Hello, dear readers! I’m very excited to have the wonderfully creative and entertaining J. Marie Croft visit with us today at Austenesque Reviews. If you didn’t already know, Joanne has a lovely new release coming out called Love at First Slight. Since she knows I love games, Joanne has crafted together a fun little game for you to play here today! To play her game, fill in the Google Docs form and maybe you could win Joanne’s lovely and generous prize package. To win a copy of her new release, leave a comment in the comment section.
~~~
Matchmaking
Miss Emma Woodhouse takes great delight in making matches.
Now you, too, can be a matchmaker.
Matchmaker, Matchmaker,
Make me a match,
Find me a find,
Catch me a catch.
Matchmaker, Matchmaker
Look through your book,
And make me a perfect match.
What, you might ask, am I blathering on about? I’ve mentioned Emma and quoted lyrics from 
Fiddler on the Roof. Shouldn’t I be talking about my book? Well, if you insist …
Upon completion of Love at First Slight, I went on an internet quest for late-18th / early-19th century portraits to match my mental images of the story’s main and secondary characters. Pictures were found for just about every role, and I ended up with a stockpile of paintings and photos – of people, animals, English countryside, manors, etc., – that I didn’t know what to do with … until today’s guest post was planned.
Anyone familiar with Austenesque Extravaganza knows that Meredith is all about games, fun, and interacting with readers. So, are you game for a bit of fun today?
Simply match these 26 images to Love at First Slight characters, quotes, and scenes. Good luck trying to read my mind!
HOW TO PLAY:
- – Match letter to number in the GOOGLE DOCS form below
- – Answer as many as you can correctly to win a special prize from J. Marie Croft
- – DO NOT LEAVE YOUR ANSWERS IN THE COMMENT SECTION! (Answers left in the comment section will be deleted and won’t qualify you to win the prize)
*We revised the game to make it easier. 🙂 If you already submitted answers for the harder version, no worries, your answers still count.
~ The Images ~
A B C D
E F G H
I J K L
~ The Descriptions ~
1. More than once did William, in his solitary walks within the Park, unexpectedly meet Elizabeth. At first, he wondered how and why fate brought her to the same unbeaten path he had come to consider his own private sanctuary. The second time it happened, he cursed fate for being perverse and explicitly informed Elizabeth it was his favourite haunt, certain such intimation would prevent further occurrences.
2. Clarence Lucas (counterpart to Charlotte Lucas)
3. Miss Olivia Collins (original character; sister of William Collins – Hunsford)
4. Charles had not intended to ride in that general direction but soon found Netherfield manor in his line of sight.
5. Cordelia (William Bennet’s dog)
6. Mrs. Ruth Bingley (Mr. Hurst’s counterpart)
7. Sir Lewis de Bourgh (Lady Catherine’s widower)
8. As they left the park, a bridle-path led them across a diverse landscape of farms, gently sloping hills, verdant dales, and moorland carpeted in ling heather.
9. Martin Bennet (Longbourn’s heir but Mary Bennet’s counterpart)
10. As they approached the manor’s façade, Olivia apprised her cousin of its features—specifically the number of panes, how much it had cost to replace casements with sashes, and the estimated taxes on so many windows.
11. Ryd Evon (the Widow Devonport’s dog)
12. In spring, pasqueflower bloomed on the mount’s slopes, and the purple flowers were believed to grow in locations once saturated with Dane and Roman blood.
~ The Prize ~
The person with most correct matches wins:
a Jane Austen notecard, bookplates, P&P bookmark, and a ‘I’d rather be at Pemberley’ pin.
In case of a tie, a random draw will determine the winner. This contest is open internationally! Thank you, Joanne!
GIVEAWAY TIME!
Michele and the lovely people at Meryton Press have kindly donated 1 paperback and 1 digital copy of Love at First Slight for me to giveaway to 2 lucky winners! Woot Woot!
To enter this giveaway, leave a comment, question, or some love for Joanne!
- This giveaway is open worldwide. Thank you, Meryton Press!
- This giveaway ends November 12th!
**REMINDER**
- This post has 2 separate giveaways! You are welcome to enter both, just make sure you don’t leave your answers for the matching game in the comment section!
- You don’t have to play the matching game if you don’t want to, leaving a comment in the comment section wins you an entry for the Love at First Slight giveaway!
“Love at First Slight” sounds like a fun read. If I win, I would like either the paperback or digital copy. I just got a Kindle, but still love the feel of reading a book!!
Catherine,
I have an eReader but still prefer a real book, too. I hope LaFS will be as much fun to read as it was to write.
I know what you mean, Catherine! The ereader is the one advancement in technology I do not use! I love holding the real thing. Good luck in the giveaway!!!
“Love at First Sight” has intrigued me with the descriptions involved in the game, which I’m not going to attempt. I’m an avid Austenesque fan and will read this new book whether I win a copy or not.
Micheale,
Thanks for saying you’ll read LaFS even if you don’t win. Nevertheless, good luck in the giveaway!
Best of luck in the giveaway, Micheale! We realized the game was a little daunting at first so we shortened it up and made an easier version. 🙂
I would love to win a paperback (don’t have an e-reader). I’m really curious how a total switch will work out. How will Hunsford take place, since a woman couldn’t propose? Really interesting!
Hi arjanne.
