I could not possibly be more thrilled to present According to Jane, a debut novel by one of my dearest writer friends, and one of the kindest people I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. And Marylin is truly the postergirl for that karmic adage - what goes around comes around. After joining RWA and become an active member of her chapter and online communities, tirelessly supporting writer friends and soaking up valuable craft knowledge in the meantime, Marylin got every novice author’s Cinderella moment: According to Janewon the much coveted Golden Heart Award for best novel with Romantic Elements and it would go one to be published by Kensington a few months later.
I was lucky enough to read a preview copy of AtJ - fans of Jane Austen, or of great, heartwarming romantic stories shouldn’t miss this one!
Without further ado, here’s the charming author.
(PS - Check out Marylin’s much-trafficked blog where she often hosts coffee, books, and /or chocolate - but mostly chocolate - inspired giveaways, plenty of writing advice, and hilarious life musings)
Q:Tell us about your latest release and the inspiration behind it.
A: My debut novel, According to Jane, is the story of a modern woman who–for almost two decades–has the ghost of Jane Austen in her head giving her dating advice. I first read Pride & Prejudice as a high-school freshman. Like my heroine Ellie, I raced through the novel way ahead of the reading assignments. I loved both the story and Austen’s writing style immediately. Her books changed the way I perceived the behavior of everyone around me, and I spent the rest of freshman year trying to figure out which Austen character each of my friends and family members most resembled! Also like Ellie, I had a few (okay, a lot) of less-than-wonderful boyfriends, and I would have loved to have been given romantic advice from the author I most respected and the one who’d written one of my all-time favorite love stories.
Q: Which scene in your novel did you love writing? Why?
A: One scene I had a lot of fun with was the bar scene in the first chapter where my main character runs into her ex-high-school boyfriend for the first time in four years. It was a situation I had never experienced personally, but I could imagine the comical possibilities so clearly and feel and the frustration of my heroine as if I’d been the one standing there, facing the jerk and his latest girlfriend, while Jane Austen ranted about how “insufferable” he was.
Q: Could you please tell us a little about your writing background and how you made your first sale?
A: Aside from being on the newspaper and yearbook staff in high school and publishing some academic work in college, I didn’t take writing seriously until I was about 30. I was a stay-at-home mom with a baby and desperately in need of a creative outlet, so I began writing poems, essays on being a parent and educational articles for family magazines. I wrote my first book having never taken a creative-writing class or even having read a book on the craft of fiction. (The lack of craft is very evident when I reread chapters from that first book, btw! I don’t recommend this level of ignorance…) I got some feedback though–mostly negative–from a prominent literary agency, which led me to study fiction formally, delve into craft books and, eventually, go to my first writing conference. It was there that I heard about RWA. I joined, wrote three more unpublished manuscripts and, then, came up with the idea for According to Jane. My agent signed me on this book and submitted it to editors, but it needed to be significantly restructured before it sold. Nine months after it won the Golden Heart and was revised (again), it finally did sell–to John Scognamiglio at Kensington–on a sunny and surrealistic day in April 2008 J.
Q: Which ‘craft’ book has inspired or helped you the most throughout your writing career?
A: I’m a BIG fan of craft books, so I have more than one! I used Blake Snyder’s SAVE THE CAT! almost religiously in the plotting of my past several books. I’m still very sad that he’s no longer with us. As far as a great reference guide, Robert McKee’s STORY is incredible. It has more information about writing craft than I can ever internalize. Also, whenever I need a more emotional pick-me-up, I grab the Ralph Keyes book THE COURAGE TO WRITE. I recommend it to everyone.
Q: Where do you write? Describe your writing space – is it a cluttered mess or minimalist heaven?!
A: I write in my home office–a messy, absolutely cluttered place–I won’t deny it! There are stacks of paper and towers of books everywhere, but also a very nice window overlooking our backyard. Sometimes I’ll write at a local coffee shop (either with my laptop or, most often, just with pen and notebook paper), and that location has the advantage of endless cups of coffee and occasional snacks.
Q: What’s one piece of writing advice you’ve found valuable on your journey to publication?
A: Don’t follow trends just because you think it’ll be an easier sell. And write the books that fit your voice. If what you love writing happens to be a hot-selling genre, great. If your writing voice happens to be perfect for the genre you want to write in and love to read, that’s awesome, too. But–if not–write long and hard enough to find what DOES fit you and your style best. Because then, even if it takes longer to make that first sale than you expect, you’re writing the kinds of stories you most enjoy, and that passion has a way of working itself into the projects you’re creating.
Q: Do you have a sample chapter posted? (URL to chapter, if you have it.)
A: Yes! On my website I have a segment of Chapter One available for anyone interested in reading. It’s here: http://www.marilynbrant.com/extras.html Also, if you go to the Amazon page for According to Jane (here: http://www.amazon.com/According-Jane-Marilyn-Brant/dp/0758234619/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238387155&sr=1-1), there’s a “Search Inside This Book” feature, and people can read samples from scenes throughout the novel.
Thanks for a great interview Marylin!
For the chance to win a copy of According to Jane (and other cool stuff) please visit Marylin’s blog!
