CAN WE DESIGN OUR OWN LIVES? — INTROS/TEASERS: BLUE JEANS & COFFEE BEANS — FEB. 12

 

 

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by Should Be Reading.

Today’s featured book is Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans, by Joanne DeMaio.

 

Intro:  Long Island Sound’s lazy breaking waves chase her back onto the sand.  She watches them carefully, believing they are truly after her.  Upon the waves’ retreat, her little legs dare to step back toward them, never to  quite within their reach, while never far from her mother’s reach, either.  She is only a toddler, the girl in the blue and white ruffled bathing suit, her light brown hair falling with a salty fluff to just below her tanned shoulders.  The last of an ice cream bar clings to its stick, melting slowly and dripping on her toes.

***

Teaser:  Eva fills the coffee pot with water and measures in the scoops of coffee.  The house is still, so still, now that the guys left.  It’s that same kind of stillness that falls upon a steamy, humid summer day, the kind that makes you alert, that draws attention to something happening that you can’t really see yet. (p. 79).

***

Goodreads Description:  After years of pursuing a denim design career, Maris Carrington never imagined trading her Chicago studio for a New England shingled cottage. But a forgotten home movie tucked inside a dusty attic box leads to an unexpected summer … One of uncovering family secrets while settling her father’s estate, one of inheriting a forlorn German Shepherd, one of reconnecting with old friends on a weathered boardwalk, beneath starlit skies on a beach nestled in a crook of the Connecticut coast.

Her design career had become a shell, curving around her like the intricate whorls of a conch, shielding her until now. Until fried clam dinners and carousel rides beckon a lost love. But can Maris ever really go back? Can these beach friends ever be who they were to each other all those summers ago? Now one of her circle is dead; another unemployed and struggling in a tenuous marriage; another regretting a fateful decision; while one is missing a mother, ever seeking a connection she longs for….

To the backdrop of seaside cottages and a boarded up beach hangout, to the soundtrack of whispering lagoon grasses and a vintage jukebox, Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans asks if we can really design our own lives, or if our fate lies somewhere in the stars.

***

What do you think?  Would you keep reading?

TUESDAY’S GUILTY PLEASURES: INTROS/TEASERS – QUEEN BEE OF MIMOSA BRANCH — AUGUST 28

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by Should Be Reading.

Just grab your book and share the opening lines; then find another excerpt that “teases” the reader.

Today’s featured book is Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch, by Haywood Smith.

 

Linwood Breedlove Scott’s life has officially hit rock bottom. Her husband of thirty years has run off with a stripper. The IRS has taken everything but her coffee table. And her hot flashes are four-alarmers. The only thing that could make being flat-broke and fifty any worse is having to crawl home to her parents’ house in Mimosa Branch, Georgia…which is exactly where she’s headed.

Lin’s barely prepared for the loony bin that greets her, from her controlling, eighty-year-old mother and shockingly blunt father to her long-suffering Aunt Glory and her deranged Uncle Bedford who is convinced a cannibal lives under the furniture. Nor is she ready for the instant love-hate attraction she feels for her handsome new next-door neighbor. Trying to navigate her way through the second act of her life with nothing more than a prepaid calling card, a broken heart, and plenty of Prozac, Lin’s about to discover that it’s never too late for old friends, new romance, the ties of family, and a second chance to survive it all on the road to becoming the person you were always meant to be…

***

Beginning:  I took the long way home that fateful midsummer day last July, maybe because I still couldn’t quite believe what I was about to do.

I could still hear Miss Mamie—that’s my mother; everybody calls her Miss Mamie, including my brother and me—telling me, on the eve of my wedding, that if I insisted on marrying Phil at nineteen, I shouldn’t even think of turning up on her doorstep again.  “You make your bed, you lie in it,”  she’d said with absolute conviction.  (Miss Mamie says everything with absolute conviction).

Yet here I was thirty years later, galled to my very soul that my family’s dire predictions for my marriage had finally proven true.  The phantom umbilicus that connected me to my mother had turned out to be a cosmic bungee cord, my fifty years of life one long, ludicrous leap that was rebounding at light-speed back to the womb.  God help me.

