PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND PERSONAL STATEMENTS - AUTHOR INTERVIEW & GIVEAWAY

(Image from Clueless - 1995)

Mary Pagones is a New Jersey-based writer, horseback rider (she says with more enthusiasm than talent), and Shakespeare and Jane Austen fanatic. Mary's our guest author with a Q/A post and a book giveaway contest. Her Pride and Prejudice and Personal Statements is a lovely YA Austen-inspired novel which reminds the lively world of Clueless. Ready to read the interview, welcome Mary in the comment section and try your luck in the giveway? (Sorry, US only)

How did the idea of writing a YA modernization of Pride and Prejudice come to your mind?

         For the past eighteen years, I’ve worked for a private college consulant. She’s quite a bit like Ms. Desborough, the Lady Catherine character in the novel. It occurred to me that the competition and social wrangling over getting in to top colleges was very similar to the warring over men of large fortunes in the Regency marriage market of Pride and Prejudice.

SPOTLIGHT ON ... FINDING THE RAINBOW BY TRACI BORUM

Life seems nothing more than a quick succession of busy nothings.  ~Jane Austen 

   

This is precisely how Holly Newbury would sum up her life. At twenty-eight, she lives in a charming Cotswold village, serving as caretaker to three younger sisters—a rewarding job, but a tedious one. 

Soon, news of a Jane Austen movie filming nearby creates a snap of change in the air.  The villagers become involved as movie extras, and Holly starts up an Emma book club in honor of the film.  At the same time, Holly's own family drama plays out—her sisters experience heartaches and growing pains, while her widowed father finds new love in an unexpected place. 

Most importantly, the film brings with it an American screenwriter named Fletcher Hays, who ends up becoming Holly's very own Mr. Knightley.  But will she realize it too late?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Traci Borum is a writing teacher and native Texan. She's also an avid reader of women's fiction, most especially Elin Hilderbrand and Rosamunde Pilcher novels. Since the age of 12, she's written poetry, short stories, magazine articles, and novels.

Traci also adores all things British. She even owns a British dog (Corgi) and is completely addicted to Masterpiece Theater---must be all those dreamy accents! Aside from having big dreams of getting a book published, it's the little things that make her the happiest: deep talks with friends, a strong cup of hot chocolate, a hearty game of fetch with her Corgi, and puffy white Texas clouds always reminding her to "look up, slow down, enjoy your life." 

Website - Facebook page - Twitter - Goodreads page - Amazon link 

READ AN EXCERPT 

MR DARCY? HE'LL JUST STAY A JERK. MR KNIGHTLEY? YES, PLEASE! TALKING JANE AUSTEN WITH ... KATIE HEANEY. WIN DEAR EMMA PAPERBACK.

Hello and thank you for joining us at My Jane Austen Book Club, Katie! It’s awesome to have you as a guest and  to celebrate the release of your Austen-inspired,  “Dear Emma”. Ready for my questions? 

First one is a “twitter game”: How would you present your book in 140 characters?

Harriet, a tender know-it-all, gets her heart broken, makes an enemy, makes an unexpected friend, and learns she doesn't know everything.

How did the idea for “Dear Emma” come to your mind?

I was inspired by Jane Austen’s Emma, but also by friendships formed between women who’ve dated the same man, or been interested in the same man, which is a situation I found myself in several times when I was younger.

How much does your heroine, Harriet, shares with Emma Woodhouse?

She would think nothing, but they are both very absolutist in their views of other people, and what’s “right,” and how people should behave. But she shares more with Harriet Smith (her namesake) in her sort of underdog-ness, and tendency to act passively, or as a sort of sidekick sometimes.

KATIE OLIVER, JANE AUSTEN - REGENCY SHOPAHOLIC? AUTHOR GUEST POST & GREAT GIVEAWAY!

