Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 06-30-08

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

I missed a soft place to fall when I grew up, so I've made my own now, but not without help. I tease my husband, saying that he's homeschooled me and that's why I'm the person I am today. He insists that all of the talents and joy were always inside of me, but when I was young nobody showed me the way to get them out. But then I discovered writing.

My readers say I write about life and it's true. But that sentence is so boring, so simple that in today's world it wouldn't entice anyone to spend time reading the things I write about. I guess what I do is take the every day mundane things that most people don't even notice, and bring them to life. Give them a voice so people can see the funny in them, or recognize the sadness they feel. I hate being preached to, so I'm not an advice-giver. I don't know all the answers and that's one of the reasons I write, so I can try to see the meaning in my life.

When I'm writing a column eventually there comes a part in the process where I feel agitated and it's not clear what I'm feeling, but I plow through anyway and magically, 20 or 30 minutes, later the column appears. I'm not quite sure where the column came from, in fact, sometimes when I'm reading it again the next day, in my book club email, I'm amazed that I wrote it. Just where did these words, where did this ability to write, come from?

Maybe I shouldn't be questioning where the ability came from. But as soon as I finished writing that sentence, I remembered what my mother said when I told her that I was publishing a business magazine--I clearly remember the look on her face. It was a look of confusion and amazement, shock really, and then she asked, "Just where did you learn how to do all of this?" It was as if nothing great was expected from me and she still couldn't believe that I'd accomplished such a thing--and that I was successful at it. But truth-be-told, sometimes I still stand back and look at what I do and I too wonder--just where and how did I learn these things?

I write about a lot of different topics, but a familiar underlying theme has a lot to do with self esteem. A friend of mine shamed me when she said that the subject had been written to death, "Nobody wants to hear another poor self-esteem story." And she might be right. But people feeling lost, needing a place to check-in once and a while, knowing that they're not the only one who feels like this--these things don't disappear just because it's not in vogue to write about them anymore. And I have just enough confidence in myself and just enough doubt to write about my worries and fears, to make fun of myself and invite people to laugh along with me.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all feel comfortable enough to laugh at ourselves when we screw up? A laughter that stays with us, tucked away inside, instead of feeling shame? Hopefully when people read the things I write they go easier on themselves and find that soft place to fall.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
http://www.DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: With so many new books out every week, we promise these are five that deserve your attention: Michele Scott, A Vintage Murder; Cathy Alter, Up For Renewal: What Magazines Taught Me About Love, Sex, and Starting Over; Kathryn Fox, Skin and Bone; Brenda Janowitz, Jack with a Twist; and Phyllis Schieber, The Sinner's Guide to Confession. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader Column 06-27-08

Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

This year 430 people entered the Write a Dear Reader Contest and I'm reading each and every single entry myself. Other years I divided up the entries and asked people on my staff to pick their favorites, then the favorites went into a Possibility Pool and a winner was chosen from there. But this year I started reading the entries as soon as the first one came in and I've been having such a good time that I haven't been able to stop. At this moment I have 204 entries left to read. I'm a fast reader, so I should be farther along in the stack than I am, but I like to leisurely walk around the block and that's how I've been reading your entries, too. Of course it doesn't help my reading efficiency when frequently after I finish reading someone's column, I pick up the phone and call them.

After I hear a hello on the other end of the line and I make sure I'm talking to the right person, I quickly announce that I haven't picked winners yet, but that I just finished reading their entry and it was cute, or so inspiring that I had to call and tell them. Facing fears, funny situations, in memory of mothers, fathers and spouses, poems, love letters and affirmations for personal change, and almost every writer included a note thanking me for the opportunity to write their feelings down.

David wrote "A Perfect Night," a love letter to his wife. Lesa's in a rut and Sue swam under water for the first time in 45 years and it set her free. Sharon is 30 weeks into her third pregnancy and she's supposed to stay in bed and rest, but she's having trouble relaxing. Lise has been reading with me at the book club, probably since it began, and writing the column made her appreciate the people who have entered and exited her life.

Aron wrote "Lessons Learned from Heather." His daughter has a rare form of epilepsy, but he's seen the beauty of life through Heather's eyes. Barbara wrote a poem--"Tales from the S.S. Dear Reader" a tribute to the book club. Lindsay delivered a couple of great opening lines, "This is my confession. The truth is I have never been good at being a friend." Story after story, I am amazed and feel privileged to be reading your work.

