Hello everybody! I have to be honest: the deadline for this month’s Austen Authors blog entry came at me without warning. Well, not entirely without warning. I knew the deadline was coming, of course, but in the recent rush of family activities and challenges, the date snuck up on me. May I share what’s been…
Author: Elaine Owen
Aspiring writer and lover of all things Jane Austen. I also enjoy music, martial arts, and church activities, and I am an advocate for people with disabilities.
I Am Not Good At Swearing, by Elaine Owen
I am not good at swearing. Growing up, my parents would not allow a word that was even the slightest bit “questionable” to be uttered in our house. Obviously the big, bad, notorious swear words were off limits, but milder ones like “heck,” “darn,” or even, “shoot,” would also earn a lecture. I had no…
Would You Rather . . . . by Elaine Owen
Who do you think is the better parent in Pride and Prejudice: Mr. Bennet or Mrs. Bennet? If you were to ask the twenty year old Elizabeth Bennet at the beginning of the novel, the answer would probably be a resounding, “Mr. Bennet!” But I wonder if she would have said the same thing a…
A Look Back and a Look Ahead -Author Update from Elaine Owen
Hello everyone! I hope you are having a fabulous start to your summer. I wanted to take a minute to tell you what I’ve been up to, where I’ve been and where I’ll be going in the future. My summer got off to an amazing start! As some of you know, in May I released…
Announcing the Winners of Elaine Owen’s “A Cover Reveal Plus” Giveaway
Austen Authors is pleased to announce the winners of Elaine Owen‘s “A Cover Reveal Plus” Giveaway. Colleen, Linda A, and Wendy Luther will each receive an eBook copy of Ms. Owen‘s Stories to Make You Smile. Congratulations, Ladies. Please contact Regina Jeffers, Giveaway Coordinator, at reginalm@rjeffers.com to claim your prize. [According to stated giveaway rules…
A Cover Reveal Plus a Giveaway!
By the time this post goes live I will be formatting and preparing to publish, Stories to Make You Smile, an anthology of short stories based on Jane Austen. Some of the stories are sweet, some of them funny. All of them are written to make you smile. And we could all use reasons to…
Dowries and Portions, by Elaine Owen
Dowries. Settlements. Portions. Modern readers hear these words and cringe. We hate to think of women being treated like commodities, having value and worth assigned to them in monetary terms. We especially hate the idea that a father might “pay” someone to marry his daughter. But is that what was really going on with marriage…
Critiques and a Critical Response, by Elaine Owen
Is there anyone in this world who does not like Jane Austen? Jane Austen has always been a polarizing figure. Though it may be hard for some of us hard core “Janeites” to believe, there have been many criticisms of her work over the years. Some have a grain of truth while others, in my…
An Alternate Take, Plus a Short Story! by Elaine Owen
If you’re like me, you absolutely adore reading about Elizabeth Bennet’s famous visit to Pemberley with her aunt and uncle, the visit that utterly changes her perception of Darcy. You probably love reading about Darcy’s generosity to the Gardiners, and you sense how much Darcy wants to win Elizabeth’s good opinion. You also feel Elizabeth’s…
Counties of England, by Elaine Owen
What do the counties of Hertfordshire, Derbyshire, Somerset and Kent all have in common? Not long ago I read about a quiz on American states that was given to somebody from England. The quiz asked, simply, “What do you know about this state?” I was pleasantly surprised when this person was able to give accurate…
An Unpleasant Habit, by Elaine Owen
In Jane Austen’s day there was a habit that was carried out routinely by upper class people, but that did not make its way into her stories. Can you guess what it was? In 19th century England smoking and the use of snuff were common practices. Not only did society tolerate the habit, but some…
A Hidden Jewel, by Elaine Owen
What was your path into the world of Jane Austen? Which of her novels did you fall in love with first? Did you watch a movie first or read a book? Many Austen fans start and end their infatuation with Pride and Prejudice, and who can blame them? It’s a terrific story with memorable characters…
Meetings in Meryton, by Elaine Owen
In my last blog entry I posed a provocative question: could you ever picture Elizabeth Bennet with someone besides Darcy? How would Elizabeth get along with some of Austen’s other leading men? I described how I thought Elizabeth would relate to each of the men of Austen’s other major novels. Along the…