About Hunsford … As the back of the book says, “When she (Elizabeth) fully expects to receive an offer of marriage, he (William) gives her something else entirely …”
I’m curious to see how the gender switch plays out, it is quite an intriguing concept, isn’t it?
Great matchmaking game! It was quite a challenge (I found myself particularly struggling when deciding what landscape matches this or that description. Who would have known there are so many different kinds of flowers!:) and their names are complete terra incornita for me:))) Thank you very much for this funny and mind-stimulating game and for wonderful giveaway!
Thanks for your comment, Oloore. I thought the game would be easy. Then again, I’ve had those images in my head for a long time.
Thanks for playing, Oloore! Glad you were up for the challenge! Best of luck in the giveaway!
A paperback would be perfect. What a delightful giveaway which sounds captivating and very special.
Hi Sharon. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I like your ‘paperback’ and ‘perfect’ alliteration. Good luck in the draw.
Thanks for checking out the post, Sharon! Good luck in the giveaway!
Oh that’s just fabulous. A new book from Joanne is good news indeed!! I love MDTTP! I read both paper books and electronic ones so I would be thrilled to win either. Good luck and congratulations on a new release.
Aw, thanks for leaving such a lovely comment, Stephanie. Good luck to you!
I’m with you, Stephanie! So happy that Joanne has released a second Austenesque book! I can’t wait to read it!
Sounds interesting; I always like to see how authors add characters to their variations!
Hi Regina,
This variation does have its share of ‘characters’.
Did you try your hand at Matchmaking?
I’m looking forward to meeting the original characters Joanne created as well as the gender swapped versions!
I have been following your blog tour of Love at First Slight and would love to have a copy. I must say the book cover is beautiful and pink is my favourite colour. Love it.
Thanks, Luthien! Your interest in LaFS is truly appreciated, and I hope you’ll eventually own a copy one way or another. 😉 I’m rather fond of the cover myself and thank Melissa Williams and Ellen Pickels for its lovely design. Good luck in the giveaway.
Yes, I agree! The cover is lovely! Best of luck in the giveaway, Sylvia!
I think it sounds like such a fun idea for a variation, but it must have made things hard for you because women had so much less freedom then than today. I’ll certainly try to read this one at some point because I’d love to see how you do it!
Thanks for the quiz, by the way, I can never resist one!
Hi Ceri. Putting the quiz together was fun; and, because LaFS is such a lighthearted story, writing it was more diverting than challenging. Good luck with the quiz and giveaway.
Thanks for stopping by and taking part in this post, Ceri! I’m a big fan of games and was so happy that Joanne came up with such a creative game for this post. Looking forward to seeing if my answers are right!
The quiz was a lot of fun. I’d love to win a copy, but if not I’ll get my hands on it at some point. I like the painting on the cover and her flirty pose. Congrats on the new release.
Hi Colleen. At first the quiz had 26 pictures. Even then, my stockpile of images wasn’t depleted.
The young lady in the painting originally had blonde hair and had to be given a dye job.
Thanks, and good luck.
Thanks for joining in the fun, Colleen! I like the flirty pose and coy smile the young lady has. How funny that she got a dye job, Joanne!
What a fun game. Ans quite callanging. Will we see the right matching answers in the end? To compare our mathces?
Looking forward to reading Love at first sight!
Thanks for playing, Katrin! Yes, the answers will be revealed with the winners! Joanne, didn’t even tell me the answers. I’m looking forward to seeing if I was right or not!
Meredith, I shall expect 26 answers from you!
Oh boy! I’ll see if I up for the challenge! 😉
Hi Katrin. Those who tried their hand at Matchmaking can discover how they fared in a few more days. Good luck!
I enjoyed t his book tremendously. This is one of my favorite authors. Thanks for highlighting her work.
Aw, Suzan, thanks for leaving such a lovely comment. Knowing you’ve enjoyed LaFS has certainly brightened my day.
I’m curious whether the Matchmaking game pictures matched your own mental images of the book’s characters and settings. Feel free to contact me: jmariecroft(at)gmail(dot)com
I can’t wait to read it myself, Suzan! So glad to hear you loved it!
What a fun contest, I almost felt like a detective focussing on all the details and examine them closely… Didn’t use a magnifying glass & it was a challange because two pictures are not visible on my computer. But as a massive Jane fan I did not give up & now it’s just waiting to see if my idea of what things/characters might look like matches up 😀 So exciting! Joanne’s book sounds really good btw, would love to read it but do not have an ereader.
Hi Jo’s Daughter. Btw, my nickname is Jo; and I have daughters. 😉
I’m glad you enjoyed a bit of sleuthing. Return tomorrow to discover whether or not you’re a proficient detective/matchmaker.
Good luck in the paperback giveaway.
After matching the pictures (which are lovely!) and the person, I am so intrigued to now read the book. thank you for the giveaway.
Thanks for trying your hand at matchmaking, Eva. If you do read LaFS, please feel free to totally disregard my images. Readers should form their own mental pictures of a story’s characters and settings. Good luck with the game and the giveaway!
Oh, that was great fun. 🙂 Thank you for the game!
Don’t enter me for the giveaway; I already have Love at First Slight and I found it a delightful read. 🙂
Fancy meeting you here, Lieder Madchen! Thanks for playing. You scored 10/12. Meredith will soon announce the Matchmaking and giveaway winners.
Hmm, I mixed up the estates, didn’t I? I wasn’t sure about those… 🙂