Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 05-29-12

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,

THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF INFLUENCE, I was intrigued by the title of Dan Seidman's book, and even more intrigued in the midst of reading it, and anxious to experiment with some of the concepts. The subtitle of the book is, Master the One Skill Every Sales Pro Needs. But the book is really an excellent read for anyone, because when you think about it, we're all trying to influence someone every day. Trying to influence our kids, our boss, coworkers, our spouse, or we're trying to influence the furniture salesperson to give us a great deal on the dark blue leather recliner that would look perfect in our living room.

Dan is a World Masters Athlete with three gold medals playing on the US Basketball Team. As a competitive athlete, he hates losing more than he enjoys winning. So he takes that attitude into the selling profession to turn salespeople into sales pros. "The Secret Language of Influence" is his sixth book. As a sales trainer, Dan travels globally, teaching the latest best-practices in influence. His next two trips are to the exotic locations of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Istanbul, Turkey.

Contact Dan directly at Dan@GotInfluenceInc.com. He'd love to hear from you, and he'll enter your name in a drawing for a copy of three books he's giving away, and he'd be happy to email you three unique articles for business professionals, THE ONE SALES TEST YOU'RE GUARANTEED TO FAIL, THE 800 POUND LIE OF GUERRILLA MARKETING and AAAAHHHHH! (how to evoke emotions when you sell).

Welcome Dan to the bookclubs, email: Dan@gotinfluenceinc.com

Take it away Dan Seidman . . .

INFLUENCE & STUFFED ANIMALS

Want to get a good laugh out of your kids?

Tell them you are going to win a staring contest--with one of their stuffed animals.

I lay in bed, eyes locked on the small, but fierce-looking pug. He was a Webkinz, meaning he also had the power of the Internet backing his tail.

The world began spinning as I fought to keep my eyelids from flickering. The dryness was the worst part of the contest; my eyes felt as if they'd been rubbed, wide open, in the fur of the little beast.

Children cheered, but my concentration was so intense, was it for me, or him?

In an instant it was over. My kids began to laugh at my loss. "Dad, you can never win against a stuffed animal. He has no eyelids."

You can never win.

That's a nasty thought. Here's a nastier one--what activities during your day are absolute losers? And I'm including mental activities, too.

The big one? ATTITUDE

You can actually alter and improve an individual's attitude with an exercise I ran with a major non-profit, World Vision.

World Vision uses phone callers to garnish donations. They work hard, getting tons of NOs, even from people who are current or past supporters. How do you help manage all that negativity?

Focus on gratitude to improve your attitude!

Create a HEART & HEAD CHECK self-test

On paper, create POSITIVE RESPONSES to your feelings about...

The economy
Things are hard now, but if someone gives up a case of soda a month, they can help.

Fundraising Industry
We do great work, helping the under-resourced.

Your company World Vision
I work, proudly, for one of the most respected and ethical organizations on the planet!

Donors' perception about World Vision
They trust that 10c on every dollar goes to operations; while 90c helps people they see at http://www.worldvision.org/.

Your office
My work environment is bright, with fun employees, newer computers and phones.

Your boss
Larry really cares about me personally and my work.

Your job
I get to interact with interesting people from all over the country and all walks of life. It's a cool reflection of God's diverse creation, all experienced on the phone.

Your self
I landed a job here! It's hard work and fun.

Healthy responses found light at the end of every tunnel. For example, the Industry response was about serving people, not donors' tight wallets.

Print and put this up. It's uplifting for anyone walking into the work area.

You just branded healthy attitude inside the company.

What other ways can you use this idea?

The best learners become teachers as soon as they come across new knowledge. Who needs to know about this? Run this exercise at work, even at home.

So change attitude by focusing on gratitude. And change it forever by giving your team and your family printed evidence of all the good they encounter and offer each day.

Who will you share this with? When?

Send an email to Dan, just say hello, ask for the three articles he's giving away or ask to be entered in his book giveaway. (Please always include your mailing address, in case you win).
Email: Dan@gotinfluenceinc.com

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 FOOLS CROW by James Welch. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/May12Classics

AUTHORBUZZ: SHOUT HER LOVELY NAME (Fiction) by Natalie Serber

Flawed, free-loving Ruby Hargrove adopts strays--cats and men. She and her steadfast daughter, Nora, scrutinize, criticize and inspire one another in a suite of stories that make up the center of SHOUT HER LOVELY NAME, a collection focused on the intense love and sandpaper relationship between daughters and their mothers.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on SHOUT HER LOVELY NAME to find out more about the book and the author, Natalie Serber. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.

