Longtime readers of my blog know that I am a huge fan of the Austen-inspired fiction published by Meryton Press, so I was thrilled to be asked to participate in the Dear Friend Event:
“Mrs. Collins welcomed her friend with the liveliest pleasure, and Elizabeth was more and more satisfied with coming, when she found herself so affectionately received.” – Jane Austen
Jane Austen describes a fine friendship between Elizabeth Bennet and Charlotte Collins. One friend welcomes another with “the liveliest pleasure,” and the other is pleased to share in that. We at Meryton Press know from your words that you, our fans, receive our books with pleasure and affection. It makes our authors warm inside to know that.
In the month of April, we want to show our appreciation to you, our most steadfast supporters, our dear friends. Good friends give each other gifts. You have given us the gift of your affectionate reception, and we want to reciprocate by giving some of you gifts in return.
As much as we’d like to, we can’t give everyone a gift, but at each hosted blog post during this event on the schedule listed below, an opportunity will be given to enter to win a surprise gift. Each person who comments can enter a Rafflecopter drawing to win. Although a person can enter multiple times (once on each blog post and tweet daily on each blog post), they can win only once. One winner will be chosen at each blog. Five gifts total will be awarded.
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What a very generous giveaway! I’ve read and enjoyed many books from Meryton Press, so the winner is in for a real treat! If you are interested in learning about some of the books published by Meryton Press, check out my reviews of these stellar books:
2017
The Best Part of Love by A. D’Orazio
2016
Letter from Ramsgate by Suzan Lauder
Second Impressions by Amy George
The Elizabeth Paper by Jenetta James
Side by Side, Apart by Ann Galvia
A Searing Acquaintance by J.L. Ashton
Undeceived by Karen M Cox
2015
Then Comes Winter edited by Christina Boyd
Longbourn’s Songbird by Beau North
A Will of Iron by Linda Beutler
Sun-Kissed: Effusions of Summer edited by Christina Boyd
Suddenly Mrs. Darcy by Jenetta James
A Peculiar Connection by Jan Hahn
Aerendgast by Rachel Berman
Pride, Prejudice & Secrets by C.P. Odom
2014
The Muse by Jessica Evans
Haunting Mr. Darcy by KaraLynne Mackrory
Consequences by C.P. Odom
Alias Thomas Bennet by Suzan Lauder
2013
The Red Chrysanthemum by Linda Beutler
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The Dear Friend Event is not just about Meryton Press showing appreciation to their readers; it’s also a celebration of books and why avid readers love to read.
I’ve always loved to read. I don’t remember when I started; it’s just something I’ve always done for as far back as I can remember. Books have always been an escape for me. They’ve helped me through some difficult times over the years, giving me an opportunity to put aside my troubles for a little while and slip away to another world. They help relax my mind after a long day at work and send me off to sleep every night.
One of the reasons Meryton Press grabbed my attention so many years ago was its focus on Jane Austen, and Pride and Prejudice in particular. Pride and Prejudice is one of the first classics I ever read and fell in love with. I never read Austen in school; only on my own. So after the stresses of college were over and the stresses of marriage and motherhood began, I was overjoyed to stumble upon dozens and dozens of Austen variations and realize that I never had to let go of my favorite characters.
Moreover, I love to read World War II novels; the history of that period just fascinates me. However, they aren’t the easiest books to get through, especially the ones focused on the horrors of the war. So to finish one of those and then pick up an Austen variation and be 99 percent sure that Darcy and Elizabeth will find their way to each other and live happily ever after is refreshing.
But most of all, my love of books and Jane Austen has brought me in touch with so many like-minded people, and I treasure these friendships here on the blog, on Goodreads, and on Facebook. 🙂
Now, as a special treat, I am delighted to welcome Meryton Press author Karen M Cox to Diary of an Eccentric to talk about her love of reading…and Jane Austen, of course! Please give her a warm welcome:
I don’t remember learning to read.
I asked my mother to teach me when I was three, according to the family lore. All I know is, by the time I was about five, I could pretty much read whatever my child’s mind wanted. My mother and father are both readers, so becoming one myself was as natural as breathing. There were always books in my parents’ house. In my childhood, I devoured children’s novels: A Wrinkle in Time, Little House of the Prairie, Caddie Woodlawn, The Witch of Blackbird Pond were among my favorites. Alas, as I grew, life sometimes got in the way of reading for fun: music and plays in high school, boys (!), college and graduate school, and then marriage and little children of my own. I couldn’t always drown myself in that netherworld of a great novel when I wanted, but that only made the experience more precious when I had it.
I love taking in the stories of people’s lives, whether in history (Mary Chesnut and Thomas Meagher come to mind) or in novels (The Time Traveler’s Wife, Dragonwyck, the In Death series by JD Robb). When I found Jane Austen though (as an adult—late, compared to some) something was different. She was unique: witty, satirical, funny. And yet, (like a certain gentleman’s version of an accomplished woman) to all this, she added something more. She saw her characters: their truth, their flaws, their foibles, their sweetness, their infamy, and their integrity. And she told their stories in a way that made them leap off the page for me, and become real enough to stick around as I went through my days. When I found others who felt the same way I did about Austen, it was kismet. And when I discovered along the way that I too, had things I wanted to say—about families, about love, about life—Jane was the one who pointed the way for me to do that.
Joseph Campbell’s books on the role of myth in culture and society have always intrigued me. In The Hero’s Journey, he states: “When you find a writer who really is saying something to you, read everything that writer has written and you will get more education and depth of understanding out of that than reading a scrap here and a scrap there and elsewhere. Then go to people who influenced that writer, or those who were related to him, and your world builds together in an organic way that is really marvelous.”
This is sort of inadvertently how I’ve built my reading house. It’s a chaotic, disordered house at times, littered with history, sociology, education, psychology, literature, trashy novels, serious works, and wonderful fluffy stories that make me smile. Campbell might find a few too many “scraps” here, there and elsewhere in my reading world. But what I’ve discovered is that in the midst of this chaos, my series of author obsessions, and reading what influenced them and who they, in turn, influenced, is a meandering path that leads me to places I never imagined. It makes for a rich, colorful journey around the sun. Reading opens the world to all of us. I don’t know how an activity that seems so solitary can connect us, but it does. Reading is a powerful thing, a magic—ever-changing, ever fresh and new—that any of us can obtain, simply by picking up a book and entering within.
And if, by some quirk of fate, I can write something that takes a reader to a place where she can smile, think, or remember, I’m humbled by that—and eternally grateful.
Happy Reading!
Thank you so much, Karen, for sharing your story! You describe my thoughts on Austen perfectly. And my dear readers, I hope YOU will share your stories about learning to read and falling in love with books in the comments!
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Giveaway
Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Eligible entries will comment on Dear Friend Event blog posts, tweet about the event and use the rafflecopter to enter. Winners will provide a valid U.S. shipping address for gift delivery upon request. Further details for entering to win a gift are posted here.
General:
- All Winners will be contacted via social media or email and announced on the Meryton Press website, Facebook, and/or Twitter.
- In the event that a winner or winners do not respond within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.
- Winners may not be Meryton Press employees, contractors or authors.
- An entrant can enter once per Dear Friend Event blog post and multiple times on Social Media, but can win only once.
- This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook or Twitter.
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Dear Friend Blog Schedule:
More Agreeably Engaged–April 1; ends at 11:59 PM April 6th; winner announced April 7th
Austenesque Reviews–April 8; ends at 11:59 PM April 13th; winner announced April 14th
So little time…–April 15; ends at 11:59 PM April 20th; winner announced April 21st
Diary of an Eccentric–April 22; ends at 11:59 PM April 27th; winner announced April 28th
Just Jane 1813–April 29; ends at 11:59 PM May 4th; winner announced my May 5th
I love anything Karen Cox writes! What a talent. And a pretty nice lady too.
Great post.
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I heartily agree!
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I feel the same way about the Austenesque community, Anna. Oh, and that is a great strategy to swap Austen stories in between your heavier WWII ones. I was looking at your list and have read nearly all of those, too. They’re great reads.
Neat to get Karen’s reading background. I was an early reader too- Little House, Caddie Woodlawn and Witch of Blackbird Pond were some early favs. Love Karen’s books now. 🙂
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They have published a lot of great books! I’m so glad to have “met” you through the community!
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*waves*
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*waves back* 🙂
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What a great event. Thanks to Meryton Press for hosting it!
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Thanks for checking out my post!
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Loved that both of you can’t really remember when you learned to read. It just becomes a part of us, as natural as breathing. And Karen, I’ve always admired your writing. Thanks for including that interesting quote from Joseph Campbell. Something to think about. Great post!
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Thanks, Jan! “As natural as breathing” is a fantastic way to put it!
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Thanks Anna for such a lovely post and sharing your thoughts on reading. Plus, that’s quite a list of reviews and I did go back and read some of them! 🙂
Karen, I enjoyed reading about your early experiences with reading. It’s pretty amazing that you wanted your mom to teach you to read at such an early age. You also had an impressive number of books to choose from, and excellent ones at that!
This has been so nice to read and learn about everyone’s love of books. It has been enlightening and fun. Thanks to both of you for taking part in the event and making it even better.
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Thanks, Janet! Mertyon Press certainly has accounted for a lot of my reading in recent years.
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When I was younger, I always wondered how my mother could read books that didn’t have pictures in them!
She read a lot, and she’d read the same books many times. One particular book I also eventually read, and after enjoying it myself, I finally realized why she read it so often. It was a delicious read!
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What a great story, Ginna! I wish I could remember the first book I read without pictures. 🙂
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Sounds like a fun event. I guess I should have followed all the blogs!
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Better late than never! 😉
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Anna, what an excellent post. I was amazed at how many of the books in your list that I had read or are in my TBR pile. Meryton Press has become pretty important to us. I hope they realize how much they are appreciated. Thanks for hosting and best of luck to those who have registered. Yeah!!
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Thanks! It’s nice to take a moment and see how just how important they have been to our reading, especially in allowing us to spend more time with our favorite characters.
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This sounds like a really nice thing that Meryton Press is doing and they do have so many great books. I have read several books published by them this year and have several on my TBR list as well as at least one checked out from the library. My mother encouraged me to read as much as I could when I was younger and made it a point to take me to the library to get new books on a regular basis and it is something I still do. I love the way reading can take you away to another world and allow you to see things from another persons perspective. Good Luck to everyone else for the giveaway!
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I remember my mother walking me and my sister to the library at least once a week and letting us browse the stacks for quite a while. I made a point to do the same with my daughter, and now she loves reading as much as I do. Thanks for sharing your story!
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Anna – thanks for hosting Meryton Press’s event! It’s been fun to read the authors’ posts, and all the comments. Good luck to everyone entering the giveaway 🙂 Austen Always!
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My pleasure! Thanks for being my guest! And what a great saying: Austen Always!
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Fabulous Giveaway! Thanks so much for sharing it here! Some I’ve read and some I haven’t. Thanks again, Jen Red
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Thanks for stopping by!
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Thanks Karen for sharing your story. 🙂 My library looks similar to yours, many different genres from science to romance novels.
Thanks for the generous giveaway. 🙂
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Thanks for checking out my post, Kate!
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Thank you for this great, generous giveaway!
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Thanks for stopping by, Suko!
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I loved this post and your stories too. I think the best part of reading is how it connects us to people in very unique ways! Thank you for sharing this post ladies!
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I agree, Claudine! Thanks for stopping by!
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Karen, I love that you read all sorts of genre. I love reading various genres as well. I find it fascinating to read about things that make you think and biographies about people just to name a few. Love your writing, especially your latest “Undeceived”. Can’t wait for more!
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I really loved Undeceived, too. Thanks for stopping by, Dung!
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I believe I have read all of Karen’s books and most of those published by Meryton Press. Great collection.
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They do publish fantastic books!
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