And the WINNERS of the
Pride and Prejudice Anniversary Party Hop Giveaway are…
Paperback of The Annotated Pride and Prejudice – – – – – – – Monica P
eBook copy of Promises – – – – – – – Patricia Finnegan
eBook copy of Dreams and Expectations – – – – – – – Bettie Turner
ebook copy of All Hallow’s Eve – – – – – – – – Nicole Lapierre
Congratulations winners, and thanks to everyone who entered!
Winners were chosen through Random.org through Rafflecopter
I’m having a giveaway, too!
My love affair with Pride and Prejudice began in 1996, believe it or not, with seeing an ad for the movie “Emma” with Gweneth Paltrow. Later that day, I was at the video store where I saw the miniseries with Kate Beckinsale and grabbed it. I was hooked, and the next day found myself at the bookstore purchasing a compilation of all of Jane Austen’s books. Once I finished Emma, I moved on to read Pride and Prejudice, which immediately became my favorite, and I’ll admit that I became obsessed.
That poor paperback was soon worn out to the point that I had to throw it away and get a copy of each novel instead, and of course read them again. For some strange reason I must have always skipped Northanger Abbey whenever I read the compilation and was thrilled to bits to have found a “new” book by Austen. I started searching the stores and internet for any versions of movies based on Jane Austen’s books, and fell in love with them all, time and time again – especially P&P! (I have to say that I threw away the 1940 version after seeing the ending, only to receive it again for Christmas later that year – fate must want me to have a complete collection.)
For a few years, this was enough, and then I became just a little distracted by the birth of my triplets (understatement!) Once I began to find a little time to myself, I re-read all of Jane’s novels and joined the The Republic of Pemberley, where I discovered the world of Jane Austen Fan Fiction, and went searching for more. It took me by surprise to find so many stories out there, and I couldn’t get enough!
And now, I’d like to share the love….
I’ll be giving away one paperback copy of
The Annotated Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
Annotated and Edited by David M. Shapard
(Sorry, USA only):
AND
one eBook copy of each of my novels (from Smashwords, so that winners can download it in any format they’d like)
(International)
Then hop on over to
for a list of the many other blogs participating in the
blog hop party!
Please note:
Winners will be notified by email and announced here on January 30.
If a winner does not reply by Midnight Eastern Time, February 2,
another winner will be selected.
I woke up this morning and remembered a dream I had – for the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice, I was typing the entire text. Since many of my ideas for my stories also come from dreams, I decided that”s just what I’m going to do!
Check out the new page on my website.
Since I’m afraid it might disappear if I type it here, I’ll be typing in Word and pasting it from time to time. I certainly hope it all fits!
~~~~~
I was going to simply read Pride and Prejudice as part of
The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge 2013
at Austenprose.com
but this is one step better!
Have you ever become so involved with a story that you didn’t even want to stop reading long enough to eat or sleep? Yep, that’s what happened while I was reading Jessica Grey’s new release:
Janeites everywhere will love this story! It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed this hard or this often while reading a book. The characters were alive, and I couldn’t help but connect with Kelsey on so many levels.
I had written up a description for Attempting Elizabeth, and even chose a couple of quotes that I absolutely loved, but I decided not to use them when I realized they gave away too much of the plot. The official description tells the perfect amount:
“Kelsey Edmundson is a geek and proud of it. She makes no secret of her love for TV, movies, and, most especially, books. After a bad breakup, she retreats into her favorite novel, Pride and Prejudice, wishing she had some of the wit and spirit of Elizabeth Bennett.
One night at a party Kelsey meets handsome Australian bartender Mark Barnes. From then on, she always seems to run into him when she least expects it. No matter how Kelsey tries, she always seems to say the wrong thing.
After a particularly gaffe-filled evening around Mark, Kelsey is in desperate need of inspiration from Jane Austen. She falls asleep reading Darcy’s letter to Lizzy and awakens to find herself in an unfamiliar place that looks and sounds suspiciously like her favorite book. Has she somehow been transported into Pride and Prejudice, or is it just a dream?
As Kelsey tries to discover what’s happening to her, she must also discover her own heart. Is Mark Barnes destined to be her Mr. Darcy? In the end, she must decide whether attempting to become Elizabeth is worth the risk or if being Kelsey Edmundson is enough.”
I was left with one question at the end, but I was able to answer it myself by opening my copy of Pride and Prejudice. I’m relieved to declare that all is still as it should be!
I’m sure I’ll be reading this again soon!
~
I’m counting this book toward the Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge (austenprose.com)
Writer’s block has me reading at light speed!
Next up for review is another for the Regency Romance Reading Challenge (Austenprose.com.) I read a sample chapter of the following at the end of Desperate Measures, and I couldn’t resist adding it to my list:
Catherine Forsythe lives with her sister and sweet aunt. Penniless, the ladies depend on the kindheartedness and, erhm, resourcefulness of their manservant, MacDougal. Having already sold most of their belongings to put food on the table, they are never sure whether they’ll be able to continue doing so.
All are thrilled when Aunt Hetty’s old friend, the Duchess of Carlisle, invites them to her annual summer house party at her estate in the country. Always the most sensible of the three, Catherine sees the invitation as the chance of a lifetime—surely either her beautiful sister or she will find a rich husband and save them from living in poverty!
Stephen, the eccentric Duke of Carlisle, is unhappy about his mother’s plans to hold her house party this year. Although he usually left Chissingworth during her August gathering, this year he could not accept an interruption to his project – the addition of a glass conservatory to the estate, where he does much of the work personally. Stephen insists that his mother tell her guests that he is not in residence so that he will be spared the need to socialize and can continue his work.
When Stephen literally runs into Catherine while she admires his plantings, he finds there is indeed one guest he’d actually enjoy spending time with, especially since she does not recognize him as the duke and assumes he is the estate’s gardener instead. In order to continue hiding from the other guests, he uses his first two names when introducing himself, leaving off the rest which would identify him as the duke—and the charade begins!
A Garden Folly is an engaging and amusing tale of mistaken identity and romance that I highly recommend to all! I’m very glad I decided to add this to my list.
My first read for the Regency Romance Reading Challenge (Austenprose.com), my choice is:
Desperate Measures (A Regency Short Story) by Candice Hern
Lydia Bettridge is in love, but the gentleman couldn’t possibly think of her that way. Lydia, her brother, and his friend come up with a plan to catch the unnamed gentleman’s attention. When the scheme goes awry, will she still be able to cause her heart’s desire to become jealous, or will she fail, leaving her miserable for all time?
If I had to choose one word to describe this short story, it would have to be “delicious.” If you enjoy unrequited love stories, this short story is one you should not miss!
Since I’m suffering from writer’s block, I might as well take advantage of the time “off” and get started on the challenges I’ve signed up for this year.
First up in the Pride and Prejudice Bicententary Challenge is
Marilyn Brant’s new release, Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match
The premise of Dr. Will Darcy and single mom Beth Bennet meeting through “Lady Catherine’s Love Match Website” sounded interesting, so I grabbed it. Once I started reading it, only sheer exhaustion forced me to put it down, to be taken up the following day as soon as I was able, and reading straight through to the end.
Both Will and Beth have their motives for signing up for online dating, and “looking for love” is not among them. Beth, a sociology student, fakes her profile as research for her final paper. Will is more honest with his answers, but it is in response to a bet he can’t refuse – what he’ll win will help make a lot of people’s lives so much better.
After corresponding through email for a while, they meet. Attraction grows into something much more, but to take their relationship to a more serious level, they’ll have to confess their deceptions. Will either be able to trust the other once the truth is out? Can Will get past his prejudices and accept who Beth really is?
Although this story didn’t hit all the marks one expects from a Pride & Prejudice modernization, I thoroughly enjoyed every word of this sweet, romantic tale.
2013 is the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and I’m joining the celebration at Austenprose.com.
Between January 1, through December 31, 2013, participants can read, listen to, or watch movie adaptations of Jane Austen’s novel, or choose from the multitude of variations, sequels, and re-tellings.
Really, this should be a breeze for fans of Pride and Prejudice, but since I’ve never participated in a reading challenge before this year, I’m going to start off slowly, choosing a participation level of Neophyte: 1 – 4 selections.
If you’d like to participate, head on over to Austenprose.com to sign up before July 1, 2013.
There are so many, I’m having a little trouble figuring out just which novels, movies, or audio books to use for the challenge!
I’ll update my list to include more as I read them.
Author Wendi Sotis - Sweet Romance 