Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 7-31-17

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
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Dear Reader,

(Suzanne's on vacation today, but she's left one of her favorite "trash" columns for you to read.)

My husband and I were out for a leisurely drive when he stopped in front of a cute little historic home. I thought he was admiring the rose gardens, but that wasn't what caught his eye. No, he was enthralled with the trash pile. There was a pile of trash at least eight feet long, in front of the house.

"Now there's a trash pile to be proud of," my husband told me.

I wasn't really all that surprised by his reaction. I've known for some time now that I'm married to a trash man. Before we met, I never dreamed that a pile of refuse could bring someone so much joy. Why he's even had me take a photo. His pose reminded me of the old black and white photographs of hunters, standing tall, holding their rifle upright in one arm, their other arm bent across the front of their waist with one foot planted on top of their trophy. (In my husband's case, it's a leaf blower in one hand, a chain saw in the other, and his foot is perched on top of a mound of trash bags.)

I used to think this trash thing was only a quirk of my husband's. But the last time I visited Ron, my stepfather, he and my husband did some spring cleaning and yep, you guessed it, now I have two trash men in my life. They were big trash talkers on Sunday, boasting to the other neighborhood guys, "Come and take a look at this heap of trash."

But come Monday morning, when the real city trash men showed up, those trash rookies were crouched down behind the front picture window in the living room, their heads bobbing up and down to periodically take a peek.

"I wonder if they'll take everything? Look, look, by golly, they're actually going to take it all. Oh, oh, that box--that's the real heavy one. Wow, look at that guy. He picked it up, look--he's throwing it in the back of the truck all by himself. Oh, my aching back."

As soon as the garbage truck was at least four houses down the street, they went outside and surveyed the "scene of the crime." Two trash junkies shaking their heads, amazed by a professional's ability to, in mere minutes, dispose of a pile of trash that took them all day long to accumulate. Like a couple of kids, they were star-struck. I can see it now, Miniature Trash Man Action Figures. I know two guys who would buy them.

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

On Vacation,
Suzanne Beecher

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

***** AUTHORBUZZ *****

SHADOW GIRL (Thriller) by Gerry Schmitt

Writing as Laura Childs, I've penned the New York Times bestselling Tea Shop and Scrapbook Mysteries. Now, under my own name, I'm proud to introduce the second book in my Afton Tangler Thriller series. And what a thriller this is... When a medical helicopter is blasted out of the sky, a dying tycoon's hope for a heart transplant is dashed. But that's just the beginning of a gruesome crime spree that leaves Afton Tangler, family liaison officer, and the Minneapolis PD reeling.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on SHADOW GIRL to read more and to email author Gerry Schmitt, you'll get a reply.

* This month's Penguin Classics book is Devil on the Cross, by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Click here to start reading, and be sure to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag.

Dear Reader Column 7-28-17

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
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Dear Reader,

I'm on vacation today until August 9th, but I have no idea what I'll be doing. I've decided to simply get up in the morning and see where the day takes me. I hope one of the days takes me to Lakeland, Florida. There's an amazing park, near the library, where swans and ducks live and I love to feed the birds. While I'm gone, my Dear Reader spot will feature memorable columns with back stories, guest authors and some fun giveaways, I'm sure you'll enjoy. Signing off for a bit, out the door, and on vacation.... Suzanne Beecher.

If I'm paying attention and ready to listen, there's a story waiting for me everywhere I go.

I handed the bank teller my deposit and we started chatting about the early, hot, humid weather, which soon led to "The plants sure need more rain, don't they?"

And that's when she told me her "Once upon a time," true story...

"A gardenia plant was growing outside of my window," the bank teller settled back in her chair, "it had been blooming for 15 years in my yard, so abundantly, and it got so tall I had to trim it back a little bit. It was a beautiful plant, blooming right outside my kitchen window. It sounds kind of silly, but every day I'd say good morning to my gardenia plant while I was pouring my coffee. But then suddenly it died for no apparent reason. I expected the gardenia to keep blooming for many more years, because it looked so healthy and I took good care of it. But one day it died anyway, and since it had gotten so big, I was going to ask the man who cut my lawn if he would take it out of the ground for me. But before he could get around to it, I looked out my kitchen window one morning, and noticed a flowering vine had encompassed the gardenia plant--wrapped itself totally around my old gardenia plant and in a way, made it bloom again.

