Month: September 2013

Stories of Jorie | The First Thirty Days : Life of a Book Blogger!

Posted Saturday, 7 September, 2013 by jorielov 4 Comments

Stories of Jorie badge created in Canva

The beginning of a monthly journalling post of all the adventures

the last thirty days has brought to Jorie Loves A Story!

The following post is a record of my first thirty days as a book blogger, having launched *Jorie Loves A Story* on the 6th of August, 2013 @ 4:49a! These are my adventures in setting up my first book blog, becoming acquainted with the bookish blog community, undertaking book reviewing for a publicity firm and two book touring companies, tackling reading challenges for the first time + encouraging myself as a blogger and reader by seeking out bookish blog pen pals, as much as sorting out the best ways to encourage positive traffic patterns, by making Jorie Loves A Story fully cross-referenced, and accessible by various syndicated reading platforms!  As I have been creating this blog since the 31st of March, 2013, most of what is included in this monthly report will follow through the day of creation until the 31st of August, 2013. Whereas one month from now, on the 7th of October, the focus will strictly be ‘thirty days’ henceforth forward! In keeping with this, my official blogoversary is set to acknowledge the start of JLAS as March vs. August!

Book Blogger | Book Tour Hostess:

In the beginning, when I first began to create Jorie Loves A Story, I was not sure which direction I wanted to head off into first, as did I want to solely blog about my own individual wanderings OR did I want to combine them, with opportunities that may become afforded through publicity firms and book tour companies!? I decided that I wanted to branch out and seek out ways in which to expand my reading horizons as much as to expand my abilities as a book blogger! I knew that I would still be in control of what I read, as you get to pick and choose which books you want to take on, [the same as I have with First Impressions by Book Browse] which in my mind was a win-win situation! In this way, I could gain more experience as a book blogger, but the primary motivation was to be in a position to be introduced to writers I may not have come across otherwise!

Even with my readings on Shelf Awareness + Book Browse, as much as my local library’s catalogue, and print copies of Book Page which circulate monthly, there is always a sense that there are books that your simply not going to become exposed too! The market for reading is such a largely cast net, that I do believe there are less hours than books to consume!! Laughs. A happy problem to have, I must say! Therefore, my new ‘title’ is: Book Blogger | Book Tour Hostess as I identify myself as a book blogger instead of book reviewer, as my own personal style of writing about books does differ a bit. Although, I am agreed to a structured review for First Impression novels, I do expand my thoughts after those are posted in a lengthier post on Jorie Loves A Story! In keeping true to what I outlined in my Introduction Post, I am still committed to writing about books that touch my heart, and sink into my imagination, yet with the addition of books coming to me via book tours and First Impressions, I am hopeful that those books will attach themselves as readily as a book that I select to read on my own outside of those ventures!

I truly do like to dig into the heart of a book, explore the subject OR subjects contained therein, and write about how reading the book affected me personally. In this way, you will find my posts on books to be larger than most and filt with a bit more extra content. I truly am excited about each book that I find to blog about, because I am a happy-go-lucky bookishly bent girl who is quite bubbly when she talks about books + authors any chance she is given to do so! Which is why it warms her heart to no end, when she sees comments that turn into mini-conversations across the spectrum of her blog!

The book tour companies I am working with are as follows:
JKS_VBTlogo4

France Book Tours

HFVBT_Logo_BannerTo the left, is JKS Communications: A Literary Publicity Firm, by which I had the honour of being selected to read and review “The Prayer Box” by Lisa Wingate. They offer a wide variety of books: adult fiction, non-fiction, young adult, and children’s titles. I am hopeful that I can make another selection soon, as I was delighted to work with them on this tour! As much as it warmed my heart when I saw that the author, Ms. Wingate had stopped by my blog! And, further still had set up a link on her Reader’s Circle Facebook Page! I noted I had new visitors dropping by, and four people liked the post she had shared!

On the right, is the Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour company, whose main empathsis is the world of historical fiction, including their sub-genres that inter-connect!! When I saw that Illuminations was going to be on tour in November, I immediately contacted them after having submitted my application, as this was one of the book’s I had won last Autumn! Due to circumstances, I never had the proper chance to read it, and I thought that this was rather happenstance to have discovered this company & the inclusion of Illuminations! My first tour I was offered was Gracianna, and after reading the premise, I knew I could not pass up this opportunity! For a girl who appreciates ancestry and the roots of family, this is one book I knew that I would be inspired to read! I look forward to working with them during these tours, as much as to eagerly await the tours that will follow next! As I have already followed their Queen’s Gambit tour which is a novel that focuses on Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s last wife! I have not yet read any of the lovely novels of the Tudors, and I thought this might be a keen one to start with, as I had originally read it either through Book Browse &/or Shelf Awareness! What I appreciate about the tour, is that you get a bird’s eye view into the perspectives each reader felt as he/she read the novel!

In the middle is France Book Tours, a recent addition to my life as a book blogger, as I was inspired by Caffeinated Life, to seek out their touring company, after having read and participated in The Bones of Paris tour! It was shortly after I had submitted my application, that I found the first book that perked my interest to read and review: Unravelled by M.K. Tod! I followed this up with making rounds on the “Miss K” tour, whereupon I *won!* a copy of the book from Boxes of Paper! I was quite stoked that I had won, as after making my rounds of the tour, I had become quite fond of the book and of the woman who inspired it! Meanwhile, I became interested in an upcoming tour: Taking Root in Provence by Anne-Marie Simons, which took me by surprise, as its a non-fiction travelogue-esque diary-style book about two American Ex-Pats who now call Southern France home! Its the way in which she describes accumulating to the French that struck my interest in reading it!

Jorie Loves A Story | Stats of the Month | 6 August to 7 September 2013

Number of Visitors within the first month: (approx. 1,289 + 62)

[as writ down on the 7th of September 2013]

Countries of Visitors within the first month: (as recorded by WP) United States, Serbia, Canada, United Kingdom, Barbados, Australia, France, Slovenia, Finland, Philippines, Germany, the Netherlands, Antigua & Barbuda, Portugal, India, Norway, Poland, Belgium, New Zealand, Hungary, and Romania! Truly book bloggers and readers unite globally!

*Due to being curious about this particular stat, I have installed a free Flag Counter!

# of Posts: 33 | # of Comments: 104

# of New Pages: 2 [Blogosphere Bookish Memes & Weekly Features + Bookish Events Featured on JLAS!]

# of Readers Following JLAS: 4 [Bloglovin’], 2 [FeedBlitz], 8 [Email] = 14!! I am grateful for each one!

Directories JLAS is listed in: Blog Nation [yet I cannot get my blog confirmed? did anyone else have this difficulty?] + Southern Book Bloggers

Books Read & Reviewed: Full Disclosure by Dee Henderson | A Moment in Time by Jennifer Butenas | Red Thread Sisters by Carol Antoinette Peacock | Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole | The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wrecker |

The Clockwork Carnival 2013 - hosted by Once Upon A TimeContribution of Blogosphere Event OR Blog: The Clockwork Man by William Jablonsky , contribution to The Clockwork Carnival hosted by Once Upon a Time. IF you click on the banner, it will take you to the wrap-up post which has an archive of every post connected to the Carnival!

Books In the Process of Reading: Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson, Bluebird or the Invention of Happiness by Sheila Kohler, The Secret Papers of Madame Olivetti by Annie Vanderbilt, The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland, Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs, Murder on Monday by Ann Purser, Thyme of Death by Susan Wittig Albert, & Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Upcoming Books to Read & Review: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, Mistress of my Fate: The Confessions of Henrietta Lightfoot by Hallie Rubenhold, Lucid Stars by Andrea Barrett, The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe by Mary Simses, and The Spirit Keeper by K.B. Laugheed.

Unique Topics OR Posts: Jorie Loves A Story: An Introduction | Quilts of Love Series by Abingdon Press | Type Books, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | The Reading Hour | Conversation with Deeanne Gist | Conversation with Cathie Pelletier | Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt | The Death of my Beloved Cat | It Ought to be Elementary | An Individual Sense of Calm | Launch Day! | My Introduction to the World of Steampunk | I Honestly Admit, I have a Slight Confession! |

Upcoming Topics OR Posts: Conversation with Robyn Carr | 70 Authors + 12 Months = [Focus On] Inspirational Fiction: A JLAS Exclusive | Bout of Books, 8.0: the Wrap-Up (posted under construction!) |

Bookish Memes: Jumping my Holds with a touch of steam & magical realism (Sunday Showcase #1); Austen, Her Name is Jane Austen! (Sunday Showcase, #2), What is a Girl to do!? Except continue onward! (WWW Wednesday, #1), and Reading Knows No Boundaries (Library Loot, #1).

Book Tours Participated In: 2! “The Prayer Box” by Lisa Wingate, as well as my first Book Cover Reveal, for “Love At First Slight” by J. Marie Croft.

Upcoming Book Tours: “Illuminations” by Mary Sharratt [1 November], “Gracianna” by Trini Amador [13 November], “Taking Root in Provence” by Anne-Marie Simons [27 November].

Reading Challenges, Read-A-Longs, or Read-A-Thons Participated In: August in August and Bout of Books, 8.0

Upcoming Reading Challenges: Books of Eyre, Septemb-Eyre, & Classics Re-Told: 19th Century & Gothic Classics

New Book Blogs I am Following &/or Reading: [reverse order]  Unabridged Chick | Passages to the Past | Musings of a Writer & Unabashed Francophile | An American in France | The Tudor Book Blog | Estella’s Revenge | Britt Reads Fiction | The Bookish Girl Reads On | Covered in Flour | The Captive Reader | Oh, for the Hook of a Book | Diary of an Eccentric | For the Love of Books | Alex in Leeds | Emily Books | Books Without Any Pictures | Doing Dewey | The Classics Club | Roof Beam Reader |Bookish Whimsy |Entomology of a Bookworm |

New Bookish Friends: The Joyful Bookcase, Caffeinated Life, and E-book Classics

Ways in Which to Follow Jorie Loves A Story: Email Subscription and RSS Feeds [FeedBlitz + Bloglovin’] Conveniently located in the lower left sidebar. For RSS Feeds, you have two ways to find them, the left sidebar and the bottom of the main page!

Most Unexpected Gift to showcase my passion for books + libraries: Squeesome Designs!! IF you have already read this posting in which I exclaimed my joy in finding all the lovely badges that promote book + library love, then your ahead of the curve! You see, I originally was hoping to find one or two badges to express this passion I have for libraries + reading! However, its hard to find beautifully made badges that are ‘free’ for book bloggers to use! Therefore, when I stumbled across this designer’s website, I made an official enquiry & suggestion! Shortly, thereafter, much to my absolute delight I had more than I could ever have hoped to choose from!! :) :) Do check them out, you will want them for your blog too!! :) :) You can find the full measure of which posts I have used these wicked sweet badges by browsing through my “Topics, Genres, & Subjects” section, OR simply clicking through here to the Squeesome Designs Archive List!

Best Resources I have found for book blogging: Shabby Blogs, Squeesome Designs, Wikimedia Commons + Wikipedia, Fantastic Fiction, Dictionary.com, and Zementa (WP provided). Which are yours!?

Best New Features Found Whilst Blogging: Comparatively, SeaMonkey + Firefox work easier for blogging than I have found with Explorer, by which I no longer use! The archive of commentary icon on the upper right corner of WP blogs is a lifesaving tool! You don’t always have to worry about ticking off the ‘subscribe by email to see new comments’ button if your signing a WP blog! In this way, it helps keep the conversation flowing without missing a step! *LOVE!* Uploading more than one media file at a time! Brilliant! Zementa is the best place to start for related content, as it is located directly underneath your posts in Editing. And, the absolute best discovery I made is being able to “add a blog” to my WP Reader by inserting the address! I originally had thought that you could only ‘follow WP blogs’!! Go me! And, of course, no blogger can not ‘rock out’ to the tunage as provided by iHeartRadio!

Long Term Goals: To curate my list of classical literature in order to join “The Classics Club” in January 2014! To sort through which serial fiction I want to focus on in 2014, and join one or two of the challenges by which others’ are collectively reading their own choices, too! To write posts a bit ahead of posting and allow the auto-scheduler to post in my absence! I have been winging it a bit closer to when I want posts to go live in the short term! To focus on one reading challenge + one read-a-long per month, so not to become overly taxed as I was in August! To get caught up in my magazine reading and to post about what I am enjoying through the zine format of discovery!

Short Term Goals: To write up my intentions and motivations behind reading 70 Authors of Inspirational Fiction, and to make a plausible headway in that direction before the close of September! To remember to ‘breathe’ and enjoy the journey!

In closing, I would like to thank each person who has taken the time to read through my blog, whether they left a comment OR have been silently reading and appreciating the content, I want to extend my gratitude for each of you who have alighted upon this little space in the book blogosphere! I created this blog first and foremost for myself, to pursue my own literary wanderings and passions, seeing where the new paths would take me that I stumble across as I blog, however, second to myself, I blog as a way to give back gratitude to each writer who touches my life by the book they have written, and thirdly, to you, the blog reader who draw inspiration out of what I cast out into the void via this space, as you might find a new author OR book that you may or may not have given a chance to read previously!

I want to thank the numerous bookish souls that I have encountered whilst my journey into this exciting world has only just begun, the type of book bloggers that everyone hopes to encounter at some point, due to their graciousness and warm-hearted approach to making each new blogger feel a part of the fold! I thank you, most kindly! For your acceptance of me and for giving me feedback that endeavours me to improve my skill as a blogger and writer!

To the authors I have come to know, a bit more personally through my explorations of their books, I want to thank each of them for their generosity and kindness! My heart overflows! And, for those who I did not contact prior to writing up a post on their novels, I want to thank them for stopping by and reading my reflections; you know who you are! And, to the numerous authors I have met along the byways of the blogosphere for almost a full year, who have made an impact on my life and uplifted me during the weeks and months I have found them on various blogs, my gratitude overflows beyond measure!

I am thankful that I am able to work with a publicity firm and two (blog) book tour companies, to where I can select which book I want to read next, and participate in a collective community of readers who strive to highlight and showcase books that strike an accord within us. We may or may not always feel keenly passionate about a title, but we strive at least, to give our honest impressions so that in some way, what we say can guide another reader in their own reading adventures! I can attest that even a negative review can inspire you to read a book, as I came across one such review during Bout of Books, 8.0, (The Ghost Bride), and despite the reviewer’s disinterest, she gave enough of an impression to me, to know that it would be a book I would find inspiring to read! And, therefore the circle becomes complete! Reader to reader, reviewer to reviewer, each of us, celebrating the printed word and the offerings of the publishing industry!

And, a special note of gratitude is extended to my local public library system, of whom, inspires me continuously to seek out intriguing authors and works of literature! They are gracious and friendly when it comes to making Purchase Requests, Subject Research Searches, and of course, their ILL service is quite top notch! As it allows the patron to request not only books through inter-library loan but also audio-visual materials such as musical albums OR audiobooks on CD, as much as motion pictures, BBC serials, documentaries, and other ‘films’ not included in their in-house collection! This makes the library a very useful place to frequent! And, I encourage everyone to take stock of what their library can do for them, as far as encouraging their joy of reading and for expanding their knowledge of what is readily available in film and music!

The most wicked sweet purchase request I have made recently involved my friend who lives in Norway, who came across a book she knew I’d be rather keen to read myself, and afterwhich, I was most delighted in seeing arrive to me quite soon indeed! Once again, I am thankful to have such a receptive library system, and a very gracious Acquisitions Librarian!

Rock on, dear hearts, rock on!
Another month is dawning, and I am most anxious to see how it unfolds!

Blog badge provided by Squeesome Designs and used with permission.{SOURCES: The badges of JKS Communications + Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours were provided each of them as a way for the book bloggers who review for them to promote their companies, and for us to declare that we review for them as well. The Clockwork Carnival badge was provide by Hannah, who runs Once Upon A Time, and of whom created the Carnival for those of us who adore Steampunk OR want to educate ourselves on the emerging genre! Stories of Jorie badge created in Canva. Welcome to My Blog badge provided by Squeesome Designs as a free resource for bloggers!}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2013.

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Posted Saturday, 7 September, 2013 by jorielov in Stories of Jorie

Bout of Books, 8.0: the Wrap-Up!

Posted Thursday, 5 September, 2013 by jorielov 0 Comments

Bout of Books

Wrapping up my experience with Bout of Books, 8.0!

Honestly, if I were to look back in time, to when Bout 8.0 began, I would not believe it were possible that I would be met with such a unique set of derailments that left me wanton and desirous of more hours than the days could allow to be drawn forward! I earnestly attempted to visit each blog that I had scouted out in the hours leading up to the Bout, but due to massive technical difficulties in accessing them due to issues I only learnt the full extent of over Labour Day weekend [I needed to switch out my browser! Twiceover!], I fell drastically behind, and I am sure, most of the Bout’ers might have doubted my sincerity in returning to their lovely blogs! Its my intent through this wrap-up post to not only make amends and give my full attention back to their blogs + the experiences they triumphed through during the Bout, but to give a measure of grace back to myself knowing that due to the circumstances I accomplished quite a heap more than I originally felt I had!

Whilst I was composing my first [& unfortunately last] Austen in August post, I came to realise how inter-connected all the blogosphere events have been thus far! Therefore, forgive the [future] redundancy [in reading this twice!] but I am going to cross-post what I exclaimed on my forthcoming post on Pride and Prejudice, as a method of a starting block of how to recognise the hours as they shifted forward and how unlikely it became that I could continue with the Bout!

Whilst I launched JLAS, I undertook Austen in August, declared my intent to read Books of Eyre, contributed a piece to The Clockwork Carnival, settled into Bout of Books, 8.0, participated in the first Blog Pen Pal Exchange, encountered an illness, a 4-day migraine, technical difficulties during the Bout & afterwards [more than half the Bout’er blogs wouldn’t load – who knew I needed to switch browsers!? I *love!* SeaMonkey now!], waylaid by fierce lightning and thunderstorms, AND just when I was thrilled to bits about all the lovelies I am reading, the hours ticked off the clock and I arrived at September before I could make a backwards glance and wonder, “Where did dear August go off too!?” I even found time to sort out which weekly memes I want to contribute too: Sunday Showcase (#1, #2) and Library Loot being two I felt best to start on, prior to finding WWW Wednesdays! September started with a surge of excitement, as I participated in my first Book Cover Reveal [Love at First Slight by J. Marie Croft] and my first Blog Book Tour Stop [The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate]!! All the while attempting to make headway on the list of books I had garnished to read throughout the month! In the end, I learnt a hard lesson: there are only so many hours by which you have to find the balance to accomplish everything you set out to do!

I decided that I would take a step back in September, arranging my goals into my day planner journal, and giving myself the freedom to have a bit more flexibility to truly enjoy the blogosphere events as they alight in my life! I feel like I couldn’t give as much of my heart to Austen in August, nor could I complete the Bout properly either! I need to compose my Wrap-Up Posts to where I can put it all in a better light and scope! Having said that, I would have been better to focus on a single read-a-long and a reading challenge, to where I wouldn’t have felt spread so thin! There is, of course, the addition of wanting to get back to my pen, ferret off dearly owed letters and correspondences to the most patient friends a girl could ever hope to know, and knit my UFOs into finished objects I can be proud of!

What the Bout enabled me to do, is to pull away from the inability to sink into the books that have been sitting on my shelf awaiting my attention for several years! I was able to sit in my comfy chair, sink into their narratives [and find that quite a few things have changed in the cosy mystery genre since my youth!], and drink in the beauty of the words that the authors created for me to fully realise their inner worlds of imagination! As a last best effort to make an enroad towards my last goal of ‘reading a bit of each book’, I read the first 20 pages of each book save The Lady in the Attic and The Crimson Petal and the White. I am at this point in time uncertain what to do with the latter book, but will be saving the former for Bout, 9.0 come January [2014!] as I embark on a new adventure: Reading Annie’s Attic series! :) I decided to go full-on cosy for the next one!!

Insofar as my current goals, I have already updated my intent to carry-on reading the rest of my Bout books clear through New Year’s, which correlates with my goals with Septemb-Eyre, Books of Eyre, and Classics Re-Told! Over the weekend shortly rising into view, I will have to set time aside to sort out how to incorporate my other reading challenge, which is my personal 70 Authors Challenge! I am sure most have seen the authors in the sidebar and were curious why they could not find a posting about it! It is one of those posts that was scheduled to go live before the end of the Bout, and never materialised!

I want to thank the creators of the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon Challenge for inspiring all of us to set up our own personal goals and motivations, finding our own path to embark down and for giving us the leeway to block out time to READ! :) There are times like these that I notice that collective reading truly has a gift for lending a reader the ability to break through a reading rut and dig back into books before the spell of enchantment is fully extinguished! :) In this way, I will always be grateful!

The 108 Bout’er Blogs that I Selected to Visit during Bout of Books, 8.0:

[To view my first impressions of their respective blogs you need to go here!]

  1. Coffee Bean Bookshelf
  2. Sarah Reads Too Much
  3. Hopeful Happiness
  4. Bookish Comforts
  5. I am Sam Tule
  6. My Readers Block
  7. Doing Dewey
  8. Afternoon Book Party
  9. Books are Portable Magic
  10. A Blog of Books
  11. Lit Nerd
  12. Bookish Geek
  13. The Tale Archives
  14. A Cup of Coffee And a Book
  15. Snuggling on the Sofa
  16. Little Lovely Books
  17. A Geek’s Bookshelf
  18. Estella’s Revenge
  19. Paradise of Pages
  20. Sophicated Dorkiness
  21. Potterhead Reviews
  22. Book Pairing
  23. Book, Food, & Other Things
  24. Books & Blockbusters
  25. Read & Reviewed
  26. Leeswammes’ Blog
  27. Under A Gray Sky
  28. Ink Scratchers
  29. The Little Reader Library 
  30. The Book Lover’s Chronicles
  31. You Book Me All Night Long
  32. Smiling Shelves
  33. Curiosity Killed the Bookworm
  34. The Temporary Escape
  35. Mom’s Small Victories
  36. It’s A Nerdy Thing
  37. A Bookaholic Blog
  38. Stacks & Shelves
  39. Everything to do with Books
  40. A Book Lover’s Ramblings 
  41. Sharlene Says
  42. Book Nerds Book Blog
  43. Of Sunsets & Valleys
  44. Snowdrops Dreams of Books
  45. Student Spyglass | Geeky Zoo Girl (reincarnated)
  46. Other Women’s Stories
  47. Paperback Daydreamer
  48. Curled Up with a Good Book & a Cup of Tea
  49. I Blog for Books
  50. The Book Sphere
  51. The Book Barn
  52. Just Another Book Lovin’ Girl 
  53. A Blighted One
  54. The Attic 
  55. Undead Unicorn 
  56. Christian Bookshelf Reviews
  57. The Writerly Reader
  58. GaGa Over Books
  59. The Geeky Blogger’s Book Blog
  60. Simply Dazee: Tea & a Book
  61. My Seryniti
  62. Book Beats
  63. Stitch, Read, Cook
  64. The Oaken Bookcase
  65. Reading in Winter
  66. The Girl & Her Books
  67. The Cozy Armchair
  68. My Not So Real Life 
  69. Love YA Books
  70. The Skeptical Reader
  71. Pearl the Book Girl
  72. Escape Through the Pages
  73. Let Me Dream, Let Me Stay
  74. The Writeables
  75. Miles from Ordinary 
  76. In Libris Veritas
  77. Bemused Bookworm
  78. Jane’s Book Blog
  79. Beyond Strange New Worlds 
  80. Teenage Years of a Teen
  81. Always with a Book
  82. Little Bird Reads
  83. Booked on a Feeling
  84. Pen in Her Hand
  85. Vicky Thinks
  86. Heather Hearts Books
  87. Quinn’s Booknook
  88. Pretty Pug
  89. Must Read Faster
  90. Bookworm in Barrie
  91. Bookeater/Booklover
  92. Life: Merging
  93. Miss Reader’s Reading Adventures
  94. The Polished Page-Turner
  95. Listful Booking
  96. Read. Run. Study.
  97. Library of Mallory
  98. Divergent Gryffinder
  99. The Paige Turner
  100. Devouring Texts
  101. Of Nowhere Land
  102. Paper Riot
  103. Losing Myself in a Good Book
  104. bookgoonie
  105. Books Speak Volumes
  106. Auggie Talk
  107. Chels & a Book
  108. Reading Extensively
My daily updates as they posted:

My Favourite Daily Challenges were the Book Spine Poetry + the New Bout’er Blogs,
of which are recorded here as well as on their respective pages!

Thyme [time] of death, haunted the forest lover,
[who was en route between] Lark Rise to Candleford.
The lady in the attic [was] murder(ed) on monday;
[her homicide was suspected of] death by darjeeling!
The secret papers of Madame Olivetti [was an attempt of pacifying the] bluebird,
or the invention of happiness!
[The key to all of it was] the crimson petal and the white!

I selected 5 out of 108 blogs randomly:

[Focusing on each of the bookish bloggers’ blogs for what I appreciated on their blogs!]

#20: Sophicated Dorkiness

#63: Stitch, Read, Cook

#25: Read & Reviewed

#10: A Blog of Books

#44: Snowdrops Dreams of Books

Then, there were some blogs that I decided I wanted to keep tabs on after the Bout:

The blogs that I am following (officially):

The blogs that I am returning back to every so often to see what is new:

Moreover, I am thankful to have had the opportunity to discover ALL 108 blogs! during the Bout, and look forward to seeing who is going to return for Bout, 9.0!! Perhaps, we will have quite a few conjoined events in our futures ahead of its arrival, and perhaps, some of us will know each other a bit better ahead of 9.0 beginning! :) I noted that some of you, gave me a nod on your own blogs, whether as part of the ‘New Bout’er’ Blog Challenge OR simply as a daily reference of a new blog you had visited and enjoyed!! I thank each of you for giving me a shout-out, as it warmed my heart to know you enjoyed the posts I was able to compose whilst the Bout was in-progress! May our paths continue to intersect!

My final thoughts on Bout of Books, 8.0:

The wickedest moment for me, was waking up and realising on Day ? that Squeesome Designs had created a completely new set of bookish + library love badges off an idle suggestion of mine! In the days that would follow, coffee love + foodie love badges would magically appear forthwith! I cannot THANK them enough for their generous support of bookish bloggers!!

Library badge provided by Squeesome Designs and used with permission.Reading badge provided by Squeesome Designs and used with permission.Reading badge provided by Squeesome Designs and used with permission.

{SOURCES: Bout of Books Badge created by Jorie in Canva to give readers & visitors who come to her blog a way to know of its existence and therefore increasing the mystery & lore surrounding it!! This is one of three badges Bout of Books uses for promotion. Seriously wicked bookish badges {entirely FREE!} provided by Squeesome Designs!}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2013.

This post is currently a work-in-progress due to various technical difficulties with three browsers, I haven’t had the chance to fulfill my goals to make this post complete. However, the linky closes soon for wrap-up posts and I decided to link this officially and hopefully before or by Sunday I will have everything the way I wanted it to be! Thank you for our patience, and please continue to drop back to see how everything changes!

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Posted Thursday, 5 September, 2013 by jorielov in Bout of Books

Classics Re-Told: 19th Century & Gothic Classics [focus on] Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

Posted Thursday, 5 September, 2013 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 6 Comments

 

Classics Re-Told badge created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: Cas Cornelissen (Public Domain : Unsplash).I had originally read about the Classics Re-Told challenge, several weeks ago, and was under the presumption that the sign-ups to participate were long since closed! However, ever the optimist and curious about being able to participate the next time a challenge such as this would come back around, I left a comment! This was 3rd of September 2013, and by the 5th of September 2013 when I could finally return to see if a note was left in response, I joined officially!
For those who have been reading my blog, you will notice that I took the list of ‘after the canon’ books I had found to read during Austen in August and have re-absorbed them into Classics Re-Told! In this way, I can make amends on what I was not able to accomplish in August, and whilst continuing forward reading the books in earnest, I get to participate in a collective reading, where other readers will have the chance to watch my progress! Perhaps, even, be inspired to give one of the ‘after canons’ a chance, if they previously hadn’t come across them! The host for the *19th Century  & Gothic Classics* branch is: Bookish Whimsy. I am joining Melissa @ Harley Bear Book Blog + Andrea @ Beauty but a Funny Girl + J. Dudgeon @ J. Dudgeon, in our quest to read “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen and the books that followed this classic essential from the Regency!

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Books I Want to Focus On:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen; Vanity and Vexation: a novel of Pride and Prejudice {original UK title: Lions and Liquorice} by Kate Fenton; Pride and Prescience or A Truth Universally Acknowledged by Carrie Bebris; Mr. Darcy’s Little Sister by C. Allyn Pierson; Two Shall Become One: Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Pride and Prejudice Continues by Sharon Lathan; The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy by Maya Slater; The Independance of Miss Mary Bennett by Colleen McCullough; Pemberley by the Sea {alternative title: The Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice} and Mr. Darcy’s Obsesssion by Abigail Reynolds; Pride, Prejudice, and Jasmin Field by Melissa Nathan; Dancing with Mr. Darcy: stories inspired by Jane Austen and Chawton House {anthology} by Sarah Waters; Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal.

*I did not appreciate the style and prose of the one I struck through.

13 books in total. Equates out to 3.25 books per week!

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Adaptations I Want to Focus On:

Pride and Prejudice, the audio book recording: Flo Gibson; Bride and Prejudice [2004]; Pride and Prejudice [2005]; Pride and Prejudice [1940]; Lost in Austen: mini-series [2009]; and Pride and Prejudice: the BBC mini-series [1980].

* I did not think I could handle the drone of her voice! The words were rushed together!!

Cross-Related Works:

  • Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor {Being a Jane Austen mystery} by Stephanie Barron
  • I Was Jane Austen’s Best Friend by Cora Harrison
  • Lost in Austen: Create Your Own Jane Austen Adventure by Emma Campbell Webster [2007]

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My motivation to read “Pride and Prejudice” and the ‘after canons’:

Even before I first picked up Pride and Prejudice, I instinctively knew that I would be a life-long appreciator of Jane Austen! There was a drawing towards her works, her life, and her styling of writing that I cannot quite pin-point yet altogether know was threaded throughout my growing years and adulthood. I still remember for one of my birthdays {in my twenties} I purchased the “Jane Austen Library” out of one of the mail-order book clubs I was a member of at the time! I cannot recall directly if it was the Book-of-the-Month club OR another one, yet the books were hardback and had the most beautiful cover art I had then come across attributed to her collective works!

Prior to this, my Mum found the “Sense and Sensibility” screenplay {in hardback} which was directed by Emma Thompson. She also gave me a copy of the novel, in order to read and cross reference both texts. I remember beginning both quite eagerly, but I never properly became engaged into either! Around the time of the Keira Knightley adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, I felt that perhaps the stars were aligning and I could once again dig my heels into a book that had left me museful for most of my life! Especially with all the references being made in motion pictures {ie: “You’ve Got Mail”} making me ever the more curious,… I finally picked up a pocket hardback edition at Barnes & Noble! My greatest Austen moment thus far was being able to soak up the narrative during the opening week of the film and seeing it before it left the theaters! Quite chuffed I pulled that off, I must say!

As homage to my quest to understand Jane Austen, and to make a nodding at the first book that enticed me to her works, I decided to focus on Pride and Prejudice and the books that were spun into life out of respect of her canon and out of the inspirations that the story led other authors to create.

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My Fellow Classics Re-Told Co-Contributors for “Pride and Prejudice”:

Melissa @ Harley Bear Book Blog

She has listed the following on her post as the selections she will be reading and watching during the challenge: Pride and Prejudice [2005] motion picture adaptation starring Keira Knightley & ?; The Lizzie Bennett Diaries [2012] web adaptation starring Ashley Clements;  Spies and Prejudice by Talia Vance; Austenland by Shannon Hale; Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg; Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik; Pride and Popularity by Jenni James; and Prada & Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard. Be sure to follow her along as she embarks on this journey!

Andrea @ Beauty but a Funny Girl

She wrote that she had completely forgotten about the event taken place, but is still going to attempt to participate, as she has watched and enjoyed several adaptations over the years. She filled out a questionnaire specifically addressing her impressions of the films, and what she has taken away by absorbing into the life and world of Pride and Prejudice. I am not sure if she meant for that to be the main post OR if she is going to contribute more as the weeks go by. Stay tuned! By the 16th of September, I haven’t seen any posts leading me to think otherwise, and I think, she has quite literally bowed out. I can understand her circumstances, and therefore, her contribution is her Introduction.

J. Dudgeon @ J. Dudgeon

  • Introduction Post
  • Countdown: 10 Things I Love About Pride & Prejudice
  • Pride and Prejudice vs. Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Fields
  • Bride and Prejudice vs. Pride and Prejudice
  • Lost in Austen vs. Pride and Prejudice

She is the writer behind her own spin-off version of Pride and Prejudice entitled: Pride & Prejudice in California: Vol. 1: Pride, Prejudice and Termites. She has not yet composed her first posting by the 5th of September when I first began this post. However, on the 8th of September she started to post, including a breakdown of what she hoped to read & view! We have a few overlapping interests, as I too, am going to seek out “Lost in Austen”, “Pride, Prejudice, and Jasmin Fields”, as well as re-watch “Bride and Prejudice”.

Observations of our Differences:

Whereas Melissa and Andrea have grown an affection for “The Lizzie Bennett Diaries“, I cannot stipulate the same affection for the adaptation myself. Personally, it was a bit too raw, modern, and I took issues with various dialogue choices as well as the pace/flow of the story itself. I originally started to hear the murmuring of this adaptation across the broad spectrum of the bookish blogosphere earlier this year, but most predominately over Summer! I tried to keep an open mind about it, but to be honest, my first instinct was to roll my eyes and avoid watching them! Then, I thought that would be too prejudicial of me, and a bit too proud of my admiration of the classic film adaptations, by which, I have always wanted to see in full! I will admit, that even I, have a soft spot for a modern re-telling, which is the 2005 adaptation, where purists [Austenites + Janeites alike!] will shudder in horror for me to even admit this, yet its true! Therefore, after reading this post over on Bookish Comforts which bespoke about modern adaptations, I decided to take up the suggestion of ‘giving it a go’. I stopped watching after Episode 3. I. Could. Not. Take. One. More. Second. To each their own, as the saying goes.

Ironically, or naught, I felt that “The Autobiography of Jane Eyre” might actually be something I’d be more inclined to tune in and watch, as I watched Episode One! I will have to see how I feel about it after I conclude my reading of: Jane Eyre, for both Septemb-Eyre and Books of Eyre!

I am thankful that each of us are approaching this challenge from a completely different perspective and starting point! We might cross-relate on the motion picture adaptations, and of our love of the original canon, but you will be happy to note, we each take different forks in the road from there! Dear hearts, you shall have a full month to spend wandering around our blogs, and seeing a quite varied array of discussions populating our reviews!

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Archive List of my Classics Re-Told Posts:

  • Prelude: Austen in August
  • Preface: What is a girl to do? Except Continue Onward!
  • Preview of a new sequel: Book Cover Reveal for “Love At First Slight” by J. Marie Croft
  • Post I: Classics Re-Told: 19th Century & Gothic Classics [focus on] Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • Post II: Walking in Miss Elizabeth Bennett’s Shoes,…
  • Post III: Book Review: “Love At First Slight” by J. Marie Croft
  • Post IV: My second “Pride and Prejudice” Adaptation | First Viewing | 1940
  • Post V: My first “Pride and Prejudice” Adaptation | Second Viewing | 2006
  • Post VI: My first re-telling of “Pride and Prejudice” Adaptation | “Bride and Prejudice” | 2004
  • Post VII: “Darcy, Such As I”, a special keepsake and glimpse into the novel
  • Post VIII: Jane Austen Puzzle via Austen Authors
  • Post IX:
  • Post X: ?
  • Post XI: ?
  • Post XII: Austen, Jane Austen, Detective at the Ready!
  • Post XIII: Decidedly and Decisively Darcy: Private I’s
  • Post XIV: book
  • and continuing,…
  • Epilogue: Cross-Referencing Austen in August + Classics Re-Told
  • Epilogue: Websites of Austen & Pride and Prejudice
  • Epilogue: Review of: Lost in Austen, the book
  • Epilogue: Review of: Lost in Austen, the mini-series
  • Epilogue: book
  • Afterwards: Recollections of Classics Re-Told Reading Challenge

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Con-current Classic Re-Told Events & Their Respective Hosts:

Ancient to Renaissance Lit Classics | hosted by: Alyssa @ Books Take You Places

Mythology | hosted by: Brittany @ Book Addicts Guide

Children’s Classics | hosted by: The Cheap Reader

American & Miscellaneous Classics | hosted by: Excellent Library

Read this: A full history of how *Classics Re-Told* became to being!

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My Favourite Resources for Jane Austen:

  • Jane Austen Knits – despite being aware of this lovely zine which drops once or twice a year into our lives, I have not yet had the proper chance to collect the volumes! Each visit I make to Barnes & Noble, I find myself properly flushed with excitement over what the issue will contain! One day!
  • Austenprose
  • Jane Austen Centre
  • Jane Austen House Museum
  • Austenticity
  • Jane Austen’s Regency World Magazine
  • Jane Austen’s London – Blog of author Louise Allen who wrote Walking in Jane Austen’s London. I discovered this in connection with her book tour as the book was featured on The Word Wenches blog! Its an exciting book that allows the Janeite full access to know where in London you can take a walk, and be transported into the era of Jane Austen!
  • Austen Authors –  An informative blog about Jane Austen, populated by sequel authors who enjoy writing about their muse. A recent discovery of mine! They host monthly giveaways and encourage readers to not only drop commentary but to pass the word around about their lovely blog! The authors you will find in conjunction to the blog are as follows: Susan Adriani [The Truth About Mr. Darcy & Darkness Falls Upon Pemberley]; Nina Benneton [Compulsively Mr. Darcy & Death Sparkles (anthology)]; Diana Birchall [Mrs. Darcy’s Dilemma, Mrs. Elton in America (trilogy), Jane Austen Made Me Do It (contributor), Onoto Watanna, The Story of Winnifred Eaton]; Marilyn Brant [According to Jane, A Summer in Europe, Friday Mornings at Nine, On Any Given Sundae, Double Dipping, Holiday Man, & Pride, Prejudice, and the Perfect Match]; Jack Caldwell [Pemberley Ranch, The Three Colonels, & Mr. Darcy Came to Dinner]; Karen Doornebos [Definitely Not Mr. Darcy & Undressing Mr. Darcy]; Monica Fairview [The Darcy Cousins, The Other Mr. Darcy, Jane Austen Made Me Do It (contributor), & An Improper Suitor]; Alyssa Goodnight [Austentatious, Austensibly Ordinary, & Unladylike Pursuits]; Maria Grace [Darcy’s Decision, The Future Mrs. Darcy, & All the Appearances of Goodness]; Cassandra Grafton [A Fair Prospect: Disappointed Hopes, A Fair Prospect: Darcy’s Dilemma, & A Fair Prospect: Desperate Measures]; Syrie James [The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen, The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen, The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte, Dracula, My Love, Nocturne, Forbidden, Jane Austen Made Me Do It (contributor), & The Harrison Duet: Propositions and Songbird]; Regina Jeffers [The Phantom of Pemberley, Darcy’s Passions, Darcy’s Temptation, Captain Wentworth’s Persuasion, Vampire Darcy’s Desire, Christmas at Pemberley, The Disappearance of Georgiana Darcy, The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy, Honor and Hope, The Scandal of Lady Eleanor, The First Wives’ Club, A Touch of Velvet, A Touch of Grace, A Touch of Cashmere, A Touch of Mercy, Second Chances, His: Two Regency Novellas]; Sharon Lathan [Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One, Loving Mr. Darcy: Journeys Beyond Pemberley, My Dearest Mr. Darcy, In the Arms of Mr. Darcy, A Darcy Christmas, The Trouble with Mr. Darcy, Miss Darcy Falls in Love, & The Passions of Dr. Darcy]; Susan Mason-Milks [Mr. Darcy’s Proposal]; Jane Odiwe [Mr. Darcy’s Secret, Willoughby’s Return, Lydia Bennett’s Story, Jane Austen Made Me Do It (contributor), Searching for Captain Wentworth]; C. Allyn Pierson [Mr. Darcy’s Little Sister]; Abigail Reynolds [What Would Mr. Darcy Do?, To Conquer Mr. Darcy, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World, A Pemberley Medley, Mr. Darcy’s Obsession, The Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice, Morning Light, Mr. Darcy’s Undoing, By Force of Instinct, Mr. Darcy’s Letter, Mr. Darcy’s Refuge, Mr. Darcy’s Noble Connections]; Colette Saucier [Pulse and Prejudice, All My Tomorrows, Alicia’s Possession, Dearest Bloodiest Elizabeth]; Mary Simonsen [Anne Elliot: A New Beginning, Searching for Pemberley, A Wife for Mr. Darcy, For all the Wrong Reasons, Mr. Darcy’s Bite, Mr. Darcy’s Angel of Mercy, Darcy on the Hudson, A Walk in the Meadows at Rosings Park, Captain Wentworth Home from the Sea, Becoming Elizabeth Darcy, Darcy Goes to War]; Sally Smith O’ Rourke [The Man Who Loved Jane Austen, The Maidenstone Lighthouse, Christmas at Sea Pines Cottage, Yours Affectionately, Jane Austen]; Shannon Winslow [The Darcy’s of Pemberley, Mr. Collin’s Last Supper, For Myself Alone, & Return to Longbourn]

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{*NOTE: What is most curious to me, is to reflect, that on this one group author blog alone, there are two sequel authors I am reading this month represented! Their book titles are set in bold! I wonder if anyone else has read any of the selections mentioned!? I do notice a bit of a trend to vamp up the characters, however, I am not one inclined towards embarking down this particular path!}

Is “Pride and Prejudice” amongst your favourites of Jane Austen!? Was it the first of her novels that you picked up OR did you select another!? Which adaptation vexes you!? Which adaptation warms your heart and enchants your mind!? What is one happy hearted memory that surfaces to mind when you see a post like this, where the novel is at the forefront of the discussion!? Which Austen sites of interest do you enjoy visiting!? Do you have any to suggest!? Which actors do you think best represent Elizabeth & Darcy!?

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This began as a month-long event I was participating, and I decided to expand it to become inclusive of my first Classics Club experience; thus making this a self-directed challenge and not limited to the constraints of it’s original event.

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{SOURCES:  Classics Re-Told badge created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: Cas Cornelissen (Public Domain : Unsplash). Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2013.

Related Articles:

Jane Austen in Popular Culture – [Wikipedia]

Walking in Jane Austen’s London (the book) – [janeaustenslondon.com]

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Posted Thursday, 5 September, 2013 by jorielov in 19th Century, After the Canon, Audiobook, Austen in August, Bookish Whimsy, British Literature, Classical Literature, Classics Re-Told: 19th Century & Gothic Classics, England, Inspired by Stories, Motion Picture Adaptation, Re-Told Tales, Sequel Authors, Spin-Off Authors, the Regency era

Septemb-Eyre: A Jane Eyre Read-a-long! Declaration of Participation!

Posted Monday, 2 September, 2013 by jorielov , 20 Comments

Septemb-Eyre hosted by Entomology of a Bookworm

 

I first stumbled across The Classics Club several months ago, whilst I was initially creating Jorie Loves A Story. I am not remembering what led me to it precisely, although I’d imagine it had something to do with the book blogs I was discovering at the time! Always want to take a nose and peek at a blog, as you never know what your about to discover! Common interests, book challenges, read-a-longs, wicked sweet linkage to explore, dare I say, a new book to read? In this vein, I was settling it in my mind that I would properly join The Classics Club in January {2014}, which encouraged me to work on the bits of how I wanted to construct my personal Classics Challenge therein! More or less, this is how I came across: Septembre-Eyre: A Jane Eyre Read-A-Long! Hosted by Entomology of a Bookworm, who appears to have wanted to read this book nearly if not more dearly than I! What a better way to begin my Books of Eyre Challenge, then to read Jane Eyre with others!? Especially considering, August has grown to be a bit all-encompassing now that I added in Austen in August!
Specifics of this Read-Along Include: 
2 September 2013: Septemb-Eyre Declarations of participation & Introductions;
9 September 2013: Chapters I-XI;
16 September 2013: Chapters XII-XXI;
23 September 2013: Chapters XXII-XXIX;
and 30 September 2013: Chapters XXX-End.
A wrap-up posting about my adventures during Septemb-Eyre!

Why I have always wanted to read

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë:

 

There is something altruistic about the Brontë’s writings, and in the vein, of Ms. Charlotte, she had a way of penning the life of Jane Eyre who brought out this attribution in the fullest of light. Eyre, in my mind, was a humble woman with a caregiver’s soul. She never shied away from doing what was right, even if it put herself in a quandary of a position lateron. She led with her heart, pinched her nose towards a determined air of strength, and drew a measure of a breath for what life had given her the opportunity to have, rather than focus on what was lacking or unavailable for her to achieve. She took great courage in extreme adversity, and was led to a man named Rochester who never knew that the one thing he needed was a living angel to help show him the way back towards peace, redemption, and the blessings of life yet lived.

I knew of her story, long before I ever dreamt of seeing an adaptation of her life spilt out inside of a motion picture. As you might already have gathered by reading other entries in my blog, there is a curious notation of ‘how’ and ‘when’ I come to read the books that alight in my life. There is even a curious nodding in knowing why some books are first read, whereas others are first seen. This isn’t always the case, as exceptions to rules are always fluttering just outside of view. Yet. In this particular case, Jane Eyre arrived to my heart and eyes via the 1996 motion picture adaptation starring Charlotte Gainsbourg {as Ms. Jane Eyre} and William Hurt {as Edward Fairfax Rochester}. It was one of those early morns, where I was vexed by the anguish of a bout of unwellness that would not shake off of me rather easily, but instead, wanted to clinge to me, withering me away in a restless torrent of unease. By the time the clock nearly stroke 3am, I was well on my way towards punching the television remote to find ‘something!’ remotely sensible to be on at that particular hour! I did not think I’d find much, as anyone whose struggled to get through a night such as that, and dares the television to produce ‘something of a pang of relief’ will attest that the limitations of quality is more plausible! Therefore, before I could turn the channels to far afield, my knackered and weary self stumbled across a period drama! What great fortune, eh!? I sorted out how to sit comfortably, and started to drink in this gothic lit world. It took me a bit to realise what I was watching and what was unfolding before me. Jane Eyre, you see, is one of those classical works of literature I always fashioned I’d drink in through the text prior to sorting out which adaptation I wanted to watch next. In this way, I was quite gobsmacked that I was pleasantly delighted despite my otherwise vexing condition! I was watching Jane Eyre! I could hardly believe my fruitious good luck!

And, such begins my proper introduction into this lovely story! I never forgot my intention to read the book, nor did I ever forget the impression of the actors who in this particular version left a strong mark on my heart! The portrayals spoke to me, and etch themselves into my mind’s eye. I daresay, each new version I shall watch next will be bent against this original one that I found! It’s a story of self-reliance and self-motivated propensity to survive no matter what blight on your path life may afford you to circumvent. It’s a story of a woman who any young girl or mature woman can align her heart with and rally alongside as Jane Eyre finds her voice and her self-worth whilst setting up a life she can proud to call her own.

And, why I wanted to participate in a read-along verse reading it on my own:

Reading is such a sedentary and solitary experience, whereupon you may or may not ever cross paths with another reader who is as excited and enchanted by the texts that you find as riveting as though they were freshly printed and released the day you stumbled across them! Time is temporal for a lot of our activities in life, such as correspondences and letters, and in the exercise of examining works by authors who turn our eye and settle into our unconsciousness long before their words spark a breath of life inside us. In an ever expanding world of technologic shiftings, it’s harder yet, to find readers who truly are wrapped up and encased into the ‘classics’. Prior to find The Classics Club, I wasn’t even sure if it was still en vogue to be as enraptured as I am with this lot of literature! Except for a few kind souls I am sure, who are scholarly and keen on glimpsing the hidden truths in such long forgotten texts by modern students.

Reading one particular book in a collective of readership will be new to me, as I have just recently participated in my first ‘reading marathon’ {Bout of Books, 8.0}, by which, I can attest that falling rather ill twice in a score of seven days does not bode well for accomplishing your goals; although, on the flip-side, I did settle into a regular rhythm of absorbing the words, settings, and characters, for which I am evermore grateful! These are the moments where you wonder, what was the true goal and outcome we were meant to achieve!? You pause, a smile breaks through your thoughts, and you continue onward towards your next bookish challenge that has intrigued you to participate! Thus, arriving at: Septemb-Eyre as I cross-reference my reading of Jane Eyre as my first book towards my end-goals of Books of Eyre Challenge! I am whet with anticipation to see what the four weeks shall reveal, not only for me, as a new reader of this wickedly smashing book, but of the revelations of being a collective reader embarking into the life of Jane Eyre during the same time frame!

As I wander around to the other readers’ blogs,

I noted the following:

[These are my impressions on Introduction Day,
by which, I shall return each week to see their next impressions!
]

Charlene @ BookishWhimsy: She has perplexed me with her inquisitive enquiry about the ‘twist’ and what pray tell, are ‘silly posts’ as a method of updating!? Hmm,… methinks I will have to stay tuned with a whetted curiosity! Being that she is truly one of the biggest and most ideal cheerleaders for all-things Eyre, I am thankful to see she is participating!! I am not going to read her previous take on Eyre though — I’d be plumb too tempted to read about the bits that would be different from the film, and as that is how I am coming into the plot, I’d rather be happily surprised!

Kerry @ Entomology of a Bookworm: To read that she has four copies of Jane Eyre, but has yet to read one! I can relate to this, because I have at least two copies of Pride and Prejudice; two copies of Outlander; and two copies of a variety of other books that I am now forgetting! The reason being!? Whilst being packed or in-between relocating moves over the years, I never knew which box had which book! Laughs. It took until the [2005] adaptation of Pride and Prejudice for me to resolve that picking up the pocket edition was in my best interest! I read it then, as I read it this past August! I have yet to get through Outlander as both copies are tucked into boxes I have yet freed; except to say, I have read most of The Outlandish Companion, which was an unexpected gift for me during Nanowrimo 2008 by my Mum! :) As an aside, when I join The Classics Club, I can just imagine all the corridors of literature I shall be embarking down myself! :)

[Having read her comment on @ The Coffee Girl] Did not realise she wasn’t keen on Pride and Prejudice, perhaps after I am able to complete my posting of it, she might re-attempt it for a third time, as it truly is one of my favourite stories of all-time!! I am always so happy to get entrenched into Longbourn, Netherfield, and Pemberley!

[Side note: I attempted multiple times to leave a comment only to see it go “poof!” right before my eyes! What gives!?]

Loosheesh @ Loosheesh Can Read Too: A newbie to [tCC- I did not know they shortened it like that!] The Classics Club, who, like me, has been enchanted by all the lovely blogosphere events that either they host exclusively for members OR are little additions that anyone [like me!] can participate in! A bit like how Adam @ Roof Beam Reader hosted Austen in August!? She has a delightful sense of humour whilst describing her reading tendencies, and I love her light-hearted attitude! :) On the Darcy vs. Rochester war-of-heroes, I do suppose I will be the odd-duck out, as I lay claim to each of the men rather equally!

[Side note: Unfortunately, her blog is hosted at BookLikes, and without an account there I cannot leave her a proper comment, so I will be leaving them on my Septemb-Eyre updates postings. I could not find a contact email for her either! Quite sad! I wanted to drop her a bit of encouragement and talk about Jane Eyre!]

Coffee badge provided by Squeesome Designs and used with permission.Lori @ The Coffee Girl: I loved how we both chose to read Pride and Prejudice during Austen in August!! :) What happenstance that is! My review of the book is soon-to-be added to my blog, as I have only been working on it since the 18th of August, the day in which I first began it! For me, it was a re-reading, but only my second! despite my long history of appreciating it! She most likely will enjoy my post of this, and likewise, I look forward to reading hers after mine goes live! According to Adam, I have only today + the morrow to get my tail whipped into shape so it can be placed in the official Linky!

Ahem! I love how she fully fleshed out her first post, and gave the history of Jane Eyre in her life! Love it! I was not a bit surprised she’s more actively vocal in social media outlets — I think I am one of the lone book bloggers who picked her blog verse the rest of the lot! :) I had to smile whilst reading how she selected most of her reading list!! Ahh, the Gilmore Girls shall live evermore! Strangely, I never wanted to read Jane Eyre because of the cultural attachments it provoked,… it was simply one of those stories that alighted in my mind as being one that would wholly fulfill me and sustain inside my memory for a lifetime. There are certain stories and characters that never quite detach themselves from me, and I simply sensed this would be true of Jane Eyre!

