Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 05-30-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

I'm not a doctor, but I play one when I Goggle symptoms on the Internet. Self-diagnosis, it's as insane as reading through an 8-page list of possible prescription side affects--discovered in clinical trials--that could possibly attack my mind and body after ingesting the medicine. (If I wasn't feeling sick enough before taking the prescription, now for sure there's "No hope, no hope!")

When I'm not feeling well, instead of letting real medical tests and real doctors diagnosis the problem, first I go online. After checking boxes on the Symptom Checker: fatigue, headache, constantly thinking about eating Dove chocolate (the new raspberry swirl flavor), excessive sweating, lower back pain and occasional disorientation, I was presented with three choices: insomnia, obesity, or an aortic dissection.

Worry-wart me, "I'll take aortic dissection for $500, Alex."

How silly is that? But I'm not the only one. In the midst of telling a friend about my self-diagnosing, "Me too, me too," she confessed, "I did the same thing, just last week." (My friend's a nurse.) And if I stay plugged into the Internet long enough agonizing over ghastly possibilities, eventually, to quote Mark Twain, "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."

Yes, the possible outcomes I can dream up are frightening. My legs and feet might become numb, I could be constipated for the rest of my life, my index finger could suddenly turn purple and fall off, or face it, Suzanne, it's time to prepare a list for my dear husband. How to do laundry, the passwords to all of my online accounts, be sure to rub Papa (the stray cat who comes in for dinner every evening) until he burps, and don't make a fuss, simply cremate me, throw my ashes on the garden and turn on the bubble machine.

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

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

KIDSBUZZ: Meet new authors--send an email, ask a question and they will reply. Plus enter to win a free (signed!) copy of the latest teen fiction featured books from Jennifer Estep, DARK FROST; Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas, FROM WHAT I REMEMBER; and Ursula Poznanski, EREBOS. For a chance to win free copies, say hello to the authors, and more, see www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz

* This month's Penguin Classics book is FOOLS CROW by James Welch. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/May12Classics

AUTHORBUZZ: LOVE IS MURDER (Fiction) edited by Sandra Brown

An anthology of short stories penned by some of our most popular romantic suspense authors, LOVE IS MURDER also features stories by writers better known for their thrillers, but who often incorporate into their books the relationship layering that is the trademark of traditional romantic suspense.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on LOVE IS MURDER to read more and to email author Sandra Brown, you'll get a reply.

 

Dear Reader Column 05-04-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

Fifteen of my gently-used cookbooks are bagged, stamped and ready-to-go, except for a name and address. Can I put your name on one of the packages? This past weekend I cleared off my jammed cookbook shelf. In some of the books you'll find a notation about a recipe I really liked. (Don't worry, I have a copy of the recipe.) This is the last day to enter the Gently-Used Cookbook Giveaway, go to: http://tinyurl.com/DRclear

If you are the caregiver for a parent or other loved one, you will find inspiration in Strength for the Moment: Inspiration for Caregivers by Lori Hogan. I have two copies to giveaway. When you enter, please be sure to enter CAREGIVER along with your address. To enter, go to: http://tinyurl.com/DRclear

What's happening next week at the book clubs? Next Monday, award-winning author Sandra Dallas will be the guest columnist and she'll be giving away eight copies of her latest book, TRUE SISTERS. When you send an email to Sandra you'll receive a personal reply. She's excited about writing a guest column for the book club and she's excited about "meeting" us, so be sure to welcome her.

Watch for my monthly Chocolate Chip Cookie giveaway. Munch, munch, dunk, dunk! And please email me a photo if you're a winner. I'd appreciate it.

I'm expecting! Read about that next week, too.

If you have a question about writing, send it to: Suzanne@EmailBookclub.com I'll answer writing questions readers have sent in.

Thank you for taking the time to send me an email. I absolutely love to hear from readers. You're the best!

