New Kid on the Block

Hello! I’m Elizabeth Adams, and I’m the new kid on the block at Austen Variations.

I’m an author with six books published and two more on the way. (Three-ish, really.)

I write romantic comedy and comedic drama in historic and modern settings. Most of my books are JAFF and those that aren’t are usually inspired by Austen—even when I try no to be. Her work has a way of getting under your skin and sneaking up on you in unsuspecting moments. Thankfully, I’m not the only person inflicted with this compulsion to see Austen everywhere I look.

Luckily for me, I’ve become friends with several other Janeites and have had the opportunity to meet many in person. If you’re going to geek out over something, it’s more fun with company, right?

In the spirit of friendship, here are a few random details about me.

• I’m not from anywhere. (Navy brat)
• My husband is Ukrainian.
• I have a blind cat.
• I speak Russian.
• I used to be a professional ballroom dancer.
• I have a terribly wonderful travel addiction.

Feel like you know me a bit better?

I’ve been writing since I was a little kid, and I discovered JAFF at Target in 2010 when I decided to pick up a book to get me through my long hair appointment that afternoon. (I was going blond at the time and it took FOREVER to color.) Anyway, I ended up reading something else that day, but later that summer, I read that (gateway) book and I was hooked. I ordered the rest on Amazon and began scouring my library for anything with the word ‘Darcy’ in the title. Then I realized I could download Kindle to my computer and I quickly tore through Abigail Reynolds’s books. In one of hers, she thanked another writer and mentioned a forum, and that sent me searching yet again.

Once I got on the forums, it was only a matter of time before I began posting my first book, The Houseguest, which I had begun writing in Autumn of 2010 before I even knew forums existed.

The first Austen book I ever read was Emma, a gift from my grandfather for Christmas the year I was twelve. I’ll admit that the social commentary was over my head, and I skimmed Mr. Woodhouse’s hypochondriacal worries and Miss Bates’s nonsensical speeches. I scanned the pages for capital Ks, hoping Mr. Knightley would come back soon. Whether or not Emma knew it, 12-year-old me realized he was a hero early in the book.

I doubt my grandfather had any idea what he was starting, but that hardback collector’s edition sits proudly on my bookshelf today, now crowded by variations and annotated editions of Austen’s other works.

I don’t know that I have a favorite Austen book, but I really appreciate Persuasion. I love Captain Wentworth because I find him incredibly believable and authentic. And of course, I love a man in uniform. Anne is nothing at all like me, so I find her a little harder to relate to, but I have a deep appreciation for her.

My childhood looked a lot like this.

I’m more of an Elizabeth Bennet (in name and in character), and I relate to her situation more in real life. I had an indifferent education, an inquiring mind, and an embarrassing mother. I also come from a large, noisy family, though mine is filled with boys instead of girls. I have five brothers (yes, five!) and I’m the only girl. The oldest and youngest are ten years apart, and I’m smack in the middle at number three.

Part of what I love about P&P is the idea of a house full of girls. When I was a teenager, sharing a single bathroom with what felt like a barracks full of boys, I could only dream of having sisters. The Bennet family sounded like heaven. Better-smelling, clothes-sharing heaven. Now, regardless of what I’m writing, my main character always has sisters. I think my sub-conscious is telling on me.

Look how clean and happy they look. I’m sure they smell lovely.

This world of JAFF and Austen is also populated with more women than men, and I love that about it. I love the sense of camaraderie and the Austen-bridge that allows us to have friends anywhere in the world, all over a shared interest.

Do you think Jane Austen knew she was bringing so many people together when she began writing over two hundred years ago?

Find me on Twitter, Facebook, and at www.EAdamswrites.com.