Hello! I am Gianna Thomas, author of several Pride and Prejudice Variations and Regency Romance consisting of The Four Lords’ Saga Series.
Is Gianna Thomas my real name? No, it is not, and I’ll tell you why.
As a reader, would you appreciate going to a Regency Romance author’s page and finding Children’s coloring books, health books, a couple of cookbooks, a book on how to build a rowboat, some Regency Romance books, and other genres mixed all together? I doubt it: too confusing, too frustrating, and just disgusting to have a hodgepodge of stuff you have to search through to find what you were looking for in the first place. Hence, the need of pen names. My particular pen name, Gianna Thomas, is known as the author of a particular genre: i.e. Regency romance that includes Pride and Prejudice variations. I chose Gianna Thomas because of Georgiana’s name and my first name for Mr. Bennet, Thomas. My real name is on books related to health and a Stress Management Guide. In the future, if I follow through and write Regency/Victorian mysteries, I will write them under the pen name of Millicent Jaffey.
Most of my time in the business world was spent in the health industry. After getting rather burned out with health, and since I had been writing 5 minute Bible talks for about thirty years, I began as a ghostwriter on two websites and wrote on a number of different subjects which I was fairly good at because I do well at condensing information and putting it in a nutshell.
I later joined ranks with a publisher and wrote a series of Superfood books that can be found on Amazon. Around 2012, I discovered Pride and Prejudice variations and was hooked. Not only did I love the books, but I found that I had numerous plots running around in my head. Well, there was nothing to do but start writing them myself.
Not only am I writing novels still, I am also doing preliminary editing. Not final or line editing, but preliminary as the first editing. I look for missing words, misspellings, and poor punctuation. I also am basically a beta and look for anachronisms as well.
But let me give you a sample of my writings from my first novel Darcy Chooses.
Prequel defined: a story or movie containing events that precede those of an existing work.
So, I started out with two prequels to Darcy Chooses: Attending a Ball and Darcy and Bingley. Both of these ended with Darcy and Elizabeth traveling on a public coach that crashes at the end of the prequels. And, of course, Darcy Chooses included the crash, the results, and the aftermath of Darcy and Elizabeth’s acquaintance. Darcy Chooses did very well for my first novel, and I am in my 11th year as a Regency romance author. Writing fiction is much more fun than writing about health. 😊
Do I include events that have happened in my life in my books or let them affect what I write? You bet! One section of Darcy Chooses is based on a fire that occurred when I was five years old, and the scenes were basically dedicated to the individual that died because of it.
I wanted to present Darcy, not only as a caring landowner, but also wanted him to be seen as a hands-on individual that would help anybody when the need arose. In spite of the dedication at the back of the book, one of my readers didn’t get the point I was making. Sigh! She probably didn’t even read it.
However, I’m including that dedication in this post and the excerpt containing the fire that Darcy help fight. It is a little lengthy, but then again, Darcy Chooses is rather long at 552 pages like Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I hope you enjoy the excerpt. And, yes, there is a death indirectly caused by the fire.

DEDICATION

With all my writings, there are times I draw from my own personal experiences. Darcy Chooses-The Complete novel is no exception. With this book, I incorporated a huge grass fire that my family actually experienced.
It was around July 4th, and the area was powder dry. There had been no rain for quite a while. We lived in a little house on the first of a two-street residential area in the country. Backing up to the alley was a large field that ran all the way to the highway. There was a firecracker stand on the highway at the backside of the field from our house, and someone lit a firecracker that set the whole field ablaze right up to our back fence.
I was five years old, and I remember standing near the house as my mother—who was six months pregnant with my second brother—tried to wet down our rickety wooden fence with a garden hose to keep it from also catching fire. My two-year-old brother and I stood and watched as the flames engulfed the entire field. To this day, I can close my eyes and still see the flames consuming the tall grass and coming nearly to our fence.
The firefighters did manage to control and finally douse the blaze before it touched our house, thank God. I knew we were dead and think my mother felt the same way as we had no transportation out of there because no one was home. My father had the only car we owned, and we were staring death in its face.
Although the doctor prescribed bed rest for my distraught mother, she gave birth to my second brother at only seven months. But I remember my mother—when fighting the fire—yelling at my brother and me, “Don’t breathe in the smoke; don’t breathe the smoke.” The doctors never could get my stillborn brother to breathe.
To this day, my oldest brother loves fires, but I prefer a house that does not have a fireplace. He didn’t understand the danger…but I did.
And now, after many years, I finally have been able to grieve for my lost brother with the publication of this book.

