Sense and Sensibilty

Sense and Sensibility is a story about two girls – Elinor (sense) and Marianne (sensibility).  When they move to Barton cottage with their mother, Marianne is swept off her feet by a dashing stranger, Willoughby.  Meanwhile, Elinor must mask the love she feels for Edward Ferrars because it is impossible for them to marry.  When Willoughby leaves suddenly, Marianne is heartbroken and succumbs to her ‘sensibility.’  How the two sisters find their own true loves makes and interesting and enjoyable read for anyone.

This S and S graphic novel is not the best Jane Austen graphic novel I have seen.  On one hand, it stays true to the book – often directly quoting it in places.  On the other hand, the artwork is atrocious.  The characters heads swell out of proportion with warning, Elinor is unattractive to say the least, and the overall appearance is quite shabby.  However, it did follow the book closely.

I love Colonel Brandon’s Diary by Amanda Grange.  I have read all her ‘diaries’ except Henry Tilney’s and this one is the best one.  It goes far back into Colonel Brandon’s life and recounts how he fell in love with the first Eliza, lost her, found her, and how he took care of her daughter when she died.  It tells the story of S and S skillfully and believably.  I love reading this book over and over again.

FINISHED!

I finished revising, polishing, and editing Eleanor and Catherine: Tender Hopes and Dreams today.  I started on a new novella called The Highborn Governess.  It’s a kind of sequel to E and C.  It’s really taking off and I can’t wait to see how it develops.

An excerpt from E and C:

Robert’s mind was made up.  He would propose to Miss Harcourt.  His reasons were simple, mercenary, and base.  He was a younger son and as such he would not inherit the estate upon his father’s death and he would only receive a small sum of money since most of it would go to his brother.  He needed an heiress to make his way in the world (or so he thought).

Eleanor was such an heiress.  She had thirty thousand pounds to her name, the Harcourt family was well-respected, and they would welcome an alliance with the illustrious Davrille line even from a younger son.  Of this he was sure.

Eleanor’s beauty, accomplishments, and intelligence of mind meant little to him.  If she had been one and thirty, had warts, and a sour disposition it would have made no difference to him.  He needed an heiress and one was as good as another.  Eleanor was an easy choice since the Davrilles and Harcourts were intimately acquainted.

She had given him no encouragement, but when she had given him only as much attention as courtesy demanded, he had thought her modest.  When her sister Catherine had openly scowled at him, he thought that she knew Eleanor was in love with him, and did not wish her sister taken away.  When Eleanor had pointed him out he was angry at first, but soon came to look at it as a sign of her admiration in wanting to show him to her friends.  Such were Robert Davrille’s vain, blind thoughts.

Eleanor knew nothing of Robert’s intentions.  She was certainly not looking for an offer from him and did not even think there was any possibility of such a thing.  Therefore it came to her as an unpleasant shock when Robert called that morning, without any of his family and almost demanded from Lady Harcourt a private audience with her eldest daughter.

Lady Harcourt had not seen as much of Robert as Eleanor and Catherine had and so had not formed an unfavourable opinion of him.  Most of what she knew of him she had heard from Lady Davrille and one of Lady Davrille’s habits was to speak highly of all her children.  Therefore, Lady Harcourt knew nothing bad of him and acquiesced to his request.  Had she seen Eleanor’s look of keen distress she probably would have changed her mind, but she quickly swept out of the room calling Catherine to follow her.

Catherine saw Eleanor’s face change and would have given anything to be able to stay with her, but Lady Harcourt was not to be disobeyed, so with an anguished look in Eleanor’s direction she quietly left the room.

Eleanor rose up as if to leave but then sat down again, resolving to sit through Robert’s talk with as much grace as she could muster.

“My dear Miss Harcourt,” Robert began grandly, “You cannot have mistaken the many attentions I have shown you over the past week or so.  I wish you to marry me and am prepared to offer you all the luxuries you are accustomed to.”  So ended his stiff speech.

Eleanor sat silent for awhile, thinking out what she should say.  She resolved to be gracious, yet polite, and unswerving in her meaning.  “Thank you for the proposal you have made to me.  I am, however, not able to return your affection and I am not able to accept you,” she said as calmly as possible.

Robert stared at her.  Then, turning swiftly, he left the room, quite angry.  Eleanor sank down on a chair.  In a few minutes she had recovered and calmed herself and went in search of Catherine.  Finding her, she spilled out all that happened.  Catherine was, of course, not shocked that he had proposed, since it was obvious he had meant to do so when he called.  She was also not amazed that he had chosen to propose to Eleanor.  She was an heiress, beautiful, charming, and accomplished.  And although Catherine was all of these, she had a smaller fortune than Eleanor.

