Plot Bunnies and Rabbit Holes

Like so many Janeites, I have been a fan of the JAFF genre since its inception, starting with the incomparable Abigail Reynolds and then reading everything else I could get my hands on, and it has been both a delight and a welcome challenge to see the genre grow so rapidly that I will never run out of things to read.

And like so many authors, I suspect I am not alone in saying that I fantasized of stories of my own long before I ever put pen to paper. By the time I finally resolved to write a variation of my own, I had come up with over a dozen ideas, and one day I decided to simply pick one and get on with it. However, after publishing four novels in 2019 (find them here), my list has grown to more ideas than I could write in a lifetime.

Ironically, my next project is not from amongst my list of plot bunnies, but from the fantastical forum I discovered on A Happy Assembly, where other Janeites like me have posted plot bunnies of their own for adoption by some other writer. I was delighted to discover such a place, and lurked in the forum devouring everything I could when I found one that spoke to me, but I have so many things in the works right now I thought I had better pay it forward and release some of my own plot bunnies into the wild!

I’ve been down something of a rabbit hole in planning my projects for the year, resulting in an extremely over-confident plan to write seven books this year, likely at the expense of my remaining sanity - but so be it. In my usual custom after completing a book, I consulted my list of plot bunnies, decided against all of them, and went back to the drawing board. An idea for an Emma crossover turned into four novellas, and a notion of Mr. Bingley’s family history had me so far down the rabbit hole I could scarcely climb out of it.

So, dear readers, I have cleared up my plot bunnies to make room for some new projects, which I am eager to share with you and discover what you think of them. And then I shall part with a few ideas that need good homes! You are welcome to any of the plot bunnies not on my schedule for the year, and if anyone decides to take one, I would love to hear from you, and read it when I can, of course! And feel free to give any feedback you like on he projects I have planned for 2020!

Upcoming novels from Jayne Bamber....

Repairing Meryton

A stand-alone P&P vagary. After a strange storm means that Elizabeth’s first meeting with Mr. Wickham is delayed until the day of her Aunt Phillips’ card party, family tensions boil over and Elizabeth is trapped in a vicious cycle of repeating the same day over and over. Subsequent repetitions reveal that a great deal is amiss in Meryton at present, and Elizabeth must work with a man she despises to put everything to rights, before the endless looping of time drives her mad.

Friends & Relations Volume 3: Plans & Suspicions

The final volume of the Austen-wide crossover series. Volume 2 ends with a large caravan of familiar faces leaving Rosings for a seaside holiday: Lord and Lady Hartley (Richard and Marianne Fitzwilliam), Marianne’s friend from Bath, Catherine Morland, Georgiana Darcy, Robert and Kate Fitzwilliam, Lydia Bennet, Caroline Bingley-Sutton, Captain Wentworth, Lady Catherine and her husband Sir Gerald Sutton, their daughter Harriet, Lady Rebecca Fitzwilliam and her fiancé Mr. Knightley, and the divine duo that is Mrs. Jennings and Mrs. Bennet.
Sidney Parker expects to show Sanditon to best advantage to his friends, but his plans are derailed by a murder mystery that delights Catherine Morland more than any amount of sea-bathing. Newlyweds Frank and Emma Churchill soon join them, and with another wedding in the works, Emma’s match making impulses rival even Mrs. Jennings’ merry schemes. Charles Bingley returns from abroad, Anne Elliot finds a second chance at love, and an epistolary Austen favorite wreaks havoc on the seaside village as if it were her own personal playground.

Five Daughters Out at Once

Following the death of their parents, Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters do their best to get by at Longbourn alone. Having never met their father’s heir, a recently ordained pardon, they make the dubious choice of not notifying him of their father’s passing. Elizabeth knows they cannot keep it up forever - it is a miracle they manage it for more than a year before they are found out.
When Mr. Collins discovers that he has been long denied what is rightfully his, who else would he turn to but the great Lady Catherine de Bourgh? Too caught up in her own grief to care even for Darcy’s predicament with Georgiana, Lady Catherine is unmoved by Mr. Collins’ ill-usage. In fact, she ultimately offers her assistance to the Bennet sisters, who must accept what help they can in the face of Mr. Collins’ wrath.

The Emmalouges

Four stand-alone novellas, each a crossover with Emma, featuring an alternate pairing for Emma and some of her unconventional matchmaking magic for other beloved characters. Darcy & Elizabeth and Anne & Wentworth will be paired, but everyone else is fair game for some shaking up....

#1
Working Title: All Guess and Luck
A crossover with P&P. Frank Weston’s life is drastically altered, as are the lives of his three beloved sisters when he learns the truth of his birth.

