Category: Austen villains
-
Anatomy of a Book Cover Part I
When I first started writing, my former publisher encouraged me to work on a series. So, I started writing what would become The Darcy and Elizabeth Series that consisted of the following: The Women of Longbourn Attending a Ball Darcy and Bingley Darcy Chooses Part 1 Darcy Chooses Part 2 Elizabeth’s Choice The first three…
-
The Use of Violence in JAFF
Today, I’d like to talk about tolerance. Specifically, about tolerance in Jane Austen’s works. Now, I belong to a number of Facebook Austen groups, which can be both funny and fun. (This was where I first encountered this great New Year meme: “I take no leave of you, 2025. I send no compliments to your…
-
Caroline Bingley Goes to Sea: On Reforming a Snob
Several people have asked if they could read my latest novel without reading the previous books in the series. “Is it self-contained, would it still make sense?” And the answer is yes! Er, sort of! Here’s the main thing: If you’re willing to take it on faith that Caroline Bingley had a moment of clarity…
-
Wickham Didn’t Target Lydia for Revenge
Common Pride & Prejudice Misconceptions, Part 4 I know what you’re thinking, “This is a common misconception???” Let me tell you, about once a month someone comes up with this theory and posts about it online. The response is usually mixed, but I shall present evidence here that should make the answer an unequivocal “no”…
-
Quiet Love vs. Romantic Dreams: Comparing Sense & Sensibility and A Civil Contract
When it comes to Regency romances, we love instant chemistry, passionate declarations, and dramatic obstacles overcome. Yet, some of the more realistic love stories involve quiet, steady partnerships built on respect and liking rather than overwhelming passion. In Austen’s Sense & Sensibility, we get this with Colonel Brandon and Marianne Dashwood. I used to be…
-
How “Intimacy” Exacerbates Elizabeth Bennet’s “Lack” of Judgment
We have all been in the situation where our judgment is clouded by the “intimacy” we experience with another. How often do we read of the female attempting to tame the bad boy? How often have you had a friend who chose another you knew from the beginning was all wrong for him or her? How…
-
Enlistments in a Regency Militia Unit and Revisiting “Mr. Darcy’s Inadvertent Bride”
When I first conceived this book, I planned to have Mr. Wickham compromise Elizabeth Bennet with a kiss and then disappear from the militia, but, before I put pen to paper, I had to attempt to have the historical details correct, which, unfortunately, for me, was not as easy as I had first thought. Initially,…
-
Are you still limiting your reading to characters you can “root” for? – If you are, you’re missing out!
#GoneWithTheWind #JaneAusten #AlwaysAusten #PrideAndPerjury The other day on Facebook someone – let’s call her X – complained about a (non-Jane Austen) novel that she couldn’t finish, because she couldn’t like the heroine enough to “root for her”. Some people berated X, but I’m actually a massive believer in not finishing a book. There are so…
-
Another Wickham? When Fact Might Follow Fiction
As I’ve written before, I’ve spent a fair bit of time of late going through my mother-in-law’s apartment, clearing and organising and sorting through endless boxes as we’ve moved her into a seniors’ residence. The move is over, but the chaos is not. Some things she kept, others we gave away, some we tossed, and…
-
Pride and Perjury ~ Releasing in Two Days!!!! + a Giveaway!!!
An introduction to my Pride and Perjury . . . Pride and Perjury, my short story collection, ambushed me while I was planning, and even plotting, my fourth novel in the series, and my seventh altogether. It was the holes in Pride and Prejudice that bothered me. The omissions – my own, in Darcy, as…