Twelve Days of Christmas JA Style, Plus Giveaway!

This is not the first time I've put an Austen twist on a Christmas classic. Last year I created Twas the Night Before Christmas, when all through Pemberley... , and two years ago I wrote The Darcy's Gift, a Austenesque take on The Gift of the Magi. This year I'm at it again with The Twelve Days of Christmas, AND I'm giving away one copy of Holidays at Pemberley and this set of handmade, Jane Austen Christmas cards, all in honor of the season. See entry info below, and enjoy the song!

On the first day of Christmas Jane Austen gave to me Mr. Darcy in a wet tee.

On the second day of Christmas Jane Austen gave to me: two daring colonels and Mr. Darcy in a wet tee.

On the third day of Christmas Jane Austen gave to me: three Dashwood sisters, two daring colonels, and Mr. Darcy in a wet tee.

On the fourth day of Christmas Jane Austen gave to me four fallen women, three Dashwood sisters, two daring colonels, and Mr. Darcy in a wet tee.

On the fifth day of Christmas Jane Austen gave to me: LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH! Four fallen women, three Dashwood sisters, two daring colonels, and Mr. Darcy in a wet tee.

On the sixth day of Christmas Jane Austen gave to me: six stupendous novels, LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH! Four fallen women, three Dashwoods sisters, two daring colonels, and Mr. Darcy in a wet tee.

On the seventh day of Christmas Jane Austen gave to me: seven lovely ladies, six stupendous novels, LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH! Four fallen women, three Dashwoods sisters, two daring colonels, and Mr. Darcy in a wet tee.

On the eighth day of Christmas Jane Austen gave to me: eight questionable gentlemen (if you include Robert Ferrars and Captain Tilney), seven lovely ladies, six stupendous novels, LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH! Four fallen women, three Dashwoods sisters, two daring colonels, and Mr. Darcy in a wet tee.

On the ninth day of Christmas Jane Austen gave to me: nine Price progeny, eight questionable gentlemen, seven lovely ladies, six stupendous novels, LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH! Four fallen women, three Dashwoods sisters, two daring colonels, and Mr. Darcy in a wet tee.

On the tenth day of Christmas Jane Austen gave to me: ten minor Morlands, nine Price progeny, eight questionable gentlemen, seven lovely ladies, six breathtaking novels, LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH! Four fallen women, three widower fathers, two Dashwoods sisters, and Mr. Darcy in a wet tee.

On the eleventh day of Christmas Jane Austen gave to me: countless cups of tea, ten minor Morlands, nine Price progeny, eight dangerous gentlemen, seven lovely ladies, six stupendous novels, LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH! Four fallen women, three Dashwoods sisters, two daring colonels, and Mr. Darcy in a wet tee.

On the twelfth day of Christmas Jane Austen gave to me: twelve noble estates (of varying size and income), countless cups of tea, ten minor Morlands, nine Price progeny, eight questionable gentlemen, seven lovely ladies, six breathtaking novels, LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH! Four fallen women, three Dashwoods sisters, two daring colonels, and Mr. Darcy in a wet tee.

Beware: I'm seriously tempted to illustrate this somehow. Maybe I will manage to do so by next Christmas.

To win the giveaway use the form below. It is open internationally through the 24th. I'll announce the winner Christmas day. Happy holidays!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Triade of Reviews!

I have a full sweep of reviews to share with you this beautiful, snowy morning! It's going to be a great day - the elves left supplies for snowy day art activities over night, which should keep Eliza busy while the great bake off begins. I have twelve pounds of pecans in need of spicing, and at least six kinds of cookies to make. What a glorious prospect for a cold winter day!

Might receiving three fabulous reviews have anything to do with my high spirits? Absolutely. Let's start at the very beginning ...

First Impressions: A Tale of Less Pride and Prejudice received a four star review yesterday from Anna at Diary of an Eccentric. She plans to review the next two books over the course of the weeks, so stay alert for those. I'm so thrilled to have my books featured in this way by a reviewer I have come to greatly respect. Please visit her lovely blog:

http://diaryofaneccentric.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/review-first-impressions-by-alexa-adams/





Second Glances: A Tale of Less Pride and Prejudice was enthusiastically Laughing with Lizzy over the weekend. This came on the heels of her review of First Impressions. which she also approved. Check it out here:
endorsed by Mrs. Darcy at

http://laughingwithlizzie.blogspot.com/2013/12/second-glances-by-alexa-adams.html

Holidays at Pemberley, or Third Encounters: A Tale of Less Pride and Prejudice Concludes was well received yesterday at Kimberley's Book Life. "A wonderful addition to my Austen collection," she says. Please visit and enjoy this new blog!

http://kimsbooklife.blogspot.com/2013/12/title-holidaysat-pemberley-author.html?spref=tw

Little Miss Austen Pride & Prejudice Play Set

One of the great perks of parenthood is buying your kids the toys you want to play with.

I intentionally gave the Little Miss Austen Pride & Prejudice Book and Play Set to Eliza for Hanukkah instead of Christmas so that I could review it here (it was on my JA holiday wish list - see it here), and I am ever so pleased I did because now I can try and persuade as many as possible to buy this little treasure for the wee Janeites of the world. It is a truth universally acknowledged that a child in possession of an able brain must be in need of Jane Austen, right?

It has been a great joy to watch Eliza become familiar with Jane Austen, kind of inevitable as she's been listen to me prattle on about her books, characters, and setting since the moment she was born. I've loved exploring the children's versions of Austen's stories with her (see the post "Reading Jane Austen to Children" here), and the Little Miss Austen Pride & Prejudice: A Counting Primer was the first that fell into my hands (read my review at AustenBlog). I was quite pleased with the book, but I love (and so does E!) the play set! So much fun. It comes in a pretty box that can be used as a ballroom for the figures when open. The set includes a copy of the board book and six "sheets" of play figures and sets. The pieces pop out of the sheets, sort of like a perforated paper doll but made of a very sturdy board. My two year old could pop them all out without damaging them in the slightest (NOTE: it does come with an under 3/small parts/choking warning. Do supervise closely any children who might decide to eat the play set). She had so much fun being able to remove all the parts and set them up herself. They are solid enough to pop back into their original places, like a puzzle, for easy storage. I'm not sure which is more fun - taking the set apart or putting it back together again!

The designs are just like those in the book: folksy but still modern and thoroughly charming. Included are Elizabeth, Jane, Darcy Bingley, a carriage, Pemberley, Longbourn, a couple of musicians, a soldier, a few village buildings (these represent Meryton in the board book, but they could just as well be Lambton), a few animals, and some trees and hearts for atmosphere (the latter make a very nice wedding alter). Almost all the pieces are double sided, so the characters all have proper backs, as do the houses, which is classy. There really is only one thing I find at all problematic or lacking in this toy, and    that is Elizabeth. Kind of a big place to find fault, I know. She's wearing this orange, I-heart-Darcy dress that is truly horrendous, and her figure is really kind of stocky and box shaped, like she's wearing 80's shoulder pads. I much prefer Jane's portrayal, and Darcy is, hands down, the best dressed board in the set.

Lizzy's fangirl attire aside, this is an amazing gift! I couldn't get my hands on it for three days, for Eliza was too busy playing to share, and then I had almost as much fun with it as she did. This is also a great value: the book alone lists at $10, but with the play set it's still under $15 on Amazon. Plus it's small and compact, which for parents, like me, who can't find a place to put away all the toys is invaluable. This will travel well. Eliza can take it to all those holiday parties with no other kids and keep busy for hours. Can I be more unequivocal? THE PERSON, BE THEY CHILD OR ADULT, WHO DOES NOT ADORE THIS GIFT MUST BE INTOLERABLY STUPID. Buy it. It maybe my favorite  piece Austen paraphernalia I have ever found.

JA Dreidel Cards Winner!

Today is the last day of Hanukkah. Last night we lit the candle for the final time this year. My two year old now says a very impressive barucha. She had a lucrative Hanukkah, largely because we made rather last minute travel plans for Christmas (well, last minute to the girl who finished her Christmas shopping over a month ago), and I didn't want to ship so much to my in-laws house. Her Little Miss Austen Pride and Prejudice Play Set is getting a lot of action. I'll post something on it soon.

To business! The winner of the Austen silhouetted dreidel greeting cards is ...

Nicole C!

Congratulations! Thanks to all who entered, and yes - Austen Christmas cards are in the works, so look out for those soon.

More Agreeably Engaged

I've been interviewed! It's been a while since I've done one (not since First Impressions came out). I was very grateful that Janet T over at More Agreeably Engaged (love that title) was able and willing to do an interview, as with all the NaNoWriMo craziness I was having a hard time coming up with new ideas for guest posts. Plus, her questions were wonderful, which gave me a chance to step back, reflect a bit on what I've been doing for the past four years, and consider what I want to do next. I hope you'll read the post and comment. Copies of both Second Glances: A Tales of Less Pride & Prejudice Continues and Holidays at Pemberley: A Tale of Less Pride & Prejudice Concludes are up for grabs!

http://moreagreeablyengaged.blogspot.com/2013/12/tales-of-less-pride-prejudice-with.html

Great Reviews!

Two of my books received thumbs up reviews at three different blogs last week! I am greatly remiss in not posting this sooner.

Sophia Rose at Delighted Reader gave Holidays at Pemberley: A Tale of Less Pride and Prejudice Concludes a four star rating! I feel really bad about this one, as Sophia has always been so gracious in her reviews, and I completely failed to tell anyone about the giveaway she offered of the book, which is now closed. So sorry! Anyway, you can read her review at: http://delightedreader.com/yours-affectionately-holidays-at-pemberley-by-alexa-adams/

Meredith of Austenesque Reviews posted her thoughts on Holidays at Pemberley: A Tale of Less Pride and Prejudice Concludes last Friday. She and I started blogging around the same time, and we have long noticed a similarity in taste between us, so her approval of my novels always means a great deal to me, let alone the fact she has become quite a force in the promotion of the Austenesque genre! Read her review and enter to win a copy of the new book here (this one is still open - one day left!): http://austenesquereviews.com/2013/11/holidays-at-pemberley-alexa-adams.html#comments.

Last a new acquaintance: Mrs. Darcy at Laughing with Lizzie has enthusiastically embraced my stories - well, at least the one she has read so far! She posted her review of First Impressions: A Tale of Less Pride and Prejudice last Saturday. I look forward to reading her opinion of the next two and hope they are as favorable. Read her very gratifying review here: http://laughingwithlizzie.blogspot.com/2013/11/first-impressions-by-alexa-adams_30.html.