When fellow Tarheel Christine, The Uncorked Librarian, sent out a call for reviews of books set in the south, I jumped at the chance.  My pick?  

Guests on Earth, by awesome North Carolina author Lee Smith.  

The novel is set around an Asheville neighborhood that’s now a stately avenue of historic homes.  But there's a grassy field down the road!  Peaceful now so hard grasp its heartbreaking significance to literary giant F. Scott Fitzgerald.
 
Explore this Asheville tragedy and read my review of Smith’s Guests Here on Earth.  Then click over to The Uncorked Librarian for Christine’s juicy list of southern books to add to your reading stack.

About the Book

​

Guests on Earth
by Lee Smith
Algonquin Books  | 2013  | 326 pages  |  historical fiction

​Here's how author Lee Smith describes her novel: 

​"Guests on Earth is set at Highland Mental Hospital in Asheville, N.C., during the years 1936-1948, including the terrible 1948 fire in which Zelda Fitzgerald perished along with eight other women patients in the locked ward on the top floor. Her body was identified only by her charred ballet slipper---for the brilliant Zelda was still a talented dancer and choreographer as well as a writer and a visual artist.

Deep Dive
Asheville Literary History
 
I’d love Lee Smith’s books even if I didn’t live in her North Carolina home state, a frequent backdrop for her tales. Freely disclosing here that her local-to-me tales are especially enticing, but they will hook you, too, no matter where you live.  
  

Guests on Earth is a brilliant historical fiction.  Its centerpiece, Highland Hospital for Nervous Disorders, was built in Asheville, NC, in the early 1900s, was run by psychiatrist Dr. Robert Carroll.  A mental health innovator, Carroll removed then-standard chains and straight jackets, offering his ‘guests’ instead fresh air, exercise, and creative arts along with counseling.  

​Dr. Carroll’s wife, Grace Potter Carroll, was a world-famous concert pianist who operated a music school in their adjacent home, Highland Hall.  Mrs. Carroll sponsored many concerts, often featuring Highland patients, at their home that still stands proud on Montford Avenue on the historic register of homes.

Highland is forever linked to the literary world by F. Scott Fitzgerald and his Zelda. ​

​The novelist resided at the Asheville at the Grove Park Inn during the summers of 1935 and 1936 to rest from tuberculosis and find writing inspiration.  His wife Zelda, a brilliant creative in her own right, was treated at nearby Highland Hospital (for what doctors now suspect was a bipolar disorder) for months at a time during their marriage and after his death in 1940.  

The hospital has the sad distinction as the place Zelda where perished. Trapped on the top floor with eight others when Highland burned to the ground in 1948, Zelda was identified only by her ballet slipper.

One hot summer afternoon as I wandered around Asheville, I stumbled across the historical marker commemorating that tragic night. 

​My  Review

Smith’s main character, Evalina Toussaint, unravels the mystery of Highland in her compelling first-person narrative  Admitted as a delicate child of a New Orleans courtesan and a wealthy aristocratic father, Evalina is a reliable narrator as far as her innocence and vulnerabilities allow. She becomes a student of Mrs. Carroll’s, finding her identity and stability by playing  piano at the Carroll’s nearby residence, Highland Hall.

As Evalina accompanies Highland’s patients at musicals, she befriends a tapestry of fellow women patients. Smith portrays these characters with richness and empathy, and you feel their despair.  Eventually, Evalina’s life intersects with Zelda’s at the clinic ... two creative, wounded spirits who develop a peaceful coexistence across Zelda's mood swings. 

​Much of the plot revolves around Evalina’s failed attempts at finding love and untangling dark family’s secrets that trap her.  Bouncing in and out of Highland into adulthood, she feels at home there and eventually recovers enough to land a staff position as pianist.

​Despite healing, Evalina remains haunted by that terrible night of the fire.  As she explains in the opening chapter:
​

​“I bring a certain insight and new information to that horrific event which changed all our lives forever, those of us living there upon that mountain at that time. This is not my story, then, in the sense that Mr. Fitzgerald’s 'The Great Gatsby' was not Nick Carraway’s story, either---yet Nick Carraway is the narrator, is he not?

​And is any story not always the narrator’s story, in the end?”

With Evalina as narrator in Guests on Earth, Lee Smith seamlessly weaves fact and fiction for a compelling read.

More Southern Titles
​

 Hankering for more novels set in the south?  

Click over to The Uncorked Librarian  for the complete juicy list of Christine's “deep fried and delish tales” to add to your reading stack.

​Your Turn

What are your favorite books set in the south?  Fave Southern writer?  Please share in the comment section to keep book love strong, y'all.


Research Credits
NC Department of Cultural Resources
National Public Radio
National Park Service

I can't resist a rollicking-good ghost story, and neither will your middle-graders when they open author Sandra Bennett's newest Australian adventure, A Lighthouse in Time.

