Monday, August 16, 2010

Jane and the Very Damned, A Contest

The Contest is over, and thanks to everyone who participated! There were some great suggestions and I've had quite a bit of trouble picking a winner because I liked so many of them. But...drumroll...I've decided to take the suggestion of Krista who posted on August 16...Les Sales, which means the unclean or dirty ones. Brilliant, Krista, and contact me for your prize--a signed copy of Jane and the Damned and some other goodies--at jmullanyATcomcastDOTnet.

I need to tap into the creative, snarky brilliance of the paranormal reading and blogging community. That's YOU, folks.

I have this problem. I'm writing the second book about Jane Austen as a vampire, a loosely-related book set in Chawton, Hants, where Austen lived with her sister Cassandra, her mother, and her friend Martha Lloyd from 1809 until her death. I visited her house, now a museum, where you can see her writing table and many of the family's possessions, just over a month ago. There's an account of my visit at riskyregencies.blogspot.com.

After several years of moving around, experiencing deaths of loved ones including her father, and the realization that at this late age (33 when they moved to Chawton) she probably wouldn't marry, Jane pulled out her neglected manuscripts, and produced. There are many theories why Austen, after the burst of creativity in her late teens-early twenties, had a massive case of writer's block for a decade. Was she too busy partying in her nomadic existence and found the stability she needed at Chawton? Was she secretly writing all the time? Or observing and mentally, or physically, taking notes? Since so few of her original mss. survive and so many of her letters were destroyed by family members, we just don't know.

Although I do. She was coming to terms with recovery from vampirism and lost love and you can read all about it in my October release JANE AND THE DAMNED.

And therein lies my problem for the next book. By 1810, the Damned, the gorgeous, sexy vamps of Georgian England, are out of favor with high society. The Prince of Wales (soon to achieve his dream of becoming Prince Regent) has dropped them, as he tended to do with many of his friends. Some of the Damned decide their survival depends upon integrating themselves into a less exalted sphere and lying low for a few centuries. Other Damned are just mad at the fall from favor and start behaving badly, going feral and attacking instead of seducing.

So here's the Contest: What do I call the feral Damned? At the moment I'm referring to them as the Very Damned for lack of a better term, which is very, well, lame!

I have definitions of a few expressions of the Damned here where you can also read an excerpt, (and there's another regular sort of contest on the site here). The term has to sound eighteenth-century/Regency, sophisticated, and avoiding such terms as fanged or feral which are quite modern. French is great--for instance, en sanglant means to have a fang-on. Basically, I want a good, juicy euphemism (and how often do you hear that?).

How to Enter: Post your suggestion here. I'll take entries until the end of August and announce the winner at the top of this post in September.

The Prize: A signed copy of JANE AND THE DAMNED plus some chocolate and Austen-related goodies, and a mention, if you like, in the acknowledgments of the book.

So get your thinking fangs on! I'm really looking forward to what you'll come up with.

JANE AND THE DAMNED an impressively compelling Jane Austen mashup full of humor and poignant irony. Publishers Weekly (October 2010).

28 comments:

Zita said...

How about the vilely damned? It's been in use since 1250. Here's the dictionary reference:

vile   [vahyl] –adjective, vil·er, vil·est.

1. wretchedly bad: a vile humor.
2. highly offensive, unpleasant, or objectionable: vile slander.
3. repulsive or disgusting, as to the senses or feelings: a vile odor.
4. morally debased, depraved, or despicable: vile deeds.
5. foul; filthy: vile language.
6. poor; wretched: vile workmanship.
7. of mean or low condition: a vile beggar.
8. menial; lowly: vile tasks.
9. degraded; ignominious: vile servitude.

Laura Kaye said...

Such a fun premise, Janet!

How about (with the French, just in case you want to stick with that):

--leech or, in French, sangsue (damned leech: damnés sangsue)
--mosquito / moustique
--rogue / coquin

Good luck!

Unknown said...

I would suggest The Forsaken. That sounds so ominous, gives me the chills!

stella.exlibris (at) gmail (dot) com

Unknown said...

Another French word is Maudits (but it rather means the Cursed ones) and is pronounced modi.

The French translation of The Forsaken is Les Délaissés.

Meredith said...

How about the Damned damned? lol..just kidding.

The Wild Damned, or Untamed Damned, or the Damned Feral Bad Ones.

meredithfl at gmail dot comn

Janet Mullany said...

I knew you'd come through for me! Some great suggestions here. I already have some favorite, but I'm not saying.

