Jane Austen Meets Modern Day Murder in Elizabeth Gilliland’s What Happened on Box Hill.
Character Interview + Book & Author Info + Character Pet Corner!
What Happened on Box Hill by Elizabeth Gilliland
What would happen if you combined all of Jane Austen’s characters into one modern-day novel?
Murder, of course.
When Caty Morland’s roommate, Isabella, falls to her death on Initiation night, Austen University is quick to cover up the scandal and call it a tragic accident. But avid true-crime lover Caty remains convinced that Isabella didn’t fall; she was murdered.
With the help of Pi Kappa Sigma President Emma Woodhouse, Caty organizes a dinner party with the most likely suspects, including familiar faces such as Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet, Knightley, and Marianne Dashwood. The theme of the night is murder, and Caty has three courses to find out what happened to Isabella–and to try to keep the killer from striking again.
If you’d like to purchase What Happened on Box Hill, click on the following link: Amazon
What Happened on Box Hill: Austen University Mysteries
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Louisianna
Bayou Wolf Press (February 1, 2022)
240 Pages
ASIN : B09KQZZPJF
Character Interview – Caty Morland
Hi Caty,
Great to have you here on my blog. I have so many questions for you!
Thanks for having me, Elena! I’ve never been interviewed for a blog before—I’ve always only ever been a lurker!—so this is very exciting.
First, I’m so sorry to hear about the death of your roommate Isabella. Tell us about her, what was she like?
Thank you so much for saying that. With all the media coverage of Isabella’s death, it’s refreshing to find someone who wants to know what she was like as a person, not a news story.
Isabella was…complicated. She was the type of person who would make sure that you went to a party instead of staying at home, but she would also crop you out of pictures if she thought your outfit was ugly.
She was the friend who would stay up until midnight to be the first person to wish you happy birthday, but she also might forget that you’d made plans to meet up for coffee (or ditch you if a better offer came along).
She was my best friend, but I also feel like in some ways I didn’t really know her at all.
You’re a student at Austen University. How do you like your school? What would you like readers to know about it?
Austen University is the best! Go, Peacocks! I love absolutely everything about the school.
Well, I don’t really love the way that everyone is trying to just push Isabella’s death under the rug like it never happened so they can get on with their Mardi Gras break…but other than that, it’s great. The people are all so welcoming.
Except for some of the sorority girls, and some of the administration…but overall they’re really nice! I guess every place has its problems, right?
Your author, Elizabeth Gilliland is quite the fan of Jane Austen. How do you feel about Jane Austen’s work?
I love Jane Austen! She’s one of the greatest writers of all time.
I mean, I’ve never read any of her novels, but I’ve been meaning to. My Big in the sorority, Emma, keeps telling me I need to have more well-rounded reading and not just read murder mysteries all the time.
So it’s definitely on my bucket list.
True-crime is a passion of yours. What are some of your favorite true crime authors, podcasts, television shows . . . where do you indulge in your passion?
OMG, I am ADDICTED to true crime! I especially love podcasts–some favorites include Serial (of course), CounterClock (season 3 was amazing!!), Up and Vanished, Someone Knows Something, My Favorite Murder…anything that makes me want to sleep with the lights on. I think my all-time favorite is A.W. Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho–I want to be her when I grow up.
There must be secrets you keep from your author, tell us something about yourself your author doesn’t know.
Ooh… that’s a good one. My author didn’t know this, but when I was 11 years old I negotiated with my parents to allow me to adopt a pet rabbit.
His name is the Count and it was love at first sight. The Count has white fur with black spots, including a black spot over his left eye that kind of looks like a monocle–hence, his name.
The Count is very shy, and we joke that he is part vampire since he seems to come alive at night when all the lights are off. (At least, I hope it’s a joke…)
Befitting his royal title, the Count has a very fancy palate and will only eat organic vegetables, which drives my mother crazy. She tries to sneak him the generic stuff but he won’t eat it. I try to tell her–at least someone in the house likes organic produce! But she doesn’t seem to find it very funny.
I wasn’t allowed to bring the Count with me to school, so he is in the care of my youngest sister, Sarah, back in Baton Rouge for the time being.
What new projects are on your horizon? When might we see you next?
I won’t be the main character of the next book in the series, The Portraits of Pemberley, but chances are very good that I’ll be making a few cameos. There may or may not be a short story or novella in the works about some trouble I get into over the summer involving a dilapidated Southern mansion and a guy on a motorcycle.
What advice do you have for aspiring characters? How can they entice their authors to give them their own books?
Don’t give up!
Your author may think she has more important things to do, like finish her dissertation, grade papers, or even have a baby, but persistence is key!
I find the best time to bother her with an idea is when she’s trying to sleep at night–that way she’ll know she won’t get any rest unless you get your way.
Character Pet Corner!
Meet The Count!
You too can own an amazing bunny just like Caty has.
To learn more, click on the link here for Adoptable Rabbits at Bestfriends.com!
Elizabeth Gilliland
Elizabeth Gilliland teaches English at the university level, putting as much Austen into her syllabi as she can get away with.
In 2018, she completed her Ph.D. from Louisiana State University, where she wrote her dissertation on Jane Austen adaptations and fever-dreamed this series in a caffeine-induced haze.
She is a proud member of the Jane Austen Society of North America, and excerpts of the Austen University series have won awards through JASNA and Jane Austen & Co/The Jane Austen Summer Program.
She lives in Alabama with her husband and son.
To learn more about Elizabeth, click on her name, photo, or any of the following links: Twitter: @egilliland7, Newsletter sign up, Goodreads & Facebook
Visit all the stops on the Great Escapes Book Tour!
February 1 – Literary Gold – CHARACTER GUEST POST
February 2 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT
February 2 – Baroness’ Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
February 2 – Christy Cozy Corner – GUEST POST
February 3 – Mysteries with Character – GUEST POST
February 3 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT
February 4 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
February 4 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
February 5 – Brooke Blogs – CHARACTER GUEST POST
February 5 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
February 6 – I Read What You Write – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
February 6 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
February 7 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – SPOTLIGHT
February 8 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
February 8 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
February 9 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
February 10 – Here’s How It Happened – CHARACTER GUEST POST
February 11 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – GUEST POST
February 12 – Girl with Pen – SPOTLIGHT
February 13 – Author Elena Taylor’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
February 14 – BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT
Elena Taylor is the author of All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio book format at all your favorite bookstores and on-line retailers.
For more information on All We Buried, click on the link here to visit the home page.
Silver Falchion Award Finalist, Best Investigator 2020
Foreword INDIE Award Finalist, Best Mystery 2020
