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CHRISTINA: I became a fan of Austenesque author Shannon Winslow, I think, in 2011 when she first wrote The Darcy's of Pemberley. Soon after, I was delighted to meet her at a garden tea party hosted by Laurel Ann Nattress, and the rest is history. I adore her writing style and how she approaches Austen’s characters and their possible parallel stories.
When did you first think you had a book to write and how did you start?
SHANNON: Unlike a lot of authors, I didn’t “always know” I wanted to be a writer. In fact, I was as surprised as anyone that I should turn out to be a novelist! Although I’d dabbled in other creative mediums (music, art), I’d never given any serious thought to writing. But then I discovered Pride and Prejudice ’95, and through it, Jane Austen. They became my passion and inspiration. At the time, I didn’t know Jane Austen fan fiction existed. So, I wrote my first novel, The Darcys of Pemberley, just to satisfy myself, to have a reason to spend more time with those characters and in their world. In the process, I discovered another passion—a passion for writing that has changed my life. Jane Austen is bigger than ever now!
CHRISTINA: You are in a good company of fans and writers as many discovered Austen through the 1995 series of Pride and Prejudice.
Would you classify what you write as Jane Austen Fan Fiction (JAFF) or something else?
SHANNON: I am a fan of Jane Austen myself, and I’m writing primarily fiction for her fans, so it fits. But I take a little different approach from most other JAFF writers. First, since I’m just sappy enough to believe there’s only one true story for the characters I’ve grown to love (and Jane Austen wrote it), I amuse myself with adding onto rather than varying from canon—sequels, prequel material, supplements, minor character’s stories, etcetera. My books agree with the original novels and with each other. Also, I like all of Jane Austen’s novels, so I don’t limit myself to only Pride and Prejudice stories.
CHRISTINA: Oh yes, that is what we tried to do with my anthologies, Rational Creatures and Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen's Rakes & Gentlemen Rogues (create parallel stories or backstories to what Austen wrote). It's a great exercise to write something fresh while staying as true as possible to the source work. Well done, you.
Which of your own novels is your favorite? I know which is mine.
SHANNON: That’s a bit like asking somebody which is their favorite child. I love them all equally, of course! But I will put in a special word for The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen. That’s the book I’m proudest of, and it’s certainly the most complex. Yet it’s often overlooked. As the title implies, it’s tied to Persuasion, but Jane Austen herself is the heroine. It theorizes that she wrote her last and most poignant novel as a public homage to her very private romance with the man who was the one true love of her life. It’s the story behind the story. My goal was to give Jane Austen the same kind of romance and (dare I say it?) happy ending she so carefully crafted for all her heroines—a perfectly plausible alternative for those of us who prefer a believable fiction to the harsh realities of real life.
CHRISTINA: Yes! I adore that one. You made me weep. I even reviewed it in 2014.
What comes first for you: plot or characters?
SHANNON: Plot? What’s plot? Just joking, but I’m the world’s worst plotter. I fall solidly into the other camp: the fly-by-the seat-of-your-pants writers. I usually have only a starting point and a general idea where I want to end up, and then I just write what I see, confident that it will all work out somehow in the end, which it always has so far! So, I guess the answer to your question is character comes first. For me, in most cases, that means one or more of Jane Austen’s characters. Despite all she tells us about them, there’s so much more she doesn’t, so much scope left for the imagination.
That’s where I come in. I often feel, when the writing is going well, that I’m merely the scribe, like I’m discovering what happened instead of inventing it. And sometimes the story will take on a life of its own. That’s what happened with Return to Longbourn. One of the minor characters decided he was leading man material and went charging off in a direction I hadn’t expected at all. I just had to hold on and go with it! It was a lot of fun and a better book for it in the end.
CHRISTINA: Ha! I love it. Hold on and go with it.
Have you ever gone on an author pilgrimage or research trip? Where and what was the most memorable moment?
SHANNON: I don’t know if it counts as a “pilgrimage” exactly, but I very cunningly arranged a side trip to Bath when I was writing a book partially set in that location: For Myself Alone. My husband was going to be in Venice, Italy, on a business trip and had invited me to join him there. Yes, please! I quickly discovered, though, that there weren’t any direct flights from Seattle to Venice. So, since I was going to have to change planes in London anyway, I decided to stay a couple of nights so that I could fit in a day trip to Bath. It turned into an adventure in the perils of public transportation, and I was actually in Bath a maddeningly short time, but I was still very glad I’d done it. I have been to the Pump Room, sampled the healing waters, seen the Pultney Street Bridge, the Circus, and the Royal Crescent. I have traveled the Gravel Walk—although I had to do it at an all-out run, not a walk, in order to catch my bus!
That was certainly memorable. I do hope to get back to England at least once more for the full Jane Austen tour, including another more leisurely visit to Bath.
CHRISTINA: I lerve Bath. It's one of my favorite cities in the world. If I could afford it, I would move there and eat Sally Lunn's buns every day.
What is your current project or latest release?
SHANNON: The last few years, I’ve been working on a series of hero point-of-view novels: Fitzwilliam Darcy in His Own Words, Colonel Brandon…, and most recently, Mr. Knightley in His Own Words. They’re much more than simple retellings of the original books from a different person’s perspective. Although that’s part of it, I add a ton of new material also—filling in chapters from earlier in our hero’s life and covering the sometimes surprising things he’s up to when he’s absent from the page of the original novel. That kind of thing. Captain Wentworth is my current subject.
But in the meantime, I’ll have a fun little P&P story called It’s a Wonderful Life, Mr. Darcy coming out in October or November. At sixty-five pages, it’s either a very long short story or a short novella, with a Christmas theme. I hope readers will enjoy it.
CHRISTINA: I am all anticipation.
If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?
SHANNON: Writing is my second vocation. I had a very sensible career as a dental hygienist before—something I don’t regret at all. But it was time to move on. I’m delighted and grateful to have something new, interesting, and creative to do at this stage of my life. And to know that the things I write bring pleasure to others… Well, it’s been a real gift.
CHRISTINA: I love that you have come to writing too. Thank you. I appreciate your time to answer all my questions, and I am very much looking forward to your holiday novella and Captain Wentworth's words.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shannon Winslow says she was minding her own business - raising two sons and pursuing a very sensible career - when she was seduced by the writing bug a dozen years ago. Stirred by the novels of Jane Austen, she set out to produce more stories in the same vein, beginning with a sequel to her favorite, Pride and Prejudice. The Darcys of Pemberley (published in August 2011) quickly became a bestseller, praised for being true to the original's characters and style. Several more Austen-inspired novels have followed. "Winslow is one of the few authors who can channel Austen's style of prose so well that I could not tell the two apart if I tried," reports one reviewer. A lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest, Ms. Winslow resides with her husband in the log home they built in the countryside south of Seattle, where she writes and paints in her studio facing Mt. Rainier. You can connect with Shannon on social media and her website.
Thanks so much for the interview, Christina - for the chance to share a bit about my story (and my stories!). I enjoyed doing it! - Shannon