So here's the deal. The winner gets (1) a lifetime membership to LibraryThing ; (2) This big ole pile o books. Some of them written by me. And including, if all goes well, an advance reading copy of Queen of Swords -- once it becomes available. Here's what you do:

1. Go over to LibraryThing and sign up for a free membership. Pick a username. If you already have a membership, skip this step.

2. Enter five books in your personal catalog. Any five books.

3. See the link in the right hand column that says gimme gimme? Click on that. Or, wait, here's the link to make it easier on you: gimme gimme giveaway.

4. Enter a comment with your name, a valid email, and your LibraryThing username.

In a few weeks I'll pick a name at random, and that person will get the LibraryThing lifetime membership (if you've already got one, you can give this one away), and the Pile O' Books.

The pile o' books:

The Moonflower Vine, Jetta Carleton. This is a rare find. The novel is divided into parts, each told from the perspective of one member of the Soames family, who live in a small town in Missouri in the early 1900s. I've re-read this book at least twenty times.

Wrongful Death, Baine Kerr. 180 degrees away from anything to do with moonflowers, this is a novel that brings together the Hague trials of war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, a wrongful death lawsuit against a railroad in Colorado, and four incredibly interesting female characters. It takes some concentration to get into the story, but then you're hooked.

Hearts and Bones, Margaret Lawrence. Set in the post revolutionary period in rural Maine, this is the story of a midwife who is struggling to gain control over her own life. There's a murder that seems to involve the man who is the father of her daughter.

The Bride of the Wilderness, Charles McCarry. One of my all time favorite historical novels, about Fanny, who comes to New England in the 1730s.

Persuasion, Jane Austen. Need I say more?