Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Loving Austen, The First Sweet Romance with Shaleen Kapil



My love affair with romance novels began in 12th grade. Pride and Prejudice was on my summer reading list. I drudged through Paradise Lost and Picture of Dorian Gray. When I came to Pride and Prejudice, I felt its presence on this list had to be an error. This was too light, too happy to be on the school book list. And from there, I fell in love. I fell in love with Jane Austen like so many other women. I read Emma and Sense and Sensibility. I watched the BBC movie versions. By then, it was like a fever, and it has never stopped.



I have read every novel at least twice, including my least favorite, Northanger Abbey. I’ve hunted down all the different versions of the movies. I’ve even read every spin off that I can easily, or not so easily, get my hands on, from Bridget Jones’ Diary (book & movie) to The Lake House (movie) to Austenland (I would probably visit such a park!). My husband sees a period movie and at once assumes it might be another Austen film. He might be right because the sweet romances that she wrote seem at once innocent and filled with deeper, more complex emotions that resonate still. So as I began to write my first novel, it seemed natural to write my own spin-off. And one day soon, my own Austen-like character is going to be ready to make her début.

~*~

While a lover of Jane Austen, Shaleen also enjoys a wide array of book genres but prefers those with a happy ending. She is completing final drafts of her first sweet romance; meanwhile, the characters for her next book are jumping up and down in excitement to make their way to the page. Until her book publishes, you can find her writing about her other love of yoga and health at HaveMatWillTri

8 comments:

  1. I love Jane Austen too! But have you read Georgette Heyer, her 20th century heir?

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  2. Pride and Prejudice is also my favorite Jane Austen novel. The simplicity of the story and the complexity of the characters make for a wonderful book. Although men might not admit it, they like her books, and the movies made from them, too. One of my cousins told me that she and her husband agree that the perfect date night movie would be 'Jane Austen With Car Chases'.

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  3. I love all of Jane Austen, too. And loved this post! I don't know how many times I've read her books (and Heyer, too)...and I love the movies too. Especially the Colin Firth version. :)

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  4. I am a huge Austen fan (or so I thought until I read your post). Love Sense & Sensibility (the movie version has enough actors from the Harry Potter series to entice my kids to watch).

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  5. I also remember the joy of discovering Jane Austen and reading all the novels. It was before the film and television adaptions, but I've watched most of them since. Loved those books although I haven't read them for a while. Then I moved on to fantasy for a while!

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  6. I've only ever read Emma which was for an English lit paper at university. Hated it the first time, kind of liked it the second, then re-read in preparation for the exam and finally loved it. Also adore the Gwyneth Paltrow /Jeremy Northram (?) movie version.

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  7. I came to the books by way of the movies, as I didn't read romances until I was in my twenties and didn't have many friends who also read them to recommend the good ones. I think as far as story goes, my favorite is Emma.

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  8. I'm planning on seeing some Austen sites when I get to England in a couple of weeks!

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