Jennifer Becton's Blog, page 17

Since the publication of Charlotte Collins in 2010, I’ve written stories about five minor characters from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice: Charlotte Collins, Maria Lucas, Caroline Bingley, Mary Bennet, and Lydia Bennet (Coming Soon in Holidays with Jane: Spring Fever). I’ve also written one modern retelling of Persuasion in Holidays with Jane: Christmas Cheer.

I love Austen’s minor characters. Their unique personalities leap off the page, and in my opinion, Pride and Prejudice ended before their stories were complete.

Some of them made poor choices, like Charlotte, who married that oaf Mr. Collins.

Does she look happy to you? via cap-that.com

Some of them were overlooked, like Mary Bennet.

Mary tried so hard to be seen and heard. via cap-that.com

Two characters in particular left me wondering if they could be redeemed.

What a…nice lady. via cap-that.com

Lydia, always classy. via cap-that.com

For one reason or another, all of these minor characters left me wondering what happened to them next. What was their happily ever after?

I just never felt that way about Lizzie and Darcy.

Happily Ever After via http://www.cap-that.com

Jane Austen wrote the perfect ending to their story. They got their happily ever after.

The post Why I Won’t Write Lizzie and Darcy appeared first on Becton Literary.

After six months of exclusivity to Amazon, The Southern Fraud Thriller Series is available once again on BN and Kobo.

Here is the entire series at BN!

And coming soon to Kobo. (It’s slower to publish than BN.)

The post Southern Fraud Series on BN and Kobo appeared first on Becton Literary.

The Clean Reader app removes profanity from ebooks. Handy or overkill? Tweet This

Nearly every reader has, at one time or another, come across words, sentences, paragraphs, or even complete works of fiction that cause extreme discomfort. Now, tech-savvy readers now have the ability to exempt themselves from these particular kinds of uncomfortable interactions thanks to the technical wizardry of the free Clean Reader App, which rids e-books of profanity and in favor of a replacement word or phrase that offers the same general meaning. Read more here.

Interesting. What are your thoughts on this app?

The post Clean Reader App Removes Profanity from Ebooks appeared first on Becton Literary.

Coming in early March!

My contribution to this short story collection is based on Pride and Prejudice, and as usual, I focused on a minor character: Lydia Bennet.

Lydia Reimagined

When reformed party girl Lydia Bennet receives an invitation to her ex George Wickham’s destination wedding, she accepts with the intention of showing him exactly what he gave up when he dumped her. But no amount determination can change Wickham’s view of Lydia, especially not when circumstances conspire to make her look even more like a party girl than ever. And then there’s her sudden attraction to old college friend Kyle “Denny” Dennison…. Now that Lydia has reimagined her whole life, will she be able to forget the past and open her heart to the future?

The post Holidays with Jane: Spring Fever appeared first on Becton Literary.

I’ve wanted to post an update on my writing progress, but I haven’t.

There are lots of things I haven’t done.

I’m behind on life.

The last half of 2014 and the beginning of 2015 have included some unavoidable distractions, and I have been unable to keep up with my full writing schedule. Despite that, I published Mary Bennet, which is a novella, and two short stories for Holidays with Jane: Christmas Cheer and Spring Fever (coming soon). But novels are more complex, and I need full concentration to do justice to Julia and Vincent’s story.

But at least I’m not as slow as George R. R. Martin:

Author George R. R. Martin’s publisher, HarperCollins, confirmed that book six, The Winds of Winter, for which we’ve been waiting since 2011, will not be published in 2015. His publisher, Jane Johnson, tried to mollify fans by reminding them that a series of “prequel novellas” based in Martin’s world of Westeros would arrive later this year. Nevertheless, she was adamant. Read more here.

I just wanted everyone to know that I’m still here and I’m still trying. I apologize for the delay in publication of the Southern Fraud Series, and I hope you’ll understand. I’m not going to claim to be fully back on track, but I’m doing the best I can.

The post Not as Slow as George R. R. Martin appeared first on Becton Literary.

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Dwight Schrute and Michael Scott, The Office

The Office, “Night Out,” via nbc.com

In case you didn’t know, a bromance is a close, non-sexual friendship between two men. Basically, it’s the equivalent of “besties” but butched up, sort of.

Dwight and Michael’s bromance starts out totally one-sided. Dwight is a constant brownnoser who will do almost anything for Michael, but Michael has eyes for Ryan and Jim. Mainly, Ryan. But as The Office progresses, their friendship deepens.They weren’t without their conflicts, but hey, the course of true love never did run smooth.

Michael often took advantage of Dwight:

Volunteer sheriff’s deputy Dwight sacrifices his position to give Michael a clean cup of urine so he can pass a drug test. This means Dwight has to give up his deputy gig because he broke his sacred oath to uphold justice.
After Michael’s Golden Ticket promotional discount goes horribly wrong, Dwight agrees to take the fall. However, when it suddenly goes amazingly right, it’s too late for Michael to get the glory.
After being manipulated by Andy, Michael fires Dwight. He realizes his mistake in firing Dwight thanks to  Andy’s constant sucking up for job advancement purposes. He says, “I don’t want somebody sucking up to me because they think I’m going to help their career. I want them sucking up to me because they genuinely love me.”

Dwight genuinely loves Michael, but their relationship was not without fights:

They resort to fisticuffs on more than one occasion, most notably the fight at Dwight’s karate dojo.
Dwight once attempted to overthrow Michael as branch manager, a move that ended with him begging for forgiveness and doing Michael’s laundry for a year.
Michael starts a new paper company, which Dwight does not join. Michael steals Dwight’s clients, and Dwight retaliates by sabotaging Michael’s office and stealing his Rolodex. He attempts to use the info in Michael’s Rolodex to steal Michael’s clients, but Dwight ends up having his biggest client stolen instead.

But they always hug it out:

Dwight is Micheal’s right-hand man. Michael makes Dwight “Assistant to the Regional Manager,” the second highest ranking position in the branch.
Dwight assists Michael in all his video productions.
They go together on sales calls, to company functions, and even to parties.
Dwight is Michael’s confidant. He doesn’t often give good advice–Jim provides that–but Dwight is there.
Dwight participates in all Michael’s stunts

During the series finale, the depth of Michael and Dwight’s bromance becomes clear. It’s not a one-sided friendship. Dwight’s love is requited:

The Takeaway for Writers

Writers of one gender often have trouble portraying characters of the opposite sex and their friendships.

Men don’t relate to other men the same way that women relate to other women. It’s been said that men have side-by-side friendships and women have face-to-face friendships, meaning men do activities together and women talk.
Men settle disputes with each other differently than women settle disputes with other women. Men are more prone to punch it out rather than talk it out. Sure, Michael and Dwight do have some meaningful conversations, but their actions speak louder than their words.

It Is Valentines Day.

The post FWAP Bromances: Dwight and Michael appeared first on Becton Literary.

Amazon has put some of their Kindles on Sale for Valentine’s Day.

The post Book Romance: Kindles on Sale appeared first on Becton Literary.

RadioShack, that overpriced electronics store that nobody shops in unless they can help it, has filed for bankruptcy. Is anyone surprised? Amazon is looking to pick up a few of these locations to use as brick-and-mortar locations:

Amazon has considered using the RadioShack stores as showcases for the Seattle-based company’s hardware, as well as potential pickup and drop-off centers for online customers, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the deliberations are private. Read more here.

I like that Amazon is trying new things, and it would be pretty cool to pick up stuff right away. What do you think?

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