EXCERPT FROM Darcy Chooses

CHAPTER XXXVI

 

The next morning, Darcy broke his fast and then rode out on Windstorm. He noted the grass seemed drier than other summers and the crops presented the same dry appearance. If the rains didn’t come soon, many of the crops might be lost. That afternoon he was to meet with his steward, and he would emphasize how important it was for the tenants and all the residents to avoid any rubbish burning or any fires other than those for cooking food that should be done only indoors. No outdoor fires of any kind would be tolerated until they had rain and no chance of an accidental conflagration.
Later in his study, while finishing some correspondence, he heard someone yelling his name—for the second time in less than a week—from the front of the house. Darcy jumped up and started running toward the door.
Ned Stone had all but shoved Reynolds out of the way when the butler opened the entry to Pemberley.
“Mr. Darcy! Mr. Darcy! Fire! Fire! There’s a grass fire down at Ken Johnson’s place.”
Darcy had darted out of his study at Stone’s shouts. “Has Benjamin Driscoll been alerted?”
“Yes, sir. He and his men are already hitching the horses to all the water wagons. They’re also wetting down blankets and gathering the gunpowder. Everything else is ready, but the wind has increased, and the fire is spreading fast.”
Darcy’s worst nightmare was being realized. “Bloody hell! Everything is extremely dry after no rain for eight weeks. Johnson’s place is not that far from Kympton either. Is the fire headed that direction?”
“Slowly, sir. However, the wind is blowing from the north, northeast, and the fire is rapidly heading for Lambton.”
“We’ll need the gunpowder for additional firebreaks. Hopefully, we can head it off in time. Are the horses saddled?”
“Windstorm and the others, sir.”
“Good man. Give me five minutes to change clothes, and we’ll join the water wagons. Reynolds, alert the male servants and have them meet us at the stables.”
“Yes, sir.”
Six years earlier a grass fire had prompted Gerald Darcy to have fire wagons—that would be horse drawn—be built and kept ready in case of another devastating fire. Draft horses with strength and speed—trained to tolerate fire and smoke—were purchased and were capable of pulling the fully loaded wagons. These were outfitted with steam engines that had the ability to shoot water through leather hoses to spray on any fire. Men were hired to keep the animals and equipment prepared for fires in the future with the men periodically training and learning how to fight any outbreaks. Old Darcy had been determined to not let fire threaten the tenants, their livings or his own home, Pemberley, ever again. What happened that day would prove whether or not his forward thinking would yield good results as they were currently under the first real threat of any size for several years.
Like his sire, Fitzwilliam Darcy was not one to leave the more important things to others. Today would prove his mettle as this would be the most important event he would be involved with since becoming the master of Pemberley. He would be found, doing his best, along with the other firefighters as they worked to protect the people and the livelihood of the area. His father would have expected nothing less.
As Stone and Darcy, along with most of the male servants, raced toward the stables, Darcy asked about what had started the fire.
“Johnson was burning rubbish behind his place when the wind picked up. He and his family got away safely but his house is gone.”
“Blasted idiot. That’s why no rubbish was to be burned until we had rainfall.”
Ordinarily, Darcy did not swear, but he found himself furious at the disregard for safety, not only to Johnson’s family but anyone five to ten miles around who could be burned out.
Vaulting onto Windstorm’s back, Darcy urged him into a gallop and headed toward the huge stone stables that housed the water wagons and the big draft horses. He found Driscoll already had the horses hitched to the seven water wagons, and they were ready to move toward the main portion of the fire.
“Driscoll, did the outriders alert the tenants in the path of the fire?”
“Yes, Mr. Darcy, even the tenants north of the fire as well. And riders were sent to Kympton and Lambton to recruit more men and those towns’ water wagons. The ones from Kympton will take the nearest flank and part of the back edge, and Lambton’s men will take the other flank and the balance of the back edge while we take the head of the fire.”
“And are your men prepared to use the gunpowder in making additional firebreaks?”
“Yes, sir. I’ve been having them drill with small amounts of gunpowder to get them familiar with the explosions, and they know the correct amounts to use in case of a real fire.”
“Excellent, Driscoll. We’ll hope that all your preparations and your men can save lives and property. Come on.”
As Darcy jerked his arm over his head in a commanding gesture, men and wagons poured out of the stables and headed toward the site of the fire. Heartbeats and breathing increased as they anticipated fighting a beast—although they were prepared for it—a beast that was fear inspiring. Darcy was not the only one praying for a safe resolution to the current dilemma, hoping it would not prove deadly.
A short distance, out of the path of the fire, Darcy and the other riders abandoned their horses to a group of grooms and rode the rest of the way on the water wagons. When they reached the site, they could see the wind picking up due to the air temperature increasing and knew they had a fight on their hands. If they were unable to stop the wall of flames or were in danger of being caught by it, the attendants minding the horses would bring the mounts closer so the firefighters could get out of the way. As it was, they were facing a half-mile swath of a wheat crop fully engulfed that had begun when the wildfire jumped the plowed firebreak a mile back.
Men from Kympton and Lambton were needed to fight the fire as well as any tenants who were available. Many hands would be necessary to beat the beast before it devastated the area.
Catching up with Driscoll, Darcy quickly quizzed him about the distribution of the water wagons and where they could be refilled.
