Of all the many reasons why I have loved Jane Austen for so long, one of the very greatest is her sublime brilliance as a humorist. This quality in her naturally appeals to me so much because, like Lizzy, I “dearly love a laugh.” But there’s more to it than that. It’s not just her …
Trust me on this: Fiction is not the same thing as Memoir… And, yet, if you ask the people who know me personally to tell you about my novels, they’ll say things like, “Well, when Marilyn wrote Friday Mornings at Nine, it was about our get-togethers over coffee” (my local friends) or “She incorporated a …
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 …
“I am beyond apologizing for my family,” Elizabeth sighed, as she and her husband entered their salon at the Palazzo Mocenigo and settled themselves on a richly tapestried sofa. The servants had been ordered to bring them a light meal, before they sought their beds, quite exhausted, for it was past midnight when they returned …
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 …
My Inspiration Many of us have been writing about where our inspiration comes from, and as I thought about it, I came up with 3 areas where many of my book ideas came from. Those are: 1) reading a scene from Jane Austen’s novel (Pride and Prejudice, for the most part) and asking, ‘what if …
A muse’s favor comes, but at what price? Congratulations to Megan and Linda A, winners of my giveaway. The giveaway is now closed. Part 2 Nearly a month passed with Darcy scarcely leaving his guest chambers at Netherfield. Canvasses, finished, partially finished, and barely started littered every available space. His sketchbook lay open on the …
Where does our inspiration come from? Such an intriguing theme to start the New Year with! I loved the previous posts and I’m looking forward to the ones to follow. I hope you’ll enjoy them all and thanks for joining me today to chat about the things, big and small, that inspire me in my …
Inspiration is a funny thing. Authors get inspiration from so many things from the mundane to the exotic. Sometimes it’s a random thought that pops into our heads, sometimes we might base a story on a vacation or a place on somewhere we’ve visited. But once we get that overall inspiration for a story, what …
In celebration of our Jane In January event, we have a special gift for all our readers! We’ve collected all the stories and scenes from our Very Austen Advent event into a free book for you to enjoy all year long. Just click on the cover below to go to the download page for the …
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