Please welcome Francine Howarth - Author extraordinaire - intrepid blogger, article writer, mentor for new and upcoming authors, admin of several FB groups in support of Indie authors, and at one time a book reviewer for a newspaper supplement.
Take it Away Francine:
How to introduce myself other than going into great spiel about my former published career, or my latter wild spree as that of an Indie author bores me as much as it would no doubt bore you dear reader, so I’ll cut to a runaway chase around a meandering course and leap a few fences into the bargain on why I wrote a sequel to Jane Austen's P&P. Is it a JAFF? To be honest, if one can categorise a sequel to a Jane Austen as anything else the cat escaped me.
Like P.D. James with Death Comes To Pemberley, writing a sequel was a fun thing to do, nothing more, nothing less. And instead of writing a Regency murder mystery, as I do with some regularity, I chose to write Farce sprinkled with devilish mischief.
The truth of the matter writing out of the box is a passion of mine in how far I can stretch the ubiquitous rules for historical romance novels, though my sequel to Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice is not a courtship romance of boy meets girl, and contrived plot contention to keep H/H apart (you know the formula) and after a bit of female anguish and male determination, all is finally resolved with a the HEA (happy ever after).
I’m an odd ball, perhaps, but I do find the former less exciting than a riveting opening where something out of the ordinary occurs, and that may be but a few insightful words in passing, but enough to vindicate suspicion of foreshadowing. I love nothing better than sense of dread and evil this way comes, or a joyous momentary encounter that lingers and yet no seeming earthly hope of recapturing that moment unless—
That is the kind of writing I admire and what I strive for, because if you don't read every word, a clue or nuance of other can be missed and the whole scene or subsequent sequence can be utterly misconstrued. After all, reading is all in the words. One cannot fast-forward in the visual context and hope nothing of importance was said or enacted if a page is skipped in novels where every word may lay a clue bare!
Stop for a moment and consider desires that transcend sage mind, where emotions spin out of control, where envy steals forth in all its ugliness, where a heroine or hero will take risks to achieve her or his aim for the life they want but it escapes them because propriety determines it is a fatal choice. In the Georgian period and Regency era heroes and heroines are faced with all manner of etiquette and expectations for advancement within the class structure. Thus, despite vagabonds and rogues of every bent in all walks of life, what is permissible in one quarter may cause scandal and ruination in another. As authors we have to remember society had recognised demarcation lines men could cross at will from age of puberty, whilst girls risked more than losing their cherry if they indulged in promiscuity before marriage. The latter nonetheless happened above and below stairs, based on higher birth registrations during the Napoleonic War years than during the libertine reign of Charles II, and yet the overall population in numbers changed barely at all. In part due to disease, influenza, and other unmentionables.
And so, in the great scheme of writing, I do break the rules of romance from time to time, and writing a JAFF novel was purely a fun venture in taking Darcy and Elizabeth post honeymoon and throwing them into a crisis situation of neither really knowing a great deal about the other. What better than a case of marry in haste and repent at leisure as the initial theme, plus I threw a spanner into the marriage cog. But one could say Darcy is a man of habit, one who keeps copies of letters sent, as did many gentlemen and women in times past. It was a way of ensuring one kept abreast of correspondence sent and subsequent replies, thus the efforts of the likes of Darcy and many people from times past have proved of immense benefit to later generations of authors.
For Elizabeth the opposite of delight is her fate in reading correspondence not meant for her eyes. Naturally with a proverbial bee beneath her bonnet she dare not confront Darcy because she would have to own to her indiscretion. Whereas, no doubt in today’s world a modern day Elizabeth would like as not fly at Darcy, accuse him of all manner of unseemly acts, and cut his best suits to ribbons.
To be quite frank, in Elizabeth’s Regency days of a newly married woman, unsure of her new position, she is beholden to her husband for all her needs, and biting her tongue did not come easy. As with all lighthearted comedy nothing is ever quite as it seems at first glance, for I never meant for Mr. Darcy’s Mistress – Elizabeth’s Dilemma to be a serious minded sequel to P&P, for the original novel was most amusing in almost every aspect of Jane Austen’s retelling of a duel Cinderella, and complete with the ugly (Bingley) sisters. So there you have it, humour in a Pemberley nutshell. Like Marmite, love it or hate it.
