man who left the country rather than see Annie married to someone else. If this weren’t enough, Annie finds herself in charge of an abused and distrustful pile of fur called Bear, and she is increasingly entangled in the complicated Westing family politics, while Cassie deals with some very unexpected developments.

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Mr. Darcy’s Letter by Abigail Reynolds

Mr. Darcy's Letter

A lady’s reputation is a fragile thing. If anyone discovered Miss Elizabeth Bennet had received a letter from a single gentleman, she could be ruined… or forced to marry a man she detests. In this Pride & Prejudice variation, Elizabeth takes the safe course and refuses to read Mr. Darcy’s letter of explanation. Returning home unaware of Wickham’s true nature, Elizabeth confesses everything to him, putting both Mr. Darcy and herself in grave danger from Wickham’s schemes.

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By Force of Instinct by Abigail Reynolds

In Jane Austen’s classic Pride & Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet never expects to see Mr. Darcy again after his disastrous proposal in Hunsford. But what if family business required him to stay at Rosings after giving her his letter? Coming face to face with Mr. Darcy only days later could give Elizabeth a new chance to understand him… or a chance for even more misunderstandings.

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Mr. Darcy’s Refuge by Abigail Reynolds

A Pride and Prejudice Variation~~

Trapped for three days by a flood, and trapped forever by society because of it….

It is a proverbial dark and stormy night when Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth Bennet in the most insulting manner. Just as she begins her famous refusal, a crack of thunder presages the pounding at the door as the residents of the flooded village of Hunsford seek refuge from the storm at the parsonage atop the hill. Even worse, the flood has washed out the only bridge leading to Rosings Park, leaving Darcy stranded with Elizabeth at the parsonage. The river isn’t the only thing that overflows in Hunsford when Darcy and Elizabeth are forced to work together to deal with the crisis under the worst possible circumstances. And it may already be too late to redeem Elizabeth’s reputation….

In this Pride & Prejudice variation, the lane dividing the Hunsford parsonage from Rosings Park has been replaced by one of the flood-prone Kentish rivers. The storms are real – the spring of 1811 was remarkable for numerous thunderstorms in Southeast England.

Mr. Darcy’s Letter by Abigail Reynolds

A Pride and Prejudice Variation~~

A lady’s reputation is a fragile thing. If anyone ever discovered that Miss Elizabeth Bennet had received a letter from a single gentleman, she could be ruined… or forced to marry a man she detests. In this Pride & Prejudice variation, Elizabeth takes the safe course and refuses to read Mr. Darcy’s letter of explanation. Returning home unaware of Wickham’s true nature, Elizabeth confesses everything to him, putting both Mr. Darcy and herself in grave danger from Wickham’s schemes.

Morning Light by Abigail Reynolds

Artist Annie Wright likes her life free of complications, especially complications of the male persuasion. She has her dream job running a gallery in Woods Hole, her volunteer work rescuing abandoned dogs, her best friend Cassie Boulton Westing, and that’s enough for her. She doesn’t like to talk about her past, especially how she became a widow after just a few years of marriage. But one day her past walks right into the Cape Light Gallery in the form of her dead husband’s best friend Jeremy, the man who left the country because it was too hard to see Annie married to someone else. If this weren’t enough, Annie finds herself in charge of an abused and distrustful pile of fur called Bear, and is increasingly entangled in the complicated Westing family politics, while Cassie deals with some very unexpected developments.

A Pemberley Medley by Abigail Reynolds

Five pathways to Pemberley!

Novellas and short stories include ‘Such Differing Reports’, ‘A Succession of Rain’, ‘Reason’s Rule’ (an excerpt from The Rule of Reason), ‘The Most Natural Thing’, and ‘Intermezzo.’