Literary Friday, ya’ll…….

literary friday

Friday, Friday, Friday… Someone play the song “Friday, I’m In Love” by The Cure 🙂  (I love that song!)

Ok, back to the bookish things now that I’ve chair-danced for a bit….

1. Deep South Magazine and their #literaryfriday- Faulkner and Flannery, Wiley Cash, Gone With The Wind, and much more… Plus… 8 Books To Fall In Love With in February– including THE WIFE, THE MAID and THE MISTRESS by Ariel Lawhon (one of the creative geniuses behind She Reads!) Read here for more info about book and the details on the upcoming Twitter chat- where you could win a copy!

2. In case you missed the good news– Me, Traveling With T, got the very good news the other day (I totally felt like Charlie when he got the last golden ticket!) Confused? Curious? Here it is: I’m going to be a World Book Night Giver! So excited! Myself and several bloggy friends got the great news the other day- and let me inform you: Waiting all day on the news because your mom married someone with basically the last letter of the alphabet kind of sucks. (Right? Anyone feel my pain on this?)

3. It’s been cold. No, this is not news. I know. It’s February. But, seeing this picture the other day has made my heart long for Spring and the first flowers and the butterflies and all the goodness of Spring!

4. Traveling With T has a copy of DAYS OF WINE AND ROQUEFORT to give away! Go enter. Now. I’ll wait. Seriously.

5. Valentine’s Day is 1 week away- read about Traveling With T likes and dislikes Valentine’s Day.

6. What are your #fridayreads? I’m reading THE WIFE, THE MAID, and THE MISTRESS by Ariel Lawhon.

 

Happy Reading and Bookishly Yours,

T @ Traveling With T

 

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Guess Who Is A World Book Night Giver?

world book night giver

Guess who has 2 thumbs, loves books and got selected as a World Book Night Giver? Yep, that’s right- THIS GAL. Excuse me while I dance around a bit, sing a song and throw some confetti……

Ok I’m back! Very excited! What is World Book Night you ask? Well here is the technical info, the official info (straight from the website’s mouth). But, basically, World Book Night wants to share the love of reading- so they pick a selection of books, people apply to be givers, and then the givers hand out 20 copies of a book they were selected to hand out. But, you are to hand out the book to light readers/non readers or people who do not have access to books. How cool is that? Sharing the love of reading! Continue reading

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Weekend in Granbury, TX- a weekend filled with bookish delights

ladies at granbury twt watermark

A few weeks ago, it was time for Unofficial Booktopia. What is Unofficial Booktopia, you ask? Well, Unofficial Booktopia is a play on Official Booktopia (hosted by the fantastic Books on The Nightstand). How did it all start? A few of us met in Oxford, MS back in 2012- and we became fast friends- discussing books, going out for drinks, and just having a good time. After that weekend, we all stayed in touch through the power of social media and monthly phone chats. Unofficial Booktopia happened, though, because in 2013- none of the Booktopia sites were close for 2 of us to get to be able to attend (basically, it was a wing and a prayer kind of thing). So, one suggested- let’s get together in Jackson, MS (home to Lemuria Books). So we began the plan and it worked! We all managed to get together (and engage in some literary hijinks!) We had such a good time that Unofficial Booktopia was born- and this year, it was in Texas. Continue reading

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How I cannot wait for Spring….

pretty butterfly

 

I like to take pictures. Actually love to take pictures is really more accurate. Today, on a cold day, a day that is overcast and kind of drab- I find this picture. A picture that reminds me that spring, butterflies and flowers are not as far off as they seem. And that makes me happy.

 

Are you counting down the days till Spring? Or is winter more your season?

 

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Guest Post: Avery Aames, author of Days of Wine and Roquefort (plus giveaway!)

Avery Aames App

Today, as part of the Days of Wine and Roquefort by Avery Aames blog tour sponsored by Escape With Dollycas, Traveling With T has Avery Aames stopping by with a guest post for you foodies and a giveaway for you readers! Avery’s sharing her recipe for Roquefort Bosc Pear Quiche (and doesn’t it look fab?)

Guest Post from Avery Aames:

SAY CHEESE, ANYONE?

From Avery Aames aka Daryl Wood Gerber

People often ask: where do you get your ideas? For one, I have a very vivid imagination. It scares my husband sometimes. I often think: what if? What if that woman is really a spy? What if that man is having an affair?

When I write A Cheese Shop Mystery, however, I start with what cheese? The cheese makes me come up with a fun title, like DAYS OF WINE AND ROQUEFORT (a play on the old movie, “Days of Wine and Roses”). And then I think, what if?

