Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column - October 6, 2021

Dear Reader,

Janice, a reader at the book club, and a recent giveaway winner writes:

"Hi Suzanne, I'm not much of a cookie baker, so I decided to use the [cookie scoop I won), to make matzo balls. They came out great! Below is the recipe. My family likes the matzo balls very firm (sinkers), others like them lighter (floaters). Thanks for the scoop." -- Janice

Janice's Matzo Ball Recipe

1 cup matzo meal
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp fat
2 eggs well beaten
1/2 cup water
2 tsps salt

In a medium size ball, blend matzo meal with the salt and fat (I use canola oil). Add the well-beaten eggs. Mix thoroughly. Gradually add cold water to make a dough formed enough to be shaped into balls.

With wet hands (or cookie scoop) shape the mixture into balls and drop into a 3 quart pot of boiling salted water or soup. Cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes. If cooked in water, drain well. Drop into soup a few minutes before serving. Makes 12-14.

If you have a favorite recipe, share it with readers. Email me at: Suzanne@DearReader.com

Janice won one of the cookie scoops (like the one I use) that I gave away over the summer months. It was too warm to send my monthly chocolate chip cookies to readers. But since October is here and the weather has changed, it's time for me to bake.

Be sure to check my column tomorrow for this month's Chocolate Chip Cookie giveaway. I'll bake and if you're a winner, FedEx will deliver my cookies right to your door. Enter October's cookie giveaway tomorrow.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

KIDSBUZZ: Calling all fans of Victoria Kann's #1 NYT bestselling series PINKALICIOUS! The latest (AND 8th!) book in the beloved series is here: RUBYLICIOUS, about overcoming fear, being generous and discovering what's truly important. For a chance to win a free copies, to talk with the author, and more, see KIDSBUZZ.

Dear Reader Column - October 4, 2021

Dear Reader,

Today is the day--at midnight this year's Write a DearReader Contest ends. I've been enjoying reading entries and I can still read yours, but you must email it today.

You'll find all the contest info, including last year's winning entries here. 

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

Warmest regards,

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

TWISTED TEA CHRISTMAS (Mystery) by Laura Childs

'Tis the season for murder as tea maven Theodosia Browning caters a fancy Victorian Christmas party for Miss Drucilla Heyward, one of Charleston's wealthy doyennes. But smack dab in the middle of the Fa-la-la's, Miss Drucilla is murdered, her gold rings stolen off her fingers, and a genuine Renoir snatched off the wall. The police come screaming in while Theodosia studies the guests and wonders… whodunit? Running a shadow investigation (and putting herself in grave danger), Theodosia investigates multiple suspects while hosting holiday tea parties, stumbling upon a second dead body, and sheltering a cadre of homeless dogs. 

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on TWISTED TEA CHRISTMAS to read more and to email author Laura Childs, you'll get a reply.

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

Dear Reader Column - October 1, 2021

Dear Reader,

The desire is there, but sometimes I feel overwhelmed when I think about starting a new project, so I break it up into manageable pieces. If you haven't entered this year's Write a DearReader Contest, because just thinking about it gives you the jitters, I have calming news for you. If you write 216 words (Friday), then 216 more words Saturday, and another 216 words Sunday, you'll have written enough to make a column, with two words to spare. (Entries can be no more than 650 words, but of course your entry can be less than that.)

If you have trouble starting, just start typing and say anything. The key is to 'not' stop typing, because if you keep going, eventually the words you really want to say will appear on the screen...

'Suzanne said I should just start to type, but I don't know what to say, but I'm going to keep going, I feel stupid just typing gibberish on the screen, but I'll keep going what is on my mind well I'm not sure but I do know the guy behind me in the line at the supermarket was really rude to people he was commenting on what people had in their carts and what he was saying wasn't a compliment and it reminded me of the time...'

And there you have it. The topic for your column. Now simply write your story.

The absolute deadline for an entry is Monday, October 4th at midnight. So if you type 216 words Friday, Saturday and Sunday, you'll have Monday to reread your entry and put the finishing touches on it. I'm waiting to read your entry, so start typing today.

To find out all you need to know about this year's Write a DearReader contest, deadlines, cash prizes and how to enter, click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ:Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

KIDSBUZZ: Calling fans of fairy tales, here's a book to spark curiosity and imagination and learning how we all make mistakes, no matter how big or small we are. VERITY FAIRY AND CINDERELLA by Caroline Wakeman will have early readers laughing--and reading! For a chance to win a free copies, to talk with the authors, and more, see KIDSBUZZ.

