strange and random happenstance

Every once in awhile a book comes along that I want to read, but due to school or work I haven't had time to read it, let alone go to a bookstore (I know, these sound like nightmarish conditions, a lack of bookstore time is one of the levels of hell). But then there's a competition. Something that makes me make sure to go check out the book. That happened with Joss Ware's new "sighting contest." I was to go forth into the world and take a picture of her new book, Beyond the Night, in it's natural habitat, a store... though wouldn't it's natural habitat be my tbr pile? Ah, but an excuse to go to a bookstore is better than anything! So many books, including this one, have now made their way to my house... if only I'd get those 160 thumbnails done for class I could really go for a nice long read.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 2:41 PM 4 comments  

Labels: Beyond the Night, Bookstores, Collen Gleason, Contest, Joss Ware, School

I'd like to thank Mike Norman once again for stopping by for all hallows week and offering up a great prize for one of my wonderful followers. If you haven't yet be sure to check out his website and all his great books for a truly spooky time. But now onto the part I know you're all waiting for, you're just like wolves at the gates...so anyways, the winner of the signed and inscribed copy of Michael Norman's new book, The Nearly Departed is...princess...DarcyO! Congratulations Darcy, and I hope you are ready to lock the doors and turn on all the lights as you read about the supernatural forces at work in Minnesota!

Thank you all for entering and don't forget that as always, the next giveaway will be just as good if not better! It's a Miss Eliza guarantee! I should have a Strange & Random Happenstance seal of approval for just such occasions. A nice crest or seal...something neat and impressive but overall truly unique and me. Anyways, very shortly I will be offering up to my readers The Betrayal of the Blood Lily, Lauren Willig's new ARC, which won't be out till January, you know you want to read it earlier than everyone else! I'm also thinking of rewarding current followers a little more for each competition...I also went to my local library's book sale today and I found some amazing gems! Truly wonderful books, some of them brand new, and quite a few earmarked just for you, my lucky lucky readers. I almost feel a Kylie Minogue song coming on....

Posted by Miss Eliza at 2:19 AM 2 comments  

Labels: ARCs, Contest, Halloween, Lauren Willig, Michael Norman, The Betrayal of the Blood Lily, The Nearly Departed, Winner

That's happy if you like the ass end of the prettiness of fall and the descent into winter bleakness accompanied by darkness at 5:30PM with dead leaves underfoot that are kind of slimy and try to trip you. But then again, those leave are probably just helping you get into training for ice...So what can we do to alleviate this sadness? Well, give books away that's how! If you recall I've been running two giveaways right now, what I refer to as the Ad(d)ams giveaways, one for the lovely Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in sweet boxed set form, the other for the biography of Charles Addams, the macabre creator of The Addams Family.

The 1st Giveaway:
As you may or may not recall, the question I asked you all was who was you favorite character in the Hitchhiker's books...Arthur was sadly beaten by a robot...a robot, who when he learns he one will not care, due to his chronically depressed nature...it's in his programming. Marvin won by a landslide. But let's give a shout out to GOD and the Existential Lift!

Now, drum-roll....The HHGTTG Winner of the boxed set is.....Sheere...who eerily enough was entry 43! That random.org...only one off from the answer to life, the universe and everything...creepy.

The 2nd Giveaway:
Well, the favorite Gomez Addams is John Astin...personally I think it's all about Raul...but there you go. You chose Patty Dukes husband, you know the one she cheated on and told her son, Sean "Samwise Gamgee" Astin that John was his father and there was all that drama. Who would have thought Patty Duke would be so messed up? That's just child actors for you...

Anyway, I digress, the winner of the book is....my goodreads, facebook and all around Doctor Who lover friend Michelle! Yeah Michelle, the random generator likes you today!

More Giveaways to come! If you didn't know, I still have one giveaway going till next Saturday night. You could be in with a chance to win The Nearly Departed signed and inscribed to you by the author, Micheal Norman! A rare opportunity that is. Plus I have will be having a giveaway of one of the books I recently reviewed...I was thinking of saving it till December, but then though, naw...you guys want it now!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 1:34 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Charles Addams, Contest, Douglas Adams, Giveaway, Michael Norman, The Addams Family, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Nearly Departed

The author of Hush, Hush, Becca Fitzpatrick is doing a contest: The Really Big HUSH, HUSH Launch Contest

From her website:
Take a picture of you with HUSH, HUSH (hardcover, not ARC) and post it to your blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc. between now and October 31st, and enter for a chance to win the really big prize pack, including:

1 signed copy of HUSH, HUSH (hardback)
1 audiobook
1 bag of HUSH, HUSH personalized M&Ms
1 HUSH, HUSH tee
1 HUSH, HUSH locker poster
1 $10 iTunes card
A five-page critique from my agent, Catherine Drayton, plus she'll help you whip your query letter into shape!

Email me the link(s) to your pictures (becca at beccafitzpatrick dot com), and I'll give you one entry point for every location you post. Also, I'm more than happy to ship internationally, so if you're from, say, The Netherlands, and happen to be in Los Angles or London or Des Moines during October and take a picture of yourself with HUSH, HUSH, as long as you post the picture and email me the link(s), you're entered.

Make sure the picture includes both you and HUSH, HUSH. Oh, yeah. And maybe, just maybe, there will be bonus points for creativity!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 6:44 PM 3 comments  

Labels: Becca Fitzpatrick, Contest, Hush Hush

I'd like to thank Michael Norman for stopping by my blog this week to lend a ghostly air to this most wonderful of holidays. Make sure you enter to win a signed and inscribed copy of his book! While that doesn't end for a week, I'll remind you that my other two giveaways end at the witching hour tomorrow! So get those entries in!

And to further get you in the mood for ghosts, there an interview with Mike over at the MinnPost...but the real gem is below...Mike's appearance on Space Ghost. As he said "I guess those "ancient" appearances will never die now with the Internet!" So for your enjoyment...Space Ghost's Halloween episode "Boo!"

Posted by Miss Eliza at 3:15 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Contest, Halloween, Haunted America, Haunted Heritage, Haunted Homeland, Haunted Wisconsin, Historic Haunted America, Michael Norman, Robert Hardy, Space Ghost, The Nearly Departed

Well, I've been holding out the best October has to offer till the very end. For the lead up to Halloween I have some wonderful treats in store! Tricks...not so much, but I might think of something.

