“A hilarious send-up of vampire novels, the Austen industry, and one immortal author’s complete inability to find a publisher—Jane would have loved it!”—Stephanie Barron, author of the Jane Austen mysteries
Two hundred years after her death, Jane Austen is still surrounded by the literature she loves—but now it’s because she’s the owner of Flyleaf Books in a sleepy college town in Upstate New York. Every day she watches her novels fly off the shelves—along with dozens of unauthorized sequels, spin-offs, and adaptations. Jane may be undead, but her books have taken on a life of their own.
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JBB is #9!
How thrilled was I to open the latest Entertainment Weekly and see that Jane Bites Back is #9 on their list of bestselling horror novels? Well, so excited I just about peed, that’s how excited. I love that I’m on a list with Peter Straub. Ghost Story is one of my favorite novels, and it’s amazing to be included on a list with someone whose work I admire so much.
AustenBlog Loves JBB!
I am really pleased (and not a little relieved, I don’t mind telling you) that the delightfully wicked ladies of AustenBlog are very fond of JBB.
You can read the review here.
Hear! Hear!: Jane Bites Back is an Audio Book
For those of you who enjoy reading with your ears, I have a delightful announcement.
Jane Bites Back is now available as an unabridged, downloadable (don’t you love new words?) audio book exclusively from audible.com. The book is narrated by Katherine Kellgren, who also did the narration for my friend Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
So hop on over to audible.com and take a listen.
Catch Mike on KWMR on Tuesday, February 09 at 11:00 AM PDT
Mike will be appearing on KWMR’s “Lifequest” on Tuesday morning. The show runs from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM, and Mike will be talking about Jane Bites Back, his writing career, and what’s up next for everybody’s favorite literary vampire.
Those of you in Northern California can tune in to KWMR at 90.5 FM in the Pt. Reyes area and 89.9 FM in Bolinas.
The rest of you can listen online by going here: http://kwmr.org/listen_kwmr.html
A Fun Review from Booking Mama
How can you not love a review that starts off, “In the past year, I have read quite a few Jane Austen spin-offs, but none quite as original as Jane Bites Back by Michael Thomas Ford.”?
Read the rest of the review here.
The Boston Globe loves Jane!
Michael Thomas Ford’s campy tale with Jane Austen as a vampire, “Jane Bites Back,’’ goes way over the top. The narrator is the cool, wittily acerbic observer Elizabeth Jane Fairfax, a bookstore owner in upstate New York, and the latest identity of the undead, 233-year-old Austen.
It opens with a hilarious book signing at the store. Author Melodie Gladstone, so “birdlike’’ that she “might at any moment collapse under the weight of her own head,’’ humps her self-help book, “Waiting for Mr. Darcy.’’ In it she urges women to wait for their perfect mate. When her audience, many of them dressed Elizabethan style, has departed, Melodie dishes with Elizabeth: “It’s just my piece of the Austen pie. Everyone’s now in on it.’’ Her publisher, she says, has a massage book coming out, “Sense and Sensuality.’’ Elizabeth is horrified and quite literally makes a meal of her, bitter that for centuries she’s been collecting rejection letters for an unpublished manuscript, “Constance.’’
Crime fiction readers may need to skip past the occasional ravished bits, like a vigorously rendered flashback to when Jane was “turned.’’ (“ ‘They all think of you as a quiet afternoon,’ he said. ‘But inside you rage with passion, don’t you?’ ’’) The villain from the past who got to Jane shows up and threatens to turn Elizabeth’s young assistant named (what else?) Lucy, and a murderous rival appears to spoil Jane’s long-awaited good fortune.
This is a genre-busting and only occasionally bodice ripping romp that keeps us from taking crime too seriously.
JBB in the press.
There’s a new interview with Mike up on Austenprose. Find out how he came up with the plot for JBB, whether he worried about the response from Janeites, and how he got into Jane’s head.
More happy readers!
“A confection of a novel.”
–The Advocate
“Such a fun read. I especially love to imagine Austen duking it out with fellow literary blood-suckers, both literal and figurative.”
– BookBitch.com
“I must admit I started this story prepared to dislike it (too many Jane related novels), and then found I was enjoying it! It has a little bit of something for everyone. You will enjoy it, too.”
– Romance Reviews Today
Mike is a guest blogger at The Huffington Post!
Mike was asked to write about what it’s like turning a beloved literary figure into an undead bookseller.
Read his piece here.
More great reviews for JBB!
“A witty and entertaining read with just the right amount of bite.”
– Night Owl Reviews (Reviewer Top Pick)
“As a stereotypical Pride and Prejudice fan, I was initially a bit cautious; I had expected a trite, shallow story that obviously played off Austen’s historical novels. Fortunately, what I got was a well-cultivated tale with great character development that holds its own against the real-life history of its main character, Jane Austen.”
– Best Fantasy Stories
“Ford gives us an authentic, sympathetic and witty Jane Austen as a modern-day vampire complete with angst and emotion as she faces the challenges of a rediscovered career and love. An inventive mashup plot coupled with creative storytelling and amusing dialogue make this story a delightful read.”
— Romantic Times (4 out of 5 stars)
“Read with tongue-in-cheek and a full glass of suspended disbelief, you will chortle and guffaw until the last bite. This Janeite was truly ‘glamoured.’”
— Austenprose (5 out of 5 Regency Stars)
The reviews are in!
“Fang-tastic …Ford’s Jane is a very fun and funny heroine to root for as she endures the indignities of publishing and bookselling, fends off danger and (perhaps) finds love. Her hilarious smack downs with Violet hint of more madness to come in this first of a series.”
—Publishers Weekly
“In this clever paranormal tale…Ford has created warm, witty characters that will appeal to both Janeites and vampire fanciers. Literary humor and intriguing snippets from Jane’s book are the icing on the cake. Two more books are promised in this series, so readers who fall under Jane’s spell will be eagerly awaiting her next adventure.”
—Library Journal
New Events
Thanks to everyone who has come out to the readings! It’s been great to have such enthusiastic audiences, and I appreciate you taking the time to say hi.
Keep checking back for new events.
“It’s impossible not to love Ford’s sharp-witted, sharp-fanged Jane Austen (and I’m not just saying that because she spares my life in Chapter Six).” —Seth Grahame-Smith, author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
