My Top Ten from ‘Jane Austen Made Me Do It’ Contest
After having finally finished reading all 88 entries in the ‘Jane Austen Made Me Do It’ Short Story contest, I found myself wandering around aimlessly. For two weeks I made it my mission to read each and every one of the stories, as I would want fellow contestants to do as well! (As one of our daughters said, ‘Do to others as you want done to yourself.’) I actually kept a running list of each story, and gave each one a 1 to 5 Stars, and a brief description about each (and possibly why I did or did not like it) to help me keep track of all of these delightful stories. This was such a wonderful contest, and it has definitely left me wanting more! We should hold one of these contests every quarter.... some of us can continue their stories, or try new spins!
I am not listing mine, (Mariah’s Match) though I loved it and will plan on writing more for it! It will be posted once the contest is over and the Top Ten have been posted. I must admit that by participating in this exercise, I am once again amazed at how different people truly are. What one person finds wonderful, another may see it as pure drivel. This fascinates me, and it shows me just how unique we are as a species!
I have decided to list my Top Ten favourites and why I enjoyed them so much. I would love to know if some of these authors have a blog, and if they plan on continuing their stories, as I will put myself at the top of the list to read more of their story. I am listing them numerically, but have also posted how many stars I have given each. This just proved that there are many talented writers out there, and this reader hopes to see more from them!
27- By Any Other Name by Hannah Reynolds (Shipboard romance that makes young girl determined to go to college, set in 1900) 4 Stars
34 -The Authoress by Abby McGannon (not sure of the time period, and only briefly mentions JA or her works. Nice story about love and the test of time.) 5 Stars
52 - All Darcy Could Do by M. M. Griffin (great ‘what-if’ P&P – Darcy goes to Mrs Bennet for help. Well written!) 5 Stars
53 - Withersfield Park by Abigail Beaver (Mary Cawley and Mr Woodcomb at a ball – well written and leaves promise of more to come) 4 Stars
60 - Double Wedding at Longbourn by S. M. Klassen (very well-written. Series of letters and journal entries about Jane’s and Elizabeth’s wedding) 4 Stars
77– An Early Apology by Allison Phayre (day after Darcy gave Lizzie the letter, a ‘bump’ in Rosings Park. Very well written, and wonderful vocabulary – great tone) 5 Stars
78– Assuming – A Tale of Persuasion by Hannah Cowan (contemporary redo of Persuasion – very well written and left me wanting more) 4 Stars
80 - Unexpected Joys by Angela Kaye (Kitty meets Major Pearce – fairly well written) 4 Stars
88 -The Tao of Jane by Dinah McPhail (very well written – young lady is Maid of Honor for her sister’s Austen wedding – distils bits of Austen wisdom. Well thought out and does very nice analysis of JA in fiction format) 5 Stars and my personal favourite
I would also like to point out a few Honorable Mentions. These are all 4 Star stories, but there were so many of them, on my sheet. However, these, I feel, deserve to be mentioned as they had me laughing out loud, or I just liked the premise of them.
#29 – Mr. Wickham’s Folly by Faith Williams (Getting Rid of Wickham, who only wants his ‘sister’ Elizabeth)
#30 – SWF Seeks Mr. Darcy by Carissa Shealy (personal ad taken out to find her Mr. Darcy – amusing scene with a Sir Darcy Blakeney ‘Sink Me’)
#31 – Attempting Elizabeth by Jessica Melendez (time travelling into P&P and trying to get into Elizabeth’s character – leaves off for a continuation)
#35 – Flirting with Trouble by Tess Quinn (Georgiana decides to flirt with Bingley, in order to improve her skills – well-written, though a few errors.)
#36 – The Girls of Netherfield Park by Marybeth Ihle (diary of young orphan during WWII and how JA novels helped her get through tough times)
#45 – The Stars are Fire by Lindsey Jane (blog about Radcliffe and his ship Udolpho – with Persuasion elements)
Kudos for reading every entry in the contest -- I did, too! It was quite the undertaking, but I really enjoyed it... and many of your favorites were my favorites, too. "The Girls Of Netherfield Park" was one of my top choices -- very well-written and great!
ReplyDeleteWas excited to see the announcement of the Top 10 and can't wait to hear who the winner is... selfishly, my fingers are crossed for yours truly, but there were so many wonderful submissions -- the anthology will benefit from the inclusion of any of these wonderful stories!
I really enjoyed your 'Spinning White Hair Gold.' Will keep my fingers crossed for you! It would be fun to have a book made of our favorites! And I think we should do this more than once! Truly a great exercise and a wonderful way to see so many story lines develop!
ReplyDeleteCheers!