Today we welcome Sarah Waldock to the confession salon, and again this lady has chosen a disguise within a world where social media plays host and gadgets the like of Alexa etc monitor opinions, choices, and favourite items of interest.
Inspiration behind ‘The Ace of Schemes’
This is the second book of a series called ‘The Georgian Gambles’ so really the inspiration goes back to the book ‘The Valiant Viscount’, originally titled ‘The Pugilist Peer’ until two separate people told me they did not know what a pugilist was so they wouldn’t buy it.
I was inspired by the story of Dan Mendoza, whom I had researched thoroughly in order to describe the notorious fight between him and Gentleman Jackson so often referenced. I came up with a newly-inherited young peer whose inheritance was financially ruined, and as he had moral scruples about wedding a young lady for her money, he decided to become a pugilist. Not for the prizes; but by getting his cousin to lay side bets. This cousin, Toby, is one of those people who can calculate odds in his head, as well as being good at counting cards, and the reason it is a series is because I thought that both he and my viscount’s uncle deserved books of their own.
It is a bad habit of mine, to end up writing about the side characters in my novels because having got to know them, I want to know them better. It leads to unplanned series rather than the planned series I actually set out to write, but I have fun and I hope the readers do too. I have no objection to having fanfiction written around my works, because in a way, it’s what I do to myself with the unplanned series ...
Whilst considering planned versus unplanned writing, I like to plan meticulously the main events of a story. This is more important with mysteries and murders, but I like to have an idea of where I am going. I plan all my characters ahead of time. At some point during the writing, my characters conspire together and start doing their own thing, and I am left playing catch-up to their ideas of what is going on. It sometimes means abandoning or rewriting the plan, but I have become resigned to it. If they are kind enough to do the hard work of writing their own conversation and story, I let them. I do not consider myself a ‘pantser’ but some of my characters are. I go with the flow; If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
In researching Ace of Schemes I had to learn about games of skill and chance extant in the late 1780s, when I had set the series, and in the various forms of cheating. I can handle the mathematics required – I always was pretty good at probability to ‘A’ level – and Fermat and Pascal were, as you might say, old friends of mine. The sheer audacity of some of the cheating left me quite open-eyed! But then I see the late 18th Century as slightly darker than the period I am more comfortable in, the Regency, though I am sure intellectually this is a fallacy. It calls for men in exotic coats to be both more flamboyant and the villains more dastardly than those in the quiet, dark fashions imposed by George Brummell’s influence. And speaking of coats! I had great fun describing Prinny in a green and violet striped coat, and knowing he had actually bought it around this time, thanks to the kind co-operation of Charles Bazalgette, author of ‘Prinny’s Taylor’ about his ancestor, Louis. Chaz made his ancestor’s accounts available to me, and I was able to pick out exactly what Prince George had bought. Any bad taste on the part of His Highness is entirely his, not mine.
Giselle Marks, my friend and editor, teases me that I get a little anal about things like that; if I say there was a storm on a particular day, it’s because there was. I have data for the weather from 1775 to 1820 and I use it. This grew out of the time when I was reading a Regency set in 1816 in which the weather was hot and glorious. I threw the book out of the window, of course; no lover of the Regency can be unaware of ‘The Year Without a Summer’. I hate getting anything wrong. And of course that also meant finding out the history of the Brighton Pavilion which was not, at this time, the Moghuloid Monstrosity we all love, but a ‘farmhouse in the Palladian style’, and I doubt any farmer would recognise it as a farmhouse even so. One dome, one rounded and pillared portico.
It did me a lot of good, I think, to move out of my comfort-zone of the Regency, to have to apply a bit more research, and to discover things which made me look more closely both at this period, and to come afresh when returning to the regency. There’s a degree more formality which you can hardly avoid in the more formal, stiffer costume. Although the ladies are moving to gowns ‘á la reine’ they are still not as loose and informal as the directoire style which arrived in England in 1795, and swept the country for the next quarter century.
I confess to borrowing one character mentioned, though not met personally, from my ‘People portfolio’ in my book ‘Writing Regency Romance by Dice’ which included side plot kick-starters and the 200 secondary characters free for anyone to use as they please. This character taught Toby a few card tricks to use against sharps, as of course Toby runs into such villains. I was going to need a character of similar kind, and I wanted to know how well he would just slot in. I was quite pleased with the result.
I have to say, coming up with plots has never been a problem. I have more than 100 plots written out in various planning notebooks waiting to be turned into stories. The hard work is getting a page of plot outline into 60k+ of story – or rather, deciding which to work on next. I have two more outlines drafted for this series. And at least a half dozen other series I want to update ...
Today's Author tells us what inspired her writing and author career, and who in this strange virtual world can blame her for using an avatar. Take it away Giselle Marks...
Inspiration for The Fencing Master’s Daughter
I have always read across genre and was dared to start writing novels with my sci-fi series ‘The Zeninan Saga.’ The saga grew but I did not publish. Some of the saga are still yet to be published but I hope to get number four out soon.Although I began my writing career writing soft sci-fi I have always enjoyed historical romances especially Regency ones and adored Georgette Heyer. I decided to write one of my own, partially because the crop of Regency romances available at that time were not very good. I thought I could do better! Not better than Heyer but better than a lot that were being put out. Having read a number of regency romances which were titled ‘The Admiral’s Daughter,’ The General’s Daughter’ and similar. I thought about what Regency careers had not had books written about their daughters and came up with Fencing Master. I actually looked in Amazon and found the only book with Fencing Master in the title was in Spanish. So I laughingly decided to write the tale of a fencing master’s daughter.
Then the characters turned up and took over. My writing does not really tend to be inspired, the stories develop in my head so I am the means through which they take shape and form. The first decision I made was not to write a wet heroine. My heroine would be a girl who was not a walk-over but would be prepared to fight her own battles. As the only surviving child of a former professional duellist, Madelaine has been taught to fight. As she is beautiful, she has needed to know how. So the first scene I wrote was when she rescued the hero Edward from a group of footpads who have been paid to assassinate him. An unmarried peer and former soldier, he admires his rescuer and determines to have her. Edward is intelligent enough not to believe his looks, title and money will be enough to win her without offering marriage…
However, I was determined to write something in enjoyable easy to read English and to do my best to get the history accurate. Around this time, I made friends with Sarah Waldock, who was very encouraging and helped me with the book as it was written. I finished the book, found a small publisher and it was released. Then two weeks’ after release I found a small historical mistake, I had researched so hard and I was so disappointed.
‘The Marquis’s Mistake was written as a sequel in that it has the same characters but a new couple was introduced for the romance, that too was published by the small romance house. At this point a month after the publication of the second book, the company went bust owing me a little money and a lot of other writers a lot more. The only good thing was that they gave me my copyright back. I was offered other contracts all of whom wanted to package me as a romance writer and tell me what to write next. So I did nothing except keep on writing for the next two years. Finally, Sarah Waldock nagged me into self-publishing. So when I re-released ‘The Fencing Master’s Daughter’ I could correct the error which no-one else noticed and feel satisfied the history was possible.
When I write about my inspirations for writing they sound so prosaic and I admit I sat on writing this piece for Suzy. However, the history and language of the period are such a joy that they are a pleasure to read and write. A minor character in ‘The Fencing Master’s Daughter’ surprisingly gets a lot of interest. I wrote an extremely ugly French chef called Henri. I based his recipes on the simpler ones of Marie-Antoine Carême, who was the Prince Regent’s chef and also worked for the Rothschilds. I was amazed to find some of my readers found my ugly chef attractive, but I suspect it had more to do with the gorgeous food he produced.
Today we welcome Mirta Ines Trupp with her revelation on what inspired her to write a JAFF novel.
Take it away, Mirta.
Take it away, Mirta.
As any author would tell you, nothing is more pleasing than having a tête-à-tête to discuss one’s work! Believe me.I have been ‘kvelling’ with pride ever since The Meyersons of Meryton received the Jane Austen JAFF Book Award. As an indie author, I had already published three novels prior to writing my first fan fiction. Although they are different genres—a Creative Nonfiction, a Historical Fiction, and a Historical/Fantasy—they were written with a tremendous amount of passion for the subject matter surrounding ‘Jewish Argentina’. I am a naturalized citizen of the United States of America, a second and third generation Argentine and a descendant of Russian Jews. Therefore, it goes without saying that the theme for my re-imagined Pride and Prejudice novel is truly a topic very near and dear to my heart.
There is an adage that states, “Write what you know,” as well as, the axiom that urges one to “write the book you wish to read.” That is what I have done with The Meyersons of Meryton. I incorporated my love for Austen, Gaskell, and the Bronte sisters with my fascination for Judaic history and culture. What enabled me to presume to do such a thing? I’ll tell you! We are seeing an extraordinary renaissance of the period drama—a quick look at Jane Austen’s popularity can attest to that fact.Along with the variety of films which speak to the adoration we Janeites have for the author, we are also blessed with the genre known as Jane Austen fan fiction. Modern day authors rewrite the treasured stories in new and complex scenarios. We can follow our beloved Pride and Prejudice cast in new roles or in different timelines. These JAFF novels even allow us to have mash-ups between Austen’s characters and zombies, super heroes, handsome Highlanders and even—wait for it—Jews!
It seems that my Jewish Austen fan fiction was ‘beshert’—meant to be. At least for me, anyway! As an enthusiast of the Regency, Victorian, and Edwardian periods, I have been hard pressed to find quality Jewish characters among the literary giants and it has been quite vexing, indeed! Celebrated authors such as Shakespeare, Dickens, Chaucer, and Heyer have been known to offer characterizations which are superficial and/or insulting. George Eliot allowed us some respite from negative stereotypes with Daniel Deronda, but clearly, there is a lack of reading material. Even in the whole of Miss Austen’s literary canon there is, I believe, just one mention of Jews or Judaism—and it is not pleasant. In the novel Northanger Abbey, a categorically unsavory gentleman is overheard remarking to Miss Catherine Morland, “Old Allen is as rich as a Jew…” Austen is quick to note her censure. Mr. John Thorpe is such a repellent character, it is clear that the reader should not take the man’s words to heart. That being said, I doubt Miss Austen ever met a Jewish person; therefore, neither did our beloved Miss Elizabeth Bennet nor any of the other Austen heroines. And that, my dear friends, is why I wrote The Meyersons of Meryton!
How would the Bennets interact with Jewish neighbors? What if there had been a rabbi in Hertfordshire or a ‘yeshiva’ (a Jewish academy) in the Lakes district? Why do we never read of Jewish ladies and gentlemen in Society doing the things that the landed gentry might do…taking a stroll through Hyde Park, having afternoon tea, attending an assembly? As it turns out, my research led me to learn of many eminent Jewish families in the Regency period, such as the Montefiores, the Rothchilds, the Goldsmids, and the Mocattas. Sir Moses Montefiore and his wife Lady Judith were fascinating people; they were role-models for their community and an inspiration to me.
For this avid novel reader, and anglophile at that, the history of the Jewish community in England was one that cried out to be represented in a Jane Austen fan fiction. It was my hope to keep the story entertaining yet enlightening. The Bennets and the Meyersons come from different worlds;nonetheless, they are similar in the most basic ways. They learn from one another, they share heartaches and triumphs. To be more succinct, please allow me to paraphrase a far more renowned JAFF: In my novel, the Bennets and Meyersons had, after a little bit of trouble, all that they desired. Needless to say, so did I.
~ Mirta
Amazon
Today Beth has bravely stepped up to reveal a little about herself, her tragic loss, and tells us what inspired her writing including her Award winning JAFF novel.
Heartfelt commiserations in your great loss, Beth. XX
About a dozen years ago, I began to dabble in writing fiction. Simultaneously, my life became increasingly stressful. My husband of forty years became triply disabled, and I was needed as caregiver. Luckily my Bill’s mind was not impaired. Though much activity was curtailed, he was still my well-informed best friend and we were free to continue to engage in a great deal of conversation. Through everything we laughed.
I was a literature major at Barnard in New York City when we met. It was 1968, and we were anti-Vietnam war activists on the Columbia University campus. The second wave of feminism was breaking out all over and Kate Millett was my literary criticism professor.Bill and I remained politically active for the next fifty years until I lost him last year. Needless to say, gender rights wereever on my mind during the intervening years.
The fan fiction world became a place I could share my attempts. Put your offerings on view in an on-line forum to see if it inspires. The Austen genre was chosen because to me Jane produced witty, incisive analysis of her age, class and most importantly her sex—exactly what I would like to eventually accomplish.
Each of my stories has had a purpose. With my first novel (Goodly Creatures), I wanted to learn how to blend historical, political and serious social issues into an entertaining story. Though mostly successful, it unfortunately traumatized a significant percentage of those in the Jane Austen Fan Fiction (JAFF) community who thought an unsentimental portrayal of rape and its realistic aftermath inappropriate… especially when the victim was Elizabeth Bennet. With my second (Mr Darcy’s Cottage of Earthly Delights), I aspired to create credible erotica. Once again, I drew the ire of a JAFF faction—those who insist literature honoring JA must be ‘clean.’ As I began my third foray, my desire was to write comedy—not sophisticated witty humor like my beloved Ms Austen, but the sort that causes the reader to choke and spit out any beverage they are sipping. This particular goal also fits in with my increasing need for humor as a coping mechanism for my life.
Bill served as my sounding board, my test audience and my go to guy. When I needed to do some research, he would come up with excellent suggestions. As I was writing Mr Darcy Likes it Wild, he suggested I check out Annette Rubinstein’s English Literature from Shakespeare to Shaw. He had heard her speak back in the 60’s and remembered she greatly admired Jane Austen.
As we read her analysis, I was struck by her admiration of the scene portraying Elizabeth’s rejection of Mr. Collins’ proposal. My favorite Austen character is resolute in her refusal despite his reminder that, in view of her small fortune: “It is by no means certain that another offer of marriage will ever be made.” This wonderful scene comes to a climax with a statement of one of the author’s favorite themes: “Do not consider me now as an elegant female… but as a rational creature.”
I adore Pride and Prejudice, not becauseof Mr. Darcy, but because of the woman who wins his heart. She was the character I most wanted to explore when I first began writing Austen inspired fiction. Jane depicts Lizzy’s pride in her ability to observe, to analyze and to decide. Her prejudice comes through when she forgets that, even for her, there is only one area of selection—marriage. Throughout all her novels, the author’s witty prose roots this singular choice for women of her class in the numbing pressures of her acquisitive society. Irony is used to discover and illuminate; and though Pride and Prejudice’s setting is the same stratified, materialistic and severely regulated culture, she imbues Elizabeth Bennet with a fierce longing to be a free individual.
Now that I have told you the inspiration for my story’s underlying serious theme, I need to remind you that my goal was to write a comedy. Georgette Heyer, a prolific writer with a great admiration for Austen, has provided me with some excellent belly laughs to help me forget my woes over the years. When I read her The Corinthian, I began imagining a fiction featuring Lizzy being forced to relinquish her freedom by her beloved father’s insistence she marry a ridiculous man, Mr. Collins. What would my favorite rational creature do?
Further inspiration came from a soupçon of Shakespeare and an even heavier dose of Billy Wilder. Both wrote great road trip comedies (As You Like It and Some Like it Hot) with the added twist of gender disguise.
Having heard the speculation that Lord Byron coined the phrase ‘truth is stranger than fiction,' I learned he definitely featured the concept in his Don Juan.“Tis strange - but true; for truth is always strange; stranger than fiction; if it could be told,”I waspleased to find that the most famous of all the romantic poets created a female character who indulged in cross dressing. The Black Friar is a spectre who visits Juan. As the monk’s hood falls down, the "friar" is revealed to be the voluptuous Duchess of Fitz-Fulke. My epilogue for Mr Darcy Likes It Wild practically wrote itself.
I confess my inspiration was all those whose creations have given this feminist literature major pleasure over the years… especially if they enjoyed playing with gender roles and making me laugh. In addition, the fifty-year political activist wanted to write something that would pay tribute to Sylvia Rivera and the other drag queens, trans women, and their comrades who fought back against oppression at the Stonewall Inn in 1969. The world is a better place because of their bravery.
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