It's Time! Announcing #DWJMarch 2015 (+ Giveaways!)

Only ten days until DWJ March begins, my friends! This is the fourth year of our bittersweet celebration so, to keep things fresh, I've decided on a theme for this year. It came to mind when I was recently reading a post by Ana about The Pinhoe Egg. The theme I've chosen is

The Ladies and Lasses of DWJ

This month, I want you to think about the women and girls (and even female creatures) you encounter in your reading, both the good ones and the baddies. Which ones do you love? Which ones do you loathe? Is there a thread that links female characters together between books? Is there a certain type of character that is your favorite?

Feel free to share your thoughts in any format you like. I'll have a link-up post at the beginning of the month for any posts, giveaways, artwork, etc. that you would like to share with the other participants. And remember to use the hashtag #dwjmarch on Twitter and tumblr. Speaking of, I'll also be posting again this year on the dwjmarch tumblr.

My recommendations for DWJ books featuring both good and bad female characters:
Howl's Moving Castle
House of Many Ways
Witch Week
The Pinhoe Egg
Fire and Hemlock
Aunt Maria
Time of the Ghost
Dogsbody
The Game
Earwig and the Witch
"Dragon Reserve, Home Eight" (short story)

Tying in with the theme, I've chosen three read-alongs with strong female characters, one a joint read with the #sffwomen reading group!

Aunt Maria (a.k.a. Black Maria), discussion post up here on 3/9, Twitter chat on 3/13
The Islands of Chaldea, discussion post up here on 3/17, Twitter chat on 3/21
The Spellcoats, discussion post up at Here There Be Books on 3/25, Twitter chat on 3/29

Keep an eye on the #dwjmarch and #sffwomen hashtags for chat times. And, yes, Spellcoats is the third in the Dalemark series but it is first in story chronology for the series and Diana said you can read the first three books in any order you like, just keeping the fourth book for last.

Finally, I went around to my local bookstores and found some books for giveaways! The Islands of Chaldea and The Spellcoats are for the read-alongs and The Time of the Ghost is a great read for this month's theme. All are used but in very good condition. I am willing to send them anywhere so just let me know in the comments which one(s) you are interested in. I'll choose winners and send them out on the 28th so that you hopefully receive them in time to read during the month! (Be sure and leave me a way to contact you.)

I hope that everyone is looking forward to this year's event! Let me know in the comments section what you think of the theme and which books you think you might read.

Hanging up the streamers,
K