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Welcome Guest Goddess Sherri Browning Erwin!

Apr 1st 2010Your Friendly Goddesses
Your Friendly GoddessesGuest Goddesses & On Writing!

sherrilow-res2012Please give a warm Mt. Oly welcome to Sherri Browning Erwin!

A graduate of Mount Holyoke College, Sherri lives in Western Massachusetts with her nearly-perfect husband, and their charming actor son, amazing violinist daughter, a crafty corgi(Pembroke Welsh), and a very special pug.

 

pride-prejudice-zombiesPride and Prejudice and Zombies started the mash-up craze. I have to give credit to Seth Grahame-Smith and his Quirk Books editor. What is a mash-up? With Jane Slayre coming out in a few short weeks (April 13th), it’s a question I’ve been asked quite a bit. Most common of late, the mash-up is taking the form of adding a new supernatural fantasy element to a tried and true classic.

In Seth’s big smash debut mash, he added zombies to Pride and Prejudice, having Darcy and Elizabeth fight their attraction as they fought off zombies in the English countryside. Yes, I didn’t like the idea at first, either. Mess with my favorite book? By adding zombies!? Are you kidding me? But it was an attention-grabbing concept. Zombies don’t really belong in ballrooms. They have appalling manners. They lose parts. They smell. And all they want to do is eat your brains!

Suddenly, frat boys were reading Pride and Prejudice (And Zombies- subtitled The Classic Regency Romance Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem). And then, everyone started reading it. And fine, I eventually stopped rolling my eyes and picked it up, too. And it was funny! Really funny. I found my sense of humor and realized that adding ultraviolent zombie mayhem took nothing away from my beloved classic. Because I can still read the original. In fact, I did. Right after I finished Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

9781439191187_jpg_w180h275And then, I was joking around at The Whine Sisters blog about the Twilight craze and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and said, “Oh please? What next? Jane Slayre? With a vampire-killing Jane Eyre?” Har har. Fellow Whine Sister Kathleen Givens called me immediately. She told me to delete that blog entry, take it down fast, and just write it. Write the book! But, I was just kidding around, I explained. She told me I would be crazy to leave that out there for someone else to write. And when Julia London joined in, I realized that they were right and I should give it a shot.

And now here we are, with a new version of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte’s beloved classic, called Jane Slayre (The Literary Classic with a Blood-Sucking Twist), in which Jane, our plucky demon-slaying heroine, starts as a courageous orphan who spurns the detestable vampyre kin who raised her, and sets out on the advice of her ghostly uncle to hone her skills as the fearless slayer she’s meant to be. There are vampires, zombies, yes, even a few werewolves. And Mr. Rochester? “Reader, I buried him.” But you’ll have to read it to find out more on that.

FracturedFairyTalesActually, though, if you ask me, mash-ups have been around a lot longer than Seth Grahame-Smith. When I was a kid, I used to love the cartoon, Rocky and Bullwinkle. And my favorite part of the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show was always Fractured Fairy Tales. The Fractured Fairy Tales were the classic tales retold in a funny, irreverent, sometimes bizarre way. To me, it’s only surprising that it took so long for someone to take the concept to classic literature. And, I expect we won’t be seeing the end of the trend for quite some time. So many classics, so many creative writers with new untried twists.

Tell me, have you ever resisted a book or movie only to give in and love it?  How do you feel about mash ups; fun, sacriledge, weird? Sherri has very generously offered a $25 gift card to BN, Borders or Amazon, the winner’s choice, to one lucky commentor!

71 Comments »

71 Responses to “Welcome Guest Goddess Sherri Browning Erwin!”

  1. LoriHandeland on 01 Apr 2010 at 6:13 am #

    Welcome, Sherri!!!! I can’t wait to get my hands on this book. It looks incredibly clever.

    I resisted seeing the Twilight movie because I didn’t care for the book, but ended up loving it and being a huge fan of the franchise.

    I think mash ups are fun if they’re done right. There are quite a few of them coming out. I’ve only read P&P and Zombies so far, but I’m sure I’ll find more.

  2. Claudia Dain on 01 Apr 2010 at 6:20 am #

    Welcome, Sherri!!

    First, I LOVED Fractured Fairy Tales, so much in fact that I got the DVD set of them for my birthday recently. They are still clever, funny, and fresh. And fractured. Very, very fractured.

    Second, a huge thanks to Kathleen and Julia for strong-arming you into recognizing that you had a gold mine of an idea in Jane Slayer. Friends. Sigh.

