Ask the Author: Syrie James
Answered Questions (12)
Syrie James
First and foremost, please forgive my incredibly tardy reply! I went through some major life hurdles over the past 2 years (I lost my husband to Pancreatic Cancer) and didn't notice this question until just now.
I like the idea of a Jekyll and Hyde story. The book is in the public domain so anybody can write a book based on the story if they wish, but it's intriguing. I have kept it in mind as something I might like to write in future. Hope all is well with you! Be well and take care!
I like the idea of a Jekyll and Hyde story. The book is in the public domain so anybody can write a book based on the story if they wish, but it's intriguing. I have kept it in mind as something I might like to write in future. Hope all is well with you! Be well and take care!
Syrie James
First and foremost, please forgive my incredibly tardy reply! I went through some major life hurdles over the past 2 years and didn't notice this question until just now.
The sequel to FORBIDDEN, entitled EMBOLDEN, came out last fall. More info at this link: http://www.syriejames.com/EmboldenSum...
I hope you enjoy it!
The sequel to FORBIDDEN, entitled EMBOLDEN, came out last fall. More info at this link: http://www.syriejames.com/EmboldenSum...
I hope you enjoy it!
Syrie James
First and foremost, please forgive my incredibly tardy reply! I went through some major life hurdles over the past 2 years and didn't notice this question until just now. Thanks for letting me know that you loved The Missing Ms of Jane Austen, which is a work of my heart. I have no plans for a sequel ... however, the book I wrote immediately following that is entitled JANE AUSTEN'S FIRST LOVE, it's gotten wonderful reviews and I hope you love it! More info here: http://www.syriejames.com/JaneAustens...
Syrie James
Please forgive my incredibly tardy reply, I didn't see this question until just now! The sequel to FORBIDDEN, entitled EMBOLDEN, came out last fall. More info at this link: http://www.syriejames.com/EmboldenSum...
I hope you enjoy it!
I hope you enjoy it!
Syrie James
Please forgive my incredibly tardy reply, I didn't see this question until just now! Yes, the sequel to FORBIDDEN, entitled EMBOLDEN, came out last year. More info at this link: http://www.syriejames.com/EmboldenSum...
I hope you enjoy it!
I hope you enjoy it!
Syrie James
A woman regains consciousness to find herself trapped and snowbound with a vampire. Will she make it out of here alive?
That's the premise of my novel NOCTURNE (http://www.syriejames.com/NocturneSum...)! And also as the premise of a short play I wrote inspired by the book, which I'm excited to say is being produced by 2 horror-themed play festivals in Oct. 2019, see this link for info:
http://hosted-p0.vresp.com/1788943/a5...
That's the premise of my novel NOCTURNE (http://www.syriejames.com/NocturneSum...)! And also as the premise of a short play I wrote inspired by the book, which I'm excited to say is being produced by 2 horror-themed play festivals in Oct. 2019, see this link for info:
http://hosted-p0.vresp.com/1788943/a5...
Syrie James
Hampshire England, to meet Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. :)
Syrie James
The Jane Austen Society (I got an early ARC); The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen; Pride and Prometheus
Syrie James
Yes, Ryan and I are working on the sequel to Forbidden! Thanks so much for asking. While you're waiting, I hope you'll check out my new novel, JANE AUSTEN'S FIRST LOVE, which I think you'll really love! :)
Syrie James
I've never had writer's block. But if I get stuck in any way while writing a book, it always, always means that I haven't done enough research. I take time out to learn more, to study everything I can about the time period or subject matter of my novel and my characters's lives. I create even more extensive character outlines, so that I know these people as well as I do myself. Then I work on the story outline, find the pitfalls if any, and make sure it is following the elements of screenplay story structure effectively and dramatically. In time, the story will flow again because I know where it's going, and I fully understand who and what I'm writing about.
Syrie James
Read, read, read. Write something every day, even if it's just an entry in a journal. Join a writers' group and attend writing classes, workshops, and conferences--they are invaluable and inspiring. Know that it can take years to learn your craft. Write what you love to read. Seek feedback from knowledge people and accept criticism gracefully. Study the screenplay formula for structure--it applies to every good story, be it a film, play, short story, or novel. Writing is a process. It's never perfect the first time--never. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite until you think it is ready--and then get more feedback and rewrite again. Believe in yourself. Never give up!
Syrie James
The idea for JANE AUSTEN'S FIRST LOVE came to me when I re-read this sentence in a letter Jane Austen wrote to her sister Cassandra in September 1796, when Jane was twenty years old and visiting in Kent:
“We went by Bifrons, & I contemplated with a melancholy pleasure, the abode of Him, on whom I once fondly doated.”
Who, I wondered, was Jane talking about? I learned that the "Him" upon whom she "fondly doated" (ie. cherished and adored) was Edward Taylor, heir to Bifrons, a grand, ancestral estate in Kent. Jane Austen mentioned Edward Taylor in two other letters, always with the same degree of fondness, affectionately referring to his “beautiful dark eyes.”
Very little was known about Edward Taylor for two hundred years--but after many months of research, I discovered a rare and invaluable resource that told me more about him: The Taylor Papers, the memoirs of Edward’s brother Lieutenant General Sir Herbert Taylor. They reveal Edward Taylor to be a member of a highly accomplished, extremely well-educated family who were all fluent in five languages and lived and traveled extensively abroad. When Jane Austen met Edward Taylor as a teenager, he'd already lived a fascinating life—it is no wonder she fell head over heels in love with him!
It was thrilling to make these discoveries, and to know that Edward Taylor had held an important place in Jane Austen’s heart. I had such fun speculating as to how Edward and Jane met, and bringing their relationship to life over one very special summer in my novel, Jane Austen's First Love!
“We went by Bifrons, & I contemplated with a melancholy pleasure, the abode of Him, on whom I once fondly doated.”
Who, I wondered, was Jane talking about? I learned that the "Him" upon whom she "fondly doated" (ie. cherished and adored) was Edward Taylor, heir to Bifrons, a grand, ancestral estate in Kent. Jane Austen mentioned Edward Taylor in two other letters, always with the same degree of fondness, affectionately referring to his “beautiful dark eyes.”
Very little was known about Edward Taylor for two hundred years--but after many months of research, I discovered a rare and invaluable resource that told me more about him: The Taylor Papers, the memoirs of Edward’s brother Lieutenant General Sir Herbert Taylor. They reveal Edward Taylor to be a member of a highly accomplished, extremely well-educated family who were all fluent in five languages and lived and traveled extensively abroad. When Jane Austen met Edward Taylor as a teenager, he'd already lived a fascinating life—it is no wonder she fell head over heels in love with him!
It was thrilling to make these discoveries, and to know that Edward Taylor had held an important place in Jane Austen’s heart. I had such fun speculating as to how Edward and Jane met, and bringing their relationship to life over one very special summer in my novel, Jane Austen's First Love!
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