Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column - October 31, 2022

Dear Reader, 

Due to hurricane Ian delays, the winning columns of 18 Annual Write a DearReader Contest will now be featured the week of November 14th. Stay tuned!

Last night my husband went to the wholesale club store and when he came back home he proudly showed me a "Value Bag of Child's Playtime Candy"--5 1/3 pounds of candy: Tootsie Roll Juniors, Tootsie Pops, Tootsie Roll Midgees, Tootsie Fruit Rolls, Tootsie Snack Bars and Mini Dots (made by Tootsie Roll, who else?) There were 200 pieces of candy in the bag--I counted them. Well, 204 to be exact, minus the lollipop in my mouth and the three other pieces of candy I snuck out of the bag, before my husband suggested we make a pact, not to open the bag, until Halloween, so we wouldn't be tempted. 

But I was--tempted. (Tootsie Rolls are just as good as I remember them.)

My husband longs for the good old days when it comes to Halloween, and I admit so do I. It's fun when kids come to our door and we get to hand out candy. But the good old days are gone, because here's the reality of our Halloween statistics: five years ago 35 kids showed up, four years ago 27, the year after that 20, two years ago 11 and last year 6 teenagers knocked on our door and said, "Trick or treat." And if the trick or treat market continues its steady decline this year, we can expect two kids to holler "Trick or Treat!"

Okay, I'll be generous for my husband's sake and think positive--probably three tiny tots will show up at our door this year for Tootsie Treats. And if I don't want to be eating Halloween candy until July, that means in order to get rid of the 5 1/3 pounds of Tootsie treats, my dear husband bought, we'd need to give each of the three kids 66.6 pieces of candy--I hope they're each carrying a big sturdy bag.

But my husband is hopeful, insisting we could beat the odds this year, "Maybe a family with children will move into our neighborhood the week before Halloween."

"Yes Dear, or we might get lucky and a dad who's driving his son's Boy Scout troop around to trick or treat might run out of gas in front of our house. You're right Dear, anything's possible."

In the meantime, I think I'll find three Halloween Candy Bags that are strong enough to hold 66.6 pieces of candy!

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column - October 28, 2022

Dear Reader,  

It's only 9 o'clock in the morning and already it feels like something is going to go terribly wrong today, so I think it's time to give myself a pep talk.

My pep talk never changes; I know it well. I wrote it a long time ago and it worked so well the first time, I decided no rewrites were in order. After the crisis passed, I thought it would be prudent for me to rehearse it--an emergency drill of sorts--just like the rescue teams do. So the next time I needed help it would be memorized for immediate recall, ready to soothe me with the tenderness and compassion that it showed me the first time around.

And then there's Al's method of positive self-talk--it works for me, too. If my friend Al is having a really bad day at work, he calls his answering machine at his home before he leaves work, and records a message he can listen to when he gets home. (Yes, he still keeps his answering machine, just for this reason.) I'm paraphrasing, but his message to self, usually goes something like this, "Hi Al. I know that I don't say it often enough, but I want you to know what a great guy you are. You're talented, you work hard and I'm proud of you. You're the best friend that anyone could ever ask for, and I want you to know that whenever you need me I'm here for you. Talk to you soon. And remember, you can call me anytime."

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column - October 27, 2022

Dear Reader,

Congratulations to Laura R., Judith S., and Sheryl J., the winners of my Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway. I’ll be baking for you soon.

Reading your emails is the best part of my day…

“Hello Suzanne–thank you so much once again for your wonderful (muse) column. As I sit thinking about who my muse might be, I realize that I have several–and YOU are one of them! You inspire me to think outside the box, to reflect on things in a different way, and also feel such a connection when you describe situations and feelings that I recognize as my own.

Since you share so many wonderful things with us, I wanted to share one of the happiest days of my life with you–the birth of my first granddaughter, Chelsea Lauren. I hope to someday have the same wonderful relationship that you have with your grandchildren.“ Kind regards, – Mary N.

“Dear Suzanne, I have enjoyed reading your anecdotes about your grandchildren and especially following your grandson Paul’s cooking and baking career. I loved your chocolate chip cookies which I was lucky enough to receive about four years ago.  But, oh, Suzanne, My taste buds draw the line at pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! On the other hand, I applaud Paul’s innovative spirit. Thanks again for your column. It’s funny, thoughtful and a great way to wake up in the morning (paired with coffee of course).“ – Sue M.

