Blog Tour - Longbourn's Songbird by Beau North

Today, I am welcoming the blog tour for Longbourn’s Songbird by Beau North. I was lucky enough to be provided with an e-book of this story for my honest review, which follows below. As this is a blog tour, there are stops at other blogs, some of which have the chance to win a copy of the book for yourself. A list of blog tour stops is at the bottom of the post, but meanwhile, why not read on to see what I thought of Beau North’s debut novel...

Birthday Book Loot

It was my birthday back in September and I meant to share details of my bookish loot with you at the time, but I didn't find time to get to it until now. I thought I'd post a few pictures so you can appreciate what delights I have before me, though goodness knows when I'll have time to read them all!

Winner - A Jane Austen Christmas by Carlo DeVito

Last week I posted a short excerpt from 'A Jane Austen Christmas' by Carlo DeVito. This book takes a look at Christmas as Austen may have celebrated it. The publisher, Cider Mill Press was kind enough to offer a hardcover copy of the book to a US/Canadian reader. Earlier today I got my daughter to choose a winner at random, and the winner is...

Then Comes Winter - Cover Reveal

Earlier this year Meryton Press released 'Sunkissed: Effusions of Summer' which was an anthology of summer stories from some of Meryton's established authors and some who were new to the publisher. You may have heard that a winter version was in the works. Well, it's due out this month, and I am very pleased to share the cover of the new book with you today.

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Planned Reading for November 2015

Hello everybody, and happy November! I hope you enjoyed Halloween (if you celebrate it). We don't celebrate it really. Sometimes we carve some pumpkins, but that's about it. However, I was celebrating yesterday, because I had a training course that I finally finished off. I had been working so hard on it during October, it took up nearly all of my free time. So what did I read last month? Diddly squat :( Well that's not entirely true, I did reread some short stories in the Holidays with Jane Christmas Cheer anthology, but I didn't have enough time to read anything new. A reread I can pick up and put down and just read bits of, unlike a new story.

So, what do I have planned for November? A huge amount of catching up! I am hopeful that I will get chance to read it all, but you know me, I am often overly optimistic! So instead of telling you about all of the infeasible amount that I have planned, I will just highlight a couple of things.

One of my reads for this month will be a book focusing on one of my favourite secondary characters, from 'Pride & Prejudice'.  'Colonel Fitzwilliam and the Countess of Sainte Toulours'. Here we will see the Colonel on-duty and abroad. I'm really looking forward to reading this book, which is by an author I've been meaning to read for a long time, Stanley Michael Hurd, the writer of the 3 book 'Darcy's Tale' series showing 'Pride & Prejudice' from Mr Darcy's point of view. Stanley is also kindly offering a giveaway of the book, so look out for that.

I will be taking part in the blog tour for 'Longbourn's Songbird', written by Beau North. This book is 'Pride & Prejudice'-inspired and set in South Carolina, in the late 1940s. I enjoy reading versions set in different periods; often things will either be set in the same time as P&P or in the current day, so it'll be interesting to read one set in a period that I'm not as familiar with.

If I have time, I'd like to read the newest 'Holidays with Jane: Trick or Sweet'. If you don't know, this is an anthology. There are six different authors, (Jennifer Becton, Melissa Buell, Rebecca M Fleming, Cecilia Gray, Jessica Grey and Kimberley Truesdale) and each one has written a modern short story linked to a different one of Austen's main 6 novels. The 'Trick or Sweet' edition has stories themed around this time of year, Halloween, mainly I think, so it'd be good if I could fit in something seasonal. We'll see how it goes.

I hope you get some good reading in this month. What do you have planned?

A Jane Austen Christmas by Carlo DeVito - Excerpt and Giveaway

Last weekend, the clocks went back here in the UK, so it's getting dark earlier now, and once that happens, I can start to believe that we're in the run up to Christmas. Obviously Christmas these days is very different to what it was in Austen's time (says a person who does most of their present shopping online!). Many of the things we view as 'traditional' are actually Victorian in origin, though some traditions from earlier have made it through to the present day.

Today I have an excerpt from 'A Jane Austen Christmas' by Carlo DeVito, a book focusing on what Christmas could well have been like for the Austen family, with the spotlight on six Christmases in particular. Read on for an excerpt and a giveaway of a hardcover copy to a reader in the United States/Canada. Let's set the scene with a short excerpt showing a little of the preparation that would have been done for Christmas...

Winner - Angel of the Centerfold by Michaela Robertson

Last week the blog tour for Meryton Press' newest release, 'Angel of the Centerfold' stopped by here with an excerpt of the book. Meryton Press were giving away a paperback copy to a commenter here.

The winner, drawn at random, is...

Winner - The Unthinkable Triangle by Joana Starnes

Sorry I'm a bit late in posting this, I've had a crazy busy week. I was very happy to welcome the lovely and talented Joana Starnes to the blog last week when she shared an excerpt from 'The Unthinkable Triangle'. Joana was kindly offering an ebook giveaway of the book to a commenter here.

Today I chose the winner of the giveaway, using random.org, for a change. And the winner is...

Angel of the Centerfold - Excerpt and Giveaway

Today the blog tour for Michaela Robertson's Angel of the Centerfold stops off here. Michaela has an excerpt for us, and Meryton Press are giving away a paperback copy of the book to a commenter here (more details below). So let's find out a bit more - just who is Lliam Dafydd V?

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The Unthinkable Triangle by Joana Starnes - Guest Post and Giveaway

Today I have the great pleasure of welcoming a visitor to Babblings of a Bookworm, the lovely Joana Starnes, writer of some wonderful Austenesque books. Joana has previously written a sequel to 'Pride & Prejudice' (which I reviewed for Leatherbound Reviews), P&P variations that also featured characters from 'Persuasion' and 'Sense & Sensibility' and taken our dear couple to Cornwall. This time her muse has conjured up a potentially problematic scenario; What if Colonel Fitzwilliam decided to propose to Elizabeth in Hunsford, and was accepted? Eeeep! Joana has brought us an excerpt to enjoy and she's offering a giveaway of a kindle version of 'The Unthinkable Triangle' to an international commenter here. Read on for excerpt and giveaway details.

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