Emily C.A. Snyder's Blog, page 13

Teatime Ten: Shannon Winslow

Shannon Winslow is very excited about the debut of her first novel, The Darcys of Pemberley .  She's been busily blog-touring, and today she stopped by the Teatime Ten!

Hiya Shannon!  It's great to have you here on the Teatime Ten.  Congrats on your Darcys of Pemberley!  Tell us a little about what it's been like since the book's release?  What reviews/response has surprised you?  What has inspired you? Thanks for inviting me, Emily! It's been a bitof a whirlwind since The Darcys ofPemberley debuted. Being my first time out, I had no idea what to expect.But it's going well so far. People have been so supportive, and I've been keptbusy getting the word out through live and on-line appearances. As for reviews,what has surprised (and inspired!) me most is how passionately people haveresponded to my mild-mannered little book (most for it, a few against), butthen we are zealous for our Jane Austen, aren't we?

You've mentioned that one of the inspirations for writing this novel was the age-old story of reading one sequel and saying, "That's not quite how I envisioned it!"  (A worthy reason to write a novel, if there ever was one!)  Tell us a little bit about how you framed your Darcy, Elizabeth, and company.

Yes, as I was just saying, we are zealous – andprotective – of our Jane Austen! What I saw as departures from her originalcharacters, sensibilities, and style: these were the "wrongs" I set out toright. That crusader's fire helped carry me through the writing process, producingwhat has been described as a "purist's" sequel to Pride and Prejudice.  But I'vesince learned to appreciate other people's interpretations as well; there'sroom for everybody. 

What part of writing The Darcys of Pemberley proved to be the most challenging?  How did you deal with that as an author?

I wanted to stay in the romance genre, but myhero and heroine were already married (happily ever after, we all hope). Thetrick was to stir up enough conflict between them and around them to sustain agood story, and then resolve it in a satisfying, Jane-Austen-style ending. Thebook became a tale of two romances, then – the courtship of Miss Georgiana inaddition to the more mature love evolving between Darcy and Elizabeth. You see,I do believe romance is possible aftermarriage as well as before! 
Readers of the Teatime Ten will know that I'm interested in how each Austenesque author approaches Austen's work.  What -isms of hers did you purposely keep?  What did you avoid?  How did you find your own voice while keeping true to her style?

 When I started out, I meant to keep true to everything Jane Austen. I loved the wayshe wrote, so why change anything, right? I soon discovered that wasn'tpossible, though, or even desirable. For instance, although I have a flare for Austenesquelanguage, there was no point in carrying it to an extreme, making my bookunnecessarily difficult for the modern reader. I also needed to venture intoterritory she hadn't explored. As a single lady, famous for never writingscenes about which she could have no personal knowledge, she wouldn't have everattempted to write what goes on behind closed doors between husband and wife.But I didn't stress out about creating a distinctive voice for myself. If youhear the echo of Jane Austen in my writing, I couldn't be more delighted!

I understand that "The Darcys of Pemberley" is just the first in a planned series.  What other corners of Austen's world will you explore?  How much of the series do you have planned out, and how much are you leaving to chance?

I'm not a plotter; I have only the vaguestoutline in my mind before I begin writing. For me, that's how the magic happens– allowing the story and the characters to take me in unexpected directions.That being said, the next book in the series (working title: Return to Longbourn) picks up about fiveyears later and will center on Mary, Kitty, and the heir to the Bennet estate. I'vestarted work on in, with three chapters down already. After that, we'llprobably jump ahead in time again and see what the next generation is up to.

When writing, are there any particular rituals you go through?  (Certain time of day, space, ways of dealing with the internal editor, word count goals, etc.)  What words of wisdom would you give to other writers?

Time management is morecomplicated now with a published book to promote, but my practice in the pasthas simply been to hide away in my studio and write at every possibleopportunity. I'm rather obsessive about it, so I haven't needed schedules orword count goals to motivate me. I don't know how to turn off my internal editor.Consequently, I'm always rewriting what I've just written before I can move on.That's just me, though. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to others. I thinkeach writer has to work within the constraints dictated by their ownpersonality. 

What about Jane Austen's work and worldview do you think is particularly appealing to our world at present?  What makes so many readers turn to her today?

