Maybe This Time: A Giveaway

Maybe This TimeGiveaway on Friday? Sure, why not! I have five ARCs of Jennifer Crusie’s upcoming hardcover, “Maybe This Time,” and you can win one.

This book is Crusie’s first single-author single-title in a few years (as in, she didn’t collaborate on this one) and when the ARC arrived on my doorstep a few weeks ago, I idly started reading the first page, only to find that I’d stood at my kitchen counter reading the first chapter completely blind and deaf to everything around me. My house is loud, so this was alarming. I was sucked in immediately, and couldn’t stop reading.

I’d love to hear what you think of it before the book comes out at the end of the month. Want a copy? A sexy flexible paperback ARC?

Alls you have to do is:

1. Tell me in the comments if you believe in ghosts and why/why not. Ghost stories are totally ok to share.

2. Let me know if you review the book after you’ve read it, and where your review is (or, you can send it over to me if you don’t have your own website).

Easy, right?

You’ve got 48 hours and I’ll announce the winners on Sunday and, with luck and quick responses, start mailing the big ol’ packages Monday morning.

Standard disclaimer: I’m not being compensated for this giveaway. I will ship to international prizewinners. I will not eat them in a box. We’ve got to hold on to what we’ve got. No shirt, no shoes, no service.

Comments are Closed

  1. Donna says:

    Believe in ghosts? No, but I will say that it’s damned hard to lose the jewelry I inherited from my mother. I’ll notice an earring is missing, make a paniced, unsuccessful search & then find it days later in a perfectly visible place where I’d already looked. Weird, but do I think my mother is haunting me? No.
    And I’d review on Goodreads, not well, but that’s my place.

  2. romantic@heart says:

    Yes, definitely believe in ghosts/spirits. When I was a preteen, middle of the night on All Soul’s Day, I woke up and saw a man wearing a black formal coat and hat at the head of my bed. The man looked like it was watching over me as I sleep. Still half-asleep, I didn’t think much of it and told myself it was just my imagination since it was All Soul’s Day. I went back to sleep.

    Years later, I was helping my mother clean up a stash of old portraits. She showed me one portrait that is of my long dead grandfather. I had never seen the portrait before and I had never seen a picture of my grandpa before either. The man in the portrait was the man at the head of my bed watching over me.

    I don’t give reviews of books, but I would love to let you know what I think of this book after I read it. 🙂

  3. Becky says:

    I absolutely believe in ghosts.  I lived in a haunted duplex for a while.  Mostly it was kind of interesting or occasionally frustrating if the ghosts were feeling playful.  But it got seriously creepy right before I moved out.

    I’d love to post a review on my blog, but since I’m a major Crusie fan-girl it will probably mostly be unintelligible squeeing.  Not that that would stop me.  All my Crusie-loving friends will be sick with envy anyway.

  4. Lisa says:

    I believe in ghosts. I haven’t encountered any personally, but I believe in the possibility of their existance. Especially after a friend’s dad told the most convincing and eerie story of working the night shift in a haunted building with lights that would turn themselves on.

  5. Lobo says:

    I believe in ghosts and I was prepared to see one when I spent a dark and windy night alone in a 150 years old British manor. They just forget it was a date.
    I’d love to publish a review of the book on my blog (which is a book blog) but it would be in Hungarian. Although I can translate it to English though I am much wittier and funnier in Hungarian.

  6. Linsalot says:

    I have never had a ghostly experience and would say that I would have to see to truly believe.  I do work in two historic houses though, where families have lived and died and I feel like people leave behind an essence of themselves in the places they build and the places they live.  Often as I walk through the houses I work in, and tell the stories of the objects and the families, I feel not an actual presence but a sense of lived in ness (I know that’s not a word but I can’t think of a better way to describe it) like the house has collected pieces of everything that went into building it and everything that occured in it and these memories reverberate just beyond the grasp of normal senses leaving me with a feeling of contentment and fufillment.

  7. pam says:

    I do believe in ghosts..the day after my Dad died he paid a quick visit to my hubby to be, just gave him the once over. My Gramps stayed in the house where he and Granny lived for a few months after he passed. She could feel him lay down next to her at night. When she would leave during the day he would open up all the drapes.
    I read a book every day or 2 so reviewing would take up too much of my reading time.

