Every Woman Dreams…

Huffpost Books brings us a delightful look at Bill Deresiewicz’s A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me about Love, Friendship, and Things That Really Matter. Mr. Deresiewicz says that from Persuasion, he learned
* That true friends tell a person when he mucks up his own life.
* Despite what “When Harry Met Sally” purports, men and women can be friends.

From Sense and Sensibility, he learned
* Committing oneself to another is not an automatic “death sentence.”
* Lust, not love, occurs at first sight.

From Mansfield Park, Deresiewicz offers
* The best gift one can give another is to listen to his “story.”
* Too much money brings misery, not happiness.

From Northanger Abbey comes this advice:
* Just because one thinks up an idea it does not make it so.
* Remain open to new possibilites.

From Emma, he says he learned
* Our opinions of ourselves are not a true gauge of our true worth.
* From gossip comes wisdom.

Finally, from Pride and Prejudice, the gentleman says he discovered that
* Just because one has an opinion, it does not make him correct.
* A bit of humiliation is good for the soul.

To read the full article and check out the scenes from Austen’s novels which accompany each life lesson, visit
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-deresiewicz/jane-austen-life-lessons_b_854579.html#s270254&title=You_arent_nearly

(This post comes from one I did at the Book Boost on July 19, 2011.)
The Jane Austen Method of Pitching with Guest Blogger: Regina Jeffers

Meet author of all things Regency…Regina Jeffers…today at the Book Boost!

Here’s what she had to say about how to pitch your romance novel…

So, you have landed your first pitch session. Now what? To create a pitch for a romance novel, remember to offer a KISS by Keeping It Simple, Stupid. You will have ten-minutes or less to convince an industry savvy agent/editor that your manuscript is exactly for what a publisher searches. Some key points to consider before beginning the process include:

* Do your homework prior to the scheduled pitch. Know something of the publisher or agent. Who else does he represent? How does he view his place in the publishing realm? If it is an agent rather than an established editor, it is a good idea to know the agent’s mailing or web URL, what categories he represents, whether there is a charge for a reading fee, what manuscripts he has placed with publishers, etc.

* Secondly, practice your pitch. This is no time to “wing it.” I am a pantser by nature, but this is not one area in which I would go unprepared. Do you remember Speech 101 back in high school? There was a reason your guidance counselor advised you to take that class. This is that reason. Write out what you wish to say and practice it. Because invariably your nerves will effect what happens in those few short moments, notice that I did not say memorize your pitch. If you memorize the speech, you will leave something out. Practice means to review it over and over. To develop an organization. To make sure your ideas flow.

Within the pitch, one should include the word count, the genre (and subgenre, if necessary), and something of the setting. One might also mention the working title’s significance. Keep in mind, if sold to a publisher, a title change is likely.

In a romance, one must address both the hero and the heroine. Think through what you will say of these characters: adjectives to describe them; their motivations; their goals, and the conflicts the characters face. Be sure to include how the characters must resolve their differences to finally come together, but do not leave out how the antagonist or the circumstances come close to defeating them. Do not ramble on. These points should take no more than 3-5 sentences. Add a sentence or two about your expertise in the area or about your enthusiasm for the story line/manuscript.

The agent/editor may at this point ask you questions about the project. Again, keep your responses to the point. Stay focused on the goal. This is not the time to tell stories of Uncle Horace’s bunions. Respect the agent/editor’s hard earned status in the publishing world by conducting the pitch session in a business like manner. One can offer a friendly attitude without creating a TMI situation.

Finish with a polite “thank you” for the person’s time. Then state the obvious: “With your permission, I would like to send you my manuscript.” Hopefully, the agent/editor will agree. Yet, there is the possibility that he may not. I, personally, prefer to have a second pitch arranged in such cases. If you have not rambled on previously, you will have time for another short pitch. Use your time wisely.

To see the whole article, visit http://thebookboost.blogspot.com/2011/07/jane-austen-method-of-pitching-with.html

The Charlotte Observer reports the following story from its Monday, July 18, 2011, edition. For the complete story visit: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/07/18/2463676/borders-fate-to-be-decided-this.html#storylink=misearch

Borders’ Group made a move on Monday to liquidate its assets and close its remaining 399 stores. The move could come as soon as this Fridy. Failing to receive any bids to keep it in business, the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based chain, has sought court approval to sell off its assets.

Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers Group lead the way as possible liquidators. Borders will head to U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Thursday. If the judge approves the move, liquidation sales could start as soon as Friday; the company could go out of business by the end of September. (Although the news says the local stores may stay open through January, my October book signing at the local Borders, obviously, is in jeopardy. When the events coordinator asked me to bring my own books to the signing, I knew I was in trouble, but I hoped, against hope, that this might not be the outcome for Borders.)

Creditors and lenders recently objected to Najafi Cos.’s $215 million bid to take over the company. They argued the chain would be worth more if it liquidated immediately.

With 10,700 current employees, Borders liquidation could have far-reaching effects. The most obvious is the loss of jobs, but retail spaces will feel the loss, as well. Borders stores average about 25,000 square feet.

“Borders’ move to close 228 stores while it reorganized in bankruptcy protection already increased the collective vacancy rate of shopping centers that contained a Borders to 9.3 percent from 4.2 percent, estimated Chris Macke, senior real estate strategist at CoStar Group, the nation’s largest provider of real estate data. Macke calculated the liquidation of the rest of the chain could increase the vacancy rate on that same basis to 18.8 percent.”

