As part of the blog tour, today I wanted to share a little excerpt with you. There are so many parts of The Jane Austen Guide to Life that I’d like to post, but this is one of my favorites–a few bits from the chapter on Finding Joy and Laughter.  Enjoy!

Finding Joy and Laughter

Jane Austen was buoyant. She lived with energy and joy. It’s impossible to read her letters and books without coming away with the sense that she was something of an irrepressible force. She laughed at herself, at the everyday world, and at everyone around her (mostly all in good fun)—and she welcomed having them all laugh at her. But if she relished laughter, there was more to that vital spirit of hers. She wrote to Cassandra of a ball at which she had “had an odd set of partners”: “I had a very pleasant evening, however, though you will probably find out that there was no particular reason for it; but I do not think it worth while to wait for enjoyment until there is some real opportunity for it.” So she did not “wait for enjoyment,” she simply took joy wherever she could, and as much as possible. Continue reading »

The lovely Jane Austen Today blog is hosting a giveaway for The Jane Austen Guide to Life.  For a chance to win, simply enter a question you would ask Jane Austen if you could. Enter by May 15. I’m loving the responses:

Oh goodness, I would ask her so many questions! At the top, though, I’d ask her which of her male heros she loved the best. The’re all fantastic, but she has to have a favorite, right? – Becca A.

I would ask her if the novels she wrote made it difficult to live in the real world with real characters. – Kerri

There is so much about Jane that we don’t know, so I’d ask her to fill me in. If she doesn’t throw me out, I would fix a large pot of tea and ask her if we could discuss each of her heroes and heroines from her novels and how they came about. – Felicia

Also, the giveaway over at AustenProse ends today, so get on over there and post a comment.  The other giveaway at Austenesque Reviews ends this Saturday, May 12.

Many thanks to Vic at Jane Austen’s World who posted a lovely review today and gave The Jane Austen Guide to Life 4.5 out of 5 Regency tea cups:

Lori Smith’s  The Jane Austen Guide to Life: Thoughtful Lessons for the Modern Woman continues to inform us about our lives through the lessons that Jane Austen and her characters can teach us. Like her first book. A Walk with Jane Austen, Lori’s clear writing style is a delight to read. One can almost hear Jane speaking through her words. This book is a wonderful gift for mother’s day, for mothers to give to their daughters, and for men to understand the mind of a fine woman. It is also delightfully illustrated.  (Read the whole thing here.)

Wonderful to start my blog tour this morning with a post over at Laurel Ann’s lovely AustenProse blog, sharing the inspiration behind The Jane Austen Guide to Life, what I hope people will take from it, and how it’s been a gift to me.  Laurel Ann is also giving away three copies of the book!

I’m thrilled I was able to write The Jane Austen Guide to Life, but I can’t fully take credit for the idea.  A while back, an email unexpectedly popped up from an editor I hadn’t heard from in a while, one I’d always wanted to work with.  She’d been thinking, she said, about a book that would combine a light biography of Jane Austen with practical “life lessons” for the modern reader, drawn from Austen’s life as well as her books.  I thought for about fifteen seconds and concluded, “Yes!  That book should be written!”  And that was the beginning.

As normal as it seems to me to take advice from Austen—I’ve loved her writing for years, even followed her life through England for my last project, A Walk with Jane Austen: A Journey into Adventure, Love, and Faith (2007), —I thought it might seem strange to some.  After all, Austen was an 19th-century spinster.  She wasn’t terribly concerned about fashion, knew nothing about platform heels, and, if she’d had the chance, she very well might have married a first cousin (as was common practice back then).  So what could she possibly teach our modern selves?  (Read more…)

Excited to release this today – on the official release day for the book!  Just a fun (silly) little video to get things going.  (It’s not really about the Real Housewives…)

One of the things I’m excited about with the new book is that my publisher commissioned thirteen original illustrations, one for each chapter.  Thrilled they invested in this project that way.  They’re done entirely in pencil by graphic artist Dave Grant.  The style is a little different than I was first anticipating, but I love the way they turned out.  My publisher gave me permission to post just one, so here it is… from the first chapter, Becoming a Woman of Substance.  Love it!