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Friday, October 23, 2009
Local mystery writer revives Jane Austen
Hard as it is to crack the very tough book business and make it as a published novelist, there are several Dayton-area writers who have pulled it off. Some, such as the literary writer Katrina Kittle and mystery writer Sharon Short, are pretty well known in town and have gotten a good amount of press.
One you may know not know quite so well is Carrie Bebris, who is pretty far along a witty series of period novels she calls the “Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mysteries.”
Yes, Jane Austen fans, that Mr. Darcy. Bebris has reimagined the characters created in “Pride and Prejudice” and has recast them as amateur sleuths who pursue villains admist the moors and mansions of 19th-century Britain.
Mysteries always need a twist, and about five years ago when she was trying to come up with one, “I started with what I like to read. Jane Austen has always been my favorite author, and I wondered what kind of premise I could build off her, like a murder at a Jane Austen convention…
“And then I was rereading ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ and I realized Elizabeth predicted a lot of what happens in the action, and Darcy was a man of society who had the connections and resources to move about in the world and make things happen. So imagine what they could accomplish after their marriage! They could become involved in intrigue, they could meet other Jane Austen characters…”
And indeed, they have. First came 2004’s “Pride and Prescience,” and from there she’s had the intrepid, fast-talking, incurably romantic pair moving through mysteries that have spun off each of Austen’s books.
Bebris, 40, lives in Washington Twp. with her husband, Oakwood Public Safety Director Alexander Bebris, and their two kids. They moved here from Wisconsin about three years for his job, and Bebris now writes full-time, with the Darcy mysteries — published by Tor/Forge — front and center.
With an English-lit degree from Marquette, and once worked as an editor for TSR, the company that made the “Dungeons and Dragons” games. She started writing fantasy novels, tired of doing battle scenes and decided mysteries were more her style.
The fifth Darcy novel, “The Intrigue at Highbury,” just came out, and she’s enjoying the sales reports from the new paperback editions of her third and fourth in the series. Her Web site, www.carriebebris.com, has the details. The books are big in Italy, which amuses her, and she’s brainstorming the next one, which will be based upon Austen’s “Persuasion,” Bebris’ favorite.
She realizes, happily, that she’s riding a recent wave in renewed Austen interest, visible on movie screens and in other novels, such as the recent zombie knock-off that got some buzz.
“Every time I read her, I find something new,” Bebris says. “There’s a gentility and decorum in those books that’s been lost in our society. We live in a society where people go on reality TV and bare their souls for attention; I think a lot of us would rather live in a world where people held back some of themselves, out of propriety, like Mr. Darcy.
“She’s very contemporary in terms of talking about things that still matter. Plus, she’s very funny.”
Austen left six novels, of which “Persuasion” was the last, but Bebris expects to mix, match and combine characters from them all for future plots. “I don’t think we’ve quite seen the last of Mr. Wickham, do you?” she says with a laugh, referring to the scoundrelly soldier who keeps after Elizabeth Bennett and her younger sisters until Mr. Darcy saves the day, and her heart.
“As long as people continue being interested, I’ll keep writing them,” she says. “There are plenty more to come.”
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Is Dayton’s Xmas tree growing in your yard?
Hey, that pine you’ve been thinking mars the view in your yard? Well, have a look at this news release that just crossed our desk:
Chop! Chop!
Dayton Holiday Festival
Last Chance to Nominate a Perfect Tree to Adorn Courthouse Square
Dayton, October 22, 2009 - The Dayton Holiday Festival is making one final call for nominations for the perfect tree to stand tall on Courthouse Square this holiday season. The selected tree will be decorated with more than 50,000 lights and be unveiled at the Grande Illumination ceremony on Friday, November 27. Think you have the perfect tree? Here are some guidelines to keep in mind:
— The ideal tree is approximately 45-60 feet tall and 25 feet wide.
— Colorado Green Spruce or Blue Spruce trees are preferred, but other types of evergreens will be considered if they are truly grand and stately.
— Tree must be located on your property in the front or side yard.
If you believe you have the perfect tree, you can nominate it by calling Becky at the Downtown Dayton Partnership at (937) 224-1518, ext. 227. The winning tree will be selected by a search crew at the end of October, and the owners will have the opportunity to be part of the official tree lighting ceremony.
The 2009 Dayton Holiday Festival is sponsored by the Downtown Dayton Partnership, the City of Dayton, Montgomery County, and the Virginia W. Kettering Dayton Holiday Festival Fund. The Grande Illumination is sponsored by WDTN-TV 2. For more information about Dayton Holiday Festival activities, call (937) 224-1518 or visit www.daytonholidayfestival.org.
