Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 10-30-2020

Dear Reader,

Robin, a reader at the book club, wrote asking if I'd written a column about "Questions I ask myself before committing to doing something."

I don't recall ever writing about my thought process in saying "Yes" or "No" but thinking about it now, I realize I used to say "Yes" a lot more often, even when I really wanted to say "No." Guilt used to be behind many, "Yes, I'd love to." replies. I grew up in the Midwest, and at least in my house, if you were going to decline, you'd better be able to back that "No" up with a detailed explanation. Once I was out on my own, and outgrew feeling guilty about saying no, unfortunately I replaced the word "guilt" with "should."

I "should" do this, it will be good for my career. I'm good at what this person is asking me to do and it's for charity. So I should say yes, even though I've been working a lot of hours and I feel I really need to take a day for myself.

When I turned 60, I finally decided I'd be more choosy about how I spent my time and energy. In younger years, my energy seemed endless, not so much now. So even though I'd be good at this volunteer opportunity, and it was for a good cause, I'd rather work on finishing a quilt I've started instead.

Should I say yes, or should I say no? Thankfully it's not even a question I ask myself anymore. Instead, I get up every morning and ask, "What is my assignment today?"

Then I sit quietly and spend some time listening. I don't hear a booming voice, "Suzanne, this is today's assignment!" But asking the question and spending some time reflecting, gives me peace of mind throughout the day, and a confidence that whatever comes my way, I'll know for certain whether it's part of my assignment.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

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

Dear Reader Column 10-29-2020

Dear Reader,

Frequently I talk to cats, plants, squirrels, and the herons that gracefully stroll through my Florida yard. Everything I see comes alive in my mind. I assume these creatures have families, jobs, possibly even company coming for dinner, so I say, "Hello" and inquire, "How is your day going? Do you have dessert planned yet? I could bake some chocolate chip cookies."

I can carry-on a chatty, little conversation with anything inside or out--even my dishes. As I was unpacking my new dishes the other day, I reassured my old chipped plates and bowls that they'd been good friends, and I thanked them for doing an outstanding job over the years. "I'll miss you, but it's time to recycle. Not-to-worry though, it's to a better world I'm sending you. The streets are paved with cups and saucers and linen placemats, so you'll never be lonesome for friends."

This little bit of fiction frequently brings a smile to my face and is quite entertaining, not only to me, but I swear I saw a smile on the heron's face as I complimented her on how well groomed her feathers looked. "Do you style your own 'hair' or maybe you're like me, and you have a weekly appointment at the salon?" (Well, I used to have a weekly appointment before COVID. Now I'm doing my best to hide gray roots.)

This quirky anthropomorphizing trait of mine makes me wonder what these "friends" are thinking about me, and how they would describe me if they could really talk. 'Looney, crazy, nutty as a fruitcake?' On second thought, I'll just be grateful these are one sided conversations.

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) BEGIN AGAIN by Jennifer Probst

(NonFiction) REGAINING PARADISE by Paul Corson

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ

Dear Reader Column 10-28-2020

Dear Reader,

It's not what's on the outside that counts, it's what's on the inside that matters--and it starts with your underwear. Want to change your outlook on life? Change your underwear. Not because of mother's aged advice, "Don't forget to change your underwear, you might get hit by a truck."

Nope, it's because buying new undies empowers you--at least it did for me. Tossing out every single old pair of underwear and replacing them with brand new, assorted colored ones, neatly folded in my dresser drawer (they were even a new style, because the manufacturer had discontinued my favorite), suddenly no challenge was too big to tackle, and I was ready to face the world--wearing new underwear--of course!

Victoria's Secret is no longer a secret--there's power in those panties! Even Superman did his best work in his underwear. Yes, "I am woman and I am invincible" because I am wearing new underwear, so step aside! Be brave when the office "nutritional expert" tries to shame you about your lunch. Go ahead, take a big bite out that burger, because nothing can stop you now.

