UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT - PAULA BYRNE, JANE AUSTEN. A LIFE IN SMALL THINGS

I'm sure 2013 will be filled with great Austen fun since it is the year of Pride and Prejudice bicentenary and there have been  many great events announced already. 

There are also several interesting books coming out, though not all of them related to Pride and Prejudice, but all of them Austen-related . Among the ones coming out soon, here is one   I'm really curious about.

Paula Byrne, Jane Austen -  A Life in Small Things

Paula Byrne announced she was writing a book about Jane Austen last year when she brought to our attention a mysterious portrait of a lady she declared to be of our beloved Jane. Many Austenites were and still are skeptical, but, maybe , Ms Byrne will win them over with her new achievement: an unusual biography of their favourite writer.

Book Blurb from publishers Harper Collins site

Who was the real Jane Austen? Overturning the traditional portrait of the author as conventional and genteel, bestseller Paula Byrne’s landmark biography reveals the real woman behind the books.

In this new biography, best-selling author Paula Byrne (bestselling author of Perdita, Mad World) explores the forces that shaped the interior life of Britain’s most beloved novelist: her father’s religious faith, her mother’s aristocratic pedigree, her eldest brother’s adoption, her other brothers’ naval and military experiences, her relatives in the East and West Indies, her cousin who lived through the trauma of the French Revolution, the family’s 

amateur theatricals, the female novelists she admired, her 

SYRIE JAMES DISCUSSES WHY JANE AUSTEN CAPTURES HER WRITING IMAGINATION - WIN "THE MISSING MANUSCRIPT OF JANE AUSTEN"

Syrie James, author of The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen, a brilliant Austen-inspired novel (my review) ,  is my guest today to discuss  why Jane Austen captures her writing imagination. Take your chances to win a copy of the book using the rafflecopter form below. The contest is for US readers only and ends on January 10th. Good luck!

I love Jane Austen because her books transport us to another world, another time and place—that doesn't seem that far away. Jane Austen doesn't need elaborate plot lines, exotic locales, or a lot of action to create the most engaging, entertaining, funny, and insightful stories I have ever read.

It doesn’t hurt that Austen wrote about the English gentry class at a time when men had impeccable manners and wore tight breeches, tailcoats, and cravats (which are eminently sexy), ladies wore bewitching, gossamer gowns, and the primary social entertainment was to dance at a ball. But it’s the stories themselves that make Austen great, and more importantly, the characters she created.

Austen is an acute observer of people. Although her novels take place two hundred years ago, her characters are people we recognize; they all wrestle with social and emotional problems that we still confront on a daily basis. She sees straight through people’s pretensions, hypocrisies, politeness, and correctness to reveal their true opinions and motivations. Her characters’ inconsistencies and absurdities become fodder for her wit and humor—sometimes, they are so subtly drawn that it can take a while to truly appreciate what makes them so memorable and marvelous—but memorable and marvelous they are.

Unlocking secrets from Jane Austen's Steventon home

Finds from an archaeological dig at the birthplace of Jane Austen are beginning to reveal details of the author's early home life. Aren't you curious to discover more?

Read this interesting report from BBC news!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

JANE AUSTEN SOIREE - A CELEBRATION OF JANE AUSTEN'S BIRTHDAY - GIVEAWAY HOP

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANE!

Thanks to all the Janeites who will drop by and decide to celebrate Jane Austen's birthday with us. It is a very special day, one in which I feel we must express our gratitude to our beloved best favourite author and spread the love for her and her work.

This event, The Jane Austen Soirée is a simple hop,  linking  a few blogs, the ones you find listed below,  in the effort to celebrate Jane's talent and wit. 

The Austenite bloggers involved are posting their favourite page from their favourite Austen novel and readers will have the chance to win some gorgeous Austen gifts in several giveaway contests.

After taking your chances in the rafflecopter form at the end of this post, check out all the blogs taking part in the event. Good luck and Happy Jane Austen Soirée, everyone!

Here's my favourite page

EMMA & MR KNIGHTLEY

You will not ask me what is the point of envy.--You are determined, I see, to have no curiosity.--You are wise--but _I_ cannot be wise. Emma, I must tell you what you will not ask, though I may wish it unsaid the next moment." (…)

BOOK BLAST - SALLY SMITH O'ROURKE, YOURS AFFECTIONATELY, JANE AUSTEN / CHRISTMAS AT SEA PINE COTTAGE + GIVEAWAY

Yours Affectionately, Jane Austen

Was Mr. Darcy real? Is time travel really possible? For pragmatic Manhattan artist Eliza Knight the answer to both questions is absolutely, Yes! And Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley Farms, Virginia is the reason why!

