Welcome to our very first Classic Romance Revival Blog Carnival!

OUR THEME: SETTINGS – SIMPLY SCENIC OR SPECIALLY SIGNIFICANT?

Some of our authors have put together a “Classic Collection” of blog reads around this theme, so we hope you’ll have a great time visiting each and enjoying what they have to offer. Not only do we have a great line-up of “festive fare”, but we also have e-books and stories from our participating authors to give away. But this is where the fun starts…

Visit the blogs below and leave your comments. Make sure you add your name and email (if not automatic) so that we can contact you if you’re a winner! To see the list of available prizes, and see the contest rules and how to enter, see the end of this blog post.




OUR BLOG CARNIVAL LINE-UP

Defining the “S” Factor… by Judah Raine
“When scenes and settings take on a life of their own…”
http://judahraine.com/romancewriteup/?p=595

Gazebos… by Linda Banche
“How to Find a Time Portal…”
http://lindabanche.blogspot.com/2009/06/gazebos-how-to-find-time-portal.html

Historic Preservation: Safeguarding Scenes from the Past… by Joanna Waugh
“Whether collecting antiques, snapping photos or keeping a diary, we all are engaged in preserving scenes from the past.”
http://joannawaugh.blogspot.com/2009/06/historic-preservation-safeguarding.html

The past is another country…. by Lindsay Townsend
“Painting the landscape of the distant past…”
http://lindsaysbookchat.blogspot.com/2009/05/past-is-another-country.html

Setting: The Watery Breath of a Story… by LK Hunsaker
“As water is the underlying basis for everything that lives, so setting is to every story that breathes.”
http://lkhunsaker.blogspot.com/2009/06/setting-watery-breath-of-story.html

Places of the Heart… by Miriam Newman
“Some have asked how important setting is to to my books? Well, only as important as the characters, the dialogue or maybe the HEA. It’s just a small consideration ranking up there slightly behind my ability to put my backside in a chair and start typing…”
http://thepenmuse.blogspot.com/2009/06/places-of-heart.html

Where, oh where, is Mudflat… by Phoebe Matthews
“Mudflat is where old magic lives…”
http://phoebematthews.com/ (click on “blog” link in sidebar)

Where to Set Your Story? Go Big, Or Stay Home… by Lainey Bancroft
“Do you choose a comfortable setting where your characters can easily display their true self, or toss those characters into a place where they’re tempted to be the best—or worst—version of themselves they desire?”
http://www.elaineforlife.com/LaineysBlog/tabid/463/EntryID/81/Default.aspx

A setting with its own Personality… by Danielle Thorne
“About pirates and creating a Caribbean island…”
http://lindsaysromantics.blogspot.com/2009/06/danielle-thornes-privateer-creating.html

Setting in a Fantasy World… by Nicole Zoltack
“A historical fantasy novel needs a fantastical setting – Woman of Honor, where magic meets the Middle Ages…”
http://nicolezoltack.blogspot.com/2009/06/setting-in-fantasy-world.html

My settings are “simply scenic”… by Sandra Kay
“Listen to your surroundings–you might be surprised what you hear!”
http://sandrakayauthor.blogspot.com/2009/06/settings-simply-scenic-or-specially.html

Here or There: Where Do Your Characters Belong… by EA West
“Have you ever wondered how an author chooses the location of a story? Maybe you’re more curious about why the setting of a story matters…”
Blog address:
http://thewestcorner.blogspot.com/2009/06/here-or-there-where-do-your-characters.html

Where the Heck is Grasmere , Idaho… by Jacquie Rogers
“The sparsely populated country setting for the Down Home Ever Lovin’ Mule Blues story world, and how this particular setting influences the characters’ journeys through the story…”
http://jacquierogers.blogspot.com/2009/06/where-heck-is-grasmere-idaho.html

Escape to the world of 19th Century England… by Maggi Andersen
“In my world building, I create a small part of the past through which my characters move…”
http://maggiandersen.blogspot.com/2009/06/settings-simply-scenic-or-specially.html

How do I write my Backgrounds… by Monya Mary Clayton
“I’ve never visited the country I wrote about and the story takes place three hundred years before I was born!”
http://monyamaryclayton.blogspot.com/2009/06/settings-simply-scenic-or-specially.html

Location, Location, Location… by Bess McBride
“Setting as a character…”
http://willtravelforromance.blogspot.com/2009/06/location-location-location.html

Is Your Setting Another Character… By Cheryl Pierson
“The Land is what we make of it…”
http://cherylpiersonbooks.blogspot.com/2009/05/is-your-setting-another-character.html

We’re going to Ibiza… by Francesca Prescott
“Who’s going to Ibiza? You and me! Pack your suitcases, and get ready for the time of your life…”
http://www.francescaprescott.com

Real Life Landscapes and Their Place in Fantasy… by Hywela Lyn
“Igniting the spark…”
http://hywelalyn.blogspot.com/2009/06/real-life-landscapes-and-their-place-in.html

CONTEST – RULES AND HOW TO ENTER

This is a Classic Romance Revival GROUP event. You MUST have commented on EACH and EVERY blog in order to qualify for a prize.

Visit each of the blogs and leave your comment
Don’t forget to add your email and name so we can contact you if you’re a winner!
You may comment more than once.
The contest runs from now until Saturday 13th June, 12noon EST.
At the end of the contest THREE best comments will be selected from each blog.
These will then be judged, and the 15 WINNERS will receive an ARC download from one of our participating authors
These 15 winners will then go through to the FINAL DRAW for our Grand Prize.

CONTEST – OUR LIST OF PRIZES

Grand Prize (Print Book and T-shirt)
Jacquie Rogers – An autographed copy of Down Home Ever Lovin’ Mule Blues and a “Down Home” T-shirt (Note: winners outside the USA will need to arrange own postage)

Category Prizes (ARC Copies)
Danielle Thorne – The Privateer
Joanna Waugh – Blind Fortune
Lindsay Townsend – Readers’ Choice (Flavia’s Secret, A Secret Treasure, Blue Gold or Bronze Lightning)
Linda Banche – Lady of the Stars
Lainey Bancroft – Readers’ Choice (Jackpot, Settling Back or 3D-Club Trilogy of short stories)
Sandy James – Murphy’s Law
Cheryl Pierson – Fire Eyes
Francesca Prescott – Mucho Caliente
Sandra Kay – Heart of Stone
Jane Richardson – A Different Kind of Honesty
Monya Mary Clayton – Readers’ Choice (The Pirate and the Puritan or Blueprint for Love)
Nicole Zoltack – Woman of Honour
Hywela Lyn – Dancing with Fate
Bess McBride – Caribbean Dreams of Love
Judah Raine – Still Running

Short Story Prizes
Phoebe Matthews – Alkazar’s Lover
Anne Manning – Wooing Carly O’Malley
LK Hunsaker – Jumpin’ Off the Moon, Beagles and Sneakers
Lindsay Townsend – The Seal of Odin, Solstice, Payback
Monya Mary Clayton – A Fine Romance
Sandra Sookoo – Culinary Magic

Many thanks to all our authors – they’re a wonderful group, and have all worked hard to make this Blog Carnival a success! So, take your time, have fun, have your say, and get in line to be one of our winners!

And don’t forget – our June Subscribe and Win Contest is also still happening – click on the Subscribe2 button in our sidebar, enter your email and click send. Every subscriber will receive a free read short story from one of our authors, and automatically be entered into the weekly draw of an ARC of The Look by Judah Raine.

How can you possibly lose?

Tags: blog carnival, contest, free read, win

This entry was posted on Friday, June 5th, 2009 at 1:45 pm and is filed under CRR Blog Carnival. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.