Dear Reader Column 05-21-12

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,

Not only can you find a great book at the library, you might even find out how to get engaged, too. Welcome to author Melissa Fay Greene, today's guest columnist. Melissa would love to "meet" you. Be sure to drop her a line at: mfgreene1@gmail.com and she'll personally reply, and your name will be entered in a drawing for one of 5 copies of her book No Biking in the House Without a Helmet (previously featured in our NonFiction Book Club).

Take it away, Melissa...

One evening in 1978, I called home long-distance from Savannah, Georgia, to tell my mother, Roz Greene, in Dayton, Ohio, that I was planning to move to Athens, Georgia, where my boyfriend was in law school at the University of Georgia.

"Oh, sweetheart," she said wistfully. "Couldn't you get married first?"

"Married?!' I scoffed. "Mom! This is the seventies! No one gets 'married' anymore!"

"Oh," she said sadly, and then offered: "Couldn't you at least get engaged?"

This caught me so off-guard--"engagement" a concept that had eluded my consciousness completely during the consciousness-raising years--that I didn't instantly dismiss it.

"Engaged?" I asked. "Well, what does that involve?"

"I don't know!" she cried with happiness. "But I'll go to the library first thing tomorrow morning and look it up!"

This was typical of my mother, a lifelong lover of books and of libraries. She was a young mother; she'd only attended one semester of college at the University of Georgia before dropping out to get married in 1948 at 19; and she never took another class or studied another subject. But she held books and libraries in reverence. I grew up within a wonderland of children's literature, first in Macon, Georgia, where I was born; and later in Dayton, Ohio, to which we moved when I was six. My mother read to me at bedtime; and she sat on the closed toilet-lid and read to me as I splashed in the bathtub; and she read aloud to me and my brother on family trips, turning around in the passenger seat as my father drove; and when I was sick, she sat by my bed and read herself hoarse in long marathons: The Five Little Peppers, The Wind in the Willows; Winnie-the-Pooh; Peter Pan Raggedy Ann & Andy, The Velveteen Rabbit magical worlds coming to life along with the steam curling towards my ceiling from the humidifier that she plugged in whenever I was sick. My first job (urged upon me by my mother) was at the Montgomery County Public Library in Dayton; at 16, I became a "page."

"Are you still a Page?!" roared my father in high humor every night. "Are you ever going to be promoted to Chapter?!" He laughed, but my mother glowed with pride that I worked at a library.

My mother and her beloved books and libraries are, without a doubt, the reason I became a writer. She didn't live, alas, to see my greatest library moment: last spring, I was inducted into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame, housed in the magnificent University of Georgia library. Now my portrait hangs in their archives beside true giants of literature like W.E.B. Du Bois, Sidney Lanier, Joel Chandler Harris, Margaret Mitchell, and Alice Walker. My mother... well, I feel tears rising to my eyes at the thought...my mother would have been proud.

Meanwhile, on the night in 1978 that she promised to go to the library the next morning to look up the art of getting engaged, I called my boyfriend, Donny Samuel, and said, "I think we might be getting engaged."

"Really?" he asked in surprise. "Wait, don't I have anything to do with it?"

"No. My mother's going to the library tomorrow to look it up."

"Okay," he said cheerily. "Just let me know."

My mother went to the library the next morning, checked out Emily Post, called me back, and Donny and I not only got engaged by phone later that same day but were married five months later. We just celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary. Without my mother and the Montgomery County Public Library, it might never have happened.

--Melissa Fay Greene

Melissa is an award-winning author of five books of nonfiction, from serious literary journalism about the civil rights movement and the HIV/AIDS pandemic--Praying For Sheetrock, The Temple Bombing, Last Man Out, and There Is No Me Without You to her recent hilarious and touching family memoir, No Biking In The House Without a Helmet. Melissa and her husband live in Atlanta and are the parents of nine.

