Interview with a Janeite: Special Guest Debbie Brown hosted by Joana Starnes

Welcome back to another round of tea! This month, we have avid Austenesque fan Debbie Brown on the blog! Her hostess this month is Austen Variations’ fabulous new Joana Starnes. Lift your cups and welcome these lovely ladies!

-NC

AV: Tell us a little about your background. Where are you from, and who are the special people in your life?

DB: I grew up in Garden City, Long Island, New York, USA as the youngest and only girl in my family, with three older brothers. We went to Catholic grammar school (age 6 to 14), where those nuns drummed every spelling, grammar, and punctuation rule into us! In university, I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up and idolized my mom, who taught high school (ages 15-18) English, so I majored in English and got my teaching certification. As it turned out, I didn’t actually teach until many years after I graduated, and I only taught for about seven years.

I don’t feel much like a typical Noo Yawka. (For one thing, I don’t talk like that!) I lived in Eastern Pennsylvania from 1977 to 2013, and most of my roots are there. For the past five years, I’ve been in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Love the warmer weather year-round!

My background is a true cornucopia. Here are the watered-down highlights: I started in a sales support job with IBM right out of college, then moved on to various careers: I’ve been a rock and roll singer (six different bands over my lifetime), a secretary, a high school teacher, a medical transcriptionist, and a transcriptionist doing closed captioning for the hearing impaired. (I type REALLY fast!) I got operatic vocal training in my 20s and 30s (while I was singing rock and roll full-time), and I’ve been in several classical choral groups and church choirs over the years.

My husband Kurt is absolutely my special person, my go-to guy, my personal chef, my biggest fan, my hero, my rock, and the bestest friend anyone could ask for. He’s a talented electric guitarist with a silly streak who also has laser focus and is one of the smartest people I know. I really lucked out when he and I got together! We’ve been married 41 years now, and we’re still devoted to each other. Naturally, my son Evan also is very special to me, and I can add my daughter-in-law Sarah and 2-year-old grandson Sam to that list.

AV:  Can you name one or two defining experiences in your life that shaped who you are as a person?

DB: There’s one biggie. Six months before Kurt and I were married, his brother Guy died tragically. At the time, we were in our first jobs out of college. The work paid well and looked great on a resume, but we HATED what we did for a living! We grieved for Guy, and we realized life is too short to spend it doing only what we’re supposed to do rather than what we want to do. We quit our jobs and went into what we affectionately call “the lunatic fringe of rock and roll.” We were in a couple of bands that played current hits, working the Northeastern and mid-Atlantic U.S.A. rock club circuit full-time from 1977 to 1985. My parents were appalled! It was my first overt act of rebellion after 22 years of always doing what was expected of me, and it turned out to be absolutely the right decision for us at the time. We’ve never regretted it. Music has been a special bond between Kurt and me ever since. After our son was born, we continued to play contemporary Christian music in our home church, and then, once we were empty nesters, we started up another rock band and performed in local venues on weekends for a while.

AV: How do you spend most of your days, and what do you do in your “free” time?

DB: I’m retired, so it’s ALL “free” time! I do play a little golf (badly), usually with Kurt, who encourages and tries to coach me, and I also have some gal golfing buddies. I’m singing in two musical groups and have a third on the back burner at the moment. The first is called Forever Doo Wop, which is almost exclusively 50s and 60s music. I perform with four guys, and they’re all awesome! They grew up singing doo wop on street corners. We each alternate between being the lead vocalist and singing harmonies behind the others. At age 64, I’m the youngster in the group! We do our shows anywhere from three to six times a month. What a kick to see folks in their 70s and 80s out dancing and singing along to the music. Check it out: www.foreverdoowopmb.com

I am also a second alto in the Carolina Master Chorale. The group performs concerts on our own as well as supporting the Long Bay Symphony here in the Myrtle Beach area. There are about six different programs during our concert season, which runs September to April. Right now, we’re working on Leonard Bernstein’s The Chichester Psalms, which is a very challenging and mesmerizing piece.

www.carolinamasterchorale.com  

 Kurt and I also have a duo act—BrownSound Music. We worked a bunch in Pennsylvania before we moved South but, sadly, we haven’t been able to establish ourselves locally. The repertoire is an eclectic mix of everything from Etta James and Billie Holliday to Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane. Our website is still up, though, and there are tracks embedded with a few songs if you’re interested: www.brownsoundmusic.com

AV: How did you first meet Jane Austen? When did you become passionate about Austen and Austenesque fiction?

