Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 10-01-14

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 wanted a change, but it was way too expensive to tear out the tile backsplash behind my kitchen sink and counters, and replace it with something different. Nineteen years is a long time to live with the same old thing (The only exception being, my husband. We'll be married 37 years this December.), but back to my tile.

The previous owner, a corporate executive, had just finished refurbishing the 1925 home my husband and I live in, a few weeks before we bought it. The executive's family endured fixing up a historical home, but when it was finished, he was transferred out of the country.

So the kitchen was newly redone when we moved in, and it looked amazing. Just gorgeous. But over the years my style has changed. I'm a vintage girl now. The 1925 home is the perfect fit, but since I spend so much time in the kitchen, I wanted it to reflect my homespun style. So I asked Connie, a local artist here in Sarasota, who had hand painted designs in my sewing room, if she could repaint and seal my old backsplash tile. I provided her with some of my favorite vintage designs, and she created some of her own.

I love them! Take a look and let me know what you think.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/DearReadercom/291327524280953

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

AUTHORBUZZ: Frenzy (Thriller) by John Lutz

Six dead women in a hotel room--five still in their teens--tied up and tortured. The NYPD recognizes the suspect's signature: three bloody initials carved into each victim's forehead. Ex-cop Frank Quinn's faced this madman before, both bare scars from their previous encounter. Now they're in a deadly game of matched wits, and only one will prevail.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on Frenzy to read more and to email author John Lutz, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 09-30-14

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,

Me, myself and I. When I spend too much time alone--it's not a good thing. That's one of the reasons I'm keeping my dinner date this evening. A friend called a few days ago, we made a date for dinner and ever since then, part of me has been trying to come up with reasons for why I should call her back and cancel.

It's a very weird thing. Initially when I accept an invitation my adrenaline gets a little push and it feels good thinking about doing something different. I'm certain I'll have a great time, looking forward to the date, and even thinking about what I'll wear. But the closer it gets to the day of the event, the more "unsure" I feel. And that uncertainty continues right up to the time I'm getting dressed to leave--even then--I'm wishing more than ever that I hadn't accepted the invitation. 'Why did I say I'd do this? I wish I could just put on my pajamas and stay home.'

Moan and groan--regrets about accepting overwhelm me. But by then it's too late to cancel and it's a good thing, too, because as soon as I say hello to my friend this evening, my feelings will change. And that's when the mystery gets even more bizarre. Because in the middle of our dinner, it will dawn on me how much fun I'm having and I'll be chastising myself, 'Suzanne, you really ought to do this more often.'

Me, myself and I. We're a strange bunch; thank heavens people invite us out now and then.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

AUTHORBUZZ: Take Down (Fiction) by Fern Michaels

It's time for the grand finale of my new three-part Men of the Sisterhood series! The men of BOLO Consultants are gathering together with their loved ones for a Christmas feast and to celebrate their recent legal victories. But there's one last villain who needs to be taken down, along with some help from the women of the Sisterhood!

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

* This month's Penguin Classics book is Sagittarius Rising by Cecil Lewis. Start reading now and don't forget to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin Totebag: http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqQ1AFE3FA73E7&c=CLASSICS

 

Dear Reader Column 09-29-14

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 wish I could enter today's guest author's generous giveaway--a $25 Starbucks gift card! Author KD Fleming (a Florida gal like me), has worked as a cashier, bank teller, a publishing traffic clerk, a licensed insurance adjuster, and an accounts receivable and payroll coordinator, before realizing she had the heart of a storyteller. Once she dared to imagine 'what if' her life was changed forever.

Campaigning for Love, book one in KD Fleming's Pemberly series, was recently released. Her second book in the series will be on sale this February.

Email: [email protected] to enter the drawing for the $25 Starbucks gift card. Welcome KD Fleming to the book club and be sure to include your preferred shipping address, in case you're a winner.

Welcome to the book club, KD Fleming...


Don't Forget the Pants

I was a compulsive list maker. My lists included everything. Even the list for a cruise my husband and I were going on with 50 friends. Yet, I completely forgot to pack something listed. No big deal, right? Wrong.

I forgot my husband's pants. All four pairs. He had extra everything else. Just no pants.

I didn't realize what I'd done until the ship had sailed, literally. He was in the shower. I unpacked our stuff. I even got the pants hangers out of the closet.

I. Forgot. His. Pants.

We'd be banished to the lido deck for dinner. I sat on the bed sobbing.

Desperate, I turned to friends staying next door. I'm not a pretty crier. It's a very ugly thing. They took me in, consoled me, and promised not to leave me alone with my hubby while near any railings on sea days just in case.

Remember, he's still clueless to his pantslessness. This friend's hubby wore the same size. He'd brought an extra pair. I thanked them effusively and went back to our cabin. My husband was waiting. "Did you get my pants out?"

I confessed my failure. He didn't say anything. Just got up and went into the bathroom. And took another shower. A really, really, really long shower. He came out, put on the borrowed pants and we went to dinner.

I'd sworn our two friends to silence. I knew hubby wouldn't tell anyone and neither would I. I didn't talk to anyone during dinner. And I'm a chatty person. A glance at my husband, made my lips tremble. No amount of concealer can hide the blotches on my face after a major crying jag. So, everyone at three tables stared at me. After dinner, I bolted for the shops and paid an obscene price for a pair of khakis. There was no cap on the amount I was willing to pay to fix this. Hubby refused the new pants because of the cost. But he did speak to me. He said no.

That night as we lay in the dark, I asked why he didn't yell at me or call me names. He asked if I wrote his pants on my list. Of course, I put them on my list. While he stood under the hot water, he realized he had two choices. He could be really mad at me for something I didn't do on purpose. We'd be miserable for the week and he still wouldn't have any pants. Or, he could put on the borrowed pants, be glad he had them and enjoy our vacation. Did I mention I love this man?

On the eve of our next vacation, there were 20 identical messages on our machine. "Don't forget the pants!"

--KD Fleming

Email: [email protected] to say hello and enter the drawing for the $25 Starbucks gift card.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

AUTHORBUZZ: No Time to Die (Thriller) by Kira Peikoff

Zoe Kincaid, 20, has long endured a mystifying ailment that has stunted her development. The truth will shock her: she's biologically stopped aging, and her DNA may hold the key to unlocking a secret sought since the dawn of time: Why do we age and die? But with some powerful people willing to kill, soon Zoe finds herself at the center of a dangerous manhunt with epic consequences.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on No Time to Die to read more and to email author Kira Peikoff, you'll get a reply.

* This month's Penguin Classics book is Sagittarius Rising by Cecil Lewis. Start reading now and don't forget to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin Totebag: http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqQ1AFE3FA73E7&c=CLASSICS

Dear Reader Column 09-26-14

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,

When you write a daily column, every one can't be a winner in everybody's mind, including my own. So I've had to learn when to let go. Change a word here or there, move a sentence, add or delete a line, but truth be told, the first version would have probably been just fine for most people. And the small group of finicky readers...well, if those people woke up in a good mood, they'd enjoy reading the column, if they didn't then they probably wouldn't. But the good news is, I get another chance to get their attention tomorrow.

The point is, sometimes I can nit-pick things to death when I should have let go early on in the process. Rewriting or reworking a difficult situation--wait too long, and it only gets tougher to move on down the road.

Knowing when to let go of a relationship is a tough call, too. Even when I've been upset with someone, after a little cooling off period, it seemed so foolish not to set aside what came between us and continue to have some kind of bond. But sometimes knowing when to call it quits--no hard feelings, but it's just not going to work--is what I need to do to save myself. I could try to rewrite the relationship, but if the first version wasn't a good match, it probably won't ever be.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

AUTHORBUZZ
Meet authors, win free books and more at this week's Authorbuzz.
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

* This month's Penguin Classics book is Sagittarius Rising by Cecil Lewis. Start reading now and don't forget to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin Totebag: http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqQ1AFE3FA73E7&c=CLASSICS

Dear Reader Column 09-25-14

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 neighborhood bake-off invitation. The woman down the street is one of those wonderful people who is always planning something fun. I mean that with all sincerity. I'd probably be a social recluse if it weren't for her invitations.

My neighbor's only instructions: bake-off time 6:30 and whatever I baked had to be made with chocolate or berries. But was there really going to be a judge, or a first prize? Knowing my neighbor like I do, calling it a "bake-off" could simply be her clever ruse for getting people to bake for her. (She's not a baker.)

Chocolate Lava Cakes are best right out of the oven when the warm, gooey, chocolate is running out of the center. It was a risky choice, but they are impressive. So my plan was to put them in the oven at 6:10, bake for 13 minutes, and then head to the party. (My neighbor's house is only a three-minute walk away.)

I was thinking I should probably be feeling a little nervous, after all baking something at the last minute--there would be no second chance. I might have to show up empty handed, but surprisingly it didn't bother me and that was a wonderful realization.

It's not that I don't usually lean toward risky choices, I do. In fact some people would say that's part of my trademark. But in the past, whether I acknowledged it or not, there was always a backup plan--a second chance, waiting in the wings. All the details worked out in advance, checking and double checking, even for something as trivial as baking Lava Cakes. But, this new easygoing feeling, I like it. I think I could get used to feeling like this.

There was a judge and there was a first prize, but I didn't win. I came in an easygoing second--and it was quite all right with me.

You'll find the Chocolate Lava Cakes, recipe at: http://www.supportlibrary.com/nl/users/susandemo/mweb/path2-3.html

* Today is the last day to enter this month's Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway. My kitchen is finished and I'm ready to bake. To enter, go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/Cookie-092214.html

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

AUTHORBUZZ: With so many new books out every week, we promise these titles deserve your attention:

(Fiction)
THE SWEETNESS by Sande Boritz Berger

(Fiction)
BITTER GREENS by Kate Forsyth

(Fiction)
ONE TRILLION DOLLARS by Andreas Eschbach, Translated by Frank Keith

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

* This month's Penguin Classics book is SAGITTARIUS RISING by Cecil Lewis. Start reading now and don't forget to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin Totebag: http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqQ1AFE3FA73E7&c=CLASSICS

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 09-24-14

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,

This week's guest author, Lucy Dillon is the national bestselling author of several books including Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts and her new book, A Hundred Pieces of Me. Lucy told me she writes, "Romantic stories about love, friends, rescue dogs, old houses, families, and cake, mostly set in a small Midlands town called Longhampton." Lucy lives in Herefordshire, England with her husband and a pair of basset hounds, Bonham and Violet.

Which brings me to her column today (be sure to click on the photo below, it's adorable)...

Working at home...with dogs.

One of the things people often say to me, when they find out I work from home, is, 'Oh, don't you miss hanging out with people in the office?' (Unless they have an Office Joker, in which they look envious, and say, 'It must be so peaceful.') I can honestly say, no, because I have two co-workers who sleep under my desk, and are very vigilant about clocking-off time. As in other offices, they always expect me to bring the cookies, though.

My working day is basically dictated by my boss, Violet (9) and her deputy manager, Bonham (5). They're both basset hounds, although Violet would argue with you that she's at least 75 percent human on account of her superior intellect. They herd me to my study at 9.30am, when I start writing, and demand I take a break at about 11.30am for a mobile meeting around the orchards behind my house. (A walk, in other words.) This is where their main creative role begins: they listen to me talking my novel aloud. And they never interrupt or put me off.

It's not as mad as it seems. My best advice for any aspiring writer is to stop typing and start talking: read dialogue--does it sound like something someone would say?--and if you're stuck on 'what would happen next?' then talk it out. Play the roles. Feel your way into the emotions. If you're lost about your themes or worried about where it's all going, then describe your novel aloud to your dog, as if he's interviewing you for an arts programme. If you can move at the same time, so much the better: the blood seems to pump to my brain while I'm walking, and I always come home with ideas.

After an hour or so of walking, talking and listening, we get home, have lunch and I write up what we've just discussed. The dogs remind me to get up and stretch at regular intervals by barking at random stuff, until at 5.30pm exactly, Violet uncurls herself from her basket and stands on the arm of my chair, and demands I stop working by looking sad. (And also by leaning on my arm. She weighs nearly 70lb.) She does this every single day. It's as if she's unionised, and cannot, will not, accept working after 5.30pm. I sometimes post a 'Violet says tea time!' photo on Twitter to make everyone else stop working too.

Until I had dogs, I worked till midnight, and never knew how lovely a midday walk was. Now I wouldn't swop my canine co-workers for all of Mad Men's Stirling Cooper Draper Price.

--Lucy Dillon

*To see a photo of Violet waiting for tea time and to post comments about Lucy's column, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/DearReadercom/291327524280953

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

* This month's Penguin Classics book is SAGITTARIUS RISING by Cecil Lewis. Start reading now and don't forget to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin Totebag: http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqQ1AFE3FA73E7&c=CLASSICS

AUTHORBUZZ: ONE TRILLION DOLLARS (Fiction) by Andreas Eschbach, Translated by Frank Keith

Over the years I've received literally hundreds of letters from people all over the world who wanted to give this book to friends or relatives who only read English. I am happy to announce that finally, this is possible, thanks to Frank Keith, who did a tremendous job in translating my novel. It is now available in English, ready to make you ponder what you would do, should you happen to inherit the largest fortune ever known.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on ONE TRILLION DOLLARS to read more and to email author Andreas Eschbach, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 09-23-14

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,

Is vacation over? This is what happens when I take a staycation--stay at home for a vacation. Where did the time go? I did get my kitchen finished, narrowly escaped a trip to the ER, and I accomplished a lot of other tasks around the house, but at the moment the rest of the list escapes me.

I know you enjoyed reading the guest columns while I was gone, especially Rick Martin's 1st place runner up column. Reader after reader emailed. It's the most mail I've ever received about a Dear Reader Writing Contest entry. I imagine Rick's entry touched so many readers' hearts because his words were a reminder that in the midst of whatever challenge is facing us in our lives, if we wade through the trouble, there is a spot of joy.

If you missed Rick's column, you'll find it at: http://dearreader.typepad.com/dear/2014/09/dear-reader-column-09-11-14.html

A big thank you to all of the authors who filled in for me while I was on vacation, and a special thank you to everyone who entered this year's Write a Dear Reader Contest. I hope you had fun writing your entry. I sure enjoyed reading them.

Don't forget to enter this month's Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway. My kitchen is finished and I'm ready to bake. To enter, go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/Cookie-092214.html

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

* This month's Penguin Classics book is SAGITTARIUS RISING by Cecil Lewis. Start reading now and don't forget to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin Totebag: http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqQ1AFE3FA73E7&c=CLASSICS

AUTHORBUZZ: BITTER GREENS (Fiction) by Kate Forsyth

Do you love fairy tales? Then I hope you'll relish my new novel which interweaves a retelling of Rapunzel with the true life story of the woman who first wrote the tale. Moving between Renaissance Venice and the Sun King's glittering Versailles court, this is a spellbinding story of desire, black magic, and the redemptive power of love.

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

 

 

Dear Reader Column 09-22-14

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,

Dunk, dunk, munch, munch. It's chocolate chip cookie day. Every month, I bake a big batch of my homemade chocolate chip cookies for several book club readers and send them overnight. Baking chocolate chip cookies and giving them away is one of my assignments here on earth--no doubt in my mind--I was born with a cookie recipe in hand.

If you've never entered the cookie drawing before, you're missing out on a lot of fun. Take a look at some past winners and enter this month's giveaway, go to:
http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/Cookie-092214.html

I'm ready to bake, I just need someone to offer to dunk, munch and send a cookie photo to share.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

* This month's Penguin Classics book is SAGITTARIUS RISING by Cecil Lewis. Start reading now and don't forget to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin Totebag: http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqQ1AFE3FA73E7&c=CLASSICS

AUTHORBUZZ: THE SWEETNESS (Fiction) by Sande Boritz Berger

In July, 1941 Rosha Kaninsky, a girl and her family are forced from their Vilna ghetto by the invading Nazis. Across the ocean in a rich Brooklyn culture, shaken by shock-waves from abroad, Mira Kane, a teenager who dreams of escaping to Hollywood, is swept into her parents' spiraling fear over the fate of their European relatives. Inspired by true events, two cousins' strikingly different lives converge in this heartbreaking tender tale.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE SWEETNESS to read more and to email author Sande Boritz Berger, you'll get a reply.

 

Dear Reader Column 09-19-14

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,

(Suzanne is on vacation this week.)

Please welcome Allegra Jordan, author of the World War I novel The End of Innocence to the book club. Allegra graduated from Harvard Business School with honors and works at the intersection of innovation and community building. She is a regular columnist for mariashriver.com and her work has appeared in USA Today, TEDx, among other places. She curates a top-ranked reconciliation poetry website and has served as a volunteer for Angelina Atyam's reconciliation organizations in Uganda since 2010.

Allegra would love to hear from you and she's giving away copies of her book, The End of Innocence. Email: [email protected] (Please be sure to include your preferred shipping address, in case you're a winner.)

Thanks for welcoming the authors who are filling in for me while I'm on vacation. I sure do appreciate it.

Take it away, Allegra Jordan...

Bitter Root Ceremony By Allegra Jordan

I enjoy reading, collecting, and sharing stories about communities that do the right thing in the face of terrible facts. I like to learn about people who shock the world with crazy-brilliant actions steeped in love. I try to let my mind rest on these things, especially during times when the news of the world is cynical and bleak.

One of my personal heroines is the great Angelina Atyam, who I met at her jungle home in Northern Uganda. Angelina was a housewife in the 1990s when her life was interrupted. Rebels from the Lord's Resistance Army kidnapped her daughter. Many powerful people in Northern Uganda felt the horror of having their children kidnapped or worse. The typical solutions, military might, would only get their children killed as the children were used as human shields.

Angelina persuaded a small team of people to offer reconciliation to the rebels in exchange for the unconditional surrender of all children. She set up radio stations in the jungle proclaiming reconciliation and love for the rebels, but with the condition that they must give up the children.

The rebels didn't like this solution at all. They were used to dealing with hate from people they'd hurt, but not love. Early in her daughter's captivity the rebels offered her daughter back to her if Angelina would just stop talking. Angelina refused. "Every child is my child," she insisted. Even so, the rebels did not kill her daughter who miraculously escaped.

Many never used that path she offered. For those who chose restoration, Angelina advocated for a simple "bitter root" ceremony. Here's how it worked:

After a period of mediation, two enemy sides meet and boil a calabash root in water. This creates a bitter tea. The perpetrator explains what he has done, shows remorse, and makes restitution. He then drinks the bitter tea to show people he tastes the bitterness of his action.

The surprise to me was that the offended party also drinks the tea from the bitter root. "It's bitter to give up your anger," says Angelina. "But this is the anger that will turn you on the inside into salt. To live, you have to give up it up." The ceremony allows both parties to live into a healthy future on even footing.

Angelina Atyam won the U.N. Human Rights Prize in 1998 for showing the world a radically different approach. She showed the world a different way to resolve terrible conflict.

We often don't have choices about the facts we are given. We can't make others' choices for them. We do have choices about who we want to become in light of terrible facts. Great leaders and thriving communities find a way to help all live into a new future, and this is a fact worth celebrating and sharing.

--Allegra Jordan
[email protected]

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

The vacationing,
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

* This month's Penguin Classics book is SAGITTARIUS RISING by Cecil Lewis. Start reading now and don't forget to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin Totebag: http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqQ1AFE3FA73E7&c=CLASSICS

AUTHORBUZZ: THE LAST SAVANNA by Mike Bond

This is my personal story of fighting elephant poachers in Kenya, and of my love for our humanity's ancient heartland, its people and animals, and the lonely beauty of its dangerous deserts, jungles and savannas. It is also a passionate tale of a man's love for a woman he can never have, and a testament to the magnificent animals we are about to lose forever.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE LAST SAVANNA to read more and to email author Mike Bond, you'll get a reply.

 

Dear Reader Column 09-18-14

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,

(Suzanne is on vacation this week.)

Please welcome Diane Noble, award-winning author of more than two dozen novels to the book club today. Diane's latest mystery is The Curious Case of the Missing Figurehead. It's the first book in her new series, The Professor and Mrs. Littlefield.

Since being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease seven years ago, Diane has become an joyful encourager and advocate for people with Parkinson's. Diane would love to hear from you and she's giving away gifts. Ten copies of The Curious Case of the Missing Figurehead are waiting for lucky readers. You can reach Diane at: [email protected] (Please be sure to include your preferred shipping address, in case you're a winner.)

Grateful Hearts, Surprising Joys, and Cats

Our friends needed a cat-sitter. I needed a silent retreat. The only glitch was an unfinished article I was writing on gratitude and joy. But it would take only a few hours to complete and afterward I would begin my "real" retreat.

Diane's Retreat: Day One

I was working on a section of my article, cherishing each moment of every day, when one of the cats hacked up a hairball. After clean-up, I went back to writing, but just as I reached the heading, find joy in the ordinary, I heard scuffling sounds. The younger cat was bullying the others. I distracted them with toys, went back to work. At last the house was quiet. Too quiet.

Not a cat was in sight.

I called, rattled their kibble dish, checked the screens, searched under beds and behind drapes. Could they have somehow gotten out?

I was still worried, my mind anywhere but on my next topic, Laugh as often as you can, when all three sauntered down the hall, meowing for their next meal.

I gave up on writing and went into town for a pizza. When I returned a short time later, I juggled my purse and a hot pizza box in one hand and my keys in the other while opening the door. A flash of black and white fur darted between my ankles and headed for the great outdoors.

I tossed the pizza aside. Leaped forward. Landed in a clump of dirt. Scrambled after him. Caught him and carried him inside to safety.

Diane's Retreat: Day Two

Lex purred contentedly at my side as I began working on one of the last sections, find five things to be grateful for each day. Toni and Trevor curled up nearby

All was calm.

Until the roof repair guys arrived. Teeth-rattling noise soon shook the house.

The cats jumped straight into the air and shot like little bullets down the hallway.

For a moment I sat there, stunned. What had happened to my silent retreat?

Then I started to laugh. Wasn't this what it was all about? Finding joy in the ordinary? Joy in keeping these little furry friends safe, in accepting the gift my friends had given me in this place--not just the surrounding beauty of the mountain scenery, but in the ordinary moments of the day?

As I sat on the floor calming my little furry friends, I wondered if maybe a contemplative retreat is no more than being "in the moment" when someone needs you. Even if it is a little four-legged someone.

--Diane Noble
[email protected]

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

On vacation,
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

AUTHORBUZZ: With so many new books out every week, we promise these titles deserve your attention:

(Fiction)
HAND OF FIRE: A Novel of Briseis and The Trojan War by Judith Starkston

(Fiction)
AZAGOTH by Larissa Ione

(Fiction)
THE COLOR OF JUSTICE by Ace Collins

(Fiction)
THE LAST SAVANNA by Mike Bond

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

* This month's Penguin Classics book is SAGITTARIUS RISING by Cecil Lewis. Start reading now and don't forget to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin Totebag: http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqQ1AFE3FA73E7&c=CLASSICS