Send an email to Melissa, say hello, she will personally reply, and she'll enter you in her book giveaway. Email: mfgreene1@gmail.com

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

Warmest regards,
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

* 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: INTO THIS WORLD (Fiction) by Sybil Baker

Determined to discover the truth about Mina, her adopted sister, Allison flies to Seoul, yet Mina--and Korea--are nothing like Allison imagines. Over the next three months, Allison and Mina will unearth thirty years of family secrets--and Allison will discover in Mina the sister she never embraced and in herself, the stronger woman she can be.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on INTO THIS WORLD to read more and to email author Sybil Baker, you'll get a reply.

 

Dear Reader Column 05-17-12

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,

The other day when I was looking for something on the Internet I discovered Luigi Pirandello. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934, but that wasn't what impressed me about him (though granted that's impressive). I was more taken with the title of a play he'd written, "It is so! If you think so!" It was one of his first three plays, and since it took him less than one week to write it, instantly--I was a believer.

"It is so! If you think so!" (And the best part is, it happens in less than one week's time!)

You betcha. So I latched right on to that idea and decided to give it a whirl. Ooh, this was exciting, felt just like Christmas or my birthday. Okay, so what would I like to change in my life? I'd been avoiding a lot of little dicey situations lately, fearing they might turn into confrontations. Wouldn't it be grand if I had a Fix-It Fairy to take care of them for me? I know, I know, a Fix-it Fairy sounds like a kid's fairy tale, but Luigi Pirandello assures me that "It is so! (Suzanne) If you think so!" And by golly Pirandello was right. My Fix-It Fairy started out with a bang--she fixed one of my problems instantly. I was very impressed. But that was over a week ago, and ever since then I've been patiently waiting for my Fix-It Fairy to fly by and finish-up the job, to sprinkle her fairy dust on the rest of my problems, so poof!--they'll magically disappear. But she hasn't, and they haven't--disappeared.

I'm beginning to think I should have been more specific in my "It is so" thinking, adding adjectives such as competent, reliable and timely. Because the Fix-It Fairy assigned to me is a slacker. "It is so, because I know it's so!" First-of-all, she never shows up on time, and if-and-when she finally does fly by, she simply waves, then punches in on the fairy time clock, affirming she took care of Suzanne's problems, when in fact, she didn't. Don't you hate it when fairies don't take pride in their work?

"It may have been so! If you thought so!" in Pirandello's time, but take my word for it--it ain't so anymore--at least when it comes to fairies.

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: THE YEAR OF THE GADFLY (Fiction) by Jennifer Miller

Iris Dupont is a precocious teenage reporter reeling from tragedy. Jonah Kaplan is a science teacher haunted by his past. As each investigates a vicious secret society in their remote New England prep school, they begin to uncover deeply buried secrets about their school, their town, and each other.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE YEAR OF THE GADFLY to find out more about the book and the author, Jennifer Miller. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.

*Fun, free books and meet authors. Ask questions, they'll reply and read samples from their books. Visit AuthorBuzz at: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

(Fiction)
TRAVELERS REST by Ann Tatlock

(Nonfiction)
EATING FREE by Manuel Villacorta

(Nonfiction)
THE CHANGE YOUR LIFE BOOK by Bill O'Hanlon

(Fiction)
THE YEAR OF THE GADFLY by Jennifer Miller

(Fiction)
MURDER ONE by Robert Dugoni

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

* 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

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 05-16-12

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 Dear Reader column is written by Eleanor Kuhns; librarian by day, author by night and furiously writing in any other spare moments she can eek out of her busy schedule. She's a creative gal, writing in the tub, waiting in line at Starbucks, in a closet with an itty-bitty night light, so as not wake up anyone else in the house, in the pew (when the minister thinks she's dutifully taking notes on his sermon). Okay, so I don't really know where Eleanor Kuhns found the time to write such a delightful book, but thank heavens she did. Enjoy Eleanor's column today and enter-to-win one of the 15 galleys of her book, A Simple Murder. Send Eleanor an email, say hello and she will personally reply--and she'll enter you in the drawing. You can reach Eleanor at: eleanor.kuhns@gmail.com

Take it away, Eleanor...

