Writing her own stories comes naturally to Cherith Boardman, for she has been creating various tales in her mind since childhood. Although she is an avid reader, due to life’s little quirks, she missed out on Jane Austen’s tales, until she was placed on bed-rest during her fifth pregnancy. Her very dutiful husband actually purchased an omnibus of Austen’s works, along with other great reading material, from the local bookstore as a bribe to keep her in bed. Like most Austen-inspired readers, Cherith’s first foray into Austen’s stories became life-changing. She fell in love with Austen’s style and her stories. Later, she discovered fan fiction and found a wonderful outlet for her mental hobby.
Cherith has long been interested by history, specifically the day-to-day life of individuals, be they famous or just ordinary citizens making their way through life. Having lived for five years in an Amish community, she feels like she had a long-term immersive study of daily living for most of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries — both its perks and unpleasant realities.
Cherith is the mother of ten children (yes, they are all hers) and entertains herself (and maintains her sanity) by writing her changed or “What If” stories. That is, she writes when she is not chauffeuring her family, assisting with school-work, volunteering at the local school, and grabbing hugs and kisses whenever she can.
[About Cherith’s picture: When we lived with the Amish, my #2dd made Amish dolls on our treadle sewing machines. She made the traditional faceless ones in Amish dress and ones with faces that she based on literary characters. The two dolls in the picture are the Jane and Lizzy dolls she made for me for one of my birthdays.]
Jane Austen-Inspired Novels
Total Want of Propriety, Volume 1, Darcy’s Reformation
Total Want of Propriety, Volume 2, Georgiana’s Reclamation
Second Son: A Pride and Prejudice Variation