Shannon Winslow claims she was minding her own business – raising two sons and pursuing a very sensible career – when an ordinary trip to Costco about about 14 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’s 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 dozen more Austen-inspired books have followed (see below). But Shannon takes a little different approach from most other writers of Jane Austen fan fiction. “Since I’m just sappy enough to believe there’s only one true story for the characters I’ve grown to love (and Jane Austen wrote it), I amuse myself with adding onto rather than varying from canon. I delight in expanding on what Jane Austen gave us and filling in the blanks in the record with prequel, sequel, and supplemental views. What was Mr. Darcy doing all the time he’s absent from the page? What happened to Colonel Brandon in India? And how did our favorite couples fare after the wedding? Inquiring minds want to know, and I’m happy to deliver the answers!”
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…”
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Shannon’s Books :
Mr. Knightley in His Own Words
Mr. George Knightley. According to Emma Woodhouse, you won’t see one in a hundred who is so clearly the gentleman. Respected by all, he’s kind, unpretentious, and scrupulously honest, with an air so remarkably good that it’s unfair to compare other men to him. We also know he’s been his “own master” from a young age. But Jane Austen tells us little more.
What were his early years like, and how did he lose his parents? A man in his mid-thirties, he must have had at least one romance along the way. Did it end badly? Is that why he’s never married? When and how did his relationship with Emma shift from friendship to love? And what can explain his incredible forbearance towards the eccentric Mr. Woodhouse? Now, Mr. Knightley reveals these answers and more in His Own Words.
This is not a variation from but a supplement to the original story of Emma, chronicled in the hero’s point of view. Two-thirds completely new material, it features key events in Mr. Knightley’s past – events that still haunt him and yet have shaped who he’s become, the superior man Emma can’t help falling in love with. (find it here)
Colonel Brandon in His Own Words
Colonel Brandon is the consummate gentleman: honorable, kind, ever loyal and chivalrous. He’s also silent and grave. So, what events in his troubled past left him downcast, and how does he finally find the path to a brighter future? In Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen only gave us glimpses. Now Colonel Brandon tells us his full story in His Own Words. He relates the truth about his early family life and his dear Eliza. He shares with us a poignant tale from his military days in India, about a woman named Rashmi who left a permanent mark on his soul. And of course Marianne. What did Brandon think and feel when he first saw her? How did his hopes for her subsequently rise and then plummet. After Willoughby’s desertion, what finally caused Marianne to see Colonel Brandon in a different light?
This is not a variation but a supplement to the original story, chronicled in Brandon’s point of view. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the things Jane Austen didn’t tell us about a true hero – the very best of men. (find it here)
What was Mr. Darcy’s life like before he met Elizabeth Bennet? – before he stepped onto the Pride and Prejudice stage at the Meryton assembly? More importantly, where is he and what is he doing all the time he’s absent from the page thereafter? And what is his relationship to a woman named Amelia? With Fitzwilliam Darcy in His Own Words, the iconic literary hero finally tells his own story, from the traumas of his early life to the consummation of his hove for Elizabeth and everything in between.
This is not a variation but a supplement to the original story, chronicled in Darcy’s point of view – a behind-the-scenes look at the things Jane Austen didn’t tell us. As it happens, Darcy’s journey was more tortuous than she let on, his happy ending with Elizabeth in jeopardy at every turn in his struggle between duty and his heart’s desire, between the suitable lady he has promised to marry and the woman he can’t stop thinking about. (find it here)
Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have been married for almost a year, and their heated arguments are a thing of the past. All that passion is now directed into more satisfying pursuits. But how long will the honeymoon last? The couple’s idyllic life together at Pemberley is jeopardized by secrets they begin keeping from each other, the troubles of their closest friends, and the threat of a villain in their midst.
The Darcys of Pemberley is the tale of two romances: the continuation of Darcy and Elizabeth’s story, and the courtship of Miss Georgiana. For those who didn’t want Pride and Prejudice to end, it gives opportunity to learn what happens after the wedding, to revisit old friends and foes, and to share the next chapter of their lives. (Find it here)
The tale of Josephine Walker, a bright, young woman whose quiet life is turned upside-down by an unexpected inheritance. With a tempting fortune of twenty thousand pounds, she’s suddenly the most popular girl in town. Yet Jo longs to be valued for who she is, not for her bank balance. She cannot respect the men who pursue her for her money, and the only one she does admire is considered the rightful property of her best friend. Now, even the motives of her new fiancé are suspect. Does he truly love her for herself alone? There’s one sure, but extreme, way to find out… if she has the courage to take it.
This Austenesque story is the author’s interpretation of what Jane might have written next, with lines from her classic novels sprinkled throughout the text for her fans to find. (Find it here)
Beginning five years after the close of The Darcys of Pemberley, this continuation of the Pride and Prejudice saga finally answers the question posed by Jane Austen 200 years ago. What will happen to the Bennet females when Mr. Bennet has dies? With Mr. Tristan Collins on his way from America to claim his property, Mrs. Bennet hatches her plan. The new heir to Longbourn simply must marry one of her daughters. Nothing else will do. Will it be Mary or Kitty singled out for this dubious honor? When the gentleman in question turns out to be quite a catch after all, the contest between the sisters is on. Which one will be the next mistress of Longbourn? Or will the dark horse in the race take the prize?