Book club reader Leslie R. sent photos of some folks who were so famous for their particular cookie recipe that…well you need to see for yourself: http://www.dearreader.com/photo/photos-10-27-2022.html 

Do you have a favorite holiday cookie recipe? I’d love to share it with readers. Send it to me at: [email protected].

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column - October 26, 2022

Dear Reader,

Readers are asking for my pumpkin bread recipe. It really is perfect for fall, and it really does taste divine. Enjoy! 

Pumpkin Bread with Pumpkin Whipped Cream 

3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1 16-ounce can of pumpkin

3 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2/3 cup warm water (105 to 115 F) 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter two large loaf pans or 4 small ones. 

Beat sugar, oil, eggs, and pumpkin in large bowl. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg into another large bowl. Stir into pumpkin mixture. Slowly mix in 2/3 cup warm water. 

Divide batter equally between pans. Bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about one hour for two loaves and 40 minutes for four loaves. 

Cool for 10 minutes in pan then run knife around edges of breads. Turn breads out onto racks and cool completely. 

Pumpkin Whipped Cream

You can add the pumpkin whipped cream when you serve it, or just add a dollop of regular whipped cream. 

1 cup chilled whipping cream

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup pumpkin 

Beat cream and sugar to stiff peaks. Fold in 1/2 cup pumpkin.

Store in refrigerator.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column - October 25, 2022

Dear Reader,

Ann Claire is today’s guest author. What a pleasure to have her visit our book club. Ann earned degrees in geography, which took her across the world. Now she lives with her geographer husband in Colorado, where the mountains beckon from their kitchen windows. When she's not writing, you can find her hiking, gardening, herding housecats, and enjoying a good mystery, especially one by Agatha Christie. 

In Ann’s new book, Dead and Gondola, a mysterious bookshop visitor dies under murderous circumstances, compelling the Christie sisters and their cat, Agatha, to call on all they've learned about solving mysteries from their favorite novelist. 

You can reach Ann at [email protected]

Enter to win one of five copies of Dead and Gondola: click here.

Tomato Tales

In summer 2021, I was one of those gardeners. The type overly smug about her tomatoes.

I grew heirlooms from seed. See? I'm still boasting. The seeds came with backstories worthy of classic literature. I fell for those stories as much as the promises of taste, size, and days to maturity.

Discovery is big in tomato tales. Tomato collectors trek to distant lands to bring back rare gems. Most of us will never see these places--the high Andes, Siberia, a hidden garden behind a French chateau--but we can taste their tomatoes.

Good fortune appears too. Picture a tomato scientist nearing the end of a humdrum career. Then, a surprise arrives, a letter containing seeds saved by a family for generations. The resulting tomatoes are the most exquisite the scientist has ever tasted, and he gets to put his name on them. Here, the mystery writer in me imagines untold sagas of family drama and tomato treachery. Those don't make seed catalogs. They're all about success.

Like my 2021 tomato harvest!

This year, I was out of town during prime planting weeks. That's my excuse, but it doesn't explain my utter failure. My neighbor runs a garden shop and held plants for me. One appeared stunted, a French heirloom named Jaune Flammée, the Yellow Flame. My neighbor was reluctant to send Jaune home with me. He proposed to toss her out.

Poor Jaune! I had space, I assured him. We'd share the bounty from the other varieties.

Maybe it was overconfidence. I come from a family of rural pessimists and should know better. Perhaps it was hubris. I imagined impressing my gardening-pro neighbor with tomato excess.

As I write this, the growing season is almost over in Colorado. The nights are cold. The remaining tomatoes are green nubs. Last week, I texted my neighbor with a seemingly casual Want some tomatoes? I carried over all I could gather, a scant pint of Jaune Flammée. The weakling was the only plant that produced.

Jaune was as promised, exceptional in flavor and beauty (tomato literature puts a lot of pressure on looks). My neighbor gifted me honey from a backyard beekeeper. In fiction and real life, this constitutes a sweet ending--a good neighbor and an underdog prevailing.

The garden will rest over the winter. I, however, am already plotting. What varieties will I choose? How will I do better? Fellow gardeners, it's never too early to plan, right? After all, half the fun is the dreaming and all those good stories.

-- Ann Claire

[email protected]

Here is my cat Lill, inspecting my 2022 tomato harvest. She’s also the model for Agatha, the bookshop cat in Dead and Gondola.

Enter to win one of five copies of Dead and Gondola: click here.

 

 

 

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column - October 24, 2022

Dear Reader,

Some people can walk into a room--without knowing anyone--and they're totally at ease. They move around comfortably, introducing themselves, and by the end of the evening they've made a lot of new acquaintances. This is not something that I can easily do.

