OK, so I'm rarely in jeopardy, but I write woman-in-jeopardy novels—otherwise called "Modern Gothics"—and this is my blog. It will probably have lots of time between posts, but I'll try not to bore you. Welcome.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Thelma's Birthday Mariana Giveaway

In which I start a new tradition.

June 11th is the birthday of a very special woman, Thelma Daw. Please take five minutes to meet her in person, and then you'll know why she's so special to me:






So, in honour of Thelma, I'm starting an annual giveaway of Mariana, the book she loves best. This year I only have paper copies, I'm afraid, but in future I'll try to include ebooks as well, to be fair.

But for this first giveaway, I have four copies of the lovely re-issue from Sourcebooks up for grabs, and I'll mail them anywhere, with the winners chosen at random from the comments below. All you have to do to enter is to leave a comment here saying what one book (if any) you tend to read over and over again.

The contest (and the comment thread) will stay open until midnight Eastern Standard Time on Friday, June 15, 2012, and I'll announce the winners here on Sunday, June 17. Best of luck!

And be sure to send all your best wishes and good thoughts to Thelma, as she celebrates her 88th birthday!

12 comments:

  1. (Not quite sure if this went through the first time... so trying again!)

    I tend to re-read my favorite books, and one that I turn to during the stresses of finals studying is JARAN by Kate Elliott. Definitely a comfort read for me. <3

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  2. Gracious me. I can see why you love Miz Thelma!

    I tend to read Anne of Green Gables at least once a year. And some Christmases I read Jane Eyre. Not terribly festive, but....

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  3. I think my comment didn't go through the first time, so sorry if this is a duplicate.

    What an amazing video!

    I have such a big TBR pile that I don't re-read often, but Pride and Prejudice and Outlander are probably the ones I've re-read the most.

    I have Mariana, which I love, but I'm commenting to enter for my best friend, a voracious reader always searching for a book worthy of her tiny keeper shelf and who doesn't have Mariana only because I haven't seen her to buy it for her since I read it and loved it.

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  4. A book i love to read again & again is "The Winter Sea" as i absolutley fell in love with John Moray, and quite a few of the other characters xx Another book i also like to re-read is "The Unseen" and "The Debutante" All of these books were, for me, pure escapism!!xxx Ohhh hope i win a copy, loved Mariana! xxxx

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  5. I can see why you love Thelma so much, what a wonderful woman! Thank you for sharing her with the rest of us.

    In answer to your question I pick up Pride and Prejudice at least once a year. Like Thelma, I often find little things I've missed and that's half the adventure of rereading a book. I also have a few simple romance novels by Janet Evanovich and Jennifer Crusie that i can pick up and read in a day. I tend to reread these if I'm feeling stressed or simply having a bad day. Books have a way of changing my mood. I did recently pick up a copy of Winter Sea (after borrowing it from the library), I see myself rereading this one soon. Graham reminds me of my husband.

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  6. Apart from your books (Marina and The Winter Sea), the other books I read most often are the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Both your books and Tolkien have wonderful imagery that I never get tired of!

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  7. I tend to re-read your book "The Rose Garden" (LOVE it!!) and Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander". Both make me super happy!!!

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  8. Oh wow, what a sweet lady and I know you cherish this message, and her. As a writer, that just melted my heart and brought tears. I think every writer longs to have that kind of impact on a reader. There are many books I read over and over, especially on audio. To Say Nothing Of The Dog, by Connie Willis is one. The Brother Cadfael mysteries by Ellis Peters. Diana Gabaldon's books, at least parts of them. The Mitford Books by Jan Karon. I'm currently reading James Alexander Thom's books, and plan to reread many of them because they are so huge and epic and rich and like Thelma said, I'm sure to find things I missed the first time through. I WILL read some of yours again, probably going back to The Shadowy Horses to start with, which was my first. Your books are rich like that, too.

    I'd love to win a copy of Mariana to give to a friend, as I have my own copy already.

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  9. I love reading Harry Potter over and over again as well as The Hunger Games because they have great characterisation!

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  10. Happy birthday, Thelma! :D

    I read _Wuthering Heights_ a lot. Some might even say too much. ;) There's just something about the wildness of the moors and that which cannot be tamed -- it enchants me!

    My favourite Susanna Kearsley novel is _The Splendour Falls_, although it's a really tight race. I read your books over and over again, and -- like Thelma -- I often see things I hadn't seen before. I think your book that has haunted me most, though, is _The Shadowy Horses_. There's just something about that Roman soldier...

    I would love to win a copy (autographed? please? *grin*) of _Mariana_ so that I could donate it to Word Collective, a much-needed writers hub taking its first baby steps in my city. This creative writing community centre will be doing a fundraiser involving autographed books as part of its grand opening (we hope!) in September. :)

    -- Karen McLean
    Saint John, NB

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  11. Gorgeous video! I would have cried if it had of been written about something I had written!

    Apart from your books I reread The Hobbit and Diana Gabaldon's books!

    No need to enter me into the draw though.

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  12. What a lovely woman and what a lovely video!

    Before my Kindle, I reread a lot of my books all of the time but now with such instant access to more books, I find that I am reading more and more authors. Now, having said that, I do love to reread anything from Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover world. The first one I read was "The Spell Sword" and when I am ready to start rereading them, I start there again. I will always be thankful to the woman who ran the used bookstore I frequented for suggesting them to me.

    My mom gave me a copy of "The Winter Sea." She said it was the best book she had read in a long time. We talk about it and "The Rose Garden" all of the time. We are looking forward to "The FireBird"!

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