Category: General

Rational Creatures Excerpt and Giveaway

“But I hate to hear you talking so like a fine gentleman, and as if women were all fine ladies instead of rational creatures. We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days.” ~Jane Austen’s Persuasion   How marvelous would it be to traipse through a world with all our favorite …

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One Read Leads to Another…

We’re always getting book recommendations from our friends. (In fact, here are a few of mine for you!) Sometimes from online lists – “50 Must-Read Books”,  Goodreads, etc.  But have you ever taken a book recommendation from another book or a movie? I’m not talking about when you see a great movie, which motivates you …

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The Secret Life of Maggie Blake – Book Release & Giveaway!

WINNER UPDATE:Thank you to everyone who read & left a comment on this post!! I just did tonight’s drawing  & ForeverHis/Jeannette is the winner of my book prize — congrats!!! 🙂  Please email me (MarilynBrant AT gmail DOT com) with the list of my books (up to $20 U.S. worth) that you’d like & the …

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Having a Ball

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to do something I have done at least 21 times in my life…go to Prom. As a high school teacher, and the Senior Class Advisor, I have enjoyed numerous opportunities to jump into a Conga line, dance the Macarena and most recently do the Cha-Cha Slide, all while …

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(April) Fool for Love

This month’s theme is “Fool for Love,” partly inspired by April Fools’ Day.  And since I’m first up, I thought I’d start with a bit about April Fools’ Day itself, including a few infamous hoaxes. Then I have a fun excerpt for you that fits the theme! According to history.com, the exact origins of April …

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Come Away With Me!

Continuing with my theme from my last post on escapism,  I wanted to take you on a journey. Recently I was able to attend a writer’s retreat in Monterey, California with a few members of my writing group. To say I needed the camaraderie and like-mindedness of other Janeites is an understatement. I think we …

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Ch 1 – That Perfect Someone

We’re gearing up for a release! That Perfect Someone is edited and the final touches and proofreading needs to be done, but we’re all ready to go. I know I posted this last month, but it’s undergone a couple of small changes so I’m posting it again. I’ll post Chapter 2 on my blog (lldiamondwrites.com) …

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A Cameo for Ukraine – excerpt from the Darcys and Lord Byron in Venice by Diana Birchall

At Austen Variations we are overjoyed that our fundraiser for Ukraine has been so wildly successful, with over $10,000 raised so far!  Our authors are offering readers cameos in their forthcoming novels, as well as signed books and other Jane Austen-related treasures, in exchange for a donation.  Here is my own first contribution, a chapter …

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The Beauty of Escapism

“People read books to escape the uncertainties of life.” Barbara Kingsolver For the last several years, we have done our best to find beauty and peace in a world which has seemed devoid of it. From politics and war, to health and wellness, our ‘give a darn’ has been depleted. Now more than ever we …

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JAFF Loves Ukraine update

Wow! Our Austenesque community is so amazing!!! Between 35 authors and hundreds of readers, we’ve already raised over $7000  $8000 $9000 for humanitarian aid to Ukraine on our original fundraiser post! Give yourselves a big hand! But the need is far too great to rest on our laurels, so our authors have pulled out even …

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