With us this week I am honored to present the author Michael Norman. Perhaps you've caught him on the Discovery Channel, he's been on a few haunted castle documentaries hosted by Robert Hardy (Cornelius Fudge to you). Or Perhaps you've seen him on late night cable being interviewed by Space Ghost? Or maybe you've passed his books in Barnes & Noble? But after today I'm going to make sure you know who Michael Norman is! (That's if you don't already.) He's the king of ghost stories, having written the popular Haunted America series of true ghost stories. Haunted Wisconsin was published in 1979 and since then he has written six more books centering on the supernatural, all still in print! He's my "blogman" of the month, and I couldn't think of a better canidite for such a spooky phantasmagorical time of year than this veteran ghost hunter. He is currently "running hither and yon promoting The Nearly Departed," his newest book for the Minnesota Historical Society, but he'll be stopping by later this week for an in-depth Q&A with such important questions as his favorite all time Halloween costume. But in the meantime...a new competition!

Mike has generously offered up a signed and inscribed copy of his latest book to the winner. Let us take a quick look at this wonderful prize:

The Nearly Departed: Minnesota Ghost Stories and Legends by Michael Norman
Published by: Minnesota Historical Society Press
Publication Date: September 1, 2009
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Order

The official patter:
"Everyone loves a good ghost story.

Phantoms of the Paramount, Shadows on Third Avenue, The Legend of Ann Lake, The Boy in the Red Cap. Veteran ghost hunter Michael Norman has uncovered almost three dozen stories of legitimate Minnesota eeriness to thrill readers. Norman, author of five nationally popular collections of ghost tales, interviewed local storytellers and combed newspapers to document legends involving supernatural and strange occurrences. Following old and fresh leads, he gathered stories from all over the state.

Ghost stories have existed as long as humans have been telling tales. Perhaps they rise from our curiosity about what happens to us and our loved ones after death, perhaps they explain phenomena that we do not understand, or maybe, just maybe, the dead do walk the earth. Norman does not attempt to prove or disprove the existence of ghosts but instead allow readers to make up their own minds. his tales feature people's strange and paranormal experiences in quite ordinary places, including homes, theaters, B&Bs, and restaurants. Many of the engaging and hair-raising accounts involve strange and frightening incidents of the last fifty years; some tales document very recent unexplainable or spectral events. The book includes a list of sites open to the public and documents the hauntings' locations–from Taylors Falls and Pipestone to Northfield and Nobles County–for Minnesotan who may want to "pass through" the sites.

Beware: these stories do not have conclusive endings, since they remain mysteries to this day. but perhaps that's best. An ending would just take the fun out of it."

THIS COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

Prize:
The Nearly Departed: Minnesota Ghost Stories signed and inscribed by the author, Michael Norman

Question:
What was you favorite Halloween costume? (Come back later in the week to find out Mike's answer!)

The Rules:
1. Open to EVERYONE (worldwide), and just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter.
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).
3. Contest ends Saturday, November 7th at 11:59AM CST
4. How to enter: Just post below
5. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:

+1 for answering the question above
+2 for becoming a follower
+5 if you are already a follower
+10 for each time you advertise this contest - blog post, sidebar, twitter (please @MzLizard), etc. (but you only get credit for the first post at each site, so tweet all you like, and I thank you for it, but you'll only get the +10 once). Also please leave a link!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:32 AM 12 comments  

Labels: Contest, Halloween, Haunted America, Haunted Heritage, Haunted Homeland, Haunted Wisconsin, Historic Haunted America, Michael Norman, Robert Hardy, Space Ghost, The Nearly Departed

Remember you have 12 days left to enter my lovely October contests. No hassle, just write below and you could win either the complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a lovely trilogy in 5 volumes in sweet boxed set form. Or you could win the Charles Addams biography. Perhaps the Gods shine on you and you could win both...stranger things HAVE happened, I assure you. If I hit 150, something special will be added to this Ad(d)ams Contest Extravaganza!

THIS COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

Prize:
The Complete Hitchhiker's Trilogy Box Set (All 5 paperback books in a swanky slipcase)

Question:
Who is your favorite character in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? (note: doesn't have to be human)

The Rules:
1. Open to EVERYONE (worldwide), and just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter.
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).
3. Contest ends Saturday, October 31st at 11:59AM CST
4. How to enter: Just post below
5. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:

+1 for answering the question above
+2 for becoming a follower
+5 if you are already a follower
+10 for each time you advertise this contest - blog post, sidebar, twitter (please @MzLizard), etc. (but you only get credit for the first post at each site, so tweet all you like, and I thank you for it, but you'll only get the +10 once). Also please leave a link!

THIS COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

Prize:
Charles Addams, A Cartoonist's Life by Linda H. Davis

Question:
Who is the better Gomez Addams? Raul Julia or John Astin?

The Rules:
1. Open to EVERYONE (worldwide), and just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter.
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).
3. Contest ends Saturday, October 31st at 11:59AM CST
4. How to enter: Just post below
5. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:

+1 for answering the question above
+2 for becoming a follower
+5 if you are already a follower
+10 for each time you advertise this contest - blog post, sidebar, twitter (please @MzLizard), etc. (but you only get credit for the first post at each site, so tweet all you like, and I thank you for it, but you'll only get the +10 once). Also please leave a link!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 6:06 PM 13 comments  

Labels: A Cartoonist's Life, Charles Addams, Contest, Douglas Adams, John Astin, Raul Julia, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

and still going strong! This here is my 100th post. As the caption to the above piece says: "Just the kind of day that makes you feel good to be alive!" I really can't believe that I've actually had that much to say over the past few months, or that over 100 of you actually listen to my sometimes wildly rambling turns of phrase. I'm am ever so grateful to all of you, yes you and you and you, maybe not you, oh who am I kidding, yes you too. Every single last one of you who have stopped by to read or leave a comment or contacted me via email or stopped me when you've seen me to say hi. It really brightens my day to discuss books and miniseries and anything else with you all. You're all my virtual bffs! I must now proffer gifts in your general direction while Numfar does "The Dance of Joy" for you all. "The Dance of Joy" is a time honored tradition and Numfar does honor you and me by his display...if you were to look away and ignore Numfar he would do "The Dance of Sorrow," which is a pitiful thing to witness.



Now that Numfar has lightened our hearts and filled them with gladness, it's time to rattle those pots and pans...no wait...that's Ainsley Herriot on Can't Cook, Won't Cook...it's time to have a contest! That's it! More books to be won, more fun to be had! Well, as you hopefully all know I have a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Competition running concurrent with the one I'm about to announce! So, besides winning the complete Hitchhiker's Trilogy you could win the awesome Charles Addams biography, Charles Addams, A Cartoonist's Life, which is now out of print! I thought someone would guess it, but no one figures out that I was going to have a duel Ad(d)ams Giveaway! See, they're both named Addams, funny right? Well, anyways, Charles Addams, master of the macabre, king of New Yorker cartoons...the tv show, alright? And the movie? Addams family, that is him. Very seasonal, macabre, in a black maria in the foyer sort of way.

THIS COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

Prize:
Charles Addams, A Cartoonist's Life by Linda H. Davis

Question:
Who is the better Gomez Addams? Raul Julia or John Astin?

The Rules:
1. Open to EVERYONE (worldwide), and just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter.
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).
3. Contest ends Saturday, October 31st at 11:59AM CST
4. How to enter: Just post below
5. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:

+1 for answering the question above
+2 for becoming a follower
+5 if you are already a follower
+10 for each time you advertise this contest - blog post, sidebar, twitter (please @MzLizard), etc. (but you only get credit for the first post at each site, so tweet all you like, and I thank you for it, but you'll only get the +10 once). Also please leave a link!

And as always, a goal...if I reach 150 followers. Something extra cool and seasonal, and no, it will not be any weaponry from the Spanish Inquisition, nobody expects (prizes from) the Spanish Inquisition...oh damn. I said it.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 2:25 AM 12 comments  

Labels: 100th Post, Ainsley Herriot, Can't Cook Won't Cook, Charles Addams, Contest, John Astin, Numfar, Raul Julia, The Dance of Joy, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Spanish Inquisition

And Another Thing... by Eoin Colfer
Published by: Hyperion
Publication Date: October 13th, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Arthur Dent's accidental association with that wholly remarkable book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, has not been entirely without incident.

Arthur has traveled the length, breadth, and depth of known, and unknown, space. He has stumbled forward and backward through time. He has been blown up, reassembled, cruelly imprisoned, horribly released, and colorfully insulted more than is strictly necessary. And of course Arthur Dent has comprehensively failed to grasp the meaning of life, the universe, and everything.

Arthur has finally made it home to Earth, but that does not mean he has escaped his fate.

Arthur's chances of getting his hands on a decent cuppa have evaporated rapidly, along with all the world's oceans. For no sooner has he touched down on the planet Earth than he finds out that it is about to be blown up . . . again.

And Another Thing . . . is the rather unexpected, but very welcome, sixth installment of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. It features a pantheon of unemployed gods, everyone's favorite renegade Galactic President, a lovestruck green alien, an irritating computer, and at least one very large slab of cheese. "

Today it has been exactly 30 years since The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was first published. Since then the trilogy has expanded to include 5 books, as well as countless radio, audio and visual adaptations. Oh, and the author has died. In a very Adams' roundabout way of logic this has in no way impeded the franchise in any way. There's even a new book coming out today. This, in my humble opinion, is a risky gambit. Taking one of the most loved book series, that has a devote following, and having the temerity to say that another author can take over for Douglas Adams. It's truly a form of blasphemy. I mean look how rabid the fans get if you dare say you like the film versus the miniseries. Really I dare you! You risk hours of "this was not his intention" and a truly great hatred of Sam Rockwell, never mind the fact that Douglas Adams had final say on the script that was filmed to be filmed before he died and he knew the films direction and approved of it...well I'm sure you'll probably get a taste of the fans feelings in the comments below just from me opening my mouth. But that's not what we're here to discuss, we're here to discuss the hiring of Eoin Colfer.

Eoin Colfer, best known as the author of the Artemis Fowl book series, has been hired to write the sixth book. I have many whys. Why him? Why another book? The why now is kind of answered by the whole 30 years thing...Was there more unfinished material not contained in The Salmon of Doubt that indicated that a new book was almost finished? Did he have unprecedented access to Adam's Mac files? Did he channel the ghost of Douglas Adams while praying in front of a treadmill? I really want to know who thought this up and why a man known only for kids books about fairies? I mean, I'm definitely going to give it a go, and I'm going to one of Eoin Colfer's events...but still, if perplexes me beyond belief. It has fully captivated my attention and I'm going to learn as much as I can about it...at least they've made a decent website...

As Colfer has said about this endeavor:

“I have decided to embark on a very different project. Something unique that I hope will interest you as much as it does me. I have written the official 6th book in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Series. Most of you have probably already read Douglas Adams’ insanely brilliant space series. If you haven’t then you don’t know funny. Take it from me, the Hitchhiker books are bar none the funniest sci-fi books ever written. People have laughed so much reading Hitchhikers that they have had to have organs removed. One guy in France popped an eyeball. I kid you not.

So, what’s it all about, this Hitchhikers, I hear you cry. Actually I don’t hear you, if I did I would be sitting outside in your driveway, which would be a bit freaky and show how few friends I have. What’s it all about, this Hitchhikers, I imagine you cry. It’s about Arthur Dent, one of the last humans left alive after the Earth has been destroyed by the remorseless Vogons. Arthur manages to hitch a ride on a spaceship and go planet hopping with his friends Ford Prefect, the Betelgeusean journalist. Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two headed president of the galaxy, pirate and worst dressed man in the universe. And Marvin, the paranoid andriod.

All this hitching and adventuring went on for five books and then Douglas Adams passed away before he could write book six. Hitchhiker has been heard on radio, seen on tv and enjoyed on the cinema screen, there was even a musical version. But the story could never end, until now. I am going to continue on where Douglas left off. Unfortunately for me, he left off on rather a large cliffhanger. Everyone was dead. Which means I have rather a large challenge ahead of me, but it is one I am looking forward to.

The book will be out later this year. It will be called And Another Thing. And I really hope you will board the spaceship with me so we can travel through Douglas Adams’ hilarious galaxy together, which will save me having to hang around in your driveway.

See you at Barnard’s Star.”

Whichever way you look at it, we have a new Hitchhiker's book. Now it's up to the fans. It will be interesting to see if they will embrace it or claim it as non cannon. I'll be going to check out the event nearest me. Perhaps I'll see you there...but wait! There's more...a competition coming after the dates!

October 19th in Philadelphia
Free Library of Philadelphia 5:30PM

October 20th New York
Barnes & Noble, Union Square 7:00PM

October 21st Chicago Area (Downer's Grove)
Anderson's Bookshop at the Tivoli 6:00PM

October 23rd St. Louis
Left Bank Books 5:00 PM

October 24th Denver
Tattered Cover Bookstore 5:00PM

October 25th San Diego
Mysterious Galaxy Books 10:00AM

October 26th Los Angeles
Borders 5:00PM

October 27th Salt Lake City
Davis County Library 5:00PM

October 28th San Francisco
The Apple Store 12:00PM (Very appropriate due to Adams' life long association with Apple)

October 28th San Francisco
Kepler's 5:30PM

October 29th Portland
Powell's Books, Cedar Hills 5:00PM

October 30th Seattle
Barnes & Noble 5:00PM

I feel another competition coming on! Yes, clammy, irritable, the desire to win...no doubt about it, it's a competition! So what could you win you cry!?!

THIS COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

Prize:
The Complete Hitchhiker's Trilogy Box Set (All 5 paperback books in a swanky slipcase)

Question:
Who is your favorite character in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? (note: doesn't have to be human)

The Rules:
1. Open to EVERYONE (worldwide), and just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter.
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).
3. Contest ends Saturday, October 31st at 11:59AM CST
4. How to enter: Just post below
5. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:

+1 for answering the question above
+2 for becoming a follower
+5 if you are already a follower
+10 for each time you advertise this contest - blog post, sidebar, twitter (please @MzLizard), etc. (but you only get credit for the first post at each site, so tweet all you like, and I thank you for it, but you'll only get the +10 once). Also please leave a link!

And as always, a goal...if I reach 150 followers. Something extra cool.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:25 AM 12 comments  

Labels: And Another Thing, Artemis Fowl, Contest, Douglas Adams, Eoin Colfer, Sam Rockwell, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Salmon of Doubt, Tivoli Theater

So, the Philippa Gregory contest is at an end. I know you're all just dying to hear who the favorite monarch is! What, you said you wanted the winner, no, no, no, monarchs will not wait for anyone, I'm sorry, you have to wait. I said wait. In a last minute upset, Henry VIII took the prize out of the clutches of his own daughter's hand! I'm sorry Elizabeth I, it seems having your own tv show is more important to getting into peoples hearts than just a few movies...Victoria, you tried your best, take consolation that, even though in 3rd place, you are the longest reigning monarch, until 2016 that is...

As for our competition winner....(insert drum-roll, royal fanfare, etc, etc)....Jennifer, who has the awesome blog Rundpinne, and who ironically couldn't choose between Elizabeth or Henry...she could have easily chosen the winner there! Well she's our winner, enjoy your books and your sons birthday, which I see happens to be today! See moms do deserve presents for all they go through and random.org agrees!

But don't despair gentle readers because even if you did not win this contest, October has so much in store for you! The author Michael Norman will be stopping by to discuss all things paranormal and ghostly. Perhaps I might even be able to finagle a copy of his new book, The Nearly Departed, Minnesota Ghost Stories and Legends for you. Also I have two more giveaways! Both authors have the same last name, but for one letter, though they are pronounced the same. One of the giveaways is a trilogy, to which I'm giving away a boxed set of all five of the books. The other is a biography of a man, who really should be synonymous with this time of year. An extra 10 entries to the first person who can named either book(s)...20 if you get them both!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 1:58 AM 1 comments  

Labels: Contest, Giveaway, Jennifer, Michael Norman, Philippa Gregory, Rundpinne, The Boleyn Inheritance, The Nearly Departed, The Other Boleyn

Well...the competition is nearly at an end for The Other Boleyn Girl...but just to entice those who haven't entered and to reward those who have...you remember saying if I hit 100 followers, there might me an extra something something? No? Well, never mind that, though I'm surprised a few of you haven't mentioned it...I know how much you love free books! The added bonus prize is Philippa Gregory's The Boleyn Inheritance...hmmm is that a Boleyn theme I sense going on? Or perhaps a plot? Anyway, tomorrow, midnight, get those entries in!

THIS COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

Prize:
A Paperback Edition of The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory AND A Paperback Edition of The Boleyn Inheritance

Question:
Who is your favorite British Monarch? Are you a Henry VIII girl? A Richard III guy? Or maybe you favor a little Queen Victoria with a side of Prince Albert? I'd be interested to hear what you think.

The Rules:
1. Open to EVERYONE (worldwide), and just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter.
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).
3. Contest ends Wednesday, September 30th at 11:59AM CST
4. How to enter: Just post below
5. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:

* +1 for answering the question above
* +2 for becoming a follower
* +5 if you are already a follower
* +10 for each time you advertise this contest - blog post, sidebar, twitter (please @MzLizard), etc. (but you only get credit for the first post at each site, so tweet all you like, and I thank you for it, but you'll only get the +10 once). Also please leave a link!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 4:50 PM 8 comments  

Labels: Contest, Philippa Gregory, The Boleyn Inheritance, The Other Boleyn

So I hope you guys remember, there's still a competition going on right here on my site for a lovely edition of Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl! That's right! I know you want some Tudor drama, and she's the queen of Tudor historical fiction. I'm also going to a talk she's giving today at the Tivoli Theater in Illinois, so I should have some interesting stories to post when the winner is announced. So get on it and enter, you don't enter you can't win, simple as that! If I hit 100 followers, I'll add a little something special! (Currently that's like two more people, I know you guys have at least two friends, people you know, random strangers on the street who you can entice to follow my blog! So get on that will you!?!)

THIS COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

Prize:
A Paperback Edition of The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

Question:
Who is your favorite British Monarch? Are you a Henry VIII girl? A Richard III guy? Or maybe you favor a little Queen Victoria with a side of Prince Albert? I'd be interested to hear what you think.

The Rules:
1. Open to EVERYONE (worldwide), and just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter.
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).
3. Contest ends Wednesday, September 30th at 11:59AM CST
4. How to enter: Just post below
5. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:

* +1 for answering the question above
* +2 for becoming a follower
* +5 if you are already a follower
* +10 for each time you advertise this contest - blog post, sidebar, twitter (please @MzLizard), etc. (but you only get credit for the first post at each site, so tweet all you like, and I thank you for it, but you'll only get the +10 once). Also please leave a link!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 2:10 AM 21 comments  

Labels: Contest, Illinois, Philippa Gregory, The Other Boleyn, Tivoli Theater

As a final grace note to Michelle's big week (you remembered to go out and get her book right?), Michelle is back answering your questions, so lets see what Michelle has to say...

Question: What sparked your interest in archeology and ancient civilizations?

Answer: The inspiration for Nefertiti: A Novel began with the PBS television program Reading Rainbow. I was eight years old when the program featured a children’s book about dinosaurs. On the screen, a group of school children were huddled around a dinosaur bone, dressed in khakis and safari hats. They were squatting over a gigantic femur and tenderly cleaning off the dirt with their brushes. “That’s what I want to do,” I announced, and when my mother signed me up for a children’s course in paleontology at the Natural History Museum, I knew I wanted to join a dig someday.

