Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 02-29-08

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Dear Reader,

Today's column is written by winners. It's a photo tour of the smiling faces of readers who've recently won something at the book club. Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a photo. It's been a lot of fun for me to see what the reader behind the email looks like. Now I can relate to why readers enjoy it when I include a photo link in my column.

To see who's been a winner and to enter the "just-because" drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/33jgjb. I have five vintage aprons, a calligraphy set, three book bags and four cookbooks to give away to readers--"just because."

Have a wonderful weekend.

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

Warm regards,

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 
http://www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 02-28-08

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 love to hear from readers. Margy wrote to ask for my help and reading her email helped me, too. It reminded me that I'm not the only one.

"Dear Suzanne, My day starts with you. It is not until I've read your Dear Reader column do I feel sufficiently equipped to commence my writing, so I wish to thank you for the inspiration. I identified with [your column about trying to fix yourself] because I have been trying to 'fix me' for some time now.

You see I have been formally studying the craft of writing and am in my final year writing a fictional manuscript. It has been an arduous time, what with life's challenges; rift in my marriage and an unexpected death of my brother. Since then my writing has changed and I've not been as diligent with my writing as I once was.

But I have continued to hang in there and write, if only irregularly. I have noticed a shift in the quality of my writing and I don't know how to get back what I once had. My writing has changed and my inner critic often sabotages my attempts to write.

Do you have any suggestions how a writer can change their mental state and produce improved work? Have you had to endure hardship during a time when deadlines were expected, meet family demands and still write?

Your column has a ripple effect, from baking cookies which has been adopted by so many, to inspiring writers to get beyond the pulsating cursor on the blank screen and for this, I thank you."--Margy Chappell

(Suzanne responds)

When I think about the times that I've noticed "a shift in the quality of my writing," it happened when my life suddenly felt out of control. Something happened that overwhelmed my senses and then it made me feel unsure about everything else in my life, including my writing. Three situations immediately come to mind. One was when my mother was dying from cancer, another was when my two month old grandson had a mysterious illness and then there was the day I realized the book I'm working on was going to become a reality. (Yes, that last one should have been a good news, jump-for-joy thing, but instead it made me second-guess everything I wrote, even before I finished the sentence.)

It's easier for me to deal with something if I can understand why I feel like such a mess, even though I might not be able to change whatever's going on in my life. Understanding "why" allows me to face the beast that's messing with my writing.

I'm glad to hear that you've continued to write. I think it's important. Practice makes perfect. I write every day, so even when my heart is broken, my mind recognizes this "writing thing," it feels familiar--and I'm able to push through and meet my deadline.

Margy, when you "hear" yourself criticizing your writing, please interrupt yourself and hear me instead, "You are doing a great job, keep writing."

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 
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: Joan Johnston, A Stranger's Game; CJ Lyons, Lifelines; Leslie Lehr, Wife Goes On; John Lescroart, Betrayal; and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Palace of Illusions. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader Column 02-27-08

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,

Inspired readers...from my Email Bag:

"Hi Suzanne, I just wanted to write and let you know that I made your Ginger Pork recipe yesterday. It was so easy and my family LOVED it! Thanks for such a great recipe!"--Lindsey, Minneapolis, MN
(For a copy of the recipe, go to: http://tinyurl.com/24q6pk )

"Suzanne, every month you talk so much about your chocolate chip cookies. I really want to make your recipe, but either I never have one ingredient or another, or I just plain don't have time to bake.

So being a creative, resourceful mom, I picked up a pre-made chocolate chip cookie mix, where all you do is scoop and bake. I baked the cookies and let my son taste them straight from the oven. His eyes were priceless, his words were memorable, 'Wow Mom these cookies are the bomb! They even taste better than the ones in the package. Can I have some more?' Needless to say, before anyone else could taste the batch it was gone...now he wants me to bake cookies for him everyday!