At the beginning of book five in the series, Charlotte’s cousin Matthew and his twins have moved out of her house, and she’s now alone. What if she decided to finally get to all her to-do projects? What if one day she came home to find a friend of Matthew’s, a former sommelier, attacked and dying in her workshop? Between the sommelier’s hotheaded ex, the cagey owners of the winery, its jaded manager, and a wily reporter, Charlotte has her pick of suspects, but she needs to act fast—this is a mystery that only gets more dangerous with age.

Of course, Charlotte will need sustenance to solve the crime. What could be better than dining on a savory Roquefort & pear quiche?

Roquefort Bosc Pear Quiche

(Serves 6)

1 pie shell (homemade or frozen)

2-3 ounces (about 1/3 cup) Roquefort cheese (or good blue cheese)

½ cup whipping cream

3 eggs

¼ cup sour cream

1 ½ cups milk

Pinch: nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger

Pinch: salt and pepper

1 Bosc pear, peeled, sliced

1 teaspoon honey

Remove the Roquefort cheese from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature.

In 425 degree oven, bake the pie shell for 12-14 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from oven. Let cool.

Meanwhile, in a medium-sized bowl, mush the Roquefort cheese with 2 tablespoons of the whipping cream. Add the rest of the cream and beat for 1 minute.

Add the eggs and beat until the mixture is blended, but not whipped to a froth. Add the sour cream, milk, spices and mix until blended.

Peel, core, and slide the Bosc pear in 6-8 slices. Arrange the slices on the bottom of the baked pie shell. Drizzle with honey. Put the pan on a baking sheet. Stir the egg and cream mixture once, then pour the mixture on the pears. Carefully move the baking sheet to the oven.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until the quiche is puffy and lightly brown on top.

Remove from oven and cool slightly for about 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Question: What is your favorite snack food when working on a project or reading?

Giveaway:

Each tour participating in the DAYS OF WINE AND ROQUEFORT are getting to host their own giveaways- with 1 copy of DAYS OF WINE AND ROQUEFORT going to a lucky person (US only, sorry!)

Visit the Rafflecopter link for details on how to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Reading & Bookishly Yours,

T @ Traveling With T

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Days of Wine and Roquefort by Avery Aames (EWD Blog Tour)

Days of Wine and Roquefort Avery Aames

Photo Credit: Goodreads

 

Today, Traveling With T is a stop on the DAYS OF WINE and ROQUEFORT by Avery Aames blog tour sponsored by Escape With Dollycas. This tour has multiple stops- guest posts & giveaways! There is a big, huge tour-wide giveaway happening (with a great prize- 4 Cheese Shop Mystery Books PLUS the 1st book in the Cookbook Nook series- written by Daryl Wood Gerber, who you know as Avery Aames!)   Continue reading

Guest Post: Beth Albright discusses how Belle’s love LOVE!

keep calm and read a romance twt

Beth Albright, author of The Sassy Belles trilogy, has stopped by Traveling With T today to discuss: Belles, love and Valentine’s Day. Beth’s recently released novella, Saved By The Belles, is creating quite a buzz in the romance world. Beth has been steadily promoting the latest novella while also getting ready for the next trilogy- yes, the Belles will be back in summer 2014!

When Beth and I started talking about this post, I suggested a couple of different options- Belles and love, Belles and friendship- because both those topics really go hand in hand with Beth Albright’s trilogy. The friendships and the romance are something to remember- and after reading Beth’s books, you may find yourself craving sweet tea and a Southern accent. Continue reading

February She Reads Book Club Selection: The Wife, The Maid, and The Mistress by Ariel Lawhon

The Wife the maid the mistress

Photo Credit: Goodreads

It’s here! It’s time! The February She Reads Book Club Selection is………. THE WIFE, THE MAID, and THE MISTRESS by Ariel Lawhon (one of the geniuses behind She Reads). Recently released and already generating tons of buzz in the book world- this book should be a popular pick with book clubs around the world. Want more proof? Read the summary:

A tantalizing reimagining of a scandalous mystery that rocked the nation in 1930-Justice Joseph Crater’s infamous disappearance-as seen through the eyes of the three women who knew him best.

They say behind every great man, there’s a woman. In this case, there are three. Stella Crater, the judge’s wife, is the picture of propriety draped in long pearls and the latest Chanel. Ritzi, a leggy showgirl with Broadway aspirations, thinks moonlighting in the judge’s bed is the quickest way off the chorus line. Maria Simon, the dutiful maid, has the judge to thank for her husband’s recent promotion to detective in the NYPD. Meanwhile, Crater is equally indebted to Tammany Hall leaders and the city’s most notorious gangster, Owney “The Killer” Madden.

On a sultry summer night, as rumors circulate about the judge’s involvement in wide-scale political corruption, the Honorable Joseph Crater steps into a cab and disappears without a trace. Or does he?

