Laurie Viera Rigler

Laurie Viera Rigler’s best-selling novels CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT and RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT (both published by Dutton in North America and by Bloomsbury in the UK) could have been considered semi-autobiographical had they not involved time travel and body switching.

Her short story, INTOLERABLE STUPIDITY, in which Mr. Darcy brings charges against all the writers of Pride and Prejudice sequels, spin-offs and retellings, appears in the anthology JANE AUSTEN MADE ME DO IT (Ballantine). Laurie is also the creator of the Babelgum Original web series SEX AND THE AUSTEN GIRL, which was inspired by her Austen Addict novels. She is close to completing the third installment in the Jane Austen Addict trilogy and has two more novels in the works.

CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT won a Publishers Weekly Listen Up Award, and RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Mainstream Fiction. CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT was also nominated for The Jane Austen Centre’s award for Best New Fiction.

Both Austen Addict novels have also been published in France by Bragelonne and in Italy by Sperling & Kupfer, and CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT has been published in the Netherlands (Archipel).

Having spent several years writing her first novel and reading all those proclamations about how aspiring novelists were more likely to win the lottery than ever get published, Laurie is passionate about encouraging other writers. Prior to coming into her own as a novelist, she spent an exciting decade as a freelance book editor working with authors of fiction and nonfiction. She also taught workshops in storytelling technique at Vroman’s, Southern California’s oldest and largest independent bookstore.

In addition to maintaining Jane Austen Addict, her online home, Laurie enjoys guest blogging on various book and culture sites. She is also an avid bread baker, novice cello player, and voracious reader.