Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column - March 14, 2023

Dear Reader,

Today’s the day to sample this month’s Penguin Classics title, “The Best of Everything” by Rona Jaffe, Introduction by Rachel Syme. Be sure to enter to win a copy of today's Classic for yourself.

Start reading (below) and enter for your chance to win.

(Notes from the publisher)

When Rona Jaffe’s superb page-turner was first published in 1958, it changed contemporary fiction forever. Some readers were shocked, but millions more were electrified when they saw themselves reflected in its story of five young employees of a New York publishing company. Sixty-five years later, The Best of Everything remains touchingly—and sometimes hilariously—true to the personal and professional struggles women face in the city. There’s Ivy League Caroline, who dreams of graduating from the typing pool to an editor’s office; naïve country girl April, who within months of hitting town reinvents herself as the woman every man wants on his arm; and Gregg, the free-spirited actress with a secret yearning for domesticity. Jaffe follows their adventures with intelligence, sympathy, and prose as sharp as a paper cut.

Start reading this month's Penguin Classic, "The Best of Everything” by Rona Jaffe and enter to win your own copy.  Go to: 

http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqB1AFE3F373F3&c=CLASSICS

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

Start reading this month's Penguin Classic, "The Best of Everything” by Rona Jaffe and enter to win your own copy.  Go to: 

http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqB1AFE3F373F3&c=CLASSICS

 

 

Dear Reader Column - March 13, 2023

Dear Reader, 

In last Monday’s column I asked readers to share stories of when they found themselves in outlandish, frustrating, humorous, or unusual situations…

“It’s always exciting to read your daily message and today. I am happy to share a lovely moment which happened last week. I live in a retirement facility, in one of the independent living apartments. We have three other levels of living arrangement as needed during one’s lifetime. 

Our team planned a centenarian party  because we have eight people living here who are 100 or more years old. It was a grand party, including a champagne toast. Members of the local press were on hand to interview these delightful residents. Only one of them lives in memory care, one in skilled care, one in assisted-living; but five of them are in an independent apartment, living life on their own without any direct care. When interviewed about how it felt to be 100, one of the residents replied, ‘Well, not a bit different than being 99!’ Needless to say, her sense of humor brought down the house. That’s pretty much a bodacious moment, isn’t it?”  – Marilyn M.

“Suzanne, while we are traveling in our motorhome I send out a weekly newsletter--I too carry a notebook and am always on the lookout for an unusual character, a funny sign—anything to fill up the space for the week. I admire you for publishing daily. Here are two stories...

While traveling in our camper heading ‘down south,’ we stopped at a diner for a quick lunch. I felt more than a little impatient when an elderly gentleman came over to our table and asked my husband, Tom, ‘What branch of the service were you in?’ The man said he knew my husband was in the military because Tom had removed his ‘cover’ when he entered the restaurant. They chatted a bit about where they had served, and then parted ways. When we went to pay our bill, we found out the former Marine had picked up our tab. Just a small act of kindness, but it made our day a special one, and reminded me to not be so impatient…good things can come from unexpected places. 

One of my foodie newsletters mentioned a tiny bakery serving that Texas treat, sausage kolaches. I have been craving a kolache since we left Houston years ago, so a road trip was in order. The bakery is so tiny only two customers are allowed in at a time. This was going to be a long wait.

My husband and I were the only ones with gray hair standing in the ever-growing line of twenty and thirty-somethings waiting for their chance to see what was on offer that day.

I found myself thinking that we didn’t have anything in common with this crowd, especially the willowy young lady right in front of us wearing a crisp linen top and very stylish palazzo pants. That is until my husband pointed out a mosquito about to attack her arm.

She almost howled, ‘Not again—Yesterday, I took my dog to Doggie Beach (a popular canine playground) and was eaten alive. The bug bites kept me up half the night.’

Our camper happens to be parked a short distance from that same doggie park, and I too had been attacked by an abundance of no see ums and mosquitoes. I was up most of the night. We bonded over our misery, trading ideas for ways to find relief right up until the moment she entered the bakery and the door closed behind her.” – Sue C.

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.

SAPPHIRE STORM (Fiction) by C. Travis Rice

My favorite romance novels are about two people who try to destroy each other before realizing they're destined to be together. That's my new book in a nutshell. When gorgeous young Roman Walker rolls into Sapphire Cove, his number one goal is to destroy the career of the resort's brand new executive pastry chef, Ethan Blake. But Roman discovers the dark secret that binds them isn't what he once thought. As the two find themselves immersed in Hollywood intrigue and scandal, Roman's target becomes his protector and his savior and his lover.