Have a wonderful weekend. I'll be spending a few hours at Siesta Key Beach.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

AUTHORBUZZ: RIDING FURY HOME (Nonfiction) by Chana Wilson

My memoir spans forty years of the intense, complex relationship between my mother and me--the story of my childhood growing up in the 50s, my mother's suicide attempts and the secret behind them, and the powerful bond that grew between my mother and myself.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on RIDING FURY HOME to read more and to email author Chana Wilson, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 05-01-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

I've discovered a new feeling I can experience any time I want, if I just take the time to find it. I call it being "grounded." This being grounded feeling has probably been there all along, waiting for me to recognize it. Unfortunately, I think I just never slowed down enough to be able to see it, or feel it.

I'm proud of the way I behave, speak and think when I'm grounded. I'm at peace with the world, but more importantly I'm at peace with myself. I'm not wasting my thoughts thinking about whether I'm too fat, successful enough, or smart enough. I accept me. I just am. Things seem to move slower when I'm grounded. Sometimes I worry I won't accomplish as much. But actually, I accomplish just as much, sometimes more, and the things that I'm doing are more moving and meaningful to me. When I'm grounded I'm rational. There really isn't right or wrong. Things just are. I feel whatever situation is presented to me, that I'll move through it with a peace that passes all understanding. Feeling grounded allows me to be loving towards people, even people who don't love me. I can be nonjudgmental, I feel wise and I am able to recognize some good in everyone.

Some people seem to live their life grounded every day. How do they do it? I wish I knew. They always look so happy and at peace with everything. When you sit and talk with them, they transfer that calmness to you. Their words are wise, graceful and sedative, and when you leave you want to take those powerful feelings with you. You want to stay with the feeling.

In order for me to be grounded, I need to spend time on me every day. Paying attention to what I think, what I feel, what I really want from life and what I have to give to others. Let me tell you a few of my techniques I use for staying grounded. I start every day reading something inspirational, or I write. Some mornings it just takes a paragraph or two. Other mornings it's a real struggle to get all the bad stuff out of my mind, and I have to read a couple of chapters, or write for a very long time. But I keep going until I recognize "grounded". Or I might count my blessings. And if I can't seem to appreciate the ones I'm in the midst of, I remind myself of the problems I thought I had last week, or last month, and how they worked out just fine, and then I remind myself about how much time I wasted fretting about them. Music, watching the birds eat at the bird feeder, blowing bubbles, and writing a column to share with you each morning helps keep me grounded, too. So I thank you.

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

Warmest regards,
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
http://www.muffinsandmayhem.com/

AUTHORBUZZ: NO REMORSE (Thriller) by Ian Walkley

This thoroughly entertaining story follows Lee McCloud, an ex-soldier and Tally, a female computer geek, in the search for two teenage girls kidnapped in Mexico, who find themselves caught up in a global conspiracy.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on NO REMORSE to find out more about the book and the author, Ian Walkley. Send him an email, he'd love to hear from you.

Dear Reader Column 04-11-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

"Just show up and pay attention--and don't forget to breathe."

It's a little experiment I'm involved in for the next two weeks. Lately I've been thinking about things 'I used to do.' Cool accomplishments in my life, things I'm still talented at doing, but don't necessarily want to continue. Been there, done that--for too many years.

I love writing, that won't change (I need to write), but in some other parts of my life, I've decided I want to change things up a bit. So what do I want to do with the rest of my life? I have the desire, but not the answer. The question makes me feel like the kid in high school and everyone is asking, "What are your plans? What are you going to do after you graduate?"

I've "graduated" in a number of areas. I've worked at getting ahead and being successful and by my own compass (which is the only one that really counts) I'm doing just fine. I work, I play, I ponder, and lately it's that pondering about things that's got my attention, because I feel something exciting is waiting for me.

"What are your plans Suzanne?"

"Right now I'm not sure. So while I'm waiting, I'll show up and pay attention--and I won't forget to breathe." Isn't life exciting?

