Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 09-29-2020

Dear Reader,

Ian Olasov, today's guest author, is a doctoral candidate in philosophy at the CUNY Graduate Center and the founder of Brooklyn Public Philosophers, a public philosophy event series, in partnership with the Brooklyn Public Library. Since 2016, he has organized a series of Ask a Philosopher booths around New York City. His new book Ask a Philosopher: Answers to Your Most Important and Most Unexpected Questions collects the best questions from the booth, his attempts to answer them, and the funny/affecting/thought-provoking moments that make each booth memorable. Ian lives in Brooklyn with his partner Jen and their two dogs, Scrapple and Gus.

Please welcome Ian Olasov to the book club. Email: ianolasov@gmail.com.

When I was about nine years old, after seeing Terminator 2, I became quietly obsessed with the idea that other people were robots. Here were Tabitha and Crystal sitting at my table in fourth grade, talking (or pretending to talk?) about this or that. But how could I know that they were like me on the inside? Partly I was worried, I guess, that they had metal skeletons like Arnold Schwarzenegger. But the trickier problem was how to tell whether their experiences were like mine. In the movie, Arnold's visual field is a heads up display, as if there were some little person behind his eyes looking at a computer screen. Why couldn't Tabitha and Crystal see like that?

At some point, I figured that if there were a robot factory somewhere, I would have heard about it by now. I moved on to other problems. But I never found a fully satisfactory answer to the real question: how could we know what it's like to be someone else?

When people interview professional philosophers, it's more or less obligatory to ask how they got interested in the subject. But we might just as well ask anyone when they lost their interest in philosophy. Every kid, or every kid with enough time to themselves, has some pet philosophical puzzle; if it's not our knowledge of other minds, it's something about God, life after death, identity over time, the epistemology of unobservable objects--or, a bit later on, what it means to be yourself, what a just world would look like, the objectivity or otherwise of moral and artistic value.

Who knows where these questions go? Do we find more important things to worry about? (More important how?) Do we get bored or frustrated by their intractability? Are they embarrassing? Do they die from a lack of sunlight, in the slippery dark of our private thoughts?

It takes work to bring these questions back to life, or to find new questions that do for us as adults what the old questions did for us as kids. Of course, public discourse in the United States in 2020 isn't always the most fertile environment for philosophy. But there are plenty of philosophical communities out there. Look for meetups, lecture series, podcasts, and public events put on by local university philosophy departments. With a little luck, you'll find a version of philosophy that works for you.

-- Ian Olasov

Drop Ian an note or thought about philosophy: ianolasov@gmail.com. You can also check out the Brooklyn Public Philosophers Facebook page.

* I hope you enjoyed reading today's guest column. If you're one of the winners, or your entry is an honorable mention in this year's Write a DearReader Contest, it will be featured as a guest column. Cash prizes, rules and deadlines, along with last year's winning entries, read all about them 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 PENGUIN BOOK OF ITALIAN SHORT STORIES, introduced, edited and with selected translations by Jhumpa Lahiri. I have a copy to share, start reading and enter today

Dear Reader Column 09-23-2020

Dear Reader,

First, Second, Third place titles and numerous Honorable Mentions will be awarded in this year's Write a DearReader Contest. Need inspiration? Today's column is penned by Connie Blocher, one of last year's Honorable Mentions from the Write a DearReader Contest. Cash prizes, deadlines, read last year's winning entries...you'll find all the info here.

The Liberation of an Invisible Woman
by Connie Blocher

The card game, bridge, I have learned can be complicated, but it is always enjoyable to play. Despite the bounty of rules, I like playing bridge because of the challenge it presents and because of the friends that I have made. Although I am not young, many of my fellow players are several years my senior and outperform me time and time again. I delight in hearing their life experiences, their humor, and most of all their wisdom. Recently, I heard a bit of that wisdom when I remarked that I would be visiting a tropical island and dreaded stuffing this pudgy body into a bathing suit. One lady chimed in with her simple words of wisdom. "Don't worry," she exclaimed, "no one pays any attention to an older woman, so it matters little what you look like or wear."

"Hmm," I mumbled to myself. "Does this mean women become invisible as they grow older? Are we just a bunch of old wet hens?" I thought about all the time I've wasted dabbing creams and lotions on my face trying to reduce wrinkles and erase age spots. My struggles with trying to squeeze a mass of flab into a Spanx garment to conceal my spare tire came to mind as well. If I am invisible such primping is not necessary and I do not need my dowdy clothes. Ah, a new sense of freedom!

My friend's theory intrigued me and I decided to test it. At a community concert at our local gazebo, I made it a top priority to watch the spectators. While everyone listened as the trumpets and trombones in the brass band blared out Sousa's "Washington Post March", "Anchors Away", and other patriotic numbers, my eyes and one ear were glued to the crowd. Sure enough, when a couple walked by with children, people commented on the cuteness of the children and the attractiveness of the parents. When a good-looking female or an impressive male ambled by, many heads swiveled around to stare. Not so with older ladies. No one looked and no one said anything, but why would they? I conducted this same test on the beach with the same results. Older women really did vanish into the background.

If I told you that this did not disturb me, I would not be stating the truth. Does the world need a revenge of the invisible woman? After much thought, I have finally come to the conclusion that this time of invisibility is the most liberating stage of my life! As an invisible lady, I can do what I want almost any time that I would like. I can don those crazy outfits, I can learn to belly dance, I can soar down the street on a bright yellow bicycle, or I can start tooting on a tuba. Invisibles can do anything that makes them happy! Younger persons may remark that I am just another eccentric older lady, they do not realize that this strange lady is embarking on new adventures. My bucket list is full and I have goals to reach. It is time to take those French lessons. Oui! Oui! On my next trip to Hawaii, I just may take those hula lessons complete with a grass skirt and coconut shells on my bosoms although my husband may object. As for the present, I have much to do. Now, let's see, when can I schedule those French lessons or start blasting away on a tuba?

I'm anxious to read your entry. Get going...start writing...have fun.

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.

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

Perfect for kids who love graphic novels, mysteries or a good laugh: SHERLOCK BONES AND THE NATURAL HISTORY MYSTERY by Renee Treml "will most certainly delight fledgling eagle-eyed detective" (Kirkus). For a chance to win a free copy, to talk with the author, and more, see KIDSBUZZ

* This month's Penguin Classics book is THE PENGUIN BOOK OF ITALIAN SHORT STORIES, introduced, edited and with selected translations by Jhumpa Lahiri. I have a copy to share, start reading and enter today

Dear Reader Column 09-22-2020

Dear Reader,

Today's guest author Lori Benton says her historical novels transport readers to the 18th century, where she brings to life the colonial and early federal periods of American history. Lori's books have received the Christy Award and the Inspy Award, and have been honored as finalists for the ECPA Book of the Year.

Surrounded by mountains, currently those of the Pacific Northwest, when Lori isn't writing, she's likely to be found in wild places behind a camera. Her latest release, Mountain Laurel, centers on 18th century slavery and how different characters respond to its injustice.

Please do say hello to Lori, and when you do, you'll be automatically entered in her book giveaway. She has three copies of Mountain Laurel for three lucky readers. Email Lori.

Welcome to the book club Lori...

Seeing Deeper: Fiction and Photography's Commonalities

Crater Lake National Park is Oregon's only National Park. Since taking up landscape photography, I've found my way to this view often, photographing it in many conditions, yet for years I remained oblivious to the existence of an out-of-the-way sculpture, hidden in the forest behind the visitor center I always skipped in my hurry to reach the lake. Last year I finally turned into that parking lot, saw an intriguing trail sign, and soon found myself contemplating The Lady of the Woods, carved in 1917 by Earl Russell Bush, a medical doctor who attended the road crews that built the earliest rim drive around Crater Lake. It pays to look a little closer!

Rugged coastlines, mountain lakes, snowy peaks, cascading waterfalls--no matter if the setting is new or a favorite spot, when behind a camera I'll wander about observing how light, weather conditions, and how my movement through the terrain changes the scene, thus the potential composition of a photograph. More than once I've wished the scenes I write were three-dimensional landscapes I could move through with such ease. Instead I must mentally circle a novel's scene, seeking the strongest combination of focus, point of view, emotional intensity, and character goals possible before committing myself and getting the first draft down. A scene's first draft is much like the photos I capture, which travel home in my camera to be loaded onto my computer. Only with that first viewing will I know if I captured what I thought I did in the field. Maybe the composition isn't as strong as I thought it was, staring through the camera's viewscreen. It's a good thing photo-editing apps abound.

It's the same with writing. First drafts rarely, if ever, contain all the nuances I intended. I must take a closer look. Have I captured the scene from the best angle? Focused on the most interesting and vital details? Really seen and felt the setting through the character's senses? Like I tweak a photo's visual elements, I fiddle with a scene's structure and details. Here's a few more editing comparisons:

Photography: Crop the photo to strengthen the composition
Writing: Trim excess words that clutter the scene

Photography: Brighten a highlight
Writing: Give some aspect of the scene stronger focus

Photography: Sharpen the texture
Writing: Make a setting vivid with sensory detail

Photography: Increase contrast Writing: Up the drama/tension

Capturing a digital landscape often requires the same dedication and attention needed to create complex characters and a story world for them to inhabit that is as vivid as the one in which we live.

-- Lori Benton

Enter Lori's book giveaway. She has three copies of Mountain Laurel for three lucky readers. Say hello to Lori.

* I hope you enjoyed reading today's guest column. Start writing, because your story could be featured in one of Suzanne's daily columns, if you're a First, Second, Third Place or Honorable Mention winner in this year's Write a DearReader contest. Cash prizes, rules and deadlines, along with last year's winning entries, read all about them at: http://www.dearreader.com/contest2020/index.html

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.

THE GIRL WITH NO NAME (Mystery) by Lisa Regan

In the small city of Denton, Pennsylvania, an infant has gone missing. Chief of Police Josie Quinn launches a desperate search for the newborn. Then her fiance disappears. The only clue to either of these abductions is a mystery woman who remembers nothing...not even her own name. Josie has her work cut out for her!

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on THE GIRL WITH NO NAME to read more and to email author Lisa Regan, you'll get a reply.

* This month's Penguin Classics book is THE PENGUIN BOOK OF ITALIAN SHORT STORIES, introduced, edited and with selected translations by Jhumpa Lahiri. I have a copy to share, start reading and enter today

Dear Reader Column 09-15-2020

Dear Reader,

Please welcome today's guest author Amanda Cox. You can reach her here.

Amanda's debut, The Edge of Belonging, leads readers into the past to discover a tender story of finding family in her stunning dual-timeline novel. A blogger and a curriculum developer for a national nonprofit youth leadership organization keeps her very busy, but her first love is communicating through story. Amanda holds a master's degree in professional counseling. Her studies and her interactions with hurting families over a decade have allowed her to create multidimensional characters that connect emotionally with readers. Amanda lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with her husband and their three children.

Climbing Mountains

I almost titled this, "That Time I Ate an Elephant" but I was concerned it would give off a weird first impression. Although, that vivid cliche did come to mind the day of my third wedding anniversary.

Before the days of raising small children, my husband and I loved to go backpacking. For our third anniversary, we skipped town for a few days to take a 3-day loop trail that included hiking to the top of Mount Sterling.

I'm not sure what we were thinking. It was our anniversary. If we were feeling woodsy, why not hike a nice flat trail and camp by some secluded creek for a few days? Alas, we were feeling adventurous.

Day one was a lovely jaunt. We happily walked hand and hand down the wide, flat trail, unbothered by the 25 lb. packs on our backs. The weird thing was, I developed a small blister on the back of each of my heels. Same hiking shoes and socks as I always used.

My husband asked if I wanted to abort mission and hike out in the morning. Pretty silly to miss out on the rest of the hike over two small blisters, right? So in my classic I-Finish-What-I-Start stubbornness, I told him we could continue.

Day two was all uphill. With every stride, my boots rubbed my heels in the same place, in the same way. Before long, the skin on my heels was shredded. Because of the pain in my feet, I altered my normal stride. Muscles my legs didn't even know they had trembled with each step. It was hot. My bag was heavy. The romance was gone, y'all.

My hike became a repeating chant inside my head. "How do I climb this mountain? Take one more step. One more step. One more step." My solitary focus was on making my legs take that one next step.

At one point my husband, trying to encourage me, said that the view at the top would be worth it. I replied that I didn't care about the stupid view and I was never, ever going backpacking again.

It was undeniably beautiful--the panoramic view of The Great Smoky Mountains from the top of an old fire tower just before sunset, but whether in the midst childbirth, writing struggles, discouragements, emotional pain, whatever challenge I face, it's never the mountain-top experience I go back to. It's always that climb.

-- Amanda Cox
Contact Amanda 

* It's time to enter my annual Write a DearReader Contest. You don't need to be a writer to enter. The contest is for writing fun. To read last year's winning entries and information about the rules and deadline, click here.

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.

THE GIRL WITH NO NAME (Mystery) by Lisa Regan

In the small city of Denton, Pennsylvania, an infant has gone missing. Chief of Police Josie Quinn launches a desperate search for the newborn. Then her fiance disappears. The only clue to either of these abductions is a mystery woman who remembers nothing...not even her own name. Josie has her work cut out for her!

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on THE GIRL WITH NO NAME to read more and to email author Lisa Regan, you'll get a reply.

* This month's Penguin Classics book is THE PENGUIN BOOK OF ITALIAN SHORT STORIES, introduced, edited and with selected translations by Jhumpa Lahiri. I have a copy to share, start reading and enter today

Dear Reader Column 09-09-2020

Dear Reader,

Julian Guthrie, today's guest author, is a self-described word geek, longtime journalist, and author of five nonfiction books, including her newly released, Good Blood: A Doctor, a Donor, and the Incredible Breakthrough that Saved Millions of Babies. Inspired by her fourth book, Alpha Girls, Julian launched a national nonprofit, The Alpha Girls Institute, dedicated to inspiring and enabling women and girls to succeed in male-dominated fields. And in the spirit of underdogs who take on new and big challenges, she recently founded a venture-backed tech startup called Mindset Alpha. She believes in the saying, "Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great."

Please say "Hello" and welcome Julian to our book club, and you'll also be entered in her book giveaway--see specific details below.

 

Why am I so inexorably drawn to underdog stories?

Is it because no one in my family is a writer, and yet being a writer is what I set out to do a few decades back? Is it because everyone in my family remained in our hometowns in the states of Washington and Idaho, while I ventured off to edgy, cosmopolitan San Francisco with dreams of working for a big-city newspaper, knowing no one and having no Plan B?

When I did land that coveted newspaper job in San Francisco, I delighted in writing stories about people achieving remarkable things against the odds. Years later, when I started writing nonfiction books--working at night and on weekends while I kept my day job at the paper--I again gravitated to the David vs Goliath struggles. I love the Everyman (and Everywoman) Rises Above story.

My five nonfiction books are only superficially quite different, beginning with the story of a grassroots effort by a group of devout Catholics to save a historic church, followed by the adrenaline-fueled tale of an uber-competitive, high-flying billionaire in dogged pursuit of the oldest trophy in international sports. Books three, four, and now, five, are also about heroic and improbable journeys: A quintessential space geek figures out a way to get to space without the government's help, ignoring those who told him it wouldn't happen; a group of women succeed in the male-dominated world of tech, where hurdles abound; and, now--book 5--a doctor and a donor play powerful roles in finding a solution to a deadly medical mystery.

The two main figures in Good Blood have courage in spades and go on a journey of self-discovery to save millions of lives. The odds of success are stacked against them.

I continue to revere real life Bilbo Baggins and Rocky Balboas. I applaud the tortoise for his slow and steady defeat of the much faster, limelight-stealing hare. I love the idea that the world can be helped and humbled by everyday people. We need those improbable heroes today more than ever.

I am happy to offer a giveaway of five signed copies of my new book, Good Blood--a true underdog tale--to five readers (U.S. only, sorry) who email me and share their own compelling underdog stories. Note: tell your underdog story in three paragraphs or less; otherwise, you will not be eligible. Simply email your name and mailing address (in case you win) to me at guthrieassistant@gmail.com

-- Julian Guthrie

* I hope you enjoyed reading today's guest column. If you're one of the winners, or your entry is an honorable mention in this year's Write a DearReader contest, it will be featured as a guest column. Cash prizes, rules and deadlines, along with last year's winning entries are here.

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.

* This month's Penguin Classics book is THE PENGUIN BOOK OF ITALIAN SHORT STORIES, introduced, edited and with selected translations by Jhumpa Lahiri. I have a copy to share, start reading and enter today

Dear Reader Column 09-01-2020

Dear Reader,

Please welcome today's guest author, Cynthia Ruchti. Her guest column today will encourage you to enter this year's Write a DearReader Contest. For all the info, cash prizes, deadlines, and to read last year's winning entries, click here.

Cynthia is an award-winning author of more than 30 books, both fiction and nonfiction. Her work has been recognized by Readers' Choice, Reviewers' Choice, Retailers' Choice and other industry honors. Her latest release is the novel Afraid of the Light, the story of a clinical psychologist who counsels hoarders and their families. Cynthia and her plot-tweaking husband live in the heart of Wisconsin, not far from their three children and six grandchildren. Her tagline is, "I can't unravel. I'm hemmed in hope."

Cynthia has a copy of Afraid of the Light to give away to one lucky reader. Say hello and when you do, you're entered in the drawing. Email: cynthia.ruchti@gmail.com

Please welcome author Cynthia Ruchti...

When readers ask how much time I spend on research for a novel, my traditional answer is "anywhere from six to nine months." But I've been underestimating. The full truth is that writers are Experience Collectors. Every novel is threaded with a lifetime of curated images and sounds, smells and textures.

The unique combo of artist's dream sunlight and perpetual grape-scented air freshener in Sonoma County, California. The deafening rumble and crash of storm-tossed Atlantic waves. The vastness of an ocean of Iowa cornfields, each stalk making eerie music as its coarse leaves react to the hot summer breeze.

A writer collects emotions and body language. Small talk that seems even smaller at a funeral. Relentless remorse twisting the face of a young mom. The visceral comfort in an embrace.

Mist along a sea wall in Denmark. Sand that swallows footprints on a Florida beach. The aching, echoing call of a loon on a Canadian lake. An incandescent shade of hot pink geraniums in a hanging basket.

A tightly folded lovenote passed between middle schoolers, caught by a frowning teacher. A coffin too incredibly small. An ancient door with chipped paint and layers of fingerprints centuries-thick.

A devastating job loss. The somber way the phone rings when a doctor is calling with test results. The first flash of green after an endless winter.

All research. Writers build a collection of impressions with every breath. The impressions and memories and observations about human behavior dance with each other until they eventually twist themselves into stories that find their way to the pages of books.

How do writers create characters and plot? They borrow from yesterday's trip to the grocery store and from tracing their fingers on the etchings in their ancestors' tombstones. They draw from the sensation when they feel an airplane leave earth's magnetism the first time. And the first look that said, "You are loved."

For a writer, research starts in infancy, when fresh eyes drink in a world unknown until that moment. Life shapes and informs, sheds light, invites shadows, scents the air, wraps in cotton blankets and porcupine pain, soaring gains and a litany of losses. Years later, impressions become words, sentences, paragraphs, a book. Then another and another.

How long does the research take? Every day of a writer's life.

-- Cynthia Ruchti
Email cynthia.ruchti@gmail.com to be entered in the drawing for a copy of her new book, Afraid of the Light.

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.

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

Dear Reader Column 08-24-2020

Dear Reader,

Today's the day! The launch of the 16th Annual Write a DearReader Contest.

Don't start thinking to yourself, 'I'm not a writer.' Because I started the writing contest 16 years ago, for someone exactly like you. Everyone has at least a 650-word story inside of them (the maximum number of words allowed in an entry), and I'd love to read yours.

The Write a DearReader contest is all about writing for fun and you're allowed to collaborate with a friend, or spouse. Two people can work together on an entry. If your entry is chosen as a First Place ($200 cash prize), Second Place ($100), or Third Place ($50) winner, I will donate a 50% matching gift to your local library in your honor. And the winning entries will be featured in my daily column.

So get busy and start writing. Write about your grandmother's favorite recipe, tell me about your favorite or most obnoxious neighbor. What's the one word that would best describe you? What's your wish, but it hasn't come true yet? Write down the conversation you'd have with your cat or dog if they could talk.

