Hello
and welcome at FLY HIGH, Manda. It’s a
great pleasure to have the chance to present you and your new spellbinding
novel, “Why
Earls Fall in Love” to my readers, since they are always so interested in
historical fiction! Could you tell us
something about your heroine, Georgina?
Georgina Mowbray is the daughter of an Army
officer. She’s also the widow of an Army officer. As such, she has been used to
living a very structured lifestyle. And she is very firmly ensconced in the
middle class. But, when she becomes friends with Isabella and Perdita—both
wealthy aristocrats—she is thrust into the world of the ton. She still,
however, must earn a living, so at the beginning of the book we see her in her
new position as companion to the wealthy Lady Russell. Who just so happens to
be the aunt of our hero—Dominic, Earl of Coniston.
Georgie is disciplined, level-headed, and
above all resilient. She will bounce back no matter what befalls her.
Is she
inspired to any other literary heroine you admire?
Not any one heroine in particular, no. But
while I was writing, I kept thinking of her as being very similar to the
real-life character of Florence Nightingale, who was also very disciplined and
resilent. Though she had a very unhappy love life, and I was happy to be able to improve on that.
Just a snippet to lead you to the latest post on My Jane Austen Book Club, my Austen-dedicated blog. Angelita Williams has written a lovely post about how reading Jane Austen can help young people (and not only them!) to cope with dating. She suggests to read Emma, Persuasion, Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice, of course!
I just want to share a link to a guest post narrating an awkward meeting with Mr Darcy in person - in the person of Colin Firth - in my page dedicated to the British actor here at FLY HIGH I know I have been neglecting it for a while but I've just added this lovely blogpost: Kim Izzo, Canadian journalist and writer, met Colin Firth in order to interview him, during The Toronto Film Festival some years ago.
She shares the memories of that moment, which was a bit embarassing but unforgettable, at my Jane Austen-dedicated blog, My Jane Austen Book Club.
Read Meeting Mr Darcy by Kim Izzo and get a chance to read her debut novel, The Jane Austen Marriage Manual. There's a giveaway contest! (Deadline May 23)
Do you like re-watching old period dramas for the umpteenth time? Do you like finding links and similarities between stuff you read or watch? I'm almost a maniac. I'm always there noticing analogies, similarities, links and connections while watching or reading. I did the same this last weekend re-watching P&P 1995 and seeing for the first time "12 Men of Christmas". It hadn't been planned as a comparative watching but it came out like that.
Great celebration for Jane Austen's Birthday! Next Thursday December 16th, I'm having a blog party with some good Austenite friends and great gifts and giveaways for all our readers. You are all invited!!!
1. LOST IN AUSTEN - A RE-WATCHING FOR MY EVERYTHING AUSTEN CHALLENGE II
After 2 years, I've been re-watching this delightful ITV comedy based on Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice as my 5th task in The Everything Austen Challenge hosted at Stephanie's Written Word.
Oxford University offers an interesting on line course about Jane Austen and her works. If you, unlike me, have got enough spare time, you can learn more about our beloved authoress and her major six!
Mr Darcy's Obsession is her latest book just coming out in October for Sourcebooks. Abigail Reynolds is a lifelong Jane Austen enthusiast and a physician. In addition to writing, she has a part-time private practice and enjoys spending time with her family. Originally from upstate New York, she studied Russian, theater, and marine biology before deciding to attend medical school. She began writing From Lambton to Longbourn in 2001 to spend more time with her favorite characters from Pride & Prejudice. Encouragement from fellow Austen fans convinced her to continue asking ‘What if…?’, which led to five other Pemberley Variations and her modern novel,The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice. She is currently at work on another Pemberley Variation and sequels to The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice. She is a lifetime member of JASNA and lives in Wisconsin with her husband, two teenaged children, and a menagerie of pets.
Read my interview with Abigail Reynolds on My Jane Austen Book Club and you'll have the chance to receive a copy of Mr Darcy's Obsessiondirectly from Sourcebooks. The giveaway is open to US and Canada readers only. The winner will be announced next Wednesday October 6th. Don't forget to add your e-mail address!
My latest post on My Jane Austen Book Club: Talking Jane Austen with Jane Odiwe, author of Lydia Bennet's Story and Willoughby's Return. Leaving a comment you'll have the chance to win a signed copy of her latest publication! The giveaway is open worldwide! The winner will be announced next Wednesday 29th September. In this interview Jane presents her beautiful illustrations of Austen's world and her next novel that will be released in February 2011, Mr Darcy's Secret!