[image error] I believe it's really a combination ofthings.  First, good writing stands thetest of time, and Jane Austen was a gifted story-teller. Plus, the themes shewrote about – finding love, balancing ideals against economic and socialpressures, the triumph of the human spirit over circumstances – these subjectsare timeless.  I think the otheringredient is the fairy-tale quality of her stories. They take us away from thecrudeness and complexity of modern life, back to what seems like a simpler,more gracious time.  I say "seems like"because, with Jane Austen, we don't see the grittier side of the picture – thepoverty of peasants, or the lack of indoor plumbing, decent hygiene, and medicalcare. That's okay with me. When I'm reading (or writing) for my own enjoyment,I'm not interested in focusing on the dark side of life.  Hence, my favorite Jane Austen quote (from Mansfield Park) is, "Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery.  I quit such odious subjects as soon as I can,impatient to restore everybody, not greatly in fault themselves, to tolerablecomfort, and to have done with all the rest."

In addition to writing, you are also an independent publisher!  Can you give us six tips about either getting the book itself together (artwork, editing, etc.) and/or publicizing your book that you would share with other authors who are considering Indie Press?

I'll give it a shot. 

1) Hone your craft. Takeclasses. Attend writer's conferences. No amount of self-promotion will make upfor a product of poor quality. 

2) Don't rush to publish. A first draft is justthat. Allow time for your masterpiece to mature through feedback and consideredrewrites. 

3) Find and join a good critique group. They will see the plot holesand writing flaws that you can't. 

4) Know your limitations. Taking a book frominception to publication requires a variety of separate skills (writing, storyand line editing, formatting, graphic arts, marketing, etc.), and no one is anexpert at everything. So -

5) be willing to ask for (and pay for) assistance asneeded. 

6) Network with other writers through writer's associations and socialmedia. You'll probably find, as I have, that they're incredibly helpful andsupportive. 

Quick!  You've been pulled into a scene from one of you forthcoming books!  Who are you and what's going on?


I'm Mary Bennet, on a Sunday visit home from mysituation as governess at Netherfield, and I'm about to meet the new heir tothe Longbourn estate – the surprisingly tall and attractive Mr. TristanCollins. Oh, my!

What's next for Shannon Winslow?

Along with writing Return to Longbourn, I have two morecompleted novels that I'm polishing up for publication – an independentAustenesque story titled For Myself Alone,and a contemporary "what-if" about, of all things, a minor-league baseballplayer who gets a second chance at his dream (I managed to work a Jane Austenreference even into that book, however!). I also have an idea for a Persuasion tie-in novel. But the nextout will be short stories – two parodies in BadAusten this November, and, hopefully,Mr. Collins's Last Supper, a tongue-in-cheek tale about the pompousclergyman's premature demise, which serves as a prequel to The Darcys of Pemberley. I only wish there were more hours in theday!
Thanks so much for joining our Teatime Ten!
Shannon Winslow is the author of The Darcys of Pemberley.  She hails from the   You can learn more on her official website.


You can follow Shannon  Twitter .

You can also buy her books at Amazon , Barnes & Noble , and Smashwords .

Nachtsturm Castle: Monsters are Real

Hooray!  Hooray!  Nancy Kelley reviewed Nachtsturm Castle today!  As an added bonus... Girlebooks.com will be putting Nachtsturm Castle on-sale this week !  Keep an eye out!

A snippet of the review here:

Nachtstürm Castle was a delight to read. Snyder dances a fine line, weaving a tale of truly Gothic proportions while still maintaining something like the tongue in cheek humor Jane Austen used in mocking those same novels.

In Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen, by presenting us with an heroine who sees murder around every corner, shows us how very ridiculous those gothic notions are. In Nachtstürm Castle, Emily C.A. Snyder, by presenting us with an heroine determined to be perfectly sensible, shows us how terrifyingly real monsters are.

 You can read the whole post here !  And you can see the wonderfully ironic picture she took below.