They then went and told Lady Harcourt.  She was surprised that Eleanor had turned him down, but when they told her all that he had done to try Eleanor’s patience, she no longer was surprised but instead was thankful that Eleanor had refused him.

An excerpt from T.H.G:

Amy Ashby was alone in the world.  She had been alone in the world since night before last when her father passed on.  She had ran to her chamber, bursting into tears and it had taken the combined efforts of Mrs. Tirrod, the kindly housekeeper and Amy’s favourite maid to persuade her to eat something.

She only just managed to choke down a piece of bread and a bowl of chicken broth before bolting the door and falling on her bed, bursting into tears.  Mrs. Tirrod could only listen outside the door sorrowfully and wait for Amy to open it of her own accord. 

Next morning she calmed herself with great effort and ventured outside her room.  The undertaker had made all the arrangements of which she was thankful.  She had breakfast brought up to her room and spent the day with her needlework, sad and silent.

Now this present morning she stood in the spacious drawing room, looking sadly out the window at the lawn and gently sloping hills beyond it.

“Letter for you, Miss Ashby,” a maid said, handing it to her.  Amy broke open the seal.

A REALLY Long Book Tag

I found this tag from safirewriter.

1. What’s your word count?  For my novella, Eleanor and Catherine, about 14,000 words.

2. How long until you finish? I have no idea.  I’m still in the throes of revising, revising, and more revising.

3. If you have finished, how long did it take you? I haven’t finished.

4. Do you have an outline?  I scribbled a few notes for E and C but never really had a firm outline (except in my head).

5. Do you have a plot?  I don’t even understand that question.

6. How many words do you typically write a day? As many as possible.

7. What was your greatest word count in one day? Hmmmm…Probably around 4,000

8. What was your least impressive word count in one day?  When I didn’t write a thing.

9. What inspired you to write?  Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility

10. Does your novel have a theme song?No

11. Assign each of your major characters a theme song.  No theme song for any of them.
 
12. Which character is most like you?  Catherine most likely.

13. Which character would you most likely be friends with?  Catherine would be a lot of fun.

14. Do you have a Gary-Stu or Mary Sue character?  No.

15. Who is your favorite character in your novel?  Eleanor

16. Have your characters ever done something completely unexpected? Not really, but a whole new character pushed her way into my story once.

17. Have you based any of your novel directly on personal experiences?  Never, my life hasn’t been too interesting.

18. Do you believe in plot bunnies?  What are they?

19. Is there magic in your novel?No.

20. Are any holidays celebrated in your novel?  No.

21. Does anyone die?  Once, but the person who died wasn’t a main character.

22. How many cups of coffee/tea have you consumed during your writing experience?  I don’t drink while I’m writing.

23. What is the latest you have stayed up writing?  10:30 p.m.

24. What is the best line?  “She could scarcely believe her own heart, being young and inexperienced in such matters, but she knew enough of her happiness and enjoyment of Henry’s company.”

25. What is the worst line?  I couldn’t say…
26. Have you dreamed about your novel or its characters?  Unfortunately, no.

27. Does your novel rely heavily on allegory?  No

28. Summarize your novel in under fifteen words.  I’ll try:  ’Two girls find happily ever after.’

29. Do you love all your characters?  Not my villains, e.g., Fanny Ashby, Robert Davrille.

30. Have you done something sadistic or cruel to your characters specifically to increase your word count?  Never, never, never!

31. What was the last thing your main character ate? I don’t concentrate on those details.

32. Describe your main character in three words.  I have two: Eleanor – Calm, Intelligent, Pretty; Catherine  - Cheerful, Friendly, Pretty.

33. What would your antagonist dress up as for Halloween?  They don’t celebrate Halloween.

34. Does anyone in your story go to a place of worship?  No

35. How many romantic relationships take place in your novel?  Two couples get married.

36. Are there any explosions in your novel?  Emotional yes.

37. Is there an apocalypse in your novel?  No!

38. Does your novel take place in a post-apocalyptic world?  Definitely not

39. Are there zombies, vampires or werewolves in your novel?  NO! 

40. Are there witches, wizards or mythological creatures/figures in your novel?  NO!

41. Is anyone reincarnated?  NO!

42. Is anyone physically ailed?  Definitely.

43. Is anyone mentally ill?  No.

44. Does anyone have swine flu?  No.

45. Who has pets in your novel and what are they?  Animals aren’t in my stories.

46. Are there angels, demons, or any religious references/figures in your novel?  No.

47. How about political figures?  No.

48. Is there incessant drinking?  Never!

49. Are there board games? If so, which ones?   No.

50. Are there any dream sequences?  No.

51. Is there humor?  I’m not the type…

52. Is there tragedy?  Um…sort of…

53. Does anyone have a temper tantrum?  No.

54. How many characters end up single at the end of your novel?  Two.  They are both villains so I think they would be good for each other.

