New JAFF Forum: Beyond Austen

It is rare in this world to have the opportunity to be a part of something truly special at the ground floor.  I remember when I was growing up, there was a recreational center built in the area I lived in and my parents purchased a family membership early.  That gave us the bragging rights of being "Charter Members", and I recall the pride I felt in knowing that we were.  I don't recall if there were any true perks to being charter members, but the pool at the Cottonwood Heights Recreation Center was my playground for many years.

I have only been aware of the JAFF world for a few years.  JAFF, or "Jane Austen Fan Fiction" is a thriving literary community that explores the themes, characters and life lessons that Jane herself wrote about. Once I discovered it, it didn't take me long to get hooked.  We don't just TALK about her stories, endlessly dissecting our interpretation of Jane's novels, but do so through stories centered in one or more aspects of that world. Some are period pieces while others are contemporary, paranormal, science fiction etc.  The book I'm preparing to launch this month, One Thread Pulled is an example of the Regency period JAFF genre. 

One Thread Pulled Facebook Page

The Internet is host to quite a few websites dedicated to Jane Austen and her works, with a subset of these devoted to JAFF.  I have spent many pleasurable hours on several of these sites, notably FanFiction.net and DarcyandLizzy.com but other than directing people to my own story, One Thread Pulled, I have hesitated to recommend these sites wholesale since there are often stories posted on them that I wouldn't be comfortable having my mother see.  Yes.  That is the ultimate standard.

I am now thrilled to be not only a Charter Member of, but also a Forum Moderator on a new JAFF website, Beyond Austen. 

The initial launch of this site occurred one week ago, and the response has been fantastic.  The content includes stories, poetry, blogs, games etc., and we are just getting started.  The best part is that I can confidently recommend this site not only to my mother, but to people from church, to my young nieces and other youth as well.  The writers agree to the keep what they post within the G to PG-13 rating and the founders of the site, Stephanie Hamm, Gayle Mills and Robin Helm are committed to maintaining that ideal.   

Since stories post a chapter at a time, they are fun to follow as they unfold.  I'm an anticipation-aholic, so I love digesting a chapter of a story at a time, thinking about it, discussing it, and jumping to read when the next chapter comes up.  Anticipation nirvana!

It isn't too late for you to be a Charter Member too!  I have found my new playground and I'm splashing around in the pool! Join us today!  Find out more, and stay abreast of new postings and events on the Beyond Austen Facebook Page.  Be a part of something special on the ground floor.  Opportunities like this don't come along every day!

  

July Short Story Contest - Third Place

I entered the July Short Story contest in the "Writers" group on LinkedIn.  The results were announced today.  I tied for third place, which was gratifying but not truly satisfying for some reason ... I think I'm going to have to try again in the August contest!


I thought some of you might enjoy the change of pace from the JAFF Regency Romance I've been writing lately.  If not, well, there's more JAFF coming.

The Korne Field

by Diana Oaks

The tires on the ancient Ford Falcon crunched the gravel as they passed the sign that read “Danny’s Korne Maize.”

“That’s lame.” Yvonne giggled from the back seat.  “They spelled corn wrong.”

“Shut up.” Isabelle glanced over her shoulder.  “It’s their name, idiot.  Isn’t that right, Bradley?”

Bradley Korne smiled.  “Uncle Danny thinks it’s funny.  He likes the puns, ya know?  Maize for maze was his idea too.  Just tell him you think it’s corny and he’ll love you forever.”

“It is corny,” Yvonne rolled her eyes and turned to look out the window at the golden stalks that lined the road.

“Corny is his specialty.  He’ll probably make some crack about seeing double when he spots you two.  Just laugh.”  Bradley laughed and swung the car under the shade of a lone tree in the parking area.  “That cornfield is his pride and joy, and his maze is a goodun too.  It’s gonna be fun.”

They approached the entrance, which was marked by some stacked bales of hay and pumpkins.   Isabelle hung onto Bradley’s arm possessively as they stepped across the threshold.

“I dunno about this.” Yvonne peered into the labyrinth of corn plants as she instinctively grabbed his free arm.  “It’s kinda creepy.”