[image error]

A Very Gothic Travelogue: Eat, Pray, and avoid Gypsies

Which Deals with Gypsies and Genesius
I promised in Part I of a Very Gothic Travelogue that we would come to Paris (by way of Italy)...and, indeed, to Gypsies!  If you've read Nachtsturm Castle , you know that gypsies figure largely into the mythology, the Parisian adventure, and indeed the very means Henry employs to convince Catherine to travel abroad.  However what, if any, of those sections were drawn from life?  I'll tell you my stories, and you can scan the novel for correlations yourself!

Notre Dame

In the novel, Henry and Catherine travel to Paris where they visit, among other landmarks, Notre Dame de Paris.  I myself travelled there (more on the whole dangerous adventure later) and in the middle of perhaps one of the most harrowing adventures of my entire life, I was approached by a gypsy while attempting to take one of those awkward "Here I Am Standing In Front of the Thing to Prove that I Really Went There, Mom" photos (see right).

Now, European cities, at least in the fall of 1997, were full of gypsies.  This one (you can see her in red with the yellow kerchief) was a very bad gypsy.  That is to say, her plan seemed to be to bore me into giving her money.  The conversation went something like this (translated from the French):

Gypsy: Give me money.

Emily: What?

Gypsy: Money.

Emily: Go away.

Gypsy: Give me money.  I'm hungry.  You're American.  Give me money.  Why won't you give me money?  Give me money.  Give me money.  Just one franc.  Give me a franc.  Why won't you give me a franc.  One franc.  Two.  Two francs.  Give me money.  Two francs.  Three.  Why won't you give me money?

[image error] Emily: (thinking) Shut up. Shut up.  Shut up.  Shut up.  SHUT UP.  Take the photo...take the photo...my God, he's going to run off with my camera and this woman's going to take my money...TAKE THE FREAKING PHOTO!  (outloud) I don't have any money.

Gypsy: Give me money.

Man Behind the Camera: Another, sweetheart?

Emily: Nooooooooooooooo!

I was, at the time, far more concerned with the villainous man who was holding my camera.  (Again, more about him later.  He gets a whole post to himself.)

Rome

However, in Rome, I did encounter two gypsies who directly inspired the moment in the novel outside of Notre Dame.


  Neither my friend nor I know that five minutes after this photo, we would be accosted by gypsies!
There are many things I learnt from my (limited) dealings with gypsies in the Eternal City.
Gypsy Tip #1: They're not shy!
No sooner had we descended from the bus outside the above Triumphal Arch, but my roommate (not pictured) was set upon by gypsy children.  They thronged around her, opened up her purse casually, grabbed its contents, and then sauntered away.  The fanny pack is not your friend.  The money hidden in your bra is.
Gypsy Tip #2: Gotta catch 'em all! About five minutes after that, we turned the corner only to be greeted by the sight of an American business man holding two gypsy children, each by the collar.  He was shaking them vigorously and shouting: "Where is my wallet?!?!?" over and over again, while the children laughed.  After a bit, the police wandered by and took the children into custody.
At first I was disposed to applaud the gentleman, but our RA - who was very cool and spoke German fluently and had a ponytail and a beard and dressed like he was in the Australian Outback - leaned over to me and murmured that the wallet had been passed off among the other gypsy children almost immediately, and that these two miscreants would be kept overnight, given good food and a dry place to sleep, and be released the next day.  Hence they were laughing.
Gypsy Tip #3: Acting, thank you! For those of you who may not know who St. Genesius is, he's the patron saint of actors and all things theatrical.  So I imagine he would have been dreadfully amused by the little bit of street theatre I happened upon on our second or third day in Rome.
I had joined up with some fellow students who wanted to visit Scala Sancta , St. John Lateran's Basilica , and Santa Croce .  We managed Scala Sancta...which brought us smack dab up against siesta time.  If you haven't travelled abroad yet, what this means is that between the hours of 12-2 in most countries, and 12-3 in Italy, everything shuts down.  It's a wonderful idea, and great for the digestion because you have the time to really eat (not just scarf something down), and also time to rest (not rush back after your ten minute break), and also time to go to Mass or go to sleep or actually, y'know, converse with someone.   Only mad dogs and Englishmen stay out in the noon day sun....
Or, in my case, only gypsy families and American girls stay outside St. John Lateran's!

