Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 07-17-18

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

Dear Reader,

Ellison Cooper, today's guest author, has a Ph.D. in anthropology from UCLA, with a background in archaeology, cultural neuroscience, ancient religion, colonialism, and human rights. She has conducted fieldwork in locations all over the globe. Ellison has worked as a murder investigator in Washington DC, and is a certified K9 Search and Rescue Federal Disaster Worker. She now lives in the Bay Area with her husband and son. Ellison's debut novel is Caged.

Welcome to the book club, Ellison...

Attack Turkeys
by Ellison Cooper

While working on an archaeological project in grad school, I spent nine wonderful years living in the jungles of Belize. For many of those years, I slept in a tent way out on a 350,000-acre nature preserve. Yes, I encountered a few jaguars in the wild. Turns out that they make a deep chuff chuff sound when they'd like you to back up. I killed poisonous snakes with my machete--aggressive pit vipers called the "two-step-snake" by the locals because, once bitten, you would take two more steps and then die. I even desperately climbed trees to avoid roving packs of territorial peccarys, grumpy little boars with sharp tusks.

But, by far the most fearsome animal I encountered in the jungle was an attack turkey.

This was not some gobbling American turkey, this was an Ocellated Turkey, a beautiful iridescent rainbow-colored terror machine! Picture two inch razor-sharp spurs flying toward you in front of a twenty pound whirlwind off squawking feathers. I've been told that these turkeys aren't always aggressive, but one Ocellated Turkey decided that our jungle camp was in his territory, and he terrorized us for months.

Our camp was set off of an old gravel road used by loggers to haul out mahogany logs. Every morning after breakfast we would head to our work trucks parked along the road. From there we would drive out to our dig sites where we were mapping and excavating ancient Maya ruins.

But the trucks were clearly a threat to "Mr. Tom." In order to get to our trucks, we had to make a mad dash along a narrow trail through the jungle. And Mr. Tom would be lying in wait, roosting somewhere above us in the dense foliage. We would hurry along the path, hoping to make it before he leaped out at us. Once he went on the attack, we would scatter, screaming, making a desperate run for the trucks. At the trucks, we would peal away. Sometimes he would chase us along the road for half a mile!

I wonder if he loved the feeling of running off those big mechanical monsters. And who knows, maybe he (or she) had young near by. After all, we were the invaders there. I still fondly think of that turkey every Thanksgiving...

Thanks for reading my Belize story! I love hearing from readers any time. You can find me at ellisoncooper.com

-- Ellison Cooper

Welcome Ellison to the book club, ellisoncooper.com

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

** AUTHORBUZZ **

DISORDERLY CONDUCT (Mystery) by Mary Feliz

Fans of Louise Penny and her Three Pines residents will feel at home with my whip-smart, quirky, ethical characters who value the strength of their community ties and who treat dogs like part of the family.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on DISORDERLY CONDUCT to read more and to email author Mary Feliz, you'll get a reply. 

* This month's Penguin Classics book is AMIABLE WITH BIG TEETH, by Claude McKay. I have a Penguin totebag to share with a lucky reader. Start reading this month's Penguin Classics book by clicking this link, and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable totebag.

Dear Reader Column 07-16-18

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

Dear Reader,

If I find one great recipe in a new cookbook, one that I can use on a regular basis, then to me, the cookbook is a real keeper and worth every penny I paid for it. Retro Recipes from the 50's and 60's, by author Addie Gundry, is my latest find. She assures us that the vintage recipes in the cookbook, everyone will love.

There are 103 recipes in the cookbook, I made a list of 23 that I recognized from my childhood, and I can't wait to make every one of them.

Goulash was a staple in our house when I was growing up, and the 1950's recipe (below) tasted exactly how I remembered it.

1950s Goulash

The waves of immigration in the early 20th century brought foods from all around the globe to the American palate. Goulash, a traditional Hungarian dish, was one that resonated with the American public due to its comforting mix of ground beef, pasta, and veggies.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup beef broth
2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

Directions

In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and saute until browned, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the garlic, onion, and remaining 1/3 cup olive oil and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, bay leaves, seasoned salt, pepper, and paprika. Mix well.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the uncooked elbow macaroni. Stir well until everything is combined.

Cover once again and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Once cooked, remove and discard the bay leaves. Serve.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

** AUTHORBUZZ **

LUSH: A Memoir (NonFiction) by Kerry Cohen

In my forties, I woke up one day and realized I had a drinking problem. In my new memoir, I examine the struggle I had with alcohol, a struggle many middle-aged women face. But, I didn't get sober. I dealt with the problems behind the drinking and found I could moderate. "Lush" follows my story as I attempted to rediscover awe in my life and leave my regrets--and the bottle--behind.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on LUSH to read more and to email author Kerry Cohen, you'll get a reply.

* This month's Penguin Classics book is AMIABLE WITH BIG TEETH, by Claude McKay. I have a Penguin totebag to share with a lucky reader. Start reading this month's Penguin Classics book by clicking this link, and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable totebag.

Dear Reader Column 07-13-18

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,

Just randomly typing today...

Singing out loud, crank up the music and sing with wild abandon. Don't care who is listening. I'm sure my music floats out the door and meets up with bubbles my electric bubble machine is pumping out. I wonder if the people walking by in front of my house are thinking the 'Bubble Lady' has really lost her mind today.

But really, the Bubble Lady is letting go, not caring, not judging herself. The older I get the less I care about perfection and the "I shoulds." Don't want to waste my time worrying that I'm carrying my bubble machine out front when I still have my bathrobe on and two rollers in my hair. (I'm trying to straighten my bangs before they dry.) Or going to the store with one fingernail unpainted. 'Really Suzanne, when was the last time you took a fingernail survey in the grocery store? And if you did notice an unpainted nail, what would you be thinking--nothing.'

So, I'm cranking up the music and singing with wild abandon...

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

KIDS BUZZ: Two books: SOMEONE NEW, a picture book by Anne Sibley O'Brien about three just-arrived immigrant children from the point of view of their classmates; and WILLA OF THE WOOD, a new middle-grade novel by Robert Beatty, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Serafina series. For a chance to win a free copy and learn more, see http://www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz.

* * *

* This month's Penguin Classics book is AMIABLE WITH BIG TEETH, by Claude McKay. I have a Penguin totebag to share with a lucky reader. Start reading this month's Penguin Classics book by clicking this link, and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable totebag.

Dear Reader Column 07-12-18

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,

AMIABLE WITH BIG TEETH--sounds pretty intriguing, huh?

This month's Penguin Classics book, by Claude McKay, is one you don't want to miss. Start reading this month's Penguin Classics book by clicking the link, and I have a Penguin tote bag to give away. Enjoy AMIABLE WITH BIG TEETH and don't forget to enter-to-win a Penguin bag of your own.

One of the best rewards from my job is when readers reply. Your emails truly make my day. Thanks so much for writing.

From My Inbox:

"What a wonderful column today Suzanne! [Tuesday's Red-bellied Woodpecker] It did indeed make my day! What a good reminder of the things that actually matter in these frustrating days where all the news seems to be so bad. Thank you for this gift, and the gift of yourself everyday. God bless you real good," -- Martha H.

"Hi Suzanne, thank you for the copy of 'The Real Michael Swann' that arrived on my doorstep a week or so ago. Not only am I lucky to win, I am luckier to have such fun reading what you write. (Not to mention the recipes). I share your website with everyone I know (and as a librarian I know A LOT of people!), and I can't begin to tell you the responses I get when someone else wins a book or reads something that touches them. SOOOOO--THANKS and THANKS and THANKS!" -- Diane R.

"Good morning Suzanne, thank you for this lovely story about your grandmother. [Monday's column about Grandma's homemade cards.] Just this weekend my family, cousins and sisters, shared recipes. My sisters and I compiled a vintage family cookbook a few years ago for our grown, on their own 'kids' and they loved it. I have never added a recipe to the cards and letters I regularly mail, but will begin to do so. Thanks again for the idea and know that I look forward to reading with you." -- Cindy W.

"Thank you Suzanne for sharing your Orange Poppy Seed Cake recipe. I made it yesterday and you are right. It is yum :)" -- Farida S.

"What an amazing video of the woodpeckers! I know what you mean about finding peace in one's backyard. I escape to mine as often as I can. It has turned into my safe place because once I leave my driveway the video game begins. Thanks for sharing." -- Cheryl G.

If you missed the video of the Red-bellied woodpeckers with their babies, or you'd like to take a second look, click here. (Click on "download" if the video doesn't start playing right away.)

Congratulations to the winners of the Singing Birds recipe cards: Jeanne A., Becki H., and Nadine K.

And the winners of The Edge of Over There, by Guest Author Shawn Smucker are: Pat C., Peg M., Donna C., Sharon B., and Nancy K.

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

Warmest regards,
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

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

(Fiction)
THE INTERMISSION by Elyssa Friedland

(Fiction)
RIVER OF REDEMPTION by Ann H. Gabhart

(Fiction)
THE SUBWAY GIRLS by Susie Orman Schnall

(Mystery)
FINAL RESTING PLACE by Jonathan F. Putnam

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

* * *

* This month's Penguin Classics book is AMIABLE WITH BIG TEETH, by Claude McKay. I have a Penguin totebag to share with a lucky reader. Start reading this month's Penguin Classics book by clicking this link, and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable totebag.

Dear Reader Column 07-11-18

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,

Nancy Thayer, today's guest author, has written 30 novels, including A Nantucket Wedding, Secrets in Summer, The Island House, A Very Nantucket Christmas, and The Hot Flash Club. Families and friendship and the beautiful island of Nantucket are the inspiration for her novels, and they've been translated into fifteen languages, including Lithuanian, Hebrew, and Finnish.

Nancy has two grown children and four grandchildren. She's lived on Nantucket for 34 years with her husband Charley Walters. Nancy grew up in Kansas, so every morning when she looks out the window at the harbor, she reminds herself never to wear ruby red slippers, and she never clicks her heels!

Please welcome author Nancy Thayer to the book club. Nancy said that she would love to read your comments. Say hello at her Facebook page.

Here's a deep dark secret about writers. We're schizophrenic.

How many people do you know who spend hours every day sitting alone in a room talking about people who don't exist?

Writing requires a certain isolation. I know some writers who are able to work in a Starbucks or even the coffee shop at Target, but they don't interact with the real people there, they ignore those people and place an invisible screen around them so they can concentrate on fictional people. When we're writing, we don't always dress attractively, or brush our hair, or even our teeth. I write first thing in the morning, as soon as I've made my cup of coffee. I carry it up to my study with me, shut the door, and turn on the computer. In the winter, I wear my flannel pajamas and my beloved and ancient robe, which has been washed so many times the nubs on the chenille have worn down, and which is stained from various coffee spills, but works as a special blanket works for a child. In the summer, I throw a silk kimono on over my T-shirt and underpants.

When our books are published, like caterpillars who've been swaddled in a cocoon, writers burst out of their hideaways like butterflies. We find our best clothes--if we can still fit in them after the winter--put them on, and travel off to various cities and towns to speak and sign books at bookstores and libraries. If we seem almost giddily happy to see our readers, that's because we 'are' giddily happy to see our readers! (Remember, we've spent nine months in the attic with imaginary characters.)

When readers tells us they like our books, our gratitude is absolutely real. Our books are like our children--and often just as hard to manage--and don't we all want our children to be loved? Every kind word a reader shares with us, in person, on Facebook, or in an email is bliss to a writer.

We love to see our readers, too, to know who they are, where they come from, and why they like our books. We often subconsciously snap up one woman's fabulous dress and another's sparkling necklace and yet another one's laugh to give to a new character in our new book. We love hearing about our readers' dogs and cats and children and husbands and hobbies. We're so fascinated by people it seems we should work as entertainment directors on a cruise ship.

But like vampires, we can last only so long in the light of the real world. Our new characters start pacing around in our minds, getting into arguments, falling in love, and we have no choice but to wave a grateful goodbye to the real world and return to our solitude...and to the characters we dearly hope our real people will come to know and love.

--Nancy Thayer

Nancy would love to read your comments. You can leave them at her Facebook page.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

** AUTHORBUZZ **

THE SUBWAY GIRLS (Fiction) by Susie Orman Schnall

A fast-paced and satisfying story of two strong and ambitious women, that's rooted in a fascinating part of history. The novel follows two storylines: 1949's Charlotte competes in Miss Subways. And 2018's Olivia learns about Miss Subways while doing research for an advertising pitch. Their narratives intersect as both women pursue their dreams and follow their hearts professionally and personally. Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on THE SUBWAY GIRLS to read more and to email author Susie Orman Schnall, you'll get a reply.

* * *

KIDS BUZZ: Two books: Someone New, a picture book by Anne Sibley O'Brien about three just-arrived immigrant children from the point of view of their classmates; and Willa of the Wood, a new middle-grade novel by Robert Beatty, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Serafina series. For a chance to win a free copy and learn more, see KIDSBUZZ

* * *

This month's PENGUIN CLASSICS book is Amiable with Big Teeth, by Claude McKay. I have a Penguin totebag to share with a lucky reader. Start reading this month's Penguin Classics book by clicking this link, and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable totebag, click here.

Dear Reader Column 07-10-18

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.

Be sure to check out this month's Penguin Classic book, AMIABLE WITH BIG TEETH, by Claude McKay, and enter the special giveaway. Click here to start reading.

Dear Reader,

Milkweed, a very old oak tree, two bird feeders, flower gardens--lots of flower gardens--five species of butterflies who treat me like family, flying right up to my nose to say hello in the morning as I walk down my driveway to get the newspaper, and babies calling out for breakfast. I'm a woman who feels blessed, because there's magic happening in her own backyard.

Nothing was planned. I didn't set out to attract butterflies, cardinals and red-bellied woodpeckers, but they've all found homes in my yard. It's a magical wonderland, a reprieve from the rest of the world which I desperately need these days. Service is one of my jobs here on earth. I love to do for others, making them feel special and right at home when they visit me, but the birds and the bees and the butterflies, they don't need my help. Which is something I have to remind myself when I'm tempted to move a Monarch caterpillar to a more flourishing milkweed plant--to give him (or her, I can't tell the sexes apart at that stage) a five-star lunch, but eventually they find their own way to a better "table."

Rat-a-tat-tat on a tree in our yard, I realized a few months ago we had a woodpecker in our trees, and now after some research, I've learned that his hammering sound was really singing. A suitor's way of serenading a possible mate. He must have been a real good catch, because after a bit of courting he quickly found a bride, and he started searching for a house. After a male woodpecker finds a mate he prepares nest(s), always more than one nest so his beloved can choose her favorite.

Her favorite, turned out to be in one of our trees. After the newlyweds settled in, covering the "floor" with wood chips, soon one egg appeared, then another, one egg a day, four days in a row (I learned from reading about their mating habits), and now there are chirping baby red-bellied woodpeckers (feed me, feed me), tucked away in Dad's homemade nest. (An almost perfectly round hole created in a decaying part of our old oak tree. Everything has a purpose.)

Mom and Dad are very protective of their babies, so my husband attached a camera to a tripod and set up in our driveway near the tree, using a zoom lens to record them feeding their youngsters. What a gift they're giving to us.

You'll smile, you'll relax and it will make your day. Take a look at what's going on in our backyard, click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

** AUTHORBUZZ **

RIVER OF REDEMPTION (Fiction) by Ann H. Gabhart

I am so excited for you to read my next book, where one young woman must stand up for freedom--and perhaps find her own in the process. This novel is partly based on a true story.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on RIVER OF REDEMPTION to read more and to email author Ann H. Gabhart, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 07-09-18

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,

Recently I was looking through a box of old photographs and tucked away in the bottom of the box was a homemade Christmas card. A simple 8 1/2 x 11 piece of green paper, folded into quarters, the front flap of the Christmas card had a small slit in each of the four corners, and a recipe for plum pudding was inserted in it. When I opened up the card, inside was a poem about, "The Story of Plum Pudding" and at the end there was a two-line Christmas greeting from my Grandma Hale. What a clever idea.

I love to cook and everybody loves recipes. So following in Grandma's footsteps I've decided whenever I send a card to someone: birthday, holiday, thank you, or "just because," I'm going to insert one of my favorite recipes. The recipe card (handwritten by me), will add my own personal touch to cards I buy in the store. Excited, inspired and smiling, I couldn't wait to tell someone about my new idea. But of course...that's when I realized that Grandma would be the first person I'd want to tell. My grandmother died years ago, I think of her often, but today I miss her in a different way.

'Gee Grandma, I'm so excited about finding the card you left behind. You've given me such a great idea. I don't know what you're up to, but I sure hope you're reading my column today--because this one's for you.'

In honor of my grandmother, today, I'm giving away a package of 4x6 Singing Birds recipe cards--just like the ones I have--to three lucky readers. To enter the giveaway, click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

** AUTHORBUZZ **

THE INTERMISSION (Fiction) by Elyssa Friedland

Would you walk away from your marriage in order to save it? That is the question at the heart of my new novel, about a husband and wife who spend six months living separate lives on opposite coasts in order to reflect on the life they've built and whether it's what they both really want. Will their intermission save their marriage? You'll have to read to find out.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE INTERMISSION to read more and to email author Elyssa Friedland, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 07-06-18

Dear Reader,

My husband and I are supposed to be fasting today. Only a liquid diet is permitted because we're having some tests done tomorrow.

Our menu choices are chicken broth, ginger ale, apple juice, Jell-O (I guess that's the main course), water, grape juice, Countrytime lemonade (which I can't stand), water, and more water. Did I mention water?

When we were at the grocery store the other day, my husband suggested that we buy some fruit juices to get us through our day of fasting. "Oh, I won't need anything," I boasted. "I don't eat much anyway. A little chicken broth and water will do me just fine."

Well, I was wrong. I'm hungry. I'm sick of chicken broth and I've drunk so much water that I might as well just take my laptop in the bathroom and camp out. I don't understand it. I usually don't even think about food. It's no big deal. But apparently, if someone says, "You can't have..." it strikes a dormant, rebellious chord in me and I want to do the opposite--because I want food. I'm starved.

I'd give anything for a cheeseburger and fries right now. Heck, at this point, I'd even pay big money for a Tofu burger with alfalfa sprouts.

But the worst is yet to come. I volunteered to bake cookies for a bake sale tomorrow, so I have to bake them today--chocolate chip. I wonder if I put one of those suckers in the blender, if it would be considered liquid?

Thanks for eating--whoops! I mean reading--with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column 07-05-18

Dear Reader,

"Actions speak louder than words."

I don't know if I can embrace the adage as an absolute truth, but I do know that when I watched a man go into action and pick up a tissue the other day, it left a memorable impression on me.

My husband and I were parked along the side of the road in Myakka State Park here in Florida. My husband, Bob, was concentrating on photographing an enormous spider web and its two master builders, while I was sitting in the car writing.

I didn't think much about it when a park ranger parked his vehicle a few feet in front of our car, but I did take note when he got out of his truck, walked over to the edge of the road, reached down and picked up a single white tissue. He deposited it in a container, slid back into the driver's seat and took off. I was in awe.

It was a seemingly simple act, but it made me smile, because he cared enough to do his job to the fullest. And that's always an inspiration to me.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column 07-04-18

Dear Reader,

Happy 4th of July! I'm celebrating with my family. Have a bang-up day!

My column will return tomorrow.

Congratulations to these recent book winners...

Paula S., Nancy B., Pat C., and Susan G., the winners of Before I Saw You by Guest Author Amy K. Sorrells.

Jan J. and Carolyn H., the winners of The Lost for Words Bookshop. by Guest Author Stephanie Butland.

Bonny C. and Marlys W., the winners of The Darkest Time of Night by Guest Author Jeremy Finley.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]