Book Review: What Would Jane Do? Prepare For a Rude Awakening

Rude Awakenings
of a Jane Austen Addict

by Laurie Viera Rigler
2009

If Jane Austen were here today, would she recoil in horror at the immorality of the modern woman, or would she let out a great whoop whoop! for our freedom from the vise-like social mores that caused her heroines such pain and conflict?

I think it's hard to say. On the one hand, her writing both satirizes and disparages many of the customs that proved so discriminatory against women of the gentry, such as property entailment, the inability to earn a living, and complete dependence upon men for their livelihood. I rather like to think of her as an independent and free-thinking woman of her time.

On the other hand, I do get the impression that propriety is something she took seriously, and that her version of women's lib only stretched so far. I think she'd have a pretty hard time with bikinis and one-night stands.

Personally, I'm guessing she'd do a little bit of both (recoil and whoop whoop!). In fact, I'm guessing she'd react pretty much how Jane Mansfield reacts to waking up in the 21st century in Laurie Viera Rigler's Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict.

In this breezy follow-up to Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, it is now Regency gentlewoman Jane's eyes through which we see as she inhabits the body of modern L.A. thirtysomething Courtney Stone. After falling from her horse and receiving a nasty bump on her head, Jane awakens to a strange room where gadgets blink and beep at her and a strange box appears to be a window onto tiny actors acting out scenes from her favorite contemporary novel, Pride and Prejudice.

While Courtney is back in 19th-century England fighting with Jane's oppressive mother and trying to catch a husband, Jane must navigate a world of mini-dresses, night clubs, speeding cars, mixed signals, crummy jobs, and pushy best friends. She's as clueless about how to get back into her own body as she is about how to use a cell phone, and L.A. slows down for no one, which means she's forced to plunge into another woman's life and try not to make a muddle of it. As she adjusts to life in the fast lane, she begins to realize the two worlds are in some ways not quite as different as she thought.

Of the two books, I imagine this must have been by far the harder to write. Not only did the author have the task of describing the modern world through the eyes of a woman who doesn't even have the lexicon to describe most of our daily conveniences, but she had to address Jane's culture shock well enough to make it believable yet not so much that it gets in the way of little things like plot and character development.

In my opinion, she pulls it off fetchingly.

Laurie Viera Rigler's strength as a writer is her ability to ply the first-person, stream-of-conscious narrative female voice. Her writing bubbles with energy and personality, and her characters draw me right in, making me want to braid their hair while we eat popcorn, watch Colin Firth movies, and become BFFs.

Of course, like any real-life BFF would, I did find myself getting a bit impatient with Jane's incredulity and frustrated with her overly pushy friends. In some places the plot seemed to stall a bit, while in others it seemed to rush ahead without giving the main character room to breathe. However, the fact that the book engaged me enough to elicit such strong reactions speaks volumes.

I was a little disappointed in the ending. It's hard to discuss why without giving anything away, but a few things left me confused, and Jane and Courtney didn't end up quite where I wanted them to. What this book did do, though, was raise some very intriguing questions about individual identity and how much of our personalities and emotions are tied to our physical bodies.

Ultimately, I enjoyed this novel, although not quite as much as I did the first. (I also enjoyed the trailer, posted below--it was created by Rigler's own personal Mr. Darcy.) As a 21st-century chick all the way, I naturally had a much easier time relating to Courtney than to Jane. Their inner struggles while dealing with the body swap, although of a similar nature, took on very different nuances. Still, watching Jane apply her own perspective to modern situations--such as working for an abusive boss--gave me a fresh way of looking at things that aren't functioning the way they should be in my own life.

Which do you think would be more difficult, mentally, emotionally, and physically: traveling back in time like Courtney, or traveling forward in time like Jane? Why?

Guest Post: A NaNoWriMo Survival Guide

While some of you are recovering from wild Halloween hijinks, others of you are, presumably, up to your elbows in National Novel Writing Month, which kicks off today. (Personally, I'm doing both right now.) Perhaps you are reading this post as a much-needed break from pounding out plot and dialogue. Or perhaps you're simply procrastinating.

Either way, sometimes it helps to have a little encouragement—or a good kick in the pants—to get you back on track. That's why I asked Meg, who blogs at write meg!, to write a guest post with tips on how to succeed at NaNoWriMo. Not only is Meg a fantastic writer, but she has completed NaNoWriMo TWICE and has two shiny novels to show for it. Please welcome Meg and her wonderful advice!

Oh, National Novel Writing Month— a time when bright-eyed women and men from all over the world band together in the solitary pursuit of writing A Novel. The goal is to create a complete story of at least 50,000 words in 30 days or less. Writing more than that—you overachiever, you!—is totally your call, but the hope is that at the end of November, you’ll have a complete manuscript on your laptop, desktop or handheld device.

November usually starts out with a bang. Standing on the precipice of my third year participating in NaNo, I’ve stayed up on Halloween the past two years to ring November 1 in with style—typically with a mug of hot tea and a big, blank document open on my laptop. I waste no time saving my “work,” which I usually nickname some random theme I think I’ll be exploring. Just the act of saving it makes it feel real.

My best advice for surviving and thriving during NaNoWriMo is this: keep those fingers moving. Don’t think, even for a second, about editing a single word of what you’ve composed. NaNo founder Chris Baty has lots of excellent advice about turning off your “inner editor”: that nagging, raspy voice in your head wheezing and discouraging you, claiming you’re churning out nonsense. Work hard to free yourself of the desire to go back and even re-read what you’ve already written.

The goal is to move forward and not lose momentum—take breaks daily, sure, but make sure you write something every single day. The longer you wait to return to your novel, the easier it becomes to just scrap the whole thing . . . and yes, that temptation will be dancing around in the back of your mind sometimes! But don’t do it. Don’t delete, edit or rewrite—and definitely don’t listen to that raspy voice! You’re writing a novel—you are a novelist. This is the first step toward the rest of your life, am I right?

It may seem daunting, this idea of creating a book in 30 days—and there are plenty of times when, stuck in a plot rut or just plain exhausted from daily living, I’ve felt that sting of fear that my book “isn’t going anywhere.” I’m sure that at some point this month, that feeling will hit you like a blunt object, too. But trust me: you’re wrong. Your book is going somewhere—because you’re the one piloting this aircraft, baby! The ship goes wherever you say it goes.

So if you don’t like the setting, characters or dialogue, change it. Don’t be afraid to switch scenes abruptly if you’re just not feeling it. If the writing is boring you, it’s probably going to continue to bore you in the editing phase . . . and bore your readers down the line. Make something crazy and seismic happen out of nowhere—and then watch the folks in your world scurry around and react! Fluidity and momentum are your best friend. Getting mired down in a difficult scene will just start to eat away at the corners of your enthusiasm; jump away from it and move on to something else. Remember that when you’ve finished your book, you’ll definitely be going back! Any minor quibbles can be dealt with later—just move forward for now.

Give yourself permission to be silly. Write crazy dialogue. Make the improbable possible. If it doesn’t all make perfect sense to you while writing it, just keep writing it. It may all connect someday or, you know? It may not. Either way, you did something most people talk about their entire lives but never actually accomplish: you’re writing a book. A real, palpable story. And it will be your story.

Finishing a novel and ceremoniously typing “THE END” will fill you with a such a tremendous sense of confidence, you’ll probably spend the next year—like I do—in the pursuit of that elation. Victory is well within your grasp!

After spending the month noveling, December can be a bit of a let-down . . . which is why it’s excellent we have the holidays to bolster us back up. After finishing two books in November the past two years, I made sure I saved (and triple saved!) them and then . . . forgot about them. Just for a little while. When cold, gray January rushed in to meet me, I remembered all of the people I dedicated myself to creating in November—and then we’re all reunited again. In the editing phase!

When you do return to your book—and you better!—remember to be gentle with yourself. You wrote blindly and enthusiastically while being, more than likely, very sleep-deprived and/or heavily caffeinated; read your work but don’t beat yourself up over anything you see. Everything can be changed, improved and fixed—and with the help of a good friend, fellow writer or editor, your book will definitely evolve and thrive. Probably into something far greater than you could have imagined.

You’ll be impressed with what you discover about yourself—and what themes emerge in your writing. Writing as much as I can as quickly as I can has been beyond therapeutic for me, personally—and I’m constantly shocked and, yes, a little horrified about what my brain squeezes into a crammed Word document! But it’s thrilling, too, to watch a few clambering ideas take shape on the page . . . and to see a whole life created or destroyed on a whim. It makes us, for a moment, omnipotent . . . and vulnerable, too. But it’s fantastic.

Don’t be afraid of beginning this adventure—but afraid that you would never start at all! A quote from Scott Adams that I read daily carries me through any self-doubt: “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.”

And you’ll have a keeper—I’m sure of it.

Still not convinced? Listen to Anne Tucker: “All art requires courage.”

And courage? Hey, you read to the bottom of this very long post! So push out any worry, doubt or insecurity and write that novel—your world awaits.

--Meg
www.writemeg.com

Calling All Zombies, Vampires, Witches, Dorothys, Priests, Nuns, Nurses, Gladiators, and Light Sockets: Come Join the Party!

Let's get one thing straight: I freaking love Halloween

In myth and magic, it's the time of year when the veil between the worlds grows thin and the dead and living commingle. Psychologically, it's a time when we work on coming to terms with our own mortality and let our dark sides out to play. Socially, it's a time of unmitigated revelry, a chance to break out of ourselves within the freedom of a costume and take on a persona for the night.

Plus you can pig out on candy and not be embarrassed!

Being an open admirer of death, gore, fear, darkness, and all things creepy and gothic, I thrive on All Hallows' Eve. I come alive in a way that doesn't happen at any other time of year. And throughout the entire month of October, every time I meet or talk to someone, the first thing I want to ask is, "What are you going to be for Halloween?"

Blogger friends, this is a burning question, and something I want to know about each of you. But I've decided just hearing what you're going to be isn't good enough. I want pictures! So much so that I've decided to host a virtual post-Halloween party, right here at Books and Bards.

So here's the deal: After Halloween, send me a picture of you in costume with a description of what you're supposed to be. Any details about how or why you came up with the idea and how you executed it would be much appreciated! I will post them here, along with a link to your blog, by Nov. 5. That means I'm only giving you until Nov. 3 to send them. I want to post them before the Halloween buzz wears off!

As an added incentive, I will randomly choose one lucky winner to receive a door prize: a special Halloween survival kit for next year--complete with candy!

So to recap, email your Halloween costume pic to niclovesbooks at gmail dot com by Nov. 3 to have it posted here and to enter the giveaway.

In the meantime, let's talk shop. I'm going as Zombie Alice in Wonderland. What are you going as?

I Am Going to Pump Out This Novel If it Kills Me

Today, I decided to take the plunge.

I sat for a long moment with my finger on the precipice, my stomach quailing and my breath constricting. Could I do it? Could I find the time in my already overcrammed schedule? Or was I just taking on one more future failure, one more reason to add to the list of reasons why I'm not yet where I want to be in life?

And then I made a snap decision, shut my brain off, clicked the mouse, and signed up for National Novel Writing Month.

And now, the thought that keeps circulating through my brain is, Oh no, what have I done?

For the past couple of months, conversation about NaNoWriMo has been popping up all over the place. Until now, I've deliberately turned a wistfully blind eye. As much as I wanted to join the fray, there was just no way I could add writing a novel to my list of daily tasks when I barely have time to sleep as it is.

It was a post from one of my friends on Facebook that pushed me over the edge (which I hadn't even been aware of standing on.) He's not a writer, that I'm aware of. I've never spoken to him about writing. But apparently he has some writer friends who are not me. Here's what he wrote on his wall:

So I realized I have nothing to do on Halloween, and I bet some other people don't either. So lets watch some bad horror movies, do a little drinking, and just have a good time, yeah? So yeah, if you've got no other plans head on over.

(for ...those of you doing NaNoWriMo this year, I figure we'll kinda wind down around one if anyone wants to start writing right as the month begins!)

Wha? There are people within my circle of acquaintance who are doing NaNoWriMo, and I am not one of them? This is not right. I am the one who is known among my friends as The Writer! It is a cherished part of my identity, and not one I am willing to relinquish easily. If anyone should be doing this, it is me.

And the thought that followed on that one's heels was, What is wrong in my life that I can't find the time to work toward my most cherished dream, becoming a novelist?

So I'm all signed up for the task of writing 50,000 words between Nov. 1 and Nov. 30. You can find me as niclovesbooks. Friend me, please, as I will need both accountability and cheering-on. And I will gladly reciprocate with both.

So happy noveling, my writerly friends! I have no idea what I'm going to write about.

Bloggers, Time to Warm Up to Thaw

I received an email today from Fiona Robyn. She's a delightful author from the UK who recently published her third novel, Thaw, and plans to post the entire book online, in installments, so people can read it for free.

In order to let as many people know about this as possible, Fiona is asking bloggers to participate in a blogsplash in which everyone will simultaneously post the first installment of the novel on March 1. I'm in, and I thought I'd pass along the information in case any of you want to join in, too.

Here's how Fiona describes Thaw:

"Ruth is 32 and she doesn't know if she wants to be 33. She commits to writing a journal for three months before she makes her final decision. "

And here's the book's first review, on Goodreads:

"I couldn't put this one down. Ruth is so real and tragic she made my heart hurt. Some books stay in your head and heart forever, and this is one of them. Profound."

And finally, here's an excerpt from the introduction Fiona has posted on the Thaw blog:

I’ve always wanted to write my own journal, and this is my chance. Maybe my last chance. The idea is that every night for three months, I’ll take one of these heavy sheets of pure white paper, rough under my fingertips, and fill it up on both sides. If my suicide note is nearly a hundred pages long, then no-one can accuse me of not thinking it through.

Come join me in support of a wonderful author and what promises to be a poignant book!

I'm Baaaaaack! And Just in Time for Halloween!

Oh my gosh, I just looked at the date of my last post. It's been a whole freaking MONTH since I've tended my blog! A MONTH!!! It doesn't feel like it's been a month--two weeks, maybe, but not an entire moon cycle. That's how quickly the time has flown.

I've missed my ramblings. I've missed my friends. I've missed lounging around the 'net, commenting on people's posts. I fear this little sprout of mine may have gone brown and withered from neglect. I shall see if I can nurse it back to green and make it flourish again.

I have so many books to review, and so many thoughts jumbling around in my head I'm not sure if I can get them organized enough to match words to them. But let's start small.

My short fiction is now being published online on a regular basis at the Portland Fiction Project! I've got two stories up so far, with more to come.

I also did some flash travel articles for Trazzler.com--one of the funnest paying gigs I've ever had. If you're at all interested in what's fun to do in Portland, Ore., you can check out my articles here.

I'm almost finished with my Halloween costume, which I'm sewing from scratch. This year I've decided to be Zombie Alice in Wonderland. I've made myself the cutest little blue dress, complete with petticoat and pinafore. Pics to come! After all that hard work, though, it kind of breaks my heart a little that this weekend I have to trash it with a bunch of fake blood. Then again, I gotta have the blood!

I've been hard at work publicizing our latest title, Only Milo by Barry Smith, and the support from bloggers who have stepped up to give this oddball little book a chance has been amazing. Here's a roundup of the reviews/interviews so far--many of these still have giveaways going, so check them out if you haven't already. And if you're interested in reviewing Only Milo, don't hesitate to contact me!

Adventures of Cecilia Bedelia (Celia, I adore you!)
write meg! (Meg, I adore you as well!)
vvb32 reads (Velvet, you freaking rock!)
Gofita's Pages (You also freaking rock!)
Beth Fish Reads ('Beth', you are one talented and classy chick!)
The Charmed Bracelet (Jennifer, you are freaking fantastic!)
Word Lily (You are also freaking fantastic!)

Thank you all for your willingness to take a chance on the strange and unknown!

But gah! Enough about what's going on with me. I want to know what's going on with all of you. What have you been up to this past month?

The Smell of Sage, and a Contest Update

Holy cow, a whole week has gone by and I just realized I haven't posted a single thing! I feel this throbbing sense of guilt that my blog has been so neglected lately. A balance must be struck, and I'm hoping I can use the energy of the fall equinox to do so.

My whitewater adventure was absolute heaven. The weather was gorgeous, and our path down the Deschutes River led us to campsites that were dusted green with sage. Oh, how I love the smell of fresh sage! It's better than roses.

I never feel so relaxed and at home as when I'm on the river. I love the teamwork of paddling, and the repetitive and meditative nature of it. I love the adrenaline rush of successfully navigating a tricky rapid, and the bonds that quickly form between strangers on the river.

Now that I'm back, and lifting my head up from the crushing load of work that piled up while I was gone, I'd like to take the time to announce an extension of the deadline for the Jane Austen Mix-and-Matchmaking mini-challenge, which is part of the Everything Austen Challenge at Stephanie's Written Word. I realize many people were in the throes of BBAW and just plain didn't have the time, and a bunch of people expressed disappointment in that. So I am going to extend the deadline until Oct. 14. If you haven't had time to try your hand at meddling with the Janeiverse, now is the perfect time to do so.

Happy matchmaking!