On the July Nerdy Special List posted last week, one of the recommendations was Deborah Harkness’s The Book of Life, the finale to her Book of Souls trilogy. I now have a giveaway of that book (out July 15), plus holographic buttons and a commonplace book that was featured in Shadow of Night.
Here’s the Book of Life synopsis from the author’s website:
After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness’s enchanting series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches—with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. In the trilogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.
The commonplace book includes never-before-seen content such as spells, recipes, astrology, as well as blank pages for you to write your own notes and journal entries. Below is a peek inside. Click on the picture to see a larger image.
Enter to win a prize package containing The Book of Life, holographic buttons, and commonplace book by leaving a comment answering this question: If you were to explore your lineage, what deep, dark secrets do you think you’d discover about your ancestors? As usual, lies and imagination are accepted and encouraged.
Giveaway ends next Tuesday, July 15, 9 p.m. PST. US addresses only. Winners will have 48 hours after notification to claim prizes before alternate winners are chosen.
11 Comments
MHogan
July 8, 2014 at 5:07 amI’m sure that I’d find some murder and robbery, maybe some deep love affairs, and definitely families with lots of children that get into all sorts of mischief.
TBentancourt
July 8, 2014 at 4:32 pmI think I would discover that what we find on those websites don’t scratch the surface of who these people were. Birth certificates don’t tell a story… or do they? Why did they make the choices they did? Are the names spelled correctly. Is Joe Smith really the father? Was Jonathan Edwards (of the Puritan religion) a tyrant or a true man of God? If you go back far enough, I’m sure we find many theories but as the words suggests, the secret remains one. It is always fun to ponder the possibilities.
VGrendell
July 8, 2014 at 4:35 pmI think you’d find some Mafia, lots of slave trade sprinkled with a smattering of adulterous love affairs.
Christine Condon
July 8, 2014 at 5:52 pmI would find Ohio dirt farmers,a mule breeder and a magic store owned by a vampire. And I’m not kidding!!
MHogan
July 10, 2014 at 5:54 amI do have Ethan Allen as an ancestor, so imagine all he went through to make Vermont a state!
Anita Yancey
July 10, 2014 at 6:34 amIf I explored my lineage I would probably find out that they were liars, cheats, and thiefs, and maybe a lot of farmers. Thanks for having the giveaway.
Donna
July 11, 2014 at 10:08 amMy lineage, starting with my father, has a whole bunch of deep dark secrets & I’m currently researching & documenting with the intention of writing my own books 😉
MHogan
July 14, 2014 at 8:40 amEvery year I put together a Date Book and Address Directory for my mother’s side of the family. I’ve used some really wonderful pictures of her grandparents, in all their finery, getting ready to go to the beach. It’s so much fun to put if together and add the newest members of the family each year.
Rodica Stoicoiu
July 15, 2014 at 10:28 amI would find people of passion, temper, and the desire and ability to protect what was theirs. There would be at least one impaler (yes, just like Dracula) who was ruthless and driven, perhaps a sheep stealer or two, and maybe a revolutionary, a spy, a hero in disguise.
Mel P.
July 15, 2014 at 1:46 pmI would find that my ancestors were part of the organization that tried to cover up the existence of unicorns and leprechauns. They also tried to cover up the existence of rainbows, but, as you can see, failed rather horribly.
Also one of them was 1/16th fairy godmother.
Stacybuckeye
July 15, 2014 at 3:33 pmI have explored some of my ancestry, but my grandma always thought I’d find Pocahontas there somewhere 😉 I haven’t found her but I’d love to as a tribute to my grandmother 🙂