SueHarrison.com

March Book Winners!

suehar — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:04:58 +0000

Congratulations to Stephanie and to Debbie Colwell! You are the March free book winners. Stephanie’s name was drawn first, so she gets first pick. Both of you please email me at sue@sueharrison.com. Stephanie, let me know which book you prefer – WATER FOR ELEPHANTS or EXPOSURE. Congratulations!

For all our Blog readers, I will post the April free books during the first full week of April. Be sure to check in and see our April choices.

Blessings-
Sue

Irish Music

suehar — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:18:46 +0000

St. Patrick’s Day has put me in the mood to celebrate all things Irish, and since my corned beef brisket recipe is from the corned beef brisket package and my soda bread is pitiful (Any good soda bread recipes out there to share?), let’s talk about Irish music. In the past few years, my husband and I have begun a love affair with stringed instruments. Our experimentation has extended into Celtic music. Although we are not accomplished enough to really play it, we certainly appreciate it and have worked a bit with pentatonic scales in various modes, which are believed by many to be the basis for the most ancient Irish melodies.

Sit down at a piano and plunk out A-C-D-E-G. No F or B, no sharps or flats. Mix them up a bit, just those five notes. Amazing. You are there - Ireland. Today’s popular music and the music of classical composers are based on a seven-note scale. Irish music charms and haunts us with a mere five notes.

Hmmm… There has to be a life lesson there somewhere, don’t you think?

Blessings, Sue

Down Days

suehar — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:33:21 +0000

The dog ’s name was Ichabod. He was a good boy as shih tzus go, a little full of himself, but a courtly fellow, and a great companion to our high school aged daughter. One day Icabod fell asleep in a sunny spot on an oak stairstep. During this sleep he flipped over and sent himself rolling down the stairs.

He survived his tumble without injury, but afterwards, he was afraid of the stairs, particularly coming down the stairs. Down was bad. Down hurt.

After a few weeks of indulging his paranoia (carrying him down the stairs), we realized we had to teach him to overcome his new fear. Here’s what finally worked. One of us would stand near the stairway and say, “Come on, Icabod, you can do it. Just take one step. Just one step. “ Then Icabod would take one step. We would congratulate him for his bravery and say, “Now, one more step. Just one more step.” And finally one step by one step he would reach his goal.

If you are a writer or artist, you know that down is part of the business - down being rejections and/or realizing that what you have created is not as good as you thought it to be. If you are not a writer, rejection is still part of the package. Families squabble, co-workers shun, bosses yell, systems break down and so do we.

I want this Blog to be a happy place, but sometimes to get to the joy we have to negotiate a stairway. So I thought perhaps a little encouragement via Icabod’s story might help us all.

My inspiration for this particular post (besides Icabod) was a gentle rejection of my current novel by a very encouraging agent. I am not her client, yet she took the time to tell me what was wrong and how I might go about making the needed changes. Her encouragement was so strong that the stairway down hardly seemed down at all. And the stairway back up doesn’t look that scary either. Usually. Most days.

Are any of you experiencing a difficult “down” time in your life? Please imagine all of us standing beside the stairs encouraging you to reach out to God, grab His hand and face the next step, all of us saying to you, “Come on. Just one step. Don’t look further than that. Just one step.”

Your kind words about my novels have been so important to me. Thank you for helping me find the courage to negotiate that next step. And the next. And the next…

Blessings, Sue

March Book Blurbs

suehar — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:31:32 +0000

As I mentioned in my last Free Books post, our give-away books for March are WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen and EXPOSURE by Brandilyn Collins. To qualify for the drawing, let me know if you had to slog through, drive through or shovel snow this winter and if you love it or hate it, or somewhere in between. Meanwhile, in case you’re one of our 2 lucky winners, here’s a little info on our March books.

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen is a #1 New York Times bestseller. This novel about a depresion-era circus from the point of view of its veterinarian is spectacular. You will not only fall in love with the main character, Jacob Jankowski, but I predict you’ll fall in love with the circus elephant,Rosie, and the lady who trains and rides the horses and a whole host of other folks so beautifully and brutally drawn that you will LIVE the whole experience. There are a couple of terrifically horrible villians to round out the cast. The author’s research is great, AND you’ll absolutely love the ending!

EXPOSURE by Brandilyn Collins is an inspirational thriller-whodunit with a dash of romance thrown in for the joy of it. The main character, Kaycee Raye, is a syndiated newspaper columnist who makes a living poking fun at her own paranoia, but that paranoia has a very real basis in a childhood trauma that Kaycee must face when she begins receiving vicious threats from a stalker. This one had me guessing right up to the end. It’s a real page-turner.

Good luck in our March book give-away!

Blessings, Sue

Bayliss Book Club

suehar — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 22:27:04 +0000

The Bayliss Book Club (Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan) will discuss INTERPRETER OF MALADIES by Jhumpa Lahiri at 7 p.m., March 25, at the Bayliss Library. Their April book is HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET by Jamie Ford. If you are interested in joining the group, email Susan James at sjames@baylisslibrary.org.

MARCH FREE BOOK!

suehar — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:18:45 +0000

How better to celebrate spring than with a new book! And with spring in mind here’s how you qualify for the drawing March 21, 2010.

If you shoveled snow, drove in snow or slogged through snow this winter, you’re qualified. Just let post and let us know if you prefer life with or without snow!

(I’m a snow girl myself, honest, except for blizzards!)

The March free books are two novels – EXPOSURE by Brandilyn Collins and WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen. Both are new trade paperback editions. I’ll post blurbs about both books next week. Meanwhile if you battled snow this winter, post your snow preference (with or without) and you’ll be in the March 21 drawing. First name drawn wins his/her choice of EXPOSURE or WATER FOR ELEPHANTS. The second name gets the other book.

Blessings! Sue Harrison

Free Book Winner!

suehar — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:28:48 +0000

Congratulations to Milly Balzarini! You won our February free book, JEFF HERMAN’S GUIDE TO BOOK PUBLISHERS, EDITORS and LITERARY AGENTS 2010. Milly, please email me at sue@sueharrison.com. Thank you!

Next week I will post a blurb about our free books for March (2 bestselling novels). See if you qualify for the drawing!

Blessings! Sue

Pickford Reading Group

suehar — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:21:36 +0000

When I was a child, my favorite story book was about a little boy and his sister who discovered a key that opened a door into a magical world. I remember thinking how incredible it would be to discover a key like that. A few years later I realized that that key was any book I chose to read! I still love to walk into a library and catch the wonderful “smell” of books and know that journeys await. As Emily Dickinson so aptly put it, “There is no frigate like a book.” (Bookstores are great, too, but most of them smell like coffee nowadays!)

I have the privilege of belonging to a reading group. “The Pickford Reading Group” consists of six women of eclectic tastes. We have found great joy in sharing books and learning to trust one another with our thoughts and friendship. Each month (except for a summer break) we select a book to read and discuss. Our February selection is WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen. If you ever wanted to run away and join a circus, this is the book for you. And if you aren’t so much into circuses, but enjoy quirky characters (including animals), who come alive through the pages, this is also the book for you. The Pickford Reading Group was six thumbs up on WATER FOR ELEPHANTS. Our March book is THE MEMORY KEEPER’S DAUGHTER by Kim Edwards.

Do any of you belong to a reading group? If so, will you share your name and current book choices with us here on the Blog? We’d love to know what you’re reading and your opinions on your latest book. Each month I will post any Reading Group that reports. Just let me know your name, the book you read or are reading and, if you’d like, what your group thought of the book: great, good, not so good, or a mixed review.

Hope to hear from you!

Blessings! Sue

Marketing Fiction

suehar — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:19:30 +0000

Jody Hedlund, a novelist whose first historical romance was just picked up by Bethany House for a Fall 2010 release, posts a couple of great articles about marketing fiction. Check them out at http://short.to/16u09.

Blessings, Sue

Interview

suehar — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:56:23 +0000

Last Saturday, I had the privilege of being interviewed by Ray Case, the editor of “Encompass Magazine.” The magazine is regional to the southwestern area of Michigan, but Ray and the staff have wonderful plans for expansion, and I’m very excited that they chose to interview me for one of their articles. I will let you know when it is published.

I really enjoyed doing an interview again after so many years of silence. In some ways I feel like a new writer, just learning the ropes. (Lots of changes since the whirlwind days of my Alaska Trilogies, mainly in technology.) Many familiar names are still out there, but I am also making the acquaintance of other gifted people who help bring book dreams to fruition and make possible the freedom of speech and communication that has blessed our country since it was founded.

So my thanks to Ray and “Encompass Magazine”. May your horizons be wide!

Blessings, Sue Harrison