It’s time for the July edition of Interview with a Janeite! This month, our guest is a lady well known in the Austen community, Anji Dale. Her hostess is our very own Shannon Winslow, and they had a great chat. Take it away, ladies!
AV: Tell us a little about your family and background.
AD: I was born and brought up in the city of Leicester, in the English Midlands. That may not mean much to most people, until I mention that a certain Richard Armitage also hails from the same city. We didn’t share the same air for too many years, as I left home to go to University in 1973. Although we’re from totally different parts of the city, I like to think that I may have passed a small child RA out with his family in the city centre on occasion. My family was originally very much from a working class and blue collar background – railwaymen, seamstresses and draughtsmen are all in my family tree. My Dad eventually managed to work his way up into the management tier of the company he worked for. Mum was a homemaker and devoted her time to the care of myself and my younger sister. Money was never plentiful so most books were loaned from The Library (I always thought of it with those initial capitals), apart from the occasional gift for birthdays or at Christmas.
Reading is something I’ve always loved right from a very early age. I used to get told off at school, even at age 6 or 7, for reading ahead in the books we were supposed to be taking turns reading aloud from. On family holidays, my family would be driving through scenic countryside and I’d be sitting in the back seat of the car, with my head stuck in a book! To me, e-readers are an amazing invention and their associated apps equally so. It means that if I have my phone with me, I’m never without any number of books to read. The same goes for audiobooks and the technology that allows me to hook my phone or iPod up to the car radio. Then I can “read with my ears”, as I once saw it expressed, while I’m on my commutes. Bluetooth earphones or a docking station enable me to listen whilst cooking, gardening or doing any sort of mundane household task, except ironing. Then it’s DVD time!
I was the first member of my family to stay on in education until age 18 and then go to University, where I studied for a degree in pharmacy. That has been my profession for over 40 years. Nowadays, I work as a part-time locum community pharmacist, filling in for pharmacy managers during times of illness and holidays. During my years at Uni, I met a Yorkshireman who has now been my husband also for over 40 years. Yorkshire has also been my home for most of that time, apart from a couple of years in Nigeria, West Africa in the late 70s, and another couple of years in the beautiful cathedral city of Durham in the 80s. We live in a 250+ year old stone cottage that’s been in hubby’s family for nearly a century, located in the Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate. Our house has a large garden with a substantial vegetable vegetable patch, where we grow lots of fruit and veggies. From late spring until well into the autumn, we’re busy picking and preserving our produce for use over the coming months (we have four freezers!).
We have one son, who became the second generation from either of our families to go to Uni and he graduated from the same University as myself and from where his Dad got his PhD. He’s getting married in a couple of years’ time and I’m going to become a mother-in-law!
AV: How did you first discover Jane Austen?
AD: That would be one Sunday afternoon sometime in the winter of 1966/67 – I know it was winter, as it got dark early. I was 11 years old and in my first year at what was known as a grammar school in those days in the UK. The 1940 version of Pride and Prejudice, starring Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson, was shown on TV. Surprisingly, we got to watch it all the way through, as my Dad wasn’t a costume drama fan and we were usually only allowed to watch what he wanted to watch. The next day, I hunted out the book in the school library and the rest, as they say…. (though I have to confess to a certain amount of disappointment at the time when I discovered that the archery scene was an invention of the film makers and wasn’t in the book!). A lot of the wonderful subtlety in Jane’s writing passed me by at such a young age but I grew to appreciate it as the years passed. Even now, I find something new on every re-read. So I guess I’ve been a Janeite for over 50 years now.
AV: Other than Austen, are there any classic stories you really enjoy?
AD: I guess it depends what you mean by classic stories. I still have the original copy of Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie that I was given as a birthday or Christmas present around the age of 7. It was the first book that I read to myself without reading aloud and would read it over and over again. Apart from all things Austen and Austenesque, I’ve been a sci-fi geek for even longer than I’ve been an Janeite. I’m old enough to remember seeing the very first episode of Doctor Who in 1963 (I was 8) and devoured all the volumes of sci-fi available in the junior section of our local library until I was old enough to borrow books from the grown-ups section. That’s where I got to know the classics of sci-fi, such as Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov and John Wyndham. English Literature classes at school turned me on to Shakespeare and John Keats but totally turned me off Charles Dickens and George Elliot. My class never got to study any Jane Austen, which may have been a blessing, as can you imagine the horror of coming to hate her sublime prose because you were forced to read it?
AV: Tell us about some of the friendships you have formed in the Jane Austen community.
AD: It seems strange to think that I only stumbled across this wonderful community by accident in 2014. It feels it’s always been part of my life now. One of the first sites I found was this very one, just days after it started up. Since then, I’ve discovered the pleasures that can be gained from online friendships with people that, sadly, I’ll probably never meet face-to-face. Some of them are writers, some are readers like myself, some are bloggers. Just because we don’t meet in the physical world, doesn’t mean the friendships are any less real, though. I’ve been fortunate enough to meet Cass Grafton several times – we had lunch together very recently – and also your very own Catherine Curzon (and a certain Mr. Lukis) at the Huddersfield Literary Festival last year.
Until I found this community, it would never have occurred to me that I’d be able to do something like proof or beta reading. But seeing a comment by an Austenesque author on Facebook, asking for a Brit to cast an eye over a new story, led to my first outing on that front on 2015 and I now do it fairly often. Through that, I’ve discovered what a fascinating subject etymology is and even more about the differences between US and UK English. Sometimes, they turn up in clusters and I have to make sure I keep the plot-lines straight in my head (frantically crossing every digit I have at the same time). It all means that I tend to disappear off the Austenesque radar from time to time. If I’m busy with home life (the garden in particular) and work (summer is a busy time) as well, it leaves little time for reading blog posts as I’m always anxious to do the very best job I can for the lovely authors who ask me to read for them.
I’m also part of Sophia Rose’s Austenesque TBR Challenge group on Goodreads, where you’ll also come across familiar names who frequent this and other blogs. It’s a lovely, friendly group and rather than any of us achieving the goal of the challenge and reducing the size of our TBR piles, I think we egg each other on to acquire even more during the course of our discussions. I know I do!
All of my Austenesque friends have a standing invitation to visit us Yorkshire, should you ever find yourselves in this neck of the woods. Or if you’re not coming to this side of the country but are visiting Lyme Park in Cheshire (known to all of you, I expect, as Pemberley from 1995) then it’s only about a two hour drive for me. I’d love to be able to meet any or even all of you!
AV: Can you think of any actors or actresses (past or present) who would be great cast as a Jane Austen character?
AD: I’m a big fan of the HBO series Game of Thrones (not to everyone’s taste, I know, but it appeals to my love of sci-fi and fantasy) and some of the younger male cast members such as Richard Madden and Kit Harington might make decent Austen heroes. Of the younger female stars, Emilia Clarke and Sophie Turner could be great as Austen heroines. Of course, Lena Headey and Charles Dance from that series have already appeared in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. One of the few casting choices I liked in Death Comes to Pemberley was Jenna Coleman as Lydia Wickham. It made me want to see her portray Lydia’s sister Elizabeth instead. Nowadays, she’s doing rather well in Victoria. Would Aidan Turner want to take on another costume drama role after Poldark? I quite fancy him as Frederick Wentworth. Then there’s the aforementioned Mr. Armitage. Is he too dark and brooding to have made a decent Darcy? We shall never know now but I’d love to have seen him try.
AV: What are your favourite types of variations or sequels? Do you prefer angst, sweet, steamy, or comic? Regency or retelling?
AD: There aren’t many types of variations or sequels that I don’t like! I’m not a person of any particular faith, so I do tend to find those that have a really strong religious theme less appealing than the rest. I tend to completely avoid those that often have the words “sensual” or “intimate” in the title or subtitle. I don’t mind things getting on the steamy side if it’s relevant to the plot but if it’s the only thing in the plot then it it’s a complete turn-off. Angst? Bring it on! Comedy? I dearly love a laugh! Regency or other eras? Not a problem!
AV: Any Austen characters you really identify with?
AD: I think there are few of us who wouldn’t like to have Elizabeth Bennet’s vivacity and wit (and a certain gentleman!) but I’m a lot more like Elinor Dashwood and am not one who displays emotions on my sleeve very often. When it comes to public gatherings, even on family occasions, I often find myself coming over all Darcy-like if there are a lot of people present I don’t know well or at all and can be found “standing around in a stupid manner” or skulking in a corner! I’m also a bit rubbish at connecting names and faces when faced with a large group of people, which doesn’t help matters. Anne Elliot is another heroine I can empathise with, though I was never persuaded out of my engagement.
Now it’s Anji’s turn to ask Shannon the questions. Go!
AD: Hi Shannon. Firstly, thanks for the many hours of reading and listening pleasure I, and no doubt many others, have had from your books.
SW: You are most welcome, Anji! It is such a joy to be able to share my stories with other devoted Janeites, who speak the same language. And I like what you said about online friendships (like ours) being no less real. Although it will be even better to meet you in person someday, when I get to the UK again (or if you should ever find yourself coming my way)!
AD: I’ve read somewhere that you don’t read much if any, Austenesque fiction, as you don’t want to be influenced by other stories or plot lines. So, what do you like to read in your spare time? What other hobbies do you have?
SW: That correct, Anji. I read very little Austenesque fiction for that very reason. With JAFF off the table and left to my own devises, I would probably go only for other novels with equally strong romantic themes. But I’m in a book club that selects from a wide range of things, including some nonfiction, which helps to broaden my reading horizons and keep me from getting stuck in a rut of my own making. My other interests tend toward gardening, sewing, and the arts, although I don’t seem to have enough time to do any of them justice. I sing in a community choir, and I try to keep my yard in some kind of order. But my sewing machine only gets used for mending these days. And my paint brushes lie dormant until I have another book cover to create.
AD: You live near Seattle now, and I love seeing the photos you post on Facebook from time to time. Is that where you’re from, or are you from another part of the USA?
SW: As your question suggests, Seattle is a place where everybody seems to be from somewhere else! I am a native, however. Other than a brief detour to California in my youth, I’ve lived in the Puget Sound area all my life. What attracted and keeps my family here? It’s a beautiful place for one thing – mountains, water, and verdure. I like the mild climate, but I reserve the right to complain when too many drippy grey days (or dry days over 80, like this summer) are strung together! Probably the big reason, though, is that just about everyone in my family (and my husband’s too) has worked for Boeing. The tradition continues with both my sons employed there now.
AD: Having seen that you’re working on a Northanger Abbey based story, are you considering writing any based on Jane Austen’s other works?
SW: Although Pride and Prejudice stories are most popular with readers, I hope to entice people to try something else from time to time – broaden your horizons a little, like I was saying before. My long-range goal is to write at least one novel based on each of Austen’s six. Obviously, I have P&P covered. The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen takes care of Persuasion. I consider Leap of Hope to be my Mansfield Park book. Which only leaves Northanger Abbey (work in progress), Sense and Sensibility, and Emma. I have ideas cooking for these last two also; I just need more time to write!
AD: Like many others, I read that you discovered Jane Austen by means of the 1995 series with Colin Firth. Do you have any favourite dramatisations of her other works?
SW: Since I see no need to “improve” on Jane Austen, I tend to be most devoted to the film adaptations that are truest to the original novels. Yes, P&P 1995 is my all-time favourite, and Colin Firth is my Mr. Darcy. Having said that, though, I can still appreciate something about nearly all the others (any JA is better than no JA!). I own, regularly watch, and enjoy a total of 3 P&P adaptations, 2 S&S, 3 Emmas, but only one of NA and one Persuasion. Sadly, I’ve never found a MP adaptation that I really like. A couple of related productions (The Jane Austen Book Club, Lost in Austen) have also made it into my permanent collection. When my sister and I have a “movie day,” it usually means watching something JA!
AD: As a self-confessed and unapologetic sci-fi geek myself, anything that combines that with Austenesque fiction will always be a winner with me, which why I love Maria Grace’s Dragons and your Crossroads books, especially the Austenesque Leap of Hope. Are you planning on writing any more in that series?
SW: I’m delighted you enjoyed Leap of Hope so much, Anji! And I would love to write another “Leap” book if inspiration strikes. Nothing in the works yet, though, or even in my mental TBW (to-be-written) pile as of now. That is subject to change at any time, however!
AD: Would you like to take a trip back to Regency times like the heroine in Leap of Hope? What would you appreciate from those times over modern times? How well do you think you’d cope and what would you miss from the 21st century?
SW: Good question! I know I wouldn’t be able to make a permanent commitment like Hope did, because I couldn’t leave my family behind, and also I’m too dependent on modern medicine and hygiene! I would also have a hard time accepting the restrictions placed on women. But I would like to visit temporarily, provided I could experience the life of the upper classes, not the hardships of the servants and peasants. I think we’re all enamoured with the Austenized version of Regency times, where we’re not required to think about the lot of the peasants and “poor” means being able to afford to keep only two servants (a la S&S)! That’s the fantasy. What I wish I could transport back to this rather crude, “anything goes” age, however, is the emphasis on good character and gracious manners. Love the language too, of course, which makes JA-style dialogue and narration so much fun for me to write!
Shannon Winslow claims she was minding her own business – raising two sons and pursuing a very sensible career as a dental hygienist – when an ordinary trip to Costco about a dozen years ago changed her life. That was the day a copy of the ’95 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice fairly leapt off the shelf and into her oversized shopping cart. After watching the mini-series, Shannon was hopelessly hooked on the story, Colin Firth’s Darcy, and all things Jane Austen. One may guess what followed – compulsive reading, late-night trips to the library and video store, secret rendezvous with Mr. Darcy and Mr. Knightley. Finally, only one thing remained. Her dedication (or obsession, as it could more rightly be described) ultimately inspired her to begin writing her own stories a la Austen.
Ms. Winslow first garnered attention as a finalist in the Jane Austen Made Me Do It short story contest, with her entry titled Mr. Collins’s Last Supper. Her 2011 debut novel, The Darcys of Pemberley, quickly become a best seller, praised particularly for the author’s authentic Austen style and faithfulness to the original characters. A stand-alone Austen-inspired story, For Myself Alone, followed. Then Winslow returned to Pride and Prejudice for her third book called Return to Longbourn, which completes a trilogy when added to the original novel and her previous sequel. Next she gave us a “what-if” tale starring Jane Austen herself. The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen is dedicated to every fan who has wished that famous authoress might have enjoyed the romance and happy ending she so carefully crafted for all her heroines. Miss Georgiana Darcy of Pemberley (a companion book to The Darcys of Pemberley, written from Georgiana’s point of view) debuted in 2015, with two more novels (Leap of Faith and Leap of Hope) in a new collection added in 2017. Winslow’s newest release is The Ladies of Rosings Park (another lateral expansion of her The Darcys of Pemberley series).
Her two sons now grown, Shannon lives with her husband in the log home they built in the countryside south of Seattle, where she writes and paints in her studio facing Mr. Rainier.
Visit Shannon at her website/blog: Shannon Winslow’s “Jane Austen Says…”
Follow her on Twitter @JaneAustenSays and Facebook
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Both interviews were awesome. Great questions and answers from both of you. Thanks for sharing parts of your life, past and present, with us. Anji, it is so nice to have a face to put with your name. We’ve been friends for quite some time, and now I feel I know you even better. The pictures of your home and garden are lovely. I’ve long admired your garden and gardening. I think I’ve told you before, but my father had a large garden and orchard. We always spent much time picking and preserving for the winter months. There is nothing much better than fresh home grown fruits and vegetables. I enjoyed hearing about yours.
Shannon, it was good to learn more about you, too. Your studio facing Mt. Rainier sounds so peaceful and beautiful. I bet you enjoy working in that room. 🙂 I have long admired your ability to paint your own covers. I always looked forward to seeing what your latest will be.
Thank you again, to all of you, for such a nice post. Thanks, for hosting, Nicole.
Glad you enjoyed the post, Janet. It was fun to do, especially learning more about the lovely Anji!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the interviews, Janet. Yes, a lot of people will now know what I look like. To say I’m camera-shy would be something of a very British understatement and it’s why my avatar on just about every site online is a statue carved from the trunk of a dead tree. We saw it standing in a field when we were on holiday in 2012 on the beautiful Isle of Man (one of our favourite holiday destinations). It was lovely to read the answers that Shannon gave to my questions, as it took me quite a while to think them up!
The produce in our garden is suffering from our unusual extended heatwave here in the UK and our lawns are now a fetching shade of brown. Having said that, we’re getting quite a lot of rain as I type this. I’m most assuredly a temperate climate type of person. I don’t cope well with extremes any more. I guess you could call me Goldilocks!
What a wonderful chat you two ladies had-interesting and informative!
Must say it’s lovely to put a face to your name,Anji! Your home and garden have that ‘lived in,worked in’ look about them and you obviously enjoy spending time in both. Isn’t it a fantastic talent to be able to grow your own produce? It must be so rewarding to see the fruit of your labours right there on your plate,each day,during the dreary Winter days,taste their home produced goodness and know form whence that came!!
Sharon,it was lovely to read of your life and interests in Seattle. Best of luck in your writing endeavours.
Thank you both for such a lovely chat!
Thanks Mary. I can’t say that I’m a “natural” gardener by any means but it’s fantastic to be able to pick, or dig up, some of our veggies and have them on the table ready to eat within an hour or two. Can’t get any fresher than that! What we don’t use straight away gets stored in one of our outbuildings (potatoes and apples) or frozen for use during the winter.
Back in hubby’s grandparents day (they were the first of his family to live here, almost a century ago), the property was a smallholding and had a lot more land with it. There were various livestock including cows. Most of the land was sold off many years ago (we have about a third of an acre left now) and we’re now surrounded by other houses. We have a total of thirteen next door neighbours! To this day though, two of our outbuildings are still called The Mistal (cowshed – now a workshop) and The Dairy (now used by hubby to make wine from some of the fruit we grow). Above The Dairy, is a loft space which is accessible from one of the bedrooms of the main house and which is now my study. One of the photos above shows the Austenesque corner of it, which houses my collection of Austenesque books and othe related bric-a-brac and souvenirs. My husband calls it The Jane Austen Room!
Thanks for stopping by, Mary!
What great interviews ladies. I really enjoyed this. I wish I had your green fingers Anji, mine seem to be black!
I’ve never been to Harrogate, I spent my youth in Brompton-on-Swale with my Gran with visits to Mum’s brother’s in Catterick, Richmond and Darlington.
I’m so impressed that you beta stories. Lory Lilian did once ask me but I have little faith in my abilities as I know a word is wrong and I know the right one but the more I look at it the more I doubt it 🙁 so I just read and say what I enjoyed most.
I think it would be very hard to cast Darcy now as I really love the 1995 & 2005 versions but I can totally see Richard Armitage in the role thanks to Cat Gardiner’s Iceman!
I’m also impressed with your artistic talents Shannon. I used to be able to copy things pretty well although I haven’t tried for years, but as for original stuff I could see what I wanted to portray in my head but it never worked on paper. (At junior school we were asked to draw our impression of life on another planet – my ideas were wonderful but I got in such a mess trying to paint it that I just swirled the brush over the page – and was praised for my abstract idea 🙂 🙂
Thank you again for sharing your stories.
Hi Glynis. As I said to Mary, I can’t say I have natural green fingers but we are blessed with wonderful soil and we produce our own compost, too. I don’t know the areas of Yorkshire you mention that well, mainly passing through it on the A1 on trips further north, especiallt when we lived in Durham, though we have been to Richmond and its castle a couple of times.
I kind of fell into beta reading almost by accident. It’s an intellectual challenge that is totally different to my day job and anything else in my life and I really enjoy it. Of course, it means I get sneak peeks at forhcoming Austensque books before publication, too! Some of the books I’ve been involved with have also come out as audiobooks and it’s a rather surreal, but totally amazing experience, to listen to words that I’ve proofread several months or even a couple of years previously. One of my most useful tools for researching word use and etymology is the Oxford English Dictionary website. Generally speaking, you have to have a rather expensive subscription to use it but I discovered that if you have a ticket for your local library and your library subscribes, then you can log on by using your library ticket number. It’s a fantastic resource!
I got started in art because of my mom, who was passionate about painting and a fine artist in her own right. But the writing took over for me once I began, so the art, although I still enjoy it, got set on the back burner. 🙂
Anji: What a delightful and informative interview. I love reading about… and putting a picture to the name of someone I’ve been commenting with over the last few years. Anji… there is nothing like putting your hands in the earth and enjoying the fruits of the land. Your pictures are so delightful. I love your study/Jane Austen Room. Your husband was so right in giving it that label.
Shannon: I enjoyed learning more about you. I have many of your books [read, in the TBR pile, and on my wish-list] and have enjoyed them. I have relatives living near the Portland area and they love Oregon. I know there are several authors from that state. It must be the weather that inspires creativity. Your photo of your yard was simply beautiful.
Special thanks to Nicole and Austen Variations for doing the ‘Interview with a Janeite’ segment. This has been so much fun. Blessing to both ladies… I’ve enjoyed reading about you and learning a bit more. You are both very special. Enjoy the accolades and comments you will be receiving now that this interview has posted. You have both earned them.
Thanks for stopping by, Jeanne. I only recently read your Interview With a Janeite, sorry to say. It came up at a time when I was having one of those busy spells I mentioned. It’s lovely to get to know each other a little better. On my study door, there’s actually a plaque which says “Do Not Disturb, I’m Reading Jane Austen”, which I won in a giveaway from Sophie Andrews a few years ago, along with a mirror compact that says “I’d Rather Be at Pemberley”. The latter is actually in the photo but I think it’s only me that’ll be able to make it out! I have to have gloves on when I’m gardening as I hate the feeling of soil going under my fingernails, so I rarely actually sink my hands into the soil, but it is quite a soothing occupation. Of course, unless my husband is working next to me and we’re chatting as we work, then I take the opportunity to plug myself into one of my Austenesque audiobooks, of which I have rather a large collection now. I’ve got all of Shannon’s available in that format (as well as all of her ebooks) and a good listen they are too. I can feel a listen to TPoMJA coming soon and it’s narrated by one of my favourite narrators, Elizabeth Klett. As Sheila says below, it’s an ending that we could have wished for our beloved Jane.
Yes, the great Northwest is a beautiful place to live. Although I’ve often thought they drew the lines wrong when they were creating state borders in this part of the country. They should have divided vertically instead of horizontally. Western Washington has much more in common (climate and economy) with western Oregon, and eastern Washington with eastern Oregon. Too late now to change, I suppose, but these are the kinds of things my mind dwells on and wants to “correct.” I would also like to rewrite the English language, btw, so that everything is spelled phonetically, but I realize that would require that we all agree on how words should be pronouonced, which would never happen *sigh* TMI?
I enjoyed this interview so much. Anji,I am glad to get to know a face book friend so much better. I too hope we get to meet one day. Shannon, I love your covers and envy your artistic ability, wishing I had some. I hope to get out to Oregon one day.
Thank you Debbie. Wouldn’t it be lovely if we had a Star Trek-style transported and could beam ourselves around the world in an instant? You’re so right about Shannon’s cover art it’s amazing. One day, I want to treat myself to a physical copy of TPoMJA as I love that cover so much.
Thank you, both, for the compliments. I’m convinced I’m a better writer than I ever would have been an artist, but it’s fun to be able to keep my hand in a little with the covers, etc. 🙂
As others have said, it is so nice to read about friends here and even learn new things about them. I used to garden, can and freeze produce and even growing up we raised pigs to slaughter in late Autumn to then freeze the meat. I and my children loved picking & eating Sugar Snap Peas off the vine while outside or gathering fresh blueberries to eat with breakfast for many years. Unfortunately we now live in a condo where there are no gardens but there are many farmers locally who sell by the roadside or supply fresh produce at our market. We had a long dry spell in the high 90’s in June and early July and now parts of Pennsylvania are flooding due to the rain storms we continue to have…along with continued hot temperatures.
Anji, I am so with you about the Sci-fi books/movies. I am awaiting the next Game of Thrones on TV but put down reading the books when I approached “The Red Wedding” scene. I have enjoyed not only the Dragon series but also JAFF about vampires, shape shifters, werewolves, etc.
Shannon, having a daughter who lived for many years, with her husband, near Seattle I understand and appreciate how beautiful the area there is. I also loved meeting you there for lunch back when. It is one of my fond memories. Your “The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen” remains the one I would wish for our dear JA. The painting I won from your one raffle is a treasured part of my JA collection and beautifies the wall on which it hangs – thank you.
Anji, your garden looks so neat! And the Jane Austen room entices me to want to see it up close to explore all your treasures. My Jane Austen collection is mostly books and DVDs and I do have all the Jane Austen stories that were put into movie form on DVDs so I can watch part or all of one even as I walk on my treadmill.
Thank you both for sharing with us today.
Hello Sheila. So good to “talk to you” again. Ah, freshly picked peas! We don’t actually grow Sugar Snap peas as such, but not all of the ones growing in our garden make it to maturity. When they’re immature, you can eat the entire pod and I have to confess to doing that when I’m picking. I’d like to try growing blueberries, as I think I’m addicted to them! Don’t know if they’re hardy enough to stand a cold winter, though. Must look into that. I think that photo of our garden was taken in the spring last year. The potatoes had been planted but aren’t yet showing above ground and the climbing beans haven’t yet made the journey from the greenhouse to the framework we put up each year. It looks a bit different today and you can see very little of the bare earth from that same vantage point (our bedroom window).
We’re planning on a total rewatch of the entirety of Game of Thrones before the final series comes out next year. I’m rather glad that I knew that the Red Wedding was coming, as it would have been a very nasty shock to see those events unfold on screen without warning. Our son and his fiancée are big fans, too. In fact, it was them who got us into it in the first place! When they get married in 2020, he’s not having a best man, he’s having a Hand of the Groom. They’re also going to make the first cut of their wedding cake with his full-size replica of Jon Snow’s sword Long Claw. His name, coincidentally, is also Jon, spelled the same way!
Wish George R. R. Martin could hurry up with the next book, The Winds of Winter. It’s been seven years since A Dance With Dragons.
It was lovely to meet you and your daughter for lunch that day, Sheila, and to keep some connections to you via the internet! Let me know if you’re ever out this way again.
Hi Shannon. Thanks for hosting me today and for the fascinating answers to my questions. It’s be fantastic to visit your part of the world one day. As to whether that will ever happen, who knows? It sounds as if the climate would suit me well. We’ve had too many hot days in the 80s Fahrenheit, mid to high 20a Celsius, over here just recently, too.
I envy you being able to sing. My husband has an amazing baritone/bass singing voice but I can’t carry a tune in a bucket, as the saying goes! My sewing machine gets used for exactly the same purpose as yours does nowadays. I used to make quite a lot of my own clothes, of simple styles admittedly, but not any more. One needlecraft hobby I still try to make time for is cross-stitching. I bought a kit from the shop at Jane Austen’s House Museum that actually depicts the cottage in Chawton and I really ahould get around to stitching it.
It seems that we both like the same Austen/Austenesque dramas. Apart from liking Elliot Cowan’s Darcy in Lost in Austen quite a lot, Alex Kingston is my all-time favourite Mrs. Bennet and putting my sci-fi hat back on for a moment, her recurring character of River Song in the modern revival of Doctor Who is another of her performances I admire a lot. That series has one more claim on my affections – most of it was filmed less than 20 miles from where I live!
Looking forward to eventually reading your books based on the remaining novels of Jane Austen. TPoMJA is my favourite Persuasion-based tale. The concept that writers have a TBW list made me chuckle! Hopefuly, your muse will eventually come up with ideas for another Crossroads book. Like you, I couldn’t make the committment that Hope did, but it’d be lovely to go on holiday to Regency times, as one of the upper classes of course!
Thanks for sharing the stage with me today, Anji! It was fun to read more about you and to answer your creative questions. 😀 I sincerely hope we get the chance to meet one day in person. I’m sure we would get along famously!
Yes, I’m sure we would, too!
It is wonderful to have these interviews and learn more about those we ‘know’ and chat with on-line and find interesting similarities amongst ourselves. Like you, I always read ahead and would get myself in trouble for it in school…though I think some teachers were pleased with it. I do not like George Elliot’s work but in high school loved Dickens. I love ‘Game of Thrones’ but have yet to actually read the books…may need to add that to my TBR mountain. As to gardening, I like it and have one lone tomato plant in a container that seems to be producing a nice crop of tomatoes! I have seen your name many times on the ‘Acknowledgements’ of books that I have read and loved. Thank you for your ‘generosity of spirit’ in more ways than one! Maybe, one day I will get over to England and will definitely let you know when I do! I would love to actually meet you!
Shannon, it was a delight learning even more about you and to know that you are busy working on your next book. If I ever make it out there, which I do one day plan to, I will let you know too!
Thank you, Nicole, for continuing this delightful interviews series. It definitely brings us all a little closer!
Good morning/afternoon Carole. The book series (A Song of Ice and Fire) that Game of Thrones is based on, will require a large investment of time from you! I have them all as ebooks and audiobooks but my futre daughter-in-law has them all as paperbacks and I think they’re getting thicker every time. Each book is told from multiple POVs too, a chapter at a time so one character will have several chapters in a book, but not successive chapters. So if that’s not your thing, then they might not be for you.
It’d be lovely if you can make it over to the UK one day. We’ve only had one very brief visit to Canada, back in the 80s, as a side trip to the eastern USA. We travelled from Boston to Toronto via a day in Niagara Falls, for a long weekend visiting a friend. We even had a trip up the CN Tower.
Why wait? You’re in Canada, right, Carole? Which is just next door to Washington State. I’ll meet you at the border, okay? Haha! I wish it were that easy. I guess it might be if our countries were little instead of big. 😉
Awake again now on my side of the world! And what fun to read all the comments. Makes me wish we could all get together in one place for tea. But this is the next best thing! 😀 Thank you, Nicole, for setting this up.
If we can’t borrow a transporter, maybe we could borrow one of the Enterprise’s holodecks for an Austen-themed tea and a good old natter? What do you think?
Yes! Or perhaps I can put a good word in at the Crossroads Center. It would be apiece of cake for them to arrange it. Haha!
Very interesting commentaries.
Anji, I feel a strong connection to your background in many aspects.
And, Shannon, you know I love all of your works with their good stories and very, very good writing. It’s always a pleasure to work on them. Have you considered other P&P characters, particularly the primary ones? Of the relief to Rosings were a pleasant woman to replace Lady Catherine. Or a collection of short stories with such characters, for I imagine that would be enough of the change in personalities. However, I do recall at least one variation where Mr. C was a much more pleasant man that was enjoyable.
Hi, Betty! Lots of possibilities, I know. I do have one more P&P planned – a prequel. And I eventually plan to put together a short story collection featuring mash-ups and ‘missing scenes’ I’ve written over the years. So far, though, I haven’t been inspired by the idea of doing a true P&P variation (changing up the original story line or remaking one of the characters), as others have done. I think the problem is that I believe the original story is true and I don’t want to tamper with it! I didn’t mind tampering with Jane Austen’s life (in The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen), however, because she really deserved a different and happier ending!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Betty. I know you’re a busy lady too, with all the editing you do.
How delightful. Thank you, ladies.
Jennifer also would have her nose in a book when we would drive the countryside. It’s funny because her children now do the same. Apparently, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Like you, Anji, I loved The Library (also capitalized) when I was a kid. Now, I rely on my Kindle reader. I think it’s my most cherished possession.
You and Nicole Clarkston are the only JAFF authors I’ve actually met in person, Shannon. (Other than my daughter, of course.) One day I would like the freedom to travel and add to my list of personal acquaintances. Someday soon, I hope.
Hi there, Joy. What fun to think that Jennifer and the twins had/have the same habit. Funny thing about reading in the car is that I can’t do it much nowadays unless we’re on good, straight roads as I get car sick! All those years ago, it didn’t matter how twisty or winding the roads were – and we have an awful lot of those in the UK – I’d have my head down, reading. Now, it’s always my Kindle I’m reading and I have the font set quite large on those occasions as it makes it easier to read.
John says we can read anywhere. I’m not going to share how large a font I need. Getting old is the pits!
I remember, Joy! You had the folks at that writers’ conference fooled into thinking I must be someone pretty important for you to fly all the way from South America just to meet me! Haha!
Ha ha! One of life’s great coincidences. I’m still friends with Bob Dugoni. It was a great conference.
I love these posts! It was so nice getting to know both of you a little better, Anji and Shannon!
Thanks to all of the team at this lovely site, past and present, for giving people like me many hours of reading pleasure. Thanks also for the invitation to take part in this feature. I was very surpised when Nicole’s email arrived and feel honoured to be invited to be part of it.
It was fun to do it, Kara. Glad you enjoyed it too.
Great interview. Loved the photos of your house and gardens.
Hello Rose. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. It was great fun taking part. See you back on the Goodreads group!
Both of these interviews were perfectly lovely!! I enjoyed learning about Anji and her early reading of JA (I didn’t read JA until grad school!) and I agree: I have yet to watch a film adaptation of MP that suits me. I’ve also done a bit of beta-reading/copy editing for a couple of Austenesque authors. And may I say how envious I am of your Yorkshire home and garden; it’s absolutely dreamy.
And it’s wonderful to learn about Shannon, too, with her painting and view of Ranier–envious again! I so enjoyed reading about her books: published, in progress, and to be written.
Thank you both for interviewing each other! What a lovely idea!
Warmly,
Susanne 🙂
Hi Susanne, lovely to “see” you here. We are indeed lucky to live where we do, even though we are now surrounded by other houses. When my then boyfriend, later my husband, first brought me here to meet his parents, back in 1974, there were still open fields and lovely views at the back of the house. My late mother-in-law, who grew up in the house, remembered a time when there were no other houses immediately abutting the property at all.
Like you, I’m rather envious of Shannon’s views. We have nothing like that in the UK. All of our volcanos are long aince worn down and extinct, although Harrogate, as a spa town, still boasts quite a number of sulphur springs. The water smells and tastes awful!
I’m so enjoying these interviews. Getting to know the people who’s names I see on the various Austen author and book sites, who have come to be so familiar as to consider them friends is so lovely. Like J.w. Garrett’s, and Sheila Majczan’s, I look for your name Anji when I’m looking for a review to a new-to-me book. I really admire the fact that you beta read. Sometimes I think I would like to do that, and then I think I’m not qualified because I’m not British. The photos of your house and garden are so wonderful, I love browsing through photos of English cottages, large and small, every style and location. I’m going to think of your house and garden next time I see your name pop up. By the way have you done any pickling?
Great interviews. I enjoyed learning more of Shannon’s life too. There must be something about the Pacific Northwest since it’s home to so many talented writers. I’m also thrilled to know Shannon’s books are available in audio. Yay!
Love those audio books!
Hello there, Michelle! Now you make me feel a little guilty, as I don’t write nearly as many reviews as I should! It all comes down to the time thing again. It’s also a process that doesn’t come easily to me. Yes, I should take Elizabeth Bennet’s advice and practise more! When I see the wonderful reviews that our friends Sheila, J. W. and Debbie write, as well as our wonderful Austenesque bloggers……..
I fell into beta reading because I’m from the other side of the pond, admittedly, but I know that most of our lovely US authors have several US betas as well.
Yea, I’ve done some pickling and sometimes make chutneys, but most of our produce isn’t the sort that pickling would be appropriate for. Most of it ends up in one of our freezers.
I didn’t realise you were in Yorkshire too – snap! Let’s ge5 a cuppa, I’ll give you all the Wickham goss.
Hi Catherine. Sorry I missed your comment when you posted it. Been doing a bit of a clearout of my emails and just came across this notification.
If you’re ever going to be up in this part of Yorkshire, please get in touch. It’d be lovely to chat for longer than the very brief one we had at Marsden Mechanic’s Hall last year. And if I’m ever down your way, I’ll do likewise. I’m still hopeful that you and Adrian will bring An Evening With Jane Austen closer to me one day.