His tale of love and romance in Regency England leaves Eliza in no doubt that Fitz Darcy is the embodiment of Jane Austen’s legendary hero. And she’s falling in love with him. But can the man who loved the inimitable Jane Austen ever love average, ordinary Eliza Knight?

Eliza’s doubts grow, perhaps out of proportion, when things start to happen in the quiet hamlet of Chawton, England; events that could change everything. Will the beloved author become the wedge that divides Fitz and Eliza or the tie that binds them?

SPOTLIGHT ON ... A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM BY SCOTT D. SOUTHARD

The Book

Jane Austen thought she knew everything about love, but was there something she wasn't telling us?

A self-confessed dreamer, gossip, and matchmaker, Jane emerges from a prophetic meeting with gypsies and sets out to discover her soul mate. As Jane writes through the twists and turns of her turbulent romances, Southard ponders the question faced by many devoted readers over the years - did she ever find love? What would the story of that love be like if Jane could write it?

Binding fact with fiction, courting brave new literary twists, and written in the style of Jane Austen herself, A Jane Austen Daydream is the tale of Jane's life as a novel. It contemplates the eventual fate of Jane's heart, and uses her own stories to fill the gaps that history left to the imagination.

The author

Scott D. Southard, the author of A Jane Austen Daydream, swears he is not obsessed with Jane Austen. He is, however, also the author of the award-winning novels, My Problem With Doors, Megan, and 3 Days in Rome. His eclectic writing has also found its way into radio, being the creator of the radio comedy series The Dante Experience. The production was honored with the Golden Headset Award for Best MultiCast Audio and the Silver Ogle Award for Best Fantasy Audio Production. Scott received his Master's in writing from the University of Southern California. Scott can be found on the internet via his writing blog "The Musings & Artful Blunders of Scott D. Southard" where he writes on topics ranging from writing, art, books, TV, writing, parenting, life, movies, and writing. He even shares original fiction on the site (currently creating a novel in "real time" with one fresh chapter a week; it is entitled Permanent Spring Showers). His blog can be found at http://sdsouthard.com. Currently, Scott resides in Michigan with his very understanding wife, his patient two children, and a very opinionated dog named Bronte.

Read the first two chapters from A Jane Austen Daydream

CHRISTMAS WITH JANE - JOIN ME AT KRISTA'S BOOK REVIEW CLUB

Today I'm guest blogger at Krista's Book Review Club on her December event dedicated to Jane Austen. My post is ME, JANE AND HER BAD BOYS. You know, I've got a weakness for Austen handsome scoundrels ... CLICK HERE and join me at Krista's blog.

"When I first met Jane…  I got everything wrong.I was 14 and reading Pride and Prejudice for the first time I hit it off with George Wickham (OMG!) . So I  got quite angry with Jane for making him a villain. OK, Mr Darcy was a great catch for Lizzy, that’s undeniable,  but why couldn’t Jane let her at least meet George Wickham at Netherfield and dance with him, flirt a bit  and then marry her well-off,  dashing baronet?  Closing the book at the words THE END , my disappointment was not completely over yet.Then I read Sense and Sensibility and I  was mesmerized by John Willoughby’s  romantic charm and passionate ways.  Again, Jane had played a trick on me: he was the villain in the novel . Once the two  heroines were in London,  I happened to be extremely disappointed  like Marianne.  Of course, I didn’t risk my life and I even kind of accepted the excuses he alleged to Elinor while Marianne is very ill.  I so wanted Willoughby to be my hero! Jane must have laughed a lot at my naivety". (...)

 GO ON READING AT BOOK REVIEW CLUB 

CHRISTMAS BOOKS GIVEAWAY HOP - VICTORIA CONNELLY , CHRISTMAS WITH MR DARCY

Ready to spend your Christmas holidays with your special one? What about  adding some dreamy time with Victoria Connelly's Christmas with Mr Darcy, a  truly romantic novella? (Read my review HERE).

Read Victoria Connelly's Christmas interview,  then take your chances in the rafflecopter form below. The giveaway is open internationally and ends on Dec. 7th . Thanks to Kathy at I am a Reader not a Writer and to  Laurie Here for hosting another great hop. Remember to check all the sites taking part in the event. Lots of Christmas books for you and many chances to win! You'll find them in the list  at the end of this post. Good luck!

