Jane Austen Addict Blog

Becky's Book Reviews: 2012 In Review

My story INTOLERABLE STUPIDITY made Becky's Book Review's top five short stories for 2012. Woohoo!

If you're recovering from the holidays...

The holidays may be over, but you can just feel that January let-down in the air. The wonderful Esther Lombardi of About.com's Classic Literature blog has the cure: Reading. So read away all those expectations that weren't met, the wish to do it better next time, that pressure to make the resolutions stick. Read, read, and be happy!

 

HOLIDAY READATHON CHALLENGE & PRIZE PACK!

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS CLOSED, BUT THESE HIGHLY IMAGINATIVE ENTRIES ARE WELL WORTH READING! ENJOY, AND THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED HERE, ON FACEBOOK, AND ON TWITTER!

It’s that time of year again, the Holiday Readathon hosted by Whorublog, from Dec. 7-9th and featuring lots of cool prizes!

WHAT IF…

…you could be Lizzie Bennet’s BFF? Explore the spring flowers of Avonlea with Anne Shirley? Or invite Jo March and her family to Christmas dinner?

But that would mean that your favorite characters are real. (And who said they aren’t? You did read the Velveteen Rabbit, didn’t you?)

Imagine how cool it would be to merge your world with theirs and have some serious friend time together…

So, tell me:

Which of your favorite characters would you love to have as a friend, and how would you spend your time together?

Answer in the form of a comment below, or on Twitter or Facebook, for a chance to win!

THE PRIZE PACK:

Two winners will receive this prize pack: a signed two-book set of my Austen Addict novels, CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT and RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT, PLUS a signed copy of JANE AUSTEN MADE ME DO IT, which includes my short story INTOLERABLE STUPIDITY, in which fictional characters are not only real, they will see you in court! :)

OFFICIAL DATES ARE DEC. 7-9, BUT FEEL FREE TO ENTER EARLY.
Open to US, Canada, and UK. Ends Sunday, Dec. 9 at midnight PST.

FOR MORE CHANCES TO WIN :

Tweet this post @austen_addict.

Share this post on Facebook and let me know.

Reblog this post.

AND DON'T FORGET TO SIGN UP FOR THE HOLIDAY READATHON FOR A CHANCE AT MORE PRIZES:

EVERYONE who signs up for the Holiday Readathon on Mr. Linky at Whorublog,  no matter how much or how little they read, will be automatically entered to choose two signed books from BOOKS OF WONDER or a $40 gift certificate from THE BOOK DEPOSITORY, if out of the US.

Twitter Party!!!

#Readathon. Sunday night, Dec. 9th, from 9-10 PM EST.

Regency Rebel #2

Regency Rebel #1

The first in a series. Follow me on my new addiction, Tumblr. :)

Jane Austen Addict on Tumblr

via janeaustenaddict.tumblr.com

Check out my new Tumblr. It's another fun place to visit, and the perfect place to showcase pix like this one. 

It's a "Jane Austen Made Me Do It" Scavenger Hunt!

via austenprose.com

Make haste to Austenprose, answer some fun questions, and you could win one of three books by authors who contributed to the Austen-inspired anthology "Jane Austen Made Me Do It":

"The Darcy Connection" by Elizabeth Aston
"Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict" by Laurie Viera Rigler
"The Matters at Mansfield" by Carrie Bebris

Books will be shipped internationally. Contest ends 11:59 Pacific, Sept. 30, 2012. Enter at Austenprose!

This is your brain on Jane Austen...(aka the Stanford Austen Experiment)

By Corrie GoldmanThe Humanities at Stanford

via news.stanford.edu

Fascinating article. Seems that reading makes us smart. And reading Austen makes us smarter (I can take liberties with the findings if I want to.)

But what's really fascinating to this reader is that the folks conducting the study chose "Mansfield Park" for t their test subjects. "Mansfield Park," with which many Janeites have a love-hate relationship, and which has caused many a flame war on Austen forums. 

Personally, I've grown to admire it, but I cannot help but wonder why they didn't choose a more popular read, such as "Pride and Prejudice" or "Persuasion." 

Another thought: Has anyone ever tried to think, let alone read, for pleasure or study, inside an MRI? It's sort of like having a jackhammer next to your head. A jackhammer that laughs at noise-cancelling headphones and says, "As if." 

