Susanna Carr's Blog

Weekend Read: Once a Ferrara Wife… by Sarah Morgan

Susanna — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:00:42 +0000

Laurel Ferrara walked out of her marriage two years ago because Cristiano failed her when she needed him the most. She reluctantly returns to Sicily for a family wedding and must face Cristiano. Their divorce is still being finalized but Cristiano decides he wants to stay married.

Cristiano has no problems showing his emotions, but Laurel does. Abandoned as a newborn and struggling to survive in the system, Laurel has learned to trust no one. She has never relied on anyone but herself. The one time she reached out to someone was to Cristiano, but he had disregarded her plea for help.

This love story is about an estranged couple who are still madly in love with each other but have serious trust and communication problems. Once a Ferrara Wife…. is an intensely emotional romance!

Artist’s Date #4: Assembling a jigsaw puzzle

Susanna — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:00:49 +0000

I have never been adept at jigsaw puzzles, but I decided to give it another try after reading “Why Jigsaw Puzzles are Good for the Brain”. According to this article, some of the immediate benefits in assembling a jigsaw puzzle include alertness, an increase in concentration and an expansion of creativity.

The article also suggests that working on jigsaw puzzles for longer periods will “induce a certain calmness and peace of mind.” It even promised that the activity would lower breath rate, reduce heart rate and reduce blood pressure.

Lies, I tell you! Lies!

I had tried to assemble a 500 piece puzzle using a systematic approach. A slow, painful approach that had me grumbling unprintable words and glaring at the picture on the box. I also found that you can make any two puzzle pieces fit if you force it.

Did I finish the puzzle? No. I didn’t even finish the corners. I gave it all of 30 minutes before I chucked the puzzle back in the box.

I know an Artist’s Date is supposed to get you out of your comfort zone, but this one was too challenging for me!

Monday contest

Susanna — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:00:06 +0000

I had plans this weekend to see One for the Money based on Janet Evanovich’s book. Then I read the reviews. No movie critic liked it! So I decided I’ll wait and see what popular opinion had to say after opening week. I’ve sat through too many not-worth-the-money
movies that I’m a little hesitant.

CONTEST

Answer the question in the comment section for a chance to win!

Question: Have you seen One for the Money?

Prize: a $10 Amazon.com e-mail gift card

Contest rules, guidelines and fine print can be found here. Contest ends Thursday, February 2, 2012, midnight Pacific Time. I will choose a winner using random.org and contact the winner on Friday.

Good luck!

Artist’s Date #3: Trying a new recipe

Susanna — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:00:35 +0000

A lot of people recommend cooking new recipes for Artist’s Dates. I decided to give that a try this week. I’m not familiar with Asian cuisine so I chose to cook a few traditional items for Chinese New Year.

Shopping for ingredients was a bit of a journey. I made quite a few mistakes! And why is it so hard to find mirin, the cooking wine? Most importantly, why was I carded when I bought a bottle at the grocery store? I was more bewildered than flattered.

One recipe I was hesitant to make was the jien duy. They are balls made of sweet dough, rolled in sesame seeds and fried until golden brown. I didn’t know how they should look or taste. While I was making the dough I thought that this had better not be a waste of my time.

And then I paused. How many times had I worked on an idea that didn’t sell? How many times had I written a story and decided it wasn’t ready to send out? While these books never made it to the shelves it doesn’t mean that it was a waste of my time to write them. I learn by doing.

The same goes with cooking. I’m always learning how to cook or improve a recipe by doing. I learn from trying new techniques, discovering new cuisines and stumbling on the occasional happy accident. There have been plenty inedible mistakes throughout the years, and there were plenty of complicated recipes that ultimately I didn’t like. Doesn’t matter. Those experiences helped me become a more confident and competent cook.

Oh, and the jien duy? Imperfect but delicious.

Hot Blogging with Heart

Susanna — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:00:45 +0000

Today I’m over at Cassandra Carr’s Hot Blogging with Heart discussing why I made a commitment to do Artist’s Dates every month. Please drop by when you get the chance!

guest blogging

Monday contest

Susanna — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:00:17 +0000

I’ve gotten into the habit of reading my weekly horoscope every Sunday evening. But I don’t just read one site. That way if the first horoscope is negative I can keep looking until I find one that is more positive. It’s basically the same prediction, but some are kinder and gentler.

My twin sister refuses to read horoscopes, so I feel it’s my duty to inform her of the highlights. It drives her crazy when I start a sentence with “Our horoscope says…” The only time I know if she listened is when she tells me how wrong the predictions were.

Do you read your horoscope?

CONTEST

Answer the question in the comment section for a chance to win!

Question: Do you read your horoscope?

Prize: A $10 Amazon.com e-mail gift card.

Contest rules, guidelines and fine print can be found here. Contest ends Thursday, January 26, 2012, midnight Pacific Time. I will choose a winner using random.org and contact the winner on Friday.

Good luck!

Weekend Read: A Dangerous Infatuation by Chantelle Shaw

Susanna — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:00:59 +0000

Emma is a widow with a child. While everyone knows her husband had been a firefighter who had died heroically, she has kept his serial cheating a secret. It’s better for everyone to believe that her marriage was the stuff of fairy tales.

But then she meets Rocco who is a famous playboy. Not only is he wildly handsome and successful, Rocco is also known for his scandalous affairs. Emma does her best to ignore him while she’s working as a nurse for his grandmother, deciding that this playboy is a lot like her late husband. But Rocco proves to be everything Emma wants in a man and he becomes even more dangerous to her heart than before.

I really liked the premise of A Dangerous Infatuation. Think about it: how could a woman who had once been betrayed by a serial cheating husband fall in love with a playboy? It would require a great deal of trust and courage! The romance between Emma and Rocco was a joy to read.

Artist’s Date #2: Reading outside your comfort zone

Susanna — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:00:08 +0000

I’m a contemporary romance reader. I don’t care if the story is sweet, spicy, short or gigantic as long as it’s a romance and it’s based in today’s world. The problem is, when you have a steady diet of one genre, you become firmly entrenched in your comfort zone.

There are a few authors I turn to when I want a comfort read, but the familiar isn’t going to spark or strengthen my creativity. So this week I decided to spend my Artist’s Date reading a book I normally wouldn’t. I went for young adult dystopia.

That’s right. I read The Hunger Games.

I enjoyed the book but I have to admit it wasn’t a comfortable read. Not because of the violence or the action. It was because my reader expectations had to be put aside for a different genre. For example, I liked Peeta, but I wasn’t sure if I should become emotionally invested in the character in case he died.

Has reading the book helped my creativity? I don’t know yet. There were moments when I was caught up in the story and there were times when I was aware in how the author handled flashbacks and world-building. (Occupational hazard, I guess.) I haven’t had an “Aha!” moment or felt inspired to write something, but inspiration comes in all forms and in different timetables.

If you plan to reading outside your comfort zone for your next Artist’s Date, I recommend that you get a book everyone is talking about. That way you know you’re a reading a good example of its genre even if you don’t know the genre’s rules. Read a phenomenal bestseller like Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Help, The Hunger Games, The Kite Runner, The Lovely Bones, The Time Traveler’s Wife or Twilight.

Monday contest

Susanna — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:00:14 +0000

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to read a Harlequin a week. I need to keep up with it or my TBR pile will become an unmanageable TBR mountain! This week I’m reading Chantelle Shaw’s A Dangerous Infatuation and I’m loving it so far.

What are you reading?

CONTEST

Answer the question in the comment section for a chance to win!

Question: What book are you reading?

Prize: a $10 Amazon.com e-mail gift card

Contest rules guidelines and fine print can be found here. Contest ends Thursday, January 19, 2012, midnight Pacific Time. I will choose a winner using random.org and contact the winner on Friday.

Good luck!

**Update: Congratulations to Stacy S. Her name was chosen to receive the Amazon.com gift card. Thanks to everyone for sharing what they’re reading!**

Weekend Read: The Player’s Club: Scott by Cathy Yardley

Susanna — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:00:15 +0000

Scott stumbles upon The Player’s Club. It’s a legendary but secret club that helps members change their lives. He has to meet three challenges to become a full member. But when Amanda, his neighbor, discovers his secret, she blackmails him in order to get into The Player’s Club.

Scott is tired of being the boring guy. He wants to be the guy who has stories to tell and being a part of The Player’s Club will help achieve that goal. But Amanda has no clue that he’s really a normal and boring guy. What will happen if he didn’t make the Club? Or couldn’t get her into the Club?

Amanda is an all-or-nothing kind of girl. She wants to start living her life deliberately and stop being second place to a man’s interest. She thought she was breaking the cycle when she starts a fling with Scott. She helps him with his challenges but will he leave her behind once he gets into The Player’s Club?

I liked reading how Scott and Amanda transformed together. They are dependable and hard-working, and yet they found passion and adventure. I enjoyed Cathy Yardley’s bold writing style and found The Player’s Club: Scott a fun and sexy read.