I could blame you for inspiring me to bake or I could thank you because baking the chocolate chip cookies made me my son's idol."--Winona

"Suzanne, I haven't baked in years, mainly because my husband and I are trying to eat healthy and cookies are a big temptation, especially homemade! But, now you have inspired me to bake cookies over the weekend, wrap them up and take them out to the construction crew at our new library on Monday. Those hard-working guys and girls will work off those cookies in no time! And little will they know that they owe it all to a Book Club!!"--Lise Chlebanowski, Library Manager, Avondale Old Town Library

"One of the things that I liked to do was bake a cake. My husband passed away 10 months ago, so I wasn't inspired to bake. Then I heard about your chocolate chip cookies giveaway. I was inspired to bake again. I like to bake cakes and put pineapple on the bottom. My church's coffee hour enjoyed those cakes and there wasn't a crumb left."--Marlys

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 
http://www.DearReader.com

P.S. I have a Book Lover's Desk Calendar for 2008, (365 Days of Good Authors, Good Books & Good Reading). Haven't opened it yet. I don't need another calendar and it's almost March, so I better find a home for this date keeper right away. Can you give a calendar a home? Enter the giveaway, send your email to: [email protected]

Dear Reader Column 02-26-08

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,

One of the things I can't ever seem to accomplish on my "fix-up Suzanne list" is being diligent and true to my writing schedule. Most writers are simply trying to be true to the task of writing every day. That's not a problem for me, I write every day--can't take any of the credit though--it's not from my own determination. I have a daily deadline. If I didn't write something every day there'd be a blank space where my column should be. You can't "fudge" white space.

My goal is to be at least two days ahead of deadline. So Friday's column would be turned in on Wednesday. Sounds nice in theory, and every-now-and-then I do meet my self-imposed deadline. But the truth is, most of the time when I get up in the morning the first thing I feel is fear--I don't have a column for tomorrow's book club. Then I panic and panic some more, walk around my desk a few times, lift some hand weights, take another peek at the clock--yes--it's still ticking away, getting closer to my "absolute" deadline and finally I start writing.

It's never as bad as the build-up. Once I start writing, I feel right at home and wonder what all the fuss was about. So I decided the other day to get rid of the "fuss" and I made a pact with myself to adhere to getting my work done ahead of time. And just when I was about to "seal-the-deal" and implement my new writing rules, a friend of mine, who's a writer, called and saved me.

He must have been reading my mind (even though I never brought the subject up) when out of the blue he said, "Suzanne, you're the kind of person who needs to feel the edge. You need a little terror, fearing for your writing life, it's where you do your best work. If things get too routine, you get bored."

I laughed as I was listening to him. My gosh that's me! How did he know? Why am I trying to fix myself? Perhaps I'll ruin a good thing. The mystery, the challenge, the journey with a little bit of edge--that's the fun part for me. Sit back Suzanne and accept the tumultuous ride.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
http://www.DearReader.com

P.S. Congratulations to Barbara Iacovazzi the winner of the writing books giveaway.

Dear Reader Column 02-25-08

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,

Getting mail from readers is the best part of my job. Thank you very much for taking the time to write.

From my Email Bag:

"Dear Suzanne, I've been thinking heavily on going back to school to get an English degree so that I can do editorial work. I read quite fast naturally, about a five-hundred page novel in a day. I pick out misspellings and grammatical errors, and things that do not flow, left and right. I love reading in general. My soon to be husband insists on me thinking about opening a library because the movers are going to pass-out when they see my collection. Any advice and insight you have would be most
helpful."--Gwendolyn

(Suzanne replies) "Misspellings and grammatical errors, and things that do not flow, left and right"-- whoa, that's scary to a writer like me, who's on a daily deadline. Just kidding, I roll with the goofs.

On to your question. I don't have advice about the business of getting a job in the editorial field. But the one thing I can offer for you to think about is that sometimes, when you turn something you love into a job, it's easy to fall out of love with it. The "have-to" pressure of "it's my job" can take away some of the joy. It's not an absolute truth and I'm not saying that you shouldn't pursue your idea, only you know what's best for you. It's just another thought to consider when you draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper, to help you decide the pros and cons of something.

I love what I do, but in all honesty, going into a library or a bookstore feels like part of my job now, not some place I can go and relax and that's kind of a sad thing. But I did notice the other day when I took Baby Paul, my grandson, to the library that I got so caught up in showing him books and the aquarium that I didn't once think about my work. Maybe there's hope for me yet.

My best wishes to you Gwendolyn.

