Victoria Kincaid...Darcy's Honor

It is exciting today to have Victoria Kincaid visit More Agreeably Engaged. I always love it when she stops by because that means she has a new book out and we readers will be in for a treat! Thank you, Ms. Kincaid for writing stories that we love to read! Her latest, Darcy's Honor, sounds like it will not disappoint either. Below is a blurb and then we have an excerpt to enjoy! Thank you, Victoria Kincaid, for visiting and for sharing a bit from your book.

Readers, be sure and check out the giveaway! :)

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Blurb:

Elizabeth Bennet is relieved when the difficult Mr. Darcy leaves the area after the Netherfield Ball. But she soon runs afoul of Lord Henry, a Viscount who thinks to force her into marrying him by slandering her name and ruining her reputation.  An outcast in Meryton, and even within her own family, Elizabeth has nobody to turn to and nowhere to go.

Darcy successfully resisted Elizabeth’s charms during his visit to Hertfordshire, but when he learns of her imminent ruin, he decides he must propose to save her from disaster.  However, Elizabeth is reluctant to tarnish Darcy’s name by association…and the viscount still wants her…

Can Darcy save his honor while also marrying the woman he loves? 

*****

Buy Links:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

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Excerpt:

The viscount pulled himself up to his full height, a few inches shorter than Darcy, and held out his hand to Elizabeth. “Elizabeth, come away. There are things we must discuss.”

“I have said everything that needs saying,” Elizabeth responded coolly.

The sound of her Christian name on the man’s lips made Darcy bristle. “You may speak in my presence,” he said.

Lord Henry made an irritated gesture. “She is my betrothed, Darcy. There are things we must discuss.”

Perhaps the viscount believed Elizabeth would not contradict him before witnesses. If so, he did not have a firm grasp on her character.

“I pray you, sir, remind me again when we became betrothed? I recall refusing your offer, and I am quite sure I have not told you otherwise.” Elizabeth’s eyes flashed as she spoke. “Do you remember our conversation differently?”

The sarcasm was not lost on Lord Henry. His face flushed even redder, and his lips were set in a thin line.

“I have found,” Darcy drawled, “that women usually know if they are betrothed.”

The viscount scowled at Elizabeth. “I do not believe you have a choice, my dear.”

“It is not the practice in England to force women into marriage,” Darcy said. “If Miss Bennet does not wish to be betrothed to you, she will not be.”

Lord Henry gave Darcy a disdainful look and then glared at Elizabeth. “You have no other options—after what has passed between us.”

Darcy’s insides curdled at these words. What had Elizabeth suffered? But he kept his face carefully blank.

Elizabeth frowned at the man, her hands balled into fists at her sides. “Nothing passed between us save some rather awkward compliments on my beauty and a very unappealing kiss.”

The viscount grimaced. “Nobody believes that was all! Your own family scoffed at the idea.”

It is interesting, Darcy thought, that when he is almost alone with Elizabeth, he does not bother to deny her assertion. Darcy folded his arms over his chest; perhaps that would prevent him from striking the other man. “I believe her,” he said forcefully.

Elizabeth’s head swung toward Darcy, her lips slightly apart.

Darcy continued, “In my experience, Miss Elizabeth has always been honest to a fault.” Elizabeth’s jaw dropped as he spoke; did she not expect him to come to her defense? “Further, I have too high an opinion of her judgment to believe she would willingly consort with you.”

The viscount was momentarily struck dumb at the insult. Another man might have challenged Darcy to a duel for such a slight, but Lord Henry was a coward. After a minute he regained control, straightening his shoulders with a sneer. “Now I see how it is, Darcy. You want her for yourself. I damaged the goods, and now you hope to purchase them at a reduced price.”

The callousness in the other man’s words made Darcy’s entire body tighten with anger. Surely Lord Henry did not believe that. Surely he did not regard Elizabeth as something to be bought and sold like a bolt of cloth in a milliner’s shop! Outrage stopped his throat.

“Well, I won’t have it!” Lord Henry declared. “I put forth the effort, and she is now mine for the taking.”

Darcy finally found his voice. “I do not have the aspirations to which you allude, sir.” His words were excruciatingly polite, but his tone was acid. He advanced on the other man, hoping to intimidate him into departing. “You have insulted me and this lady in every possible way. I suggest you mount your horse and leave before I am forced to take action!” Using his superior height to advantage, he loomed over the viscount, who backed away a few paces.