“Five of the wagons will fight the head of the fire, and one each will sweep around and fight part of the flanks. Then we planned on taking the empty wagons to the river for refilling, sir.”
“Driscoll, we need to make use of Miller’s Springs, which is closer than the river. That pond has kept its level despite the drought. What about taking three of the wagons to the springs before they are completely empty and returning them to fight the fire before the others empty and head toward the river? Could we keep at least a few of the wagons at the fire while others replenish their supply?”
“That would be much better than having all of them gone at the same time. I’ll alert the drivers as to the order they need to follow.” Turning on his heel, Driscoll ran toward the closest wagon and began giving commands to his men.
In the meantime, Darcy had men hosed down to keep sparks from setting their clothes on fire. It would help, but only for a short while as the hot wind was drying their shirts and trousers rapidly. It wasn’t a foolproof plan.
Darcy had been beating at the fire for about a half-hour when suddenly there was a scream from his left. Whirling he saw one of the men—whose shirt was ablaze from sparks—start running. Grabbing a wet blanket, Darcy sprinted after him and managed to tackle the man before he got too far. Wrapping him in the blanket, he began rolling him on the ground until the flames were out. “Dawson,” Darcy shouted, “where’s the doctor?”
“He’s with the horses. I’ll signal him to come over.”
“Have him bring an extra horse for this man. He’s burned pretty badly.”
“Yes, sir.”
Dawson had several colored flags that could be seen at a distance, and soon two grooms and two extra horses came closer to the men. They still had to stay a short distance away from the firefighters, as the animals were skittish and hard to handle.
“Two of you men pick him up and carry him to the doctor. Move it! Now!” Darcy was impatient to get back to stopping the encroaching flames and knew they would be fortunate if they only saw one injury that day. The severely burned man was put up in front of one of the grooms—after the doctor did a quick check—and all three men left the area to Darcy’s relief.
Farther ahead of the fire, Darcy spotted Driscoll and ran to him to inquire about the gunpowder and if they were ready to widen the firebreak.
“Almost, sir. We’re still laying some stockpiles and fuses but should be ready in about four minutes. Make sure the men stay well away from the explosives.”
Darcy told him he would see to it and began warning all the men fighting the flames in the area. Five minutes later, the explosives blew, and the plowed firebreak was widened by about fifteen feet. Driscoll’s men began laying more gunpowder stockpiles and fuses to increase the firebreak farther before it was jumped while Darcy and the other men continued their efforts.
***
After six hours of grueling work, the fire had been extinguished. Darcy saw that Driscoll had everything in hand, so he found one of the outriders and gave him orders to pass along to the others. These orders meant that throughout the night they would take shifts traveling the route of the fire and beyond to make sure no hot spots still existed. The semi-darkness with only a half moon would contribute to their ability to locate any and alert the firefighters who would also work in shifts. Each would grab a few hours’ sleep and then head out again. No one would get a full night’s sleep until the fire was totally gone.
Georgiana was waiting for her brother when he returned. “William, are you well?”
“Yes, sweetheart. Other than a few burns from sparks, I am well…and exhausted, though my clothes will need to be replaced. We were fortunate in that the many firebreaks we had helped exceedingly along with the water wagons and the many men who fought the blaze…Please tell Mrs. Reynolds I need food and a bath as well as some of her burn ointment. After bathing, I’ll sleep for about two hours and then return to help the outriders ensure there is no more fire. It will be a very long night.”
“Are the tenants and homes safe?” his sister asked anxiously.
“Sit down, Georgie.” His sister sat but with trepidation. Was something wrong? Darcy paused and determined how to tell her. “Only three homes were lost, but several people were injured with one severely, a larger number suffered from the heat, and…there was one death.”
“Oh, no! Who died?”
“The fire frightened Jenny Baker so much that her babe came early. Mrs. Baker is recuperating, but the babe was lost. The midwife…never could get the child to breathe. The Bakers, of course, are bereft.”
Georgiana couldn’t help bursting into tears. “But it was her first child, and she so looked forward to it. She and her husband were both so happy. I can’t imagine how sad they must be.” Finally, when her tears had ceased, she sniffled and made plans to take food and some flowers to help comfort her friend. A true Darcy, she knew and loved all the tenants and their children. However, Jenny was a special friend, only three years older, and she and Georgie both had been excited about the coming babe. And now it would never be, and it broke her heart.
***
Three hours later found Darcy riding the ten-mile perimeter of his property and speaking with outriders he met along the way. Other than a small stand of trees that had caught fire and been doused, there had been no other sign that any fire lingered. When dawn came, however, the men did not stop their patrols for the next forty-eight hours until they were sure the fire was completely out.
Although injuries due to sparks had been minor, for the most part, Darcy made arrangements to meet with Driscoll about clothing that would help protect the firefighters. Oil cloth or clothing that was very tightly woven and waterproof might help in that regard. However, Darcy knew they had to do more to not only protect against fire in the future, they needed to protect the men’s lives also. No stone would be left unturned in that regard.
***
Three days later, it rained.

I hope you enjoyed this excerpt. Please feel free to comment below.
In the meantime, I am working on Elizabeth Bennet’s Bad Days and hope to publish it no later than February.

Gianna Thomas