Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 02-18-2020

Dear Reader,

We have a visiting author today. Please welcome Heather Redmond. She's written two current crime series: the British historical A Dickens of A Crime series and the US contemporary cozy Journaling mysteries. Heather lives in the Pacific Northwest in the United States with her family. She also writes as Heather Hiestand.

Seattle-set Journaled to Death is her most personal mystery to date, featuring Mandy Meadows, a journaling barista amateur sleuth. When Mandy finds her cousin dead in her basement, she assumes it's an accident, until the homicide detectives arrive. Even worse, they treat her like a suspect.

Heather loves to hear from readers! So please email and say, "Hello." Email: info@heatherredmond.com.

I used to have the best memory...until a decade ago when I had a child. Now I can forget the most memorable things, like the time my husband lost his wedding ring in our washing machine. I vaguely remembered him losing it, and replacing the ring with a cheap Twilight branded one I had won in a contest. I believe it said "Change Me" on it, LOL. However, I didn't believe the washing machine story until the appliance died. When my husband disassembled it though, there was the ring! I can forget remembering the day-to-day stuff if I can't even recall that loss. Especially given that I was the only one doing the laundry and therefore it's my fault the ring disappeared.

After a certain point, I had to admit I needed help. I tried wall calendars, magnetized weekly boards, and customized planners for writers, but I only hit my stride when I discovered bullet journaling, which is a life tracking concept developed by Ryder Carroll. For the past few years, artistic types have combined the concept with art-focused journaling, and that's where I found my own life tracking heaven. I love using stickers, watercolors, and pens to set up my monthly and weekly calendar, to-do list, meal, and habit trackers. Tips and tricks are abundant all over social media, as are tools to help if you aren't the DIY type. And the planners! Pretty Archer & Olive, toothsome paper-filled Scribbles That Matter...every country has their own favorite brands.

Another thing I track is my reading. My bookshelves are completely stuffed, but my child is addicted to bookstore visits so I have a lot of temptation. I added a page in my journal for "Print Books Purchased" and "Print Books Read" so that I can try to talk myself into the book-in, book-out policy that is so very sensible in my small house. My Kindle doesn't count. That can be loaded continually. Last year, I only tracked my fiction purchases. This year, I should probably add nonfiction, because those shelves are out of control too. I can happily report that I almost "broke even" with my book tracker in 2019. I continue to refine what works best for me in my completely flexible journal.

-- Heather Redmond

I'd love to hear from you. It was fun to visit the book club.
info@heatherredmond.com.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 02-17-20

Dear Reader,

It's a word that never fails to make my grandkids burst out laughing. And they're not the only ones. Even my grown son (their father), smiles and can always be counted on for a sound effect after someone says the word--butt.

I agree, it's a funny little word that's a lot of fun, because there are so many "butts" to choose from. Twenty, come to mind immediately: backside, bottom, behind, seat, rump, rear, cheeks, booty, posterior, caboose, bum, hindquarters, haunches, derriere, fanny, tush, heinie, patootie, rumpy, and buttocks.

Cosmopolitan magazine researched butts and published the article, "There are 5 Different Types of Butts in the World." You're either toting a Square, V-Shape, A-shape, Round, or an Upside Down Heart behind. (And there's a proper style of underwear for each of them.)

Yes, butt is a well-worn word, because everybody has one and to my surprise some people even "name" their butt. I've never personally met anyone who introduced themselves and their butt, too...

"Hello, I'm Anne," and as she gracefully turns around Anne announces, "let me introduce Bert and Ernie!"

Now that would be a funny story, 'butt'...I won't be telling my grandkids or my son. They need no encouragement.

* Congratulations to the winners of last week's Wacky Giveaways: Susan B., Erika S., Kathleen V., Margaret M. and Muriel L. Your wacky gifts are on their way to you!

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 02-14-2020

Dear Reader,

It's Wacky Week at the book club. Funny columns and funny giveaways. Today's giveaway, a milk frother, isn't actually a wacky tool, but the definitions for it certainly sound a bit strange. Webster's definition: an agent (as pine oil or cresol) that is active in froth flotation through its ability to change the surface tension of a liquid and consequently decrease the wettability of the particles to be recovered.

The slang definition: to be completely in love or excited about something, to be "frothing" over it, as in so excited that you could be literally frothing at the mouth for it.

So if you find yourself "frothing" at the mouth about the possibility of winning a frother, be sure to enter today's wacky giveaway (the link is at the end of today's column).

Avoidance is one of my surefire methods of self control. I don't go window shopping if I don't want to spend money. I don't go into stores displaying merchandise I can't afford--especially shoe stores, and because I already have enough vices, I've never sampled a designer cold coffee drink. You know, the ones with the-hyphenated-names, usually topped off with a dollop of whipped cream. Nope, not even once...until the other day.

"Rules were meant to be broken," but I should have stuck to mine. I caved. What can I say? I was weak. It was three in the afternoon, I was starved; hadn't eaten anything all day. Instead of just ordering a simple, tall, black coffee with my sandwich, I asked the clerk, "What's that, sitting on the counter?"

"That's an Icy-Cappuccino-Chip-with-a-double-shot. Would you like one?"

It certainly did look tempting. I surveyed the room. Was anyone watching? For heaven's sake, I felt like I was about to try an illegal substance. Heck, what could just one hurt?

Does anyone know if there's a 12-step program for Icy-Cappuccino-Chip-with-a-double-shot drinkers?

To enter today's Wacky Giveaway, the Mini Milk Frother, click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 02-13-2020

Dear Reader,

It's a Wacky Week at the book club. Yesterday I posted a photo of a "wacky" thing-a-majig that Gayle E., a reader at the book club, bought at an estate sale. Gayle sent the photo to me, hoping I would know what it was. My only thought, after seeing the photo, was maybe they were giant clothespins to hold up the Jolly Green Giant's shirt. But I think readers have figured out what they really are. Take a look here.

Another day, another giveaway--a silicone handle cover that fits right over a skillet or saucepan handle. Do you have a pan handle that gets hot, hot, and yikes hot? Then you need to enter today's giveaway. (The entry link is at the end of today's column.)

Years and years ago (I've been writing daily for 20 years) I wrote a column (below) about cookies, a burn on my hand, a hostess' burn at a dinner party, and finally a tip from a doctor about an in-home, everybody has access to it, way to treat a burn. It's a bit wacky but it works!

"There's no reason to suffer, Suzanne."

Last week I burned myself baking chocolate chip cookies and then when I painfully kept my hand on ice for 16 hours--readers informed me that I'm treating burns all wrong.

Hundreds of readers suggested aloe, Robin emailed that doctors at Mayo Clinic advise not to use ice, Margit swears by a product called Second Skin (she keeps three boxes of it in her house), Marge lives near a Lavender farm and on a recent tour of the farm she learned that Lavender oil stops the pain of a burn immediately and prevents blisters, Lee's home remedy is pouring soy sauce on a burn. But when my friend called for a chat, and I mentioned that I'd burned my hand, her advice, "Pee on your hand, it's doctor recommended."

My friend was hosting an elegant dinner party at her home and was just about ready to serve, but when she reached into the oven to pull out the dinner rolls, "Ouch!" she burned her hand. Guests were waiting and the main course was ready, so she was going to keep the evening rolling and ignore the pain. But thankfully a dinner guest, who happened to be a doctor, came to her rescue. "This might sound a little strange," the doctor said, "but if you want to stop the pain immediately, go into the bathroom and pee on your hand."

Following doctor's orders, my friend, the hostess, went into the bathroom, did the deed, and found great relief (of course she washed her hands before she served those rolls). And when it came time to serve dessert, she gave the doctor a generous portion of Creme Brulee. Not as payment for medical advice, or the house call, but rather for honoring doctor/patient confidentiality and not livening up the dinner conversation with a true-life story about how to treat a burn.

Enter today's Wacky Giveaway, for the Silicone Handle Cover, click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 02-12-2020

Dear Reader,

We're right in the middle of Wacky Giveaway Week at the book club. If you haven't entered for any of the giveaways, do it right now. Today's very wacky gift is a Blade Brush Knife and Cutlery Cleaner. It's a brush that's shaped like a set of dentures, but instead of teeth there are brush bristles and you run your knife blade through the brush for cleaning. It comes in a nice lime green. How can you live without it? The link to enter is right after today's column.

Gayle E., a reader at the book club found a "wacky" thing-a-majig at an estate sale and she's trying to figure out what it is. The things were displayed in a sewing room, but it's a a mystery what they're used for. Can you help her? (The photo link is at the end of today's column.)

I'm a pretty neat cook, but every now and then I make something that makes a huge mess. Like BBQ Wings...

Lately I've been into eating chicken wings smothered in barbeque sauce. Boy are they good, but there is one downside: it's impossible to eat wings smothered in sauce without making a major mess. Why even Miss Manners wouldn't be up to the challenge. I'm sure she'd suggest getting out a knife and fork and gently cutting into the wing so none of the sauce spits out across the room--like it did yesterday when I was eating wings for my lunch. I took precautions, no knife and fork, but I did wrap a full-length apron around my body, rolled up my sleeves and tied my hair back in a ponytail. But nevertheless when I took my first dainty bite, the sauce flew off the wing and Splat! It ended up landing on the case for my glasses, which was clear on the other side of the dining room table.

So I've decided to face reality. I can't eat chicken wings without making a mess and as a side note, you can't eat chicken wings while multi-tasking either. Can't watch TV and flick the remote or it gets covered with sauce, can't eat wings in a group or the person next to me has to listen and watch while I lick my fingers. Truth is, I can't eat wings smothered in sauce anytime, anywhere, unless I've brought a change of clothes. So I've decided the only logical place to eat chicken wings is in the tub.

I needed a bath anyway, so what the heck. Loaded up my plate with barbeque chicken wings, filled up the tub with bubbles, rested the plate of wings on the wire book/soap holder that extends across the top of my antique claw bathtub, slid down in the hot water, grabbed a wing and got down to business. I'm here to tell you eating chicken wings in the bathtub--it was the most relaxing meal I've ever had in my life. No need to worry about anything, simply eat, then dip my hands in the bubbles, or lean over and stick my face in the water and instantly all traces of saucy mess are gone. Eat, wash and toss the bones! It may not be what Miss Manners would do, but I guarantee a Five-Star eating experience.

Just out of curiosity I did look up Miss Manners' advice about how to properly eat chicken wings and here's what she had to say:

"Chicken, spareribs and other such messes may be picked up and thus enjoyed in a way they never satisfactorily are with a knife and fork. Spoons may even be used for getting up all of the special sauces, but only in the privacy of the family, with a strict pact never to tell outsiders."

Okay so maybe Miss Manners and I have more in common than I realized. I did eat the wings with my fingers, and I was in the privacy of the family (though I didn't invite any family members into the bathtub with me) and I will never tell outsiders--you're my reading family--you don't count!

To enter today's Wacky Giveaway, the Knife Blade Cleaner, click here.

Help book club reader Gayle E., identify what she found at that estate sale, go here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 02-11-2020

Dear Reader,

It's a Wacky Giveaway Week at the book club. You can enter every day. Today's giveaway is a set of Cactus Tealight Candles--six candles in the set, all shaped like different cacti. Enter at the end of today's guest column.

Today I'm welcoming back author Mesu Andrews to the book club.

Mesu Andrews is the Christy Award-winning author of Isaiah's Daughter and has received numerous accolades for her other novels including Of Fire and Lions, Love Amid the Ashes, The Pharaoh's Daughter, and Miriam. Mesu lives in North Carolina with her husband Roy and enjoys spending time with her tribe of grandchildren. Her new book is Isaiah's Legacy.

Connect with Mesu at here and even order free bookmarks and download group discussion questions.

Three Things I Learned From Bees

I hate snakes. Can't do mice. But bugs--including spiders and bees--don't really bother me. Well, most bees...

Last year I wrote on multi-generational living, so I wanted to share a funny update. Our basement in-law suite wasn't quite ready when we sold our house in July, so we moved into a "bonus" room over the kids' garage. This 20' x 14' space was cozy, cool in the NC summer heat, and quiet for writing.

Sort of quiet. Except for the tic-tic-tic of little mice feet in the attic.

I mostly ignored it. Couldn't hear it when the air conditioner ran. But one day I looked above the chair where I sat to write. Directly overhead was a little wet spot in the drywall. Gross! Mouse pee! So I thought.

I called for my son-in-love, who arrived with that, "I love my mother-in-law," mantra in his eyes. When he touched the spot above my chair, his finger went through the drywall! We both stepped back when what appeared to be a little black nose poked through the finger-sized hole.

"They're wasps!" my SIL shouted. Then the 220-pound-retired-offensive-lineman nearly plowed me over on his way to the door. I, on the other hand, stood captivated by our own personal horror flick. Black, swarming creatures poured out. Tumbling. Falling. Some flying. Icky yellow larvae being pushed out by the swarm.

By the time my SIL returned with wasp spray, hundreds of them laid on my chair and the floor. He tried to foam-seal the hole, but by this time, it was the size of a baseball from the mass exodus.

We left the room, stuffed a towel under the door, and called an exterminator. Even the thirty-year-veteran bug man was weirded out! "It looks like a horror movie," he said. "And those are black-jackets." Evidently yellow-jackets have cousins.

He sprayed for twenty minutes and left. The mess was ours to clean. Thank the Lord for a shop vac and duct tape to cover the hole. We're waiting for the coldest days of winter to tear out drywall and clear the remains of our attic-dwelling friends.

What did I learn from our black-jacket escapade?

1. Never ignore "mice" in the attic.
2. Never stand in the way of a frightened ex-football player.
3. I'm a sucker for a good horror flick--even in my own house.

-- Mesu Andrews

Order free book marks and connect with Mesu here.

To enter today's Wacky Giveaway, for the Cactus Tealight Candles, click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 02-07-2020

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 weekly book club giveaways, or be the lucky winner of two dozen of my homemade chocolate chip cookies. (The next cookie giveaway is coming up in a couple weeks.)

2. Missed receiving one of the daily reads? Email if you need assistance, or just click on "Start reading today's book in your browser," above my column, to access the day you missed. Don't be shy. I'm here to help if you need it.

3. 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.

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

"Just a quick thanks, I have been a fan for many years trying so many books you introduced to me. Right now I am caring for an elderly infirm mother and enjoy sampling a story or five in the few free moments I have. So thanks for the entertainment, escape and fun you provide. You are a blessing." -- Brenda E.

* It's a Wacky Giveaway Week at the book club next week. It all starts this coming Monday. Have a beautiful weekend.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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

Dear Reader Column 02-05-2020

Dear Reader,

If you have a question about writing, email it to: Suzanne@DearReader.com

Today's query is from Alicia K...

"I'm really enjoying being introduced to all these books through the newsletter. Thanks for all your great work.

After reading the latest newsletter, I also have some questions about the writing process. I've been writing pretty much since I learned how, always just for fun. But I've been getting a lot of positive feedback on my most recent work and encouragement to put it out there for publication. Since I don't know anyone who's published, I'm really not sure where to start if I were to pursue it. Do you have any tips for writing a query letter? Should it be sent to publishers directly or does one need an agent first? Also, is there a particular format a book should be typed in--i.e. type font and size, margins, spacing, etc.? Thanks for listening and keep up the great work!" -- Alicia K.

(Suzanne replies:)

Hi Alicia, most publishers won't take a manuscript unless it comes from an agent.

I wish I could share a "Five Ways to Secure an Agent" list, but I can't. There isn't such a beast. But I do have some suggestions.

Getting a referral to an agent from an author is at the top of my list. But it's also the most difficult thing to do. You can't simply email writers at random, asking for an out-of-the-blue referral. But you can try networking. For instance, you might join writing communities in your area to get to know published authors, and they may know someone who knows someone. You get the idea.

Attend writing conferences and presentations by agents. At a smaller event, you might even get the opportunity to meet an agent.

Read the Acknowledgment page in a book. Most authors thank their agents.

Research agents on the Internet. Look for agents that represent your genre. Read their particular submission guidelines published online and do exactly what they ask. After you submit something to an agent, then comes the really hard part...waiting. You wait and wait and wait. It's painful. Excruciatingly painful. Most respectable agents will reply. If you're turned down, keep trying. If an agent makes suggestions to you, pay attention and try again. Criticism is a gift.

You should never have to pay an agent to read your submission.

I hope you find these suggestions helpful. Good luck in your writing adventures.

* Congratulations to Martha V., the winner of the Vintage Apron Giveaway. 

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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

Dear Reader Column 02-04-2020

Dear Reader,

Please send an email welcoming today's guest author, Tarquin Hall to the book club.

Tarquin Hall is a British author and journalist who has previously lived in the USA, Pakistan, India, Kenya and Turkey. He now divides his time between the UK and India, and is married to BBC reporter and presenter Anu Anand. He is the author of five mysteries starring Vish Puri, India's most private investigator, the most recent of which is The Case of the Reincarnated Client.

Tarquin Hall can be contacted at tarquinhall@mac.com

Thanks for visiting the book club Tarquin...

We'd been living in India for the best part of ten years and taken our young children to see many extraordinary sights--the Taj Mahal, the Himalayas, the Backwaters of Kerala. We'd ridden on elephants and camels, even spotted a one-horned rhino in a national park. But we'd failed to see a tiger in the wild. And I was determined that before we returned to live in the UK in 2017, we were going to see one. And so, as a last hurrah, I packed everyone off to Ranthambore National Park.

Early on the first morning, wrapped in blankets against the biting winter cold, we squeezed into an old jeep and spent three hours rattling along rocky tracks, through bush and scrub, scanning the undergrowth with our cameras at the ready. Nothing. Not a stripe nor whisker. And it was the same when we tried again in the afternoon: all we came across was one solitary warthog.

Our failure was compounded that evening when we gathered in the restaurant amongst the other guests at our hotel. There was a French gentleman who'd seen not just one tiger, but a mother with her young cubs--she'd practically put on a cabaret for his sole benefit, and he gloated just a little about his good fortune.

It was the same the next day: the tigers avoided us and seemed to show up every time the Frenchman took out his camera. And even though on the third day we tried a sector of the park where he'd gotten lucky, we left with nothing to show for it.

Dejected, we stopped on the way back to the hotel to have an ice cream and then climb to the top of the magnificent local fort. On the way up we saw dozens of monkeys, swinging from the ramparts. On our way down, they had all vanished.

The cause of their departure was a leopard. It was sitting atop a wall, sunning itself, perhaps contemplating a monkey snack. Amazing sight. But still, it was a tiger we had come to see. And back at the hotel, listening jealously to the other guests who had somehow been blessed while we felt a little cursed, I didn't even think to mention what we'd chanced upon.

When my five-year-old daughter squealed that we'd spotted a leopard, however, everyone in the restaurant stopped and stared. 'But I've been here thirty years, and not once have I ever seen a leopard!' blurted the incredulous hotel manager. The Frenchman, too, looked stunned. And though on our last morning we finally saw a tiger coming towards us out of the mist--beautiful, magnificent and powerful all at the same time--it's the leopard sighting that I've been dining out on ever since.

-- Tarquin Hall
Tarquin Hall can be contacted at tarquinhall@mac.com

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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

Dear Reader Column 02-03-2020

Dear Reader,

Through the years, I've discovered when I move into a new home, if I don't line the cupboards right away, before I put one single dish in them, I'll never get around to doing it. My good friend just sold her house and she's moving into a trailer. The trailer has more square footage and storage than the house she's lived in for 18 years. But in addition to immediately lining kitchen cupboards, she's sifting and sorting through stuff. How many measuring cups does a person really need?

I'm partly to blame for my friend having too much--when it comes to aprons. She describes herself as a "foodie," so many times the perfect gift for her was my homemade cookies and bread. And I'd wrap them in a dish towel or vintage apron. Now that she's clearing out, how many aprons does one woman really need?

"Suz, I'm determined to downsize," my friend told me. "Now that I'm counting, you've given me five aprons over the years. I've decided to keep two. Would you like the other three back, or should I donate them?"

Absolutely, I'd love to have three of them back. I was thrilled, because when I give a gift, I like to give something that I love so much, when the time comes to give it away, it's really difficult, because I don't want to part with it. I wish I could keep it for myself.

So now my wish has come true. But like my friend, I need to keep my house in order. So I've decided I'm keeping two of the three aprons, and I'll be giving one to a lucky book club reader.

Be sure to enter the vintage apron giveaway. The apron is pink, it buttons in the back and is ready to travel. Click here.

And congratulations to Marguerita C., the winner of the Garage Sale Giveaway. The minature totem is on its way.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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

MORE THAN PLEASURE YOU (Fiction) by Shayla Black

I'm excited to bring you this standalone novella set in my More Than Words world--a story I've been eager to tell since Wall Street bigwig Stephen Lund first walked onto the page and shook up his entire family. I've paired him with Boho chic Skye Ingram, a Hawaiian-at-heart in a story that proves a hot fling can turn a fake engagement into the real deal when love blooms in paradise.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on MORE THAN PLEASURE YOU to read more and to email author Shayla Black, you'll get a reply.