So that Thursday, the day after the Fourth of July, I took the slow, scenic route through Mimosa Branch.  Driving into the old business district, I was struck that my hometown seemed to have come up in the world at least as far as I had come down.  Everything was fixed up, filled up, and decidedly suburban upscale, right down to the contemporary artists’ warren in one of the old mill buildings.

***

Teaser:  I lifted my glass.  “Here’s to celibacy.”  Then I did as Geneva suggested and got good and snockered—on only two drinks.

***

So what’s the verdict?  Is this a book you’d keep reading?  I hope you’ll come by and share your own snippets.

TUESDAY INTROS/TEASERS: WHERE WE BELONG — MAY 29

 

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by Should Be Reading.

Just grab your book and share the opening lines; then find another excerpt that “teases” the reader.

When I think about “guilty secrets,” my mind sometimes rambles along toward the other kind of secrets we sometimes read about.  Like the kind described in this opener to Where We Belong, by Emily Giffin.  My copy is an ARC, and therefore, final copy may differ slightly.

Intro:  I know what they say about secrets.  I’ve heard it all.  That they can haunt and govern you.  That they can poison relationships and divide families.  That in the end, only the truth will set you free.  Maybe that’s the case for some people and some secrets.  But I truly believed I was the exception to such portents, and never once breathed the smallest mention of my nearly two-decade-long secret to anyone.  Not to my closest friends in my most intoxicated moments or to my boyfriend, Peter, in our most intimate ones.  My father knew nothing of it—and I didn’t even discuss it with my mother, the only person who was there when it all happened, almost as if we took an unspoken vow of silence, willing ourselves to let go, move on.  I never forgot, not for a single day, yet I was also convinced that sometimes, the past really was the past.

I should have known better.  I should have taken those words to heart—the ones that started it all on that sweltering night so long ago:

You can run but you can’t hide.

***

Teaser:  “Dessert?”  I suggest, as we turn the corner.  We contemplate Magnolia’s cupcakes or Rocco’s cannolis, but decide we are too full for either, and instead walk in comfortable silence, wandering by cafes and bars and throngs of contented Villagers.  Then, moved by the wine and the weather and a whiff of his spicy cologne, I find myself blurting out, “How about marriage?”  p. 3

***

So…what do you think?  Is your curiosity and/or interest piqued?  I know mine is.  And now I’m eager to see what the rest of you are sharing.

 

 

 

TUESDAY INTROS/TEASER: MIMOSAS, MISCHIEF, & MURDER — APRIL 17

 

Today I’ll be participating again in First Chapter First Paragraph, hosted by Diane, at Bibliophile by the Sea. 

I’ll also be spotlighting an excerpt for Teaser Tuesdays, at Should Be Reading.

My read is Mimosas, Mischief, & Murder, by Sara Rosett.  Super-organized Ellie Avery thinks she’s prepared for everything when she and her family set off for an extended visit with her in-laws–clothes, books, and enough games and toys to entertain two stir-crazy kids on a six-hour drive. But the one thing she hasn’t planned for is cold-blooded murder. . .

 

Intro:  “I shot you.”  Normally, that’s not a sentence I want to hear, but since it came from Nathan, our four-year-old, who was buckled into his car seat in the back row of the minivan, and since he had brought nothing more lethal than toy cars, books, and Legos for this road trip, I decided to ignore it.

“No, you didn’t,” Livvy replied with the certainty of an older sibling.  “I had my shield up.”  She casually turned a page in her middle grade reader.  She was working her way through a series of mystery books and I hoped her stack would last her at least until lunch.  Her second-grade class was in the middle of a fierce competition to see who could read the most books.  Livvy was currently in second place.

“My laser gun shoots through shields,” Nathan countered, waving his gun of plastic building blocks at Livvy as he added shooting sound effects.

***

What do you think?  Did this beginning grab you?  I have seen more engaging openers, but I am a bit intrigued about how this normal scene will turn into the cold-blooded murder promised in the blurb.

***

Teaser:  Mitch rounded the slight curve and a strip of yellow tape barred the drive.  He threw the minivan into park and we both jumped out.  (7% in Kindle).

***

What are you spotlighting today?  I hope you’ll stop by and share….

TUESDAY INTROS/TEASERS — AN APPETITE FOR MURDER — APRIL 10

Today I’ll be participating again in First Chapter First Paragraph, hosted by Diane, at Bibliophile by the Sea. 

I’ll also be spotlighting an excerpt for Teaser Tuesdays, at Should Be Reading.

Today’s featured book is An Appetite for Murder (e-book), by Lucy Burdette.

INTRO: 

“A hot dog or a truffle.  Good is good.”

                                         —James Beard

Lots of people think they’d love to eat for a living.  Me?  I’d kill for it.

Which makes total sense, coming from my family.  FTD told my mother to say it with flowers, but she said it with food.  Lost a pet?  Your job?  Your mind?  Life always felt better with a serving of Mom’s braised short ribs or red velvet cake in your belly.  In my family, we ate when happy or sad, but especially, we ate when we were worried.

The brand-new Key Zest magazine in Key West, Florida, announced a month ago that they were hiring a food critic for their style section.  Since my idea of heaven was eating at restaurants and talking about food, I’d do whatever it took to land the job.  Whatever.  Three review samples and a paragraph on my proposed style as their new food critic were due on Monday.  Seven days and counting.  So far I had produced nothing.  The big goose egg.  Call me Hayley Catherine “Procrastination” Snow.

***

Teaser:  I gulped, sucked in my stomach, and rebuttoned my pants.  There was no way out other than passing right by him. (4%).

***

Review Excerpts:

“Food, fun, and felonies.  What more could a reader ask for?”  Lorna Barrett, New York Times best selling author of Sentenced to Death

“An excellent sense of place and the occasional humorous outburst aren’t the only things An Appetite for Murder has going for it, though: There is a solid mystery within its pages….Not only does Burdette capture the physical and pastoral essence of Key West, she celebrates the food….Although you might want to skip the key lime pie, don’t skip An Appetite for Murder.”  The Florida Book Review

“The mystery is well-plotted with enough clues and red herrings to keep readers guessing until the end.  The only thing better than eating great food and writing about it on someone else’s dime is doing it in balmy Key West and Hayley’s going to do it with style.”  The Mystery Reader

***

What do you think?  Like the opener?  Teased by the teaser?  Come on by and share your thoughts.

TEASER TUESDAYS: HOW TO EAT A CUPCAKE — FEB. 7

 

Welcome to another edition of Teaser Tuesdays, hosted by Should Be Reading.

Here’s how it works:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

Today I’m excerpting from an ARC I’m reading:  How to Eat a Cupcake, by Meg Donohue.

Blurb:  Free-spirited Annie Quintana and sophisticated Julia St. Clair come from two different worlds. Yet, as the daughter of the St. Clairs’ housekeeper, Annie grew up in Julia’s San Francisco mansion and they forged a bond that only two little girls oblivious to class differences could—until a life-altering betrayal destroyed their friendship.

A decade later, Annie bakes to fill the void left in her heart by her mother’s death, and a painful secret jeopardizes Julia’s engagement to the man she loves. A chance reunion prompts the unlikely duo to open a cupcakery, but when a mysterious saboteur opens up old wounds, they must finally face the truth about their past or risk losing everything.

***

Teaser:  I had, I’ll admit, affected a certain style—a method, if you will—of cupcake eating.  To begin, you remove the cupcake liner carefully so as not to unnecessarily crumble the cake, and set it aside.  You then turn the cupcake slowly in your hand, taking bites along the line where cake meets icing, your mouth filling with a perfect combination of both components.  p. 31

Are you salivating yet?  I’m going to develop a serious sweet tooth with this one!

What are you teasing us with today?  Come on by and share some comments and links.

TEASER TUESDAYS — HOT CHOCOLATE — JAN. 10

 

Welcome to another edition of Teaser Tuesdays, hosted by Should Be Reading.

Here’s how it works:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

Today I’m excerpting from one of this week’s reads:  a book that will be on blog tour here on 2/2/12.

Hot Chocolate, by Dawn Greenfield Ireland, is about family ties, family responsibilities, and a legacy of chocolate.

 

Blurb:  Meet the middle-aged Alcott sisters: Madge, Lila Mae and Dorothea, heiresses to the Alcott Chocolate fortune and mavens of Houston’s elite River Oaks.

