The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge 2013

I was working up to writing a review of the latest JAFF book I finished (if you couldn't tell by my previous post, I haven't been in the mood to do much of anything let alone write) when I spotted my girl Candy's post about the Los Angeles Festival of Books over at her review blog So Little Time... 

Scrolling down her page, I spotted the graphic you see above and thought I'd finally found a blog challenge perfect for me. And I already had one book down!

Not to mention the Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge hosted by Austenprose would be a great way to learn more about JAFF, meet new bloggers & authors, and get me reading, watching, and writing more Jane Austen related material (not that I don't already do that half the year).

Plus it's even more of a challenge since I'm four months late to the party!!!!

So now it's time to list the books and films I'll be reviewing in the coming months. I'm going for aficionado status because that's actually pretty normal for me. Here are my 12 selections:

April

The Unexpected Miss Bennett by Patrice Sarath

May

Pride and Prescience: Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged by Carrie Bebris

June

The Second Mrs. Darcy by Elizabeth Aston

Reflections by Linda Gonschior

July

Echoes of Pemberley by Cynthia Ingram Hensley 

August

Georgiana Darcy's Diary by Anna Elliott

Pemberley to Waterloo: Georgiana Darcy's Diary Volume 2 by Anna Elliott

September

Becoming Elizabeth Darcy by Mary Lydon Simonsen

October

The Phantom of Pemberley by Regina Jeffers

November

His Good Opinion: A Mr. Darcy Novel by Nancy Kelley

December

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice BBC miniseries 1995

Are you excited?!?! I am.

If you're interested in participating in this challenge... you totally can! Blog or no blog, go to the post about this challenge that I linked above and follow the instructions. Let me know too so we can chat about our books!

Jane Austen Made Me Do It

Because I'm thoroughly in love with all fan fiction relating to Jane Austen and free stuff rocks, I was ecstatic when I won Jane Austen Made Me Do It from the editor Laurel Ann Nattress (signed too!) after winning a drawing at Barbara Tiller Cole's Darcyholic Diversions blog back in mid-July. 

And rightly so. 

Jane Austen Made Me Do It is a compilation of 22 short JAFF stories written by some of this literary community's prime authors, as well as one story by the winner of a JAFF writing contest.  The various adaptations range from Regent fiction to supernatural fiction, as well as stories starring Jane herself. Some are letters or journal entries while others involve humor and romance.

Not only is this book worth a read, but I'm thrilled to add JAMMDI to my collection because whenever I have a hankering to read JAFF but can't commit to a book, I can pop open a short story and get my "Austen Addict" fix.

Now, I must be honest-- I didn't love all the stories. Believe it or not, this is part of the charm. Jane Austen Made Me Do It will be loved by JAFF fans like myself yet is an even better resource for new readers of this genre because it offers a great variety of styles & authors to choose from as a way to learn one's JAFF preferences. 

In fact, I discovered that I tend to favor Regent stories like Monica Fairview's "Nothing Less Than Fairy Land" starring my favorite Austen characters over more modern adaptations, and even found a few more authors--like Jo Beverly's "Mistletoe Kiss" which is a wonderful Sense and Sensibility-esque Christmas story-- whose books I'd love to read.

Overall, a must read for any fan of Jane Austen and her fan fiction.

Rating 5 out of 5 stars

HURRY!!! Free JAFF

My friends: you have until 11:59 PST to purchase "Fitzwilliam Ebenzer Darcy" by Barbara Tiller Cole for FREE on your Kindle.

 

That's right... F-R-E-E. Check out the post about it here.

Barbara is also the administrator/ lead blogger for Darcyholic Diversions, this amazing Jane Austen Fan Fiction blog that offers various authors' insights into Mr. Darcy and the world of Jane Austen, as well as personal experience on how they got to know Miss Austen.

If you've never read fan fiction but love Austen, give this a try. It's free and well-written so get your copy today.