Jane Odiwe Jane Austen Sequels

I was recently interviewed by Red Roses for Authors blogspot in celebration of the publication of Willoughby's Return. It's always an interesting experience being interviewed - I'm always surprised by how much I learn about myself as well as my book! Tell us a little about yourself I’m an English author, an artist, and a wife and mother to three children. I live on the edge of London and enjoy indulging my passions of reading Jane Austen, writing and painting. What do you write? I write books inspired by Jane Austen’s life and works. I’ve written and illustrated a book about Jane and have also written three novels, Lydia Bennet’s Story, Willoughby’s Return, and Mr Darcy’s Secret. Why do you write? I love escaping into a different world and the sheer pleasure I get when I write is something I’ve enjoyed since I was a little girl. I like the fact that each book is like a puzzle waiting to be worked out with ideas coming to life on the page with my words. What are you writing ...

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 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...