After 39 years of necessary duplicity, Stella Crater is finally ready to reveal what she knows. Sliding into a plush leather banquette at Club Abbey, the site of many absinthe-soaked affairs and the judge’s favorite watering hole back in the day, Stella orders two whiskeys on the rocks-one for her and one in honor of her missing husband. Stirring the ice cubes in the lowball glass, Stella begins to tell a tale-of greed, lust, and deceit. As the novel unfolds and the women slyly break out of their prescribed roles, it becomes clear that each knows more than she has initially let on.

With a layered intensity and prose as effervescent as the bubbly that flows every night, The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress is a wickedly entertaining historical mystery that will transport readers to a bygone era with tipsy spins through subterranean jazz clubs and backstage dressing rooms. But beneath the Art Deco skyline and amid the intoxicating smell of smoke and whiskey, the question of why Judge Crater disappeared lingers seductively until a twist in the very last pages.

Want to read this book? You are in luck! Traveling With T just happens to know of several giveaways! She Reads is giving away 5 copies (plus shot glasses- super cute!), Goodreads is giving away 30 copies, and because Doubleday Publishing is the cat’s pajamas- for the She Reads Twitter chat where we chat with Ariel Lawhon (hosted by me!)- 10 copies of the book will be given away that night! The Twitter chat is February 27th- 8pmEST. #srbkchat is the hashtag (while all are welcome to join in the fun of the Twitter chat- the giveaway portion is limited to US only (sorry!)

Want to read what others are saying about The Wife, The Maid and The Mistress? You are in luck! Check out She Reads Blog Network and see what they are saying!

Happy Reading and Bookishly Yours,

T @ Traveling With T

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After I’m Gone by Laura Lippman

After I'm Gone

Photo Credit: Goodreads

 

This book was sent to Traveling With T in exchange for a fair and honest review.

After I’m Gone

Felix Brewer is a man with a plan- he has big dreams. Wants to have a fancy house, money and security, all the creature comforts of life. Felix is not afraid of hard work- he’s also not afraid of breaking the law and bending the rules to get ahead in life. When Felix meets Bambi- there is an instant attraction. Bambi is Felix’s idea of a perfect woman- cultured and beautiful.

Felix not only has no problem bending the law for his own gain, he also does not have a problem breaking his vows- which he does with his mistress, Julie. When the law finally catches up to Felix, he does what a man with shady business connections does- he takes the money and runs- leaving behind, Bambi, his 3 daughters and Julie. 5 women- 5 women whose lives were irrevocably changed after Felix left. Bambi also feels that Julie knew more than what she let on- and resentment builds. 10 years after Felix disappears, Julie leaves- most think to join Felix in the new life he’s made. Until Julie’s remains are found- which shines a spotlight on the day that Julie disappears.

Enter Roberto “Sandy” Sanchez- former police officer- now he works on cold cases- he has a good track record following up with the clues and finding justice- even after everyone else has given up. When Sandy begins to search for clues about Julie’s disappearance- the trail twists and turns along with Felix’s disappearance and life of crime. Felix’s daughters and his wife, Bambi, all have reason for Julie to disappear. But, years later, would any of them had the ability to make this happen? Or is there more to this story than meets the eye?

Sandy knows the truth is out there. And he knows he’s the person to find out the answers.

 

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

This was my first Laura Lippman novel- and I thoroughly enjoyed AFTER I’M GONE. A man disappears, his mistress disappears 10 years later- common sense tells you the 2 are together. But common sense meet Laura Lippman- she takes a story that has been told before- and creates a story with intrigue and mystery- a story that the reader will devour.

AFTER I’M GONE is told in “current time” and flashback tales- with clues and suspects littered throughout the story. The story, while the main focus is on what happened to Julie, the subplots of how Felix came to disappear and how life without Felix shaped the women he loves lives without him make for a great addition to the storyline. As the reader follows the clues with Sandy- they must question everyone and everything.

Recommended.

 

*This book, AFTER I’M GONE, was sent to Traveling With T by William-Morrow Books in exchange for a fair and honest review.

 

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Literary Friday, ya’ll….

literary friday

Today is Literary Friday- the best day of the week!

I’ve got much to talk about- so let’s get to it!

1. First, before I get into the fun of #literaryfriday- Traveling With T has had a “face lift”- yes, a new theme has been applied! While Matala ( my paisely print theme had been a very good theme to me- I did love the bright colors!), the new theme, Sorbet, looks to be a winner. It’s a bit more customizable- even without having to buy all the upgrades, etc- so I hope Sorbet and I are happy for quite some time.

2. Deep South Magazine and their #literaryfriday- Wiley Cash interview (and giveaway of A DARK ROAD TO MERCY), 50 Books by Women Authors and much more!  Continue reading