Jane Odiwe Jane Austen Sequels

I've been having a lovely time on my blog tour for the launch of Willoughby's Return. Here's an interview I had with Barbara from Everything Victorian and More. Thank you Barbara, I really enjoyed the interview! 1. What inspired you to write about the main character? I’ve always had a soft spot for Marianne Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility. She’s a heroine who wears her heart on her sleeve and never loves by halves. In Jane Austen’s book Marianne has two great love affairs – firstly, with the dashing Mr Willoughby, who ignites the feelings of her first great passion but who lets her down badly, and secondly, with Colonel Brandon, an older, steadier man who is the real hero, the one she marries. The ending of Sense and Sensibility surprises some readers who can’t believe that Marianne really loves the Colonel enough to marry him. This intrigued me, and the fact that she is a character we easily identify with – I’m sure most people have known a Willoughby at some stage in

I was very kindly invited to guest blog on Book Nerd Extraordinaire Blogspot. Here's what Jaime Huff has to say about Willoughby's Return followed by my guest post. 'I have been enjoying the selection of Jane Austen sequels, and Willoughby's Return by Jane Odiwe is right there leading the pack. Marianne, in my opinion, was spoiled, vivid and full of life and Jane Odiwe has maintained that spirit as she brings us to Marianne's life and her marriage to Colonel Brandon..."Willoughby's Return" has maintained the spirit and life of it's predecessor, "Sense and Sensibility" and was such a strong, flowing read and I would definitely recommend this to any Sense and Sensibility fan who has wondered "well, what then?"' Jaime Huff Jaime, thank you so much for inviting me onto your blog to talk about my book, Willoughby’s Return. I thought I’d talk a little about Mr. Willoughby, that bad boy we find hard to resist! Have you ever felt a

In celebration of the publication of Willoughby's Return, Vic (from Jane Austen Today) and I have decided to write a series of posts as Jane Austen characters from Sense and Sensibility. Recently, Lucy Ferrars wrote a letter to Elinor Ferrars - Vic is writing as Lucy and my response shows Elinor's thoughts and point of view! We thought it might be fun to see how these sister-in-laws might behave now they are married to Robert and Edward Ferrars. My Dear Mrs. Ferrars, (or may I call you Elinor now that we have been SISTERS for more years than I care to admit!) I write seemingly out of the blue, for I have been the poorest of correspondents. Unfortunately, my duties as Mrs. Robert Ferrars keep me too busy to attend to this important duty as MATRIARCH of the family (now that Mrs. Ferrars, that dearest of mama-in-laws, has been laid to rest). Be assured that I have managed to apprise myself of both your and Rev. Ferrars’ well-being through Mrs. Jennings’s cheery correspondence a

I am delighted to announce the winners of the competitions held during the last fortnight. I just want to say thank you to everyone who entered the competitions and also to everyone who joined in the fun and left their comments. I've been very touched by your comments and personal e-mails; it's so lovely to hear from you all. Names were drawn from the hat for each competition - here are the winners! Painting of Marianne and Elinor - Milka Greetings cards - Sylvia Chan and Etirv Sense and Sensibility CD - Mer Willoughby's Return Books - Michelle W and Laura Gerold Jane and Cassandra painting - Alexa Adams Here's a review from Jane Austen Today Humans are complex creatures. We are all multidimensional, like the characters that Jane Austen created in her delightful novels. Take Willoughby, the handsome cad from Sense and Sensibility. At the end of Jane Austen’s tale, he expressed his love for Marianne to Elinor, even though he had become engaged to another woman . The rea

Well, I've come to the end of my blog tour - I'm feeling a little bit sad, it's been so lovely to 'meet' and hear from everyone who has made comments and entered the competitions. Thank you to all who have interviewed me and spent time reviewing Willoughby's Return, I greatly appreciate all your efforts on my behalf. There's still time to enter the competitions - I'll announce the winners on Monday! Here's an interview I had with Serena from Savvy, Verse and Wit Most authors dealing with classic characters fell in love with them early on, but wanted something more. Is this how you felt about Willoughby, and what is it you sought to do that Jane Austen had not? Rather than falling in love with Willoughby, I suppose it was really that ideal of romantic love that I fell in love with early on, and the relationship that Willoughby first shares with Marianne Dashwood. Jane Austen painted him initially as the epitome of the dashing hero and that is very

You can find me guest blogging on Fresh Fiction today talking about descriptions of Georgian dress in my books. I've been very busy this last fortnight mostly talking about my book! Here's my chat with Naida from The Bookworm. Thank you Naida for inviting me to talk about my about my favourite Austen novel, and how it helped me to write my new book, Willoughby’s Return. My favourite Austen novel is a difficult choice because I love them all, but, if I could only choose one, it would have to be Persuasion. Of course, Willoughby’s Return was inspired very much by Sense and Sensibility, another favourite, but my love of Persuasion is very strong, and sometimes themes and motifs from that book creep into my writing. One of these themes is of love being renewed after it is lost between the hero and heroine. I wanted to explore the idea in a different way in Willoughby’s Return. Although Marianne is very happily married, I wondered what would happen if her love was tested. If circum

Vic from Jane Austen's World let it slip that it was my birthday yesterday - thanks to everyone who sent birthday messages! I had a lovely day. One of the highlights was this card my son made for me - well, it made me laugh. I don't think he's considering a career change, but you never know! I'm a guest on Love, Romance, Passion today. Click here to read about the sights and sounds of Regency Britain.

Please join me today for a guest blog on Jane Austen's World. It was lovely to be interviewed by Vic again - thank you so much for the opportunity to talk about my book, Willoughby's Return. Today's question is for fun! Which hero from Sense and Sensibility do you like best - would you fall for an Edward Ferrars or a Colonel Brandon? Are you influenced by the actors who play these roles? The top photo shows Alan Rickman and David Morrissey as two very gorgeous Colonel Brandons and the equally dashing Hugh Grant and Dan Stevens as Edward Ferrars below. I have to admit I loved them all! Please leave a comment below if you are brave enough to join in.

Sense and Sensibility centres on the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. They appear at first to be opposites - Elinor is rational and sensible and Marianne seems to think and act only on her impulsive feelings and highly charged emotions, though by the end of the book we have witnessed quite a crossover in the way that both girls behave and interact with the world. Jane Austen and her sister were very close. There were just under a couple of years between them, and we know that they spent much of their time together as they grew up, writing daily letters whenever they were apart. From family recollections we are given the impression that Cassandra, Jane's older sister, was the more level-headed, and from her letters it appears that Jane looked to Cassandra for guidance and advice. I'm not the first to wonder if Jane drew on her own experiences with her sister Cassandra when drafting her story. Who knows? Perhaps Elinor and Marianne represent aspects of Jane'

I am having a lovely time on my blog tour. Thanks so much to everyone who has given me such a warm welcome. Follow the links for more guest posts and giveaways from The Bookworm and here is a review from Books Like Breathing I have been yearning for a Sense and Sensibility sequel. Colonel Brandon is my second favorite Austen hero (sometimes he even beats Darcy). Sometimes I get a bit tired of Darcy (just bought two more P&P sequels) and yearn for some Brandon, Wentworth, Tilney and Knightley (never Edmund Bertram). Odiwe’s portrayal of all of the characters was perfect. Marianne was exactly as she was in S&S albeit a bit more mature. I also could understand why she was upset with Brandon. He completely neglected her to take care of his “other” family. I would have been upset too. Colonel Brandon was broody yet sweet—just as I imagine him. He did make a few mistakes throughout the book but redeemed himself. Marianne and Colonel Brandon’s marriage was a huge highlight for me. T

OK - so that's just the dream scenario and one surely every writer thinks about! In my absolute fantasy, of course, I have Emma Thompson phoning me begging to let her produce the film (she tells me she has already written the screenplay based on my book, which she couldn't wait to buy!) In the next breath she is saying that Greg would make a perfect Colonel Brandon now his temples are greying so deliciously - I hesitate, only because on the other line my husband's mouthing at me that Sony want Richard Armitage. Oh, the dilemma - what to do?!!! Emma's sister Sophie would make a wonderful Mrs Dashwood or even Mrs Jennings - she's a fabulous character actress. But, maybe in the dream scenario I could get to play Mrs Jennings! And could Emma resist being in a new Austen adaptation especially if we could get Ang Lee on board. I'd definitely want Patrick Doyle or Mario Darianelli for the music and the same fab designers who did the original S&S - the list goes on.

More fun in celebration of my book Willoughby's Return! To win a copy of Willoughby's Return simply answer the questions about Colonel Brandon, the true hero of Sense and Sensibility. Also, I am thrilled to be a guest on A Bibliophile's Bookshelf today where you can read an interview and an exclusive extract from Willoughy's Return which aims to show the romantic side of Colonel Brandon's nature. 1 Where does Colonel Brandon live? 2 What is the name of Colonel Brandon's ward? 3 Who first decides that the Colonel is in love with Marianne? 4 Which character says the following of Colonel Brandon? "I have three unanswerable reasons for disliking Colonel Brandon: he has threatened me with rain when I wanted it to be fine; he has found fault with the hanging of my curricle, and I cannot persuade him to buy my brown mare. If it will be any satisfaction to you, however, to be told that I believe his character to be in other respects irreproachable, I am ready to

I did enjoy yesterday's competition answers - thanks so much to everyone who participated and shared their wonderful musical memories! The competitions to win the CD and the painting are still open until November 14th - click on the links in the sidebar. I'm conscious that a lot of the giveaways on my blog tour are for the US and Canada only - so, I am adding a copy of Willoughby's Return - anyone can enter - leave a comment below in answer to today's question! Thank you to Barbara and Serena for their interviews - they have giveaways, so click on the links to find out more! There's an interview with me over on Everything Victorian and More - click here Savvy, Verse and Wit Click here to read my interview with Serena from Savvy, Verse and Wit. Three very different but excellent interpretations of Mr Willoughby - The bottom picture shows Peter Woodward in 1981 playing opposite Tracey Childs as Marianne Dashwood, the middle photo is of Greg Wise playing the part of

I loved this film version of Sense and Sensibility and the music by Patrick Doyle is beautiful! In celebration of day 3 of the publication of Willoughby's Return I am offering this brand new CD of the soundtrack. Willoughby and Marianne share a love of music when they first meet in Sense and Sensibility. After he breaks her heart there is a very poignant passage where Marianne tries to overcome her feelings by playing again - but it will not do. After dinner she would try her pianoforte. She went to it; but the music on which her eye first rested was an opera, procured for her by Willoughby, containing some of their favourite duets, and bearing on its outward leaf her own name in his hand writing. That would not do. She shook her head, put the music aside, and, after running over the keys for a minute complained of feebleness in her fingers, and closed the instrument again; declaring, however, with firmness as she did so, that she should in future practise much. If you'd like a

Do you think you know Sense and Sensibility? Today's competition in celebration of the publication of Willoughby's Return is to win a pack of Effusions of Fancy notecards. The pack of cards designed by yours truly from original watercolour paintings will comprise of the following: Pump Room at Bath Jane at Lyme Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy at the Ashe Ball Christmas at Steventon (Jane and Cassandra walking in the snow) Steventon Rectory in Winter Jane and her Father Jane Austen Portrait L'aimable Jane All you have to do for a chance to win is answer the following questions - then visit my austeneffusions website - and e-mail your answers! The competition is open worldwide and correct answers will be drawn from a hat. Competition closes November 14th, winner announced on Monday, November 16th! Good Luck! I am awarding two sets of cards to two winners who answer the following correctly. 1 In Sense and Sensibility who does Marianne Dashwood marry? 2 In Sense and Sensibility who

It's officially publication day of Willoughby's Return! Thank you to everyone who have sent me wishes of congratulation, I feel very honoured! Thanks also to Dominique Raccah, Deb Werksman, Danielle Jackson, and everyone at Sourcebooks for making another dream realised. It's always an anxious time waiting for the reviews to come in - this review from Booklist made my day! Booklist Issue: November 15, 2009 Willoughby's Return. Odiwe, Jane (Author) Nov 2009. 352 p. Sourcebooks/Landmark, paperback, $14.99. (9781402222672) Odiwe follows Lydia Bennet’s Story (2008), her sequel to Pride and Prejudice, with a sequel to Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. Marianne has settled nicely into life as wife and mother, although every so often she indulges in one of her infamous flights of sensibility. She is certain her husband, William, adores her, but has he gotten over his passion for his first love, whose portrait occupies a place of honor in their home? The arrival of William’s neph