We Love LMM Week Wrap-Up + Giveaway Winners!

I'll be nice and announce the giveaway winners first :-)  They are:

Prize 1: A gently used copy of The Blue Castle and matching bookmark -- Katherine

Prize 2: One Anne and one Gilbert sticker -- Grace A.

Prize 3: One Kindred Spirits and one LM Montgomery sticker -- Roxann

Prize 4: A brand-new copy of Anne of Green Gables -- Sarah H.

Prize 5: One sheet of "Anne Shirley" stickers -- Carissa H.

Prize 6: One sheet of "Anne and Gilbert" stickers -- Carol

Prize 7: A used copy of A Tangled Web -- Samantha

Congratulations to all the winners!!!  I will be sending you an email at the address you provided to the widget, telling you what you won (in case you don't see this) and asking for your mailing address.  Be on the lookout for that! (I have a very busy day today, so it might not arrive until tonight...)

Thank you to everyone who participated in this fun and joyful celebration of L. M. Montgomery and her writing.  I am waaaaaay behind on reading people's contributions, but I promise I will read them all!  This week has been a bit hectic, but I suspect I will have some good time for them next week.  Anyway, here is the widget one more time so you don't have to scroll all the way down to the kick-off post to find it.  If you haven't read everyone's posts, or if you have a last-minute post to add to the widget, this should make it easier for you!

Answers to LMM Character Unscramble

Here are the answers to Tuesday's unscramble game!  Scores are at the bottom.

1. Clayvan Girltins = Valancy Stirling (from The Blue Castle)

2. Anje Tartus = Jane Stuart (from Jane of Lantern Hill)

3. Limey Rarst = Emily Starr (from the Emily of New Moon books)

4. Nena Reylish = Anne Shirley (from the Anne of Green Gables books)

5. Nearby Hatsin = Barney Snaith (from The Blue Castle)

6. Rasa Leantsy = Sara Stanley (from The Story Girl books)

7. Britleg Thelby = Gilbert Blythe (from the Anne of Green Gables books)

8. Piratica Dragrine = Patricia Gardiner (from the Pat of Silver Bush books)

9. Wethmat Betcurth = Matthew Cuthbert (from the Anne of Green Gables books)

10. Andia Rarby = Diana Barry (from the Anne of Green Gables books)

SCORES

Livia Rachelle -- 10

Sam Mouse -- 10

Ivy Miranda 9.5

Lissa -- 9

Olivia -- 9

Sarah -- 5.5

The LMM Tag -- My Answers

It's my turn to answer the tag questions for this week's party!

1. Who introduced you to L. M. Montgomery's writing?  Tell us the story!

When I was about seven years old, a new friend of my mom's told her about the Anne series.  I remember she even had a copy of one of the books in her diaper bag when she came over for a visit with her baby.  My mom got Anne of Green Gables from the library, read it, then read it aloud to me at bedtimes.  

This was in the late '80s, right about the time the second Kevin Sullivan Anne movie came to PBS.  We were able to get the first movie from the video store or library and watch it, then watched the second one on PBS.  Somewhere along the line, my dad got to watch the first movie too, and he fell absolutely in love with the production.  We rented both movies so often that my little brother got sick of them, silly boy.

My grandparents gave me a boxed set of the first three books for either my birthday or Christmas, and then gradually gave me the rest of the Anne series over the next couple of gift-giving occasions until I had all eight.  I still have those copies, though they are very "well loved" by now!

2. What LMM books have you read?

Here are all the books of hers I've read, with the titles of most of them linked to my reviews of them from over on my book blog:

• Anne of Green Gables
• Anne of Avonlea
• Anne of the Island
• Anne of Windy Poplars
• Anne's House of Dreams
• Anne of Ingleside
• Rainbow Valley
• Rilla of Ingleside
• The Blythes are Quoted
• Chronicles of Avonlea
• Further Chronicles of Avonlea
• Christmas with Anne
• The Blue Castle
• Jane of Lantern Hill
• Emily of New Moon
• Emily Climbs
• Emily's Quest
• A Tangled Web
• Kilmeny of the Orchard
• Among the Shadows
• The Alpine Path

3. What movies or shows based on her books have you watched?

I have seen Anne of Green Gables (1985) and Anne of Avonlea (1987) innumerable times.  I've also seen the 1934 version of AOGG once.  That's it!

4. Which LMM character is your kindred spirit, the one you'd like to hang out with in real life?

This would have shocked me as a kid, but I think that Marilla Cuthbert and I would get along real well.  I'd love to be able to just stop by Green Gables and have an afternoon cup of tea with her once a week.

5. Which LMM character do you relate to the most?  And why?

I relate to Jane Stuart in Jane of Lantern Hill quite a bit.  She loves to bake and cook and garden, and so do I.  She can be shy and reserved, but when she's around people she knows and trusts, she is bright and joyful, and I am a lot like that too.

6. Have you ever been to Prince Edward Island?

Alas, no.  I've been to Canada more than a dozen times, since I spent most of my childhood in Michigan, but I haven't made it to PEI yet.  Yet!

7. Who is your favorite LMM heroine?

Anne Shirley Blythe.  I even gave my first daughter 'Anne' for a middle name in her honor.

8. Who is your favorite LMM hero?

Barney Snaith from The Blue Castle.  Yes, yes, yes, I know Gilbert is wonderful.  He truly is.  But he doesn't make me laugh and cheer and sigh the way Barney does.  

9. Do you have any fun merch related to her books?  If so, please share some photos!

I do!  I have a shelf and a half devoted to her books, with oodles of mugs and several candles stored in front of them.

10. What are some of your favorite LMM quotations?

"It's been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will." (Anne of Green Gables)

"Don't you know that it is only very foolish folk who talk sense all the time?" (Anne of Avonlea)

"Nobody is ever too old to dream. And dreams never grow old." (Anne of Windy Poplars)

"Shirking responsibilities is the curse of our modern life -- the secret of all the unrest and discontent that is seething in the world." (Anne's House of Dreams)

"John Foster says," quoted Valancy, "'If you can sit in silence with a person for half an hour and yet be entirely comfortable, you and that person can be friends. If you cannot, friends you'll never be and you need not waste time in trying'." (The Blue Castle)

"It is the essence of adventure to see the break of a new day." (Jane of Lantern Hill)

It is never quite safe to think we have done with life. When we imagine we have finished our story fate has a trick of turning the page and showing us yet another chapter. (Rainbow Valley)

Don't forget that today is the last day you can enter my giveaway!

L M Montgomery Character Unscramble

Here's the second game for L. M. Montgomery Week!  I have scrambled up the names of ten major characters from Montgomery's books.  Your job is to unscramble them and leave your answers in the comments.  I'm putting all comments on moderation so no one can copy someone else's answers.  I'll reveal the answers and post everyone's scores at the end of the week.

1. Clayvan Girltins

2. Anje Tartus

3. Limey Rarst

4. Nena Reylish

5. Nearby Hatsin

6. Rasa Leantsy

7. Britleg Thelby

8. Piratica Dragrine

9. Wethmat Betcurth

10. Andia Rarby

Good luck!

Create Your Own L M Montgomery-esque Story

Here's my first game for We Love L. M. Montgomery Week!  Just fill in the blanks here to put together your very own little LMM-esque story, starring you!  You'll need a die to roll for most of these, so grab one before you get started.

Your Name

__A__ of ___B___  ___C___

A. Your first name (or your screen name)

B. The color of the shirt you're wearing today.

C. Roll a die to figure out where you live:

1 = Cottage

2 = Hill

3 = Island

4 = Lake

5 = Shores

6 = Valley

You put those all together like this:

Rachel of Olive Shores

Your Story

Roll your die again and discover you are...

1 = an orphaned child

2 = a misunderstood teen

3 = a wandering artist

4 = a lonely farm girl/boy

5 = a young widow/er

6 = a new teacher 

Roll again to determine how your story begins!

1 = taken in by kindly spinster sisters

2 = inherited a house on Prince Edward Island

3 = landed a job at a one-room schoolhouse

4 = reunited with a long-lost parent

5 = won a vacation in Muskoka in a church raffle

6 = found a lion in your barn

But then... roll your die to see what happens next...

1 = Your sweetheart elopes with your cousin!

2 = Your attic is infested with squirrels!

3 = A neighbor accuses you of stealing their prize pumpkin!

4 = You lose someone else's valuable necklace!

5 = You win a writing contest you don't remember entering!

6 = The person you want to marry reveals their secret identity!

But it all ends happily because you...

1 = make friends with an old sea captain who teaches you that worrying is pointless.

2 = find a treasure chest washed up after a storm and are suddenly rich.

3 = adopt two cats with funny names who fill your life with joy.

4 = fall in love with your worst enemy and discover they're really nice after all.

5 = recite an epic poem at a concert and receive an offer to tour with an acting troupe.

6 = rescue the new minister's little boy from drowning and are declared a local hero.

Put that all together in a comment and share your LMM-esque story with us all!  (Please note that comments are still on moderation because of yesterday's game, so your comment won't show up right away.  I will approve your comments as quickly as I can, whenever they show up!)

My story:

I'm Rachel of Olive Shores, and I am a wandering artist who found a lion in my barn!  Oh my!  I didn't even know I owned a barn, since I tend to just wander around doing art!  But just when I was getting to know my new feline friend, I discovered that my sweetheart had eloped with my cousin.  I was glad I had my new leonine friend to comfort me while I cried over my lost love.  Then, one day, I recited an epic poem with my lion pal at a concert that a famous theatre manager just happened to be attending.  He liked my recitation so much, he offered me a job with a touring acting troupe, so now my lion and I wander about doing art, reciting epic poetry, and acting in plays with our new friends.

YOUR TURN!  Put the results of your dice rolls together in a comment so we can enjoy your LMM-esque story too :-)

Welcome to We Love L M Montgomery Week!

Welcome, friends!  It's time to spend a week celebrating the one and only Lucy Maud Montgomery!  Help yourself to some raspberry cordial and a slice of cake -- I promised I made sure I used vanilla extract in it, not liniment.

All week long, whenever you share a post for this party, please leave a link to your post in this widget!  Yes, that includes posts where you fill out the party tag. Then follow other people's links to read their posts and make some new friends!

Speaking of the tag, here it is:

The LMM Tag

1. Who introduced you to L. M. Montgomery's writing?  Tell us the story!

2. What LMM books have you read?

3. What movies or shows based on her books have you watched?

4. Which LMM character is your kindred spirit, the one you'd like to hang out with in real life?

5. Which LMM character do you relate to the most?  And why?

6. Have you ever been to Prince Edward Island?

7. Who is your favorite LMM heroine?

8. Who is your favorite LMM hero?

9. Do you have any fun merch related to her books?  If so, please share some photos!

10. What are some of your favorite LMM quotations?

Just copy those questions, paste them into a post for your own blog, answer them, and share!  Don't forget to add a button or two (you can find more here) and link to this kick-off post so other people can find their way here and join the fun.

I've already started my giveaway right here, so be sure to check that out to see the prizes and enter to win them!  I'll be sharing some party games over the next couple days, so be sure to come back and play those too.

Giveaway for We Love LM Montgomery Week

Here we go!  Time to kick off We Love LM Montgomery Week in style!  

This giveaway is open internationally. If the USPS delivers to your country, you may enter. 

More about the prizes: 

Prize 1: A gently used paperback copy of The Blue Castle paired with a matching "vegan leather" bookmark I purchased from the shop A Fine Quotation.  This style of bookmark has been discontinued, but I nabbed one quick for this giveaway before they were gone!  This book is gently used, and you can see that one of the corners is a little bent, but the spine is uncreased and it is basically like-new.

If you haven't read The Blue Castle, you can read my review of it here.

Prize 2: One Anne and one Gilbert sticker 

Prize 3: One Kindred Spirits and one LM Montgomery sticker

I purchased these four stickers from A Fine Quotation also.  They are between 3" and 3.25" tall and very durable, water-resistant, and fade-resistant.  I have many, many stickers from this shop, and they work great on things like metal and plastic.  I've even hand-washed some on water bottles and such, and they are very sturdy.

Prize 4: A brand-new hardcover copy of Anne of Green Gables, the "Lifetime Library" edition.

