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Dear Reader,
When I invite an author to write a guest column at the book club, one of the things I ask them "not" to write about is their book. Because I can easily find that information on the internet. Instead, what I'm hoping they'll write are words from the heart, and that's exactly what Jessica Brockmole, author of Letters from Skye, shares with us today.
Please send an email welcoming Jessica to our book club. Jessica answers all of her mail, and she has 20 copies of her debut novel, Letters from Skye to give away to readers. (You'll love her book. It was released this week.) Send your email to: [email protected]
Pull up a chair, pour a cup of coffee, and spend some time in Jessica Brockmole's kitchen.
This time of year, I'm in the kitchen a lot. With baskets of produce fresh-picked from my garden or from one of our local farms, I set about making pickles. I'll pickle just about anything that comes across my table: cucumbers of all shapes and sizes, green beans, okra, jalapenos, banana peppers, red peppers, carrots, tiny green grape tomatoes. When pickling season is upon me, my writing partner warns nearby veggies to run and hide. She teases that, instead of writing, I hide behind my stacks of jars in a brine-scented fit of procrastination.
I can see why she thinks that. It's so easy to say, "I'll write tomorrow," while eyeing a gleaming little pile of green tomatoes, smelling fresh and warm the way only tomatoes can. It's so easy to put off a chapter and escape to that steamy, vinegary kitchen.
And an escape is exactly what it is. Amid the swirling scents of dill and garlic and pepper, my head begins to clear. The pots bubble softly, the scrubbed jars wait in a row. And I think. There's something about the regularity of my knife against the cutting board, slicing cucumbers, the neat stacks of okra or green beans lining the jars, the quiet plink as each lid tightens and seals, something about the process that soothes. I can untangle plot snarls, I can ponder character arcs, I can plan twists. It's not procrastination; it's part of the process.
Even when the gardens grow brown, I can still find solace in the kitchen. In between bouts of writing, I cook. Making bread is a particular favorite, as I'm sure the bread-bakers among you will understand. Mixing, kneading, shaping. Watching it rise.
Pickling, baking, cooking, they're all neat and orderly processes, between the chopping, the measuring and the constant temperatures. But out of such order, magic happens. That alchemy of taste and smell and flavors crumbling against your tongue. In some ways, much like writing. The expected tidiness of sentences, the unexpected flavor of the words when chosen and lined up. From raw ingredients, something special can be made. Maybe that's why I find such comfort in the kitchen. I can think as I prepare. And come winter, I can take down a jar of pickles and escape again by unscrewing the lid.
Tell me, which task around the house do you cheerfully escape to?
What helps you to reconnect with yourself?
-- Jessica Brockmole/Letters from Skye
Jessica wrote Letters from Skye when she was living in Edinburgh, Scotland. After her youngest son was born, they went to the Isle of Skye and stayed in a cottage. On the drive back to Edinburgh, a story came together in her head. "I scribbled notes right there in the car and started furiously writing when we got back home."
Say hello to Jessica and enter the book drawing. You can reach her at: [email protected]
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
AUTHORBUZZ: OCEAN CITY LOWDOWN (Fiction) by Kim Kash
Maryland Eastern Shore reporter Jamie August, has a talent for unearthing more than her editor wants and a weakness for Ravens jerseys and sparkly underwear. Jamie's tenacity, smarts, and sheer recklessness--plus some smokin' striptease dance moves--can get her out of some tight spots, but are they enough to save her from a psychopathic arsonist and two generations of corrupt real estate tycoons?
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on OCEAN CITY LOWDOWN to read more and to email author Kim Kash, you'll get a reply.
*Fun, free books and meet authors. Ask questions, they'll reply and read samples from their books. Visit AuthorBuzz at: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader
(Mystery)
SUGAR POP MOON by John Florio
(Fiction)
THE LIFE LIST by Lori Nelson Spielman
(Fiction)
PASTORS' WIVES by Lisa Takeuchi Cullen
(Fiction)
OCEAN CITY LOWDOWN by Kim Kash
(Fiction)
JUNK MAN by Erec Stebbins
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader
* This month's Penguin Classics book is DEATH OF A HERO by Richard Aldington. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Goto: http://tinyurl.com/July13Classics
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