    Third, Jane Slayer sounds wonderful. I haven’t read a mash-up yet, so yours will be my first. I can’t wait!

    “Reader, I buried him.” I love it!

  3. Sherri Erwin on 01 Apr 2010 at 6:30 am #

    Thanks for the warm welcome Lori and Claudia! Yes, I am ever grateful to my friends. Lori, your upcoming Shakespeare Undead looks great, too. Can’t wait. :)

  4. Sabrina Jeffries on 01 Apr 2010 at 7:24 am #

    Welcome, Sherri! We’re delighted to have you.

    I haven’t read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, mostly because I hate zombies (I didn’t see Night of the Living Dead either). I loved the Omega Man (an early version of Legend) and 28 Days Later, but I think that was because of the apocalyptic nature of them. I like apocalyptic movies.

    But I keep telling myself I’m going to read P&P&Z because I do like mash-ups. To me, that’s kind of what the contemporary versions of classics are, like Bride and Prejudice (P&P Bollywood), Clueless (contemporary Emma), and 10 Things I Hate About You (contemporary Taming of the Shrew). That’s a mash-up in a way, wouldn’t you say?

    So yes, I want to try them. Just haven’t had the chance. But since Jane Eyre is a fave, and I love the concept, I’ll just have to start with yours!

  5. Amanda on 01 Apr 2010 at 7:26 am #

    While I love Twilight, Kim Harrison novels featuring main character Rachel Morgan, and the sci-fi fantasy thing, I never thought I would like the classics with zombies. However, after hearing how popular they are from my local library director and reading the blog, I am now willing to give them a try. Right after I get the other big novels that are currently on the top of my list.

  6. Sherri Erwin on 01 Apr 2010 at 7:33 am #

    Amanda, it’s so hard to keep up with all the great books coming out, isn’t it? My TBR pile is enormous and growing. I just started Suzanne Enoch’s Before the Scandal and I have been looking forward to it for so long. I’ll have to change my name to Shamelessly Behind.

  7. Lisa H on 01 Apr 2010 at 7:39 am #

    Hi Sherri! I don’t know how I feel about mash ups, but I will read yours and see. I couldn’t imagine reading P&P&Z because I thought it might be scary and I don’t do scary. Now that you say its funny I would be willing to try it.

    I love fairy tales and those themes that appear in romance novels such as Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, etc. I love a tortured hero (Edward Cullen is my current favorite) and a damsel in distress. But if that damsel was a shapeshifter or a viking warrior, I might be able to swallow it if the writing was very good.

    I guess without having read a mash up I don’t know how I’d feel. :)

  8. KellyProellocks on 01 Apr 2010 at 7:40 am #

    Hi Sherri and welcome to the delightful madness. (Other Goddesses I mean madness in the best possible way so please don’t take offense and smite me or anything?!) Although I haven’t read P&P&Z yet it does sound interesting. Heck I haven’t even read P&P yet so, yeah. However Jane Slayer does sound like fun as I already have read and own a copy of Jane Eyre. What next Wuthering Frights? My idea of a good mash up is Laurell K Hamilton’s Anita Blake series. In it she is supposed to be a vampire hunter and at the last book Anita is living with the Master of St Louis, Jean-Claude. Throw in the fact that she is a necromancer and lives with some Were’s and it’s really hot! To answer your question I found that I was the exact opposite with Twilight. I read the books and thought that they were kind of okay nothing to rave about and the movie was really lame and dragged on for a long time. I guess I am fussy like that … or nuts.

  9. Michelle B on 01 Apr 2010 at 7:40 am #

    I always loved Fractured Fairy Tales too. When my kids were little out came a book called “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs”, told from the wolf’s point of view, very clever. Would this or even “Wicked” be considered mash-ups?

  10. Pesky on 01 Apr 2010 at 7:45 am #

    Welcome!

    I love mash ups, parodys anything that is done well is worth reading.

    I’m not a fan of books written in the first person. However Twilight was a fast easy read and I enjoyed the series once I got into them.

    Thanks for coming over.

  11. Kim on 01 Apr 2010 at 7:46 am #

    Welcome Sherri!! We’re so happy you’re hanging out with us today!

  12. Sherri Erwin on 01 Apr 2010 at 7:53 am #

    Michelle, I was in NYC yesterday and I was thinking that Wicked was kind of a mash-up, actually. Yes. Sometimes, it seems they include all kinds of sequels and new original books that involve surprising elements (like Lori’s Shakespeare Undead or Seth Grahame-Smith’s newest, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer) as mash-ups. I think the definition of what is a mash-up is still evolving, but movie producers have been doing it for awhile now, too, as Sabrina observed.

