Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 05-29-09

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Dear Reader,

I don't think of myself as a sexist person, but maybe I need to revisit that assessment, at least when it comes to cats. Papa and Mama Cat are two outdoor strays that my husband and I adopted a couple of years ago. Mama Cat used to stay close to home, Papa Cat did his share of wandering and that arrangement never bothered me. But lately I've been noticing a role reversal. Now Papa Cat stays close to home, even wanders into our house for some extra love and attention, and Mama Cat is out all hours of the night--doing who knows what!

What the heck is she up to? That's what I've been wondering and the curiosity has gotten so bad that I'm considering hiring a Kitty Private Eye to follow her. I know I could be overreacting; maybe this new mysterious behavior is simply because Mama's found a tasty all-you-can-eat late night fish fry. But then again, maybe she's been stepping out on me? Come to think of it, Mama's been looking too well fed and her coat has been looking pretty tidy for all this gallivanting around. Maybe there's another person who's been giving her treats on the side?

After listening to me pass judgment on Mama Cat, my husband pointed out that it isn't like she has babies at home, and Mama can't get in "trouble." (She's fixed so there hasn't even been any need to give her "the talk.")

So what's the big deal? Why is this bothering me anyway? My husband's right. There are no career ties holding Mama back and no young children at home. Maybe I should just be proud of a fellow "sister" who hasn't let herself get caught up in the empty nest syndrome blues.

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

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

P.S. Ding, ding. If you haven't entered this week's bell giveaway, this is the last day, go to: http://tinyurl.com/pevwp5

This month's PENGUIN CLASSICS book is The House Behind the Cedars by Charles W. Chesnutt. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/MayClassics

Dear Reader Column 05-28-09

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

Dear Reader,

I retired my bell yesterday, the one that's been sitting on the table, next to my bed, for the past three weeks. My wonderful husband waited on me every day while I was recovering from surgery. Ding, ding, ding, anything I wanted or needed, even a back rub at 3 a.m. and he was more than a willing spirit. I have a new appreciation for caregivers. When I'm fully recovered I'm going to be on the lookout for the opportunity to give a caregiver a night off. What a never-ending, tireless job.

Everyone should have a bell some time in their life and the opportunity to ding, ding and a loving person comes and waits on them. Your own personal bell is one of those gifts from the heart. So when my husband asked me what I wanted for my birthday this past Tuesday I told him he'd already given me a gift. His loving attention for the past three weeks has been one of the best birthday presents this girl has ever received. And the neat thing is that even when my recovery is over I'll have the memories of a loving husband who was at my side when I needed him the most.

Gifts from the heart and homemade food have always been at the top of the list of my favorite presents. I remember the homemade Zucchini Bisque my good friend Linda made and then served at a cozy birthday lunch. And now I can add an Angel Food Cake with pink frosting and sprinkles to my list. I'd told my husband that no gifts were necessary, but I'm so glad he baked a cake and decorated it anyway. It was the best cake I've ever eaten and of course I made a wish before I blew out the candles because dreams still do come true.

Ding, ding, go to http://tinyurl.com/pevwp5 and win your own bell. I have 6 personally autographed bells for readers, see my pink Angel Food Birthday Cake, and you'll find the recipe for Linda's delicious Zucchini Bisque.

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: New authors, old favorites--all wonderful books you can win: Eloisa James, This Duchess of Mine; Sabrina Jeffries, Don't Bargain with the Devil, Book 5; Patrick Robinson, Diamondhead; Marie Bostwick, A Thread of Truth; and Carla Neggers, The Angel. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

This month's PENGUIN CLASSICS book is The House Behind the Cedars by Charles W. Chesnutt. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/MayClassics

Dear Reader Column 05-27-09

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,

Three weeks is a long time. It's so good to be back!

Two times in my life I've taken a three week vacation. (Okay, so I admit the past three weeks haven't really been a vacation.) But the extended time away from work did bring back memories of my only other three week holiday.

