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Dear Reader,
Ta da! Today's guest columnist, Hillary Manton Lodge, is the author of the critically-acclaimed Two Blue Doors Series. The latest installment, Reservations for Two, follows Juliette D'Alisa and Neil McLaren as they travel through Provence, Paris, and Tuscany. But when it's time to return to the states, it's also time for Juliette to figure out her new life managing the fledgling restaurant.
As Juliette reads the letters she discovered at the family home in Provence, she finds she has just as many questions as answers about her Grand-mere's past. When a trip to Memphis reveals just how complicated a long-distance relationship can be, Juliette and Neil have to decide together what their futures hold.
A storyteller at heart, in her free time Hillary enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, watching foreign films, and exploring new walking trails. She and her husband reside in Portland, Oregon, with their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Shiloh.
Email: hillary@hillarymantonlodge.com for a chance to win one of five copies of Reservations for Two. Enter the drawing and please welcome Hillary to the book club. I know you'll enjoy her column. Take it away, Hillary...
The Reluctant Foodie
Growing up, my mother cooked and my brother helped. I had no issues with this setup--it gave me more time to read. But after babysitting through high school and college, I began to tire of the endless amount of boxed and canned meals I faced during working evenings.
So I learned to feed myself.
I started with quesadillas, moved on to stir-fries--fairly standard college fair. I experimented with jarred sauces and chicken over pasta, thrilling the kids I watched when I used dried herbs from the spice cabinet.
After graduating with a degree in journalism, I landed an internship at an indie foodie magazine in Portland, Oregon, two hours away from my hometown of Eugene. Now, I'm not naturally intrepid. But living in Portland I tried Vietnamese and Thai cuisine for the first time. My work at the magazine had me testing and photographing recipes, eating at restaurants and event dinners, meeting chefs and restaurateurs.
Afterwards, I looked at food and cuisine in a whole new way. As the years passed, I learned how to build a soup with a mirepoix base of carrots, celery, and shallots, how to sear meat, and to cut butter into flour for pastry dough. I pored over cookbooks and food blogs, picking up tips and tricks from cooks around the world. I tried to stay active in the kitchen even while we travelled, no matter how tiny or unequipped the kitchens.
Don't get me wrong--I'm still capable of exploding an eggplant in my oven and forgetting to add salt. A couple weeks ago, I had to pull a cake out of the oven in order to add the sugar to the batter. But I love the feeling of having something new turn out, and the capacity of food to bring loved ones together. Crackers and cheese, eaten with friends, can become a feast.
Writing the Two Blue Doors and its follow-ups has helped me to continue to try things, and to be brave, if not fearless. Maybe a little fearless--I did eat the sweetbreads my editor ordered as a dare. As I work on the next book, there's an Italian crumb cake with pears calling my name. I think it'll be divine.
--Hillary Manton Lodge
Email Hillary at: hillary@hillarymantonlodge.com
Reminder, if I use your email in my column this week, I'll send you a free book as a thank you. I'd love to hear from you.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Warmest regards,
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
AUTHORBUZZ: THE TAPESTRY (Thriller) by Nancy Bilyeau
Ten years ago I started working on my Tudor-age thriller trilogy. The first book, THE CROWN, was an Oprah pick; the second, THE CHALICE, won Best Historical Mystery from RT Reviewers. Now, amid the sexual intrigue and political murder of Henry VIII's court, Sister Joanna Stafford must decide the life she wants to live: nun or wife, rebel or courtier, spy or subject. All will be revealed.
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE TAPESTRY to find out more about the book and the author, Nancy Bilyeau. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.
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