The Heart of a Poet

by Guest Blogger on January 25, 2010 · 26 comments

by Sharon Lathan, guest blogger and author of My Dearest Mr. Darcy

The pearly treasures of the sea,
The lights that spatter heaven above,
More precious than these wonders are
My heart-of-hearts filled with your love.

- Heinrich Heine, “Of Pearls and Stars”

Several years ago I set out on a mission. Inspired partly by a beautiful love story portrayed on screen and within the pages of a book, and equally by my own love story of over twenty years, I embarked on a quest to intimately reveal a happy marriage.

Today the concept of a “happy marriage” is deemed a fantasy; an oxymoron. I do not believe that, not now or when I first sat down at the keyboard and wrote the opening lines of Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One. I knew it was possible to have a fulfilling, contented, romantic, and passionate relationship within a marriage, even after several decades. I knew it because I witnessed it with others. I knew it because God said it was to be so. I knew it because I possessed one myself.

And the moments which find life there
Become the brightest stars above,
Which live forever beautiful
In the sky of my heart’s love.

- Steve Lathan, “Your Smile Stops the Minutes”

I knew it was not a “Mission: Impossible.” I approached the life of Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy with my goal clearly in mind. The mission statement was clear. Love. Romance. Passion. Those are the attainable treasures that they would pursue. Daily. Weekly. Monthly. Yearly. And maybe even on into eternity.

Throughout my Darcy Saga series I have faithfully held to the ideal. I wanted to give Darcy and Lizzy the life that I believe Austen intended. I wanted to allow the reader to journey along with them as they attended to their normal lives with an unusual event thrown in occasionally. I wanted to show the Darcys growing in their accord and deepening their love.

Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear,
too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice,
but for those who love, time is eternity.

- Henry van Dyke, “Time Is”

My newest novel, My Dearest Mr. Darcy, follows along in the same vein as the previous two. The Darcys travel to the seacoast for a holiday jammed with history, entertainment, action, and romance. Of course! Then they return to Pemberley, settling in and enjoying the autumn months. The culmination as their first year of marriage draws near is the birth of their child. As with all my novels, the theme is positive with the love between these two heightening as they await the addition to their family.

Have I convinced a skeptical world? Have I succeeded in restoring hope? That is for each individual to decide. I have succeeded in my mission: The Darcys are still in love, are passionate for each other, delight in their company, respect and honor their vows, and are not ashamed to express their feelings.

Darcy was gazing into his lap with a soft smile upon his mouth. He did not answer hastily, finally speaking lowly, “I do not know if I can sufficiently place it into words. Perhaps that is why the poets wax eloquent with platitudes and analogies as mere common phrases do not suffice. All I know for certain is that almost from the moment I saw her she has filled my senses and my heart. There is joy with Elizabeth in every way and every moment, whether present or no. I feel light and buoyant, yet also grounded and secure. Giddy and frivolous, yet strong and steady. Childish and masculine simultaneously.” He chuckled softly, closing his eyes and leaning back against the carriage wall. “Yet you know what the most miraculous part is, Richard? Greater than how she makes me feel is the miracle that she loves me.”

An excerpt from My Dearest Mr. Darcy © Sharon Lathan, Sourcebooks Landmark 2010

True love. Everlasting love. Passionate love. These are goals to reach for. Do you agree?

MY DEAREST MR. DARCY—IN STORES JANUARY 2010

Married life is bringing out the best in the Darcys. Their mutual attentiveness brings readers into a magical world of love and wedded bliss.

Elizabeth is growing into her role as Mistress of Pemberley, and Darcy has mellowed under her gentle teasing and light-heartedness. Pemberley becomes a true home and a welcoming environment for loving family and friends. The Darcys travel to the seaside, welcome their firstborn, celebrate their anniversary and second Christmas, and at every moment embrace the love gifted to them.

“I love you, my Elizabeth. You are my soul, my blood and bone, my very life.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sharon Lathan is the author of the bestselling Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One, and Loving Mr. Darcy: Journeys Beyond Pemberley. In addition to her writing, she works as a Registered Nurse in a Neonatal ICU. She resides in Hanford, California in the sunny San Joaquin Valley. For more information on Sharon and her saga, come to her website at: www.darcysaga.net