When our kids were young my father-in-law, who wasn't a rich man, gave my husband and me a healthy check, suggesting that pretty soon the kids would all be grown, so we needed to take a memorable family vacation now. Grandpa offered to take care of our cats and off we flew to Yellowstone National Park. Indeed it was a memorable vacation, but it was too long. At the end of just two weeks, the extreme nervousness and anxiety I felt pointed out to me just how much of my work is me. Which I suppose isn't such a bad thing, if you like your work. But on that particular occasion, I wasn't missing work I loved, instead it was more of a "white-knuckled" sort of longing. I felt like things were out of control because I'd been away too long. And when I finally did return, work felt the same as I'd left it--a daily tension-filled worry.

But these past three weeks have been different. Once the pain from my surgery subsided a bit and I started entertaining thoughts of returning to work, they were pleasant, comforting thoughts. I felt anxious to return, but not because I needed to feel in control. Instead I missed my every day routine, because I actually love what I do, and that thought made me feel proud of myself. Because sometimes I have a bad habit of repeating certain unpleasant behaviors in my life, 'For heaven sakes Suzanne aren't you ever going to learn, aren't you ever going to make progress?'

Indeed I have.

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

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

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The House Behind The Cedars by Charles W. Chesnutt. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/MayClassics

Dear Reader Column 05-26-09

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,

Today's my birthday, so I decided to take one more day off. My daily column will return tomorrow. It certainly took a lot longer to recuperate from my surgery than I'd planned. When I first heard that I needed a hysterectomy I planned to take one week off, but decided at the last minute to schedule two--just in case. But "just in case" turned into over three weeks. I should have known better. Life rarely goes like I plan and that's pretty much the way my recovery's gone. But I'm finally back in the groove and looking forward to returning to my every day routine.

A big thank you to everyone who sent emails to my Guest Columnists, they really appreciated hearing from you.

Here's the list of winners from the Guest Columnist Giveaways, check to see if you are one of them:

Marshall Cook is sending his most recent novel, Walking Wounded: A Wartime Love Story to these six winners, Lisa Allen, Pat Swaney, Teresa Henderson, Betty Jester, Karleen Curlee and Katina Chapman.

Blaize Clement is sending a copy of her latest Dixie Hemingway book, Cat Sitter on a Hot Tin Roof to Bonnie Mora and Vicki Chiavetta.

MJ Rose is sending a copy of her book, The Memorist to: Nancy, Joan, Mrs. C. S., and Linda.

And finally the winners of my Bubble Machine Giveaway are: Vicki Wurgler and Denise Julian.

Thanks again for your get well cards, flowers, cheese, cookies, emails, prayers and gifts. I'll be back in column form tomorrow.

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

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

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The House Behind The Cedars by Charles W. Chesnutt. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/MayClassics

Dear Reader Column 05-25-09

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,

Thanks again for all of your cards and get well wishes. I am finally feeling better.

Since today's a holiday and tomorrow's my birthday I decided to recuperate for two more days and I'll start writing my daily column again on Wednesday.

Have a wonderful holiday.

For AuthorBuzz, click here: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Thanks for reading at the book club. Tell a friend, share a flyer.
To print out recipe/book club flyers go to:
http://www.supportlibrary.com:80/nl/users/test/mweb/path23-6.html

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: New authors, old favorites--all wonderful books you can win: Eloisa James, This Duchess of Mine; Sabrina Jeffries, Don't Bargain with the Devil, Book 5; Patrick Robinson, Diamondhead; Marie Bostwick, A Thread of Truth; and Carla Neggers, The Angel. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The House Behind The Cedars by Charles W. Chesnutt. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/MayClassics

 

Dear Reader Column 05-22-09

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 will return next Monday, today's column is written by Blaize Clement.

Every family has a word only they use. In my family, it's "hum-ditty." If the temperature rises, somebody is bound to say, "Well, it's a good thing the hum-ditty isn't higher," and everybody laughs as if it's the first time they ever heard it.

My second son was born on the hottest day in history in Beaumont, Texas. It was 104 degrees, and so humid that moving was like forging through a sauna. Even so, while my husband waited with other expectant fathers and families, one grandmother-to-be kept saying, "It's a good thing the hum-ditty isn't higher."

For the first five or six hours, my husband, not wanting to seem a know-it-all, was very careful to simply agree with her and not say the word "humidity." My labor was lengthy, and the woman stayed in the waiting room too, still talking about how fortunate everybody was that the hum-ditty wasn't higher. At some point, stress and worry and fatigue made my husband begin to have a nervous fear that he would say "hum-ditty" too, and that it would seem he was making fun of her.

Time dragged on, and then he began to have a serious internal debate about how the stupid word was supposed to be pronounced. He couldn't remember if it was hum-ditty or humidity, and he felt as if he'd lost his mind. When our son finally made his appearance, my husband told me about the humidity/hum-ditty experience as soon as I was able to listen without crossing my eyes. He thought it would make me laugh, and it did, but I think he also wanted me to confirm how the word was really pronounced.

In Sarasota today, the temperature is expected to be in the 90s. Every time I hear the weather announcer say that, I think, "Well, it's a good thing the hum-ditty isn't higher."

Suzanne will be back on Monday, and it has been a privilege to fill in for her while she took time to heal. Many thanks to her for letting me connect with fellow readers, and many thanks to everybody who sent me notes. I treasure them all.

Blaize Clement

* Blaize is the author of the Dixie Hemingway mystery series. The latest book, Cat Sitter On A Hot Tin Roof, was a December mystery book club feature. You can email her at: Blaize@BlaizeClement.com

SEARCHING FOR YOUR NEXT BIG THRILL? Read the "Between the Lines" feature interview with Steve Martini then read about great thrillers from: Matt Hilton, James Rollins, Julie Korzenko, Karna Small Bodman, Christy Reece, John A. Elefteriades, Lis Wiehl and April Henry. Go to: http://www.thrillerwriters.org

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The House Behind The Cedars by Charles W. Chesnutt. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/MayClassics

 

Dear Reader Column 05-21-09

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 will return next Monday, today's column is written by Blaize Clement.

Some friends and I have lately been talking about making our own funerary urns to hold our ashes. Not that we're planning on using them any time soon, but we figure they could be works of art until they're put to use. One woman has already made arrangements to be put in a coral reef, but she'd still like to have a neat urn to make the journey from land to sea. Another has fallen in love with the idea of a fabric urn, something with feathers and beads woven into the threads. I'm more inclined toward a paper mache thing that could be tossed whole in the Mediterranean off the coast of Frejus in France. I think it would be cool for the paper to slowly disintegrate, and I'd be dissolved in the beautiful blue of that sea.

The only problem with all that is that it's a lot of work to make a funerary urn, no matter what material you use. We got some books about it, and it looked like the easiest thing would be to blow up a big balloon and paste strips of paper on it to build a firm shell. Then you puncture the balloon. But when I think about the logistics of doing that, all kinds of problems crop up. Like a lid. And like the ashes of a person weigh about eleven pounds, so it would have to be a very big balloon. And then there's the problem of transporting it across the Atlantic and getting it through customs. Do airlines let people put something like that in their baggage? And how would my family explain it? I can just imagine them saying, "I know this lumpy purple and red and orange thing with the little bells around the top looks like a weirdo piece of art, but it's really mom."

Last time my friends and I talked about it, we may have hit on the perfect solution. Turns out there are also funerary pouches. They're fabric, with drawstring tops, and they don't require any wire frame or balloon or anything to make. But they have to be constructed, like with a sewing machine or at least a needle and thread, and that seems like a lot of work too. I may just skip the whole thing and leave instructions to pour my cremains in a purple velvet Crown Royal bag and throw it in the Mediterranean.

Blaize Clement

* Blaize is the author of the Dixie Hemingway mystery series. The latest book, Cat Sitter On A Hot Tin Roof, was a December mystery book club feature. You can email her at: Blaize@BlaizeClement.com

AUTHORBUZZ: With so many new books out every week, we promise these are five that deserve your attention: John Hart, The Last Child; Melanie M. Jeschke, Jillian Dare; Sherry Thomas, Not Quite a Husband; Charlotte Greig, A Girl's Guide to Modern European Philosophy; and Joe Lamacchia, Blue Collar & Proud of It.  Go to:  http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The House Behind The Cedars by Charles W. Chesnutt. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/MayClassics

 

Dear Reader Column 05-20-09

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,

The week of May 4th I wrote a column about my "aha" moment with a book and got over 300 responses from all of you--it was amazing!!!

One of the responses was so wonderful I asked the letter writer if I could post it and she said yes, so here it is--I know readers everywhere will love reading this with me.

From a DearReader:

"I had to stop and think about your question--when was my last 'aha' moment with a book? I definitely have that 'aha' moment....or is it an 'ahhhhh' moment?....whenever there is a new release by one of my favorite authors. I can remember my earliest 'aha'--I cannot remember my age--but it was when I read 'Rebecca' by Dauphne de Maurier.

I had never experienced a story before that had such an impact, that I connected so powerfully with a character. I was already hooked on reading, but I believe it was that selection that really set the hook, so to speak!

Now I enjoy a lot of new 'aha' moments when Suzanne introduces me to a new author--sometimes the click is so strong that I have to go back to the beginning for that author and read everything ever written! I am always mystified when I meet someone who says they just aren't that into reading--how can that be? If I get caught up and 'too busy' for too long, I am like someone deprived of their morning coffee--I start to feel 'not myself' and give it some thought as to what is causing the malady, until I realize my reading time has been shortchanged. I settle into my favorite chair and spend some quality time with my imagination on the path that the author has laid out for my travel--I am happy once again!"

Thank you--to all authors--so much for sharing your talents and taking us on so many journeys."--Nancy

MJ Rose

* MJ Rose is the author of the Reincarnationist Series and her latest book is The Memorist. You can email her at MJRnewsletter@aol.com

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The House Behind The Cedars by Charles W. Chesnutt. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/MayClassics

 

Dear Reader Column 05-19-09

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 will return next Monday, today's column is written by Blaize Clement.

I have a big bulletin board on the wall behind my computer. It's covered with things that have special meaning to me: photos of family and friends, the first check I ever got for writing a short story (it was only for five dollars, so I didn't cash it), some quotations that inspire me, a cartoon that makes me laugh every time I look at it, some poems I've written that define me, and a magazine picture of a little Incan boy from Peru. The little boy looks about three years old, and has a face that seems to contain all the humor and confidence and wisdom in the world. He's wearing a gray and blue striped sweater that's probably made of alpaca, and a little gray fedora tilted at a jaunty angle. The picture only shows his narrow little shoulders and chest, with that wonderful face and the hat against a gray stone wall. I fell in love with the kid when I first saw the photo, and I've had it so long he's probably a teenager by now.

The picture always makes me think of how small children present themselves to the world without any pretense. As we grow up, we begin to put on masks to cover our pure selves. We wear parent masks, teacher masks, soldier masks, lawyer masks, doctor masks, lover masks, and countless other masks. In time we wear so many masks that most of us have a hard time remembering who we really are. It's easy to forget we're wearing masks and believe the masks are us. But when we look into a baby's face, or into the face of a child like my little Incan boy, we are nudged to remember that we came just like they did, pure and real.

If we're very lucky, we drop our masks when we no longer need them. If we're very, very lucky, we find a vocation or hobby that allows us to drop all our masks while we're writing or painting or tying fishing flies or whatever it is that takes us back to whatever we were when we came. People call that "being in the zone." I call it returning to one's true self.

Blaize Clement

*To enter Suzanne's Bubble Machine Giveaway, go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/bubble051309.html

* Blaize is the author of the Dixie Hemingway mystery series. The latest book, Cat Sitter On A Hot Tin Roof, was a December mystery book club feature. You can email her at: Blaize@BlaizeClement.com

SEARCHING FOR YOUR NEXT BIG THRILL? Read the "Between the Lines" feature interview with Steve Martini then read about great thrillers from: Matt Hilton, James Rollins, Julie Korzenko, Karna Small Bodman, Christy Reece, John A. Elefteriades, Lis Wiehl and April Henry. Go to: http://www.thrillerwriters.org

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The House Behind The Cedars by Charles W. Chesnutt. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/MayClassics

Dear Reader Column 05-18-09

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'm back, well at least for a brief appearance today. My plan was to return full time to writing this week. My mind loved the idea--jumped on board right away--but the rest of my body parts seem to have a mind of their own. I was recovering nicely from my hysterectomy surgery but then two days ago an infection showed up. So this girl will be out for one more week. The surgery and recovery bit hasn't been one of the most pleasant experiences I've ever had, but your cards, emails, flowers, calls and the big box of homemade chocolate-chocolate chip cookies that showed up in my mailbox a couple of days ago have surrounded me with warm, caring feelings that only friends can deliver. Thank you very much. Your thoughtfulness has been so kind.

As with any experience there are stories to tell and some of the notes I've been jotting down are pretty funny. I'll be back next Monday. In the meantime, sign up for my bubble machine giveaway today, check out AuthorBuzz (the link is right after today's column) and continue to enjoy the voice of my friends, authors Blaize Clement and M.J. Rose. Bye, bye--see you next Monday, have a wonderful week.--Suzanne Beecher

*To enter Suzanne's Bubble Machine Giveaway, go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/bubble051309.html

Suzanne will return next Monday, today's column is written by Blaize Clement.

You could plunk me down in the middle of a meeting of Queen Elizabeth, Oprah, and Michelle Obama, and I wouldn't be the least bit intimidated. I'd yak my head off and have a fine time. But put me in a hairdresser's chair, and I'm struck dumb with fear. I know from sad experience that a bad cut can turn my fine, wavy hair into a hopelessly frizzy mop. I'm not only scared of hairdressers, I don't speak their language. I've been trying all my adult life to learn it, but every time I've sort of caught on to hair patois, it changes. While I wasn't paying attention, "frosting" turned into "streaking" and then it became "highlights." And then there's "product," which seems to have become a code word for all the gels and sprays on the market.

I hear other women discussing their hair preference with their stylist, and they sound like they know what they're talking about. The only instruction I can manage is, "Don't cut it shorter than my earlobes." Even while I'm saying that, I know I haven't told them what I want, because the word "cut" has different meanings. If they reach for a razor, I know to stop them because a razor cut makes my hair look like I've stuck my finger in a light socket, but I'm hazy on the difference between a bob, a shag, a tapered cut, and a layered cut. And then there's a "stacked" cut, which as far as I can make out is very short and tapered in the back and long and not tapered in the front. But maybe not. It's all very mysterious and dangerous, because I may ask for a particular style and use a word that I think means one thing, but really means something different, and end up with Lyle Lovett's worst hair day.

Today I told my hairdresser that I wanted the back of my hair jagged at the neck instead of straight and even. I made diagrams in the air with my finger when I said "jagged" because it was the only word I could think of that meant something sort of saw-toothed and spiky. He nodded and said, "I'll chip the ends." When he saw that I didn't know what "chipping the ends" meant, he said, "You know, I'll point-cut it." I didn't know what point-cut meant either. Turns out it meant little bitty points cut out of the ends, not the big points I'd had in mind. But it will grow and I'll eventually learn the word that means great big wide points, and the minute I do, they'll invent a new word for that look. Somebody really should write a hair dictionary!

Blaize Clement

* Blaize is the author of the Dixie Hemingway mystery series. The latest book, Cat Sitter On A Hot Tin Roof, was a December mystery book club feature. You can email her at: Blaize@BlaizeClement.com

AUTHORBUZZ: With so many new books out every week, we promise these are five that deserve your attention: John Hart, The Last Child; Melanie M. Jeschke, Jillian Dare; Sherry Thomas, Not Quite a Husband; Charlotte Greig, A Girl's Guide to Modern European Philosophy; and Joe Lamacchia, Blue Collar & Proud of It.  Go to:  http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The House Behind The Cedars by Charles W. Chesnutt. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/MayClassics