Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 04-28-17

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

Today's the last day...I'm ready to bake, are ready to dunk and munch? To enter this month's chocolate chip cookie giveaway, and to see smiling photos of previous winners, click here.

When I feel the need to repeat a story over-and-over again to myself, in the back of my mind I'm wondering--why? It's a familiar story, because it's been with me for a long while now. Yet every time I revisit it, it's as if I'm right back there in that very moment.

The story hasn't become unfeeling to me. It hurt me deeply, and I can't seem to let it go. Every detail is crystal clear from that day. I don't need to force any feelings, or prepare like an actor getting into character, because the feelings have stayed with me since the first day it happened. The tears flow.

I guess I keep retelling the story because I realize how deeply it's affected my life, and I haven't been able to figure out what message there is for me, or find closure and move on. Maybe there's a lesson I'm supposed to take with me?

I do know the story reminds me of the kind of person I don't want to be, and maybe that's simply the lesson I need to take with me. But since I'm not quite sure yet, I'll keep retelling the story and I'm sure some day, the message will become clear.

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

Warmest regards,

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

AUTHORBUZZ: The Standard Grand (Fiction) by Jay Baron Nicorvo

My former sister-in-law deployed to Iraq during the Surge. When she returned stateside, she severed all communication. In that absence, I imagined what might've happened to her...

When an Army trucker goes AWOL before her third deployment, she ends up sleeping in Central Park. There, she meets a Vietnam vet and widower who inherited a tumbledown Borscht Belt resort--The Standard--and converted it into a halfway house for homeless veterans. An epic year in the lives of its diverse cast.

Go to AUTHORBUZZ click on THE STANDARD GRAND to read more and to email author Jay Baron Nicorvo, you'll get a reply.

KIDS BUZZ: Selected as a Starworthy Pick by Star magazine and a Paste magazine Top 10 Book for Young Adults, PROOF OF LIES by Diana Wallach is a fast-paced romantic thriller that wowed teens in hardcover and is now available in paperback. Readers have called SPIRIT QUEST, by Jennifer Frick-Ruppert, "perfect for a book slump" and "a good read for any middle grader/young teen." Find out for yourself! For a chance to win free copies, say hello to authors and more, see KIDSBUZZ.

Dear Reader Column 04-27-17

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

If you're an author who needs chocolate inspiration, a mom who'd like someone to bake for her for a change, an executive who hasn't had a homemade cookie since they sat on their grandma's knee, or a librarian who desperately needs a chocolate fix--be sure to enter this month's Chocolate Chip Cookie giveaway. I'd love to bake for you.

This is the last Chocolate Chip Cookie giveaway until after the summer (it's too hot in the summer to send cookies--the chocolate melts--even when the post office delivers second day), so be sure to enter today. No strings attached. Yes--something is for free--but if you're a "dunker" you'll have to get your own milk!

To enter this month's cookie giveaway, and to see photos of previous cookie winners, click here.

Today is also the last day to enter the drawing for a vintage aprons, click here. 

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)
SNARED by Jennifer Estep

(Fiction)
ADORING INK by Carrie Ann Ryan

(Fiction)
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN FLORENCE by Alyssa Palombo

(Fiction)
THE STANDARD GRAND by Jay Baron Nicorvo

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ

Dear Reader Column 04-26-17

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

Today's guest author, Lisa Harris, and her family have spent over thirteen years working as missionaries in Africa. When Lisa's not working she loves hanging out with her family, cooking different ethnic dishes, photography, and heading into the African bush on safari. Pursued is book three in her best-selling Nikki Boyd series that revolves around a Missing Person Task force in Tennessee.

Please email and say hello. Authors really do love to hear from readers and they reply. Email: [email protected]

Lisa Harris on Safari

One of my favorite ways to get away from it all is to head into the African bush for a few days of quiet. No phones, no computers, no emails. Completely off the grid.

While my kids don't necessarily agree with me, I could spend hours just sitting at the edge of a waterhole, watching impala and giraffe drink while hippos swim in the water, crocs crouch at the water's edge, and birds nest in the trees. Over the years we've been charged by elephants--yes, that is scary and not recommended--and watched mama lions playing with their cubs on the side of the road. We've had cheetahs pose for us, seen hyenas carrying their prey, and watched as a male lion walked by close enough to my car window I could have touched it. We've had baboons steal our lunch, and once even had a whole troop jump on top of our car.