* Last week's guest columnist, Barbara O'Neal, had a drawing for a copy of one of her three books, THE LOST RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS, HOW TO BAKE A PERFECT LIFE and her newest book, THE GARDEN OF HAPPY ENDINGS. The winners are: Beatrice Birdsong, Sharon Griffitts, Joann Reichardt, Elaine Ruggiero, Robin Patrick, Barbara Lamb, Cheryl Schwartz, Shelley Lawson, Kelly Johnson and Gail Brinker.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

KIDSBUZZ: Meet new authors--send an email, ask a question and they will reply. Plus enter to win a free (signed!) copy of the featured books from Jerel Law, SPIRIT FIGHTER and Erik Daniel Shein & Dennis M. Lowery, SERPENTAURIA: ARK OF EXTINCTION. For a chance to win free copies, say hello to the authors, and more, see www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz

AUTHORBUZZ: BLUE ASYLUM (Fiction) by Kathy Hepinstall

I researched and started writing Blue Asylum on the island of Sanibel, off Florida's west coast. It's a strange and largely wild place, still pristine and ominous, a place of flat blue-green water, and breezes and crocodiles. In 1864, the year Blue Asylum takes place, it must have been even more beautiful, dangerous, and unpredictable. It proved the perfect setting for this story of madness and love. They say madness is a double-edged sword. It can cause you great misunderstanding, institutionalization, and even physical torture. But it's so handy when you fall in love.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on BLUE ASYLUM to read more and to email author Kathy Hepinstall, you'll get a reply.

 

Dear Reader Column 04-10-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

I'm in love with worms, actually big, fat nightcrawlers. Every time I turn a spade of dirt in my flower gardens, I see two or three worms smiling up at me. I couldn't tell you exactly what those earthworms are doing for the soil in my gardens, but I do know that years ago when they started hanging out in my dirt, my plants began flourishing.

But today's author and guest columnist Amy Stewart, could certainly answer that question, because she's written five books on the perils and pleasures of the natural world (including three NEW YORK TIMES bestsellers), WICKED BUGS, WICKED PLANTS and FLOWER CONFIDENTIAL. And Amy blogs with a group of opinionated gardeners at www.gardenrant.com

Send Amy an email, welcome her to the book club, tell her you'd love to win one of the five books she's giving away, ask her a question about worms, chickens, lady bugs, purple-people-eaters--really anything. Amy's the expert, and you're going to love her column today.

To contact Amy go to: http://amystewart.com/about.html and click on E-mail Amy.

Take it away Amy...

Fighting over Food Scraps: Worms vs. Chickens

Before we got chickens, the worms had a very easy life. They lived in a nice comfortable bin on the porch outside my kitchen door, and tasty food rained down upon them a couple times a day. In the morning, they'd get spent coffee grounds and maybe an eggshell or the crusts of a piece of toast. Later in the afternoon, they might get a banana peel or an apple core. And at night, there were usually some vegetable trimmings or a little leftover pasta or rice. It's no wonder worms follow humans wherever we go: we are their personal chefs. I know a woman who started eating more mangoes and melons just because I told her that worms were partial to the rinds. I made her promise that she was actually eating the fruit and only giving them the scraps. "They eat trash," I said. "You understand that, right? You don't have to actually buy food for them!"

But this is the kind of affection that earthworms inspire. They are clean, quiet, hardworking pets, eager to please and happy to produce something of value--rich earthworm castings, the ultimate plant food--in exchange for a good meal. And I was happy to provide for them--until I got chickens. Suddenly, the worms had competition.

Backyard hens do take a little more care than worms--I can't leave them unattended when I go away on vacation, and their shelter is a little more complicated than the worms'--but I must admit that they are infinitely more rewarding. My Buff Orpington, Ladybird, is as pleasant and affectionate as a cat, happy to settle down in my lap when I sit outside. And, like the worms, they produce something useful: eggs. The manure is a welcome addition to the compost pile, too.

But now I have this dilemma. Who gets the kitchen scraps? The chickens go crazy for crusts of bread, bits of strawberry, and apple cores. Their delight is so much more obvious than that of the worms, too. They rush up to me, hopping around and squawking in hopes of getting the first bite. The worms might be happy to have a treat, but they certainly don't know how to show it.

So the compromise--if it could be called that--is to give the chickens whatever they want and to let the worms have the rest. The birds don't care about coffee grounds and they are strangely uninterested in lettuce. They don't know what to do with a banana peel. So the worms continue to enjoy those treats, while the chickens get the rest. And they each continue to return the favor by turning those scraps into food for the soil, and food for me. If only my cat would do the same!

Amy Stewart

To contact Amy go to: http://amystewart.com/about.html and click on E-mail Amy.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

AUTHORBUZZ: GROWING HAPPY KIDS (Nonfiction) by Maureen Healy

Want to be happy? Help your kids create their strongest and happiest lives? I bet the answer is a resounding--YES! With twenty years of global experience helping parents raise happier kids, I have discovered that not everyone "knows" how to plant the seeds of inner strength and ultimately happiness in their kids. GROWING HAPPY KIDS answers that deep wish in every parent's heart.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on GROWING HAPPY KIDS to find out more about the book and the author, Maureen Healy. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.

Dear Reader Column 04-02-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

Today's guest author Heather Lende, writes the obituaries for the Chilkat Valley News (circ. 1000) and a monthly column for Woman's Day (circ. 3.2 million). The Los Angeles Times refers to Heather's writing as "Part Annie Dillard, part Anne Lamott." Heather lives in tiny Haines, Alaska with her family, a snippy old terrier and a sweet Golden Retriever puppy. I just finished reading her second book, Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs: A True Story of Bad Breaks and Small Miracles, a moving, funny and sometimes tearful story of her comeback from literally being run over by a truck and her mother's death shortly afterward.

Heather is working on her third book at the moment, and graciously accepted my invitation to write a guest column for us today. Be sure to email Heather and say hello, she will send a personal reply, and she's giving away 10 copies of her book--the one I just finished reading. You'll love it, I really mean that, you'll love it!

Welcome to the book clubs, Heather-- Suzanne Beecher

When Suzanne asked me if I had only one lesson to live by, what it would it be, and why? I panicked. A little. Is this a trick question? Like what's your favorite book? What will the answer say about me? What if I reveal that, mostly, I bumble along and hope for the best? Will I lose my Woman's Day column? That it is titled "Life Lessons" is the great irony of my existence. You see, I never seem to know anything for sure, and I learn my lessons the old fashioned way, by making a lot of mistakes.

Oh, I suppose I could say, "Get married and stay married and have five children." That's what has made me happy. Except that advice would give even some of my dearest friends hives, and on this ever shrinking planet do I really want to encourage over population? I could say, "Adopt a dog, nothing will ever love you as much, plus you'll have to exercise." But what if you are more allergic to Golden Retrievers than to marriage and children?

However, since Suzanne asked, and I don't want to disappoint her, here goes.

If, and only if, I were on my death bed, and just had one more breath, and I'd already told my husband, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren (I plan to be very old when my time comes) that I loved them, if indeed all the wisdom I had in my heart were to be summed up in final words for them all to live by, it would be this: "Find the good."

(I know it sounds sappy, but it's true, and on my deathbed I will, I hope, finally not worry what anyone might think of me. I have always been a Pollyanna and I'm going out that way, if I am awake and conscious.)

By find the good, I mean do your best to seek something, anything, good, in all things, but especially in other human beings.

I am more habituated to this practice than most people, thanks to my job as an obituary writer at a small-town paper. When I am summing up a life lost I look for the good. I don't ask a woman's enemy what they didn't like about her. I ask an old friend what she loved. In the sixteen years since I began writing obituaries, I have learned that there is something unique, and I believe good, about most human beings--if you make an effort to look for it.

Practice finding the good in the people around you--friends, family, co-workers, neighbors--the bus driver, baker, and banker. Here's the lesson: Finding the good is as beneficial for you as it is for others, maybe even more so. You have the power to make your life happier by the way you respond to the sometimes-grumpy people or crummy situations you are in with them. When you seek goodness, your world is a brighter place but so is everyone else's.

Heather Lende

Email Heather, say hello, and enter to win one of the 10 books she is giving away. Email: hlende@aptalaska.net and visit her blog at: http://www.heatherlende.com/

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

AUTHORBUZZ: THE DISCOVERY (Fiction) by Dan Walsh

When aspiring writer Michael Warner inherits his grandfather's venerable Charleston estate, he settles in to write his first novel. But within the confines of the stately home, he discovers an unpublished manuscript that his grandfather, a literary giant whose novels sold in the millions, has kept hidden from everyone--but which he clearly intended Michael to find. As he delves deep into the exciting tale about Nazi spies and sabotage, Michael discovers something that has the power to change not only his future but his past as well.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE DISCOVERY to read more and to email author Dan Walsh, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 03-27-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

How to Bake a Perfect Life was a Target Club Pick, The Lost Recipe for Happiness won the RITA in 2010 (bringing this author's total number of RITA awards to six). This author lives on the skirts of Pikes Peak, she loves gardening and all big dogs, and she's a long distance walker who's traveled a portion of the Camino de Santiago Compestela, with plans to finish the walk in the near future--and that experience led her to write The Garden of Happy Endings (which will be released in April 17th).