So I decided to let it be, to not to take the dead gardenia plant out, because maybe it was nature's way of making things beautiful and taking care of things. A cycle of life, don't you think? I still can't understand what happened to my gardenia plant. But I guess it's the way things were supposed to be, because whenever I look at the flowering vine, I remember my beautiful gardenia."

If I'm listening, everywhere I go there's a story waiting for me. What a blessing.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

***** AUTHORBUZZ *****

B. S. INCORPORATED (Fiction) by Jennifer Rock and Michael Voss

Business Solutions, Inc. is in chaos. While employees stalk free snacks and rendezvous in the stairwells, company execs and shady consultants are running the company into the ground. Can former warehouse guy Will Evans and corporate mercenary Anna Reed set aside their differences to save this dumb-but-well-intended company from itself?

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on B. S. Incorporated to read more and to email authors, you'll get a reply.

* * *

* This month's Penguin Classics book is Devil on the Cross, by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Click here to start reading, and be sure to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag

Dear Reader Column 7-27-17

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
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Dear Reader,

My husband and I love to go to the Smoky Mountains and stay in a cabin. It's been one our favorite vacation spots. We wish we could go more often, but it's a long journey to get there. It's a different kind of feeling in the mountains. We let down a bit and spend more time in the "pause" of life. The other day when we were driving around the city doing errands and stuck in traffic, almost simultaneously, we looked at each other and said, "I wish we were in the mountains. I wish we were heading back to the cabin after we finish these errands."

And that was when my husband, being the genius he is, suggested that we do live in our own little cabin. And he's right, we do. Our 1925 home is a cozy refuge from the world. There's a magic feeling when we walk through the door. There aren't any rules for decorating, and no need to be "proper" even when company stops by our "cabin." The things that bring us joy have come together to create an eclectic mix of casual, new and vintage. A huge cutout of The Cat in the Hat stands in the corner of our living room, our dining room chandelier is filled with doodads from family parties, a working vintage bubble gum machine is in our family room, a 1930 Underwood typewriter sits on a side table, a vintage wedding gown on a dress form stands in the corner of our bathroom, vintage hats on stands throughout the house, a sewing/sun room where colorful quilts are sewn, my husband's guitars hang on the wall, a huge upright bass leans against the corner of our living room, five cats keep us company and entertained, chocolate chip cookies baking in the kitchen, a bubble machine out front of our house sending bubbles out into the world all day long, and our "cabin" is surrounded by flower gardens and Monarch butterflies.

Yes, my husband and I do live in a 1925 home, but from now on it's our cabin, too.

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:

(Thriller) DEADFALL by Linda Fairstein

(Fiction) THE LAST CHANCE MATINEE by Mariah Stewart

(Fantasy/SF) A WIZARD'S FORGEBY by A.M. Justice

(Fiction) B. S. INCORPORATED by Jennifer Rock and Michael Voss

Go to AUTHORBUZZ

* * *

* This month's Penguin Classics book is Devil on the Cross, by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Click here to start reading, and be sure to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag.

Dear Reader 7-26-17

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
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Dear Reader,

The yellow door hanger on my front door read: "Notice of emergency water service shut down. A precautionary Boil Water Notice will remain in effect until bacteriological testing has been completed. Or you can use bottled water."

Okay, no big deal. When I turn on the faucet nothing will come out, but I'll just use bottled water. This could even be fun. I'll get creative and pretend I'm camping--that's what I thought. But after two days this "camper" decided she needed to wash her hair and take a real shower. Fortunately for me it was raining, a real downpour. So I headed outside with my bottle of shampoo, conditioner, and bar of Dial soap. After my hair was good and soaked, I shampooed, washed it out, then put on conditioner. I decided to let the conditioner soak into my hair, while I lathered up the rest of me, but in the middle of my "shower" a huge clap of thunder sent me running into the house.

With conditioner still in my hair, and Dial soap lathered over the rest of me, I stood dripping water on the floor, waiting for the thunder to pass, and finally it did. So I went back outside to finish-up, but before I could rinse off the conditioner and Dial soap, the downpour abruptly stopped--and my camping idea lost its charm.

