Here’s a few of the questions I’ve gotten from readers. Love it! Keep asking questions.

Q: Do you do book giveaways of your novels?

Why yes! Sometimes I do, particularly before the next new release. If you’re a romance reader, I do most of those giveaways at AlwaysAusten.com. If you go over there and search for giveaways, you should find the current selection. And as always, you can join my mailing list and you’ll get the notice when the next book is ready or when I’m doing a giveaway. (The mailing list is ONLY for book purposes, no spam.)

Q: How do I finish my own novel? (from those of you who also write!)
I wrote my novels during NaNoWriMo, which has definitely influenced my philosophy.

I have 2 pieces of advice.
1. Write as fast as you can.
2. DO NOT tell anybody the plot of your story until you are done!
You can tell your friends that you are writing a story, but don’t tell them anything else! Talking about the end of your story gives you the same satisfaction as having someone read the end of your story. And then you have no motivation to finish! Your writerly soul is like a tea kettle on the stove. If you relieve the pressure by telling the whole story to your best friend, then your tea kettle will never boil that story out of you. There have been studies on motivation and discipline that show if you tell people too much about your goal before you achieve it – you SERIOUSLY loose the motivation to finish. Hang onto your silence until you can give them your *finished* draft to read!

Rise and Fall of Jane Questions (A Modern, Paranormal retelling of Jane Eyre)

Q: Where did the title come from?

A. I chose it partly for the epic sound of it, but mainly for this quote from Shakespeare: “Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.” By the world’s standards, Jane’s trajectory goes wildly up and then plunges down, but not for any wrong on her part. She falls, but guiltlessly, which is part of the heart-wrenching appeal of this story.

Q. Why rewrite Jane Eyre at all?

A. Some people love Jane Eyre and some hate it, but I was bummed when I realized my younger sister had never even read it! She’d never even seen the most recent movie or the BBC miniseries! How sad, right? I love the book, of course, but I recognize it’s not terribly accessible if you don’t love the style or genre. I wanted to write a modern version that would make my sister want to read the original! UPDATE: So far it hasn’t worked, but I can report that she has watched the most recent movie “with Magneto.” Sigh.