Lord Henry grasped his horse’s reins with a trembling hand, pointing a threatening finger at Darcy. “This is not over, Darcy! She is not yours to have. She is mine.”

Darcy was astonished at the sound of Elizabeth’s laughter. “And here I believed I belong to myself.” She tapped a thoughtful finger to her lips. “How in the world could I have been so mistaken?”

*****

Well, folks, what do you think of that excerpt? Darcy's rush to help is 'so Darcy'! Elizabeth's reaction is true to her character as well. Lord Henry, I don't think I'm going to like him at all! What about the rest of you? Have any of you read it yet? I hope to read it soon! I have definitely had my interest piqued! 

Now it's giveaway time! Ms. Kincaid is offering a paperback or eBook of Darcy' Honor, winner's choice and it's international!  Readers, the giveaway will end at 11:59 PM on the 30th of April. Leave a comment to be entered and please make sure I can reach you should you be the winner. Good luck to all and Happy Monday!

Ms. Kincaid, thank for the giveaway and for being my guest today. I have been following your blog stops and have enjoyed reading your posts and excerpts. Best wishes with this new release.

Courage Requires...Melanie Rachel

Preorder at Amazon

Dear Readers, you have a treat today! This is the first time that author Melanie Rachel has been a guest at More Agreeably Engaged and I am so proud to have her visit. We've been trying to arrange this for some time but kept having things come up that made the visit have to wait. Now she is here and I couldn't be happier!

Ms. Rachel's second book, Courage Requires, will be released later this month. (available for preorder now) It is a Pride and Prejudice Continuation and follows her first book, Courage Rises. She does tell us that it is necessary to read the first before reading the new release. That sounds like two good books in my future if Chapter One is any indicator! :)

Thank you for stopping by, Melanie. I'm so happy to have you visit and share with us a little about your books on this Maundy Thursday.

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My thanks to Janet for allowing me to offer a guest post this week, as I have some exciting news! The second book in my two-book series, Courage Requires, will be released on  (hopefully before) April 22nd, and I am pleased to offer you all a taste of the first chapter. You do need to have read Courage Rises, the first book, for the second to make sense, but I am happy to announce a giveaway here to a reader who posts a comment below. I will offer the winner a choice--a free copy of either Book One: Courage Rises OR Book Two, Courage Requires! These are both full length novels.

Available at Amazon

In Courage Rises  Fitzwilliam Darcy is summoned to London by Colonel Fitzwilliam, who needs his cousin's help repaying a troublesome debt of honor. While they try to puzzle through the strange mystery of the Hawke family, Elizabeth has remained in Derbyshire only to be faced with an influenza outbreak. In the absence of her husband and with the staff and tenants counting on her, can she step fully into her role as Mistress of Pemberley?

Preorder on Amazon

​In Courage Requires, Darcy has returned to Pemberley to find Elizabeth expecting and growing increasingly ill. When she invites the enigmatic Hawke sisters and the Fitzwilliams to join them for the festive season, will the company provide the friendship and solace Darcy hopes for his wife? Or will the Earl's opposition to Richard's love interest destroy their holiday?

If you are a Courage Rises reader, and you haven't yet seen the new material I will be adding to the Epilogue, you can find it at my website (if you don't see it right away, just scroll down). The material, in addition to a new Afterword, will be offered as an update to those of you who have already purchased the book. After April, it will be available in the e-book already for sale. Here's the site: http://melanierachel.weebly.com/  .

Also coming by May, both books in paperback!

And here it is, Chapter One, Courage Requires:

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Chapter One
              An opened bottle of fine brandy sat on the table in Fitzwilliam Darcy’s Pemberley study, the amber liquor sparkling in the candlelight.
“That is quite a story, Richard,” Darcy said thoughtfully. He handed his cousin a second drink and sat on a leather chair near the fire, stretching his long legs before him. “Almost worth the length of time you have made me wait to hear it.”
              Richard shrugged. “We were each of us occupied, and it is not the sort of thing one should commit to paper.” He paused and ducked his head. “I must admit that I was waiting for the Bingleys to remove to town. For everyone concerned, this truly ought to remain between us.”
              “I am afraid,” Darcy said haltingly, “I have made a rather specific promise to tell Elizabeth everything. Particularly if the Hawkes are to visit Pemberley with the earl for the festive season.”
              “I had expected that. No further, though. Not even Mrs. Bingley or Georgiana, if you please. The fewer who know, the better chance of this all fading away in time.”
“Agreed.” Darcy took a drink and looked down at the dark liquid in his glass. He tipped it back and forth before saying in a low voice, “I am sorry we left you to handle the carriage ride alone.”
              Richard held up his hand, palm out, from his own seat near the fire. “You could hardly have acted other than you did. In any case, I am pleased you were not there.”
              “That seems to be a common refrain,” Darcy replied sardonically, but with a hint of complaint in his tone. “Elizabeth was pleased I was not here to keep her from having her way, and you are pleased I was not with you to assist. Am I truly so useless to have near?”
              Richard chuckled. “There was no point.  More heads, more targets. All I did was ride inside a box, if you can call being tossed about riding. I never got a shot off.”
              “Did Captain Hawke?” They laughed lightly together, trying to ease the tension of the conversation while Richard shook his head.
              “No, and that is one reason I cannot fault myself. If even the Captain could not discharge a weapon, what hope had I?” His face turned suddenly serious, and he stood to grope for something in the pocket of his greatcoat, which he had draped unceremoniously over a high-backed chair. James and then Wilkins had both been rather disconcerted to be waved off when he arrived. Richard felt the fabric and clenched his fist around it for a moment before withdrawing it. He tossed it in his cousin’s lap.
              “Miss Hawke asked me to get rid of it when we arrived at Matlock. Her sister was upset by it but would not stop taking it out to have a look. I am finding myself in much the same predicament.”
              Darcy set down his drink to pick up the crumpled remains of a bonnet. It showed deep creases from being carried in such a way, but he could distinctly make out two round holes at the crown.
              “Good God, Richard,” he whispered. He cleared his throat and spoke with more volume. “You told me, but seeing it. . . “
              “You understand my dilemma. The story alone does not carry the same impact. I had thought to toss it in the fire, as it makes me ill to see it.” Richard grimaced. “But it is also evidence, of a sort, that exonerates Miss Hawke from accusations of collaboration.”
              Richard closed his eyes and remembered Sophia Hawke’s resignation as she comforted her sister on the carriage floor, the stunningly emotional welcome the earl had proffered when she made her unexpected appearance, and her strangely cool response to that display. It was as though she did not believe it genuine. Richard had no doubt it had been real, yet within days, Lord Matlock was again scheming and planning. Lady Matlock, on the other hand, had been thrilled to have two young women in the house to spoil. Miss Evelyn had quite taken to it, but he thought his mother might have forged a stronger bond with Miss Hawke, who seemed rather overwhelmed by the attention. He felt a kind of kinship with her on that score alone, though there were of course other reasons as well. His cousin’s voice drew him back to the matter at hand.
              “Circumstantial at best, Richard. Should someone be determined to doubt, there would be no way to prove that she was wearing it when the damage was done, or even that it was hers at all. No way to prove it was her uncle who hired the man to ambush you. Most would deny that Hawke would even take such a risk, particularly knowing that you were all under the earl’s protection.”
              Richard closed his eyes. “I am aware, William. Still, with my testimony and that of the men riding with us, it might mean something. Hobson saw it at the same time as I.” He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I cannot take the risk of burning the damn thing.”
              “Well,” Darcy said stretching out his hand to return the article to his cousin, “put it away before my wife enters and inquires why we are looking at a woman’s bonnet in my study.”
              Richard grinned. “Does Elizabeth often come to your study at this time of night, cousin? Are the sweet first moments of your marriage over so quickly that she must seek you here to induce you to retire?”
Darcy shook his head and stood, setting his half-full glass on a side table. “And with that, Richard, I shall leave you to it. When do you head back to London?”
              “End of the week.” He smiled tightly and added, “Thank you for hosting me. I am unlikely to leave London again until I return to Pemberley at the end of the year, presuming I am still invited.”
              “You have decided irrevocably, then?”
              Richard heard the pain in Darcy’s voice and tried to assuage the blow. “I have. I went to the general to discuss selling my commission, and he was rather cantankerous about it. He argued vociferously that there were offices I might perform from London to assist in our efforts. There is some worth in my old carcass yet, evidently, even if it is only to train recruits and write reports that go unread.” He reached for Darcy’s unfinished drink. “The general has assured me that I will not be sent abroad. I told him I would not lead men into battle. Not feeling as I do now.”
              Richard might have insisted on relinquishing his commission. He had no taste for battle now and knew he could not lead. The fire, the sense of usefulness, of mission and purpose that had supported his actions for over a decade had faded entirely away. What he still had was a desire to find the man who had ordered the attack on Miss Hawke and her sister. The offer with the War Office would provide him with the resources to track Archibald Hawke. As Richard finished Darcy’s brandy, he stood. He did not look at his cousin.
              “You are always welcome at Pemberley, Richard,” was Darcy’s quiet reply.
              While Darcy was relieved to hear that Richard would not return to the Continent, he was certain that should he be requested to return to battle, his cousin would not shirk what he saw as his duty. He has to sell his commission, Darcy thought unhappily. The only way to keep him truly safe would be for him to resign everything and move into the life of a gentleman, a life Richard could have for the asking, if only he would set aside his pride and make the request. Between Richard’s own investments and the support both he and the earl had promised, they would situate Richard well. Richard had argued that the money was Phillip’s, but while his older brother could be thoroughly pompous when playing the role of a viscount, he loved Richard enough that he would offer no protest against the expense.
              Darcy grimaced. He was in no position to argue about unnecessary pride and they both knew it. He turned to the door after wishing his cousin a good night, exhausted from his constant worrying. First it had been over Georgiana, he was still anxious about Elizabeth, and now he was again concerned for Richard, just when he had thought he could put that fear to rest. As he stepped into the hall and made his way to the stairs, Darcy felt an icy lump settle in his stomach. He was not certain how much more worry he could stand.

*****

Thank you for being my guest today, Melanie! I was thrilled to finally get to have you visit. We've been trying to get this worked out for some time and seems like we kept running into obstacles! I'm happy that it finally worked out for both of us! :) I loved Chapter One and am ready for more. How about you, Dear Readers? Are you ready for more? It will be here soon, April 22nd) and that will be very good!

Melanie Rachel is offering one eBook, winner's choice of Courage Rises or Courage Requires, and the giveaway is international. Please leave us a comment to be entered in the draw. Have any of your read Courage Rises? If so, tell us your thoughts. It seems there are not as many sequels as there are retellings and variations. I love a good sequel and am looking forward to these two. Thank you Melanie for visiting and for the giveaway. Giveaway will end at 11:59 PM on the 19th of April. Good luck to all.

Dear Friend Event with Meryton Press

Happy April 1st, Dear Readers! I hope you are having a lovely Saturday and weekend. Spring is in full bloom in my part of the world and I am enjoying it! Since April 1st is also April Fool's, are you getting 'fooled'? My grandchildren have the best time on April Fool's Day, the little ones especially. They 'fool' me all day long! lol

I have a treat for you today and a chance to get a surprise gift, no fooling! More Agreeably Engaged is kicking off the Meryton Press Dear Friends Event. The blog portion of this event will take place each Saturday in April. The Blog Schedule is listed below and we hope you will take a moment of your time to visit each one. Be thinking about why you love books and reading. See if you can give a different reason for each stop. I will be giving you my reasons in just a bit; then in the comments, I hope you will share at least one of yours. 

For now, I turn the floor over to Meryton Press.

“Mrs. Collins welcomed her friend with the liveliest pleasure, and Elizabeth was more and more satisfied with coming, when she found herself so affectionately received.” – Jane Austen

Jane Austen describes a fine friendship between Elizabeth Bennet and Charlotte Collins. One friend welcomes another with ‘the liveliest pleasure,” and the other is pleased to share in that. We at Meryton Press know from your words that you, our fans, receive our books with pleasure and affection. It makes our authors warm inside to know that.

We have many things that bring us together, but above all we share a deep love of books. We’d like to center the subject of this event on that which makes books such a delight to us. We have asked each blogger to talk about what it is she loves so much about books and/or reading and we would like to provide a few paragraphs from one of our beloved authors to complement it. We hope that readers participate by sharing something about their love of books in the comments.

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      Why do I love books and reading? Allow me to begin with a few questions.

Do you ever feel that you personally know Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy? Do you discuss them or characters from other books as if they were real people? I can answer a resounding yes to both of those questions.

Yes, I feel like Darcy and Lizzy are my dear friends. Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth, John Thornton and Margaret Hale and Ross Poldark and Demelza are a few other dear friends. I’ve been through tons of bad times and good times with them. I’ve cried and worried, I’ve laughed and rejoiced. Sharing their love and their hard-fought path to happily ever after never gets old. I’m right there with them, experiencing every up and down as they live it.

Having conversations with a friend about the characters in a book, as though the characters are living breathing people is the other ‘yes’. As many of you know, Jan Hahn is a close friend. Occasionally we go out to dinner and sooner or later our conversation always turns to books and their characters. We talk about them and the things they are doing as if they are alive. Then we laugh at ourselves thinking if anyone around is hearing, they would be surprised to learn we are talking about fictional people!

