Lauren Willig Giveaway

Yep, I'm at it again :-)

This time it's my friend Lauren Willig who has a new book out, and since I know many of you like her books, too (as I do), I'm going to give away one new signed copy.

Here's a peek at what the novel is about:

A page-turning new novel from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Willig, about a woman who inherits a house in England… and the mysterious past that comes with it.

2009: When Julia Conley hears that she has inherited a house outside London from an unknown great-aunt, she assumes it’s a joke. She hasn’t been back to England since the car crash that killed her mother when she was six (and gave her nightmares that have lasted into adulthood). But when she arrives at Herne Hill to sort through the house—with the help of her cousin Natasha and sexy antiques dealer Nicholas—bits of memory start coming back. And then she discovers a pre-Raphaelite painting, hidden behind the false back of an old wardrobe, and a window onto the house’s shrouded history begins to open…

1849: Imogen Grantham has spent nearly a decade trapped in a loveless marriage to a much older man, Arthur. The one bright spot in her life is her step-daughter, Evie, a high-spirited sixteen year old who is the closest thing to a child Imogen hopes to have. But everything changes when three young painters come to see Arthur’s collection of medieval artifacts, including Gavin Thorne, a quiet man with the unsettling ability to read Imogen better than anyone ever has. When Arthur hires Gavin to paint her portrait, none of them can guess what the hands of fate have set in motion.  

Photo by Christina Courtenay

Again, you should know that I know Lauren, and while I've never trudged through a blizzard with her as I did with Beatriz Williams (Lauren wisely stayed at home for that one), I have shared the odd panel and coffee and chat with her. Here we are only last month in New Orleans at the RT Booklovers Convention, doing our "Call My Bluff" historical words and phrases game. (Left to right: Beatriz, Lauren, Molly O'Keefe, Deanna Raybourn, and Me).

So I'm admittedly biased, but I can also honestly recommend her writing to you, because it's very, very, (very) good.

If you want to sample it yourself, you can read an excerpt from THAT SUMMER here at Lauren's website.

You have until midnight EST this Sunday, June 7, to enter the giveaway by leaving a comment below telling me:

If YOU could inherit a house anywhere, where would it be located?

I'll choose one name at random when the contest closes. Best of luck!

(NOTE: If you have trouble leaving a comment because you don't have any of the ID's listed, just leave one as "Anonymous" and put your name in the comment itself, so I'll know how to get in touch with you if you win).

Beatriz Williams Giveaway: And the winner is...

Allina Flaat!

Congratulations, Allina! Drop me an email at susanna(underscore)kearsley(at)yahoo(dot)ca and let me know your mailing address, and I'll get your signed ARC of Beatriz Williams's new book mailed out to you.

Thanks so much to all of you for sharing your amazing comments. As one reader mentioned, each one of your comments could be its own novel. I really enjoyed reading all of them.

Thank you.