But my clever husband came to the rescue. He heated-up some bottled water on the stove and poured it into our huge, vintage watering can. And soon I was standing in the tub, with a gentle warm shower overhead.

Okay, so my "pretend-I'm-camping" idea, that was out. What other creative idea could I come up with if the water didn't get turned on tomorrow? The neighbors across the street, they were soaking in a hot tub--no water shut off for them. Just on my side of the street.

Hmm, I wonder, can you knock on a neighbor's door, a neighbor you have never met before and say, "Hi I live across the street, I don't need to borrow a cup of sugar today, but could I use your shower and the water that goes with it?

Maybe I should bake some cookies first?

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ

A WIZARD'S FORGE (Fantasy/SF) by A.M. Justice

What if the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was born on another planet? I love scifi, fantasy, and fairy tales, and smelted all three into this dark, complex tale about a young woman's struggle to rise from slave to hero.

Go to AUTHORBUZZ click on A WIZARD'S FORGE to read more and to email author A.M. Justice, you'll get a reply.

* This month's Penguin Classics book is Devil on the Cross, by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Click here to start reading, and be sure to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag.

Dear Reader Column 7-25-17

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
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Dear Reader,

No doubt about it, today's guest author, Suzanne Woods Fisher, blessed us with a warm-hearted column that I really enjoyed reading--especially the word whirligigs!

Please email and welcome Suzanne to the book club. I know she'd love to hear from you. Email: suzanne@suzannewoodsfisher.com

Thanks for visiting Suzanne, take it away...

The World's Best Volunteer Job

If you're looking for me on Thursdays, chances are pretty good you'll find me at the World's Best Volunteer Job: socializing six-to-eight week-old puppies at Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, California. The puppies are mostly yellow and black Labrador retrievers or Golden retrievers, or a careful mix of both in what's referred to as a "cross." All heart-meltingly adorable.

Years ago, we'd just returned from Hong Kong, where we had lived in a 44 story high-rise for four years. We were back to our American lifestyle, backyard included. All that was missing was a dog. I shared my 8-year-old son's love of dogs. My husband, however, didn't, and thought he'd found a way to table this discussion indefinitely. "Find a purpose for having a dog, son, and then we'll talk"

That very week, my son brought home a permission slip for a field trip to Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, California. I immediately offered to chaperone. And what did we discover on that trip? A loophole! We had found a purpose for having a dog.

That field trip sparked a seventeen-year relationship with GDB. We raised ten puppies and eventually became custodians to four breeder dogs (another loophole!).

As for the puppy volunteering gig, that was just a stroke of good luck. It's the most sought-after position in a charity that is heavily dependent on volunteers. After the puppies are weaned from their moms, the litter is moved to the puppy kennel (heated flooring, classical music piped in). Here, they're introduced to loving human hands each day, all part of preparing them to be placed in a puppy raiser's home. A long chain of caring people who strive for the success of each dog to eventually become a guide to a visually impaired person.

Volunteering, anywhere, is always a wonderful idea--it helps keep our life balanced and whole, stretching us out of complacency. But volunteering with puppies--it's just the best! No matter what kind of week I've had, I leave GDB on Thursdays with joy in my heart. You just can't take life too seriously when puppies are tearing through the play yard with a stuffed bunny animal in their mouth, tails circling like whirligigs.

--Suzanne Woods Fisher
Email: suzanne@suzannewoodsfisher.com

More about today's guest author:

Suzanne Woods Fisher is an award winning, bestselling author of fiction and nonfiction books, including Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World. She's written nearly thirty books, and still writes in her laundry room with two big yellow dogs snoozing nearby. Her new book is The Return, the third book in the Amish Beginnings series.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ

THE LAST CHANCE MATINEE (Fiction) by Mariah Stewart

Secret families and family secrets, a Victorian mansion, a neglected Art Deco theater, and a chance to start over await the reluctant Hudson sisters when they arrive at their late father's childhood home to meet the terms of their inheritance. Loosely based on something that happened in my own family--without the theater and the Victorian mansion.