“Nah,” He flexed slightly.  “It’s just a corn maze.  I’ve been through it a thousand times.”

“Yikes!” Yvonne jumped and squealed, clinging tighter to his arm while her feet danced in place.  “That was a snake!”

“Crap Vonn, grow up whydoncha. It was just a garter snake.” 

“Turn left,” Bradley instructed.  “I said left!” He repeated when Isabelle veered to the right. 

“Keep your eyes open girls.  I lost my dad’s ring out here last year.  It would be freaking awesome if we found it.”

“You should get one of those metal detectors.”  Yvonne suggested.  “I think my dad has one you could borrow.”

“Get a clue, Vonny,”  Isabelle snorted a little. “They plow these fields under before they plant ‘em.  Ain’t no way some silly ring’s gonna turn up like magic.  It’s gone.”  She looked sympathetically at Bradley and squeezed his arm.  “Sorry.”

They pressed deeper into the maze, their conversation continuing much the same.  Yvonne released her hold on Bradley’s arm, and she fell back, watching silently as her twin flirted and teased the tall, athletic farm-boy who’d brought them here.  He looked over his shoulder once, to make sure she was still there, and smiled and winked at her as though he could read her jealous thoughts.

She allowed the distance to grow, daydreaming in the warmth of the October sun, grateful that they had not come at night.  Then she realized that Isabelle and Bradley were gone.  She listened for their voices, but only heard the sound of rustling around her.  In a panic, she started to run, calling their names, turning blindly down corridors of cornstalks in a desperate attempt to find her way.  She was forced to stop abruptly when she turned a corner and faced a dead-end.  She spun and fell, a board in the ground shaking beneath her in a puff of dust when she landed.

Brushing some dirt aside, she found an old, hinged, plywood door.  A handle formed of a metal ring was centered along the edge, and hesitantly, Yvonne lifted it, shifting her weight to gain leverage until the door crashed open.  Stairs led downward, and with a hesitant look over her shoulder, she descended into the dank, dark room beneath the corn maze, battling a cobweb and flinging the spider who lived in it from off her arm.

A lone beam of sunlight pierced the room from the hatch, providing enough illumination for her to see that the walls were lined with thick shelves laden down with mason jars, all of which contained a clear liquid.

“Yikes!” She whispered in astonishment, and with a shiver, turned to go back up the stairs. In her haste, she stumbled, and as she caught herself, her fingers wrapped around a tiny artifact embedded in the dirt on the step.  She groped for the cold, hard thing, and found herself in possession of a man’s gold ring, which quickly found its way to her pocket.

Thirty minutes later, she emerged from the maze to find Isabelle and Bradley waiting by the car with mutually reddened lips.

“Where you been?” Isabelle demanded.

“I’ve been to the dark side of the cornfield,” she grinned at Bradley as she fished in her pocket, “where the moon shines. I found this.” She handed him the ring. “And I think I understand now, why your uncle loves his corn.”

Back to Writing Again

It seems that a plot will only buzz around in my head for so long before it forces itself out.  I find that sometimes, a slight delay in committing it all to words enriches what I write - it has been given time to ripen in my mind and develops a deeper, richer meaning from my pondering and reflection, but if I stall too long, yikes!  What a mess it is!  


I think a good analogy is frosting on a cake.  When the cake is baked, you have to let it cool for awhile before you add the frosting, or you wind up tearing the thing up.  Once it's cooled and you've frosted it though, LET IT BE.  If you keep going at it, the frosting texture changes, or the thickness becomes uneven or you break up the little crust that forms on the surface and then you get a weird texture and appearance.  You have to time it all right.


And the timing is right.  My daughter's wedding is over, and the plot for the second book in the series, Constant as the Sun has gelled enough to start assembling the cake that is the sequel.  Okay, I recognize that the cake analogy only goes so far, but I have had this happen before.  When the timing is right, it all just flows, and I am FLOWING again. 


