Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 09-16-13

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 on my annual vacation, but today I'm fortunate to have returning author Eileen Button write my DearReader column. Eileen has filled in for me before, so if you've "met" her via email, be sure to say hello again. One of the things Eileen loves about writing at the book club is the friendships she's developed with readers.

You can reach Eileen at: buttonhouse@juno.com

Be sure to say hello.

Eileen is an award-winning columnist, an adjunct professor, and the author of The Waiting Place: Learning to Appreciate Life's Little Delays.

Take it away Eileen...

My Unstuck Life

A year ago, I got stuck in a big, hairy, butt-ugly way. The kinda stuck that makes you think you're Bill Murray in Groundhog Day where every day is the same and you just don't know if you can do it--whatever it is--anymore. I was desperate for an adventure.

My life was already chock-full of good things. I was a teacher, a writer, a mom of three and a wife of one. Even so, my metaphorical tires were trapped in mud, spinning fast. So, I did what any other slightly crazed woman would do: for one year, I became an elementary librarian.

It is perhaps the best job in the world, especially for someone who's a freak about books and also happens to like kids. It challenged what I thought I knew about libraries and librarians. And so, knowing I'm among book-loving friends here, I'd like to take this opportunity to dispel a few myths.

Myth #1: Books are dead

You would have thought I was handing out Snickers bars with every book the kids checked out, what with all their enthusiasm. Oh sure, they're crazy wild about any book that featured underpants, gross bodily functions, or Justin Bieber, but what really mattered is that they read. Trust me, kids who read Captain Underpants in first grade reach for Beverly Cleary's Ramona books in second grade and Kate DiCamillo's The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane in the third.

Myth #2: Kids don't read

Not only do kids read, they research. Seriously. One day, an earnest first grader asked me if I had any books about mice. I immediately thought of Kevin Henkes' Chrysanthemum and Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse.

"Yes," I said. "And I think you're going to love them!"

"Good," she said, relieved. "'Cause we have TONS of mice in our house and me and my mom gotta figure out how to get rid of 'em!"

Kids also make terrific connections. Once, a third grader approached me, holding open a book about creepy crawlies. "See this bug here?"
she asked.

"Yes, I see it."

"These things are ALL OVER my cat!"

Myth #3: Libraries are quiet and serious places

I suspect I'm a little spunkier than your average librarian, but every day gave me reasons to giggle.

Take, for instance, the first grader who explained why she was taking two books out on Abraham Lincoln. "I want to show these to my dad," she said. "He LOVES Lincoln 'cause, you know, he voted for him and everything."

Or the first grader who pointed to a picture in her opened book, asking, "Doesn't this look like poop on a stick?"

I had to admit that it did.

"But it's NOT. It's SAUSAGE!"

"Oh, well thank you for that."

Although I won't be able to continue working at the library, my heart is there. I think constantly about the kids who challenged me and made me laugh for a year. They pried open my heart and saved me from my Groundhog Day self. For that and so much more, I am deeply grateful.

-- Eileen Button
buttonhouse@juno.com

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

* 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

AUTHORBUZZ: THE SHOGUN'S DAUGHTER (Fiction) by Laura Joh Rowland

The shogun's daughter Tsuruhime dies of smallpox in 1704. Faced with his own mortality, the shogun names as his heir Yoshisato, the son he recently learned was his. In the ensuing political turmoil, Sano Ichiro falls out of favor at court. He thinks Yoshisato is a fraud masterminded by Yanagisawa, his foe. Suspecting that Tsuruhime's death was murder, Sano embarks on a dangerous investigation. He and his family become targets of enemies seeking to rule Japan.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE SHOGUN'S DAUGHTER to read more and to email author Laura Joh Rowland, you'll get a reply.

 

Dear Reader Column 09-13-13

 

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,

My job is pretty much a 24/7 kind of thing, but along with that comes the freedom to come and go as I please, and work when I please. If the work gets done and I do a good job, that's all that matters.

There were only two jobs that I ever had where I was supposed to punch a time clock. One of them was when I was 20 and I worked the third shift in a factory. I ground lenses for safety glasses. I punched in at 11 p.m. and punched out at 8 a.m.

Everyone had a quota to fill and I always finished mine two hours before anyone else, so I would just sit and read or do whatever. I wouldn't have minded continuing to work, but my supervisor said that it would set a bad example and politely ordered me not to do so. It never made any sense to me; after all, I was being paid to work, but that factory was a very strange place and there wasn't a whole lot of common sense going around. Employees did their work in the midst of a soap opera atmosphere, and every night there was a different story line.

It wasn't unusual for the night manager to get in his car and pick someone up for work, or more truthfully, to go and beg someone to come to work so he wouldn't have to fire them. He refereed marital arguments and went looking for an employee's kid who was out in the wee hours. And he was an early version of Amscot--employees would write him a personal check, he'd give them cash and not cash their check until payday.

Everyone got two breaks during the night and even though it was 3 in the morning no one thought about sleep. For two weeks during coffee breaks, everyone debated the authenticity of the picture that Marie took on her vacation. She held up a picture of a waterfall in the woods and pointed to the outline of Jesus in the background. Was it really Jesus? It didn't matter; it was 3 o'clock in the morning.

* Next week we'll be featuring the first Write a DearReader Contest winners.

* Congratulations to the winners of my children's cookbook giveaway: Melanie Sproat, Patricia Angleson, Jim Robbins, Linda Gorski, Ellie Berger and Janice Doxtator.

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

Gratefully,
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

* 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 totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/Sept13Classics

AUTHORBUZZ: BREEDING IN CAPTIVITY: One Woman's Unusual Path to Motherhood (NonFiction) by Stacy Bolt

A quirky memoir that follows a lovable couple through their fertility struggles and adoption adventures. It's about the hundreds of Internet message boards where annoyingly perky women refer to sex as "babydancing." It's about meeting birthmothers, deciding on open adoptions, being chosen and then having a birthmother change her mind. But ultimately, it's about hope, how life can surprise you, and laughing through the insanity.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on BREEDING IN CAPTIVITY to read more and to email author Stacy Bolt, you'll get a reply.

 

 

Dear Reader Column 09-12-13

 

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've extended a special invitation to author Holly Goldberg Sloan to write today's column and you can sample her book, Counting by 7s, too. The book is labeled for young adults, but this old(er) adult loved reading it and it took me back to remembering when my son, (who's now 35) and I used to sit on the sofa together and read. My son was a challenged reader, but together we'd tackle the book, him reading one page, and I would read the next. Page after page, together we'd laugh and sometimes cry.

Holly Goldberg Sloan was born in Michigan and spent her childhood living in Holland, Turkey, Washington DC, California and Eugene, Oregon. She has written and directed a number of successful feature films. The mother of two sons, Holly lives with her husband, Gary Rosen, in Santa Monica, California. Holly loves to cook (she is a contributing editor for Amy Ephron's food blog, "One For the Table"), and she has never met a dog she didn't find captivating.

Sample Holly's book, Counting by 7s, go to:  http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=bryantestqqxqZ1A1A3731553&c=SUZ&nocache&future

Email and say hello. Holly loves to hear from readers and answers all of her mail. She is giving away a copy of Counting by 7s to five lucky readers. Email: DianaLogan85@gmail.com

Welcome to the book clubs author Holly Goldberg Sloan....

We moved a lot when I was growing up.

Anyone who says it's not hectic right before you clear out of a place with three kids and a dog is a liar.

There are many stories in my life involving relocating, but one that sticks out happened when I was twelve years old and my family was packing up in Oregon to go spend a year in California (where my father would be teaching).

We had gathered an entire carload of junk that was to be given away. At the bottom of the hill from our house in the parking lot of the drugstore was a donation box for the Salvation Army. I think I only went along with my mom to help that afternoon because there was the possibility that I could get a root beer.

My mother is a tough bird and she got out of the car and started tossing the bags through the shoulder height opening of the wooden donation box as if she was being paid by how quickly she could get it all done.

I don't remember doing much other than staying out of her way and holding open the swinging flap so that Mom could hurl the stuff inside. It didn't take long. A blur of broken toys disappeared alongside sacks with worn out shoes and clothing.

When Mom was done I hoped that I looked thirsty and deserving when I asked for a soda pop. She told me to get her purse. But the look on her face as the words came out already alerted us both to the problem. Her purse. The brown-leather-center-of-the-universe had been in the front seat with some of the bags.

And the front seat was now empty.

We both rushed to the donation box. I refused to go in. It was dark in there and creepy. This was back before cell phones or other ways to find answers to vexing problems.

But my mom had a 'can-do' attitude. So she backed up the car, climbed onto the bumper, and squeezed her way inside the Salvation Army donation box.

Parents have a way of embarrassing their children. And when the police show up because it looks as if you are stealing from a community donation box, but in reality you are trying to help your mother get out a door with a one-way hinge, the bar is set high.

--Holly Goldberg Sloan

Email Holly and enter her drawing for a copy of Counting by 7s
Email: DianaLogan85@gmail.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)
UNTIL MY SOUL GETS IT RIGHT The Bibliophiles: Book Two by Karen Wojcik Berner

(Fiction)
LOVE'S AWAKENING by Laura Frantz

(Fiction)
BURIAL RITES by Hannah Kent

(NonFiction)
BREEDING IN CAPTIVITY: One Woman's Unusual Path to Motherhood by Stacy Bolt

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 totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/Sept13Classics

 

 

Dear Reader Column 09-11-13

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,

On my recent trip to Chicago with my grandsons there wasn't a tub in our Marriott hotel room, which disappointed me, I like baths not showers. But Paul was fascinated by the marble, glass enclosed, stand alone shower. "Can I take a shower right now, Grandma?"

So after turning on the water and adjusting the temperature, I handed Paul the fancy little hotel bottles of shampoo and conditioner, closed the door to the bathroom, and let him shower all by himself. (Not to worry, I could clearly hear him through the door.)

From the smile on Paul's face, when he walked out of the bathroom, you'd think the boy had just finished riding the Space Mountain roller coaster. "Nice shower?" I asked.

"Oh Grandma, I love that shower. Can I take another shower before I go to bed? And I want to get up early to take a shower before we go to the museum in the morning."

All this fuss about showers, I asked him if he took showers at home. But he said he took mostly baths, and that his dad sat in the bathroom with him because, "Dad doesn't think I'm old enough to take a bath by myself. But you can't drown in the tub water, Grandma."

But I explained that if you fall, hit your head, whoops, down you go into the water, and that his dad was just trying to take good care of him.

"Yes, but Grandma, here's the problem...if dad leaves the bathroom, then he tells me to keep singing--don't stop. But Grandma, I don't know enough songs!"

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

* 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 totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/Sept13Classics

AUTHORBUZZ: BURIAL RITES (Fiction) by Hannah Kent

When I was eighteen, I lived in a remote fishing village in the north of Iceland for a year. While I was there, I was inspired by the landscape and I heard the story of Agnes Magnusdottir, the last person to be executed in Iceland. It was a story that haunted me long after I returned home and I knew that I had to write about it. BURIAL RITES is what I imagine to be Agnes's story.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on BURIAL RITES to read more and to email author Hannah Kent, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 09-10-13

 

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,

Don't miss this month's Penguin Classics read, Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man. I love the title and I loved the book, written by Siegfried Sassoon.

The Penguin Classics read comes with goodies, too. If you want to purchase a copy of the book, Penguin offers a 30 percent discount. Buy the book, read the book, and perhaps donate it to your local library, and be sure to enter the Penguin Book Bag giveaway. See a photo of a recent book bag winner, read Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man and enter to win a book bag of your own.

Go to: http://tinyurl.com/Sept13Classics

Do you enjoy reading the classics? I'd love to hear from you. Enjoy the read.

* The winners of my recent Apron Giveaway are: Lisa Bruno, Anne Sikra, Georgeanna Wellings, Dianna Dominguel and Connie Williamson.

And Guest columnist, Julie Cantrell, author of the new novel,When Mountains Move announces the following winners: The Choctaw Medicine Bag plus a set of the novels goes to Diane Smith. A pair of novels will be sent to: Pam Bean, Rita Pierini, JoAnn Parker, Marilyn Fuller and Beverly DeBenedictis.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: LOVE'S AWAKENING (Fiction) by Laura Frantz

"Danger and delight grow on one stalk," says an old Scottish proverb. This is never more true than for Ellie Ballantyne, daughter of a Scots industrialist and abolitionist in nineteenth-century Pennsylvania. As an author, the Underground Railroad has always been of interest to me and proves a riveting backdrop to a young woman's coming of age story.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on LOVE'S AWAKENING to find out more about the book and the author, Laura Frantz. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.

Dear Reader Column 09-09-13

 

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,

You might not think cooking with a young child would be relaxing, but my grandson Paul and I have been baking together once-a-week since he was four years old. Whenever I need to take a break from the crazy-busy of the day, I think about the wonderful afternoons we've spent baking together. Paul's interests have expanded, he's six now, so we do a little baking and sometimes we do a little sewing on the machine. Button holes? No problem for Paul.

But baking cookies and cakes and sharing them with the next door neighbor is still Grandma and Grandson's favorite thing to do together. Paul's outgrown some of the kids' cookbooks I purchased, but they're in brand new condition and ready to find new homes.

If you'd like to bake with your kids, your neighbor's kids, or your grandchildren, be sure to enter today's giveaway. I have six gently used children's cookbooks to giveaway. To see my baking buddy and to enter, go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/cooking082313.html

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: UNTIL MY SOUL GETS IT RIGHT The Bibliophiles: Book Two (Fiction) by Karen Wojcik Berner

A "wicked fun" novel of self-discovery, redemption, and forgiveness. Farm girl Catherine Elbert bounces from coast to coast in search of her true self in a story about growing up, making peace with one's past, and finding a little love along the way.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on UNTIL MY SOUL GETS IT RIGHT to read more and to email author Karen Wojcik Berner, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 09-06-13

 

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,

He's a cat behaviorist and I've learned a lot from watching his show on Animal Planet. Each one of Jackson Galaxy's My Cat From Hell shows gives me more insight about why my cats squabble like 3-year-olds vying for my attention. "Rub me first, feed me first, I should be able to sleep on the quilt, not him!" And I've become more savvy, from Jackson's advice, about the approach I use when I trap feral cats, so I can get them fixed.

No doubt about it, Jackson Galaxy performs kitty miracles every day. Desperate cat owners call him because their little darlings are snarling, biting, and peeing on everything. Jackson's their last hope and amazingly he tames the wild kitties. By the end of the show the cat who was taking chunks out of its owners hand is rolled over, lying on the floor, purring and waiting for a good tummy rub.

Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean, is the title of Jackson's book. Next week I'll be interviewing the cat man himself, and today I'm inviting you to submit questions. What would you like to ask Jackson Galaxy?

Send me an email with your cat dilemma and I'll include as many reader questions as time allows in my interview. Email your cat questions to: Suzanne@EmailBookclub.com

* Congratulations to the winners of The Happiness Choice by Guest Columnist, Marilyn Tam: Julia Pallentino, Ann Keen, Cynthia Bowen, Patricia Groshong, Sharon Ruda, Qin Tang, Judy Day, and David F.

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

Meow,
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

KIDSBUZZ: Meet new authors--send an email, ask a question and they will reply. Plus this week, enter to win a free copy of books for pre-teens and teens: A SURPRISE FOR LILY by Suzanne Woods Fisher; CONFESSIONS OF A SO-CALLED MIDDLE CHILD by Maria T. Lennon; and COUNTING BY 7S by Holly Goldberg Sloan. For a chance to win, greet the author, and more, see http://www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz

AUTHORBUZZ: LOVE GONE MAD (Thriller) by Mark Rubinstein

A pulse-pounding thriller about nurse Megan Haggarty and surgeon Adrian Douglas. Their love for each other is complicated by a strange series of events that makes them wonder about the fine line between love and madness.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on LOVE GONE MAD to read more and to email author Mark Rubinstein, you'll get a reply.

 

 

Dear Reader Column 09-05-13

 

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,

Two museums and two windows in our hotel room made for an awe-inspiring vacation. The kind of vacation you never forget. Over the Labor Day holiday weekend my husband and I took our two grandsons, Paul (age 6), and James (age 4), to Chicago to visit the Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry. "Would it be possible to get a room with a great view?" I asked the desk clerk when we checked into the hotel.

"Absolutely," she replied, "I'll give you one of our best rooms." And she did.

Twenty-seven floors in the Marriott Residence Inn hotel, our room was on the 24th, and looking out of the two ceiling-to-floor windows in our room, we were treated to a view of the tallest buildings in Chicago, including a picture-perfect close-up view of a roof top amenity--a private getaway--for tenants in a fancy apartment building. It was a city above the city on the entire rooftop. Living room style gathering places for people to relax, a fire pit, three TV screens, green grass areas, a dog walk complete with three red fire hydrants, lawn bowling, a hot tub and pool encased by a long stretch of lounge chairs, grills, red rose bushes, trees, and a silver spiral sculpture running all the way up the side of the of the apartment building, opening-up into a bouquet on the corner of the rooftop.

The two windows in our hotel room opened, but only slightly. Enough to feel the cool breeze, and hear the sounds of the city and the tenants on the rooftop below. The cushion off of the sofa in our hotel room fit perfectly, wall-to-wall, in front of the two windows. It became the meeting place for Grandma and Grandson every morning around 5:30 a.m. Paul would draw and Grandma would write. And every evening, when I tucked Paul into bed he'd whisper, "Meet you at the window in the morning, Grandma."

Two museums and two windows--a vacation we'll never forget.

To see vacation photos, go to: http://tinyurl.com/museum0913

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

Warmest regards,
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: A WHISPER TO A SCREAM, The Bibliophiles: Book One (Fiction) by Karen Wojcik Berner

I'm excited to introduce you to my Bibliophiles series. The first novel features Sarah, an overwhelmed stay-at-home mom, and Annie, a PR executive dealing with fertility issues. When they meet through a classics book club, each thinks the other one's life is so much better than her own. But, is the grass truly greener on the other side of the fence?

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on A WHISPER TO A SCREAM to read more and to email author Karen Wojcik Berner, 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

(Thriller)
SILENT ASSASSIN by Leo J. Maloney

(Fiction)
MOONRISE by Cassandra King

(Fiction)
THE PROMISE by Dan Walsh

(Fiction)
A WHISPER TO A SCREAM (The Bibliophiles: Book One) by Karen Wojcik Berner

(Thriller)
LOVE GONE MAD by Mark Rubinstein

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

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 09-04-13

 

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,

Today's guest columnist, Julie Cantrell, bestselling author of Into the Free, has a unique giveaway to share with us. Don't miss it. Heck, even I want to enter the giveaway.

Julie and her family live in Mississippi, where they operate Valley House Farm, a small-scale sustainable organic farm. Her latest novel, When Mountains Move has just been released. She's giving away a "Choctaw Medicine Bag" and a set of her books to one lucky winner (you'll read about the medicine bag in her column today), and she has sets of her books, Into the Free and the sequel, When Mountains Move, for five other lucky winners. To say hello and enter the drawing, email: julie@juliecantrell.com

Take it away Julie...

"What are you?" That's a question I've been asked too many times to count, but it never fails to catch me off guard.

As a Louisiana native, I look a lot like most folks who live in the bayou state--tan skin, brown eyes, and an ethnic texture to my dark curls. It's no surprise many of us look this way. In the past, various flags flew over this place, and explorers from many nations sank their anchors near our shores. Add a Native American, Creole, African, and Acadian history along with shiploads of immigrants entering through the port city of New Orleans, and you can understand how our colorful culture came to be. Indeed, we are frequently described as having what some would call "mixed blood." Historically, many folks landed in Louisiana because they had been exiled, enslaved, imprisoned, or cast out of their homelands. Of course, some wanted no traceable record of their past, and so, aside from the Acadians (who too were exiled but who have typically kept meticulous ancestral records), many of these folks took on new identities and launched a fresh life in the swamps.

For years, when someone would ask me "what" I am, I didn't really know how to answer that question. So I did some digging. According to family stories and genealogical research, it seems I am primarily Scotts-Irish with some Native American mixed in, specifically linked to the Choctaw tribe. For this reason, the Choctaw culture has always fascinated me.

Perhaps, somewhere deep, I have longed to really understand "what" I am. So, for the last few years, I've spent a little time getting to know the Choctaw, learning words of their ancient language, and exploring the beauty of their culture--particularly the artistry expressed through song, dance, beadwork, basketry, and more.

Today, I'm giving away an authentic Choctaw medicine bag, handmade by artisans in the Mississippi Band of Choctaw. Traditionally, the Choctaw fill a medicine bag with sacred tokens, small things that symbolize important people, places, or beliefs. If you are selected as the winner of this medicine bag, I encourage you to find special items to place inside it. Perhaps a clipping of hair from a loved one, a small stone from a favorite place, a symbol of your faith, etc.

I look forward to hearing from you and wish you luck in the drawing. In the meantime, I've found my answer to the question: "What are you?" What am I? I am human. Just like you.

--Julie Cantrell

Email Julie at: julie@juliecantrell.com and enter her giveaway. Learn more about the Choctaw, the Roma, and other themes explored in her books by visiting: www.juliecantrell.com

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

KIDSBUZZ: Meet new authors--send an email, ask a question and they will reply. Plus this week, enter to win a free copy of books for pre-teens and teens: A SURPRISE FOR LILY by Suzanne Woods Fisher; CONFESSIONS OF A SO-CALLED MIDDLE CHILD by Maria T. Lennon; and COUNTING BY 7S by Holly Goldberg Sloan. For a chance to win, greet the author, and more, see http://www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz

AUTHORBUZZ: THE PROMISE (Fiction) by Dan Walsh

As the second novel in the Restoration series begins, Jim and Marilyn Anderson are doing much better, but things are beginning to unravel in their son Tom's marriage. He's been out of work for five months and hiding it from everyone. The Promise reveals the power of a father's love and a wife's faith to rescue a marriage on the verge of collapse.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE PROMISE to read more and to email author Dan Walsh, you'll get a reply.

 

Dear Reader Column 09-03-13

 

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 received a delightful email from book club reader Susan Denison about my Sugar Gum tree column. If you missed the column, (including an apron giveaway, I've found more aprons, so feel free to re-enter if you weren't a winner), go to: http://tinyurl.com/DR0823

From my Email Bag:

"Hi Suzanne,

Just finished reading your column on Barry and your new tree. They're both adorable! I won't start in talking about cats, because we'll be here all day. However, I wanted to say that you aren't alone in having hard time letting go of plants, even when it's time for them to go.

I work in Horticulture, dividing my time between a local garden center and my own landscape consulting business. At the garden center, in spite of our best efforts, sometimes plants have to be thrown away. I am forever hauling home 'shrinks'--plants that can't be sold, but might still be salvaged so long as you don't care what they look like for the first season or two (or three). My husband jokes that I'm running a plant orphanage.

Sometimes a plant will go beyond salvageable and have to be taken to the dumpster. The trees, especially, make me sad. Sometimes I'll stand at the dumpster, looking at some poor tree that is desperately trying to push out a little healthy new growth in a last-ditch effort to compensate for the damage or disease that has consigned it to the trash, and I'll give it a little pat on the trunk and tell it how sorry I am that it wasn't able to go to a good home. In one case, we had a Concolor Fir (Abies concolor) that had been knocked over in a windstorm at the nursery and had its entire top broken out. I couldn't bear to dump that one, so I took it home and planted my stubby little headless tree in a corner of our backyard. I would go out every day to water it and tell it how handsome it would look if it would just throw a new leader and forget about that nasty breakage. Three years later, my rescued fir tree is about seven feet tall and just as happy as can be.

In my consulting job, I have no problem understanding people who are resistant when I tell them that a tree they're concerned about will have to be removed. I try to walk them through all the reasons why that's the case, but even when it's been explained to them, most of my clients will have to go through a little mourning period before calling the guys with the chainsaws.(There are clients and customers on the other side of the coin--the ones who don't seem to care a bit about their trees, but the less said about them, the better.)

So enjoy your new tree (you call it a Sugar Gum, I always called it a Sweet Gum, or just a Liquidambar tree), and be sure to tell it how happy you are that it came to live with you."-- Susan D.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: MOONRISE (Fiction) by Cassandra King

As a lonely teen in love with reading, I discovered Daphne du Maurier's novel, Rebecca, one of my favorites of all time. A few years ago, while wandering through the overgrown gardens of a house I'd rented in the mountains, I stumbled upon the final resting place of the previous owner, the woman who had created the wildly beautiful but neglected gardens. And thus the idea for MOONRISE was born, this writer's homage to both a place and a book I love.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on MOONRISE to find out more about the book and the author, Cassandra King. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.