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

Warm regards,
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 
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: Joan Johnston, A Stranger's Game; CJ Lyons, Lifelines; Leslie Lehr, Wife Goes On; John Lescroart, Betrayal; and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Palace of Illusions. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader Column 02-22-08

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,

When I give someone cookies I've made from scratch, I'm giving them the best of me. Most people wouldn't believe it, but if I'm not in the mood to bake, but for some reason I have to anyway, then baking feels like a chore and my cookies don't turn out. They fall in the middle, or taste strange, like I forgot one of the ingredients--and I did. I wasn't able to add the joy I usually feel when I'm baking. Because at some point, when I'm mixing up cookie batter, I'm picturing the person I'm baking the cookies for, I can see the smile on their face after they open the bag of cookies and I hope they feel special.

Cooking is a powerful thing, especially baking. Because when most people think of homemade chocolate chip cookies, they're remembering their mom or grandma--somebody who loved them--in the kitchen with an apron on, the bag of flour was out, the counter was a mess, and something that smelled good was baking in the oven.

Baking cookies is like writing for me. When there's joy, I'm into the task at hand, not thinking about anything else, giving it everything I have to give. Giving my best to someone else.

Lately I've been getting emails from readers who've been inspired, other bakers who feel the joy, too.

"Dear Suzanne, Thanks for sharing the photos and entries from the winners of your now famous Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were fun to read and also to see the great photos they sent in with their entries. I still bake dozens of your mom's recipe for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies and everyone always raves over them. I'm sure that your Chocolate Chip Cookies are equally as great!

"It is so very nice to read and share recipes with friends like you!"--Cheryl Downing

"Suzanne, Last night, you inspired me to do something I haven't done in a long while. You see, I've always loved baking, especially cakes. But with college looming in the distance and my final year of high school pressing on me, I haven't had all that much time to do what I love. In fact, the meals I always used to cook for my family have become few and far between. But when I heard that the local Relay for Life team was earning money through a bake sale and they needed people to donate goods, I immediately thought of you. I thought of how you always bake cookies for your readers and how happy all those winners must be. And while I've never entered in the drawings, the idea of spreading the joy of a talent made me smile.

So this morning, the sponsor of the Relay for Life Chapter found a huge ice box filled with 6 different types of cakes for today's bake sale. From Black Forest Cake to Cherry Vanilla Swirl. I gave a whole night and seven hours of baking and refrigerating to help out the Relay for Life team.

Thank you for the inspiration, Suzanne. You never cease to make me smile and get me through the day."--Jessica Friday

If you've been inspired to start baking, I'd love to hear from you.

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

Happy Baking,
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 
http://www.DearReader.com

P.S. Congratulations to the February Chocolate Chip Cookie Winners who emailed photos demonstrating why they need cookies! I will be showcasing their entries soon--so be sure to stay tuned. The creative photographers are: Ellen Graebe, Oralia Orozco, Autumn L. Fraser, Tamara Moody, Wanda Maloy, David Faucheux and Robyn Foss.

Dear Reader Column 02-21-08

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,

Readers frequently email and ask questions about writing. How can I become a writer? Should I start writing for the fun of it, or should I write with a goal in mind, such as getting published?

I certainly don't know all of the answers. Every day I discover new things about writing and that's part of the attraction. The more I write, the more I learn about myself. Writing a daily column, it just kind of happened to me. But now that I look back at everything I've done so far in my life, every job and skill that I've learned--I use them in my writing. And it's been that way with every single job I've ever had.

The pieces in my life line up eventually, but I can't say that I've ever set out down a trail with a specific idea and goal in mind. Once I get involved in something, I have goals and ambitions that I shoot for, but I'm the kind of person who goes with her gut. Deep down, if I take the time to listen, I know what's right for me. And it's in that deep down place, where my best writing comes from, too.

When I say 'best' I'm not judging my writing. 'Best' means to me, that it's the writing that makes me cry or laugh--the columns that resonate in my soul. The columns that reaffirm to me, that what I'm doing was meant to be.

How does someone become a writer? You start writing. It sounds way too simple, but it's not. A blank screen in front of anyone can be pretty intimidating and scary.

What should someone write about? I begin by writing about whatever's on my mind. I might not end up using that material for my column, but for some reason I need to get those thoughts out of the way, before I can go any further. And those first rambling thoughts--that's where I always find the good stuff, the stuff I need to hear.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 
http://www.DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Win free copies of books you'll read and never forget from these terrific authors; Jack Getze, Big Money; Barbara Bretton, Just Desserts; Dr. Debra Condren, Ambition Is Not a Dirty Word; Ronald Cutler, The Secret Scroll; Margaret Lazarus Dean, The Time It Takes to Fall; and Sabrina Jeffries, Let Sleeping Rogues Lie. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader Column 02-20-08

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,

*Suzanne is in New York City today. This is one of her favorite columns.

Why do I "feel the need?" I don't know. Personally I think I'm just a bit strange, but people tell me it's a Midwestern thing. Yes I live in Florida, but I'm a Madison, Wisconsin transplant--who grew up in Cuba City, Wisconsin. (My mother would never forgive me if I didn't plug her hometown.)

It's bizarre, but I seem to feel the need to tack a complete confession on the back end of almost every yes-and-no I pronounce. When you ask this original Wisconsin gal, "Can you meet me at four o'clock tomorrow?" Instead of merely replying, "Four o'clock won't work for me, how about two instead?" I get this itchin' need to venture on with the in-depth details about 'why' I can't meet you at four o'clock.

This bizarre behavior has created some near-miss embarrassing situations. Like the other day--thank heavens I caught myself before I said the words--but I almost told someone, "Sorry, I can't meet you at four because I'm getting a bikini wax."

I literally had to bite my tongue while I processed other possible excuses through my mind. For some reason, I couldn't put the thing to rest until I'd offered up some sort of explanation. I mean really, where and who did I get this strange behavior from?

Feeling the need to deliver chapter and verse...oh how I wish it were merely a 24-hour virus. But then again, I'll probably never run out of column material.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 
http://www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 02-19-08

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,

When I lived in Madison, Wisconsin I ran a free meal program called Meals for Madison. Every Friday at noon I served a free meal to anyone who showed up for lunch. Restaurants would cook food, corporations would donate money and I'd invite 10 to 12 business people to help set the tables and prepare the last minute items such as deviled eggs. (I can't serve a meal without deviled eggs.) Then we'd dish up a buffet-style lunch to 150 people and clean up afterwards.

It gave me a good feeling to be able to do something for others in my community, but actually the most precious thing to me about the meal program, was that it was a place where I allowed myself not to judge other people. Every person who walked through the door was served a meal and I welcomed them as if they were sitting down at my own dining room table.

I'm not suggesting judging other people was some horrible trait of mine, (granted I do my fair share) but I noticed that when I was at the meal site the thought 'Does this person deserve this meal?' never crossed my mind, I simply welcomed each person with open arms and it was a wonderful feeling for both of us.

Looking back, the meal program was like a training ground for me, and it's a feeling I can refer back to whenever I catch myself sizing up another person--which hopefully isn't too often.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 
http://www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 02-18-08

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,

This Florida girl is leaving for New York City today, so over the weekend I had to spend time in the New York side of my closet. It can be a pretty scary place to have to go. (My closet, not the city--I love New York.)

When I used to travel to the city every other month, there weren't any surprises. My New York clothes always fit when I tried them on, but the last couple of years I've only been making the trip every four months. A lot can happen in four month's time. Too many Dove Bars, not enough sit ups, a little extra here and there and things don't fit quite like they used to--or not at all. (Last time I couldn't get a favorite pair of New York pants zipped up.)

Trying on my clothes, deciding what I'm going to pack, it's a very anxious ordeal and I always put it off as long as possible. I start sweating just thinking about the challenge that lies in front of me. Crank up the air conditioner, because in between the Florida heat, my hot flashes, and the sheer terror that I won't get my "behind" into my wintry woolens, sometimes it's not a pretty picture. So I always get a second opinion.

I try on an outfit, walk out to the living room and ask my husband, "What do you think? How will this look?"

"Well, if you can get rid of those beads of sweat dripping down your face, and if you replace that cringe with a smile, I think you might impress them."

I sure hope so, and Yippee for me! Those pants that I couldn't get zipped up last time--they slid right on with a little room to spare! New York, here I come!

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 
http://www.DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Win free copies of books you'll read and never forget from these terrific authors; Jack Getze, Big Money;Barbara Bretton, Just Desserts; Dr. Debra Condren, Ambition Is Not a Dirty Word; Ronald Cutler, The Secret Scroll; Margaret Lazarus Dean, The Time It Takes to Fall; and Sabrina Jeffries, Let Sleeping Rogues Lie. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader