Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 08-30-19

Dear Reader,

Today is a wonderful day. But the word 'wonderful' just doesn't do justice to how I feel today. So let me grab my thesaurus...'extraordinary, amazing, astonishing, astounding, awe-inspiring, divine, incredible, remarkable, superb,' today is just 'too much.'

Nothing special has happened today, and I'm not anticipating anything out of the ordinary. I just woke up feeling mighty fine--even before my first cup of coffee--acknowledging what a great life I have and how fortunate I am to be doing something I love. I realize if I dig deep enough, I could come up with some things to dampen my spirits. But you know, sometimes you just shouldn't question things. No need to look for a reason or an explanation for why this is a remarkable day. A person should just take what's in front of them and run with the good feeling, because sooner than you'd like, some nincompoop, ninny, oaf, fool, idiot (I've still got that thesaurus handy), will come-a-knockin' and bring you back to reality.

Not one of your awe-inspiring days? Go ahead--jump in anywhere--I'll slide over and you can share some of mine. That's what friends are for.

* Tell me a story, win some cash, buy some new shoes or a fishing pole, impress your friends and family. Sound like fun? It could happen to you, but first you need to enter my annual Write a DearReader Contest. You don't need to be a writer to enter. The contest is writing for fun. To read last year's winning entries and information about the rules and deadline, click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column 08-29-19

(We're celebrating 20 years at the book club and taking a look back at some of Suzanne's favorites columns.)

Dear Reader,

My husband, Bob, and I had a "Bread Bake-Off Contest." The only rule we adhered to was that the bread recipe had to include yeast. My husband chose a Hearty Wheat Bread, the recipe on the back of a gourmet wheat flour package. I was ambitious and decided to bake Northern Maine Oatmeal Bread, and I made a braided twist and cinnamon rolls from a sweet bread recipe that I used when I was in home economics class in 1968.

The sweet dough is a cool-rise recipe--the dough rises while it's sitting in the refrigerator, and you can leave it in the fridge for 2 to 48 hours. There wasn't time to wait for bread dough to rise and then bake it off all in one class period, so it was the perfect recipe for students. And I have to say that it's still a perfect, no-fail recipe for me today, too.

Everyone interprets a recipe a little differently. The instructions in the recipe that my husband was using instructed him to warm up his bowl. The next thing I knew, he had the hair dryer on full blast and was aiming it at his baking bowl. (Yes, there is a photo link at the end of this column.)

After my husband tasted my oatmeal bread and cinnamon rolls, he awarded me the Bread Bake-Off Blue Ribbon and he suggested that I shouldn't even taste-test his bread. The poor guy, his bread looked hearty all right, so hearty that in his words, "If we ever decide to build that addition on to our house, we can make the bricks out of this bread dough recipe."

We had a lot of fun making bread. In fact, I've made the bread a couple of times since then. For our next Beecher Bread Bake-Off Contest, I think I'll invite my son, daughter-in-law and grandkids to join in. too.

For recipes and photos that will make you hungry--my cinnamon rolls tasted mighty fine--click here.

* It's time to enter my annual Write a DearReader Contest. You don't need to be a writer, the contest is all about writing for fun. To read last year's winning entries and information about the rules and deadline, go here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column 08-28-19

Dear Reader,

To celebrate our 20th Anniversary at the book club, and to inspire you to enter this year's 15th Annual Write a DearReader Contest, I'm taking a look back at Elaine Sorrentino's 2014 winning entry...

*It's All About Attitude*

I subscribe to the Monty Python "Always look on the bright side of life" way of living. It has helped me through lots of bumpy times.

When I was in my 30's, I spent three nights a week pouring coffee at a Dunkin' Donuts. While it was not what I ever thought I'd be doing, with my children in preschool and kindergarten, and my finances and marriage going south, Dunkies offered income and hours that worked with my situation. I knew that once my children were in full-day school, I could return to work full time. For this brief period of time, however, Dunkin' Donuts fit the bill.

There's really no secret to pouring coffee, but there are secrets to enjoying pouring coffee. As with any job I've ever had, I tried to find a way to make it fun. I have always had a passion for talking with people. Although this did not work for me when I was in elementary school and my teachers wanted a quiet class, in my 30's I could use this love to engage customers by saying something pleasant to everyone who came in. I vowed that their coffee experience would be memorable every time, and the exchange would always be positive.

Every customer who came through the door received a great big smile and pleasant conversation. Now, not every customer who came through the door wanted a great big smile and pleasant conversation, but they got a great big smile and pleasant conversation with their coffee. And soon, even the grumpiest of customers warmed up.

There was this one man, though, who just never smiled. He wasn't a regular customer. He was more of an occasional customer. He never smiled or even acknowledged that you were talking to him. He just ordered his coffee and that was that. Never anything more. Just coffee, thank you.

One day he came in and ordered a dozen doughnuts. He said he was having a meeting at work and needed to bring doughnuts. So, with box in one hand and tissue paper in the other, I asked him what kind of doughnuts he wanted.

"Oh, just any kind," he snapped, as if I was wasting his time. "Give me what other people don't want."

"Okay," I said, "I'll give you the anchovy doughnuts."

I looked at Grumpy Man and got nothing. No smile. No grin. Nothing. I wondered if I'd crossed the line. Is this the end of my short-lived Dunkin' Donuts career? Will I be dishonorably discharged from pouring coffee? I quickly filled his box with an assortment of the most popular flavors (I was already feeling sorry for those people in his meeting), and sent him on his way. The end.Or was it?

My next work day, in came Grumpy Man again. Uh-oh. I gave him the usual smile and pleasant greeting, nervously waiting for him to order his coffee. Instead, he shocked me by offering me a job. Turns out he was a school photographer (how did he ever succeed in getting those kids to smile when he never smiled?) and he was looking for a salesperson to help promote his business, and thought I was perfect for the job. He thought I was hilarious! "Anchovy doughnuts," he said, "That's the funniest thing I've ever heard."

As flattering as it was to be offered a job, I thanked him but turned him down. I just couldn't work with someone who wouldn't even give me the guffaw I truly deserved!

You could be this year's winner, but you have to enter to win. Cash prizes, rules and deadlines, and last year's winning entries, read all about it, click here.

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

I'm looking forward to reading your entry,

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column 08-27-19

Dear Reader,

Before I introduce today's guest author, remember you'll find all the info for this year's Write a DearReader Contest here.

Peter Steiner, today's guest author, has published six novels. His latest is The Good Cop which takes place in Munich during the rise of Adolf Hitler. It follows a policeman and two journalists--one a newspaper artist--as they navigate the treacherous waters of a society in collapse.

Say "hello" to Peter. He loves to hear from readers. Email [email protected]

On the Internet, Nobody Knows You're a Dog

There is a famous New Yorker cartoon--you may have seen it--that shows two dogs sitting before a computer and one is saying to the other, "on the internet, nobody knows you're a dog." In 1991 when the internet was young and before I had started writing novels, I made that cartoon--I did the drawing and wrote the caption.

I had left an academic career as a professor of German language and literature twelve years earlier and become a New Yorker cartoonist. It sounds easier than it was. At first I sold cartoons to anyone that would buy them. A small weekly newspaper bought my cartoons about local politics for twenty-five dollars a week. I got fired from that job after doing a drawing critical of a town supervisor who, unfortunately, also owned the paper. At the same time, though, I was submitting around twelve cartoons to the New Yorker every week. Eventually they bought one, and then another, and then another.

My routine as a cartoonist was to start the week leafing through magazines and newspapers, looking for the incongruities and absurdities that litter our daily lives. When I found something that I sensed could become a cartoon, I wrote it down. It could be a comical situation or a simple phrase. One day, for instance, it occurred to me how ridiculous the phrase "human resources" is, and I drew a galley ship with the slave driver saying "human resources" into his cell phone while several dozen slaves pulled away at the oars. It worked, and the New Yorker bought it.

But some days many hours would pass and the ideas just wouldn't come. Then I would start drawing whatever incongruity or absurdity I could visualize, and, if the drawing required it, I would make up a caption. That is how the internet dogs came into being: I drew two dogs sitting by a computer and then dreamed up the caption. I don't remember that I was very impressed by the effort, but I included it in my weekly batch, because you just never knew what would work. Since then that cartoon has been reprinted thousands of times, in technical publications, in textbooks, on coffee mugs, and greeting cards, and continues to be reused today, nearly thirty years later. And all these years later, I still do a weekly political cartoon that I post on my blog "Hopeless but not Serious" on my website at plsteiner.com.