My friends went off to Santa Croce, determined to find the doors open.  I, tired of walking all morning, decided to stay and try my luck with St. John's.  However, as I turned from Scala Sancta to St. John's courtyard, I caught sight of a gypsy woman dragging her little boy along.  Given my encounters with gypsies thus far, I would have high-tailed it out of there, but since my money was 1) nearly gone, and what remained was 2) safely tucked inside my delicates, I watched the scene unfold instead
The woman was dressed as though the nearest Salvation Army was staffed by folks from Brigadoon: bangles, shawls, grungy long skirt, some sort of blouse.  The only things missing were bells on her ankles, a kerchief in her hair, and a crystal ball.  Her child, a tousel-headed boy who was very much made up of snips and snails and puppy dog tails, was screaming and digging his feet into the cobblestones.  She, conversely, was dragging him along by his arm and screaming right back at him.
I don't speak Italian, but I speak Mom.  You can guess what she probably meant.
Without meaning to, I snickered.
And suddenly, her eyes shifted to mine, and the raging harpy before me softened, began crooning, approaching me with her hand outstretched, as if she were reenacting Michaelangelo's Creation of Adam all on her onesies.  I believe her exact text went something like:  Gypsy: Bella, bella  senorita.  Prego, scusi, denari, moola, cashito, lire lire lire.  Cinquite lire.  Americano, lire.  Bambini, aie!  Bambini mange!  Bella senorita.  Pieta, senorita.  Lire, senorita.  Jesu, Maria!  Lotsa lire!  Stat! For my part, I might have actually given them something, but I don't support bad art.  I went in search of gelato instead.  Which, because it was siesta, turned out to be the only store open!   And which I heartily recommend whether one has been accosted by gypsies or not. Because, really, the most important thing I'd like you to pull away from this, dear reader, is: Eat, Pray...and avoid Gypsies!

Dozens of Doodles: Sonnet 116

I just painted the bookshelf in my bathroom (the mark of a true bibliophile) which is where I store all my journals.  As a consequence, I've had the occasion to look in those journals - including notebooks from high school and college - and rediscover many of my old doodles.  Some of them I quite like, such as the one for Sonnet 116 by Shakespeare.


If you'd like to see more, follow this link .  All images (c) Emily C. A. Snyder

Free Friday: Disarming Mr Darcy

Welcome, mes dames et monsieurs to the first Free Friday here at O Beauty Unattempted!  This week, in honour of Halloween, I thought I'd share with you a spoof of Pride and Prejudice (and Zombies) and mash-ups in general.  You can read it here or click on the top right button below to fly it out.


 
The story will be available for 30 days for your enjoyment.  If you liked it, get thee to Girlebooks.com and purchase a copy of  Letters of Love & Deception , particularly "It was a Dark and Stormy Night" and "Pride and Paraliterature."
 Note: This story was inspired by something Nancy Kelley wrote, dedicated to Erica McFarland who laughed at bad puns, and the ridiculously quick doodle is for the pleasure of Jennifer Becton.

A Very Gothic Travelogue: Sinister Baths

[image error]
Authors are often admonished, "Write what you know."  Which, most fantasy writers then point out, doesn't work so well for them!  Interestingly, the question authors get asked a lot is: "How much of what you wrote is true?"  Which again, leaves most fantasy authors banging their heads against their dragons.

That said, while I was talking Austen with Maria Grazia , it struck me that there's actually an awful lot in Nachtsturm Castle which I did draw from direct experience.  And that it came with embarrassing photos.  (Seriously.  Embarrassing.)  So, I humbly present to you:

A Very Gothic Travelogue(Cue Thunder)
Bath

While it's true that Nachtsturm Castle doesn't begin in Bath, Northanger Abbey does.  (As does the forthcoming Presumption !)  I was fortunate enough to travel to Bath in August of 2000, one of the Jane Austen's Meccas, and got to visit:



The Jane Austen Centre: Which is full of excellent ways to take embarrassing pictures that are totally worth it.  They have a great gift shop, walking tours, etc.  And, even if you don't have the time or money to travel there right away, you can still visit virtually, by participating in their forum ! [image error]  (Excuse the eyebrows and dopey grin.  Or paste your own face over mine!)The Crescent & The Circus: I'm an architecture fiend (it's a familial thing), so seeing those beautiful Georgian columns, that symmetry, that imposition of order still in harmony with nature, made me terribly giddy.  I probably would have stayed there for a good long time, staring at the buildings, except that we still had yet to see: [image error]