55. Is anyone in your novel adopted?  No.
 
56. Does anyone in your novel wear glasses?  No.

57. Has your novel provided insight about your life?  No.

58. Your personality?  Reclusive about my writing.

59. Has your novel inspired anyone?  Not that I know of.

60. How many people have asked to read your novel?  I can count them on the fingers of one hand.

61. Have you drawn any of your characters?  No.

62. Has anyone drawn your characters for you?  No.

63. Does anyone vomit in your novels?  No.

64. Does anyone bleed in your novel?  No.

65. Do any of your characters watch TV?  They live in Regency times.  Enough said.

66. What size shoe does your main character wear?  I don’t have a clue.

67. Do any of the characters in your novel use a computer?  Same answer as No. 65

68. How would you react if your novel was erased entirely?  Just start rewriting it.  I would hate all that hard work down the drain though.  I have the story saved on my flash drive, my word processor, and the Internet so I don’t think it’s very likely.

69. Did you cry at killing off any of your characters?  None have died so far.

70. Did you cheer when killing off one of your characters?  Same answer as No. 69.

71. What advice would you give to a fellow writer.  Read, ‘Rite, Revise.

72. Describe your ending in three words.  Satisfaction, love, happiness.

73. Are there any love triangles, squares, hexagons, etc.?  No, but there is a slight misunderstanding.

74. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being the least stressful, 10 being the most) how does your stress rank?  1 – I don’t have any stress unless I can’t find the word I’m searching for.  I have experienced euphoria when my characters have a happy ending.

75. Was it worth it?  Yes, yes, yes…I could write that word over and over again.  IT WAS WORTH IT!

Two Proposals and Two Weddings

I have worked on my novel for some time now (you can read about it here and here.)  And the big news is…I finished it last night!  Since it only has about 15,000 words it would be called a novella or short story, but I’m really pleased with what I’ve accomplished and to celebrate I’m going to give you three chapters of my novella – the two proposals (since there’s two sisters) and the double wedding.  These chapters do not come one after the other in the full novella.

Eleanor

Eleanor was taking another morning walk the next day when again she met Henry.  Had he purposely sought her out? she wondered.  They talked comfortably together, although all the time Eleanor’s heart was beating fast.  They scarcely noticed where they were going, but by some chance finally found themselves in front of Eleanor’s home.  She was about to go inside when Henry spoke.

“Miss Harcourt, Eleanor…wait.”

She turned around eagerly and waited.

He faced her and awkwardly said, “Eleanor, I have observed you for these past few days, in Wollington, and in London and each time, I have been more impressed by your beauty, charm, and musical ability.  I would like to…I want to ask you something.”  He paused.

“Yes, do go on,” said Eleanor, hardly breathing.

“Will you…will you marry me?”

Eleanor stopped breathing.  “Yes, Henry,” she said, and burst into happy tears.

She ran into the house with Henry close behind her.  Luckily, her mother and Catherine were both upstairs which gave Eleanor a few moments to dry her tears.  They came down quickly upon hearing Henry’s voice and in a few joyous words, Eleanor and Henry told all.  Great were Catherine’s and Lady Celia’s joy when they heard.  To Catherine it was not such a complete surprise because of the talk she and Susan had had yesterday, but to Lady Celia it was total surprise. 

After they had given the news to the Catherine and Lady Celia, Henry and Eleanor went over to the Davrille’s house where Henry introduced his future wife to them all.  The joy was no less great there and Jane especially welcomed Eleanor warmly into the family. 

After mutual happiness on both sides, Lady Davrille discreetly left the two lovers alone and they had a long conversation.

“When did you first start to fall in love with me?” Henry asked Eleanor.

“I am not sure.  I think it was the night of the party (so long ago it seems!) in Wollington, but I cannot say for sure.  I know I was most definitely in love when you came to the party in London.”

They continued talking for some length over many different subjects and settled the wedding date to three months from that day.

Eleanor and Catherine talked about several things that evening.

“Eleanor, I’m so happy for you!” exclaimed Catherine.

“I know, Catherine.  It seems like a wonderful dream, but perfectly real,” Eleanor replied.

“If only William…but never mind.  When is your wedding taking place?” she asked with a slight sigh.

“Three months from today.  But why are you distressed?  I am sure William feels for you.  Have you heard anything in the contrary?” Eleanor asked gently.