Lace undies, boxers, briefs or BVDs, want to change your life? It's as simple as changing your underwear.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

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

Dear Reader Column 10-27-2020

Dear Reader,

While Diane Kelly, today's guest author, spent most of her life in Texas, she now calls North Carolina home. She cohabitates with three cats, three dogs, and a very patient husband. Her pets and their unique personalities play into the kitty and canine characters in her books, including sweet little Sawdust, the crime fighting cat from her House Flipper series, and K-9 Brigit who stars in the Paw Enforcement series, including Diane's brand-new release, Bending the Paw. Can our favorite K-9 team solve a murder when the body refuses to be found?

Diane told me she loves to hear from readers, so send her a "Hello" at [email protected].

Nosey Mosey

'Every scent is a story...'

I'm "mom" to three spoiled mutts. We take long walks each morning. In all honesty, calling the activity a "walk" feels like a misnomer. It's more of a stroll, a meandering, a mosey. Rarely do my dogs follow a straight path for more than a few feet. Like much of North Carolina, my neighborhood is heavily wooded. Deer, snakes, box turtles, frogs, and approximately 99 million squirrels make their homes among the trees. My dogs enjoy following scent trails their fellow creatures left behind--at least as far as their retractable leashes will allow. They pull me from one side of the
street to the other as they amble along, their noses to the ground, sniffling and snuffling. Sometimes, my dogs lock onto different scents, yanking in opposite directions, testing how far my arms and patience can stretch. Other times, they weave crisscrossing paths, intent on tying me up in knots with their leashes. I've developed some creative ballet-like maneuvers to keep their leashes untangled. 'Arms up and pirouette!'

I've come to realize the walks are more than exercise to them. It's also their "reading time" for the day, a way to enjoy the stories surrounding us. While we humans read with our eyes, dogs read with their noses. They can discern with a whiff whether a doe and her fawn lingered at the edge of a lawn, nibbling on the clover. A sniff tells them that a fox trotted by in the wee hours, searching for a late-night snack, or that a snake is slithering softly through the bed of fallen leaves nearby. Scenting is their way of following a story, of getting to know the characters and what those characters are up to.

Though I can't read the stories myself, my dogs give me clues. A stiff, intense sniffing posture means a thriller plot or dark suspense story. When the dogs take a winding path, backtracking and circling about, they're on the trail of a good mystery. A lively trot with a wagging tail is a happy story, maybe a romantic comedy starring two squirrels whose eyes met over acorns. Of course, other dogs leave them stories on trees, mailboxes, and fire hydrants, too--olfactory autobiographies, if you will. My dogs even seem to have their favorite stories and characters, returning to certain spots like we humans return to a beloved book series. Next time you take your dog for a walk, see if you can "read" along with them!

--Diane Kelly

Diane loves to hear from readers! Email Diane at [email protected].

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

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

REGAINING PARADISE (NonFiction) by Paul Corson

Are you in search of some answers to life's big questions? Are you trying to figure out how your spirituality and belief in science can intersect? That's exactly why I wrote this book. I tried to sensibly reconcile faith and science in a manner both simple and deep, allowing the mind's eye to perceive new means of understanding the rational and the miraculous.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on REGAINING PARADISE to read more and to email author Paul Corson, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 10-26-2020

Dear Reader,

(Suzanne is out of the office today, so she's sharing one of her favorite columns.)

My husband cringes and tries to duck out of sight whenever he hears me say to a stranger, "I realize this isn't really any of my business, but I'm just curious..." I admit the first few times I ventured into the "unknown," that even I felt a little uneasy. But in the end, I've never been sorry that I asked, because usually I hear an interesting story.

"Why was the man in front of me in the grocery line wearing a green ribbon, with a fancy bow tied around the bottom of his pant leg? No, he wasn't a cyclist. He said he's always forgetting important things, (well, that's what his wife tells him) they made a bet, he lost, and his wife didn't think that a string tied around his finger for a day was big enough penance.

And then there's Gretchen, a book club reader. She sent me an email the other day and her signature line read:

From the desk of Gretchen S.
Soprano & Office Manager

Okay, I had to ask. Soprano & Office Manager??

Gretchen explained it this way: "I have two lives. My life I love--a working musician as an operatic soprano/voice, teacher/performer, which doesn't quite pay my bills yet! And my other life--that supports the soprano part of my life I love--office manager at a small accounting firm! So, Diva, soprano, office manager, I am! Diva by night, office manager by day!"

I like her idea. It's a great way to "market" what you want to be or what you'd rather be doing from 9 to 5. "How-to" gurus are constantly preaching, "if you want to make a change in your life, think the part, act the part, until it happens." Think of the possibilities:

Sailor / VP Public Relations
Single and still looking / Accountant
Perfect Game Bowler / Retail Clerk
Author / Postal Carrier

Want to be thinner / School Teacher
Scrabble Champion / Butcher
First Baseman / Lab Technician
NASCAR Driver / Waiter

So what would be yours?

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

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

BEGIN AGAIN (Fiction) by Jennifer Probst

Do you remember your first love?

This is the story of Chloe and Owen, who believed they were each other's forever love, but ended up in heartbreak. Until Owen returns. And this time, he's ready to be the man worthy of Chloe's love. He just needs to convince her to open her heart one more time. I believe second chances make powerful love stories. I hope you enjoy their emotional journey, as they learn from the past and begin again.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on BEGIN AGAIN to read more and to email author Jennifer Probst, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 10-23-2020

Dear Reader,

Two inquiring minds want to know....

"Hi, Ms. Suzanne...thank you for all the fun of the daily book club emails. They always bring a little joy to my day and to some of my friends as well.

However, today they've brought me and my friend a mystery, and while my friend loves mysteries I hate them. So we're hoping you can rescue our poor wee, addled brains and solve this one for us. My friend and I were chatting about favorite columns, and I said I love the one about questions. 'Me too,' my friend said. Though further discussion yielded the fact that we both remembered two different columns. I thought the column was about questions you ask yourself before committing to doing something.

My friend thought it was questions you ask to start great conversations with people that make them feel genuinely cared about. Hmm, now was my friend right? Was I? Were we both? Were neither? Perhaps this was a column we just thought you had written, but hadn't been created yet?"

Warmly, Robin

(Suzanne replies:)

Robin, both questions sound like topics I would write about. I don't recall ever making an actual list of questions, yet I can't say for sure because I've been writing (M-F) since 1999 (which is over 5,000 columns). But after thinking more about your friend's question, about how to make people feel genuinely cared about, the word 'approachable' keeps coming to mind.

In order to strike up a conversation and make people feel genuinely cared about, I think it's important to be approachable and apparently I've felt that way for a long time. Because when I searched through columns over the past 21 years, again and again--there was the word 'approachable.' So today, I'm sharing one of those columns...

One of my goals in life is to be approachable. If someone walked into a room filled with strangers and they needed assistance, I would like to be the person they feel comfortable enough to come over and talk to. Don't get the wrong idea. It's not like I'm out to save the world and I have no desire to solve everyone's problems, but I think it brings people a lot of comfort when they feel like they're not alone.

I try to simply be myself, extending a joyful, fun spirit that invites people to say hello. So what you read in my column is pretty much what you'd get, if you met me. Having said that, there have been occasions when I've woke up in the middle of the night panicking, "Oh my gosh, I shouldn't have written that in tomorrow's column. Or, I shouldn't have talked so openly to the woman I met yesterday. What will people think?"

Putting your heart out there can be risky business, but if I want to give my best, I need to get to the place inside of me that's a little vulnerable. It can be scary. Give a lot, put it all out there, and someone may take advantage, because some people take all you have to give and give nothing back in return. But it's worth the risk--giving a little bit of myself--because readers and friends, even strangers, have given the nicest gifts back.

No pretending, no hiding my flaws, no judgement, just simple words from my heart seem to be enough to put folks at ease, and hopefully make me approachable.

Robin, thanks for sending in your email and in an upcoming column, I'll write about questions I ask myself before committing to doing something.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

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.

