This month we’re looking at inspiration for our novels. But it’s hard to separate inspiration from motivation. It’s kind of a chicken-or-egg question as to which comes first. When I’m excited about an idea, that motivates me to write. And when the creative juices start flowing, the ideas come. I would never have made it …
The Cajun Cheesehead Chronicles by Jack Caldwell Jane Austen’s Villains – A Ranking Greetings, everyone. Jack Caldwell here. Jane Austen created some wonderful heroes and heroines—Elizabeth & Darcy, Marianne & Brandon, Anne & Wentworth, among others—but to truly appreciate these characters, she also gifted the reader many memorable villains. Unfortunately, IMHO, the otherwise excellent teleplays …
We’re all talking about inspiration this month at Austen Variations. Or anti-inspiration, as the case may be. The inspiration for my books is usually a vivid idea for an emotionally intense scene. My next book is the exception. It started with a setting, or rather an anti-setting. You’ve heard of invasive species. Well, I’ve been …
Today, I am releasing my latest Darcy and Elizabeth novella, The Bell. Here is a brief description: Mrs. Darlington, the current lessee of Netherfield Park, wants out of her lease, and rumor has it that Mr. Bingley, a handsome gentleman from the North, is interested in leasing a country estate near to London. In order …
The Cajun Cheesehead Critic loves 1980’s Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Here’s why. By Jack Caldwell Greetings, everyone. Jack Caldwell here. I’m just gonna lay it on the line: 1980’s “Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice” is the best adaptation of Pride and Prejudice ever filmed to date. Period. Oh, wait? You want proof? I …
On this day in 1775 our esteemed authoress was born. What better way to celebrate than to share some of our favorite quotes from her? In one of Austen’s letters, she wrote: I can just imagine her face, and maybe even the kind of day she was having when she wrote this. These words …
My new book Mr. Darcy’s Enchantment came out last week, and what a wild ride it’s been! The reader reactions and enthusiasm have stunned me. It’s every writer’s dream to write a book that totally wows its readers, and this is as close as I’ve ever come. Here are a couple of reader reactions : …
Thank you for opening the third “window” on the Jane Austen Variations advent calendar! Today is the final chapter of my Pride and Prejudice based short story Mr. Collins’s Last Supper – the tongue-in-cheek tale of how that pompous clergyman learned (too late) why gluttony is considered one of the “seven deadly sins.” In case …
Thank you for opening the second “window” on the Jane Austen Variations advent calendar! Today’s prize is part two (of three) of my Pride and Prejudice based short story Mr. Collins’s Last Supper – the tongue-in-cheek tale of how that pompous clergyman learned (too late) why gluttony is considered one of the “seven deadly sins.” …
Do you remember the days – before the internet and everything digital – when a simple Advent Calendar added joy and excitement to the weeks leading up to Christmas? Every day you would open up a new window to discover something special inside. Well, we’re doing our own version of that Advent Calendar here at …
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