Buffy meets Jane Austen taken to a new level...
As you know, my January release has been described as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Pride & Prejudice," and on some level it's true.
It's about a girl, rather like Buffy in the sense that she finds out she's a vampire hunter, but quite a bit unlike Buffy in other ways (ie, she doesn't complain about it, she actually embraces the chance to be different...at least at first). And this girl happens to live during Regency-era England, which is roughly the time in which many of Austen's books are set.
Anyway, using a high-concept phrase like "Buffy meets Jane Austen" is an easy way for me to give someone a quick preview of what the book is about, in the broadest sense...until a Brit with a delightfully dry sense of humor gets hold of the concept, and writes to me thus...
Not exactly what I had in mind, but amusing nonetheless.
Thank you to Ersatz Soubriquet for his charming description of what came to mind when he heard the pitch-phrase about my book!
(You should know by now that I'd take any opportunity to post a pic of Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy.)
It's about a girl, rather like Buffy in the sense that she finds out she's a vampire hunter, but quite a bit unlike Buffy in other ways (ie, she doesn't complain about it, she actually embraces the chance to be different...at least at first). And this girl happens to live during Regency-era England, which is roughly the time in which many of Austen's books are set.
Anyway, using a high-concept phrase like "Buffy meets Jane Austen" is an easy way for me to give someone a quick preview of what the book is about, in the broadest sense...until a Brit with a delightfully dry sense of humor gets hold of the concept, and writes to me thus...
"I'm seeing Mr D'Arcy[sic] backing away, the camera zooms in onto his exposed, vulnerable throat.... Afternoon tea with the vampire. Won't you walk with me in the moonlit garden?
"Later, Darcy is safely festooned with garlic, and has a high collar embroidered with silver crucifixes.
"At Northanger, the plague of zombies is most troublesome. Yesterday we lost a coachman to them, they ate his brains, and then chased a parlourmaid, who found refuge in the orangery. It is most inconvenient, as one can hardly take a stroll in the rose garden without zombies bursting through the privet hedges. Fortunately old Tom, the gardener, and two of his boys, can be employed to keep them at bay with their pitchforks.
"Emma is strangely pale, wears a velvet band around her throat. These days her behaviour is a little odd. She sends messages by her maidservant that she is 'Indisposed', and will remain in her room throughout the day- yet by evening time, she comes down to dinner, and is a lively, vivacious girl again. Poor girl, she has terrible insomnia, goes out in the night for long walks, returning just before dawn.
"The walks seem to be doing her a measure of good, for she returns lively, refreshed, and rosy-cheeked."
Not exactly what I had in mind, but amusing nonetheless.Thank you to Ersatz Soubriquet for his charming description of what came to mind when he heard the pitch-phrase about my book!
(You should know by now that I'd take any opportunity to post a pic of Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy.)
Colleen Gleason stepped onstage at 10/20/2006 01:13:00 AM
10 Comments:
The zombies part just killed me. What a funny guy!
Hello Colleen!
Your blog looks fun and it was a pleasure to discover it, though I didn't discover it in quite the best way.
It's cheeky of me to say this to you, given that I "stole" the photo in the first place, but would it be possible for you to copy the Colin Firth shot to your blog rather than link to it on mine? It's considered poor netiquette to suck bandwidth from the necks of other bloggers. I'm sure Ms Austen would have been horrified by such behaviour ;-)
Good luck with your latest novel!
(And if you have any fans in the UK who would be interested in a cheap, but high quality, photo shoot do point them my way.)
all the best
Damian
Ooops. Sorry Pooter, it's been rectified!
Thanks for stopping by.
Mmmm... Mr. Darcy. Wet shirt and all.
I know Gypsy! I love that scene in A&E's P&P!
"oh yes, yes of course"
"Ooops. Sorry Pooter, it's been rectified!"
Thank you. You are a gentlewoman.
"Thanks for stopping by."
You're welcome.
I tried to post a comment
We could all use a daily dose of Colin Firth, so thank-you for that.
I'm looking forward to your book - Darn, still 2 months away. I've never read a vampire book and the last 2 months I've read 3. Perfect setup for yours, don't you think?
Argh! The writey woman stabbed me with her pointy pencil. See, I bleed!
All because I tripped up over a freudian slip. You see, whilst you were of course horrified that I referred to Mr D'Arcy, and not Mr Darcy, as Ms Austens publishers would have it, I was musing on Darcey Bussell, a fine figure of a prima ballerina.... So, musing as I was, and multi-tasking, a home made steak and ale pie in the oven, a washing machine gurgling happily, a full head of steam in the computer, and then the scream. The under- parlourmaid, bless her, she was lighting the fire in the library when she saw a movement outside. Zombies. Pressing forward, the window glass creaking. Not a moment to lose. I left the keyboard, and commenced barricading the windows. Hawkins and the footmen soon joined in, and started to heap buttresses of books against the boards. I think we are safe for tonight, but dawn can come not a moment too soon. On returning to the keyboard, I made my error, forgetting that Jane Austen or her publisher somehow missed the fact that the D'Arcy family has been influential here in England since 1066, when Norman D'Arecy, one of Duke William's boon companions was rewarded for his part in putting William on the throne of England by the gift of 33 manors.. He settled at Nocton in Lincolnshire, where his descendants are still barons. In one of his outlying villages, Offord D'Arcy, my sister has a house. Hence my use of the rogue apostrophe.
Looks like your high concept perked someone's interest...
Can't fault him...it perked mine too! :)
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