Christina Morland's Blog, page 2
April 6, 2021
Austenesque Musings -- a podcast
Hi, Friends!
Recently, I've been experimenting with podcasting.
In February, I attempted reading aloud a chapter from my book, Seasons of Waiting: A Pride and Prejudice Variation. (Hats off to professional voice actors out there; narrating audiobooks can't be easy!)
Today, I released episode two, a conversation with editor and author Christina Boyd.
If you're so inclined, check out the podcast here -- or you can look for it at Spotify, Apple, Google, or several other podcasting platforms.
Thanks, and happy reading (and listening) to you all!
Recently, I've been experimenting with podcasting.
In February, I attempted reading aloud a chapter from my book, Seasons of Waiting: A Pride and Prejudice Variation. (Hats off to professional voice actors out there; narrating audiobooks can't be easy!)
Today, I released episode two, a conversation with editor and author Christina Boyd.
If you're so inclined, check out the podcast here -- or you can look for it at Spotify, Apple, Google, or several other podcasting platforms.
Thanks, and happy reading (and listening) to you all!
March 27, 2021
Bonus Scene from Colonel Brandon's Perspective
Hi, Friends!
Today, I posted a bonus scene from The Year in Between, written from Colonel Brandon's perspective, on my web site. I've also posted about the music mentioned in the novel. Whether you've read The Year in Between: A Sense and Sensibility Variation or not, feel free to check out my latest post here.
Thanks, and happy reading to you!
Today, I posted a bonus scene from The Year in Between, written from Colonel Brandon's perspective, on my web site. I've also posted about the music mentioned in the novel. Whether you've read The Year in Between: A Sense and Sensibility Variation or not, feel free to check out my latest post here.
Thanks, and happy reading to you!
March 8, 2021
Ten Books for International Women's Day
Happy International Women's Day, my friends!
When my husband reminded me that today was International Women's Day (ha! I know, kind of ironic, right?) , I immediately thought of this quote from Jane Austen’s Persuasion: “I hate to hear you talking…as if women were all fine ladies, instead of rational creatures. We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days” (Persuasion, Chapter 8).
And this quote, of course, made me think of Christina Boyd's excellent short-story anthology, Rational Creatures. (I was honored to write a story for that anthology.)
On my blog, I write about nine other books that have lately inspired me, each detailing the joy, challenges, and power of women.
Happy reading to you!
When my husband reminded me that today was International Women's Day (ha! I know, kind of ironic, right?) , I immediately thought of this quote from Jane Austen’s Persuasion: “I hate to hear you talking…as if women were all fine ladies, instead of rational creatures. We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days” (Persuasion, Chapter 8).
And this quote, of course, made me think of Christina Boyd's excellent short-story anthology, Rational Creatures. (I was honored to write a story for that anthology.)
On my blog, I write about nine other books that have lately inspired me, each detailing the joy, challenges, and power of women.
Happy reading to you!
February 27, 2021
Endings and Beginnings
Beginnings: Recently, I began working (again) on my Pride and Prejudice variation entitled Disappearing Act. If you want a preview of that book, check out the end of my Austenesque collection The Significance of Sisters: A Collection of Austenesque Fiction, where I’ve included the first chapter. Then visit the JAFF Writer/Reader Get Together for more info about the WIP reading on March 13, when I’ll read an excerpt from Chapter 2 of the novel. Several other Austenesque writers (including, last I heard, the incomparable Abigail Reynolds and amazing Lucy Marin) will also be reading from their latest works-in-progress!
Endings: I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the endings of novels. I’ve always had a hard time accepting the end of a good book, and I’ve certainly wrestled with writing decent endings for my own novels.
