I've only got moments

Before I leave for work - but Dev pointed me to another Crusader.

Be sure to check out Jen at Life on the Mountain - she loves it too!

I will update later 'cause I've also found a couple more Maybe Crusaders - but - ackk - work calls and I *sigh* must answer.

The Grand Finale of The Great North and South Crusade

Somehow it almost seems fitting to end on February 29th - a very rare day. It *sniff* marks the end of our quote "Official" quote Great North and South Crusade.

Of course now that so many of us have discovered the love of North and South - the Crusade will never really die.

So I thought we would go out with a Bang! Hold on to your hats - this will be a long one - with LOTS of pictures!




One of the most delightful and unexpected things about this Crusade has been meeting other people - if only through Cyber space.




One of the people I have really enjoyed 'meeting' is Carrie Lofty. She was a Crusader long before we had a Crusade. We've emailed back and forth and I know Sula got to know her better. When we realized how much of a Crusader she was, her being a writer and all, we asked for her thoughts. She very graciously sent us her reply.










Here are her thoughts on an area of North and South I don't think I've come across in all the blogs I've read

John Thornton's heroism is not limited to his romantic relations with Margaret. In fact, his heroic character in North & South is more forcefully demonstrated by his interactions with other men.

Mr. Hale: Thornton's relationship with Mr. Hale, aside from establishing the means by which John and Margaret can properly interact, speaks to his ambitions toward becoming a learned man. He sees proper education--particularly relating to subjects outside of trade, such as history and philosophy--as a means of developing gentlemanly behavior and finding acceptance in elegant society. Thornton never acknowledges these ambitions outright; his spoken goals always center on the success of Marlborough Mills. After all, in a culture that values monetary success and hard work, education beyond the basics would have been seen as a prideful waste of time.

In seeking out Mr. Hale's company and tutelage, he gives away his innermost longings for acceptance--and possibly for a father figure. Mrs. Thornton deems Mr. Hale "too simple for trade," and at the Masters' dinner, Thornton himself admonishes Mr. Hale's simplistic view of Christian charity in business, but this does not dim his good opinion. "Mr. Hale is a gentleman," Thornton tells his mother--not an educated man, or a good man, but a gentleman. His thirst for knowledge and desire for respect beyond monetary success go hand in hand, and Mr. Hale is the man he entrusts with those secretive, unspoken dreams.

The Masters: Not only does Thornton hold gentlemanly aspirations, he is a fundamentally good man. At the Masters' dinner where they discuss fans for the cotton sorting rooms, he insists his decision to have fans installed was based on purely monetary concerns. Healthier workers are more productive workers. Yet he refuses to invest the payroll in monetary schemes. He keeps good care of the Irish workers he imports during the strike. And he never uses tricks or lies to deceive his workers. We see that he wrestles with the moral consequences of his every choice. His unshakable ethics blend with his business sense in a way that sets him above his less scrupulous, less heroic peers.

Henry Lennox: Thornton's brief interaction with Henry Lennox at the exposition is almost painful to watch. We see Thornton--a strong, confident, worthy man--reduced to an outsider because of his birth, his upbringing, and the nature of his fortune. Margaret has already rejected his marriage proposal, thereby exacerbating his basic lack of self-confidence in good society, and Lennox's family connections to Margaret leave him without solid footing. We know he could knock Lennox's head off with a few clean punches, and we know he will always out-earn and out-work Lennox, no matter the endeavor, but his deeply rooted sense of inferiority renders him powerless. He is still lacking a fundamental belief in his own value.

Mr. Bell: Ah, Mr. Bell. Is there a more perplexing character in North & South? By his faithful friendship to Mr. Hale and his generous guardianship of Margaret, he should have been well regarded by Thornton. But his nature stands as Thornton's opposite. He is facetious and sarcastic where Thornton is straightforward and contemplative. Mr. Bell is everything a proper gentleman appears to be, but Thornton's desire for acceptance in polite society never stoops to groveling at the feet of any ole' gentleman. He has standards. Mr. Hale is a respectable man of learning and delicacy, whereas Mr. Bell's influence has been purchased and manipulated by his considerable fortune. Neither is Thornton afraid to demonstrate his disdain: He refuses to shake Mr. Bell's hand at their final meeting, a most powerful snub.