Conducting a large meeting, that's not a problem because I have a specific purpose and task at hand. But circulating around a room, when I don't know a single soul in it, now that's a personal challenge.

I've read all the books about how to "work" a room. The conversation openers that the experts recommend sound so easy to deliver when I read them. I think, 'Yea, I can do that.' But when I'm put to the test--faced with the real thing--it's a lot more difficult.

I really don't think anyone else in the room realizes how I'm feeling; it's always been my own secret. People assume because of what I do, that I can roam anywhere with ease and sometimes that's true; I have felt comfortable. Things just naturally flowed and if I do say so, I was impressed with myself and people seemed to enjoy meeting me. But I've never been able to diagnose where my selected courage and ease have come from on those occasions. I guess I just decided ahead of time that it was no big deal, so it wasn't.

So why are there times when it's so uncomfortable for me to walk up to someone, introduce myself and say, "Hi, I'm Suzanne. It's nice to meet you." I'm a project-oriented person who believes that practice does make perfect, or at least makes a person more comfortable. So I've been practicing. Whenever I'm waiting at an airport, or a doctor’s reception room, if someone sits down close to me for more than five minutes they become my dry run--so to speak.

I don't know if this practicing idea will really work, but I've met some interesting people. In fact, they're usually so interesting that I forget myself, and I just have fun. And maybe that's the secret ingredient I've been missing. Forget "working" the room, and just talk one-on-one. Could it be as simple as that?

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column - October 21, 2022

Dear Reader, 

*Today is the last day to enter this month’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway. Three lucky book club readers will receive a box of my homemade cookies, delivered to them via FedEx. Be sure to enter. Go to: http://www.dearreader.com/giveaway/

Speaking of cookies…Janet D, a reader at the book club, tried one of my grandchildren’s favorite cookie recipe, and she sent me a photo. 

"Hello Suzanne, I volunteer at my library (Hopkinton Town Library) every Wednesday. I love to bake, and often take them treats. Coincidentally, your grandchildren's recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies arrived in your Tuesday email, and I made them to take to HTL today. I've attached a photo of our children's librarian enjoying a cookie.

I often tweak my chocolate chip cookies, adding other things to the basic dough, but this is the first time I've added pumpkin. Last year, I chopped up leftover Halloween candies and mixed them in, calling them Surprise Cookies, since there was no way of knowing what would be in which one. Perhaps your grandchildren could try that after Halloween, if they haven't eaten all their loot.

Thanks for your enjoyable morning emails," -- Janet D.

If you missed the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, you’ll find it and a photo of Janet at: http://www.dearreader.com/photo/cookie-10-23-22.html

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column - October 20, 2022

Dear Reader,

I'm ready to bake if you're ready to dunk and munch some of my homemade chocolate chip cookies. Every month (except during the summer because chocolate doesn't travel well), it's Chocolate Chip Cookie giveaway time at the book club. Three lucky book club readers receive a box of my homemade cookies, delivered to them via FedEx. Be sure to enter today's Chocolate Chip Cookie giveaway. Go to: http://www.dearreader.com/giveaway/

When I need inspiration, I put on my headphones and turn the music up--way up. Or, I call my muse.

Years ago, when I watched the 1999 movie The Muse (starring Albert Brooks, Sharon Stone, and Andie MacDowell) I was instantly mesmerized by the fairy tale magic of what it would be like to have my own personal muse.

With a child-like belief, I secretly decided that I should get one. It was really a lot of fun to think about it, but sadly after only one day, the responsible adult in me took over and the playful idea drifted away.

Until one afternoon when I was writing and I discovered my muse. There's usually a natural flow I experience when I write. But if I'm missing a word or reading a first draft--and I know what I want to say is in there, but I just can't seem to pull it out--I pick up the phone and share my copy with Valerie. Sometimes she doesn't say anything, or she'll just say one simple word and like magic, the word I was looking for appears. 

I realize now that I've had a muse for a long time. I just didn't recognize her for what she really is.

Isn't it fun to know that fairy tales still do come true? All you have to do is believe and look in your own backyard.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column - October 19, 2022

Dear Reader, 

Here we go again!