Go to AUTHORBUZZ click on THE LAST CHANCE MATINEE to read more and to email author Mariah Stewart, you'll get a reply.

* This month's Penguin Classics book is Devil on the Cross, by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Click here to start reading, and be sure to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag

Dear Reader Column 7-24-17

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
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Dear Reader,

Concerned about being bored when you move on from this world? Last week's column brought replies from readers. Here's a sampling:

"Good morning Suzanne, I just finished reading your post about your concern over not having anything worthwhile to do in heaven. Don't worry, you will have a purpose, a job. When my father was dying of cancer he had what is commonly called an 'out of body experience.' He believed he was in heaven and had a discussion with God about what was expected of him. God told him everyone has a job to do, a purpose. When my father expressed concern about the fact that the pain from the cancer prevented him from doing anything, he was reassured that the pain would be taken care of. I envision my father happily working in the garden or tending to the animals since those were his two greatest gifts while here on Earth. Boredom will not be a problem. So rest assured that you and your grandmother will be busy and happy when you meet for brunch. Maybe you'll meet my dad in the garden."--Kerrie S.

"I love reading your post each day and thought today's (concerned about being bored after you die) was especially clever and ever so charming! What a terrific outlook you have. The only part I can relate to is the 'I love to work.' As a retired pastry chef, I always said when I left for my shop each morning that I was 'going to play.' How fortunate are those of us who love what we do so much that it doesn't feel like work."--Theone P.

"Hi Suzanne, I will be very happy to give you a 'reference' when you are applying for your new job of assignments when you get to heaven. (This is, of course, as long as there are no limits on how many words one can type as you know my reference will be a short novel, as I do not know how to write just a few words!)

Be sure to let me know when you need this reference. I may already be there ahead of you, and I may have connections!" --Jean B.

A special note about a long-time friend of the book club, author M. J. Rose, and her latest book The Library of Light and Shadow.

M. J. says about the book... "Sometimes it's a place, other times it's a person that inspires a book. With THE LIBRARY OF LIGHT AND SHADOW it was an image of a beautiful young woman wearing a blindfold and holding a paintbrush...and I had the idea of a woman who closed her eyes and did a portrait of her sitter's secrets.

Travel with me to New York in 1925 and then to the South of France with some days in Paris along the way. I want to take you on a journey to the past...an unusual past filled with some familiar names--like Picasso--and some characters I've created.

I hope you like my new novel. You can read more about it and enter to win one of five copies. I love to hear from readers, so you'll receive a reply from me. Write me at MJRoseWriter@gmail.com to say hello and for a chance to win."

To sample THE LIBRARY OF LIGHT AND SHADOW, click here.

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

Have a great Monday!

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

***** AUTHORBUZZ *****

DEADFALL (Thriller) by Linda Fairstein

I left Alex Cooper's fans with a cliffhanger at the end of KILLER LOOK--when someone close to her was murdered on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum. The action in DEADFALL picks up hours later--at the morgue--with Coop trying to figure a motive for the killing, as she becomes a target of investigators. Could this assassination connect to the deadly world of predators smuggling wildlife across international borders?

Go to AUTHORBUZZ click on DEADFALL to read more and to email author Linda Fairstein, you'll get a reply.

* This month's Penguin Classics book is Devil on the Cross, by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Click here to start reading, and be sure to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag.

Dear Reader Column 7-21-17

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

Dear Reader,

Some people have morning paper routes. My husband and I frequently deliver the mail in the morning. We must have one of "those" addresses, because we constantly get someone else's mail. Either the number is transposed in the address--it's 1020 instead of 1002--or it's a street name that sounds like ours. Orange and Addison sound alike, don't you think? Fortunately, all of the addresses on our "personal mail route" have been within walking distance. I know we could just send the letter back to the post office, but we need the exercise anyway.

Sometimes I accidentally commit a federal crime, like the other day when I opened a box of books that belonged to someone else. An understandable mistake, since I get numerous books delivered to my address daily. And occasionally, I feel like a "peeping Suzanne." When I opened what I thought was my credit card bill, and saw a balance of $22,000, I nearly died. I was extremely relieved when I realized it had been delivered to the wrong address.

My husband and I take our early morning mail job very seriously. If a Priority Mail envelope is delivered to us by accident, we get right on it. We figure if it was important enough for someone to pay extra for Priority Mail, they must need it right away. And we're sensitive to our customers' well-being, too. If it's a Priority letter from the IRS, we hold that delivery until the next morning. I've been audited three times--you need a good night's sleep to face that kind of a letter.

Yes, my husband and I live by the pledge chiseled in stone at the New York City Post Office, "Neither rain, nor sleet, (well since we live in Florida that one's never been a problem), nor gloom of night stays these couriers (that's us!) from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

***** AUTHORBUZZ *****

TRUST (Young Adult) by Kylie Scott

This is my first ever Young Adult Romance and it also happens to be my first independent release, so I'm extremely excited (and quietly terrified) to share it with you. This book is much more than just a coming of age story. It is the story of what happens to seventeen-year-old Edie when she gets caught up in a robbery gone wrong at the local convenience store. It's about a girl struggling with body issues and then dealing with PTSD while reassessing her whole life. It's about her life after the family the friends the struggle and the boy who survived the robbery with her who is supposed to be just her friend, but maybe winds up becoming a whole lot more.

Go to AUTHORBUZZ click on TRUST to read more and to email author Kylie Scott, you'll get a reply.

* This month's Penguin Classics book is DEVIL ON THE CROSS, by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Click here to start reading, and be sure to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag.

Dear Reader Column 7-20-17

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

Dear Reader,

Library Tech Services manager Jennifer G., of the Rolling Hills Consolidated Library, sent me a tasty email...

"Suzanne, I love your daily columns and all your recipes. You are one of the best parts of my day! I felt compelled to write to you today, because you mentioned in your column that you only use cream of tartar for Angel Food cupcakes. Cream of tartar is also an ingredient in my most favorite cookies...Snickerdoodles. Please make some ASAP!"

(Suzanne replies:) Thanks for the recipe. I will whip up a batch of Snickerdoodles, and I'll introduce the cookies to my grandsons the next time they stay overnight. But first I'm going to have to look up what cream of tartar really is, because for sure my grandson Paul, will ask me the what, where, and why about it. They're his standard questions about things and good ones, too. (Thank heavens for Google.)

SNICKERDOODLES

1 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar (this is my secret to making soft cookies)
2 large eggs
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix butter, 1-1/2 cups sugar, 1 tsp of vanilla extract and eggs thoroughly in a large bowl.

Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Blend dry ingredients into butter mixture. Chill dough, and chill an ungreased cookie sheet for about 10-15 minutes in the fridge.

Meanwhile, mix 3 tablespoons sugar, and 3 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl. Scoop one inch globs of dough into the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Coat by gently rolling balls of dough in the sugar mixture.

Place on chilled ungreased cookie sheet, and bake 10 minutes.

Side note: What the heck is cream of tartar? It's a byproduct of wine and grape juice processing, it's an acidic salt that acts as a stabilizer in recipes that require whipped egg whites, such as meringue, angel food cake, and souffle. When whipped, egg whites (also known as albumen) can swell up to eight times their initial volume. Cream of tartar is used in traditional Snickerdoodles recipes.

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) RAZR by Larissa Ione

(Fiction) THE MOURNING PARADE by Dawn Reno Langley

(Fiction) THE LIBRARY OF LIGHT AND SHADOW by M.J. Rose

(Young Adult) TRUST by Kylie Scott

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

* * *

* This month's Penguin Classics book is Devil on the Cross, by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Click here to start reading, and be sure to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag.

Dear Reader Column 7-19-17

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

Dear Reader,

My biggest fear about death is that I'm afraid I'll be bored. Bored stiff, so to speak?! (Couldn't resist!)

I know, I know, the sales pitch is strong--satisfaction guaranteed. The streets are paved with gold, you get an automatic face lift and tummy tuck when you pass through the Pearly Gates, you don't have to share a room, the water's nice and hot the minute you turn on the tap, and you get to see all of your friends and loved ones that have passed on before you. (My Grandma Hale and I made a date for brunch the morning after I check-in.) Worry is a thing of the past and there's no need to work.

It's that last perk--there's no need to work--that concerns me.

I like to work, I love to work. It's satisfying. To me it's play time. I've only seen a couple of episodes of Touched by an Angel, the show where angels were given "assignments" here on earth, but the idea appeals to me. I'm looking forward to an afterlife career. I'm multi-talented, look good in white, and I'm not afraid to fly. I only hope I'm heavenly material. Can I use you as a reference when the time comes?

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

***** AUTHORBUZZ *****

THE LIBRARY OF LIGHT AND SHADOW (Fiction) by M.J. Rose

Sometimes it's a place, other times it's a person that inspires a book. With The Library of Light and Shadow it was an image of a beautiful young woman wearing a blindfold and holding a paintbrush...and I had the idea of a woman who closed her eyes and did a portrait of her sitter's secrets.

Travel with me to New York in 1925 and then to the South of France with some days in Paris along the way. I want to take you on a journey to the past...an unusual past filled with some familiar names--like Picasso--and some characters I've created.

Go to AUTHORBUZZ click on The Library of Light and Shadow to read more and to email author M.J. Rose, you'll get a reply.

* This month's Penguin Classics book is Devil on the Cross, by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Click here to start reading, and be sure to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag.

Dear Reader Column 7-18-17

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

Dear Reader,

Today's guest author, Kim Gruenenfelder, writes...

"I live in Los Angeles with my husband and son, and I continue to avoid anything even remotely resembling a real job. I've written A Total Waste of Makeup, Misery Loves Cabernet, There's Cake in My Future, Keep Calm and Carry a Big Drink, and Love the Wine You're With. In addition to my novels, I'm also a screenwriter.

Welcome Kim to the book club...

Eciah

I needed a word for my pregnancy test. That night in 2001 when my lifelong dream of being a parent suddenly (and a little unexpectedly) came true. Why wasn't there a word in the English language for when you realize you're pregnant? It's such a pivotal moment, how do we not have a word for it? I quickly checked other languages. Nothing. And believe me, I looked!

A few days into my quest for a word about future parenthood, I talked to a writer friend without children, who pointed out that for him, my pregnancy test was a phone call. His dream wasn't parenthood, it was to be write movies. So his version of two pink lines came the day his agent called him at his temp job to tell him he had sold a script for half a million dollars. He suddenly went from office temp to well paid screenwriter.

"Okay," I argued. "Then why don't we have a word for that phone call?" Lots of people have a moment in their careers when their dream comes true. Where's that word? Back to Google research: nothing in English or any other language.

Talking to friends over the next few days made me realize I couldn't even limit this to a test or a phone call: one friend talked about the night her husband proposed. One talked about the day she met the love of her life. Everyone's moment looked different. Why, in the novel I was writing (Which became Love the Wine You're With) I even had a scene where one of the women talks to her friends about sinking her savings into a bar being her life changing moment--and yet I had no word for her either.

And then it hit me. (Occasionally I do get flashes of inspiration). I didn't need a word for pregnancy test. Or a phone call. Or a proposal. I needed a word for the moment when that happens. When everything changed.

And then I had it: eciah. The moment when Everything Changes In A Heartbeat.

E (Everything), C (Changes), I (In), A (A), H (Heartbeat)

I had my word.

And – bonus! - the moment I created the word “eciah” became a small eciah. I started a website, eciah.com, for people to share their stories of life changing moments.  I asked friends (and people at parties) what their eciahs were, and boy did I learn a lot about my friends and family!

So what's your eciah?

--Kim Gruenenfelder

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

***** AUTHORBUZZ *****

THE MOURNING PARADE (Fiction) by Dawn Reno Langley

This is my seventh novel, and the story closest to my heart. Its themes of love and forgiveness, grief and hope will resonate with anyone who has lost someone they couldn't imagine living without. Through the eyes of the main character, equine veterinarian Natalie DeAngelo, this deeply emotional novel explores the capacity of a mother's love, the challenge of overcoming a devastating loss, and the long, tiresome journey to healing.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE MOURNING PARADE to read more and to email author Dawn Reno Langley, you'll get a reply.

* This month's Penguin Classics book is Devil on the Cross, by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Click here to start reading, and be sure to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag.

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