Higgins: Shall I confess to my mini-crush on Higgins? Ok. There. I've said it.

Higgins is everything Mr. Bell is not. He is crass, unkempt, forthright, honorable, poor, generous, caring, and resolute. In short, he is Thornton's equal in all ways save money. We see, as Margaret does, that they are the two men best suited to bridging the tremendous gap between the Masters and the workers. Through his relationship with Thornton, Higgins is able to let go of his bitterness and find respect. Thornton, too, finds respect in that Higgins is the one character who truly understands the sacrifices he makes on behalf of the mill. Higgins has known bad Masters, and Thornton is not one of them.

One of my favorite scenes is when Thornton ventures to Higgins' house. His eyes flick over abject poverty, memories of his impoverished childhood hitting him in the face. They circle around a rough-hewn dinner table like warriors. They back down in increments, each relinquishing bits and pieces of pride until they come to a solid accord--and a handshake. Their intelligence and desire for a better way of life helps bring it about, whereas other men might have fallen back on arrogance or class, missing the opportunity.

They continue to build bridges based on hard work and clever thinking. When Higgins urges him to eat, Thornton admits he had not had stew in years--again, a reference to his childhood poverty. There is caring and respect on both sides. When they meet for the last time on screen and Higgins reveals what he knows of Margaret's brother, they are very near to equals. "I'm nobody's master now," Thornton says. But Higgins' respect never wavers. They shake hands with gusto, reassuring us that their joint efforts toward a better way of life in Milton will continue--a happy ending for more than just John and Margaret.

Thornton's heroism stands tall over those men of weaker character, but he yields to or compromises with male characters who, like him, maintain a sense of dignity, justice, intelligence, and passion. He blends those noble qualities--and a damn fine physical form--to become a perfect match for Margaret and a most memorable hero for us.

I simply LOVE reading her thoughts on this!

Now for something else. At the beginning of the Crusade we mentioned there were two contests; one for some books and one for a copy of the DVD.









But no one took us up on our second contest. And I still have the DVD sitting here waiting for a good home. So instead, I'm changing the rules. Anyone who is interested, leave a comment and your name will be entered in a draw. The draw will be made on - let's see - how about The Ides of March - which would be March 15th.






In case you are interested though - Katie and I both made an attempt at writing that final scene. For all those who watched - it somehow seemed to need one more final little bit. If you are interested in seeing what we came up with, click here.

One thing that Sula, Katie and I did if you remember, was to have a cyber pajama party. We thought it would be great fun to have a large one with many of us joining in. Let us know if you are interested. I think it will be a Friday night - not sure when - but soon. All you have to do is get into your jammies, grab a beer or a glass of wine or a cup of tea or whatever strikes your fancy and sign on to AIM and we will have us a grand party. Again, if you are interested, leave a comment and we will get working on the details.

I have to give a Very Special Thank You to Lisa Kleypas and Sabrina Jeffries for letting us see their thoughts on North and South. And to many other authors I contacted - though none had seen it - at least I got a chance to let them know about it too *g*

I don't have the words really to say how much fun this has been for us. As when I first started blogging, something special and unexpected happened. I got to know people better. I emailed readers I count as friends whom I'd never corresponded with before. I got to meet new bloggers and new readers. I'd love to mention them all but then I'd forget someone and feel bad so - just a big thank you to everyone. I don't know how many people remember but during the Crusade, one anonymous person posted that they were sick to death of The North and South debate. I found this rather amusing since, in a sense this blog is my place - well mine and Katies *g*, so the thought that someone - an anonymous would come and say they are sick to death of it made me laugh. It would be like someone in disguise coming to my house uninvited and say they are sick of my house. Doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense to me. But I did get an email from a friend in support. This is what I wrote back to her.

Since this person posted anonymously I have no idea who it was. If they'd had the guts to give a name, I could have responded what this Crusade has meant to me. How the planning, the thinking about, the chats with Sula and Katie kept my mind off the approaching holidays. Holidays I was dreading since I lost Ron. It helped keep me from going into a deep depression - something that, believe it or not, can easily happen to me. It's also helped keep me sane for the month of house hell I've had - no kitchen, a living room that was in the midst of being redone when I lost my kitchen and I'm constantly dodging boxes and I'm tired of eating fast food.

And through it I've really formed deep friendships with both Kate and Sula. I could have mentioned the absolute thrill it was hearing back from Lisa Kleypas in less than 24 hours after I emailed her to help us. What a lift it gave to me. Or the emails I've exchanged with other authors I've asked to contribute (most of whom haven't seen it - yet)

I also would have said even though it seems we might be going overboard, the absolute joy I feel when someone else has seen it for the first time and *gets* what is so special about this production makes it worth it.

I would have said I've found new blogging friends such as Ana and Thea at Book Smugglers and feel even closer somehow to the ones I already knew - even Jodi, who didn't like it as much as the rest of us *g*.

I would have said it's perfectly all right if someone doesn't enjoy it as much as many of us seem to. There are readers who've loved books I've hated and vice versa. We aren't all clones of each other and each and every person has different tastes.

A final thought - this has been So Much Fun. Again, although this is the end of the 'official' Crusade, it will still go on! I'm still keeping my eyes open and will continue to add to the list.






I can't end without leaving you all with this scene. It's the final scene - everyone who has seen it knows it and probably most have watched it over and over and over. It's the icing on the cake of something very rare. For those who haven't yet seen it - it's a spoiler.
For me, it's the most beautiful and romantic endings I've ever seen - and I've been around for fifty some odd years

We interrupt this program

Or rather we interrupt me unpacking boxes - yes the counter top is in. Mind you I don't have a sink yet, but tomorrow the plummer is coming and Kitchen guy will install the sink and get the dishwasher working.

Anyway - where was I? Right!

A couple of New Crusaders have joined our ranks!! Tumperkin of Isn't it Romance has seen North and South and seen the wonders. She was kind of surprised! Go! Read!

Also - there is another Crusader who I missed somehow. Jan, a new blogger posted her thoughts on North and South back in January and I missed it! A slacker I was! But she is also a Crusader!
Finding new bloggers is another one of the wonderful things about this Crusade!!

SWEEEETTTT!!

We have us another one!!!

Georgie Lee has also experienced the wonder, the magic, the power, the awesomeness that IS North and South!!

Another Maybe Crusader has become a Crusader!!


*****ETA*****

And thanks to visiting Stacey's blog, I have another maybe Crusader. I shall be keeping my eye out for Jennybrat! She already loves Richard so I think chances are p r e t t y good she will succumb.

Ahhhhhh - the love continues to grow

I seem to have a set routine every morning. I get up, quickly shower and then spend about half an hour blog hopping before I start getting ready for work. I have a few 'go to first' blogs and one of them is Karen Knows Best.
Imagine my utter joy this morning when I checked hers out to see that Karen too has become a Crusader!!
My day is now made just that much brighter!! Be sure to check out what she thinks of North and South.

Wowzers - two in one night!! I'm liking this.

Here's my official SQUEEE!
Yes!!! We have us another Crusader! Holly, one of our dear and soon to be married members of Book Binge has finally watched North and South. And no surprise - "she quite enjoyed it" She wants her own copy to watch again and again. She does need a little bit of convincing though on why John and Margaret have fallen in love. So let's all go over and help her see why - heh heh heh!

Now we just have to get Karen to weigh in with her thoughts. Perhaps if I let her know the city of Milton was actually based on the city of Manchester which correct me if I'm wrong - is the home of her favourite football/soccer team.........

***ETA***

And now I bring you a wonderful blog post from someone who was part of the advanced guard of the Crusade - she was a Crusader before it was official *g*.
Be sure to check out Elizabeth Kerri Mahon's blog for further reasons on what makes North and South so good - and Richard Armitage so fine!

And thanks to Crusader Megan - We have another one~

Megan - who won her own copy of N&S have been a busy Crusader and now we can add one more to the list - Kwana - a new to me blogger has got the gene!

Add one more Crusader!!! And the Winners!

Thea, Ana's blog partner over at Book Smugglers was Urged and Fawned to watch North and South by Ana and with the (I admit) over the top Crusade, watched it on the weekend - and guess what? She loved it too! Now what's cool about this is Thea isn't a real romance reader - yet. Ana is doing her darndest to bring her into our world. So it was great to see that a non-romance addict also loves North and South!

And Sula, Katie and I each drew a name for a copy of the book. The winner are:

Ames: Sula drew her name

Georgie Lee: Katie drew her name

Mollie: Kristie drew her name.

So if you want to send my your snail mail addresses, I will get them out to you

Congratulations to all of you!!

It's not only us readers who love North and South!!

I stayed up late last night working on this. (in fact I slept in- yelp!)

I said I had something special planned for today.

This is an author who I came thisclosetomeeting in Dallas. She visited our room and I missed her by less than five minutes. I knew she was a North and South fan from the Avon Authors Bulletin Board so when I appealed her her for help and mentioned that we almost met - low and behold she remembered almost meeting me too.

When I did ask for her for help with The Crusade and thoughts on North and South she very graciously agreed.


So I bring you ---Sabrina Jeffries. She's quite busy as her newest book in The School for Heiress, Let Sleeping Rogues Lie is due out soon (February 19 - so remember that date)
She also wrote a pretty nice pirate book - The Pirate Lord which is always on my list when someone is looking for a good one!



And without further adieu - here are Sabrina's thought on North and South.

I saw “North and South” about six months ago at the recommendation of a reader. I had already fallen in love with Richard Armitage on “Robin Hood” (Jonas Armstrong as Robin is fine, but too young-looking to fantasize about—Richard as Sir Guy of Gisborne is, well, yum!). The idea of RA in Victorian-era clothing was just too good to pass up, even if the 4 hour length did seem rather daunting.

Alas, it flew by WAY too fast, so fast I had to watch parts of it again immediately afterward to assess the … er … acting. That’s it, the acting. What can I say, I’m thorough.

But what made it so special was the melding of RA’s talent with a great story. Here are three reasons I found it a wonderful romance:

1) The character of John Thornton. Nothing’s sexier to me than a self-made man, a guy who pulls himself up by his bootstraps. I’ve written a few, but not as many as I’d like (CURSE that need for variety). Thornton is that wonderful blend of determination and vulnerability that just grabs me every time, and RA is a master at portraying that. Besides, who doesn’t like a guy who protects and defends his mother?

2) The plot. Without risking spoilers, Margaret is forced to keep a secret from John, thus tarnishing her character in his eyes. Yet despite the wretched things he believes about her, he still wants her very badly, and that always appeals to me—a guy going against his better judgment (or what he THINKS is his better judgment, anyway).

3) The end. Oh. My. God. That scene with the hands on the train platform gets me in the gut every time. I think I’ll have to go watch it again right now.

Sigh. It was one of the best period romances I’ve seen in a long while.

It's nice knowing isn't it, that we aren't the only ones that go all swoony!!

Thank you Sabrina for helping us spread the word!!


And remember - if your interested in winning the book by Elizabeth Gaskell, be sure to let us know in the comments. Draw will be on Sunday

The Great North and South Crusade

Being computerless put our time line back and at the risk of annoying anonymous further, who can just read the title and move on, and because there are still very new Crusaders and still possibly more still waiting to see it and possibly be converted, we here at Crusader headquarters have decided to extend The Crusade. (and now I'm out of breath typing that long sentence!)







Originally it was going to conclude at end of January, but now we are going to continue for just a while longer, until the end of February - yes anonymous, a whole other month although February is a short one.
You may remember at the first we had a couple of contests.





Well - we are extending one and finishing the other.

The first contest is a give-a-way of three copies of the book. I have a list of Crusaders on the side, but I really don't know who all is interested in reading the book. So, if you've seen the series and want to read the book, leave a comment that you are in and you will be entered. With three books to give away, Kate will be drawing a name, Sula will be drawing a name and I will be drawing a name. Good luck to all who are interested.


The second contest will be extended. This one is for a copy of the DVD and to be eligible for that one, it takes a bit of writing. Kate and I have have bit the bullet and watch for our efforts to get that ball rolling. Kate has hers done and I'm almost done mine!

For further details, just go to the beginning of The Crusade.


In addition, we have a couple more special things lined up - one we will post tomorrow. So stay tuned.





(I know I went overboard with pictures - but it's so hard to choose just a couple.)











*****ETA******

In case there is any confusion - it's just the contest for the books that is ending. We will make the draw on Sunday. The contest for the DVD - where you get to test your writing skills has been extended. We haven't discussed an end date for that yet so there is lots of time.

And the Crusaders continue to grow

Yet another one has fallen under it's spell.

Happy Dance! Happy Dance!

Zeek watched it. She loved it. She has joined the Crusade!

And yes, now it is official

Cindy is indeed a Crusader! She loves North and South just like so many of us do!

What I won't do for The Crusade!

Well, if the maybe crusaders won't come to us, we will go to them *g*.
I knew Cindy had a copy of North and South and a few weeks ago I let Krisite out of her cage long enough to email Cindy with a "Say, I have a great idea" kind of email. She lives about an hour and a half away it's become one of my favourite things to do to go visit her. Right from the start we had an instant bond in our love of romance books. The Chapters near her has a great romance section and I get to drive Real Fast on the highway.
So in my email, I said wouldn't it be a great idea for me to come for a visit and we could watch North and South - never a hardship for me. As well as the pluses I just mentioned, it would get me out of house hell for a while. I'm headed into my fourth week with no kitchen and as well as kitchenless, since they took it back right to the studs, there is now a fine line of dust on EVERYTHING. Add to that my computer woes and it was just about time for me to get away for a while. Cindy also thought it was a grand idea. She even invited me to spend the night - which meant we could feast on the whole of North and South in one go since it's four hours altogether.
She cooked a Wonderful Meal - she must have read my mind that Prime Rib is one of my all time favourites. I even hugged her kitchen counter as it was so nice just seeing one again.
So, after a trip to Chapters (books I bought to follow), a delicious meal, we got into our pj's and settled down for some Prime viewing. I think she's going to post her thoughts on N&S soon. And if early indications are correct, she will be moving from Maybe Crusader to Crusader - but I'll let her let everyone know.
For me though, it was viewing paradise. See, her and Bob have a 52 inch either Plasma or HD television. I'm afraid I don't really know the difference. I meant to ask but forgot. But the point is, what a heck of a difference it made!! I've been watching it on my (what now seems tiny) 27 inch screen. Mind you the surround sound is very nice - all the better to hear his fabulously deep, oh so sexy voice. But to watch the whole thing on a big screen, and that final train scene - total bliss!!!
In order to let her see the total scope of his acting abilities, I also brought Robin Hood where he is the magnificently evil, but totally sexy Guy of Gisbourne and The Vicar of Dibley (courtesy of someone wonderful) for his adorableness.
We watched an episode of Robin Hood but he wasn't in it that much. But hopefully she got a taste. And then today we watched The Vicar of Dibley. I'd seen the first episode - The Handsome Stranger earlier, but I hadn't seen the second one. I must say the British have wicked sense of humour! They were both a riot.
Later we took a quick trip to IKEA where I stocked up on glasses for my hopefully done soon kitchen shelves.
It was a fabulous break from my stress of the moment life. When I got back home though I was once again thrown back into it as the furnace had quit again while I was away and it was a balmy 7 degrees Celsius in the house. That would be roughly44 degrees Fahrenheit. Brrrrr. I called the furnace people and someone showed up to fix it and it's about 15 degrees now.
Now I'm wondering if a trip to England is in order.

Now - for the books I got at Chapters
One of the great things about the reader that I am (and I don't really mean that in a vain kind of way - I mean it more as a fact) is I like all kinds of romance books. I got myself quite a variety this time

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
Partner Katiebabs has been raving about this one and even though it's a vampire romance & normally don't read them, her praise has been so high I thought I'd give it a try.









Die For Me by Karen Rose
Ames really loves her books. I just finished Count to Ten and quite enjoyed it so I was looking for more from this author. Unfortunately this was the only other one they had.










Destiny's Warrior by Heather Walters
I've never heard of this author and I don't think this book is in the Chapters near me. Since I'm always willing to try new authors and the premise sounded interesting, I thought I'd give this one a try.









His and Hers by Dawn Calvert
Same kind of reasoning with this one as Destiny's Warrior. Plus the price is pretty good. This one is a time travel and I'm always willing to read one of them.









Tumbling Through Time by Gwyn Cready
For the third time, this is a new author, haven't seen it my local Chapters and it sounded interesting. It's also a time travel. And the shallow me thinks the shoes the model is wearing are very nice and I wish I wore heels.









His Favourite Mistress by Tracy Anne Warren.
The first book in this series got very good reviews - I think - and while I have it, I haven't read it. As good a reason as any to get a book. Besides, Cindy had six books so *chuckle* I had to get six.









And because I have sound back again and this means YouTube is back in my life again, I will leave this for all the Crusaders



'til later

And one more shares our Passion

Yippee doodle! (snort)

Another one has become A Crusader! Megan is now one of us! And see, Megan also has another blog - she's part of the team of Risky Regencies. So now as a Crusader she has to spread the word to the rest of them. And if they tell two people, and they tell two people, and they............


And When We Least Expect It!!!!

We find the love is still growing!! Author Keri Arthur has just watched North and South - and loves it! *she said looking over at her copy of Full Moon Rising and thinking - gotta read that one!*


And Further News!

Megan is indeed being a Most Excellent Crusader! She's blogging about it at Risky Regencies and she already has someone who's ordered it!
Not only that - but Rachel from AAR is giving it a second (or maybe more than that) watching. Dare we hope our enthusiasm has had something to do with it???? Now Rachel saw it and blogged about it long before most of us did. She first saw it way back in May of '06. So she in fact is one of the very first Crusaders!!!

And yet another one has watched it

Jodie just recently watched North & South and though she didn't love it to pieces and pieces like most of us have; that's going to happen of course - it's only natural - still she gives it a pretty good grade :)


(although Holly gave us a bit of a scare for a moment there - silly bean)

***ETA***

And you just never know where you might find other Crusaders. I just found us another one!! Bonz watched it a while ago and loved it too!

A Most Excellent 2 fer in The Crusade

It seems that the Crusade is going very strong among the ‘younger’ blogger set. I just discovered a new reader blog, The Book Smugglers – I love how they came up with their name – Ana, the Romance Reader of the two is also a Supporter of The Crusade. Be sure to check them out – and encourage Thea to watch North and South. Ana needs our help Crusaders.

And yet ANOTHER one joins our Crusade!!

I love this, I love this, I love this. I'm even doing battle with my wonky mouse to post!

Kris has joined the ever growing Crusaders. She watched it, she loved and and she must now go forth and spread the word.

And Ag is also now on our watch list ;)


****Update*****

Kaitlin has further thoughts on her Blogger blog!

And it just keeps on growing!

We have yet Another fan!!

Sarah rented it, watched it, loved it and now wants her own copy.

I love this!!

And in other news - I learned how to change a fuse today.

Another Two Crusaders!

And possibly more.

Jennie has her thoughts posted. And I'm hoping we also get Twin's thoughts too. They each got each other a copy for Christmas and an extra one went to their Mom.

And right after I posted this I saw we have another one!! Ames (who also has a new blog along with a few other friends - Rowena, Grace, Izzie)

And Guess What? They both loved it!

And now we have Nicole curious!

The Crusade Marches On!!

****And just a reminder****

I've noticed a lot of bloggers who have seen this are now wanting to read the book. I have 3 copies sitting on my new book shelves just waiting to send out to the lucky winners. All you have to do to win one is watch North and South and either blog about it or report your thoughts here at North and South Headquarters, if you don't have have a blog and you're entered to win. Draw is January 31.
And there is a second contest too - we don't do half measures *g*. There's a copy of the North and South DVD for anyone who wants to attempt to write an epilogue. Details further down.

Another one who has seen it

And she also has joined The Crusade!

MaryKate has now joined in our Crusade. She has watched the wonder that is North and South and loves it like the rest of us!!

***ETA***

Rather than cleaning up the remnants of the tornado that hit my kitchen - which has to be done by Monday when the wrecking crew arrives - I added all kinds of links to the sidebar - of - guess what? I think I have everyone as of 11:00, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008 - but let me know if I left you out. My mind was on the kitchen and all I have to do.