About & FAQ

These things are tough to write, but fun to read, so here goes.

Who are you?

My name is Amy, and I've been known in the blogging world since 2011 as Miss Dashwood. I got married to a wonderful guy (Rob! Check the bottom of the post for a photo of him) in 2018, so "Miss" doesn't seem too fitting for my writing name anymore. I toyed with the idea of taking on "Mrs. Ferrars," but since that could apply equally to the formidable mother of Edward, or to the erstwhile and scurrilous Lucy Steele, I decided to let my Jane Austen pseudonym slip to the wayside after my wedding, and now I just go by Amy.

I am a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, a tea-and-coffee enthusiast, an amateur seamstress, a bookworm, a word nerd, and a procrastinating writer. I love humor in odd forms, folk music, period dramas, Coke Zero, dark chocolate, snuggly squishy babies, and wearing socks all year round even in the summer. I'm 20-something, I work in a hospital (secretary, not a medical professional), and I'm slowly acquiring college credits for a someday-in-the-future bachelor's in English. 

Didn't you used to write Yet Another Period Drama Blog? 

Yep! I started blogging in October of 2011, and at the time I planned for my blog to be mainly centered around reviewing period dramas. (For anyone unfamiliar, a period drama-- very broadly-- refers to a movie set in an old-fashioned time period, generally with somewhat elaborate costumes and sets, often based on a classic work of literature, though not always.  Downton Abbey, for example, is not based on a book. Pride and Prejudice, however, is.  The good one.  The Colin Firth one. (not just good because of Colin Firth.))  At the time there was a plethora of blogs on the same sort of topic, so, with tongue-in-cheek, I called my blog Yet Another.  Hence, the title was born.  

Why do/did you call yourself Miss Dashwood? 

Take the Jane Austen Character Quiz here!

When I first started blogging, I was 16 and really really really cautious about how much of my real identity I was going to share on the internet.  So I decided to choose a pseudonym-- and since Elizabeth Bennet was already taken in several forms, I decided to go with Elinor Dashwood, since I matched up the most with her when I took personality quizzes like the one shown above.  Howeverrrr, I knew there were also one or two Elinors floating around the blogosphere, so I decided to just be Miss Dashwood.  

Then a year or so later I said who cares and let you all know what my real first name was... but I kept Miss Dashwood, because I liked it. :P I still use it from time to time, for fun (and when a last name is required, since I like to keep THAT private, at least).

You don't seem to post about Jane Austen much anymore. Do you still like her?

YES. She is still hands-down my favorite author,  but I've branched out quite a bit since my high school days. I like to think I've simply expanded my resume, and though I still love, admire and respect Miss Austen for the brilliance she brought to literature, she's not my be-all and end-all. I tend to write more about my own thoughts and projects these days, but the classics still hold a treasured and important place on my bookshelf.

Where else can you be found online?

Are you stalking me??  Because if so, not cool.  And if not so, I'm on Instagram and Goodreads.  Also Pinterest.  I do have a Twitter, but I barely update it. (Not sure if I remember the password anymore, to be honest...) This blog has a Facebook page, as well, but I don't often post on there outside of simply sharing links to the posts I've posted here. (Say "post" one more time...) In the spring of 2020 I started writing on Medium as well.

I don't have a blog, but I want to start one.  Any advice? 

Write what you know about, write what you enjoy, have fun with it, don't try to copy anyone else, be nice to other people in the blogosphere, and don't despair if people don't read it right away. If you're writing good content, readers will come.  Strike up a friendship or two with people whose work you admire and enjoy, be polite (don't shove your writing down their throats!), and the rest will take care of itself.  That third point, though. Don't forget that one.

Here's Rob, as promised. ;)