    Kelly, thank you. Someone actually has Wuthering Bites coming out in August, with Heathcliff as a vampire.

    Lisa, Jane Eyre’s Mr. Rochester is practically the prototype for Edward Cullen! If you love Edward Cullen, I think you would fall for Jane Slayre’s Edward Rochester, too. There’s a lot of romance in Jane Slayre. The violence isn’t too scary, more along the lines of Buffy the Vampire Slayer sort of violence, some mayhem with romance and comedy mixed in. If Twilight didn’t scare you, Jane Slayre most definitely won’t.

  13. ladydawgfan on 01 Apr 2010 at 7:58 am #

    Welcome, Sherri!! I haven’t read any mash-ups yet, but I might just have to give yours a try. I also have a problem with books written in the first person narrative (can’t stand them), and tend to leave them on the shelf, so as long as this one is not written in that fashion, there shouldn’t be a problem. And on your recommendation, I’ll also probably try P&P&Z as well.

    Thanks for the recs. :D

  14. donna ann on 01 Apr 2010 at 8:22 am #

    I generally don’t go back to a book if I didn’t enjoy it the first time (at least not on purpose). I have rewatched some bad movies and enjoyed them more the second time around. Though that may have more to the fact that it’s late at night, I’m too tired to change the channel or go to bed, and thus the brain not working right than it does with the movie itself. ;) Congrats on the new book.

  15. Kathleen on 01 Apr 2010 at 8:27 am #

    I must admit I am not one for smash ups and espeicially not zombies and such.. I guess I am just a traditional kind of reader..

  16. GSM on 01 Apr 2010 at 8:30 am #

    I haven’t read any of the current mash ups yet, but I am interested in giving them a try. TBR list is just so long! Interesting column; thanks for visiting.

  17. limecello on 01 Apr 2010 at 8:35 am #

    Hi Sherri! Thanks for visiting with us! Oh my gosh – I love Jane Eyre. And I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Jane Slayre?! Love it!
    As for something I’ve avoided… well to be honest I avoided JR Ward’s BDB books at first. Rhage? Zsadist? The names made me cringe. Then, I read the first four. Loved them. :X But sometimes I wish I hadn’t read them, considering how the series is going. Otherwise, movies… hm… when I was little I didn’t want to watch Gone With the Wind because I thought it was boring- but now it’s one of my favorite movies!
    As for mash ups in general… haven’t read them yet, so am withholding judgment. :)

  18. Freshechelle on 01 Apr 2010 at 8:36 am #

    P&P&Z has been on my TBR pile forever. I’ll get to it, I promise. Unlike my promise to my book group to finish Twilight, I intend to keep my P&P&Z promise.

    Welcome as an honorary Goddess Sherri! How’s it feel to be on both sides of Goddess bloggery?

    Best of luck with Jane Slayre! Your Whine Sisters are wise women to protect your idea.

  19. Sherri Erwin on 01 Apr 2010 at 8:55 am #

    I adore being a goddess for a day, Freshechelle. Thanks! And thank you all for the warm welcomes. It’s so fun to be here.

    Limecello, I think Jane Slayre might be the mash-up for you.

    Kathleen and Ladydawgfan, probably not the book for you. It is first person, like Jane Eyre is first person, so probably not your thing. Though, as a reader, I can never rule anything out. I will give anything a shot. I was just looking at a review for a YA written in the second person. I can’t imagine it, but would love to check it out.

  20. jcp on 01 Apr 2010 at 9:06 am #

    I resisted reading “Ladies of the Club.” because it was so long…1433 pages. I wish there was a sequel.

  21. Rachel Gibson on 01 Apr 2010 at 9:17 am #

    Welcome Sherri,

    I love zombies. Absolutely loved Zombie Land, but I’ve never read mash-ups. Not really sure why.

    Good luck with Jane Slayre.

    rachelg

  22. JWZ1978 on 01 Apr 2010 at 9:20 am #

    I’ve resisted a couple times now…Harry Potter and Twilight…and then became addicted to both! Twilight I endedup reading all 4 books within a week (I’ve resisted the movies so far though). Harry Potter, I read all 3 that were out within about 3 days and then impatiently waited for each of the next books…and each movie…and I’m still impatiently waiting! PP&Z has been making some travels with me lately, I just haven’t cracked it open yet. I think when I head to Vegas this month it will be my poolside reading. I’m looking forward to Jane Slayre being added to my TBR pile too! I like the idea of the mashups, I’m hoping I enjoy reading them even more!

