Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 03-16-18

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

"But what if we decide to sell the house someday?"

It's a sabotaging question that can suck the joy right out of life. Decisions about what kinds of changes to make in my house used to be ruled by the concern: "But what if my husband and I decide to sell the house someday? Will we get the money back for the change that we made to the house?"

I'm glad to say since my husband and I moved into our current 1925 home (we've lived here for 26 years), I haven't pondered the, 'but what if we decide to sell' question--until the other day. And it was over such a silly, little thing, (which confirms to me how absurd the 'what if' question really is in the first place). My husband and I decided, instead of taking down the colored string of lights, we'd tacked up on top of our kitchen cupboards for Christmas, we'd leave them up all year long. Yes, now there are tiny nail holes in the very top of the framework of our cupboards, but we love the festive look of the lights and every time we walk into the kitchen we smile.

Realtors say the kitchen in one of the places that buyers look closely at when considering whether or not they will purchase your property. Well, I hope the prospective buyer who looks at my kitchen after I'm dead and gone, is in love with the 50's kitchen look, because the other day I decided to remove the two kitchen cupboard doors underneath my sink, and replace them with 50's inspired cafe curtains on a rod--just like my grandmother used to have in her kitchen.

What paint color you choose, a hardwood floor would "show" better some day, instead of the seafoam colored carpet you fell in love with in the flooring showroom, who wants to live their life ruled by, 'what if I want to sell some day?' If I choose that route, then I'm really living my life for some fictitious Mary, John, or Alice, who might happen to buy my house years and years from now. Nope, I don't want to live with bland, cream colored walls so Mary, John, or Alice can envision their favorite color as the realtor is showing them my home.

Nope, I'm choosing to live with a little bit of crazy--and I like it.

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

* Today's the last day to enter this month's drawing for my Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies to be delivered right to your front door. Dunk and munch, but you have to enter to win. To enter, click here.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

* This month's Penguin Classics book is PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, by Joan Lindsay. Start reading now and enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag. 

Dear Reader Column 03-15-18

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

Dear Reader,

"Hiya!" I'm wearing o' the green today thanks to a book club reader, Debbie, who several years ago sent me a lovely, green four-leaf clover apron and oven mitt. Debbie's from Kentucky, but the apron and oven mitt traveled all the way from Ireland.

I was lucky enough to be in New York City, on St. Patrick's Day years ago when I was on a business trip, and I got to see the big parade. No floats or automobiles are permitted, yet it's one of the most exciting parades I've ever seen. Bands and more bands and over 150,000 marchers passed by while the crowd went wild.

I've got my Irish apron on and I'm ready to cook some corned beef and cabbage or a tummy-warming Irish Stew, but I need some reader recipes. Would you please do me a favor? If you have a time-tested recipe you use to celebrate St. Patrick's Day would you send it to me? I sure would appreciate it.

Please send your recipe to me at, [email protected], and to see of photo of me in my lucky apron and oven mitt, click here.

Don't forget enter this month's drawing for my Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies to be delivered right to your front door. Dunk and munch, but you have to enter to win. Three names are drawn at random every month. I'm ready to bake for you. Enter the Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway, and see a new photo from Pat M., a winner from the Clearing Branch, Chicago Public Library, 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 this title deserves your attention:

(Fiction) DIRTY FILTHY FIX by Laurelin Paige

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

* This month's Penguin Classics book is PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, by Joan Lindsay. Start reading now and enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag. 

Dear Reader Column 03-14-18

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

Dear Reader,

Diane Janes grew up in Birmingham, UK, got married, had two children, moved north, survived a serious illness, got divorced and remarried, acquired two step-children, moved south and now she says, "I've reached an age where my hair is no longer its original colour." Diane did a few different jobs along the way, but she always had ambitions to be a writer.

Her first book was a factual investigation into a real life historical murder and was followed by a psychological thriller set mainly in the present day. Three more factual crime investigations followed, as did three more stand-alone psychological thrillers. Diane's ninth book, The Magic Chair Murder, is another change of direction. Set in the 1920s, it's the beginning of a series. But as variety is the spice of life, Diane says no doubt there will also be more psychological thrillers and non-fiction in due course.

Please welcome to the book club author, Diane Janes...

When I was a child I dreamed of being a writer. A lot of this dreaming took place in my bedroom, but in the summer I used to wedge a cushion into the fork of the damson tree at the top of our garden and do some dreaming there too. When I wasn't dreaming about being a writer, I was reading. (This lifestyle was not conducive to handing in school work on time, getting plaudits for helping my mother, or being aware of what was going on generally).

I mostly got my books from the public library and growing up in Birmingham, my first experience of this was regular visits to the wonderful Victorian edifice in Balsall Heath, which has an impressive facade complete with a clock tower, matched by a cathedral-like interior. When I moved to live in Kings Heath at the age of eight, their library had similar Edwardian gravitas. It didn't have a clock tower, but inside it seemed to stretch for miles, with tall wooden shelves creating canyons of books for me to explore. The library was full of knowledge. It was here that I first discovered Borley Rectory's claim to be the most haunted house in England, learned how to spell archaeology and self-tested myself on the rules of association football, only to discover that Teach Yourself Refereeing was a waste of time if you were a girl. (No longer the case--hurrah!) Here too I met Daphne du Maurier, Pamela Brown, Nevil Shute, Alistair MacLean and many more new friends.

In those days no one raised their voice above a whisper in the library. Far from being oppressive, for me it added to the magic of being in a special, out-of-the-ordinary place. In the silence, the books themselves had the chance to speak. The tucked away book, jostled to the back by larger, more important looking tomes, had a chance to catch your eye. Sometimes you could find a book which no one else had taken out in a decade: occasionally you got to be the very first borrower. Is it just me, but wasn't there something much more satisfying in the sound of the inked date stamp hitting the page, than there is in the electronic beep of the modern check-out procedure?

Modern libraries may be practical, easier to heat, and flexible enough to accommodate a variety of uses, but when you grew up with the Taj Mahal, a modern warehouse just doesn't cut it in quite the same way.

--Diane Janes

Say hello to Diane. You can send greetings to: [email protected]

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

* This month's Penguin Classics book is PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, by Joan Lindsay. Start reading now and enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag

Dear Reader Column 03-13-18

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

Dear Reader,

It's a Classic day at the book club. A Chocolate Chip Cookie Classic and a new Penguin Classic to sample: Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay.

Let me entice you..."It was a cloudless summer day in the year 1900. Everyone at Appleyard College for Young Ladies agreed it was just right for a picnic at Hanging Rock. After lunch, a group of three girls climbed into the blaze of the afternoon sun, pressing on through the scrub into the shadows of the secluded volcanic outcropping. Farther, higher, until at last they disappeared. They never returned...."

Start reading Picnic At Hanging Rock now and enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag, click here.

And enter today's drawing for my Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies to be delivered right to your front door. Dunk and munch, but you have to enter to win. Three names are drawn at random every month. I'm ready to bake for you.

Enter the Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway, and see a satisfied winner, Catherine C., Director of the Mansfield Public Library, click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column 03-12-18

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

Dear Reader,

I came upon the scene of the accident at 5:30 a.m. Cup of coffee in hand, looking forward to my quiet, peaceful morning "porch sit" and whoa--there it was--a crushed, white ceiling fan with huge blades, occupying the chair where I normally sit.

"How could this possibly happen?" I asked the electrical repairman when he came to put up a new fan.

"The person who put up this fan didn't do it correctly," the repairman said, assuring me he would. "Don't worry, I'll put that baby up there, so even a hurricane can't take it down Suzanne. The front porch might fly away, but that ceiling fan will stay attached and go along for the ride."

Okay, he sounded reassuring, but if one fan whirled off the ceiling and crashed, it could happen to six more. Every room in my house, except the kitchen and bathroom have a ceiling fan. So while the repairman was installing a new front porch fan, I put on my bicycle helmet and decided to inspect the other six fans.

So how does a person really know for sure a fan won't spin off the ceiling? You turn the fan on absolute high speed and hide in the hallway to observe. Do the fan blades wobble excessively? Does the fixture look tight against the ceiling?

"You have to check every fan in the house," I told the repairman. By this time I was in a frenzy, and having a hard time catching my breath, so I resurrected the Lamaze breathing I had successfully executed years ago when our youngest was born.

What assurance do I have the other fans won't fly off the ceiling, too?

"Don't worry Suzanne, I've checked all the other fans and they are secure," the repairman assured me.

