Sunday, March 31, 2013

“Pride, Prejudice and Cheese Grits: Jane Austen takes the South” – 5-Stars!

 

Remarkable 5-Star Romance with a Silly 1-Star Title! 


Mary Jane Hathaway 
Kindle Edition -267 pages

Don’t get me wrong! This is a wonderful, fun filled, witty, romance!  I even can’t wait to read the next book in the series. However, in the interest of honest disclosure, I feel it necessary to first mention the title: 

To begin with I think this title is a great example why editors don’t let writers choose their own titles. Let’s look at some of the expectations that this title could create in the reader’s mind – as it did in mine.


1. Is Jane Austen a character in this book?
 
(A)  as a real person living in her own time, as Jane Austen is a character in Stephanie Barron’s mysteries? No. 

(B) as a contemporary character like Sherlock Holmes is in the tv show, “Elementary”? No.

 
2. Is this book a funny parody of Pride and Prejudice? No.

3. Does this book mirror the events in Pride and Prejudice the way James Joyce’s “Ulysses” mirrors the event’s in Homer’s “Odyssey”? No. (However, in both books the hero does something unkind that greatly upsets the heroine.)

4. Do you have to have read Pride and Prejudice and/or like Jane Austen to enjoy this book? No.

5. Do cheese grits play any part on the story? No.  (But I do understand the new edition has recipes for cheese grits at the end. My edition did not have these and I didn’t miss them.)

6. Does the story at least take place in the south where grits are a staple? YES! 

7. Does the story have anything to do with Pride and Prejudice? Yes: at the start of each chapter there is a quote from Pride and Prejudice which sets the mood for that chapter. I enjoyed these quotes but then I like all books to have interesting quotes at the start of each chapter.

What would be a good title?  I would pick: “Pride, Prejudice and an Academic Affair of the Heart”.  This is not going to happen. As I understand it, there is a whole series of silly titles waiting in the wings. The next book is called: 'Emma, Mr. Knightley, and Chili-Slaw Dogs' due in May 2013.  That’s not far off but it still seems like a long time when I’m in the mood to read it right now! 

I prefer my title because the story is all about college professors and is very true to life as it is lived in academia. As a former college teacher myself, I found the events in the story to be highly realistic. The college in the story even seemed to mirror, Tulsa University, where I once taught.  Even the building in the story has the same name as where I taught!  This story is very close to me. The hero and heroine are even history teachers and I have a teaching minor in history!  Now back to the story.

What makes this a 5-star romance?

1) The very fine writing.  The book is well written and well edited. The author also writes for one of the largest publishers in the world.


2) The psychological insights and the wit. You can experience the wit at the start of every chapter, of course, a lot of that wit is Jane Austen’s – who I love anyway.  

3) The genuine conflicts keeping the hero and heroine apart. This book is original. The conflicts are real. I’ve seen them in action in academia.

4) Very strong secondary characters. This is not a short book. The author makes very good use of the opportunities the length provides for fleshing out secondary characters.

5) The fast pace of the story action. As in Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”, the chapters are very short. There is a lot of action just like in P&P.

6) The high level of  ‘page by page’ reading enjoyment – (The Austen quotes play a big part in this).

7) a realistic portrayal of the ‘pettiness’ of the insulated ‘ivory tower’ academic life.  I had the feeling on every page that the author was reporting on academic life that she actually experienced.

8) A rich appreciation of history. (I have a teaching minor in History so I may be more likely to enjoy this feature.)

Both the hero and heroine are history teachers in the same department. He is very famous and is just visiting. She is not famous and is up for tenure. The famous hero has trashed the heroine’s one little book in a high  profile review. She is very angry with him. (Sound like the start of “Pride and Prejudice”?)  Darcy would make a very good arrogant college professor.

REAL READER CONFLICT!

I experienced a rather new feeling while reading this book. I found myself reading as fast as I could to find out what was going to happen next but at the same time I did not want to story to end. So I rationed the book to only a few chapters a day. I don’t think I’ve ever done this before with a book. But then, I have never read a romance like this one! The second book is coming out in a few months and that seems like ages to me. I’ll be the first to buy the new book!

 

If You Love Jane Austen, You’ll Love This Book. If You Don’t Like Jane Austen, You’ll Still Love This Book!

 

 

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 

“Great literature leaves its finger prints on the reader’s soul.”
 
Vince Mooney
 
 

Saturday, March 30, 2013

A Question of Writing

 

“In Jane Austen’s, ‘Pride and Prejudice’, there is something quotable on almost every page. Who writes like that today? Who even tries?”
 
Vince Mooney

Friday, March 29, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 


“The greatest change occurs when reality itself is edited. Great literature has this ability.” Vince Mooney

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 



“Great literature can change a reader without the reader knowing it.”

Vince Mooney

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 


“A story is just a story regardless of how well it is written. To become great, a story needs to be given a soul. It’s this soul that allows great stories to live through the ages.”   Vince Mooney
 
 

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day


 
The Ostrich theory: If you hide the narrator, the reader won’t know there is one.”   
 
 
Vince Mooney
 
 

Monday, March 25, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 



“Essays are telling. Literature is showing.”
 
Vince Mooney 

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day




 


“Great literature is a time machine with the power to send us into the future by taking us back into the past."

Vince Mooney

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 

“There are great books which, if you had read them ‘back then’, you would have known ‘back then’ what it is you now wish you knew ‘back then’.”
 
Vince Mooney

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 


“Many authors look at writing as they look at living their own lives: they act like the end will take care of itself.”
 
Vince Mooney

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 


“Editors and writing experts have taught a generation of writers how to open a novel with more promise than most authors can possibly deliver.”
 
Vince Mooney
 
 

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 
“The shorter the story, the longer it needs to be on meaning.”
 
Vince Mooney

Monday, March 18, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 

 
“A romance is ultimately judged by the afterglow of satisfaction it leaves behind in the memory.”

Vince Mooney

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 



“A great romance is not about showing or telling. It’s about enabling the reader to live another life -- if only for a short time.”
 
Vince Mooney

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 


“Chaos provides friendly fire for those who don’t know where they’re going or what they’re doing.”  Vince Mooney
 
 

Friday, March 15, 2013

Famous Quotes


Caesar: The ides of March are come.
Soothsayer: Aye, Caesar, but not gone.


Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 
There was no wilderness until there were cities.” 
“Great literature is never about the story. Its greatness is always outside the story.”
 
Vince Mooney

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 

“If you reward the reader on each page for reading your book, then the reader will reward you by reading your books.”  Vince Mooney
 
 

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 

“The way to write an ending is to listen for the cheering of the readers who will have just finished reading it and then head in that direction.”

Vince Mooney

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 



“Great literature speaks the language of the unspoken.” 
 
Vince Mooney

Monday, March 11, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day



“While a good story tells us about people and places we didn’t know, a great story shows us things we didn't know about ourselves."
 
Vince Mooney

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 


“Hemingway had it wrong: great literature does not send a message to the reader. Great literature extracts the message from the reader’s subconscious.”  Vince Mooney

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 

“Create your characters with such a spark of  individuality that, on a second reading, the reader feels that your characters could act differently this time and produce a different outcome.”
Vince Mooney

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day


At some point you have to realize that hitting yourself in the head with a hammer is not working.

“Too many writers don’t understand that when people say, ‘don’t give up’, ‘never quit’, and ‘finish’, this doesn’t mean to keep doing the same thing!” 
 
 Vince Mooney

Monday, March 4, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day


“The problem with problems is that the problems we most need to solve are the ones we don’t know we have.”
 
Vince Mooney

Famous Writing Quote of the Day





“The hardest part of writing is not putting words on paper. It’s putting yourself on paper.” Vince Mooney
 
 

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

 


“The goal of realism is to make the craft disappear.  The goal of deep pov is to make the narrator disappear.  Both these goals miss the point. The goal of writing should be to produce the best reading experience while not making your readers disappear in the process.“

Vince Mooney

What is the one case where ‘thinking makes it so’ does make it so?

 



When you're thinking that you’re thinking.
 
 

Friday, March 1, 2013

They Don’t Even Know There Are Roses To Stop And Smell!

 

“Much of contemporary commercial writing today has become like one of those quickie European Bus Tours: “See 28 Countries in 5 Days!”  
 
First you start the story on Chapter 3, then each paragraph begins with a hook and ends with a cliffhanger. Backstory and setting are sparing doled out on a ‘need to know' basis. only.  Every scene must move the story along so the reader can get the story over with as quickly as possible.
 
I can just hear the tour director: “That was France. The next stop is even better. Hurry back on the bus so we can get there as soon as possible.”
 
Vince Mooney