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Monday, May 7

Book Giveaway of The Jane Austen Guide to Life: Thoughtful Lessons for the Modern Woman, by Lori Smith

Book Contest Closed! Thank you for participating. Winners Chrissie and Tara were chosen randomly with a random number generator and have been contacted. In The Jane Austen Guide to Life: Thoughtful Lessons for the Modern Woman, author Lori Smith examines Jane Austen’s novels, letters, and life for insights that can help guide today’s woman through life’s passages. There is much good material to digest. For my review of this wonderful book, please click here to read it.


You can purchase the Guide as a hard cover or ebook. You can also enter a comment for a chance to win one of two free copies. 


Image from the book
For a chance to win, leave a question you would ask Jane Austen. You may choose any topic. The contest ends on midnight, Tuesday, May 15th. 


Sadly, the contest is open to those who live in the US or Canada only. Please make sure to leave a way that I can reach you.

58 comments:

Lady Jane said...

This looks like such a lovely book!!

Becca A. said...

Oh goodness, I would ask her so many questions! At the top, though, I'd ask her which of her male heros she loved the best. The're all fantastic, but she has to have a favorite, right?

kimie142002 (at) hotmail (dot) com

Breezer said...

Such a great giveaway. I'd ask her about her romances, I think. :)

breannelynn28(at)gmail(dot)com

Mystica said...

Looks gorgeous! dont count me in as I am overseas.

Kristin said...

I think I would also have to ask her about her romances. For someone who dreamed up Mr. Darcy and Mr. Knightley, it seems like an obvious choice. :)

~Kristin

Rachael Marsceau said...

I, too, would ask which is her favorite male hero, and why. Looks like an interesting book! readerrachael(at)gmail(dot)com

Tatiana said...

Looks like an interesting book :) I would ask Jane Austen how she got her inspiration... although I must admit that I too am curious to know who she preferred!

Zia
http://singing-blue.blogspot.ca/

Amanda L. V. Shalaby said...

Ooh this is difficult! I think I would ask her which of her characters was most like her :-)

PaintedFolly said...

Oh I can't even seem to narrow it down to one question! But I think the first question I would ask her is Who her favorite male hero was and why. They are all so wonderful with in reason because they each have faults but Jane Austin succeeded in making them some of the most wonderful men of all time.

Sierra_Bailey@Aol.com

Terri~terrileeauthor said...

Well if I had a chance to sit and visit with Jane, then I am assuming that she knows of my world as well. So it would be interesting to ask her if she had the chance,which world would she choose to live in? Would she choose her own era or modern day society, and why? I'm sure she would have many witty takes on our world of romance today. Wouldn't you love to hear her?
Thanks for your lovely blog.

Virginia said...

Jane, what setting where you either lived or visited most inspired and influenced you and why?

Martha said...

I would ask her what she thought of the fashions of her time.

Else M Tennessen said...

I would ask Jane what she thought of the Internet and all the information "overload" we are exposed to today. It is hard to live a simple life with all the information we have! I would love to win this book and read her "guide" to life. Jane Austen is my hero!

Unknown said...

I would ask her if the novels she wrote made it difficult to live in the real world with real characters. And also I'd ask her if she was as flirtatious as some manuscripts make her out to be!
kabeilledesigns@yahoo.com

Jazz said...

Dear Jane:

Would you have preferred to have a room of your own or is being surrounded by family worth the aggravation and interruptions and demands of the relatives?

Lori Smith said...

These are great questions! Amanda - I've always thought that Lizzy Bennet was most like Jane. Anyone else feel that way?

Kelli H. said...

I would ask Jane if she had ever been truly in love. For a woman who wrote some of the greatest love stories ever, I have to believe there must have been someone at sometime in her life! Thanks for the giveaway!!=)
kellik115@yahoo.com

aurora said...

@Lori Smith, me too. I also think that Elizabeth resembles Jane the most.
My question to her would be: Which one of her characters she prefers more: Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightley?

Anonymous said...

Question(s) to Jane: What is it about writing that drew you to it? What does writing do for you? You wrote about men and women, as well as the song-and-dance of courtship and marriage, did you not see for yourself the possibility of love and marriage?

Thanks,
Kas6226@sbcglobal.net

Kathy said...

Looks like an awesome book. Hmmm... I'd ask her how she came to know so much about human nature.

Unknown said...

I'd love to win a copy to review on my blog.

Sassy Countess said...

what about your younger sisters... are you helping them get the men of their dreams?

Danielle said...

I think I would want to see if she would have done anything differently in her own life after all the books she wrote, if her opinions had changed much.

drcopeland(at)Hotmail(dot)come

Felicia said...

There is so much about Jane that we don't know, so I'd ask her to fill me in. If she doesn't throw me out, I would fix a large pot of tea and ask her if we could discuss each of her heroes and heroines from her novels and how they came about.

felicialso @gmail .com

Amanda said...

Did she ever fall in love?

Collar City Brownstone said...

If I could sit down and talk with Jane Austen I would assume that she knows of my world now and steamy romance novels on our shelves. I would ask her if she were here now and writing would she include intimate love scenes in her books. Tastefully and beautifully done...of course. A man like Mr. Darcy would be the most considerate, tender, sweet and romantic husband that a wife could ever have I think. The same would apply to mill owner John Thornton.
collarcitybrownstone(at)ymail (dot) com.

Unknown said...

I would just revel in having a converation with Jane about anything. What a great giveaway.

Rachel said...