The Pump Room & The Roman Baths: We got here a little late in the day, but that was all right since if you go later in the day...they light the torches!  You've got to think that Catherine would be terribly excited by the view of ancient architecture, more cave than created, with the murky waters, the sulfuric stench, the ghosts of nekkid men and women getting their gym on (oh, those wacky Romans!)...and next door a highly polite, modern, fully clothed (and enormously millinered) room to genteely purchase a glass of the stinking water and then pay even more money for a bit of pate.  It's a wonderfully amusing dichotomy - you can see the Baths through the Pump Room, brooding in its seeming-barbarism, while you hide behind glass and pink pastries.  Right next door is... The Assembly Rooms: I've mentioned my love for architecture, yes?  And when I see a room with a wicked high ceiling, it's very painful to me if I can't let out some long high notes (the last verse of Puccini's Quando m'en vo for preference...just to burst out some high B-flats).  Kewelly, the Assembly Rooms currently houses the Fashion Museum (which housed the history of the female silhouette when I was there, that was wonderfully fascinating both as a theatrical person, and as a woman who has very definite opinions about what she wants tight, loose, or broken). Which tells of Blunders and Birkenstocks
What interested me most about Bath was how much of a "postage stamp" it was - that is, it didn't feel like a sprawling city, it felt about the size of a postage stamp.  And just as pretty.  I hadn't realized how hilly it is, or how the river cuts through its heart, or how the Roman stamp has remained indelibly upon its very fabric through all these centuries.  It's a city very full of ghosts - some who wear togas, and some who drink tea.
My favorite story while there, and this fits into Nachtsturm Castle, as well as many of my other stories, is that how you are perceived and who you are may be two very separate things.  We were in Milsom Street and my two companions decided that they wanted to go into the shops a little more.  I wanted to stare at the architecture - which was also the only thing that fit into my budget at that point.  I was wearing my hair in this complicated double braid (my hair was down to my rear at that point), and a flowy blue skirt, flowy white blouse, and a sheer blue shawl that I'd bought in Stratford-upon-Avon.  I was also wearing "Jesus sandals" (aka knock-off Birkenstocks).
In my mind, I was attempting to be vaguely romantic looking in Jane Austen's city.  But to some fellow who was beating the drum for some sort of uber-eco-friendly charity, I looked like One Of Us.  He approached me - himself garbed in a loose shirt, cut-offs, and more battered Birkenstocks than my own - possibly some beads or other accoutrement were in attendance - and held out his clipboard confidently.  "Donate to the over-eco-friendly charity?" he said.
I, roused out of my reverie that was trying to picture the last scene of Persuasion and had been very happily contemplating Captain Wentworth, shook my head, looked at the eco-happy man and said, "Pardon?"
He looked at me with surprise.  "The eco-friendly charity?"  He repeated, like one half of a spy's password.
"Eco-friendly charity?  No, no thank you."
He furrowed his brow and looked down at my Birkenstocks.  He thought, "But...!" and then said, leaning in, "Are you sure?"
It was at this point that I looked at my own Birkenstocks.  He looked at my flowy shawl, as though it were a yellow carnation that We All Were Wearing.  "Yeah," I said after a moment.  "I'm not interested."
The eco-comrade nearly stumbled back.  "BUT - " he managed to say out loud this time, and looked really intently at me, as though he could tell that my braided-up hair had not been cut in three years.  Much like his own.
I finally realized what I looked like.  To my credit, I did not laugh.  "No.  No, thank you," I reiterated as my friends arrived and swooped me off.
And that, my friend, is a little bit about how Catherine came to have a doppelganger who is nothing like herself!

A Very Gothic Travelogue: Part I

[image error]
Authors are often admonished, "Write what you know."  Which, most fantasy writers then points out, doesn't work so well for them!  Interestingly, the question authors get asked a lot is: "How much of what you wrote is true?"  Which again, leaves most fantasy authors banging their heads against their dragons.