This second book in Bennett's Adamson Adventures Series can be read as a stand-alone tale. But you'll also want to check out her first book, Secrets Hidden Below. This book is shortlisted for the Speech Pathology of Australia Book of the Year Awards 2019 and long-listed in the children’s category of the 2019 Sisters in Crime Davitt Awards.

Scroll down to learn about the author's new middle-grade adventure, meet Sandra (you'll adore her!), read excerpts from her book, catch my interview with her, and find my Catly review of A Lighthouse in Time.  Happy tales!
​

​About the Book
​

Title: The Adamson Adventures 2: A Lighthouse in Time  |  Author: Sandra Bennett |
 Publication Date: August 2019  |  Publisher: Elephant Tree Publishing Pty Ltd  |  
​Pages: 168  | Recommended Ages: 8-12

*  Elephant Tree Publishing   |  ​  SandraBennett.com *
​

​
Zac doesn't believe in ghosts.  He's never seen scientific proof of their existence.

Clare is skeptical but open-minded to the possibility. She likes the idea of ghosts and fairies, even angels.

Luke is convinced they encountered a ghost at Caves Beach.  He's determined to lead his brother and sister on a ghost hunt through the ruins of an old lighthouse on the point at Cape St George.

Join the three Adamson siblings on their second adventure as they discover a ghost desperate to save her father and an evil spirit just as determined to do anything to stop her ... and the Adamson kids!

Follow clues along with Zac, Clare and Luke, as you learn about shipwrecks that crashed off the New South Wales South Coast.  Stay close as they search for a long-lost ship's manifest, a lighthouse keeper's journal, and dark secrets within a lighthouse lost in time.
​

Q & As
​with Australian children's author, Sandra Bennett
​

Cat:          What inspired you to write this book?
Sandra:     Inspiration came from camping holidays on the South Coast of New South Wales when my boys were young. We discovered the old lighthouse, Caves Beach and Wreck Bay, perfect backdrops for an irresistible ghost story.

Cat:          Are the Adams kids based on anybody you know?
Sandra:   The Adamson children are based on my own three boys, but the story changed as I wrote. For instance, I initially had three brothers; however, I decided to add a girl, so I developed Clare as the second sibling.

Cat:           Is your ghostly lighthouse legend based on local lore?
Sandra:  Very loosely.  I was inspired by local stories about people who lived near the old lighthouse during the 1800s. For instance, Wreck Bay got its name from the many ships that crashed along its rocky shores, confused between the bay’s two lighthouses.

Cat:     You write convincingly about spelunking. Do you explore many caves?
Sandra:    I love exploring caves, particularly ones with stalagmites and stalactites. The caves at Caves Beach do not go back very far. Weathered from storms, you can walk into them, but not nearly as far as you can in my fictional caves.

Cat:         Ever had a close encounter with a shark?
Sandra:   Only in an aquarium. I like safety glass between me and a shark, thank you very much. Even though our beaches are patrolled daily for sharks, I have never seen one. That doesn't mean you should take safety for granted.  Sharks are out there, especially at feeding time, dusk and dawn.
       
Cat:          Favorite flavor of ice cream?
Sandra:    Cannot resist Pavlova or chocolate mousse. Pavlova is a meringue topped with cream and fresh fruit, typically strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, bananas, or kiwi fruit), and sprinkles of grated chocolate. Yum!

 Cat:         Favorite author?
Sandra:   I'm reading Pirate Boy of Sydney Cove, by Jackie French, one of my favorite Australian authors. It's a swashbuckler set in the early 1800s and stretches from England to Australia and the giant waves of the Southern Ocean in between.

Cat:           Favorite book read growing up?
Sandra:   I treasure my box set of C S Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. I dreamed of finding a wardrobe that would to lead me to a magical world like his.

Cat:  What one place would the Adams siblings take American children on a first visit to your home town in Canberra?
Sandra:  Since the Adamson kids like exploring, they would take American kids out of the city into the surrounding mountains to visit waterfalls and the remains of old satellite tracking stations.  Plus, they’d explore bush walking trails and perhaps bump into some of our amazing wildlife.
​

Cat:  What one place would the Adams siblings take American children on a first visit to your home town in Canberra?
Sandra:  Since the Adamson kids like exploring, they would take American kids out of the city into the surrounding mountains to visit waterfalls and the remains of old satellite tracking stations.  Plus, they’d explore bush walking trails and perhaps bump into some of our amazing wildlife.
​

Cat:           What else might readers like to know about you?
Sandra:    During school visits, students frequently ask why I want to be an author. Teaching literacy has always been my passion, and reading aloud to my class was the highlight of my day. Sharing that love of reading by writing my own stories was a natural progression for me. Through writing, I can help kids build reading skills, share wonders about the rest of the world, and develop their imagination in fun and creative ways.

About the Author
​

Sandra Bennett is a Canberra-based children’s author.  She has published four children’s books, and her stories have been featured in several anthologies.  
 
In late-2019, her work will appear in two more anthologies, and her new graphic novel will be featured in Library For All’s literacy program that serves children in remote and rural South Pacific communities.  

Her first book in The Adamson Adventures, Secrets Hidden Below, has been shortlisted for the Speech Pathology of Australia Book of the Year Awards 2019 and is long-listed in the children’s category of the 2019 Sisters in Crime Davitt Awards.
 
When not writing, this retired Primary School teacher and mother of three boys is often seen walking her dog, roaming the hills around her country property outside Canberra, and having fun plotting her next story.  One of Sandra’s newest pastimes is playing with and reading to her new grandson, who is her greatest and most lovable distraction.

Connect with Sandra Bennett
​
Website  |   Twitter  |  Facebook  | Goodreads

My Review
​

The second in the Adamson Series by Sandra Bennett, A Lighthouse in Time is a ghostly mystery set in an exotic-to-me Australian National Park.
 
Narrated in first person by the eldest Adamson, Zac is the impatient, no-nonsense brother, who clearly leads the siblings.  Bennett enriches each child with distinct personalities and tosses in just enough good-natured bickering to make thetrio’s relationship realistic and fun. I wish Claire were portrayed feistier rather than as the mothering sister, who is often afraid as her brothers forge ahead, but she holds her own as the mystery unfolds.
 
The author imbues Time with an intimate sense of place of its oceanside Australian setting:
​

"Out the back beyond the break,
the bay was almost like a pond.
White fluffy clouds floated across the sky,
with no sign of any storm brewing...
A pod of dolphins played in the distance."

North American readers also learn delightful new words, like brekkie (breakfast) and swimmers (swim suits), as well as how to surf a boat to safety on stormy waves.  Bennett thoughtfully provides a glossary of special terms at the end of the book.

​The author shines as she adds layers to the ghostly mystery the kids must solve to lift an ancient curse before their vacation ends.   No spoilers, but action accelerates and frightening apparitions appear to heighten suspense, but they won't give young readers nightmares.
​

​Stylistically, I prefer shorter paragraphs for young readers, especially for breaking up long narrative passages and separating them from dialogue.  This is a minor distraction I overlook because of the story’s strong action and engaging plot.

​A Lighthouse in Time is a crackling-good ghostly yarn that will keep kids turning pages to uncover the identity of a long-dead baddie and lift a century’s old curse.  Highly recommend Sandra Bennett's adventure for both boys and girls ages 8-12.

Have I got a middle-grade, fantasy/adventure for your Friday the 13th here on Cat's Corner. (But discovering this exciting new tale is nothing but good luck for kids, promise!)

I'm pleased to partner with Sage's Book Tours and introduce you to the Adventurous Ali: Temple of the Monkey God, by Tyler H. Jolley.  Love that this story's protagonist, a feisty girl who's sucked into an action-packed quest through one of the most unique portals you'll find.  

Read on to discover our plucky heroine's five companions, read an excerpt from the book, and meet the author.  Happy tales!
​

About the Book
​

Title: Adventurous Ali: Temple of the Monkey God  Author: Tyler H. Jolley | Publication Date: September 2019 | Publisher: Tyler H. Jolley | Pages: 61 | Recommended Ages: 8-12

* Amazon US * 

After Alison Liv Isner is sucked into an old globe that sat on her father’s desk, she wakes beside a campfire in a lush jungle, surrounded by five talking animals. She quickly realizes these are the same friends her mom wrote about in her expedition journal. Now, at only eleven-years-old, she has the opportunity to complete her deceased mother’s unfinished expedition in the Temple of the Monkey God.
 
With her new found friends, a monkey, a fat rat, a bat, a burro with a piranha in a mason jar tied around his neck, Ali decides to face the treacherous booby traps inside of the temple and save the monkey idol from an evil group called The Geese.
 
As she learns more about her deceased mom through her adventure journal, Ali and her friends realize the book is the key to lead them through the tunnels of the dreaded Temple of the Monkey God. If not, their lives are at stake and Ali will be trapped in the expedition realm forever.
​

Excerpt

“Here we go.” Ali stepped into the dark opening. Cool, damp air tickled her nose. It reminded her of the inside of a trunk her dad had accidently left in the rain. The next week when they’d opened it, the moldy smell was pungent.  
            
Just a few feet in, light from the entrance cast itself at an angle on the opposite wall. 
            
Everyone had sidled up next to Ali.
           
“What are you thinking, human?” Figgy asked.
           
Ali shrugged. Chicaletta rummaged through the pack on Figgy’s rump and produced a metal-handled flashlight. Ali tripped just as Chicaletta flicked on the light. Ali looked down at what she’d fallen over. A skeleton with rotted clothes. She screamed.

Suddenly, a huge, square stone as wide as her father was tall and at least two times her height crashed from the ceiling and blocked the entrance.

Trapped.

Glenda’s high-pitched scream nearly deafened Alison Liv Isner. Chicaletta whipped around and pointed the flashlight at the stone blocking the door. Ali tried to speak but couldn’t find her voice. Adrenaline surged through her veins. The stone wasn’t just blocking the door, but it was also a weapon. Spikes of varying lengths jutted out at them from the rock. 
           
Ali shook her hands, trying to calm her nerves. “What now?”
           
“We’re trapped,” Tristan said. “We’re going to die.”
            
“Never mind him,” Bait said.
           
“Ignore me all you want,” Tristan said. “But one day I’ll be right. Probably.”
          
“Chicaletta?” Ali walked toward Figgy’s pack. “Do you have another flashlight in there?”
            
“Yes,” Chicaletta said. “But we should save the batteries.”
           
“Just light one of those bones on fire,” Tristan yawned.
            
“What?” Ali nearly yelled.
         
“It’ll be fine, watch,” Tristan said. He scurried over to the bones. “Hey, skeleton, do you mind if we use your femur?” He held his pink hand up to his ear. “Skeleton, if you don’t want us to use your leg and clothes, speak now.” The skeleton didn’t move. Tristan turned back to the group. “See? He doesn’t care.”
            
Ali looked to the others for guidance.
            
“I’ll fish out the flint,” Tristan said. “No offense, Bait.”
       
Ali walked toward the skeleton with trepidation. But, Tristan was right, after all. Any adventurer would wish to be useful, even in death. 
            
“I guess,” Glenda swallowed hard, “it should be okay.”
            
Chicaletta blinked and nodded at Ali. “Hurry.”
            
Ali knelt next to the skeleton and wrapped her hands around its leg; she closed her eyes and cringed. The femur was the largest bone and came free easily from the hip joint. She wrapped the tattered clothes around the end just as Tristan scurried back with a flint and steel.
           
Ali struck the U-shaped steel against the flint, and sparks fell toward the old cloth. It smoldered, and she blew on the embers. Flames encompassed the cloth. It cackled to life, illuminating a modest space in front of her.

Between Ali’s torch and Chicaletta’s flashlight, the tunnel was still fairly dark. The temple felt more like a cave. Musty air permeated the ten foot high stone tunnel. A hideous scraping sound of stone on stone grabbed their attention. The large block with spikes slid toward them. Slowly, at first. Then with momentum. 

“Run!” Ali waved her torch toward a tunnel. “This way.”

The block slid forward with spikes inching closer to Ali and her friends. But then it momentarily stopped, caught on the dry skeleton. Bones crunched and twisted. The skull had become wedged. The spiked stone lurched, and the skull exploded, filling the room with white dust behind them.

Meet the Author

,The author's debut novel, EXTRACTED, came out in 2013 with Spencer Hill Press, and has been a Spencer Hill Press Best Seller, as well as an Amazon Best Seller. PRODIGAL and RIVEN, the second and third books in The Lost Imperials Series, were released in May 2015.

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News Flash
 
Beyond excited to share with YOU...

Sweet T and the Turtle Team
​is one of 10 finalists

being considered by
Wind Dancer Films
​
for adaptation as a movie or TV film.
 
AND

 Turtle Team
scored its 4th award
for excellence in children's books

with a silver medal - animals category -
from Readers' Favorite Book Awards.

Excited and proud
to be recognized by
Readers’ Favorite and Wind Dancer Films!
​

Still feeling numb here.  
I was catching up on emails after being off the grid on vacation
when the Readers’ Favorite announcement unexpectedly popped up on my screen.    
​

I’d been hopeful I might place in its book awards division ... 
​

​,,, but I
never
expected the additional honor
​of being a finalist
in its Wind Dancer Films contest. 

​Couldn’t stop my hands from shaking all morning!  
Sweet Hub had to scrape me off the chandelier -:D

​For me, entering a writing contest 

is usually a last-minute decision
after an exhausting convo with myself.

 Confident Cat:      You should definitely enter your book.
 Scaredy-Cat:        I don’t know.  So many writers enter.  What chance would I have?
 CC:                            You won't even place if you do nothing.  What’s the problem?
 SC:                           Too many deadlines. No time to pull it together. Cost factors, too.
 CC:                            Prioritize and make it happen.  
 SC:                            Maybe I could try.
 CC & Yoda:             “No! Try not! Do or do not, there is no try.”

Sweet T and the Turtle Team​​
has scored 4 accolades to date
for
excellence in children’s literature.
 

It has taken me
4 books, 6 years, stacks of rejections,
and countless hours of ...

blogging
writing
editing
re-writing
marketing
wanting to quit
sleepless nights
and burning out more times than I care to admit

to reach this point.

For you, dreamers, lonely and toiling to away.
Wondering if anyone is paying attention
Ever noticing what you're doing....

Don't give up!

​Beyond grateful to YOU
for reading my books 

and 
​
keeping me company
on my writing journey!
​

Before you go.....

• Check out my book's silver medal review on Readers’ Favorite. 
• I'd be honored to have you learn more about Sweet T and the Turtle Team and where to order your copy on my website HERE.  

Many thanks!

What I know about horses: 

1. They are BIG!
2. Kids (girls especially) love them.
3. The only time I rode a horse, I was sore for days.
4. The 11-yo protagonist Rosie Russell and I introduce in our middle-grade work in progress (WIP) dreams of entering her beloved Palomino in the county fair. 

To soak up horsey facts and associated fun sensory tidbits that make a book come alive, I checked in virtually with our horse whisperer at Dancing Horses Farm in Port Orchard, Washington. 

I also spent a weekend at Tanglewood, a working horse farm in Southern Pines, North Carolina.  Join me on easy hour’s drive down US1 from my writing den to explore that unique equine community and discover juicy factoids for Rosie’s and my WIP.  

Horses are BIG animals.

They can sense energy from humans around them.

And

still

others

like

to

laugh.

Horses often wear

fly masks
​
for protection from pesky insects that plague them.

Mischievous horses even figure
​ out how to remove those masks!

Horses don't like to be petted
on the front of their faces.

Would you like it if somebody pat you on your nose?
​
Since horses can't see your hand if you pet their nose,
you will startle them, too.  
​

​Horses

are
​
exhilarating animals.
​

​And caring for them

is a

joyful

labor of love.
​

Putting it All Together

Now for the synthesis of researching and writing! 

Have a peek at how Rosie and I
weave our discoveries
into this draft scene from our work in progress:

Our protagonist, Olivia, and her friend, Isabella,
introduce new girl Candace to Olivia’s horse, Lucky.
​
​***

“I was explaining the best way to pet a horse,” Isabella said, “but before I could finish, Candace reached over and petted Lucky in that small blind spot in front of his face.  It startled him, so he bucked sideways.”

“There now, boy,” Olivia crooned, moving to Lucky and stroking him gently alongside his neck.  “Candace is just trying to be friendly.”  

“Your horse doesn’t like me,” Candace blurted. “He’s mean.” 

“He’s just not used to you.  It’ll take time for him to know you, that’s all,” Olivia said. 

“Yeah, right.”

“Try a friendly horse handshake like this, Candace.” Olivia suggested. She stuck out her hand with fingers held down and slightly bent.  “Hold your hand like this near Lucky’s nose. That way, he can smell your hand and get to know you.”
​
Unconvinced, Candace kept her distance, hands clasped securely behind her back.  

​Draft scene excerpt from Cat and Rosie's WIP
***

Your Turn
What's your experience with farm life or horses?  What tidbits might you share about rural living and equines that Rosie and I could use in our tale?  Any feedback on that draft scene above? (Hey, please contact me if you'd be interested in being a beta reader once our 150-page book is done this winter.)  
​

Credits:
All photos by Cat  Michaels or Hub except where noted
Most grateful to Tanglewood Farms, Southern Pines, NC, and Dancing Horses Farm, Port Orchard, WA, for generously sharing their equine knowledge.

We've all been there one way or another.  Observed or struggled with a wee one who reaches a breaking point and has a melt down in the grocery store or restaurant.  Help is on the way.

I'm pleased to partner with iRead book tour and introduce you to author Madeleine Matthews, and her new picture book, Matt's Swirly World.  Her book is a brilliant tool for helping parents show children how to manage feelings, control their impulses, and more.

Read on to ....

• meet the author
  
• learn more about her book
  
• enter for your chance to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card or 1 of the 3 Paperback copies of Matt's Swirly World.  Offer ends 16 August.
  

Good luck and happy tales!

ENTER MATT'S SWIRLY WORLD GIVEAWAY HERE
Giveaway ends 16 August

To celebrate International Book Lover's Day on 9 August, my writerly pals and I are having fun by sharing all the ways we adore reading with our #BookLuvHop.  Please enjoy my first (and likely last!) R*A*P, Really Awful Poem, an Ode to Books.  Apologies to Gertude Stein, the Bard, Dr. Seuss and true poets everywhere.  
 
Also, be sure to visit my #Gr8Blog pals/bibliophiles linked at the end of this post to find more ways to share your bookish passions. And hey.... if you blog, add a note and share your family-friendly post link about book love in the comment section, and we'll spread blog love your way.

btw....Today's post is an updated R*A*P from the original penned in 2016.  My poetry hasn't  improved [wink].

BOOKS!
How do I love thee?  
Let me count the ways.
Hmmm: Cat least thrice:
A book, is a book, is a book.  

Alas, I could not read them on a boat
....I get sea sick.  

Nor on a goat
....I am a city girl.  I only do goat cheese.

But I read books
​... here and there.

Books in print are longtime pals 
Ever since elementary school locales.

Dick and Jane started it all.
Then on to Dr. Seusss and Nancy Drew
as I grew tall.

Today, it's  ....

​Fantasy

&
 
Mystery

​&

Historical Fiction  
​

​Tablet reading!
​

And what an over-the-moon

delight

to share prose 
With that special little one who knows
​
A great kidlit story
makes life
way more
​ hunky-dory.

​And my deepest readerly secret?  

I

am

a

 librocubicularist!

No way I can rhyme it, 
so I'll just say instead...

I love to read in bed!!!

Tis quite peculiar-ist -:D
​

Your Turn 
Thanks for stopping by.  What do you love about reading? What's your fave genre? How might you celebrate International's Book Lovers' Day? Please share in the comment section,
​

And before you go.....
 
Click on the links below to visit my #Gr8Blogs pals for tons more bibliophile fun.

​Rosie Russell

​Rebecca Lindsay

Sandra Bennett

​Auden Johnson

James Milson
​

​
​Louise Penny does not need book tours. Her top-sellers generate buzz and massive sales months before release.  But she loves touring and meeting people she tells the packed audience waiting for her in the McKimmon Conference Center on a hot summer evening. 
​

Penny dreamed of being a famous author with book tours, private jets, and Oprah as her BFF, but it was a hard road to get there. 
 
After finishing her first Inspector Gamache book in 2005, Still Life, at age 45, she called her publisher to ask about her book tour.  “Who is this?” the publisher first wanted to know.

Penny was afraid of many things as a child: spiders, holes, night and more.  She preferred to be alone in her bedroom with a book.  (Her husband dubbed her a horizontalist.)  
 
The writing bug hit when 8-year-old Penny read Charlotte’s Web and fell in love with the spider, a creature that once terrified her.  Her ah-ha moment came as she realized books had the power to change lives, and Louise Penny wanted to be a storyteller with that kind of power.

But new anxieties took hold as an adult.  Afraid of failing as a novelist, her career took a side route in journalism and writing for the CBC.  After burning out covering Quebec's bitter  separatist debate, her husband suggested she quit work to write novels. ​

3. It Takes A Village

First, Penny moved south of Montreal to a small Canadian village that morphed into the inspiration for Three Pines, the quirky village setting of her novels.  “People visit there and know I have no imagination,” she laughed.  

Next, Penny met monthly at the village bistro with Les Girls, a group of creative women who shared their processes and struggles.  

The author discovered that writing was a process.  It was not just sitting down and immediately getting  “everything right and perfect the first time.”  
 
She also saw that her friends' huge successes and failures that did not kill them. What happened, good or bad, did not define them. 

4. Write What You Love

The final push to overcome writer's block came as she noticed stacks of crime fiction on her bedside table. Voila! She had her niche.  

Penny never expected to be published, so she wrote her first novel just for herself.  Something she'd love to read and have flat out fun writing.  She filled her tale with people and places she enjoyed.  Modeled her Inspector Gamache protagonist after someone she’d want to marry. 
 
It was just after the 911 terrorist attacks when Penny sketched a map of Three Pines, complete with its bookstore, bistro and bakery her readers adore. The world might feel vulnerable and unsafe after 911 “but in Three Pines, you are not alone,” Penny reminds us.   

5. Be OK with "Soft and Smelly"
​ ​

Her first book, Still Life, was magic, but the publisher wanted another in a year.  Penny panicked and feared more writing blocks.  She turned to a therapist who told her …. “the wrong person is writing the book.  Your critic is writing the book.  Your creative soul has to be in on first draft.”
 

My Ah-Ha Moment

A PING! goes off in my writer's brain at soft and smelly.  I've been holding my breath and holding on too tight to my WIP, a women's fiction about the New South and Old South coming together (or not!) in a growing southern town. No wonder those grace notes and surprises are hiding!

Your Turn
What's your experience attending book tours as a writer or reader?  Do you find inspiration? Excitement meeting authors, mingling with other readers?  What do you think of the 'soft and smelly' approach for the first time you try anything new?  Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Ah, summertime, and my book stack is full of guilty pleasures to devour on audio or tablet.  I don't look for heavy or depressing.  Light and happy, please.  A touch of romance.  Well-written oozing with juicy characters.  And the baddie?  Just base enough for a rousing "Boo-Hiss!" and no flinging death across the universe.

I just finished four such books all published within the 12 months or so. Coincidentally, each is written by a woman.  More coincidence, all are penned in first person point-of-view and alternate chapters  between main characters, like a he/she ping-pong match.
​

Kiss Quotient is quite frisky.  
Something in the Water is dark and twisty,  
The Flatshare is fun quirky.
One Day in December is a feel-good you won’t want to end.  ​

​
​Read on to find the publisher's summary of each
and my spoiler-free reasons 
why this quartet tops
​ my summer reading stack.
​

Kiss Quotient, by Helen Hoag
352 pages, Berkley

Why I like it
​
Caveat: I turned up the air conditioning, blushed, and was glad no one overheard the audio  as I listened to this book in the car.  I was okay with the content, but some might think Kiss Quotient is, well, too much kissing and not enough quotient. Beyond-bodice-ripping passages alert!  
  
However, I adore Stella, the MC!  She's portrayed brilliantly as a high-functioning Aspie through the lens of author  Helen Hoang, who is also on the Spectrum.  Stella’s perplexities over social situations ring true to the Aspies I supported as their college writing coach. 
 
Minor characters shine in her orbit with smart dialogue.  Some understand Stella.  Others try. A few disrespect her. Best, the male protagonist, the extremely hot Michael Phan, learns from Stella’s goodness and honesty to grow in his own right.  
 
There are a few #MeToo moments in Stella’s work place that crushed me, and I hoped the MC would’ve handled the situations differently. In retrospect, I believe the scenarios were true to the way an Aspie would react.
 
I give Kiss Quotient a Catly thumps up for its #inourownvoice character portrayal and the stamina the narrator had for performing so many blush-worthy scenes in the audiobook.

​
​One Day in December, by Josie Silver
416 pages, Broadway Books

​
Why I like it
​
Don't be fooled by this winter-sounding title. Even at the beach in July, One Day in December is a perfect feel-good summertime tale....especially the audiobook that's alternately narrated by Poldark's Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) as Laurie and Charlie Anson performing as Jack.  Yum! Their story spans several years, with detours and obstacles that keep them apart and make you want to scream.
 
I adore the sub-plot highlighting strong bonds between Laurie and her BFF, Sarah, who initially falls hard for Jack before Laurie can find him after glimpsing him afar from a bus. Every woman longs for a friendship like Laurie's and Sarah's that stands the tests of time ... and boyfriends!
 
Light. Breezy. Witty. Well-written. Makes the heart smile.  Even though you won’t want the book to end, you’ll cross your fingers for Jack and Laurie until the very last page.
​

Something in the Water, by Catherine Steadman
352 pages, Ballantine Books
A Reese’s Book Club, Hello Sunshine book pick
​

Why I like it

The darkest of my summertime picks, Catherine Steadman's voice literally shines throughout this debut novel, a zinger of a psychological thriller.  
 
Yep.  Wary at first because Steadman also narrates this book, BUT what's not to love about an audiobook read and written by Lady Mable Lane Fox of Downtown Abbey, aka Catherine Steadman? Crackling good writer, actor, and narrator!
 
The book grabs you with its opening chapter. No spoiler here. Readers know up front that Erin, the female protagonist, is frantically burying her husband under cover of night. Yikes! Cue the chill bumps. Erin's anxiety jumps off the page as she tackles her gruesome task, and you'll feel it alongside her, too.
 
Here's the mystery: you don't know WHY or HOW Erin gets to this point. Erin doesn't tell you. Steadman subsequently drops clues like break crumbs with a backward telling of what leads up to this event. 
 
From its claustrophobic ocean dive descending to 20 meters in the South Pacific to an explosive ending, the tale kept my earbuds buzzing. Is that final chapter a complete resolution? It's satisfying, but methinks Steadman is leading to a follow up novel. Or at least I hope so. 

The Flatshare,by Beth O’Leary
400 pages, Quercus
​

​Why I like it

FlatShare hits all my sweet spots. You root for Tiff and Leon because of their quirks and vulnerabilities. Minor characters in their circle sparkle, too, like the eccentric author of Crochet Your Way, who insists on having Tiff as her crochet model.  You'll want Tiff’s awesome BFFs and Leon’s brother on your team, trust me! 
 
Big fan here of plot devices that develop the MCs slow-moving relationship. Tiff and Leon scribble Post-it notes to each other!  Super-cute messages become longer and more personal, eventually covering every surface in their shared space. You’re reading those Post-its as Tiff and Leon reveal themselves, and you’ll root for them on their bumpy road to self-awareness and growth. 

Scripted like a screenplay written in present tense, Leon’s chapters intrigue me.  They're like enhanced stage directions in a stream of consciousness without any “said” dialogue tags, as in this excerpt when Leo phones his mother as his night shift ends to deliver bad news:

Mam: Shall I call Sal? ****
Leon: No, no.  I’m dealing with it.
Long miserable silence.  We wallow in it.
Mam, with effort: Sorry, sweetheart, how are you?
 
Return home afterward to find pleasant surprise: home-baked oat bars on sideboard….I see the note beside the tray.
​
Help yourself!  
Hope you have a good day/night.
​Tiffyxx

An excellent development. Will definitely endure high levels of clutter…and 350 pounds per month AND free food.
****Excerpt from The Flatshare, by Beth O'Leary 

While Flatshare is a feel-good tale, it’s also laced with heavier themes. Leon’s nights with his hospice patients both uplift and sadden. No spoilers, but O’Leary sprinkles wrongful imprisonment and emotional abuse into the mix.  She makes you think but never brings you down.  
 
And that’s the essence of my perfect summer read.

Your Turn
Thanks learning about my beach read faves.  Have you read any of my quartet?  Any interest you (it's okay if not!)?  What's on your TBR stack this summer?  Please share in the comment section.  Always looking for the next great book here. 

btw....I'm on Goodreads.  You?  Would love to connect with you there and share more bookishness -:D.  

July Fourth is right around the corner in my part of the world.  To make the holiday crackle even more, I'm digging through decades-old family recipes, like Grandma Ethel's dandelion wine and Mama Marg's pineapple upside down cake.  Read to find  ingredients for summertime memories and happy tummies that will inspire you.

Hub and I begin celebrating the Fourth by decking out our porch. We're still perfecting the patriotic look for our new cottage, but memories from our old home guide us.

Much of our celebrating involves hosting or finding a cookout.  It doesn't feel like a uniquely American holiday to us without clumps of folk chatting down over dogs, burgers, and brew ... nutritional values and calories all pushed aside for this day.  

This year, we’ll join our new neighbors in a cul-de-sac cookout. We’re a mixed group of empty-nesters and young families, so I need to bring a dish to pass to satisfy a range of tastebuds.

​My problem? Not a foodie here, even though I come from a long line of fab cooks and bakers.  To get inspired, I sort through family recipes.

Dandelion Wine

Grandma Ethel started collecting recipes in 1910 as part of a high-school project in Everett, Washington (Pacific Northwest, US).  Grateful to my cousin, who made sure the grandchildren have copies of Grandma's hand-written notes.

The Dandelion Wine recipe surprises me.  I don’t remember seeing it around when we spent summers on Grandma's farm as kids, but adults likely imbibed when we slept.

I realize wine needs time to ferment, but I am still gobsmacked at how my grand's Depression-era generation took *time* and care to prepare their food: Squeeze out blossoms and let toasted bread stand for 3 days and nights? Wow, 

​Guessing any dandelions we’d pick today would be swimming in chemicals.  Passing on this recipe until I get a handle on organic dandelion blossoms and find a 10# pail for collecting them -:D
​

Poetry and Pineapple Upside Down Cake

On the other hand, I remember snorfing down Mama's to-die-for Pineapple Upside Down Cake as a kid like it was yesterday.   But I can’t find her recipe (boo hoo).  She was such an excellent baker, who likely made up the recipe as she went along.
 
Instead, I discover a similar concoction in a compilation of favorite recipes by Grandma Ethel's friends and neighbors at the Josephine Sunset Home Auxiliary in Stanwood, Washington. Published around 1976 (the USA's bicentennial birthday year), it's clear these women knew their way around kitchens.  

Don't you love the added homey poetry sprinkled about in the book’s white spaces!  And it's still relevant today.

I could tackle this recipe but, geez, Fumble Fingers here, wondering how I'd manage to invert the cake without smooshing it all over.  Mama had the touch!  She also garnished the top with pineapple slices that we kids snatched and ate when we thought she wasn't looking.  Looking back, I think she knew what we were up to.

A Salad or Dessert?

I luck out recalling
​one of Mama’s summertime picnic specials, 

​Watergate Salad 
​
This 
minty-green,
crunchy yum
is more dessert
​than salad.
​

 Do you know it?  

​It's super easy to throw together, refrigerate overnight, and serve the next day.

​Even better topped with fresh blueberries. (Caveat…it has nuts for those with allergies.)



​Only problem at our house:
Watergate Salad gets gone really FAST!!!!

Fresh Fruits

​Here's an easy dish even I can manage.
 
Berries morph into patriotic red-white-and-blues
when featured with just the right serving pieces.  
​
What do you think about
chocolate dipping sauce
on the side
​ for that extra yum?

YOUR TURN
​
I’m off to market to stock up on Fourth Food for the 'hood cookout. What family recipes do you cherish?  What's your never-fail summertime fare? Please share in the comment section.

Have a safe and happy Fourth y'all!  Sending virtual hot dogs slathered with all the trimmings to everyone.  And maybe a virtual cup of Grandma's wine, if I can master the dandelions by then <wink>.