My Love for Jane Austen

The Austenesque scout is pleased to report about two Austenesque book giveaways that are offered this week. Deb Barnum, blogger mistress of Jane Austen in Vermont has organise a giveaway for a copy of Why Jane Austen? . You just need to leave your comment or questions on either this post or on the interview given by renown Austen scholar Dr. Rachel M. Browstein tomorrow, 1 August 2011. If you have no idea on what to say, you can answer this question: "Why Jane Austen? in your life ". This giveaway is open internationally and ends on Wednesday, 10 August 2011 at midnight . Kaydee of For the Love of Austen has kindly offered a copy of Sense and Sensibility written by Jane Austen. If you are interested to participate in this giveaway, please fill up the form and leave a comment at this post . You get an additional entry if you tweet about this. This contest is open worldwide and closes on Wednesday, 31 August 2011 . Best of luck!

Rating: ★★★★★/★★★★★ The Dashwood Sisters Tell All is Austenesque author Beth Pattillo's third novel which I was a little apprehensive to read as I don't quite enjoy the previous novel, Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart but I love the original concept of her Austenesque debut novel, Jane Austen Ruined My Life . Buoyed by positive reviews at Austenprose and Austenesque Reviews , I decided to venture into Ms Pattillo's novel. Similar to the earlier two works, this story is set in England featuring American women as the heroines. Two estranged sisters embark on a walking tour to follow the footsteps of Jane Austen's Hampshire located in England in order to fulfill their mother's dying wish. The Dodge sisters have not always been close as both have very different personalities and are geographically separated by three states. Ellen, the elder sister in her late thirties, is rational and sensible, while Mimi is the romantic and emotional type. Their mother, Caroline Dodg...

The Austenesque scout would like to impart some wonderful news on a bunch of book giveaways for this week. Jane Odiwe, author of three Austen sequels, is offering a copy of Mr. Darcy's Secret to readers at her blog . If you are interested to know the plot, do read an excerpt of the novel here . If it is to your liking and you wish to enter this contest, either leave a comment at this post or send one to her here mentioning what you would like to read about next in an Austen-inspired novel. The winner will be announced next Monday, 25 July 2011 so you have a week to enter before it ends. The next title is not really a giveaway but is a free e-book of Out of Fear available on Smashwords until the end of this month . If you have not sign-up, please do as registration is straightforward. Smashwords has one of the most widely available e-book formats compared to others sites like Amazon which is using Kindle and Barnes & Noble 's Nook. Anyway, use this free coupo...

Rating: ★★★★★/★★★★★ This is another gem in a collection of books focusing on the British Royal Wedding which occurred on 29 April 2011. Penned by James Wilkinson, it features a short write-up about the backgrounds of Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton and the wedding ceremony held at Westminster Abbey. What separates this souvenir book from the rest of the books available in the market is the insight one can gain in reading the matrimonial rites according to the traditional service of the Church of England. The beautiful hymns that were sung during the ceremony by the choirs of Westminster Abbey and the Chapel Royal to the tune of the London Chamber of Music are briefly mentioned together with orchestral and organ music that were played before the ceremony itself when the 1900 invited guests were assembled and after the ceremony where guests began to disperse. Enclosed within this 40-page book are some of the not so well-known photos captured of the royal coup...

The Austenesque scout is delighted to share some excellent news on four Austen-themed book giveaways that is reported on the web this week. Austenprose plays host to Jennifer Ziegler's blog tour in celebration of her young adult fiction Sass & Serendipity that will be officially released this week. Learn what she has to say regarding Jane Austen's oeuvre and her new Sense and Sensibility -inspired novel at her guest post . Do leave a comment here for an opportunity to win one of three copies of Sass & Serendipity on offer. Your comment must answer either one of these questions : " What intrigues you most about reading a Sense and Sensibility -inspired young adult novel? " or " Which is your favourite character in the original novel? ". This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents and ends next Wednesday, 20 July 2011 at midnight PT . Vic Sanborn is hosting a giveaway at her blog, Jane Austen's World to celebrate Jane Auste...

Another great Jane Austen related blog event is going to be held soon. Coming on the heels of Book Rat's Jane in June II , my lovely blogger friend Meredith Esparza is organising her first Austenesque celebration at her blog, aptly named Austenesque Reviews . Below are the details (quoted from her blog posts here and here ): What is Austenesque Extravaganza ? It is a month-long celebration of Austenesque authors and novels! When will this take place? August which is less than a month away Where is it held? At Meredith's Austenesque Reviews blog What is the aim of this event? The main purpose of this event is for readers of Austenesque novels to connect and interact with Austenesque authors and other readers What will it be like? Each day of the week will have a different theme and event Sociable Sunday : Twitter party with several Austenesque authors. Chat live with your favorite Austenesque Author, ask them questions and learn more about their writi...

English author Victoria Connelly has released her debut novel for US based Sourcebooks publishers on 1 July 2011, the same day with Mary Lydon Simonsen's latest novel. What differentiate both novels is A Weekend with Mr. Darcy , written by Victoria, is a contemporary fiction. First published last September in UK with a sweet, romantic and cute cover, it is set in England in places associated to Jane Austen or her characters. The focus is on two heroines who are obsessed with the great authoress and her novels. For your information, this is the first book in a trilogy of Jane Austen Addict novels that will be subsequently published in both continents. To know the difference between the US and UK editions, do read her guest post at Chick Lit Reviews. As with other Sourcebooks writers, Victoria will be participating in selected book blogs to celebrate and promote her labour of love. There will be giveaways of her novel courtesy of Sourcebooks that are open to US and Canadian...

Rating: ★★★★★/★★★★★ Ever since HRH Prince William of Wales, now the Duke of Cambridge married his university sweetheart of eight years, Miss Catherine Elizabeth Middleton in a lavish ceremony in Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011 watched by approximately two billion global audience on television and the Internet including yours truly, I could not wait to read the reports and view the gorgeous photos taken on that magnificent day. This is one of the first books available in my favourite bookstore that not only concentrates on their nuptials but delivers an enchanting account of royal marriages from past centuries. It is the brainchild of David Elliot Cohen, renowned for creating photographic books and begins with a foreword by Robert Jobson, the royal correspondent of four major British newspaper, author of William & Kate: The Love Story and official royal commentator for NBC. His foreword essentially sums up our fascination of the pomp, pageantry and fairy-tale romance of Brit...

Today marks the official release day for Mary Lydon Simonsen's newest Austenesque variation of Pride & Prejudice . She is the author of numerous Austen para-literature such as the critically acclaimed Pride & Prejudice based novels, Searching for Pemberley and The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy , a Persuasion parody titled Anne Elliot, A New Beginning and two Pride & Prejudice -themed novellas, For All the Wrong Reasons and Mr. Darcy's Angel of Mercy . Her latest effort is A Wife for Mr. Darcy and published by Sourcebooks. It tells the story of Mr. Darcy meeting Elizabeth Bennet while he is courting another young lady. Who will he choose to be his wife and what obstacles must he overcome besides his honour? Mary will be virtually touring some book blogs to promote and celebrate her novel as is the custom for all Sourcebooks authors. Do join her for the blog tour and read the interviews or special guest post because there will be copies of her book offered t...