WHY DO I LOVE JANE AUSTEN... BY BEVERLY FARR AKA JANE GRIX + GIVEAWAY

Jane Grix

Why do I love Jane Austen, let me count the reasons:  Darcy, Darcy, Darcy.

No seriously, I love Jane Austen for more than Mr. Darcy, although he is a big part of why I adore her books.

I like her books because they are funny and romantic and they contain fascinating side characters and insightful commentary on human nature. 

My favorite novel of all time is Pride and Prejudice.  In this story both hero and heroine are flawed.  Elizabeth is clever, but she is quick to judge.  Darcy is intelligent, but arrogant.  Some might dismiss this story as a Cinderella story because Elizabeth ends up with Darcy, who is rich, but in this story the Prince (Darcy) actually changes and becomes a better person by the end. 

When Elizabeth refuses his first offer of marriage (very unCinderella-like), he is humbled.  But then he writes a letter that makes her realize that she has been judging him harshly.  So they both change for the better, then they deal with foolish/obnoxious family members (Darcy rescues Lydia and Elizabeth stands up to his aunt Lady Catherine) which shows the reader that they deserve happiness.  And finally, they speak up, taking an emotional risk to declare their feelings and they are rewarded with a great, lasting love.

THE REGENCY ERA COMES TO THE AMISH - SENSE AND SENSIBILITY BY SARAH PRICE

On March 1^st, my book, Sense and Sensibility (Realms, 2016) is released! This adaptation of Jane Austen’s book by the same title is a bit different than others you may have read for it is not set in England or during the 1700s. Instead, it is set in present day Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Why Lancaster County? you may ask. And isn’t that where so many Amish lives? How could that possibly relate to anything Jane Austen wrote?

That’s right…the Amish live in Lancaster and that, indeed, is the setting for my adaptation.

You see, in my version of Sense and Sensibility, the main characters are not the upper echelon of high society during the Regency period. Instead, they are simple Amish people. The two main characters, Eleanor and Mary Ann do not live on a fancy estate with servants to tend to their needs. Instead, they live on a dairy farm. When their father dies, they (along with their mother and younger sister) are not just removed from authority of the property, they are also relegated to the small grossdawdihaus by their half-brother and his wife who, subsequently, treat them like second-class citizens and make their lives miserable.

While different, doesn’t the storyline sound familiar?

One of the things that I love the most about Jane Austen’s novels is that she presents timeless themes that readers have all experienced-one way or another-throughout the course of time.  How many times have we tried to set up friends only to realize that it won’t work? How often do we form judgments about people only to later realize that we were blinded by our individual bias? Haven’t we all been persuaded to do something by family or friends, even though we really wanted to do something else?

SECOND CHANCES BY SARAH PRICE - GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY

Second Chances - guest post by Sarah Price

Oh Anne! How could you possibly have let so many people persuade you to deny Frederick’s proposal and commit yourself to a future devoid of your true love?

Isn’t that the question we ask ourselves while reading Jane Austen’s Persuasion?

First loves do not often evolve into life time partnerships. If they did, I’d be married to Jimmy Cline, the little blond hair boy that I “dated” in fourth grade. He kissed me by the mailbox after carrying my books from the bus stop. That’s what happens when you date “older” men (he was in sixth grade).

But hearts are meant to be broken.

When he broke up with me for Beth Whatever-Her-Last-Name-Was, I thought the world would end. It didn’t.

I cannot imagine my life today if I had pined for him over the years, denying myself other experiences in life and love. Would I have traveled? Would I have my two children? Would I be a successful author?

Probably not.

Each broken heart adds character to our own stories, helping us learn to love in a way that is stronger and better each time around.

For Anne, however, her story has a different ending.

She did pine for Frederick and denied herself future courtships. When Frederick returned, her heart broke all over again only to be rewarded in the end for her steadfast devotion to the memory of their relationship from her youth.

THE MATCHMAKER BLOG TOUR - GUEST POST BY SARAH PRICE & GIVEAWAY

Hi Maria Grazia and thank you so much for inviting me to share a little bit about myself on your blog. I’ve been writing for almost forty years, starting when I was just a little girl when I would write stories about gnomes in little notebooks (which I still have!). I gravitated to writing about the Amish genre because my heritage is Anabaptist and I find the Plain culture fascinating. 

Unfortunately, there is often a misconception that Amish fiction books are poorly written and formula romance. And then there is often a problem concerning many authors’ accuracy of the portrayal of Amish. Many authors do not have first-hand experience with the Amish or readers are basing what they know on “reality” shows.