Alexa Adams, author of First Impressions: A Tale of Less Pride and Prejudice has planned something in honor of Halloween. It is a short story, posted in instalments over 8 days, beginning today October 24th and concluding on the 31st. She is my guest today to invite you to join her at her site for some fun. I adore the fall, “that season of peculiar and inexhaustible influence on the mind of taste and tenderness.” My daughter and I, just steady on her feat, stomp through leaf piles and collect acorns, glorying in the mild temperatures. The air is scented with decay, always a surprisingly refreshing aroma, and the neighborhood decked with pumpkins and gourds, witches and ghouls. As we walk along, the spirit of the season overtakes me, and my imagination begins to run into realms most demented.
It should come as no surprise to those who know me that I often inhabit something of an Austen dreamland. I have been currently sharing some of my most farfetched imaginings on my blog under the appellation Mixed Up Matchup, when
really its nothing more than the egotistical ramblings of a hyper imagination. My first book, First Impressions: A Tale of Less Pride & Prejudice, transported Elizabeth and Darcy into a virtual La-la land: a place where everything proceeded smoothly and all impediments to perfect happiness readily fell away. That novel was one of my perfect dreams - the kind from which you never want to wake – but let there be no mistake: I have nightmares, too. And as I drag Austen’s characters along in my happiest fantasies, it is no more than logical that they remain my companions when misery reigns supreme.
Maria has been so kind as to allow me to introduce one of my most morbid imaginings with you today. I do hope she does not come to regret it! I have never before attempted to dwell on such negativity, let alone share it with the world, but as Halloween approached, it seemed a fitting homage to the spirit of the holiday. As I explored in First Impressions how everything might go perfectly right, in Emma & Elton: Something Truly Horrid, I ask how everything might go disastrously wrong. The inspiration for this story came to me as I read David M. Shapard’s masterfully annotated edition of Emma. If she had been alerted sooner to Mr. Elton’s attentions, could it have changed the outcome of his proposal? Please accept this invitation to delve with me into realms most foreboding. The descent begins this very day and will continue until the 31st. Happy Halloween, Janeites!
Alexa Adams
Read the first installment on Alexa's blog and have fun!
