Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 09-28-18

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

Dear Reader,

There's magic in the mess.

The words are inside of me, but sometimes it's a hard pull to get them out. So instead of fighting the feeling of failure, I simply start typing. Whatever sentences or single words pop into my mind I type them continuously no commas no correct spelling no editing deciding if what i am writing is good or bad i just keep clicking away on the keys and eventually amiss the gibberish in front of me there is the thought that moves my heart or makes me laugh or cry--there it is--the magic in the mess!

And I begin...

I encourage you to enter this year's Write a Dear Reader Contest. It's all about writing for fun. You don't have to be a writer to enter. Simply start typing, and soon magic in the mess will appear. The deadline, rules, cash prizes and last year's winning entries, you'll find all the information you need here.

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

Waiting to read your entry,

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JOAQUIN MURIETA, by John Rollin Ridge. I have a Penguin totebag to share with a lucky reader. Read this month's Penguin Classics book and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable totebag.

Dear Reader Column 09-27-18

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

Dear Reader,

"Just mix a little bit of mayonnaise and yellow mustard together, fill the eggs, slice some green olives, garnish each egg with a sliver of olive and top it off with a sprinkle of paprika or dill weed."

I was teaching a cooking class to homeschooled children, and that was the verbal recipe I gave to the young man who was in charge of making the deviled eggs. It was the recipe my Grandma Hale had repeated to me many times when I was helping make deviled eggs in her kitchen.

The recipe always works for me, but fifteen minutes later when I circled back to check on my cooking student's progress, immediately I could see that something was terribly wrong. I'd never seen such a runny deviled egg filling. It had the consistency of soup. The young man and I reviewed the instructions. Yes, he mixed mayonnaise and yellow mustard (to taste) just like I'd instructed, so why was the filling so thin? But then I looked down in the wastebasket and there were 12 hard boiled egg yolks.

I repeated the instructions to my student that I'd heard Grandma Hale tell me for years. "Suzanne, just mix a little mayo and mustard together." And that's exactly what my cooking student did--not knowing he left out the main ingredient--the hard boiled egg yolks!

Enter today's giveaway. It's one of my secrets to making deviled eggs easy-peasy to make--a microwave egg cooker. I'm giving away two egg cookers, so be sure to enter the drawing. Click here to enter.

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

If you haven't entered this year's 14th Annual Write a DearReader Writing Contest, do it now. For rules, deadlines, and prizes, and to read last year's winning entries, click here.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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

(Fiction)
SURRENDER by Elisabeth Naughton

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

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JOAQUIN MURIETA, by John Rollin Ridge. I have a Penguin totebag to share with a lucky reader. Read this month's Penguin Classics book and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable totebag.

Dear Reader Column 09-26-18

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

Dear Reader,

From a book club reader about this year's Write a Dear Reader Contest...

"Dear Suzanne, first, thanks for hosting the contest. One of the things it does for me is gives me a slight nudge out of my comfort zone, and encourages me to try something I might not otherwise. Also, I wanted to confirm that you've received my entries. I've sent five, and have received confirmation for two." -- Regards, Brian S.

(Suzanne replies:) Thanks for your email Brian and for taking the time to let me know that something isn't working correctly. We have received all of your entries, but you are correct, there is a "whoops" in our notification software at the moment. My apologies. We are working to resolve this, but if you hear back on the first entry you send in, for this year's Write a DearReader Contest, you can rest assured that we've received your other entries as well.

"Suzanne, can you submit poetry to this year's writing contest? I'm nervous and excited to submit some entries, but I'm going to do it!" -- Sandy P.

(Suzanne replies:) Yes, indeed you can. Last year one of the winning entries was poetry.

"Suzanne, Thank you for your wonderful words each day. I wanted to know if the title of my story for the Write a DearReader contest counts as part of the 650 words limit?" -- Karin M.

(Suzanne replies:) Good question. No, the title of your entry is not counted as part of the 650 word limit.

Read all about it! The 14th Annual Write a DearReader Contest. Click here.

September chocolate chip cookie winners, watch for your cookies. They'll be delivered this week!

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

Happy writing and munch, munch to the cookie winners,

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JOAQUIN MURIETA, by John Rollin Ridge. I have a Penguin totebag to share with a lucky reader. Read this month's Penguin Classics book and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable totebag.

Dear Reader Column 09-25-18

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

Dear Reader,

Today's guest author Kim Vogel Sawyer, a former elementary school teacher, fulfills her childhood dreams by writing fiction. Kim and her retired military husband live on the beautiful plains of Kansas, the setting for many of her novels, including her most recent title, Ours for a Season which takes place predominantly in a Kansas ghost town. When Kim isn't writing, you'll find her spoiling her grandchildren, quilting, or traveling.

Please say hello and welcome author Kim Vogel Sawyer to our book club. Email: Kim@KimVogelSawyer.com

A friend recently gifted me with a little wooden plaque bearing the following quote: "Life without cats? I don't think so." My friend gets me.

Except for one brief stint of apartment life (which I would cheerfully scrub from my memory banks), I have always in my 50-something years had a pet for a cat. No, that isn't exactly accurate. One does not own cats the way one owns dogs or hamsters or iguanas. So let's say I have volunteered to be a cat's human.

My parents had cats before I was born and throughout my baby- and toddlerhood, but the first cat to truly claim me was Cindy. Cindy, bless her heart, was probably the most unattractive tortoiseshell ever to be born, but she was oh-so-tolerant of five-year-old me. I dressed her in doll clothes and pushed her up and down the street in my little doll carriage. She sat through countless tea parties and listened to endless prattle. We moved from Kansas to Minnesota when I was seven, and she yowled the entire way. When we moved back to Kansas the next year, my parents said Cindy shouldn't be forced to bear that drive again, and we left her with friends. I yowled all the way to Kansas.

Only a few days after settling into our new house I was walking home from school, and a beautiful black and white, long-haired, half-grown kitten leaped from some bushes and attacked my shoestrings. I stopped for a few minutes and played with it, and I might have neglected to tie my shoes before moving on. I reached my yard and the kitten was prancing along behind me, so I announced to my mom, "Look what followed me home!" Mom raised her eyebrows in a way that let me know she suspected manipulation, but she didn't say much.

Dad said plenty, though: "We're not getting another cat. You'll have to take it back where you found it." He sat in his chair and opened the newspaper, and that sly little kitty leaped into his lap, curled into a ball, and began to purr. Dad took me to the house where I'd found the kitten and asked the people if we could keep it. And that's how Mittens adopted me.

Over the years, other cats have weaseled their way into my affection--Toby, Smokey, Seymour, Isabella, Sam, and currently Maizie-Grace, Clyde, and Frances (although, truthfully, Frances has claimed my husband as her human). I was cooing at Clyde a few days ago, and my husband said, "If you had to choose between that cat and me, you'd probably take the cat." I wisely remained silent, but I'm pretty sure Clyde winked. He knows the truth. Life without cats? I don't think so.

-- Kim Vogel Sawyer
Email: Kim@KimVogelSawyer.com

Don't miss this opportunity. Everyone has a story to tell. Enter the 14th Annual Write a DearReader Contest. Two new twists this year. You can collaborate with a writing partner, and if your entry is chosen as a First Place ($200), Second Place ($100), or Third Place ($50) winner, we will donate a 50% matching gift to your library in your name.

For rules, deadlines, prizes and to read last year's winning entries, click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JOAQUIN MURIETA, by John Rollin Ridge. I have a Penguin totebag to share with a lucky reader. Read this month's Penguin Classics book and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable totebag.

Dear Reader Column 09-24-18

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

Dear Reader,

Tell me a story. That's all you need to do to enter my 14th Annual Write a DearReader Contest. Need inspiration? Let me share a story with you that I wrote several years ago...

The parking lot was full and buses were dropping off seniors near the front door. My mother's friends had invited Mom and me to go with them to the big senior dance in Platteville, to listen to the Busch's Swing Band. It was Mom's first outing since Dad died. It was a huge dance hall, decorated with crepe paper and balloons. A sign on the way in read: "Get Your Name Tag And Sign Up For Door Prizes!" We were lucky, we found a big round table near the front. The band had already started playing, but no one was dancing. I was thinking, 'This is pretty much like the beginning of every dance I've ever gone to. Who is going to be the first couple on the dance floor?'

Two songs later, when the slow beat changed to a swing, the first couple, two women who must have been in their late seventies, braved the dance floor. Hands clasped together, not the least bit concerned--all eyes were on them--they held the dance floor alone, and when the song finished they stayed put, anticipating the next number. But when the music started again, couples (mostly women dancing with women) flooded the dance floor. "If you want to dance," one of my mother's friends advised, "you'd better not wait around for a man to ask, because there aren't enough of them to go around."

I noticed my mother tapping her foot and there was a remnant of a smile on her face when she leaned over and whispered to me, "May I please have this dance?"

Now it was a very strange thing to be dancing with my mother. At first I just stood on the dance floor staring at the five-foot-tall woman, my dancing partner, my mother--whom I'd never, ever seen dance before. I was shocked. Who was this woman? Her hips swaying side to side, shoulders loose, keeping time to the music. Just when did my mother learn how to do this? I had no idea how to do these dance moves, but it didn't matter. The next thing I knew, my mother took me by the hand and I was twirling around the dance floor. I could have sworn her dark brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was sporting white bobby socks and saddle shoes.

Breathless and a bit stunned, I started walking back to our table when the song was over, but instantly the music started again and so did my mother. We danced another dance, and another dance, and another dance. After that--it was all kind of a blur, and finally when the music moseyed its way into a slow song, I was so thankful, thinking I'd finally get to sit one out.

But my mother stood her ground, grabbing my elbows then gently looking into my eyes, letting me know that for whatever reason, she had to keep dancing. Then she slid her arm around my back, our hands came together, my mother closed her eyes, and some of her sadness melted into a smile as we glided around the floor.

It was the most memorable dance of my life. Slow dancing with my mother.

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

Waiting to read your story,
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

P. S. Enter this year's Write a Dear Reader Contest. Deadlines, winning entries from last year and prizes. You'll find all the info here.

** AUTHORBUZZ **

SURRENDER (Fiction) by Elisabeth Naughton

I'm thrilled to share the newest story in my House of Sin series! If you're new to the House of Sin, don't worry. This is a great place to start. Danger, intrigue, romance and suspense--this series has it all. If you've already read the series, then you're familiar with Marco and Felicity. This book takes you back in time to their first meeting and a friendship that shaped an entire series.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on SURRENDER to read more and to email author Elisabeth Naughton, you'll get a reply.

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JOAQUIN MURIETA, by John Rollin Ridge. I have a Penguin totebag to share with a lucky reader. Read this month's Penguin Classics book and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable totebag.

Dear Reader Column 09-21-18

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

Dear Reader,

Write about one of your kitchen mishaps, or the story behind a favorite recipe. Enter the 14th Annual Write a DearReader Contest. For all the info, click here.

Here's my story, please do tell me yours...

Every kid needs a role model when they're growing up. After all, when we were young, our parents couldn't possibly teach us anything, could they? I didn't realize it until I was an adult, and I really doubt that she realized it either because she was just being herself, but my role model was my girlfriend's mother, Mrs. Creswick. I never called her by her first name, it seemed more respectful to address her as Mrs. Creswick.

I loved going to Mrs. Creswick's house because she always made me feel special. Cottage cheese and those little cherry tomatoes were always in her frig, because she knew I loved them. Now, I don't really know for sure--I was just a kid--maybe Mrs. Creswick always had cottage cheese and tomatoes in the fridge, but when I was there she would always set a plate in front of me. Mrs. Creswick was a great cook and when I asked her for a copy of her Frosted Meatloaf recipe, she included personal tips on how not to burn the meatloaf when it was time to put it under the broiler. Mrs. Creswick always seemed concerned about other people, and I always felt loved and cared for when I was around her.

Whenever I go home to visit, I always drive by her old house. It still gives me such a good feeling to think about the times that I spent there. Mrs. Creswick died years ago and when I heard the news, I called her husband and my old girlfriend to give them my condolences, and to tell them just how special she had been to me. And then I made a frosted meatloaf--and I think Mrs. Creswick would have been proud of me--it came out of the broiler just right.

Mrs. Creswick's Frosted Meatloaf

2 pounds hamburger
1/2 cup French dressing
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients together. Shape into oval loaf. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Then...frost the meatloaf and broil until slightly brown.

Meatloaf Frosting

Mix together:
2 cups hot mashed potatoes
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup Miracle Whip

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

To enter this year's annual Write a DearReader Contest, click here.

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JOAQUIN MURIETA, by John Rollin Ridge. I have a Penguin totebag to share with a lucky reader. Read this month's Penguin Classics book and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable totebag.

Dear Reader Column 09-20-18

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

Dear Reader,

You'll be glad you entered this year's Write a Dear Reader Contest. I know it's true, because every year, for the past 13 years, the most familiar last line of someone's entry is, "Suzanne, I'm so glad I did this! I've always wanted to write this story down and now I finally had the nudge I needed to do it. Thank you so much."

Need an idea for something to write about? Tell me about your pet peeve, how your husband proposed, the most memorable moment in your life so far, your first trip to the animal shelter, memories of your grandfather, the story you and your spouse tell over and over again but you still laugh about it every time, or a quirky little habit of yours. You don't need to be a writer to enter. Simply tell me a story, put your heart into it, say what's on your mind.

Let me share a story with you that I wrote several years ago...

The boxes came today.The ones my husband and I packed up after my mother's funeral. Deciding what to keep and what to toss or give away was a slow and difficult process. What looked like junk to most people was actually full of precious memories.

Sorting through someone else's possessions, even my mother's, made me feel uneasy. The things left behind expose a person after they're gone, and that person's not around to explain why they kept something for all those years. So I could only guess why my mother had hung onto a tall, decorative, gold glass bottle with a pointed top. The bottles were popular when I was growing up, and ours used to sit in the corner of the living room. It didn't do anything except sit there and collect dust.

Looking at it now, I can't for the life of me understand why my mother found it attractive. It's one of the ugliest bottles I've ever seen. Nevertheless, it went into my "save" pile of things. How could I say no to a bottle that I'd dusted throughout my entire childhood?

And that's how my sorting-things task went for most of the day. After four hours my save pile was overflowing and the toss pile had only six items in it.I finally asked my husband to help me make decisions. Thank God he was patient. The two of us started over again, from the beginning. I'd pick up an item, tell him a story about it, and then he'd help me make a less sentimental decision about whether or not to keep it. By the end of the weekend, we'd filled twelve huge boxes with things I was shipping to our home in Florida.

I immediately opened a couple of those boxes today when they arrived, but I think I'm going to have to leave most of them taped up for a while. It took a lot out of me to pack up those memories, and I don't think I'm ready to start unpacking them quite yet.

I miss my mother.

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

* I'm waiting to read your story. All the info, including the deadline,for the the 14th Annual Write a Dear Reader Contest is here.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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

(Fiction)
SURRENDER by Elisabeth Naughton

(Nonfiction)
SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP by Cinque Henderson

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

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JOAQUIN MURIETA, by John Rollin Ridge. I have a Penguin totebag to share with a lucky reader. Read this month's Penguin Classics book and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable totebag.

Dear Reader Column 09-19-18

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

Dear Reader,

Lately, interesting stories have shown up at my front door.

One electrode was stuck to the right side of my forehead, the other was stuck just a little bit below my right shoulder, and the machine that was sending out the signals was attached to a pink belt around my waist. The belt wasn't a necessary accessory--part of my outfit--rather I needed some place to hang the Tens machine, so I strapped a belt around my waist.

Knock, knock.

Someone was knocking on my front door and while I was walking to answer the door, I decided to pull off the sticky electrode attached to my forehead, so I wouldn't look stupid. First impressions can mean a lot. (When I'm all hooked up, the 'Tens machine look' resembles something from a Sci-Fi movie.)

He was a big guy, the man standing on my door stoop. Not an overweight guy, just someone who looked like he could win any arm wrestling match, hands down. Before I even said hello, the man asked, "Hey, I've got two of those machines. Does that work good for your pain?"

"Yes it does." I was surprised that he knew what the machine was, and he made me feel so right at home that I warned him, "Well, since you know what this machine is, I'm going to hook up again here while we're talking." I reattached the electrode to my forehead and we continued our conversation.

"I have bad back pain issues," he said. This doctor, that doctor, all they want to do is cut. The pain pills, they don't really help, so I quit using them. Anyway, my wife said no more pills, because they made me sleep all the time when I wasn't working. I'm a tree trimmer with a bad back," he rolled his eyes, "go figure!"

The man and his crew were trimming trees next door and he wanted to know if the branches from the neighbor's tree, that were hanging down, touching our roof--did I want him to go ahead and trim them--no charge?

I sure did. What a nice gift from my neighbor and it was a delightful conversation with a fellow Tens machine user.

The chimes of the doorbell grabbed my attention.

I was lucky to hear them, because there was a party going on. I host family parties and we were celebrating two birthdays: Hadley, my granddaughter had six candles on her cake, and my daughter-in-law, I didn't ask, I just put four long, colorful candles on her birthday cheesecake.

As I was walking to the door, I could see a man I didn't recognize waving a package and then he set it down on the doormat. Instantly, I knew it must be an Amazon delivery. I opened the door, and in a festive, smiling, party frame of mind I said, "Hello, thanks for the package. We're having a party. Do you want to join us? Spaghetti and meatballs."

"Really?" He started walking back to the door. "Yes, I'd love to."

I could see he was really serious, and my mind was quickly racing through possibilities. Should I invite him in and introduce everyone? Is that too weird? Well, I do a lot of things that seem a bit strange, but they turn out to be lovely experiences. Wait, I can't just invite a complete stranger in (unfortunately times have changed), but I could easily share a plate of food. "Would you like me to fix a plate of food you can take to go? And we have soda. What kind do you drink?"

"I would love it," he was smiling, thanked me three times for the lunch to-go, and off he went.

I have a habit of replaying conversations and situations, so I've thought about that young man a lot over the past few days. I wish I would have invited him in, because it feels now, like it was one of those magical, unexplainable moments in life. My husband reminds me that I was still very welcoming to a stranger at my door.

There are lovely stories everywhere, maybe even at your front door. If you haven't entered this year's 14th Annual Write a DearReader Writing Contest, do it now. For rules, deadlines, and prizes, and to read last year's winning entries, click here.

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

I'm waiting to read your story,

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JOAQUIN MURIETA, by John Rollin Ridge. I have a Penguin totebag to share with a lucky reader. Read this month's Penguin Classics book and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable totebag.

Dear Reader Column 09-18-18

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

Dear Reader

Guest author, Tara Lynn Masih, offers you a unique challenge at the end of her guest column today. So let's get right to it.

Please welcome author Tara Lynn Masih...

Recently my husband and I decided to downsize from a 100-year-old New England house to a condominium. Our cape-style home isn't large (3 small bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths), so you'd think this wouldn't be difficult. In fact, we began getting rid of "stuff" three years ago...and we're still getting rid of stuff three years later. In addition to the many smalls that accumulate over time, because I'm a writer, paper and files are stored everywhere. And, of course, there are hundreds of books. How do you part with books when many of them are your own?

But one thing we've discovered during this process, and during the process of clearing out parents' homes--stuff weighs you down. Not the art your loved ones create, but the clothes, shoes, kitchenware, photos (OMG, the boxes of loose photos!), tools, dishware, furniture, bedding, towels, bikes, outdoor equipment, CDs, electronic devices... It goes on and on, and not till you have to get rid of most of it do you realize how much we Americans consume. We no longer hunt and gather food, we gather stuff.

In our new condo, we have a chance to start over. We feel the extra space in each room. The few items on walls or shelves stand out. So we appreciate them more. There's less to clean, less to dust (which is good for allergies). There's a general sense of lightness that surrounds us.

We'll carefully pick through our stuff in the cape home, make sure heirlooms are saved or go to other family members, make sure only the books by my friends and ones I want to read again are retained, and make sure the best photos are culled and put in albums. Through this process, we're learning how little we need. How stuff stresses us out. How there are other ways to get excited about life than to get a quick high off a shopping spree. Material gifts this late in life for birthdays and holidays are now, for us, unnecessary; it's better to share an experience or a delicious meal.

Work back toward a home where its contents are just what you need and want, nothing more. As writer Magdelena Vandenberg says, "Clear clutter--make space for you." Don't wait for the kids to leave the house. Do it while you're young and have time to enjoy the space for you. See if the extra room around you allows you to expand internally and enjoy life more.

It's working for us!

I'm giving away one beautiful signed first edition copy of My Real Name Is Hanna. Please email me with your name and address and one item you promise to discard or donate! Best item wins. Deadline Sept. 30, 2018.
Email: TaraLMasih@aol.com

-- Tara Lynn Masih
Email: TaraLMasih@aol.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tara Lynn Masih is an award-winning author and editor of two best-selling anthologies and a short story collection, Where the Dog Star Never Glows. Her debut novel for young readers and adults, My Real Name Is Hanna, was inspired by a real family who sought refuge in the underground caves in Ukraine during World War II. It comes "highly recommended" by the Jewish Book Council and received a 2018 Skipping Stones Honor Award and has just been named by Goodreads to their Ultimate Fall Reading List for YA Book Fans.

* Have you entered the 14th Annual Write a DearReader Contest yet? To read last year's winning entries, deadline, rules, cash prizes, and how your library can also profit if you're a winner, click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

** AUTHORBUZZ **

SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP: How Discipline Can Set Students Free (Nonfiction) by Cinque Henderson

For one year I worked as a substitute teacher, poorly paid, rarely thanked, in some of the toughest, most chaotic schools in Los Angeles. It was a doozy! But it was also powerful, important and transformative. Out of that job comes this new book. It is a heartfelt and original look at the most vexing issues of our time--race, class, the promise of meritocracy, the failures of politics--seen through the eyes of an unlikely source.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP to read more and to email author Cinque Henderson, you'll get a reply.

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JOAQUIN MURIETA, by John Rollin Ridge. I have a Penguin totebag to share with a lucky reader. Read this month's Penguin Classics book and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable totebag.

Dear Reader Column 09-17-18

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

Dear Reader,

Having trouble getting started writing an entry for this year's 14th Annual Write a DearReader Contest? Not to worry. I think today's question and answer will help get you going. If you have a writing question, feel free to send it to me. Suzanne@DearReader.com

Rules, deadline, cash prizes, and read last year's winning entries for the Write a DearReader Contest, click here.

Book club reader Debbie. writes...

"Suzanne, let me start off by saying that I've been subscribing to your newsletter and various genres of books, for I forget how many years. I'm envious of what you do and think it's great you're promoting libraries and new authors. The advice I'm seeking is this: I used to write endlessly, instinctively, and worry-free back when I was in school. But now I find that though I still have that instinct and desire and soooo many ideas in my head and soooo many people still tell me how great a writer I am (even my boss raves about my emails though he seems to think I'm lagging a bit elsewhere), I find that now whenever I actually attempt to put anything creative down onto paper, or into a computer (other than emails to boss), I hit a massive, insurmountable, proverbial wall. I have become so intensely frustrated with myself for this. I so want to write as easily as I used to....Want so much to make a go of writing professionally as so many people have told me I should. Any advice you could offer to this end would be incredibly appreciated."

Sincere thanks and admiration--Debbie

Dear Debbie,

I'm smiling at this very moment because you sound like me. I too have a love/hate relationship with writing. I have to write, I want to write, deep down in my soul I need to write, but most days it doesn't come easy until I find a way to get out of the way of my writing. I've read interviews with some writers who say they've never experienced the brick writing wall. Good for them, but secretly I hate them. Notice the line I just wrote? Of course I don't really hate writers who've never faced the brick wall, but if I'm afraid to write that thought down, if I edit myself as I'm writing a first draft, concerned about, "What will people think?" then I'm getting in the way of my writing. Instead of letting the words flow through me, I'm trying to take control. When I finally do let go and get out of the way, the words come easy and they blossom. They make me laugh, they make me cry and the writing feels oh...so very good.

One of the reasons the words flow easier when you're writing to your boss is because you're envisioning yourself talking to one person. Just having a friendly conversation, only instead, you're writing it down. Use that trick when you're working on your personal writing. When you find yourself stuck, ask yourself, "Okay, Debbie, what is it that you're really trying to say?" and then start typing as if you are talking to one single person.

When fear gets in the way of my writing, I remind myself that my strength in life comes from my insecurities. Eventually I do find my way. It might take me longer than the average Joe, but I've never regretted the journey. Take it easy, Debbie, slow down, don't be afraid, and simply say what's on your mind. I'll be thinking about you.

* Have a question about writing? Email: Suzanne@DearReader.com Enter the 14th Annual Write a DearReader Writing Contest, click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

** AUTHORBUZZ **

SURRENDER (Fiction) by Elisabeth Naughton

I'm thrilled to share the newest story in my House of Sin series! If you're new to the House of Sin, don't worry. This is a great place to start. Danger, intrigue, romance and suspense--this series has it all. If you've already read the series, then you're familiar with Marco and Felicity. This book takes you back in time to their first meeting and a friendship that shaped an entire series.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on SURRENDER to read more and to email author Elisabeth Naughton, you'll get a reply.

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JOAQUIN MURIETA, by John Rollin Ridge. I have a Penguin totebag to share with a lucky reader. Read this month's Penguin Classics book and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable totebag.