My husband and I have also become bird watchers. Until living in Africa, I'd never seen such a huge variety of birds. Some of my favorites are the Saddle-billed Stork with its yellow and red bill, the colorful lilac breasted roller, and the blue and orange Malachite Kingfisher.

For New Year's Eve this past December, we took our family on a midnight safari in Kruger National Park. Our guides took us way out into the bush, and with no competition from the city lights we could see the millions of stars hovering overhead while listening to the roar of a lion in the background. It was definitely a New Year's our family will never forget.

Unplugging from the world doesn't seem easy in this day and age where everything is computerized and instant. And personally, it's something I don't do often enough. But as I get older, I'm learning the value of stepping away more often from technology and connecting personally to my friends and family. If you can find a few moments today, turn off your ringer and take a walk or sit down with a friend and find time to enjoy the world around you.

--Lisa Harris
http://www.lisaharriswrites.com/

Please email Lisa and say hello, [email protected]

* I'm giving some away some vintage aprons to readers, so be sure to enter, click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

AUTHORBUZZ: The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence (Fiction) by Alyssa Palombo

In Renaissance Italy, Simonetta Cattaneo comes to Florence to marry Marco Vespucci, and soon finds that the entire city has fallen in love with her. Not only is her beauty and intelligence praised by the wealthy and powerful Medici family, but she also makes the acquaintance of a young painter named Sandro Botticelli. He promises her immortality, and Simonetta finds that she cannot refuse him, even as she grapples with the politics of beauty, desire, and art.

Go to AUTHORBUZZ click on THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN FLORENCE to read more and to email author Alyssa Palombo, you'll get a reply.

KIDS BUZZ: Selected as a Starworthy Pick by Star magazine and a Paste magazine Top 10 Book for Young Adults, PROOF OF LIES by Diana Wallach is a fast-paced romantic thriller that wowed teens in hardcover and is now available in paperback. Readers have called SPIRIT QUEST, by Jennifer Frick-Ruppert, "perfect for a book slump" and "a good read for any middle grader/young teen." Find out for yourself! For a chance to win free copies, say hello to authors and more, see  KIDSBUZZ.

Dear Reader Column 04-25-17

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

A white tulle dress with a wide, lime green ribbon tied snugly around my waist, the two ends of the ribbon cascading 3/4 of the way down the back of the floor length gown, a corsage on my wrist (given to me by my date), and I felt like Cinderella.

Except when Cinderella had to visit the bathroom later in the evening, she forgot about those two, long cascading ribbons hanging down the back of her Junior Prom dress, and whoops! As I was adjusting everything, getting ready to head back out to the dance floor, I realized something was wet. The gorgeous lime green ribbon was wet--dripping wet! Those were the days when there weren't electric hand dryers in the bathroom, and the thin, brown roll of paper to dry your hands on wasn't much help in trying to dry two long, lime green pieces of ribbon. I was so embarrassed, but what's a girl to do when clearly her "train" was somewhere it wasn't supposed to be? This girl encouraged her date to dance in the dimly lit parts of the decorated high school gym.

I hadn't thought about my prom dress experience for a long time, until the other day when I sat down to "go" and whoops! The long, cascading ties in the back of my vintage apron, yes--it happened again. I have two favorite, vintage farm aprons. The front of the apron hangs down to the middle of my legs, and I tie the bow in the back. The ties of the apron are very long. I could wrap them around my waist and tie the bow in the front, but the apron loses some of the homespun feeling wearing it that way, so I try to remember to grab the ties before I sit down. Apparently I need to do a better job of remembering...

To me wearing a vintage apron sets the tone for my day. I feel grounded and it's easier for me to slow down and enjoy the things around me. I wear an apron even when I'm not cooking. If you see a woman wearing an apron at the market, or at the Farm and Garden nursery, it's probably me.

Today I'm giving some away some vintage aprons to readers (not to worry, none of them have long ties in the back), so be sure to enter the drawing. Click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

AUTHORBUZZ: Adoring Ink (Fiction) by Carrie Ann Ryan

Second chances don't come easy and sometimes for authors, it takes more than one chance for a character to shine. I adored Holly from the moment I wrote her but I knew she wasn't a Montgomery. She was too sweet, too shiny, too sparkly. Of course that meant I just had to find the write man for her. So thank you readers, for wanting more of Holly and Brody just as much as I did!