The Book Rat: Time Travel, a Quiz, & a Giveaway ~ guest post from Laurie Viera Rigler

2 winners will receive signed copies of both Austen Addict books, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addictopen to US/CAN/UK Ends September 5thFill out the Rafflecopter to enter!Make sure to leave your answers to Laurie's quiz in the comments (or whether you answered mostly A/B)

via www.thebookrat.com

Do you have what it takes to time travel to Austenworld? Take the quiz and find out--and you also just might win both Austen Addict novels!

The Book Rat: Austen in August Welcome & Schedule!!

Austen in August is here, with loads of giveaways, discussions, guest posts, and awesome fun, like this Austen bad boys smackdown.

Make haste and join the fun! More to come every day this month...  

via www.thebookrat.com

The Book Rat: Austen in August Read Along Info & Sign-Up!

via www.thebookrat.com

The Book Rat is hosting a read-along of my favorite Austen novel, PERSUASION, as part of its Austen in August extravaganza. Sign up and join the fun! Viewing parties, discussions, guest posts, and giveaways abound at Austen in August!

Booklicious: Jaw-Dropping Book-Inspired Cakes

via www.bookliciousblog.com

I just found my new favorite dessert! Thanks to Shelf Awareness for the link.

living read girl: Some merry modern romps with Jane Austen

"The love for Jane Austen related entertainment may not always appear to be in vogue but as they say,it never dies,it only multiples. To that end,let us look at a few of the latest displays of Austenmania that possess a decidedly modern twist..."

via livingreadgirl.blogspot.com

The whole post is a must-read if you'd like to sample the latest treats in the Janeiverse, including The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, The Jane Austen Academy, The Jane Austen Guide to Life, the LOL Jane Austen is My Homegirl Rap, and a fab shout-out for our very own Sex and the Austen Girl.

Definitely satisfied this Austen addict. Thanks, Living Read Girl!!!

 

Lesley-Anne McLeod: The Ever-Expanding Regency

"The world of Regency romantic historical fiction has undergone quite a change in the last few years. While the traditional regency, which I consider that I write, continues to occupy (mainly in e-book form) a corner of the market, the large, sexy, duke-ridden romances have taken over the print market."--Lesley-Anne McCloud

via lesleyannemcleod.blogspot.com

Click the link above to read the whole post in The Regency World of Author Lesley-Anne McCloud, including a shout-out for CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT and RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT (thank you, Lesley-Anne!), and an intriguing list of reading recommendations.

By they way, Lesley-Anne's site is a great place to find a pictorial overview of the Regency world. There's even a Regency Colouring Book. And here's a fun excerpt from Lesley-Anne's newest novel. 

 

[The Assembly Rooms in Bath, taken in 2002 (not 1802; I wish!)]

The Writing Life: favorite bits of encouragement

Lately I've been looking through some of my posts tagged "Writing Life," and found a few favorites. Welcome reminders as I write my next two novels.

What You Don't Know Can Help You

A Real Writer Writes Every Day, and Other Myths

I Quit! 

May these pieces help support you on your own writing journey!

Elizabeth Kantor: How Jane Austen Can Save Your Love Life

It takes me about three minutes of cocktail party chat to sell The Jane Austen Guide to Happily Ever After as the perfect graduation present to any father of a young woman in her teens or early twenties. Why? Well, they're men, and they love their daughters. They know male psychology from the inside, and they're terrified that the young women they care about -- educated and polished, extraordinarily competent in so many ways -- will lose in the battle of the sexes. Not in education, or sports, or the world of work, but in the bedroom.

via www.huffingtonpost.ca

Good to see this in a prominent place. Echoes much of what I've been thinking for a long time about the relationship wisdom of Austen's novels. And gave me new things to think about:

For example, I would not have thought it an advantage that the large parties and lack of one-on-one contact of Austen's day was an advantage in getting to know a man. But Kantor brings up a very valid point: "Keep enough distance so you can see the guy in perspective...without getting so close that they became prematurely "attached."

My interpretation? Instead of falling into bed on the first or the fifth date, you get to see him in action at a large, public event, such as a picnic (Mr. Knightley at the Box Hill fiasco), or a dance (Mr. Knightley gallantly asking Harriet to dance), or at a party (Willoughby acting as if he hardly knows you and paying his attention to another woman).

Anyhow, THE JANE AUSTEN GUIDE TO HAPPILY EVER AFTER sounds great, and I'm happy that someone wrote it!

The Edible Pride and Prejudice?

