Tuesday, June 25, 2013

First Chapter - First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - Jane, Actually


Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter-First Paragraph in which she, and those of us who join her,  posts the opening paragraph (sometime two) of a book she is reading or planning to read.  

Next week our family is headed to Disneyland for a last hurrah before the last chicks leave the nest for college in August.  I plan to read Jane, Actually: or Jane Austen's Book Tour  by Jennifer Petkus on the plane ride.  

A woman writer, especially one long dead, should think seriously before turning down any offer from a publisher, even if it be for completing a book that one had long ago abandoned. After all, the passage of time, circumstances and not least the loss of one's body, affords a new perspective.

While this opening is delightful and full of promise, I feel that I have to provide you with the Amazon blurb because this is one of those genre-defying novels that you just can't make any assumptions about.

With the invention of the AfterNet, death isn’t quite the end to a literary career it once was, and Jane Austen, the grande dame of English literature, is poised for a comeback with the publication of Sanditon, the book she was writing upon her death in 1817. But how does a disembodied author sign autographs and appear on talk shows? With the aid of Mary Crawford, a struggling acting student who plays the role of the Regency author who wrote Pride and Prejudice and Emma and Sense and Sensibility. But Austen discovers her second chance at a literary career also gives her a second chance at happiness and possibly even … love.
I read and enjoyed Petkus's other Austen-inspired work, My Particular Friend, and I know that I will love this romp through Austenmania and sci-fi with some beloved Colorado landmarks thrown in for good measure.  Maybe I won't even wait until next week.  I want to read it now?  How about you?



10 comments:

  1. I love a happy ending, even in the after life. Happiness for Jane!

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  2. Sounds great! Enjoy your vacation in Disneyland.

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  3. What a great idea for a book. Let's hear it for Jane! (And have a great time at Disneyland!)

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  4. Oh, that does sounds like fun - the perfect beginning for a vacation, too! Have a great trip.

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  5. The first couple of sentences seem very well written. I would be a tad cautious because i think that in the wrong hands this idea could be a gimmicky disaster. On the other hand if handled correctly this could be a great book.

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  6. I loved reading the intro and the Amazon blurb -- perfect vacation/summer choice.

    Enjoy your family vacation - how fun to send the baby off with this memory. (Thanks for joining us this week Jane.)

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  7. Have a fantastic trip!

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  8. AnonymousJune 25, 2013

    Have a great trip, Jane!

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  9. Oh yes, I'd love this one. And have a good time on your vacation. kelley—the road goes ever ever on

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  10. Thank you very much, Jane. This was exceedingly kind of you.

    Jennifer

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