I was thrilled to be invited to take part in the Writers’ Blog Tour by my author friend Sue Wilkes – you can visit her blog here. You can read all about Sue's passions for Jane Austen and her upcoming non-fiction book - A Visitor's Guide to Jane Austen's England.
Sue also invited Emma Jolly to take part, and you can find out more about Emma at www.emmajolly.co.uk Sue was originally invited to join the tour by Michelle Higgs - do check out her work at http://visitvictorianengland.blogspot.co.uk
I hope you'll stop by and enjoy your visits to these entertaining writers- this international community of writers and authors are all helping one another reach a larger audience!
I was asked to answer four questions about my work and writing, so here goes.
What am I working on?
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
This is a difficult question! Jane Austen has inspired many new works of fiction and time travel has been explored by some authors though I think my work is a little different in that I have two or sometimes three stories running parallel to one another and also that I've used people from Jane Austen's own life as characters in my books. In the book I'm working on at the moment, I have two different historic periods that I'm exploring. My books concentrate on different periods in Jane Austen's life and the sources I draw from involve her letters and novels. The towns, villages and cities where the books are set are very well known to me and I've discovered new places that Jane Austen possibly visited, and included them in scenes in my books.
Why do I write what I do?
I love Jane Austen's writing and started by wanting to carry on the stories from her novels. Her characters intrigue me and I wanted to explore some of my favourites in more depth - Lydia Bennet, Marianne and Margaret Dashwood, Elizabeth Bennet. Writing sequels were my first adventures into writing with Lydia Bennet's Story, Willoughby's Return, and Mr Darcy's Secret, but then lately I've become more fascinated with Jane's life and how her books may have been inspired by certain events in her own life.
How does my writing process work?
I usually re-read the Jane Austen novel which is inspiring my own work and also listen to it on audiobook - I really want to get into that time and place, really absorbing the language as much as I can. Thinking about my own characters is a lot of fun - they might be modern day equivalents of Jane Austen's heroines or just inspired by one of her characters but thinking about them and giving them names is one of the 'problems' I really enjoy. I usually have an idea of the plot and where it will go, but I tend not to be too detailed at the beginning because I know my characters like to take over and often change the plot completely! It can be complicated because I have character going back and forwards in time and multiple stories taking place. Then it's a case of getting down to the business of writing- I start at the beginning and work my way through, chapter by chapter. I like to get it all down and then to go back to edit it carefully. After that, I make myself put it away for a while before getting it out again for a last edit.
I hope you’ve enjoyed your visit to my blog. Now I’d like to introduce you to two more wonderful writers:
Monica Fairview Monica’s love of things Regency started when she first read Pride and Prejudice at thirteen. However, her first novel, AN IMPROPER SUITOR, a humorous Regency, wasn’t published until 2009. Since then she has produced two quite serious Jane Austen sequels THE OTHER MR. DARCY and THE DARCY COUSINS, STEAMPUNK DARCY, a post-apocalyptic comic take on Pride and Prejudice and MR. DARCY'S PLEDGE, a light-hearted JA variation. Monica is a member of the blog Austen Variations.
Website: http://www.monicafairview.com
Cassandra Grafton Cassandra has been
indulging her passion for all things Austen for many years. Having long wanted
to be a writer, the two came together in recent years, resulting in a Pride and
Prejudice inspired three volume series - A Fair Prospect: Disappointed Hopes, Darcy’s
Dilemma, and Desperate Measures. Cassandra has two grown
up children and splits her time between North Yorkshire, where she lives with
her husband and two cats, and Regency England, where she lives with her
characters.
Website: http://cassandragrafton.com
I hope you'll take some time to visit everyone and enjoy finding out about these fabulous writers!