Siri here. I’m very pleased to introduce our guest blogger for today, Nancy Kelley. Nancy is a friendly Tweeter, a hardworking writer, and an indie author with a twist. Here she is to explain…
—
I write Jane Austen sequels. My new book, His Good Opinion, is Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy’s point of view. The novel I wrote this year during National Novel Writing Month is a sequel to P&P, focusing on Colonel Fitzwilliam and Georgiana Darcy. I have two additional Austen novels turning over in the back of my mind, waiting for their turn.
A humorous conversation plays out many times when I tell people I’m an author.
“Oh really! What’s your book called?”
“His Good Opinion. It’s a Pride and Prejudice sequel.”
(Long pause, often accompanied by a blank look)
“Oh. People do that?”
“Yes! There have been several Jane Austen books published.”
“I see. Well, who published yours?”
“I did.”
And that’s where the conversation ends. Not only have I confessed to writing what amounts to published fanfiction, I am one of those people, the ones with the temerity to publish their own works, rather than going through a publishing house.
A year ago, I felt awkward and embarrassed when I had to tell people what I wrote. Adding the self-publishing admission only made me feel worse. I wanted to be accepted, and that didn’t happen.
As my publication date approached, that awkwardness changed to amusement. That was partly aided by finding some very excited champions of my book outside the online Jane Austen community, but it also came through the simple process of becoming comfortable with the career I’ve chosen.
Not everyone in the world is going to “get” why anyone would want to write sequels to a 200-year-old novel, and that’s okay. I know there are enough people who do get it to make this a viable career for me. More importantly, I know this is the kind of book I want to be writing at the moment.
Nancy Kelley is a Janeite, an Austenesque author, and a blogger. During the writing of His Good Opinion, a version of Mr. Darcy took up residence in her brain; she fondly refers to him as the Darcy in my Head, or DIMH.
If Nancy could possess any fictional device, it would be a Time-Turner. Then perhaps she could juggle a full-time library job, writing, and blogging; and still find time for sleep and a life. Until then, she lives on large quantities of tea, of which DIMH approves.
You can find Nancy on Twitter @Nancy_Kelley, on her blog, and on IndieJane.org.
His Good Opinion is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Amazon.uk, Amazon.de, and Amazon.fr.
I have had similar conversations!
You need to follow up with: “Yes, and my book is awesome and kicks butt and has its own hashtag on twitter…what is it exactly that YOU do?”
Or, um, you could just THINK it…