-- Peter Steiner
Email Peter at: [email protected]

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column 08-26-19

Dear Reader,

Today's the day! The launch of the 15th Annual Write a DearReader Contest.

Don't start thinking to yourself, 'I'm not a writer.' Because I started the writing contest 15 years ago, for someone exactly like you. Everyone has at least a 650 word story inside of them (the maximum number of words allowed in an entry), and I'd love to read yours.

The Write a DearReader contest is all about writing for fun and you're allowed to collaborate with a friend, or spouse. Two people can work together on an entry. If your entry is chosen as a First Place ($200 cash prize), Second Place ($100), or Third Place ($50) winner, I will donate a 50% matching gift to your local library in your honor.

So get busy writing. Write about your grandmother's favorite recipe, write about the thing that's been stopping you from following your life's dream, tell me about your favorite or most obnoxious neighbor. What was it like to be an only child, maybe your parents have passed away and you feel like an orphan now? Write down the conversation you'd have with your cat or dog if they could talk. Tell me about a perfect first date, or one that made you run the other way. Write about your favorite aunt, a bizarre and whimsical woman who vacuums her living room in the buff. Write about unusual words like poppysmic. When does your passion shine? When do you pull up the covers and hide-out from fear? Serious, funny, embarrassing situations, thoughts about life, the topics are endless.

Does the thought of writing something that people will read give you the willies? Perfect. There's your topic--write about your fear of writing. But start writing about something, because it's time to enter my fifteenth annual Write a DearReader Contest.

To review the guidelines and to read last year's winning entries, click here. /index.html

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

Start writing and have fun,

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

P. S. Please tell your friends. Share the link to the Write a DearReader Contest on your social media.

Dear Reader Column 08-23-19

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

Dear Reader,

I'm doing a little book club housekeeping today...

1. If a book isn't a good match for you, don't feel guilty about hitting the delete key. I feature a new book every Monday. Or before you hit that delete key, be sure to read my daily Dear Reader column. Who knows, you might have the chance to win one of my book club giveaways, or be the lucky winner of two dozen of my homemade chocolate chip cookies. (The next cookie giveaway is in September.)

2. Want to read a snazzier, colorful version of the daily book club? Click on the HTML book club link. You'll find it at the top of your daily read. You can also access, at that link, each day's read, Monday through Friday.

3. Missed receiving one of the daily reads? Email if you need assistance, click on the missing read link below my column, or go to the HTML read and access the day you missed. Don't be shy. I'm here to help if you need it.

4. Be sure to 'like' Dear Reader on Facebook, and share it on your own page, I sure do appreciate it.

5. If you won something at the book club and the item is missing from your mail, be sure to let me know. I'll track it down for you.

6. Questions or comments about the book clubs or my column? Please send me an email. I want to hear from readers. I love to read your emails...

In response to my recent column about a tribe of ants who invaded my kitchen and my cats' food dishes, book club reader Patti S., wrote...

"Suzanne, I don't know if you're doing this trick or not but I used to put my cat's food in a bowl of water. It'll take the ants a little while to figure out how to make a bridge over the water (with their BODIES!!), but it's crazy-neat to see them do it! Good luck."

7. One last note...my 15th Annual Write a DearReader Contest launches Monday, August 26. Read all about it in Monday's column.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column 08-22-19

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

(We're celebrating 20 years at the book club and taking a look back at some of Suzanne's favorites columns.)

Dear Reader,

Even though I'd never formally signed up for the job, in the past, whenever I had to interact with a grumpy or mean person, I'd try to lighten the situation, cheer them up a bit, without actually making them aware of how they were making other people feel. And most of the time, I was successful. But lately I've been questioning whether or not that's the best approach for me to take.

I feel that each of us has a special talent, something positive to contribute to the rest of the world. I don't believe we're asked to do anything spectacular; just being nice to other people, I think, would be sufficient. So I've decided that grumpy people are letting the rest of society down. They aren't doing their part to make this a better world. And if we don't make them aware of their bad moods--when we encounter them--then we're really not doing our part either. You can't expect someone to fix something, if they're not aware that it's broken.

When I was discussing my new theory with my son, he pointed out that perhaps a grumpy person has a legitimate excuse for their nastiness--some reason the rest of society should temporarily overlook their bad behavior--and he may be right. If I knew that someone was ill, or maybe the love of their life just broke it off that morning, well yes, I could understand their grumpy motivation. Those certainly would be better excuses than the one the woman in the grocery store gave me the other day.

There was an elderly couple in front of me, and when the cashier rang up the deli precooked chicken they were buying, the elderly woman questioned the price. The cashier sarcastically pointed out to her that she was looking at the time the chicken was cooked 3:33. The price was $6.99. The older woman said that she couldn't buy the chicken then, and asked the clerk to take it off her bill. What followed was the rudest behavior I've ever seen from a clerk. The elderly woman was embarrassed and looked at me, "I didn't know that was the time. I'm so sorry to hold up the line." I assured the elderly woman that most of the time I don't know what day it is, and that she shouldn't think anything of it. I didn't mind the wait, and I'd be honored to buy her that chicken.

When the cashier started ringing up my order and she got to my deli precooked chicken, she paused, flipped her head to one side, put her left hand on her hip and said, "Now, you do realize, which is the price and which is the time that the chicken was cooked, don't you?" I told her I did, and then I asked her why was she such a grump? Why had she traumatized the elderly couple about the chicken?

"I got a perm and not one person has mentioned it today! It makes me so mad!" she said.

Well, now I totally understood--and on my way out, I asked the store manager if he could please compliment his employee on her perm, so she'd have a better day.

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:

(Fiction)
TAKE THE BRIDE by Carly Phillips

(Thriller)
THE LAKE OF LEARNING by Steve Berry & M.J. Rose

(Fiction)
BECAUSE YOU'RE MINE by Rea Frey

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

 

Dear Reader Column 08-21-19

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

Dear Reader,

Today's reader email is responding to a column I wrote about catching myself still using the word 'cool.'

"Dear Suzanne, I grew up in the 'cool' generation too. Have you noticed the extreme overuse of the word 'like' by the younger generations?

It's like the only word they use in every sentence. It's like we went to Genna's on the Square in Madison the other day and like got bombarded with the conversations around us. Like over and over, like so annoying. Maybe we are just like overly sensitive (English major), but a while back it was the word 'literally' that was like so overused. Thanks for reading and letting me like vent." -- Deb M.

(Suzanne replies:) Deb, I was thinking the other day in a few years I might not recognize the English language, because of the grammar people use when they text. I fear my grandkids won't know how to write the word "you" because they text "u" instead. I was curious if the Urban Dictionary has acknowledged "u" as a word. Here's what I discovered:

Urban Dictionary definition:

U Shorthand for the word "you." Commonly used on the internet by those of low intellect, or those who are much to lazy to type a three letter word.

(Suzanne's note:) Not that I want anyone policing my grammar, but I think the folks at the Urban Dictionary might have been a little lazy themselves in writing the definition of "U" when they wrote

"...those who are much 'to' lazy..."

Shouldn't it be much 'too' lazy?

I could be wrong, but 'like' I think I'm right.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

** AUTHORBUZZ **

BECAUSE YOU'RE MINE (Fiction) by Rea Frey

"The truth will set you free...but the lies will keep you safe."

A darkly twisty novel about friendship, motherhood, and the secrets we keep. What happens when four girlfriends leave their children to go on a fun weekend getaway...and one of them ends up dead? In the aftermath, lines will be crossed, truths will surface, and the ultimate question of how far we go for the ones we love will finally (maybe?) be answered.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on BECAUSE YOU'RE MINE to read more and to email author Rea Frey, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 08-20-19

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

Dear Reader,

Today's guest author, Laura Trentham tells us a little bit about herself...

"I was born and raised in a small town in Northwest Tennessee. Although, I loved English and reading in high school, I was convinced an English degree equated to starvation! So, I chose the next most logical major--Chemical Engineering--and worked in a hard hat and steel toed boots for several years. Now I live in South Carolina with my husband and two children. In between school and homework and soccer practices, I love to get lost in another world, whether it's Regency England or small town Alabama."

Laura's new release is A Highlander Walks into a Bar, book one in the Highland, Georgia series. It's a light-hearted romantic comedy. Perfect for relaxing when you need a little pick-me-up.

Laura told me she would love to hear from readers, you can contact her here.

One of the most common questions I get asked is where do I get the ideas for my books. Like many authors, I listen to music for inspiration (I have a Regency historical based on Rick Springfield's Jesse's Girl planned!) I also get ideas from reading the news. Not the depressing stuff, but the feel-good stories about dogs and cute guys doing amazing things in the world.

But sometimes ideas come from unlikely sources. The inspiration for my latest series took even me by surprise. Two Christmases ago, I had the TV on as background noise while the kids were home, and I was busy cooking and cleaning for company. A commercial kept popping up. It was car commercial, which I usually don't pay attention to, but this one got my imagination firing.

It featured a man picking up his mother at the airport. She was returning from a vacation in Italy and tells her son with a sassy smile that she brought something home with her. A handsome Italian man pops out to kiss the son on both cheeks. Shell shocked, the son loads the luggage into the (roomy) trunk of the car being advertised and drives off.

I could not stop thinking about what happened after they drove off and got home. What would people say? What would her son do? What did the man's family think about him running off with an American woman he barely knew? Would the relationship between the mom and her "souvenir" last?

From those musings, a book idea was born. I twisted it a bit to make it a mother and daughter, and I invented an amusing, quaint setting for them to explore, Highland, Georgia. As an author, it's fun to see an idea bloom from a thirty second commercial to an entire book!

-- Laura Trentham

Drop Laura a note. She would love to hear from you.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

** AUTHORBUZZ **

THE LAKE OF LEARNING (Thriller) by Steve Berry & M.J. Rose

Both M.J. and I have been fascinated with the Cathar religion for a long time. It once existed all across southern France, challenging Rome and attracting the faithful.

Cassiopeia Vitt's lifelong passion has been building an authentic French castle, using only materials and techniques from the 13th century. But when an ancient Book of Hours is unearthed at the site--whose pages hold the key to the hiding place of the most precious object the Cathars ever possessed--everything changes. And when more than one person becomes interested in that secret--in particular a thief and a billionaire--the hunt is on.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on THE LAKE OF LEARNING to read more and to email authors Steve Berry & M.J. Rose, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 08-19-19

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

Dear Reader,

I've learned way too much about ants lately. There's a sign taped to the door handle of my oven, "Cat food inside." The sign is a reminder to my husband and me to not push the preheat button on the oven, because inside you'll discover a cat's buffet (we have five cats). Kitty dishes filled with varieties of cat food are lined up inside on the oven rack. Why in the oven?

Because we've been invaded with ants who think cat food is a delicacy. If I leave a dish of cat food on the floor for more than 20 minutes, the ants take over the dish--literally. Well, they don't actually carry off the dish, but 30 of them are holding a banquet inside it.

Yes, crazy ants have taken over my kitchen. It's rained day, after day, after day, here in Sarasota and my theory is the ants are looking for dry land. The squatter ants showed up on a Friday but Travis, the exterminator, couldn't get to the house until the following Wednesday. So in the meantime, my husband created his own ant traps. (Yes, there are photos.) They're cute and some ants did go inside, but the traps didn't solve the problem.

When Travis, my professional bug man arrived Wednesday he fought the good fight, baiting every crack and cranny on my kitchen counter and sink, and even baiting my electric coffee machine. Yes, ants were running up and down my coffee machine. The last straw for me was when I had to start straining my morning cup of coffee, because I was worried an ant might have fallen into the water tank, and ended up in my coffee pot.

"This ant problem is manageable," Travis assured me, "but you must resist the urge to swat an ant when you see it roaming free on your counter. It's important for the roaming ants to get back to the colony with the bait."

So in the meantime, I've set up a card table in our family room, to substitute for a kitchen counter--my husband and I are pretending we're camping.

Yes, at the moment there are too many "cooks in the kitchen" and the ants have forced me to leave, but also, "there's a time and place for everything" and it's time for the ants to go back outside.

To see photos of my husband's ant trap and my five cats, click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

** AUTHORBUZZ **

TAKE THE BRIDE (Fiction) by Carly Phillips

From the moment I heard Elton John's epic song, Kiss the Bride, I knew I had to write a story to the lyrics--except in my case there had to be a happy ending! Ryder Hammond was so certain he'd done the right thing ending things with Sierra Knight. Until he saw the woman he loved standing at the altar about to marry another man. What happens next is a journey of the heart and I can't wait for you to read their story!

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on TAKE THE BRIDE to read more and to email author Carly Phillips, you'll get a reply.