Guest Post & Giveaway: Jane Austen's First Love by Syrie James!

You all know I love me some Austen (*cough* understatement of the year *cough*), so of course, I'm very happy to be part of the awesome blog tour for Syrie James' latest Austenesque work, Jane Austen's First Love! This one has an amazing prize pack, guys gals — actually, a number of them, but that grand prize, though! Let's just say, I'm gonna be jealous of whoever wins these! =D

Anyway, before we get into all that, Syrie is here to tell us a little bit about what else she likes to do, besides match-making everybody's favorite Jane. Check that out below, and then come chat with me in the comments for a chance to win some lovely Austen goodies!!

My Top Ten Fav Things To Do When I’m Not Writing

(in no particular order)

By Syrie James

1. Go to the movies

My husband Bill and I are diehard movie fans. As a screenwriter I’m fortunate to belong to the WGA, which screens dozens of the newest movies every month for its members. We try to see everything that catches our fancy, which adds up to a LOT of movies. Our favorite genres are romance, historical, drama, biography, mystery, thriller, and action adventure. We also love selected comedies (not the raunchy ones), animated films, westerns, sci-fi, crime movies (if they’re not too graphic), and fantasy. My husband likes war movies; I’d rather skip those unless it recounts a part of history I’ve never seen.

In January, we go to the Palm Springs International Film Festival and see about 35 foreign films in ten days—crazy, I know, but so worth it! In one day, we might start with a film in the Netherlands, then go to Thailand or Belgium, Iceland or Egypt, and finish with a movie from Japan. It’s like traveling around the world in a single day, with breaks in between to grab food and chat with other film-lovers in line.

2. Watch TV

Is it kosher to admit that another fave thing is to just relax in front of the tube after a hard day’s work? We love shows like Blue Bloods, The Mentalist, and Nashville (and my husband loved Game of Thrones), but our top favorite is everything on Masterpiece Theatre. Sherlock! Downtown Abbey! Yeah!

3. Take in some theater

Lest you think we spend all our free time sitting in front of a movie or TV screen, may I add that we also adore live theater. There are so many opportunities here in Los Angeles to see the best that theater has to offer. We have season tickets to several theater companies. We often make a date out of it, with dinner before or after.

4. Eat good food

Which reminds me of another much loved thing to do: eating great food at one of our favorite restaurants, or trying some place new. I cook at home most evenings, but I don’t have time to experiment, so it’s fun to go out now and then. You can find any kind of food your heart desires in L. A.!

5. Play games

One of my fav ways to spend an evening is playing cards or board games with friends and family. I’m a fan of Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble, Password, Rummy Royal, Wits and Wagers, and Boggle—although no one will play Boggle with me any more because they say I find too many words. I can’t help it. My brain is full of words. It’s a professional hazard.

6. Immerse myself in water

This includes swimming, relaxing in our hot tub, and taking long, leisurely baths (with bubbles, of course.)

7. Design and sew costumes

When I was in high school, my mother refused to let me to take a typing class (which I insisted I needed to become a writer) until I’d first taken an advanced sewing class. She said I’d need it when I was a mother some day. She was right. I used to sew all my sons’ Halloween costumes, and I had a blast serving as Costume Mistress for the dozens of plays and musicals they were in. Today, I have fun designing and sewing all of my (and my husband’s) Regency attire, which we wear to dance the night away at Jane Austen balls!

8. Miscellaneous fun stuff

Regency country dancing (see #7.) Photography. Taking walks. Visiting beautiful gardens and museums.

9. Read

This will not surprise anybody: I love to read. Every night, I spend an hour or two reading in bed—you will always find at least one or two books on my nightstand (along with my Kindle) as well as a few magazines. Reading is the best training ground I know for an author. And when I’m writing a Jane Austen novel (as in my latest, Jane Austen’s First Love), I reread Austen’s books over and over to help me keep her writing style in my head.

10. Down time with family

My favorite thing of all is to spend time with my husband, our sons, and their wives (who fortunately live right down the street or around the corner), and our friends—doing any or all of the activities above!

**** Grand Giveaway Contest ****

Win One of Five Fabulous Jane Austen-inspired Prize Packages

But wait! There's more!!

To celebrate the holidays and the release of Jane Austen's First Love, Syrie is giving away five prize packages filled with an amazing selection of Jane Austen-inspired gifts and books!
To enter the giveaway contest, simply leave a comment on any of the blog stops on the Jane Austen's First Love Holiday Blog Tour.

Increase your chances of winning by visiting multiple stops along the tour! Syrie's unique guest posts will be featured on a variety of subjects, along with fun interviews, spotlights, excerpts, and reviews of the novel.
Contest closes at 11:59pm PT, December 21, 2014.
Five lucky winners will be drawn at random from all of the comments on the tour (so come back and chat with me and other Janeites frequently!), and announced on Syrie’s website on December 22, 2014.
The giveaway contest is open to everyone, including international residents. To see more about the prizes, make sure to check out this post.
Good luck to all!


ABOUT THE BOOK:

Jane Austen's First Love by Syrie James
Get It | Add It
Austenesque Fiction, 400 pages
Published August 5th 2014 by Berkley Trade

In the summer of 1791, fifteen-year-old Miss Jane Austen is determined to accomplish three things: to do something useful, write something worthy, and fall madly in love. While visiting at Goodnestone Park in Kent for a month of festivities in honor of her brother's engagement to Miss Elizabeth Bridges, Jane meets the boy-next-door—the wealthy, worldly, and devilishly handsome Edward Taylor, heir to Bifrons Park, and hopefully her heart! Like many of Jane’s future heroes and heroines, she soon realizes that there are obstacles—social, financial, and otherwise—blocking her path to love and marriage, one of them personified by her beautiful and sweet tempered rival, Charlotte Payler.

Unsure of her own budding romance, but confident in her powers of observation, Jane distracts herself by attempting to maneuver the affections of three other young couples. But when her well-intentioned matchmaking efforts turn into blundering misalliance, Jane must choose between following her own happily-ever-after, or repairing those relationships which, based on erroneous first impressions, she has misaligned.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Syrie James, hailed as “the queen of nineteenth century re-imaginings” by Los Angeles Magazine, is the bestselling author of nine critically acclaimed novels that have been translated into 18 languages. Her books have been awarded the Audio Book Association Audie, designated as Editor’s Picks by Library Journal, named a Discover Great New Writer’s Selection by Barnes and Noble, a Great Group Read by the Women’s National Book Association, and Best Book of the Year by The Romance Reviews and Suspense Magazine. Syrie is a member of the WGA and lives in Los Angeles. Please visit her at syriejames.com, Facebook or say hello on Twitter @SyrieJames.

Q&A with Cat Patrick, author of COURT!

On Monday I shared a an excerpt of Cat Patrick's Court with you (and gave you the opportunity to win signed copies of Cat's other books — woot woot!), and I promised I'd be back again, with another little spotlight.
So today, we're having a bit of a Q&A sesh with Cat, and since this month is NaNoWriMo (and since yours truly is crazy enough to try to take part, even in the middle of a huge move), I thought we'd focus on some writing & process bits!

So if, like me, you always find other people's "process" fascinating, or you're in the middle of the NaNo doldrums and need a kick in the pants, then please to enjoy: this. =D

-Advice for aspiring authors
From one of my six-year-old daughters: “Think of something that happened to you. Touch and tell across pages. Write a quick sketch so you don’t forget. Then write the words.”

I’m not kidding. She just said that.

For me, I think the most important thing is to just do it. I hear from people all the time: “I want to publish a book.” And they haven’t written the book yet. Also, unlike my kiddo, I purposely don’t write down book ideas—or sketch them. If I forget them before it’s time to write then you’ll forget them before it’s time to read.

-Do you have a special time to write? How is your day structured writing-wise?

As a mom, I have to be really flexible. Ideally, though, I write first thing in the morning before anyone else is awake, in my jammies. I’m definitely most productive in the morning.

-When you start a book, do you already have the whole story in your head or is it built progressively?

Most times, it’s built progressively. I outlined Revived, and it was the most difficult book I’ve written.

-Writing mentors?
I find inspiration from every good book I read. I’d recently finished Justin Cronin’s The Passage as I was getting going on Court, and it inspired me to be more thoughtful about description of landscapes, for example.

-Does music play any type of role in your writing?

I find inspiration from alternative bands like The National, Arcade Fire and Band of Horses, but I can’t write with music or noise of any kind. My daughter wants to tell you that she is inspired by, “we will we will rock you.”

