Oh, Mr. Darcy!! 200th Anniversary of "Pride and Prejudice"

 

Please tune in here for a play list of the following book whose 200th Anniversary it is today....and tonight.   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/28/pride-and-prejudice-the-p_n_2566724.html

Thanks to Huffington Post!

Enjoy...  :]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, Mr. Darcy....  sigh....

 

 

Go to Alyssa Goodnight's blog for more exciting blog stops on her Anniversary event!!!

http://alyssagoodnight.com/2013/01/pride-and-prejudice-anniversary-party-blog-hop/

 

 

 

 

Books In the Mail This Week!

There's nothing more exciting than getting books in the mail every week, and purchasing them, too.  I'm just too happy when they come to my door, and I try to read them all as they come, though I can't review them all for you.

Here are the latest finds!

This one's about two women who are waiting for an answer about having a baby...  New from St. Martin's.           Find out more information and how to get a copy here:  Amazon

"Lydia was never the most upstanding of the Bennet sisters, but who ever said that moral rectitude was fun?"  Synopsis quote from Amazon  where you can find more and order your copy!  I'll be reviewing this one during my Jane Austen Christmas Week on Sunday, Dec. 23rd.  Come see!  :]

"From Brittany’s misty shores to the decadent splendor of Paris’s royal court, one woman must fulfill her destiny–while facing the treacherous designs of Catherine de Medici, the dark queen..."
Found here on Amazon      I purchased this one!!  and the sequel below:

"Queen Catherine de Medici is dead, and for Meg Wolfe—successor in a line of legendary healers and mystics known as “daughters of the earth”—it is a time of new beginnings."   Also found on Amazon from Ballantine Books

This is a fascinating book about the Cherokee Nation and young boy who is adopted by the legendary warrior/leader of the People.  A forgotten history.  I was most interested in this one when the author contacted me because of my family's Cherokee link to the original North Carolina tribe.
You can get a copy, too, or find out more here:  Amazon

"Harper only wanted a safe, normal life. But when her younger sister Gemma runs off with a dangerous clique of beautiful girls, Penn, Thea, and Lexi, everything changes. Vowing to get her sister back no matter what the cost, Harper must face dangers unlike any she's ever experienced. Fortunately, she has Daniel by her side, a gorgeous guy who's devoted to helping her find her sister—and who's immune to the girls' dark powers."

This is in audio CDs that came from Macmillan Audio Books!!  I love hearing this publishing company's books...great quality.  Find a copy here:  Amazon


A very happy week's worth of books for me.

What were your favorite books this week?  Did you buy any good ones for Christmas?  Please share...

Deb/TheBookishDame

Happy Birthday, Miss Austen! Jane Austen Christmas Week Coming, Too!!!

 

A very happy birthday to our darling Miss Jane Austen.

It seems only appropriate that she would be born around Christmastime when the trimmings are up for the tree

and beautiful lights are shining!

She's been a light to our

reading and understanding

of social interactions

for such a long time.

A delight to hearts young and old.

Does she ever get boring!?  No!!

 

 

Beginning December 23rd, Sunday,

A Bookish Libraria

will be hosting a group of wonderful authors

who will be paying tribute to

Miss Austen in a celebratory:

 

 

Jane Austen's Christmas Week

 

 

Here's what you can expect to read posted from Sunday, Dec. 23rd through Sunday, Dec. 30th respectively:

 

"The Bad Miss Bennet" ~ Review & Interview

 

Guest Post~ Nina Benneton author of "Complusively Mr. Darcy"

 

"The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen" ~ Review

 

Prolific Austen-inspired Author Abigail Reynolds ~ Guest Post

 

"Austensibly Ordinary" by Alyssa Goodnight ~ Interview & Review

 

"The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet" ~ Review

 

"All Roads Lead to Austen" ~ Review

 

"50 Shades of Darcy" ~ Comment

 

 

I hope you'll drop by to spend some time over the holidays with us!

 

The Austen Authors and The Bookish Dame

 

Cover Reveal "Austensibly Ordinary" by Alyssa Goodnight

Ms Goodnight announces: "I’ve been waiting weeks to reveal the cover for my January 2013 release, and finally I have been given permission. So, may I present AUSTENSIBLY ORDINARY. Its release date is January 29, 2013, which is exactly two hundred years and ONE DAY after the publication of Pride & Prejudice!!"

I, for one and hundreds, can hardly wait to read this one!  Beautiful cover and Alyssa Goodnight is a fine writer as evidenced in her last book:

Visit Alyssa and find out more about her and her books here:  http://alyssagoodnight.com

GIVEAWAY!! "Jane Austen:Blood Persuasion" by Janet Mullany ~ Loveable and Delectable!

Published by:  William Morrow/HarperCollins

Pages:  286

Genre:  Fiction/Paranormal

Visit Author:  http://www.janetmullany.com/ 

Find Janet also on Facebook and Twitter

Ms Mullany's Previous Novel

Prequel to "JA: Blood Persuasion"

GIVEAWAY!!!!!

Janet Mullany has generously offered to giveaway

 a copy of her book!

TO ENTER:

Leave your name and email in the comments,

and follow/friend me on the sidebar!

WINNER ANNOUNCED  Feb. 29th

Summary of "Jane Austen: Blood Persuasion"
It is 1810, and the Damned are out of favor—banished from polite society. Jane Austen’s old undead friends have become new neighbors, raising hell in her tranquil village just in time to interrupt Jane’s work on what will be her masterpiece. Suddenly Jane’s niece is flirting dangerously with vampires, and a formerly respectable spinster friend has discovered the forbidden joys of intimate congress with the Damned (and is borrowing Jane’s precious silk stockings for her assignations). Writing is simply impossible now, with murderous creatures prowling the village’s once-peaceful lanes. And with the return of her vampire characteristics, a civil war looming between factions of the Damned, and a former lover who intends to spend eternity blaming her for his broken heart, Jane is facing a very busy year indeed.


Meet the Author:

The author of Jane and the Damned, Janet Mullany was reared in England on a diet of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer and now lives near Washington, D.C. She has worked as an archaeologist, waitress, draftsperson, radio announcer, performing arts administrator, proof-reader, and bookseller.

The Dame's Interview with Ms Mullany:
Hi, Janet, I'm so happy you've agreed to an interview!  I loved "Jane Austen: Blood Persuasion" and can't wait to find out more about you. It's always fun to pick an author's brain!  Have some questions for you...

Thanks so much for inviting me! Ask away …

1) First of all, please tell us a special something about what makes you "tick." When you aren’t writing, what are you doing?
I read. I think it’s the most important thing a writer can do when not writing. I usually have something I’m reading on my kindle on the commute to the day job and something else I’m reading at night before I go to sleep. I also like music, particularly opera and baroque music although I don’t go to nearly as many live performances as I’d like.

2) You chose a specific genre, a place and time to write about, what made you choose it?
Laziness. I thought I knew a lot about the Regency period, which in some respects I do, but for my Austen-vamp books I had to do a lot of research.

3) Please share with your readers where you like to write. Do you have a particular space or desk? What can you see from your desk? Do you have props you use to write from? What about special "charms?
I have an office that faces south west and gets a lot of light. It is also warm in the winter and cool in the summer—in other words, it’s the best room in the house! I share it only with the cat. I can see what’s going on outside in the street and there’s a large oak tree outside. I think the only item that qualifies as a prop or charm, other than the cat who inspires by sleeping, is my kitchen timer, which I use when I really have trouble getting going.
4) In your opinion, what makes a book a great one?  A book you can reread and find something new in every time. Like Austen!

5) Which author(s) most influenced your love of books from childhood? C.S. Lewis—as I grew older I recognized the Christian symbolism but it didn’t bother me particularly (see the next question), Kipling (ditto the jingoism, but he’s such a great wordsmith), Rosemary Sutcliff, Edith Nesbit. They’re all writers I’ve reread as an adult.

6) Read any good books in the past 6 months? "To End All Wars" by Adam Hochschild, which is about the first world war; "The Magician’s Book" by Laura Miller about C.S. Lewis, "The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen" by Lindsay Ashford, and a reread of "Sense & Sensibility."

7) Please share with us the underlying message of your book. What would you like your readers to take away after having read the book?
I’m very uncomfortable about fiction having messages. If a reader learns an important life lesson from my books I don’t even want to know because that would make me feel under some sort of moral obligation for future works. I’m writing mass market fiction and the goal is to entertain. I hope I’ve done that as well as leave readers fainting away from the beauty of my prose and urging their friends and family to buy a copy or two.

8) Were you able to keep your original title? What was it, if not?
My original title was "Charms of Flesh and Bone," a line from a poem Austen wrote, "Mock Panegyric on a Young Friend," addressed to her niece Anna, who is one of the characters in the book: Another world must be unfurled,
Another language known,
Ere tongue or sound can publish round
Her charms of flesh and bone.

Oh, that is so absolutely charming, Janet!  It fits so well with your book.  Perfect!

9) Is there a song or music in general that might best represent your book as a theme song?
Not really. I listened to quite a lot of opera and Bach while I was writing it, and I find choral music excellent for love scenes. Not quite sure why.  

I agree with you.  Something about Vampires and their gothic beauty is operatic.  I've often wondered if Bach were a vampire!  ;]
10) If you could write your book again, what would you change?
I would hate to have to write this book again! It was very hard to write. I think what I would do is spend more time in Chawton. There’s a lot of educated guesswork and peering at maps and I did visit Austen’s house and the Great House, but I should have spent a lot more time in the area.

11) What was the worst distraction you had to fight through while writing your book? My natural inclination to laziness and the siren call of the internet.

12) What did you feel or think when you held the first copy of your book in your hands?
I find once I have the book in my hands the emotional connection isn’t really there. It’s become a product. It’s nice to touch the cover and to flip through and recognize what you wrote: at the same time it’s really the point of no return. I do, however, get very excited about seeing my books in libraries.  

That's very interesting, Janet.  No one has said that about seeing their book in a library before!
13) Tell us a secret about your book we wouldn’t otherwise know, please!  I think it’s one of the sexiest books I’ve written. There’s very little explicit material but a lot of yearning and desire.  

I agree!  I didn't really understand that en sanglant when I first read that Jane experienced it in close connection with the "Damned" vampires. But, I soon got the full intention!  It's a very sexy addition to an Austenesque book!  :]
Thank you for bending to these busybody questions, Janet! It’s been a pleasure from my end of things!
Thank you for having me visit

.The Dame's Review:
Exceptionally good reading, this novel of Jane Austen, her sister, Cassandra; her feisty little niece, Anna; her mother and their close friend and housekeeper, Martha, is set in the sleepy little village of Chawton.  What shakes up an otherwise pleasant but routine existence for them is the new neighbors...renting Jane's brother's house.  A family of vampires including Jane's creator, Fitzwilliam/Fitzpatrick, the handsome vampire who became Jane's "maker" when the French and English were battling and the help of the "Damed," those recognized as vampires, was required to win against the forces of Napoleon.  Jane's worried about the safety of her family given the hunger and lack of morality of most of the vampires she knows!  It's the push-pull of these gorgeous creatures, their blood lust ways and their enticings of the innocents vs. Jane's eagerness to protect and not fall back into her own vampiric ways that makes this a wonderful read.  Not to mention Jane's love interests... :]

Janet Mullany's research is impeccable.  But, more than that, she writes with such believability.  Every scene is beautifully rendered; so much so that you can hear the china tea cups clink in Mrs. Austen's drawing room, and the see the crystal chandeliers gleam in the gothic ballroom of Fitzpatrick's house.  I felt like swooning myself as she describes the dazzling vampire men.  Who could resist them?  I have such a weakness for dark and mysterious, dangerous men...especially vampires!  Mullany knows how to create them, and she places them like gems in her Georgian vignettes.  I love Jane Austen, but dress her up with a struggle over three main, gorgeous vampires of the "Damned" and I'm there for the asking every time!

Anything Mullany writes should be a must read for those who love "mash ups" of Miss Austen.  In this case, the book is so entertaining, engrossing from the start, including a beloved cast of characters that all Janeites will be familiar with. It's not possible to be anything other than delighted to be reading "Jane Austen:  Blood Persuasion."    I loved it, and tried to read it in one sitting.  Would have accomplished that, if it hadn't been for a grandson who wanted to go swimming all day!

5 stars for this brilliantly vampirish Jane!

Which Literary Heroine Are You? Mike Wells's Quizz Is Inspiring and Informative

Elizabeth Bennett

Pride and Prejudice



About the Quizz :

Mike Wells of "The Green Water Blog,"  see his website at:

http://ht.ly/6Nol1 is a best-selling novelist of "fast-paced" novels both YA and adult, whom, as an American, teaches Creative Writing at Oxford.

I love his inspiring and telling quizzes.  Once on the site you'll find a link for them all at the top of his "home" page.  He also has one for recognizing your type of hero/lover.  Oh, what fun that is!

My favorite movie couple

Mr. Darcy is just my type of man, here!

The Dame's Heroine :

Elizabeth Bennett, later Elizabeth Darcy, is the protagonist of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  Though the circumstances of the family situation and the Victorian society require her to marry for convenience and security, Elizabeth wishes to marry for love. Elizabeth is bright and articulate young woman, a lively and playful character. She often displays charming if slightly impertinent behavior that is entertaining and unusual. She delights in her quick-witted nature and does not bother to conceal it.

Men are attracted to women like Elizabeth because she is honest, healthy and interesting. They think her fun to be with as long as they are not a target of her wit. Her eyes shine with intelligent sincerity and men can’t help but be flattered by her attention. However, Elizabeths must remember that even if men fall in love with a playful spirit, they love a real woman.

The danger of being ‘Elizabeth’ is that her confidence is based on limited and sheltered life experience. With no reason at all she believes that she has superior judgment of human character. It may or may not be true, but if you are like Elizabeth keep it at bay at least on the first date. Believe me you will have your chance to shine in all your splendid colors after the wedding bells.

My 2nd Favorite Darcy Couple

Colin Firth~Can't resist Him!

Your Dame's Final Word:


So, quick like a bunny...go find who you are in literary fiction and comment here so we'll recognize you!


Deborah/TheBookishDame
Lavender Rose & alias Elizabeth

Bookish Dame Above All Dames:

Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice Author Lives Forever

Jane Austen Readers Attention!! New Reading Challenge!

By way of finding  "The Book Buff" today, one of my new and wonderful "followers," I found her awesome Jane Austen reading challenge.

I thought it might be a great one to introduce to my new readers (and myself) for the new 2011 year.  Some of these books are ones we may have already read, but many are new to me and I'd love to give them a try in a Jane Austen mindset.

I promise if you haven't had the stomach to try one of the new (what shall we call it....)  highly imaginative and annotated volumes such as "Pride and Prejudice and Vampires" by Seth Graham Smith...who imho is the very best at this warped genre...then you have a treat for a later day or Christmas evening.  Seth Graham Smith is a really great writer who won't let you down!

Stephanie Barron writes a plunkey little series of mysteries with Jane Austen as the "Nancy Drew" in such titles as, "Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron."  With beautiful settings, interior descriptions and lovely conversational pieces, you'll love to solve very interesting mysteries beside our darling Jane and her relations during the Napoleonic Age.

There are many fine authors below-mentioned and links to reviews that are going to be fun to follow.  So I thank all of those who made the list possible for us!

Now, if you want to join this Challenge which we'll call:   The Jane Austen New Readings Challenge 2011..... please just leave your name and email addy in the comments.

I'll post your names on my sidebar, and we'll follow each other's blogs to read reviews and/or likes and dislikes!

Thanks for stopping by and good reading!

Here is the main list:  *Please add others as you find them & let us know....

 Emma and the Vampires by Wayne Josephson and Jane Austen (reviewed on Read all Over Reviews)

• Writing Jane Austen: A Novel by Elizabeth Aston (reviewed on My Love for Jane Austen)
• Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler (reviewed on My Jane Austen Book Club)
  
• Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners by Josephine Ross (reviewed by My Love for Jane Austen)
• Wiiloughby's Return by Jane Odiwe (reviewed on My Jane Austen Book Club)
  
• Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo
• The Cookbook Collector: A Novel by Allegra Goodman (reviewed on My Love for Jane Austen)
• Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Riggle
• The Jane Austen Pocket Bible by Holly Ivins (reviewed on My Love for Jane Austen)
• What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist-The Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England by Daniel Pool
• The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler  (reviewed on My Love for Jane Austen)
• Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart: A Novel by Beth Pattillo
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Graham Smith
• Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters
• Jane Austen Mystery Series by Stephanie Barron 
• Marvel Illustrated Edition of Pride and Prejudice (reviewed on My Love for Jane Austen)
• The Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice: A modern love story with a Jane Austen Twist by Abigail Reynolds 
• First Impressions: A Tale of Less Pride & Prejudice by Alexa Adams
•  Searching for Pemberley by Mary Simonsen
• Jane Bites Back: A Novel by Michael Thomas Ford
• The Darcy Cousins by Monica Fairview
• Austenland by Shannon Hale
• To Conquer Mr. Darcy by Abigail Reynolds 
• Deception: A Tale of Pride and Prejudice by Ola Wegner 
• A Noteworthy Courtship by Laura Sanchez 
• Rainy Days by Lory Lillian
• Remembrance of the Past by Lory Lillian
• Twilight of the Abyss by Casey Childers
• Apprehension and Desire by Ola Wegner
• Something Like Regret by Kara Louise 
• Longbourne's Unexpected Matchmaker by Emma Hox
• A Weekend with Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly
• Murder on the Bride's Side by Tracy Kiley
• According to Jane by Marilyn Brant
• Murder at Longbourne by Tracy Kiely
• My Dear Charlotte: With The Assistance of Jane Austen's Letters by Hazel Holt
• Dancing with Mr. Darcy edited by Sarah Waters
• A Body at Rest by Susan Petrone
• Waiting for Mr. Darcy by Chamein Canton
• Scones and Sensibility by Lindsay Eland
• Seducing Mr. Darcy by Gwyn Cready
• Must've Done Something Good by Cheryl Cory
• Jane Austen's Thimble by Marianne Luban
• Me and Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter
• A Walk with Jane Austen by Lori Smith
• By a Lady: Being the Adventures of an Enlightened American in Jane Austen's England by Amanda Elyot
• The Man Who Loved Jane Austen by Sally Smith O'Roarke
• Sex and Sensibility: The Adventures of a Jane Austen Addict-A Novel by Rosemarie Santini
• Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
• Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding
• George Knightley, Esquire: Charity Envieth Not by Barbara Cornthwaite
• James Fairfax by Jane Austen and Adam Campan
• The Importance of Being Emma by Juliet Archer
• Donwall Abbey by Katharine Moore
• Emma and Knightley (originally published as Perfect Happiness in 1996) by Rachel Billington
• Lovers' Perjuries: Or, The Clandestine Courtship of Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill by Joan Ellen Delman
• Mr. Knightley's Diary by Amanda Grange
• Amanda by Debra White Smith
• The Compleat Mrs. Elton by Diana Birchall
• Anna Weston by Brenda Finn
• Emma in Love by Emma Tennant
• Later Days at Highbury by Joan Austen-Leigh
• A Visit to Highbury (originally published as Mrs. Goddard Mistress of a School in 1993) by Joan Austen-Leigh
• Truth and Rumor by Jane Gillespie
• Aunt Celia by Jane Gillespie
• Jane Fairfax by Joan Aiken
• Poor Emma by Reginald Hill
• The Journal of Jane Fairfax by Charlotte Grey
• Jane Fairfax by Naomi Royde Smith
• Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron by Stephanie Barron
• Dearest Cousin Jane: A Jane Austen Novel by Jill Pitkeathley
• Cassandra and Jane by Jill Pitkeathley
• The Lost Years of Jane Austen by Barbara Ker Wilson (originally published as Antipodes: Jane in 1984)
• Cassandra's Sister by Veronica Bennett
• The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syire James
• Just Jane by Nancy Moser
• The Jane Series by Stephanie Barron
• The Novelist: A Romantic Portrait of Jane Austen
• Jew of Bath by Marianne Luban
• Our Own Particular Jane by Joan Mason Hurley
• Parson Austen's Daughter by Helen Ashton
• Jane by Jean Gould
• Dear Jane by Eleanor Holmes Hinkley
• Northanger Alibi by Jennie James
• Summer of Secrets by Rosie Rushton
• Northpoint Chalet by Debra White Smith
• Uninvited Guests by Jane Gillespie
• Murder at Mansfield by Lynn Shepard
• Maria of Birkthwaite, A Jane Austen Sequel by Judith Brocklehurst
• Edmund Bertram's Diary by Amanda Grange
• Central Park by Debra White Smith
• Mansfield Revisited by Joan Aiken
• The Youngest Miss Ward by Joan Aiken
• The Reluctant Baronet by Jane Gillespie
• Mansfield Letter by Paula Atchia
• Mansfield Park: An Alternative Ending by Dorothy Allen and Ann Owen

Big shout out and thanks to Austenesque Reviews for providing me with most of this list!  There are even more Austen titles here!

I'm setting a start date of February 1st, 2011, on our JANR Challenge...it's the month of love, after all.  :]

Hugs from,

Your Bookish Dame