Madge ambushes Lila Mae with Dorothea’s manipulative plea: she can’t care for Bernie, their 92-year old father, any longer. Lila Mae explodes in a hissy fit—she had warned Dorothea years ago that they should put Bernie in an assisted living center.

Robert, Lila Mae’s astrologer, warns of impending problems and he’s rarely wrong.

The sisters call a meeting with Walter Branson, their solicitor. They discuss Bernie’s nurse Bambi Chaline, a blonde bombshell who looks more like a hooker than a nurse.

Arrangements are made for Bernie to be transferred over to Lake Sides Assisted Living Center in the Uptown Galleria area and a severance package is drawn up for Bambi.

Jimmy Ray Chaline, Bambi’s bowling alley husband, is enraged that Bambi was let go. He hires ambulance chaser Mark Slade to file a lawsuit for wrongful termination.

The suit is thrown out of court further fueling Jimmy Ray’s rage. Bambi had been more than satisfied with her bonus, letters of recommendation and praise from the Alcott clan.

When Jimmy Ray fails to return home from the bowling alley that night, a series of events unfold that shocks the entire Alcott family and their extended members.

***

Teaser:  Now Alcott Chocolates was an international icon and Bernie Alcott’s personal fortune was around eight point two billion dollars.  Alcott Chocolate specialties were known far and wide.  One could order a chocolate herd of buffalo, a replica of the White House in any flavor desired, or simply a box of assorted sumptuous chocolates.  (5% on my Kindle).

***

What are you excerpting today?  Come on by and tempt me!

TEASER TUESDAYS — BIRDS OF PARADISE — NOV. 22

Welcome to another edition of Teaser Tuesdays, hosted by Should Be Reading.

If you’d like to participate, here’s how it works:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

Today I’d like to share a book that promises to be a treat, as it delves into numerous issues, but also is as “beautifully layered as a fine dessert but as richly satisfying as a full-course meal.” I’m talking about  Birds of Paradise, by Diana Abu-Jaber.

Blurb: 

A multilayered, beautifully textured novel about family and self, self-indulgence and generosity, against the vivid backdrop of contemporary Miami.

In the tropical paradise that is Miami, Avis and Brian Muir are still haunted by the disappearance of their ineffably beautiful daughter, Felice, who ran away when she was thirteen. Now, after five years of modeling tattoos, skateboarding, clubbing, and sleeping in a squat house or on the beach, Felice is about to turn eighteen. Her family—Avis, an exquisitely talented pastry chef; Brian, a corporate real estate attorney; and her brother, Stanley, the proprietor of Freshly Grown, a trendy food market—will each be forced to confront their anguish, loss, and sense of betrayal. Meanwhile, Felice must reckon with the guilty secret that drove her away, and must face her fear of losing her family and her sense of self forever.

This multilayered novel about a family that comes apart at the seams—and finds its way together again—is totally involving and deeply satisfying, a glorious feast of a book.

***

A perfect choice for my “guilty pleasures” blog.

***

Teaser:  This morning’s pastry poses challenges.  To assemble the tiny mosaic disks of chocolate flake and candied ginger, Avis must execute a number of discrete, ritualistic steps:  scraping the chocolate with a fine grater, rolling the dough cylinder in large-grain sanding sugar, and assembling the ingredients atop each hand-cut disk of dough in a pointillist collage. p. 11

***

Are you salivating?  I know that I am….And now I’m eager to see what you’re teasing us with today.

TEASER TUESDAYS — INSEPARABLE — NOV. 8

Good morning, and welcome to another Teaser Tuesday, hosted by Should Be Reading.

To participate, just link up…and here’s how it works.

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

I’ve grabbed a book off my stack and found a passage that hints at guilty pleasures, the theme of this blog.

Inseparable, by Dora Heldt, is a portrait of one woman’s life, told through the stories of her friendships.

 

Teaser:  The cafe on the AuBenalster Lake was one of the most popular meeting places in the area for after-work drinks.  Luckily though, it wasn’t such a cult destination that it got too packed with people.  p. 10

***

What tempting treats do you have today?  I hope you’ll stop by and share….