Giveaway Reminder: The Murderer's Daughters

Have you entered my giveaway yet for a copy of The Murderer's Daughters??

You have until midnight CST on Sunday, February 7.

Click here to register!

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Every Last One

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted here, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Every Last One

By Anna Quindlen

Publication Date: April 27

From Amazon:

"Mary Beth Latham is first and foremost a mother, whose three teenaged children come first, before her career as a landscape gardener, or even her life as the wife of a doctor. Caring for her family and preserving their everyday life is paramount. And so, when one of her sons, Max, becomes depressed, Mary Beth becomes focused on him, and is blindsided by a shocking act of violence. What happens afterwards is a testament to the power of a woman’s love and determination, and to the invisible line of hope and healing that connects one human being with another. Every Last One is a novel about facing every last one of the the things we fear most, about finding ways to navigate a road we never intended to travel, to live a life we never dreamed we’d have to live but must be brave enough to try."

What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

Want to participate? Grab the logo, post your own WoW entry on your blog, and leave a link in the comments section!

PLUS: Check out my giveaway of The Murderer's Daughters, a previous WOW pick, in the post below!

Quotables with Randy Susan Meyers

When I'm reading, I love coming across "just-right" passages that have me reaching for my quote book. With this in mind, and as a twist on an author interview, I'm starting a new feature on the blog, Quotables, in which I present authors with a meaningful (to me) quote from their novels and ask them to speak to it in whatever way they wish.

First up is Randy Susan Meyers, author of the newly released The Murderer's Daughters, a heart-wrenching story of two sisters in the aftermath of the murder of their mother by their father. I highly recommend this book. It deals with heavy issues, but it's a compelling read, as each sister, while remaining close to each other, deals with the tragedy in vastly different ways.

One of the quotes from the book that really stuck with me was:

"Maybe when we recognize the trivial for what it is, we can concentrate on what we love most, what we most treasure."

From the author:

The above quote from the last quarter of The Murderer’s Daughters sums up much of my book. Lulu, a doctor, and one of two sisters who’ve witnessed their father kill their mother, hears these words from a dying patient.

Of the themes that surfaced as I wrote this book, perhaps one of the strongest is the manner in which folks execute appalling deeds over meaningless issues. So many of the batterers with whom I worked in a Massachusetts batterer intervention program permanently damaged their families and their relationships over issues such as unwashed dishes and already-spent money. In The Murderer’s Daughters, a man kills his wife, stabs his daughter, and immediately loses his family and his freedom. He was drunk. His goal was to win back the love of his wife. Instead, he fights with her over a small sum of money, an escalating battle in which his rage culminates in murder.

Perhaps if we took a moment during times of anger (and it is possible; we just tell ourselves that it isn’t) and determined what our true goals were, tragedies—permanent and temporary—could be avoided. And there would not be so many children who end up as the collateral damage of family violence.

St. Martin's Press is providing a giveaway copy of The Murderer's Daughters. Leave a comment by midnight CST on Sunday, February 7, and I'll randomly pick a winner.

Weekend Cooking: A Restaurant, a Recipe, and a Cookbook

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

If you read this blog, you know that I LOVE Top Chef, and one of my favorite contestants was fellow Southerner Richard Blais.

So, when I heard that he'd opened a restaurant here in Birmingham, I was beyond excited. Flip Burger Boutique is billed as "Fine Dining Between Two Buns" and features 20 different varieties of out-of-the-box burgers.

My mom and I shared the fried pickles, which had a light tempura-style batter and came with the most amazing Ranch dressing (that we kept dipping our forks into!). I had the po boyger, which was a shrimp patty with Old Bay mayo, shaved lettuce, tomato, fried lemon, and Tabasco.

Speaking of burger twists, here's my favorite topping for a grilled burger at home: Dill Pickle Remoulade. Once you have this, I promise you'll never go back to ketchup and mustard.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup dill pickle relish, drained
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

Finally, to bring this post around to books, Top Chef's third cookbook will be released this summer, How to Cook Like a Top Chef. I'm really looking forward to this one:


"This cookbook and culinary primer in one features recipes from all six seasons of the show and season one of Top Chef: Masters, along with insider techniques from everyone's favorite contestants and judges. Covering everything from knife skills to sauces and sous-vide, How to Cook Like a Top Chef teaches aspiring chefs what it takes to be a star in the kitchen. Packed with exclusive content including a foreword by Top Chef: Masters winner Rick Bayless, original recipes from contestants, behind-the-scenes interviews, juicy trivia, and tons of tips and tricks this volume is as indispensable on the cook's countertop as it is essential reading for Top Chef fans."

"Waiting On" Wednesday: The Stormchasers

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted here, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

The Stormchasers

By Jenna Blum

Publication Date: May 27

From the author's website:

"The Stormchasers is a contemporary novel set in the fictional Minnesotan town of New Heidelburg; the city of Minneapolis; and the lonely, majestic rural corridor of Tornado Alley. The novel focuses on the Hallingdahl twins, a brother and sister who are both fascinated with severe weather. The brother, a stormchaser, is also bipolar, and his sister is his caretaker; when the brother’s disorder causes a terrible event, the sister struggles with how to keep it and its aftermath a secret. As the novel follows how the twins’ bond twists and changes, The Stormchasers explores the question of how much we owe our siblings—and at what cost to ourselves."