Have you ever been so immersed in a story that when you looked up and realized there was no snow on the ground or no rain falling from the sky, it was a shock to your senses? Oh yes, I’ve been there too! That is true immersion. We can escape through the pages of a cherished book; share other lives and forget our own for the hours that we read. We lose ourselves in a good story.

Being so involved with all the Bennet’s, Darcy and Georgiana, Colonel Fitzwilliam and even Lady Catherine and George Wickham, we love and we despise. Thanks to Jane Austen for creating such memorable characters that have stood the test of time. Thank you for putting quill to paper. Thank you to all the other authors in every genre that have captured our hearts and minds with their incredible talent.

Whether it’s Jane Austen’s novels, Elizabeth Gaskell’s, Winston Graham’s, any historical or modern romance, science fiction, paranormal, adventure or drama, I can share life with the characters of these novels. I can visit new and exotic lands, go back in time or explore a distant universe. Through reading, I can see it all. It’s time travel in a book. Isn’t that grand!

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Since this is a Dear Friend Event, I ask my dear friend and beloved author at Meryton Press, Jan Hahn, to do this post with me. Thank you, Jan, for agreeing to take part. Now that I've shared my thoughts on books and reading, will you share yours? What makes books and reading special to you?

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I hold some friends close―or even closer―than family. I go to them in times of joy or sorrow and know they will laugh or cry with me. Some characters in my favorite books have been a part of my life for so long that they feel like old friends. I turn to them for distraction or comfort, confident they will either brighten my day or divert my attention when life gets tough. It began when I was a child and first climbed up the Alps with Heidi or huddled close to my brother while Mother read Treasure Island. I could not wait to learn to read, and when I did, I gobbled up books like manna from Heaven. I had a hard time choosing between a trip to the city library or a few hours at the park.

I devoured The Bobbsey Twins, a family containing not just one set of twins but two. And they solved mysteries to boot! I considered Nan and Bert good buddies while Freddie and Flossie were cute but too young for my company. I resolved to have twins when I grew up, certain that my desire alone would accomplish the fact.

Jo March, naturally, became my favorite of Alcott’s Little Women. I thought her such a bonehead for refusing Laurie until I matured somewhat and understood the better choice was Professor Bhaer. Because the author Fred Gipson is a distant relation of mine, my father suggested I read Old Yeller. Big mistake. I cried and cried when Travis was forced to destroy the dog he dearly loved. It didn’t keep me from reading it again, though. I discovered Shakespeare in my teen years, and read and re-read the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. If given the part, I was convinced I could have been the world’s greatest actress because, surely at fifteen, I knew all about love.

Literature classes introduced me to Fitzgerald and Hemingway, but I confess I didn’t care to re-read their books. Once was enough. I liked Edna Ferber’s saga, Giant, and was thrilled to see her characters come to life in the movie version. I would choose War and Peace any day over pitiful Anna Karenina perhaps because I skipped a lot of the War portion and concentrated on Natasha’s life until I knew her well. And then I met Father Ralph de Bricassart in Colleen McCullough’s The Thorn Birds. Talk about a doomed love affair. A young Australian girl with more than a crush on an ambitious Catholic priest had heartbreak written all over it. I cannot remember how many times I read that book.

Nineteenth century British literature drew me to the Bronté sisters. No matter how often I open Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff and Cathy never live happy lives, and although Mr. Rochester doesn’t deserve Jane Eyre, I rejoice each time she returns to him. I’ve lamented the ending of Tess of the D’Urbervilles far too many times. I prefer Far From the Madding Crowd when I want a touch of Thomas Hardy. I get just as aggravated with Bathsheba when she rejects Gabriel Oak as I did the first time I discovered the novel.

PBS introduced me to Elizabeth Gaskell, and after seeing the gorgeous John Thornton, I was only too glad to read North and South. Margaret Hale became a friend I can admire. I rented and watched the 1970s version of the Poldark miniseries long before the hunky Aidan Turner came along. I confess, however, it’s the present incarnation of that eighteenth-century antihero that caused me to seek out the author, Winston Graham, and read the story for myself.

I think I’ve enjoyed almost all of Anne Tyler’s quirky characters, but I return to Breathing Lessons when I want to laugh out loud. I can re-read all but one of Jan Karon’s Mitford series any time the wind blows. I find the small town nestled in the Carolina mountains as comforting as coming home after a long journey, and I applaud Father Tim for finding true love after the age of sixty.

