Armchair BEA: HUGE Giveaway

Giveaway

I am absolutely ecstatic to announce a FABULOUS giveaway today. I approached three of my favourite authors and asked them if they'd like to be involved and they said YES! So huge thanks to Shalini Boland, Melissa Pearl and Patti Roberts who are all donating goodies for this giveaway! AND you could also win ebooks of all of my own books and a paperback copy of Forever Fredless!
That's 13 winners (if I'm doing my maths right!!)

Shalini Boland

2 ebooks of HIDDEN

2 ebooks of OUTSIDE

Melissa Pearl

2 ebooks of THE TIME SPIRIT series

Paperback of the BETWIXT omnibus

Patti Roberts

The complete ebook set of The PARADOX series AND the WITCHWOOD series

Double editions of the WITCHWOOD ESTATE series in print with signed stickers for both print books.

Suzy Turner

2 ebooks of THE RAVEN SAGA, THE MORGAN SISTERS and FOREVER FREDLESS

1 paperback copy of FOREVER FREDLESS

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Reading Beyond the Borders

We're talking about Beyond the Borders today and so I MUST mention one of my all time favourite books that I've read multiple times (which is quite unusual for me) and that is Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. This book totally blew me away and introduced me to a whole new culture that I knew nothing about. Japan and the geishas from another time altogether. You may have seen the movie and admittedly it is pretty good - not quite as good as the book but still worthy of praise.

Here's the blurb from Amazon:
A literary sensation and runaway bestseller, this brilliant debut novel tells with seamless authenticity and exquisite lyricism the true confessions of one of Japan's most celebrated geisha.
Speaking to us with the wisdom of age and in a voice at once haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. It begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. We witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing kimono, elaborate makeup, and hair; pouring sake to reveal just a touch of inner wrist; competing with a jealous rival for men's solicitude and the money that goes with it.
In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction—at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful—and completely unforgettable.

Actually, I'm ashamed to say that I don't often read books that are set elsewhere than the UK or the US. Not by choice, I might add. It's just the books that have presented themselves to me so far, tend to be in those two places. I do love reading American tales, and learning about different places throughout the US. Lately I've had a bit of a thing for stories set in the deep south. There's just something about that region that appeals enormously. And to be honest, I don't really know why! (I love movies that are set there too.) Currently, I'm reading a book set in Maine and it's making me desperate to visit that part of the country as well! One day I will, for sure. In the meantime, I need to try and break out and read more books from other countries. I haven't even read any Portuguese authors and I've lived here for the past 28 years! I know, it's embarrassing! 

For more giveaways and more tales about reading beyond borders, check out Armchair BEA.