Cindy Jones - My Jane Austen Summer - A Season in Mansfield Park

9. Discuss the different approaches to understanding the meaning of Mansfield Park . Is Mansfield Park about slavery and feminism—or the importance of self-knowledge? Where do you stand—with Magda or Nigel? How does the novel Mansfield Park illuminate the story of My Jane Austen Summer ?

10. Compare and contrast Lily Berry and Fanny Price. Where does Fanny get the strength to resist Henry Crawford? Would Lily, as she fears, have fallen prey to Henry Crawford on page 1? Is Fanny Price insipid or heroic? Take a side in the Fanny Wars and defend your position.

11. Does the play Lovers' Vows , about a woman whose baby daddy is a baron, speak to modern readers? How did it speak to Lily?

12. Janeites are a very diverse group of fans, evenly distributed along age lines and listing a wide variety of professions. Discuss the contemporary fame of Jane Austen. What is the reason for her great appeal to readers? Will it last, or, as she once said, will future generations be disappointed?

13. Consider the elements of traditional gothic fiction: castles, foreign settings, attics, death, secrets, overwrought emotion, mystery, tyrannical men, women in distress, grief, and hereditary curses. Which elements are present in My Jane Austen Summer ? How do they enrich setting and story?

14. Have you ever wanted to live in a novel? Lily believed that attending a literary festival might be a way to accomplish her dream. Are there other practical ways to "live in a novel"? What novel would you pick and how would you move in?

15. Consider the ending of My Jane Austen Summer . What will happen to Lily? Willis? Will some characters repeat the same mistakes for the rest of their lives? Did the ending satisfy you?

Many people helped launch my debut novel. I am fortunate that Mike Lankford was my first serious writing teacher. For careful reading and comments, I thank: Kathleen Kent, Bill Swart, and Ellen Moody. Many thanks to my writing groups: Jana Swart, Erin Burdette, Larry Campbell, and Brett Levy. For helpful assistance: Shilpi Gowda, Lori Reisenbichler, Cindy Corpier, Lori Ingram, Deborah Sundermann, Sarah Lunzer, Will Clarke, Amy Bourret, Bob Jones, Leslie Callahan, Philip Theophilus, and Alma Garcia. For the trip: Justus Sundermann.

I am grateful for everything The Writers' League of Texas and The Squaw Valley Community of Writers offer aspiring writers. The online discussions groups, Austen-L and Janeites, were a constant source of information and I have learned much from my association with the Jane Austen Society of North America.

I am grateful to my wise and talented agent, Laura Rennert, for patient guidance, and to my unflappable and enthusiastic editor, Lucia Macro. Esi Sogah and the team at Avon/Harper Collins have been an absolute pleasure to work with. Thanks to my parents, Dan and Sally Sundermann, with extra gratitude to my mother for reading multiple drafts. Love and appreciation to my sons: George, Daniel, William, and Robert. I would not be thanking anyone were it not for my husband, George, who is also my best friend, first reader, and the person who goes to work every day so I can write.

CINDY JONESwas born in Ohio and grew up in small midwestern towns, reading for escape. She is a winner of the Writers' League of Texas Manuscript Contest, and she lives with her family in Dallas.