Dear Reader Column - September 30, 2021

Dear Reader,

Start writing. You have five more days to enter this year's annual Write a DearReader Contest. To read last year's winning entries, deadlines, cash prizes and how to enter, click here.

Your entry could be featured in my column, so start writing...

Today it's my pleasure to share an Honorable Mention column, written by Jan McLellan, from last year's Write a DearReader Contest.

RM 516

1931: "Phee, the congregants are coming. Hurry up! Get out to the corn you horrible child and keep quiet," stepmother shouted. Phee, a small, blond, curly haired, six-year old, ran out of the back door, grabbing up her kitten as she went through the kitchen, but forgot her sweater. Oh, f*ck, s*it, f*ck she said to herself and the tics continued. She ran into the cornfield till she was well hidden and far enough from the farmhouse to drown out the horrible noise that was coming from her mouth. She couldn't stop the sounds. She stayed in the field, holding her kitten until the visitors left. By then, it was dark and getting cold.

1982: I worked the evening shift as an RN on the Orthopedics Unit, at University Hospital. I received a report and started rounds on my patients. As I entered Rm 516, I read; Ms. Phee Marten, 64-year-old, female, Lt. Meniscus repair this morning. Past Medical History: Tourette's Syndrome. I saw a small woman, with a long gray braid, her left casted leg elevated on pillows. She was anxiously staring at six men standing at the end of her bed. An older man in a long, white lab coat was holding a chart folder, a staff doctor. The other five younger men wore short white coats, each with stethoscopes around their necks, these were med students. No one was saying anything. I looked at the staff doctor, he said nothing. I finally said, "What's going on here?" Just then, Ms. Marten said, "F*ck, S*it", bark, and covered her mouth with her bed sheet. One of the med students laughed and elbowed another student who smiled. The staff doctor said, "My students have never seen a Tourette's patient, so we want to see her perform." I looked back at Ms. Marten, she had tears running down her cheeks. I turned, opened the door and said, "Leave now, how dare you!" The men trooped out giving me hateful looks. The staff doctor asked for my name and left.

I spent as much time as I could with Ms. Marten that shift. I apologized for the doctor and medical students. She told me that since she was a child, she has always shouted, barked, or swore when she got nervous or anxious. Her mother died of a flu when she was three. Her father was a preacher and remarried a woman who thought Phee was a wicked, possessed child. She was sent out to the cornfield behind their farmhouse whenever visitors came to the home. Her formal schooling ended in third grade. She grew up and married the boy from the next farm over. They were happy, had one son, who was healthy, without Tourette's Syndrome. He had grown, attended college, married and had three healthy children. She said she rarely saw him or her grandchildren, which made her very sad. Her father had been kind, but didn't understand her illness. He was always busy with the congregation. Her stepmother was mean and Phee's noises had embarrassed her son. She said the only person that had ever truly loved her, was her husband. He picked her, when he could have had anyone else. Throughout our chats that night, she never had any tics, loud swear words, or barking. She wasn't nervous or anxious. It's a nurses' duty to protect, care and comfort their patients. It is an honor to hear their stories.

Epilogue: The staff doctor filed a formal complaint against me. He argued medical students needed to see and experience different illnesses during their clinicals. That complaint stayed in my record. I never apologized for telling them to leave and I would do exactly the same thing again.

I have never forgotten Phee. Her story serves to illuminate the human spirit defined by the moments of love and abundant grace that get us all through.

-- Jan McLellan
Honorable Mention, 2020 Write a DearReader Contest

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: With so many new books out every week, we promise these titles deserve your attention: 

(Fiction)
SLAYED BY DARKNESS by Alexandra Ivy

(Fiction)
PRIVATE PROPERTY by Skye Warren

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

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

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE TALE OF PRINCESS FATIMA, WARRIOR WOMAN: The Arabic Epic of Dhat al-Himma, translated and edited by Melanie Magidow. 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 - September 28, 2021

Dear Reader,

There's less than a week left to enter this year's Write a DearReader Contest. You don't need to be a writer to enter. The contest is for writing fun. For last year's winning entries and information about the rules and deadline, click here.