A talented author, with an amusing combination of favorite foods (olive oil, peaches and good ale), let me introduce today's Dear Reader Guest Columnist, Barbara O'Neal. Send Barbara an email, she's waiting to reply, and read about her giveaway at the end of today's column. Welcome to the book clubs Barbara...

Last year, my beloved gave me a stupendous Christmas present: he paid a landscape designer to help me create a plan for food and flowers in a gigantic garden in my backyard. Then, he hired a crew of workers to dig and place the beds according to the plan, and in March, he set me loose.

It was one of the best summers I've had in decades. I grew corn and squashes, roses and lavender, tomatoes and petunias and a whole lot more. Every morning, I wandered outside with the cats to see how things were doing. Every evening, we puttered--weeding or plucking or deadheading or harvesting.

And all through the spring and summer, I wrote a book about a woman who finds herself coming back to life after a bitter season of loss by working in a garden. At summer's end, both book and garden were put to bed. The cats and I went back inside, peering hopefully at the frozen ground every so often. We finished off the potatoes, then the butternut squashes.

Over the past week, a vigorous row of daffodils has popped up from the bare ground. They took me by surprise, as they do every year. It seems like it's January forever, blah and dull, with no color or cheer anywhere around, and the dark closing in early. I would hibernate with a pile of research materials and the internet if it were left to me--however a certain dog insists we have to walk even if it is blustery and freezing. January lasts forever, and February is merely cruel--teasing me with a shift in light, a hint of possibility, only to send a blast of winter again, snow and freezing winds.

And then March blows in, and all at once, it seems like every branch in the neighborhood is swollen with pregnant buds, and crocuses are scattered over someone's lawn, and there are the first green shoots of spring bulbs announcing the official news that there is LIFE in that ground. Even if it froze to nothingness, here it is again, showing up.

Just like my garden is waking up, I realize that my book is almost ready to bear fruit, too. It will arrive in April, telling the story of Elsa Montgomery, a woman who has lost her faith after an unspeakable tragedy. Hibernating all winter with an old friend who has become a priest, Elsa begins to awaken in the spring when the priest talks her into heading up a community garden. THE GARDEN OF HAPPY ENDINGS was born as surely in my garden last year as perhaps new gardens will be born out of the book. Which is just like the cycles of summer and fall, winter and spring, isn't it?

I will be giving away several copies of my books. One lucky reader will win an Advance Reading Copy of THE GARDEN OF HAPPY ENDINGS. I will also give away five copies each of HOW TO BAKE A PERFECT LIFE, and THE LOST RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS. Good luck, and happy reading!

Barbara O'Neal
http://www.barbaraoneal.com/
email:  http://www.barbaraoneal.com/contact-me/

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

* This month's Penguin Classics book is THE LIFE OF JOHN THOMPSON, A FUGITIVE SLAVE by John Thompson. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/March12Classics

AUTHORBUZZ: THE SEDUCTION OF LADY X (Fiction) by Julia London

The shocking news that the dashing steward, Harrison Tolly, the illegitimate son of the Earl of Ashwood, is the rightful heir to his father's estate comes at an inopportune time. With a wedding on the horizon and a baby on the way, a new life of privilege and prestige would be a blessing but for one problem: He is desperately in love with a woman he cannot have.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE SEDUCTION OF LADY X to find out more about the book and the author, Julia London. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.

Dear Reader Column 03-20-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

I can go on a ride with my husband and not even leave the station, because when he's sitting, his leg vibrates. Up and down, up and down, a perpetual flight that a hummingbird would be envious of. And soon everything, within close proximity, picks up the beat and starts vibrating right along with him.

Whenever I've pointed out to my husband that his leg motion is taking the entire row in the movie theater along for his jog, he's always defended himself saying, "It's my his weight control mechanism." He insists if he quits jiggling his leg, he'd probably gain an extra 20 pounds. Now I didn't want to be responsible for that, did I? But I never believed a word of it until he anti-upped some proof.

Apparently, researchers at the Mayo Clinic are siding with my husband. They've come to the opinion that it's not the trips to the gym, but the everyday pacing and fidgeting that might help determine whether someone's fat or thin. If you fidget, sway, or pace back and forth enough during the year, you could trim off an extra 33 pounds. Or in my husband's case--he was grinning from ear-to-ear--(I hate it when he's right) he could avoid that extra 20 pounds.

So I guess I'd better just sit back and learn how to enjoy the ride!

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

* This month's Penguin Classics book is THE LIFE OF JOHN THOMPSON, A FUGITIVE SLAVE by John Thompson. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/March12Classics

AUTHORBUZZ: LITTLE MISS MERIT BADGE (Nonfiction) by Ronda Beaman

All my life I wanted to be noticed and adored, but my parents were better looking and more talented than me, and they would be the first to tell you so--I wanted to sing, or dance, or just be famous--but because of the stiff competition at home that didn't seem likely, so I earned badges. OK, I over-earned badges. I had so many badges, I had to wear two sashes, with all my other pins for service and ribbons for cookie sales, I looked like the General Patton edition of Barbie. Can you relate to over-doing things thinking it will earn you some notice, some attention, or maybe some love?

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on LITTLE MISS MERIT BADGE to find out more about the book and the author, Ronda Beaman. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.

 

 

Dear Reader Column 03-07-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

Thanks for taking the time to write. Susan's been reading at the book clubs for six years and she finally had to ask...

"Hi Suzanne,

Last Friday's column about your pink skirt prompted me to email and ask a question I have been wondering about for some time. Why do you always wear skirts? I can't remember seeing a picture of you in pants or shorts, and I've been reading at the book club for 6 years now. Around here, most women only wear skirts or dresses to church, if even then, but rarely for everyday. You always look so cute in your skirts! I may have to try wearing one myself when the weather warms up.

I always enjoy your column and have discovered so many wonderful new books and authors through the book club. Thank you!"--Susan I.

(Suzanne replies:) Good eye, you are right. I rarely wear pants or shorts. My closet is filled with cotton (throw in the washer) skirts. When the weather gets cool in Florida, I add tights to the ensemble, otherwise I wear white ankle socks with Mary Jane shoes, a brightly colored shirt, accessorized with a pearl necklace and earrings and I top it off with my pink "Muffins and Mayhem" baseball cap. It's become my uniform. Thankfully skirts look cute on me, because all through the generations: great-grandma, my Grandma Hale, and my mother couldn't wear pants unless the waist stretched and allowed for...actually a column I wrote a few years ago says it best.

Every word is true, except over the years, the sizes have changed--but we don't need to go into that.

I keep two sizes of pants in my closet. Size 2 is the real me. Size 4 is my "bloat" size. Lately I have to do most of my eating at the dinner hour, because otherwise I have to change my pants half way through the day. I wear my size 2s before I eat, 4s after I eat, and then 2s later in the day when I "debloat" again. I always look smart. My pants are never wrinkled, because I don't have them on long enough to do any real crease damage.

I know the foods that cause me to expand like a balloon. Sugar is one of them. I try to avoid it. But it's tough. My husband says the problem is that I just don't eat enough of it. His advice is to eat tons of sugar, bloat up like the Goodyear blimp, switch to elastic-waist pants for a week, and get it over with once and for all. Then, my body will adjust and I'll be able to wear the size 2 pants all day long.

I know, I know, you might be thinking at this point, "Look Suzanne, I don't feel any sympathy for someone who starts at a size 2 and bloats to a size 4." But it's all relative, I assure you. If you are wearing a size 2 and you bloat up 4 inches, there just isn't room for expansion. There's no place for the bloat to go.

Well, that's the scoop from my end of the world today. I need to sign off now. I ate lunch 20 minutes ago and it's time to change my pants.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

AUTHORBUZZ: AGONY OF THE LEAVES, A Tea Shop Mystery by Laura Childs

When tea shop owner Theodosia slips away from serving tea and scones at the Neptune Aquarium, she discovers the body of a man, tangled in a net, in the vast Ocean Wall exhibit. EMTs say the man drowned, but Theodosia spots defensive wounds. Though police aren't keen on her theory, Theodosia chases down a raft of suspects.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on AGONY OF THE LEAVES to read more and to email author Laura Childs, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 02-28-12

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column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

Today's guest column is written by Deirdre Donahue, a book reviewer for USA TODAY. In fact, that's how I met Deirdre. Two years ago, Deirdre interviewed me for a story she was working on, when my book Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life was released. Please welcome Deirdre to the book clubs. Send an email, she would love to hear from you and will definitely reply. Her email address is: deirdremdonahue@gmail.com

Welcome Deirdre, take it away...

"Pixie Dust"

How to explain the alchemy of words and imagination that result in fictional characters who jump from the page and into a reader's heart?

The only answer I can give is "pixie dust," the magical X factor that some writers possess. It can't be taught in a creative writing program nor can an editor bestow it. It has nothing to do with genre and everything to do with an author's voice. You can discover it in inexpensive paperback romances as well as prize-winning literary novels.

I can't define it though I can describe the sensation of finding it, usually in the very first paragraph. The back of my neck tingles and I feel compelled to keep reading. This compulsion can turn a novel into an enemy of productivity. Neither my boss on the phone nor my children can distract me. Meals cooked while I am so engrossed are haphazard at best, and, at worst, a danger to health. I never text or talk on my cell phone while driving but I have read passages from certain novels--Stephen Carter's The Emperor of Ocean Park for one--while stopped at red lights. Only the honks of annoyed drivers made me realize the light had turned green.

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry even challenged my maternal devotion. Returning home from my first business trip away from my then-toddler son, I inhaled this tale of two ex-Texas Rangers leading a cattle drive north. The deaths of certain characters required me to leave my economy seat to weep in the airplane bathroom. After the plane landed, I sat in the terminal and finished the last chapters before going home to my little boy. Though that extra hour alone with his father didn't hurt him, my inability to stop reading still embarrasses me.

When confronted with "pixie dust," technology has only eroded my will power. For a time, I was a slave to my eReader, incessantly downloading books. I have now mostly returned to the printed page as my preferred platform but my digital library reveals my passion for romance novels. It began with Rachel Gibson's Nothing But Trouble, part of her addictive series about a fictional Seattle professional hockey team. Noticing it on the USA TODAY bestseller list, I downloaded a free sample. Enchanted by its humor and insight, I bought the eBook and gobbled it up that night. The next morning, I bought all of Gibson's eBooks. Faced with the collapse of my 19-year-marriage and print journalism's uncertain future, reading her romances boosts my spirits. Part of their appeal is the guarantee that, here at least, the endings will always be happy. Gibson's "pixie dust" is how she creates laughter and surprises along the way.

After my mother died from a heart attack, Bridget Jones's Diary became something even more remarkable--a distraction from grief on the train ride from Washington D.C. to the funeral on Long Island. In the middle of one of life's hardest journeys, I found myself laughing out loud at this charming tale about an imaginary young Londoner's search for her own Mr. Darcy. I remember putting down the book to marvel that Helen Fielding's heroine had made me forget for a few moments my sad destination.

Such is the power of "pixie dust."

When Deirdre's not writing about books for USA TODAY, she's busy working on her first romance novel. Send Deirdre an email. She'd love to hear from you and she will reply. Email: deirdremdonahue@gmail.com

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

AUTHORBUZZ: REDWOOD BEND (Fiction) by Robyn Carr

Can changing a tire change your life?

While driving along the mountain roads to Virgin River with her twin boys, Katie is stopped short by a tire as flat as her failed romance. When Katie's having trouble changing the tire on her SUV, Dylan Childress, enters the picture, a sexy, leather-clad biker on the motorcycle trip of a lifetime with his buddies. While the guys check out her tire, Katie and Dylan check out each another.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on REDWOOD BEND to find out more about the book and the author, Robyn Carr. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.