Hi friends! Are there any Northanger Abbey fans in the house?! I know there are several of us that love Henry and Catherine and the gothic fun in Jane Austen’s novel. 💀 And it looks like one author is devoted to writing stories exclusively in the world of theses characters. The lovely Michelle R. Wood, who was so kind to visit back in October of 2021, is visiting today to talk about two of her recent writing projects! And both have to do with Northanger Abbey!

We hope you enjoy! 🫶🏼

I’m very pleased to return to Austenesque Reviews so soon after Meredith featured my previous novel, Gentlemen of Gloucestershire. Back then I couldn’t believe I had even one complete book to share with the world. Now I have two more: one collection of short stories and one ongoing novel currently being posted on my blog.

Both of these books happened because I didn’t think I had time to write another book while editing one for publication. Instead, I decided to focus on short stories to keep myself on a regular writing schedule. There’s very little Northanger Abbey fan fiction at all and even fewer are set outside of Regency England. Compare that fact to the literally thousands of takes on Pride & Prejudice found online and on bookshelves. I figured little vignettes set in different time periods and countries with the Northanger Abbey cast would be an easy source of inspiration while getting Gentlemen into shape.

I wanted to start easy with a near contemporary take. COVID was still in full swing so I went back a few decades, circa 2008, which would be simple for me to recreate from memory without too much research. But then I made a fatal, wonderful mistake: I set my first attempt in South America. A quick Google skim turned up the concept of “tangolates,” which led to a brief scene sketch that had me really intrigued by the possibilities. I wrote another chapter. Then another. Then ten. Finally, I had to admit that I had a full-length novel on my hands. Thus, Estancia Aldea Norteña was born, and written in record time. Now instead of one novel, I had two to edit!

After finally posting Gentlemen of Gloucestershire in fall of 2021, I knew my 2022 project was to get Estancia into shape for posting. Again I decided to dip into short stories, and this time I kept to some strict rules: Regency era, one post a week, no overall plot, just brief views of Northanger Abbey‘s events from various point of views. I owe a debt of inspiration to the author Courtney621, who posts to many such ongoing series set in the world of Austen. While this format freed up my creative time for revisions it also led to a lot of creative output. Originally I wanted to publish Gentlemen as an eBook for the 2022 Christmas season, but other projects got in the way. Instead, I decided to publish this collection of vignettes I titled Trifles Light as Air. Amazingly, this book has sold two copies already.

All my books remain FREE to read on my website; I never want to take these away from readers, which means no Amazon distribution as of now. But if you’d like an eBook version for easier tablet reading, Meredith is generously hosting a giveaway for Trifles today. Here’s a description of this book to spark your interest:

“These short stories retell the classic story of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, one for each week of the year, each one an exploration of what the characters might have thought and done beyond the novel’s pages. Some are short and sweet, others the length of a full chapter. Familiar voices speak to otherwise minor details and characters previously kept in the background become fully realized. Available at Select Retailers”

Also, if you’re interested in Estancia, Chapter 24 is live today on my blog. It’s titled “Más Afilado Que Un Cuchillo,” or “Sharper than a Knife.” Northanger Abbey fans will recall that Catherine Morland suspected Henry Tilney’s father of a serious crime. Her counterpart in Argentina, Catalina Moreno, faces a similar dilemma, and just as emotional an encounter with friend-and-perhaps-a-little-more Enrique Tilve. Here’s a sneak peek of the resolution these characters come to in Chapter 25, dropping Saturday.

~ Excerpt from Estancia Aldea Norteña ~

Enrique didn’t follow his sister and instead strolled near the pool, his long shadow in the fading light broken up in the water, hands in his pockets, whistling.

“What is that tune?” she asked, curious, her hat in hand.

“I don’t know. It’s like the rhythms I count: they’re not any one song in particular, just snatches I think of.” He played around with another long whistle, snapping his fingers, then opened his palm wide as if letting it go. “I can’t catch it when I try: hence why I could never be an artist. Too much work, too little to show for it.”

“But it’s still very nice,” she said, coming closer. “I can’t even whistle at all.”

He chuckled. “It’s not as easy as people think. I couldn’t until I was out of school.”

She gaped in surprise. “No!”

“Yes, truly. I tried, but I could only do it when I wasn’t thinking about it, like in surprise or something. Mostly it was just spit.” He shook his head, his hair falling out of place for once, his sunglasses barely keeping it out of his eyes, pushed up on his head. “Learning can be very messy.”

His voice was hushed but clearly audible so close to the water, almost echoing back to them. Catalina shivered despite not really feeling cold, and tied her wrap tighter more to give herself something to do. “Gracias,” she murmured, looking out over the water, not sure if she should say anything, but needing to do so anyway.

At first he didn’t acknowledge her words beyond a shrug. They just stood for a moment, neither looking at each other. He reached a toe down and flicked it in the water, causing ripples to form. “It’s good she was able to talk about the accident with you; we avoid the subject too much.”

“But I shouldn’t have — I still need to apologize —”

“For what?” He turned toward her, eyes shaded by the sun at his back, but not dull like in the attic. They were intent and full of life. “Being curious? Asking questions?”

“For thinking such awful things.” There, she had said it, and it was far easier to do so since he already knew.

“A crime we are all guilty of from time to time. If you’re so unused to it, that just proves once again how very good you must be.”

“So, you don’t think I should say anything to Elena?” she asked him, wanting guidance, sure he would know the correct answer.

“It is very good in dancing to always follow your partner’s lead, but not always so good when the music stops.” Enrique started to tap his foot then caught himself, shuffling instead, surprisingly awkward rather than his usual agility. “I would say you should judge for yourself, whether to bring it up with her or not. She’s not made of glass, and doesn’t actually need my protection, even if I may forget that sometimes.” He quirked a brow. “But don’t feel you must take the entire world’s sins as your personal responsibility: exaggeration is just as bad for martyrdom as it is for misunderstandings.”

She considered his words as the last of the sun’s rays dipped low behind them. The patio lights were on, a faint glow nearby, with mosquitoes swarming around them hungrily. He made a good point. If she had rushed into misjudgment once, she shouldn’t do so again, and hurt Elena needlessly. But she still needed to find some way to make amends.

At least she had the consolation that Enrique didn’t hate her. They were still friends.

This sounds like such a fantastic reiteration of Northanger Abbey! I love exploring other countries and cultures through Jane Austen’s themes and characters. And I love the idea of taking Northanger Abbey to South America! Thanks so much for sharing, Michelle! I wish you al the best on your current and future writing projects! 🤗

 

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