-What’s your favorite snack when you’re working on a deadline?

Something crunchy, like gluten free pretzels or popcorn, and something warm, like green tea or coffee.

So, any fellow WriMos out there who want to weigh in? I'm a bit process-obsessed at the moment, so I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
And of course, don't forget to go enter to win in the big ole' Cat Patrick giveaway!

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Court by Cat Patrick
Get It | Add It
277 pages
Published October 23rd 2014

For more than 300 years, a secret monarchy has survived and thrived within the borders of the US, hiding in plain sight as the state known as Wyoming. But when the king is shot and his seventeen-year-old son, Haakon McHale, is told he will take the throne, becoming the eleventh ruler of the Kingdom of Eurus, the community that's survived for centuries is pushed to the limit. Told through four perspectives, Court transplants us to a world that looks like ours, but isn't. Gwendolyn Rose, daughter of the Duke of Coal, is grudgingly betrothed to Haakon -- and just wants a way out. Alexander Oxendine, son of the Duke of Wind and Haakon's lifelong best friend, already grapples with internal struggles when he's assigned to guard Haakon after the king dies. And commoner Mary Doyle finds whispers in the woods that may solve -- or destroy -- everything, depending on your bloodline.

Money. Love. Power. Community. What's your motivation?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Raised in a house that was struck by lightning–twice–Cat Patrick is the author of young adult books Forgotten, Revived, and The Originals, and the co-author of Just Like Fate.

As a child, Cat could be found making up stories like her first book, Dolly the Purple Spotted Dolphin; growing corn in the backyard; or performing with a traveling sign-language troupe. She earned a journalism degree from the University of Wyoming and a master’s degree from Boston University, and worked in public relations for fifteen years. She lives outside of Seattle with her husband and twin daughters, and is on Twitter @seecatwrite, or Facebook at authorcatpatrick.

GIVEAWAY: Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios!

You guys may recall me hinting during my audio preview / giveaway of Heather Demetrios' Exquisite Captive that there'd be another copy coming your way (hopefullyfingerscrossedamIright?). Well, by *another* copy, what I really meant was: 24 of them.
For serious.
Heather's Blogger Caravan is giving away TWENTY FOUR signed copies of Exquisite Captive this month, as part of a giveaway relay, which is pretty damn awesome, if you ask me. Basically, every week day throughout November (and a bit into December), a different blogger is hosting a flash giveaway, and then passing the torch off to the next blogger to giveaway the next copy, and so on, etc., etc., amen.
If this is confusing at all to you, don't worry — some awesome person made a video explaining how the whole thing works (hint: it's me). Check it out below, and then skip down to find out who won yesterday's giveaway, or enter to win in mine!

Pretty nifty, right? I KNOW.
And so, the winner of yesterday's giveaway over at The Nerd Herd Reads is *drum roll please*...

Ashley Ferguson!

Congratulations, Ashley! Keep an eye out for an email from RachelMarie about your winnings. =)
Bummed you didn't win yesterday's giveaway? HAVE NO FEAR, it's my turn to give away a copy now!

****GIVEAWAY****
If you've been following the caravan, you're used to the drill by now, but if you're new to it: for day 12 of the giveaway relay, I am offering up one hardcover copy of Exquisite Captive plus a bookplate, signed by Heather! This giveaway is US only, and ends at midnight tonight! Enter on the Rafflecopter below. The winner will be announced in tomorrow's giveaway, so make sure to stop by Book Chic tomorrow to see if you won (or to enter again if you didn't!)
You can see the whole list of stops here.
Also, if you missed that audio preview, you should totally go check it out, 'cause the narration is FAB, and it'll give you a taste of the book!
Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios
Get It | Add It
480 pages
Published October 7th 2014 by Balzer+Bray

Forced to obey her master.
Compelled to help her enemy.
Determined to free herself.

Nalia is a jinni of tremendous ancient power, the only survivor of a coup that killed nearly everyone she loved. Stuffed into a bottle and sold by a slave trader, she’s now in hiding on the dark caravan, the lucrative jinni slave trade between Arjinna and Earth, where jinn are forced to grant wishes and obey their human masters’ every command. She’d give almost anything to be free of the golden shackles that bind her to Malek, her handsome, cruel master, and his lavish Hollywood lifestyle.