The Librarian/Writer Dilemma:

I regularly hear the question: how does it feel to be both a writer and a librarian, as though these two professions are adversaries. Well, sometimes they are. They are siblings in the book world and of course, like siblings everywhere, sometimes they disagree. E-books, for example. What to do with e-books? I don't think any of us know exactly how to handle this new format. The book family is having some heated discussions on pricing and regulation. But we agree on getting books into the hands of readers. We have more in common than not.

Many librarians are frustrated writers; librarians have an affinity for books just like writers do. Not necessarily for the printed format, although some of us will never relinquish the physical object, but the content: fiction, essays, poetry or nonfiction. Libraries nurture writers as well as readers. And libraries provide a home for those of us who work at both.

Like libraries, the death of the publishing industry is regularly forecast. In Rodney Dangerfield's immortal phrase, we don't get no respect. If I had a dime for every time someone asked me if, in my library job, I read all the time, I wouldn't have to work at all. And writing? Well, even my nearest and dearest think I sit down at the laptop and the plots and characters just come to me fully formed and perfect. No struggle at all.

But there is one huge difference between these two callings: solitude versus working with the public. A writer has to live inside her head and for that I need peace. When I was working on A Simple Murder I lived inside my head as Will Rees, traveling weaver, meeting the Shakers for the first time. I couldn't tolerate any interruptions.

A librarian, on the other hand, is out with people every day. My entire work life is interruptions. During my career I've worked with all the ages from 6 month-old children up to the seniors in the local residence. If one enjoys people, and I really do, the question I ask myself is this: as I throw myself headlong into my childhood dream of living as a writer, could I ever surrender my library job? Patrons come in all varieties; the good and the bad. But the wonderful ones really make the day shine.

Eleanor Kuhns

A little bit about Eleanor:

I've been a librarian all of my adult life. I come from a family of librarians (both my mother and former mother-in-law are librarians) and my two children are carrying on the tradition. I started working in a library at sixteen, only a few years after I wrote my first story at ten. By then I was already an avid reader. I knew I wanted to be a writer; I wanted to make other people love my stories with the same intensity I loved the books I read. My two careers have been part of me for almost the same length of time.

I'm married with two biological children and a host of foster children. At least half of them write, something I find very gratifying, although the types of literature produced range from poetry to science fiction to memoir. And yes, I'm still employed as a librarian.

Say hello, receive a personal reply and enter-to-win a galley of her book, A SIMPLE MURDER. Email: eleanor.kuhns@gmail.com

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

Warmest regards,
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.muffinsandmayhem.com

* 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: THE CHANGE YOUR LIFE BOOK (Nonfiction) by Bill O'Hanlon

Tired of the same old issues? You could leave them behind and have a different and better life within a year by making one small change a week.

I'm Bill O'Hanlon, featured OPRAH guest, and I have written an easy-to-read book with one small easy-to-make change per week that will help dissolve old, persistent problems and move you into a new sense of aliveness and possibility. It's challenging to make big dramatic changes, but making small changes can bring about big changes gradually.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE CHANGE YOUR LIFE BOOK to read more and to email author Bill O'Hanlon, you'll get a reply.

 

Dear Reader Column 05-14-12

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,

Okay what's going on? It's only Monday morning and I feel like playing hooky today. But since I am my own boss it kind of takes the fun out of calling in sick, doesn't it? Truth be told, I really feel like doing something "bad" today, a little raucous--a bit of mischief that would raise an eyebrow or two. "Look at that woman! Can you believe it?" I'm level-headed, but every once-in-a-while, (and maybe this time it's because I'll be another year older next week) the rebel in me wants to be unruly. I like to break the rules--always have. When you're a kid, people tolerate an occasional irresponsible act, but after the age of 25--grow up--no more excuses. An adult should think things through, studying the consequences, which is my usual M.O., but today...well today...I want to...

Want to...what? This is ridiculous. I've worked up the courage to do something on the wild side, but my mind is a blank. Being bad was never this tough when I was a kid. So what can this grown-up girl do to be "bad," without being too bad? Eventually I'll dream up something. In the meantime, this wannabe "bad" girl will be a "good" girl, and get her work done, so I can be 'really' bad tomorrow.

Enjoy the week and be a little naughty?

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 FOOLS CROW by James Welch. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/May12Classics

AUTHORBUZZ: TRAVELERS REST (Fiction) by Ann Tatlock

Jane Morrow's fiance has been wounded in Iraq and left paralyzed. When he comes home to North Carolina, he tries to break their engagement for her sake. Still in love and wanting to honor her commitment, Jane seeks the guidance of an aging vet and former physician, Truman Rockaway, who is nursing a decades-old heartache of his own.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on TRAVELERS REST to read more and to email author Ann Tatlock, you'll get a reply.

 

Dear Reader Column 05-10-12

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,

Thanks for taking the time to write. If you have a question about writing or about the book clubs, I'm happy to reply.

Annette reads at the book clubs and she was wondering . . .

"Hi Suzanne,

May I ask you a couple of questions?
How many people work for you?
How many books do you try to read in a week/month?
Do you still bake/cook with your grandson, Paul?
How do you do everything?!!!

(Suzanne replies:)

Yes, Annette, I still bake with my grandson, Paul, every Friday afternoon. We've been baking together since he was three years old. Paul's brother, James (who is 3-years-old now), isn't ready for baking yet. James has a completely different kind of personality, maybe when he gets a little older he'll be interested in baking. Not only is Paul learning how to bake, he's also learning how much fun it is to give homemade baked goods away. Every Friday, after we finish baking, he takes some of his goodies to our neighbors next door.

Thirteen people, including myself, work at DearReader. My husband and I own the company, and in addition to working with libraries to produce online book clubs for them, we develop other software programs, too. Our newest program is Library WishList. I'm extremely excited about it, probably because for 11 years I ran my own nonprofit, Meals For Madison. Every Friday, we served a meal to 125 people. The WishList allows a library, or Friends of the Library group, to do fundraising and recruit volunteers in a fun and simple way. Here's a link to our website, http://www.dearreader.com/Services/ and if you click at the top of the page, on the ABOUT US link, you'll find out more about Dear Reader, and you'll see the photos of everyone on staff. Most of the people are part-time, and most of the part-time people enjoy the opportunity to be available for their children.

I don't set a goal for the number of books I want to read every month. Way back in June of 1999, when I started DearReader, there was only one book club, so I used to read all of the books myself. Of course that would be impossible now, so people on staff help preview books. You need to sample a lot of books to find ones that you think might be a good match for the book clubs. I seem to go on reading sprees. I'll read non-stop for weeks, and then I might not dig into a book for two weeks. Reading, writing, gardening, baking, blowing bubbles, spending time with my wonderful husband, life gets busy, doesn't it?

How do I do it all? Well, the truth is that often I "over-do." Being lazy has never been a problem for me. So actually, one of my challenges in life is to try to be lazy--more often. Slow down, do nothing, and be at peace with myself and my surroundings.

Thank you for taking the time to write, I'm so glad you asked.

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: THE POWER OF GRACE BETWEEN NASTY AND NICE (Nonfiction) by John and Linda Friel

America suffers from an epidemic of incivility, pseudo-self-esteem, narcissism, entitlement, and victim-perpetrator cycles of behavior that run from the halls of Congress to our own back yards. We are some of the unhappiest, meanest, and unhealthiest people on earth.
But we don't have to be.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE POWER OF GRACE BETWEEN NASTY AND NICE to find out more about the book and the authors, John and Linda Friel. Send them an email, they'd love to hear from you.

*Fun, free books and meet authors. Ask questions, they'll reply and read samples from their books. Visit AuthorBuzz at: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

(Nonfiction)
MOONLIGHT ON LINOLEUM by Terry Helwig

(Mystery)
SUBMERGED by Dani Pettrey

(Fiction)
AFTER THE FOG by Kathleen Shoop

(Nonfiction)
THE POWER OF GRACE BETWEEN NASTY AND NICE by John and Linda Friel

(Fiction)
SALVAGE THE BONES by Jesmyn Ward

* 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

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 05-07-12

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,

Award-winning author Sandra Dallas is my guest columnist today and she's giving away eight copies of her latest book, TRUE SISTERS. Welcome Sandra, send an email to Sandradallas@msn.com and not only will she enter you in the drawing, she'll email a personal reply. Sandra's excited about visiting the book club today and hearing from readers, so don't be shy.