Tell me about a perfect first date, or one that made you run the other way. Write about your favorite aunt, a bizarre and whimsical woman who vacuums her living room in the buff. Write about unusual words like 'poppysmic.' When does your passion shine? When do you pull up the covers and hide-out from fear? Serious, funny, embarrassing situations, thoughts about life, fiction, nonfiction, the topics are endless.

Does the thought of writing something that people will read give you the willies? Perfect. There's your topic--write about your fear of writing. But start writing about something, because it's time to enter my 16th Annual Write a DearReader Contest.

To review the guidelines and to read last year's winning entries, click here.

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

Start writing and have fun,

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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

DAWSON'S FALL (Fiction) by Roxana Robinson

Captain Frank Dawson was an English journalist; Sarah Morgan, the beautiful daughter of a Baton Rouge judge. After the Civil War they married in Charleston, S. C., where at first they flourished: he as an influential editor, she, writer and mother. Later his views on race were considered too progressive, then his household was fatally disrupted by a sinister neighbor. This is the story of a literary romance, a true crime, racial politics and the real history of my great-grandparents.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on DAWSON'S FALL to read more and to email author Roxana Robinson, you'll get a reply.

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

Dear Reader Column 08-05-2020

Dear Reader,

I write something to you every day and you write back to me. It's a mixture of reader emails today, the best kind of column.

(And don't forget to enter my giveaway. Keep reading...)

"Suzanne, I love this story about the drawers in your home. Now I shall count my own and that can be yet another task during these trying times. So far, I've organized recipes...meaning I put them in folders and the folders in an accordion folder. Gone through family photos and thrown hundreds away after giving many, many, to our four sons. Cleaned several rooms. Painted stones (with sayings to secretly place in the neighborhood and on lawns of church members), and of course READ READ READ... Thanks for your uplifting words each day! Stay well...and blessings to you!" -- Melody

"Hi Suzanne, your spatula story still has me smiling. While visiting a dear friend of mine at her home, I went in search of a fork. After opening drawer upon drawer I finally found the silverware drawer. Seeing an opportunity to give her kitchen some clarity, consistency, and proper flow, I decided to put the place in order. More than ten years has passed and I've moved away, but my friend will still call and ask where to find items.'Do you remember where you put the tongs? My husband has been cursing you under his breath every time he uses the grill. I've bought him new ones, but he can't find his favorite. So I've decided to leave what 'sparks joy' for Marie Kondo." -- Respectfully, Arlene

Suzanne comments: Counting all the drawers in my house and determined to organize each and every one, when I opened the kitchen utensil drawer and realized there were 15 spatulas in it, I was inspired to make this week's giveaway a spatula. Not to worry, it's not one of my 15, a brand new set-of-four silicone spatulas will show up in the winner's mail box. To enter, click here.

"Hi Suzanne, even when I don't care for the week's book (which is rare), I always read your column! Instead of an email or a blog, your column reminds me of a letter from a friend. (Remember when we used to send and receive those?) I enjoy your column every day. Usually you seem very upbeat and positive. (I love to picture your bubble machine!) Once in a while, you sound down or upset. That's when I want to send you a big hug. Hang in there. Covid-19 can't last forever. And remember: you spread joy to many people every day. How many people get to do that? Sending smiles your way," -- Ann

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 07-28-2020

Dear Reader,

After publishing five books in her award-winning Far West Texas mystery series, today's guest author, Tricia Fields, detoured to swampy south Florida in her first book in the new Maggie Wise series. Living in a log cabin on a small farm in rural Indiana, Tricia claims an affinity for anything remote and hot and quiet. Read about both of her series at: www.triciafields.com

Tricia has a copy of her newest release Young Blood to send to a lucky book club reader. Be sure to read the details in her guest column today.

Please welcome author Tricia Fields...

I love a good statistic. A quality statistic can send me down the rabbit hole like little else. It was statistics about the US blood supply that drew me to the research for my new book, Young Blood. I discovered that in the United States alone, someone needs blood every two seconds. I also learned that before the mid-1900s women often died during childbirth due to uncontrolled bleeding. Christian Millman, from Discover Magazine, said that at that time animal blood was commonly used during transfusions. It wasn't until the 20th century that doctors discovered that humans have differing blood groups, and that some blood types cannot be mixed with others. (Sounds like fodder for a good murder mystery...)

On a more personal note, when I received my Red Cross blood donation card in March of this year I learned that I am A+, like 34% of the population. However, back in high school, I performed a blood test which revealed that my blood type was B-. My teacher informed me that my blood type was only found in 2% of the population. I was special! We were also studying Punnett squares to determine the blood type of offspring. I went home that night to plot my parents'--blood types into the matrix and discovered that I couldn't have been their child. The photos I had seen of me as a baby, toddler, schoolgirl, etc. suddenly didn't prove anything.

Science confirmed it! I'd had no inclination that I was adopted. My parents had no inclination either. It turned out that I had mistyped my blood. Scientific error: part of the learning curve.

Science is such a wonder. So many questions needing answered, so much to learn, so many things to screw up again and again before theories are proven, and then debated for another hundred years. I wonder what medical procedures that make sense today will one day be viewed as outrageous.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with one more statistic and a friendly call to action. One blood donation can potentially save the lives of three people. The Red Cross has said there is an urgent need for blood and platelet donations due to the pandemic. Drop me a line at ttmefields@gmail.com with the last time you gave blood, or just a comment in support of the Red Cross--I'd love to chat with you, and I'll send a random person an autographed copy of Young Blood. A nice combination--a free book, and the chance to save three lives. Be well my friends!

-- Tricia Fields
ttmefields@gmail.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.

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

PENGUIN CLASSICS this month features the book The Posthumous Memoirs Of Bras Cubas, by Machado de Assis. I have a copy of the book to share, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column 07-21-2020

Dear Reader,

S.C. Perkins, today's guest author, is a fifth-generation Texan who grew up hearing fascinating stories of her ancestry, and eating lots of great Tex-Mex. Her first book, Murder Once Removed, was the winner of the 2017 Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery competition, and is an Agatha Award Nominee. S.C. resides in Houston and when she's not writing, she's likely outside in the sun or on the beach.

S.C. Perkins has a copy of her new book, Lineage Most Lethal to send to a lucky reader. To enter the drawing, please email: scperkins@scperkins.com

My Love of Television and Cinematic Past
by S.C. Perkins

If there's anything I will happily blame my mother for, it's my love of English period pieces, Hollywood movie musicals, and any romantic comedy set in the 1960s or earlier. Of course, I like modern television and programs, too, but the classic ones I grew up on thanks to my mother's enthusiasm for them continue to be favorites and have influenced my life in small, but measurable ways.

I was born in the same year that PBS' Masterpiece Theatre began, and my mother was an instant devotee. Once a week, I was lulled to sleep by the likes of Upstairs, Downstairs and other English period dramas, and the original Masterpiece Theatre theme song (Fanfare-Rondeau by Jean-Joseph Mouret, if you're wondering) is likely as much the soundtrack of my childhood as any children's song. Through these period dramas, the history-loving side of me was firmly cemented and, as we all know, a knowledge of history, even if dramatized, helps to better understand the present.

Speaking of songs, movie musicals were and still are one of my mother's biggest loves, and I watched them almost as often as programs like Sesame Street. To this day, Singin' in the Rain remains my all-time favorite, and it wasn't unheard of for me to sing a pop hit of the day followed by a song like Good Mornin'. (It's still not unheard of me to do that, to be honest.) I'm no performer--and I definitely did not inherit my mother's lovely singing voice--but I did inherit her penchant for busting out into song without a lick of shame. And, since music engages the left side of your brain, these musicals no doubt gave my creative side an extra boost.

Oh, and the romantic comedies! You name one and I probably love it, as does my mom. These movies brought more smiles and happily-ever-afters into my already wonderful childhood--not to mention the most fabulous fashion--and I'm still in love with them to this day. If one of them comes on television, I stop and watch it, and I believe these movies helped reinforce my naturally positive personality.

While the Masterpiece theme song is different these days and very few people would be able to name the romantic comedy if I quoted it, I still think my childhood, my creativity, and my outlook on life was made even better for having been a fan of them--and I have my mom to thank for all of it (and more)!

I'm giving away a copy of my new book, Lineage Most Lethal. Email: scperkins@scperkins.com

-- S.C. Perkins

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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PENGUIN CLASSICS this month features the book The Posthumous Memoirs Of Bras Cubas, by Machado de Assis. I have a copy of the book to share, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.