Enter Raif, the enigmatic leader of Arjinna’s revolution and Nalia’s sworn enemy. He promises to free Nalia from her master so that she can return to her ravaged homeland and free her imprisoned brother—all for an unbearably high price. Nalia’s not sure she can trust him, but Raif’s her only hope of escape. With her enemies on the hunt, Earth has become more perilous than ever for Nalia. There’s just one catch: for Raif’s unbinding magic to work, Nalia must gain possession of her bottle…and convince the dangerously persuasive Malek that she truly loves him. Battling a dark past and harboring a terrible secret, Nalia soon realizes her freedom may come at a price too terrible to pay: but how far is she willing to go for it?

Inspired by Arabian Nights, EXQUISITE CAPTIVE brings to life a deliciously seductive world where a wish can be a curse and shadows are sometimes safer than the light.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

When she's not traipsing around the world or spending time in imaginary places, Heather Demetrios lives with her husband in New York City. Originally from Los Angeles, she now calls the East Coast home. Heather is a recipient of the PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award for her debut novel, Something Real, which Publisher's Weekly calls “[An] addictive yet thoughtful debut” about reality TV stardom. She is the author of EXQUISITE CAPTIVE, a smoldering fantasy about jinn in Los Angeles and what Kirkus called in its starred review "an intoxicating, richly realized realm of magic, politics, spirituality and history" (#1 in the DARK CARAVAN CYCLE). She is also the author of the upcoming I’ll Meet You There (Winter 2015). I’ll Meet You There is a love story about a young combat veteran and a girl trapped in their small town, both struggling to escape the war at home. Heather is the founder of Live Your What, an organization dedicated to fostering passion in people of all ages and creating writing opportunities for underserved youth. She is proud to have an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. You can always find her on Twitter (@HDemetrios), ogling the military dogs she wants to adopt (but can’t because her NYC apartment is way too small). Find out more about Heather and her other books at wwww.heatherdemetrios.com and www.darkcaravancycle.com.

COURT by Cat Patrick Excerpt & Giveaway!!

I was a big fan of Revived by Cat Patrick, and have had her other books on my wishlist for some time, so when the opportunity came along to share a bit of her latest book, Court with you — and give you the opportunity to get your hands on her books as well — of course I jumped at the chance.
Add in the fact that I love a good bit of fantasy coupled with court intrigue (perfect. combo. -- and a US monarchy, say whaaaa?!), and this one has definitely been added to my wishlist — and I'm thinking after this excerpt, it might land on some of yours as well.
(Plus: maps!)

So check out a bit from Court below, and then enter to win some signed Cat Patrick books for your own shelves!

And make sure to stop back on Wednesday for a quick spotlight on Cat!

HAAKON

Before he was the enemy, James Haakon McHale III was just a seventeen-year-old in what most people knew as the state of Wyoming, wishing he was somewhere other than the predawn forest with a rifle in his grip.

“It’s colder than moonlight on a tombstone,” Haakon muttered, blowing on his fist. His thick-soled boots swish-thumped on the hard earth as he skillfully avoided twigs, rocks, and low branches.

Alexander Oxendine—youngest son of the Duke of Wind, wide receiver, video game button masher, and Haakon’s best friend—laughed into his collar. It could’ve been mistaken for a cough.

“It’s colder than a whore’s heart,” Alexander said, his tone cautiously low. They were the youngest members of the hunting party, and were only allowed to take part because of their rank. Haakon could think of a thousand superior privileges.

He glanced around to make sure none of the other men were paying attention—especially his father. Smirking, he said, “Colder than a polar bear’s balls.”

The pair stifled laughter.

“Than a witch’s—”

“Too easy.”

“Colder than a dead woman’s touch,” Alexander said.

Haakon checked again, dialed down his voice even more, and said, “It’s colder than Gwendolyn Rose’s kiss.”

“Quiet!”

It was Haakon’s father: dictator, fun-spoiler, and—regrettably for his son—the tenth ruler of the Kingdom of Eurus, also known as the Realm, the monarchy hiding in plain sight in the depths of the Democracy known as the United States of America.

Every schoolchild knew the story. In 1670, after Joseph Dyer’s wife died in the Great Plague in London, he brought his five daughters to what would become the United States one hundred years later, seeking a better life. But it soon became apparent that his family would never thrive under strict Puritan rule in New England–which banned higher education for girls and taught submissiveness above all else, and which centered around extreme religious beliefs that were counter to Dyer’s own.

A friend, John Seymour, who was—controversially—married to a Native woman, suggested that they set out together in search of a new home deep within America’s treacherous unknown. Seymour’s wife had been attacked; her family persecuted. Seymour believed that rather than fighting the Natives, they should live in harmony with them.

Dyer, Seymour, and several other men and their families snuck away. After a long and dangerous journey, together they created their version of paradise: a kingdom that blended the best of England with Native cultures. Dyer was thought of as the Father of the Realm, and Seymour’s Native wife, who ensured their survival through tribal relations, the Mother.

Rather than cause a revolution, the founders decided to keep the kingdom secret. Inside the borders of what they’d eventually stake claim as Wyoming, they’d follow their own rules. Outsiders wouldn’t know they were different because they wouldn’t understand.

Outsiders weren’t to be trusted.

Dyer’s youngest daughter, captivated by the ancient Greek she wouldn’t have been allowed to learn in Puritan society, named the new kingdom Eurus, meaning east wind. She pronounced it “air-us.”

“But the winds here blow from the west,” Haakon had asked his father once—before Dad was King James. That was when it was okay to ask questions. When curiosity wasn’t an imposition.

“That’s right, Haakon,” his father had replied, straw between his teeth. They’d gone on a walk together. The sun was setting on an easy day. His dad had pointed toward the eastern horizon. “The wind here does primarily blow from the west, but our founders blew in from the east. That day, the wind changed directions.”

Haakon frowned away the memory of days never to return, and refocused on the trees. He walked as soundlessly as he could in his camo fleece jacket and vintage Levi’s, his rifle nestled in the crook of his left arm, a round in the chamber. He was on the left edge of the group, three rows behind his father. Evenly spaced gaps between them, the men were like migrating geese, locked in formation.

Geese hunting deer.

“Were you drinking last night?” Haakon’s father had demanded on the way to the meeting point that morning. “Is that why you’re so tired?”

“I’m tired because it’s so early that the birds aren’t even awake yet.”

“Good. Because you know what the consequences will be if you start drinking again.” They’d shared the backseat of the armored SUV; Haakon had done his best to preoccupy himself with his cell phone.

“Yes, sir, I know.”

“You need to turn that thing off before we arrive. And when’s your next haircut? You look slovenly.”

Will you just get off my back? Haakon had thought at the top of his lungs. What he’d said, though, was simply, “Yes, sir.”

There, in the forest, Haakon toyed with the idea of raising his gun and shooting King James square in the back of the head. Right there under his hat, just above the rise of his custom down hunting vest. He could do it. Even with the others present, he knew there’d be no trial, no trip to Corby. But offing his father wouldn’t solve anything. In fact, it would make life a lot worse. Because with his father gone, Haakon would be in charge.

Haakon would become the King of Eurus.

The thought made him want to puke.

****GIVEAWAY****
To celebrate the release of Court, you can enter to win 1 of 2 signed prize packs of Cat's previous books, Revived, Forgotten, The Originals and Just Like Fate!
Open to US entries only. [International entries will receive a gift card instead.]
Ends Monday, November 24th at midnight EST. Fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter. Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


ABOUT THE BOOK:

Court by Cat Patrick
Get It | Add It
277 pages
Published October 23rd 2014

For more than 300 years, a secret monarchy has survived and thrived within the borders of the US, hiding in plain sight as the state known as Wyoming. But when the king is shot and his seventeen-year-old son, Haakon McHale, is told he will take the throne, becoming the eleventh ruler of the Kingdom of Eurus, the community that's survived for centuries is pushed to the limit. Told through four perspectives, Court transplants us to a world that looks like ours, but isn't. Gwendolyn Rose, daughter of the Duke of Coal, is grudgingly betrothed to Haakon -- and just wants a way out. Alexander Oxendine, son of the Duke of Wind and Haakon's lifelong best friend, already grapples with internal struggles when he's assigned to guard Haakon after the king dies. And commoner Mary Doyle finds whispers in the woods that may solve -- or destroy -- everything, depending on your bloodline.

Money. Love. Power. Community. What's your motivation?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Raised in a house that was struck by lightning–twice–Cat Patrick is the author of young adult books Forgotten, Revived, and The Originals, and the co-author of Just Like Fate.

As a child, Cat could be found making up stories like her first book, Dolly the Purple Spotted Dolphin; growing corn in the backyard; or performing with a traveling sign-language troupe. She earned a journalism degree from the University of Wyoming and a master’s degree from Boston University, and worked in public relations for fifteen years. She lives outside of Seattle with her husband and twin daughters, and is on Twitter @seecatwrite, or Facebook at authorcatpatrick.

The True Stories blog tour & giveaway!

As some of you may know (and as evidenced by the fact that this is the first thing on the blog in all of November...), this month is going to be a chaotic one for me. But for those of you not in the know:

From Alice + Freda Forever by Alexis Coe

1) I'm moving, which is difficult at the best of times, but makes you want to cry a lot when you have hundreds and hundreds of books to slog up and down stairs,
2) I was out of town for days on an unexpected work trip (the last of the work for that job, though; whoop whoop!), and
3) I decided to take on NaNoWriMo, because clearly I'm insane.


All of this has meant that I am behind in, well, everything, and so though I had wanted to do a video discussion of these books, Tomboy and Alice + Freda Forever, I can't do that: my camera is packed away, and I've had no time to record anything, anyway. (And I still need to finish Alice & Freda!)

From Tomboy by Liz Prince

But I don't want to just do a regular ole review, either, because I do want to actually talk about these. Tomboy especially. Maybe it's because they're true stories, and so that feels more discussion-worthy, or maybe it's just a mood I'm in, but either way, I have things to say, and I want to say them.
(Also: non-fiction! Yay!!)

So for now, I'm saving my review/discussions of Alice + Freda and Tomboy until I'm settled in my house and can unpack and talk to ya, but trust that whenever something provokes enough of a reaction out of me that I have to actually, physically talk it out, that's a good thing. I like things that make you feel something, that make you have an opinion. So I'm hoping you'll join me in that little discussion when it comes about, but until then, take a look at the two fascinating books below, and then enter to win them!

ABOUT THE BOOKS

Alice + Freda: A Murder in Memphis by Alexis Coe
Get It | Add It
223 pages
Published October 7th 2014 by Pulp/Zest Books

In 1892, America was obsessed with a teenage murderess, but it wasn't her crime that shocked the nation—it was her motivation. Nineteen-year-old Alice Mitchell had planned to pass as a man in order to marry her seventeen-year-old fiancée Freda Ward, but when their love letters were discovered, they were forbidden from ever speaking again.

Freda adjusted to this fate with an ease that stunned a heartbroken Alice. Her desperation grew with each unanswered letter—and her father’s razor soon went missing. On January 25, Alice publicly slashed her ex-fiancée’s throat. Her same-sex love was deemed insane by her father that very night, and medical experts agreed: This was a dangerous and incurable perversion. As the courtroom was expanded to accommodate national interest, Alice spent months in jail—including the night that three of her fellow prisoners were lynched (an event which captured the attention of journalist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells). After a jury of "the finest men in Memphis" declared Alice insane, she was remanded to an asylum, where she died under mysterious circumstances just a few years later.

Alice + Freda Forever recounts this tragic, real-life love story with over 100 illustrated love letters, maps, artifacts, historical documents, newspaper articles, courtroom proceedings, and intimate, domestic scenes—painting a vivid picture of a sadly familiar world.

Tomboy by Liz Prince

Get It | Add It

256 pages

Published September 2nd 2014 by Zest Books

Growing up, Liz Prince wasn't a girly girl, dressing in pink tutus or playing pretty princess like the other girls in her neighborhood. But she wasn't exactly one of the guys, either. She was somewhere in between. But with the forces of middle school, high school, parents, friendship, and romance pulling her this way and that, "the middle" wasn't exactly an easy place to be.

Tomboy follows award-winning author and artist Liz Prince through her early years and explores--with humor, honesty, and poignancy--what it means to "be a girl."

****GIVEAWAY****
As part of the True Stories blog tour, Zest Books has offered up winner's choice of Tomboy: a graphic memoir by Liz Prince, or Alice + Freda Forever: a Murder in Memphis by Alexis Coe!
US only, ends November 22 at midnight, EST. Fill out the Rafflecopter to enter.
Good luck!!

And make sure to check out the rest of the stops on the True Stories tour for more chances to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway