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Listen to Last Night's Show with Syrie James Discussing Dracula, My Love Now!

For those who missed the live broadcast, you can listen to last night's show with Syrie James discussing her new novel, Dracula, My Love, now. Thanks to everyone who participated in the show and thanks to Syrie for joining us!

Book Club Girl on Air Welcomes Syrie James, Author of Dracula, My Love!

I'm thrilled to announce that Syrie James, author of The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen and The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte will be joining us on Book Club Girl on Air on August 16th at 7 pm ET to discuss her new novel in which she focuses on another literary giant, this time, Dracula. In Dracula, My Love: The Secret Journals of Mina Harker, James approaches Bram Stoker's classic with a breathtaking new perspective—as, for the first time, Mina Harker records the shocking story of her scandalous seduction and sexual rebirth.

Who is this magnetic, fascinating man? And how could one woman fall so completely under his spell?

Mina Harker is torn between two men. Struggling to hang on to the deep, pure love she's found within her marriage to her husband, Jonathan, she is inexorably drawn into a secret, passionate affair with a charismatic but dangerous lover. This haunted and haunting creature has awakened feelings and desires within her that she has never before known, which remake her as a woman.

Although everyone she knows fears him and is pledged to destroy him, Mina sees a side to him that the others cannot: a tender, romantic side; a man who's taken full advantage of his gift of immortality to expand his mind and talents; a man who is deeply in love, and who may not be evil after all. Yet to surrender is surely madness, for to be with him could end her life. It may cost Mina all she holds dear, but to make her choice she must learn everything she can about the remarkable origins and sensuous powers of this man, this exquisite monster, this . . . Dracula!

Browse inside Dracula, My Love, check out the reading group guide and Syrie James' website (which has amazing Dracula photos, maps and more).

I have 10 copies of the Dracula, My Love--which is on sale this Tuesday, July 20th--to give away to the first 10 people who comment that they'd like to participate in the show on Monday, August 16th at 7 pm ET. Set your reminder for the show here and I'll leave you with this fabulous (fan-made!) book trailer for the book.

Guest Post from Syrie James, author of Great Group Read The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte

I'm honored to have today's guest post from Syrie James, author of The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen, and most recently, The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte, which was just named a Great Group Read by the Women's National Book Association in honor of National Reading Group Month. I am fascinated by the Bronte sisters as well, and loved learning about how James researched her novel. I remember reading Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre during my junior year abroad in northern England, and how living there made the novels come even more alive.

I was absolutely thrilled to learn that the Women’s National Book Association has named my novel, The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë, as one of the Great Group Reads of 2009.  What an honor!  I am delighted because I truly believe that Charlotte’s story—which focuses on the life and romance of the famed authoress of “Jane Eyre,” one of the most beloved novels in the English language—will open up lively discussions about a host of timely and provocative topics.

The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë begins with an impassioned proposal from her father's curate, the young, handsome Arthur Bell Nicholls, who has carried a silent torch for Charlotte for more than seven years.  Charlotte greatly disliked Mr. Nicholls when they first met, but her feelings have evolved and changed over the years.  Does she love him?  Does she wish to marry him?  Seeking answers, Charlotte takes up her pen to examine the truth about her life.  In these pages, she exposes her deepest feelings and desires, her triumphs and shattering personal disappointments, her scandalous, secret passion for the man she can never have—the man who was the basis for all the heroes in her books, including Mr. Rochester in “Jane Eyre”—and the intimate details of her compelling relationship with Mr. Nicholls, the man she eventually comes to love with all her heart.

At the same time, we learn of Charlotte’s relationship with her family, the inspiration behind their work, and their evolution as novelists.  Charlotte’s sister Emily penned the masterpiece “Wuthering Heights,” and their sister Anne also wrote two enduring classics.  These three passionate, talented women lived in Victorian England in the wilds of Yorkshire, with an alcoholic brother and a clergyman father who was going blind.  They had not a single connection to the literary world, and lived in an era when women rarely saw their work in print—yet all three became published authors at the same time.  I cannot think of any other family in history who have achieved such an extraordinary feat!

This novel is the result of two years of intense research and writing, which included a visit to the Brontë’s home in Haworth, England (now the Brontë Parsonage Museum), where I was allowed to read original letters and manuscripts penned by the Brontës (quite a thrill!), as well as a tour of the former Roe Head School which Charlotte attended, which still sports the legend of a mysterious attic-dwelling ghost!

I fell in love with Charlotte and Mr. Nicholls while writing this novel, and judging from the wonderful messages that readers have been leaving on my website, it seems that others have, too!  I look forward to hearing from book club groups who have read and discussed The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë. Send me a report and picture of your group, and I will post it on my site!

More book club resources for The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte: reading group guide, Q&A with Syrie James, and news, reviews and interviews. 

 

Women's National Book Association Selects Great Group Reads in Honor of National Reading Group Month

The Women's National Book Association, in their celebration of October is National Reading Group Month has, for the first time, named 9 books Great Group Reads. Books were chosen for their appeal to reading groups and their ability to generate lively discussion. "The committe also made a conscious decision to focus its attention on under-represented gems from small presses and lesser-known mid-list releases from larger houses. Rosalind Reisner puts it this way: “Great Group Reads will help passionate readers find that great mid-list fiction and nonfiction that may be overlooked in the clamor over best-sellers.”

The books on the inaugural Great Group Reads list are:

Appassionata by Eva Hoffman
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë by Syrie James
The House on Fortune Street by Margot Livesey
Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz
While I'm Falling by Laura Moriarty
Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
Cost by Roxana Robinson
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie

Resources for and details on all the titles can be found at the National Reading Group Month website and stay tuned for a guest post from one of the selected authors!