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Bid for a part in the next Thursday Next Novel,
and help the Usk House Day Hospice!


This is how it works:

In my first book, The Eyre Affair, I introduced readers to the feisty literary detective known as Thursday Next. In the second novel in the series, Lost in a Good Book, I will be auctioning off a part in the book in support of the Usk House Day Hospice in Brecon. If you want to meet Thursday Next, ask her a question and have her answer you, now is your opportunity!
1: I, Jasper Fforde, will undertake to write and print two people (the winning bidder, plus one person who may accompany them) into the next Thursday Next novel titled Lost in a good Book (US edition). You will be characters introduced to Literary Detective Thursday Next as the winners of a dippy SpecOps Publicity competition run by Cordelia Flakk, the SpecOps PR guru. Your names and vague descriptions will be in print along with the minimum of one question, which should be not longer than twelve words. I would expect that your appearance will constitute approximately half a page of text.
2: The bidding will work in the following way: Send your dollar bid to me at
REMOVED (email address is in this form to foil spam address trawlers!) with the following information:
Your real name.
A username so you will know where your bid is.
Your home address.
Your home phone number.
Your email address.
All information is, of course, strictly confidential, and if you want your details erased after the bidding is over, use the word 'diploducus' somewhere in your email. If I believe you to be a genuine bidder I will add your username and bid to the bid page which you can access from HERE. All bids are to be in UK sterling and the opening bid is ten dollars.
3: The winning bidder (and their companion) will submit their names and a photograph (it doesn't have to be recent!) to Jasper Fforde along with a choice of ten questions in order of preference, the content of which might be edited if I see fit.
4: The winning bidder (and their companion) will both sign releases allowing their names and descriptions to be used however I wish in the book, and also indemnifying me against any lawsuit that you or anyone else might bring for libel/slander or misrepresentation (my lawyer insisted I put this bit in).
5: The winning bidder and their companion will each receive a signed US Viking 1st edition copy of Lost in a good Book along with a few goodies in a brown paper bag.
6: Any obscenities or libel or flagrant use of a name for advertising in the names or questions will null the winning bid.
7: This is only for the US Viking edition of Lost in a good Book.
 
8: All of the money in the winning bid will go to the Usk House Day Hospice in Brecon, Wales, United Kingdom. Usk House opened in 1993 for individuals from the local area who are suffering long-term illness. The day centre offers care, advice, counselling , friendship, diversionary and complimentary therapies, as well as a regular meeting place for support from those who are facing or have faced similar problems. The Usk House Day Hospice is a registered British charity, number 1038509 and relies on voluntary donations to meet its annual running costs. For information contact: Sally Langworthy 00 44 1874 610337 or write to Usk House Day Hospice, Bridge Street, Llanfaes, Brecon, Powys LD3 8AH, United Kingdom.
 
9: The bidding will close at then end of August 2002. Lost in a good Book (US edition) has a provisional publication date of January 2003.
 
10: The winning bidder will hand over his/her payment to Usk House by the end of the first week of September, 2002. In the unlikely event of the bidding reaching ludicrous proportions, I will suggest that the cash be placed in an escrow account until publication to avoid any potential legal problems if, for any reason, the book's publication is delayed. Failure to come up with the wonga will null the bid and the next highest wins.
 
11: Relatives, friends, employees of Penguin Putnam, The Goliath Corporation, Consolidated Useful Stuff PLC, Mycrotech Developments, Universal Widgets, or their associated companies, are all fully INCLUDED in this competition, which on its own makes it a lot better than anything you get on the back of a cereal packet.
 
12: Any contravention of the rules will make the winning bid null and void. In this instance the next highest bid will be the winner. The judge's (me) decision is final. All enquiries should go to: wizardwheeze at jasperfforde dot com (email address is in this form to foil spam address trawlers!)
 
14: This competition is not only for a good cause but also for fun - it is a condition of entry that you do so with this basis in mind. I know I shall.
 
See you in print. - Jasper Fforde