  8. Meggrs says:

    My sis lived in a flat haunted by a little boy, and she had to come to terms with it. Which she did, but she said he often messed with her closet door or was waiting for her in the bathroom while she showered. Yeeps.

    Yes Crusie ARC please!!

  9. Carrie says:

    I don’t believe in ghosts but I do believe that Jennifer Crusie has supernatural powers.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send me her book!  I write great book reviews!  I would write one just for you guys!  I don’t have a website so it would be all yours. 

    possible69 – um…should I really try to make a joke of that one, or just back slowly away?

  10. Lindsey says:

    I do believe in ghosts. I try to tell myself that I don’t, because I feel that logically, I should know that ghosts don’t exist, but yeah, irrational fears and all. I think I believe in them in part because I’m somewhat highstrung, startle easily, and have an incredibly active imagination, so at some point when I was younger, I saw some scary ghost movie, and incorporated ghosts into my “things to be afraid of” lexicon, and now, whenever I hear strange noises in places that I don’t think they should be, or flickers in the corner of my eye that go away when I look directly at them, my mind tends to jump to “GHOST”.

  11. Jennifer in GA says:

    I’m open to the idea of spirits with corporeal form (thank you Harry Potter!) but I don’t know if I believe in ghosts, per se.

    I would write a review on my Goodreads account, but I would also send it to you if you like. 🙂

  12. Lauren says:

    I’ve been following Jen Crusie’s blog and I’m SO EXCITED for this book to be released. Winning it before it comes out would be even better.
    I’ve always loved ghost stories. I went to/worked at camps for years, so there’s always just been something magical about sitting around a campfire, huddled into a sweatshirt and being deliciously scared by ghost stories (even though I hate horror films, I love suspense stories). I wish I could remember my favourite ghost story, which ended with a funny punch line using the pun coffin/coughing.
    Thinking of camp and ghost stories reminds me of the episode of This American Life about Camp where the kids are so happy so be scared by Bloody Mary.
    My love of gothic romances ties in with my love of ghost stories. And it always reminds me of Gordon Lightfoot and this song: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x195n8_gordon-lightfoot-cold-case-song-lyr

  13. Lauren says:

    I forgot to say that I’d be happy to review the new book if I happened to win it. More than happy!

  14. Tracy Hopkins says:

    Do I believe in ghosts?  I’ve never run into one, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there.  Can I be “ghostnostic?”

    And I review everything I read in my mind, and may actually one of these days start blogging about it, since I can’t seem to get any of my own writing off the ground!

  15. Tina C. says:

    First, let me say that I’ve never “felt” the presence of a ghost or thought that I saw one, despite living in a 80-year old house and working at the 2nd oldest mental institution in the country (and yeah, there are creepy stories attached to the place, including the fact that there are dead bodies buried all over the grounds in unmarked graves because it was established in 1827 and people used to live there until they died).  That said, when I first moved into this old house with my husband, weird stuff happened all the time.  Sometimes, I’d walk into the kitchen and all of the cabinets would be open.  Sometimes a cup would fall out of the open cabinet as I walked by.  The lights would sometimes turn off despite no one turning them off and sometimes the tv would turn itself off while you were in the middle of watching a show.  Of course, all of this could be easily explained away as just the house settling and the wiring being old, etc.  Like I said, it’s not like I ever felt a cold spot or the feeling of being watched or anything like that.  However…. 

    About 3 months after I moved in with my husband, I had a glass baking dish, 9” x 13”, and I’d laid it upside down and flat on the counter on a towel to dry and left the room.  About 10 minutes later, there was a loud crash.  For no reason that I could tell, the dish had fallen from the counter and shattered on the floor.  There were freakin’ glass shards EVERYWHERE.  I was so pissed that I said, “Dammit, whoever or whatever you are, I live here now and I’m not leaving, so fucking get used to it or get out!” without even thinking.  You know, after that, no more falling cups.  No more shattered bakeware.  Again, it was probably just me unconsciously moving the cups farther back from the edge of the cabinets, etc, but who knows.

    As for the ARC, you know I’d write a review!