Alas! A fellow gothic fiction appreciator! I wonder, pray tell, if she’s stumbled across Kate Morton as of yet!? I am seriously neglectful in my Morton reads, as I have checked out at least 3 of her books [at the library! of course, given the badges, eh?!], yet I am always wrapped up in something off the cuff that takes me away from the text! Deep sighs. [my choices thus far include: The Distant Hours, The Forgotten Garden, & The Secret Keeper] I do not share her itch for Faulkner, but the gothic fiction genre is one I am keen to explore! [Magical Realism is another that is closely hinged to it!]

Like her, I do agree, that the most important aspect of read-a-longs is that we each finish our chosen book in our own way. Even if it runs counter-current to the event, we must all do what is right for each of us. A bit like how I thought my delays in finishing Pride and Prejudice was somewhat of a disappointment, only to be cheered up by Adam himself by a message he sent me on his own Austen in August experiences this year! :) Truly. We each give as much as we can, to both reading, blogsophere events, and to our respective blogs. There are no epic fails and there is no right/wrong approach to our end goals!

I have been wanting to use one of these coffee badges in the worst way! I think I finally found a reason too as she is a coffee drinker! :) Despite my appreciation for tea, there are a few coffees that I enjoy drinking myself! My java of choice will forevermore remain: Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Americano-Misto, as it was my first cuppa of java that felt as though it was only a slight deviation from my regular tea mistos! Light, airy, with rich undernotes of chocolate and berries! Joy in a cuppa! Then, as I started to etch out of my comfort zone with trying other variations, I have come to find joy in: straight-up espresso raspberry mocha latte! [if I were to look against calories, i’d do it up with ‘whip, rasp & choc syrup’!] Although, I do appreciate a good drip coffee as well, such as Highlander Grog! :) All the whilst, I am still and will remain a dedicated tea drinker! :)

[Side note: I attempted to leave a comment only to have it disappear on me again! What is up with my java settings!?!]

[UPDATE: Its not my java settings, its a disagreement between WP blogs + Blogger blogs! Oy for pete’s sakes, I went through this during the Bout! Double exasperated sighs! I finally could post my comment to Lori if I used Name/URL!]

Jacyln @ Covered in Flour: Her sensibility won me over, at the mentionments of: thirty-something addicted to books, adore Jane Eyre, books are scattered into boxes (smiles wickedly!), ANGLOPHILE (wait til she reads My Bookish Life!), enchanted by Brit Lit (if she only knew how much I was too!), TEA-aholic (double grins!), and hiker! Okay, so is it too soon to follow a new blog!? And, who isn’t keen on upstate New York!? Hmm,… back to her post! I best leave a comment before she wonders why I followed her without one! Laughs. I love her on the fly wit and how she just adores Eyre and that’s reason enough to read Jane Eyre! My sentiments were entwined as this for Pride and Prejudice!

Brooke @ The Blog of Litwits: She is one of the few who is re-reading this lovely story, as I am noting that we [the Septemb-Eyre girls; as a bloke hasn’t yet joined us!] fall into a few categories: re-readers, newbies, and dedicated through adaptation of motion picture [that would be me!]. I am enjoying reading our own unique journey towards Jane Eyre as they are each very personalised and individual! She is also a member of tCC, by which I can already tell I am going to enjoy being a member of myself, if it will continue to lead me to such wonderfully engaging readers such as these! :) Although I hadn’t recently purchased my copy, it is a new copy as well which has yet to be broached!

Madeleine @ Owl You Need is a Good Read: The poor dear reminds me of myself, one month ago, whilst launching JLAS, undertaking Austen in August, settled into Bout of Books, 8.0, participated in the first Blog Pen Pal Exchange, encountered an illness, a 4-day migraine, technical difficulties during the Bout & afterwards [more than half the Bout’er blogs wouldn’t load – who knew I needed to switch browsers!? I love! SeaMonkey now!], waylaid by fierce lightning and thunderstorms, AND just when I was thrilled to bits about all the lovelies I am reading, the hours ticked off the clock and I arrived at September before I could make a backwards glance and wonder, “Where did dear August go off too!?” I give her credit!! IF she can pull it off, I tip my hat in congratulations!! I learnt a hard lesson in not taking on too much, which will make me feel less stressed and provide more enjoyment out of the events I dearly want to participate in! Of course, I wouldn’t be a bookish girl worth her salt if I didn’t admit, that I just might get in over my head again (at some point), and relish the experience I gather even if I fall a bit short (again!)!!

And, she’s a librarian to boot! I wonder what she will do when she sees all the library love on my blog!? And, that she can get some for hers as well!? :) :) Those badges that Squeesome created on behalf of a suggestion of mine still makes me grin like a cheshire cat!! :) In full honesty, I think I came across her blog in the recent past!? I wonder!? Blog Nation or the Bout!? Hmm,… I know this, because I loved the entire concept of their blog! I always considered myself an ‘owl’ in many ways, as there are various metaphors for bookish souls, inasmuch as I adore the House of Ravenclaw! :) Ironically, I sort of forgot to give out the personal bits in my post, yet thankfully most of what might be curious to know about me is located under My Bookish Life! Again, I realise I am one of the minority who blogs but does not tweet or engage on other bookish sites.

Stacy @ Novel Meanderings of an Academic: I was happy to see that this is her first blogosphere event and that she too, is as enraptured by Jane Eyre as I am! I realise I’m coming into this from a different perspective, but ooh, anyone who adores Ms. Eyre is alright in my book! :) Laughs. Her parents gifted her an especially keen edition of the novel, which reminds me of the gifted copy of Little Women I received from mine! Parents and grand-parents of bookish girls definitely know how to surprise their kin time to time, eh!? :) I am most curious if she is still in school or is a professor!? Its hard to tell, as I hadn’t realised that her blog doesn’t have a lot posted on it until after I left my comment! A happy mystery!

Maggie @ An American in France: Its her first time reading Jane Eyre, and decided to take up this read-a-long after having completed Mansfield Park, a month beforehand! I am hopeful that the heart of Eyre will attach itself to her, because that is one of the special parts to Jane! I am now wondering, how all the newbies are going to feel about the story, as most did not see a film adaptation like I had!? Hmm,… only the weeks shall reveal! I must confess, ever since I went to her blog as a member of the Septemb-Eyres, I was curious about her life in France! A country I am reading more in literature, and a country of ancestral origins!

Cham @ Eat Ur Banana: [WP + Blogger are Disagreeing Again- this was meant to post on her blog!][By 10p Thursday, I am able to leave comments! I rock!] Good afternoon, Cham!  I am hoping that this note will post, because so far today, two of the Septemb-Eyre blogs I’ve tried to leave notes on [Estella’s Revenge + Good Books & Tea] have not yielded a live comment! I am not sure if its a disagreement with WP + Blogger again(!), or if its something else! I’ve checked all the java settings on my end, plus SeaMonkey has less hiccups than Explorer hence why I switched over — I digress! Technologic issues aside, I wanted to drop by and say, I’ve been stalking your blog since last night, curious when your post would go live! :) Laughs. I am starting Jane Eyre today rather than yesterday, as I nearly exhausted my eyes trying to finish Pride and Prejudice!! I think my world is always a bit chaotic when I have certain books I want to finish by certain deadlines! Laughs.

Wow! Your over 30% into the book already!? And, here I thought we were all going to just read the selected chapters each week! Wow. Impressed! I am a new reader of Eyre, but I am not a stranger to Eyre! You’ll have to visit my blog to sort out what I mean! I can relate to what you mean, as I used to only talk about books with my close circle of friends as well, but one thing I am enjoying about being a book blogger now is that I get to talk about books & bookish culture with some of the most giving and genuine readers I have ever met! :)

Rachel @ A Home Between the Pages: [hasn’t posted yet – I presume by 12th of September she is not participating?] Except to say, that her post on The Golem and the Jinni, intrigued me to no end, as I have been awaiting finding other readers who are as engaged into that story as much as I was! I simply was over the moon in pure joy reading her recollections, and I know how hard it is to capture the full essence of the story whilst attempting to write a blog post, because I had the same issues — its a story that is lit bright and deep in your mind and heart. Chava and Ahmed do not readily leave your conscience, which is why they were sprinkling out into my review of The Clockwork Man, which was my contributing piece for The Clockwork Carnival. They stay with you. They murmur their experiences in your ear. And, she is quite right, your slightly haunted by them, because its not a story that unhinges from you very readily!

Sam @ Tiny Library: [hasn’t posted yet – I presume by 12th of September she is not participating?] Except to say, that I read that she is reading Z: a novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, and I was most esteemed to see that, as that was one of my favourite reads of 2013!! I spent the greater portion of the first six months wrapped up in the lives of the Fitzgerald’s, as this is what I relayed to her on her blog: :) I came in search of your Septemb-Eyre post, but saw that you are reading Z(elda!) for which I have such a warm-hearted memory of reading this year myself! :) I decided not to blog about it as I was wrapped up with the Fitzgerald’s lives for the greater part of January-May, with the full measure of my joy overflowing when I went to see The Great Gatsby!! I had originally wanted to read the book prior to the film but in the end, I was simply thankful I had the opportunity to see the film in June rather than May, as I was a bit delayed getting to the theater! What a brilliant way to conclude a six-month emmersion as much as celebrating my birthday! As I get into Gatsby the novel either lateron this year or early next, I will re-visit the film! To me, this new version (its the only adaptation I have seen!) truly peered into their lives as an example of how outrageous a portion of their lives had become and how true to form all that insanity can yield. I kept smiling because pieces of Z floated to mind throughout the film!!

Meanwhile, I hope that you are having a nice visit with Zelda, and walk away with a good feeling like I did when the story concludes. Their lives were tumultuous yes, but there was a lot of mirth to them as well. The ending gutted me, but its the ending that was real.

What I had forgotten to relay to her though is that I was one of the First Impressions readers who read it through Book Browse, and participated in a book club discussion of the book.

Andi @ Estrella’s Revenge: I originally came by her blog via Bout of Books, 8.0, to which I was thankful to see she is involved with Septemb-Eyre! :) I am not sure what is wrong or why I cannot post my comments, but I had this one compose for Andi, yet it will not post on her blog! [I tried EVERYTHING: Name/URL, Anon, WP, & OpenID!] [By 10p, Thursday night, I am back and posting up a storm!] Hallo, Hallo Andi!  I was practically stalking your blog last night into the moon hours, wondering when your post would pop up! Laughs. I had such a fun time going to everyone’s blogs, dropping notes, and then, awaiting the ones who hadn’t posted to, erhm, post! As I mentioned on my post, it was nice to ‘see’ you again, after having concluded the Bout!  I couldn’t help but smile and chuckle throughout reading your “Intro!” to Septemb-Eyre! I should have known I’d be in for a unique read, as I was back-reading your blog a bit last night,… laughs. Petty thief. Classic! Cannot wait to read your weekly updates — they are sure to be as wickedly unique as this one! By the by, should I bypass “The Other Typist” completely or go in blind and compare notes with you lateron!? [ducks book flying in her direction at the mere mention of this book!]

Stephanie @ Strazzy Books: [hasn’t posted yet – by 12th of September, I presume she isn’t participating!?]

Tea and Book badge provided by Squeesome Designs and used with permission.Shan @ Good Books & Tea: First of all, I am thankful to see that not only are we a diverse group of readers who appreciate the classics, but we are equally diverse in what we like to drink as we read! I am a tea girl who digs coffee, and therefore, for me, heaven is a book with either a cuppa tea OR a cuppa java! :) Rock on, dear hearts! Now, then, she’s one of the newbie readers of Jane Eyre, such as I am, (alongside Kerry, our fearless leader!), even though I might have seen a motion picture adaptation AND know the gist of the story, that is in no way an indication that I know what actually transpires inside the novel! Therefore, I am a newbie, too! :) I am most curious to sort out what kind of tea she likes to drink the most, as I personally love the sinfully delish chai latte for a break from the everyday cycle. However, my favourite teas are always: green, white, red, and herbal! :)

After attempting to post this on the 3rd & 4th of September I truly give up! I wanted her to read this note: [On Thursday, the 5th, I sorted out I needed to switch browsers for the SECOND time this week! I am posting again in other words!] Shan, I am always up for a new citrus infused tea — which brand do you recommend if I were to try orange pekoe for the first time!? I left you a long reply over on my blog! :) Yes, I do concur with you!! We have populated quite a lovely group indeed in Septemb-Eyre! Cheers!

