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Monday, November 24, 2014

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.



52 comments:

  1. Love your top ten list. But i like it better when you write. :~) nrslalee00@yahoo.com

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    1. You are so sweet! Thanks. I'm blushing now. I prefer writing too, but it's always fun to have a chance to connect with readers. :)

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  2. Your purple gown looks lovely & you made it yourself, wow that's amazing :) The new book sounds really good. I loved your novel the missing manuscript of J A!!

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    1. Thank you so much! I loved writing The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen, too! Hope you love Jane Austen's First Love!

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  3. I loved learning more about Syrie. It's so much fun getting to know more about her. I also love her Regency Gown!Thank you for the generous giveaway.

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    1. Forgot to add my email address....

      skamper25 (at) gmail (dot) com

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  4. Enjoyed reading your top ten list. What a fantastic looking gown, it must be a lot of fun designing and sewing the costumes.
    skpetal at hotmail dot com

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  5. Thanks for the giveaway. Love the purple gown. My email is tresha_7atmsn.com

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  6. Thanks for the chance to win a copy of your book - I really like your dress - do you have many dresses like that?

    meikleblog at gmail dot com

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    1. Hi Vesper. I have made 6 Regency gowns so far, but this one's my favorite. I love purple! BTW, Jane Austen's First Love is not one of the prizes included in this giveaway, but several of my other novels are, as well as heaps of great Austenesque goodies. If you'd like to read Jane Austen's First Love, I hope you'll find a copy soon or put it on your holiday Wish List! Have a great Thanksgiving! :)

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  7. Great gown! I thought you'd like to go to the movies since you said before you were introduced to Jane Austen through the movies and tv adaptations ;)

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  8. Misty, thank you for hosting Syrie on your blog. I can't wait to read more about Jane's First Love!

    psalm103and138[at]gmail[dot]com

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  9. After reading this list Syrie James seems like an author after my own heart. And this giveaway looks awesome. ^^

    blacklaceblonde (at) yahoo (dot) com

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    1. Thanks for your comment, Joni. I hope Jane Austen's First Love is on your holiday wish list!

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  10. Great list. Some of my faves as well. You truely are talented. A writer and costume designer!

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  11. I like cross-stitching but I'm not able to sew like you! I love the dress in the picture!

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  12. Thank you Misty for hosting me here today--it's been great fun stopping by your blog. Thanks everyone for commenting. It's been fun chatting with you on the blog tour!

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  13. That sewing class was a smart move on your mom's part. I have wished so many times that I could do it. TV and Live Theater are great down time activities. Reading is a given. ;)

    Thanks for sharing your list.

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    1. You are most welcome! You're right, my mother was a very smart woman. Her advice proved to be extremely valuable, especially when it came to sewing. In fact I appreciated it so much, that in the first chapter of Jane Austen's First Love, I have Mrs. Austen give Jane identical advice--although I think it seems a bit more humorous in that context!

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  14. Goodness me, Syrie, when do you find time to write? Like your taste in TV programmes. Coming from the UK, I think we're quite proud of Sherlock and Downton. We'll be passing very close to Highclere Castle soon, on our way from. Yorkshire to Southampton for New Year. Shame it's closed to the public this time of year!

    I've loved reading Jane Austen's First Love. I think it's the best of your books that I've read so far, but I've not read all of them yet. They'll have to go some to beat it.

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    1. Forgot to add email address: angmardee(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  15. It was great getting to know more about Syrie James ... such an interesting person!

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  16. I am currently reading Jane Austen's First Love. It is FANTASTIC so far!!

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  17. Designing costumes sounds so cool! The purple dress is great! Thank you for the giveaway.This sounds like a definite book to read.Jane's first love. "swoon"

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    1. It is great fun to design gowns. :) Thanks for your comment, Denise. I hope you're enjoying the holiday season, and I hope Jane Austen's First Love does make you swoon! :)

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  18. I'm loving your gown. So clever.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  19. I like the idea of the book, it sounds really interesting! I LOVE Jane Austen, she's one of my favourites!
    Thank you so much for the giveaway as well, those prizes look amazing!

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  20. I share many of your interests, except for the sewing. I never have been able to master that skill.

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  21. I LOVE Jane Austen, This books sounds amazing!! I read Pride and Prejudice multiple times a year!!
    elainareads AT aol DOT com

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    1. I'm a huge fan of Pride and Prejudice, too! And I love all her other books--as well as the movie versions. When I need something to cheer me up, the Colin Firth version of P&P does it every time! WIshing you happy holidays, Elaina, and I hope you enjoy Jane Austen's First Love almost as much--if not just as much-- as P&P! :)

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  22. I love Masterpiece and watch it all the time. That dress is beautiful. I am not that great a sewer but my grandma used to make quilts. I love Austen's work and want someone to write Mansfield Park from the view of Henry and Mary Crawford.
    betta_grl(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  23. Jane Austen is my favorite author! :)

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    1. I couldn't agree more! Thanks for commenting! You can learn more about Jane Austen's First Love at http://www.syriejames.com/JaneAustensFirstLoveSummary.php!

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  24. I am a new follower to your blog - I enjoyed looking around, thank you for sharing this Jane Austen book. griperang at embarqmail dot com

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  25. I loved the Top Ten List! It's so awesome to get to know more about author's lives!
    kimbers10[at]yahoo[dot]com

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  26. Happy Thanksgiving all! Looking forward to reading some awesome stories this winter and this looks like one of the better ones! Have a good one!

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  27. I never knew Regency country dancing existed.

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    1. Hi Kimberly! Thanks for your comment. Every time I watched a Jane Austen film adaptation, I was mesmerized by the dancing sequences, and wondered how it was done. It turns out that anyone can do it--if you have a good teacher who calls out the steps as you move through them. It makes for such a wonderful evening, and is really like stepping back in time for a little while--which was one of the greatest enjoyment while writing Jane Austen's First Love!

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  28. That's a interesting list! Wish I could sew costumes I'm dreadful at that.

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  29. I'm a fan of the same things as your Top 10 list! (except movies....my bladder is too tiny to see movies in the theatre these days)
    I'm curious how much of this latest novel is based on known fact, and how much is your awesome imagination? I've never heard of Edward Taylor before...

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    1. Hi Beth! I have a detailed explanation in the Author's Afterword of Jane Austen's First Love as to what is real and based on fact, and what was imagined. Edward Taylor was a real person, and all the information about him in my novel is true. Austen biographers sometimes mention him, but only briefly--I believe this is because they didn't know anything about him, other than Jane's reference to him in her letters. In my research I uncovered such a wealth of wonderful details about him and his life, and am thrilled to bring him to the attention of the Austen-loving world! Nearly all the people in the book are real, too, and thoroughly researched. It was such fun to write Jane Austen's First Love, and I hope you enjoy it!

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  30. Thank you for bringing JA in my life =o)

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  31. If I made such a list it would surely be a lot like this one although I have no talent for sewing but would love to learn (like some many other things ! ) Thank you for this great giveway. =)

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  32. such a beautiful giveaway, hope to win 1, :) congrats on your release

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  33. I would love to win this! The book looks so cool.
    dez3b@yahoo.com

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  34. Thank you for posting an interview about Syrie - I love to hear more about the authors - it gives us a nice look into how and why they got into writing Austenesque and I love to learn more about their interests :)

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  35. What a great interview. I look forward to the book (rickjess@sbcglobal.net)

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    1. Thanks for your comment, Jessica. The Jane Austen's First Love Holiday Blog Tour has been great fun! I'm excited to share my novel with you, and wish you the happiest of holidays!

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  36. apoyo ver peliculaqs y series, me encantan las series de epoca !

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