  23. ladydawgfan on 01 Apr 2010 at 9:24 am #

    Sherri,

    DRAT!! First person is my achilles heel – I just can’t get past it!! I will, however, wish you the best of luck with Jane Slayre and will search for something from your backlist instead.

  24. elsiehogarth on 01 Apr 2010 at 10:12 am #

    Welcome Sherri! Your book is on my April Book list. I love these current Zombie mash ups. I loved both Pride & Prejudice & Zombies and Abraham Lincoln-Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame Smith, Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith and A. E. Moorat’s Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter.

    Saturday morning cartoons, for me, always ended with Rocky & Bullwinkle and Fractured Fairy Tales. The morals were always so funny.

    Song mash ups are great too. Since Glee had the mash up episode, radio stations in the NY tri-state have been playing a lot of them. My niece even told me that a CD will be coming out with top hit mashes.

  25. Julia London on 01 Apr 2010 at 10:14 am #

    welcome, Sherri! I am so happy for you. It seems like Jane Slayre is about to bust through the roof.

    If you haven’t read Sherri, let me tell you she is probably one of the irreverently funny people you would ever know. I can’t wait to get my hands on this book. Can’t wait!!

  26. Paula on 01 Apr 2010 at 10:24 am #

    Hi Sherri, I resisted the Twilight books as Vampires just aren’t my thing! However a friend leant me the books and I thought I’d give them a go and now I’m hooked. I have watched Twilight and loved it and have New Moon on DVD to watch this weekend.

    I have never read a mash up and am not sure whether I would get on with it if I had read the original.

  27. Karen Rose on 01 Apr 2010 at 10:34 am #

    Hi Sherri! Glad to have you with us today!

    I have not read P&P&Z, altho I did buy it for Oldest Daughter. I grumbled about it and my daughter said, “You’re just mad because you didn’t think of it first.”

    She could be right :-)

    I put off watching Buffy the VS for years, shaking my head at all those who stopped their lives to watch when it came on. (There was no Hulu then, people. Life was so hard.) Then I tried it and ended up bingeing four straight seasons. Then off course I had to binge on Angel, all five seasons. Must get back to Buffy’s last three. Someday. After I finish 24 and Firefly, two other series that I put off, but now am trying.

    Best of luck with Jane Slayer! Sounds like a lot of fun!

  28. Suzanne Enoch on 01 Apr 2010 at 10:36 am #

    Hi, Sherri! I hope you’re enjoying “Before the Scandal”.

    I’ve actually been resisting the “Twilight” books. I did the same thing with Harry Potter, but then I loved those. I know I’ll give in eventually, and I’m not sure why I’m balking, but there you go. *g*

  29. Nicole Jordan on 01 Apr 2010 at 10:38 am #

    Welcome, Sherri! It’s great to have you here on Mt. Oly. And Jayne Slayer sounds like such fun! I haven’t read any mash-ups yet, so yours will be the first.

    I admit I resisted the Harry Potter movies, and seeing the first one didn’t make me change my mind. I also had great expectations for the Lord of the Rings movies and the early Star Wars episodes, but I was so disappointed, I never watched the sequels.

    I guess I must be too set in my ways. If I don’t think I’m going to like a book/movie, my mind is rarely changed. The recent exception was Avatar. I resisted going and dh went alone the first time, then convinced me to see it, and I enjoyed it very much… particularly the gorgeous scenery in 3-D.

    Sherri, what’s up for you after JS? Are you working on more mash-ups?

  30. evlqn on 01 Apr 2010 at 10:40 am #

    Welcome Sherri, I have read all of your books except Jane Slayer,TBR.I checked it out at the store the other day and put it on my list. I loved Fractured Fairy Tales and the idea of mash ups is a good one. GWTW would be a good choice, Scarlette O’Hara was a soul stealing succubus if I ever saw one. At the very least she was a psychic vampire, she could drain the room dry in a heartbeat. Not a huge Scarlette fan.

  31. Freshechelle on 01 Apr 2010 at 10:41 am #

    I’m surprised that several of you have said you don’t enjoy reading in the first person. I’m ok with it.

    Once read one of those 80s angst books- either Bright Lights, Big City or Less Than Zero ? written in the 2nd person. That was offensive since “you” (meaning me) wouldn’t do any of the moronic things the protagonist did. Had the stink of gimmick all over itself.