“Additionally, Simba Information senior trade analyst Michael Norris predicts the closing could cause sales of electronic books to fall. Borders, for one, entered the electronic book market with Canada’s Kobo Inc. last year. Owners of the Kobo e-reader will still be able use Kobo software to buy and read books. And Kobo officials said users of Borders e-book accounts, which began transitioning to Kobo in June, will be able to access their e-books uninterrupted.”

“At its peak, in 2003, Borders operated 1,249 Borders and Waldenbooks, but by the time it filed for bankruptcy protection in February that had fallen to 642 stores and 19,500 employees. Since then, Borders has shuttered more stores and laid off thousands.”

This article comes from The Washington Post. The myths include:
1. Austen led an uneventful life.
2. Austen’s novels are chick lit.
3. Austen didn’t take her writing seriously.
4. Austen’s works are escapist fiction.
5. For all her popularity, Austen’s literary influence was limited.

For the full article, visit
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-jane-austen/2011/07/08/gIQAZALCEI_story.html

The Northern Glass Cone is a 19th-century structure formerly used in the glass manufacturing process at Alloa Glass Works in the burgh of Alloa, the administrative centre of the central Scottish council area of Clackmannanshire. The brick-built cone is the only such structure to survive in Scotland, and is one of four in the United Kingdom, along with Catcliffe Glass Cone in South Yorkshire, Lemington Glass Cone in Tyne and Wear, and Red House Cone in Wordsley, West Midlands.
Lady Frances Erskine established the Alloa Glass Works in 1750. Craftsmen from Bohemia (in the present-day Czech Republic), who also oversaw the construction of the first glass cone on the site, trained the workers. The original structure was 90 feet (27 m) tall.
By 1825, the Edinburgh Glasgow and Alloa Glass Company owned the site; they built another three cones, of which the Northern cone, 79 feet (24 m) high, was one. (Its immediate neighbour was correspondingly known as the Southern cone.) The base was octagonal, rather than circular, and had arched entrances. The main body of the cone was of brick laid in English Bond formation. The original cone and one other were demolished before the 1960s, but the Southern cone survived until 1968. At the same time, the Northern cone regained its original appearance when some later additions were removed.
So, why am I going on and on about the glassmaking industry in the UK? Besides the interesting structure that the glass cone is architecturally, one of these structures plays a pivotal role in my third installment of the Realm series.

A Touch of Cashémere

I will release A Touch of Cashémere initially through Xlibris. Within a week or so (have more proofreading to do), I will also release it in eBook format.

According to BBC News, a rare Jane Austen manuscript sold for £993,250 ($1.6 Million). Sotheby’s Auction House sold the unfinished piece. As the experts thought the work would fetch some where around £300,000, the bid surprised everyone.

The manuscript, originally owned privately, was purchased by the Bodleian Libraries of Oxford.
It is thought Austen wrote the tale, about a young woman who returns home to her father’s household after being brought up by a wealthy aunt, in 1804. Richard Ovenden, from Bodleian Libraries, said they were “delighted” to have secured “such a valuable part of our literary heritage.We are glad it will stay now in Britain,” he added, saying the “priceless manuscript” would be made available to the general public as early as this autumn.

Much of the money came from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF), through a £894,700 grant.
“This was an unprecedented opportunity to acquire the only surviving original draft of a novel by one of our greatest and most popular writers,” said Carole Souter of the NHMF.Other organisations who donated included the Friends of the National Libraries, the Friends of the Bodleian and the Jane Austen Memorial Trust.

Sotheby’s specialist Gabriel Heaton said the work was “particularly informative” because it is “very much a working draft.” Every page is littered with crossings out, revisions and additional text between some of the lines.

Everyone thought that the Morgan Library in New York, which already owns an eight-page element of the manuscript, might take the manuscript out of the country.

Jane Austen published six complete novels during her lifetime, including Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and Sense and Sensibility, before dying in 1817 at the age of 41.

With the exception of The Watsons, two draft chapters of Persuasion and two other works named Lady Susan and Sanditon, few of her draft works have survived.

The Bodleian Library already holds her Volume the First, a manuscript of Austen’s juvenilia (early writings).

I owe much of my writing career to Jane Austen, as do several of my associates at AustenAuthors.net. Without her model, I would not be an author. THANK YOU, JANE AUSTEN, FOR YOUR INSPIRATION. It does my heart good to see your work is still appreciated after 200+ years.

I’ve been proofreading another book the last two days. I needed something to place the smile back on my face. What would it do to the divorce rate if we all were aware of the “worse case scenario” before we said “I do”?

http://janeaustenreviews.blogspot.com/2011/07/more-about-austenesque-extravaganza.html

I am looking forward to this month-long celebration of everything Austen.
http://janeaustenreviews.blogspot.com/2011/07/coming-soonaustenesque-extravaganza.html

Shannon Hale’s Austenland will be made into a film. Jerusha Hess, co-writer of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, will direct. It will be Ms. Hess’s first directorial attempt. Filming begins this week in the UK. Austenland will star Keri Russell, J.J. Field (Northanger Abbey, The Sally Lockhart Mysteries, Captain America: The First Avenger) and Bret McKenzie (Lord of The Rings, Flight of the Conchords), The film will also mark the producing debut of Twilight author Stephanie Meyer. The supporting cast will include Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Seymour, Rupert Vansittart and James Callis.