Guest Post & Giveaway: Jane Austen's First Love by Syrie James!

You all know I love me some Austen (*cough* understatement of the year *cough*), so of course, I'm very happy to be part of the awesome blog tour for Syrie James' latest Austenesque work, Jane Austen's First Love! This one has an amazing prize pack, guys gals — actually, a number of them, but that grand prize, though! Let's just say, I'm gonna be jealous of whoever wins these! =D

Anyway, before we get into all that, Syrie is here to tell us a little bit about what else she likes to do, besides match-making everybody's favorite Jane. Check that out below, and then come chat with me in the comments for a chance to win some lovely Austen goodies!!

My Top Ten Fav Things To Do When I’m Not Writing

(in no particular order)

By Syrie James

1. Go to the movies

My husband Bill and I are diehard movie fans. As a screenwriter I’m fortunate to belong to the WGA, which screens dozens of the newest movies every month for its members. We try to see everything that catches our fancy, which adds up to a LOT of movies. Our favorite genres are romance, historical, drama, biography, mystery, thriller, and action adventure. We also love selected comedies (not the raunchy ones), animated films, westerns, sci-fi, crime movies (if they’re not too graphic), and fantasy. My husband likes war movies; I’d rather skip those unless it recounts a part of history I’ve never seen.

In January, we go to the Palm Springs International Film Festival and see about 35 foreign films in ten days—crazy, I know, but so worth it! In one day, we might start with a film in the Netherlands, then go to Thailand or Belgium, Iceland or Egypt, and finish with a movie from Japan. It’s like traveling around the world in a single day, with breaks in between to grab food and chat with other film-lovers in line.

2. Watch TV

Is it kosher to admit that another fave thing is to just relax in front of the tube after a hard day’s work? We love shows like Blue Bloods, The Mentalist, and Nashville (and my husband loved Game of Thrones), but our top favorite is everything on Masterpiece Theatre. Sherlock! Downtown Abbey! Yeah!

3. Take in some theater

Lest you think we spend all our free time sitting in front of a movie or TV screen, may I add that we also adore live theater. There are so many opportunities here in Los Angeles to see the best that theater has to offer. We have season tickets to several theater companies. We often make a date out of it, with dinner before or after.

4. Eat good food

Which reminds me of another much loved thing to do: eating great food at one of our favorite restaurants, or trying some place new. I cook at home most evenings, but I don’t have time to experiment, so it’s fun to go out now and then. You can find any kind of food your heart desires in L. A.!

5. Play games

One of my fav ways to spend an evening is playing cards or board games with friends and family. I’m a fan of Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble, Password, Rummy Royal, Wits and Wagers, and Boggle—although no one will play Boggle with me any more because they say I find too many words. I can’t help it. My brain is full of words. It’s a professional hazard.

6. Immerse myself in water

This includes swimming, relaxing in our hot tub, and taking long, leisurely baths (with bubbles, of course.)

7. Design and sew costumes

When I was in high school, my mother refused to let me to take a typing class (which I insisted I needed to become a writer) until I’d first taken an advanced sewing class. She said I’d need it when I was a mother some day. She was right. I used to sew all my sons’ Halloween costumes, and I had a blast serving as Costume Mistress for the dozens of plays and musicals they were in. Today, I have fun designing and sewing all of my (and my husband’s) Regency attire, which we wear to dance the night away at Jane Austen balls!

8. Miscellaneous fun stuff

Regency country dancing (see #7.) Photography. Taking walks. Visiting beautiful gardens and museums.

9. Read

This will not surprise anybody: I love to read. Every night, I spend an hour or two reading in bed—you will always find at least one or two books on my nightstand (along with my Kindle) as well as a few magazines. Reading is the best training ground I know for an author. And when I’m writing a Jane Austen novel (as in my latest, Jane Austen’s First Love), I reread Austen’s books over and over to help me keep her writing style in my head.

10. Down time with family

My favorite thing of all is to spend time with my husband, our sons, and their wives (who fortunately live right down the street or around the corner), and our friends—doing any or all of the activities above!

**** Grand Giveaway Contest ****

Win One of Five Fabulous Jane Austen-inspired Prize Packages

But wait! There's more!!

To celebrate the holidays and the release of Jane Austen's First Love, Syrie is giving away five prize packages filled with an amazing selection of Jane Austen-inspired gifts and books!
To enter the giveaway contest, simply leave a comment on any of the blog stops on the Jane Austen's First Love Holiday Blog Tour.

Increase your chances of winning by visiting multiple stops along the tour! Syrie's unique guest posts will be featured on a variety of subjects, along with fun interviews, spotlights, excerpts, and reviews of the novel.
Contest closes at 11:59pm PT, December 21, 2014.
Five lucky winners will be drawn at random from all of the comments on the tour (so come back and chat with me and other Janeites frequently!), and announced on Syrie’s website on December 22, 2014.
The giveaway contest is open to everyone, including international residents. To see more about the prizes, make sure to check out this post.
Good luck to all!


ABOUT THE BOOK:

Jane Austen's First Love by Syrie James
Get It | Add It
Austenesque Fiction, 400 pages
Published August 5th 2014 by Berkley Trade

In the summer of 1791, fifteen-year-old Miss Jane Austen is determined to accomplish three things: to do something useful, write something worthy, and fall madly in love. While visiting at Goodnestone Park in Kent for a month of festivities in honor of her brother's engagement to Miss Elizabeth Bridges, Jane meets the boy-next-door—the wealthy, worldly, and devilishly handsome Edward Taylor, heir to Bifrons Park, and hopefully her heart! Like many of Jane’s future heroes and heroines, she soon realizes that there are obstacles—social, financial, and otherwise—blocking her path to love and marriage, one of them personified by her beautiful and sweet tempered rival, Charlotte Payler.

Unsure of her own budding romance, but confident in her powers of observation, Jane distracts herself by attempting to maneuver the affections of three other young couples. But when her well-intentioned matchmaking efforts turn into blundering misalliance, Jane must choose between following her own happily-ever-after, or repairing those relationships which, based on erroneous first impressions, she has misaligned.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Syrie James, hailed as “the queen of nineteenth century re-imaginings” by Los Angeles Magazine, is the bestselling author of nine critically acclaimed novels that have been translated into 18 languages. Her books have been awarded the Audio Book Association Audie, designated as Editor’s Picks by Library Journal, named a Discover Great New Writer’s Selection by Barnes and Noble, a Great Group Read by the Women’s National Book Association, and Best Book of the Year by The Romance Reviews and Suspense Magazine. Syrie is a member of the WGA and lives in Los Angeles. Please visit her at syriejames.com, Facebook or say hello on Twitter @SyrieJames.