That said, while I was talking Austen with Maria Grazia , it struck me that there's actually an awful lot in Nachtsturm Castle which I did draw from direct experience.  And that it came with embarrassing photos.  (Seriously.  Embarrassing.)  So, I humbly present to you:

A Very Gothic Travelogue(Cue Thunder)
Bath

While it's true that Nachtsturm Castle doesn't begin in Bath, Northanger Abbey does.  (As does the forthcoming Presumption !)  I was fortunate enough to travel to Bath in August of 2000, one of the Jane Austen's Meccas, and got to visit:



The Jane Austen Centre: Which is full of excellent ways to take embarrassing pictures that are totally worth it.  They have a great gift shop, walking tours, etc.  And, even if you don't have the time or money to travel there right away, you can still visit virtually, by participating in their forum ! [image error]  (Excuse the eyebrows and dopey grin.  Or paste your own face over mine!)The Crescent & The Circus: I'm an architecture fiend (it's a familial thing), so seeing those beautiful Georgian columns, that symmetry, that imposition of order still in harmony with nature, made me terribly giddy.  I probably would have stayed there for a good long time, staring at the buildings, except that we still had yet to see: [image error]
The Pump Room & The Roman Baths: We got here a little late in the day, but that was all right since if you go later in the day...they light the torches!  You've got to think that Catherine would be terribly excited by the view of ancient architecture, more cave than created, with the murky waters, the sulfuric stench, the ghosts of nekkid men and women getting their gym on (oh, those wacky Romans!)...and next door a highly polite, modern, fully clothed (and enormously millinered) room to genteely purchase a glass of the stinking water and then pay even more money for a bit of pate.  It's a wonderfully amusing dichotomy - you can see the Baths through the Pump Room, brooding in its seeming-barbarism, while you hide behind glass and pink pastries.  Right next door is... The Assembly Rooms: I've mentioned my love for architecture, yes?  And when I see a room with a wicked high ceiling, it's very painful to me if I can't let out some long high notes (the last verse of Puccini's Quando m'en vo for preference...just to burst out some high B-flats).  Kewelly, the Assembly Rooms currently houses the Fashion Museum (which housed the history of the female silhouette when I was there, that was wonderfully fascinating both as a theatrical person, and as a woman who has very definite opinions about what she wants tight, loose, or broken). Which tells of Blunders and Birkenstocks
What interested me most about Bath was how much of a "postage stamp" it was - that is, it didn't feel like a sprawling city, it felt about the size of a postage stamp.  And just as pretty.  I hadn't realized how hilly it is, or how the river cuts through its heart, or how the Roman stamp has remained indelibly upon its very fabric through all these centuries.  It's a city very full of ghosts - some who wear togas, and some who drink tea.
My favorite story while there, and this fits into Nachtsturm Castle, as well as many of my other stories, is that how your perceived and who you are may be two very separate things.  We were in Milsom Street and my two companions decided that they wanted to go into the shops a little more.  I wanted to stare at the architecture - which was also the only thing that fit into my budget at that point.  I was wearing my hair in this complicated double braid (my hair was down to my rear at that point), and a flowy blue skirt, flowy white blouse, and a sheer blue shawl that I'd bought in Stratford-upon-Avon.  I was also wearing "Jesus sandals" (aka knock-off Birkenstocks).
In my mind, I was attempting to be vaguely romantic looking in Jane Austen's city.  But to some fellow who was beating the drum for some sort of uber-eco-friendly charity, I looked like One Of Us.  He approached me - himself garbed in a loose shirt, cut-offs, and more battered Birkenstocks than my own - possibly some beads or other accoutrement were in attendance - and held out his clipboard confidently.  "Donate to the over-eco-friendly charity?" he said.
I, roused out of my reverie that was trying to picture the last scene of Persuasion and had been very happily contemplating Captain Wentworth, shook my head, looked at the eco-happy man and said, "Pardon?"
He looked at me with surprise.  "The eco-friendly charity?"  He repeated, like one half of a spy's password.
"Eco-friendly charity?  No, no thank you."
He furrowed my brow and looked down at my Birkenstocks.  He thought, "But...!" and then said, leaning in, "Are you sure?"
It was at this point that I looked at my own Birkenstocks.  He looked at my flowy shawl, as though it were a yellow carnation that We All Were Wearing.  "Yeah," I said after a moment.  "I'm not interested."
The eco-comrade nearly stumbled back.  "BUT - " he managed to say out loud this time, and looked really intently at me, as though he could tell that my braided-up hair had not been cut in three years.
I finally realized what I looked like.  To my credit, I did not laugh.  "No.  No, thank you," I reiterated as my friends arrived and swooped me off.
And that, my friend, is a little bit about how Catherine came to have a doppelganger who is nothing like herself!