  16. Laura S. says:

    I believe in ghosts. Never seen one myself (don’t think I want to because I’m a big scaredy-cat) but I often hears stories abut the ones that live in my in-law’s house.
    The ghosts are the original owners of the house, an little old lady by the name of Rose and her husband-don’t know the name but he always wears dark pants and a white long sleeve shirt. From what I gather, they loved the house…and never left.
    When my husband was a young boy he used to often see the man walking around the house. As did my mother-in-law.
    About 8 yrs ago my in-laws added a second floor, but they held back on adding steps for another two years so the only way up was through a ladder. During that time my sister-in-law would sometimes come home and from the driveway she’d see the face of an old woman from an upstairs window.
    One day, my brother-in-law was alone in the house watchign tv and saw Rose’s reflection as she walked across the room behind him.
    They’ve all heard footsteps upstairs when no one was up there and seen and heard strange noises.
    I get freaked out when I’m there alone, my brother-in-law won’t stay there if he can help it. But my mother-in-law is all calm about it. To her it’s just Rose going about her day.

    Haven’t done a book review since high school but I’d be happy to give it a shot!

  17. Karen says:

    I don’t believe in ghosts, per se, but I do believe that places hold positive or negative energy.  When I was a child, my bedroom was in the basement.  I was convinced that there was someone (boogey man?) down there when it was dark.  Of course, my family thought I was silly, but I felt justified when our dog refused to go down there one night.  Creepy.

    I would love the chance to review a Jennifer Crusie book…Bet Me is my all time favorite.

  18. Bethy says:

    Can hardly wait for the new book, would love to review!

    And yes, I do believe…never had an experience until I was walking at an old crumbling French castle, (how cliche is that!) just after twilight. My friend had wandered off and I stayed by the wall because I was afraid we’d get in trouble somehow. As I was taking a few pictures, I swear I saw something dart from one old tower to the next, thought it was my friend, but a few minutes later the friend comes walking up from the other direction.  When I got my film deveoped (pre-digital popularity days) I have one picture that has a very large misty swirl around where I thought I saw something move.

  19. Lucky says:

    1. I don’t believe in ghosts (because I’ve never seen one) and I don’t even read a lot of ghost stories, but if any author can bring me around it would be Jennifer Crusie. I ADORE her books and can’t wait to read this one.

    2. I would be more than happy to write a review on my own website (I just started it a few days ago) or send one to you.

  20. Pam says:

    Back in my late teens, when I was dating my future spouse, we had a close encounter of creepy kind that neither of us has ever forgotten.  My husband has always been a big aficionado of dirt roads go nowhere in particular.  He kind of collected them.  He probably could have written a guidebook to the unknown “parking” spots of Connecticut. 

    One night he decided to explore a side street that petered off into dirt as it left the neighborhood and meandered into the woods.  We had my dog with us and tied it out, so we could have some quality canoodling time in the car.  We’d barely begun to smooch when I started to have the intense prickly feeling of being watched.  The feeling rapidly became squirmingly intense and was accompanied by cold chills.  Ever so casually, I asked Gerry if he didn’t think we should maybe…LEAVE.  He agreed immediately, we reeled in the dog (which seemed to take forever), turned the Corvair around and bumped our way out of the woods.  I was never so happy to see a streetlight in my life.

    We rehashed this episode after the fact and it still seemed surpassingly weird.  Gerry had the same sensation of being watched and was totally creeped out.  We later wondered if the road actually ended in the woods behind a near-by cemetery. I have to say that neither of us has ever been a fan of horror movies or books, and at that point in time, I was unfamiliar with the conventions of slasher movies. Still, opening that car door to get the dog in was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, even though the little booger was cooperative for a change.  I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it was the spookiest moment of my life.

    So, yeah, I guess I do believe that ghosts are definitely possible. 

    Spamword: couldnt69 Hell, we couldn’t even kiss, we were in such a hurry to get out of there.

  21. Shadowedge says:

    Well, I’m sort of luke-warm on ghosts. My family has a few in the closet, and great old Victorian complete with ghost stories, but it has been my boyfriend’s family that is haunting me! After his grandmother died, the radio, facet, and several light switches went completely haywire.  They would turn on in the middle of the night, turn off at random, and flicker like mad when I entered the room.

    My boyfriend was quite philosophical about the whole thing, and merely mentioned that his grandmother needed to have the last word.

    On the other hand, I’m so excited about a new Crusie that I might start manifesting at any second.

  22. teebee says:

    I want to believe in ghosts but I don’t. If I win this book I will review it!

  23. Dine says:

    I believe in ghosts – because I’ve seen (at least) one.

    I was young, maybe 8 or so, and woke in the middle of the night to see a younger child standing on the landing outside the bedroom door.  S/he was dressed in an old-fashioned nightrobe and stood there looking at me for a few moments before vanishing.

    Our house was old enough that Edwardian nightclothes could feasibly have been warn by earlier inhabitants

    I will totally write a review if I’m lucky enough to win an ARC!

  24. Sarah L says:

    I can never quite decide if I believe in ghosts or not. On the one hand, I have seen and heard some very disconcerting things (last week I swear I heard someone say my name in my ear, very distinctly, as I was dropping off to sleep, alone). But I can always think of a legitimate reason for them. I’m kind of like Mulder. I want to believe.

    <3 me some Crusie!

  25. SonomaLass says:

    I don’t DISbelieve in ghosts, how about that? Too many people have experiences (see above) for me to discount the possibility, although I’ve never had one.

    I like ghosts as a literary device, if they are handled well. Shakespeare uses them effectively, in Hamlet and Macbeth.  Two of my favorite La Nora trilogies (Chesapeake Bay and In the Garden) feature ghosts, too; that’s not WHY I like the books, but they work for me.

    I’m excited about this book, but I won’t buy it. If I don’t win a copy, then it will be the library queue for me.

  26. Stephanie says:

    I believe in ghosts. I don’t have any chilling tales or ancedotes about when I may have seen a ghost or had an encounter with the livingly impaired. I just….know. Call it sixth sense, or just a way to win a contest, I do believe in ghosts and that they walk amongst us.

    And of course I would write a review. I usually use the Bookshelf app on Facebook to air my excitement (or angst) about a book, but I could easily email you a copy.

  27. Karen B says:

    I would like to believe (“there are more things..”), but find myself naturally skeptical.  I’ve never had any personal experiences, or known anyone who has.  But then, I live in the suburbs where everything is soulless and new(er)…

    spamword: them22….if there are 22 of them in my house, it’s awfully crowded in here!

  28. Beki says:

    First, @ TheDuchess, I want the recipe if you’re sharing.  🙂

    I desperately want the ARC and will oh, so happily review it on my website, The Good Girl, which is quickly turning into book-review central this summer as reading is all I seem to be doing lately.

    So, the ghost thing?  I used to believe in them for fun.  I mean, what fun is a tour of an historic house with no ghost?  What fun is a campfire with no ghost story?  Come on.  So, okay, I was always good with the idea of ghosts, would pretty easily get creeped out at creaky noises in old houses, etc.  Then my sister died.  She was a pretty good girl for a twenty-five year-old, and I have always been a solid Christian so I was sure she’d land up in Heaven right quick.  And after some dreams in which she visited each of us (Mom and Dad, my brother, my other sister, and me) I was sure of it.  But out of nowhere, sometimes, I FEEL her with me.  Now, look, my sister is sort of a troublemaker, so when I FEEL her, I know she’s up to something.  One day, months after my sister and I had split up her clothing and taken it home, I was in my room alone, trying on an old sweater she and I used to fight over.  When I pulled my head through, and looked in the mirror, my sister’s face was in place of mine.  Now, we look somewhat alike and I am all too willing to brush her off and say that was my imagination.  So, maybe it was.  I didn’t tell anyone about it and put it out of my head.  But then, the next day, my baby sister called me to tell me about the same exact thing happening to HER the day before.  It was just our lovely rotten sister taking time out of Heaven to play tricks on us. 

    If you wanna call that a ghost, I’m good with it.  She sure is spirited.

  29. Joder says:

    I totally believe in ghosts and get goosebumps watching those ghost hunter shows on tv.  I’m actually jealous of those that have seen apparitions.  Maybe someday I’ll go on a ghost hunter shows and see something for myself.

    And yes, I do reviews online for a dedicated site and also post them on Goodreads and Amazon.  I would love to do one for Jenn’s new book.

  30. Miranda says:

    I’m open-minded on ghosts. I think I’ve ‘felt’ or communicated with Mom at least once since she passed away, but that may have been me self-comforting.

    I would be happy to write a review.

    Mom and her sister had a scary experience many years ago. When I was a baby, Dad worked nights so Aunt would stay over at the house with Mom. One night, they were fooling around with a ouija board and decided to call up my paternal grandfather who had died recently.

    Apparently, granddaddy didn’t feel like being bothered that night because the pointer shot off the board and across the room with neither of them touching it. Aunt slept in bed with Mom that night and no one messed with a ouija board again!

    The house was an old one anyway, and they would hear footsteps in the hall and on the porch. Also, there was a smell of gardenias although no bushes grew near.

  31. Natasha F. says:

    Do I believe in ghosts…hmmm…  I’ve not really decided.  I don’t know if I believe in a specific entity that hangs around after death, but I certainly believe that certain places have auras that linger, that places can feel malevolent or happy or sad.  Is that because there are spirits haunting it and giving off those emotions?  Not sure…

    And I would definitely write a review!

  32. Leona says:

    Ooo, the new Crusie book!  I believe in ghosts (having had a creepy ouija board experience in my youth) but haven’t seen one.  I don’t write reviews but I would if you really wanted me to. 🙂

  33. Patsy says:

    Hmmm… I do believe in ghosts.  I believe in spirits, and I think it’s a little arrogant to think we humans are the end all and be all. 

    That being said, I have been eagerly awaiting this book since Bet Me.  Jennie is one of my favorite authors, and like many on this site, I enjoy her solo projects much more than her collaborations—though, I don’t begrudge her her creative opportunities. 

    And, I’ll happily review this book.  I’ve been writing appellate briefs for the past six months and it’s making me boring.  See, that was all boring. Blech.

  34. Betty Fokker says:

    1) I believe in ghosts. I saw one and I am still freaking out, 25 years later.

    2) I would review the book on my blog at bettyfokker.wordpress.com

  35. Betty Fokker says:

    Shit. A premature post. I had no chance to fill in my witty parts.

    *grump*

  36. Kathy C says:

    I absolutely believe in ghosts and have had so many experiences, including one where the door handle on the bathroom shook while I was taking a bath like someone was trying to get in. Then heavy footsteps walked away from the door and the down the stairs never coming back up. Everyone else in the house was asleep and the dogs didn’t make a peep.
    That was also the house where one particular door would never open for me or my husband but for anyone else it would pop right open. So strange.
    Anyway, I love Cruisie and would love a chance at this book and would definitely review it. Most likely on goodreads. 🙂

  37. Michelle From Texas says:

    1. Well, I do believe the our spirits have life after our bodies die. I have had too many dreams about deceased loved ones. I feel they were speaking to me in a way I can comprehend. I don’t really think there are “ghosts” as portrayed on movie, because I feel that there must be an emotional connection between a spirit and whomever they are communicating with. So a stray ghost is NOT going to bother me if I spend the night in a “haunted mansion.” LOL

    2. I would be HAPPY to send you a review!! Just pick me, please!!

  38. Camilla says:

    I do believe in ghosts. I lived in the French Quarter when I was a student and I swear that apartment was haunted. Things were moved when I was home alone, and I have never had stranger dreams.
    I would love to review the book, but I would have to email it to you.
    I am thrilled she wrote a book alone. I could read anything she wrote and like it, but the flow is soo much better in her non-collaborative books.
    Also, if you really read all these..how about some SBTB merchandise?? tees, tc.

    Camilla

  39. Vlada says:

    I don’t really believe in ghosts, but back on a school trip to France, we we wandering around Versaille and I took a picture that turned out kinda weird. It was just a hallway, so I don’t know why I thought it was photogenic… but when the picture was developed there was a strange white blur smack dab in the middle. Of course, everyone swore I managed to take a picture of a ghost… I guess if they were anywhere they’d be in some grand historical place like that!

  40. Emily L. says:

    Although I’ve never actually had an experience with a ghost, I do believe they exist. Not in a “haunt you because you wronged them” kind of way, more like “someone still needs me out there and I have to finish my business with them” kind of way.

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