I wrote an update about my vacation and such, and then forgot to post it.

Ah, well. The rest of the vacation was fine. I feel really wonderful, especially since it wasn’t too bad to catch up at work.

My news now is that I’ve finished the Neil Gaiman article…again. I hope it will be live soon, I’ll let you know.

Also, I would like to announce that I am giving away a book. Yes, me the bibliophile parting with a book, to celebrate all sorts of things. One…that I’m published. That’s rather nifty. Two, the wonderful Apryl Duncan of www.fictionaddiction.net has given me free ad space, and I made up my own ad, even animated it. (In fact, that may be why some of you are here!) I’m sure a professional will tell me how many yards of tacky and awful it is, but I kind of like it. Also, soon you will see a completely new look. This will become a Word Press Blog and will have a most amazing new template. I saw it today, and I know you will love it as much as I do. It’s mysterious, it’s fantastical, and completely me. Deena Fisher, who you will recall made my book covers, made it for me. She wears a lot of hats – publisher, web designer, writer, and artist. I am constantly in awe of her.

Large-format reprint of the 1921 translation of the 1697 French original. These masterfully told 17th-century tales for children have been embellished with 34 magnificent, full-page engravings by Gustave Doré. Included are Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, Blue Beard, The Fairies, Cinderella, Tom Thumb, and Ricky of the Tuft. 117 pages, Soft Cover
I love this book a great deal because it has many really wonderful stories…I dispute that it’s for children simply because some of these tales are quite dark. The engravings are awesome, but that goes without saying. “The Fairies” is the very story that inspired “Every Word I Speak.” I read this story, about a young woman who is rewarded for her good deeds – bespelled so that with every word she speaks a diamond, a rose, a pearl or some other flower falls from her lips, in one sitting, then got up to do the dishes. I kept thinking about the young woman in the tale, and how awful it would be to have such a thing happen. I wondered if she would choke on the stones, how she would talk around them. It seemed uncomfortable, even embarrassing. And what kind of man would want to marry her? I know fairy tales are short, but a lot of times the handsome princes who arrive just in time to carry the heroine away to her happily ever after seem a little self serving.

The Blue Beard story isn’t quite the story that inspired “A Necklace of Rubies” – it’s Mr. Fox who has that (sort of) honor, but it’s fun to read both stories and see the similarities that show that they came from the same root tale.

I will inscribe it to the winner or include a signed book plate, (I won’t glue the plate in) whichever the winner prefers.

So, how can you win this marvelous book?

Answer one of these questions:

1: Why is it called “A Necklace of Rubies”?

2: Which story was written first, “Every Word I Speak” or “A Necklace of Rubies”?

Email Gabbywinter at gmail dot com with your answer and address and I’ll print the correct answers and put them into a hat. I’ll randomly draw a name September 1st.
Good luck!