Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 06-15-18

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

Dear Reader,

Readers wrote the caption for the photos that appeared in my column this past Wednesday about being a "cat whisperer." My husband (wearing a stethoscope) and Natie, our youngest cat were on the hunt to solve a mystery. To read some of the clever captions for the photos, click here.

Reader Emails From Other Pet Whisperers...

"I have two elderly dogs, 13 years old. The little one lets me know every night around 9pm that it's time to go to bed. She comes into the den, where I am reading in my recliner and says (in dog talk of course), 'It's time to go to bed.' I tell her (like I used to tell my parents), 'I need to finish this chapter,' she stands in front of me and barks at me. If I tell my dogs, 'Help me wake up in the morning, I might not hear the alarm,'--they do every time. If I tell them, 'It is the weekend, let me sleep in,' then they do. Aren't our four-legged babies grand?" -- Mary H.

"Can I borrow your husband, Suzanne? Sherman (cat) thinks there is something under the refrigerator. For the past two days I've caught him staring at the base of the refrigerator. I've looked and haven't found anything, no errant cat toy or piece of paper, or any signs of wildlife. Sherman isn't very verbal. About the only things he says are 'Mom, Forest is up on top of the cabinets, again!' or 'Where's my food' but maybe your husband (or you since you are fluent in 'cat'), could figure out what he's trying to tell me!" -- Edith R.

* Congratulations to Marci V., the winner of my animal note card giveaway.

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

Have a wonderful weekend,

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column 06-14-18

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

Dear Reader,

It was a make-my-day gesture.

So I have colorful cards with a zebra, rabbit, owl, flamingo, elephant, and cow on the front, each wearing some crazy-looking glasses, sitting on my desk waiting for me to write a note, pop it in the mail, and make someone else's day.

Long ago I decided that I didn't have to wait for a special occasion to send someone a card. In fact, I think it's more meaningful if it's a "just because" note I send.

"I wanted to let you know that I love coming into your store. The products are top notch and the customer service makes me feel like I'm one of the 'family.' Thank you so much."

I like handwritten cards because I can savor the note a second time around. Going back and rereading it another day...

The handwritten card (I've read two or three times) I received from my neighbor...

"Hello Suzanne,

I want to thank you for sharing your delicious banana bread with us. I have really been enjoying cutting off little pieces as snacks/dessert, etc. It's a wonderful combination of flavors--and of course chocolate makes everything taste better, at least in my opinion. You really are such an amazing baker! Last time my husband ate the entire thing himself since I was on a gluten-free diet.

Being gluten-free did nothing to reduce my migraine headaches, so now, fortunately, I'm able to eat baked goods again. I'm not a baker however, and my husband loves baked goods, so believe me, he was delighted to have an entire homemade loaf of banana bread all to himself!

Another thing...I want you to know that living next door to your garden paradise brings me great joy. I admire your beautiful garden every time I walk past (perhaps you've seen me stop to sniff your honeysuckle), and it also attracts numerous butterflies that I enjoy. I benefit by seeing Monarchs every single day all around my house. I don't know if they get lost on their way from your yard, but I feel happy every time I see them playing in the sunshine.
Thanks for being a great neighbor!"

If you'd like to make someone's day, be sure to enter my card giveaway. They're the same cards I use. You'll love them. To enter the drawing, click here.

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

* What do think the caption should be for the photos of my husband and our cat Natie? To see the photos, click here. Book club reader Kate suggested, "No, no, down a smidge and to the left." Send your caption idea to: [email protected]

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

AUTHORBUZZ: With so many new books out every week, we promise this title deserves your attention:

(Fiction)
THE REMOVES by Tatjana Soli

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

Dear Reader Column 06-13-18

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

Dear Reader,

I think I'm part cat whisperer because clearly our five cats: Barry, Cooper, Mama, Claire and the youngster in our family, Natie, "talk" to me. My husband gives me that sly little smile of disbelief, when I tell him that Barry says he's ready to eat dinner, and that his choice for the evening is canned turkey and gravy--"Heavy on the gravy, please."

Barry lets me know when he wants a good rub, too. He likes me to toss him up over my shoulder, his legs dangling down the front of me and then rub and rub, until he purrs himself into a trance. Barry also lets me know when he wants the window open, and where he'd like to dine. A table in the kitchen or on the porch are his preferences. (You get the drift.) And yes, I have conversations with all five of our kitties, and I do spend a lot of time catering to them, but my husband is not an innocent bystander.