Welcome back to My Jane Austen Book Club, Victoria.  My questions today will focus on Christmas and your Christmas novella. Are you ready?  What do you like best and what the least of Christmas time?

Best thing – it’s a good excuse to eat plenty of wonderful food. Worst – the cold, dark days.

What is your favourite …

     Christmas movie            It’s a Wonderful Life

    Christmas book             A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

    Christmas song             Silent Night

    Christmas decoration?  Christmas tree lights!

Enid Wilson, Close Encounters with a Martian Hunk - Giveaway Winner

Quick posting to reveal the name of the winner of 

Enid Wilson's "Close Encounter with a Martian Hunk".

Congratulations to Ao Bibliophile! And many thanks to Enid Wilson for being my guest.

THE MISSING MANUSCRIPT OF JANE AUSTEN BY SYRIE JAMES - MY REVIEW

The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen is an awesome new book by Syrie James, author of bestselling novels like  The Lost Memoirs Of Jane Austen, Dracula My Love, The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë, Nocturne  and Forbidden. Due to release on 31st December, The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen is a  novel within a novel :  a brilliant Austen-style Regency tale inside a lovely modern romance.

I must admit that with this new novel Syrie James has surpassed herself and moved forward even respect to a successful achievement like The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen. She did a brilliant job both at delivering a well-designed plot echoing Jane Austen’s voice - but modernizing it for a present-day audience -  and at enclosing it in an intriguing frame of quest and romance.

Samantha is an American librarian who had to give up her Ph D in English Literature while preparing a dissertation on Jane Austen’s work. She was forced to interrupt her studies in Oxford and go back to home   in order to take care of her seriously ill mother.

Now she is on a trip in England with her cardiologist boyfriend, Stephen. Since he is  engaged in a  medical conference in London,  she spends her time alone visiting the places of her happy years at Oxford university and while perusing old little bookshops in search for something interesting, she happens to find an ancient book of poetry containing a letter. The book reveals itself as belonging to Jane Austen  and inside it there is one of her missing letters.  Even more extraordinary is the fact that in that letter Jane refers to a manuscript she lost in 1802 visiting Greenbriar, the Whitakers’ mansion in the countryside, in Dorset.

I'M A GUEST AT AUTHOR MARIA GRACE'S BLOG

What about joining me there? I'm a guest at Maria Grace's blog, Random Bits of Fascination. What do we talk about? Blogging,  mainly. But discover more about our chat visiting Maria's Blog. I'll wait for you all there! 

Get to Know Maria Grazia founder of Fly High and My Jane Austen Book Club

JANE AUSTEN SOIREE - A CELEBRATION OF JANE AUSTEN'S BIRTHDAY. JOIN THE FUN!

In a month it will be Jane Austen's 237th birthday,  since she was born in Steventon on 16th December 1775. Just like last year I'd love to celebrate this special occasion here at My Jane Austen Book Club inviting all Janeite bloggers to join me in the event. Let's spread the love for our beloved Jane.

I thought that the best thing we can do to demonstrate our admiration and reverence for her talent is to post Jane Austen's special pages. Special to us.

So,  what do you have to do to join the party? 

- Subscribe your blog through the linky tool below (deadline 10th December 

  2012) N.B. Link title: name of the blog (you don't have to say which  
   passage you  are going to choose nor what novel, there can be similar posts
   if we have similar tastes)

- Prepare your post including your favourite Austen page from your favourite      

   Austen novel (with pictures, videos, links, whatever else your wish to add to
   make  your happy birthday post more attractive)

- Add the graphics of the event (you can copy  from this announcement post) 

  or ask me to send them to you via e-mail writing to 

  learnonline.mgs@gmail.com

- What about a  giveaway contest to win something Austen-related? (books, 

   bookmarks, DVDs, gadgets,  etc.)

- Your post must be ready and posted by/at 00.01 a.m. 16th December 2012 

  (your local time) and the giveaway contest must be closed after 2 days, 

   that is 18th December 2012 (you can choose the time)

- Each blog will have one or more winners and will post the results of its own

   giveaway contest

- Your post should show the list of the blogs participating in the event which 

   I'll send to you  once the subscriptions are closed (10th December 2012)

"One cannot have too large a party".

JANE AUSTEN, Emma

TALKING JANE AUSTEN WITH ... ANTONIA AND NOEL, THE BOX TALE SOUP

Antonia Christophers and Noel Byrne are the Box Tale Soup, a two-actor company on stage these days with a very special adaptation of Northanger Abbey. Welcome them to our online club and discover more about them and their work.

Welcome to My Jane Austen Book Club,  Antonia  and Noel thanks for accepting my invitation to talk Jane Austen with me.

First question is ... Where does your name come from? 

Antonia: It actually took us rather a long time to come up with a name for the company that we are happy with. We wanted the name to encompass the various things that make us unique. One of our aims is to fit all the necessary props, costume and set for out shows into our vintage trunk so we wanted to have something luggage related in the name. And then Noel ended up coming up with a pun on the traditional English Soup ‘Oxtail Soup’ thus ending up with Box Tale Soup. We spell the ‘Tale’ that way to refer to the fact that we create adaptations of classic literature.

Noel: Yeah, it was a joke at first, but then the name grew on us!

ENID WILSON AND HER MARTIAN DARCY - AUTHOR INTERVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

Welcome back to My Jane Austen Book Club, Enid! 

Thank you Maria for hosting me again.

Well, where can we start from?  You know I love Jane Austen and period drama. Honestly, what is this book about Martians doing in my blog?

Haha, Maria, I confess that I had a ball when you hosted my co-authors Aimée Avery, June Williams and I in July about our Jane Austen-inspired short stories, Honor and Integrity (HERE). I itch to find another excuse to appear in your blog again.

My latest novella Close Encounters with a MartianHunk is a romantic science fiction. It definitely doesn’t have a Mr. Darcy in it. But believe it or not, when I first wrote the story five years ago, it was a fun piece I posted at a JAFF forum, featuring a Martian Darcy.

A Martian Darcy?  How can you put Jane Austen’s characters in Space?

Sometimes I think my imagination has a life of its own, especially with my obsession with Jane Austen’s novels. Pride and Prejudice highlights the social division in Regency England. I took this theme and developed the story around it, with Martians being more superior to Earthlings. When Martian Darcy met Earthling Elizabeth, their views clashed even though they were attracted to each other. But in this published version, I no long use Jane Austen’s characters. My hero and heroine become Eric Dark and Sophia Wilkinson. Dark still slighted Sophia and they still had to overcome some obstacles to gain their marital bliss.

MEET REBECCA SMITH, JANE AUSTEN'S GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT NIECE - GIVEAWAY OF HER MISS JANE AUSTEN'S LIFE'S DILEMMAS

Rebecca Smith at Jane Austen's House Museum.
 Photo by Isabel Snowden

My guest today is really special to me and I hope you'll be ready to welcome her and make her feel at home here at My Jane Austen Book Club.

Rebecca Smith is the author of three novels published by Bloomsbury: The Bluebird Café (2001) Happy Birthday and All That (2003) and A Bit ofEarth (2006). Barbara Trapido called her “the perfect English miniaturist”.

Rebecca studied History at the University of Southampton and is now a Teaching Fellow in English and Creative Writing there. From autumn 2009 until summer 2010, Rebecca was the Writer in Residence at Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton, Hampshire; she continues to work closely with the Museum. Her first work of non-fiction,Jane Austen’s Guide to Modern Life’s Dilemmas, has just been published in North America and the UK. Rebecca is Jane Austen’s great great great great great niece.

Rebecca’s first novel for children, Shadow Eyes, was shortlisted for The 2012 Kelpies Prize and will be published sometime in 2013. She is currently working on another novel.

Here are her answers to a few  questions about her Austen-inspired book and her writing. Check the giveaway details below this post and take your chances to win in the rafflecopter form. Good luck!

While researching Miss Jane Austen’s Guide to Modern Life’s Dilemmas, you immersed yourself in Jane Austen’s books as well as her letters and early writings. What were some of the most surprising things you learned about Austen in the process?

I found that I could answer every single dilemma with advice from Jane’s work or letters! Dozens and dozens of different dilemmas were suggested by family, friends and my students – there were too many to fit into the book – but all of them could have been answered. The more I read, the more I saw answers.  I kept thinking of extra dilemmas that I’d like to include. I found that Jane’s wit and wisdom could be applied to anything.

GOODLY CREATURES, A PRIDE AND PREJUDICE DEVIATION BY BETH MASSEY - GIVEAWAY WINNERS

The Book

A life altering event inextricably links a fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Bennet to Fitzwilliam Darcy while simultaneously creating an almost insurmountable divide. This Pride and Prejudice deviation takes the reader on a journey through a labyrinth filled with misunderstandings, bias, guilt and fear--not to mention, laughter, animal magnetism and waltzing. As Elizabeth says, 'she shed enough tears to float one of Lord Nelson's frigates' but as she also observes 'unhappiness does, indeed, have comic aspects one should never underestimate.' Though the path for our protagonists is much more ardurous than canon the benefit remains the same, a very happy Janeite ending for these two soul-mates. Along the way there is retribution, redemption and reward for other characters--including a few that recall players in Ms Austen's 'Sense and Sensibility.' While reading her first published novel, I came across grievances so unjust that they called out to this long-time struggler for women's rights. With this novel, I became determined to give them some vindication. A sampling of comments left for this story at an online Jane Austen fan fiction site: Thank you for bringing this amazing, complex, heart-wrenching, story to a beautiful conclusion.

Before revealing the names of the 4 winners I want to thank Beth Massey for being such a kind and generous  guest as well as all the commenters who entered the giveaway contest.

YOURS AFFECTIONATELY, JANE AUSTEN BY SALLY SMITH O'ROURKE - WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT

The Book (from amazon.com)

Was Mr. Darcy real? Is time travel really possible? For pragmatic Manhattan artist Eliza Knight the answer to both questions is absolutely, Yes! And Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley Farms, Virginia is the reason why!

His tale of love and romance in Regency England leaves Eliza in no doubt that Fitz Darcy is the embodiment of Jane Austen’s legendary hero. And she’s falling in love with him. But can the man who loved the inimitable Jane Austen ever love average, ordinary Eliza Knight?

Eliza’s doubts grow, perhaps out of proportion, when things start to happen in the quiet hamlet of Chawton, England; events that could change everything. Will the beloved author become the wedge that divides Fitz and Eliza or the tie that binds them?

Congratulation to Gayle Mills! She's the winner in this giveaway contest. Many thanks to Sally Smith O'Rourke for granting us a free copy of her new book.

CHRISTMAS WITH MR DARCY BY VICTORIA CONNELLY - BOOK REVIEW

Christmas is a time to spend with the people we love, a time for shameless  sentimentalism and bittersweet   memories, a time for caring and sympathy.  Can it also be the right time for romance? The answer is yes, if you’ve found your Mr Darcy.

I know, I’m definitely turning into an incurable romantic while growing old. Is that the reason why I swiftly went through the little more than two hundred pages of Christmas with Mr Darcy with a blissed smile printed on my face?

Christmas with Mr Darcy is a light-hearted, delightful  novella, Victoria Connelly has recenlty published as a  sequel to  her A Weekend With Mr Darcy , The Perfect Hero (or Dreaming of Mr Darcy in the US version) and Mr Darcy Forever . I read the three of them with the same foolish grin mentioned above,  it means I simply loved them all. They are all brilliant Austen-inpired modern romances full of references to Austen beloved works and all the dreamy places connected to her life and novels. Delightfully written with a light touch on reality, irony,  and skillful characterization, they find a proper sequel in Christmaswith Mr Darcy

.

In  Victoria Connelly’s latest indie publication  all the heroes and heroines of her  Austen Addicts’ Trilogy gather together to celebrate Christmas as well as their favourite author, Jane Austen. The great reunion takes place  at Purley Hall in Hampshire because renowned actress, Dame Pamela Harcourt, is holding a special Jane Austen Conference.

GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT - COLETTE SAUCIER, PULSE AND PREJUDICE

Book description

When the haughty and wealthy Fitzwilliam Darcy arrives in the rural county of Hertfordshire, he finds he cannot control his attraction to Elizabeth Bennet – a horrifying thought because, as she is too far below his social standing to ignite his heart, he fears she must appeal to the dark impulses he struggles to suppress.

Set against the vivid backdrop of historical Regency England, this adaptation of Pride and Prejudice follows the cursed Mr. Darcy as he endeavours to overcome both his love and his bloodlust for Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Although Pulse and Prejudice adheres to the original plot and style of the Jane Austen classic, it is not a “mash-up” but an imaginative, thrilling variation told primarily from Darcy’s point of view as he descends into the seedier side of London and introduces Elizabeth to a world of passion and the paranormal she never knew existed.

Have you read Colette Saucier's answers to my 5 vampire questions? (HERE) If you left your comment + your e-mail address below that post you may have won her debut novel, Pulse and Prejudice.