Dear Mr. Knightley (37 page)
I mentioned that the book came from a time of recovery. It also came from a wonderful time of prayer. And while I wouldn’t want to be in such physical pain again, I feel blessed that it happened because of all I learned from it and all that came from that entire experience—including this story and the extraordinary opportunity to write another.
What’s next?
Right now I am working on a manuscript with another fascinating young woman. She is bold and possesses a sharp sense of humor, which was not available to Sam. I loved writing Sam’s story and I’m thoroughly enjoying this one as well.
The process is very different because there were no expectations while I wrote
Dear Mr. Knightley
. I hoped people would someday read and love it, but I certainly had no guarantee it would make it off my computer. That’s been a gift for me. But this next story has a deadline and, if someone liked
Dear Mr. Knightley
and honors me by picking up the next book, I want to give them my very best.
If asked about her favorite books, Sam would reply “all Jane Austen.” She loved Austen’s “safe, ordered, and confined” world. Granted, Austen heroines might dispute Sam’s assertion: Charlotte Lucas certainly didn’t feel safe—otherwise she would have passed by Mr. Collins without a second thought. But everything is relative . . .
Pride and Prejudice:
Who wouldn’t want to embody the indomitable Elizabeth Bennet with her quick wit and “fine eyes”? And who doesn’t love beautiful, demure Jane Bennet? And Lydia? It is perhaps not prudent to follow in her steps, but such obtuse, brash boldness is probably fun on occasion. One can readily understand Sam’s longing to spend time within the Bennet family.
Emma:
Sam hardly dared to dream of what life might be like in Emma’s warm bubble of adoration and love. Certainly many other Highbury residents didn’t feel so secure. In fact, most didn’t. But Emma? She “cannot really change for the better.”
Sense and Sensibility:
Austen’s most obvious juxtaposition of two opposite ways of thinking, feeling, and living. Thankfully, Sam grew right alongside Elinor and Marianne. And, after fleeing Josh, she too gravitated to a nicely moderate center.
Alongside Jane Austen, Sam would place
Jane Eyre
as a dear favorite. And how could these two
not
be fast friends? Yet, in Jane, Sam found more than a friend. She found the guide she desperately needed. Sure, Miss Eyre got swept away for a moment—and what a scene it is!—but on the whole she was a young woman with her feet firmly planted on the ground.
Sam also adored Edmond Dantes in
The Count of Monte Cristo
. His is the story of a young man robbed of everything of meaning—by his best friend no less—and left to die in a horrid prison. But wait. He escapes, he finds a treasure beyond measure, he devises a ruthless, elegant, and sophisticated plan for revenge . . . So satisfying. It’s easy to see why Sam found him appealing. But thank you, Dumas, for underpinning your adventure with strong threads of faith, hope, reconciliation, and forgiveness. Sam needed those too.
There are so many others, but I’ll just run through a few, otherwise we could be here for pages.
The Scarlet Pimpernel
by Baroness Orczy: It’s easy for anyone to delight in Percy Blakeney, the true master of disguise and a dashingly handsome hero.
Anne of Green Gables
by L. M. Montgomery: If you’re an orphan, Anne is a good friend. She’s spunky, fun, ready to get you into mischief, and determined to keep you safe on Prince Edward Island. However, Anne always wanted to be a writer and poor Sam would be horrified if she knew you’d read her letters.
A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens: I don’t think Sam set out to love Ebenezer Scrooge, but I think she now
considers him a dear friend. Alex certainly does and thanks Dickens for his tale.
North and South
by Elizabeth Gaskell: Margaret Hale and John Thornton are a couple different in every way but so clearly meant to be together. Sam says it was the “one last go at all that matters” that appealed to her; I think it was John Thornton.
Sam started with
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
by C. S. Lewis but is now working her way through
The Chronicles of Narnia
. She can’t read them fast enough. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy enthrall her, but Eustace will always be most near and dear to her heart—as will the glorious lion, Aslan, who saved him.
And I must add . . . Please never let Sam know her letters were published. She may have a psychotic break like poor Miss Havisham from
Great Expectations
and we will find her seeking solace in her banquet of books forever . . .
Thank you . . .
KBR
A friend once called God’s love “extravagant.” I’ve always loved that description—and if I ever forget, I will look back at this book, this journey, and all the people who came along beside me . . . and I will remember.
First I owe a debt of gratitude to Austen, Brontë, Webster, Dickens, Dumas . . . The list goes on. This is a book about loving books, and they wrote some of the best. Their words and worlds gave Sam—and give all of us—safe places to grow.
Then, I want to thank Lee Hough, who believed in this story from moment one and has guided me as both a friend and a mentor.
I stand amazed at the skill, poise, dedication, and acumen displayed daily by Daisy Hutton, Becky Monds, Katie Bond, and Ruthie Dean—I thank you, trust you, and cannot imagine a better home. Natalie Hanemann, LB Norton, and Jodi Hughes—thank you for your wonderful editing. Kristen Vasgaard, I’m still in love with this beautiful cover . . . And to the Sales Team—thank you for getting this book out into the world. There are many others at Thomas Nelson who have contributed to this endeavor—I sincerely thank you all.
I also want to acknowledge Sandra Byrd, Linda Kokemor, Suzie Townsend, and Bob Haslam for your insights and time. Without you and many others, who helped push the story and me forward, it would still be only in my heart and on my computer.
Closer to home—Thanks, Team Reay. Mason, you never doubted for a moment, even when all the great ideas seemed to come from your brain, not mine. And Elizabeth, my sister, your never-ending enthusiasm and willingness to read each of my many drafts keeps me smiling. My “sisters” in Austin—thank you for making the miles seem negligible. And, Pam, I hope the story—especially that one character—makes you laugh. I love you all.
And . . . Thanks so much to
you
for reading
Dear Mr. Knightley
!
K
atherine Reay has enjoyed a lifelong affair with the works of Jane Austen and her contemporaries. After earning degrees in history and marketing from Northwestern University, she worked in not-for-profit development before returning to school to earn her MTS. Her writing has been published in
Focus on the Family
and
The Upper Room
. Katherine currently lives with her husband and three children in Seattle.
Dear Mr. Knightley
is her first novel.