Monday, December 17, 2007

Reward for all that snow shoveling

Saturday and Sunday, we had the Big Blizzard of '07, which meant a whole lotta snow shoveling. I did some Saturday night, around 10:30 p.m.. I prefer to shovel snow at night, when it's quite and peaceful. Fortunately, there's a street light at the end of our driveway, so visibility is not an issue. We did the rest the next day, and it was three feet high on the sidewalk. My back, she aches!

However, TV Ontario gave me (and Daughter, too) a reward for our efforts. They have obtained the latest BBC productions of Jane Austen adaptations and began showing them last night, starting with Northanger Abbey. These are due to be broadcast by PBS in January.

NA was, in a word, wonderful. I really liked the guy playing Henry Tilney, JJ Feild (rarely do I think of a Jane Austen hero as "cute," but he qualifies -- and that's not a bad thing!) and I especially loved the Gothic imaginings of our heroine. Those parts were a hoot. I did the same sort of thing in one of the prequels to the book I just finished, A LOVER'S KISS. The heroine in KISS ME QUICK is writing a Gothic novel entitled The Castle of Count Korlovsky, and there are excerpts at the start of every chapter. Those were fun to write, so seeing something similar on TV was extra entertaining for me.

I hope the next ones are just as good -- and that I don't have to shovel snow first!

And just another reminder that my next medieval, KNAVE'S HONOR, should be out soon. Copies may already be lurking in the storeroom of your local bookstore.
Lady Elizabeth d'Averette chafes at the restrictions of a noblewoman's life, and her yearning for adventure seems to be coming true when she meets the remarkably handsome Sir Oliver de Leslille. But Sir Oliver is no true knight, and the handsome Irishman has other secrets, too. Soon Lizette finds herself embroiled in a rescue, as well as the chance to stop a treasonous conspiracy and protect her own family from men out to use them for their own evil schemes.

The Irishman who comes to Lizette's aid may be more honorable than many a knight, but he's still an outlaw. When they fulfill their mission to save his brother, her family, and the kingdom, they'll have to part...or will love -- and a clever thief and determined young woman -- find a way?

"Moore's medieval starts on an exciting note and maintains that sensation over the course of the whole book. She's created a great hero and heroine who take on a vile, well-written villain, and the love scenes, even though they're mild, add a great deal to the story."
-- Romantic Times

Read An Excerpt

3 comments:

Kimber Chin said...

Oh, goodie because I have connections in the storerooms of some major book companies.

That means I might get your novel for Christmas!

Time for the happy dance!

Unknown said...

I can't wait to pick this up, Margaret. :)

I wish I'd known NA was on, I would have watched it. I'll have to look for the next show. :)

Margaret Moore said...

I hope nobody has a problem finding KH! I envision exhausted bookstore clerks sitting on the boxes, too tired to put them out....

Northanger Abbey will be on PBS next month, and look for Mansfield Park this weekend on TVO -- the 23rd. I gather it's not as good an adaptation, but I imagine it depends on your take on Fanny. I always thought she was mentally tough, physically weak, and because she's quiet and doesn't have the snappy come-backs, is more difficult for modern women to relate to. But she won't marry to please her family, despite the pressure the good-looking guy exerts, and that takes a lot of inner fortitude.