  32. nancyg on 01 Apr 2010 at 10:52 am #

    Sherri -

    Congrats on the new book! :)

    *Love* mash ups! I’ve always liked the fractured fairy tale theme, but I really got into it with Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series! Bringing to life Miss Havisham & Jane Austen characters & settings as backdrops? Awesome-ness!

    I’ve always like funky/quirky stuff – I have The Reduced Shakespeare Company DVD on my keeper shelf. Cracks me up EVERY time!!

    I read P & P & Zombies, but haven’t read S & S & Sea Monsters yet. I will definitely be on the lookout for your new book – can’t wait!! I’ll probably re-read Jane Eyre first though to get the “full” effect ;)

  33. nancyg on 01 Apr 2010 at 10:56 am #

    Fresh –

    Did you read the 80’s angst books IN the 80’s?? I thought the movies were sub-par, but when I read the books the 1st time, loved them! American Psycho blew my mind at the time. Couldn’t believe people like that existed in real like, coming from big city suburbia, lol…

    I even looked into applying at Bennington College since the books were supposedly based on it. But when I realized it was in the Northeast, just too much snowfall for this Southern girl, lol.

  34. Freshechelle on 01 Apr 2010 at 10:59 am #

    nancyg, I did read them in the late 80s – assigned reading in American Studies at Rutgers. The professor thought they were drivel but reflective of the trend in writing then. Never read AP but remember all the backlash about it in Spy magazine (I miss that magazine). Yeah, the movies were a waste of time.

  35. Sherri Erwin on 01 Apr 2010 at 11:09 am #

    Nancyg, I have got to read Jasper Fforde. Freshechelle, I completely forgot about the whole Bright Lights-Less than Zero phase in lit. NancyG, American Psycho was about that time, too, right? Evlqn, Scarlett really is a trip, isn’t she?

    Nicole, I’m working on a something similar in tone to Jane Slayre, but it’s not a mash.

    Paula, you really don’t have to read the originals to get into the mash-ups. It might help to get the joke in some cases, but taken at face value with no knowledge of the original, they work pretty well, too. Just ask all those hipster dudes who are now into Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. It really makes me smile to see young men happily reading Pride and Prejudice in any form.

    Elsie, good point on the music mash-ups. They are mashing up music, too. Some of the results are really good, and some are intentionally funny, but it always amazes me how well some completely different songs blend.

  36. Tia on 01 Apr 2010 at 11:17 am #

    Every movie or book that I’ve resisted viewing or reading has ended up being one of my favorites. I have not checked out any mash ups.

  37. Claudia Dain on 01 Apr 2010 at 11:19 am #

    “Irreverently funny”…oh, I LOVE irreverently funny. My favorite kind of funny. Sherri, you will definitely be my first mash-up.

  38. Cheryl on 01 Apr 2010 at 11:20 am #

    I think that mash-ups are great fun. They add an element of surprise, and quite often laughter, to an old favorite. I’m actually in the process of reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and it’s provided many unexpected laughs so far. I’ve read the original book so many times that I know exactly what’s been changed. It seems to me that it wouldn’t be nearly as fun to read a mash-up of a story that you don’t know very well. What would be the point?

    I like the Jane Slayre idea, but Jane Eyre is one of those classics that I never got around to reading. I’ll keep the mash-up in mind if I ever get around to reading the classic. It sounds like fun!

    As for resisting a book/movie that I’ve eventually fallen in love with? Oh, it’s happened many times. Examples? I wasn’t interested in the Star Trek movie. I loved it when I saw it. I’ve had a book called Green Rider by Kristen Britain on my shelf for a while. It was one of those books that someone had recommended and I just hadn’t gotten around to. When I finally did pick it up I wondered why I had waited so long. It was completely engrossing. But that’s the beauty of it…finding that captivating element in the unexpected.

  39. Karen Hawkins on 01 Apr 2010 at 11:22 am #

    Welcome to Mt. Oly, Sherri! It’s so nice to have you here!

    What a great topic … it’s really made me think. You know, I resisted reading contemporary romances for the longest time. Then, when I started writing historicals, I found I couldn’t READ an historical while also spending 8-10 hours a day WRITING one, so I caved in, read one and was caught. Of course, reading the contemporary books gave me the idea for one of my own and now I write both. I love both genres, although in different ways and I’m so glad I made that jump.

    I’m looking forward to reading JANE SLAYER. I haven’t read a mash-up yet, but I’m looking forward to trying it because I’ve heard such good things about them.

  40. Donna S on 01 Apr 2010 at 11:37 am #

    Ive actually resisted a few times only to wonder why. I put off seeing the new version of Pride and Prejudice until it was on TV, now I watch it everytime I see it one. I put off Titanic the same way. Sometimes I really wonder why I wait, I usually regret it.

