GRAVE EXPECTATIONS – authors Erwin and Dickens News

GRAVE EXPECTATIONS by authors Sherri Browning Erwin and Charles Dickens (Gallery Books; on-sale August 30, 2011; Trade Paperback Original; $15.00), the latest from the ever increasingly popular literary mash-up genre.

Great Expectations is a well-read, much beloved classic—so much so, it was chosen by Oprah as her book-club pick this year. Readers of the original will instantly recognize the novel’s original characters in their supernatural counterparts—GRAVE EXPECTATIONS rewrites Dickens’ Great Expectations, so that Pip is a werewolf, Estella is a slayer of supernatural creatures, and Miss Havisham is a self-hating vampire.

As you probably remember, author Sherri Browning Erwin brought us last year’s critically acclaimed Jane Slayre—the combination of Jane Eyre with zombies, vampires, and werewolves. The trend for the mash-up is still going strong, especially with the movie versions of Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies slated for upcoming theatrical release, and novels such as Wuthering Heights, Tom Sawyer, and Little Women the latest to be retold. GRAVE EXPECTATIONS is the first Dickens classic to be re-written, a timely choice, given that hundreds re-read it this year in Oprah’s book club.

Library Journal once again awarded Sherri Browning Erwin a starred review, saying “Erwin rises to the challenge, creating another masterpiece by making the strange even stranger. Highly recommended; astounding great fun!” Last year, they said, “Erwin raises the bar for the next generation of ‘monster classics,’” proving that Sherri’s mash-ups are in a class all their own. Even The Washington Post said it is “a clever conceit, with more than a few humorous moments.”

Here’s some more info about GRAVE EXPECATIONS: Born under a full moon, werewolf Pip must deal with the shame of his condition and low-ranking class status—and does all he can do hide it from Estella, the object of his desire. Estella, elitist as ever, has been trained to kill supernatural creatures by her guardian Miss Havisham, who is bitter, rage-filled, and jilted at being turned into a vampire at the hands of a man she once desired. When a mysterious benefactor sends Pip to London for the finest werewolf education money can buy, he learns to temper his transformations in the hopes of finally wooing Estella… but it turns out she has a supernatural secret all of her own.