"Chick lit is genre fiction which addresses issues of modern womanhood, often humorously and lightheartedly. Although it sometimes includes romantic elements, chick lit is generally not considered a direct subcategory of the romance novel genre, because the heroine's relationship with her family or friends is often just as important as her romantic relationships." - Goodreads

"[Romance] books are about the celebration of falling in love and emotion and commitment, and all of those things we really want." - Nora Roberts

Jane Austen blazed the trail that every writer of romance and chick lit ever after has followed. Her popularity is still strong after 250 years. Numerous film adaptations of her novels, including the recent Austen-meets-horror film mashup, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, continue to be produced, watched, and admired, and discussed. 

UNLEASHING MR DARCY - FROM BOOK TO MOVIE, TERI WILSON'S LOVELY MODERN SPIN ON P&P

The TV movie

We all need a bit of fairy dust on our grey lives from time to time and watching this lovely TV movie helped my mood like a touch of magic wand last night. So romantic!

In this modern day spin on “Pride & Prejudice,”  inspired to Teri Wilson's 2013 novel, Elizabeth Scott (Cindy Busby), is fishing for direction in her life and gets the opportunity to professionally show her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in a fancy New York dog show. Dog show judge Donovan Darcy (Ryan Paevey) comes across as aristocratic and rude and a chain of misunderstandings unfold during the competition, complicating their mutual attraction. In true Jane Austen fashion, Elizabeth and Donovan begin to see the error of their ways and it turns out Mr. Darcy is far more kind and interesting than Elizabeth ever imagined.

Then he is almost charming, despite all his flaws, and Elizabeth just can't resist him. But their mutual attraction will find obstacles to overcome: not only Darcy's Aunt Violette and wife - to -be, Felicity, but also Darcy's own pride and Elizabeth's prejudices against wealthy people. 

However, their love for puppies and dogs will help them to find a compromise ...

SWAY BLOG TOUR - A CONTEMPORARY RETELLING OF PERSUASION BY MELANIE STANFORD

Sway is out today and Melanie Stanford is our guest to launch her blog tour. Sway is a new  modern retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion. Ready to welcome Melanie  to our online club? And, by the way, don't  miss the chance to win a signed paperback copy. The giveaway is open internationally. Good luck, everyone! 

First off, a big thank you to Maria Grazia for having me today!

Why write a retelling? Why Jane Austen? These are two questions I often hear from people when they find out about SWAY, my contemporary retelling of PERSUASION set in LA.

Before starting SWAY, I’d written a young adult time-travel novel and its sequel. Even though I’d read tons of Jane Austen retellings, I’d never considered writing one of my own. I wanted to write YA and I wanted to write stories with some kind of magical element to them—I never once thought I’d write straight up contemporary.

Then I was in the middle of a re-watch of 2007’s PERSUASION (I’ve got a thing for Rupert Penry-Jones in that movie, not gonna lie *swoons*). I don’t remember what point in the movie it struck me, but I just knew it would make an awesome modern day story.

Out of all of Jane Austen’s novels, I really got Persuasion when I read it. I felt it. I understood Anne’s pain and heartache when she’s constantly thrown into company with Captain Wentworth. I think we all know what it’s like to regret a break-up. There are just so many feelings and drama going on in Persuasion (and I love me some drama) that I wanted so badly to write it down myself, take it into a modern world and put my own spin on it.

LIZZY & JANE, A NOVEL – INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR KATHERINE REAY

Sometimes the courage to face your greatest fears comes only when you've run out of ways to escape.

Hello Katherine and welcome back to My Jane Austen Book Club. Your Lizzy & Jane is a revisitation of two Austen heroines  in a present-day urban context. Can you tell us more about the Bennet sisters protagonists of your new novel?

Lizzy and Jane Hughes are a bit more antagonistic than the Bennet sisters. You always get the feeling in P&P that Lizzy and Jane Bennet have “each others backs” and always put the other first. These two have lost some of that, if they ever had it, and need to learn to see and love each other again. So the Lizzy & Jane reference is more how their mother saw them or the dream of what they can become rather than a reflection of who they are.

