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Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life
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Dear Reader,
The more I write, the more I learn about myself. It's a love/hate sort of thing. Writing keeps me honest. Every day I hold up a mirror and force myself to look in it--sometimes I try to resist what I see. Sometimes I can barely breathe when I'm writing. That's when I know I've found the thing I need to write about. Interesting, isn't it? When I can't breathe and feel like I might pass out any minute, then I know I've come face-to-face with the boogeyman hiding underneath my bed.
I do believe today's guest columnist, author Jane Porter, has come face-to-face with the boogeyman hiding underneath her bed, too.
Welcome Jane to the book club and enter her generous book giveaway. Email her at: [email protected] for a chance to win one of ten copies of her book, The Good Daughter, the second book in the Brennan Sisters trilogy.
Welcome author Jane Porter . . .
I have tried to write this several times, and each time my fingers just stop. They freeze on the keyboard. It's because I decided I would write about something taboo--something that happened in my family.
Every family has its skeletons in the closet. Most families prefer to keep them there. Let's face it: dark, dirty secrets are best left in the dark, and I'm not comfortable with our skeletons, but I know we're not the only ones with these particular bones and ghosts...
How do you talk about domestic violence?
How do you tell someone it's happening in your home? How do you convey the truth of it, without sounding weak? Without becoming pathetic...someone others pity, or fear, or disrespect? Outsiders think--just leave. Outsiders say--fight back, walk away. Outsiders, who don't live with violence, intimidation, and aggression--don't realize that it's not easy escaping the bully. It might not even be possible, not when the bully is in your family, because the bully knows where you sleep, knows who you love, how you love, and what makes you vulnerable.
I don't like to think of myself as weak, but when I think about the past--which I rarely let myself do--the memories flood me. I have far too much knowledge of fear...what it smells like, feels like, tastes like, sounds like. Fear is a living, breathing thing, and it shadows you, a ghost. During my college years I dealt with my ghosts by praying twenty-four seven, making me the most evangelical of Christians. I still have deep faith, but now I deal with my ghosts by writing stories of hope and warmth, love and courage, strength and optimism. I've also dealt with my ghosts by marrying a street-tough surfer that is notorious in San Diego County for his fighting prowess, and he makes me feel safe.
Life is complicated and love is complicated but love should never be physical, or dangerous, psychologically, or physically. Love should not mean nightmares and bruises.
I am known for my light tone in books, for the warmth, and sexy sizzle, but that's because I need warmth, light, love. I have lived without it. I know there are many women who live without it. That's not right. People should feel safe. And secure. And women--children--should never be afraid in their own home.
If you need help--support, escape, kindness--reach out. People will be there for you. I will be there for you. We are a community and we can fight our ghosts and skeletons together.
*About Jane Porter: I'm a California native that just spent 16 years living in Seattle, the mom of three sons, and married to a very sexy younger surfer that I interviewed for my book, Flirting with Forty, back in 2004. The surfer, Ty, and I ended up dating and falling in love...not exactly like the novel, but close enough to make it fun and keep people guessing.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
AUTHORBUZZ: FIREFLY ISLAND (Fiction) by Lisa Wingate
The waterside town of Moses Lake, Texas is alive with mystery, romance, and quirky charm. After a whirlwind romance, Congressional staffer, Mallory Hale's hasty marriage quickly becomes an adventure as wild as the mail-order-bride stories of old. When an undercurrent of secrets upends her rosy new life, it will take everything this DC girl can muster to defend the home she has come to love.
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on FIREFLY ISLAND to find out more about the book and the author, Lisa Wingate. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.
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