#2
Working Title: Hartfield Park
The wedding of Mr. Weston and Anne Taylor brings several relations to town, and Hartfield offers to host Mr. Weston’s cousins, the Bertrams, as well as Miss Taylor’s cousins, the Crawford siblings.

#3
Working Title: Northanger Agony
When Doctor Perry advises Mr. Woodhouse travel to Bath for his health, Mr. Knightley accompanies them. They meet with the Elliot’s and their friends, as well as General Tilney and his children, and Lady Allen and her charming young charge.

#4
Working Title: Interest & Affection
Seeking to fill the void of companionship Miss Taylor’s marriage will inevitably cause, Emma convinces her father that they most offer a home to his widowed cousin, Mrs. Dashwood, and her three daughters. Emma and her new friends get on well enough in Highbury, until the magnanimous Mrs. Jennings invites them to London with her.

Well, dear readers, that is my ambitious plan for the year! Whether or not 7 is an attainable number remains to be seen, but do wish me luck! And now, I might do likewise in wishing good fortune to anyone who wants to adopt one of my plot bunnies below….

Free to a Good Home: Plot Bunnies!

The Widow Bennet:

Elizabeth Bennet is the well-dowered daughter of a gentleman and lady who died and left her in the care of older siblings when she was a child. At sixteen she left school and eloped with a handsome young gentleman named Elias Bennet. She was welcomed into the family by Elias’ four sisters, while Mr. Bennet encouraged Lizzy to continue her education, and Mrs. Bennet encouraged Lizzy to provide an heir for Longbourn. Elizabeth accomplishes both, endearing her forever to her in-laws, and she and her young son live in the dower house of Longbourn long after Elias Bennet tragically dies. Elizabeth is sure she has everything she could need or want, and wishes only that her sisters-in-law might find a more lasting happiness than what she fleetingly enjoyed, but when Elizabeth’s brother purchases Netherfield and brings a party of friends with him, she finds herself unexpectedly tempted….

Disobedient Daughters:

Mrs. Bennet has it all planned out. Kitty is intended for their new neighbor, Mr. Bingley, while Jane is to catch his wealthier, handsomer friend, the viscount. As this will throw their sisters into the paths of other rich men, Lydia must not flirt with officers, not even Colonel Fitzwilliam, Mary must disregard Mr. Collins, and Lizzy must never dance with Mr. Darcy. Though Mrs. Bennet has it all figured out, her disobedient daughters have other plans. 

Mr. Bennet's Second Wife:

Mrs. Bennet dies shortly after Jane and Lizzy’s weddings. Two years later…. Lydia is a widow after Wickham was shot by the husband of his mistress. Mary is wed to the Colonel’s younger brother, who is at odds with Richard over family complications. Bingley has taken a mistress, and Jane moved in with Lizzy after discovering it. While Lizzy is trying to hold everyone together, as well as plan a season for Kitty and Georgiana, Mr. Bennet throws a wrench into her plans by announcing his intention of remarrying so that he might father a son and deny Mr. Collins the entail. 

A Bitter Betrothal:

In an attempt to compromise Darcy, Caroline compromises Richard instead, and as he is in need of money, he offers for her. Eager to ship his sister off, Mr. Bingley hastens to hold the wedding quickly. Bingley and Fitzwilliam relations descend on Netherfield. Mrs. Bennet offers to put Carline up at Longbourn to become acquainted with her new sisters, after Jane becomes engaged to Mr. Bingley. Mr. Darcy is determined to resist the allure of Elizabeth Bennet, and Caroline is happy to help by sabotaging the Bennet sisters at every turn.

A House Party at Netherfield:

The rumors of Mr. Bingley bringing a large party to the assembly are true! He brings a large party of gentlemen – and too many ladies! – including familiar faces from across Austen.

Just Desserts:

In the background of a Darcy & Lizzy love story set in Sanditon, the most despicable characters from all of Austen’s novels flock to the booking seaside resort, where their plans are thwarted and they get what they deserve.

Persuadable:

After leaving Netherfield and returning to London, Bingley dines with his cousin Fred, and confides his dealings with Jane Bennet. Cousin Fred has never particularly cared for his Bingley’s friend Darcy, and is especially resentful of Darcy’s interference because nine years ago, the meddlesome Lady Russell similarly persuaded the woman he loved to forsake him. Fred and Bingley return to Netherfield to make things right with Jane Bennet, but their plans go awry when Darcy and Caroline insist on returning to Hertfordshire with them.

I’d love to hear from you all! Leave me a comment and let me know what tickles your fancy the most!