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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
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