Karen M. Cox interviews Northanger Abbey's Catherine Morland!

Welcome to today’s event for Austen in August! I’m Karen M Cox, author of novels brushed with history and romance. I love writing Austen-inspired stories and flipping them into different times and places, so today, I have the privilege of introducing you to one of Austen’s charming leading ladies, updated for the 21st Century.
Is it Elizabeth Bennet? No, not THAT famous leading lady.
Is it Emma Woodhouse? No, she isn’t all that charming (just kidding, Emma fans—of which I am one—Emma can be quite charming when she applies herself.)
No, today we’re interviewing a modern version of Northanger Abbey’s young ingenue: the enchanting, romantic, darling, sweet, funny, headstrong—and, let’s face it, sometimes frustrating…

Catherine Morland

Our modern Catherine is U.S. college student, double-majoring in history and English literature. She likes historical romance novels, walks on the beach, and handsome, witty young men with avaricious fathers...

Karen: Welcome, Catherine!

Catherine: Thanks for having me on Austen in August! Wow!

Karen: Are you ready to answer some questions for our readers?

Catherine: I sure am. This is going to be so much fun!

Karen: If you were a shoe, what kind of shoe would you be?

Catherine: Hmm...I think I'd be sandals. You know, because they're casual and summery. Oh, but not those cheap flip-flops you buy at the dollar store and wear to the shower at a campground site. I'd be nice, pretty sandals—maybe with some silver on them—something classic like...these! Oooh, I love pearls!

Karen: What are the three items you would absolutely need to have with you if you were shipwrecked on a desert island?

Catherine: Well, I'd need my sunblock, for starters. I'm pretty fair-skinned, and my neighbor, Mrs. Allen, says if I use my sunscreen now I won't have wrinkles when I'm older. Second, I'd have to have my romance novels, of course. Maybe I could just take my e-reader—that would be so much more convenient. And I couldn't go without my smart phone. But then, if I had my smart phone, I wouldn't be shipwrecked for too long, would I?

Karen: If you had only $15 to spend, what would be the perfect date? How about $50? $5,000?

Catherine: For $15, we’d rent a rom-com or find a summer blockbuster at the bargain matinee, or tour an old historic mansion—one with a lot of tales to tell, and maybe a ghost or two. $50 might get me dinner at my favorite seaside restaurant with my favorite guy. It would be very romantic: Sunset and lobster and chilled champagne. Wouldn’t that be the best date ever?

And for $5000?
Well, who has THAT kind of money to spend on one date? Gee-whiz! Maybe some bazillionaire, or a prince, or a Hollywood heart throb. I certainly don't know anyone like that. With 5000 dollars, a girl could jet off to the Caribbean, or Paris, or anywhere! I'd have to let my guy choose the destination though—Henry’s been to Europe and everything. I've only been as far as Washington, DC on my senior high-school trip.

Karen: Your best friend is asked to describe you in five words. What would they be?

Catherine: Henry, my new boyfriend, he’s my best friend. *blushes* He would describe me first and foremost as honest. I call 'em like I see 'em. Maybe I am a little naive, but not in a clueless, stupid way. Henry says I'm constitutionally incapable of being rude. Oh, wait—that's five words all by itself.

Karen: Your nemesis is also asked to describe you in five words. What would they be?

Catherine: That John Thorpe, he's my nemesis, although he doesn't think he is. He thinks I'm his...his girlfriend! Which I most definitely am not! At first, he used words like babe and beautiful to describe me. And he called me Cathy (which I hate!) But then when I didn't want to travel with him all the way to Bristol—overnight!—he called me an uppity b-word! No, I don't care for John Thorpe—at all!

Karen: If you could be the heroine in any chick flick, who would it be and why?

Catherine: I'd guess I'd be Melanie from “Sweet Home Alabama.” Do you know that movie? I saw it on cable a while back, and I just loved it! Melanie is a Southern girl, and she goes to New York City and becomes this big fashion designer and has a really cute fiance. But she's got this really cute ex back home in Alabama, too. I like that movie because Melanie has to examine her options and decide what she wants, and afterwards, she follows her heart. I think every girl should stand up for what she wants and follow her heart. Don't you?

Karen: I certainly do. Now, Catherine, for our last question—tell me what you love about Jane Austen.

Catherine: Oh! I love her! I love to read, and I read all the classics. I like Jane Eyre, and Wuthering Heights, and , and…The Thorn Birds—but sometimes, I just want to read something where everything turns out well in the end, without a lot of heavy drama, you know? And every time I read Jane Austen, I figure out something new about her books. Every time.

*frowns, thinks* I certainly don’t want to hit her over the head with her own shin bone. Did you know Mark Twain said that about her once? It doesn’t sound very nice of him. Surely, he was joking. I mean, if he didn’t actually like her writing, how come he said he wanted to hit her every time he read her books? He must have read them a lot.

Anyway, I think Jane Austen was a genius.

Karen: As do I, Miss Moreland. As do I.

About the Author:

Karen M Cox is an award-winning author of five novels accented with history and romance. Her latest release is the second edition of Undeceived: Pride and Prejudice in the Spy Game, a Cold War-Era romantic suspense variation on Jane Austen’s classic tale. Be on the lookout later this year for re-releases of her novels 1932 and Find Wonder in All Things, which will join her other novels Undeceived, I Could Write a Book, and Son of a Preacher Man, and a novella, The Journey Home, a companion piece to 1932. Karen also loves writing short stories and has contributed to four Austen-inspired anthologies: “Northanger Revisited 2015” appears in Sun-Kissed: Effusions of Summer, “I, Darcy” in The Darcy Monologues, “An Honest Man” in Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen’s Rakes and Gentleman Rogues, and “A Nominal Mistress” in Rational Creatures.

Karen was born in Everett WA and now lives in a quiet little Central Kentucky town with her husband, where she works as a pediatric speech pathologist, encourages her children, and spoils her granddaughter.

Connect with Karen:
Website: www.karenmcox.com

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Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/karenmcox

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