What a treat! Today's guest author, Anne Perry, is the New York Times bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels. She's also written a series featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt's son, Daniel, including One Fatal Flaw and Death with a Double Edge; the Elena Standish series, including Death in Focus and A Question of Betrayal; five World War I novels; nineteen holiday novels, most recently A Christmas Legacy; and a historical novel, The Sheen on the Silk, set in the Byzantine Empire. Anne Perry lives in Los Angeles.

For more from Anne Perry, follow her on Facebook at @AnnePerryAuthor. Or contact her at askanneperry@aol.com

Anne's brand new book is A Darker Reality, part of the Elena Standish popular historical mystery series: A personal trip turns perilous for Elena Standish after the murder of a British spy forces her to face dark family secrets in this exciting 1930s mystery.

Anne is giving away 5 copies of A Darker Reality. Send an email to: atrandom@randomhouse.com and you could be one of the five lucky winners.

Please welcome author Anne Perry...

Imagination is one of the wonderful gifts. I can close my eyes and be anywhere, even real or not. There are no limits, and the weather is whoever I want. Autumn when the leaves are yellow, bronze, scarlet into crimson. The smell of woodsmoke is in the air. Or late summer when the harvest is in and the fields are stubble gold.

My favorite is late spring when the wild pear trees are in bloom overhead and the ground is carpeted with bluebells in bloom so thick on the ground you cannot move without treading on them.

Or the beach at dawn as the sun lights the sea...there is no end. And it takes no price, no packing, no papers, no trouble getting back home.

Or, of course, imagination can add other things! It is pretty good at the terrible as well. There you have to be careful. Depends on what frightens you most. I have a horror of spiders. Very common, and considering some of them are very poisonous, quite rational. But not when you see them even when they are not there. Be careful your brilliant imagination does not rule you, instead of the other way round!

If you are writing a horror story, step slowly. Let things creep from the ordinary to the extraordinary inch by inch! Everything seems as normal, only half an inch off. Then the horror  creeps until it is at last unavoidable! And you begin to fight it! Find your own weapons, face your fear.

And sleep for a week with the light on!

And you can imagine people. That can be the most difficult, especially heroes. There can be no growth, no victory if there is no weakness to overcome, no inner victory over faults. In fact, hate to say it, but no real story.

But all possibilities are there! Take us all into your world!

-- Anne Perry
email askanneperry@aol.com

To enter the giveaway for one of five copies of A Darker Reality, email: atrandom@randomhouse.com

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

* Congratulations to the winners of Pembrick's Creaturepedia by guest author Andrew Peterson: Jessica C., Angie G. and Christina T.

AUTHORBUZZ:Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

PRIVATE PROPERTY (Fiction) by Skye Warren

I've loved the stoic Jane Eyre and the mercurial Mr. Rochester for years. That's why I'm so excited to share my new novel, a modern-day retelling of the beloved classic. Kirkus Reviews  writes of my new book, "Jane is a compelling heroine from beginning to end." Find out what happens when the dramatic, mysterious story enters the contemporary world. I'm giving away five books--click on the link to Authorbuzz and the book jacket to enter.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on PRIVATE PROPERTY to read more and to email author Skye Warren, you'll get a reply. 

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

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE TALE OF PRINCESS FATIMA, WARRIOR WOMAN: The Arabic Epic of Dhat al-Himma, translated and edited by Melanie Magidow. 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 - September 24, 2021

Dear Reader,

You're never too old to sit inside of a pink tent!

Last week my dining room was decorated to celebrate birthdays for Amber, my daughter-in-law and Hadley, my nine-year-old granddaughter. Only two days between their birthdays, it's a double family party every year.

I host all of the family birthday parties and the older my grandchildren get, the more difficult it is for me to come up with a party theme that's appropriate for their age. My granddaughter is crazy in love with cats, so I had planned a cat theme for this year's party. But two weeks before the party was scheduled, it was a very sad day in our family when Hadley's cat passed away. So I quickly switched themes and it became a llama birthday party instead.

Llama plates and napkins arranged on a light pink and white tablecloth, a llama in the center of the table, a pull-string llama (stuffed with too much candy), walking-llama helium-filled balloons, two tables filled with Bingo prizes (our family is crazy about Bingo), and a pink tent decorated with star lights, with a fluffy pink rug on the floor. I was concerned Hadley might think the pink tent was more of a 'little' girl's paradise and not appropriate for her, as a new 9-year-old (even though 'this' big girl wished she could fit in the tent). But the pink tent was the hit of the party! I even spotted my 14-year-old grandson sitting inside the tent while Hadley was opening her gifts.

