Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column - November 30, 2021

Dear Reader,

Today's guest author, Betsy St. Amant, has written over fifteen inspirational romance novels and novellas. Betsy resides in north Louisiana with her hero of a hubby, two total-opposite daughters, a vast collection of coffee mugs, and one furry Schnauzer-baby.

Betsy has a B. A. in Communications. When she's not composing her next book or re-watching Gilmore Girls, she can usually be found somewhere in the vicinity of a cold brew with cold foam. Betsy blogs frequently at www.ibelieve.com, a devotional site for women and her website is www.betsystamant.com. Her new fiction title is Tacos for Two, and Betsy has included a book giveaway in her column.

Welcome to the book club Betsy...

As a woman who suffered through an unwanted divorce years ago and is now navigating her way through remarriage and a blended family, I naively thought I was prepared for all manner of future marital disagreements. After all, I'd sat through multiple sessions of counseling. I'd read dozens of books. But I never expected this one: Cilantro.

Shakespeare knew a lot, but honestly--to cilantro or not to cilantro, that is apparently the real question in kitchens world-wide! Does it plague your household?

In my novel Tacos for Two, lead characters Rory and Jude frequently argue over this hot topic, with one of them going so far as to call it a "vile weed". In my own home, I'm unfortunately the only cilantro lover.

(On second thought, lover might be too tame a word. Maybe obsessed is closer to the truth--after all, someone did gift me a cilantro-scented candle once.)

Since I can't add it directly to the dishes I'm cooking, I'm left to chop up an entire plant's worth for myself, liberally sprinkling my individual bowl of tortilla soup or my plate of street tacos with generous portions of this leafy wonder--while my husband and two children stand by scoffing. The kids declared it tasted like soap and I was crazy.

At first, I chalked that up to a typical excuse. After all, from a kid's perspective, cilantro is disturbingly close to a vegetable. Interesting enough, however, science explains this soap situation is a real phenomenon for many people that possess a certain gene.

I'm not sure I want to live in a world that has anti-cilantro genes, but I digress.

Where do you fall on the cilantro scale? As my heroine states in the opening of Tacos for Two, "if she could find a way to wad all the cilantro in the entire world into a ball and hurt it into outer space, it still wouldn't be far enough removed for her preference." (I still like her, though.)

To enter the "to cilantro or not to cilantro" debate for yourself, sign up to win a free, autographed copy of Tacos for Two! Simply email me via https://betsystamant.com/contact/ and enter to win.

-- Betsy St. Amant

To 'cilantro or not to cilantro,' in the Beecher house it's a no-go. What about your house? Email Betsy with your vote: https://betsystamant.com/contact/

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE PENGUIN BOOK OF DRAGONS, edited by Scott G. Bruce. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column - November 29, 2021

Dear Reader,

Every year I look forward to reading the Write a DearReader Contest entries, and this year didn't disappoint. The quality of writing was outstanding. Today's Honorable Mention piece was written by Elizabeth Cash. Thanks Elizabeth for sharing your story with us.

The Power of "Sure"

One weekend in the early 80's I decided to attend the EAA Airshow in Appleton, Wisconsin. After the first day, back in my motel room, I realized that I hadn't let my parents know where I was. They knew about the airshow, but we were a very close threesome and the fact that they didn't have the location where I was staying didn't sit well with me.

The motel I was staying at was clean and safe, but amenities were non-existent. Looking back, it seems odd, but as I mentioned before, this was the early 80's and there was no telephone in the room. Also, no smartphones or Internet, the only option for communication was a pay phone.

I made my way to the nearest booth, shut the folding door and dialed the operator. I gave her my parents number and asked for the call to be collect.

My father answered the phone and I heard the operator say, "I have a collect call from Elizabeth Cash, will you accept the charges?" My father's voice came across the miles and in his calm, reassuring voice, he said, "Sure."