  41. SheridanLA on 01 Apr 2010 at 11:44 am #

    I say anything that gets people reading is good… so bring on the mashups. I have found that many times, a book or movie that has insane hype rarely lives up to it… A few have, but many are just “meh” I think setting those expectations so high, it is tough to meet them.

    Sometimes, though, there is one that has that magic that actually lives up to what you hear about… and then it is worth all the ones that did not.

  42. Madeline Hunter on 01 Apr 2010 at 1:20 pm #

    Hi, Sherri! Glad to have you join us!
    I think you book sounds much more appealing than P & P and the Zombies. At least to me. I just can’t past the zombies part, and don’t understand their fascination. I think any mash up is fine–they are all done in good fun and people seem to enjoy the take-offs. Congratulations, and good luck with yours!

  43. Emmanuelle on 01 Apr 2010 at 1:46 pm #

    Congrats Sherri for this book of yours and thanks for the genrous contest. The one book I remember resisiting reading was This Heart Of Mine by SEP. I was just discovering romance novels back then and this one was highly recommended. I remember I found the title pretty cheesy though and postponed the reading several times. I eventually read it and OMG did I love it. It’s one of my favorite book ever and I’m glad I gave it a chance.

  44. Rosie on 01 Apr 2010 at 2:02 pm #

    Congratulations on this book, Sherri. I liked the idea of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but when I tried the book I could not get through it because it didn’t seem to flow very well, especially since so much of the original book was used. I think I like retellings better, where the author uses the same idea or plot but puts it completely in their own words, with their own twists. I didn’t get into Harry Potter until the 3rd book had come out, but once I had read the first book I found that I loved it. Won’t ever be able to see the appeal of Twilight, though.

  45. Julia London on 01 Apr 2010 at 2:41 pm #

    I have a friend whose bookclub — which usually reads mainstream fiction — read the P&P&Z, and loved it. She wants my bookclub to read it. If we go that route, I am going to push Sherri’s book on them.

  46. chey on 01 Apr 2010 at 2:52 pm #

    I resisted reading Harry Potter, but once I started I had to read them all!

  47. Chelsea B. on 01 Apr 2010 at 3:05 pm #

    It took me FOREVER to watch, The Notebook! I was convinced it was sad, and refused to watch it! I hate movies with a sad ending! But in its own way, it really did have a happy ending. Sorta :-)

  48. Terri Brisbin on 01 Apr 2010 at 3:35 pm #

    Sherri –

    I am so excited about your new book — and this strange thing they call ‘mash-up’. My daughter-in-law, the high school English teacher, has been reading them all and I can wait to tell her about yours — if she hasn’t ordered it yet for her new iPad….

    Congrats!!

    Terri B

  49. Julia London on 01 Apr 2010 at 3:45 pm #

    I have read one HArry Potter and have Twilight on my TBR pile, where its been for years now. When I finish a book, there is always something I want to read more. Maybe because I know TOO much about it.

    But here’s a question for all the Twilight fans: Doesn’t Kristin Stewart look she is always pouting? There is something about her expression that kind of strikes me as odd.

  50. Sherri Erwin on 01 Apr 2010 at 4:06 pm #

    Julia, Kristin Stewart always looks a little lost to me. Maybe she’s overwhelmed by the attention. If your book club needs nudging, there’s a hilarious, I mean helpful, reader’s guide in the back of Jane Slayre.

    Terri! Thanks. Great to hear it. My kid sister is a high school English teacher, too.

    Chelsea, The Notebook made me cry, too. But then, some days commercials make me cry. I cry easily.

    Karen, Meredith, Claudia, thanks for your enthusiasm! :) Zombies were actually really fun to write. Jane Slayre has a few, but more vampires. Sheridan, yes! If some new readers pick up Jane Eyre before or after Jane Slayre, it would be fantastic. I also really enjoyed reading Jane Eyre again. I’d forgotten so much of it (like how passionate Jane and Rochester are towards each other.).

  51. Sherri Erwin on 01 Apr 2010 at 4:31 pm #

    Oh, also, my lovely goddess friends, if you would like to join me on Facebook, I do fun giveaways now and then. Gift cards. I just gave away a dozen Whoopie Pies (New England snack treat) from my favorite whoopie pie bakery (Wicked Whoopies). (not that I would ever try to tempt you with gooey, yummy baked goods or anything, nooo).