You're never too old to sit inside of a pink tent!

To see party photos, click here.

* If you haven't entered this year's annual Write a DearReader Contest, now is the time. It's getting close to the deadline. You don't need to be a writer to enter. The contest is simply writing for fun. To read last year's winning entries, this year's prizes and information about the rules and deadline, go here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE TALE OF PRINCESS FATIMA, WARRIOR WOMAN: The Arabic Epic of Dhat al-Himma, translated and edited by Melanie Magidow. 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 - September 22, 2021

Dear Reader,

Monday's Grandma Hale/New Shoes column brought a lot of mail from readers. If you're still searching for a topic to write about for this year's Write a DearReader Contest, write a story about your grandparents or someone who is dear to your heart.

Thanks so much for writing. I really enjoy hearing from readers...

"Hi Suzanne, I loved your story about your grandma--she sounds like she was a special woman and what great memories! The story was special to me because my son (who is 19 years old now) would come home with new shoes when he went to his Grandma's as well. Not every time, but many times--especially right before school started. They had a special local shoe store they would go to together, just like you and your grandmother. He would get his feet measured to get just the right shoe and always got a shoehorn so he could be just like his Papa. His grandma still often asks him if he needs money for new shoes. Thank you for sharing!" -- Rashel W.

“Hi Suzanne, I just loved this morning's column and the photos of you and your Grandma. The photos and the column reminded me of my Grandma and the many years ago when I spent time with my grandparents. I, too, was the first grandchild for a number of years and Grandma and I had wonderful times together in the garden, baking, shopping and having fun together.  Aaaaaah! The good, old days!" Sincere best, -- Beverly

"Hi, Love your 'baby carriage.' Whenever I look at oldie photographs I can't get over how old my grandmother and other grandmothers at the time looked. So much older than 60-year-old  grandmothers nowadays." -- Noreen B.

“Suzanne, I enjoyed reading about your Grandma Hale. You were lucky to have living grandparents. The pictures were so nice. Thanks for sharing them." -- Best regards, Dorothy P.

Be sure to enter my giveaways. Someone always wins, and next time, it could be you!

* Congratulations to the winners of the September No-Cookie Giveaway: Samantha P., Christine H., and Joanne F.

* Congratulations to the winners of Shh! Baby Jesus Is Sleeping by Guest Author Lisa T. Bergren: Annie W., Sandy L., Kathryn D., and Betty A.

* Congratulations to the winners of The Artist Colony by Guest Author Joanna FitzPatrick: Mary D., Angie G., Paulette B., Joanne H. and David F.

To enter this year's Write a DearReader Contest, click here. 

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE TALE OF PRINCESS FATIMA, WARRIOR WOMAN: The Arabic Epic of Dhat al-Himma, translated and edited by Melanie Magidow. 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 - September 20, 2021

Dear Reader, 

When I was a kid, I used to love to visit my Grandma and Grandpa Hale's house in the summertime. It kind of felt like I was going to summer camp at an orchard: red raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries, grapes, apples, pears, strawberries and popcorn--they all grew in Grandma and Grandpa’s backyard. My grandparents lived in the city, but nothing was built-up behind their home yet, so their backyard was more like the back forty. 

Every morning, when I was staying overnight at Grandma’s house (which was frequently), it was the same routine. I'd stumble down the stairs still half asleep, walk into the kitchen, stick my head out the side screen door and yell, "Good morning Grandma". And she'd set aside her berry boxes, and come in and make me scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and a scoop of New York Vanilla ice cream--my favorite! (Was I spoiled, or what?) 

My grandmother had already been up for a couple of hours picking raspberries--she had to--because at around 9 o'clock, neighborhood customers would start stopping by the house. She had a great word-of-mouth berry business. "Pocket money"--Grandma called it--"shoe money", I called it. Because every time I visited, she'd dip into her berry money, and I'd never go home without at least one, sometimes two, new pairs of shoes. 

There was a shoe store off the downtown square, and when Grandma and I walked by it, we both knew what was going to happen. We'd walk past the store, and then I'd back up a bit, and stand in front of the store window looking at the shoes on display. Grandma would walk back, stand next to me and ask, "Do you need a new pair of shoes?" 

"Well, I kind of like those shoes in the corner there, maybe I should try them on? Yea, I could probably use a new pair of shoes, Grandma..."  About that time, the shoe man would recognize us, and wave us in. Because from past experience, he knew for sure he was going to sell a couple of pairs of shoes--real soon.

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

If you'd like to see photos of Grandma Hale and me, you can go here. 

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

TREASURED (Fiction) by Lexi Blake

Who doesn't love a good treasure hunt? I grew up loving movies like "Romancing the Stone," and my new book is a little love note to that film. Of course there's a twist. This time our heroine is the brawn and the hero the brains. I hope it all makes for a fun romp where Tessa and David discover something far more valuable than gold. Enter to win one of five copies, click on the link to Authorbuzz and the book jacket to enter or email: 1001DarkNights@gmail.com

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on TREASURED to read more and to email author Lexi Blake, you'll get a reply.

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE TALE OF PRINCESS FATIMA, WARRIOR WOMAN: The Arabic Epic of Dhat al-Himma, translated and edited by Melanie Magidow. 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 - September 17, 2021

Dear Reader,

There are only a few weeks to enter this year's Write a DearReader Contest. To read last year's winning entries, deadlines, cash prizes and how to enter, click here. 

Today it's my pleasure to share a column, written by Kathy Cochrane. She was an Honorable Mention winner from last year's Write a DearReader Contest.

It was my first clinical day in a hospital as a student nurse. Until now, all of my learning had been in a lecture hall or small learning lab groups, practicing techniques on mannequins.

The time for a quick coffee break rolled around, and I popped into a room where a fellow student was finishing up giving her first bed bath to an elderly male patient in the B bed. While I waited for her, I struck up a conversation with the patient in the A bed, a young attorney.

We had been chatting for a minute or two, when suddenly a loud, metallic CLANK, rattle, rattle, rattle was heard from down the hall.

"What was that...!", the young man exclaimed.

Peering into the hall I couldn't see what the cause of the crash was, so as I stepped back into the room I replied, "I don't know...I think someone just kicked the bucket!"

It's a good thing the guy wasn't a recent post-surgical patient, because we both nearly busted a gut laughing!

Fortunately my somewhat irreverent sense of humor has served me well during my years as an RN, and from the reaction of that patient on my first day in the hospital, I know that it was therapeutic for my patients!

-- Kathy Cochrane
Honorable Mention, 2020 Write a DearReader Contest

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE TALE OF PRINCESS FATIMA, WARRIOR WOMAN: The Arabic Epic of Dhat al-Himma, translated and edited by Melanie Magidow. 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 - September 16, 2021

Dear Reader,

I have an editor who reads through my column everyday before it's published. It's rare that she does a read-through and doesn't make suggestions, and sometimes she even tells me what I've written might be very clear to me, but as a reader, she's confused. And so I begin again.

Unfortunately, when you're working on an entry for this year's Write a DearReader Contest, you don't have the luxury of an editor. So today I'm sharing some tips I've learned about writing for the past 22 years.

Get out of your head and into your reader's mind. You might know everything about the story you're telling, because you lived it. But the reader doesn't know anything other than what you've written. Example: you refer to Bob in your story, but did you ever explain who Bob was?

Sometimes I fall in love with a sentence I've written, but it really doesn't fit into the piece I'm writing, and no matter how much I desperately want to keep it, eventually I have to edit it out. (But I do save it, hopefully to use it another day.)

Print your entry and then read it out loud without adding voice inflection. Instead, just read aloud in a steady tone. Every reader will interpret what you've written a little differently, because of their own past experiences, and even sometimes how they're feeling on any particular day.

My heart is crushed when I'm reading a contest entry and I'm loving the story, but then abruptly the writer starts talking about something different. Make sure there's only one story in your piece, unless you use a segue that brings the stories together. (In writing, a segue is a smooth transitional phrase that moves the reader from one point or paragraph to another.)

After you think your entry for this year's Write a DearReader Contest is finished, go back and read, and reread what you've written, many times over a few days. As you're reading each sentence, look for words you don't really need. Make each sentence, and every word in your sentence, earn its keep. 

I would love to read your story. Find the voice inside of you and enter the 17th Annual Write a DearReader Contest. To get all the info, deadlines, cash prizes, how your library can get involved, and read last year's winning entries, go here. 

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE TALE OF PRINCESS FATIMA, WARRIOR WOMAN: The Arabic Epic of Dhat al-Himma, translated and edited by Melanie Magidow. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.