The other day when I walked into the kitchen, I saw my husband and Natie apparently trying to investigate something in the hood, above our stove. Natie was sitting on the counter looking up at the stove hood, and my husband was wearing a stethoscope, with the bulb (the part that normally goes on your heart), placed on the hood.

"Natie told me she was hearing something up there," my husband told me, "so I thought I'd investigate."

Natie (told) my husband there was must be a gecko stuck in the stove hood. So my husband dismantled the hood (all the while Natie was standing guard). My husband didn't find anything, but Natie is not convinced.

"Hmm, who's the cat whisperer now?"

(I didn't write any caption for the pictures. But if you have a good one, please do send it this way.) Email: [email protected]

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column 06-12-18

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

Dear Reader,

This week's guest author, Laurie R. King, covers the world in her NYT bestselling novels, requiring the hard research of travel to spots like Lisbon, Morocco, Papua New Guinea, and Venice. Her background is similarly mixed, as required for a writer of crime, from coffee store manager to theological student. After all, a person never knows what will be needed for the next book.

Laurie's crime novels are both serial and stand-alone. First in the hearts of most readers comes Mary Russell, who met the retired Sherlock Holmes in 1915 and became his apprentice, then his partner. Beginning with The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Russell and Holmes move through the Teens and Twenties in amiable discord, challenging each other to ever greater feats of detection. The latest book in this series is Island of the Mad: A novel of suspense featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, where Sherlock and Mary meet a struggling Cole Porter.

Laurie would love to hear from you. You can reach her at: http://laurierking.com/contact/

Cole Porter & Sherlock Holmes, Misbehaving

Whenever I set out to write one of my 1920s novels, I first choose the location, then rummage around to see who was there at the time. I've come across some fascinating characters that way--characters in both senses of the word: Sabine Baring-Gould in Dartmoor; Dashiell Hammett in San Francisco; Marshal Lyautey in Morocco--real life, all of them. People I probably 'couldn't' have made up.

Not that I don't create characters from scratch. These are novels, not thinly fictionalized histories--but stirring in well-known places and faces can ground a story, giving (as Gilbert & Sullivan admitted) artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative.

Then sometimes, one of those actual people elbows aside my own created ones to seize center stage.

Such as Cole Porter. When I started writing Island of the Mad, I knew Porter would have at least a cameo. Who could envision Venice in the Twenties without him? It's even summer in the series time-line, when the city bursts into bloom with foreigners.

But in 1925, Cole Porter was not yet Cole Porter. He was a playboy-about-town, a dilettante who'd been badly stung by Broadway's lack of enthusiasm for his songs. He and his wife had more money than two people could possibly spend, so why fret about music? Music was a fine hobby to indulge with friends, gathering around the grand piano after dinner.

Music might have remained a hobby, if not for...

If not for some older musician coming into his life and treading frivolity underfoot? Some older musician--a violinist, say, who happens to be in Venice for other reasons?

"Very well," Sherlock Holmes says to Porter, indulgently. "Let us misbehave." He then turns the conversation firmly away from indulgence, since for Holmes, misbehavior is but a means to an end. However, dismissal does not mean dismissed. Porter's quicksilver mind seizes on those casually dropped words, and when they meet again:

'Clearly the phrase had stuck in the man's ear and, over the past twenty-two hours, been harvested, cleaned, combed, and was now in the process of being spun into thread.'

Porter's song Let's Misbehave did not appear for a year or two...but now the world knows that the idea was planted by none other than Sherlock Holmes. And the wider possibilities opened up by that 1925 meeting? How it shaped Porter's deft use of music as a weapon and a tool for liberation?

Well, for that one has to read Island of the Mad.

-- Laurie R. King

Laurie would love to hear from you. You can reach her at: http://laurierking.com/contact/

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column 06-11-18

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

Dear Reader,

I'm trying my best to write a column, but welts, actually big, pink mosquito bites are bubbling up, especially around my ankles and it's really getting difficult to concentrate on anything except this itching. It's driving me crazy. I can't stand it and I shouldn't be itching, because I followed the rules. Life isn't fair.

I pre-planned and sprayed myself with a bottle of advanced insect repellent before I went outside to pot some flowers. So instead of being a lunch buffet--my legs, an arm, both ankles and even my big toe--the mosquitoes should've been pinching their noses in disgust. "Phew, that woman stinks." Yes, when that hungry swarm of skeeters buzzed near me they should have been repulsed, because the spray is supposed to trick them into thinking that this blood bank is tainted.

Maybe I need to get a refund, because they seem to love the stuff. I swear I saw a swarm of six mosquitoes flying around with straws in their mouths. The buzzing swarm congregated, battle plans were formed, and I heard a loud, humming war chant and they attacked. I'm so tasty, they even came back for seconds--good to the last drop.

Again, I stress life isn't fair, because I didn't buy the cheap stuff. I bought the top of the line, "Guaranteed to repel mosquitoes, chiggers, biting flies, no-see-ums, gnats and fleas." But apparently these mosquitoes, now filled with my fresh, red blood, don't read labels, or they don't believe everything they read.

And apparently I don't either. My husband handed me a tube of hydrocortisone cream. "Put a layer of this on and the itching will stop." So I followed his advice, layered it on my arms and was spreading it real thick on my legs, topping off my big toe, when my husband ran back into the room. "Wait! Stop! I gave you the wrong tube. That's the special toothpaste the dentist gave me last week."

But to my surprise (and the Internet backs me up on this--so of course it's true), the toothpaste worked better than the hydrocortisone cream to stop my horrible itching--no kidding! And as a bonus I smelled minty-fresh and my legs were tartar-free.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

** AUTHORBUZZ **

THE REMOVES (Fiction) by Tatjana Soli

I'm always interested in writing the book I would like to read but can't find. My new novel is the female-centered Western that I've been craving. Set in the 1860's, it is the story of two strong women who must struggle to survive during the brutal period of Westward expansion. In a starred review, Booklist called The Removes, "Epic... enthralling."

Go to: AUTHORBIZZ click on THE REMOVES to read more and to email author Tatjana Soli, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 06-08-18

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

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

Dear Reader,

Looking for a little "funny" today? Something to make you smile? Book club readers share some of their favorite knock-knock jokes. It's a great way to start the weekend.

(Congratulations to Martha D. and Annmarie R., the winners of my Knock-Knock Giveaway, these lucky folks will each get a copy of Best Kids' Knock-Knock Jokes Ever! Volume 1.)

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Little ole lady.
Little ole lady who?
I didn't know you could yodle!
-- Marci V.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Noah.
Noah who?
Noah good place we can get something to eat?
-- Rosa A.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Library.
Library who?
Library still and pretend you're reading.
-- Annmarie R.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Cantaloupe.
Cantaloupe who?
Cantaloupe without a man!
-- Sue K.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Water.
Water Who?
Water you care who's there?
-- Dorie F.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Poor me.
Poor me, who?
Poor me another, bartender
-- Marshall C.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Cash!
Cash, who?
Bless You!
-- EO

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Lego.
Lego, who?
Lego to the Library!
-- Martha D.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Doctor.
Doctor who?
No! Doctor Strange!
-- Kathy C

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Dwayne.
Dwayne who?
Dwayne the bathtub before I drown.
--Mari R.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Ben.
Ben who?
Ben reading this blog for years (and loving it)
-- Susan G.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Lettuce.
Lettuce who?
Lettuce be friends!
-- Eve B.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Li.
Li who?
Librarians tell the best library jokes!
-- Tess C.

Look for the "funny" this weekend.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

KIDS BUZZ: Two books: one for babies, one for teens! Words and images of babies invite infants and young children to respond and engage in the "charming" (Kirkus) new book, WHO?: A CELEBRATION OF BABIES by Robie H. Harris; and teen readers looking for "a hilarious romp" (Booklist), will enjoy Greg Howard's SOCIAL INTERCOURSE, an out and proud hilarious hot mess of a YA romantic comedy. For a chance to win a free copy and learn more, see KIDSBUZZ.

Dear Reader Column 06-07-18

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

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

Dear Reader,

When my parents were still alive I'd call and ask, "So how are you today?" The names would change, but the conversation went pretty much like this, "Laney's been sick with pneumonia for two weeks now and she's in the hospital, Frank has an ulcer, Alan's back went out again, Helen had her gallbladder taken out, and do you remember Mr. Klein? You know, the man who used to run the fix-it shop on Main Street? He died last week. Mrs. Anderson hasn't been looking so good either and we're getting a little concerned about her."

It was frustrating. Even if I reworded the question, "So what have you and Dad been doing for fun lately?" I couldn't get my parents to share anything other than the latest medical update on family and friends. I'd make fun of my parents after I hung up the phone, replaying the conversation to my husband.

Fast forward years later, to a little thing called karma. Karma's been known to come around and bite me in the behind and lately it has. Like mother, like daughter, I realized the other day that lately, too much of my daily conversation has been consumed with who's got what wrong with them, including my own aches and pains. (Gasp! I've become my mother!)

I understand that topics of conversations change with age. When I was a teenager it was parties and the cute guy in Biology, and soon it was all about careers and babies, and now, well, I don't know what other 64-year-old people spend their time talking about, but I'm determined not to follow in my parents' footsteps.

So the next time someone asks the usual, "How are you today Suzanne?" Instead of telling them how I'm feeling, and updating them on my latest doctor visit, I'll pretend the question they asked was, "What are you going to do today Suzanne?" That should take care of any possible moaning and groaning about my aches and pains.

"So what are you going to do today Suzanne?"

"I'm taking my grandson to the skateboard park, doing some writing, and I have to stop by the pharmacy because my shoulder has really been bothering me. Do you ever get a pain in your shoulder and it runs all the way down your back? Boy, it's killing me. And while I'm there, I should pick up some cough syrup, everyone I know has a cold. Hopefully I don't get the flu. Our neighbor's been sick in bed for three days with the flu......

Okay, so I was a little hard on my mom and dad--who's laughing now?

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

* Today's the last day to enter the Knock-Knock giveaway. Write a knock-knock joke, submit it, and you'll be entered in the drawing for a copy of, Best Kids' Knock-Knock Jokes Ever! Volume 1. Click here to enter. (Type your knock-knock joke in the box with your library name and address.)

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

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

(Fiction)
THE SUMMER I MET JACK by Michelle Gable

(Fiction)
MOGUL by Katy Evans

(Fiction)
WE ARE GATHERED by Jamie Weisman

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

Dear Reader Column 06-06-18

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

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

Dear Reader,

Knock-Knock.
Who's there?
Ida.
Ida who?
Ida never thought I'd have to write my own knock-knock joke. And Ida hope I never have to again.

Well, actually I didn't even write that knock-knock joke. I tried, desperately tried to write a funny knock-knock, but no sale. So I asked the people I work with if they could craft some funny knock-knocks. Amber wrote the Ida knock-knock and Patrick wrote this one:

Knock-Knock.
Who's there?
Police.
Police who?
Police stop telling these awful knock, knock jokes!

I blame this knock-knock craze of mine on a book I came across the other day, Best Kids' Knock-Knock Jokes Ever! Volume 1. Since laughter is only one good joke away, let's give it a try.

Write a knock-knock joke, submit it and you're entered in the drawing for one of four copies of Best Kids' Knock-Knock Jokes Ever! Volume 1.

Knock-Knock Who's there?
Poor me.
Poor me, who?
Poor me can't write a funny knock-knock joke--can you help me?

To enter the Knock-Knock giveaway, click here. (Type your knock-knock joke in the box with your library name and address.)

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

** AUTHORBUZZ **

WE ARE GATHERED by Jamie Weisman

We've all been to weddings, different dress, different cake, same story. At the wedding in my book, though, the guests have the microphone, and instead of cliched toasts, they tell their stories, hilarious, heart-breaking and magical. This is the picture of the members of the wedding, damaged and enduring, funny and cynical, who come together to eat cake and say 'I do'--not to this man or this woman--but to life.

Go to AUTHORBUZZ click on WE ARE GATHERED to read more and to email author Jamie Weisman, you'll get a reply.

KIDS BUZZ: Two books: one for babies, one for teens! Words and images of babies invite infants and young children to respond and engage in the "charming" (Kirkus) new book, WHO?: A CELEBRATION OF BABIES by Robie H. Harris; and teen readers looking for "a hilarious romp" (Booklist), will enjoy Greg Howard's SOCIAL INTERCOURSE, an out and proud hilarious hot mess of a YA romantic comedy. For a chance to win a free copy and learn more, see KIDSBUZZ.

Dear Reader Column 06-05-18

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

Dear Reader,

Today's guest author Amy Sorrells is also a registered nurse. Her latest novel, Before I Saw You, was inspired by her work as an RN with newborn and adult victims of the opioid crisis.

Amy is giving away four copies of Before I Saw You to book club readers. Be sure to welcome her to the book club and enter the drawing. It might be your lucky day! Email: [email protected]

Thanks for visiting us today, Amy...

Some Stories are for the Dogs
By Amy K. Sorrells

Frustrated and my eyes full of tears, I put the book down and looked down into the big, round, chocolate chip eyes of my golden retriever.

I don't know why I read books about dogs.

The endings are all the same.

"If I ever write a book about dogs, I promise not to make the dog die at the end," I told my friends.

I understand in the big picture of story structure the death of a dog ranks pretty high in terms of emotional, unforgettable climaxes. But as an owner of three golden retrievers--including one who recently passed from good, old age--I don't believe a dog's death makes for a good ending.

As dog owners, we all know we're signing up for a journey with that inevitable ending. Maybe that's why we gravitate to dog death stories, because we want to learn how in the world we will survive the passing of our own best friends. But I think the climax of the story between a dog and its human is in the great risk of loving in the first place, on both sides.

Although centuries of domestication have certainly been bred into dogs, the fact that they seek human approval and seem to enjoy relying on humans for food and comfort is surely not a natural instinct. Whether conscious or not and however Pavlovian their behavior, a dog is risking its life trusting in a human to understand his every waking need.

We lost our oldest golden retriever, Zoe, last fall. She lived heartily until her very last day, rolling around in the grass under the sun, taking walks and keeping up with the other two younger goldens, giving silver-faced kisses to her favorite boy. She listened to when our sons cried tears, she smiled like only golden retrievers smile when her boys laughed, she shook her back leg with glee when we scratched her hips. She barked at 3pm every day when the school bus came around the bend, sometimes before we could even see it. She slept curled at the end of our beds, and Saturday morning pancakes were her favorite human food. She lived for those things, and we lived to see her enjoying them, no matter how long or short her life.

No, we dog owners all know what we're signing up for when we bring our puppies home--not the end, but everything in between.

Those are the dog stories I want to read right there.

--Amy K. Sorrells

Be sure to email Amy, say hello, and when you do, you'll be entered in a drawing for a copy of her new book, Before I Saw You, email [email protected]

To see photos of Zoe, click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 

** AUTHORBUZZ **

MOGUL by Katy Evans

From the moment I started writing this book, Ian and Sara took me on a whirlwind of passion, attraction, forbidden love, and ultimately...one of the most refreshing and unique romances I've ever written. I'm thrilled to share it with all of you.

Go to AUTHORBUZZ click on MOGUL to read more and to email author Katy Evans, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 06-04-18

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

Dear Reader,

The world seems to be speeding up, but I want to slow down. In fact, currently, slowing down is at the top of my daily "to-do" list. I actually write it down in the number one spot every morning. I can keep up with the best of them, and in the past I have, but I've decided that I enjoy life more and my body seems to function better at a slower speed.

Slowing down is actually more difficult than speeding up. Folks who manage to find joy and success in the slow lane should be awarded a gold star, or a plaque to hang on their wall. Not only is it a challenge to move at a slower pace, there's always "somebody" who gets tense when I do.

For instance, yesterday when my husband and I were driving home from the nursery, we couldn't go over 25 miles per hour. Pulling a trailer behind our car, filled with plants for my garden, if we drove any faster the wind would have shredded the plant leaves. My husband commented, "This is what it must have been like driving somewhere in a Model T." Then he sat back and enjoyed the scenery, pulling over every now-and-then as a courtesy when a string of cars formed behind us.

But then somebody got tense and ruined the moment. It would be much less humiliating to report that the "somebody" who got tense about us moving so slowly were the folks in the cars behind us. But I must confess, the scenario with angry motorists grumbling about how slow we were moving--suddenly it was all in my mind--an imaginary tale because I'm still learning the art of slowing down.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

** AUTHORBUZZ **

THE SUMMER I MET JACK by Michelle Gable

In my newest novel you'll be introduced to a beautiful Polish refugee, a woman who dated princes, movie stars, and a young congressman named Jack Kennedy. Their relationship was explosive and, according to FBI files, lingers to this day. My novel follows the real-life adventures of the fascinating Alicia Corning Clark, offering readers a "riveting tale about America's most romanticized family." (Kirkus Reviews)

Go to AUTHORBUZZ click on THE SUMMER I MET JACK to read more and to email author Michelle Gable, you'll get a reply.