    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sherri-Browning-Erwin-Readers/296846581552

  52. Stephenia on 01 Apr 2010 at 4:42 pm #

    I resisted reading paranormal books forever, I couldn’t imagine the whole blood sucking thing as being romantic, then I read JRWard and saw vampires in a whole new light! I like the sense of adventure/danger/action that my favorite paranormal authors include in their stories. Light on the blood and guts please. Romantic Suspense is my favorite and I like light on the blood/guts there also.

    Mash-ups, I don’t know since I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that qualified as one? But I’m an avid reader too and while it may take a while for me to venture to some themes, I am always open to new reading possibilities too.

  53. Sherri Erwin on 01 Apr 2010 at 5:48 pm #

    Stephenia, I still haven’t tried JR Ward. Is she more romance or urban fantasy or a mix?

  54. cories on 01 Apr 2010 at 6:19 pm #

    Hi, Sherri! Actually, I’m reading “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” right now. I look forward to your “Jane Slayer” because I always thought the original needed something. I’m not sure I’m that enthused about “Wuthering Bites” though, but I’ll wait and see.

    The movie I avoided for a long time was the original Star Wars. Everyone I knew saw this and I just didn’t want to yield to peer pressure (this was the sort of thing I was obstinate about when I was a child). Of course, I loved it after I watched it (even though there is no sound in outer space).

  55. cories on 01 Apr 2010 at 6:23 pm #

    Oh, and I still have not watched any of the Twilight films even though I did read the series. I’m still waffling about that.

    Of course, I also did not watch the films made of some books that I did like: “City of Ember”, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians”, and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”. I may give up and go see “How to Train Your Dragon” since it really does not follow the book at all.

  56. Lois M. on 01 Apr 2010 at 6:35 pm #

    Hmm, well, I look at it that hey, I don’t want people telling me what to read, so I won’t say eww, what the heck are they thinking. LOL So no, mostly mashups aren’t for me. But I did read Mr, Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange and I kind of liked it, but then I like her Austen hero diaries. . . so, they are weird, but I have no hard and fast rules as to what I read, so one or two might end up in my hands at some point. :)

    Lois

  57. evlqn on 01 Apr 2010 at 6:40 pm #

    Sherri, JR Ward is a mix of Urban Fantasy and romance and it is an excellent mix. She gets you caught up in the lives of her characters and you can’t wait for the next book. She’s a lot like our goddesses that way. There are some authors who are not only on my automatic buy list but are also on the “If I have to make a decision”list. Jr Ward will win over nearly everyone except Lori and and our other goddesses. Thankfully her release schedule is usually different. I have even picked Ward over Kenyon on occasion. Definitely worth the read and she is starting a new series.

  58. cail on 01 Apr 2010 at 7:01 pm #

    Welcome to Mt. Oly!! I actually was watching the Jane Eyre miniseries not 10 min ago before I logged on for my daily TGB fix (much later in the day than usual…)

    Jane Eyre is one of my all time favorite stories and I’m super excited to read your version. This sounds awesome.

  59. Robin/RBL on 01 Apr 2010 at 7:05 pm #

    Hi Sherri! Welcome! I don’t think I’d like mash ups at all, but I’ve never tried them.

    I resisted the Janet Evanovich “Stephanie Plum” series but finally gave in and have been a huge fan ever since! (Thanks to my friend Heather who kept on telling me about them!).

    I used to resist futuristic books, but now enjoy them.

    Since I’m not really into paranormals anymore, I’ve resisted the J.R. Ward books too, but since I love tortured hero’s I’m thinking I may try them one day… The only books that I’ve read that come close to vampire is Christine Feehan’s “Dark” series (Carpathians who hunt the vampire). Love that series!!!

    Thanks for the interesting blog today!

  60. Robin/RBL on 01 Apr 2010 at 7:10 pm #

    Chelsea B, ME TOO with The Notebook. I resisted and resisted. But I enjoyed it in the end.

    And Sherri, I’ve not read Jany Eyre or Pride and Prejudice (don’t throw things at me!) but I think I’d try the Jane Slayer first. LOL

  61. Louisa Cornell on 01 Apr 2010 at 7:35 pm #

    Hello Sheri !!

    This book looks like loads of fun! I am a HUGE Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer fan, BUT I am not such a stickler that I can’t enjoy a good send up. I think it may hark back to my unabashed adoration of the Monty Python troupe. NOTHING was sacred to them!