Tempest: Pictures of Power

One of the things we're exploring in Tempest is the question of power: what is it, who has it, how do you get it, what it does to you, and how do you give it up.  These are two new sketches of images our actors make during the show.  Enjoy!

[image error]
 
All images (c) Emily C. A. Snyder 2011

Gothic Novels and Pumpkin Scones

We're nearing Halloween, folks, which means that it's time to break out the pumpkin scones, spice up your apple cider, model your Oh So Fahbulous costume, and settle down with a Gothic novel.

[image error]
Fortunately, there's two Gothic novels available for you from Girlebooks.com : There Must Be Murder by Margaret C. Sullivan (who kicked off our Teatime Ten which will be returning next Tuesday to bring you interviews from your favorite authors)...and Nachtsturm Castle: A Gothic Austen Novel from yours truly.  Even better?  There's two chances to win a copy of both books!  IndieJane.org has a book giveaway of both novels (two copies of There Must Be Murder and one of Nachtsturm Castle), and a super-secret site will have another copy of Nachtsturm Castle available later on.

Also! To satisfy your love of all things Austen and alarming, we have some exciting news!

Keep an eye out on IndieJane.org for a review of Nachtsturm Castle (by, I believe, the very funny Nancy Kelley herself - see picture above), as well as a guest blog from yours truly on "How To Write Your Own Gothic Novel."  Right now, you can join in the on-line book club read of Northanger Abbey on Indie Jane's discussion boards. Upcoming at the Jane Austen Book Club , I'll be talking Jane Austen and all things Gothic and Northanger-y with Maria Grazia (whom you'll get to hear from in an upcoming Teatime Ten !)And!
 If that isn't enough, I'd love to introduce the limited-time run of Free Fridays .  Every Friday, I'll post a free short story, scriptlet, chapter or excerpt, to help you get through those last weekday hours.  However, each post will only be available for 30 days - so make sure you stop back every Friday for some fun!Hope to see you there!  And I'll see you back here Tuesdays and Fridays and all!

Tempest: Playlist

So, I put together an inspirational Tempest playlist tonight!  And I thought I'd share it with you good people.  (As well as the finalized t-shirt design, below.)


In no particular order:

" Viva la Vida " by Coldplay
" Little Lion Man " by Mumford and Sons
" Snow White Queen " by Evanescence
" Knights of Cyclonia ," " Uprising ," and " Take a Bow " by Muse
" The Lonely ," " Tragedy ," and " Arms " by Christina Perri
" I've Got This Friend ," " Poison & Wine ," and " Falling " by The Civil Wars
" Loser " by the Glee Cast
" Turn to Stone " by Ingrid Michaelson
" Such Great Heights " by Iron & Wine
" One Last Song " by Josiah Leming
" Charmed Life " by Joy Williams
" Behind Blue Eyes " by Limp Bizkit
" Welcome to the Black Parade " and " I'm Not Okay (I Promise) " by My Chemical Romance
" Being Alive " by Raul Esparza
" Après Moi ," and " Blue Lips " by Regina Spektor
" Bittersweet Symphony ," " Resistance ," and " Sing for Absolution ." by the Vitamin String Quartet
" Main Title " from The Tudors by Trevor Morris 
" Main Title " from A Game of Thrones by Ramin Djawadi (see the awesome covers below!)

Strings Cover
Heavy Metal Cover

Strings & Metal Mash-Up!

And this fantastic music, created by our composer, freshman Taylor Benson.  (To download a free sample of the Miranda Theme , click on the link!)