It's a morning ritual. After I pour my coffee, Rudy (my cat) and I sit and read. But lately instead of reading published novels, we're reading some wonderful stories, written by some dear book club friends. Thank you so very much to everyone for taking the time to write and enter the contest.

Thanks for reading (and writing) with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com 
http://www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 06-26-08

Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

I love to hear from readers. Don't ever think my mailbox is too full--there's always room for another email. Thanks so much for writing. Monday's Secret Agent Man column inspired a lot of readers to write and sparked some pretty imaginative theories. Here are a few:

(If you missed Monday's column go to: http://tinyurl.com/3fxxbf )

From my Secret Agent Mail Bag:

"Hi Suzanne! I enjoyed your secret agents column. In Florida I would guess that the expensive house belongs to an Arab sheik. Since I work in the counterintelligence field myself, I have no further comment...I've probably said too much already!"--S., a.k.a. Tony Tortellini a.k.a. Sammy the Sausage

"Suzanne, 'Secret Agent Man' was sung by the great Johnny Rivers. I went with a girl in college who adored the song, and we danced to it maybe 12 times a night. The neighbor's house is obviously headquarters for an international drug cartel, and you're in desperate danger. 'Odds are you won't live to see tomorrow!' I know this for sure because I grew up right across the street from another drug headquarters. The evil and secretive Mr. Murdock (or so he claimed his name was) had a brilliant front--a garage full of wallpaper samples--as if that would throw off Frank and Joe Hardy (Marshall Cook and Craig Marvel). We knew about the wallpaper samples because we broke into his garage, of course. Barely escaped with our lives, ah, memories."--Marshall Cook

"Dear Suzanne, I laughed out loud at today's column and when I saw the lyrics, I remembered that, in spite of knowing what the real words were, I always sang it to myself as 'Secret Asian Man...' which is, I suppose, what I thought the words were when I first heard it. Funny how we do that, my son always sings,...'there's a bathroom on the right' for '...there's a bad moon on the rise.' He started it as a little kid and still joins in the chorus with HIS words when he hears it (he's 29!) Thanks for all the columns and books I've enjoyed over the years I've been part of this. I do look forward to getting the daily email, and on Mondays in particular, get pretty excited over what new book will be on tap for the week."--Linda in Waldport, OR

"Suzanne, a few months after the movie The Burbs came out in the theatre, we got new neighbors across the street. It was late fall and all winter we never saw anyone, but every so often especially at night, the garage door would open and a vehicle would come around the corner, drive in, and the doors would close. When the weather warmed up and people started opening windows we would hear this terrible screeching sound like someone was torturing an animal or something. Eventually we met the neighbors; a childless couple that worked nights and the screeching was their cockatiel. Love reading with you."--Mary

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com 
http://www.DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: New authors, old favorites--all wonderful books worth your time. Win free copies of books you'll be so glad you discovered: Kathryn Fox, Skin and Bone; Phil Myers, Craig Stull and David Meerman Scott, Tuned In: Uncover Extraordinary Opportunities That Lead to Business Breakthroughs; Emilie Richards, Sister's Choice; and Barbara Parker, The Dark of Day. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader Column 06-25-08

Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

Sometimes I waste a lot of time fretting about the work I need to get done and today's one of those days. I don't want to do my work today. I want to go to summer camp instead. Maybe it's not really summer camp I'm missing, but rather the feeling of no real responsibility. Never-the-less, I don't want to work today, but I feel like my mother is downstairs yelling at me, "Suzanne, you're not getting out of your room until it's clean!"

My room was in the attic and at the bottom of the stairs was a sliding door--the door that kept the rest of the world out, except my mother--she could yell loud-and-clear right through that door. It would take me at least all morning, usually all day, sometimes two days, to get my room cleaned. I guess I was just a lazy kid, but in my defense it was extremely hot in my attic room, especially in the middle of the summer.

We didn't have central air conditioning in our house. My parents had a window air conditioner in their bedroom and my dad bought a fan for my attic bedroom window. I respectfully complained, "Why didn't I get a window air conditioner, too?"

But my father assured me that the fan he bought for $5.00 at the neighbor's yard sale was better, because it was especially designed for attic windows. The outer rectangular edge of the fan slid tightly into my window and the center of the fan was round and rotated. "The rotation is what makes it scientifically designed for attic windows," my father explained. And he proceeded to demonstrate. "It can work like a normal fan that blows air into your room, but when you rotate the center of the fan, turn it around like this...it sucks all the hot air out of your room."

Yep, that's the sales job my dad tried to do on me, one long, very long, hot summer when I was just a naive kid. But his theory was just a lot of hot air, which must run in the family, because I've blown just about enough hot air myself today, too, and it's time to get back to work.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com 
http://www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 06-24-08

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

Every month I bake homemade chocolate chip cookies for readers and it's that time again. I'm ready to bake, are you ready to "dunk" cookies? It's very simple to enter the Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway and it's a lot of fun. Just take a look at some of the past cookie winner's photos and stories. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/6dk23w and simply tell me why you'd like chocolate chip cookies and your name will be entered in the drawing.

I bake for relaxation and my writing deadlines have made things pretty stress-filled lately. So you see, you'd really be doing me a big favor by entering the cookie drawing. You'd be helping a stressed woman in need. Munch, munch, dunk, dunk--you're gonna love the cookies! This stressed-out woman is ready to bake for you. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/6dk23w to see past winners and to enter the drawing.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

A baker in need of cookie lovers,
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
http://www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 06-23-08

Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

There are secret agents living in my neighborhood. Well, don't quote me on that, it could just be my imagination. But I have had experience with these things. Secret Agent was one of my favorite television shows when I was a kid. I knew every word of the theme song by heart and when I was zooming through the grocery store's parking lot in my own Secret Agent car I'd sing it out loud. (Okay, so my Secret Agent car was really a blue bicycle with two side baskets, but I'd blown my cover as a Double Agent, the bad guys were after me and I was peddling for my life.)

Sing it out Suzanne!

There's a man who leads a life of danger
To everyone he meets he stays a stranger
With every move he makes another chance he takes
Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow.

Secret agent man, secret agent man
They've given you a number and taken away your name

Of course I had to make a few slight changes..."There's a (wo)man who leads a life of danger, to everyone (s)he meets (s)he stays a stranger." (I was an early woman's libber.)

Every week something new and exciting happened in the Secret Agent show. If they needed to create a diversion--pull the top off of a pen and there was an explosion. Pins were cameras and electric razors were really transmitters. And the neighborhood Laundromat was really the heart of a counter-espionage operation. (And we lived right next door to a Laundromat. Coincidence? I think not!)

Yes, even today there are secret agents, maybe even double or triple agents living in a huge house in my neighborhood. A tall security gate, that's always locked up tight, surrounds the house and most of the time it's a pretty lonely place because no one is ever around. (Secret Agents are on the road a lot.) I've been working this case for a few months now and this Secret Agent Girl thinks the undercover house belongs to the government and the spies who stay there when they're in town, all drive black SUVs with tinted windows so you can't see who's behind them. (Spies need their privacy, even on their day off.) Everything about the house suggests hush-hush, there's a secret in there--I'm sure of it! And if I needed more proof, what happened this past New Year's Eve confirmed my suspicions.

My husband and I were out for a late night walk around our neighborhood on New Year's Eve and behind those tall security gates, complete with cameras, were parked 10 black SUVs all identical to each other--same model, same tinted windows, same plain license plates. Strange, rarely any action at this mysterious house, but on New Year's Eve (spies get New Year's Eve off and one other holiday of their choice, I read it in a book somewhere so you know it has to be true) there's a caterer's truck parked on the side, the curtains are drawn in the house, but the lights are on low. And after I ran home and got my binoculars (no, I'm just kidding about the binoculars) but when I set up temporary surveillance from across the street, I could see shadows of people moving around the room. Spy shadows--Secret Agent shadows.

Surveillance is hard work. I went home to bed around 2 a.m., and when I returned to the Secret Agent house early the next morning it was kind of eerie. The house was locked up tight, no SUVs, no trash, no party hats or paper plates, no sign of life--except I did notice a new "mail box" at the curb--and I'm sure it was watching me.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com 
http://www.DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: New authors, old favorites--all wonderful books worth your time. Win free copies of books you'll be so glad you discovered: Kathryn Fox, Skin and Bone; Phil Myers, Craig Stull and David Meerman Scott, Tuned In: Uncover Extraordinary Opportunities That Lead to Business Breakthroughs; Emilie Richards, Sister's Choice; and Barbara Parker, The Dark of Day. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader Column 06-20-08

Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

You still have time to enter--today is the last day to submit a column for the Write a Dear Reader Contest. A big thank you to the hundreds of readers who have already entered. Readers and authors filling in while I'm gone, make it a real "no-work" vacation for me.

The winning columns will be published at the book club and you'll win your own mini-library of great books, too. Hundreds of readers have sent in entries and like Dorie (her email below) almost every person has been very thankful for the opportunity to discover some things about themselves.

"Suzanne, I'm so glad I had the opportunity to write an entry for the upcoming contest because when I sat down and started writing--suddenly a synopsis of the story of my life came out, one thought at a time. At the end, I found I had written about some of the most meaningful experiences that have made my life worthwhile and what I want to be remembered for. Thanks, Suzanne for allowing me to discover something about myself I might never have done, if I hadn't written this entry!"--Dorie

You still have time to enter. For the Guidelines go to:
http://tinyurl.com/55n995

Have a wonderful weekend.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com 
http://www.DearReader.com

SEARCHING FOR YOUR NEXT BIG THRILL? Win copies and read about this month's new thrillers from: Meg Gardiner, Brett Battles, Carolyn Haines, Heather Graham, Phillip Margolin, Michael Beres, Sheldon Siegel and Jarad Henry. Visit the June issue of the Big Thrill now! Go to: http://www.thrillerwriters.org

Dear Reader Column 06-19-08

Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

I always appreciate hearing from you. Tuesday's column inspired some lovely notes from readers. Thank you very much.

If you missed Tuesday's column, you can find it at: http://tinyurl.com/5xt4as

From my Email Bag:

"Dearest Suzanne, I can't begin to express how much your column touched me today. I'm currently in the midst of a disabling fear and your words reminded me of how much writing helps. I journaled through a tough time in the past but haven't picked up my pen in some time. My journals helped me tremendously and later helped my daughter when she read them! I'm so thankful for your gentle and loving reminder of how writing expresses our thoughts and actually clarifies them and/or helps us understand them better. Fearful thoughts aren't so fearful once written down."--Love, Christina

"Good Morning Suzanne, once again you have touched me deeply and I so appreciate your willingness to share your heart with me and so many others. I'm glad to hear you look for those moments of peace and joy in the midst of pain. To seek them and recognize them when they come is a wonderful gift of grace, and they do make it easier to bear the circumstances that are facing you down with courage. Thank you again, Dear Writer, for sharing yourself because very often I see myself in you and it is good to learn I am not alone in my silliness, my enjoyment in the rainbow of a soap bubble, the sight of a tiny flower in the midst of a huge field, and the joy found in the gurgle of an infant that isn't mine! Have a wonderful, shiny, filled with love, light and laughter day!"--Laureen

"Suzanne, just wanted to let you know that your column today was beautiful..it touched my heart. Like you, I believe that God always gives us something to hold on to in the midst of sorrow and disappointment, and that somehow gets us through it."--Preeti

"Hi Suzanne, thank you for your column today. I think you are absolutely right. I have an issue that I have been pondering with. I just sat here and wrote my feelings, printed them, and I will put them in my journal. I journal every day. I feel that someday my journals will help the women of my family cope with what life will dish out to them. I hope they will draw comfort from my words like I draw from yours."--Sandi

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Gratefully,
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com 
http://www.DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Win free copies of books you'll read and never forget from these terrific authors; Karen Essex, Stealing Athena; Vincent Bugliosi, The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder; Craig Reed, DNA; and Tom Sullivan and Betty White, Together. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

P.S. Tomorrow, June 20th is the deadline for the Write a Dear Reader Contest. Send in your entry now. Guidelines and prizes, go to: http://tinyurl.com/55n995

Dear Reader Column 06-18-08

Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

If you haven't entered the Write a Dear Reader Contest yet, you still have two days to submit an entry. I'm never at a loss for a topic to write about, my biggest writing obstacle is that I'm really a scaredy-cat. Sometimes I'm afraid to begin and when I do finally get started I try to talk myself out of continuing, 'This is the dumbest thing you've ever written about Suzanne.'

