Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1957
• Where—N/A
• Education—State University of New York at Buffalo, USA
• Currently—lives in Los Angeles, California
When not indulging herself in re-readings of Jane Austen’s six novels, Laurie Viera Rigler is a freelance book editor who teaches writing workshops, including classes in storytelling technique at Vroman’s, Southern California's oldest and largest independent bookstore.
After many years of keeping her Austen addiction largely to herself, Laurie decided to come out of the Janeite closet when the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) decided to hold their annual general meeting in Los Angeles. Who knew there were other obsessed souls out there, a whole community of them, as a matter of fact? Now she has people she can talk to about what’s most important in life, Jane Austen, Jane Austen, and Jane Austen. When she’s not talking about Austen, reading about Austen, or writing books inspired by Austen, she’s tinkering with the website of JASNA’s Southwest Region, where she serves as webmaster.
Prior to writing Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, Laurie teamed with Richard Roeper of Ebert & Roeper to write a humorous, gender-specific guide to movie rentals entitled He Rents, She Rents: The Ultimate Film Guide to the Best Women’s Films and Guy Movies. She also coauthored Popping the Question: Real-Life Stories of Marriage Proposals, From the Romantic to the Bizarre with Sheree Bykofsky.
Before she began writing and editing books, Laurie spent several years on and around film sets in various capacities, from production coordinating features to producing short films; and from reading screenplays to rewriting and cowriting scripts. Then one day, she saw in her mind a twenty-first-century L.A. Janeite waking up in the body and life of a woman in Austen’s time. She knew this one had to be a book, and she started writing Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict. She still loves film, but finds watching it much more fun than making it. Especially if it stars Colin Firth or Matthew MacFadyen.
“All this she must possess,” added Darcy, “and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.” Oh, yeah. Education. Laurie graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a B.A. in Classics. That good enough for you, Mr. Darcy? (From the author's website.)