And, of course, Jane Austen is the author I can read over, over, and over again and never get enough. I reach for a tissue each time Edward Ferrars declares his heart belongs to Elinor Dashwood; I bless Henry Tilney’s forbearance with fanciful little Catherine Morland; I want to pull Emma’s hair and tell her to mind her own business each time she parts Harriet Smith from Robert Martin; I cannot help but hope Fanny Price accepts Henry Crawford and makes him a better man because I just do not think Edmund Bertram deserves her; I want to reassure Anne Elliot that she has not lost her bloom; and even though I know Darcy returns for Elizabeth, I still grow nervous when he takes forever to propose the second time.

I’ve touched on only a few of my favorite books, but by now, I’m sure you can see a pattern. If I really like a book, I want to read it more than once. Each time, I either learn something new, reacquaint myself with passages that have grown dim in my memory, laugh, weep, or fall in love with my favorite characters all over again.

A common love of reading unites us and never more so than in the Jane Austen community. I am grateful that this beloved author is the means through which I have made so many new but dear friends. May we continue to read and share and love the stories that bind us together.

*****

Thank you again, Jan, for your willingness to join me today and share your love of books. What better way to begin a Dear Friend Event for bloggers, readers and fans than with a personal friend. I had purposely not read Jan's post until I put it on the blog nor has she read mine and will not until the post is live. I had to laugh a little when I read her reasons for loving books and reading. We definitely think alike on a few things concerning books and how we feel about them. What do you think, Jan?

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Dear Friend Blog Schedule:

More Agreeably Engaged–April 1; ends at 11:59 PM April 6^th; winner announced April 7th

Austenesque Reviews–April 8; ends at 11:59 PM April 13^th; winner announced April 14th

So little time…–April 15; ends at 11:59 PM April 20^th; winner announced April 21^st

Diary of an Eccentric–April 22; ends at 11:59 PM April 27^th; winner announced April 28^th

Just Jane 1813–April 29; ends at 11:59 PM May 4^th; winner announced my May 5^th  

  

*****

In the month of April, we want to show our appreciation to you, our most steadfast supporters, our dear friends. Good friends give each other gifts. You have given us the gift of your affectionate reception, and we want to reciprocate by giving some of you gifts in return.

As much as we’d like to, we can’t give everyone a gift, but at each hosted blog post during this event on the schedule listed above, an opportunity will be given to enter to win a surprise gift. Each person who comments can enter a Rafflecopter drawing to win. Although a person can enter multiple times (once on each blog post and tweet daily on each blog post), they can win only once. One winner will be chosen at each blog. Five gifts total will be awarded.

*****

Giveaway:

Giveaway is open to US residents only.  Eligible entries will comment on Dear Friend Event blog posts, tweet about the event and use the rafflecopter to enter. Winners will provide a valid U.S. shipping address for gift delivery upon request. Further details for entering to win a gift are posted at the Meryton Press website.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

General:

·       All Winners will be contacted via social media or email and announced on the Meryton Press website, Facebook, and/or Twitter.

·       In the event that a winner or winners do not respond within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.

·       Winners may not be Meryton Press employees, contractors or authors.

·       An entrant can enter once per Dear Friend Event blog post and multiple times on Social Media, but can win only once.

·       This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook or Twitter.

*****

I am thrilled to be a part of this event honoring dear friends. I have been so fortunate to meet and make many friends in the JAFF community and through this blog. I appreciate you all. Thank you Meryton Press, Bloggers, Readers and Fans. You have enriched my life and I'm thankful for you.

I want to end this post with a special April Fool's Giveaway! No joke! :) This giveaway will NOT be part of the Rafflecopter surprise gift giveaway, but a separate one. It will be based on comments made from the moment this post goes live until 11:59 PM Central time, April 1st. Anyone that leaves a comment will be entered in the April Fool's Giveaway. There will be one winner randomly selected for a surprise gift. Winner will be announced early next week. To get more entries, share my Facebook post about the Dear Friends Event happening on my blog today. You can get a third entry by retweeting my tweet about the event. I will check my tweet on my twitter page for retweets and the Facebook post on my Facebook page for shares. I hope I see your name there! Thanks and good luck. Remember the April Fool's Giveaway ends at 9 PM Central today, April 1st. The Dear Friend Event Giveaway for my blog ends at 11:59 PM on the 6th of April.