We had a nice talk, I spoke with him, then with my mother, they took down my motel information and my father told me how happy he was that I had called.

My mind kept returning to that moment over and over again as the days, weeks, and months passed. I could not really understand why the conversation stuck with me, but I also knew that I found it comforting to repeat the words in my mind. And then one day, I knew why.

My father could have said a variety of things. He could have said, "Yes" and left it at that. He could have said, "Yes, operator, I'll accept the charges." He might have even asked where the call was coming from. But my dad did not say any of those things. He said, "Sure." with a tone of voice that left no question or doubt that he was willing.

I realized after a time what "sure" means to a loved one. It is unconditional. "Sure" indicates that there is no question that what is asked will be given. One dictionary definition is, "Assured or certain beyond question." My father was letting me know across the miles that he was there for me, that I could count on him, that no matter what I had to say at the end of that phone line, anytime or anywhere, he was there and ready.

I still think of those few moments frequently, a full forty years later. My parents have passed, and I am now the matriarch of a new generation. Sometimes when I overhear my daughter in her own calm and reassuring voice respond, "Sure" to one of my grandchildren, I feel secretly proud because I know what this word means and the impact it can have. Someday, when they are older and ready to hear, I will tell them all what I already know.

I know the Power of Sure.

-- Elizabeth Cash
Honorable Mention, 2021 Write a DearReader Contest

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE PENGUIN BOOK OF DRAGONS, edited by Scott G. Bruce. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column - November 26, 2021

Dear Reader,

Turkey, turkey, gobble, gobble--if your Thanksgiving dinner guests don't gobble down all of your turkey, I have the perfect recipe for your leftovers. It's become a tradition, the Friday after Thanksgiving is my day to make turkey pies.

My quick and easy recipe for Leftover Turkey Pies.

Line a pie pan with ready-made crust (or make it from scratch), and fill it two-thirds of the way with cut-up leftover turkey. Dice a fresh onion, add vegetables (a package of frozen, or leftover fresh veggies from the relish tray). Pour any leftover gravy on top. If Uncle Fred polished off the gravy, open a can of turkey or chicken gravy. I prefer chicken because it has more flavor. Season with pepper. Add top crust.

Bake in a 400 degree oven until golden brown. You've got the perfect leftover turkey pie. It's as simple as that.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Congratulations to the winners of Yes, Again: (Mis)adventures of a Wishful Thinker by guest author Sallie Weissinger: Nancy R., Kathy T., Peggy T. and Emily C.

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE PENGUIN BOOK OF DRAGONS, edited by Scott G. Bruce. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column - November 25, 2021

Dear Reader,

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who live in the United States. My family and I are having a big turkey dinner today.

I live in Florida and it's warm here in November, so you'd think our family would be outdoors, enjoying the weather after the big meal. But everybody is hooked on BINGO. I call the numbers and they win the cool prizes. And then we take naps. Don't forget to eat an extra piece of pie, with whipped cream of course, the celebration only happens once a year.

Thanks for reading with me. It is truly a blessing for me to be able to read with friends like you every day.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE PENGUIN BOOK OF DRAGONS, edited by Scott G. Bruce. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column - November 24, 2021

Dear Reader,

Some people want the white meat, some will only eat the dark, and for years our family members used to argue over who was going to get the turkey drumsticks on Thanksgiving. Every year it was the same routine. My mother would ring her china bell, "Dinner is ready. Come to the table," and we'd all start calling "dibs" on a turkey leg.

When there are only two turkey legs, but ten people want one...well, it used to be a huge problem until the year my mother made her famous Turkey Drumstick Thanksgiving Dinner.

It seemed like a normal enough Thanksgiving meal, until my mother announced, "I've got a surprise. No one will be disappointed this year. Everybody gets a drumstick, because that's all that I cooked." And Mom plopped down a serving platter, piled high with 20 turkey legs, in the middle of the table. "Dig in."

This felt a little strange. What, no bird this year? Only drumsticks?

Mom was smiling, so proud she'd finally found a solution for the annual turkey leg squabble. Apparently she'd begun working on this year's Thanksgiving surprise the day after our last Thanksgiving dinner. Clipping coupons and always keeping an eye out for a turkey leg sale, my mother had been buying up turkey legs for the past year. It sounded okay in theory, but either Mom didn't wrap the legs in freezer paper, or the turkey legs were on sale because they were near their expiration dates, or it was just a bad year for turkeys--because when we tried to stick a fork into our drumsticks--we couldn't!

I'm not exaggerating here, the turkey legs were nowhere near fork-tender. The tines of our forks actually bounced off of our drumsticks when we tried to pierce them. A table knife wouldn't even saw through the sinewy--who knows how old--freezer burnt, turkey legs. My son suggested we fire-up the chain saw.

Sometimes when you try to solve a problem, it merely shows up in another form. Those were some tough birds. We ended up dueling with our turkey drumsticks instead of eating them. And the next year--nobody in our family fought over drumsticks. Nobody even wanted to look at a drumstick, the memories were still too fresh in our minds.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE PENGUIN BOOK OF DRAGONS, edited by Scott G. Bruce. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column - November 23, 2021

Dear Reader,

A writer, speaker, entrepreneur, and director of a non-profit organization, Kim Sorrelle, today's guest author, devoted a year to finding love's true meaning. Her book, Love Is: A Yearlong Experiment in Living Out 1 Corinthians 13 Love, chronicles her sometimes funny, sometimes scary, always enlightening journey that led to life-changing discoveries found mostly on the streets of Haiti.

Kim would love to hear from you and when you email her, you'll have a chance to win one of five copies of her book Love Is. Email: [email protected]

Please welcome Kim Sorrelle...

Wanna C

Help! I'm at a loss as a single woman in my 50's and dating. Or trying to, or now maybe deciding not to. I was married for thirty years, pancreatic cancer happened, and now I feel like I'm being thrown to the wolves. Has dating really changed this much?

My Sunday afternoon started out innocently enough. It was cold, gray, and rainy outside so I snuggled up with a soft blanket, buttery popcorn, and a Lifetime movie inside. I cried when the pregnant protagonist found out that the reason her father-in-law was the perfect match to donate a kidney to save her sister's life is that he, unbeknownst to anyone, is actually her dad's brother from another mother. Then my phone dinged.

Wiping the tears from my eyes, I looked at the message. It was from a man I casually met a few days earlier, way too young for me, but I have a hard time saying "no" when the question is, "Can I have your number?"

34-year-old: "Wat ru doin'?"

What is it with younger people and word abbreviations? I just can't do it. I picture Sister Mary Louis, my Catholic school English teacher, wagging her finger when I even think about using "lol."

Me: "I'm watching a movie. How was fishing?'

(34-year-old texted a picture of himself in an ice shanty earlier in the day.)

34-year-old: "35 gills and 10 numb fingers."

Me: "Any frostbitten toes?"

Harmless, right? What can anyone read into "frostbitten toes"?

34-year-old: "No, but a frozen something else. Wanna c?"

Wanna c what? A frozen can of soda or bag of jerky? What if it's something bad like a frozen squirrel or a frozen woodchuck? I'm not sure if I wanna c.

As I was pondering an answer my phone dinged. I guess 34-year-old took my silence as a "yes."

It took a second to register what I was seeing. At first, I thought it was a picture of a French man from behind; a short guy wearing a beret. But no! It was not a French man and that was not a beret!

O.M.G. (Oh, my gosh!)

I was dumbfounded, disoriented, and disturbed. No, I don't wanna c!

The good news is that I know that there are a lot of great single men out there who keep their pictures to themselves. I might get lucky and meet one someday.

P. S. How do I get this off my phone?

-- Kim Sorrelle
Email [email protected] for a chance to win one of five copies of "Love Is."

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE PENGUIN BOOK OF DRAGONS, edited by Scott G. Bruce. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column - November 22, 2021

Dear Reader,

Featuring today's column for the Thanksgiving holiday has become a tradition. It's the story of one of those unforgettable, life-changing moments, and every year when I set my Thanksgiving
table I think of him...

It was obvious he didn't want to be in my kitchen. He had been kicked out of every public and private school and home schooling was a last resort for his parents. I'm sure his folks were jumping for joy, and would have gladly paid double the price when they saw my announcement: 6-Week Cooking Class for Homeschoolers, because it would give them a three hour break during the day.

Ryan was tough looking, the kind of kid that would make you cross over to the other side of the street if you were out for a leisurely stroll. Ragged hair that always looked like it needed to be washed, baggy clothes and big oversized, steel-toed, curb-stomping boots. In his mind, I'm sure he was lookin' cool.

Eight, fifth grade students enrolled in my class, including Ryan. On our first day, when we did introductions, I asked each kid to tell me what they hoped to learn. Tough kid's response, "My parents made me come here, sounds stupid to me."

Okay, I could work with that. Maybe?

But Ryan would never give me an inch--it would have been giving in to the establishment to actually enjoy himself, even when he was eating a cream puff. "Well, what do you think? Do you like them?" I was hoping the fluffy white filling might force one crummy smile from him, but no...he was one tough cookie. Nevertheless, I genuinely liked the kid. I respected his pigheadedness. It reminded me of myself when I was his age.

Each student had kitchen assignments, but I didn't press Ryan to do much of anything, except I did enforce a "No Smoking" rule during the three hour class period. But I'd still catch him smoking outside when we'd take a break. I spoke to his parents about it, but they just shrugged their shoulders: "What can you do?"

Ryan wasn't disrupting the class and the other kids accepted his behavior for what it was--so I figured no real harm done. Tough boy would try to follow a recipe every now and then, but he moved so slowly--to emphasize his disgust in being there--that by the time he'd get some cookie batter mixed up we were out of time.

The finale of the six week cooking class was to prepare a holiday buffet for the kids' parents. Thanksgiving was only a couple of weeks away, so we decided to do a half-Thanksgiving, half-Christmas theme with the table decorations. All of the kids showed up for class early on the big day, even Ryan, which surprised me, because I wasn't sure he was going to show up at all, so I hadn't given him an assignment.

"Here, these are for the table," Ryan said, his eyes looking away from me, "I made them last night." And he handed me two wooden snowmen, two Christmas trees and a Pilgrim and Indian.

I was stunned, they were adorable. He'd hand carved and painted them, on all sides, so no matter where they sat on the buffet table you'd be able to see the detail of his work. You never know about people. I thought I was going to cry, but I could tell he didn't want me to make too big of a deal about it. His parents were as shocked as I'd been, when I pointed out what their son had made.

Two wooden Christmas trees, two snowmen, and an Indian and Pilgrim, sit on the shelf of my china closet, but every year on Thanksgiving and Christmas, I take them down, and put them in the center of my table and of course, I retell the story of the boy who made them for me.

*If you'd like to see a photo of my "treasures" click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE PENGUIN BOOK OF DRAGONS, edited by Scott G. Bruce. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column - November 19, 2021

Dear Reader,

Every year I look forward to reading the Write a DearReader Contest entries, and this year didn't disappoint. The quality of writing was outstanding. Today's Honorable Mention piece was written by Robin Ball. Thanks Robin for sharing your story with us.

"You have reached your destination."

No, no I have not unless a vast, open field with a solitary tree is the location of the restaurant where my friends have chosen for this week's girl's night out. It does have a nice water view which would make for a beautiful place for drinks and snacks but that is not in my immediate future.

Okay, let's put that into my GPS one more time. Now, this time the GPS is refusing to talk to me--at all. We are having our first fight and I am not winning this one. The silence continues as I plead, beg, bargain and finally apologize for my lack of understanding. My phone is in the cup holder but unless I stop the car there is no way that my WAZE or Google Maps will be of any help. Plus, these two directional devices have not really been useful these past days--another (long) story.

No worries. I pull into the next driveway which just happens to be a private golf course with a lot of limousines, people in tuxes and long gowns, and what looks like a very happy bride and her groom. "Oh, hello. Congratulations, and is there any chance any one of you is good on directions?"

This is not a made-up story; this happens to me all the time. I have made SO many friends and connections simply by being lost, and being too panicked not to ask for help from strangers and other aliens. That issue seemed to have been resolved with the invention of GPS. I had my car trained to go where I needed to go, we formed a strong bond even though at times tenuous when she failed to heed the address I tried to input; it was a good relationship. And then it ended. It was time to get a new car and to pass this one on to my son.

There is definitely something wrong with my purchase; my old car navigation system and I had no issues. She would often sigh "recalculating" as I passed the turn she warned me was coming up, sailed on by as she seemed to screech "NOW. NOW WOULD BE GOOD." I just wasn't feeling it, thinking there had to be a better way than the one she directed. She would suggest that I make a legal U-turn in one hundred feet; however, there are never any legal U-turns unless I count the driveway just up ahead. But she stuck with me, got me safely to the address I requested after a few more recalculations and suggested new routes.

This new car and her GPS just don't seem to care about me.

They have often fooled me into thinking that everything was under control and there was no need to worry; leave the directions to them. I am telling you, the previous owner of this car must have loved the beach, open fields, and forgotten roads and highways; a true explorer who loved adventure passed this car on to an unsuspecting me. It is useless. Once I put "Home" into the system finding myself headed to Long Island, New York which is a long way from my home in Connecticut.

I have finally decided that the next time I find myself lost, I am just going to drive in a straight line as my daughter had once instructed me that the worst that could happen was finding myself in Canada; she assured me that Canadians are friendly and welcome strangers who need directions home.

-- Robin Ball
Honorable Mention, 2021 Write a DearReader Contest

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE PENGUIN BOOK OF DRAGONS, edited by Scott G. Bruce. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column - November 18, 2021

Dear Reader,

"What is it?"

At the last family get-together I hosted, I taped up pictures around my house of 19 unusual looking items. Everyone got a sheet, numbered 1 through 19, to write down their guesses, and (because I know my family) I sealed the answers in an envelope. The game started out as a bit of hide-'n-seek, because the pictures were scattered around the house; locate the photos, then take your best guess and if you have no idea what the strange looking thing is, funny and somewhat plausible answers would be considered when choosing a winner.

Everyone had a lot of fun, but I think the next time I host the game I'll give a clue along with each picture. Because most of the items stumped the entire group.

Try your hand at guessing "What is this thing?" And if you want to play the game with your family this holiday season, I've posted the pictures, the sheets (numbered 1-19), and the answers for you to print (and seal in an envelope, if your family is like mine).

To play the game, click here.

Have fun!

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

* This month's Penguin Classics book is THE PENGUIN BOOK OF DRAGONS, edited by Scott G. Bruce. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column - November 17, 2021

Dear Reader,

It's tradition! It's lasagna time!

My husband's brother (Uncle John) lives in Spokane Valley, Washington and is a regular at our Thanksgiving table. We're all glad he will be able to join us again this year after missing last year. John's an easy-to-please guest. If there's a pan of my homemade lasagna waiting for him (even if his flight arrives at 11:56 p.m., like it will this year), he will devour two pieces before he goes to sleep--John's a happy house guest.

The lasagna recipe I use is easy to make.

If you'd like to try my recipe, click here.

Uncle John loves it. I hope you do, too!

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

Kind regards,

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

* This month's Penguin Classics book is THE PENGUIN BOOK OF DRAGONS, edited by Scott G. Bruce. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.