Monday, April 1, 2013

Ashford April

So, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been excitedly awaiting the arrival of Lauren Willig's first true stand alone novel (Two L being a trunk novel and law school satire it doesn't have the magic that the name Ashford brings, though it is still a great read, so make sure you read it). Seeing as an inordinate amount of my readers come from Lauren's website thanks to google analytics (hi fellow Lauren junkies!) I know you feel as I do. Ashford, finally! Not just the fact that it's a favorite writer of mine, but that it combines two things I love, the 1920s and Kenya, makes this book worthy of it's own themed month.

I have always been intrigued by East Africa, not just Egypt, which I'm sure my loyal blog readers will know is a true obsession of mine, but Kenya and The Happy Valley. I should add, that I think this is a hereditary affliction, seeing as my mother is also addicted to the likes of Isak Dinesen, Elspeth Huxley and Beryl Markham, therefore she was a great resource to raid for my month's reading selection, even if I did have to deal with her rants about how Robert Redford was woefully miscast in Out of Africa... therefore, using Lauren's "Ashford Origins" and "If You Like" posts on her blog I complied a reading list for April, which oddly also influenced last months Mitford March, in which I could revel in the world of The Ashford Affair and Kenya. It didn't hurt either when having the next snow storm being predicted to be able to dive into a nice warm continent.

So what do you have to look forward to this month, besides the release of The Ashford Affair? Well, there's a giveaway... how could I not have one I ask you? I am also bringing back my dream casting scenarios which I do love doing, for the book's leads, Bea and Addie. It was a little creepy how easily I was able to picture these two actresses as the leads... and no, I'm not going to tell you now, so you'll have to come back later. But what I think is most fun is that for each book I picked from Lauren's recommendations, Lauren has written a little blurb about her feelings on the book and how it either struck a cord with her or influenced her in some way. So, you're not just getting my blattering on about the books, but Lauren's as well. I do so hope you enjoy this new book as much as I did and this month as much as I did putting it all together! Also, don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win prizes (see below)!

The Prizes*:
1st Prize: A lovely 1st Edition of The Ashford Affair, as well as a SIGNED ARC of The Ashford Affair AND (yes there's more) a SIGNED Paperback copy of my favorite Lauren Willig Book, The Mischief of the Mistletoe... you can read the two versions of The Ashford Affair side by side and try to find the subtle differences!

2nd Prize: A 1st Edition of The Ashford Affair, as well as a SIGNED Paperback copy of The Seduction of the Crimson Rose, the 4th in Lauren's Pink Carnation Series.

3rd Prize: A 1st Edition of The Ashford Affair, as well as a SIGNED Paperback copy of The Temptation of the Night Jasmine, the 5th in Lauren's Pink Carnation Series.

*PS, the prizes deserve a BIG shout out to Lauren, for the signed paperbacks, she is such a wonderful supporter of blogs and libraries and is basically just totally awesome. Secondly a HUGE shout out to Sarah Goldstein at St. Martin's who not only provided me with ARCs, but is also providing the 1st editions. So fabulous to see that Lauren's new publisher is just as awesome as her Pink publisher, Dutton.

The Rules:
1. Open to EVERYONE (for clarification, this means international, yes, including Kenya, but sadly, not Kenya in the 1920s, I don't have a time machine, drat), just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter, you just get more entries if you prove you love me by following.

2. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if your name is drawn, either your blogger profile or a link to your website/blog or you could even include your email address with your comment(s) or email me.

3. Contest ends Tuesday, April 30th at 11:59PM CST

4. How to enter: Just comment in the space below!

5. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:

  • +1 for answering the question: If you where to build a home in Kenya's Happy Valley, what would you name your house?
  • +2 for becoming a follower
  • +10 if you are already a follower
  • +10 for each time you advertise this contest - blog post, sidebar, twitter (please @eliza_lefebvre), etc. (but you only get credit for the first post, so tweet all you like, and I thank you for it, but you'll only get the +10 once). Also please leave a link! There's a handy code on the side for your sidebars!
  • +25 if you comment on any of the posts during Ashford April, with something other than "I hope I win" or a variation thereof.
Good luck!

5 comments:

What a fun contest! Thanks, Eliza.

What a great giveaway, Eliza! :D

+1 for answering the question: If you where to build a home in Kenya's Happy Valley, what would you name your house?
Maybe...The White Carnation.
+10 if you are already a follower

Thank you for this chance! :D

Would love to win!

Alright, I'm here, you bully. And yes, I am almost certain I'd like her (and YES, I know I need to read Pink Carnation...).
Would it be really weird if I wanted to name my Kenyan house something punny and absurd? Not that I know what that would be, exactly... HaKenya Matata? ;P

(Of course I'm a follower. And I tweeted, but I was planning on doing that anyway... =D )

I can't math. Mostly because I don't remember what things were worth. But good luck to all!

Yeah! Please enter me in the drawing. :-) Love your blog!

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