Vagabond/James Morrison Tour 2009 at Hammersmith Apollo

Wow! OK, I know I am a teeny bit biased, but Vagabond were just awesome last night at Hammersmith Apollo, and got the audience shouting and cheering for more. Alex Vargas, the lead singer, has an incredible stage presence and a wonderful voice; I just wished we could have listened to more of him. The [...]

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Alleyways, Sally Lunn’s and Public Breakfasts in Bath

One of the things I love about Bath is the way you can imagine yourself transported back in time very easily. There are lots of narrow alleyways, some with shops, and others without, where you can almost see a tailcoat disappear round a corner or hear the rustle of silk gowns sweeping over the cobbles. [...]

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Competition Winner, a Mood Board, and an Extract from Lydia Bennet’s Story

The winner of the competition is Milka from Finland! Congratulations! I have e-mailed you, so if you can send me details of where to send your books they will be posted soon.
I thought you might like to see one of the mood boards I created when I was writing Lydia Bennet’s Story. I always start [...]

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Vagabond/James Morrison Tour 2009 and Edward Ferrars

How on earth can she be linking these two, I hear you ask? My son Sam Odiwe is UK Vagabond’s bass player – they are currently on tour with James Morrison which is very exciting. Last night I went to see them play a special showcase in London. It was lovely to see them all [...]

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Lydia meets the Colonel’s true love!

Lydia Bennet’s Online Diary.
At this time of the year I always read Pride and Prejudice and I thought it would be fun to see what Lydia is thinking about all the goings on at Longbourn. Lydia’s online diary starts just before Mr Bingley arrives and finishes where my novel, Lydia Bennet’s Story, begins.
Saturday, March 13th, [...]

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Sense and Sensibility in Chapter One at Norland Park

Jane Austen does not give us physical descriptions of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood at the beginning of Sense and Sensibility. We get a picture of the sisters by the descriptions of their behaviour and the way in which they deal with their father’s death cleverly showing the ’sense’ of Elinor and the ’sensibility’ [...]

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Mother’s Day

It’s Mothering Sunday here in the UK tomorrow. I’ve been thinking not only about my mother, and both my lovely step-mother and mother-in-law, but also of the children who will not have their mother with them tomorrow. My heart goes out to Natasha Richardson’s boys who must be devastated by the loss of their mother. [...]

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Austen Effusions gets a new look and a Competition!

I’m very excited to tell you that I have a new web site, same address and name, Austen Effusions, but with a totally new look. The site has updates about my books, Effusions of Fancy, Lydia Bennet’s Story and Willoughby’s Return, including extracts, and a page about my interest in Jane Austen’s world, which shows [...]

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Harriet arrives and Mr Wickham promises Lydia a Dance!

Lydia Bennet’s Online Diary.
At this time of the year I always read Pride and Prejudice and I thought it would be fun to see what Lydia is thinking about all the goings on at Longbourn. Lydia’s online diary starts just before Mr Bingley arrives and finishes where my novel, Lydia Bennet’s Story, begins.
I set off [...]

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Sense and Sensibility, 2008

I watched the lovely BBC adaptation of Sense and Sensibility yesterday for the umpteenth time. I really love this version quite as much as the Emma Thompson/Ang Lee version. Colonel Brandon played by David Morrissey, gets it just right, I think, and I like the way that Andrew Davies, the writer of the screenplay, shows [...]

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