Hello, Book Club Friends, from Susan—
My goodness—is it autumn already? But it must be, since Halloween is just around the corner and the days have cooled off. Bill's pecan trees are yielding a wonderful harvest, and the fields are full of goldenrod and sunflowers. I've been posting photos to my Lifescapes blog. Please drop in for a visit! And meanwhile, here are some bits of news that you can share with your book club.
Book Briefs
The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree (#1 in the Darling Dahlia series) was published the first week of July and earned starred reviews from Booklist and the Library Journal. The launch of a new series is always a pins-and-needles time, so I was delighted to see the positive reviews and the many notes from readers. Meanwhile, I finished the second book in the series (The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies) and turned it in to my editor, Natalee Rosenstein, at Berkley Prime Crime. That book will be published in July, 2011. Peggy (my webmistress) and I have been working on the website. We've just added a section of Southern recipes, which includes an important correction to the Peanut Butter Pie recipe at the back of the book. So if anybody's wondering what to do with that "extra" peanut butter, that's where they can go to find out.
The Tale of Oat Cake Crag (#7 in the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter) is out in hardcover, with The Tale of Applebeck Orchard in paperback. I hear from many clubs that these "cozy-cozy" mysteries are a good book club read, because while the mysteries are mild, there's a lot of historical information about the life of Beatrix Potter, a beloved author-illustrator. And many readers confess to loving the badgers and other animals almost as much as they do the human characters—can't say that I blame them! Oh, and you'll find a map to this book here. Feel free to print it out and share it with your club members.
An Extraordinary Year of Ordinary Days is my memoir of the year 2008, which (as you may remember) turned into an exciting year for everyone, with all the ups and downs in the economy, the housing market, and the presidential election. But it was also a year of ordinary days for me, writing, gardening, and learning—especially days for learning, as I came to grips with some important changes in my life. I hope all your club members will ask their libraries to order this book, so others can share it.
China's 19th adventure, Mourning Gloria, will be published on April 6, 2011. The herbal "theme": psychoactive and mood-altering herbs. I'll have more news about it in our next eletter. In the meantime, please remember that we've posted discussion questions for all the China Bayles books. You'll find them here.
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Book Club News
We've finished mailing bookmarks to all the clubs (we think). If your club missed out, please let me know. The person who was mailing these thinks she might have skipped one or two.
Congratulations to the winners of recent book drawings! They have received a packet of books, CDs, and Advance Reading Copies.
- Batesburg-Leesville Mystery Book Club, Leesville SC
- Crazy Ladies Bookclub, St Paul MN
- I Love A Mystery, Fort Worth TX
- Village Herb Shop, Susan Albert Book Club, Chagrin Falls OH
The Village Herb Shop Club is reading and discussing all the China Bayles books, in order! China, Ruby, and I are very impressed with this—especially because we have visited the Village Herb Shop and know that it's even nicer than Thyme and Seasons. (And it's real!)
Finally, one of our friends created some really cute products to go along with my books. You'll find them here. (Click on the book covers to see the items that are themed for each series.) If your club members are giving one of the books as a gift, why not add a matching mug or cap and make it a set? All proceeds benefit the Story Circle Network, a women's lifewriting organization that I founded in 1997.
That's it for now, folks. Have a wonderful autumn filled with books, gardens, friends, and family. I'm grateful for your friendship and your interest in the books.
All best,
Susan
Where to find Susan Albert online:
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