    At the Mozart academy we would unwind after late rehearsals by making up HORRIBLE mash ups of our favorite operas. During performances we were deadly serious, but we often got in trouble at rehearsals for out irreverent treatment of death scenes (I mean, come on, Violetta sings this glorious aria while dying of consumtion?) My favorite was Desdemona in Otello. My co-star and I did TERRIBLE send ups of the death scene. She’s singing – he’s strangling her. He’s murdering her, he’s singing? Too much fun! Our Austrian conductor spent a lot of time yelling at us!

    Actually I resisted a-tonal contemporary opera for years until I landed the leading role in Alban Berg’s Lulu. It was tough as heck to sing, but she was such a delicious sociopath, I couldn’t say no.

    I wasn’t crazy about the idea of Gerard Butler in Phantom of the Opera. In fact I didn’t see the film until this year and I actually loved it!

  62. Sherri Erwin on 01 Apr 2010 at 7:38 pm #

    Robin, I love Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum. Cail, thank you! Evlqn, thanks. I think I’ll give Ward a try. Cories, I want to see How to Train Your Dragon, too. I’m also on the fence on Wuthering Bites. I’ll read it, but Wuthering Heights is not a favorite of mine.

  63. Sherri Erwin on 01 Apr 2010 at 7:43 pm #

    Louisa, your Mozart Academy mash-ups sound like fun!

    I actually resisted Monty Python for a long time. Once I broke down, I laughed and loved. Oh, and I refused to ever watch the TV show Everybody Loves Raymond, just because the title seemed to say I had to and I didn’t want to be forced. But once it went to syndication, I watched it once, thought it was really funny, and ended up watching a lot more.

  64. evlqn on 01 Apr 2010 at 7:49 pm #

    Wuthering Heights is not a favorite of mine either, I really have problems with women so self involved they make everyone around them miserable and then whine at the outcome. And the men who follow them around with all that unrequited love I just want to tell them to grow a pair and get over it. They are in heat with a b-word who should have been drowned as a pup. Okay, I’m not nice but I can live with that.

  65. Lisa G on 01 Apr 2010 at 10:34 pm #

    I hate to be the ball-buster here but I don’t think there has ever been a book or movies I resisted than fell deeply in love with it. I either like it right away or know it’s a no-go for me. I haven’t watched “The Notebook” and don’t think I will. Something about it just turns me off. I knew I would love Twilight and Harry Potter right from the beginning. I usually am right on with my books and my movies. I just know what I like! :-)

  66. evlqn on 01 Apr 2010 at 10:43 pm #

    I know what it is for me, I’m not a Nicholas Sparks fan. I can’t get into his writing for some reason and I have tried, although not hard enough I would actually buy one of his books. I will read a couple of chapters of new book and/or author before I buy it. Everyone kept telling me I would LOVE The Thorn Birds – NOT!! In fact I’ve only loved one book she ever wrote and that was Tim and I loved both versions of the movie too.

  67. Patricia Barraclough on 01 Apr 2010 at 11:30 pm #

    How nice to find someone else who loved Fractured Fairy Tales. They were my favorite part of the show. I have not yet read any of the current mash-ups out there. Several friends have read PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES and really liked it. Of course, I also had another friend that was horrified that someone would trifle with her Goddess Jane. The video for the sea serpent mash-up is very good.
    I guess I should read one and I like the sound of yours.

  68. chelleyreads on 02 Apr 2010 at 12:28 am #

    i resisted watching american pie for the longest time because i thought i wouldn’t like the gross comedy but it was on tv one night and i ended up watching it… it was pretty good! some parts were gross and i cringed at the one part but it had heart i thought and it’s part romantic comedy :)

    as for mash up, i guess it depends on what’s being put together and shaken… i tend to stay away from jane austen mash ups (i’m sort of a purist there) but i guess anything else is fair game. i haven’t read any classic/paranormal mash up but i’m open minded :)

  69. Sue A. on 02 Apr 2010 at 4:12 am #

    I resisted going to see Silence of the Lambs, but the movie had me jumping in my seat. I came out energized by the movie and I even read the book by Thomas Harris and found Red Dragon which I loved even more.

  70. Sherri Erwin on 02 Apr 2010 at 6:44 am #

    Thank you all for having me. I had a fantastic time being a goddess for a day.

    I used the very scientific method of putting all your names in a hat and pulled out Michelle B, so Michelle email me at sherri@sherribrowningerwin.com and tell me what $25 card you want and where to send. :)

  71. Amanda on 02 Apr 2010 at 2:15 pm #

    I have given in to a few movies that I actaully ended up liking. The title Jane Sleyre cracks me up

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