*Does anyone else hear that Nick Jonas song when they read this title? No? Just me then.
Hi everyone, I’m Melanie Stanford, and I’m the newest member of Austen Variations. I’m so happy to be part of this amazing group of authors and Austenites!
This month we’re talking about anniversaries. So let me share some of mine and maybe you’ll get to know me a little better in the process.
The anniversary of when I first fell in love with all things Jane Austen: 20th
My mom would watch the Colin Firth version of PRIDE & PREJUDICE on repeat, and I would cringe every time. I mean, who was into watching people just yak at each other around bad wallpaper? Then one day, my older sister was watching it, and suddenly I was interested (because she was cool, so anything she did was cool). I started watching with her around the time Elizabeth sees Darcy’s “beautiful grounds at Pemberley.” I had no clue what was going on, but I stuck to the end. As soon as it was over, I restarted from the beginning. What can I say, I was hooked!
The anniversary of when I read my first Jane Austen novel: 19th
The first JA novel I read was PRIDE & PREJUDICE. BTW, I had to read it for my eleventh grade Brit Lit class. By then, I was already in love, so I was excited to read the novel. During class we watched the older BBC version of the movie as well (in which I tried not to bug my teacher about why we weren’t watching the Colin Firth one. I mean why not?).
The anniversary of when I read all the rest of her books: NO IDEA
I spent the next few years reading Austen’s entire works. SENSE & SENSIBILITY was second, mostly due to the wonderful Emma Thompson/Kate Winslet movie that my mom owned on VHS. I also read a couple of biographies and many retellings from my early twenties on.
My current collection of Austen related novels. It’s small now but I look forward to expanding it!
The anniversary of when I wrote my first JA-related novel: 5th
My first finished manuscript was a Young Adult time travel. Around this time, my mom (who is the best, obviously) introduced me to a new movie version of PERSUASION. I’d alread
y seen the Ciaran Hinds/Amanda Root movie, and read the book, which I really related to. But this movie… *swoon* Rupert Penry-Jones, amirite?! On one of my many rewatches, I remember thinking, “this would make a really good modern-day story.” I put the idea off for a while, but finally decided to give it a shot. It took me less than three months to write the first draft of SWAY.
The anniversary of my second JA-related story: Less than one year
Last year, I heard of a contest for Jane Austen related, winter-themed short stories. Even though I’m not a short-story writer, I decided to give it a shot. In a couple of weeks, I churned out BECOMING FANNY, which is MANSFIELD PARK meets HOLIDAY INN. It ended up winning First Runner-up and was published in the holiday anthology THEN COMES WINTER out with Meryton Press last November. Woot woot!
The anniversary of my first published JA-related novel: Less than two months!
SWAY released December 29th, 2015 from Samhain Publishing. I’m so excited it’s out in the world! Because of SWAY, I’ve been able to meet so many wonderful Austen authors and fans. They are the best bunch in the world, not that I’m biased or anything. I can’t wait for the chance to get to know everyone here at Austen Variations better and share our love for all things Austen!
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Congratulations on being the newest addition to these awesome bunch of writers! Looking forward to reading your stories.
Welcome, Melandie. We’re so happy to have you on board!
Yay! I love your short story in Then Comes Winter, and I can’t wait to read Sway! Welcome to the AV crew!
Welcome, Melanie! So good to have you here! 🙂
Hurray, one more great author! I am looking forward to reading Sway. You have joined a really remarkable group of authors. Congratulations
Congratulations and am so glad to see you here with the other wonderful authors here. Sway is on my wishlist and should soon be on my very long TBR.
Welcome! I look forward to reading your work.
Welcome!
Welcome to Austin Variations and Congratulations on all your anniversaries. I look forward to your posts. You certainly have joined a great group of authors….many of whose books sit on my shelves or reside in my Kindle Library. Welcome!!!
Welcome aboard, Melanie! So glad you’re joining us! I look forward to meeting you and to hearing more about your writing.
Welcome, Melanie. A delightful post. I’m looking forward to getting to know you and your writing. Mary
Congratulations, Melandie,
I have to agree with you and your mom. The 1995 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice was by far the best version ever! Colin Firth was the best Fitzwilliam Darcy and Jennifer Ehle was the best Elizabeth Bennet ever. While I have a DVD copy of each version, the 1995 version I have many. Started with the VHS version (bought two just in case something happened to the first one) then started with the DVD version of which I have 4 including the Anniversary Edition. As much as I liked Sir Lawrence Olivier that version was just a bit funny than Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was meant to be. Besides, the 1995 version is the only one that was closest to the book. Swag is in my TBR stack. I’ll get there!
Welcome, Melanie! We’re thrilled to have you with us!
Welcome, Melanie! Although my preference is for Regency-era Austen tales, I just might have to give Sway a try as I do love Persuasion! In fact, Persuasion was the last of the six novels I read, and I held off reading it for over a year because I didn’t want to come to the end of the Austen canon.
It’s hard for me to choose a favorite Austen–but I definitely know which one is my least favorite….Emma. She annoys the bejeebies outta me. I feel as though I’m watching an I Love Lucy episode in which she is going to do something stupid and we have to sit there and helplessly watch her make a fool of herself.
I had felt similarly, though not nearly as strongly, with Northanger Abbey, but the film version starring Felicity Jones changed my mind, and I now like it quite a lot.
The other four are all tied in my mind. I adore Fanny in Mansfield Park (although I still haven’t found a true-to-Austen’s-Fanny film version yet!), Anne in Persuasion, Elinor in S&S and Elizabeth in P&P. I just can’t choose a favorite. It would be too much like choosing a favorite among my four children…it’s just not happening.
Welcome to Austen Variations, Melanie–so glad you’re here!! 😀
Warmly,
Susanne 🙂
Thanks all for your kind comments and welcome!
So excited that you have joined this amazing group of writers! Congratulations and I am looking forward to reading ‘Sway’ sometime this winter.
I too would have to agree with your mother and now you, that the 1995 P&P version is the standard to judge all others. None have reached it in my opinion other than Rosamund Pike playing Jane Bennet in the 2005 version. I do love ‘Bride & Prejudice’ though as that was so much fun! ‘Lost in Austen’ was great fun too. No, In my mind Colin and Jennifer played Darcy and Elizabeth perfectly in my humble opinion.
Welcome and look forward to your future posts!
Thank you for sharing bits of your life. The smSway is on my TBR list!
I meant The Sway… I guess it isn’t a short message novel! Lol sorry bad French humour…
I’m glad you’re on this site, and I look forward to reading what you write. Thanks for contributing to the awesome JAFF that I just can’t get enough of!
Found that I had not left a comment here. I did read your book, Sway, and loved it. Welcome to the community.