If you haven't read Anne of Green Gables, you can read my review of it here.

Prize 5: One sheet of "Anne Shirley" stickers

Prize 6: One sheet of "Anne and Gilbert" stickers

I purchased both of these sticker sheets from TaleMeCo on Etsy.

Prize 7: A used paperback copy of A Tangled Web.  As you can see in the picture below, this copy does have a few minor rips in the cover.  I bought this used at a thrift store because it's got a pretty cover, and this isn't exactly the most common LMM book, so I thought it would make a neat prize even though it's not in perfect condition.

If you haven't read A Tangled Web, you can read my review of it here.

Enter Via This Widget:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rules and Regulations:

This giveaway will end at 11:59pm EST on Friday, February 24, 2022. I'll draw seven winners on Saturday, February 25, and announce them here on my blog that day, as well as alert them by the email provided to the widget. Use an email address you check often! If I don't receive a response from a winner by Saturday, March 5, that winner will be disqualified and I'll draw another. 

This giveaway is open worldwide to anyone living in any country where the USPS delivers. I am not responsible for the activities of any postal service -- I will send off your prize in the condition shown above, but its arrival condition is not something I can control. 

To enter, must be 18+ or have parent's permission to provide a mailing address. Void where prohibited. Not affiliated with Blogger, Google, Etsy, or any of the shops listed here. I purchased all these prizes, they were not donated or solicited in any way. I will use your email and mailing addresses solely for the purpose of this giveaway. They will not be saved by me to use another way or provided to anyone else.

Once you've entered, come check out the official party tag in the kick-off post!

Announcing We Love L. M. Montgomery Week!

You are cordially invited to join me in celebrating the author L. M. Montgomery and her creations!  From Anne of Green Gables to The Blue Castle, from Emily of New Moon to Jane of Lantern Hill, Lucy Maud Montgomery created some of the most-beloved characters and stories of the twentieth century.  February 20 through 24, we will spend five whole days sharing our appreciation of this wonderful writer and her creations.  

Between 1908 and 1939, LMM published twenty novels.  And then there are her hundreds and hundreds of short stories and poems, too!  Not to mention all the movie and television adaptations of her works that have brought her characters to life.  We certainly have plenty to celebrate!

Whether you've loved LMM's books for decades or are relatively new to her work, and whether you've read all of her books or only know her characters from a filmed adaptation, I want you to join the fun!  How?  By contributing your reviews of her books and their adaptations.  Or you could write a post about how much she's meant to you.  A list of your favorite characters or stories.  Or anything else you can come up with!

Below is the sign-up list for participants -- if you don't know what you want to contribute, you can just comment saying you want to do something.  I'm not limiting how many people can review a specific work; if we get ten different people reviewing Anne of Green Gables, that will be perfectly fine!  But it would be especially cool if we could get a good variety of topics so that people who are newer to L. M. Montgomery's work could get ideas of new things they might want to read and watch.  (Note: if you just want to fill out the blog tag, you don't need to sign up to do that.)

Please use one of these buttons on your own blog to let people know about this event.  The more, the merrier!

Roster of Participants

Hamlette's Soliloquy -- games and giveaway

The Edge of the Precipice -- book review of A Tangled Web

Revealed in Time -- something?

Fanda Classic Lit -- Jane of Lantern Hill review?

Postcards from the Bookstore -- TBD

I'm Charles Baker Harris (and I Can Read) -- Rilla of Ingleside review?

Sixty-Something Trees -- character analysis of Marilla Cuthbert

Realweegiemidget Reviews -- review of Anne of Green Gables (1985)

The Maidens of Green Gables -- TBD

Bookshire -- later Anne books?

In Cordibus Jesu et Mariae -- BBC's Anne of Avonlea (1975)?

Musings of an Introvert -- book review?

Taking Up Room -- reviews of Pat of Silver Bush and Mistress Pat

18 Cinema Lane -- review of season 1 of Emily of New Moon (1998)

Dwelling in the Past -- a tribute to the Anne saga

Journey and Destination -- book review of either Anne of Avonlea or an Emily book

She Who Seeks -- Anne of Green Gables Fangirls

+ YOU!