Still, for all that I struggled writing my most recent book, The Year in Between: A Sense and Sensibility Variation, I felt pretty good about the end. After all, Jane Austen had written it for me! I always knew I was going to end that book with Marianne’s marriage to Brandon. When I was about halfway through writing the first draft of the novel, I did think I would write an epilogue entitled “And So” — an epilogue that would tell us, from the perspective of Marianne’s journal, a little bit about her first day and night as a married woman. I believed that this ending would provide a nice sort of symmetry to the novel, as the book opens with a prologue (“And Yet”), which has Marianne writing a journal entry lamenting her heartbreak over Willoughby.
By the time I actually reached the end of the book, however, I decided against including the epilogue. I had come to feel as if this story was as much about Marianne and Elinor — and all the women who had supported them — as it was about Marianne and Brandon’s romance. I feared the epilogue would make the book feel lopsided, as if Marianne’s romance more important than any other storyline.
Not everyone agreed.
One of the many beautiful aspects of the Austenesque community is the conversation that we writers get to have with readers. Not face-to-face conversations, usually, but certainly an exchange of ideas through reviews, blog posts, and Facebook. Thanks to a review by a very thoughtful reader, I began to think more about the epilogue I never finished. That reader felt the book was missing an ending–that Marianne and Brandon’s story should have been given more weight.
After much thought, I decided I was happy with the ending I chose-–but I also understood this reader’s point of view. I regretted that the reader felt robbed of an ending. And since I already had an epilogue drafted, why not flesh it out and post it here? (Thanks so much to my dear friend and author Colleen Cowley for the idea to do this, as well as for her encouragement along the way! If you want to read books with great endings, you should definitely check out her books!)
And so, on my blog, I've posted “bonus” epilogue to The Year in Between.
If you haven’t read the book, you may want to skip this, as there are minor spoilers, and the epilogue makes more sense if you’ve read the book. Then again, the epilogue can’t be much of a spoiler because, as I’ve already indicated, the book ends with Marianne’s marriage to Brandon! So hey, do what feels right to you. 🙂
If you have read the book, you may feel that the epilogue still doesn’t provide a satisfying ending. I am nothing if not an imperfect writer! Nevertheless, I thought I’d share this for anyone who wanted a peek into my writing process, or for those who just wanted a bit more of Marianne and Brandon.
(Also, for those readers who grew to love Brandon as much as I did, stay tuned: in March, I plan to post a scene from the middle of the book–the library scene–told from Brandon’s perspective.)
Here is the link to the epilogue (though you'll have to scroll past the same introduction I wrote above).
Thanks for reading!
Endings: I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the endings of novels. I’ve always had a hard time accepting the end of a good book, and I’ve certainly wrestled with writing decent endings for my own novels.
Still, for all that I struggled writing my most recent book, The Year in Between: A Sense and Sensibility Variation, I felt pretty good about the end. After all, Jane Austen had written it for me! I always knew I was going to end that book with Marianne’s marriage to Brandon. When I was about halfway through writing the first draft of the novel, I did think I would write an epilogue entitled “And So” — an epilogue that would tell us, from the perspective of Marianne’s journal, a little bit about her first day and night as a married woman. I believed that this ending would provide a nice sort of symmetry to the novel, as the book opens with a prologue (“And Yet”), which has Marianne writing a journal entry lamenting her heartbreak over Willoughby.
By the time I actually reached the end of the book, however, I decided against including the epilogue. I had come to feel as if this story was as much about Marianne and Elinor — and all the women who had supported them — as it was about Marianne and Brandon’s romance. I feared the epilogue would make the book feel lopsided, as if Marianne’s romance more important than any other storyline.
Not everyone agreed.
One of the many beautiful aspects of the Austenesque community is the conversation that we writers get to have with readers. Not face-to-face conversations, usually, but certainly an exchange of ideas through reviews, blog posts, and Facebook. Thanks to a review by a very thoughtful reader, I began to think more about the epilogue I never finished. That reader felt the book was missing an ending–that Marianne and Brandon’s story should have been given more weight.
After much thought, I decided I was happy with the ending I chose-–but I also understood this reader’s point of view. I regretted that the reader felt robbed of an ending. And since I already had an epilogue drafted, why not flesh it out and post it here? (Thanks so much to my dear friend and author Colleen Cowley for the idea to do this, as well as for her encouragement along the way! If you want to read books with great endings, you should definitely check out her books!)
