Words to Live By!

Read this quote again today! Dr. Seuss applies to everything! 

Patty Pick for 7/2/15 is "Every Fifteen Minutes" by Lisa Scottoline

Lisa Scottoline is a master of suspense. I love to read her books and feel the surprises and twists that she will place in unexpected places. Every Fifteen Minutes is about the plans that a sociopath has for their target, who turns out to be Dr. Eric Parrish.

Dr. Parrish is head of the Psychiatric Unit at the famed Havemeyer Hospital in Philadelphia. And even though his personal life is upside down, his unit has received a prestigious award. He takes on a new private OCD patient named Max Jakubowski.   

As Dr. Parrish's personal life falls apart, strange things to be happening to him at the same time. He decides to file for custody of his daughter, Hannah, and the same day he is accused of sexual misconduct with a medical resident he rebuffed. Then one of his new private patients, Max, goes missing! 

This novel explores OCD and some other mental illnesses that don't often enough get 
discussed in the real world. It also paints a chilling picture of a sociopath and the 
unfeeling path this one took to play out their plan. The ending will have you guessing 
the identity of the villain and reading rapidly through the final chapters. As usual, Lisa 
Scottoline writes a good thriller that includes a knowledge of her subjects. Not to give away the ending, but you will be surprised!

Patty Pick for 7/16/15 is "First Frost" by Sarah Addison Allen

Sarah Addison Allen is a compelling storyteller! The Waverley sisters and their family will once again keep you interested until the very end! Sarah knows how to tap into the feelings and interactions of family life in a small North Carolina town. Of course, we do not all have a magical apple tree or special powers, but we do all have those feelings of insecurity that turn up from time to time. As we get back acquainted with the Waverley crew, strange things are 

up on Bascom, NC.

Claire and Sydney have settled into life in the small town of Bascom, North Carolina. Sydney has married and put down roots wih her new husband and her daughter, Bay. Sydney is trying to have a baby with her new husband, much to his unknowing delight. As First Frost nears, they and their loved ones are subject to strange happenings. Sydney's hair is slowing turning more red every day. Claire's daughter, Mariah, has an imaginary friend that is keeping her company. 

And to top it all off, Bay, Sydney's daughter, has fallen for the worst choice  of the guys in the whole town. Her mother must decide if she will tell Bay her own secrets from the past to prevent from making the same mistakes she made. Sydney wants Bay to understand the consequences to your life if she makes the wrong choice in love.  

Claire is struggling to keep her growing candy business going. She is visited by a strange, elderly gentleman with news of her and Sydney' mother. Maryabandoned them both to their grandmother when they were young. What he tells her will challenge all she thinks she knows about herself. 

What Claire and Sydney and their families find out is that you always have your family to support you. That unconditional love is there for the taking - just ask. Once again the Waverley family and the fictional town of Bascom does not disappoint. You will want to read this and be ready 

to fall into the lives of the Waverleys once again.  

July 4th Time Off!

It was getting rather "frosty" at the beach last week!
Loved the sequel to the "Garden Spells" which is one 
of my all-time favorite books! Watch for my review 
in the near future!

"Among the Ten Thousand Things" by Julia Pierpont

I was very excited to receive an ARC of this book after the good press I read concerning it. But I quickly found out that there are some points in your life in which you read a book and just do not get it. This must be such a point for me with "Among the Ten Thousand Things" by Julia Pierpont. The book started off interesting enough, with the children receiving old emails from their father's out-of-favor mistress. The emails were rather graphic and made quite a splash in everyone's life. After that, the book just did not go anywhere for me. The writing was well done, but I must not have been the right one to read this book. This book has good reviews and I am sure it will find the audience for which it is intended. And I have found out from from my book club's choices, sometimes it is just not your turn to enjoy a certain book. 
Happy Reading to all who do enjoy this book! :)

Patty Pick for 6/18/15 is "The Flying Circus" by Susan Crandall!

Susan Crandall's next book is coming out in July! Her last book, "Whistling Past the Graveyard" has turned into one of my favorite books of all time. You have to love the characters, especially Starla, and the subtle message in that book. Starla stole my heart from the first chapter.

I was lucky enough to win a copy of Susan Crandall's soon-to-be-released "The Flying Circus"! It will be available on July 7th!! It has a more adult cast of characters but we learn that their childhoods are continuing to play a role in their reactions to life. Three unlikely companions team up to become a troupe of traveling daredevils. The stunts come in the air with Gil and his Jenny airplane and on the ground with Cora and her motorcycle. All the while Henry works to hold them and their machines together with his mechanical acumen and a lot of luck.
The group slowly reveal the reasons they are all running away from their former lives. Henry
has the most to lose as we, the readers, find out early on that he is a wanted man. Henry came
from a German family of immigrants that suffered much tragedy before and during World War I.
As we meet him, he has become an orphan that was adopted by a kind farmer with a passel of daughters. The older girls are jealous of Henry and stymie his attempts to become part of the family
at every turn. Then one day, Henry finds Emmaline murdered. Henry makes the worse choice he can make, he runs.
He meets up with Gil and Cora after witnessing their race against each other in a pasture along the
quiet road he is traveling. Cora shows up unexpectedly on the road to join them as they start their trip to Chicago. The group of three work their act across the country to make money and we continue to learn the facts about the families and hardships they have left behind. They form a tight group that will be tested all in many ways.Read this and enjoy the trio! You will be rooting for them around every page. Again Thank You to Susan Crandall for giving a few of us an opportunity to win one
of her wonderful books!!

Patty Pick for 6/4/15 is More Time to Write!

I met with another writer recently to get advice and ask questions. 
He helped me to realize that to be a better writer what I need to do 
is WRITE! I have been stressing out so much on sharing my love for 
reading and posting book choices every week that I sometimes forget 
that I need to spend my limited time writing also! 

I recently finished "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr!

It is a great book and I enjoyed it very much. It was my Patty Pick last week. 

The richness of the writing makes the characters come alive in your imagination's eye. One part of writing that I struggle with is dialogue. Anthony Doerr's writing is a textbook 

on dialogue! I hope to continue to study other writers as I share their wonderful books 

with you. 

I will be making my Patty Picks a biweekly event for a while, as I work on my own 

writing. I am searching for an agent for my first book and researching and writing 

my second book. Hope you all understand! Look for my next Pick on the new 

book by Susan Crandall titled "The Flying Circus" on 06/18/15! :)