Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 03-30-12

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,

My expectations are too high. Silly me, I expect when I buy a new computer that it ill work. No that "ill" wasn't a typo, the W-key on my new computer only orks half the time. Yes, the company I bought the computer from said they will fix it, but I need to find a day or to hen I can live ithout my computer--again. My old computer went toast a couple of eeks ago, so I was ithout a computer for a week while the computer tech did troubleshooting and finally transferred my files to this ne computer. A writer ithout a computer for a eek--it was more than an annoyance.

I bought a ClamCase for my iPad, which was cool, because then I had a real keyboard to type on. It orked great for the first three months, but now I can't get the ClamCase to sync ith the iPad any longer. A cool case with a keyboard that is dead--another little annoyance. I've followed the directions to fix it, step-by-step, but try as I might, I can't get it to ork again.

TIVO is a handy thing, I love it. It automatically records shows for me when I'm not around, and if I'm watching a television sho live, I can pause it, grab a bowl of sweet potato chips, then go back and sit down, and restart the show exactly from the spot where I paused it. But now my TIVO remote's ent dead. Changing the batteries didn't ork, and banging it a few times on the counter (my husband's first approach to fixing anything--"Just give it a couple of whacks"), didn't fix it either. I can call the company and I'm sure someone will help troubleshoot the problem. But the reality is I'll sit on hold, the first two technicians on't be able to fix it, and maybe if I'm lucky, on the third or fourth call back, someone will be able to solve the problem.

I used to blame my frustration with all the ne gadgets on the fact that I was getting older. But no I realize that my getting older isn't the problem. The problem isn't that I can't keep up with technology, it's that I can't keep up with the repairs I have to attend to, in order to use all of the ne technology.

* A big apology to Bob Tarte the author of the fun new book, Kitty Cornered. Yesterday, in announcing the winners of his book giveaway, I attributed the book to another fine author, Dan Chaon.

Thanks for reading ith me. It's so good to read ith 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: SEARCHING FOR SASSY: An L.A. Phone Psychic's Tales of Life, Lust & Love (Nonfiction) by Alyson Mead

After a bad breakup, I moved to Los Angeles, where I landed a job as a phone psychic. There I found myself dispensing daily love advice to callers while trying to date again.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on SEARCHING FOR SASSY to read more and to email author Alyson Mead, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 03-29-12

 

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,

If you have a question about writing, I'd be happy to try and help. Email your questions to: Suzanne@EmailBookclub.com I won't be able to personally answer every question, but I'll answer questions in my column.

Today's Question:

"Hi Suzanne! I'm a big fan, and I loved your book. When you were writing, did you have a daily goal, or did you 'wing it?'"--Sincerely, Kara H.

(Suzanne replies:) Thank you very kindly. It's always a treat to hear from someone who enjoyed reading my book. I'm happy to share my writing style when I'm working on a book, but I think the real question you're trying to get at is, "Is it important to be consistent and spend time writing every day?" My answer is yes. Everybody has their own style, but I'm at my best if I write every day, even if it's only for 30 minutes. When I really burn-in on writing, working like crazy every day, but then I take a two or three week sabbatical, when I do go back to my writing schedule, I have to reacquaint myself with the material and it takes a while to get back in the groove. When I'm away from the material for a long time, I have to read through everything, and rethink where the heck I was headed.

Having said that, sometimes a writing sabbatical gives me a new perspective towards the material, and I'm more creative because I took the time to rest. Every writer has to discover what works best for them. I hope this helps you discover what the most productive and fun writing style is for you. Best wishes.

To read other writing questions and answers, go to: http://tinyurl.com/WritingQ-A

* Congratulations to the winners of my Apron Giveaway are: Marcia Vogin, Aida Varela and Erica Cowell.

* And congratulations to the winners of the book KITTY CORNERED by last week's guest columnist Dan Chaon: Anne Pardington, Pat Groshong, Heidi Zoll, Bonny Conway, Millie Malone Lill, Beth Donaldson, Carol Milton, Linda Hitchcock, Mildred Abercrombie and Scarlet Dennett.

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: TERMINAL VALUE (Thriller) by Thomas Waite

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to create your own firm and sell it to a high-flying technology company on the verge of going public--only to see your best friend murdered and your dreams shattered by corrupt executives--then this is the novel for you. TERMINAL VALUE is to the technology world what John Grisham is to law firms--a taut thriller that exposes the greed and corruption that can go on behind the scenes in business.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on TERMINAL VALUE to find out more about the book and the author, Thomas Waite. 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)
THE AMERICAN HEIRESS by Daisy Goodwin

(Fiction)
THE SEDUCTION OF LADY X by Julia London

(Fiction)
THE CHASE by DiAnn Mills

(Thriller)
TERMINAL VALUE by Thomas Waite

(Nonfiction)
SEARCHING FOR SASSY: An L.A. Phone Psychic's Tales of Life, Lust & Love by Alyson Mead

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

* 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

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 03-28-12

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,

"My house is the gray historical home, three houses on the right-hand side after you cross over the bridge." For years I've been giving people driving directions to my gray house. But this past weekend, after painting three gray samples on my historical stucco home, duh, I realized I've been living in a tan colored home for the past 18 years. Looking well-used, and just a tad bit ragged is part of the 1926 historical charm, but after years and years of Florida sun, my house definitely needs a new coat of paint and I thought maybe it was time to change the color, too. Eighteen years of living in a gray, whoops there I go again, tan colored home with white accents, maybe it was time to splash on some green, yellow, or 'actual gray' paint. So for the past week my husband and I have been driving around looking at other peoples' paint jobs.

Picking a color you'll be living with for another 18 years, it's a lot of pressure. Thank heavens my husband and I discovered $2.94 paint samples. Pick any color, and the paint master at the hardware store will mix-up a sample; enough paint to cover a 4' x 4' area, paint a patch on your house, let it dry, and envision your entire house in the new color. How the heck did folks pick a color before paint samples? I guess you did a paint Hail Mary, bought a gallon and hoped for the best, which come to think of it, is probably why my Grandma and Grandpa Tindell lived in a pink house. Grandma was thrifty, well, actually, Grandma was cheap, and I bet after she bought the bubble gum pink paint, even though it was an eyesore in the small Wisconsin town, she wasn't going to waste the money--so pink it was, and pink it stayed for all the years I was growing up.

Learning from my grandparent's mistake, I'm still trying samples. I'm on my tenth one--actually the first three don't count. I bought those when I still thought I lived in a gray house and was searching for a little different shade of gray. My husband and I love these paint samples, we're heading out to the hardware store again this afternoon to request three more colors. You might think we're addicted to paint samples, but the good news is if we continue testing colors, say, 150 more, our entire house will be painted--not all the same color, but at least I'll be able to give accurate directions, "My house is the freshly painted patchwork colored home, three houses on the right-hand side after you cross over the bridge."

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: THE CHASE (Fiction) by DiAnn Mills

Who could forget an unidentified little girl who was found starved to death in the woods behind a Houston apartment complex five years ago? Certainly not Kariss Walker, a TV news anchor who reported on the story.

Now a bestselling author, Kariss is compelled to turn the unsolved case into a suspense novel. To solve the murder in fiction, if not in real life, Kariss persuades FBI Agent Tigo Harris to re-open the case, and together they solve the crime in a collage of suspense, faith and romance.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE CHASE to read more and to email author DiAnn Mills, 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 03-26-12

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,

Get me good and angry and my toilets sparkle. Annoy the heck out of me and I grab the mop and give my house a top-to-bottom cleaning. Get out of my way! The dust will be flyin' soon!

Shove that dresser away from the wall, roll up the living room rug, and rip out the shelf liner underneath the kitchen sink. I'm an irate woman on a mission. Let me at it. I'm lookin' for some write-your-name-in-it-dust, so I can show it who's boss.

Grumble, grumble, scrub, scrub, it's the best kind of therapy I've ever found. Whew, three bags of trash, I'm out of vacuum bags, the dust spray can has pooped out and so have I. It's time to call it a day. I don't know if "things" will look better in the morning, but at least my house will be clean.

*Congratulations to the winners of last week's book giveaway of Jane Green's ANOTHER PIECE OF MY HEART: Heidi Zoll, Bev McKay, Paula Southwood, Jennifer Buttrey, Joy Isley, Hope Pogany, Donna Greenlee, Joanne Hingston, Lorraine Taylor and Vicky Blanshard.

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 AMERICAN HEIRESS (Fiction) by Daisy Goodwin

THE AMERICAN HEIRESS is the story of an American heiress struggling to fit into British high society in the 1890s and perfect for fans of Edith Wharton or DOWNTON ABBEY. I had so much fun writing this book and to get myself in the right frame of mind I actually laced myself into a corset for a whole day, which gave me fabulous posture and a very real sense of the restrictions placed on women at that time, even wealthy and privileged ones.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on AN AMERICAN HEIRESS to read more and to email author Daisy Goodwin, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 03-23-12

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,

If you have a question about writing, I'd be happy to try and help. Email your questions to: Suzanne@EmailBookclub.com I won't be able to personally answer every question, but I'll answer questions in my column. Today's Question:

"Suzanne, I have pages and pages of notes on my computer for a book. How do I take what I've written so far and create some kind of order, so I can begin?"--Annie J.

Dear Annie,

Pages and pages of notes, click, click, click, where do I begin? It's a challenge, isn't it? It might sound "old school" but I'd recommend approaching the problem in the same way you'd clean a closet. Take everything out of the closet, or in your case, print out your pages of notes. Then use a yellow highlighter to mark paragraphs or sentences that particularly stand out to you. Cut and paste the paragraphs into a new order, and soon, like a jigsaw puzzle the big picture will be much clearer.

When I started working on my first book Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life, in order to understand "me" and the topics I typically write about, I took hundreds of columns I'd written, put subject cards on my dining room table and walked around the table matching the columns with the appropriate topics: humorous, pets, self-searching, fear, joy and so forth. It took hours, but when I was finished I realized what I wanted to write about in my book. I hope this suggestion helps you in your writing journey. My best wishes to you.

To see a photo and to enter a giveaway that will inspire you to write (it does the trick for me) go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/giveaway-03-22-12.html

*To read other writing questions and answers, go to: http://tinyurl.com/WritingQ-A

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: YELLOW CROCUS: A NOVEL (Fiction) by Laila Ibrahim

The image of Lisbeth, a white baby, breastfeeding in the loving arms of Mattie, an enslaved wet nurse came to me in a flash. These characters started to haunt me. Though I had never written anything, I was being called to tell their story. For my fortieth birthday, began the personal odyssey of writing my first novel. I hope you will come to love Mattie and Lisbeth as much as I have. I love to speak with book clubs and hear from readers.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on YELLOW CROCUS to read more and to email author Laila Ibrahim, you'll get a reply.

 

 

Dear Reader Column 03-22-12

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 a human divining rod. Just let me loose and if there's water nearby, I'm the gal to find it. There are a lot of things in life you can't count on, but if I'm in my stocking feet and an ice cube falls on the floor and melts, I'll find the puddle first and step right in it. Yep, put your money on me, I'm a real safe bet.

If the cat's tipped over his water dish (at least that's what I'm hoping it was), or if my husband forgot to get a towel before he soaked in the tub, soggy socks aren't far behind--because I'm sure to follow in his footsteps. I hate wet socks, don't you?

But my dear husband appreciates my talent and even brags to our friends about it. Our historical home, built in 1926, has a flat roof. Flat roofs are notorious for leaks. So every time it rains, my husband sends me on the hunt for possible leaks. "Put your socks on Suzanne, it rained last night." He's always so proud when I find a leak.

I admit I've always dreamed of having a claim-to-fame, but water and soggy socks weren't really what I'd envisioned. Nevertheless, when you're good, you're good, and word of my talent is spreading. Our neighbors called the other day. They've been smelling mildew in their house, and they can't find the water leak. "Can you make a house call, Suzanne?"

*Congratulations to the winners of Guest Columnist Dan Chaon's book, STAY AWAKE: Barbara Boik, Jo Forgach and Geri LaBreck.

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: GREAT NEGOTIATIONS: Agreements that Changed the Modern World (Nonfiction) by Fredrik Stanton

The stories of the highest stakes poker games in history, from Benjamin Franklin securing crucial French support for the American Revolution to Reagan and Gorbachev eliminating an entire class of nuclear weapons.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on GREAT NEGOTIATIONS: to find out more about the book and the author, Fredrik Stanton. 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

(Nonfiction)
AWKWARD MOMENTS WITH MEN: Stories About the Sex We Can't Live Without by Megan Leigh Byrd and Shannon Lee Miller

(Nonfiction)
LITTLE MISS MERIT BADGE by Ronda Beaman

(Fiction)
THE GIRL WHO WOULD SPEAK FOR THE DEAD by Paul Elwork

(Nonfiction)
GREAT NEGOTIATIONS: Agreements that Changed the Modern World by Fredrik Stanton

(Fiction)
YELLOW CROCUS: A NOVEL by Laila Ibrahim

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

* 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

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 03-21-12

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,

Author Bob Tarte and his wife Linda live on the edge of a shoe-sucking, mink-infested swamp near the West Michigan village of Lowell. When not fending off mosquitoes during temperate months and chipping ice out of plastic wading pools in the depths of winter, Bob writes books about his pets.

Welcome today's Guest Author, Bob Tarte. Send him an email (you'll receive a reply) and your email will enter you in a 10-book giveaway. Ten lucky readers will receive a copy of his April upcoming release, Kitty Cornered (which will also be featured in our Nonfiction Book Club in May). Enjoy Bob's column, and send him a great big book club welcome, email: tarte.robert@gmail.com

Welcome to the book clubs, Bob...

Clawing My Way to the Top (of the page)

Our animals don't make it easy for me to write about them. One afternoon last fall when I was trying to finish my book Kitty Cornered, I trudged upstairs and found our black cat Agnes curled up on my chair. Instead of teetering on the edge of my seat as usual, I wanted to settle back for some deep thinking. So I scooped her up and set her down on the floor. Before I had a chance to switch on my Mac, she jumped up onto my lap and buried her head in a hand that had been in transit to the keyboard.

When I figured we had both enjoyed enough petting, I gently whisked her off and was rewarded with a disapproving stare of such befuddling intensity that I decided to duck downstairs and fortify myself with coffee. Just as I hit the landing, our parrots erupted in screams. In the dining room/bird room, Dusty and Bella plus our doves and parakeets cowered as a sharp-shinned hawk eyed them hungrily from the unlikely perch of our birdbath. When I ran out and chased him away, I also succeeded in scaring off the neatly formed sentence that had been rattling around in my head in search of a roost.

"He's gone," I told Bella. I punched holes in two paper cups and hung them in her cage as toys while my coffee cup revolved in the microwave.

I was unable to relocate the brilliant sentence that had taken wing, but I had arrived at an acceptable alternative just as Frannie intercepted me in the front hall. The skittish former stray would only allow me to pet her if a precise set of legalistic conditions had been met, and these were generally known only to her. I recognized the standing-in-front-of-the-bowl behavior, though. It meant that she wanted me to stroke her tail while she munched on kibbles. I didn't dare disappoint her out of fear that she would snub me later, so I held onto my carefully crafted phrases as she crunched away. Then I raced upstairs to put them into Word.

Agnes had retaken my chair and had curled herself up into such a contented looking donut that I didn't have the heart to move her. Balanced on the last three inches of the seat pan, I began typing my sentence at last when our massive tabby Maynard lumbered out from the upstairs bedroom whining for attention. He seemed too massive to ever become airborne. But before I knew it he had bounded up onto my lap, enveloping my lap and spilling over onto the keyboard.

It was impossible getting anything done like this. Hardening my heart, I plopped first Maynard then Agnes to the floor, waited for Agnes to chase her rival down the steps, and then shooed her into the bedroom and settled in to begin writing in earnest.

I heard a zee-zee-zee-zoe-zee song coming from our hackberry tree. A black-throated green warbler had dropped by our woods on his way south. Figuring that other warblers might be hanging out with him, I raced downstairs and out the door, binoculars in hand. After all, I seldom got the chance to see warblers--and I could write anytime.

Bob Tarte http://www.bobtarte.com/

Bob's Books: Kitty Cornered, Enslaved by Ducks, and Fowl Weather. To enter the book drawing and to say hello to Bob, email: tarte.robert@gmail.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 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 GIRL WHO WOULD SPEAK FOR THE DEAD (Fiction) by Paul Elwork

Inspired by a true story, a twin brother and sister pretend to contact the dead through phantom knocking noises during the summer and fall of 1925. Emily and Michael Stewart practice their trick on neighborhood children interested in encountering the mystery of death and adults with much deeper emotional drives. Along the way, the twins must confront the ghosts of their own family history and navigate a present shadowed by the past. The game of contacting the dead truly becomes a matter of life and death.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE GIRL WHO WOULD SPEAK FOR THE DEAD to read more and to email author Paul Elwork, you'll get a reply.

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 03-19-12

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,

Bestselling author Jane Green, today's guest columnist is someone I can relate to, she's a foodie and passionate cook. Jane says she only cooks food that is "incredibly easy, but has to look as if you have slaved over a hot stove for hours." She's my kind of woman!

Jane is on tour for her latest novel, ANOTHER PIECE OF MY HEART. If you're in Connecticut this week be sure to visit Jane at the Greenwich Library on March 20th and the Westport Library on March 21st.

Because Jane is on tour she won't be able to answer your emails, but she'd love to hear from you, you can reach her at: http://www.janegreen.com/index.php/contact/

I have ten copies of ANOTHER PIECE OF MY HEART to give away to lucky readers. To enter, send an email with your mailing address (in case you win) to: enter-to-win-smp@emailbookclub.com

Thanks for taking time to stop by the book clubs, Jane...

For my thirteenth novel, I turned, as I so often do, to my own life for inspiration. Another Piece of My Heart is not about me, nor my family, but now that I am in a Blended Family, I started to explore the issues around that, talking to people, reading books, and lurking for hours on step-parent forums.

The dynamic I kept coming across was that of the woman who married a man with children, expecting it to be hearts and roses, thinking that because she is a good person, because she is determined, she will overcome any difficulties the children may have with her, through love, and sheer force of will.

I was so interested in the changing archetype. As times have changed and children are given more power than ever before, it seems that the wicked stepmother--one of the most damaging roles to have come out of fairytales--may have given way to manipulative and brutal stepchildren, who are very aware of the power they hold over a guilty parent.

But ultimately this is a story about what it takes to create a family. Times are changing, and unconventional families are becoming more and more the norm. What matters to me, and the message that I hope to put across in my books, is that we are all flawed, all trying to find our way as best we can, and ultimately the goal is to find contentment, and love.

I loved writing these characters, and particularly the twists and turns of the story. Just when we think Andi and Ethan have found peace, Emily returns to tip their world upside down, and even though redemption doesn't seem possible, they all find their way by the end.

I so hope you enjoy reading this,

My warmest wishes,

Jane

Most weekends Jane's cooking for a minimum of twenty people in her home in Westport, Connecticut, where she lives with her husband and their blended family. When she is not writing, cooking, filling her house with friends and looking after their animals, she is usually thanking the Lord for caffeine-filled energy drinks. Visit her website at: http://www.janegreen.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 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: AWKWARD MOMENTS WITH MEN: Stories About the Sex We Can't Live Without (Nonfiction) by Megan Leigh Byrd and Shannon Lee Miller

After writing this book, we're most grateful we managed to survive the stories within it. It's nothing short of miraculous that we're not eating, praying, or loving in Nepal. Capturing what truly happens when opposite sexes brush elbows and unmentionables.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on AWKWARD MOMENTS WITH MEN to read more and to email authors Megan Leigh Byrd and Shannon Lee Miller, you'll get a reply.