Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 10-31-14

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,

As I was rolling out a crust for an apple pie the other day, it made me think of "Pie Boy." It's one of my favorite columns, I hope you enjoy it, too.

Rolling a pie crust. It's an old fashioned art that will impress your friends. Even though we're surrounded by high tech gadgets, it's amazing what a simple wooden rolling pin can create. Take a homemade pie to a family dinner--announce that you rolled the crust from scratch--and your relatives will "ooh and ahh". It's a real self-esteem boost, even for a 12-year-old boy.

Years ago when I was home schooling my son, I taught a cooking class twice a week to eight other home schooled kids. The first lesson was how to mix and roll a pie crust. Since the holidays were just around the corner, I thought it would be fun if the kids could impress their families by making pies from scratch. Mix and roll the dough, toss out the dough because, "oops," somebody goofed, mix up another batch, and finally roll out the finished pie crusts. We cut miniature leaves out of the leftover dough, painted them using food coloring and circled the edge of our cherry, apple and pumpkin pies with an assortment of fall leaves.

The kids enjoyed making pies, especially one 12-year-old boy, who got so hooked that he started baking pies every night at home. "We've never seen him so interested in something," his parents sounded a bit bewildered. I think they found their son's interest in baking pies a bit odd, but I was overjoyed. So I didn't mind one little bit when "Pie Boy" as I lovingly refer to him now, because over the years I've forgotten his name, called me one evening at ten o'clock.

Ring, ring, "Mrs. Beecher, I'm sorry to bother you this late at night. My parents said it was too late to call, but I told them you wouldn't mind. I just finished making two pies, using the recipe from class, but I put peaches in instead of apples. What temperature would I bake them at and for how long?"

Pie Boy had taken it upon himself to experiment, imagine that! I'd never seen a kid have so much fun baking pies. That young man baked so many pies, by the time we finished our class six weeks later, that boy was a better pie maker than me.

Over the years, I've lost track of my amazing pie baker. I wonder what that boy is doing today. Is he a professional baker or maybe he's a Wall Street broker and every year he amazes the relatives on holidays and at family reunions, as they watch him make pies from scratch; rolling the dough and even cutting fancy leaf borders. I'm sure his pie baking skills might have even impressed a date or two along the way. "Hey, how about baking some apple pies tonight?" What woman wouldn't be impressed?

"Where did you ever learn how to bake pies?" someone might ask. And it would be a magical moment if my young baker, told them about the woman who taught a cooking class when he was home schooled. Ah, just thinking about it makes me smile.

Never Fail Pie Crust (Makes 5 crusts)

4 cups flour lightly spooned into a cup
2 teaspoons salt ½ cup water
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 ¾ cup shortening (not lard or butter)
1 egg
1 Tablespoon vinegar

Mix all ingredients well and divide into five balls. Flatten with hands (so it looks like a giant hamburger) and refrigerate until cold, if using right away. Or freeze for later use.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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

Dear Reader Column 10-30-14

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online book clubs 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,

Walking around my neighborhood, admiring the fall decorations in front of homes: scarecrows, pumpkins, corn stalks, and orange and gold mums, has me in the mood to bake one of my favorite fall recipes. A guaranteed winner to serve after a football game, at a potluck, or any get-together with friends and family. The pumpkin bread tastes great, with or without the whipped cream.

Pumpkin Bread with Pumpkin Whipped Cream

3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 16-ounce can of pumpkin
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2/3 cup warm water (105 to 115 F)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter two large loaf pans or 4 small ones.

Beat sugar, oil, eggs, and pumpkin in large bowl. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg into another large bowl. Stir into pumpkin mixture. Slowly mix in 2/3 cup warm water.

Divide batter equally between pans. Bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about one hour for two loaves and 40 minutes for four loaves.

Cool for 10 minutes in pan then run knife around edges of breads. Turn breads out onto racks and cool completely.

Pumpkin Whipped Cream

1 cup chilled whipping cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin

Beat cream and sugar to stiff peaks. Fold in 1/2 cup pumpkin. Store in refrigerator.

* Congratulations to the winners of When Mercy Rains by Guest Columnist Kim Vogel Sawyer: Debra G., Devon M., Diane S., Jane H. and Lynn J.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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

(Fiction)
NEED YOU NOW by Lisa Renee Jones

(Horror)
STILLWELL: A Haunting on Long Island by Michael Phillip Cash

(Horror)
THE FLIP by Michael Phillip Cash

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

 

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 10-29-14

 

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,

Today's guest author, Cindy Kelley, writes a column you won't want to miss.

Cindy began her career as a screenwriter. Her first produced screenplay, The Velveteen Rabbit, inspired by the children's classic of the same name, and directed by Michael Landon, Jr., had a theatrical release. Following that, she began a writing partnership with Landon. Together, they have written several of the popular 'Love Comes Softly' movies that are favorites on the Hallmark Channel.

Her novels, also co-written with Landon, include The Silent Gift, Traces of Mercy and their latest release, Finding Mercy. Cindy's been married to her high school sweetheart, Jim, for thirty-seven years. They make their home in southern Arizona, have three children, three grandchildren and four, very spoiled dogs.

Email Cindy at: cakelley.az@gmail.com She would love to hear from you, and she's giving away 10 copies of her book, Finding Mercy, cowritten by Michael Landon Jr.

Welcome to the book clubs Cindy Kelley...

Almost everyday for the past four months, I've driven seven miles and entered an alternate universe. I should qualify that--it once seemed like an alternate universe, but now, the Assisted Living Facility (ALF) where I visit my mom has become comfortable to me--familiar. With almost the complete loss of mobility and confined to a wheelchair, my mom decided to leave her home in Colorado and move to Arizona to be near my family. She handled the change with grace, humor and thankfulness to be someplace where help is just steps away.

I'll admit my first few visits to the ALF made me a little sad and worried for her. Hallways are populated with people using walkers, wheelchairs and scooter chairs. Sometimes there are blank smiles when I greet faces I see all the time. Often, there's no smile or expression when I say hello. I've learned that doesn't mean they don't hear me or appreciate the greeting. One morning, an elderly man who'd never responded to my 'hello,' grinned as we approached each other from opposite directions. "Well, hello sunshine! Good to see you today." I grinned back. He'd been hearing and seeing me all along.

It was a Med-Tech who made me aware of the backgrounds of the people who call the ALF home. "We have World War Two vets, college professors, lawyers, doctors, nurses--a burlesque dancer." He smiled. "There's so much living history here. Stories, adventures; lives lived with extraordinary bravery." He was right of course. I'd often thought that myself. One resident in particular fascinated me. Though I'd never seen her face, every time I passed her apartment, I'd hear the strains of music floating into the hall. It was music from the 1930's. Ginger Rogers singing 'Embraceable You,' Ruth Ettings crooning 'Ten Cents a Dance.' Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway. One afternoon, a caregiver gave a concert in the social room. My mom and I went and listened to his beautiful voice fill the room with songs his audience knew and loved. There were people with faraway looks, half smiles, heads tilted as they relived special memories music evokes. One resident sat in her wheelchair and beamed. She raised arthritic arms toward heaven, nodded to the music--even conducted a few bars of special tunes. I watched a caregiver wheel her back to her apartment. Now I knew the face behind the music in the halls. Maybe someday I'll ask about her story. Hers is just one of a hundred stories in the place I've come to think of as my mom's home. So much value and living history under one roof is priceless.

--Cindy Kelley

Enter the drawing for one of 10 copies of Finding Mercy. Email Cindy at: cakelley.az@gmail.com and be sure to include your mailing address in case you are a winner.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: THE FLIP (Horror) by Michael Phillip Cash

Just in time for a chilling Halloween read. Julie and Brad Evans are house flippers. They buy low, clean out the old occupant's junk, and try to make a profit. Enter Hemmings House on Bedlam Street in scenic Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island. Too good a deal to pass up, but with an ominous secret. The old Victorian Mansion has dwellers that do not want to be dispossessed. As the house reveals it's past, will the couple's marriage survive?

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE FLIP to read more and to email author Michael Phillip Cash, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 10-28-14

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,

Monday's column took a reader at the book club down memory lane. What a delightful email. Thanks for sending it, Linda.

"Suzanne, my older brother had a red plaid shirt he wore whenever spaghetti was on the menu, as any spills would just not show on this amazing plaid. It was known in the family as 'Jerry's Spaghetti Shirt,' and when he passed away last year and my nephew was casting around for something special to send to me in his memory, he spotted the shirt in the closet (they just couldn't throw or give it away), and decided it was just the thing. My nephew made a little pillow, complete with tassels on the corners, and a big button in the middle, and it arrived at my home as a surprise with the explanation attached. My boxer, Bella has since eaten one of the tassels, but I still cherish the spaghetti shirt pillow made from my brother's shirt.

Perhaps one day one of your grandsons will make a little pillow for someone who loved you from one of your food-stained shirts, and it will bring fond memories of you wherever it goes.

With love, and remembering my brother because of your column today."

--Linda in Lakewood

Reading your emails is the best part of my day, and I'm able to share your stories with readers, too. I'd love to hear your story. You can reach me at: Suzanne@Emailbookclub.com

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: STILLWELL: A Haunting on Long Island (Horror) by Michael Phillip Cash

Just in time for Halloween... A story of a family struggling with the most terrible circumstances. Paul Russo's wife just died. While trying to get his family's life back in order, Paul is being tormented by a demon who is holding his wife's spirit hostage on the other side. His fate is intertwined with an old haunted mansion on the north shore of Long Island called Stillwell Manor. Paul must find clues dating back hundreds of years to set his wife's soul free.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on STILLWELL to find out more about the book and the author, Phillip Cash. Send him an email, he'd love to hear from you.

Dear Reader Column 10-27-14

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,

My husband loves it when I spill food on my shirt, because for years he was the slob. It was one of his amusing trademarks. He never seemed to notice, but I could spot lunch leftovers on his shirt, from way across the room. But now the table has turned. If I want to know what we ate for lunch, I look down at my own shirt. Today's menu: cream of tomato soup (yep and there's the orange smudge to prove it), and that Dove Bar I tried to secretly eat for dessert, a sliver of chocolate makes a huge statement on a light blue, dry clean only blouse.

Even when I caution myself, "Be careful, you're an adult, eat slowly and you won't spill anything," that reminder apparently isn't anymore meaningful than when I'm wearing good shoes, decide to pull a few weeds and twenty minutes later my flower garden looks pristine, but my shoes are ruined. I really should change my shoes and I really should eat slower--but I never listen. After all, I'm only going to pull a 'few' weeds--but we all know that never happens. And there-in lies the answer to why even though I ate today's lunch with the best of intentions, it ended up on my shirt anyway.

The worst part about being a lunch slob is I'm never the first person to notice. It doesn't really bother me when my husband gets that silly grin on his face and points to the chicken salad on my shirt. But then it makes me wonder, "Just how long has it been there?" Was it hanging around when the mailman asked me to sign for the package? Was it there when my neighbor stopped by to say hello? I bet during our entire conversation she was debating whether or not to tell me.

Maybe the solution is to only buy clothes that have a patterned design. Who knows, maybe the women in the Scottish town who invented paisley used to be lunch slobs, just like me.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: NEED YOU NOW (Fiction) by Lisa Renee Jones

This passionate prelude to my Shattered Promises series is a story of love and trust. When those are betrayed, the pieces left behind are jagged and fragile. In the push and pull for their happy ending, Danny may not be able to endure that a second time. But when emotions run high, and everything is on the line, will Jensen win Danny's heart, or leave it shattered?

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on NEED YOU NOW to read more and to email author Lisa Renee Jones, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 10-24-14

 

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,

My house is a mess. It's clean, but it's a mess. It's driving me a little crazy, yet I know it's how things need to be right now. The mess is really in-progress creations. My husband is working on a contraption to make it easier to launch his sailboat. I'm baking 2,000 cookies to send to publishers (there are a lot of publishers), as a thank you for assisting with the book clubs I bring to you each day.

Twenty vintage hats, old hat boxes, hat pins, and hat stands are perched on whatever is free around my living and dining rooms. I'm organizing a Vintage Hat Show/Party at Tortoise & Pearl, a vintage clothing store here in Sarasota, Florida. (If you live nearby, it's November 6th, 7th and 8th.) My husband has made colorful cards with a photo of each hat and background information. Two of the hats were designed by Mr. John, who was part of the team that created hats for Gone with the Wind.

Stacks of quilting squares are piled high on my sewing table. I'm in the midst of sewing a chenille quilt from vintage bedspreads. Paul, my 7-year-old grandson, is sewing his own quilt. Paul is so versed on the sewing machine that he's even teaching James, his 6-year-old brother, to sew. It's cute listening to Paul give step-by-step directions to James about how to do things. Especially when he's explaining the different parts of the machine. "This is the foot, here's the bobbin, and this is where you push the button to back stitch. Don't forget to back stitch. Watch me, I'll show you how to do it." Paul works pretty much on his own now. But like every "sewer" as Paul calls himself, every now and then I hear him yell from the sewing room, "Whoops Grandma, I goofed."

"It's okay Paul, grab the seam ripper."

The messiness has spilled out into my backyard, too. Twenty foot pieces of thick bamboo, from the next door neighbor's bamboo tree, are stacked in my backyard. Paul and his brother James hauled them over in anticipation of their Uncle Jim's visit this Thanksgiving. Uncle Jim has promised to build a tee-pee with the boys, big enough to sleep in. I hope my yard is big enough for the tee-pee.

Even my cats add to the mess. Miles of paper are strewn from one end of the house to the other. When I order something online the box is stuffed with long, thick brown packing paper. My cats think the paper is a toy. They run underneath it, pouncing on each other and finally tuckered out, they take a catnap underneath the paper.

Yes, my house is a mess. But if you look past the mess, you'll find a lot of love and joy behind it.

If you'd like to see some of my vintage hats that will be at the show, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MFxHrVyTtM

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: DEAD DROP (Fiction) by Jesse Miles

Jack Salvo teaches philosophy, but he pays his bills by working as an L.A. private detective. An aerospace company hires him to investigate an embezzlement. It looks easy--a direct route to the embezzler and a client with deep pockets. Then he's pulled into a labyrinth of espionage, kidnapping and murder. Lives are at stake, as are secrets that could impact national security.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on DEAD DROP to read more and to email author Jesse Miles, you'll get a reply.

KIDSBUZZ: Meet new authors--send an email, ask questions and they will reply. Plus enter to win a free copy of these books for children and teens: PRINCESS PIG and RAT ATTACK by Molly Coxe; UNHOOKING THE MOON by Gregory Hughes; PAINTING THE RAINBOW by Amy Gordon; THE FIFTH VERTEX by Kevin Hoffman. For a chance to win, say hi to the authors and more, see http://www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz.

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 10-23-14

 

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,

She rides a bicycle. She wears a big floppy hat, securely tied to her head, long sleeves, long pants, a scarf tied around her neck (even in the hot Florida temperatures), and she wedges her sock-covered feet into flip flops. If she's riding past my house and sees me outside in the yard, she always rides her bike into my driveway, and we chat for quite awhile. Our conversation stretches from one extreme to the other.

We'll be talking about things anyone would talk about, and suddenly my frequent friend will raise her hands high up into the air, and rev up her voice like a preacher at a Sunday revival. "Bless your house. You will have good health and all of your family." The blessings and love pour out of her heart.

Even though my friend struggles with mental illness, I must say that listening to her proclamation makes me feel the awe my husband and I experienced when we were staying in an isolated cabin, high up in the Smoky Mountains. Looking out over the tops of the trees and the valley below, it was easy to get lost in the beauty, and question how every day worries and problems of life could feel so important, and become such an intrusion in our joy.

Lost in my friend's words, I truly believe when I listen to her, that yes, I am receiving a blessing and I forget about my surroundings. I'm taken to a peaceful place in life that's difficult to experience when I'm faced with a to-do list, problems and worries about the past and the unknowns of the future.

"Thank you and Amen! I'll take those blessings!" I'm waving my arms in the air and smiling at my friend.

We hug, my friend says good-bye and heads out on her bicycle to visit another day.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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

(Fiction)
AT BLUEBONNET LAKE by Amanda Cabot

(Fiction)
THE TUDOR VENDETTA by C.W. Gortner

(Fiction)
AFTER AUSCHWITZ: A Love Story by Brenda Webster

(Fiction)
DEAD DROP by Jesse Miles

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

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 10-22-14

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,

As I was standing in a checkout line yesterday, the woman behind me, whose cart was filled with Halloween decorations, was commenting to whomever would listen, "I can't stand this holiday." Which made me wonder why she doesn't skip right over it? It's a one day hoopla, get through one day and you're on to putting together a Thanksgiving menu.

I don't decorate for Halloween, but as I wrote in Monday's column, my husband and I do love to give away candy to Trick-or-Treaters.

Readers who love Halloween. From my Email Bag...

"Good morning Suzanne, I sure know how you feel about Trick-or-Treating changing. Our neighborhood belongs to a website called 'Next Door Neighbor'--it is like Facebook for the neighborhood, plus connects you to other neighborhoods around you.

Yesterday I got an email from 'Next Door Neighbor' touting their new Trick-or-Treating map app. You can sign up that your home will be participating in Trick-or-Treating, and the kids can map out what houses to go to. What happened to leaving your outside lights on?--Debbie W.

"Hi Suzanne, Your trick-or-treat problem sounds like ours. I live in Iowa, where the weather can be a little cool this time of year. So we decided to put our fire pit in the driveway. We have an old fashioned campfire with chairs around it. Then we hand out candy to the kids and beverages to the adults. It makes a fun evening. We have even been known to roast a few marshmallows. It is a good way to meet our neighbors."--Jane B.

"I loved your column [Monday] morning and it brought back wonderful memories. I used to live in Georgia, warm weather country and Halloween always brought at least 150 kids. I dressed up as a witch (a kind one so as not to scare the little ones), played spooky music out the window and never got a chance to sit down with all the kids coming and going. We also lived two doors down from one of the higher-up guys who worked for Mars Candy...his garage was floor to ceiling candy so the kids came by the truckloads. Now we live in the Smokey Mtns...high on a hill in a small neighborhood. For 8 years, we turn on the lights, decorate, play the music and buy candy and not a single little person comes. But I will continue to do so, I can't give up tradition and one of my favorite holidays. But I am envious of those who still get to see all the cute little trick-or-treaters. Happy Halloween."--Judy S

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: AFTER AUSCHWITZ: A Love Story (Fiction) by Brenda Webster

My new novel takes on the most difficult subject I've written about so far. It is narrated by an eighty-eight year old man suffering from early dementia and investigates the way enduring love strives against loss, aging and immanent death.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on AFTER AUSCHWITZ to read more and to email author Brenda Webster, you'll get a reply.

KIDSBUZZ: Meet new authors--send an email, ask questions and they will reply. Plus enter to win a free copy of these books for children and teens: PRINCESS PIG and RAT ATTACK by Molly Coxe; UNHOOKING THE MOON by Gregory Hughes; PAINTING THE RAINBOW by Amy Gordon; THE FIFTH VERTEX by Kevin Hoffman. For a chance to win, say hello to the authors and more, see http://www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz.

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 10-21-14

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,

Guest author, Sarah Anne Johnson of The Lightkeeper's Wife, writes a quirky little column this morning. From a writer's view, I can relate. One little thought stuck in my mind, wondering "why" about something, can be an adventure that turns into a column.

Feel free to email and say hello to Sarah. You can reach her at:
sajwriter@comcast.net

Welcome to the book clubs, Sarah Anne Johnson...

In June 1996 I lived behind Elizabeth McCracken, author of The Giant's House, which had just been released. The book received a lot of awards and acclaim, and I was thrilled to meet Elizabeth at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA where I took a writing workshop with her. We learned how to create idiosyncratic details to make a story pop in the reader's imagination. We studied narrative arcs and character development, and we tore into each other's stories with the ferocity of miners digging for gold. I wanted to find the nuggets in my work and discard the rest. I'd keep only the gold, I told myself.

It was during that week that Elizabeth and I discovered that we shared a backyard. I asked her if she knew about the "puker." I was dying to know who the man was that woke me up at 3:30 every morning with the sound of his retching onto the pavement. The silence of the wee hours, combined with the strange and lonely splatter of vomit on the road never failed to give me the creeps as I tried to fall back to sleep. But as soon as I was almost asleep again, a car door slammed, a motor roared, and the car creaked and strained down the road. Was this person driving off drunk into the night? Or was he sick--maybe from cancer treatments? What was wrong?

Elizabeth had never heard the puker, but her curiosity was peaked. She promised to listen for him. She was going on a book tour and doing publicity for her book, so I didn't see her when I returned to Somerville. Still, every night, there was that terrible lonely sound. I had told many friends about the puker, partly out of disgust, but also out of something deeper, some desire to know what that person's pain was all about.

One of Elizabeth's publicity gigs was an interview on NPR. When the interviewer asked her how she liked living in Somerville, the first thing that came to her mind, she said, was the story of the puker. She told of the late night vomiting as vividly as if she had heard him herself. She described the sound of the car door slam, and the engine thrumming down the road.

I missed the interview, but I heard about it from friends with whom I'd shared the story. "Hey," one friend said. "The puker is famous." The story was gold.

--Sarah Anne Johnson
sajwriter@comcast.net

*To see a photo of the dunes of the outer cape, the inspiration for the Dangerfield lighthouse in Sarah Anne Johnson's The Lightkeeper's Wife, and to post comments about her column, go to, https://www.facebook.com/pages/DearReadercom/291327524280953

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: THE TUDOR VENDETTA (Fiction) by C.W. Gortner

One secret can destroy a kingdom. In 1558, Elizabeth I sits on the throne. Summoned from exile abroad, Elizabeth's intimate spy, Brendan Prescott, is plunged into danger when he's sent to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a favored lady in waiting. But the closer he gets to the truth, the more he must risk to save England from destruction--including the betrayal of the queen herself.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE TUDOR VENDETTA to find out more about the book and the author, C.W. Gortner. Send him an email, he'd love to hear from you.

Dear Reader Column 10-20-14

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,

Last night my husband went to the wholesale club store and when he came back home he proudly showed me a "Value Bag of Child's Playtime Candy"--5 1/3 pounds of candy: Tootsie Roll Juniors, Tootsie Pops, Tootsie Roll Midgees, Tootsie Fruit Rolls, Tootsie Snack Bars and Mini Dots (made by Tootsie Roll, who else?) There were 200 pieces of candy in the bag--I counted them. Well, 204 to be exact, minus the lollipop in my mouth and the three other pieces of candy I sneaked out of the bag, before my husband suggested we make a pact, not to open the bag, until Halloween, so we wouldn't be tempted.

But I was--tempted. (Tootsie Rolls are just as good as I remember them.)

My husband reminisces for the good old days when it comes to Halloween, and I admit so do I. It's fun when kids come to our door and we get to hand out candy. But the good old days are gone, because here's the reality of our Halloween statistics: five years ago 35 kids showed up, four years ago 27, the year after that 20, two years ago 11 and last year 6 kids knocked on our door, calling out, "Trick or treat."

I don't understand it, because my neighbor one block down, who lives on the corner lot, says she was flooded with kids trick or treating last year. But in surveying the few houses leading down to ours, I may have discovered the problem. They all are surrounded by cement fences. Don't get me wrong, they are very nice houses, but I imagine to a kid, it looks like a lot of trick or treating work for a piece of candy.

So here's my Halloween marketing plan for this year. I'll stand on the corner of my neighbor's house holding a flashlight, and handing out flyers. Like a carnival barker, I'll give the kids the pitch, explaining that we give the best treats in the neighborhood. I'm thinking of including a little map showing which house we are down the block. Or on second thought, I could develop an app that leads them to our house, which includes a trick or treat game to play on their iPhone while they're walking to our front door.

Then again, maybe instead of flyers, flashlights and apps, my husband and I could just take a couple of lawn chairs and our big bag of candy down to our neighbor's house and sit with them on their front porch. "Trick-or-treat!" I bet we see more than 6 kids this year.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: AT BLUEBONNET LAKE (Fiction) by Amanda Cabot

Have you ever had a vacation that didn't turn out the way you expected? That's what happens to Kate Sherwood. Although she'll do almost anything for her ailing grandmother, the young marketing maven is less than excited about spending a month in the Texas Hill Country, especially when she discovers that the resort her grandmother has been raving about has seen better years--better decades, actually. But all that changes once Kate meets the all-too-handsome handyman who turns out to be much more than a handyman.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on AT BLUEBONNET LAKE to read more and to email author Amanda Cabot, you'll get a reply.