Challenging the Fates: Discovering A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM - Author guest post by Scott Southard

Scott Southard

The fates gave Jane Austen a bum rap.

Yes, she is remembered as one of the most important writers in all of literature, defined for generations what it means to be in love and have a successful relationship, and inspired countless writers and genres. That is all fine and very good, but that is now… for us.

For Miss Austen’s reality, she died young (only 41) in a cottage in a small village where she was living with her sister and mother and her books were published anonymously. Sadly, it is hard for us to even know her that well, with the destruction of many of his letters and writings by her sister. After that, we have to rely on a biography written by her nephew that seems more concerned with the family’s name as compared to the truth of this great person.  She joins Shakespeare in our mystery-lost genius category, the ones we only have our hopes and dreams to point to for truth.

This harsh and very cruel choice of the fates is what inspired a good part of A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM, my new novel. And honestly, writing this book terrified me for many years. See, I knew from the start I wanted to give Jane an adventure and a love story much like her own characters experienced, but taking that idea to the next step was where it became tricky.

STEAMPUNK DARCY, INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR MONICA FAIRVIEW + E-BOOK GIVEAWAY

First of all, welcome back Monica! It's a great pleasure to have you here at our online club.

Well,  let me say I’m delighted to be back again on My  Jane Austen Book Club. It’s been a while, but I’m looking forward to reconnecting with you all.

      Tell me one thing you deeply love in Mr Darcy and one flaw you can avoid noticing. Don’t tell me he is perfect, Monica!

*Splutters* What do you mean, Mr. Darcy isn’t perfect? When he’s the ideal man for so many women? He has to be perfect.

What I love deeply about Mr. Darcy is that he’s the type of person you can rely on to stand by you through thick and thin. He is noble enough to find Lydia and make sure she gets married, yet he does so annonymously, clearly not claiming the credit or expecting any kind of reward. In fact, someone else might have used the occasion to get some brownie points with Lizzy. Not Mr. Darcy. He does it selflessly.

Admittedly, he does have some flaws, at the beginning, but they all go away by the end. He’s arrogant, he’s condescending to everyone especially at the Meryton assembly, he doesn’t accept Lizzy because of her background, he’s open to being manipulated by Caroline Bingley (possibly his worst flaw) and he is no good at socializing.  I think what we all like about Darcy is that he’s able to overcome those flaws and become a hero.  He is willing to change, and for someone who’s so proud that’s a beautiful thing.

AUTHOR GUEST POST - ALEXA ADAMS, HOLIDAYS AT PEMBERLEY + DOUBLE GIVEAWAY

“Mr. Darcy is the best of men, and there is no danger of inflating either his or my vanity by making sure everyone acknowledges this fact.”

“Is there not?” her Charlotte chided. “Perhaps vanity poses no danger, but what shall you do when he does something truly exceptional – by Mr. Darcy standards, of course? Will not such accolades become commonplace if too readily invoked? You must save your loudest applause for special occasions and not become too appreciative an audience.”

Holidays at Pemberley, or Third Encounters: A Tale of Less Pride and Prejudice Concludes is a book written out my own pressing need to complete the stories of my reimagined cast of characters. While the book is ostensibly focused on Charlotte Lucas, it is just as much about Elizabeth and Darcy, the entire Bennet clan, Darcy’s extended family, and, to an extent,  the Wickhams. I had intended Second Glances: A Tale of Less Pride and Prejudice Continues to wrap up their adventures, but as I finished the final drafts of the story, the hanging threads proved too irksome to bear.

Second Glances originally included Charlotte’s romance with David Westover, the rector at Kympton, but I cut it because it didn’t mesh with the rest of the plot. It was intuitive to resurrect their minor storyline and structure a new plot around it, one which provided my flawed characters with an opportunity to learn those vital lessons Austen taught so well. There was still so much to be desired from them! My Darcy may not have begun so proud, but he was still unforgiving:

“It is insupportable, Elizabeth!” he declared. “I cannot sit down to dine with the Wickhams. They must leave at once!”

SPOTLIGHT ON ..." HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR DARCY" BY VICTORIA CONNELLY + E-BOOK GIVEAWAY

Happy Birthday Mr. Darcy" is the fifth installment in the Austen Addicts series by Victoria Connelly. I've read and loved them all, could I miss this new one? 
A delightful novella set in the magnificent Purley Hall,  where two of the lovely characters we met first time in "A Weekend with Mr Darcy" are going to get married: Katherine Roberts and Warwick Lawton. 

It's been great to join all the familiar characters again and follow them while preparing themselves to take part in the wedding celebrations. Dame Pamela, Robyn and Dan, Higgins, Doris Noris, Mrs Soames, Mia Castle, Shelley Quantock, Gabe and Pie are excited to take part in a real Regency-style celebration. 

It is not only a great moment for Katherine and Warwick, but also Mr Darcy's birthday! And can the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice not influence the cheerful atmosphere at the Hall and the festive plans of such enthusiastic Austen fans? 

This is a fast paced, light-hearted novella you can plan to read on a rainy autumn day, in order to lit it up with romance, comedy and a lot of Austen quotes and references. 

PERSUASION IN JANE AUSTEN'S PERSUASION AND ... OTHER NOVELS

by guest blogger Victoria Grossack

Some may think that focusing on the art and importance of persuasion in Jane Austen’s last written novel, Persuasion, is inappropriate, for she did not choose this title herself.  The book was published after her death, and its title chosen by one of her brothers, Henry Austen.  While writing it Jane called the story “The Elliots.”  Henry Austen likewise chose the title for his sister’s other posthumously published work, Northanger Abbey, called“Susan” during Jane Austen’s life (readers may notice that Northanger Abbey has no Susan in it; when Jane Austen revised this work, she changed the heroine’s name from Susan to Catherine).Henry Austen may have selected the titlePersuasion based on its similarity to the titles of two of his sister’s other successful works: Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.  Perhaps Persuasion, being shorter, merits only a single word.

Jane Austen’s other novels contain explicit examples of persuasion that are vital to their plots.  In Sense and Sensibility, John Dashwoodis persuaded by his wife not to assist his half-sisters.  Pride and Prejudice’s Mr. Bingley is persuaded by his sisters and Mr. Darcy to stay away from Jane Bennet, a decision he regrets and eventually puts aside.  Emma persuades Harriet Smith that Mr. Elton is in love with her.  The Thorpes persuade General Tilney that Catherine Morland is broke.Fanny Price is pressured by many to accept Henry Crawford as a suitor in Mansfield Park; even though she is generally considered the weakest of the heroines, she resists firmly. 

A SONG INSPIRED TO PRIDE AND PREJUDICE & A GREAT GIVEAWAY CONTEST!

Here is a contest for all the lovely Janeites out there! Jasmine Kyle,  singer-songwriter and a devoted Janeite, has gathered together three fantastic prizes to give away. Three lucky people will win  one of these wonderful prizes,  along with an autographed album: 

The replica Jane Austen ring 

JANE AUSTEN'S BEAUTY REGIMEN

(by guest blogger Marcela De Vivo)

Pink cheeks and “fresh faces,” as the result of mild physical exertion outside like walks and horseback riding, or simply riding in an open carriage, were considered more desirable than the painted appearances of the preceding period. Skin care to improve the complexion, rather than covering it up, grew in estimation and in business. Fancy facial lotions hawked by door-to-door salesmen promising glowing skin were very popular with the well-to-do set, but probably were no more effective than the simple lemon, brandy, and milk concoction that many women employed as a cleanser at home. (It’s unsurprising that this cleanser was effective given that lemon and milk are both excellent exfoliants and are still popular ingredients in DIY facials.)

The characters in Jane Austen’s books seem to live in a glamorous world, full of dress changes for every daily event, gossip, intrigue, and a lot of leisure time. While Jane Austen’s writing did accurately reflect (and poke fun at) the social values and behaviors of the day, it never went into any great detail about the beauty habits that women employed to achieve the desired look of the Regency era.             

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.

THE 2013 JANE AUSTEN FESTIVAL - AUTHOR TERI WILSON'S JOURNAL & PICTURES - PART II

The Jane Austen Festival Fayre - The Fayre was held upstairs at the Guildhall. Simply standing in that gloriously beautiful ballroom was worth the small price of admission (2 pounds). But beyond the beauty of the surroundings was a host of opportunities to relive the magic of the Regency Era. There were hats, gloves, bonnets, clothes and yes...even Regency facial hair for sale. I got my fortune told by an old-fashioned fortune teller who read my palm and did a card reading with tiny, numberless cards. There was a silhouette artist there, too, cutting gorgeous black silhouettes. And in the center of everything was a dance demonstration. We had the opportunity to see many different traditional Regency dances, all performed in authentic costume to live music.

 

The last event I attended was a discussion called Into the Shadows: The Darker Side of Jane Austen's Bath. This lecture was given by David Lassman and Terence James, authors of The Regency Detective. It was very informative, and provided a glimpse into parts of Bath that our beloved Jane likely knew little about.

TALKING JANE AUSTEN WITH ... JEANNA ELLSWORTH + GIVEAWAY OF MR DARCY'S PROMISE

Hello,  Jeanna, and welcome at My Jane Austen Book Club. My first question for you is: When and How did your lucky encounter with Jane Austen take place?

My very first encounter was at a garage sale at least 10 years ago where I picked up my first copy of Pride and Prejudice (couldn’t tell you where that copy went since then). My reintroduction was with the 2005 movie, of which I loved and bought a copy immediately. But it wasn’t until my sister, KaraLynne Mackrory, started writing JAFF books and sending me the chapters as she wrote them that I went from liking the book, to loving the story, to obsessing over it and becoming a badge-wearing-fully-fledged-hopeless addict.  That was January 2012. I remember it well because my divorce had been final for just over a year and I hadn’t ventured into the dating world yet. Darcy looked pretty darn good to a romance-starved single mother of three daughters.

How did it change your life?

It has changed my life in so many ways. First, I started reading every JAFF book I could find on Amazon.com, at the library, loaned from my fellow JAFF addict sister, and those I researched online. I currently have about 6 JAFF books on my kindle waiting for me to read, a few more on my wish list on Amazon, and I just ordered another that will be coming in the mail.  I get a little jittery when I don’t have a “to be read next” list. But it is more than that. It changed the way I look at life. I wish I could be more like Elizabeth Bennet. My bad marriage and good divorce (let’s face it, a good divorce is better than any bad marriage) left me with a lack of faith in men in general and a sense of I-can-do-it-on-my-own-I-don’t-need-a-man attitude. I also went from repressing my inner Lizzy due to shell shock, to being a little impertinent at times, more so than before I fell in love with Elizabeth Bennet. It changed my vocabulary which now has affected my daughters’ vocabulary as well, whose affirmative answer to me when I ask them a question is now “Indeed”. It made me push myself outside of my very comfortable (and single) life into one where I risk loving and being loved, all because now I believe there are real Mr. Darcys out there, and let’s face it, I kind of would like to find a Mr. Darcy. And of course, it changed the fact that now I am an author, a title I never thought I wanted for myself.

SUSAN ADRIANI, DARKNESS FALLS UPON PEMBERLEY - AUTHOR GUEST POST + GIVEAWAY OF A SIGNED PAPERBACK

When I wrote Darkness Falls Upon Pemberley I was hard at work on what will soon be my second full-length novel, In Doubt of Mr. Darcy. I was pretty much buried beneath a massive amount of regency-period research, the lot of which was starting to overwhelm me at the time, especially with my daughter starting third grade and having a mountain of homework each night. In short, I needed a breather before I made myself go mad and ended up needing a vacation!

At the time, it was early autumn here in the United States, which meant that one of my favorite holidays was fast approaching in October: Halloween. As it so happened, the group blog I belong to, Austen Authors, where I’ve been a member since its inception in 2010, was preparing to celebrate the spookiest month of the year as well. Several fellow authors who’d written books with a supernatural twist to them—Regina Jeffers, Mary Lydon-Simonsen, and Colette Saucier to name a few—were planning to include excerpts of their stories throughout the month, but there were a lot of slots to be filled. I started to think about how much fun it would be to contribute something in honor of the upcoming holiday. Unfortunately, the supernatural wasn’t something I’d so much as dipped my big toe into back then, but it was something I enjoyed reading, especially if there was a love story to be told.

Talking Jane Austen with ... Ulrike Böhm from Germany - Author of "Ein Engel für Mr. Darcy" (An Angel for Mr Darcy)

Hello Ulrike and welcome to our little Austen club online. First of all thanks for accepting my invitation to talk Jane Austen with me and here’s my first question: You & Jane.  When was your first encounter with Austen and her work? What was it like?

Hi Maria Grazia! First and foremost, let me thank you for your warm welcome and for giving me the opportunity to introduce my first novel to your blog readers.

My first encounter with a book by our Jane was in a library. I was 16 or 17 and an avid reader of all sorts of books. At that time I lived in a small village and the village library was literally my second home. One day I borrowed “Pride and Prejudice” and simply couldn’t put it down until I’d read it through. And then I started anew...Since then I read all of Jane Austen’s novels but none is as dear to me as “Pride and Prejudice”. I regularly read it all over again and again, it never tires me.

How came you started writing an  Austen-inspired book instead?

Not instead. Rather as well. I love to read not only the original by Jane Austen’s pen but I’m also a great fan of the so-called Fan Fiction. I started with reading them online, there are zillions of according websites as you and your readers must know. Then I discovered Amazon making it easy for me to order books from abroad and therefore “real” printed Fan Fiction  – prequels and sequels and parallels. I must have bought up to 160 different titles until now, I lost count as I started to buy ebooks. It won’t be long and they’ll outweigh the paper books.

THE 2013 JANE AUSTEN FESTIVAL - AUTHOR TERI WILSON'S JOURNAL & PICTURES - PART I

The first day of the 2013 Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England, kicked off with the Jane Austen Festival Grand Regency Costumed Promenade. This traditional event always marks the official opening of the festival. Beginning at the Royal Crescent Lawn, 600 people dressed in Regency costume walked through the streets of Bath, ending at the Parade Gardens near Bath Abbey. The costumes were incredible and ranged from traditional men's and women's Regency attire, to red coats and navy officers. Led by the town crier and drums, participants walked a 90-minute route through the heart of Bath.

BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY - MY OWN MR DARCY BY KAREY WHITE

My Own Mr. Darcy 

After being dragged to the 2005 movie Pride and Prejudice by her mother, sixteen-year-old Elizabeth’s life changes when Matthew Macfadyen’s Mr. Darcy appears on the screen. Lizzie falls hard and makes a promise to herself that she will settle for nothing less than her own Mr. Darcy. This ill-advised pledge threatens to ruin any chance of finding true love. During the six intervening years, she has refused to give any interested suitors a chance. They weren’t Mr. Darcy enough. Coerced by her roommate, Elizabeth agrees to give the next interested guy ten dates before she dumps him. That guy is Chad, a kind and thoughtful science teacher and swim coach. While she’s dating Chad, her dream comes true in the form of a wealthy bookstore owner named Matt Dawson, who looks and acts like her Mr. Darcy. Of course she has to follow her dream. But as Elizabeth simultaneously dates a regular guy and the dazzling Mr. Dawson, she’s forced to re-evaluate what it was she loved about Mr. Darcy in the first place.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

COVER REVEAL - LOVE AT FIRST SLIGHT BY J. MARIE CROFT

Genre: Fiction | Romance | Historical | Regency | Jane Austen Sequel

Publication Date: October 1, 2013

About the Book:

“It may not be universally acknowledged, but the unvarnished truth is that a young widow in possession of a good fortune is not necessarily in want of another husband.”

In this humorous, topsy-turvy Pride & Prejudice variation, all the gender roles are reversed. It is Mr. Bennet’s greatest wish to see his five sons advantageously married. When the haughty Miss Elizabeth Darcy comes to Netherfield with the Widow Devonport nee Bingley, speculation—and prejudice—runs rampant.

William Bennet, a reluctant and irreverent future reverend, catches Miss Darcy’s eye even though he is beneath her station. However, his opinion of her was fixed when she slighted him at the Meryton Assembly. As her ardour grows, so does his disdain, and when she fully expects to receive an offer of marriage, he gives her something else entirely ….

SPOTLIGHT ON ... JESSICA DOTTA, BORN OF PERSUASION + JANE AUSTEN PILLOW GIVEAWAY

Book Blurb 

The year is 1838, and seventeen-year-old Julia Elliston’s position has never been more fragile. Orphaned and unmarried in a time when women are legal property of their fathers, husbands, and guardians, she finds herself at the mercy of an anonymous guardian who plans to establish her as a servant in far-off Scotland.

With two months to devise a better plan, Julia’s first choice to marry her childhood sweetheart is denied. But when a titled dowager offers to introduce Julia into society, a realm of possibilities opens. However, treachery and deception are as much a part of Victorian society as titles and decorum, and Julia quickly discovers her present is deeply entangled with her mother’s mysterious past. Before she knows what’s happening, Julia finds herself a pawn in a deadly game between two of the country’s most powerful men. With no laws to protect her, she must unravel the secrets on her own. But sometimes truth is elusive and knowledge is deadly.

A Sneak Peek: Chapter 1

“I am quite vexed with you.” Mrs. Windham placed a slice of lard cake on a plate. She eyed my dress hanging loosely over my frame, then added another sliver alongside a gooseberry tart. “Why did you not tell us your mother was ailing? Had I knowledge, I would have visited before she passed; indeed, I would have.”

My hand faltered as I reached for the plate. While I’d known the topic of Mama’s death was unavoidable, I

AUSTEN IN AUGUST - MEET THE LATEST DARCYS

Today I'm a guest at Book Rat's Blog for the Austen in August Event. Thanks to Misty Braden for hosting the event and featuring my "Meet the latest Darcys". I'll wait for you there!

LONGBOURN: DOWNTON ABBEY - OR UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS, IF YOU PREFER - MEETS PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Pride and Prejudice was only half the story ...

US cover

Downton Abbey meets Pride and Prejudice in this brilliant novel out today. Or if you prefer, Upstairs Downstairs. In Longbourn, Jo Baker gives respctful voice to those characters whom we have met only in passing on stairs or through commentary and dialogue from Austen’s much loved Bennet family.  While reading Longbourn you experience the opposite path: you’ll see the Bennets from a different point of view, that of their servants.

Sarah, the heroine of Jo Baker’s novel, is a maid servant at Longbourn. She is strong, brave and hardworking but ... does she like her job? She looks at the young ladies in the house with a sting of envy and admiration at the same time. Miss Jane, Miss Elizabeth, Kitty, Lydia and Mary ... 

She thinks  that if Elizabeth Bennet had the washing of her own petticoats, she would be more careful not to trudge through muddy fields.  

But when she thinks of Miss Elizabeth she sees her as so different from her sister, Jane, especially when it comes to dealing with gentlemen. Elizabeth is bright-eyed and quick and lovely, making the young men blush and stammer, and the old fellows smile and wish they are half their age, and that little bit scarpe in their wits.

Sarah has her own opinion on each one of the Bennet sisters, but as you can guess, Elizabeth is the one she admires the most. 

JANE, ACTUALLY. MEET AUTHOR JENNIFER PETKUS

Hello Jennifer and first of all let me welcome you back at My Jane Austen Book Club. 

Thanks very much, Maria, I really appreciate the support you’ve given me and other authors at your book club.

The Premise to your latest release Jane, Actually sounds really intriguing! Do you want to present it to our readers briefly?

Briefly? As my friends will attest, I never do anything briefly, but here goes. Because of an accidental discovery/invention, it’s possible for the dead to communicate with the living and with each other via the Internet. Basically everyone who ever died is now free to watch cat videos, criticize the government or in the case of Jane Austen, finally publish “Sanditon,” the book she was writing when she died.

Unfortunately it’s difficult for the dead, or the disembodied as they prefer to be called, to prove who they were when alive. And the longer ago you died and the more famous you were, the more difficult it is. Fortunately Austen’s agent has helped Jane prove her identity, so the famous Regency author has landed a book contract with Random House and is on a book tour that will culminate in the 2011 Annual General Meeting of the Jane Austen Society of North America in Fort Worth, Texas.

TALKING JANE AUSTEN WITH ... DEBORAH YAFFE, AUTHOR OF "AMONG THE JANEITES: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE WORLD OF JANE AUSTEN FANDOM"

First of all Deborah, welcome to our online book club. I’m really glad you’re here today to introduce yourself and your new book to our readers.
Thank  you for inviting me!

Of course, my first question is:  “How did it come that you  decided to write about  Austen  fans,  the so – called Janeites” ?

I’ve been an Austen fan since I was a child, and over the years I attended a couple of the Jane Austen Society of North America’s annual conferences, which I loved.  About eight years ago, I read Karen Joy Fowler’s novel The Jane Austen Book Club and decided it would be fun to found a book club like that, dedicated to reading all the novels in order. I roped several neighbors into the group, and during our Pride and Prejudice discussion, a question came up about the entail, that legal device that’s so important to the inheritance issues in P&P. The next day, trying to research this question online, I decided to drop in on the Republic of Pemberley, the largest online Austen fan site, which I’d vaguely heard of but never visited.  I fell instantly in love with this community of fellow Austen obsessives  and started spending inordinate amounts of time there, to the point that I would get embarrassed when my husband caught me at it – after all, I was supposed to be hard at work on a book on a completely different subject.  One day, I was telling him about this wonderful community and its many quirky personalities, and he said, “You should write a book about that.” It took me a few years, but eventually I did.