Twelve years later I found myself sitting in Anthropology 101, and when the professor mentioned that she was looking for volunteers who would like to join a dig in Israel, I practically trampled the other students in my haste. Visions of artifacts danced in my head. After all, it was Israel, and who knew what we might find? For the three weeks before the orientation meeting, I agonized over exactly what I should bring. Shorts, of course, and heavy boots. But what about brushes? Were there special brushes that archaeologists used, or would the ones from Home Depot be okay? I finally settled on brushes from Home Depot, and when it came time for packing, I lovingly placed them in protective wrap and imagined all the priceless artifacts they’d soon be dusting.

When I landed in Israel, I unpacked my brushes and laced up my boots. I didn’t own a fedora, but I already felt like Josh Bernstein and I was ready to Dig Up Some Truth. As we arrived at the dig site, our team leader walked to the back of his van. I watched enthusiastically as he unloaded twenty pickaxes. When he began passing them out to the volunteers, however, I became concerned. They’ve mistaken me for someone else, I panicked, someone who’s signed up to dig ditches instead of brushing delicate femurs. “What is this?” I asked when it was my turn for a pickax. “One of your tools,” our team leader replied. “There’s a shovel as well. You’ll be digging six feet by ten.” When he saw the shock on my face, he frowned. “You knew that, didn’t you?”

For weeks we dug ditches, shoveling dirt into wheelbarrows and hauling the barrels of dirt down a hill. Over that summer I think I lost ten pounds, and I know that I gained some serious muscle. Plus, I never did get to use my brushes. Only seasoned archaeologists were allowed to do the delicate work. But by then I had already decided that I would rather dig through history with a pen than with a pickaxe!


Question: How awesome was it being on the History Channel?

Answer: We filmed the interview in Israel with Simka, The Naked Archaeologist- who remains fully-clothed, I hasten to add! It was wonderful, but scorching even in February. We shot the scenes at the tiled remains of an ancient synagogue, in the Jordan Valley by the Dead Sea. From Jerusalem, the "shining city on a hill", you descend to well below sea level in minutes, crossing the waist of the West Bank as you go. Looking across at the mountains of Moab, and up at Herod’s fortress at Masada is an experience I’ll never forget. Simka is a great interviewer and a fascinating guy, so I can't wait for the finished product to air sometime this fall.


Question: Are you influenced by writers in similar genres, like Elizabeth Peters and Margaret George or by writers in entirely different genres?

Answer: I did begin writing as a teenager in the science fiction/fantasy realm, but my love of history made a switch away something of an inevitability. Reading novels by writers like Margaret inspired me to move to historical fiction, and being able to get to know her personally since then has been pleasantly surreal. She's unbelievably charming and kind, and supportive of younger writers, too.


Question: With your first two books being about Egypt during the time period of Nefertiti and Akhenaten, otherwise known as the Amarna period, what do you make of the Amarna Art movement where for the first time in Egypt people were being painted realistically?

Answer: In some ways, the artists working there are the true intellectual ancestors of the classical tradition, and thence the modern world. You could argue they began it all: observation, the beginnings of empiricism, and the developed skill needed to represent reality in a way that still makes us gasp. The artwork was a fantastic resource for me as an historical author, given the blend of realistic and stylistic presentation. The impressions from one painting in particular formed the embryo of the entire novel:a family portrait found at Amarna. As a young girl Nefertiti had married a Pharaoh who was determined to erase the gods of Egypt and replace them with a sun-god he called Aten. It seemed that Nefertiti’s family allowed her to marry this impetuous king in the hopes that she would tame his wild ambitions. What happened instead, however, was that Nefertiti joined him in building his own capital of Amarna where they ruled together as god and goddess. But the alluring Nefertiti had a sister who seemed to keep her grounded, and in an image of her found in Amarna, the sister is standing off to one side, her arms down while everyone else is enthusiastically praising the royal couple. From this image, and a wealth of other evidence, I tried to recreate the epic life of an Egyptian queen whose husband was to become known as the Heretic King.


Question: I’ve been asking people this week whether they would choose Egyptian or Roman times to live and, so far Rome is winning 2 to 1, where would you choose to live?

Answer: It's a hard call because some aspects of Egyptian life were more humane and enlightened than Rome. But perhaps the Roman indoor plumbing would lure me in, too! Rome had an unrivalled intellectual climate, which has to play a role in the decision. Also, the social pyramid was even steeper in Egypt than in ancient Rome, so unless I felt lucky, I think a Roman reincarnation would be a safer bet!


Question: Egypt being a feline-centric society, are you more of a cat or a dog person?

Answer: Cats! I have a psychic bond with them that causes them to find me wherever I go, like heat-seeking furry missiles.


Question: Did you watch the TV show Rome? If so, what did you think of the portrayal of Cleopatra and Marc Antony as almost an early version of Sid and Nancy?

Answer: I think James Purefoy was perfectly cast, but the drug aspects were likely overblown. As charter members of the “Society of Inimitable Livers”, however, Cleopatra and Marc Antony did know how to have a good time!


Question: Have you ever visited Pompeii?

Answer: Three times! Each time has been better than the last. There's a section on my website gallery page detailing just a few of the stunning treasures preserved there.


Question:From Ancient civilizations to revolutionary France, bit of a jump, what inspired that?

Answer: Yes, I’m halfway through my fourth novel, entitled Madame Tussaud. When you add together my love of France, as well as her incredible story, it’s proving to be a joy to write! I suppose there were three reasons. As a Francophile, I would put Jefferson to shame. The politics of the time seem instructive. And finally, after three novels set in the ancient world, I felt that my readers might enjoy a brief sojourn into the more familiar!


Question: What do you make of Madame Tussaud’s legacy, not as a great artist or revolutionary but as the wax museum lady?

Answer: It’s amazing how powerful the hold of wax figures still is in the 21st century, given the essentially low-tech nature of the craft. You would think that we would be jaded by all the multimedia, high-definition, plasma screen what-have-you. But people still throng to celebrity, from a totemic sense deep inside us that we can touch and own a piece of it. That impulse is millennia-old, and won’t disappear in a two-hundred year blink of an eye. As for the formidable Madame herself….. What would she have thought of people posing next to wax George Clooneys and Shakiras, or making indecent poses next to half-naked Kylie Minogues? As the consummate survivor, marketer and self-promoter, I think she would have nodded appreciatively at the long lines by the ticket booth!


Question: There has always been something creepy about wax works and the fact that Madame Tussaud started out making death masks seems somewhat fitting. Do you find waxworks kind of macabre?

Answer: Visiting the “halls of heads” in some factories’ darkened vaults has been a little eerie. But that’s nothing compared though to Tussaud’s experiences- having to fetch the bloody, decapitated heads of friends she had known in her jail cell just hours before, and model them by hand.

Question: On your website you have a great gallery of your favorite paintings, do you have a favorite museum or artist?

Answer: Monet! For historical artifacts, though, Athens’ Archaeological Museum is superb, and a must-visit for any antiquities fan. The Capitoline in Rome, Cairo of course, and for more oils, you can’t go wrong with Paris’ D’Orsay.

Question: What do you feel of the phenomenon of book trailers?

Answer: I had tremendous fun watching the Cleopatra’s Daughter trailer take shape: director Brady Hall is a genius. It is pricy, but in our visual culture, a chance to cross into different media is always a worthwhile way to build awareness. And who knows, perhaps a Hollywood big name might find their imagination sparked by the idea of a movie version!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 2:07 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Amarna, Cleopatra's Daughter, Contest, Egypt, Heretic Queen, James Purfoy, Michelle Moran, Monet, Nefertiti, Roman Coin, Rome

So today my friend Kristen, over at Bookworming in the 21st Century, is featuring me on her Saturday Spotlight. It is a great honor because she is really an amazing blogger, with over 300 followers, and she's only been at it about as long as me! Since August, every weekend she features two bloggers that are new to the world of book blogging. I'm really grateful for the opportunity to expose even more people to my little blog and hope that you'll stick around if you're a first time visiter! (Of course if you're a regular visiter I appreciate you all the more!) Also the fact that my moment in the spotlight falls right before Blogger Appreciation Week (9/14-9/18) makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Yeah for the blogisphere!

Also in honor of my little bit of fame and the fact that I think you guys want another chance to win something, I'm announcing a new competition. The prize was chosen because I'm actually lucky enough to be going to see Philippa Gregory on the 19th and I thought, well...maybe my blog readers would like a little Tudor loving?

THIS COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

Prize:
A Paperback Edition of The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

Question:
Who is your favorite British Monarch? Are you a Henry VIII girl? A Richard III guy? Or maybe you favor a little Queen Victoria with a side of Prince Albert? I'd be interested to hear what you think.

The Rules:
1. Open to EVERYONE (worldwide), and just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter.
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).
3. Contest ends Wednesday, September 30th at 11:59AM CST
4. How to enter: Just post below
5. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:

• +1 for answering the question above
• +2 for becoming a follower
• +5 if you are already a follower
  
• +10 for each time you advertise this contest - blog post, sidebar, twitter (please @MzLizard), etc. (but you only get credit for the first post at each site, so tweet all you like, and I thank you for it, but you'll only get the +10 once). Also please leave a link!

If I hit 100 followers, I'll add a little something special!

THIS COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:11 AM 12 comments  

Labels: Blogger Appreciation Week, BookWorming in the 21st Century, Contest, Henry VIII, Kristen, Philippa Gregory, Queen Victoria, Richard III, Saturday Spotlight, The Other Boleyn

Thanks to everyone who entered for participating in Michelle Moran week here at Strange & Random Happenstance. Also sorry for not publishing this immediately, I hate getting sick. In a very apt reflection of history, Rome beat Egypt as the time when most of you would have chosen to live. Personally, I'm all for Egypt, an Empire who wrote with pictures and worshiped cats is all good in my book. Well, onto the randomly generated winner...Cindy Pon! Congratulations Cindy and take that Rome, Cindy also chose Egypt! I hope you do enjoy this lovely new book from Michelle and I hope that all of you will keep your eyes out for the book she's starting, Masks of the Revolution. Michelle is working hard on answering your questions, so be sure to check back in next Friday! Also there will be a new competition tomorrow to coincide with my blog being featured on Bookworming in the 21st Century!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 3:00 PM 3 comments  

Labels: Cleopatra's Daughter, Contest, Egypt, Heretic Queen, Michelle Moran, Nefertiti, Roman Coin, Rome

Now Michelle Moran week continues with the first part of my Q & A (remember the contest is still ongoing). Part two will be posted on next Friday, while the winner of the competition will be posted on Friday, but I need your questions for Michelle so that we have a part two. Personally I always find it hard to think of a question for an author, especially if I'm not familiar with their work. So here's part one to familiarize yourselves with Michelle so you can think up some great questions for part two. Feel free to post your questions in the comments below or to email them to me and I'll try to make sure all your questions get answered! Also don't forget to enter the contest to win a signed copy of her new book, Cleopatra's Daughter, as well as a real Roman Coin!

Now to the Q & A:

Question: What prompted you to write a novel about Cleopatra’s daughter?

Answer: I do a great deal of traveling both for research and for fun, and most of my destinations are archaeological sites. On a trip to Alexandria in Egypt, I was afforded the amazing opportunity of participating in a dive to see the submerged remains of Cleopatra’s ancient city. More than ten thousand artifacts remain completely preserved underwater: sphinxes, amphorae, even the stones of the ancient palace. Although I'm not a fan of diving, it was an incredible experience, and it changed the way I looked at Cleopatra. I immediately wanted to know more about her life, and it was mere coincidence that my next trip took me to Italy, where her ten year-old children were brought to live after her suicide. While in Rome, I was able to retrace her daughter's steps, and upon seeing where her daughter had lived on the Palatine, I knew I had my next novel.


Question: What was it like to walk where Selene walked? In particular, what was it like to visit Octavian’s villa?

A: Unbelievable. For two thousand years, Octavian’s villa has sprawled across the top of the Palatine Hill, slowly deteriorating. At one time, its vibrantly painted dining room had hosted magnificent feasts, one of which would have been the celebration of the emperor’s triumph over Marc Antony and Cleopatra in Egypt. As the heir to Caesar, Octavian was determined to rule the western world without interference. He changed his name to Augustus, and with the help of his general Agrippa and his architect Vitruvius, he turned a city of clay into a city of marble.

I had known all of this on that day in March when the villa was opened for the first time in more than a century. What I hadn’t known, however, was just how unbelievable that trip back into the world of ancient Rome would be. After three million dollars in restoration, Italian archaeologists have been able to recreate not just the intimate library and studies Augustus used, but the mosaic floors he once walked on and the vividly painted ceilings he once walked beneath with Ovid, Seneca, Cicero, Horace, and even Julius Caesar himself. As we were quickly escorted through the frescoed rooms, we stopped in the triclinium – the dining room which had once seen so many famous faces smiling, laughing, even crying for mercy. With a little imagination, it was easy to see the tables and couches that had once adorned the chamber, and there was the undeniable feeling of standing in the presence of the ancients. It was the kind of feeling you only get in Grecian temples or Egyptian tombs.


Question: In all three of your novels, your narrators have been teenage girls. Is there are reason for this?

Answer: Actually, yes. I like to begin my novels during the time of greatest transition in a person’s life. And in the ancient world, the greatest transition in a woman’s life was often the time when she was married. Because women married at much younger ages two thousand years ago (twelve years old was not uncommon), my narrators have all been very young girls. In fact, Random House will be making a concerted effort to market Cleopatra's Daughter to young adults as well as adults. However, as my novels progress through time (my next book, for example, will be about Madame Tussaud), my narrators will be older.


Question: Is the Red Eagle based on an historical person?

Answer: Yes. The Red Eagle is actually based on several men who led slave rebellions (unsuccessfully, I might add) against Rome. Spartacus led the most famous revolt, but there were other men too, such as Salvius, who waged war with his army of slaves in ancient Sicily.


Question: You write in your acknowledgements page that the character of the Red Eagle is an homage to the works of several authors. What made you decide to do this?

Answer: Creative as well as personal reasons. First, I wanted to create a character that fans of swashbuckling adventures might love, and it wasn’t at all difficult to find historical personalities on which to base such a hero. Men like Spartacus and Salvius were heroes in the truest sense of the word. But I didn’t want there to be too much action, and certainly not so much that it would detract from the real story – that of Selene and her twin brother Alexander growing up in a foreign court. I could certainly have chosen not to include anything as obviously fictitious as the Red Eagle. But I wanted to illustrate just how threatening slave rebellions were at that time, and how ever-present the danger of becoming a slave would have been, even to captured royalty. And the creation of the Red Eagle wasn’t a huge stretch. Many rebels who came before – and after – the Red Eagle employed similar tactics: rousing the plebs, arming the slaves, and encouraging those in servitude to passive resistance.

On a more personal note, however, I wanted to include the Red Eagle because I knew it would be a character my father would have loved. He devoured anything having to do with ancient Rome, and I deeply regret not having written this while he was still alive.


Question: Was a third of Rome’s population really enslaved?

Answer: Sadly, yes. And you didn’t have to be born a slave to become one. You could be kidnapped and sold into slavery, your city could be overrun and you could be turned into a slave, or you might be sold into servitude by your own parents. Slavery meant an absolute loss of every human right we now take for granted, and as a slave, your body was no longer your own. Many slaves were physically and sexually abused, regardless of age or gender.


Question: Where did these slaves come from?

Answer: Many were Gallics and Greeks. The Gallics were from Gaul, a region which now encompasses France, Belgium, parts of Switzerland, and Germany.


Question: When did slavery end?

Answer: It hasn't. In the Western World, it was slowly - very slowly - phased out with the coming of Christianity (which was one of the reasons Christianity flourished… it appealed to the disenfranchised and enslaved, making everyone equal if not on earth than in the next life). But slavery certainly hasn't ended for everyone. There are women and children who are ensalved today, even in America and Europe. Of course, this isn't legal. Many of these victims of modern-day human trafficking have been brought over from places like Albania or Algeria and have no resources to escape. That's why organizations such as STOP International exist. You can visit them here.


Question: Is it still possible to visit the places Selene visited when she was in Rome?

Answer: Yes. In 2008, I went on a photographic safari in search of the places Selene would have gone during the brief years she was in Rome. Many of the photos are included here!


Question: What are you working on next? Will it also be marketed to both adults and YA?

Answer: Actually, my next book will be firmly adult fiction. MASKS OF THE REVOLUTION is about Madame Tussaud, who joined the gilded but troubled court of Marie Antoinette, and survived the French Revolution only by creating death masks of the beheaded aristocracy. I’m very excited about this novel, since Marie (the first name of Madame Tussaud) met absolutely everyone, from Jefferson to the Empress Josephine.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:01 AM 3 comments  

Labels: Cleopatra's Daughter, Contest, Egypt, Heretic Queen, Michelle Moran, Nefertiti, Roman Coin, Rome

So who besides me just loves anything about Egypt? Well if the answer is yes, and I sure hope it is, have you ever read anything by Michelle Moran? She has written the books Nefertiti and The Heretic Queen, about the beautiful Egyptian queen married to the ruler who believed in the one true god, the sun, Aten. Well she has a new book coming out next week! Cleopatra's Daughter has all the Egyptian intrigue but now in Rome. A story set in the time when two of the greatest empires the world has ever seen coexisted, this is a must read in my book, plus another book for my goodreads "Egypt" shelf. But even better you might be able to read this book for free? How you say? Well, I'm having a special Cleopatra's Daughter Contest sponsored by the author herself.

THIS COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

Prizes:
A Signed Hardcover of Cleopatra's Daughter
An ancient Roman coin complete with certificate of authenticity

Now how cool is that? I know a few people who would enter just for the coin!

The Rules:
1. Open to EVERYONE (worldwide), and just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter.
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).
3. Contest ends Friday, September 11th at 11:59AM CST
4. How to enter: Just post below, but for my own curiosity, so you don't have to answer if you don't want to: Would you rather have lived during the height of the Egyptian Dynasties or during the Roman Empire?
5. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:

• +1 for answering the question above
• +2 for becoming a follower
• +5 if you are already a follower
  
• +10 for each time you advertise this contest - blog post, sidebar, twitter (please @MzLizard), etc. (but you only get credit for the first post at each site, so tweet all you like, and I thank you for it, but you'll only get the +10 once). Also please leave a link!

Good luck to you all! Also be sure to check out the author's website for more cool contests, like digging for Cleopatra, where you can become a literary archeologist for a day, and other information on Michelle Moran! Also be sure to stop by on Wednesday where I'll have a Q&A posted with the author and make sure to leave your questions for Michelle, because she'll be back next Friday with the answers to your questions as well as the winner being announced!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:24 AM 20 comments  

Labels: Cleopatra's Daughter, Contest, Egypt, Heretic Queen, Michelle Moran, Nefertiti, Roman Coin, Rome

While the equinox is officially a few weeks away I feel that Labor Day Weekend more effectively marks the end of summer. If you go to school, if you aren't back in classes yet, come Tuesday you will be. The air is getting crisper, even if we still have a few days of blistering heat randomly interspersed with the prospect of fall. People are thinking of leaves and apples and football. Not yet quite worrying about the winter to come and just starting to miss the summer that's gone.

As a last hurrah to summer I give you the official list of your favorite summer reads, as compiled from my 50th post competition. While some of these books I already hold dear to my heart, as your posts have shown you do as well...I now have some new books to read and perhaps keep me warm and thinking of summer in the chilly months ahead.

So I proudly present, the best summer reads:

Stephen Ambrose's Louis and Clark
Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
Pam Bachorz's Candor
Ann Brashares' Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Frank Beddor's The Looking Glass Wars
Maeve Binchy's Circle of Friends
Judy Blume's Summer Sisters
Maggie Brendan's No Place for a Lady
Shane Briant's Worst Nightmares
Nancy Bond's A String in the Harp
Jill Conner Browne's The Sweet Potato Queen's Book of Love
Augusten Burroughs
Meg Cabot
Rachel Caine's Glass House
*Kristin Cashore's Graceling
*Kristin Cashore's Fire
Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay
Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Andrei Cherny's Candy Bombers
Cassandra Clare's City of...Series
Catherine Clark's Wish You Were Here
Elizabeth Chandler's Kissed by an Angel
*Suzanne Collins' The Huger Games
*Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire
Jacqui D'Alessandro's Tempted by Midnight
Holly Denham's Holly's Inbox
Sarah Dessen's Along for the Ride
Sarah Dessen's Lock and Key
Sarah Dessen's This Lullaby
Sarah Dessen's The Truth About Forever
Alexander Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo
Jennifer Echols's Major Crush
Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush
Jostein Garrdner's Sophie’s World
Rachel Gibson's Truly Madly Yours
Laurel K. Hamilton's Anita Blake
Silas House's Clay's Quilt
Silas House's A Parchment of Leaves
John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany
Jennifer Jabaley's Lipstick Apology
Julie James' Practice Makes Perfect
Maureen Johnson's The Bermudez Triangle
Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic Series
Alisa Kwitney's On the Couch
Margo Lanagan's Tender Morsels
Wally Lamb's I Know This Much is True
Wally Lamb's She’s Come Undone
Elizabeth Leiknes' The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns
Julie Lessman's A Passion Most Pure
Marina Lewycka's A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian
Anne Lindbergh's Travel Far, Pay No Fare
Astrid Lingren's Ronia the Robber’s Daughter
Ben Logan's The Land Remembers
Lisa Mantchev's Eyes Like Stars
Yann Martel's Life of Pi
*Stephenie Meyer's Twlight
Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn
Stephenie Meyer's The Host
Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind
*L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables Series
Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran
*Sarah Ockler's Twenty Boy Summer
Christopher Paolini's Brisingr
Francine Pascal's Fearless
Diana Peterfreund's Rampant
Marie Phillips' Gods Behaving Badly
Cindy Pon's Silver Phoenix
Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game
Patrick Rothfus' The Name of the Wind
Michelle Rowen's Immortality Bites
*J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series
Nicholas Spark's Three Weeks with My Brother
Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver
Joanna Trollope
Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer
Jessica Verday's The Hollow
Melissa Walker's Lovestruck Summer
*E.B. White's Charlotte’s Web
Michelle Zink's Prophecy of the Sisters

*Photo from Jefie, at VirtualTourist

Posted by Miss Eliza at 2:56 PM 0 comments  

Labels: 50th Post, Best Summer Reads, Contest, Lbor Day Weekend, School

Thank you all for entering my 50/50 Competition and answering my curiosity about what books remind you of summer. I large number of you chose Harry Potter, (though this could have been due to my mentioning it, but I'm still going to declare Harry a winner anyway) followed closely by Sarah Dessen, Kristen Cashore, Stephenie Meyer and Suzanne Collins. The books ranged from historical to sci-fi to classics, but our winner had a soft spot for....one of the authors already mentioned...cryptic much?

I just love that due to when books are read, or where they are read, they become associated with a certain time or place, one book might remind you of a cold winters day, another might remind you of hiding in your room late at night reading past when you should have gone to bed, while another might remind you of a perfect day. Summertime reminds me of many books, heavily of Harry Potter because of reading it out on the porch in the overwhelming heat because it was the quietest place I could find and I had to read it immediately. But I am also reminded of the first time I read George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice, I try not to read overly cold books when it is cold, that would be sadistic. But there is also A.S. Byatt's Possession, which I remember being a summer read I was not overly fond of, but still distinctly summer. Finally there is the Lloyd Alexander Westmark series, just as good, if not better then Prydain, everyone should read it!

But enough about me reminiscing, the winner of my lovely prize pack is.....2point0blog! Who loved the Olympic feel of The Hunger Games! And I'm sure everyone remembers Catching Fire is released today!

I would also like to give a runner up prize to Brimful Curiosities, if only because her book was The Land Remembers by Ben Logan and my parents published that book!

Thank you all for the wonderful turnout for this competition, the first, but by no means the last! I already have some interesting prizes for the coming months, one is a biography about I man I truly admire for his dark sense of humor and his artistic abilities. Another, which I will be announcing soon, perhaps even before the week is out, has to due with an author I recently mentioned in my "Tuesday Tomorrow" post and who I'm lucky enough to hear speak in the coming weeks! Road trip for book talks, is there anything better? Well...maybe contests....

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:06 AM 3 comments  

Labels: 50th Post, Barnes and Noble, Contest, George R.R. Martin, Giftcard, Harry Potter, Kristen Cashore, Lloyd Alexander, Prydain, Sarah Dessen, Stephenie Meyer, Suzanne Collins, Westmark

Thanks for stopping by, but this competition is now closed, to see the winner go here. Look for a new competition in the coming weeks.

We are just hours away from the announcement of the winner of the lovely Barnes & Noble $25 Gift Card and I thought perhaps those who haven't entered yet might need a little nudge. So here, for the first time (because I haven't said it anywhere else...though I did tell some friends on facebook, but nevermind them) is the disclosure of the "Super Secret Bonus Prize." The thank you, as it were, to all those lovely people who got me to 50 followers!

The full prize pack:
A $25 Gift Card to Barnes & Noble
A copy of Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris, a must for every Biblophile!
A Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Bookmark. Harry has a lot of fans posting on this blog.
A set of Book Darts, great for marking your book without marking your book, if you know what I mean.
An Alice in Wonderland quote magnet
And a beautiful little notebook

All yours if you go and enter the competition right now! I'm accepting entries until 11:59PM TODAY, August 31st, 2009. The winner will be announced at midnight, or shortly thereafter.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:28 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 50th Post, Alice in Wonderland, Barnes and Noble, Book Darts, Contest, Ex Libris, Giftcard, Harry Potter