I had hoped to have a cover reveal for you by now, but these things always take longer than one thinks they will. (Projected publication date for Captain Wentworth in His Own Words is now September.) So I’m going a different direction today, contemplating some of the important men in my life!

First, to keep me out of trouble, I’d better acknowledge my darling husband and my two grown sons. I love them dearly, but unfortunately I can’t reasonably describe any of the three as an “Austen Man,” in the sense of loving Austen. They are supportive and pleased with my modest success as a writer of Austen fiction, but I’m sure they cannot begin to understand the appeal. (selfie of the whole gang a few years ago – husband, sons, self, daughters-in-law, and 3 of our now 4 grandkids).

Next, I’d like to give a shoutout to a fine list of men who were created by the mind of Austen herself: Mr. Darcy, Mr. Knightley, Colonel Brandon, Henry Tilney, and all the rest. Since my personal favorite Austen hero tends to be the one with whom I’ve been spending the most time, that would be Captain Wentworth at the moment. As I’ve been writing Captain Wentworth in His Own Words, I’ve come to understand that he is a very flawed hero (and why). But he redeems himself with possibly the most satisfying character arc of any of them, growing and becoming enlightened over the course of the book! So it’s been a real pleasure to spend the past year getting to know him better!

Captain Frederick Wentworth… was at that time a remarkably fine young man, with a great deal of intelligence, spirit, and brilliancy... (Persuasion, chapter 4)

As for real-life guys who understand and appreciate Jane Austen, they are a small but excellent set of men! Maybe some of you are even lucky enough to have married one. As you now know, I did not. But I have been lucky enough to meet a few. And there are two such paragons that I have spent quite a bit of time with recently, earning them both a mention here.

Collins Hemingway is one such man. This is a really smart guy with multiple degrees, including a master’s in English Literature, and several published works – both fiction and non-fiction. I first met him in 2016, when he was in the midst of writing/publishing his trilogy: The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen. (Read my two interviews with him here and here.) Lately, though, I’ve been spending time with him in the sense of reading his more recently published non-fiction book: Jane Austen and the Creation of Modern Fiction: Six Novels in “a Style Entirely New.”

Jane Austen’s creative process has been largely unexamined. This book explores her development as a writer: what she adapted from tradition for her needs; what she learned novel to novel; how she used that learning in future works; and how her ultimate mastery of fiction changed the course of English literature. Jane Austen overcame the limitations of early fiction by pivoting from superficial adventures to the psychological studies that have defined the novel since… This evaluation of Austen’s creative process brings into focus the strengths and weaknesses of her six novels. Each is examined in its use of major fictional techniques… The result is a revealing analysis of how world-class fiction is built from the ground up.

I usually struggle trying to read scholarly works (which this serious criticism definitely is), but I found this one surprisingly accessible. I certainly learned a lot about Austen’s work, her process, and her progress through her writing career. Although I have loved her novels for years (so much so that they inspired my second career as an author), my appreciation for them and for Austen herself only increased by understanding more about the trails she blazed, her ingenious writing innovations, and the different distinctions of each novel. So thank you, Collins, for opening my eyes and expanding my horizons!

Last, but certainly not least, I want to acknowledge Jack Caldwell as a true Austen man as well as an Austenesque author. His many JAFF titles include Mr. Darcy Came to Dinner and his Jane Austen Fighting Men series. I have worked with Jack for a long time over at the Austen Variations blog (where he is the sole male author of the group, btw). But during the last year, I’ve spent quite a bit of time haunting his email in-box. That’s because he very generously consented to serve as my unofficial technical advisor for all the Regency era sailing bits in Captain Wentworth in His Own Words.

Readers told me they wanted to hear about Wentworth’s adventures at sea. The problems was that even after a fair amount of research, I was still woefully unequipped to write knowledgeably and convincingly about that aspect of his past, which could not reasonably be omitted. That’s when Jack, who is very well versed on the subject himself, came to my rescue. He patiently answered my many questions, offered to read the finished manuscript for accuracy, and even granting me permission to adapt two of his own short stories to include in the book!

In short, he went above and beyond the call of duty, and I truly don’t know what I would have done without his help and contributions to the project. THANK YOU, JACK!

Aren’t Austen men wonderful? Do you know one personally? Have you had the good fortune to marry one? Or perhaps, by your influence, you’ve turned your non-Austen-appreciator husband/son/friend into a real Austen man. Share your story!