Category: Jane Austen
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Launch Week for Muslin & Mystery!
The trunks are loaded, the mailbags are sealed (securely this time), and our packet ship has sailed!. Muslin and Mystery launched on Monday! This voyage began with a question: what if some of Jane Austen’s most composed and self-assured characters found themselves crammed together on a small ship, far from home, with nothing to do…
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What is Unique about Jane Austen?
No one does it quite like Jane Austen! What is it that makes her writing so original? Watercolor by Cassandra Austen, c. 1804 Very Little Description Beyond tall, “noble mien,” and handsome, we have no idea what Mr. Darcy looks like, not hair or eye colour or even his skin tone (we get skin tone…
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Marianne
#SenseAndSensibility #MrDarcy Hi friends, It’s been a toughish year, what with my husband’s – ultimately successful – operation for thymic mass cancer. (And no, you’ve prob. never heard of it. It accounts for fewer than 1% of cancers diagnosed in the UK, as a rule… but his surgeon has banished it.) Also on the bright…
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An Early Christmas Gift
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! And I’ve been going back through some older writings. Five years ago, I put together a collection of scenes called 12 Months of Darcy to give away to readers who signed up for my newsletter. I thought I would share December with you today. December A weak…
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Miss Austen—No Politician, She
On the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, she remains a touchstone for politics for many people. We find that white supremacists are co-opting the English author in support of a racial dictatorship, shocked opponents are claiming that true readers are “rational, compassionate, liberal-minded people,” and conservatives are chiding Janeites for assuming that great literature…
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Fresh, Festive Flourishes for the Holidays
Just as I have a soft spot for each one of my “book babies,” I must confess that some covers tug at my heartstrings more than others. They remind me of the moment a story came together or the feeling I had when I first saw the artwork that inspired a new ‘what-if’ story. A…
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New JAFF Covers That Are Like Nothing You’ve Ever Seen Before
ChatGPT and I design some stellar covers that would make Austen herself swoon.
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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…
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What Makes a Book a Novel?
When writing a book, an author usually takes into account what length they are considering. Why? Well, there can be several reasons why. Knowing what length one is shooting for gives an author a goal as far as plot. The author also takes into consideration readers because some like a short, quick read because they…
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Another P&P Play
I apologize for this brief post, but life has turned a bit crazy recently and my blog completely slipped my mind until the alarm went off on my phone shortly after I received a text from my daughter. Since they happened so close together and both had to do with Jane Austen, I figured it…