I'm ready to bake if you're ready to dunk and munch some of my homemade chocolate chip cookies. Every month (except during the summer because chocolate doesn't travel well), it's Chocolate Chip Cookie giveaway time at the book club. Three lucky book club readers receive a box of my homemade cookies, delivered to them via FedEx. Be sure to enter today's Chocolate Chip Cookie giveaway. Go to: http://www.dearreader.com/giveaway/

I've been “creatively hot” at 3 a.m. lately. It's been my magic hour. Creative ideas come easily and I've felt like getting out of bed and writing. I've also been doing some deep thinking and examining my life (which I've decided I'm pretty pleased with). I’ve noticed that if a business problem has been driving me crazy during the day, at 3 a.m. a solution magically appears. I'm grateful for that, but I'm a take-immediate-action kind of person, so as soon as I figure out a solution, I want to get on the phone and take care of things.

I want to call a business associate right now, at this very moment, and take care of a problem. But it's 3 a.m., and I’m certain no one will be answering the phone until 8 o’clock. The person I need to talk to is on the West Coast, which means I'd have to wait until 11 a.m. my time to make the call. I could ring right now and get his voice mail, but then he'd realize that I left him a message at three in the morning, which might make me appear just a bit strange. But then again, if he reads my 'Dear Reader' column with any frequency, he probably already knows that.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

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

KIDSBUZZ: Two books for the math-loving kids out there (or kids who you'd like to encourage to be math lovers!): SHOW AND TELL! Great Graphs and Smart Charts: An Introduction to Infographics by Stuart J. Murphy helps kids better understand the world of data and statistics in a completely compelling way; and THE DREGG DISASTER: An Algebra I Gamebook (Choose Your Own Adventure) by Chris Matthews featuring dozens of puzzles and choices as kids ages 11 and up sharpen their algebra and math skills. For a chance to win free copies, talk with the authors, and more, see www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz. 

Dear Reader Column - October 18, 2022

Dear Reader,

Katie Powner, today’s guest author, lives in rural Montana, where cows still outnumber people. She loves candy and red shoes (especially her Converse All-Stars) and is a mom to the third power: biological, adoptive, and foster. Katie writes contemporary fiction about redemption, relationships, and finding the dirt road home. Her books include The Sowing Season, A Flicker of Light, and her latest title, Where the Blue Sky Begins. Learn more at katiepowner.com.

Katie is giving away five copies of her new book, Where the Blue Sky Begins. Be sure to enter her giveaway in her column.

Welcome Katie, thanks for visiting the book club…

Have you ever misjudged someone?

At the large high school I attended back in the day, Erica was straightlaced and shy. She wore khakis and cardigans and was destined to be an attorney or accountant. I was gregarious and weird. I wore my grandmother's 60s-era polyester suits and played in the band.

We'd never directly spoken to each other. I thought she was prudish and boring. She thought I was stuck-up and annoying. The only thing we had in common was that we were at the top of our class, which is how we ended up at an event together as class representatives our junior year.

We managed to perform our duties at the event while still not really speaking to each other, until the event was almost over. A group of seniors were nearby making plans for the evening, and apparently Erica was listening to them because she muttered, "Ugh. Who would ever want to go to a keg party?"

Well. This got my attention immediately, because I thought she said, "cake party."

"Who wouldn't want to go to a cake party?" I asked, because CAKE. 

She blinked at me, and I blinked at her, and by the time we'd straightened out the mistake and shared our love of all things related to baked goods, we had determined to host the first of what would turn out to be many cake parties.

The cake parties would include a competition, we decided. For the first one, we created a ladybug cake. Other entries from our friends included a cake made to look like a turkey sandwich and a spice cake with tootsie rolls in it that was meant to resemble a used litter box.

Prizes were awarded for various categories, such as Best Tasting and Best Presentation, and we had a blast.

Erica and I began to spend a lot of time together after that and developed a meaningful friendship. When most of my other friends abandoned me senior year for late night vandalism and methamphetamines, I was very thankful to have Erica by my side. I only wished we would've become friends sooner.

Have you ever been so sure you knew what someone was like and then found out you were wrong? Did you ever get a second chance with them? Tell me about it at [email protected] for a chance to win one of five copies of my new book Where the Blue Sky Begins, or you can enter just by emailing me to say hello. I look forward to hearing from you!

-- Katie Powner

[email protected]

 

 

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

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

KIDSBUZZ: Two books for the math-loving kids out there (or kids who you'd like to encourage to be math lovers!): SHOW AND TELL! Great Graphs and Smart Charts: An Introduction to Infographics by Stuart J. Murphy helps kids better understand the world of data and statistics in a completely compelling way; and THE DREGG DISASTER: An Algebra I Gamebook (Choose Your Own Adventure) by Chris Matthews featuring dozens of puzzles and choices as kids ages 11 and up sharpen their algebra and math skills. For a chance to win free copies, talk with the authors, and more, see www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz.