Posts from — September 2009

THE CONVENIENT MARRIAGE by GEORGETTE HEYER~UNAB CD'S $9.99

Georgette Heyer Sylvester CD NEW $21.96

The Black Moth, Georgette Heyer 1 MP3 CD $5.80

Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer UNABRIDGED CD $51.00

Friday's Child by Georgette Heyer UNABRIDGED CD $77.00

False Colours by Georgette Heyer UNABRIDGED CD $77.00

The Black Moth, Georgette Heyer 8 audio CDs $20.00

Royal Escape by Georgette Heyer UNABRIDGED CD $67.00

Cotillion by Georgette Heyer by UNAB CD $49.00

Georgette Heyer: The Grand Sophy (ABRIDGED) CD Box Set NEW $21.96

Irish Moon (Moon Magick Series) $3.99 To celebrate Bestseller for a Day IRISH MOON is value priced. Grab it before it returns to $5.99.CAMELOT and GAME OF THRONES fans will swoon for IRISH MOON..."Looking for a book brimming with magick and mystery? Do you dream of a Highlander washing upon your shore with a dark secret? Well, if you are anything like me, then you MUST read Irish Moon. Amber Scott weaves a mystical tale of ancient Ire...

An Illicit Engagement (The Gentlemen Next Door #2 - Historical Regency Romance Novellas) Lord Lucas Willoughby earned his moniker as the Matchmaking Baron after his six engagements ended with each lady happily wed - to someone else. He swears off marriage proposals, until his headstrong neighbor proposes something else entirely.Chastity Drummond has her sights set on a man who barely sees her as a woman much less a potential wife. She can't seem to get him on bended knee, but knows an...

Fated: Torn Apart by History, Bound for Eternity $3.99 For the New Year, Fated will be value priced at $2.99! Get it before it goes back up to its regular price of $4.99!Fated...#1 Historical and Fantasy RomanceTorn Apart By HistoryBound For Eternity"From Carolyn McCray comes a historical romance that will leave you hoping that for once, fate will be kind. You will be gripped from the first page to the last, caught in a love that spans eons and an anc...

Blame it on BBC's tremendously successful 1995 sumptuous production of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice." The mini-series, -- which starred Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle as the iconic Mr. Darcy (emerging, smoldering, from a lake on his estate) and Elizabeth Bennett (intelligent, charming, and discerning) -- blew the doors wide-open to the world and works of Jane Austen.

For the last 15 years, Jane Austen has been more consistently hot than any other author, or, even, living celebrity. Unlike authors whose works are read, even anxiously awaited, everything Austen is celebrated, embraced and revered. There have been countless film and television productions, as well as more literature spin-offs than any other author in history.

In 2005, a feature film, starring Kiera Knightley and Matthew McFayden was released. In just the last three years, new television adaptations of "Emma" (Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller), "Sense & Sensibility" (Janet McTeer and David Morrissey), "Northanger Abbey" (recent Oscar-nominee Carey Mulligan), "Mansfield Park" (Billie Piper) and "Persuasion" (Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones). Austen-related productions include Anne Hathaway as Austen in the feature "Becoming Jane Austen" in 2007, and the British mini-series "Lost in Austen" starring Jemima Rooper aired in 2008, as well as the 2008 "Miss Austen Regrets," starring Olivia Williams as Austen.

And, there's more to come: Natalie Portman is attached to play Elizabeth Bennett in "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," currently in pre-production.

Incredibly, Austen only completed six novels (an additional three were unfinished).

Compare Austen's ouvre to Corin Tellado, a Spanish author who sold more than $400 million in sales and written 4,000 romance novels (Tellado died last year.) The most successful "best-selling" fiction author of all time was Princess Diana's step-grandma, Barbara Cartland, whose 723 novels garnered her $1 billion in sales. (Cartland, who later became one of Diana's critics, died a decade ago.

Or, among the living, consider prolific children's/young adult writer R.L. Stine, whose sales are also at $400 million, but growing. He's written more than 430 novels (including the Goosebumps series). Danielle Steele has written 72 novels and has made, $570 million in sales (which is more than Stephen King and his 70 novels and $350 million in sales.

That said - and hopefully gives readers a very quick, but comprehensible overview of the world of fiction - Jane Austen has never been more in demand. Devotees proudly read and re-read Austen's novels, many annually.

Those who want more (and aren't there always those who do?), have, as an option, what are commonly dubbed "Jane Austen Entertainments." These "Entertainments" consist of prequels, sequels, modernizations, inspirations and more.

Many are rightfully derided as inferior, and rightfully so - Julia Barrett and Ted Bader -- immediately come to mind.

Once in a while, there are those whose works' standout - the late Joan Aiken ("Wolves of Willoughby Chase") chose to take minor characters in Austen's novels ("Sense & Sensibility's" Anne Steele, and Susan Price of "Mansfield Park," for example) and built "new" or "related" stories around them. While there isn't a single author, alive or dead, who genuinely can compare on any kind of equal ground with the original, Austen, Aiken's books, especially "Jane Fairfax," are quite good.

And the idea of borrowing - however reverently - from Austen, isn't new. Sybil Brinton wrote what's considered the "first," "Old Friends and New Fancies," in 1913, which has unsurprisingly been re-issued (the book takes characters from several of Austen's books and has them interact).

Laurie Viera Rigler

All that said, one of the most engaging and entertaining of Austen-y books is Laurie Viera Rigler's "Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict" and its sequel, "Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict."

Call her an expert, scholar, devotee or, yes, even addict, but Rigler knows her Austen, and knows her very well. Rigler also knows the inner workings (some may say secret) of the contemporary woman's mind.

In "COAJAA," a jilted modern girl (obsessed with Austen and the aforementioned BBC "P&P"), Courtney Stone, wakes up to find herself in the body of a Regency-era young lady (the aptly named) Jane Mansfield. The novel's plot machinations are so delightful, it would be a disservice to give anything away, but rest assured, it is a wholly enjoyable read, and completely respectful of Austen.

What is "best" about "COAJAA" is the cleverness in which Rigler effectively infuses 21st century sensibilities throughout Courtney's historical time-travel experience.

Rigler frequently provides the reader with that "light bulb" moment ("I would do that/think that!"). This effectively makes the novel a page-turner - and one you don't want to end.

Luckily, there is Rigler's soon-to-be released-in-paperback sequel, "Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict," in which the reader gets the answer to the obvious, burning question of "COAJAA," "Where was the 'real' Jane - in Courtney's Los Angeles?"

Both books, while very funny (often laugh-out-loud so), gently weave Rigler's wry commentary on social mores, sexual politics, family dynamics, perceptions, and yes, romance.

Readers both newly introduced to, or who've been in love "forever" with Jane Austen will cherish this lovely couplet of books, while joining in with Rigler fans anxious for the third of the trilogy.

"Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict" and "Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict" by Laurie Viera Rigler are available in hardbound, trade paper (RAOAJAA will be available in paper on April 23, 2010), audio download and CD, as well as preloaded digital audio player.

Along with enjoying a good book, Joseph enjoys writing and gardening. Garden Harvest Supply is one of his favorite web sites which offers vegetable plants for sale including many different heirloom tomato plants.