How much of their original personalities can we still recognize?

Ah… Probably not much at the beginning. Lizzy Hughes may have Lizzy Bennet’s “fine eyes” and sharp wit, but I’d hate to go up against Austen in those categories. At the end, you’ll see more. My sisters begin to understand each other and develop a more playful, loving relationship.

Why did you decide to have Lizzy be a talented chef?

 Food is so relational. I think food first entered the story as a reflection of my family life – and Lizzy working as a chef became an extension of that. We cook every Sunday – almost every day of the week, really. The kitchen is where my family connects, cooks, eats and shares best. It started when we lived in Ireland. We and another family got together every Sunday and cooked multi-course meals that took the whole day, post church, to prepare and enjoy. When we moved back to the States, we continued that tradition ourselves.

SPOTLIGHT ON ... SENSE AND SENSIBILITY A LATTER-DAY TALE BY REBECCA H. JAMISON

Book Blurb

As if it wasn’t bad enough to be getting food from Church welfare, I had to meet one of the Ferreros—and a good-looking Ferrero, at that.

Elly Goodwin, a brilliant programmer, is so desperate for a job that she takes one from her ex-boyfriend—the same man who put her family out of business. Then she meets Ethan Ferrero, who seems too good to be true. But Elly is far too sensible to unexpectedly fall in love—especially with her ex’s brother-in-law. 

But when Elly’s sister, Maren, dates the wrong guy, Elly must intercede before Maren’s passion clouds her common sense. Together, Elly and Maren must learn that a mixture of sense and sensibility is the perfect recipe for love.

Fans of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility will love this modern retelling of the classic romance novel.

SPOTLIGHT ON ... PRIDE, PREJUDICE & THE PERFECT BET BY MARILYN BRANT + GIVEAWAY

Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet

The course of true love doesn’t always run smooth… 

Everyone thought Beth Ann Bennet and Dr. Will Darcy had an unexpected romance in Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match (Perfect #1, January 2013). Now, Beth’s best friend, Jane Henderson, and Will’s first cousin, Bingley McNamara, begin their own unlikely love story in Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet (Perfect #2), which starts at the Darcy/Bennet wedding when they find themselves in the roles of maid of honor and best man for the newlyweds. 

Jane is an interning school psychologist and a woman who wears an angelic mask in public, but she’s not as sweet tempered as she’d like everyone to believe. Turns out, she may have just crossed paths with the one person who’ll unnerve her enough to get her to reveal her true self. 

As for Bingley, he’s a wealthy, flirtatious and compulsively social guru of finance, who likes to wager on stocks and, let’s face it, on just about anything that strikes his fancy. But this dedicated ladies’ man may have finally met the woman who’ll challenge his bachelor ways! 

Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet…where life’s biggest gamble is the game of love. 

**Note to Readers: Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet is part of the "Perfect" series, but it can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.**

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: A NOVEL OF OLD BOOKS, UNEXPECTED LOVE, AND JANE AUSTEN - COVER REVEAL

This lovely new book inspired to Jane Austen's work will be out on October 16, 2014. Looking forward to reading it! Meanwhile, let's have a look at its cute cover and at the book blurb.

Book lover and Austen enthusiast Sophie Collingwood has recently taken a job at an antiquarian bookshop in London when two different customers request a copy of the same obscure book: the second edition of Little Book of Allegories by Richard Mansfield. Their queries draw Sophie into a mystery that will cast doubt on the true authorship of Pride and Prejudice—and ultimately threaten Sophie’s life.

In a dual narrative that alternates between Sophie’s quest to uncover the truth—while choosing between two suitors—and a young Jane Austen’s touching friendship with the aging cleric Richard Mansfield, Lovett weaves a romantic, suspenseful, and utterly compelling novel about love in all its forms and the joys of a life lived in books.

First Impressions: A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen (Viking; October 16, 2014; 978-0-525-42724-7)

BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY - PREJUDICE MEETS PRIDE BY RACHAEL ANDERSON

Prejudice Meets Pride by Rachael Anderson

After years of pinching pennies and struggling to get through art school, Emma Makie’s hard work finally pays off with the offer of a dream job. But when tragedy strikes, she has no choice but to make a cross-country move to Colorado Springs to take temporary custody of her two nieces. She has no money, no job prospects, and no idea how to be a mother to two little girls, but she isn’t about to let that stop her. Nor is she about to accept the help of Kevin Grantham, her handsome new neighbor, who seems to think she’s incapable of doing anything on her own.

Fun, compelling, and romantic, Prejudice Meets Pride is the story of a guy who thinks he has it all figured out and a girl who isn't afraid to show him that he doesn't. It’s about learning what it means to trust, figuring out how to give and to take, and realizing that not everyone gets to pick the person they fall in love with. Sometimes, love picks them.

Amazon

PREJUDICE MEETS PRIDE - COVER REVEAL + $25 AMAZON GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY

Hello there! If you like modern romance inspired to Jane Austen's work, here's a new one.  Cover revealed for Rachael Anderson's Prejudice Meets Pride. It's coming out very soon. Stay tuned! Meawhile try your luck with the $25 Amazon Gift Card giveaway below. Cheers!

Prejudice Meets Pride by Rachael Anderson

After years of pinching pennies and struggling to get through art school, Emma Makie’s hard work finally pays off with the offer of a dream job. But when tragedy strikes, she has no choice but to make a cross-country move to Colorado Springs to take temporary custody of her two nieces. She has no money, no job prospects, and no idea how to be a mother to two little girls, but she isn’t about to let that stop her. Nor is she about to accept the help of Kevin Grantham, her handsome new neighbor, who seems to think she’s incapable of doing anything on her own.

A MODERN DAY SENSE AND SENSIBILITY - INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR KAITLIN SAUNDERS & BOOK GIVEAWAY

A Modern Day Sense and Sensibility

Take a fresh look at the romantic Jane Austen classic in Kaitlin Saunders’s heartwarming new novel, A Modern Day Sense and Sensibility. After A Modern Day Persuasion proved a hit, this latest installment in Saunders’s successful series of Austen retellings will have readers swooning at the comical misunderstandings and classic romances that are newly envisioned for modern times.

After their father’s untimely death, Ellie and Marianne Dashwood must suffer the loss of both their beloved parent and their fortune when, together with their mother and younger sister, they find themselves at the mercy of their half brother and his greedy wife, Francil. Ellie temporarily finds solace in a new friendship with Francil’s brother, Edward. But as their connection deepens and Edward fails to make the next move, Ellie becomes increasingly confused. Eventually Francil’s manipulations become unbearable and the Dashwood ladies are forced to relocate to a dingy apartment building in Portland, Oregon, owned by their quirky cousin and his busybody mother-in-law, Mrs. Jennings. Slowly, the women begin adapting to their newfound meager lifestyle. While cutting coupons and watching their budget, the Dashwoods welcome the chance to make new acquaintances in their new town. One such acquaintance is Mrs. Jennings’s friend Brandon, a wealthy thirty-something hotel entrepreneur who is immediately infatuated with Marianne. Turned off by their relatively large age gap, Marianne turns her attention to the suspiciously perfect Jim Willoughby. But just as things start heating up between them, she learns that the situation may not be exactly as it seems.

As the sisters struggle through secrets, illness, and broken promises, Ellie and Marianne must find the answer: Does love really conquer all? Find out in Saunders’s romantic rendition of a beloved classic.

INTERVIEW

Q: After retelling JA's Persuasion in a modern context, Kaitlin,  you decided to do the same with Sense & Sensibility. Are they your best favourites among Austen's major six? If not, what are the reasons of choosing them?

