Greetings form Austenland!  That is where I find my mind right lately, anyway. I have been journaling my thoughts about characters and how I relate to all of them.  And this is where I find myself on my first day of discussion about books.

About two years ago, a wonderful man, then friend, now fiance, introduced me to an entirely new genre of books. Maybe I am late to the game or fancied myself a reader when in reality I was a novice reader. But the point is, Fan Fiction has become something of an obsession with me when it comes to reading. I even found a few movies that have awed me.

Have you ever heard of this phenomenon?  It is where a writer, novel or screenplay, takes a work of fiction that interests them and either draws other conclusions to the ending, puts the characters in different situations, modernizes it, or just plain starts over with the already-written character and has fun. And since I adore Jane Austen, I have found that there are hundreds, if not thousands of people who are such fans of her as well that they have "run" with her ideas and so intertwined their own creativity based on her characters. 

Now, I am not a Austenite afficianado, however, I do know what I like and I have found some very well-done works and a piece of trash.  I don't know if you are interested in this kind of writing, but may I make a few suggestions?

If you are familiar with "Pride and Prejudice", Jane Austen's, arguably most famous work, you will no doubt be familiar with the several screenplays written.  The one, in my opinion that most closely resembles the book is the one with Colin Firth in it.  Anyway, if you would like to delve a little further into that world, via movies, may I suggest "Lost in Austen" and "Austenland."  The former would definitely be considered fan fiction, while the letter is more setting than anything.  "The Jane Austen Book Club", based on a novel, is a modern day movie that tries to draw lessons from the characters. Okay, that was a slight diversion into the movie arena. My apologies...

As far as novels go, I have read several novels by various authors and I would highly recommend all, save one.  "Death Comes to Pemberly" was written by P.D.James and will be made into a British Masterpiece theater production.  It is well written and it takes the story of "Pride and Prejudice" and speculates what might happen after Elizabeth and Darcy are married.

"Longbourne" is a recent novel and is written from the viewpoint of the servants, much like the recent Masterpiece Theater hit, "Downton Abbey." It is well written and I find it humerous at times, but I didn't like the way certain characters were portrayed.  But that is merely a personal opinion.  The book is nonetheless well written and reads quickly.

My favorite fan fiction book thus far, and I must say it has become one of my favorite non-Jane-Austen books is (drumroll please...) "Secrets of Elizabeth and Darcy" by Victoria Kinkaid.  I could not put it down and I look forward to reading it several more times.  I even, on my Nook, was able to highlight sections for further exploration.  It was well written and did not detract from the original story, but, instead, went deeper and put endings to all the loose ends.  I highly recommend it.  Victoria Kinkaid has been interviewed in British newspapers and has hinted that there will, in fact, be another book in the future. 

So, the one book I would NOT recommend is "Emma and the Vampires."  Okay, I may be biased, but the author was sloppy, boring and redundant.  The points of the vampires was unbelievable, even for a greenhorn like me. But, as I shared with several people, I honestly believe I could have done a better job writing that story and would have made it more appealing to a first-time fan-fiction reader.

There you have it. My take on fan fiction.  As I said, I have only just touched the surface of all that is out there, but I intend to, eventually, make a small mark in that area.  That said, I implore you, my fellow Jane-ites.  If you have an interesting "what-if" scenario that you would like to see explored, please let me know.  I am thinking of putting together a small collection of these stories, or parts of them anyway. I am looking for some great ideas.

If you are not interested in Jane Austen, but are interested in "Gone With the Wind," may I suggest "Scarlett", and there is another book that I have yet to read but have on my bookshelf, "Rhett Butler's People."  If you have another type of book that you enjoy, google it with "alternatives" and see what pops up.  It may open your eyes and soul to a whole new world!

"Expanding my mind" one story at a time,

Petra

P.S. Thank you, Gerald for loving me enough to let me in on the "Secret" of fan fiction.  I will be forever in your debt.