Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 07-03-13

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

I'm all about the little things in life. In fact, I feel one of my assignments here on earth is to do the little things. My husband has a hard time with that statement because he doesn't quite understand what I mean, and that's my fault. "Give me an example, give me an example," he says.

But you know what happens when someone asks, "What's your favorite book or movie?" It can be difficult to come up with an answer on the spot.

Maybe I have trouble sharing a list of examples, because what I remember most is the smile on someone's face, or the look in their eyes when they experience one of life's little pleasures.

Or maybe it's because the little things in life--most people wouldn't even notice, if nobody did them. But when someone takes the time to do one of those, little make-you-feel-good gems, people are "Oh, so happy they did!"

Little things--like the other day when a neighbor returned a pie tin of mine. They left it on my side porch, when I wasn't home, and inside the pie tin was a box of beekeeper's soap. Just a little box of soap but I loved it!

I may not be able to give my husband a list, because the little things I do, don't consciously stay with me, but the feelings behind someone's thoughtful little gesture stay with me in my heart. And that's a big thing.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

AUTHORBUZZ: SHINE SHINE SHINE by Lydia Netzer

When I began writing Shine Shine Shine, I had been married for two years and was pregnant with my first child. I thought I knew everything about motherhood and marriage! Over the course of the next ten years, my characters and I grew up together. Now my son is 13. I'm happy to introduce Sunny, who motherhood changed, and her husband Maxon, who true love redeemed.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on SHINE SHINE SHINE to read more and to email author Lydia Netzer, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 07-02-13

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

"Do what you love and the money will follow." Sage advice that author Sophie McKenzie has taken to heart.

Welcome Ms. McKenzie to the book clubs and be sure to enter her book giveaway. There are 10 copies of Close My Eyes, sitting on her desk, waiting to be given away to readers. Sophie's been writing YA fiction in the UK since 2006, and Close My Eyes is her first novel for adult readers.

Enter Sophie McKenzie's book drawing, say hello and she will reply. Sophie loves to talk to readers. Email: [email protected]

Sophie McKenzie - A day in my life

Most weekdays I'm up early to provide breakfast and have-you-got-your-phone/homework/soccer boots reminders for my son, Joe. He's a teenager with a big appetite and currently going through a massive box of cereal every week, so most days also involve some kind of food shopping trips to my local stores. I'm not one of those organised people who buy stuff once a week in a big load--I tend to get what I need as and when I run out of it.

As soon as Joe has gone to school I start work. One of the best things about writing books for a living is being able to arrange your own schedule. I love that. I'm also very happy in my own company for long periods, which is definitely important if you want to get anything written!

I spend a lot of time staring out of the window, imagining the next scene in my story--I see the setting and the characters, watching and listening to them move and speak, and feeling how they feel. If I'm really into a book I might write all day, only stopping to eat. When I'm editing or planning or proofreading then I'm more likely to go out. I have quite a few writer friends now who are also around during the day. When we get together we talk a lot about writing--things we find difficult...ideas...other books we've enjoyed...etc.

I sometimes listen to music while I work--I often have a playlist for my main characters. Listing to 'their' songs gets me inside their head faster than anything else.

In my spare time, I enjoy going to the movies or seeing live music with my partner. He's a great cook and I love my food--so a perfect night in involves a delicious dinner and a great drama on TV or Netflix. There never seems to be quite enough time to get everything done--one day I must get round to sorting out all my old photos, not to mention organising work stuff like files and accounts. There is always a pile of books by my bed waiting to be read and loads of story ideas that I'd love to develop.

I think I'm incredibly lucky that I have my health and my family and that I get to spend every day doing something I love!

For a chance to win one of 10 copies of my new book, Close My Eyes, please email me on [email protected]

--Sophie McKenzie

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

AUTHORBUZZ: THE SHADOW TRACER (Thriller) by Meg Gardiner

Sarah Keller is a single mother to five-year-old Zoe. She's also a skip tracer--she tracks down people evading arrest, debt, or prosecution. Then an accident reveals Sarah's secret: Zoe isn't her daughter. Zoe's birth mother--Sarah's sister--was murdered when Zoe was tiny. Falsely accused, Sarah takes Zoe and runs. Pursued by federal agents and her sister's killers, she flees across the Southwest in a deadly game of hide and seek.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE SHADOW TRACER to find out more about the book and the author, Meg Gardiner. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.

Dear Reader Column 07-01-13

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily column at: DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

Thanks for taking the time to write. I love to hear from readers and I answer my mail. Send me an email this week, and if I use your comments in my column, I'll send you a free book as a thank-you.

From my Email Bag:

Today, book club reader Lorna is curious...

"Dear Suzanne: I can see you having a bubble machine for one of your infamous parties, but [when I read that you turn on a bubble machine] for joggers? Do you turn it on every morning? How long do you run it? And this is probably the dumbest question (and I think I know the answer) 'Why?' I'm thinking because it's just a cool neat thing to do, and you have the machine--the joggers like it--so why not? Thank you for reading with 'me.'"

Your Friend, Lorna

(Suzanne replies:) My bubble machine is magic. Turn it on, watch the bubbles float high up in the air and soon I'm smiling, and so is everyone else who walks by my home. It's amazing. People leave bottles of bubbles in front of my house with thank you notes attached. Every week I get cards from folks I don't know, thanking me for the bubbles.

"I see your bubbles on the way to visit my aunt who's in hospice, and the bubbles always make me smile."

"When my husband and I go for our daily walk, we make sure we go by your house so we can see the bubbles."

Some folks even knock on my door. An entire family: Dad, Mom, and their three kids stopped by on their way home from church. "I've been bringing my oldest girl by your house every Sunday since she was four years old," Dad said proudly. "My daughter's eight now, thanks for sharing the bubbles!"

Almost every day at 6:30 in the morning, I turn on my bubble machine. Joggers, walkers, dogs, kids, and all-grown-up men (even the tough and burly-looking ones) raise their arms and twirl around in the bubbles. It's never a problem getting up early, because even if I forget to set my alarm, I wake up instead to the sound of joggers calling out from the sidewalk, "Where are the bubbles?"

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

***** AUTHORBUZZ *****

SMALL TOWN GIRL (Fiction) by Ann H. Gabhart

Sometimes after I write a story, the characters keep dancing around inside my head, like the Merritt sisters after they sprang to life in Angel Sister. While that story ended, their lives continued on in my imagination. Five years have passed and Kate is ready to find love. But the ominous clouds of WWII are gathering on the horizon and threatening to change everything for my Small Town Girl.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on SMALL TOWN GIRL to read more and to email author Ann H. Gabhart, you'll get a reply.