One of the big changes from this story from the first in the series is that we are now on a completely separate timeline from the one Jane Austen established in Pride and Prejudice, and we'll be introducing new original characters.  There is a pretty intense string of events lined up already - Charlotte's wedding, Mary's wedding, an Easter trip to Pemberley and all of the soirees and balls of the London season must come and go before we can reach our conclusion.  I can promise just as many unexpected twists and turns in this story as you had in the last.  If you like fluffy romance combined with some suspense and surprise, I hope you'll join my other readers for this journey.  I plan to post regularly!


I'm excited this time around to have found two beta readers, Kris and Betty.  They'll help me work out the lumps in the icing (why am I so fixated on cake?)  I look forward to their assistance and expect it to enrich the writing experience for me overall.


The first chapter of the sequel, Constant as the Sun is now up on two sites:

• DarcyandLizzy.com
• Constant as the Sun on FanFiction.Net

To read it at Darcy and Lizzy, you need to be a registered member of the site, but FFN is an open site and you can read without registering.   Here is a brief description of the story:


When Elizabeth accepted Mr. Darcy's proposal of marriage, Mr. Bennet complicated his consent with a condition, known only to himself and Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth must spend the season in London, associating with the first circles of society as Mr. Darcy's fiancee. If Elizabeth is unhappy with the experience, Mr. Bennet will withdraw his consent. Will their love withstand the test?


I will be taking One Thread Pulled off of both sites in early July, so if you are reading it and haven't finished it yet, this is your heads-up to get it done sooner than later.  Of course, you will always be able to buy it from Amazon once it goes on sale there.  Anyone who buys a hard copy that would like it signed, I am happy to work that out.  Just sayin...


Peace,
Diana

Peace Gardens as English Country Garden

The book-cover is on it's way.  Yes...that book cover!  One Thread Pulled: The Dance with Mr. Darcy is the name in case you forgot it (or never knew it), and we are closing in on finalizing the last big obstacle to publication.

When I say closing in, what I mean is that we have had the photo-shoot - step one in the process.  The photographer, Elizabeth Taylor Frandsen, is a phenomenal talent - she's primarily a wedding photographer, so I'm lucky that she agreed to step outside her typical genre to help me with the image for the book cover.  The model in the role of Elizabeth Bennet is my own lovely daughter.  I dressed her up in a pretty empire-waist dress and styled her hair in a ringlet-y updo.  We brought along some fun Regency period props to play with.  I very much wanted a "real" person for the cover rather than stock photography.  I am so glad we went this route.

The evening was breezy, so her curls were tossed to and fro by the wind until her hair was a little mussed-up - just as I imagine Elizabeth's would be.  The park was bathed in the soft light of a spring evening.  We were at the International Peace Gardens in Salt Lake City.  The park is full of old trees and ivy-covered brick and stone structures, hedges, bridges, stone benches, and an arbor of wisteria in full bloom.  There are far too many architectural structures to detail, but I think this little spot is one of the jewels of our city, and it's free to the public!  It will have to do as an English country garden since it just wasn't in the budget to fly us all out to England.  

The book cover itself is to be a surprise, but as a teaser - just a little taste of what you might expect to see on the upcoming cover, I am going to share just a couple of images with you.  The first one has the title of this blog on it - the second is a sweet little sepia-toned photo of lovely Lizzy.  I hope these will help you share my excitement for the upcoming release of the book, which will hopefully happen sometime this month.  In the meantime, you can still read the story for free on darcyandlizzy.com or fanfiction.net.  

And yes, the sequel, Constant as the Sun is underway - I won't be posting it until after the wedding, but sometime this summer, the fun will begin anew!

Peace,

Diana

On Losing Weight

Today, I marked off pound number 60 of my weight loss journey, so I am going to talk about the weight-loss thing.  It isn't my favorite topic, but it is a part of my daily reality now that I have made health one of my highest priorities. 


I weigh 60 pounds less today than I did on June 18 of last year when I took the leap. For those among us who don't measure in pounds, that's 4.29 stone or 27.22 kilograms!  Nothing else in my life has changed very much except for when it comes to what I eat, how much I eat, and how much I move.  Oh... and my wardrobe.  I have been FORCED to buy new clothes.


I started off with a 6-day "cleanse" that I got from the Tahitian Noni company.  The other new tools in the arsenal I started out also came from the FIT line they offer.  Protein powders, snack bars, vitamins, probiotics and a fiber-filled lemonade drink that helps you feel full and keeps things, um, moving.  They also offered some guidance on calorie restriction and exercise.  UGH!  There is no magic pill or powder that will ever remove the  diet and exercise part of the equation.


I knew that if I was going to be 'all in' on this venture, I had to give the calorie restriction a try.  I have always resisted the idea of counting calories - it was just too hard.  I'd taken a brief stab at it years ago, and had a dictionary size paperback calorie guide that I had used to look everything up.  To be honest, it was a huge pain to manage, so I gave it up fairly quickly.  This time around however, I was the owner of a new iPhone, and I thought that I might be able to find a calorie counting app that would assist me in tracking the calories.  I thought correctly, and downloaded the free My Fitness Pal iPhone app.  Unlike many of the other free apps I had downloaded, this one didn't have advertising, and it was powerful, easy to use, and had cool tools I liked, as well as a companion website with even more features.  I have always been a sucker for FREE.


I had some products, that although gimmicky did help me feel equipped to do this thing, coupled with an application that made tracking my diet and exercise simple.  It was a good start, but it was my determination that actually launched the venture.  Had I not been firm in my resolve to do it this time, I would have given up the first week - it was so hard!  I was hungry and in pain all the time.  I had started walking for exercise, but it made my feet hurt so badly that even a short walk made me feel like a cripple.  I would slather my feet with Aspercreme just to get them to stop spasming and throbbing. 


I decided to try the treadmill since I could stop walking whenever I felt like I needed to.  10 minutes at a 1.5 incline going 2.0 mph and I was dripping sweat and panting like a dog on a hot day.   Yes, that's incredibly out of shape.  Once I got up to 30 minutes on the treadmill, I tried walking outdoors again, and with the aid of a lovely parkway that has benches I could rest on when needed, I eventually built up to a route of 3.1 miles. It was many months before I could walk it without rest-stops, and many pounds before I realized that my feet no longer hurt at the end of a walk, but I am there now, and I LOVE walking, especially outdoors. 


I set my target weight to something in the upper range of a healthy BMI, and on day 1, I had 117 pounds to lose in order to achieve that weight.  I am generally an optimistic person, but I must admit to being pessimistic about the possibility of losing that much weight, yet it seemed self-defeating to set my goal for something higher.  If I was going to do this, I should at least aim to be healthy, right?  My goal weight just happens to be the same amount I weighed on my wedding day 30 years ago.   I have 57 pounds to go until I reach that weight.  


Somewhere along the way, my pessimism has evolved into certainty - I know I can do this.  I don't care how long it takes me to get there, as long as I am making progress toward it, I will be fine even if it takes me years to get there. I think that I finally became okay with that thought the day I accepted that I will always have to be mindful of what I was putting in my body, and that I will always have to make it a point to get up and move.  I'm cool with that.


So in the end, the key to weight loss turned out to be:  Eat less.  Move more.


Peace,


Diana

Marrying Off a Daughter

I hope that I am not a great deal like Mrs. Bennet, but I do have one thing in common with her - we both find ourselves in the enviable position of marrying off a daughter.  In her case, she took it upon herself to seek husbands for multiple daughters - I have but one daughter, who is to be married this month, and there was no 'seeking' on this mother's part.  She met him at church. 

I find myself contemplating their story and their relationship, and recently I realized that when I consider these events through the lens of Jane Austen, I find just a little bit of insight I believe, into Mrs. Bennet's motives and behavior.  Just a little.

I understand for one thing, why Mr. Bingley's amiability and charm was so appealing to Mrs. Bennet.  None of us have a crystal ball with which we can discern the future, so all we can do to gain some assurance of future happiness and felicity in the marriage of a child is to examine the personality and character of the prospective mate as markers of the probable outcome.  Mr. Bingley seems to be everything she hopes for in a son-in-law.  He is financially secure, he is pleasant, he is handsome, he is generous.  One does not observe him brooding or having fits of temper.  He is incredibly patient with his own sisters, and obviously allows the one sister who is still dependent on him financially a great deal of latitude in her expenditures.  None of this is lost on Mrs. Bennet - or Mr. Bennet for that matter.  Mrs. Bennet sees nothing but fancy clothes, jewels and carriages in her daughter's future - obviously things she values, perhaps because she is deprived of them herself.  Mr. Bennet on the other hand, predicts financial trouble ahead when he jokes that they will always exceed their income.  While it is treated lightly in the book, the truth is that he has observed a character flaw in Mr. Bingley that concerns him.  Indebtedness is never a good thing.

