IN MY MAILBOX: LOVELY JANE AUSTEN STAMPS AND NOT ONLY

Every time I find a packet waiting for me in the mail box, I got excited, long to unwrap it and to discover its content. You may well figure the scene out thinking of a child eagerly waiting to open up his Christmas gifts. 

 If the packet happens to come  from abroad and it seems to contain a new book, I'm doubly excited and long even more to discover its content. 

I happen to have a few very good, generous friends, blogomates, readers who from time to time make me very, very happy with little (or big!) unexpected gifts.  They are so kind to me, they make me feel special,  but I'm not sure to deserve all their generosity. I'm always so terribly busy trying to keep my 3 blogs going, coping with school work, and with my many other chores,  that I feel I must sound rather distracted, distant, if not rude or ungrateful. 

This is why I wanted to thank these very special, very generous friends publicly and to share with you the joy of receiving these incredible gifts I'll  really treasure.

TO ENGLAND ON THE FOOTPRINTS OF JANE AUSTEN - Q & A POST WITH LAUREL ANN NATTRESS AND SYRIE JAMES

Laurel Ann Nattress (a life-long acolyte of Jane Austen, the editor of the short story anthology Jane Austen Made Me Do It, and Austenprose.com,)  and Syrie James (bestselling author of eight critically acclaimed novels) are going to travel back in time on a very special quest in search of Jane Austen.  They will  in fact travel to England and visit the homes and estates of Jane Austen as well as famous film locations used for Austen adaptations. Do you wish to join them?  Read about their exciting  plans...

Thanks a lot to both of you, Laurel Ann and Syrie, for being my guests again here at My Jane Austen Book Club. Useless to say I envy you!  How excited are you to go on your September trip to England?

Laurel Ann  : I am thrilled beyond belief! A Jane Austen Tour: Seascapes and Landscapes is indeed a dream come true for me, and sharing the experince with my good friend and author Syrie James makes it even more special. When Maria Stefanopoulos invited us to craft the itinerary to our liking, it was akin to the moment in Pride and Prejudice when Elizabeth Bennet writes to her Aunt Gardiner,“give a loose to your fancy, indulge your imagination in every possible flight which the subject will afford.” Amazingly, this Anglophile has never been to England before, so this excursion through Ingenious Travel is the perfect opportunity.

 Syrie: It has been five years since I last visited England, when I researched my novel The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen--and I had such a fabulous time, I can’t wait to return! We hope we have designed the ultimate Janeite fantasy trip! Wespecially requested all the locations on this tour, because they were such important places in Jane Austen’s own life. We will literally be walking in Jane’s footsteps—and for a Janeite,it is an awe-inspiring and unforgettable experience!

Pride and Prejudice - How Your Relationship Can Work Like Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy’s

(by guest blogger Jack Meyers) 

As I watch the romance of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy unfold before my eyes for the umpteenth time I still get carried away with the sweet aroma of romance. I am also overwhelmed with the mutual respect, courtesy, and mystery that surround this book-worthy couple. How do romances like this happen? Are they magical, well written romances that only can be found in a book? I come to the conclusion every time I watch the move or read the book that in all the imperfections and misunderstandings between them the sweeter the intrigue grows. 

After every trip into their world I find myself trying to understand the complexities of their interactions with each other and how they finally realized they were actually on the same page but did not see it. As you watch all their miscommunications, their arrogant, indignant attitudes, and their seemingly utter dismissal of each other’s emotional well-being, how did they fall in love?

MARILYN BRANT, PRIDE PREJUDICE AND THE PERFECT MATCH - GIVEAWAY WINNER

Have you read Marilyn Brant presentation of her latest Austenesque novel, Price Prejudice and The Perfect Match here at My Jane Austen Book Club?  If you've missed it have a look here.
Among the commenters, one lucky winner will have the chance to choose and win one of Marilyn previous publications  (see book covers above).

The winner picked up via random.org is ... LisaS !!!

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS GIVEAWAY HOP - LET'S CELEBRATE PRIDE & PREJUDICE

Published 200 years ago in 1813, Jane Austen's most popular novel, Pride and Prejudice, turns 200 years old today but has never been fresher and more loved. Pride and Prejudice is in many ways a record book. For instance, it  has never been out of print. It remains one of the best-read novels in the English language, with more than 20 million copies sold.

It's also the most filmed of the Austen novels, with 10 major films and TV miniseries, including the classic 1940 adaptation starring Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson with a script cowritten by no less a literary light than Aldous Huxley. Of course, for many of us Elizabeth has Jennifer Ehle's sweet smile and Mr Darcy Colin Firth dreamy stare.

So I've chosen a P&P - related gift to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Lizzy and Darcy and take part in the Random Acts of Kindness Giveaway Hop hosted at Read for the Future and I Am a Reader Not a Writer.

Take your chances in the rafflecopter form below and win the current issue (61 January/February) of 

Jane Austen's Regency World Magazine

WHAT ABOUT PLANNING A JANE AUSTEN SUMMER HOLIDAY? THE 6TH JANE AUSTEN FESTIVAL, LOUISVILLE

One of my dream is to be able to take part in a Jane Austen Festival sooner or later. Bath or New York, that wouldn't mind. The nearest event I can dream of is Bath Festival. I'm in Italy, Bath is in England, just a two-hours' flight and I may be there. If only I wasn't a teacher! Teachers work in September and to have days off for entertainment is not that easy, if not impossible.

However, that is not the only Jane Austen Festival in the world, isn't it? If you are too far or you can' t go in September, check out the upcoming Austen events among my tweets or on my daily paper, The Everything Austen Daily . Year after year there are lots of new amazing events all over the world,   in which hundreds of Janeites meet, have fun and celebrate our beloved author. 

What about having a look at one of them and its schedule? And what about starting planning a Jane Austen summer holiday?
One of the greatest summer events is the 6^th Annual Jane Austen Festival which will tale place on July 20 & 21, 2013 at beautiful Historic Locust Grove, Louisville, KY. 

MARILYN BRANT, PRIDE PREJUDICE AND THE PERFECT MATCH - AUTHOR GUEST POST AND GIVEAWAY

I've had the pleasure of being a guest on one of Maria Grazia's blogs before and, always, it's been a delightful experience! About 2 years ago, we did a Q&A about my debut novel, According to Jane, which was the story of a woman who had the ghost of Jane Austen in her head giving her dating advice. (To read Maria Grazia's post, just click HERE  and, if you'd like, you can find an excerpt from that novel HERE ).

 

My debut came out back in October 2009 and several other books followed it, but this new book -- my seventh novel, Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match -- is the first one since then that was an Austen-inspired story. I had a lot of fun writing this it! It's a short, contemporary romantic comedy about two people who don't believe they're really right for each other. Love has a way of changing their minds, though! Here's the premise:

 

A single mother and an ER doctor meet on an Internet dating site—each for reasons that have little to do with finding their perfect match—in this modern, Austen-inspired story. It’s a tribute to the power of both “pride” and “prejudice” in bringing two people romantically together, despite their mutual insistence that they should stay apart…