The author of THE PRIDE AND PREJUDICE MOVIE COOKBOOK sent me a copy, and though I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, it looks like so much fun that I just had to share.

 

Playfully riffing off text from the novel and scenes from the movie versions of Austen's most beloved novel --and adding teensy dashes of culinary history just for fun--author Anne Derry has concocted a host of P&P-inspired recipes that evoke the Regency but are nevertheless fashioned for a 21st-century palate.

Just to give you a taste:

There's The White Menu (in honor of the white soup need for the Netherfield ball).

There's an entire series of recipes with the key ingredient being Guinness stout, inspired by the banter between Lizzy and Darcy on whether poetry is indeed the food of love and Lizzie's declaring that it is only so if the love is "fine, stout, [and] healthy."

There's even a zombie cocktail. And of course as Charlotte was wanted about the mince pies, there's a recipe for that as well.

Bon appetit, and please don't invite Mr. Collins to dinner. You may just get stuck sitting next to him. 

 

Have you seen the Lizzie Bennet Diaries?

Talk about making the classics accessible. I defy anyone who has ever resisted Jane Austen to not want to crack open Pride and Prejudice after watching this.

Totally cute. Looking forward to episode 2!

Downton Arby's: Once is not enough.

From the producers of Sonic and Sensibility and Pizza and Prejudice comes the LOL parody of the latest period drama addiction sweeping the nation. If you haven't seen it, you're in for a treat. If you have, it gets even better with age. Unleash the dastardly drive-through duo! And break out the horsey sauce!

 

20 unexpected books for your reading group | The Book Case

Reading for your book club and socializing with your group members is a lot of fun, but sometimes it can be tricky to find a book that no one has read yet and everyone will enjoy. Maybe you’ve already read The Help, The Lovely Bones, Water for Elephants, Cutting for Stone, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society . . . and you’re looking for books that go beyond the obvious picks (as much as we love those tried-and-true book club favorites).

via www.bookpage.com

Very proud to see one of my novels on a list with books by Haruki Murakami (reading his 1Q84 and completely entranced), Jonathan Tropper (loved his HOW TO TALK TO A WIDOWER), and many other excellent storytellers. I have just increased my to-be-read list considerably, thanks to Book Page.

Girl Power in Publishing

Love Jennifer Weiner. Love The Guardian. Here's an excellent piece she wrote on the need for a New Girls' Network in the book world.

As Jane Austen might have said in MANSFIELD PARK,

Thanks to Amy R. Bromberg for the link. 

Downton Abbey Madness

Like millions on both sides of the pond, I've been glued to the entail*-that-launched-a-thousand-soap-opera-moments known as DOWNTON ABBEY. It's like having the same case of Stockholm Syndrome that all the downstairs folk (except maybe the evil Thomas) have.

No matter how badly the characters treat one another, no matter how silly they are, I care about them. I care about Lady Mary, despite her dissing Carson when he rightfully turns down a job with her nasty fiance. I love Anna, even though she feels guilty for not going to America with Lady Mary (hello! Your husband just had his sentence commmuted!) And I care about Lord Grantham even though he seems to be more loyal to his dog than to his wife. 

And I adore Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess.

Watch Downton Abbey: The Best Maggie Moments on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.

 

I love this show so much that I just about turned a cartwheel when I realized my PBS app on my iPad can stream the show to my big flatscreen. Thank you, PBS Masterpiece. I'm definitely gonna buy the DVDs or download the whole thing from iTunes so I can watch it again. And again. 

But no episode of DOWNTON ABBEY is complete without Sarah Ball's brilliantly funny weekly recaps of every episode in VANITY FAIR. It reminds me that I do have Stockholm Syndrome. And how ridiculously funny it all is. (Either that, or we are all collectively, certifiably mad.)

*Another example of an entail is to be found in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. (See, there's always a connection to Jane Austen!)

V-Day Thoughts, via Grey's Anatomy and Jane Austen

It's that time of year again, when women feel like total losers for being single or wait for their men to pass or fail the big Valentine's Day test. Will he screw up and totally forget, buy a cheap trinket instead of the one thing he knows you want, or, even more stressful and high stakes, will he finally pop the question?

Could there be anything more insane than this holiday that's supposed to be all about love?

I was watching the GREY'S ANATOMY Valentine's Day episode today, and one of the characters was a florist who was so exhausted and stressed from the V-Day rush that he accidentally crashed his delivery van into the ER.