Take it away, Sandra...

Are writers born and not made? I always went with the 99 percent perspiration theory, although there are enough writers such as Truman Capote and Francoise Sagan, who wrote best-sellers not long after puberty, to cast doubt on that theory.

I was thinking about this when I came across a genealogy my aunt put together and decided to search my roots for writers. I discovered that I am descended from some pretty impressive folks. There was the ancestor who was eaten by a wolf and another who had his wife committed to an insane asylum so that he could get control of their son's Civil War pension. Admirable people, but no writers.

Still, there is my immediate family. My grandfather, who ran a switch engine for the Rock Island, sold a story to a railroad magazine and made enough to buy a typewriter. Little good it did him, since he never sold anything again. And my uncle, a former FBI agent, writes pretty good thrillers. But he married into the family, so he's not blood.

Closer to home, my brother is a novelist, and my sister could have had a career as a humor writer if she hadn't opted to sell real estate. How did Mom and Dad manage to produce three literary children? All I can say is it must have been a clashing of genes for both were enormously talented. Mom once wrote a poem that started:

"In our yard there is a tree
where birdies come and sing with glee."

Even better was my father's masterpiece, inspired by his boyhood on a Kansas farm:

"Out in the barn there was a sittin'
An old gray cat and a little kitten."

Poetry seems to have been a family trait, because that's how I started my literary career. In fourth grade, I won a pair of ice skates with a poem that began:

"Swimming is the sport for me
It's lots more fun than I thought any sport could be."

It was just a short jump to writing novels.

Sandra Dallas

Email Sandra, say hello and enter-to-win a copy of her latest book, TRUE SISTERS. Send your email to: Sandradallas@msn.com

Author Sandra Dallas was dubbed "a quintessential American voice" by Jane Smiley, in VOGUE MAGAZINE. She is the author of THE BRIDE'S HOUSE, WHITER THAN SNOW, PRAYERS for SALE and TALLGRASS, among others. Her novels have been translated into a dozen languages and optioned for films. She is the recipient of the Women Writing the West Willa Award and the two-time winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award. For 25 years, Dallas worked as a reporter covering the Rocky Mountain region for BUSINESS WEEK, and started writing fiction in 1990. She lives with her husband in Denver, Colorado.

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: MOONLIGHT ON LINOLEUM (Nonfiction) by Terry Helwig

Even if others abandon you, you must never abandon yourself.

Living in a trailer in the American Southwest, I attended twelve schools in eleven years. My mom was a wild rose who struggled with marriage, motherhood and sobriety. She often put me in charge of my sisters while she sought solace in local watering holes. My memoir explores the landscapes of hope, despair and redemption.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on MOONLIGHT ON LINOLEUM to read more and to email author Terry Helwig, 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 04-30-12

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,

What an honor to introduce today's guest columnist, Barbara Taylor Bradford, the author of 25 bestselling novels, published in over 90 countries in 40 languages with sales figures in excess of $82 million.

Ten of her novels have been adapted into television mini-series starring actors including Sir Anthony Hopkins, Liam Neeson, Deborah Kerr and Elizabeth Hurley. She has been inducted into the Writers Hall of Fame of America, and in June 2007, Barbara was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to Literature.

Barbara was born in Leeds, England, and from an early age, she was a voracious reader: at age 12, she had already read all of Dickens and the Bronte sisters. By the age of twenty, she was an editor and columnist on Fleet Street. She published her first novel, A Woman of Substance, in 1979, and it has become an enduring bestseller.

Email Barbara, welcome her to the book clubs and enter-to-win one of the 8 copies of Letter From a Stranger that she's giving away today. Send your email to: BTBReaders@aol.com

Thanks for visiting the book clubs Barbara, take it away...

I'm Never Lonely When I'm Writing A Book

When I'm out on the road promoting my latest novel, it's amazing how many people say to me sympathetically, "You must lead a very lonely life writing your books."

I always answer that it's not lonely because I have all these wonderful characters dancing around in my head, not to mention in the room. I then usually add that it's more of a solitary existence, rather than a lonely one.