What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

Want to participate? Grab the logo, post your own WoW entry on your blog, and leave a link in the comments section!

Weekend Cooking: Cookbook Preview

Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads, is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs.

Here are five new soon-to-be-released cookbooks that I have on my wish list.

Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood

"With this follow-up to her successful Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen, she serves up more homey, Southern-inflected fare from her country music kitchen. The meat of the book is rib-sticking classics for both special occasions and weeknights." (Publishers Weekly)

Pig: King of the Southern Table

"From bacon to barbecue, from pork loin to pork belly, James Villas presents the pride of the South in all its glory. 300 mouth-watering recipes range from the basics like sausages, ribs, and ham to creative ideas like hashes, burgers, gumbos, and casseroles." (Amazon)

Bromberg Bros. Blue Ribbon Cookbook

"Chefs Bromberg, founders and owners of numerous Blue Ribbon restaurants, share an eclectic and appealing array of recipes, modified for the home cook. Lavish photographs complete this worthwhile, appetizing collection that will delight cooks, not to mention the people they feed." (Publishers Weekly)

The Good Stuff Cookbook

"One of the most popular contestants ever on the hit television show Top Chef, Spike Mendelsohn is one of the hottest celebrity chefs on the scene. Here he serves up fast, fun, and fresh recipes for classic fare like burgers, sides, shakes, and desserts, as well as menu suggestions for all types of events, from big parties to casual family dinners." (Amazon)

Giada at Home

"The newest cookbook from De Laurentiis straddles two continents with wonderful recipes from Italy and California. Chock-full of mouthwatering dishes for easy entertaining, this appealing collection is supplemented with informative, short essays on ingredients." (Publishers Weekly)

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Red Hook Road

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted here, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Red Hook Road

By Ayelet Waldman

Publication Date: July 13

From Amazon:

Set on the coast of Maine over the course of four summers, Red Hook Road tells the story of two families, the Tetherlys and the Copakens, and of the ways in which their lives are unraveled and stitched together by misfortune, by good intentions and failure, and by love and calamity. A marriage collapses under the strain of a daughter’s death; two bereaved siblings find comfort in one another; and an adopted young girl breathes new life into her family with her prodigious talent for the violin. Within these resonant pages, a vase filled with wildflowers or a cold beer on a hot summer day serve as constant reminders that it’s often the little things that make life so precious.

What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

Want to participate? Grab the logo, post your own WoW entry on your blog, and leave a link in the comments section!

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Love in Mid Air

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted here, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Love in Mid Air

By Kim Wright

Publication Date: March 29

From Amazon:

A chance encounter with a stranger in an airplane sends Elyse Bearden into an emotional tailspin. Suddenly, Elyse is willing to risk everything: her safe but stale marriage, her seemingly perfect life in an affluent Southern suburb, and her position in the church. As Elyse embarks on a risky affair, her longtime friend Kelly and the other women in their book club begin to question their own decisions about love, sex, marriage, and freedom. In the end it will take an extraordinary leap of faith for Elyse to find--and follow--her own path to happiness.

This recently got a starred review in Publishers Weekly: "Wright hits it out of the park in her debut, an engaging account of a woman contemplating divorce...Though this story is one that readers may have seen many times before, Wright delivers fresh perspective and sympathetic characters few writers can match."

What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

Want to participate? Grab the logo, post your own WoW entry on your blog, and leave a link in the comments section!

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Something Red

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted here, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Something Red

By Jennifer Gilmore

Publication Date: March 30

From author's Web site:

In Washington D.C. and life inside the Goldstein home is as tumultuous as the shifting landscape of the times. It is 1979 and Benjamin is heading off to college and sixteen-year-old Vanessa is in the throes of a rocky adolescence. Sharon, a caterer for the Washington elite, ventures into a cult-like organization. And Dennis, whose government job takes him often to Moscow, tries to live up to his father’s legacy as a union organizer and community leader.

The rise of communism and the execution of the Rosenbergs is history. The Cold War is waning, the soldiers who fought in Vietnam have all come home, and Carter is president. The age of protest has come and gone and yet each one of the Goldsteins is forced to confront the changes the new decade will bring and explore what it really means to be a radical.

What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

Want to participate? Grab the logo, post your own WoW entry on your blog, and leave a link in the comments section!

Weekend Cooking: Texas Toast Breakfast Bread Pudding

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

So...tired of being tired of not cooking from my cookbooks, I issued myself a challenge for 2010: cook 100 recipes from the 10 years' worth of Southern Living Annual Recipes in my collection. I started a new blog just to keep me accountable and track my progress.

My first recipe was Texas Toast Breakfast Bread Pudding, and it was divine!