I was supposed to host this giveaway on my 100th post, but then I got the Brilliante award. Since I am the way I am, I had to brag about that first, of course!

I’ve decided to do something special for my 101st post because I’ve thoroughly enjoyed authoring this blog, much more than I ever thought I would.  The reason this has become such a special endeavor for me is you–each and every one of you.  Without your support and comments and the camaraderie and affection I feel for all of you, my blog would be a boring little reading diary, withering in obscurity somewhere in cyberspace.  While I know I will never draw in the sizeable audiences that blogs like The Daily Kos or Dooce experience on a daily basis (thank God), I’m pleasantly surprised every time I see my stats and read the growing number of comments this little site is receiving.  Who woulda thunk it?   

I thought and thought about the prizes I’d like to give away.  I didn’t want to do a book giveaway, because everybody (including me) does those.  It had to be literary, though, so I finally bit the bullet and bought these:

They’re called “Literary Action Figures.”  I was afraid that they’d be pretty chintzy looking (and they are in a way), but they’re pretty cute too.  I’m partial to the Oscar Wilde figure, and Poe is quite cool as well.  In case you can’t recognize them, they are Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, and Edgar A. Poe.  They’ll look really cute sitting on your desk or hanging out on your bookcase.

I will draw five names and give away five action figures on Monday, August 11 at around noon.  One entry per person, please!  I think I’ll choose which winner gets which figure according to letter placement, because I’m strange that way.  If someone named Sharon is one of the five winners, she’ll probably get Shakespeare.  If someone named Gavin wins, he’ll probably get Edgar Allan Poe.  See how that works?  If you all have weird names like Mortimer, I think I’ll just throw the five names in the air and see which figure they land next to. 

So, leave your comment right away, and make sure that you have a legitimate way for me to get in touch after the drawing.  Good luck, everyone!  This is going to be great fun!