I needed to forget a hardworking Sunday (yes,Sunday!) and I put my Bridget Jones DVD set on : Bridget Jones's Diary and Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason. I hadn't re-watched either of them since I had seen them long ago at the cinema. My purpose was pure escapism,of course, but also to discover how much Austen there is in them.
Katherine Roberts is fed up. As a lecturer specialising un the works of Jane Austen, she has come to realize that the ideal man only exists within the pages of Pride and Prejudice.
Austen fanatic, Robyn Love, is blessed with a name full of romance, but her love life is far from perfect. Stuck in a rut with a bonehead boyfriend, she longs for an escape.
They both head to the annual Jane Austen conference, hoping to cast their troubles away. but, as chaos ensues, it seems and Austen weekend wouldn't be complete without a little intrigue and romance along the way...
A Weekend with Mr Darcy has been released in The UK by Harper Collins and will be out in the States in July 2011.
I've honestly told you I have a crush on libertines, and John Willoughby is my favourite Austen rogue. I couldn't but read this sequel to Sense and Sensibility by Jane Odiwe , WILLOUGHBY'S RETURN , hoping that Marianne and her first passionate lover had a second chance.
My guest on" Talking Jane Austen"at My Jane Austen Book Club is author C. Allyn Pierson. My interview is divided into two parts and there will be 2 giveaways of autographed books, one today and the other one next week!
"And This Our Life, Chronicles of the Darcy Family" was C. Allyn Pierson 's first sequel of Pride and Prejudice. It has been purchased by Sourcebooks and a revised version was released on September 1. It's titled "Mr. Darcy's Little Sister." This revised version concentrates on Georgiana Darcy's story and, in addition, contains an exciting new plot line. The original "ATOL" will still be available until January 1, 2010, when it will be withdrawn from circulation.
To celebrate the release of her first novel, CHARLOTTE COLLINS, Jennifer Becton introduces her heroine and work herself. If you like reading Austen sequels, you'd be happy to know about this new continuation of Pride and Prejudice which tells the story of Charlotte Lucas after her marriage to Mr Collins. You still have few hours to win a signed copy of this book. Read my interview with Jennifer Becton on My Jane Austen Book Club. Leave your comment and e-mail address there and good luck! But ... hurry up! Tonight I'll announce the name of the winner.
Now here's to you Jennifer Becton!
"When I first began reading Jane Austen sequels, I was absolutely thrilled by the concept. Modern writers got to ask a few simple questions—What happened next in Pride and Prejudice? Or what if something different had occurred?—and then write the answers themselves. I loved reading other people’s interpretations of what happened to Elizabeth and Darcy and, in some cases, their children. But as time passed, I looked for books about characters other than the Darcys, and much to my disappointment, I found few, none of which were about minor characters.
Surely, I was not the only Janeite who wanted to read a sequel about someone other than the Darcys and their progeny. Austen created so many vibrant, interesting characters, and certainly, some of them deserved to be plucked from relative obscurity and given the chance to be the hero or heroine of their own romantic tale. So when I decided to write my own novel, I chose to tell the story I’d always wanted to read: a Jane Austen sequel about someone new. I asked myself this question: What happened to Charlotte Collins?
To me, Charlotte called out for the chance to make a different matrimonial decision, and I had to give it to her. Even Jane Austen herself said, “I consider everybody as having a right to marry once in their lives for love, if they can.” My goal was to allow Charlotte to grow and change based on her circumstances at the end of Pride and Prejudice. She had chosen a marriage of convenience to a simpering dolt, and afterward, she had observed the truth of love in the marriages of Jane and Elizabeth. From there, I wanted to bring her back to the philosophical point where she started and allow her the chance to make a different decision. In order to do that, she had to lose everything: her husband, her child, her friend, and the independence she had so greatly desired. Only then would Charlotte be able to open herself to new possibilities.
When Mr. Collins dies, finally relieving everyone of his tedious conversation, Charlotte must work feverishly to secure her income and home. She gives no further thought to the prospect of love until her flighty sister Maria begs her to act as her chaperone in place of their ailing parents. Hoping to prevent Maria from also entering an unhappy union, Charlotte agrees, and they are quickly thrust into a world of country dances, dinner parties, and marriageable gentlemen.
But when an unprincipled gentleman compromises Charlotte’s reputation, her romantic thoughts disappear at the prospect of losing her independence. As she struggles to extricate herself from her slander, her situation reveals both the nature of each gentleman and of true love."
Jennifer Becton, author of CHARLOTTE COLLINS, a continuation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, is my guest onMy Jane Austen Book Club.
Jennifer was born in Washington, DC, and moved to the South as a child. She fell in love with books at an early age, and mysteries by Agatha Christie and other novels such as Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery, The Black Stallion by Walter Farley, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen greatly influenced the course of her life.
Next September 1st Jennifer Becton will see her first novel released. She is very excited, of course, and I'm happy to talk with her about her CHARLOTTE COLLINS and to introduce them to you! As always in this space, you'll have the chance to win an autographed copy of the book leaving your comment and e-mail address. The giveaway is open worldwide and I'm going to announce the name of the winner next Wednesday 1 September. Read my interview and ...good luck! (CLICK HERE)
Just a snippet to remind you today's posting at My Jane Austen Book Club, my Austen-dedicated blogger page. Lynn Shepherd answers my questions about Jane Austen , her work and we ... play and dream a bit , too. Read my interview. And don't worry, you'll find all the details you need for the giveaway there!
1. GEORGETTE HEYER, THE CONVENIENT MARRIAGE (Naxos Audiobooks)
You put your CD in the player, push the play button to make it start and, when the caressing voice comes out and begins to tell you the story, you can’t really concentrate on the words and their meaning . It’s just a pleasant mind/body sensation totally out of meaning. So when you realize the story has gone on and you didn’t catch much of it , you pause the CD, try to convince yourself to act your age and behave sensibly, try to remind yourself of Georgette Heyer’s mastery on wit , romp and romance and , finally, you start it over again. This time you concentrate on the skillful reading and characterization of the talented reader (trying NOT to think of his penetrating blue eyes and gorgeous look), on the intriguing nuances of his voice but especially on his involving performance of this entertaining story , on his elegant Northern – British accent and… you find yourself totally immersed in 5 hours of heavenly delight. A delight you want to prolong and are sad to be parted from after the last incredibly romantic moments are over. I shivered from head to toes at listening to those deep seductive whispers with which Lord Rule teases young Horatia and reveals at the same time all his love and admiration for her.
OMG! This is not the proper way to start a review of Georgette Heyer’s THE CONVENIENT MARRIAGE ! Red-Self is having a bad influence on me. More than I thought possible! However, I hope you’ll forgive my informal , atypical review since this is my RA Friday post and… Richard Armitage is the alluring , mesmerizing reader of this Naxos Audiobook ( abridged version of Heyer’s novel). “Richard Armitage couldn’t be a better choice for reader” was written in a review of his SYLVESTER ( again Georgette Heyer, again Naxos Audiobook) and that is so TRUE! You say I’m biased? Definitely YES! But I am not of totally unsound mind! And Richard Armitage is INDEED incredibly good, brilliant, at using his voice to give life to a parade of convincing characters: from young, brave, a bit naive Horatia with her stammer to funny, adventuresque Pel and Pom, from delicate, beautiful Elizabeth Winwood to gallant, treacherous Lethbridge. How can he be so good at keeping all those different voices in his mind and avoid being confused? He thoroughfully prepared himself , of course, but he's also got talent.
In my mind he was Lord Marcus Rule. Precisely, Rule owned his tall, dark, handsome appearance in my mind and his voice perfectly matched the enigmatic, attractive Heyer hero.
Do you think I should say something about the story? I think I’d better say as little as I can in order to avoid spoilers.
But if you asked me , I ‘d just say - hoping you wouldn’t take it as a spoiler - that the convenient marriage of the title takes place immediately , in the first pages, differently from many other novels where the marriages or the proposals are the climax. I ‘d add that there are very hilarious moments, tricks, duels, adventures, flirts, highwaymen’s hold-ups , quests for a disappeared brooch and to save the reputation of a lady and , obviously, very romantic scenes.
My advice is: try to read the book, if you can, before you listen to the audiobook. I did it while coping with the “hard task” of listening and... it took me more time. I fragmented, diluted the pleasure, which is not always negative.
I noticed they had cut a lot from the original version, maybe too much for Heyer fans (entire scenes and characters, for instance) , so I stopped the CD and read the book instead. Then I re-started listening and... so on. It also happened that I got lost in the world created by Richard with only his voice and forgot I had the paperback in my hand! As I told you, the best thing would be to read before, then listen to the CDs.
I particularly liked the recent interview in which Richard explained and analyzed his work on audiobooks. I even transcribed the whole of it in one of my RA Fridays (HERE) ! I’m sure you have already listened to it, but if you haven’t, take some time and do it. You’ll appreciate this audiobook even more.
My Richard Armitage/ Heyer Top Chart
1. The Convenient Marriage 2. Venetia 3. Sylvester
Would you like to see Richard in a dashing, smart British Navy uniform? Who might his Anne Elliot be? Would you subscribe a petition for a new RA Persuasion adaptation? If you like the idea, help us spread the word!
Members of the Spanish forum have even prepared a videoclip with their Persuasion dream cast: Kate Winslet and Richard Armitage. Have a look and ... think about it!
OMG! Who's shouting like a helpless animal?!? Red - Self! Can you stop it , please? I remember. Perfectly remember: I promised you a little space this week, too. Mind you, I won't bear one bad word or ... ok, ok, ok. I'll try to trust you. Since last week you had a whole post for yourself, this time you MUST be very brief. This is our agreement.
It's time to go for me, then! Fingers crossed. Enjoy your weekend!
RED-SELF'S CORNER
*Rolls eyes * Oh! Off , at last! Breath, relax, breath, relax, Reddie. I hate how she can make me feel. OPPRESSED! I need to forget her. Breath, relax, breath... Here we are.
Are you Ok? I hope so. I'm disappointed and so ... FURIOUS !!! I've got only 5 minutes she told me. Now, what can I tell you in five minutes? I'll try to do my best . Actually I couldn't do much this week. Have you ever been guarded by a vulture? GRRR...I couldn't move. I had to be with her all the time!
Let's see if I can finally forget black-self for a while and think of "His Gorgeousness". I liked listening to Richard reading that romance, The Convenient Marriage, but I was there all the time waiting for something saucier to happen. Unsatiable? Maybe... well... well, it was fun, I can't say it wasn't. I liked Horatia. She was cheeky and daring. She, a 17-year-old stammering girl proposed to the Earl of Rule -and he accepted! - to save her elder sister from a marriage she didn't want. Well done, Horry! She even saved herself from a rape. Wow, Horry, incredible! She faced perbenism, gossip and social conventions. Great! Horry, you are my heroine! I also liked the duels, the adventures, the comedy . BUT , you ask? But I wanted more, something more. How can I explain? I must be short and effective, 'cause I have no time. I'll show you what I mean with a clip. And what a clip! I love it. Do you know how hot Guy can be? Very, very, very, immensely MUCH!
Have a look and... thank me!
What? I can't watch the clip with them?!? Why? Time over?!? The clip lasts only 4 minutes! Whaaat? That wardrobe again? No, thanks. I'll obey you. Ok, ok. I'll see it with you after dinner. We'll watch it together.
*Rolls eyes again*. I think I'd better go. Have a cool weekend!
Get a chance to win a signed copy of Lynn Shepherd's novel
Read through this post and discover how!!!
I'm glad to have a very special guest to "talk Jane Austen" with today. My guest is Lynn Shepherd. Reading and commenting the two parts of her interview ( PART I today, PART II on Thursday 19th August) you'll have a double chance two win a signed copy of her delightful Austen-based novel just published also in the US and Canada, MURDER AT MANSFIELD PARK. The details of the giveaway are at the end of the interview on my Austen dedicated blog, My JA Book Club.
Lynn Shepherd lives in Berkshire, England, with her husband Simon. Murder at Mansfield Park is her first novel, but she has been a professional copywriter for the last ten years.
She studied English at Oxford in the 1980s, and went back to do a doctorate in 2003. By that time she'd spent 15 years in business, first in the City, and later in PR. She'd always wanted to be a writer, and going freelance in 2000 gave her the time she needed to see if she could make that dream into a reality. Ten years and two and a half unpublished novels later, it’s finally happened!
READ THE INTERVIEW ON MY JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB AND... GOOD LUCK WITH THE GIVEAWAY!
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