Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Laurie Viera Rigler

Laurie Viera Rigler is the author of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, a novel about a modern L.A. girl who wakes up one morning as a gentleman's daughter in Regency England. Laurie is currently at work on the sequel, which will be published summer 2009.

Last month I asked her what she was reading. Her reply:
At any given time I am always reading at least two books, and sometimes as many as four or five. Lately it's:

Hands Washing Water, a book of poetry by Chris Abani. I bought the book after I watched him on TED, where he spoke with such eloquence, compassion, and even humor about his experiences in a Nigerian prison and as a refugee that I knew I had to read some of his poetry. Next I will read one of his novels, The Virgin in the Flames.

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality, by Brian Greene. As a novelist writing about parallel realities/time shifts, I am fascinated with the scientific foundation of my wild imaginings.

I am also re-reading Deirdre Le Faye's Jane Austen: The World of Her Novels, as research and for the pure pleasure of knowing the difference between a barouche and a curricle. It's an engaging and informative book about the world of my most beloved author.

I am also about a third of the way through Twilight, because I wanted to see what the Stephenie Meyer phenomenon was all about. I'm hooked, of course, and now can understand why her work has struck such a chord with teenagers and those of us who still feel the need to fit in and be invisible coupled with the fantasy of being extraordinary. And I've barely even got to the stuff about vampires.

Finally, I just finished, in a 24-hour period, a gripping, deeply moving, and as-yet-to-be-published memoir called An Amber Heart by my friend, Susan Tossman Blue. She's just started querying, and may the best agent and publisher win.
Learn more about Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and the Austen phenomenon at the Jane Austen Addict website.

--Marshal Zeringue