Super Bowl 50

As you might suspect, I know a lot about sports.  I know that innings are in baseball and tackles are in football.  With such in depth knowledge and a sweatshirt my father gave me some twenty years ago, I want the Panthers to win.  Or the other guys.  Whoever wins, wins. God bless America!

Goodbye Lie's Breelan- That's My Name, Too

Hello-

  

My name is Shannon and my daughter has the same spelling

Breelan Dunnigan

as the main character in your series. Breelan.  Being that the name is not one you see all the time, I have to ask how you came up with it?  I think it is wonderful because you have no idea how hard it is to find those little license plates for bikes with Breelan on it. LOL. I think it is great that as my daughter grows old, she will be able to purchase these books and see her name being utilized in them.  I am just tickled really.

  

Thanks from a Newly Found Fan,

 

Shannon

 

********

Dear Shannon,

 

Good to hear from you and I am so pleased you discovered my Breelan, heroine in The Goodbye Lie.  As to the origin of her name for me -  It was long ago and I can't give you a definitive answer.  I wanted a soft, romantic, dreamy name and Breelan just came to me. Perhaps I had heard it somewhere but have no recollection. I also wanted something unusual yet pronounceable. I don't like to read a book when I'm uncertain how to say a name.  I like to think that everyone reading about a character in my novels is saying that name the same way. Miss Breelan fills my need and serves our stories well.  She and I are great friends, you know.  We're glad to have you and your daughter enter our world where love and lace reign.

                                                        Jane Marie
   

Meet a Real Harry Potter Fan

author Kate Brown

Kate Brown, young author of Rose Legends, recently wrote a blog about the meaning of Harry Potter in her life. We all have our obsessions.  Read about hers, below. (Link to Ms.Brown's blog: http://strangerandomocity.blogspot.com/)

Friday, July 15, 2011

It All Ends Today

Four words which may have changed a lot of people. It All Ends Today.
But there are simply two words which changed my life eleven years ago.
Harry Potter. Those two words, that name, inevitably changed everything
I would be obsessed with in the future. Now, I'm not talking about the
kind of obsessed where I draw pictures of the terrific trio and put
them on my wall or stalk the actors who play the characters in the
films. I mean the kind of obsessed where it literally changes my
personality.

Think about it. If I'd never cracked open Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer's Stone, I probably would not have found the love of reading
which I have today. There's something fulfilling about reading a new
story about a new group of characters in a new world. Something
wonderful and exciting about getting to leave your own world, even if
it's just for a few minutes, to visit Hogwarts or Middle Earth or
Alagaesia or even just Lawrence, KS (if you've never been there, that
is). But what is it about Harry that makes his story so intriguing to
children (and now adults) everywhere? The story of Harry Potter
transcends generation, gender, and so much more. But why?

Sure, Harry is destined to be a hero and we know that, one day, he will
have to stand up to the man who murdered his parents in cold blood. And
we follow his story in the meantime when we could choose to read other
books. Harry himself is no extraordinary person, if you think about it,
is he? He goes to school, he makes a few friends and a few enemies and
he goes through the stage which all young adults go through; teenage
angst. So why is he so amazing?

The answer is simple: It's not Harry that's amazing. Or rather, it's
not just him. It's everyone else with whom he surrounds himself.
Hermione Granger, the intelligent, bushy-haired, sometimes overzealous
young girl. Ron Weasley, the fiery-haired, lovable friend who's always
there for our hero... well most of the time anyway. The rest of the
Weasleys who seem to adopt Harry as their own, not because he's famous,
but because they know family is the most important thing. They teach us
that throughout the books. Without the Weasleys, Harry might have
befriended Malfoy and I'm sure we can all imagine how that might have
turned out.

But not just Harry's friends. What about his professors? McGonagall,
the wise, sometimes funny, stern, but caring professor who was there
the night Harry was left with his aunt and uncle. Snape, the man who
hates Harry because of Harry's father, but loved Harry's mother so
much. We see Snape's true colors in the final installment of the films
and the novels. And let's not forget Dumbledore. Dumbledore: the man
who, in truth, raised Harry like a pig for slaughter, but who did truly
care for the boy nonetheless. A man revered by the wizarding world and
loved by his students. It is partly because of Dumbledore that Harry
was able to defeat Voldemort in the end.

I'm getting a little rambly and I apologize, but if you saw the film,
you'd understand. There's just so much going on in my head right now.
Voldemort is dead. My childhood is over. My mischief is, sadly,
managed. What do I obsess over now? I'll tell you what. I'm going to
continue writing and taking cues from my favorite authors and hopefully
my books will be half as loved as Harry Potter because no author could
ever trump JK Rowling.

JK Rowling is my idol. Without her, I would definitely not be where I
am today. So I say thank you, Ms. Rowling. Thank you for thinking up
Harry Potter on a train without a piece of paper and sticking with the
idea long enough to do all you've done. Thank you from the bottom of my
heart and, if I ever meet you, I think I'll be too in shock to speak.

Kate Brown
Author of Rose Legends (http://www.amazon.com/Rose-Legends-Book-One-Found/dp/1456080598/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311557999&sr=1-1

What Is Your Empty Title?

Are you the Wizard of Walnuts or perhaps Chief Baseboard Inspector? Become a follower/fan of this Gracious Jane Marie BLOG BLOG BLOG and/or Jane Marie -author on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Jane-Marie/35558229108?ref=ts and join our Blog Staff.  As a fulfilling reward, you can  name you own empty-title! That way, when you enter discussions and make comments, the whole world will discover your expertise. So long as it's tasteful and particularly silly, you will be an unofficial part of our wacky staff. And boy do we have fun at our staff meetings!

Hugs and Blisses!

WINNER of Velvet Undertow & Secret Pebble™!

UPDATE: And the winner in our First Day of Summer contest.  That lucky person receives an autographed copy of Amelia Island's Velvet Undertow and a hand painted Secret Pebble™. She is Marie Jane (can you believe her name?) from Mandaue City, Philyppines! Congrats and please enjoy!

Next contest coming soon.  Become my friend on Facebook under Jane Marie, author and/or follow me on this Gracious Jane Marie Blog Blog Blog to be entered  in our next random drawing!

*****

Just sign up and become a follower of my new fun and silly Gracious Jane Marie BLOG  BLOG BLOG here at http://graciousjanemarie.blogspot.com/ and/or a fan of Jane Marie, author on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Jane-Marie/35558229108?ref=ts. Win an autographed copy of my latest historical suspense/romance novel, Amelia Island's Velvet Undertow, plus a hand painted Secret Pebble™, featured in Velvet Undertow. A random drawing will take place on June 21, 2010, the first day of summer! Good luck all and remember, for those deep thoughts, read between the lines!