Author: Don Jacobson
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The Prince Regent’s Gift
Jane Austen, born barely three weeks before the publication of Common Sense, was most assuredly a child of the Enlightenment. &&&& Thomas Paine &&&& George Augustus Frederick, eldest child and heir to George III, was also a child of the Enlightenment. He was born in 1762, at a time when his tutors would have been…
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Hitting the Books: taking note
I have a problem. I possess what might be called a “flypaper mind.” Stuff goes in and then gets stuck. My memory is in no way eidetic, but rather is loosely associative…meaning I tend to cascade information in an inverse pyramid. You hit me with a general topic—or even something specific—and then I will barf…
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Parallel Tracks
Uncovering Similarities under Differences There are times when we get lost in the differences between Darcy and Elizabeth. One is filled with pride in his position, which informs his prejudices, while the other suffers from injured pride after a single insult uttered by another person. She sets her face against the author of her discomfort,…
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Spin and Problem Solving
“Don? Don?” The voice nagged me out of the space into which my mind had retreated. My eyes drifted open, and I saw Eliza, my spin instructor, materializing out of the fog of pain and sweat that had been my lot for the past 45 minutes. “Don’t leave now. You always leave before the hour…
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Love Between Persons of a Certain Age
Happy Valentine’s Day. This column has nothing to do with the celebration but does dip into the idea of love. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is an interesting character study headlined by Nicolas Cage. This has nothing to do with me. I am arrogant enough to realize that my stories rise from a competence…
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Active Reading in Austen & Austenesque Fiction
Those of us who love all things Austenesque often go deep into the weeds as we try to divine the “true” meaning and intent of scenic elements that establish the framework upon which character development and plot rest. Austen forces her readers to be active participants in the story’s development. She liberally sprinkles breadcrumbs but…
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The Wardrobe’s Gifts
As I age, I have become acutely aware that I have fewer days before me to build new memories than I have in my wake. My work has, consequently, become imbued with a touch of nostalgia and a deeper consideration of Time. Contrary to the dominant trends in our genre, my characters have become older.…
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Christmas’s Place: Family and Home
Bear with me as I rifle through my life’s album. By my count, I have used a half-dozen seasonal events to move various books closer to their conclusions. I am convinced my frequent turning to Christmas and Twelfth Night rise from inner truths that inform my stories. This was not unexpected, I suppose. I am…
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Using Accents and Vernacular
An author friend, Linda Thompson, asked if readers preferred reading a transliteration of accented speech (“Oi ‘ere. C’mon. Now’t see ‘ere.”) or a modified use of some easily understood phrases to indicate that the speaker might have an accent (“Oui, M’sieur. It is true what you say.”). I have gone both directions…but if the character…
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HEA or Happily Ever Now?
“Life, my dear boy, is composed of a thousand mundane moments and may be equally dispersed between joy and trouble. Each, like a small pebble resting in a river’s current, contributes to the grand arc of existence, bending it toward its ultimate end.” Lydia Fitzwilliam, Dowager Countess of Matlock (8th), letter to her Great-grandson, Viscount…