A: Yes, they are some of my favorites! After I read both novels, I couldn't help but wonder what they would look like if they were set in present day, or how it would be if I were Anne or Marianne or Elinor -- hence my modern day adaptations! My imagination penned for other woman to read!

PERSUASION, LYME AND THE COBB - GUEST POST BY HELENA FAIRFAX

The Cobb at Lyme Regis

My name’s Helena Fairfax. I’m a romance author and Jane Austen fan, and I’m thrilled to be here at My Jane Austen Book Club. I’m a British author, and I live in the north of England, in one of my favourite parts of the world – on the edge of the Yorkshire moors, the wild landscape which provided the setting for Emily Brontë’sWuthering Heights. 

My first two romance novels, The Silk Romance and The Antique Love, were published last year. (I’m proud to add here that The Silk Romance was described by one reviewer as ‘a mixture of Pride and Prejudice and Cinderella’. 

 As an Austen fan, her commentabsolutely thrilled me to bits.) This winter I spent some time on England’s south coast, in the county of Dorset. This part of the country was much loved by Jane Austen, especially the seaside town of Lyme Regis, which is the setting for Persuasion. If you follow me on Facebook you may already have seen some of my photos of Dorset on England's south coast, where I spent Christmas.

 On Christmas Day we visited Lyme Regis, a small town in Dorset, by the seaside. I was most excited about this, as I've never been to Lyme before, and anyone who's read Jane Austen's Persuasion will know it as the setting for her novel. It's also the setting for John Fowles The French Lieutenant's Woman, which features this famous scene between Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons on Lyme's Cobb. 

The Cobb is a man made wall that protects the harbour.  As quite often happens with these things, both the Cobb and the harbour were a lot smaller than I imagined.

THE AUSTEN PROJECT: JOANNA TROLLOPE DEBATES HER "SENSE & SENSIBILITY" IN LONDON

Joanna Trollope will be the first in a series of leading authors to unveil the hidden back story to their latest book, with the launch of a new monthly literary salon curated by Radisson Blu Edwardian.

Held at the group’s Bloomsbury Street hotel in London, a literary hangout throughout its history, the evening event on 4^thDecember will see Joanna unpick the literary DNA of her new novel, a reworking of Sense and Sensibility. 

Joanna Trollope's reimagining of Jane Austen's novel (1811) is part of The Austen Project, which pairs six bestselling contemporary authors with Jane Austen’s six complete works: Sense & Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Pride & Prejudice, Emma, Persuasion and Mansfield Park. Taking these well-loved stories as their base, each author will write their own unique take on Jane Austen’s novels. The Austen Project will continue with Val McDermid’s reworking of Northanger Abbey in Spring 2014 and Curtis Sittenfeld’s Pride & Prejudice in Autumn 2014. 

The event curated by the Radisson Blu Edwardian will be hosted by writer and journalist Sam Leith, the Hidden Prologues salon will welcome up to 30 guests to hear authors read from their own work and from another book that inspired them, before joining a discussion about the issues that emerge.

MY OWN MR DARCY: BOOK REVIEW, BLOG TOUR AND GIVEAWAY

My review

Can going to the cinema with your mum and best friend change your outlook on life and, especially, on  men? Can a  fictional  character wreck your love life? Elizabeth Barrett, the protagonist  of  My Own Mr Darcy, would answer YES to both questions, of course.

She unwillingly follows her mother to the cinema to see  Pride and Prejudice  only because,  probably, that will help her avoid reading Jane Austen’s book for a project. So she asks her best mate to go with her. Unexpectedly, seeing Matthew MacFadyen as brooding, fascinating Darcy on the huge screen brings her to quite surprising outcomes.

 Pride and Prejudice  becomes her favourite book, she reads it on and on dreaming of Mr Darcy and looking forward to meeting her own dashing gentleman one day.

But, as we well know, reality can very rarely be  compared to the world of perfection we create in our minds while reading, so what expects Elizabeth is a love life of disappointment and disillusionment: there is not one man who is Mr Darcy enough.