 

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on SAPPHIRE STORM to read more and to email author C. Travis Rice, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column - January 6, 2023

Dear Reader,

It's my pleasure to share another Honorable Mention column from this year's Write a DearReader Contest. Today's piece was written by Teresa Fronek. Thank you for your entry, Teresa…

Topsy Turvy

My grandmother was born in Oklahoma in 1920, which meant that she spent much of her youth growing up during the depression era in the middle of the Oklahoma Dust Bowl. Life was hard and their crops often failed to grow but they survived and somehow managed to make it work. I remember vividly, the stories she used to tell me of this time and the strange and quirky (I thought) habits she couldn't manage to relinquish until she was much older! 

It seems that because of the continual drought, the crops they grew to thrive or survive, like corn, failed to produce those luscious golden ears from lack of rain and the once fertile ground dried up and became a great land of nothing but dust for miles. The cupboards were filled with plates, cups, saucers and glasses all turned face down. When she asked why, my great grandmother explained that it was the only way to keep them clean! The dust permeated everything, even the often swept floors and cupboards and if they were right side up, they too would be covered by layers of the fine, gritty sand like substance and would be dirty again prior to the meals being served. So, she'd devised a method to prevent having to wash them again before eating off them. The tables were always set minutes before a meal and all of the dishes were placed face down. Even the pots and pans used to cook with were stored in this manner until taken out to prepare the food.

My grandma used to groan and giggle as she recalled eating mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs and grits and experiencing the crunch of the grime between her teeth that often blew in right before or during a meal and how it often appeared as though her mother had over peppered these dishes, when it was just the particles of flying dirt that seemed to be everywhere! She and her older brother used to walk nearly a mile to school each day and by the time they arrived, their clothes and eyes, especially their hair would be covered in layers of dust, so the school has built a sort of boot room, where the children could shake off the dirt before entering the classroom. Not that it did much good because that, too, was filled with a fine layer of it on the floors, desks and on the book shelves. It seemed everywhere they looked or went it was there: DUST! 

About the time she reached her late teens, her father had saved up a bit of a nest egg and he and a few farmer friends had decided to pool their money together and buy the equipment to drill for oil! The life of a farmer was just too hard and my great grandfather was a dreamer. The first year was rough, with working on the farm and hiring men to drill for them but by the second year they struck oil and it started to pay off! They had hit the mother lode and soon they had oil wells all over the Norman, Oklahoma area! Life was about to change drastically! During my grandma's first year of college, her parents made a trip west and purchased property in Southern California.

They were headed to the land of gold and dreams and out of the dust that had covered them for years! My grandmother married and stayed in Oklahoma but while my grandpa was in the war overseas, she packed up their belongings and my mother and joined them. They never returned to live there but wherever they lived the dishes in the cupboards were STILL upside down! I've continued the now unnecessary tradition by placing the plates, bowls and glasses upside down in my cupboards because even though my grandma has passed, I can keep a part of her alive for my children. When they ask about the topsy turvy way I arrange the dishes, I tell them the story from where they came!

– Teresa Fronek, Honorable Mention, 2022 Write a DearReader Contest

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column - December 21, 2022

Dear Reader,

This year I received so many outstanding entries in the Write a DearReader Contest, it seemed a shame to only publish the winning ones. So I've chosen some Honorable Mention entries that I'm be publishing in my column. Today’s piece was written by Robin Ball. Thanks for your entry, Robin. I agree, libraries are a blessing. 

Growing up I was blessed to live in a home where everyone had a book within reach or on a desk; we talked about books at the dinner table, and had a dictionary at the ready so we would be included in conversations with vocabulary that may have been above our level. Don’t know a word? Look it up. And, what a better introduction to books than that found in a library. We were often brought to the library but the magic day came when we reached the age of five and  were allowed to fill out our first application. When I was young, you had to be able to fill out the card with mom’s help but you were asked to sign the card all by yourself. That card opened up a world of independence. Our town had a main library, three branch libraries, and a bus mobile library that visited just a mile up the street from where we lived. The bus mobile visited once a week, and my brothers and sisters would take charge of getting me there and back with my prized possessions. It was my responsibility to get those books back in time, and in good order the following week.

Jump ahead years later, after college and a career in advertising, marriage and kids. We moved from town to town; wherever we lived, I found the library and was never without a book. My children were by my side as we got our books, and when it was their turn to get a library card they too found a whole new world in which to belong. It wasn’t easy for me going from a life of hectic traveling, presenting ideas to major corporate leaders, and never having a dull minute to transitioning to a stay-at-home mom. That is when I rediscovered the library; I was always there–volunteering, teaching classes, browsing shelves, and recommending books. One day, the director of this small library branch asked me if I would like a job. After all, I practically lived in the library and my recommendations had certainly improved the circulation. Well, it took me almost a month to accept, and here I am sixteen years later still working at the library.

The library, although changed in many ways, is still a safe place and a place to find comfort and friends. I have taught children all about books, writing their own books, and have fun dancing, laughing and singing. The senior patrons of the library often come to me to recommend books, I am often asked to locate books with only the description of the cover of the book. I often surprise patrons with my quick method of finding just the book. The library is a good place with no judgment. People come here when they are out of work to use our computers, and our research materials to get them back into the job market. Many will spend the entire day here often asking for our input. Kids come when they are toddlers and we watch them grow into young adults. We have had our share of people who have moved on yet still keep in touch, and we have had our share of people who we must say our final goodbyes. The library is a revolving door of family, friends, and strangers who don’t remain strangers for too long. The library will be here regardless of how the world changes, we will change with it while remaining steadfast and true.

– Robin Ball , Honorable Mention, 2022 Write a DearReader Contest

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column - December 15, 2022

It's my pleasure to share another Honorable Mention column from this year's Write a DearReader Contest. Today's piece was written by Cosina Dorothy Barot. Thank you for your entry, Cosina …       

It’s All In How You Look At Life

Most people usually fall down; so why do I always fall up? I have been falling “up” the stairs my entire life and today was no exception. Coffee in one hand, phone in the other, tripped and fell, flat on my face. 

Coffee flew out and now I’m currently dressed in Crème Brûlée. Cell phone flew up and landed directly in my coffee cup. What are the chances? I should play the lottery, but I’m not a gambler; I never win! 

Can you picture all of this? I’m lying there wondering, do I dare move, assessing whether or not anything’s broken, other than my pride. The heat rises within until my cheeks turn to rosé pink, while my mind is screaming, “This did not just happen! Not on my very first day of my new job! In the busy lobby, with all eyes on me!” 

Time stood still. All eyes stopped, staring in disbelief. What– just–happened? Everyone moved in slow motion. A few came closer, unsure and weary of my reaction. I hear their thoughts, “Who is that? Poor new girl. Is she okay? Is she crying? Is she hurt? Does she need help? Can she get up?”  

As I lifted my hanging head and gracefully stood to my feet, hoping and praying gravity who just betrayed me, would lend a helping hand. My business suit needed pulled back to its original position on my body. “Oh, this is so embarrassing!” Yet, I knew there was nothing left to do. 

So, I turned around and gave my greatest, grandest, most triumphant smile, and said, “Hi! My name’s Cosina. It’s nice to meet you all!” For a moment, silent looks were exchanged. Heaviness hung in the air. 

The small crowd that had gathered, burst into nervous laughter and chatter, as they made their way over to me. I met so many good people that day. 

Nothing like making an entrance! Forever being known as the girl who calms nerves and breaks up the boring, mundane, monotonous business tension which fills so many offices with air, all stuffy and tight! 

You see? Sometimes, you just have to slow down and take a nice, hard look at yourself and the world around you. Give it all, a great big hearty laugh! 

Some may say this means my cup is half full. Others will say no, it’s definitely half empty. But, I know the truth… 

My cup runneth over! 

– Cosina Dorothy Barot, Honorable Mention, 2022 Write a DearReader Contest

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column - December 13, 2022

Dear Reader,

Today's guest author, Janyre Tromp, is one of the three featured authors, along with Deborah Raney and Amanda Wen, in the charming collection of romance novellas, O Little Town...

In the sleepy small town of Mapleview, Michigan, Christmas is always something special. Join three generations of Mapleview residents longing for love--and finding it--on the most wonderful night of the year.

Janyre Tromp writes historicals with a dose of lyrical intrigue. She's the author of Shadows in the Mind's Eye and co-author of It's a Wonderful Christmas and O Little Town. All that creativity happens in her basement when she's not hanging out with her family and fur babies. Come hang out with Janyre on social media (@janyretromp) and grab a free novella on her website: www.janyretromp.com.

Be sure to enter Janyre's book giveaway (details below). 

Welcome to the book club, Janyre, and thanks for visiting...

When my daughter was a two-year-old cherub, she loved touching the "magic" snowflake to turn on the Christmas tree. Every morning, she'd toddle down the steps and light the world. Then every night, she'd "tuck" in the tree before she snuggled into her own bed.

That Christmas Eve, my husband and I stacked presents around the tree. We were sure our girl would love the sparkling gifts.

The next morning, while I was making traditional Christmas donuts, my girl thumped down the steps. Instead of excitement, our girl burst into tears, wailing, "All those things are in my way!"

I couldn't help laughing, and my husband said, "That'll be the last time she ever says that."

He was right, but one fact from that day stands out for me: All the presents were in the way of her Christmas.

And that hits home...especially since we launch our daughter (who's now a teenager) to college this year. Not only do we want to make Christmas special, but we're mindful of the huge financial outlay coming. So I have a list and I'm checking it twice. And it doesn't matter who's naughty or nice, there's just not the same amount to go around.

Honestly I'm struggling with that. Part of Christmastime is finding the perfect present and seeing the joy it brings. But Christmas isn't about gifts. It's about family and joy, forgiveness and reaching out--rather like the very first Christmas. And somehow all the holiday things interfere with that.

I'm not sure what Christmas will look like this year. We'll keep the cookie decorating and game playing and the nativity on the mantle, and I'll still make donuts, but there will be less of  everything else. And who knows? Maybe we'll have the best Christmas.

It's an idea I explored in my novella in O Little Town, where I dug into small town Christmas and some history (did you know the Japanese bombed Michigan during WWII?).

To enter the drawing for one of five copies of O Little Town drop me an email (Janyre@icloud.com) and tell me what you're looking forward to this Christmas.

-- Janyre Tromp

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column - December 6, 2022

Dear Reader,

Please welcome today’s guest author, Allie Pleiter, who has sold over 1.6 million books in her twenty-year career. Allie also coaches on writing productivity and speaks nationally on time management for creatives. 

Allie is an avid knitter, confirmed coffee junkie and firm believer that "pie makes everything better." Her latest release is It Came Upon a Midnight Shear, the third book in the Riverbank Knitting Mysteries. Previous books in the series are Knit or Dye Trying and On Skein of Death.

Allie is giving away four copies of It Came Upon a Midnight Shear, simply drop her a note and include your shipping address, in case you are one of the lucky winners.

Email: allie@alliepleiter.com

Words and Stitches

I am as passionate about my knitting as I am about my writing. Both deeply feed my need to be creative and to put something into the world that wasn't there before.

While I admit both occasionally serve me up a humbling dose of frustration, I mostly take great pleasure in my knitting and writing accomplishments. I show off my shawls with as much shameless pride as I do my books. I look for creativity in my stitches with the same fever I do in my characters. For me, a story unravels itself before me just as a scarf builds stitch by stitch.

I find the two to be a perfect counterbalance. After a long day of staring at, messing with, and pondering words, nothing feels better than yarn running through my fingers. It is a particular pleasure to watch as the instructional words of a pattern transform themselves into a soft scarf--it's magic in my hands. Like many writers, I am a highly sensory person. I'm forever taking in how things feel, look, sound, etc. The varied textures of yarn indulge my senses in the same way a really good slice of lemon meringue pie (my personal favorite!) indulges my taste. And yes, I'm thankful yarn is calorie-free.

I knit everywhere. If you see me at a writing conference or any other of my many speaking engagements, I'm often knitting. I'm known to say "knitting is socially acceptable fidgeting." I'm not the kind of person who can sit still and watch for long periods of time, so knitting helps me pay attention. I'm not knitting because you bore me, I'm knitting so that I pay better attention to you. I'm skilled enough that often I have no need to look down at my fingers and can direct my complete attention to the speaker. I travel to teach writing frequently, and nothing eases the frustrations of travel like knitting in your hands. Flight delay? It's just an opportunity to get in a few more rows. And I love how knitting often opens up conversations with fellow travelers.

Is it any wonder that so many of my characters knit? Why wouldn't I take every chance to share my passion for the craft with the world? Because to me, knitting in books is simply the best of both worlds!

-- Allie Pleiter

Allie is giving away four copies of It Came Upon a Midnight Shear, drop her a note and include your shipping address, in case you are one of the winners. Email: allie@alliepleiter.com

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.

