What Am I Reading for My 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge?

I just finished The Scarlet Pimpernel. What a rollicking fun read! Thank you, all, who recommended it to me.

The Scarlet Pimpernel was a "new" read for me, so now it's time for another "old" read. A friend asked me if I thought Georgette Heyer's The Black Moth had been influenced by The Scarlet Pimpernel. Since, at the time, I hadn't read The Scarlet Pimpernel and it has been years and years (and years) since I read The Black Moth, I couldn't answer her question. Now that I'm a few pages into The Black Moth, I see what she means! Not plot-wise, but in other ways that you'd have to read both books to see for yourself. So yes, I do wonder if Georgette Heyer was a fan of The Scarlet Pimpernel. If I have an opportunity to meet her in the next life, I'll have to ask. :-)

In the meantime, here's the back cover blurb for The Black Moth, by Georgette Heyer:

Lovely Diana Beauleigh was under siege. The notorious Duke of Andover meant to have her--if not with her assent, then by force. But Diana was not about to surrender her virtue. She had already lost her heart to the man who rescued her from the Duke--a handsome mysterious highwayman.

I will share a Tuesday Teaser from The Black Moth on Tuesday.


If you'd like to join my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge, it's not too late! Click here and here for more information. And remember, there are prizes involved if you join us!

The Black Moth

In Remembrance of 9/11: Finding Hope

Tuesday Teaser

Tuesday Teaser is a weekly bookish meme (rhymes with “cream"), hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. (I’ve borrowed it from LDS Women’s Book Review.) Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share at least two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

Oh, my! I'm half-way through The Scarlet Pimpernel, (yes, past page  66) and there are so many quotes I could share! But I simply could not live with myself if I finished this book before next Tuesday and failed to share this immortalized bon mot (if it's not immortalized to you because you've never read the book or seen the movie/s, well then, you need to do something about that!):

Even the Prince had asked her, with a little laugh, whether she appreciated her husband's latest poetic efforts.

"All done in the tying of a cravat," Sir Percy had declared to his clique of admirers.

"We seek him here, we seek him there,

Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.

Is he in heaven?--Is he in hell?

That demmed, elusive Pimpernel."

From The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, p 66

If you'd like to share a Teaser from a book you're currently reading, I'd love you to do so in the comment section. And you don't even have to share it on a Tuesday! Be sure to include the title, author, and page number in case others would like to check out the book you're reading, too.

Search Amazon.com for The Scarlet Pimpernel

What Am I Reading for My 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge?

Okay, so I finished A Pride of Kings, by Juliet Dymoke and decided it's a keeper. Maybe it wasn't the absolutely most riveting book I've ever read, but it was nevertheless an interesting take on the life of William Marshal. Plus, it was tremendous fun to see how many historical quotes the author managed to slip into the novel! I used one of the same quotes in Illuminations of the Heart, though in a different context and by a different character. Don't worry, the original speaker (assuming he actually said it) has been dead for over 800 years, so the quote is safely in the common domain. :-)

Now on to another "new" read, one that was recommended to me by a friend over a year ago. I've seen at least two versions of the movie, but until now, have never read...The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. Here's the back cover blurb:

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a classic adventure novel, the storyline of which takes place in the early years of the French Revolution. It is also a precursor of spy novels, as the title character, the Scarlet Pimpernel, works undercover and in disguise to save French aristocrats from the guillotine. 

In the novel, Marguerite Blakeney, a French actress, is married to a Sir Percy Blakeney, a seemingly vain and simple man. The French Ambassador to England, Citizen Chauvelin, blackmails Marguerite into giving him information that leads to his discovery of the Scarlet Pimpernel's true identity. Marguerite only realizes once her husband has once again left for France that the man she betrayed, the Scarlet Pimpernel, is in fact none other but Sir Percy. 

I will share a Tuesday Teaser from The Scarlet Pimpernel on Tuesday.

If you'd like to join my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge, it's not too late! Click here and here for more information. And remember, there are prizes involved if you join us!

Giveaway Game

Let's have a little contest! It's been awhile since I've held a contest and I can only afford a little one right now. But maybe we can have fun anyway.

How about this? I'll throw two $5 Amazon gift certificates up for grabs. All you have to do is visit my new Quill to Quill blogs and answer the following questions:

(1) What are two subjects Perrin would learn if he attended the University of Paris? Read Siri's September 21, 1179 letter to Heléne at Quill to Quill (click on the corresponding link in the left hand sidebar), then email the answer to me at jdipastena@yahoo.com.  Please type: "Quill to Quill" in the subject line. This will be an email certificate, so I'll only need your name and email address.

(2) What two things did Gunthar do to cheer Therri up? Read Heléne's June 5, 1176 letter to her father at Quill to Quill and Heart to Heart (again, click on the corresponding link in the left hand sidebar), then email the answer to me at jdipastena@yahoo.com. Please type: "Quill to Quill and Heart to Heart" in the subject line. Again, all I'll need is your name and email address.