Almost dying in service to Valentine's Day madness was a big wake-up call to this florist, who said he would never stress himself out over this holiday again:

"People call you up you know, they ask you, make something beautiful. Yeah, so some sorry schlep can forget they've been treated like crap every day of the year…Like my flowers are magic or something. But I bought it. Nearly killed myself trying to make sure everyone got their little miracle. What a joke. People oughta just stop being so awful to each other, you know? Leave me out of it."

My biggest takeaway from that speech? "People oughta just stop being so awful to each other."

Not bad advice. If we were good to the people we supposedly love every day, we wouldn't have to prove our love on that one day of the year. We could be more like Jane Bennet of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, or Catherine Morland of NORTHANGER ABBEY, or Anne Elliot of PERSUASION. In Austen, kindness is always rewarded, and often with love. Could there be a better recipe for happiness than that?

[Gazing at photos of gorgeous actors playing Austen heroes can also be quite helpful.]

One thing's for sure. Feeling entitled to love, or a certain type of bouquet, or a necklace, or a diamond ring, is a sure recipe for misery.

Just ask that lady in GREY'S ANATOMY who was furious at her admittedly clueless boyfriend for once again giving her a velvet jewelry box on V-Day without a ring inside. I won't spoil it for you if you haven't seen it. It's worth watching.

And so is almost every Jane Austen adaptation ever made for the big or small screen. So if you don't expect to get that perfect bouquet, piece of jewelry, or declaration of love today, be kind. To others. To yourself. Fire up the Blu-ray or the Netflix queue and watch BRIDE AND PREJUDICE or the Colin Firth P&P or the Gwyneth Paltrow EMMA (just a few of my faves) or PERSUASION with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds.  Even better, read PERSUASION (my favorite Austen novel) or PRIDE AND PREJUDICE or NORTHANGER ABBEY or, let's face it, any of the six. You'll feel much better, I promise.

Be happy. And wish yourself a very happy Valentine's Day. 

 

My idea of good company.

It's always exciting to see one of my novels on a best-of list at this time of year. This year, CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT appears on Amused by Book's Favorite Books of 2011 list.

I love the scope and diversity of this list, which includes JANE EYRE and BOSSYPANTS. Who wouldn't want to be in the company of Charlotte Brontë AND Tina Fey?

(Can you just picture the cocktail party conversation?) 

Thank you, Amused by Books. 

Start off 2012 with a laugh.

I did.

Cannot wait to watch Downton Abbey, Series Two on PBS Masterpiece. Until then...enjoy, and happy new year, everyone!

And, just in case you missed part one:

 

 

Holiday Readathon Double Giveaway

We all like to escape into a good novel and enter the lives of our favorite characters, especially during the holiday season.

But did you ever wonder what your favorite characters read when they feel like entering another world? (There are no limits of time period.)

For example, in Book One of THE JOURNEYS OF JOHN AND JULIA, a brilliant new fantasy series by debut novelist Aurelia, one of the characters curls up with my novel RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT.

From this comes my 2011 Holiday Readathon challenge:

Choose a character from one of your favorite books, and ask yourself which novel he or she would turn to for the perfect getaway read. (Remember: Time period is no limit--let your imagination go wild.)

Post your answer to enter my Holiday Readathon Giveaway.

Two lucky winners will each win two novels: THE JOURNEYS OF JOHN AND JULIA IN CHAPTER ONE: GENESIS by Aurelia, and RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT by me.

THE JOURNEYS OF JOHN AND JULIA IN CHAPTER ONE: GENESIS is sure to become one of your absolute favorite novels. It is is a must-read, whether or not you win this giveaway. 

About THE JOURNEYS OF JOHN AND JULIA IN CHAPTER ONE: GENESIS

Secretly guided by a magical collective of superbeings called The Twenty-Two, a pair of teens crack open the door to another reality—and unwittingly awaken the sleeping beast of their nemesis-to-be, the beyond evil Niem Vidalgo Oten.

“Cool new series…Anyone who is a fan of 'Heroes' will definitely enjoy Genesis.”—Tim Kring, creator of the NBC TV series "Heroes"

TO ENTER, YOU CAN:

Post your answer here in the form of a comment.

Post your answer on my Facebook page.

Post your answer on my Twitter feed with the hashtag #Readathon.

Post all three, and you'll have three chances to win THE JOURNEYS OF JOHN AND JULIA IN CHAPTER ONE: GENESIS and RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT.

This giveaway is open to the US, UK, and Europe. Ends Sunday, Dec. 4 at midnight PST.

Good luck, happy holidays, and don't forget to sign up for the Holiday Readathon at WhoRuBlog, aka Holiday Readathon Central!

 

What's scarier than dissing a dead author?

Last year, in the pre-Halloween season, Oxford professor Kathryn Sutherland (see NPR interview) claimed that Jane Austen's manuscripts were heavily edited for punctuation (egads, an altered semicolon!). Here's a piece in The Guardian about Sutherland's findings.

What's most interesting about this tempest in a teapot is that if one reads the two pieces linked above, plus this one in Language Log, Sutherland never once implies that heavy editing of punctuation  detracts one iota from Austen's genius. Quite the contrary, in fact. She calls Austen "modern," "experimental," and says that her use of dashes for emphasis, for example, is not to be seen anywhere in literature until Virginia Woolf. This is praise, folks, not censure.

But analysts of all kinds pounced on these findings, concluding that Austen must not have been the brilliant stylist we know and love after all. Sounds like just one more attempt to assert that an unmarried clergyman's daughter who didn't mix in literary circles couldn't possibly write those novels on her own.

NPR wrote a solid analysis of the furor.

And now, just in time for the ghosts of authors past to rise again, comes ANONYMOUS, a movie all about how poor, low-born William Shakespeare couldn't possibly have written all those high falutin' plays. It had to be—wait for it—a British peer.

In this week's New Yorker, David Denby aptly called this theory the "dreariest of snobberies."

So what's scarier than trying to diss a dead author? The fact that such attempts keep rising up no matter how many times we think we've vanquished them. Sort of like the villains in the umpteenth installments of Saw, Scream, or Halloween.

Out Today: JANE AUSTEN MADE ME DO IT

Make haste to the nearest bookstore and pick up your copy of JANE AUSTEN MADE ME DO IT, a collection of never-before-published short stories inspired by Jane Austen and written by:

Lauren Willig • Adriana Trigiani • Jo Beverley • Alexandra Potter • Laurie Viera Rigler • Frank Delaney & Diane Meier • Syrie James • Stephanie Barron • Amanda Grange • Pamela Aidan • Elizabeth Aston • Carrie Bebris • Diana Birchall • Monica Fairview • Janet Mullany • Jane Odiwe • Beth Pattillo • Myretta Robens • Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway • Maya Slater • Margaret C. Sullivan • and Brenna Aubrey, the winner of a story contest hosted by the Republic of Pemberley.

JANE AUSTEN MADE ME DO IT is edited by Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose, one of the finest sites in the Janeiverse.

Women: Only in the Movies

Mindly Kaling of The New Yorker wrote this hilarious piece on women who exist only in romantic comedies, and I just had to share. Enjoy!

Yahtzee: The Movie?? (you'll have to read the article...)

Men of the Stacks: A library lover's pinup calendar - latimes.com

Carolyn Kellogg of Jacket Copy has given me yet another reason to love libraries.

Jane Austen Made Me Do It, Excerpt

 

A sneak preview of this exciting collection of short stories inspired by Austen, including a bit of my story, Intolerable Stupidity, in which Mr. Darcy sues people like me and my fellow anthology authors!

JANE AUSTEN MADE ME DO IT (Ballantine) is coming to a bookstore near you on October 11.

The Journeys of John and Julia

There is a new book just out that is so brilliant I have to share it with everyone.

From my Goodreads shelf:

The Journeys of John and Julia in Chapter One: Genesis by Aurelia
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Get ready for the adventure of your life. This masterful debut novel will have you turning pages long into the night and contemplating them well after the story ends. Or shall I say begins? For "The Journeys of John and Julia: Genesis" is but the first installment of what promises to be a brilliant series. The author weaves a shimmering tapestry with words, populates it with unforgettable characters, and ushers us into a world that is by turns magical, frightening, and ultimately empowering."

And if you're a Heroes fan like I am, this blurb from Heroes creator Tim Kring will really send you over the edge:

“Imagine a life off the grid and all the comforts it offers to a teenager. When John and Julia, the 13-year-old heroes in this cool new series find themselves without signal in ‘backwards’ Cedarwood Ridge, it becomes apparent that they need all their energy to battle unspeakable evil forces while receiving superhero-training by a collective of magical beings. All totally useful stuff, since their and our entire future may be at stake. Anyone who is a fan of ‘Heroes’ will definitely enjoy Genesis.”

By the way, what I didn't mention in my own review is that the characters in The Journeys of John and Julia also have really good taste. In fact, one of the characters is curled up with Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict. And you know what? Jane from Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict stayed up all night with The Journeys of John and Julia. And so did Wes. It's a perfect book for a young lady from 1813. And a guy from 2011. And kids and teens like Wes's teenage niece Emma, who's been telling all her friends to read it.

As Jane Austen put it in Northanger Abbey:

Alas! if the heroine of one novel be not patronized by the heroine of another, from whom can she expect protection and regard?

JAMMDI-licious News

The official online home of JANE AUSTEN MADE ME DO IT, the new Ballantine anthology of Austen-inspired fiction, is live at janeaustenmademedoit.com.

JANE AUSTEN MADE ME DO IT is a collection of stories by 24 authors and is edited by Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose.

 
Some details from the publisher:

In Lauren Willig’s “A Night at Northanger,” a young woman who doesn’t believe in ghosts meets a familiar specter at the infamous abbey; Jane Odiwe’s “Waiting” captures the exquisite uncertainty of Persuasion’s Wentworth and Anne as they await her family’s approval of their betrothal; Adriana Trigiani’s “Love and Best Wishes, Aunt Jane” imagines a modern-day Austen giving her niece advice upon her engagement; in Diana Birchall’s “Jane Austen’s Cat,” our beloved Jane tells her nieces “cat tales” based on her novels; Laurie Viera Rigler’s “Intolerable Stupidity” finds Mr. Darcy bringing charges against all the writers of Pride and Prejudice sequels, spin-offs, and retellings; in Janet Mullany’s “Jane Austen, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!” a teacher at an all-girls school invokes the Beatles to help her students understand Sense and Sensibility; in Jo Beverley’s “Jane and the Mistletoe Kiss,” a widow doesn’t believe she’ll have a second chance at love . . . until a Miss Austen suggests otherwise; and one story from a debut voice, the yet-to-be-revealed winner of the Jane Austen Made Me Do It Short Story Contest.

Which Austenesque Heroine Are You?

Take the quiz and see which of the heroines of these Austen-inspired novels is most like you:

• According to Jane
• Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict
• Definitely Not Mr Darcy
• My Jane Austen Summer
• Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict

It's all fun and games over at Austenesque Reviews!

 

Fiction Therapy...and a giveaway

Do you turn to a favorite novel for escape? Check out my guest post on Fiction Therapy at the Chick Lit Central blog, and enter the giveaway:

Two lucky winners will each receive a personally inscribed copy of RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT.

2 Austen Addict books + Pride and Prejudice = 1 ebook bundle

THE COMPLETE JANE AUSTEN ADDICT ebook bundle is now in Kindle in the UK, thanks to the fabulous Bloomsbury.

THE COMPLETE JANE AUSTEN ADDICT Includes CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT,RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT, and PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. And at a really good price. How cool is that?

Bridget Jones's Diary: A Classic Homage to Austen

Check out my guest post on chicklitclub.com, where I explore the comic parallels between Helen Fielding's BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY and Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. And Fielding's amusing deviations therefrom.

(In which we go from this:
  to this:

Except that in the book it was a diamond-patterned jumper and bumblebee socks.)

Read the entire post here.

Book Group + Skype + Author = Good Company

"My idea of good company, Mr. Elliot, is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation…"—Anne Eliot, in Jane Austen's PERSUASION

Last week I had the great pleasure of connecting with a group of clever, well-informed people in Delhi, India. A book group. Via Skype video call.

This was the most geographically distant (8,000 miles from my home) and diverse book group I've chatted with so far. Members hailed from Denmark, Scotland, The Netherlands, England, Sweden, New Zealand, Dominican Republic, and the USA. A twelve-and-a-half-hour time difference meant that while these lovely ladies were raising their wineglasses, I was saying "cheers" with my cappuccino.

What was most inspiring about this group is that the members are a beautiful example of how a love of reading can bring people together, no matter where they are coming from, geographically or otherwise.

 

[From left, Ada from Domican Republic, Sarda from New Zealand, Pia from Sweden, Tessa from London, Dieuwke from The Netherlands, Mette from Denmark, and Hazel from Scotland. Linda from New York is missing from the photo but present in spirit. Not present in the photo but giving expert technical assistance were Shona (Scottish) and Pat (South African), Hazel's daughter and husband.]

The group was delightful, and our discussions fascinating. As this was a group of expats living in Delhi, they could all relate on a very personal level to the fish-out-of-water theme of my time-travel/body-switching/Austen-inspired novels.

Thanks, ladies, for inviting me into your living room!

Have you invited an author to your book group? I'd love to hear about your experiences.

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict in the UK AND Italy.

Today the post brought a lovely surprise: my author copies of the new Italian edition of RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT, a/k/a IN VIAGGIO CON JANE AUSTEN, published by Sperling & Kupfer.

Check out the fun cover. Bellissima!

Meanwhile, RUDE AWAKENINGS has also recently debuted in the UK, thanks to the fabulous Bloomsbury. Love the drawing of Jane in full Regency get-up in the middle of Hollywood.

Jane certainly knows how to travel. In more ways than one...

Ciaio, and have a lovely weekend!

   

 

Confessing my Austen Addiction at Sierra Madre Public Library, May 21

Please join me on May 21 at 2 PM at the Sierra Madre Public Library for a fun-filled afternoon. I'll be talking about Austen's timeless appeal and the genesis of my two Austen-inspired novels. Which could be considered semi-autobiographical, if they did not involve time travel and body-switching.

Hope to see you there! That's 2 PM, May 21. In whichever century you like.

Sierra Madre Public Library, 440 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA

626.355.7186

 


 

 

Jane Austen Made Me Do It

As anyone who reads the fabulous Austenprose already knows, the cover of the upcoming anthology, JANE AUSTEN MADE ME DO IT, is official. And gorgeous.

What a privilege to be in the company of all these wonderful authors. I am very grateful to Austenprose's Laurel Ann Nattress, editor of JANE AUSTEN MADE ME DO IT, for inviting me to contribute. And most of all, I cannot wait to read all of these stories!

JANE AUSTEN MADE ME DO IT will be available at your favorite bookstore on October 11, 2011 (Ballantine) and may be pre-ordered now from many online booksellers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

Happy Fiftieth Issue, Jane Austen's Regency World!

The magazine I most look forward to finding in my mailbox is Jane Austen's Regency World, and this time it's a very special issue.

Not only is it the magazine's fiftieth issue, but there is also a wonderful piece about Sandy Lerner, patroness of Chawton House and founder of The Centre for the the Study of Early English Women's Writing. And lots more that Austenblog details here.

But that's not all I found exciting about this issue: There's a review of RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT, which debuted in the UK on Feb. 7. AND there's a quiz with a chance to win a copy of RUDE AWAKENINGS on the inside back cover.

Don't have a subscription yet? What are you waiting for?

 

The Jane Austen Handbook launches in the UK

Margaret C. Sullivan, the brilliant editor of the excellent Austenblog, has also written a must-read book called THE JANE AUSTEN HANDBOOK, which launches in the UK on March 8. Make haste to your nearest bookshop!

"A guide to life skills in Regency England for young ladies," THE JANE AUSTEN HANDBOOK is not only full of indispensible knowledge for those of us who wish we were a single lady in possession of a time machine, it is also vastly entertaining. In fact, even if the rest of the book weren't as fabulous as it is, there is a laugh-out-loud bit about Regency undergarments (or lack thereof) which is alone worth the price of the book.

Check out this lively interview with Margaret on Jane Austen Today, in which she talks about the story behind the book, her love for all things Austen, and her special devotion to Henry Tilney.

 

Take the I Hate Valentine's Day poll

Sorry, but this is truly my least favorite holiday. I loved it when I was a kid and it was all about giving everyone in my classroom one of those sweet paper valentines that came in boxes of 30 or so, with a special one for the teacher. And Conversation Hearts candies.

But when I reached dating age, it was all about whether I had a boyfriend or not. And later, whether I had a husband or not. And what he did to mark the occasion. And whether it was good enough. And what I was supposed to do. And somehow a holiday that was supposed to be all about love became all about pressure and vanity and feeling bad about myself. Yuck.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a romantic, through and through. I just think that celebrating love should be something I do every day, and not something I have to prove--or have it be proved to me.

So where does Jane Austen come in? She is the perfect remedy for your Valentine's Day blues. Read one of her novels and celebrate love. When you're finished, you will close the book and feel good about yourself. And you will believe that if it's not there for you now, it will be. Very soon.

Here's a little treat from PERSUASION, my favorite Austen novel (and then do take the WHY I HATE VALENTINE'S DAY POLL below, just for fun):

You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it... Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you.

What do you hate most about Valentine's Day?

It's a holiday designed to make single people feel bad about themselves.Even if I'm in a relationship, I worry about not getting what I want.I feel pressured to mark the occasion but don't know what my partner wants.If I am too extravagant, my boyfriend/girlfriend may get the wrong message.If I'm too low-key, my boyfriend/girlfriend may get the wrong message.I eat way too much chocolate and spend the next day feeling guilty.

pollcode.com free polls

And the Top Ten Signs of Jane Austen Addiction are...

Find out at forromancereaders.com.

Leave a comment at forromancereaders.com for a chance to win copies of CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT and RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT (just published in the UK!), courtesy of the good people at Bloomsbury.

 

Today, February 7th, is publication day in the UK of RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT. Woohoo!

Don't miss out on entering the JANE AUSTEN MADE ME DO IT short story contest: http://www.pemberley.com//JAMMDI/JAMMDI.html

Enter till Feb. 13! And then buy yourself a box of chocolates to celebrate your accomplishment.

Sense and Sensibility Bicentenary Blog Tour

October 2011 will be the bicentenary of the publication of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, and My Jane Austen Book Club is hosting a blog tour to celebrate.

Each month a different author will post on My Jane Austen Book Club about Sense and Sensibility. Along with the post there will be a monthly giveaway: your comment on the blog will give you the chance to win a book or DVD.

Here's the schedule:

1. January:      Jennifer Becton    Marriage and money in Sense and Sensibility

2. February:     Alexa Adams        Sense and Sensibility on screen

3. March:         C. Allyn Pierson   Inheritance laws and their consequences in Sense & Sensibility

4. April:           Beth Pattillo        Lost in Sense and Sensibility

5. May:            Jane Odiwe        Willoughby: a rogue on trial

6. June            Deb of Jane Austen in Vermont 

                                                Secrets in Sense and Sensibility

7. July:             Laurie Viera Rigler   Interview with Lucy Steele

8. August:         Regina Jeffers     Settling for the Compromise Marriage

9. September:   Lynn Shepherd

                                                  The origins of S&S: Richardson, Jane Austen,                                                     Elinore & Marianne                              

10. October:      Meredith @Austenesque Reviews  

                                                 Sense and Sensibility fanfiction

 11. November:  Vic @Jane Austen's World 

                                                Minor characters in Sense and Sensibility

12. December:   Laurel Ann @Austenprose 

                                                Marianne Dashwood: A passion for dead Leaves and                                                 other Sensibilities                

JANUARY GIVEAWAY:

If you comment on Jennifer Becton's upcoming post at My Jane Austen Book Club, you'll be entered in the giveaway of The Three Weissmans of Westport by Cathleen Shine. This novel,  published by Picador,  is a new modern re-telling of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.

Many thanks to Maria Grazia of My Jane Austen Book Club for hosting this blog tour. See you all at Barton Cottage!

Just in time for the holidays: The Darcy Episode (+ a giveaway)

It's the season finale of SEX AND THE AUSTEN GIRL! Watch our time-swapping heroines swoon over the man who launched a thousand sequels--and especially that version of him played by Colin Firth.

Comment on what you love about Darcy--on or off-screen-- to enter a giveaway of signed copies of CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT and RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT.  Giveaway ends Thursday, January 6th, at midnight PST .

Has there ever been a greater specimen of the male sex than that ultimate romantic hero, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE? And is there anything more satisfying than watching "the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world" humbled by the realization that it takes a lot more than a big bank balance to win the girl?

Yes indeed, there is a Santa Claus. And he's brought us Mr. Darcy. So what if you think Darcy's a fictional character? That's your problem!

[SEX AND THE AUSTEN GIRL is inspired by the novels CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT and RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT and stars Arabella Field and Fay Masterson. Catch up on all the episodes you missed.]

Interview + Giveaway on Pride & Prejudice (2005) Blog

Part 1 of a two-part interview has been posted. Comment on the post at the Pride and Prejudice (2005) Blog to enter the giveaway of signed copies of RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT and CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT.

Enjoy a chance to voice your thoughts about your favorite Jane Austen-inspired movies. And good luck!

Here's one of my favorites:

[Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, and Gemma Jones in "Sense and Sensibility," directed by Ang Lee and adapted by Thompson]

via prideandprejudice05.blogspot.com