Either side of the pond

After completing the first draft of Jane, Actually, I felt a little guilty about how American it reads. Most of the book takes place in the United States and the climax (such as it is) is set at the JASNA AGM in Fort Worth, Texas. The halfway point of the book is set at the Jane Austen Society AGM at Chawton House and the London book launch is a fun scene, but still, most of the book tour takes place in the U.S.

So I decided, with some trepidation, to switch to the U.K. spelling dictionary for the book, forcing myself to spell color with a “U” and remember that parking lots are car parks and that the Brits say “titbits” instead of “tidbits.” It was a lot easier to write My Particular Friend from a British perspective because it was a period piece.

In Jane, Actually, however, I have the interesting mental exercise of writing American dialog with a British omniscient narrator. I’m hoping the British narrator will counterbalance the American setting and not be jarring. Changing the nationality of the narrator, however, may prove to be a challenge.