ROW80 Check In and New Releases: Theresa, Tara, and Anne of Green Gables

elated ROW80 check in - from last week!

(By the way, the honeycomb in that B is for all of you who might be suffering from colds or flu this week.)

So I haven't actually done any editing this past week. I did finally share my vignette with a couple of betas, and am eagerly awaiting feedback. I also hope to participate in the January Exercise on the Forum before the month is out. It's a great one!

"A Moment of Explosive Change

In every life, there are moments where change comes upon us suddenly, unexpectedly, or with a force we could never have predicted. And in fiction, it's change we want to see.

What is explosive change? Anything that has a permanent impact on your character, good or bad. What kinds of things are we talking about? Well, there are break-ups, deaths, unexpected positive pregnancy tests. There are stunning events - terrorist attacks, natural disasters, revolutions - whether we're involved in them directly, or only seeing the world as we know it change from a distance. We fall in love. We fail. We succeed! We have diagnoses, redundancies, accidents, lottery wins... The list goes on.

What we're looking for in January is simple. A 500-word depiction of a moment of explosive change, with no preamble and no concern for what comes after - just that very moment, and how your character lives it."

25 January is the anniversary of Robbie Burns' birthday! Will you be participating in a Burns supper? I don't know any pipers, but I might just wear a kilt and have a wee dram of Lagavulin or The Glenlivet to toast the poet!

Wonder if I could hunt down a proper haggis around here?

Speaking of food, Theresa of Outlander Kitchen has a non-Outlander-related book out!

Slow Eats, Fast

In other releases, Tara's novella Hands-on Therapy is out now on Kindle and Nook!

You really want this book, trust me. Hot and sweet all at the same time. One of those have-to-read-it-in-one-sitting books, definitely.

And in other book news, the Anne of Green Gables series is getting a makeover!

"Sourcebooks is proud to be the new home of L.M. Montgomery’s beloved novels and will continue to publish gorgeous brand new editions of all her classics throughout March and April.

Bookpage is hosting a contest for the Anne of Green Gables series through 31 January 2014 where all entries will have a chance to win the following:

1 Grand Prize Winner will win 2 Tiffany and Co. sterling silver key pendants

5 Second Place Winners will receive a full set of the Anne of Green Gables series from Sourcebooks Fire (6 books)

10 Third Place Winners will receive a copy of Anne of Green Gables

Visit their website here for a list of official rules. Plus, you can tell us about your experiences and send us the links so we can share them on our social media sites.

What memories do you have about reading Anne of Green Gables?

How did Montgomery's stories inspire you?"

After I clicked through, I realised the contest is only for United States residents! So go forth and enter, and think of me.

I'm trying to remember the first time I read Anne of Green Gables, and failing, mostly because I reread them so often. They always seem just as new and exciting as the last time. Anne was the first to introduce me to the phrase 'kindred spirit' and I've been keeping an eye out for them ever since.

I just realised that if there are only six books in the reprint, that means they're not including Rainbow Valley, Rilla of Ingleside, or The Blythes Are Quoted, which seems like a serious omission, especially to not include Rilla of Ingleside in the centenary year of World War I. But perhaps they'll be included later. I wonder if they'll add the authorised prequel Before Green Gables, written by Canadian MG/YA author Budge Wilson.

Here's my new favourite song of the moment (link added in case the embedding doesn't work):

What songs/albums are you listening to right now?

Which new books did you buy this week?