And so, on my blog, I've posted “bonus” epilogue to The Year in Between.
If you haven’t read the book, you may want to skip this, as there are minor spoilers, and the epilogue makes more sense if you’ve read the book. Then again, the epilogue can’t be much of a spoiler because, as I’ve already indicated, the book ends with Marianne’s marriage to Brandon! So hey, do what feels right to you. 🙂
If you have read the book, you may feel that the epilogue still doesn’t provide a satisfying ending. I am nothing if not an imperfect writer! Nevertheless, I thought I’d share this for anyone who wanted a peek into my writing process, or for those who just wanted a bit more of Marianne and Brandon.
(Also, for those readers who grew to love Brandon as much as I did, stay tuned: in March, I plan to post a scene from the middle of the book–the library scene–told from Brandon’s perspective.)
Here is the link to the epilogue (though you'll have to scroll past the same introduction I wrote above).
Thanks for reading!
January 25, 2021
Now available: The Year in Between
So, once--a long, long time ago--I said I would publish a Sense and Sensibility variation in March 2020. It is January 2021. What can I say? Time and I are not friends.
But we have made a truce, and here is the result:
The Year in Between: A Sense and Sensibility Variation tells the story of the year in between Elinor's marriage to Edward and Marianne's marriage to Brandon. After Willoughby's betrayal, how did Marianne come to see Brandon--and herself--in a new light? How did Elinor and Edward, who had for so long believed they could not marry, fare during that first year of matrimony?
Whether you know Sense and Sensibility well, or this is your first introduction to Elinor, Marianne, Edward, and Brandon, I hope you'll consider visiting my version of Delaford, where love and friendship--and all the challenges that come with them--abound.
Many thanks!
But we have made a truce, and here is the result:
The Year in Between: A Sense and Sensibility Variation tells the story of the year in between Elinor's marriage to Edward and Marianne's marriage to Brandon. After Willoughby's betrayal, how did Marianne come to see Brandon--and herself--in a new light? How did Elinor and Edward, who had for so long believed they could not marry, fare during that first year of matrimony?
Whether you know Sense and Sensibility well, or this is your first introduction to Elinor, Marianne, Edward, and Brandon, I hope you'll consider visiting my version of Delaford, where love and friendship--and all the challenges that come with them--abound.
Many thanks!
October 24, 2020
Too Much to Heart: Excerpt from my S&S Variation
Hi, Friends!
I've always wondered how Marianne of Sense and Sensibility made the transition from thinking so little of Brandon to thinking so much of him. This question is, in part, what inspired me to write the novel I am slowly finishing -- and it's at the heart of the latest excerpt I've posted on my blog. (If you're interested in earlier excerpts, you can find them here and here.)
Happy weekend to you!
I've always wondered how Marianne of Sense and Sensibility made the transition from thinking so little of Brandon to thinking so much of him. This question is, in part, what inspired me to write the novel I am slowly finishing -- and it's at the heart of the latest excerpt I've posted on my blog. (If you're interested in earlier excerpts, you can find them here and here.)
Happy weekend to you!
October 5, 2020
Writing about Marriage
Greetings, friends! Slowly but surely, I continue to approach “the end” of my latest novel, The Year in Between: A Sense and Sensibility Variation. I thought I’d start the week by sharing another excerpt with you. (If you missed the previous excerpt, you can read about Marianne and Brandon here.)
As a romance novelist (for lack of a better term), I should feel pretty comfortable writing about marriage, yes? In fact, I find it incredibly difficult. When I’ve got characters who aren’t married, who face obstacles to marriage, or who don’t really want to be married but are married anyway — as is the case in all my Pride and Prejudice variations — then I find I’m not writing about marriage so much as I’m writing about falling in love.
In this book, Elinor and Edward’s love for each other is never in doubt. They begin the novel in love, and they end the novel in love. So, for this couple, the question is not, “How will they come to love each other?” but “How will they navigate their marriage without damaging their love for each other?”
Answering this question was tricky for several reasons. As a novelist, I crave conflict and tension between my characters, but I need that conflict to feel as real as it can. When the conflict stems from the uncertainty of being in love, there’s a lot to play with — but Elinor and Edward never doubt their love for each other, so the conflict had to come from other sources.
I also wanted to find that perfect balance between romance and realism in describing marriage. I’m fortunate to be in a happy and loving marriage myself — but it is not all sunshine and daisies, as I’m sure anyone who’s been in a relationship can understand. Is it possible to describe the stomach-swooping moments of love and desire alongside the daily difficulties of married life, all while keeping the story interesting?
I don’t know, but here’s part of my attempt. This excerpt is from “Chapter Two: Warmth and Worry,” which takes place about a month after Elinor and Edward have married. What follows is a draft and is thus imperfect and liable to change. Nevertheless, hope you enjoy!
(Or, you can skip to the comments section and tell me: what do you like to see when you’re reading about marriage in Austen variations?)
As a romance novelist (for lack of a better term), I should feel pretty comfortable writing about marriage, yes? In fact, I find it incredibly difficult. When I’ve got characters who aren’t married, who face obstacles to marriage, or who don’t really want to be married but are married anyway — as is the case in all my Pride and Prejudice variations — then I find I’m not writing about marriage so much as I’m writing about falling in love.
In this book, Elinor and Edward’s love for each other is never in doubt. They begin the novel in love, and they end the novel in love. So, for this couple, the question is not, “How will they come to love each other?” but “How will they navigate their marriage without damaging their love for each other?”
Answering this question was tricky for several reasons. As a novelist, I crave conflict and tension between my characters, but I need that conflict to feel as real as it can. When the conflict stems from the uncertainty of being in love, there’s a lot to play with — but Elinor and Edward never doubt their love for each other, so the conflict had to come from other sources.
I also wanted to find that perfect balance between romance and realism in describing marriage. I’m fortunate to be in a happy and loving marriage myself — but it is not all sunshine and daisies, as I’m sure anyone who’s been in a relationship can understand. Is it possible to describe the stomach-swooping moments of love and desire alongside the daily difficulties of married life, all while keeping the story interesting?
I don’t know, but here’s part of my attempt. This excerpt is from “Chapter Two: Warmth and Worry,” which takes place about a month after Elinor and Edward have married. What follows is a draft and is thus imperfect and liable to change. Nevertheless, hope you enjoy!
(Or, you can skip to the comments section and tell me: what do you like to see when you’re reading about marriage in Austen variations?)
September 25, 2020
Shivering in the Sunlight: A Preview of The Year in Between
Hello, friends!
I am sorry for being so delinquent when it comes to finishing novels — or perhaps only for saying I’ll finish long before I actually do! If you can believe me — and you may be wise not to — I’m completing the last few chapters of The Year in Between: A Sense and Sensibility Variation, which was supposed to be done in the spring. (But hey, it’s spring in the Southern Hemisphere, right?)
As I near the finish line, I’m sharing a few excerpts on my web site. Feel free to check out this excerpt from Chapter Three: Shivering in the Sunlight.
Thanks, and hope you are all safe, happy, and healthy!
I am sorry for being so delinquent when it comes to finishing novels — or perhaps only for saying I’ll finish long before I actually do! If you can believe me — and you may be wise not to — I’m completing the last few chapters of The Year in Between: A Sense and Sensibility Variation, which was supposed to be done in the spring. (But hey, it’s spring in the Southern Hemisphere, right?)
As I near the finish line, I’m sharing a few excerpts on my web site. Feel free to check out this excerpt from Chapter Three: Shivering in the Sunlight.
Thanks, and hope you are all safe, happy, and healthy!
March 3, 2020
Why Elizabeth?
Hi, Friends!
Just wanted to share a piece I wrote for the blog tour of Christina Boyd's new anthology Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl. Check out the review and giveaway that go along with this post at Rita Deodato's blog From Pemberley to Milton.
You'll also find the full blog tour schedule there. Hope you'll check out all the features by the OHG authors and enter the giveaway for a chance to win lots and lots of books!
Why Elizabeth?
Once, at a dinner party—perhaps I’d had more than my usual half-glass of wine—I told the man sitting next to me that I write Austenesque fiction. This I considered an act of some bravery, for I’m uncomfortable talking to anyone, much less strangers, about my writing. Just ask my husband, or my mom, or my cats; when they ask me how writing’s going, I usually make a face and say, “You know…”
(Okay, my cats have never asked me how writing’s going, and that is why I love them.)
Anyway, I tried, really tried, to explain to this man (whose name card must have ended up next to mine due to karmic retribution; that, or I’d annoyed the executive assistant who did the seating arrangements) what exactly Austenesque fiction was. I wish he had looked baffled or surprised or even a little disgusted, but he gave me a Mr. Collins smile and said, “Ah, escapism!”
If only I had been Elizabeth Bennet and made some witty, cutting remark! Or Jane, with her serene smile and endless empathy for the foibles of others. I would even have been glad to embrace my inner-Lydia by tipping my wine into his lap, laughing as he sopped up the mess. But no, I resorted to my usual self, some mixture of Mary and Kitty: pedantic and awkward, wishing to gain approval, yet sullen about having to do so. (Before those of you who love Mary and Kitty object, know that I, too, love them; we have so much in common!)
But mostly, I wish I had been Elizabeth. Then I would have stood up for myself, and for my writing.
Yes, I might have said to this man, there are escapist elements to Austenesque fiction. (It’s fiction!) But I don’t write about Elizabeth Bennet to escape into a world of regency fashion and idealized romance; I write about Elizabeth Bennet to celebrate obstinate, headstrong women.
I suspect this is why many of us are drawn to stories about Elizabeth. It doesn’t matter whether she is wearing a corset or cowboy boots; she might be a research scientist, a golden-age actress, or a young lady with little fortune and no connections. In any time or any place, Elizabeth speaks truth to power.
There are those who see Jane Austen’s works as little more than domestic drivel. Yet what Austen did—portraying a woman willing to say no—was, and remains, rather remarkable. No, Mr. Collins, you do not know what is best for me. No, Mr. Darcy, you do not know me better than I know myself. No, Lady Catherine, you do not get to insult me and then expect I will do what you wish. No, no, no. These refusals make Elizabeth’s eventual yes all the more powerful, for we know she is choosing Darcy on her own terms.
Still, I have always wondered: how easy was it for Elizabeth to say no to Darcy after that beautiful, fateful yes? It’s one thing for Elizabeth to be obstinate and headstrong when Darcy is being a jerk. Can she say no to him—can she speak her mind—when she knows how much he loves her, and how much she loves him? Just what might a post-yes quarrel look like between Elizabeth and Darcy? These are the questions that inspired my story, “Atmospheric Disturbances,” in Christina Boyd’s excellent new anthology, Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl.
Each author in this anthology has imagined Elizabeth in her own, unique way, yet I think we have all come back to this central truth: to be obstinate and headstrong is no insult. It is certainly not escapism. No. To be obstinate and headstrong when the situation calls for it is the only way to create our own happy endings.
Readers, I'm curious: what do you find fascinating about Elizabeth Bennet? What makes her the kind of character who can inspire so many different stories? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll visit Rita's blog to read her review and enter the giveaway. Thanks!
Just wanted to share a piece I wrote for the blog tour of Christina Boyd's new anthology Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl. Check out the review and giveaway that go along with this post at Rita Deodato's blog From Pemberley to Milton.
You'll also find the full blog tour schedule there. Hope you'll check out all the features by the OHG authors and enter the giveaway for a chance to win lots and lots of books!
Why Elizabeth?
Once, at a dinner party—perhaps I’d had more than my usual half-glass of wine—I told the man sitting next to me that I write Austenesque fiction. This I considered an act of some bravery, for I’m uncomfortable talking to anyone, much less strangers, about my writing. Just ask my husband, or my mom, or my cats; when they ask me how writing’s going, I usually make a face and say, “You know…”
(Okay, my cats have never asked me how writing’s going, and that is why I love them.)
Anyway, I tried, really tried, to explain to this man (whose name card must have ended up next to mine due to karmic retribution; that, or I’d annoyed the executive assistant who did the seating arrangements) what exactly Austenesque fiction was. I wish he had looked baffled or surprised or even a little disgusted, but he gave me a Mr. Collins smile and said, “Ah, escapism!”
If only I had been Elizabeth Bennet and made some witty, cutting remark! Or Jane, with her serene smile and endless empathy for the foibles of others. I would even have been glad to embrace my inner-Lydia by tipping my wine into his lap, laughing as he sopped up the mess. But no, I resorted to my usual self, some mixture of Mary and Kitty: pedantic and awkward, wishing to gain approval, yet sullen about having to do so. (Before those of you who love Mary and Kitty object, know that I, too, love them; we have so much in common!)
But mostly, I wish I had been Elizabeth. Then I would have stood up for myself, and for my writing.
Yes, I might have said to this man, there are escapist elements to Austenesque fiction. (It’s fiction!) But I don’t write about Elizabeth Bennet to escape into a world of regency fashion and idealized romance; I write about Elizabeth Bennet to celebrate obstinate, headstrong women.
I suspect this is why many of us are drawn to stories about Elizabeth. It doesn’t matter whether she is wearing a corset or cowboy boots; she might be a research scientist, a golden-age actress, or a young lady with little fortune and no connections. In any time or any place, Elizabeth speaks truth to power.
There are those who see Jane Austen’s works as little more than domestic drivel. Yet what Austen did—portraying a woman willing to say no—was, and remains, rather remarkable. No, Mr. Collins, you do not know what is best for me. No, Mr. Darcy, you do not know me better than I know myself. No, Lady Catherine, you do not get to insult me and then expect I will do what you wish. No, no, no. These refusals make Elizabeth’s eventual yes all the more powerful, for we know she is choosing Darcy on her own terms.
Still, I have always wondered: how easy was it for Elizabeth to say no to Darcy after that beautiful, fateful yes? It’s one thing for Elizabeth to be obstinate and headstrong when Darcy is being a jerk. Can she say no to him—can she speak her mind—when she knows how much he loves her, and how much she loves him? Just what might a post-yes quarrel look like between Elizabeth and Darcy? These are the questions that inspired my story, “Atmospheric Disturbances,” in Christina Boyd’s excellent new anthology, Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl.
Each author in this anthology has imagined Elizabeth in her own, unique way, yet I think we have all come back to this central truth: to be obstinate and headstrong is no insult. It is certainly not escapism. No. To be obstinate and headstrong when the situation calls for it is the only way to create our own happy endings.
Readers, I'm curious: what do you find fascinating about Elizabeth Bennet? What makes her the kind of character who can inspire so many different stories? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll visit Rita's blog to read her review and enter the giveaway. Thanks!
February 26, 2020
A Question for Readers: Trigger Warnings
For a variety of reasons, I've recently been thinking about trigger warnings--or, those warnings in the blurb of a book, or perhaps in the book itself, signaling the approach of some kind of topic or event that might cause distress or trauma for a reader.
I'm curious: what do you think of trigger warnings?
There are any number of follow-up questions I could ask, but I think I'll leave it at that.
I welcome all respectful responses, and I would be grateful for your thoughts.
Thanks!
I'm curious: what do you think of trigger warnings?
There are any number of follow-up questions I could ask, but I think I'll leave it at that.
I welcome all respectful responses, and I would be grateful for your thoughts.
Thanks!