I would ask her if writing of love and happy endings ever felt like salt in a wound, due to her unhappy and unconventional circumstances. And if so, why did she continue to write about it? I know that would be too hard for me. Simply curious... and hoping to enjoy that book!

rachel(dot)brianna(dot)b(at)gmail(dot)com

Thank you!

Caroline said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Caroline said...

Dear Jane, what would you write if you lived in 2012? What kind of novels, what kind of stories and characters would inspire you?

carolinebarre1 [at] gmail [dot] com

janice said...

Since I like the more eccentric characters of her books, I would like to know how she thought to write of them. Were they based on any real people. For example, Anne's father in Persuasion. Is there a good way to deal with fractious people?

Patricia's Particularity said...

While there is much to ask Miss Austen, and so many topics, I would stick with writing. I would ask her how she felt when inspiration came to her? Did she feel elated, excited, confused, or a sense of peace allowing her to know that what she was about to write would be genius?

P.S. Gossip wise I would ask her if she and Thomas really were 'lovers'

Chrissie said...

I'd ask her what she'd do differently if she'd known how widely read her books would be.

chrissie{DOT]stewart

at symbol thingy

gmail

Do
t

COM

Lori Smith said...

These are all great - loving them! Felicia - yes, a pot of tea with Jane. Perfect.

Karen L said...

Does Mr. Darcy have any brothers we don't know about? It's sad that only Lizzie won such a prized husband! Where can we find more like him? :-)

Ginger said...

How did she keep writing when she had no assurance her books would ever be published...that's what I'd ask.

Soft Fuzzy Sweater said...

I would ask Ms Austen: If you were writing today, would you add torrid love scenes or would you find that distasteful?


annfesATyahooDOTcom

~Amy said...

Can you imagine asking Jane a questions? Wow! I would love to ask her what current actress she would cast as herself.

Ellen M said...

Dear Miss Jane,

What do you think of the many "Jane Austen sequels" written by various authors? Which ones do you like? Might you possibly love some of them? And, of course, which ones are detestable? Shall we start a book discussion club to address these questions? Pretty please?

Karen said...

I would ask Jane Austen,"What do you love best about writing?"
Thank you for the giveaway!

ponylover888@gmail.com

Lori said...

I would ask her who she was closer to, her mother or her father.

Tara Finlay said...

I love the comment someone left about asking Jane if she was closer to her mother or her father. I would ask her what it was like trying to write while suffering from her illness. That is, how she was able to manage it.

Deirdre Mikolajcik said...

I'm happy to see that this book is rooted not only in her novels, but in her letters and personal papers as well. It rings more authentically that way. Even if I don't win the contest (fingers crossed), I will check this book out.

Tyler-Rose Counts said...

I would ask her which was her favorite Shakespeare play? There are so many allusions to his work in her books.

I would also ask how she learned to write such amazing romances that they've lasted 200 years when she was never married. Her biographies are usually very hazy on her love life.

Lou said...

Jane dear, here's a cup of tea. Do you knit?

Shelly Howard said...

What is the plot of Sanditon? And where is the secret hiding place of all the other unpublished manuscripts you wrote?

Leslie said...

I would ask her to show me how to do the satin stitch on her muslin handkerchief.

Goldberry said...

I would like to ask Jane if she was ever secretly, in the depths of her heart, ever in love with someone. And if so, who? I could be contacted at
goldberry_12@live.com

Serendipity Handmade + Vintage said...

I'd like to know why Jane never married. I know she had a deep love...what happened?

Lois said...

Oh boy, this is tough... would love to ask, so how did you think of Mr Darcy... but also I imagine the people she had in her life inspired something of a character that she created, even if it's just one little trait. I think I would ask who matches up with who. :)

Lois

macley said...

The book looks lovely Lori :). Thank you for offering a giveaway Jane Austen Today! Now to a question I would ask Jane. I love the idea of asking Jane some questions over tea.

My question would be: What would you like your readers to take away from reading your novels? and if somehow (magically) she would get to know of the actual impact of her works, I would ask her: have we gotten it right when interpreting her novels and filling in the blanks of her inspirations. And my last question (I promise) would be what was on the letters you wrote that Cassandra supposedly destroyed? :)

macley said...

oops, forgot to leave my contact info :)
email: lmacareno@yahoo.com
Pinterest: macley

Anonymous said...

I would have asked the same question about which of her male characters she liked the best.

I would also ask her which of her characters (especially the minor characters) are based on people she knew personally.

Then I would ask her if she ever met someone who reminded her of a character she had already written before she met the person who reminded her of them. (I've had this happen to me and my characters before, and I'd love to know if it happens to others).

Emily
emspeaks(at)gmail(dot)com

Anonymous said...

Jane Austen, when you wrote your books, did you have any inkling that they might have a big impact on many peoples' lives?

Audrey Bruscia

aaabruscia@hotmail.com

Unknown said...

I would ask her what she thinks of the impact her works have had on so many people -- and also would love to know what she would have thought about the film adaptations!

racheling (at) gmail (dot) com

Anonymous said...

I think I'd ask her something about her writing, what made her want to write? How did she come up with her stories and did she let her stories just flow naturally or did she plot them out?


s.eliza05(at)gmail(dot)com

Gigi said...

Well, not a unique question I'm afraid, but I would ask about her love life. Did she ever have a great love, and if so, why didn't they marry.

Rachel D. said...

Lovely! This looks like a charming book!

I would ask her which of her books she would choose to jump into and join if she had the chance, and whose story she found most agreeable and pleasing in the end.

booksgalore @ nc dot rr dot com