I Think My Family Is Tired of This Speech

Every time I hear someone say that the book is always better than the movie, I have to bite my tongue to keep from saying this:

Romeo + Jane Eyre = Major Literary Shenanigans, People!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

It's Valentine's Day, the day we come together as a culture with our significant others, friends, or family to celebrate love, romance, red and pink balloons, and all the other glitzy lures of this Hallmark holiday. (Or, if you're cheap frugal like Captain Nemo and me, you might be celebrating Valentine's Day on WEDNESDAY because that is when all the chocolate is on sale and the restaurants are less crowded).

Anyway, in honor of all this February 14th lovefestery, I thought I'd play a little game. I saw this idea on BookRiot a month or so ago, and then again yesterday someone brought up the subject on KindleBoards. It's...

Fictional Character Mashups, baby!

It's pretty simple. Take a character, any character, and pair them with another character from a completely different book. Explain your reasoning about why you think they'd make a good match. You aren't limited to the same time period or genre, either. It's fun!

I thought I'd pick some literary characters and play match-maker! I've even included obnoxious helpful shipper names for you guys!
 
Sydney Carton (A Tale of Two Cities) and Emma Woodhouse (Emma), AKA Symma

Symma!

Sydney Carton was one of my first literary crushes. He is handsome, brilliant, clever, caustic, and desperately in need of love. I wept like a baby at the end of ATOTC when I read it in high school, and I think it's high time Sydney found some love. He loved Lucie, but I never really cared for her--she was a little too much "conventional sweetness and happy homemaking" for my taste. I think he needs a woman with a little fire, someone as sharp and clever as he is, someone who will appreciate his intelligence while also inspiring a little gentleness in him. Emma is clever and snarky while still being a bit of a "girly girl," which I have a feeling Sydney likes given his attraction to Lucie. I think they could really enjoy each other's company.

Alternate option: Elizabeth Bennet, AKA Syzabeth (those Austen ladies... what can I say?)


Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games) and Valek (Poison Study), AKA Katlek 

Who (besides Peeta and Gale) do you think would make a good match for this fearless heroine? She's tough as nails and capable of taking care of herself, but I think she needs someone who could be a good partner for her, equal to her strength and skills. She also probably needs someone who can deal with the fact that she's been through so much, plus gracefully handle her celebrity status. I think Valek fits well because he is clever and ruthless like her, but her fierce love for her family would probably soften him a little. Since Valek was a former assassin, Katniss won't have to take care of him in dangerous situations, and as the right-hand man for the Commander of Ixia, he won't be star-struck by her fame, either. Win-win situation.

Romeo (Romeo and Juliet) and Jane Eyre (Jane Eyre), AKA Jomeo

Okay, this might seem like an odd pairing. But I've always felt that Juliet was disappointingly passive. Rather than run away with her new husband that she's secretly married, she stays with her family while he is banished and then FAKES HER OWN DEATH rather than fess up to to her 'rents that she's been, well, previously claimed. I can't say that I really blame the girl, given her age, the time, and the circumstances, but... I think Romeo might have benefited from a slightly more stalwart lady. And Jane is pretty spunky in a way that doesn't completely defy all convention, AKA she's clever, so she'd be totally sneaky about it too. I can totally see her climbing down that balcony to Romeo and running off with him under the cover of night.

Harry Potter (Harry Potter) and Katarina Bishop (Heist Society), AKA Karry

Okay, I know what you're thinking. This list is getting more and more ridiculous. But admit it. Harry falling for a muggle would really throw a wrench into things. Would it even work? I confess I'd really love to find out. And Kat is no ordinary muggle, either. She's a brilliant thief--practically magical. She's smart, spunky, and cool during a crisis. And if you're dating the Boy Who Lived, that last quality is a MUST.

Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables) and Huck Finn (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn), AKA Hanne (with an "e")

Shut up, people. They would be AMAZING together. She's totally the spunky dreamer, and he's the scruffy bad-boy who would probably find himself simultaneously repelled and fascinated by her. It WORKS.

TEAM HANNE WITH AN E.

Somebody needs to make me a .gif with that, STAT.


Happy Valentine's Day, folks!


--------------------
 PS


(upon reading the draft of this post)

Captain Nemo: I think you've used the word "spunky" to describe every girl on this list.

Me: Duh. That's because SPUNKY LADIES ARE THE BEST!!

This Always Happens To Me...

A lifetime of reading, and yet somehow I've never learned to not start a book before bed.

My sleep schedule hates me.

Guest Post and Giveaway! Win an e-copy of PROMISING LIGHT!

Kate: Today I'd like to welcome Emily Ann Ward as part of the blog tour for her new novel Promising Light. Emily was featured previously in my Author Spotlight series and is also the author of the YA sci fi novel Finding Fiona. 


~NOTE: At the bottom of the post, you can enter to win a free ebook version of Promising Light! Scroll down to the end for details!!~

Emily: Hey, everyone! I’m happy to be on The Southern Scrawl as part of my blog tour for my fantasy novel, Promising Light. The story revolves around a young noble named Grace. She’s in a secret relationship with a man named Dar, and she goes through quite a bit in the story.

I was looking through Grace’s Google history. This girl looks up some strange things. . .

And The Winner Of THE FAULT IN OUR STARS Is...

The John Green's The Fault in Our Stars giveaway is now closed. Thank you to everyone who participated! I really love having giveaways, and hopefully I can have an international one soon.

But now it is time to announce the winner.

Drumroll, please...

...

...

...

...

And the winner of the signed (and Hanklerfished!) copy of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is...

Kate Weber!!

She won with her "Spread The Word" entry. The winning entry was picked with random.org.

Congrats, Kate! I will be contacting you shortly to get your shipping info.

Everybody else, thanks so much for entering. I'm sorry I don't have more copies to give away!

How Some People Think Books Are Written

I swear, I spend more time changing stuff and doing stuff over than anything else combined... but I guess before I can write the book, sometimes I have to figure out what it's not.

PS ~ If you haven't entered to win a SIGNED copy of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, you can do so here! Giveaway ends Tuesday, January 31st!

Win a FREE SIGNED COPY of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green!!

I HAVE ANOTHER GIVEAWAY FOR YOU GUYS!

Their tour bus!

~NOTE: If you don't want to read my ramblings about meeting John Green in person, you can simply skip down to the end and enter to win a free signed (and Hanklerfished!) copy of John Green's newest book, The Fault in Our Stars. The entry widget is at the bottom of the post!~

FIRST, THE STORY!

So about two weeks ago, I had the enormous privilege of meeting John and Hank Green when they came to Atlanta on their Tour de Nerdfighting.

John Green reading a chapter of his new book.

About John Green:

John Green is an award-winning YA author and YouTube celebrity (and hilariously, he was an author before he was an internet celebrity although usually it's the other way around). He has been called the JD Salinger of this generation--a totally deserved designation, in my opinion--and his books have won honors like the prestigious Printz and Edgar Allen Poe awards. In addition to penning incredible works of literary fiction for young adults, John and his musician brother Hank have an incredibly successful YouTube channel called the Vlogbrothers, which has over 600,000 subscribers and which is #36 Most Subscribed of All Time channel on YouTube. His brother, Hank Green, is a musician and the co-founder of DFTBA records, among many other awesome jobs like running Ecogeek.org.