Sasha @ Sasha & the Silver Fish: [hasn’t posted yet – by 12 September I presume she isn’t participating] Except that she was mentioning tCC Master List that she has written up on her blog, and I noted that most of the titles that she wants to read are ones that I am not yet familiar, which was extraordinary, as most times when I come across tCC Master Lists, I can pick out more than half that I recognise! I love an unexpected day like this! :) I look forward to seeing her thoughts on picking up Jane Eyre, as I noted that she is re-reading it! I can say this, I am going to enjoy being in the fold of tCC come January! Lots of wonderful bookish soul are in that club!! :) :)

Alison @ The Bookish Girl Reads On: OOh my dear, dear stars! Pray tell, am I the only soul who finds an attraction to both Mr. Darcy AND Mr. Rochester!? For me, Darcy won me over with the letter he wrote to Elizabeth as it was so very reminiscent of a real-life event of someone I know personally, that I think when I read that for the first time in 2005, it simply eclipsed my heart in a way that could only naturally be logical for me! I would think though, that more would be esteemed to find him dashing after such a revelation, but perhaps, he comes off a bit too stilted and proud, even with the inclusion of the letter? Now as far as Rochester is concerned, he reminds me quite a heap of Mary’s Uncle in The Secret Garden, almost to the brink of wondering if getting nearer to him is possible or wanted? Yet. Both are heroes in their own ways, and their mannerisms were accepted by the women who loved them. Who truly is to say who was right or wrong, when love is forever blind!?

I enjoyed reading her maddening adventures in University, and how it nearly wrecked her for appreciating drinking in a book on her own terms and for pleasure, rather than dissection! I think that was a misstep in my thinking that I’d appreciate a Lit course at University; I suppose I juxtapositioned my own hopeful wishes on that scale but did not take into account the headache of the time schedules, the grueling structure of enquiries, and how in the end, you might not dare want to open up another book if it would spark a memory of the experience! She walked away with the ability to put tongue-and-cheek on the situation and still appreciates classical literature! I count that as a blessing!

MJ @ Creative Madness Mama: [hasn’t posted yet – by 12th of September I presume she is not participating!]

Jen @ Under a Gray Sky: [hasn’t posted yet – by 12th of September I presume she is not participating!]

Kwame @ The Wandering Bookmark: He mentioned that he has read Wide Sargasso Sea which is actually one of my selections for Books of Eyre that I will be reading this year! I am thankful that he didn’t spoilt the surprise and left it to our own inklings to seek it out! He is amongst the re-readers who embarking down a familiar path, but I do wonder, how each of them will react to the story at this point of time in their lives!? As I was discussing earlier on another blog or perhaps even my own (as it all blurs together at some point!), that our experiences and the time intervals can change our reactions and perceptions! Will be intrigued to watch her progress!

Crafts4Others: Joined as she was given Jane Eyre, as her Classics Club spin cycle choice! I have heard of those spin cycles, as apparently from what I have gathered tCC members are either joyfully celebrating OR are deeply worried they may or may not enjoy the book that has come up to read next! I am thankful that she is not only reading it to mark it off her tCC List, but will be joining those of us who have not yet read the novel!

to be continued shortly, as I am awaiting everyone’s introduction post! :) checked again on 8 September, still waiting!

And, the most humbling revelation is that Kwame is a bloke, for whom, I accidentally mistook for a girl! Oy vie! I promptly wrote him an apology and explained that I had complete egg on my face for not realising the gender of his name! Sadly, this is not the first time I have misunderstood a person’s name, but I always feel most grievous for the slight, as I am always trying so hard to get ‘names’ right! Of course, the other side of this for me, is sorting out how to properly ‘say a person ‘s name’, as I find myself betwixt a mystery on ‘that’! moreso than naught! Therefore, we are not just ‘Septemb-Eyre girls’, where the ‘Septemb-Eyre Collective: blokes and lasses together!’

Book badge provided by Squeesome Designs and used with permission.such as Jane Eyre!

{*NOTE: This particular post will serve as an archive of all the posts yet to come for this read-a-long. Therefore, you will find more links threaded to my postings as this continues to move forward in the box above which stipulates the time frame of the read-a-long itself. As you check back, be sure to click through to the next post in line! The same will be true on my Absorbing Lit page where this is cross-posted!}

This Jane Eyre RAL is hosted by:


Kerry’s Archived Posts on Septemb-Eyre

and is in conjunction with my reading challenge:

Books of Eyre Reading Challenge badge created by Jorie in Canva Photo Credit: Daniel Ruswick (Public Domain : Unsplash)

{SOURCES: Seriously wicked bookish + coffee badges {entirely FREE!} provided by Squeesome Designs! Blog badge for Entomology of a a Bookworm provided by the share codes off the blog itself. Jorie Loves A Story badge created by Ravven with editing through PicMonkey by Jorie.  Books of Eyre Reading Challenge badge created by Jorie in Canva Photo Credit: Daniel Ruswick (Public Domain : Unsplash).}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2013.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • Septemb-Eyre
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Posted Monday, 2 September, 2013 by jorielov in 19th Century, Books of Eyre, British Literature, Classical Literature, Gothic Romance, RALs | Thons via Blogs, Septemb-Eyre, the Victorian era

Blog Book Tour: The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate *Release Day!*

Posted Sunday, 1 September, 2013 by jorielov , , 5 Comments

Parajunkee Designs

The Prayer Box Virtual Book Tour The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate
Published by: Tyndale House Publishers, September 2013
Official Novel Website: The Prayer Box
Available Formats: Hardcover, Softcover, and E-book
Page Count: 400

Converse on Twitter: #ThePrayerBox

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Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a stop on “The Prayer Box” Virtual Book Tour, hosted by JKS Communications Literary Publicity Firm. I received a complimentary copy of “The Prayer Box” in exchange for an honest review by the publisher Tyndale House Publishers. The book releases on 1st September 2013. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein. This marks my first stop as a Tour Host for JKS Communications!

Partial Author BiographyLisaWingatepubpic  {quoted from her press kit}

Lisa Wingate is a magazine columnist, speaker, and the author of twenty mainstream fiction novels, including the national bestseller Tending Roses, now in its nineteenth printing from Penguin Putnam.

She is a seven-time ACFW Carol Award nominee, a Christy Award nominee, an Oklahoma Book Award finalist, and two-time Carol Award winner. Her novel Blue Moon Bay was a Booklist Top Ten of 2012 pick. Recently the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organisation, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others, as recipients of the National Civics Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life.

Lisa lives on a ranch in Texas, where she spoils the livestock, raises boys, and teaches Sunday school to high school seniors. She was inspired to become a writer by a first-grade teacher who said she expected to see Lisa’s name in a magazine one day.

Lisa also entertained childhood dreams of being an Olympic gymnast and winning the National Finals Rodeo but was stalled by the inability to do a backflip on the balance beam and parents who couldn’t finance a rodeo career. She was lucky enough to marry into a big family of cowboys and Southern storytellers who would inspire any lover of tall tales and interesting yet profound characters. She is a full-time writer and pens inspirational fiction for both the general and Christian markets. Of all the things she loves about her job, she loves connecting with people, but real and imaginary, the most.

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On how I know Lisa Wingate: I discovered Southern Belle View Daily in early 2013, and over the months have come to appreciate conversing with all the Belles, including Lisa Wingate. I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with her through her blog, and won a book through a contest of hers in the past. I treat each book as a ‘new experience’, whether I personally know the author OR whether I am reading a book by them for the first time. I can attest that due to circumstances, I haven’t had the chance to read the aforementioned book I won, nor have I had the pleasure of ever reading a book by Ms. Wingate previously.

I still remember when she was first describing this book on “the Porch”, as Southern Belle View is most readily known, and I instinctively knew it would have the substance of a story that I would be drawn to read. I applaud strong characters who embark on a journey, whether internal, spiritual, or in life. Pieces of the premise reminded me a bit of a Hallmark Christmas film I tend to see during the holidays, starring Richard Thomas, “The Christmas Box”. I love when characters are set up to be in a place they are not intending to stay for a long period of time, yet the place they find themselves is the very place a transformation can occur. That is always powerful to read or watch, because there is such a hearty breath of living truth to the stories! Each of us are walking through life as best we can, growing and learning as we move forward, and never quite knowing when God has an alternative course in mind to restore something to us that has become lost or hidden from view.

[Southern Belle View Daily: author group blog featuring: Lisa Wingate, Julie Cantrell, Beth Webb Hart, Rachel Hauck, and Shellie Rushing Tomlinson]

Authors Note on Prayer Boxing:

Dear Reader,

This is how The Prayer Box came to be: by accident, if you believe in accidents. I glanced across the room one day, saw the small prayer box that had been given to me as a gift, and a story began to spin through my mind. What if that box contained many prayers accumulated over time? What if there were dozens of boxes? What if they contained the prayers of a lifetime?

What could more fully tell the truth about a person than words written to God in solitude? Of course, Iola would say those random questions popped into my mind – and The Prayer Box story itself – weren’t accidents at all. She would say it was divine providence. Something that was meant to be.

I believe divine providence has brought this story into your hands, as well. I hope you enjoyed the journey through Iola’s prayer boxes as much as I did. If the journey is still ahead of you, I hope it takes you to far-off places… and into inner spaces, as well. More than that, I hope it will inspire you to think about keeping a prayer box of your own and maybe giving one to somebody else.

The little prayer box that was given to me was by no means unique. I’d heard of prayer boxes, and I knew what they were for. They’re either keeping places for favourite Scriptures, or they’re similar to a prayer journal, only more flexible. Any scrap of paper will do, anywhere, any time of the day or night. The important part, in a world of fractured thoughts, hurried moments, and scattershot prayers, is to take the time to think through, to write down, to clarify in your own mind the things you’re asking for, the things you’re grateful for, the things you’re troubled about, the hopes you’ve been nurturing.

And then?

Put them in the box and . . .

Let. Them. Go.

That’s what trust is. It’s letting go of the worry. It’s the way of peace and also the way of God. It’s such a hard road to travel for people like me, who worry.  When I’m writing a story, I control the whole universe. In life . . . not so much. Actually, not at all. Things happen that I hadn’t anticipated and wouldn’t choose and can’t change. That’s the tough part.

Closing the lid on a prayer box is symbolic of so many things. When we give a prayer over to God, it’s supposed to be in God’s hands after that. I think that’s what Sister Marguerite was trying to teach Iola when she gave her that very first prayer box. Life is, so often, beyond our control, just as it was for that little ten-year-old girl, far from home. I like to imagine that Sister Marguerite decorated that box herself, prepared it with young Iola in mind, don’t you?

After studying more about prayer boxes and using them myself, I’m surprised we don’t do this more often. Prayer boxes have a long-standing tradition, both among early Christians and among Jewish families. Jews and early Christians often wore small leather or carved bone boxes on the body. These phylacteries or tefillin were a means of keeping Scripture close to the wearer. Large boxes, called mezuzah cases are still affixed to the doorposts of Jewish homes today.

It’s a beautiful tradition, when you think about it, to surround our coming in and going out with a brush with God. It’s also a reminder, as family members pass by, to pray and to trust that our prayers are being heard. That’s one of my favourite reasons for keeping a prayer box inside the home, as well, or for giving one as a gift. When you see the box, you’re reminded that things are supposed to go in it. In other words, the prayer box isn’t meant to gather dust; it’s meant to inspire a habit. That’s the real idea behind making a prayer box attractive – and the reason I think Iola must have decorated so many of hers. I imagined that, as each year came, she peppered a box that represented her life at the time, and then, she kept the box out where she would see it and be reminded that her Father was waiting to hear from her.

I wonder if Iola ever gave prayer boxes as gifts, just as that first box was given to her. Maybe that’s what she did with some of those many glass boxes she purchased from Sandy’s Seashell Shop. Do you think so? What better way to bind a family, help a friend struggle through an illness, see a just-married couple start off right, celebrate a tiny new life just born, send a graduate off into the world, than to give a prayer box and an explanation of what it’s for? The box can be something you buy premade or something you decorate yourself. If you’re hand-decorating it, why not personalise it with photos or favourite Scriptures?

Are you inspired to consider spreading the tradition of prayer boxing yet? I hope so. I could go on and on with ideas and stories here, but that’s another book in itself. If you’d like to learn more about how to use prayer boxes in  your church, your study group, your family, your ministry, your community, or as gifts, drop by www.LisaWingate.com for more information about prayer boxes, some examples, sample notes to include with prayer box gifts, and ideas for making, using, and giving them.

My wish for you is that, in this age-old tradition, you and others will find what Tandi found when she entered Iola’s blue room in her dream. May the glorious light fill you and shine upon you and draw you ever closer.

We all know who waits inside the light.

 

Lisa Wingate talks about “The Prayer Box”,

from Lisa Wingate by Tyndale House Publishers

OR if you prefer, you can watch this video on GodTube:
About the Prayer Box Novel from lisawingate on GodTube.

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Read An Excerpt of the Novel & my Favourite Passages therein:

On Lisa Wingate’s website, Chapter One of “The Prayer Box” is featured, which is where you start to realise the breadth of Ms. Wingate’s poetic voice that lights up the narrative prose as the opening scenes of The Prayer Box start to unfold.

The opening of chapter one is exactly how I draw back a breath of salt air into my being when I think of my respite whilst reading “The Prayer Box”: {page 1}

When trouble blows in, my mind always reaches for a single, perfect day in Rodanthe. The memory falls over me like a blanket, a worn quilt of sand and sky, the fibers washed soft with time. I wrap it around myself, picture the house along the shore, its bones bare to the wind and the sun, the wooden shingles clinging loosely, sliding to the ground now and then, like scales from some mystical sea creature washed ashore.

And, further into the story these passages have stayed with me: {pages 174 & 230}

What does a lighthouse do? I ask myself. It never moves. It cannot hike up its rocky skirt and dash into the ocean to rescue a foundering ship. It cannot calm the waters or clear the shoals. It can only cast light into the darkness. It can only point the way. Yet, through one lighthouse, you guide many ships. Show this old lighthouse the way.

You are not a God of endless harbors. Harbors are for stagnant sails and barnacled wood, but the sea… the sea is fresh rain and cleansing breeze and sleek sails. You are a God of winds and tides. Of journeys and storms and navigation by stars and faith. You send the ships forth to serve their purpose, but you do not send them forth alone, for the sea is yours, as well.

As well as one singular truth all parents try to get their children to understand: {page 274}

Hold the box up to the light,… See what happens to the cracks. Some of the hardest things you go through will teach you the most. Don’t let other people tell you who to be, Zoey. You are loved just the way you are.

As much as this passage reminded me of my own yearnings when losing someone I loved dearly: {page 341}

Forgive me, Father , for asking for another day yet, and another beyond that, when this one is so very beautiful. We, in our humanness, cannot help but foolishly desire eternity in this life.

Passages taken from “The Prayer Box” by Lisa Wingate. Copyright 2013 by Lisa Wingate. Used by permission by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. As stated on their Permissions page, up to 500 words can be used for non-commerical purposes; and I am under that count at 291.

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View Ms. Wingate’s Pin(terest) Board of Inspiration for The Prayer Box, which also features the e-novella prequel The Seaglass Sisters. This board provides a way to see the nibblements of the Outer Banks, North Carolina, combined with an author’s perspective of positive affirmations, sea glass jewelry, and snippets of the essences of what these two stories will reveal. On 11th of August, via Southern Belle View Daily, she shared a recipe worthy of the Carolina coastline, which has a tie-in to The Prayer Box and its prequel, The Seaglass Sisters. It set the course, for all the Belles to share wickedly smashing shrimp and crab delicacies!

On 26th of August 2013, via Southern Belle View Daily, she revealed the bounty of blessings the project “The Sisterhood of the Travelling Book” encompassed whilst readers throughout the country shared copies of The Prayer Box and became as wrapped up in the soothing legacy of Ms. Iola Anne Poole! I couldn’t help but leave a note of gratitude on that posting, as I had only mere minutes ahead of reading that post finished the very last chapter, myself! My heart was a thankful one, for having discovered this book tour and having requested to be a part of it in time to participate! I noticed that she had posted another update on the travelling books on 21 July 2013; as well as an earlier glimpse into the story, about how to re-affirm and re-attach ourselves to our younger selves, back in April. A post that I remember like it was yesterday, yet it was first read in Spring!

You see, I have this sense about the books that I receive by way of book contests, book tours, First Impressions selections, or even, books that are gifted to me, or even when a hold at the library comes through,.. there are singular moments when certain books {such as The Prayer Box}, that reach you at just the right moment your meant to read the story contained within its pages. The stories I read tend to align with a knowing murmur of something I am either facing in my own life, a contemplation on life itself, or even, a wondering curiosity of a life unknown to me yet causes a stir for me to uncover and get to know properly. There are stories that alight in our lives at just the right moment, for whichever reason, and I am thankful to recognise their arrivals as more than a passing fancy or coincidence.

The Prayer Box arrived ahead of my undertaking of my first read-a-thon {Bout of Books, 8.0}, which I contemplated whether or naught, I ought to read it ahead of the event; apparently, my hesitation had a reason beyond the knowledge of what I knew then! You see, I had to bow out of the read-a-thon on Day Six, one day short of completion, due to a bad case of food poisoning and a severe migraine! This is the blindingly horrid migraine, that doesn’t allow yourself to function properly, as waves of nausea hit you with such a strong force, its like the salt-sprayed houses that dot the Outer Banks, wondering if their prepared for their next storm, yet unwilling to yield that its too strong to overcome! I ducked away completely to ride out the first day and night, as I mentioned just how miserable that first day was on my Day Six recollection post. When I emerged, I had the blessings of a natural migraine medicine to help attack the throbbing, as I longed to sit in my comfy chair and soak myself into the Outer Banks, and the story I was eager to meet that Ms. Wingate had penned. Its interesting how quickly you can shift gears, how quickly it is to realise one goal you had a week ago now paled in view, for another one that felt more important somehow. As if you had reached this insular place for a reason. With a heavy heart, a resolute constitution, and a wearing migraine that had struck me as one to stay for the long haul, I willed myself to open The Prayer Box.

Hours melted away before I even realised that my eyes were leaden down with exhaustion, and that there was a lingering dull ache where the throbbing had been earlier. I dozed off a few times before continuing on into the story of Tandi Jo and Iola Poole, whose lifepaths were crossing into each other by such extraordinary circumstances that I felt pulled into their living sphere of uncertainty laced with hope, and a resounding calming balm of the sea-salted air that a setting like the Outer Banks can provide. I nearly felt the salt on my tongue, as that is how real it felt as though I had transported myself directly into the setting! And, I knew, after that first day I spent in Fairhope and Hatteras,… there was an undercurrent of a reason I was meant to read this book, right here, and right now.

The full measure of how impactful this book was on me, falls into a personal realm, which I will not fully disclose through public eyes. To say that it was hard to summarise my internal thoughts and feelings on a book, that came into my hands at such a pivotal moment in my life, was quite a difficult undertaking! There are so many key phrases and paragraphs that I felt were speaking directly into my heart and my soul as I read this story, that it (the book) became very personal to me. The experience of reading The Prayer Box had a very powerful effect on me personally, for which I will forevermore feel gratitude to the author for penning a story that can ignite such a powerful tug of heartstrings to such a diverse readership such as the one she has accumulated.

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The Prayer Box by Lisa WingateSoaking into the world of “The Prayer Box”, I discovered something rather extraordinary: This world was quite familiar to our own, as it takes place in the modern world, straight-out of our national weather updates on the wrecking numbness that hurricanes can wreck on any seacoast they take into their sails to plunder! Ever since the 2004-5 through 2012 storm seasons, I daresay, no one from the Gulf Coast straight through to the Jersey Shore will ever look at a hurricane in quite the same way again! When you’ve lived your life on a peninsula, storm battered and absolved of tragedy depending on the year and which way the storms blow ashore, you dig into your toes a bit at the mere mention of a ‘storm season’ on approachment! The Outer Banks were always in the back of my mind as a place I wanted to visit, yet ever so trepidaciously proposed as I knew what that particular slice of Carolina shore was used to surviving! Including the sunken remains of ships long since forgotten by most who are not keen on nautical history.

I have a cursory knowledge of the area, but what I felt and sensed as I read into Ms. Wingate’s words, were the setting of the place that beckons to those who call the Outer Banks home. There is an other worldly precipitation, a sense of belonging and longing, etched by the sea and the sands, where time itself steps back and folds in on itself. A place where tourists might bring in the commerce, but its a community set apart from its contemporary counterparts, owning to its own rhythm and pace. Its not for everyone, mind you, as there is a lulling of serenity stitched into the counterbalances. Its a place to re-define who you are and re-invent who you want to be. Surrounded by the kind patience of people you’ve only just met, who know you’re on a journey without ever asking you the details of what led you to where you currently are. There are very few places like this left in our modern world of technologic craziness. Places where the strength and integrity of interlocking your life with those you will soon call neighbours still has importance and mirth.

As I settled into the atmosphere of The Prayer Box, I knew I was setting into a place I would one day hope to find for myself. Ms. Wingate is a lyricist in her prose, as her words ebb you into Fairhope and Hatteras Village, as smooth as dew on honeysuckle. She envelopes you into the time slips, edging out of Tandi’s reality and slipping back into the life of Iola, as simple as picking up a discarded and hidden letter, meant for the one who would read the words to unlock the manifold puzzle of her life through a life lived before her. The words etch this entire world into your heart, and the pulse of the sea, and the towne make you eager to elongate your stay long past the last chapter’s fold.

Her inclusion of noting the spirituality of perspective seen vividly in seashells, sea glass, and driftwood, pieces of life and time tossed and intermixed together on a shore of a beach that may not even have a name, is a key to how magical this setting is to ebb away any doubts about how discarded and alone we all may feel at one point or another. There are elements of truth hidden in plain sight for each of us to pick up, collect, and cherish. Fragments of a living whole and an interconnected bond that we share as we walk through our lives, blessed to interact with the natural world, and find remnants of our own faith in ordinary objects that yield extraordinary truths.

Her use of secondary characters to paint the inner and outer landscape of Tandi Jo’s turmoil is a writer with a deft hand to interweave the undercurrents of a woman caught in a sea of upheaval. For me, the use of the mysterious one-eared cat is the measure of how much uncertainty and mystery is in each of our lives. There are always a lilting of the unknown, of things yet revealed to us, that keep us at bay from the darkness, if we choose to walk in the footsteps of the light, but evenso, there are times where the unknown feels ominous and oppressive. Whereas if we give into our human-felt fears, we might dip into unwanted waters. The cat mixes the doubts, the fears, and the uncertainty of not always knowing the full scope of what is happening in our lives with the pleasure of unexpected company and a sliver of joy. Cats have notoriously always been noted as being able to walk and see through the veils of our time here and into the next realms. The fact that this particular cat is midnight-coal black and quirkily more elusive than most, paints the picture of how we truly never are fully aware of everything that is going on.

The unassuming science teacher, who dresses as if humourously engaged in a perpetual private joke, and readily engages children into to the classroom outside the walls of school, makes me smile in knowing there are still good teachers out there who care about teaching and lighting a young mind up with the wonders of what is just outside our own doors. His gentle grace in acceptance and understanding, long since gained from his own tragic circumstances, is a harbour in Tandi Jo’s second beginning at living a life she was only just starting to understand how to thrive in. Paul is the type of man we all hope to meet and find ourselves interlaced with because his calm goodwill enlarges our ability to draw close towards the fissures of love.

And, where pray tell would Tandi Jo, Zoey, and JT be without the incorrigible inclusions of Brother Guilbeau and Sandy {of Sandy’s Seashell Shop}!? I didn’t focus as much on Tandi’s children {Zoey, the unhappy fourteen year old and JT the reclusive nine year old}, but through the unexpected gifts of their new neighbours and community members, all three of the residents of Iola Anne Poole’s rental cottage {er, bungalow! I can hear Brother Guilbeau correcting me as he walks through the meadow grass from the church!} go through a transformative phase. They each peel away slowly from the protective shell they came into towne with and eased into their more authentic selves one day at a time.

The fusion of long-forgotten tradition with a touch of enlightenment for the modern world: Prayer boxing has a rather long history from what I have been able to ascertain from working on this lovely review!! I hadn’t quite realised how deep into history the idea of writing down our innermost thoughts and prayers to our Heavenly Father would run, but I knew one thing: as surely as the moon and the sun, this is one of the ways man has suspended himself in time. Letters are encapsolants of our lives wound together by the words and phrases we each choose to illuminate our worlds. We each find different ways of expressing ourselves, inasmuch as the words we choose to convey our innermost desires, hopes, dreams, fears, stresses, and fallacies. When you take the time to commit the prayer to paper, it fuses itself into a new form, where its not merely a whispered prayer held silent between your mind and God’s ears, but rather a fusion of conversation intermixed with prayer, that takes on its own breath of life. You tend to expand your thoughts as you write, as the mere writing the words for a prayer box letter is the expulsion of a well come undone, running over without a cork to catch the current of water sprung forth!

To watch the interplay between reading Iola’s long-lived life play out through her letters, tolled closely to mind, one of the last books I’ve read which was Letters from Skye. Being a correspondent myself, I can attest that we tend to share our most intimate secrets and dreams spoken into the space between where our words lift out of our hearts and cast down onto the paper where pen or ink encase them. Seeing Tandi Jo’s entire being shift and flow and evolve in her understanding of life on the purist of levels, as one letter led her to another, until the entire 81 boxes spilt forth a living testament of one woman’s chosen path of how to live gave her the courage to seek out a new life for herself, and her children is beyond miraculous. Sometimes I think, letters are an everyday miracle. The words that the letter writer chooses to etch into the paragraphs and lines, sometimes has a way of resounding the truth of what the receiver needs to hear. Perhaps even, at a time the letter was first composed, the importance of what was said was not even known. This is true in real life as much as it in the reality of Tandi Jo and Iola Anne Poole.

We are all pebbles cast into a sea, finding each other when our paths are not even known to cross. I smile on this analogy as much as Chinese wisdom of understanding the red thread that connects us, heart and soul.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comMy Review of The Prayer Box:

As butterflies alight in our lives at the moment we need a reassurance of knowing someone is listening to us as we cast our thoughts heavenward whilst walking out in nature, so too, do our heartfelt prayers sometimes need a guiding force to help us understand our path in this world. Prayers are harder to give assurance towards, as they’re singularly our individualistic communication with God. Its one of the rare moments, where we are entirely alone and yet not alone at the same time. Our human nature is as such as we thrive more on communicating where we’re a component of two, rather than a solitary seeker of one. Yet. By casting these whisperments of prayer, fueled and stitched with heart, hope, and courage onto the surface of paper, inked and penned with our thoughts, we are stepping towards a new level of communication. One that allows us the tangible connection we seek. And, if we find a way to leave behind these thoughts, and memories of our lives as they were lived, without fear of judgement or criticism, to lend themselves a calming balm to someone down the road into the future, perhaps then, the circle is nearly complete, as we impart our experiences to another who needs a map to sort out their own path.

Tandi Jo is a girl not yet a grown woman in her self-image view of her current situation. She has issues with shedding the past hurts and issues she has been dealt since being forced to separate from her loving grandparents who taught and guided her when she was younger. Growing up in foster care, one placement after another, she was never taught how to trust much less how to acknowledge the difference between love and infatuation. She’s betwixt a heady situation that either could harden her more than she is, or enable her to move forward in a way that would finally shed the skins of the past, like the caterpillar who becomes the butterfly. Her entire time in the Outer Banks inside The Prayer Box, is a cocooning lesson in how to achieve true success and a living creed.

Iola Anne is a humble child of God whose faith in the everyday spillings of ‘grace’ as it trickles out into the lives of those who live around her, walks her faith in a quiet testament of philanthropy. Her life is marred and marked by the times she was bourne and raised, having come into this life at the age of servants and a class in life where the colour of your skin could hold you back. Her unexpected departure from her family home, hinged her spiritual life to her living lifepath. She learnt that a simple act of grace had more weight than any other thing she could ever hope to give. Little ripples of unknown kindnesses over a lifetime of giving back to a community she felt rooted into set the stage for one last gift to be opened.

There is more to living than existing, especially when you have two children under wing who need your guidance and your security. What I appreciated the most from the story, is the journey Tandi takes towards redemption and self-enlightenment. She truly is wrapped around the tender arms of the past, on a path towards understanding how to let go and let be, whilst finding that true friendship isn’t something that you have to force into your life. Sometimes, it walks in whilst your not expecting to find it. Sometimes life truly takes you to where you need to be in order to heal from the inside out. And, if returning to the one place where as a young girl Tandi felt the most secure and loved, then how can that not lead to her more authentic self!?

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On how being of service to others is as natural to me as drawing a breath of air:

Ever since I was a young girl, there has been a measure of kindness etched into my veins. It started even before I can draw a date to mind, whereupon my parents and I would give away food, clothes, toys, or other necessities to those in need. When I was a young girl, I gave my outgrown clothes to a young girl at my church.  She always felt special as she felt she had inherited a piece of my closet! She made me blush a bit in hearing those words of affection, but just knowing that the clothes were now loved by another was enough to make me know I had made the right choice. Its not always easy to decide what to give or know what gift is best for each situation, person, or need that your trying to fill. As I grew, those choices become compounded by local, state, national, and global calls for help. Over the past few years, I have been giving back to deployed soldiers and chaplains through Soldiers’ Angels, as I was called as a young girl to write letters, yet never knew how to fill a page worth sending! I am thankful, that 20+ years later, I would not be as gun-shy to write a letter, but be able to send little care packages of hope and faith to those who are deployed so very far away from home.

In the Spring of 2013, my Mum stumbled across two national knitting charity calls for knitters to send in 8×8 squares to form a love blanket for the victims of the Boston Bombings. This was the first time we had the opportunity to reach out on such a national level to impact the lives of those we had been holding close in thought and prayer. To not only overcome the tragedy of that day, but to rise up again, and find peace in living. On a local level this year, we were given the chance to knit in tandem six prayer shawls before the Winter holidays set in. The patterns of which were up to us to find and the yarn was provided by donations. As each stitch we knit is met by the needles that wind the patterns into graceful lines, we silently impart our prayers. These are only a few examples I am choosing to share, as the willingness to give and to serve others has become a part of my life. There are many more ways in which I would love to give one day, and I pray that I am given the opportunities to always strive towards making someone’s day or life a bit better and enriched by a kindness they were not expecting to receive. I gain a boomerang of love back each time I set my own affairs aside and focus on someone who needs what I can give.

I could directly relate to Iola Anne Poole, who hesitated in life to allow others to know what she was up too, and how much she cared about her ‘charges’, as I would refer to them as I read her story. There is something to be said that the art of giving needs no attribution, no sign of gratitude, no recognition of any kind, because the heart of the giver always wants to uplift the heart of the receiver. For this I know to be true, because it is a life that I am already living.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comJorie Loves A Story : Undertakes the Project of the Prayer Box

Inspired by the premise of the book, Jorie, her Mum {Bairbre}, and her Da decided to undertake the project of setting up a Prayer Box! She originally was going to start off by altering an office supply store’s ‘box’ for 6×9 envelopes, decorating it to reflect an introspective reflection of what the pieces and fragments of paper might reveal once their words were either spoken OR read. A project that one family chose to participate in, as an inwards journey towards acknowledging the Light that is always readily near-to-us, if we take a moment to be mindful of where we are and how we are living. However, in lieu of noticing that the prayer letters she, her Mum, & Da were composing were quite longer in length than she originally thought they would take them, a second plan materialised!! To use an Angel motif hat box to use as her family’s first prayer box!! In this way, it wouldn’t matter if their prayer letters were written by hand or composed on a computer, whichever way their hearts poured out onto the page, this prayer box could handle it!!

They started off by selecting to read passages out of: “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Devotional Stories for Tough Times: 101 Daily Devotions to Inspire & Support You in Times of Need” by Susan M. Heim & Karen C. Talcott, which Jorie won through a bookaway contest hosted by The Christian Fiction Historical Society, in April 2013. She received the book directly from an author [Marilyn Turk] , {without an obligation to post a review}, who is one of the featured writers who shared a story that speaks about the path God chooses to place us on that might run counter-current to the one we feel we are meant to walk ourselves. We read aloud Ms. Turk’s story and prayer settling into the mindset of the Prayer Box Project, aligning our thoughts and hearts towards an inward state of reflective pause, before each heading off to write their first prayer letter!

This is how they continued to begin each evening for the three weeks leading up to “The Prayer Box” release day!! After concluding dinner, the read-aloud became a calming balm and a way to not only share the stories inside a book geared towards anyone going through economic hardships but to draw an inner peace in knowing that there is a hand in the mix who is forevermore guiding us, helping us see what we feel we’re blind to seeing, and inspiring us to step forward each day with a renewed sense of Hope and Light.

Three weeks of Prayer Boxing has revealed: For Jorie, to not always be consumed by the days that tick off the clock where she hasn’t been able to write down her heart’s voiced prayers, but rather, to focus on the days where her mind and heart are conjoined in unison! Those are the days to write her prayer box letters, because the everyday for her, is generally lit with too much activity or stress, to lay a proper pause on what she wants to say or lay bare to give over to another who is better equipped to wrap his hands around the situation! Therefore, during the days she wasn’t able to write the letters, she found herself curled into a more focused prayer life, where her words were lifted silently rather than through text. The calming ebbing of uplifting stories of trial and tribulation through the devotional book set the pacing she found herself needing to serve as an anchor.

In full conclusion, the prayer box project is still underway in her family, because like life, it takes time to sort out the rhythm and pace that is best for the person who is participating. Everyone arrives at the door in their own unique way and in their own timing. The prayer box will continue to be filt with letters, both typed and hand-written, as whomever writes the letter will use the best method for them, as its not the vessel the words are on that matters, but rather, the imparting of the message to the paper, and the experience the writer achieved whilst composing it.

On 4 August 2013, Ms. Wingate wrote a spotlight post on Southern Belle View Daily, featuring a visual tutorial on how to construct a prayer box by hand using everyday objects, materials, and inspirations!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comQuestions I drew to mind, I wished I could have asked Lisa Wingate:

Ms. Wingate, throughout the hours you have spent pouring your innermost thoughts and whisperments of prayers into your own personal prayer boxes, what would you say was the most beneficial part of the experience? What draws you back to write more notes?

Ms. Wingate have you ever given away a prayer box where the receiver came back and said how it affected their life? Altered it in some way, and changed them thereafter?

Ms. Wingate you have composed a prequel {The Seaglass Sisters} as well as “The Prayer Box”, do you find yourself motivated to continue the storyline in future installments, or do you think it best to stop with these two stories?

Expanding on this, excerpts from a Q & A with Lisa Wingate:

You originally had the book set in Texas. What made you switch to the coastal setting? My special reader-friend, Ed Stevens, visited the Outer Banks (his daughter Shannon has a beach house in Duck) after Hurricane Irene, and he asked me to set a book in the Outer Banks to draw attention to the destruction there and the plight of residents—Irene was mostly thought of as a “nonevent” because it didn’t hit New York, etc. as was predicted. But the damage was very bad.

It’s a post-hurricane story, and we’ve had our share of hurricanes here in Texas. We lost our family beach houses (relatives on the coast) during Ike several years ago, so I understand the aftermath of having family treasures scattered to the tides and the feeling of losing a place you’ve loved and where you’ve made memories.

Your fans make big impacts on your writing—and your family. How did your aunt Sandy contribute toThe Prayer Box? Aunt Sandy is my mom’s sister, and while she and my mom (who I based the character Sharon on) wish I would have made them a bit younger in the book, they are great inspirations. My aunt designed her character and the Seashell Shop and made beautiful sea glass necklaces, glass boxes, and hummingbird suncatchers that will be given away as reader prizes. She is an amazing glass artist.

What’s the overall message? In this cyber age, it’s more important than ever to equip families with ideas for generating family table talk and storytelling. My first mainstream novel, Tending Roses, was inspired by stories shared by my grandmother. I’ve since watched that book travel around the world, and her stories— those simple remembrances from a farmwife’s life—have affected many lives. Our stories have amazing power and value, yet we’re in danger of losing that tradition of sharing our stories, particularly with the next generation.

Tell us about the e-novella prequel toThe Prayer Box you’re releasing in July. Titled The Sea Glass Sisters, this is a story of the sisterhood in Sandy’s Seashell Shop, a prominent theme in The Prayer Box. In this prequel, Sandy’s sister, Sharon, and Sharon’s daughter Elizabeth travel to the Outer Banks determined to convince Sandy to move back to the family land in Michigan and give up Sandy’s Seashell Shop before the financial costs of hurricane repairs bankrupt Sandy. The three women end up riding out the second hurricane on the Outer Banks and form a life-changing sisterhood.

How did you write twenty books in twelve years with kids at home? I’ve always loved to write, but I didn’t get serious about freelance writing and selling until after I’d graduated college, married, and started a family. I wrote and sold various smaller projects in between naps, diapers, and playgroups. And when the boys were older, during soccer practices, in carpool lines, while helping with homework, and in all sorts of other situations.

People often ask me if I need quiet in order to write. With boys in the house, if I’d waited for quiet, the writing would never have happened. I learned to lose myself in a story amid the noise of life and I loved it that way.

I asked myself what makes a story last, what really makes a story worth telling and worth reading? I wanted to write books that meant something, that explore the human soul.

I came across a notebook in which I’d written some of my grandmother’s stories. I’d never known quite what to do with those stories, but I knew they were significant in my life. When I rediscovered the notebook, I had the idea of combining my grandmother’s real stories with a fictional family who is like and unlike my own family. That little germ of an idea became my first women’s fiction novel, Tending Roses.

Now that the boys are practically grown and the house is often quiet, I’m redefining the writing routine again. Just as in books, life is a series of scenes and sequels, beginnings and endings, and new discoveries.

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This blog tour is courtesy of:

The Prayer Box Virtual Book Tour

“The Prayer Book” Virtual Book Tour Roadmap:

  1. 20 August: Review & Book Feature @ Sorry Television
  2. 25 & 26 August: Guest Post & Review  @ Afternoon Bookery
  3. 29 August: Guest Post @ Books a La Mode
  4. 31 August / 1 September: Review & Interview @ To Be A Person
  5. 1 September: Review @ Jorie Loves A Story
  6. 3 September: Review @ Kritter’s Ramblings
  7. 4 September: Interview @ SupaGurls Blog
  8. 5 September: Review @ Tanya’s Book Nook
  9. 6 September: Review @ Tattooed Books
  10. 7 September: Review @ Karma for Life Chick
  11. 9 September: Review @ Lit Lit Learn
  12. 10 September: Review @ Bless Their Hearts Mom

IF you came into the tour a bit late in the schedule be sure to go back around and see what everyone has featured on their respective blogs! Good books like these are meant to be celebrated and savoured! Enjoy your ‘roadmap’ and travels!!

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“Seaglass Sisters” Book Trailer, from Lisa Wingate

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“The Prayer Box” Book Trailer by Tyndale House Publishers

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{SOURCES: Cover art of “The Prayer Box”, Lisa Wingate’s photograph and biography, the Author’s Note about ‘The Prayer Box”, the Q & A with Lisa Wingate, and the blog tour badge were all provided by JKS Communications Literary Publicity Firm and used with permission. Both the interview with Ms. Wingate and the book trailers by Tyndale House Publishers & Lisa Wingate had either URL share links or coding which made it possible to embed these respective media portals to this post, and I thank them for this opportunity to share more about this novel and the author who penned it. Passages taken from “The Prayer Box” by Lisa Wingate. Copyright 2013 by Lisa Wingate. Used by permission by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. As stated on their Permissions page, up to 500 words can be used for non-commerical purposes; and I am under that count at 291. Blog Tour badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2013.

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Posted Sunday, 1 September, 2013 by jorielov in Balance of Faith whilst Living, Blog Tour Host, Book Trailer, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, JKS Communications: Literary Publicity Firm, Life Shift, Mother-Son Relationships, Single Mothers, The Outer Banks, Women's Fiction