THE THIRD INSTINCT (Fiction) by Kent Lester

My new novel continues the adventures of Dan Clifford and Rachel Sullivan as they face an even bigger threat. While rebuilding their lives after the pandemic, they are thrust into a world of creatives empowered by technology--makers, biohackers, conspiracy theorists, cos-players, and phone hackers. They must decipher the truth in a war of deception that has raged for two thousand years. It will take insight into the third basic human instinct to find the answer.

I'm giving away five copies, to enter the drawing, click on the link to Authorbuzz and the book jacket to enter or email: the.third.instinct@gmail.com with the subject line "The Third Instinct giveaway." 

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE THIRD INSTINCT to read more and to email author Kent Lester, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column - December 5, 2022

Dear Reader,

Every year I am amazed at the quality of the writing entries I receive for the Write a DearReader Contest. It's difficult to choose just three winners, so I choose Honorable Mentions as well. Today's Honorable Mention was written by Carole Knoles. Thank you so much Carole for sharing your story with us.

A Time For Sweet Reflection

I ran across a quote today by a man, unfamiliar to me, named Charlie Kaufman (I will have to look him up). The quote says “Perhaps I am not interesting, but I am all I have to offer, and I want to offer something.” I do not have a conduit to make an offer of myself to the world at large at my advanced age and frankly I do not know what value any offering would have to others. I have given what I had to offer to work and to my loved ones. Now, in retirement, I think perhaps in reflection there is something to offer myself.

In the contemplation, there is such a mixture of emotion. There is gratitude, embarrassment, insecurity, joy, and even shame. The young person that I was had neither the interest, time, or wisdom to be concerned about these things although I clearly remember then feeling embarrassment, insecurity, and an abundance of appetite for material things, love, admiration, and the instant gratification of every desire.

Today, although that grasping, uncertain kid is certainly tucked in a corner of my aged soul, I am concerned with other things than she was. I think so much of people, now gone, who helped me along in life. I do wish that I had had the forethought to voice my appreciation to them in a louder voice at the time. The best that I can do now is to remember them lovingly for all they did for me and be a bit forgiving of myself for the self absorbed days of my youth.

It occurs to me that perhaps the body slows down in old age to give the mind and heart of a human to expand. I can see more clearly how one step after another led me here. If my parents hadn’t been a bad match they wouldn’t have divorced, my mother wouldn’t have married a military man who adopted me, and I wouldn’t have seen the world. If I hadn’t left home and moved to D.C. and worked with my father in law to be, I would not have met a husband who would father the two children who I adore. If I hadn’t left that life and moved the three of us to San Francisco those children would not have been set on the same fulfilling path on which they travel now. And so on and so on.

Certainly part of me wishes that I had the energy and health to do it all over again. The best that I can do is watch the reruns in my mind while I enjoy the good times, contemplate the lessons of the bad ones, blush at the embarrassments, be grateful for those who helped me, and forgive myself for my missteps and shortcomings. It’s been overall a grand life. Thank you Mother Earth for hosting me!

– Carole Knoles, Honorable Mention, 2022 Write a DearReader Contest

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.

THE SISTERS OF SEA VIEW (Fiction) by Julie Klassen

I am eager for you to meet the Summers sisters in book one in my new series--following their struggles, relationships, tested loyalties, and romances. It is set in the British seaside town of Sidmouth, where Jane Austen visited and possibly inspired her unfinished novel, Sanditon. To celebrate the launch of this series, I'm giving away five copies, to enter the drawing, click on the link to Authorbuzz and the book jacket to enter or enter the giveaway.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE SISTERS OF SEA VIEW to read more and to email author Julie Klassen, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column - December 2, 2022

Dear Reader,

It’s my pleasure to share another Honorable Mention column from this year’s Write a DearReader Contest. Today’s piece was written by Mary Nunn. Thank you for your entry, Mary, I’m never going to look at dimes the same way again…

Finding Dimes

Years ago, I was talking with my cousin about our parents who had passed away (my mom and his father were brother and sister). He worked as a chaplain in a hospital in Philadelphia, and told me how one of his coworkers said that every time she found a dime, it meant that someone who had passed away was saying hello :)  Over the next few years, he would send me pictures of the various dimes that he found, always when he seemed to be needing it the most. I would just smile and think, well, he lives in the city, of course he would be finding dimes everywhere. One day after listening to another coincidence, I mentioned to him that I ‘never’ found a dime, like...ever. He said "Well, did you ever ASK for one? Try specifically asking." So one morning, lying in bed, I was thinking about my mom and really missing her. So I said out loud "Ok mom, I really miss you. How about sending me a dime?" I felt a little foolish, but I really put my heart into the request.

Two days later, at the library where I work, I randomly decided to clear off a windowsill in our program room. And there it was...a dime. I couldn't believe it. I actually teared up! What would a dime be doing on that windowsill that I just happened to be clearing off? A week later, I saw another dime on a bike path when I stopped to take a drink. The next day, another one on the curb in front of the doctor's office. That was just the start of years of finding dimes in the most unusual places, frequently after I have specifically asked, but always connected to some event or date. 

Here’s the even more unusual thing. I have told my dime stories to other friends and family, many of whom would smile indulgently as I did to my cousin...until they started finding dimes of their own. We have a group text going of pictures of dimes that we have found, along with all of the serendipitous stories that go along with them - finding a dime at the bottom of a purse that I randomly chose to bring to a wedding of a friend whose father had just passed away (and I taped the dime in her card :), going to visit my brother on his birthday and finding a dime in the road where I parked my car (and telling him it was our mom saying "happy birthday" :), my friend finding four dimes on the door of her dryer (she said she had NEVER before found any change in her dryer) right after she started asking for dimes. The stories continue, and it has brought comfort and amazement to all of us.

My cousin keeps his dimes in a glass bowl that had been his mother’s. I have all of mine in a mason jar on my desk. A reminder of the beauty, mystery, and connection that we all have.

Do you believe? How can you not? And why wouldn't you?

– Mary Nunn, Honorable Mention, 2022 Write a DearReader Contest

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column - November 22, 2022

Dear Reader,

A Christmas Deliverance is New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry's twentieth heart-warming Christmas mystery: The festive season is fast approaching, and Dr Crowe and his young apprentice Scuff are busy, as always, tending London's sick and wounded. This year, however, Crowe is increasingly distracted by memories of a former patient, Eliza Hollister, for whom he cared deeply.

I’m pleased to welcome Anne Perry as today’s guest author. She is the bestselling author of nineteen previous holiday novels, as well as the William Monk series, the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series, the Daniel Pitt series, and the Elena Standish series. She has also written five World War I novels and a work of historical fiction, The Sheen on the Silk. Anne Perry lives in Los Angeles.

For more from Anne Perry, follow her on Facebook at @AnnePerryAuthor.  Or say “Hello”. Contact her at askanneperry@aol.com

Like almost everyone else, I stayed home during most of COVID. It was little hardship for me because I work at home. Groceries and everything important were delivered to my door. I kept in touch with friends and family by email and telephone.

What I did not realize was what a hermit I had become. Last year, I had made a commitment to travel to a 2022 writers’ conference when I thought this would all be over. And as I had given my word, I had no honorable choice but to go. When the departure day finally arrived, I realized that I had become afraid of being in public. Crowds, Airports. Queues a mile long. Delays. Missing connecting flights. I’ve been in that situation before. I also knew what it meant to be the last one standing in an airport in the middle of the night. As they say: been there, done that. Aching with tension, pulling my one small case, I set out. I was quickly reminded that I have a sore back. Probably from sitting in one position too long. And not enough walking. Envisioning long queues of people waiting to check in, I had asked for a wheelchair, which was provided at every stop. I was treated with care and courtesy. No waiting, no getting lost.

Everything went well, nothing was more than a few minutes late. There was a connection where the second gate was a quarter of a mile away from the first, but I whizzed along in the chair. When I arrived at the other end of my journey, I found a taxi immediately. A most interesting driver, and we had a terrific conversation about all sorts of things.

There were roughly four hundred people at the writers’ conference, mostly from the United States and Canada, and a few from scattered places. I met old friends, and made new ones. We were given very smart black masks in our welcome kit, and wore them everywhere except the dining room, or if we were the lecturer or on a panel. And all the time I was there, I never heard a single complaint or unkind word about the masks, or anything else.

After the years alone, most of us were happy to meet again.

Some familiar faces were deeply missed, but that is inevitable.

What I particularly enjoyed was breaking the imaginary bars that had been imprisoning me.

What else have I missed because it involved stepping into the unknown? I promised myself not to let that happen again. It is up to me!

-- Anne Perry

Follow her on Anne on Facebook at @AnnePerryAuthor. Or contact her at askanneperry@aol.com

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

* This month's Penguin Classics is Metamorphosis by Ovid, a sensuous and witty poem in an accessible translation by David Raeburn. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.