I'm used to this little game I play with myself, but maybe you're not. Maybe you can't think of something to write about or maybe you thought of a great idea, but talked yourself out of it after you started writing.

Never fear--Suzanne is here! (A rhyming clique, now that's really pathetic copy. You're probably laughing and rolling your eyes--I know I am.) But it was the next sentence that came into my mind and so I jotted it down--and that's how I begin writing my column every day. And that's how you could begin, too.

Whatever you're thinking about when you sit down to start writing--write that thought down. "Boy my back is killing me today. I feel stupid trying to write something. I can't think of anything to say. Who do I think I am? I'm not a writer. Why do I want to bother to try and enter this contest anyway? Maybe I should get up and put a load of clothes in the washing machine? Where did that little brown spot on my arm come from? I don't remember seeing that before. My tooth is hurting again today. If it doesn't go away in a couple of days I'm going to have to go to the dentist. I'm such a big baby when I have to go to the dentist. I remember the last time I went...." and pretty soon you're telling me a story...and pretty soon you have a column...and then you can submit it and maybe you'll win!

Somebody is going to win the Write a Dear Reader Contest and it might as well be you. Go ahead and give it a try. For the guidelines and prizes, go to: http://tinyurl.com/55n995

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com 
http://www.DearReader.com

P.S. Congratulations to the winners of last week's giveaway of The Interloper by Antoine Wilson: Lindsay Jenkins, Dinah Kretschmer, Angela Knirk, Kris Stafford, Alice Gebhardt, Diane Cooney, Patty Hunter, Bridgit Allan, Beverly Ferro, Erika Wood, Mary Ann McDonnell, Erin Alcaraz, Sharon Ruthven, Olive Emmerson and Jennifer Japhet.

Dear Reader Column 06-17-08

Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

I was worried beyond belief the other night and I was soothed by reading one of my own columns. You won't find me standing in line for an extra dose of misery in life, but after reading my own words and feeling comforted by them, I realized that if I didn't experience sadness, fear and worry--sometimes so intensely that I can hardly breathe--I wouldn't be able to write about them. I would only be guessing what real fear feels like. The soothing experience of reading about it wouldn't be there for the reader (who the other night was me) because they'd know the writer had never really felt the pain. Feeling fear and pain and wanting to run from it, allows me to write about it. And eventually, if I dig deep enough, somewhere in the midst of my sadness are the words that will rescue me.

I know it sounds absurd, but each and every time I experience something painful in my life, if I'm open to finding it and ready to see it--there waiting for me--is at least one little piece of joy. I'm not saying that finding a speck of joy or goodness in the midst of something terrible makes the pain worthwhile, or somehow explains it all away. But it's those small pieces of joy that I desperately cling to when I need to get myself grounded.

In each tragic life experience there is something I can hold onto, something that allows me to take a stand, to set an anchor and once I do that--then I know I will make it through.

One of the columns I'd written a year ago when I was staying overnight with my grandson in All Children's Hospital, I saw fear and worry on the faces of parents, and they talked about it openly. But in the midst of fear and worry I also discovered love. And it was the love that allowed me to set anchor and assure myself, that somehow I would make it through.

And then, three years ago I wrote about closing the casket and saying good-bye to my mother. It was painful beyond belief. But in the following weeks, I also recognized things that were important to me--traditions that I wanted to continue or start in my own family. And since I was an only child and everyone else was gone--grandmothers, grandfathers, and my dad and mom--I would need to be the one to carry on the things that were important to me.

It was such a comfort to read my own words the other evening, and it made me realize that when I'm willing to talk about my feelings and share them with someone else--that's love. It's one of the greatest gifts I can give--even to myself. I mustn't be afraid to talk about my fears, because if I'm not willing to share the fears and worries in my life with someone else, I just might be standing in the way of them finding peace.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com 
http://www.DearReader.com

SEARCHING FOR YOUR NEXT BIG THRILL? Win copies and read about this month's new thrillers from: Meg Gardiner, Brett Battles, Carolyn Haines, Heather Graham, Phillip Margolin, Michael Beres, Sheldon Siegel and Jarad Henry. Visit the June issue of the Big Thrill now! Go to: http://www.thrillerwriters.org

Help me out! Enter the Write a Dear Reader Contest and your column will run while I'm on vacation and you'll win cool stuff. Four days left. Guidelines and prizes: http://tinyurl.com/55n995