KerrelynSparks said...

The Damned Berserkers. LOL What a strange problem to have! Good luck, Jane!

Melissa (Books and Things) said...

Maybe something that sounds insulting rather than interesting. Like "ratters" or "vermin" I do like what you said initially... "feral damned".

nymfaux said...

ooooo....I'll have to think of some suggestions!!!--But other people's suggestions are sounding REALLY good so far!!!!

Can't wait to see what you decide on!!!!!

Sharon S. said...

what a fun contest . I will have to think on this one. What were beasts or vagrants called back then? What animalistic murders be called? I must do some googling .

Crystal @ RBtWBC said...

Fun post Janet!
Oh Stella, I like that - The Forsaken. So many great ideas!

How about the Accursed, which is a synonym for Damned. In French it is the same as cursed, maudit.
Or the Bloody Damned (French: sanglante damnés).
The Condemned.
The Lost.
The Infernal, which the definition is damned; underworld. (French: l'infernale)

Good Luck!!!

Unknown said...

Here is my take:

Raging Damned
Carnal Damned
The Crimson
Crimson Hellion
Archfiends
cramoisi diable (french Crimson Fiend)
Blood Wraith

Krista said...

Using an online translation so could be really really wrong. How about Unclean Souls in French?
âmes sales

GB said...

It's a bit of a tongue-twister, but what about the Mephistophelian Damned, named after the Devil in the legend of Faust?

My brain is a bust for any more than that, I'm afraid!

Sweet Rachel! said...

The only words I can come up with is "wild" or "mad" as in "crazy". or "Infuriato" which is infuriated in Italian, and "Danniti" which is damned
So the "mad" Damned or...
"Infuriato Danniti"
Personally Infuriato Danniti sounds sinister to me such as "il infuriato danniti" "The infuriated damned" in english. You could have an Italian character announce their presence with one translation in english and forevermore call them il infuriato danniti

Raellafox@gmail.com

Ash Wolf said...

How about the Damned, being the ones who want to lie low, and the Condemned, for those who don't? Simple and to the point.

Katie Dalton said...

I came up with these:
Eternally Forsaken in French its Eternellement abandonne
Eternally damed in French its Eternellement damed
Forever forsaken in French its Jamais abandonne

Just a few, lol hope that helps. :) either the french or english of these sounds good to me. good luck

http://ismellsheep.blogspot.com/

Mel Teshco said...

hmm, some great suggestions already. What about some more simple terms liks 'the fallen' or 'the forgotten' or even 'the avengers' =)

Helen Lowe said...

Hmm, I need to think about this one ... maybe a quick re-read of both Jane And Georgette (Heyer) to reacquaint myself with the language of the period!

Sharon S. said...

okay, I checked my thesaurus...

fiends
the wicked
the rabid
demonic
insane
raving
lunatics

AndreaC said...

How about...?
The Denounced
The Condemned
The Accursed
The Demoralized
The Vile
The Contemptible
The Machiavellian [something] - The Machiavellian Ignoble maybe?

Just thoughts! mix and match at will and good luck!

Bella@BeguileThySorrow said...

I've always liked how awful the phrase "the wretched poor" sounded, so maybe something like that?:the wretched damned

Patti D said...

How about Le Mechant? (may-chaunt)
It means the ill or sick.

Kirsten said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Justin Gustainis said...

Since they've abandoned "society," how about The Savage Damned?

Llehn said...

The Unbridled Damned?

writtenwyrdd said...

The Ravagers
The Unsporting Damned

If their leader is Spanish (and names his gang) you could call them Los Corazones Condonados (the damned hearts) or Los cuores en la oscuridad, or the Dark Hearts

If their leader is Italian (and names his gang) you could call them I cuori negri (the black hearts) or I cuori bugli (the dark hearts)

Vile plague

Red Ruinates or Red Ruin (a la Blue Ruin)

This was fun! There are some great entries here. I hope you find one you like.

writtenwyrdd said...

I was thinking about this some more this a.m. and it occurs to me that a variation of "fallen" as they have fallen off the wagon, so to speak.

Or perhaps you could find a euphemism that makes one think of them being ridden by their addiction, like the 60s monkey on your back?

The Unsated
The Point-non-plus
The Common or The Commonplace

You could use the cant term "dandiprat" for them, changing the meaning to be "an insignificant and trifling vampire" instead of a "trifling fellow."

You could also call them "Prinny's Get" as it's really his fault they went rogue!