We'll let this contest run for two weeks. Send me your answers by midnight PST, September 8. I'll draw one winner for each gift certificate on September 9th, using Random.org.

Good luck! Have fun! That's what it's all about. :-)

Tuesday Teaser

Tuesday Teaser is a weekly bookish meme (rhymes with “cream"), hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. (I’ve borrowed it from LDS Women’s Book Review.) Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share at least two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

I’m adapting the rules slightly: I’ll be quoting some random lines from the last chapter I read before I post my teaser. I'm a slow reader, so you may get multiple teasers per book. Here's my second teaser from A Pride of Kings:

He looked down at the little King, seated in a great chair, scarlet legs not reaching the floor, and in a sudden lift of the head saw a remarkable likeness to his master of long ago. He had never cared for any man as he had cared for the Young King and now it was as if he was to serve him once more in this boy who was so like him.

From A Pride of Kings, by Juliet Dymoke, p 214

If you'd like to share a Teaser from a book you're currently reading, I'd love you to do so in the comment section. And you don't even have to share it on a Tuesday! Be sure to include the title, author, and page number in case others would like to check out the book you're reading, too.

Giveaway and Guest Blog by Linda Weaver Clarke

In celebration of the release of the second installment in her "Adventures of John and Julia Evans" series, Linda Weaver Clarke is holding a giveaway for Mayan Intrigue during the week of August 30th. Linda is guest blogging on JDP NEWS today with a post about her move from writing historical romance to the mystery. Welcome, Linda!

Romance VS Mystery!

by Linda Weaver Clarke

I always enjoy putting a little history in each of my novels to educate my readers. In historical romance, it’s a must and I continued with my research for my new series. The mysteries of the Anasazi Indians, the Mayas, Montezuma’s Treasure, and the Lost Dutchman Mine have intrigued archaeologists and scientists for many years. In the "Adventures of John and Julia Evans" series, I delve into such mysteries. I love research, so when I turned to mystery, I just knew I would put a little history into my books. It makes it fun to write. While writing my Intrigue series, I learned so much about the Anasazi Indians, artifact theft, and what the Mayan culture was like centuries ago and added all this knowledge to my novels.

I have written five historical romance novels. The writing process between romance and mystery is quite a change with a completely different mind set. It’s so different from telling a love story. With romance, you plan out the plot around the meeting of a couple. As you write, you develop some sort of charisma between the characters, making the reader feel excited that one day they're going to hit it off and fall in love. You, as the reader, know what the outcome will be. But with a mystery, the reader is in the dark. The author has to come up with a plot that no one knows about until towards the end of the story and hope they haven’t figured it out. In a mystery, you may or may not allow your reader to know who the bad guys are, according to whether it’s just a mystery or mystery suspense. Do you know the difference between a mystery and a mystery suspense novel? In a mystery, when a knock is heard at the door, the reader doesn't know who's behind it. With mystery suspense, the reader knows who's behind the door and yells to the heroine, "Don't open the door!"

Anasazi Intrigue is the first book in a mystery adventure series called "The Adventures of John and Julia Evans." It’s about a devastating flood that takes out several homes in a small town, the importance of preserving ancient artifacts, and a few puzzling and mysterious events. Julia is a reporter, and when she finds out about a possible poison spill that kills some fish and neighbor's pets, she has a feeling that something isn’t quite right. Before she realizes what is happening, Julia finds out that this incident is much bigger and more dangerous than she thought. With dead fish, a devastating flood, and miscreants chasing John and Julia, they have their hands full.

Artifact theft is a very intriguing subject. That’s why I call it the Intrigue series. In my research, I found that archaeological thievery is becoming more and more of a problem every year. Did you know that looting is only second to selling illegal drugs? While researching the second book in this series, Mayan Intrigue, my eyes were opened to the problems they have in southern Mexico. When an ancient ruin is discovered, it doesn’t take long for thieves to take it apart. The reason why is because the Mayas used astrological alignments when planning their city. Looters have learned the layout of the Mayan cities so they know where to dig. With this knowledge, they can loot a sacred temple in a few days. I also found that artifact theft in Mexico has been taken over by drug dealers from Columbia. In other words, since organized crime has taken over, there is also an increase of violence.

Mayan Intrigue will be released on August 30th and I’m having a week long celebration with a book give-away at my blog at http://lindaweaverclarke.blogspot.com. Mayan Intrigue is about the discovery of a priceless artifact that puts Julia’s life in great danger. While on assignment for the newspaper, John and Julia try to enjoy a romantic vacation among the Mayan ruins, but when Julia accidentally comes upon a couple suspicious men exchanging an item, she quickly turns and leaves but it’s too late. Before John and Julia realize what's going on, they find themselves running for their lives through the jungles of the Yucatan. To read an excerpt from each of my books, you can visit www.lindaweaverclarke.com.