Blog Tour Stop & Giveaway: Emma: A Latter-Day Tale by Rebecca H. Jamison

I'm so excited today to have the opportunity to have Rebecca H. Jamison here today on my blog to introduce her new book Emma: A Latter-Day Tale, which is a fun retelling of Jane Austen's novel Emma, but from an LDS perspective (which fits with a lot of students here in my area).  When I was approached to read this novel, I was pretty intrigued with this retelling, so I thought I'd give it a try, so thank you to Rebecca Jamison and Cedar Fort for this fun opportunity!  Also, don't forget to check out the giveaway at the end.

Jane Austen's No Excuse Approach to Writing

Jane Austen had plenty of excuses to stop writing. She lived in a time when it wasn’t completely acceptable for a woman to write novels, let alone publish them. In fact, she kept her writing secret for years, hiding her manuscripts away whenever guests arrived. She wrote multiple novels before any of her writing was published. When she finally did publish her work, she had to rely on her brother to negotiate with the publisher, and she published under a pen name. Her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, was published fifteen years after she started writing it.

Writing itself was difficult for Jane. By her own admission, she was a bad speller. Her writing desk was tiny. Just imagine what she’d say to you if you complained that your computer crashed. At least we have ballpoint pens! Even on her deathbed, with nothing more than pen, ink, and paper, Jane Austen managed to write Persuasion and revise Northanger Abbey.

Yet there was a time when Jane didn’t write much. During the years she lived in Bath, perhaps because of poverty or discouragement, she wrote very little. Later, when she went to live with her brother, she could have told herself that she hadn’t written in years and that it would be silly to go back to it. Thankfully, she chose to write.

Those of us who write have many of the same excuses. Though it’s now acceptable for women to publish novels, it’s not really acceptable for anyone other than a published author to admit she’s writing a novel. We’re luckier than Jane, in that we have word processors, laptops, and other technology to help us write. What we don’t have is time. It takes ingenuity and sacrifice to fit writing into a busy schedule. And, like Jane, we writers can easily fall victim to discouragement. One day of not writing can easily turn into years. The moral of Jane Austen’s story for me is this: Write anyway.

Rebecca H. Jamison Biography

Looking for love? Rebecca H. Jamison would love to set you up with that special someone, but you’re better off reading her books. She has a terrible track record as a matchmaker.

Rebecca grew up in Virginia. She attended Brigham Young University, where she earned a BA and MA in English with an emphasis in creative writing. In between college and graduate school, she served a mission to Portugal and Cape Verde.

Rebecca enjoys running, dancing, reading, and watching detective shows. She and her husband have six children. You can learn more about her at  

www.rebeccahjamison.com

Book Summary for Emma: A Latter-day Tale

Title: Emma: A Latter-day Tale

Author: Rebecca H. Jamison

ISBN: 978-1-4621-1260-9

Price: $16.99/$19.99

256 pages

Short Blurb: Emma's her name and matchmaking is her game! Quirky life coach Emma wants to help her first-ever client, a lonely nanny named Harriet. But all of her attempts at matchmaking result only in embarrassing miscues and blunders, leaving the pair disheartened and confused. This modern take on the Jane Austen classic shows that sometimes the greatest match is the one we make for ourselves.

Cover Blurb:

NOT Looking for Love: Single woman (23) seeks best friend to chat on the phone, shop the clearance racks, watch chick flicks, try out messy cooking projects, and eat Dove dark chocolates.

Emma isn’t so good at the whole life-coaching thing. Her first client ended up with a broken heart and is threatening to relapse in her bad habits. Now Emma has problems of her own to deal with, and all those problems start with one name: Justin.

Justin is her best friend, so it’s hard for Emma not to feel betrayed when she suspects he is falling for her childhood rival. And she knows she’s losing him despite her best efforts. No matter how much she tries, she keeps running up against obstacles. How is she supposed to help other people when she’s drowning in her own failures?

Fans of Jane Austen’s Emma will love this modern retelling of the classic romance novel. Fall in love with Emma’s latter-day tale of redemption, forgiveness, and the quest for true love.

Links

Blog:   www.rebeccahjamison.com

Facebook:    https://www.facebook.com/RebeccaHJamison

Youtube book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuZdfRJX8_s&list=LLIqrEppn8mTaoOdSpZk_9Jw&feature=mh_lolz

To buy:

Amazon:    http://www.amazon.com/Emma-Latter-day-Rebecca-H-Jamison/dp/1462112609

Barnes and Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/emma-rebecca-jamison/1114719387?ean=9781462112609

Excerpt:

It was amazing how much more snow Phil could pick up with his shovel than I could with mine. He cleared three feet of the driveway before I was done with one.

“When we’re done, if you have time, you should come in and meet Harri. I think you two will get along.”

Phil stopped and looked at his watch. “I’m planning to do a couple more driveways before it gets dark.”

“I’ll go get Harri now if you’re in a hurry. She wants to meet you.”

Phil leaned on his shovel. “Harry is a she?”

 “Her real name is Harriet. She moved here a couple months ago and she’s hardly met anybody. I think you’ll like her.”

Phil threw his head back, laughed, and started shoveling again. “I thought you were trying to introduce me to your new boyfriend.”

“You think I would be out here shoveling snow while my new boyfriend stays inside?” I grabbed a handful of snow and threw it at him. I didn’t mean to hit him in the face, but that’s where it landed.

Phil wiped the snow off his face and grinned. “I wondered why you were dating such a loser.” I expected him to throw a snowball at me, but he just stood there. “So you don’t have a boyfriend?”

I giggled a little at his awkwardness. “Nope. Harri doesn’t either.”

Phil threw another shovelful of snow away from the driveway. “So you . . . I mean, you and your friend are . . . available?” Phil didn’t open his mouth enough when he talked. That was the one thing about him that always distracted me. I couldn’t help staring at his mouth.

I had to force myself to look into his eyes. “Why is that a shock, Phil? Every woman in that house right now is available. You can take your pick—Harri, me, or Barbara. You’re surrounded by single women.” It was safe to assume Phil wouldn’t pick me. I was at least three inches taller than he was, and it was a rare man who dated a taller woman.

Giveaway:  For the giveaway, Cedar Fort has one e-book version in Nook, Kindle, or PDF to award.  To be considered, leave a comment telling me what you are going to try not to give yourself any excuses with during the last half of the year.

Because the giveaway is digital format, as long as you can accept via these formats, you can enter!  :) Please leave a comment by next Wednesday, 8/14 by midnight and include your email address. 

Thank you again to Rebecca Jamison for stopping in today on her Blog Tour!  Don't forget to check out her other stops. You can check them out right here.  Also, stop back by later on this week for my review of her book!