For teen readers looking for a mystery full of suspense and compelling characters and writing, FIRST WE WERE IV by Alexandra Sirowy "hooks readers from the first page" (Teenreads); and for the younger crowd, MERLIN RAJ AND THE SANTA ALGORITHM: A COMPUTER SCIENCE DOG'S TALE FOR KIDS by Priya Ardis combines STEM and fiction for a great read. For a chance to win a free copy, to talk with the authors, and more, click here. 

Dear Reader Column 10-22-2020

Dear Reader,

Reading your emails is the best part of my day. Thanks so much for writing. If you missed yesterday's link to Dino Grandma delivering dessert to her grandchildren, and you're looking for a good laugh, be sure to click here.

From my Inbox:

"Suzanne, what a great way to start my day! Those pictures brought a smile to my face in these days of COVID dreariness. I hope your grandchildren know how LUCKY they are to have you as their grandmother. Stay well." -- Judy

"Suzanne, those pix are PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!" -- Anne

"Hilarious!!! Gave me a good laugh today. (Perfect hat too.)" -- Mary

"I only wish my grandma had been as fun and funny as you. Thanks for the pictures. I can just see you inflating your costume and walking up the street. It gave me a laugh, something we can all use right now. I have to confess that I do not always read the books, but I always read your essays. Thanks again." -- Peggy T.

"SO glad you thought to color coordinate your mask with your dino! You gave me a smile this a.m.! Amazing what we'll do for our grandkids, isn't it?" -- Barb R.

I used to bake with my grandchildren, but now to keep in touch, every weekend I make a dessert and drop it off on their front stoop. This Friday I'll be delivering homemade chocolate cupcakes, decorated like a cat--including the whiskers. I've been using the same recipe for chocolate cupcakes for years and last night, when I was sorting through some of my old journals, I found a page where my grandson Paul (who was four years old at the time), in his words, recited the "recipe" for making our chocolate cupcakes.

Four-year-old, Paul Beecher's recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes:

"We need flour. We need butter and we need frosting and vanilla, eggs, sugar. And we need chocolate chips. Put butter and sugar in the mixer. Put the flour in one bowl. Baking soda and salt.

We need brown sugar inside the mixer. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together. Put vanilla in mixer. Eggs, crack them in a bowl. Put them inside the mixer. Put flour in mixer. Turn the mixer up so it go fast.

Put the liners in the pan. Put chocolate inside the papers. Put the liners inside the holes in the pan. Grandma puts the pan in the oven. Grandma washes dishes.

When the timer rings, stick a toothpick in. If it's soft, it needs more in the oven. Timer rings again. Toothpick again. It done.

Grandma takes out of the oven. Then we let them cool. When them a little cool, take them out of the pan. When them real cool, frost them. Sprinkles.

We bring to somebody else."

I was amazed that my grandson remembered the recipe, and that even at four years old, he seemed to understand one of the most important ingredients--love. Giving the best of yourself and baking something wonderful to share, or in Paul's words, "We bring to somebody else."

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) SORROW by Tiffanie DeBartolo

(Mystery) THE FOG LADIES: Family Matters by Susan McCormick

(Thriller) YOU CAN GO HOME NOW by Michael Elias

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

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

Dear Reader Column 10-21-2020

Dear Reader,

It was an Inflatable Dinosaur Riding a Raptor, Halloween Costume and it looked hilarious. I'd never seen anything like it before, and I couldn't imagine how a person could actually fit into it. But I wasn't scanning Amazon for a Halloween costume, I was looking for some gruesome Halloween cupcake toppers for the dessert I make for my grandchildren every weekend. (Since I can't have them visit, I drop dessert off on their doorstep on Fridays.) So I moved on from the crazy-looking dino costume and found some "bleeding" eyeballs to center in their cupcakes. Perfect! They'd love them.

But for some reason I couldn't resist going back to the costume. It certainly was making me smile, just thinking about it. Then again, I'm not even a big Halloween fan, and I certainly wouldn't be going anywhere this year--except I was going to make an appearance on my grandchildren's front stoop when I dropped off dessert. Okay, so now I was laughing out loud thinking about how silly I would look delivering dessert as Grandma Dino, and it certainly would be memorable. So even though I'd be buying the costume for a 10-minute appearance on the stoop, I decided 'these are desperate times for a real good laugh.' And it was clear that Dinosaur Riding a Raptor was calling out to me, "Suzanne, you need to buy me." And so I did.

Once you put this costume on and start the air pump, you have to pull the string tight around your waist, so none of the air escapes. It doesn't take too long for the head (with red LED lights), the legs, tail and dino hands to inflate. But when you're all inflated, you can't sit down. I didn't want to be inflating when my grandkids came to the door, so my husband parked our car around the block, and I got out and inflated me (with one neighbor looking), and then I walked down to my grandchildren's house while my husband drove slowly beside me.

Yes, my grandchildren and my son were shocked to see Grandma Dino at the door! And before I left my grandson asked if he could be Dino at his outdoor socially distanced Halloween party. So the inflatable, Dinosaur Riding a Raptor will be making a second appearance this year. Of course I have photos, I think you'll enjoy them...click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

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

YOU CAN GO HOME NOW (Thriller) by Michael Elias

My new book, is a twisty, psychological thriller that's very timely, in that it deals with anti-abortion terrorism and domestic abuse and features a female homicide detective who confronts her own moral compass of right and wrong in her pursuit of justice and revenge. She wants to find the man who killed her physician father, and along the way investigates a series of murders of abusive men that seem to be linked to a battered women's shelter. As the story unfolds, you'll gain insight into Nina's life and her secret quest.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on YOU CAN GO HOME NOW to read more and to email author Michael Elias, you'll get a reply.

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

For teen readers looking for a mystery full of suspense and compelling characters and writing, FIRST WE WERE IV by Alexandra Sirowy "hooks readers from the first page" (Teenreads); and for the younger crowd, MERLIN RAJ AND THE SANTA ALGORITHM: A COMPUTER SCIENCE DOG'S TALE FOR KIDS by Priya Ardis combines STEM and fiction for a great read. For a chance to win a free copy, to talk with the authors, and more, click here. 

Dear Reader Column 10-20-2020

Dear Reader,

Today's guest author, Lenore H. Gay, is a retired Licensed Professional Counselor. She ran a private counseling practice for ten years, and later served as the Coordinator of the Internship Program at the Rehabilitation Counseling Department, Virginia Commonwealth University. The Virginia Center for Creative Arts (VCCA) has awarded Lenore two writing fellowships. Lenore's debut novel, Shelter of Leaves was a finalist for the Foreword Book of the Year Award. Her second novel, Other Fires has just been released.

About Other Fires...

Joss and Phil's already rocky marriage is fragmented when Phil is injured in a devastating fire and diagnosed with Capgras delusion--a misidentification syndrome in which a person becomes convinced that a loved one has been replaced by an identical imposter. Faced with a husband who no longer recognizes her, two young daughters, a looming book deadline, and an attractive but complicated distraction named Adam complicating her situation even further, Joss has to decide what she wants for her family--and what family even means.

 

Please welcome Lenore Gay to the book club, you can reach her here. 

On the Five-Day Dance of Hands

The Monday through Friday Group Counseling class consisted of distance learners. Some were grumpy to have to travel so far to spend five days with strangers. Why can't this class be taught online they asked? I answered this question from more than one student. The time and location of the class wasn't my decision. The class met at a well-known Rehabilitation Center which had antiquated video equipment that wouldn't allow the class to see the closed-captions, even if the videos had captions. Of course, they did not.

A faculty decision said that the class would need four hearing interpreters for three students. Why so many interpreters? I didn't voice my concern aloud. I was more familiar with the psychiatric aspects of Rehabilitation Counseling than the physical disability aspects. No point in showing my ignorance at the beginning of class.

While I watched the hearing interpreters' hands move during class, though I realized they weren't only moving they were dancing words and concepts. The work was physically and mentally difficult, and it was continual. I understood why four people were needed. The language was challenging and lovely to watch. I was stunned and grateful.

One of the group presentations was composed of three students with hearing impairments, another student who wore life-long leg braces and a student who had no legs and only three fingers between both hands. This group with severe physical disabilities was asked to present to the class on Existentialism which they considered the best theory for its depth of understanding. It is a theory that transcends theory, as it is also a philosophy. It was not developed by a single person as a way of relating to the persons known as clients to be performed by another person known as a counselor, therapist and doctor.

The class had the advantage of watching a tape of groups in an outpatient setting, inpatient setting and an interview of a master Existential therapist, Irvin Yalom. However, the tapes alone could not account for the depth or richness of this presentation. When we discussed in small groups, I wondered, then answered my own wondering, by saying that it appeared great adversity had tumbled the stones of the self, polishing and shining them with understanding. A real knowing about authenticity, freedom and not blaming others. Taking responsibility.

By the end of the week some students were wondering why the class was so short. Some students asked me if the class could be held for a semester long.

-- Lenore H. Gay

Drop Lenore a note. 

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

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

THE FOG LADIES: FAMILY MATTERS (A San Francisco Cozy Murder Mystery) by Susan McCormick

Are you a cozy mystery lover? The Fog Ladies are spunky senior sleuths plus an overtired, overstressed young medical resident living in an elegant apartment building in San Francisco. In this newest installment, a family man kills his wife with kitchen shears, and the Fog Ladies set out to prove him innocent, finding that marriage can be deadly.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on THE FOG LADIES to read more and to email author Susan McCormick, you'll get a reply.

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

Dear Reader Column 10-19-20

Dear Reader,

It's all about the "presentation." If they're cute enough, even zucchini will be adopted.

From my Email Bag:

"Suzanne, we had a garden for about 25 years and had an abundance of zukes! Two stories...I found a recipe for zucchini bar cookies with a cinnamon glaze. It took our three young sons years to start questioning those tiny green flecks but they had grown so used to the cookies that they went right on eating them. My trick to 'sharing' my extra bounty was to arrange a few of the small to medium sized zukes in a basket with ribbons around each and every one and a note in which they were begging to be taken in. Worked every time but we lived in the suburbs with very few other gardens nearby so either the presentation or the lack of other donated vegetables could have been the reason. I'm going with the basket and ribbons theory!!" -- Linda F.

"Your zucchini story was our zucchini story until this year. Naturally it is 2020 and everything that can go wrong seems to be going wrong and that includes zucchini. We had a terrible crop. There were many flowers but only a few matured into zucchini. A couple started to grow and then withered. A couple got farther along but then started to rot at the other end. Two grew to giant size and we split one lengthwise. Filled it with sauce and crushed meatballs for our dinner, and the other giant I used to make a zucchini chocolate cake, and froze the other two cups of it for future use. That's it. Not one neighbor got a zucchini from us this year, but they did reap the benefits from the rest of our garden, especially the tomatoes and cucumbers which were abundant. Better luck next year, we hope, and not just with the garden." -- Mary Ann F.

"I'm sorry Suzanne, I don't mean to flood your inbox, but I had to say THANK YOU for today's zucchini email. I laughed so loud I scared my cat!!! Oh what a great way to start the day....with a hearty, unexpected laugh. Thank you thank you thank you!! And I am going to try the Zucchini Bisque. I can't wait :)" -- Mary N.

I love to hear from readers. Thanks so much for writing.

Who are the four lucky Chocolate Chip Cookie winners this month? Congratulations to Juli G., Delaware County District Library, Samantha V., Heidi S., Williamson County Public Library and Karen S. I'll be baking for you and cookies will show up on your doorstep soon. (Please be sure to send a photo.)

And the winner of the bubble gum giveaway is Scott C.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

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

SORROW (Fiction) by Tiffanie DeBartolo

I am so thankful for my wonderful fans, who have followed my writing for years and have anxiously awaited the next installment in my literary career. I am excited to finally introduce SORROW to the world. It's a story of friendship and love, art and music, and how these pursuits can save us from ourselves.

Go to: AuthorBuzz click on SORROW to read more and to email author Tiffanie DeBartolo, you'll get a reply.

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