“Just this,” said Catherine, displaying a letter.

Eleanor snatched it up and this is what she read.

Dear Catherine,

How are you finding Bath?  I write to tell you that my brother William will be arriving in Bath soon for a few days.  I hope he will pay your family a call shortly after he finishes up his business.  Please write back.

Your dearest friend,

Julia Ashby

“Why would Julia write to you just about William’s coming?  Does she know about your attachment?  I’m sure there’s some mistake and that William will be here.

“She must have discovered my feelings for him.  Oh, Eleanor, do you think my feelings were too plain?” Catherine asked.  

“No, Catherine.  You did not show your feelings that much.  Rest assured that William will be here.  If he feels for you he will be here.”

Catherine

Early the next morning Catherine awoke, finished packing and was just about to leave the room and go down to the dining room when William again entered the room.

“Excuse me, Miss Harcourt, but I wish to speak with you,” he said.

“Please sit down,” Catherine said calmly enough, but her heart was thumping.

“Thank you,” he replied, and then hurriedly went on, “I have just had a confidence from my sister that you purposely came here after reading Mama’s letter.  I would like to thank you for coming with my sisters, giving up the comforts of home just to come here and help my family.”  He paused, and then went on, “The more I see of you Catherine, the more I am impressed by your beauty, your talents, and your cheerfulness.  You have become very near and dear to my sisters as you have become to me.  In short Catherine, I am…I am in love with you.  Will you marry me?”

Catherine was overcome with joy.  “Yes, I will,” she managed, and then, like her sister, burst into tears.

Julia had been walking along the corridor, toward Catherine’s room to see if she had everything was ready.  When she heard Catherine burst into tears she quickened her pace and came into the room.  When she heard the happy story she could hardly contain her joy and the all three of them, beaming happily, went down to the breakfast table.

The news was shared among all the Ashbys and everyone was extremely happy with the news.  It was soon arranged that William and Julia would go back to Woodland Manor.  William, as a trustworthy escort, and Julia because she wished to extend her stay at Wollington.  Fanny chose not to go.

The Wedding(s)

When the Harcourts heard the news they were very, very happy.  Eleanor was so happy that her sister was to be married that she and Henry agreed to put off their wedding until arrangements could be made for a double wedding.

All the Ashbys traveled to Wollington to be present at the wedding.  By mutual consent, the families had agreed to have the double wedding in Wollington not London.  For one, both brides and one of the grooms came from there, and Lady Harcourt disliked London.  The Lord and Lady Ashby wished to see Wollington so the arrangement was very agreeably made.

“Oh, Eleanor, I’m so happy!” Catherine exclaimed.  “William and I will be living in his house in London but he is also thinking of taking a house near Wollington so we can be close to you and Henry.”

“Henry and I will be living on his estate.  It is only a few miles from Woodland Manor.”

Both couples looked forward to their wedding excitedly and at last the day arrived. The brides looked very pretty and no-one who was there, except the grooms could tell which was prettier.  Of course the grooms where partial.  The grooms were handsome, the ceremony went well, and so did the wedding breakfast after.  Both couples set off for the same honeymoon destination where they would stay for several weeks even months before coming back to their homes.  They were both as much in love when they came home as when they had left and the two couples lived together happily ever after.

**********************************************

I hope you enjoyed reading these excerpts.  I had fun writing the story and I hope you will have as good success with your stories.

Here’s the ‘cover’ I made for my novella:

 

Daughter Of Venice

Daughter of Venice is about a fourteen year old girl named Doníta.  Only one (or two) of the girls in her family will marry.  The rest will be forced to live in a convent.  Doníta sneaks out of the house several times for a taste of the real Venice.  Her identical twin sister, Laura takes over her chores.  When Doníta’s father announces that since Doníta has been so hard-working she will be the one to marry, both the girls are devastated.  With the help of a Jewish boy she concocts a dangerous plan that will allow Laura to marry instead.  Will Doníta succeed?

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice is set in 19th century England.  The novel starts out starts out with a young man called Mr. Bingley and his friend Mr. Darcy settling in a small, rural town.  All the townspeople with daughters who are of a marriable age are in a flutter, but especially a woman called Mrs. Bennet.  She has 5 daughters and no sons, so of course she wants them all married well.  Mrs. Bennet schemes to marry off one of her daughters.  Her second oldest daughter, Elizabeth doesn’t approve of her mother’s plans.  Will Jane marry the man she loves?  Will Elizabeth marry the man she doesn’t love?  Or will Lydia’s flirtations ruin all her sisters’ chances?  Read this novel about matchmaking, arrogance, and true love to find out.