Darcy, Elizabeth, and the rest of the Pride and Prejudice cast are back as the socially awkward Mary emerges from the shadows to take center stage. Find out if Mary is destined to be a governess forever, or if she overcomes the misfortune of being ‘plain’ to discover love and her own happy ending. (Find it here)
The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen
What if the tale Jane Austen told in her last, most poignant novel was actually inspired by momentous events in her own life? Did she in fact intend Persuasion to stand forever in homage to her one true love? While creating Persuasion, Jane Austen also kept a private journal in which she recorded the story behind the story – her real-life romance with a navy captain of her own. The parallel could only go so far, however. As author of her characters’ lives, but not her own, Jane Austen made sure to fashion a second chance and happy ending for Anne and Captain Wentworth. Then, with her novel complete and her health failing, Jane prepared her simple will and resigned herself to never seeing the love of her life again. Yet fate, it seems, wasn’t quite finished with her. Nor was Captain Devereaux.
The official record says that Jane Austen died at 41, having never been married. But what if that’s only what she wanted people to believe? It’s time she, through her own private journal, revealed the rest of her story. (Find it here)
Miss Georgiana Darcy of Pemberley
What’s Georgiana Darcy’s story? Jane Austen tells us so little in Pride and Prejudice that we’re left to wonder. How did the early loss of her parents shape Miss Darcy’s character? And what about her near-disastrous affair with Mr. Wickham? Is that the true source of her shyness? She adores her brother and his new wife Elizabeth, but will their guiding influence be enough to steer Georgiana clear of new trouble as she comes of age and falls in love again?
Miss Georgiana Darcy of Pemberley is intended as a companion to The Darcys of Pemberley, with the timelines of the two running parallel. Both novels are unique and complete in themselves, but together they supply a richer reading experience than either one alone. The earlier book focused primarily on Darcy and Elizabeth’s relationship during their early married life. Now Georgiana and her courtship story take center stage. (Find it here)
At the Crossroads Center, they’re in the business of granting second chances. And their newest client is Ben Lewis, a former star athlete who never recovered from the death of his dream to make it big in the big leagues. Now he’s being offered the opportunity to return to 1991 and try again, this time without the illness that originally ended his baseball hopes. What’s the catch? He will pay for his second chance by forfeiting his memories of the first… and possibly along with them, the love of his life. Can he find his way home to the woman he’s long forgotten but never stopped missing? Or will reaching for the brass ring with both hands cause the treasure he once possessed to slip forever from his grasp?
Leap of Faith is the first in an innovative new collection, stories all about turning points, possibilities, and second chances. (Find it here)
At first glance, Anne de Bourgh doesn’t seem a promising heroine. But beneath that quiet exterior, there’s a lively mind at work, imagining how one day she will escape her poor health and her mother’s domination to find love and a life worth living. Now Anne finally gets the chance to speak her mind. But Lady Catherine demands equal time. Even Charlotte Collins and Mrs. Jenkinson get into the act. Chapter by chapter, these ladies of Rosings Park take turns telling the tale from the moment Elizabeth Bennet sets foot in Hunsford, changing everything.
Complete in itself, this work expands The Darcys of Pemberley series laterally, beginning during the timeline of Pride and Prejudice and carrying beyond to reveal the rest of Anne’s story. (Find it here)
Newly married to her beloved Henry, Catherine’s eyes are now open to the grownup pleasures of wedded life. Yet she still hasn’t quite given up her girlhood fascination with all things Gothic. When she first visited Northanger Abbey, she only imagined dreadful events had occurred there. This time the horror is all too real. There’s been a murder, and Henry has fallen under suspicion. Catherine is determined to clear her husband’s name, but at the same time, she’s afraid for her own safety, since there’s a very good chance the real murderer is still in the house.
Shannon Winslow’s delightful sequel reprises the mischievous spirit of Austen’s original spoof on the Gothic novel, while giving Catherine a genuine murder mystery to unravel. (Find it here)
Prayer & Praise: a Jane Austen Devotional
Did you know that Jane Austen wrote prayers in addition to her six classic novels? She was not only a woman of celebrated humor, intellect, and insight; she was a woman of faith.
Prayer & Praise is a treasure trove of thought-provoking messages inspired by the lines of Austen’s three preserved prayers. Atop a solid foundation of scripture, these 50 devotional segments (each finishing with prayer and praise) enlist familiar characters and situations from Austen novels to illustrate spiritual principles – in creative, often surprising ways!
Which one of Austen’s characters developed a god complex? Who was really pulling Henry Crawford’s strings? Where do we see examples of true repentance, a redeemer at work, light overcoming darkness? With a Biblical perspective, Austen’s beloved stories reveal new lessons about life, truth, hope, and faith. (Find it here)
William Collins is a man upon whom the face of undeserved fortune has smiled. Despite his significant shortcomings of mind and character, he has managed to secure for himself a comfortable living, a sensible wife, and a very noble patroness. Yet he cannot help hungering for a slightly higher style of living than his pocket currently supports. When Mr. Collins induces Lady Catherine to send a fine joint of mutton to the parsonage, little does he suspect the inauspicious outcome to which that tasty meal will lead. Mr. Collins’s Last Supper is the tongue-in-cheek tale of how a pompous clergyman discovers too late why gluttony is considered one of the seven deadly sins. (This is a 5000-word short story available in e-book and audio. Find it here)
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