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Dear Reader,
I'm on vacation and author Dianne Dixon has graciously offered to fill-in for me today. Dianne is a former television writer who loves to read, and cook. Her love of cooking always seems to find its way into her books, like her latest The Book of Someday. It's a story, a mystery, about three very different women whose lives ultimately intersect in very surprising ways. Throughout the book, you'll come across moments when the characters are sharing meals that Dianne's created in real life--everything from a romantic little picnic on a sailboat to a big family Christmas dinner with all the trimmings.
Email Dianne, say hello, and enter to win a copy of The Book of Someday. She has three copies for readers. Email: dianne@diannedixon.com
Take it away Dianne...
I want to say a huge Thank You! to Suzanne for inviting me to do this column. It's exciting to be part of Dear Reader, a place where books and writers are celebrated in such a delicious way. And I'm using the word delicious because, along with good food, good books are things that truly feed my soul.
I was reminded of this when I was in Decatur, Georgia recently, and a charming young waiter commented, "Y'all seem to be enjoying your book every bit as much as you're enjoying your dinner!" I'd just arrived in town for the Book Festival, hadn't had a chance to meet any of the other attendees, and was eating alone, while reading a book.
The waiter's name was Vicki; she was a wine enthusiast. And as she began telling me about her passion--the "perfect pairing" of wine and food--she got me thinking about another kind of perfect pairing. The perfect pairing of books and food.
I was suddenly remembering a summer night when my best friend and I discovered we were both reading Under the Tuscan Sun and we made an impromptu Italian dinner that turned out to be one of the most delicious meals I've ever eaten--linguini with rapini and seared scallops, and icy-cold, lemon gelato for dessert. We ate outside, by candlelight, and talked for hours about the events, and places, and people we'd discovered in Frances Mayes' book.
Then there was that English tea party I went to, where the hostess was a Jane Austen fan who served watercress sandwiches, and tiny scones studded with currants and topped with homemade strawberry jam. It was so much fun. Ten of us trading recipes, talking about Vanity Fair vs. Pride and Prejudice, and debating the good and bad in the lives of women back then, and right now.
And there was the wonderful book club that invited me to be their guest a couple of years ago. The members hold their meetings in the evenings and have dinner, each woman bringing a different dish. The dinner is always themed to the book they're reading. The night I visited, they recreated a family meal I'd described in the novel I'd just written. The conversation went on late into the night, while we stayed gathered around the table, enjoying good food and talking about books that had touched our hearts.
Books and food. For me, they've always been the perfect pairing. And I'm curious--is it the same for you? Let me know!
--Dianne Dixon
dianne@diannedixon.com
Enter to win a copy of The Book of Someday. Email Dianne at: dianne@diannedixon.com
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
AUTHORBUZZ: 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 OUTCASTS by Kathleen Kent
(Fiction)
REBELLIOUS HEART by Jody Hedlund
(Fiction)
MADE TO LAST by Melissa Tagg
(Fiction)
THE PARTNER TRACK by Helen Wan
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader
* This month's Penguin Classics book is MEMOIRS OF A FOX-HUNTING MAN by Siegfried Sassoon. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin book bag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/Sept13Classics
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