Go to AUTHORBUZZ click on ADORING INK to find out more about the book and the author, Carrie Ann Ryan. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.

Dear Reader Column 04-24-17

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

I'm still on track with this year's New Year's resolution: first thing, when I get up in the morning I ask, "What's my assignment for the day?" And then I watch and listen.

So far my assignments haven't been difficult things to do, in fact some seem so simple and silly, that frequently I have to remind myself, 'No questions asked, just follow through with your assignment.'

For instance, the other day when my husband and I were in the store buying groceries, suddenly I realized my assignment was to buy a $2.00 package of six bubble sticks. 'Six bubble sticks? What do I need with those?' My house is filled with bottles and bottles of bubbles (I run an electric bubble machine in front of my house every day).

Even my husband looked at me strangely, "You're buying bubble sticks?"

"Yes, Dear. My assignment..."

"No need to explain," he replies. (He's used to my crazy assignments.)

I've learned when an assignment's presented, asking questions is a waste of time. So instead, I decided to wait and watch, because soon it would become clear what the heck I was going to do with bubble sticks.

Right on cue, later in the day, when I was getting ready to go to my doctor's appointment, there it was--further instructions. 'Take the bubble sticks with you and give one to the nurse and one to the doctor. And to put them in the playful bubble mood, take one for yourself and blow a few bubbles in the office to get the party going'--and so I did.

And a bubble party it was. A few minutes later, from the other side of the check-in counter, bubbles were floating out into the waiting room and a nurse and doctor were smiling and waving bubble wands in the air.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

AUTHORBUZZ: Snared (Fiction) by Jennifer Estep

Magic, mayhem, and an assassin who never gives up are all part of the latest book in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series. Snared focuses on assassin Gin Blanco. When a college student goes missing, her sister asks Gin for help. Gin's search leads her to an evil that she never imagined--and a killer who wants to make her the next victim.

Go to AUTHORBUZZ click on SNARED to read more and to email author Jennifer Estep, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 04-21-17

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

"Where is it? What did I do with it?"

It's not where I think it should be. But my husband assures me that "knowing-where-it-should-be," is the key to finding it. His theory: "Everything you lose is within 22 inches of where you think it should be."

Well get the tape measure! Because I bought "The Hunt is On" embroidered T-shirts for my grandchildren to wear one year for the big Easter Egg Hunt I was organizing in our yard, but then when it was getting closer to the big day, I couldn't remember where I put the shirts. Ordering early was supposed to assure organization, but now organization is biting me in the butt, perhaps only 22 inches away from my behind, but nevertheless I had only
19 days to find those shirts.

Everyone has an opinion about how to find something you've lost. There are as many find-it solutions, as cures for silencing the hiccups. (By the way, if you're hiccupping right now, get a pencil and a glass of water. Stir the pencil in the water [like a swizzle stick], then gently bite on the pencil [like a stick between your teeth] and slowly drink the water. Hiccups cured!) Now back to finding what I'd lost.

My solution to remember, 'Think back Suzanne (one of the more popular theories), where were you standing when you had those T-shirts in your hand?' It was all coming back to me. I could see myself holding the T-shirts, thinking I needed to hide them real good, so the grandkids wouldn't accidentally find them. And I clearly remember putting the T-shirts somewhere I don't normally hide things, but everything after that is a blur.

Psychologists advise that talking out loud is the prevention and the cure, for finding what you've lost. Talk to yourself when you're putting something away, "I'm putting my keys in the drawer of my desk." And then when you can't find your keys, you're supposed to pick up the conversation, "I'm looking for my keys. I wonder where I put them?" If your keys actually respond, make an immediate appointment with one of those psychologists.

Umm, I feel the spirit...perhaps what you're looking for doesn't want to be found? Or another one-with-the-earth approach: Maybe it's not suppose to be in your life and that's why it left?

Or (my favorite) you could take Ann Lander's suggestion: "The best way to find something you have lost is to buy a replacement."

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

KIDS BUZZ: Readers have called Spirit Quest "perfect for a book slump" and "a good read for any middle grader/young teen." Find out for yourself! For a chance to win a FREE copy of Spirit Quest by Jennifer Frick-Ruppert, say hello to authors and more, see KIDSBUZZ.

AUTHORBUZZ: The Life and Times of Persimmon Wilson (Fiction) by Nancy Peacock

For fans of Cold Mountain and The Invention of Wings an epic journey of a slave-turned-Comanche warrior who travels from the brutality of a New Orleans sugar cane plantation to the indomitable frontier of an untamed Texas, searching not only for the woman he loves but so too for his own identity.

Go to AUTHORBUZZ click on THE LIFE AND TIMES OF PERSIMMON WILSON to read more and to email author Nancy Peacock, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 04-20-17

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

I tend to derail periodically and make life more difficult than it really has to be. When my husband noticed me struggling for a few days, feeling like I wasn't accomplishing much, he sent a reminder via, Ralph Waldo Emerson. After spending some time reading "What is Success?" I decided I am doing just fine in this world, with the little things I do. So I went outdoors, turned on my electric bubble machine, and put on my gardening gloves, with the reassurance that I am indeed successful, in doing my part in this world.

What is Success?

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived;

This is to have succeeded.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

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

(Fiction) SANDPIPER COVE by Irene Hannon

(Thriller) NO TURNING BACK by Tracy Buchanan

(Fiction) WALK OF SHAME by Lauren Layne

(Fiction) THE LIFE AND TIMES OF PERSIMMON WILSON by Nancy Peacock

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ

Dear Reader Column 04-19-17

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

A new Easter dress, patent leather shoes, white ankle socks trimmed with lace around the top, an Easter bonnet, and my father even bought a corsage for me and one for my mother, too. (My father was an alcoholic, who sort of glided through every day, including the holidays, so I'm not sure what inspired him on Easter.) And when I woke up Easter morning, the eggs I'd dyed the day before were hidden around the house, and a big Easter basket was waiting for me.

Yes, the bunny had delivered, and so did my father. For some unknown reason, celebrating Easter was the one thing Dad knew how to do. And every year, as I'm putting the finishing touches on the Easter Egg Hunt for my grandchildren, I remember days gone by, and I say a little "thank you" to my dad, because he gave me a lasting Easter gift.

To see some photos from this year's Easter Egg Hunt, click here.

Unfortunately, my grandson Paul was home sick on Easter. But the Big White Bunny made sure he got a special Easter basket.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

KIDS BUZZ: Readers have called Spirit Quest "perfect for a book slump" and "a good read for any middle grader/young teen." Find out for yourself! For a chance to win a FREE copy of Spirit Quest by Jennifer Frick-Ruppert, say hello to authors and more, see KIDSBUZZ.

AUTHORBUZZ: Walk of Shame (Fiction) by Lauren Layne

As a long-time believer in happily ever after, nothing brings me more joy than getting to write happy endings for a living. My latest book is an ode to happily-ever-after featuring two polar opposites. A cynical divorce lawyer and a bubbly heiress who live in the same Manhattan apartment building butt heads every morning at 5am, as he's leaving for the day, and she's coming in from a night out. It's the start of the city's hottest cold war.

Go to AUTHORBUZZ click on WALK OF SHAME to read more and to email author Lauren Layne, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 04-18-17

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

Today's guest author, Tessa Arlen, is a British ex-patriate and lives on an island in the rainy Puget Sound with her family and two Pembroke Welsh Corgis. When she is not working in her gardens, she enjoys writing the Lady Montfort mystery series. Set in the idyllic English countryside of 1914 the third book in the series, A Death By Any Other Name, features the elegant Lady Montfort, the redoubtable Edith Jackson and a group of very gossipy and competitive rose-breeders.

Thank you Tessa for visiting the book club today. Take it away...


       
The Edwardian Sense of 'Hewmah' and the Art of Conversation

The Edwardians were not known for their rapier-like wit but they owned a robust sense of humor that left no one in any doubt as to their meaning whether they were enjoying your company or not.

The laconic observations of the novelists P.G. Wodehouse on writing: "I just sit down at my typewriter and curse a bit," and E.F. Benson on music: "A little Mozart goes a long way, particularly if it is a long way on a wet night," are delightful examples of the underplayed humor of the early 20th century. And George Bernard Shaw's vigorous comedy John Bull's Other Island which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 1904 was so relentlessly funny that King Edward VII, a particularly substantial monarch, laughed so hard he broke his chair.

Serious topics might be discussed in society--war was a continual preoccupation in the 1900s but the tone was kept light. An Englishman never revealed anxiety, and it was bad form to burden others with one's problems or disappointments or to openly brag. "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm," was how Winston Churchill self-deprecatingly referred to his downfalls while alluding to his many achievements.

As the impeccably dressed elite ate their way through nine course dinners it was advisable to be ready with a deft response to the notorious Maud Cunard's ruthless observations:

"Do you mind if I smoke?" Lord Birkenhead asked Lady Cunard long before dinner was over.

"Do you mind if we eat?" She responded sweetly.

"Not if you do it quietly," retorted his lordship.

It was the done thing to tease one another about accomplishments, especially in public, but always in a slightly offhand and rather understated way:

George Bernard Shaw: I'll send you two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend--if you have one.

Winston Churchill: Cannot possibly attend first night; will attend second--if there is one.

And slang? Yes Edwardians used slang. If you were young, male and from the upper crust you borrowed from London's East End and expressed surprise like a Covent Garden barrow-boy: "Blimey!" delivered in a cockney accent conveyed just the right amount of unperturbed dash. And no one knew how to put-down a young woman exhibiting perhaps a little too much self-confidence than an Edwardian hostess when she said in a voice full of admiration: "Violet is such an awfully 'bricky' girl!"

--Tessa Arlen

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

AUTHORBUZZ: No Turning Back (Thriller) by Tracy Buchanan

I came up with the idea for this book during one sleep-deprived day a few weeks after having my little girl. The idea just came out of nowhere as I walked through a leafy park here in the UK with her. A man approached, a perfectly normal looking man, and I suddenly thought: 'what would I do if he attacked us?'

Go to AUTHORBUZZ click on NO TURNING BACK to find out more about the book and the author, Tracy Buchanan. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.

Dear Reader Column 4-17-17

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

"You and your team of literary fans did it again--a wonderful week of library memories. Thank you."--Sue M.

(Suzanne replies:) Yes, indeed Sue, readers' library memories, from last week's celebration of National Library Week, were an inspiration to read. I received Lisa's story (below) this past Friday, and thought it would be the perfect grand finale--to thank librarians for making a difference in people's lives.

A Memorable Library Story...

"Dear Suzanne,

When I was a kid, I was taught that the Holocaust never happened. When I was in college, I began (sort of accidentally) to do Holocaust research. Soon, I became absorbed with my research, and as this was in the pre-electronic age, I found myself at the library quite frequently.

I began with the Phoenix Public Library, and soon found that I needed research libraries, so I spent much time at the ASU library as well (I was not an ASU student--I am a proud NAU Lumberjack, so I trekked up and down the mountain many weekends). I spent hours at the library; while others I knew in college were at parties Friday nights, I was at the library. I also had to contact other libraries around the country for hard to find materials, and this is how I discovered that many libraries around the country work together in getting materials to patrons.

I will never forget the kindness every librarian showed me and the willingness they had to dig for articles, census numbers, translations of German writings, or any other number of requests my research required. It was a librarian who directed me to the Arizona Jewish Historical Center in downtown Phoenix, and it was that center who directed me to the Simon Wiesenthal Center who helped me better understand anti-Semitism. When I look back on this event, not only do I see it as a significant life changing event for me, but it was also the first time that adults treated me like an adult, and not a child.

I wish I had names of those librarians now so I could thank them, but they will always live in my heart as significant people who never made me feel small, but showed me great respect as I struggled in my search for truth. I don't know where I would be today were it not for those librarians, so today I sincerely thank them from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for your daily column!"--Lisa B.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

P.S. Congratulations to Michelle W., Lexington County Public Library, the winner of Friday's librarian giveaway.

AUTHORBUZZ: Sandpiper Cove (Fiction) by Irene Hannon

Hope Harbor police chief Lexie Graham has zero time for romance--but the handsome ex-con, Adam Stone, she enlists to help her with a wayward teen may convince her to make time for love.

Go to AUTHORBUZZ click on SANDPIPER COVE to read more and to email author Irene Hannon, you'll get a reply.