Mr. Darcy on the other hand, has but one positive in the eyes of Mrs. Bennet, and that is his wealth.  I find it interesting that although she values riches very highly, she fairly quickly rules Mr. Darcy out as a contender for any of her daughters.  She harps on his pride, how cold and disagreeable he is, and she snubs and cuts him on every occasion, barely tolerating his presence.  I think perhaps that she feels inadequate around him, and supposes that he is judging her - and in reality, he is doing exactly that, and she gives him plenty of negative behavior to feed his judgement.  Her only recourse is to judge him back.

So, when I look at my own future son-in-law, what do I see?  I see that he makes my daughter happy.  I see that he is kind, he is intelligent, and he is not the least bit shallow.  He is reserved, he is funny, he is sweet.  He is not rich, but he is well-educated and careful and wise with money, so I do not worry on that score - I suspect my daughter will ultimately enjoy a higher standard of living than she was raised with.  He is not perfect, but he is a good and wonderful man.  In the end, I think that is what we all want for our daughters.

On Needlework, Bonnets, Fans and Lace

Having spent the better part of the past few days immersed in embroidering on a handkerchief and trimming it with lace, decorating a fan and making up a bonnet, I have realized that I was perhaps born in the right era after all.  Actually, I never doubted that I belong to this era - I am rather attached to flush toilets, disposable hygiene products and Tupperware among other things.  


I actually found the embroidery relaxing, although the skin on my fingertips is terribly torn up from the needle, and I am feeling quite critical of my work - thinking of unpicking and redoing it, but I know that sometimes that just makes it worse.  I recognize that I don't sit for hours perfecting the craft - in fact I haven't embroidered in years - but I'm afraid it would take many more hours of practice before I would be truly accomplished again.  The handkerchief I embroidered and added lace to represents the handkerchief in my story, and has the "ED" motif that delighted Mr. Darcy when he discovered it.  I'm hoping we can find a way to work it into the cover art for the book.  The handkerchief really is lovely even though the stitching isn't perfect.


The poke bonnet was fun to make.  I had to literally dust off my sewing machine though.  It was sitting unused in the bottom of a closet for a couple of years now and the outer case was incredibly dusty.  I worried that it would give me problems after not being used for so long, but the old Vigorelli was up to the task although she does need a good oil job and probably a tune-up - that will have to wait for another day.


I used the instructions given on this video to make the bonnet and added some style elements of my own.  I'm not entirely pleased with it though - I learned some lessons along the way but hot glue, while fast and easy, is not always forgiving.  I can also relate to Lydia's fussing over the bonnets not being quite right and wanting to make them over again.  When we do the photo shoot for the book cover of One Thread Pulled,  I'll have some nice photos of my projects to share here, but till then, I will be leaving it up to your imagination.

I might just have to have another go at the bonnet - it only took a couple of hours, and didn't require a lot of materials, so it was pretty cheap to make compared to some other projects I've done.  But what will I do with two Regency-era bonnets?  I had my daughter try it on, and her fiance took one look at her and inquired as to whether or not she would be needing a pacifier.  Not exactly the compliments I was hoping for.   For the snarky comment he gets the bad Darcy award for the day as in "selfish disdain for the feelings of others."  He's forgiven though - I'm pretty sure he was joking.  


And now, for my one complaint to those of you who have stopped by to read.  I'm getting a good bit of traffic on the blog, but no comments - not even one.  It's pretty much crickets.  Now I am not the type to coerce anyone to  do anything, but I am beginning to get a complex.  For my mental health, I would be obliged if someone said something.  


Peace,


Diana


PS - I am unpicking and re-embroidering after all.  Sometimes I'm a perfectionist and sometimes I'm not.  It's pretty random.