But it was too late to be rationale, the deed had been done, the seed had been planted in my mind, and soon I was in the middle of a horror story, ceiling fans spinning out of control, flying through my house and hunting me down.

"We're coming for you Suzanne..."

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

** AUTHORBUZZ **

DIRTY FILTHY FIX (Fiction) by Laurelin Paige

Two of my most popular billionaire universes collide in what might be my dirtiest story ever. Trish, Hudson's secretary from the Fixed Trilogy, has a secret kinky side. Enter Donovan's partner, Nathan Sinclair. Tall, dark and oh, so sexy. After a dirty rendezvous, Trish thinks he'll never recognize her again. Only, he does...

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on DIRTY FILTHY FIX to read more and to email author Laurelin Paige, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 03-09-18

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

Dear Reader,

Congratulations to Sandy L. the winner of my Sock Giveaway. I personally picked out your socks. I hope you like them.

Things that go bump in the night. Is that a water faucet dripping? Do I have an appointment in the morning I forgot about? Readers respond about worries that wake them up and keep them up at night...

"Hi Suzanne, all I need to say is that sometimes I think you have crawled inside my head! I wonder about the tree limbs all the time and I am a big time questioner about lots of things, day and night...but night is the worst time. Hope you have a good day sleepyhead...you must be sleepy after all those questions. " -- Sue T.

"I always worry about my son and my daughter and my grandkids. Just the normal things. How are they all feeling and how is school. I worry about things they need for school, and did they get their homework done. I worry about things my son and daughter should now worry about, but then I am always worried about them too." -- Cheryl G.

"Suzanne, oh! How I can identify! And even more important than whose armrest that is in theaters, and whose it is on airplane transcontinental or intercontinental trips? And my favorite one in the middle of the night: Jerking awake with 'what did I just hear?' (and I never know if I really heard something or if I heard it only in dream sleep). Oy! the travails of the defenseless sleeper! -- Barb R.

"Hi Suzanne, many times at night before I go to bed, or even yes, waking up in the middle of the night, I think about this: A clear conscience is a good pillow. Anyway, what is the first thing you usually think when you wake up in the morning, Suzanne? (Thanks for your answer.)" -- Franisz G.

(Suzanne replies: the first thing I think about in the morning is, 'I hope I remembered to set the timer on the coffee pot last night.')

"Well, you asked [what keeps me up at night]. First, two dogs and a cat. One dog comes and pulls all my covers off and buries herself under them. The other dog runs out the dog door, into the kennel and screams at 1 or 2 a.m. No reason, he just loves to scream in the middle of the night and wake the whole neighborhood. The cat just wants to be loved and must have been a rabbit in a previous life because he is nocturnal. Sleeps all day and stays up all night. Then, there is a whatsagig on my roof, I think it's some kind of vent that makes whirring noises all night and drives me crazy. Those are just a few causes of my chronic insomnia. I might as well just stay up and work on the computer. We should call each other during the night and discuss all of this." -- Dorie F.

(Suzanne replies:) Dorie, I think you've got a new idea there. A 3 a.m. book club. Texting, emailing, old-fashioned talking on the phone, but absolutely no FaceTime at 3 a.m.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column 03-08-18

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

Dear Reader,

It's trouble, wide-awake trouble, if I wake up at 3 a.m. because I start thinking--way too much.

Thoughts that kept me up last night...

If I'm the birthday girl and I blow out the candles, aren't I blowing germs all over the cake?

Is that huge limb on the oak tree dead? Is it going to fall on the house?

I wonder what it looks like underneath this bed? How many dust bunnies are under here? When was the last time I dusted the ceiling fan?

Did I pay the electric bill? Oh geez, I don't know. I'm gonna have to get out of bed now.

Is there still directory assistance? If I dial zero on my phone, do I get an operator?

What were the names of the husband and wife I met today? (Invariably when someone introduces themselves, by the time I've replied with my name, I've forgotten theirs.)

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

I wonder how long I'm going to live? Instead of dying from a painful disease, why don't we all just die from old age? You know when you reach 99, you've got one year left.

When I go to the theatre, which arm rest is mine?

Why do toasters have a setting that definitely burns the toast to a crisp, so that it's not edible?

How long can the neighbor's dog bark, before I bark back over the fence?

I wonder if the mole on my back is something I should be worrying about?

Crazy thoughts can ruin a good night's sleep. What keeps you up in the middle of the night? My mailbox is always open to readers. [email protected]

Hopefully this question from June isn't keeping her up at night. Just in case, here's your answer June.

"Hi Suzanne, since you invited questions from readers, there is something I've wondered about for some time. How do you make the choice of what book to feature each week? I'm sure other readers have wondered about this too. I like that you present a variety. Keep up the good work! Thank you and best wishes. -- June V.

(Suzanne replies:) So many books, not enough weeks in the year. But over the years I have come up with some guidelines for what books seem to work best at the book club.

A variety of topics, time periods, writing style and authors.

Books that grab your attention right from the start.

Books that don't need a set-up: not too many characters to introduce, and time periods changing from one short chapter to the next.

I try to stay away from controversial topics. Hopefully the book club gives readers a break in their day. An escape from stress.

Books that you can easily finish reading because they're available at your local library.

And reader suggestions for books are always welcome.

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:

(Mystery)
PLUM TEA CRAZY by Laura Childs

(Fiction)
INDECENT by Corinne Sullivan

(Fiction)
THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR by Sally Hepworth

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

Dear Reader Column 03-07-18

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

Dear Reader,

There's a cat in my hat. There's a cat in my bed. There's a cat on my desk and there's a cat hiding out--somewhere in my house. I've been looking for her for the past hour. Friends of ours are on vacation and my husband and I are babysitting their two cats, Mildred and George. We have five cats of our own, so I'm now living in a cat house.

"Kitty, kitty." Where is that cat?

Mildred, the missing kitty, is a shy girl and one heck of a good hider, I might add. She's definitely won this game of hide and seek. I give up. "Ollie, Ollie oxen free."

I've searched behind curtains, cupboards, bureaus, and under beds. I've found everything on this kitty scavenger hunt except the cat--two dimes and a quarter, dust bunnies the size of ear muffs under the beds (I'm moving the beds and vacuuming tonight), a bag of licorice, a couple of dead bugs, and a Christmas present that I bought for our son two years ago.

I know, I know, the cat will turn up eventually--my husband keeps reminding me of that--but now it's the principle of the thing. I should be able to out-think a cat.

Where is that cat? "Kitty, kitty."

Cats are not hospitable, at least not mine. My five normally affectionate kitties, have rolled up the "Welcome" mat. Between all the hissing and snarling, it's apparent their take on our current house guests is, 'You weren't invited by us, so keep out of our stuff, especially our litter boxes. Stay off of my favorite chair--don't even think of sleeping there. And I hope you brought your own food because I'm not sharing mine.'

"Kitty, kitty." OK, I've had it, come out right now.

It's gonna be a long week.

* Congratulations to the winners of a digital copy of The Deceiver by Guest Author Priscilla Masters: Mary K., Genny M., Martha H., Sharon B., and Willie L.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

** AUTHORBUZZ **

THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR (Fiction) by Sally Hepworth

The small suburb of Pleasant Court lives up to its name. It's the kind of place where everyone knows their neighbors, and children play in the street. But each family harbors their own dark secrets. And when mysterious new neighbor Isabelle moves into the quiet cul-de-sac, jaw-dropping discoveries will be made, and all of these secrets will finally come to light.

Go to AuthorBuzz click on THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR to read more and to email author Sally Hepworth, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 03-06-18

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

Dear Reader,

Award-winning and best-selling author Kimberley Woodhouse is today's guest author. Kimberley's bestselling book Out of the Ashes was released in January, and The Mayflower Bride in February. It's the first book in the Daughters of the Mayflower Series, following a family from the Mayflower to WWII. In August, her book The Patriot Bride will release (the fourth in the same series set in 1774-1776).

Let's get right to it. Please welcome author Kimberley Woodhouse...

An Organized Freak and a Dog Photobomber...

I have a deep, festering--might I even say severe?--problem.

Deep breath. It's hard to say it out loud, so you can imagine my angst to put it into writing. Okay, it's best to be honest. Here goes: My life doesn't go as I plan it.

I know, shocking, right?

No matter how much I plan, make lists, organize, and re-organize. It doesn't happen.

It's not fair.

Twenty-ish years ago when our son was just a little thing, I spent an entire day organizing his Legos. That kid could build a Star Wars X-wing out of them by the time he was four. But there's this thing about Legos--once they come in, they multiply at a rapid pace.

My organizer-freak-brain couldn't handle it, so I grabbed a bunch of Rubbermaid drawers. I organized them by size. I organized them by color. I labeled the drawers. It was a beautiful thing.

Until my husband walked in.

He smiled, his hand sweetly on my back. "Wow, honey, that must have taken all day. It looks great.:

I reveled in his praise of all I'd accomplished--with two toddlers in tow, mind you--and thought life couldn't get any better. My plan was working, the Legos would be organized forever.

Then Super-Hubby opened his mouth. "That's great dear. But... he can't read yet. I doubt he'll follow your plan."

My bubble burst. But my husband was right. (Oh boy, I just said that out loud too, didn't I?) In fact, I don't think those Legos were ever in the correct drawer again. Even after he could read the labels.

And you know what? Life not going according to my plan has only gotten worse. My itinerary and raising kids? Ha! My own body missed the memo about my "plans" and completely derailed last year. Good grief, I couldn't even plan our family photo shoot! In the middle of it all, the neighbor dog ran across the field to us, sat on my foot, and posed for the camera.

I have to admit, it cracked us up.

Another instance of life refusing to follow my plan.

While it may not be my most flattering picture, it is my favorite. Because it shows my life. Organized chaos at its finest.

There you have it. I have a problem.

I'm sure the problem will plague me as I journey through this beautiful mess called life. Even as I plan...with lists, my Levenger notebooks, and colored Post-it notes.

Enjoy the journey,

Kimberley Woodhouse

To enter the drawing for one of five copies of The Mayflower Bride, email [email protected]

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

** AUTHORBUZZ **

INDECENT (Fiction) by Corinne Sullivan

Imogene Abney accepts a teaching position at Vandenberg School for Boys to vicariously experience life as an elite prep school student, but she gets more than she bargained for when popular, handsome senior Adam Kipling takes an interest. Exploring issues of class, sex, and gender, Imogene and Kip's illicit, obsessive affair challenges the black-and-white nature of victimhood.

Go to AuthorBuzz click on INDECENT to read more and to email author Corinne Sullivan, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 03-05-18

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

Dear Reader,

I've been cleaning my kitchen cupboard shelves and discovering things I forgot I even owned. So today, I'm doing some housekeeping at the book clubs, hoping you'll discover some things you didn't know about the daily reads.

Did you know?

* You get to sample at least 52 books every year

* There's an annual Write a Dear Reader writing contest with cash prizes and the winning entries are featured at the book club.

* Guest Authors visit the book club with guest columns and giveaways.

* AuthorBuzz, is another way to find new books and authors, watch for the AuthorBuzz link in your daily read. Click here to view AuthorBuzz anytime.

* Kidsbuzz, on select Wednesdays and Fridays, books chosen just for young readers, click here.

* Penguin Classics--featured the second Tuesday of every other month, you'll find the Classic link below my column. March's Classic, Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay and Maile Meloy, available March 13th.

* There are two ways to read your daily excerpt, text in your email or the snazzier, colorful version in HTML. Click on the HTML book club link. You'll find it at the top of your daily read. In the HTML version, you can also access each day's read, Monday through Friday.

* Looking for a recipe you saw at the book club? You can view all my recipes and even recipes from readers, go here.

* Giveaways--lots of giveaways! I bake chocolate chip cookies for three lucky readers every month, you might win a bubble machine, vintage aprons, kitchen gadgets, games, and some of the giveaways are a little crazy-wacky, but fun! Once a year I shop for socks for readers. If you haven't entered this year's annual sock giveaway, there's still time (tell me your size and color preference, and if your name is drawn, new socks will be on their way to your mailbox) click here.

I love to hear from readers, feel free to email me anytime. Questions, comments, I answer all of my mail. Email me [email protected]

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

** AUTHORBUZZ **

PLUM TEA CRAZY (Mystery) by Laura Childs

I'm thrilled to bring you the 19th book in my New York Times bestselling Tea Shop Mysteries. As tea shop owner Theodosia views Charleston Harbor's Gaslights and Galleons Parade from the widow's walk of a nearby mansion, a local banker tumbles over the narrow railing and plunges to his death. But this tragic accident turns sinister when Theodosia discovers that the victim was actually shot with a crossbow.

Go to: AuthorBuzz click on PLUM TEA CRAZY to read more and to email author Laura Childs, you'll get a reply.