But that's not exactly true. The solitary part, I mean. Because I do have a marvelous companion, who's with me all day in my office in our Manhattan apartment.

Her name is Chammi, and she's a lovely little Bichon Frise who is now fifteen years old, but looks like a puppy, with her glossy white coat, and sleek cut that I teasingly say makes her look like a white velvet sausage, and sparkling black eyes.

Actually, Chammi and I had another companion for fifteen years, Chammi's cousin Beaji, who sadly died last year. The two of them spent all those years writing my many books with me, and we both miss Beaji at times.

Chammi usually joins me around seven every morning, when I've already been in my office for an hour. She takes up her position under my large French desk, where I have my computer, telephone and yellow pads and pens for writing in hand.

Underneath the desk is a double-size handmade wooden dog bed, painted green and bearing the initials B & C, for Beaji and Chammi. I do a lot of research at this desk, make phone calls, as well as handwriting the beginning of chapters, and Chammi settles down comfortable, knowing we'll be here for a while.

As I roll to my smaller typing desk and get settled, I am swiftly joined by Chammi, who slips under the desk and relaxes on baby cot duvets, one of which is appropriately patterned with small white dogs! She dozes for as long as I am at this desk, but the moment I leave she's aware of it, and follows me devotedly.

I must confess, Chammi is the best critic I know, because she's never critical if I happen to be reading dialogue aloud to myself. No barks of disapproval, just a loving look from those big brown eyes.

There is a comforting feeling about having a pet in a room with you, especially when you're working, because the dog (or cat) is an extremely viable presence. That's why I'm never lonely or solitary when I'm writing a book. I have a sweet companion to keep me company.

Barbara Bradford Taylor

Say hello to Barbara and enter-to-win one of her books, send your email to: BTBReaders@aol.com

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: A FATAL FLEECE (Seaside Knitters Mystery #6) by Sally Goldenbaum

A discovery of a precocious skeleton in a seaside knitter's closet, the murder of an old fisherman friend, and an unexpected inheritance plunge the knitters into a simmering summer of danger.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on A FATAL FLEECE to read more and to email author Sally Goldenbaum, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 04-26-12

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 used to be able to just pick up the phone and we'd chat. What about? Nothing earth-shattering. Our conversations were more of a saunter from one topic to another. "I made spaghetti yesterday afternoon, used some of the basil and oregano I'm growing. Can't beat the taste when you cook with fresh herbs."

Mentioning spaghetti, might lead the conversation to talking about how we hadn't been out to dinner for a while. "How about Mexican? Want to go to the restaurant we went to last time? Next Tuesday at 6:30?"

Two women talking about nothing really. One minute we were moaning about our grown children, "Do they ever really grow up? Kind of scary that we might have to rely on their help, when we get older," but then in the next breath, we'd be bragging about what those same grown children have accomplished. We're so proud. Eventually we'd get around to talking about writing. Both of us authors, we knew part of our chit-chatting was a break from writing, or a justifiable way of avoiding the blank screen. Yawn, stretch, it's time to get back to work.

It's been almost a year since my friend passed away. Truly, the "little nothings" in our conversations were something I enjoyed. But I never realized how much I needed them, in my life, until today--when I reached for the phone.

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: AN AMERICAN FAMILY (Fiction) by Peter Lefcourt

Beginning the day Kennedy was shot, and ending on 9/11, this novel follows the journey of the Perls--Jackie, Michael, Elaine, Steven and Bobbi--through the events of the second half of the twentieth century. In a larger sense it relates the odyssey of all immigrant families--Irish, Italian, Vietnamese, Persian, and Jewish--as they change within the shifting currents of time.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on AN AMERICAN FAMILY to find out more about the book and the author, Peter Lefcourt. Send him an email, he'd love to hear from you.

*Fun, free books and meet authors. Ask questions, they'll reply and read samples from their books. Visit AuthorBuzz at: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

(Fiction)
SUNRISE POINT by Robyn Carr

(Mystery)
DEPTH OF DECEPTION by Alexander Galant

(Nonfiction)
NEVER LETTING GO by Mark Anthony

(Fiction)
AN AMERICAN FAMILY by Peter Lefcourt

(Fiction)
YELLOW CROCUS by Laila Ibrahim

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader