Skip to main content

Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter

I worked on my first Kickstarter and it got approved! It’s for the Special Edition Hardcover of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer and the release of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 7: Spinster. I contacted my graphic designer about the Special Edition Hardcover of vol. 1: Archer—it’s going to be SO beautiful! The Kickstarter focuses on the Special Edition Hardcover, but it’ll also include vol. 7: Spinster so that it’ll sort of be like a launch day for vol. 7, too. A third special thing that’ll be in the Kickstarter is Special Edition Paperbacks of all the books in the series. They won’t be available in stores, just in the Kickstarter (and later, from my website, and also in my Patreon book box tiers if I decide to do them). The Kickstarter is not live yet, but you can follow it to be alerted when it has launched. (You may need to create a free Kickstarter account.) Follow Camy’s Kickstarter

Becoming Jane

Captain's Log, Stardate 05.21.2008

I’m catching a cold, so I took time off from writing my proposal to watch the movie, Becoming Jane with Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy.

It was ... okay.

James McAvoy is my new favorite actor. Oh my gosh he was so good. So charming, so intense, so handsome.

Anne Hathaway was good, as usual. My problem was her lines. I think the writer failed Jane Austen in the dialogue.

In Miss Austen Regrets, the dialogue fitted Jane Austen to a T. The character spoke the way Jane wrote in her letters and her books.

In Becoming Jane, where was the biting wit, the quirky observances, the understated irony? Anne Hathaway had all these earnest lines. All this drama and romance.

In reading her writing, I thought Jane always came across as a bit cynical. Maybe it’s just my perception, and really, a writer can’t be understood only from her written word, much less her fictional works.

But Jane’s character came alive for me in Miss Austen Regrets (although I have to admit some parts of that were a bit more melodramatic than I think Jane’s real life character was). In Becoming Jane, it was a nice, entertaining story about a heroine named Jane.

Now, I know tons of you have seen this movie and loved it. So speak up! What did you like or didn't like about it?

Comments

Unknown said…
My absolute favorite thing about Becoming Jane? Hands down, discovering James McAvoy.
I haven't seen this movie yet. I've been told it's good but it's a little hard to get into at first...slow moving or something I think. Still, I think I'd like to see it, even thought I don't know much about Jane Austen.
Anonymous said…
I guess I'm definitely in the minority when it comes to James McAvoy. Loved him as Mr. Tumnus in Narnia, but other than that, I'm definitely of a "take him or leave him" attitude.

My main problem (out of many) with the film is that I couldn't understand why anyone---let alone Jane Austen---would fall in love with someone who treated her the way the character of Tom Lefroy did in this movie. But, then again, I've never been attracted to the bad-boy hero anyway.

My other main problem (told ya there were many) was the casting of Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen. With all of the wonderful young British actresses out there---including Anna Maxwell Martin, whose talents were totally wasted in the role of Cassandra---it's a travesty to me that an American who can't even do a decent British accent was cast in the role as the quintessential British romance novelist.

Coming down off my soapbox now . . . :-)
Melinda said…
My main beef was the way they dressed Jane. Her clothes were all wrong! They mixed to many era's. I had trouble following the story because I was obsessing about the costumes.
Leslie said…
I am not an Jane Austin purist. I have not read the books but I have always enjoyed the movies... so.. I liked the movie. I didn't know anything about Jane's life - so I cried at the end. I think I will have to go back and rewatch it now, though. I may have a more critical eye based on what all of you have said.
Camy Tang said…
Ruth--I'm totally with you! LOL

Shelley--It actually IS very slow moving. The opening 10 minutes almost killed me, just to warn you.

Kaye--I agree, Anne's accent faltered too many times not to notice. And I'm totally with you on Anna Maxwell Martin, I think she's brilliant! I liked Anne Hathaway for purely selfish reasons--because she looked the way I'd have liked Jane to look, in a romanticized way of my own making.

Melinda--I read that they deliberately dressed Jane in clothes 20 years before the time of the movie (she was in Regency dress versus late Georgian dress) in order to help her readers relate to her more and make her stand out, since her characters wore clothes of that era. I don't quite agree, but at least they had a reason for it.

Camy
Lara said…
I thought it was a fine movie - a little sadder than what I was hoping for.

The character that stood out the most to me was Wesley - he was soooo boring. It made that whole arranged marriage dilemma that much stronger.
Camy Tang said…
No kidding! Poor guy--a potato would have aroused more emotion than he did.

Camy
CherryBlossomMJ said…
Love Anne, like James, overall liked the film. Miss Austen Regrets, was definitely more accurate a mon avis, in my opinion. One particular scene of Jane's parents almost ruined the whole film for me. Just inappropriate and unnecessary!
Pfingston said…
hey there, I just saw this movie too. I like it. I haven't seen "Miss Austen Regrets" although now that you mention it, I'm adding it to my netflix. But you know, I really like Ann Hathaway. And I was SO relieved to NOT see any female in the character of Jane or one of Jane's characters ast like the ex pirate Keira Knightley had Elizabeth Bennitt acting!

Popular Posts

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci

Camy's Big News about a new (old) series!

I joined two Christian suspense multi-author anthologies that will release next year in May and October! The May anthology is Danger in the Shadows , and the October anthology is Don’t Blink . I have taken down Year of the Dog from my blog and will instead finish editing/rewriting it for the May anthology, Danger in the Shadows . I decided to do this because I was only working on Year of the Dog sporadically, and I wanted to set a deadline for myself to finish it sooner. To complicate matters, I’ve been unhappy with my decision to leave Sushi and Suspicions as a stand-alone rather than putting it in a series. And I’ve also been unhappy with putting The Lone Rice Ball as a 5th book in the Sushi series when it’s more romantic suspense than the other books in the series. Now that I’ll be writing Year of the Dog for the anthology, and because I haven’t yet released Sushi and Suspicions and The Lone Rice Ball as individual ebooks, I decided to switch things around. I’m rem

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th

Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And

One-Skein Pyrenees Scarf knitting pattern

I got into using antique patterns when I was making the scarf my hero wears in my Regency romance, The Spinster’s Christmas . I wanted to do another pattern which I think was in use in the Regency period, the Pyrenees Knit Scarf on pages 36-38 of The Lady's Assistant for Executing Useful and Fancy Designs in Knitting, Netting, and Crochet Work, volume 1, by Jane Gaugain, published in 1840. She is thought to be the first person to use knitting abbreviations, at least in a published book, although they are not the same abbreviations used today (our modern abbreviations were standardized by Weldon’s Practical Needlework in 1906). Since the book is out of copyright, you can download a free PDF copy of the book at Archive.org. I found this to be a fascinating look at knitting around the time of Jane Austen’s later years. Although the book was published in 1840, many of the patterns were in use and passed down by word of mouth many years before that, so it’s possible these are

Release day! Christian Historical Romance Anthology!

Today is release day for my Christian Historical Romance anthology, Once Upon a Courtship ! Get it today for only 99 cents! Price goes up next week! https://bit.ly/lissa-spy

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures

French trellis scarf

Captain's Log, Stardate 12.19.2008 Just to warn you, I might have several knitting blog posts this month since I’m finishing gifts. I just completed a beautiful scarf from Victorian Lace Today in a taupe heather color wool laceweight yarn. I’m very proud of this scarf because it’s the first time I knitted with beads. I used these “crystal honey” color beads that I added to the florettes on the two end borders and in lines along the sides of the scarf. (If you’re on Ravelry, more info on the yarn, needles, etc. is here .) This is what it looked like while I was still knitting it. And this is the finished product. These are low resolution pictures. If you want to see higher resolution pics, you can visit this album in my Photobucket.com account .

The Constant Gardener

Captain's Log, Stardate 06.09.2006 Blog book giveaway: My Monday book giveaway is THE SECRET LIFE OF BECKY MILLER by Sharon Hinck . My Thursday book giveaway is A STITCH IN TIME by Allison Bottke . You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for THE SECRET LIFE OF BECKY MILLER and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned. Gorgeous Ralph Fiennes: Just saw the movie The Constant Gardener via Netflix (looooooove Netflix!). First off, I totally didn’t get the title. So he’s a gardener. What did that have to do with the storyline? Probably some esoteric, philosophical metaphor that flew right over my head. Second, I got a bad case of motion sickness while watching this movie. Did they really need all that live motion camera action? I missed the last quarter of the movie because I kept my eyes closed. It wasn't even very much action at all. It was more of an artsy directorial choice

Blogging with beauty when you're loud and tactless

Captain’s Log, Stardate 07.25.2006 I'm gone to RWA National conference : This might be my last post for the rest of the week, depending on if I can get internet access at my hotel. Blog book giveaway: My Thursday book giveaway is WEB OF LIES by Brandilyn Collins . My Monday book giveaway is BE MY NEAT-HEART by Judy Baer . You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. I won’t be drawing a winner this Thursday, but on Monday, July 31st, I'll draw the winner for BE MY NEAT-HEART and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Blame Mary: My beautiful friend Mary DeMuth is hosting a “Carnival of Beauty” on Wednesday. I’m not really sure what that means, but she asked me to join so I said “Cool!” The theme is “The Beauty of Blogging.” Now blogging I could talk about all day! Blogging is beautiful for people like me who can’t shut up. Maybe it’s ego-centric. I mean, blogging is uncensored, unedited writing/ranting/complaining/crowin