DB: I was a voracious reader throughout all my school days but got away from that over the years when I had too much going on to add reading to my day. I don’t even remember exactly when I first read Pride and Prejudice. It’s the one book I returned to periodically, even when I was barely reading anything else. (Probably that’s why I read so much now – making up for those lost years!)

 I discovered Austenesque fiction after I got my kindle for Christmas in 2010. Naturally, one of the first books I downloaded was P&P. And you know how, at the end of a kindle book, you get that page saying, “Customers who bought this book also bought…” and there’s that list of books? Yep! That did it! By 2012, I was a JAFF addict. My discovery of the genre was timed just right. I was working part-time at home then, and now I’m completely retired, so I have a lot more opportunity to read than I used to. By GoodReads tally, I’ve now read over 1600 JAFF titles, and that doesn’t include the many re-reads of my favorites.

AV: You know quite a few people in the Jane Austen community. Have you met anyone in person?

DB: Virtually all of my Jane Austen community friends are virtual! First I got to know a few people through various Facebook groups, and then Claudine Pepe encouraged me to get into GoodReads. Love it! I’m especially active in the Austenesque Lovers TBR Pile Challenge group on GR moderated by Austenesque author Sophia Rose. It was a treat to find all these lovely people with the same JAFF reading addiction as myself! We share our opinions about books, encourage each other to meet our reading goals, and get to know each other in the process. (I’d love to give a shout-out to my besties, but there are too many and I’m afraid I’d leave someone out.) The only one I’ve met face-to-face is Sheila Majczan, your Janeite interviewee from June. She reads even more JAFF than I do. What a wonderful experience it was to get together with her!

AV: How do you take your JAFF? Spicy or sweet, canon or off-canon, angsty or steady?

DB: Canon? Not so much. Usually too predictable. I’ll read any of the other categories you mentioned first. In general, though, I’m much more concerned about the quality of the writing than the specific content. That’s absolutely, positively my top criteria. As a reader, I love the sensation of losing myself in a book. It’s a wonderful, drug-free, alcohol-free escape from the worries of life. Poorly-written books don’t do that, and they annoy me. Wanna-be authors, please post on one of the many JAFF fan fiction sites if you haven’t honed your writing skills yet!

AV: We all have our favorite Austen characters and couples, but if you had to pin your money on a couple who would be likely to have a healthy, thriving relationship, who would it be? What about them makes you think so?

DB: The easy answer is Persuasion’s Admiral and Mrs. Croft, but they’ve already been happily married a long time, so that’s cheating! I think Elinor Dashwood and Edward Ferrars from Sense and Sensibility make a great pair. They seem to have similar temperaments, they were raised in roughly the same social sphere, they’ve spent a lot of time together so they know each other well, their love has endured through relationship challenges, and they’re both old enough to know who they are and what they want in life. 

AV: On the flip side, do you think any of her star couples (I’m not talking about Charlotte and Mr. Collins) could encounter troubles later due to faulty expectations or poor communication? Who, and why?

DB: If you’d asked me this before I started working with Christina Boyd on Rational Creatures, I would’ve said Marianne Dashwood and Colonel Brandon with no hesitation. It’s not really the age gap between them, but more that I don’t really get the attraction he feels for her when her behavior shows her to be an immature teenager. At the end of Sense and Sensibility, she’s just starting to “get it” as a result of her experiences and grow up. I just wasn’t sure whether the “adult” Marianne was going to be the right match for the good colonel. But now, after reading your (Nicole’s) short story in the new anthology, I’m not as worried about them anymore!

AV: You take your Austen fiction pretty seriously. Have you ever thought about writing?

DB: No, and for a very good reason. I lack the creativity gene. If I were to write a book, it would have a horribly boring and predictable plot. I struggled in creative writing classes; I’m much better with analysis and report-type writing. I probably have the writing chops for journalism, but I don’t have the drive to keep digging for facts that all good journalists need. I’m not very interested in historical biographies and even less interested in history itself. I just love reading fiction, and the former English teacher in me enjoys reviewing it.

AV: Why do you think Jane Austen was the classic author endowed with the most spin-offs and fans? What is it about her work that just keeps on growing, while other extraordinary authors from the period have only a fraction of her following?

DB: No other author before Jane Austen ever even TRIED to take such ordinary life experiences of her time as well as such ordinary characters and turn them into something extraordinary. No kidnappings, no murders, no amnesia victims, no nutty wives locked in the attic. When I taught a British Literature course, I had to lead my students through Wuthering Heights. Emily Bronte was another great writer, but who can relate to Catherine and Heathcliff? They’re too melodramatic and larger-than-life. Every single one of Jane Austen’s characters is relatable, especially her romantic couples. No one’s done that better in ANY era. There are many other reasons I could mention, but I think that’s the biggest. Of course modern writers and readers want more of her!

AV: What do you enjoy most here at Austen Variations? 

DB: Without a doubt, it would be the announcements of new books coming out (I’m always looking for the next great JAFF novel!), followed closely by the short stories and the excerpts from upcoming releases by the Austen Variation authors. I was SO stoked to grab Mr. Darcy’s Magpie after reading all of Kara’s Falling at Pemberley teasers. I’m following Amy’s Mysteries of Pemberley, Maria’s A Chance Meeting, and Leslie’s Unwrapping Mr. Darcy there right now. Wonderful stuff for JAFF lovers!

And now, Debbie chats with Joana Starnes!

Hi, Joana! You’ve been one of my Must-Read authors ever since I read The Subsequent Proposal: A Tale of Pride, Prejudice & Persuasion (easily one of my top ten JAFF reads), so it’s a thrill to have this opportunity to find out a little more about you.

Hi Debbie! I’m so happy and honoured to be one of your must–read authors, you’re so kind to say that, and I’m ever so glad you liked The Subsequent Proposal so much. It’s wonderful to find out more about you too, and huge thanks to you and Nicole for organising this.

Which came first: JAFF, or the itch to write a book?

Oh, JAFF definitely made all the difference! I’m one of the thousands of people who were spellbound by the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, and after savouring every moment of the miniseries several times over, I was left craving more. It was a delight to discover The Derbyshire Writers Guild, and I devoured all the beautiful stories I found there, and sure enough, before long I couldn’t resist the temptation to write my own Austen spin-offs. I started with a variation that brought together characters from Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, which was put up at DWG as Steady to his Purpose, and eventually became The Second Chance once I had started self-publishing with KDP.

Do you think you would have written other types of novels if you hadn’t discovered JAFF? Why or why not?

I’ve no idea if I would have published other novels, but I’ve written a couple for my own amusement before discovering JAFF. Sometimes I’m toying with the idea of getting back to them, polishing and publishing them, but the impulse dies out quickly. I’m utterly and hopelessly addicted to JAFF, and can’t bring myself to step away from Elizabeth and Mr Darcy and their beautiful love story, not even for a little while.

What does your writing process look like? I mean, I know authors start with a “plot bunny,” but how much of the entire book do you map out before you start writing in earnest?

I generally try to start with a fairly good idea of the main path the story would take, and I tend to jot down the pivotal moments. As I go along, this turns into some sort of a calendar of events. I didn’t use to draw up a calendar when I first started writing, but after a while I found it useful, if only to ensure that events don’t clash or that a supposedly full-term pregnancy doesn’t last 7 months or 11 😀 . But the calendar needs constant tweaking because new ideas keep popping up and the story often ends up taking a slightly different (or very different) path from the one I planned at the beginning.

Do your characters behave for you, or do some scenes develop differently than you originally planned? 

LOL they hardly ever behave 100%. More often than not, what they say or do strays from the plan. Not much, usually, just different nuances or reactions, but there have been a number of big changes too, which took me by surprise.

Can you share a specific example from one of your books where the plot took a different direction than you originally intended?

I’d love to, Debbie. This happened with the first book I published, From This Day Forward, and it knocked me for six, I can tell you. A character absolutely insisted on choosing a different outcome. And what shocked me even more was that it wasn’t Darcy or Elizabeth or one of the other known strong-willed ones, but Georgiana. My jaw dropped, and I thought ‘Just hold on a minute, young lady. Who’s calling the shots here? Hmmm, that would be me, I think. You’re fictional.’ But she wouldn’t have it.

When I began writing the sequel, the plan was that in the end Georgiana would persuade her brother to consent to her marriage to Lord Davenport, the reformed rake (and Wickham’s boon companion at Cambridge) who had long mended his ways. With some selfless act, Lord Davenport would manage to convince Darcy that his peccadilloes were well and truly in the past, and that he was a changed man and utterly devoted to Georgiana. But in the end the ‘selfless act’ scenes had to be scrapped. While deeply moved and keen to assess Lord Davenport on his own merits, rather than be swayed by the ghosts of the past and Wickham’s treachery, Georgiana chose to give her heart to the silent lover who had come to support her and her brother in their time of direst trouble. So, I had to back down, because she was right: the silent lover was by far the better choice for her, and for her brother’s peace of mind as well.

I can’t think of another author that puts more angst into Pride and Prejudice variations than you do. You really seem to thrive on torturing Darcy in particular. What’s UP with that?  

Ah, the ‘Let’s Torture Darcy’ banner 😀 . I had a great chat and a few giggles with Anji Dale about that. I think lots of authors in our genre love to write angst and torture Darcy, and I hope our readers are fine with it. In my case, I must confess I do take unholy delight in torturing him, largely because of the ‘She’s tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me’, because of that abysmally self-absorbed first proposal and because he needed such a great length of time before he could see Elizabeth’s true worth.

It’s ever so easy to fall into the trap of judging Jane Austen’s characters and their actions by our modern-day standards, and I’m trying to remind myself that Mr Darcy’s attitude and prejudices were, as he put it, ‘natural and just’ in a society where people were rarely, if ever, assessed on merit alone. Still, having said that, unlike most of Jane Austen’s heroes, he has the luxury to please himself. Unlike Mr Bingley, he doesn’t have to marry pedigree to advance in the world – his place in society is already secure. His parents aren’t there to influence him and demand obedience – he’s a law unto himself. He doesn’t have to marry money either, unlike Colonel Fitzwilliam. Fair enough, the family estate would benefit from Darcy marrying someone whose dowry would counterbalance the future loss of Georgiana’s £30 000, but with continued good management Pemberley could withstand that loss. So, really, he should have known better than to bow to perceived peer pressure and try to forsake love, only to give in eventually and propose to Elizabeth – but still point out that her inferiority was a degradation. I think that’s much worse than the casual ‘She’s tolerable but not handsome enough.’

In her infinite wisdom, Jane Austen didn’t give us the exact wording of either one of Darcy’s proposals. Thus, as readers, we’re allowed to fantasise to our heart’s content and fill in the blanks with the most offensive (and respectively the most romantic) words we imagine he might have used in each case. In the 1995 miniseries, I think Andrew Davies did a fabulous job of conveying Darcy’s self-centredness at Hunsford: ‘Your family is beneath contempt, my circle will regard our marriage as a degradation, but I fancy you to distraction so we must marry, it cannot be helped.’ That, I think, is the main reason why I love to torture Darcy – it’s his initial selfishness, not his pride, that’s his greatest sin. He has every reason to be proud. But he doesn’t deserve Elizabeth while he’s still being selfish.

The only SEQUEL to P&P you’ve written was your very first novel, From This Day Forward – The Darcys of Pemberley. All the others have been P&P variations. Can you explain why you gravitate to the “what-if” side of JAFF?

That’s such a good question, Debbie. To be honest, I’m not exactly sure. I’m guessing that in this crazy modern world that keeps chasing its tail and almost every piece of news is bad news, I love the beautiful and comforting thought that there’s a red thread guiding us along towards where we need to be, and I love to keep imagining Elizabeth and Mr Darcy unerringly finding each other despite all sorts of obstacles set in their way.

Still, I’d love to write at least one more JAFF that takes place after the Darcys’ marriage. I’d very much like to write a continuation to The Unthinkable Triangle and expand on the fact that Colonel Fitzwilliam’s letters home, briefly mentioned in the epilogue from Elizabeth and Darcy’s perspective, were just edited versions of his real thoughts. I’d like to write about him eventually coming back to settle in England, only to discover that he hasn’t grown quite as ‘cured’ of his love for Elizabeth as he had imagined.

Now, before I go any further, I must say I wouldn’t dream of writing a scenario where he comes back intending to cause trouble in paradise, nor that Elizabeth would encourage him in any way. That would be a capital offence, for which I should be tarred and feathered in the JAFF public square 😉 . But I’d love to give him proper closure, and also niggle Darcy a little in the process. I think it would be interesting to imagine how Darcy would react – or overreact. He would be ever so glad to have his cousin back, of course, but profoundly unsettled once he discovered that, deep down, Fitzwilliam’s sentiments hadn’t changed all that much and, while attached to his wife, he was still in love with Elizabeth. A shock to both cousins, that, and plenty of scope for Darcy’s insecurities to resurface: ‘Look at him, he’s suntanned, engaging and exotic, has fought in battles and travelled all over the world – what have I done that’s anywhere near as riveting?’ Foolish and unfounded worries, of course, but there’s nothing I like better than to write an unreasonably jealous and insecure Darcy.

Could you give some hints about the plot for your next book? (You ARE writing one now, aren’t you?)

Yes, I am, Debbie, I can’t help it! This is another book I’ve been hoping to write for some time. It was inspired by some stunning scenery I came across a few years ago, with dark clouds hanging very low over the countryside just before a raging storm. The premise is that Darcy had already delivered the Hunsford proposal, and he and Elizabeth are brought together a little sooner than expected – so much so that they’re as good as engaged from the very first chapters. Love is in the air, there is happiness, stolen kisses and romantic moments, but sure enough, nothing’s as easy as it seems and angst is just around the corner. When it explodes, everything is blown to pieces. They find their way back to each other, naturally – they must – but until they are fully reconciled, there will be plenty of opportunities for Darcy to brood and simmer and demonstrate his legendary self-restraint when they are unexpectedly (and repeatedly) thrown together. Basically, I’m back to torturing him – old habits die hard – so it won’t be a wild and tongue-in-cheek romp like my latest, The Darcy Legacy, and not as long as that either. For once, I’ve started designing the cover way ahead of time, and that’s almost ready. Now all I have to do is sort out that bit that goes between the covers 😉 .

Joana, you know we MUST talk a little about Rational Creatures! Charlotte Lucas is your particular “rational creature” in this short story collection, and you really captured the essence of her personality beautifully. I know this isn’t the first of Christina Boyd’s anthologies where you’re a contributing author. In The Darcy Monologues, of course, you and the rest of the authors tackled different aspects of Mr. Darcy’s character, but in Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen’s Rakes & Gentlemen Rogues, you wrote about John Willoughby. How are the topics for these short stories determined? Do you specifically choose a topic, or pick it out of a hat, or does Christina choose for you?

I’m ever so glad you liked my take on Charlotte, Debbie. I had a great time writing about her, just as I loved contributing to The Darcy Monologues and Dangerous to Know – Christina had chosen such great themes for the anthologies! She chose the themes, but gave us contributing authors full freedom in selecting the Austen character we’d like to write about. Of course, in The Darcy Monologues the character was in the title, so what we chose there was whether we’d like to write a Regency story or a modern one.

To come back to Charlotte, I loved exploring her motives and the ways in which such a sensible and eminently rational woman would deal with being married to someone as senseless as Mr Collins. Again, it was imperative to not judge her by our standards, but by those of her time, when women rarely had an array of palatable choices available to them. I loved all the stories, such a great selection of rational creatures beautifully portrayed, and what an honour that the foreword was written by Devoney Looser!

Once it’s decided who/what you’re writing about, how do you approach this kind of short story writing assignment compared to your usual routine?

I must admit, writing my first short story was a challenge. I hadn’t done it before, I was used to writing full-length novels. But it was a delight to contribute to The Darcy Monologues and then to the other anthologies, and so great to be part of Christina’s dream-teams along with so many authors whose works had given me so much joy over the years.

How does your family react to your writing career? Do they read your books and enjoy them? Or do they think the whole JAFF world is a little crazy (like my husband does)?

Some of my family members have read my books, others not yet, and some of them still look at me rather funny when I go off to some place or another in Regency costume. My writing career was a surprise to them (and no less to me), and I did push my luck at times, when we went to see some National Trust house together and I remained frozen in place for ages to either stare at some portrait or artefact, or wait and wait and wait for the elusive people-free photo. But I think we’ve got the routine sorted by now. If the school holidays begin before I had the chance to finish the things I needed doing, something’s gotta give, and usually that’s sleep (who needs it? 😉 ). So I get up at 4 am to catch up, and I’ve come to love the crazy hours. Or if we go places together and I’m fixated on artefacts, they go off to sample the cakes and scones or they go walking or cycling and leave me to stare at the façade of Lyme Park and scribble. Sometimes I get up at ungodly hours when we’re away on camping trips too, and go off to find someplace to write – that’s how a fair bit of Mr Bennet’s Dutiful Daughter was written, in the early hours in a campsite laundry room.

If you could choose to step into one of Jane Austen’s books and become one of her characters, but it could NOT be Elizabeth Bennet, which character would you choose? Why her/him?

 Oh, goodness, no, I could never see myself as Elizabeth, not even when I was ‘one-and-twenty’. She’s much more positive, brave and outspoken than I’ll ever be. Much to my shock, now and then I find traces of Mrs Bennet in me, and of Mary and Mr Bennet, but if I were to choose a character, I’d say Mrs Croft or Mrs Gardiner. I love everything about them, especially their goodsense and the happiness and fulfilment they found in marriage. To be honest, Mrs Gardiner definitely has the edge. If I could be her, I’d have plenty of chances to see what Mr and Mrs Darcy are up to as well :))

Many thanks again for this wonderful chat, Debbie, and Nicole for giving Debbie and me this opportunity to get to know each other better. Have a great weekend, lovely ladies, and looking forward to us chatting face to face someday!