I am cheating this week and writing this newsletter opener on Wednesday instead of Friday. I am on a flight to L.A. for the Book Expo America conference. Looking ahead to my schedule for the next few days, I realized that these will be my last quiet moments to concentrate on writing. Confession: I need to "drop into a zone" to write. I write best on the couch late at night when the house is quiet. Under pressure I can write in the office, but it's never ideal.

Some of my publishing friends are on this flight. We have done some visiting in the aisle. It's like the New York book scene is moving west for the next four days. There will be grumbling and lots of rolling of eyes about why we do this, there will be a crazy pace as we rush from exhibits to panels to signings to parties, there will be many lost moments on streets and freeways since few of us really know L.A. But along the way there will be moments of pure serendipity when I will find some great discovery of a book or author to share with you in the months to come that will make all this worth it.
 
I already had one of those moments. I sat down next to a woman who had a ready smile. Within two minutes we exchanged hellos and she told me she was an author. Her name is Lori Bongiorno, and her book is GREEN, GREENER, GREENEST:  A Practical Guide to Making Eco-Smart Choices a Part of Your Life. As soon as she said this I went into a bit of a panic. I flashed through my last 24 hours. I had recycled a HUGE stack of newspapers, most of them unread. Memo to self: Give up getting the paper delivered since you read it online most of the time anyway. I not only recycle my Diet Coke cans, but I also am vigilant about gathering the empty water bottles in the boys' rooms, thus I am providing a recycling role model. But I wondered how I would be viewed if I revealed that I drive a GMC Yukon into the city four days a week. Literally moments into the conversation, I 'fessed up lest I be found out.

Luckily there was no dismay on Lori's face. She told me about her book. I am green. Since I am aware, maybe I am even a bit greener. And though I never will be greenest, it's really okay. I found myself brainstorming a quiz idea for her website on how people can figure out whether they are green, greener or greenest.
 
We then moved on and talked book clubs --- and with this conversation I came up with a great idea for ReadingGroupGuides.com, which I cannot wait to share with Shannon McKenna, our Contributing Editor, who just happens to be sitting one row in front of me on the plane. We can noodle this some more on the way to baggage claim and get it ready for next month's update. Plane rides are great time for thinking, as well as writing and reading. More as it comes to fruition. 

We have an interview with Victoria Lustbader, whose book STONE CREEK has been a favorite of MANY people with whom I have shared it. I loved it and am glad it's finally in stores for you so you can get your hands on it. It's a great book club choice!

As promised, after power planting the garden last weekend (where I DID end up buying more planters as my eyes were bigger than my garden space), I spent hammock time last Monday reading SWEETHEART, the new book from Chelsea Cain, which will be in stores on September 2nd. For readers who loved HEARTSICK, her debut thriller last year, you are in for another wild adventure for Archie and Gretchen. For those who need to catch up, HEARTSICK comes out in paperback on July 29th. Note that our New in Paperback feature has been updated with May releases, and it includes NOT A HAPPY CAMPER by Mindy Schneider, a book that I have given to MANY friends who all have pronounced it "laugh out loud fun" whether or not they have been to camp, and Sally Koslow's LITTLE PINK SLIPS is a PERFECT beach book! 
 
I have been hearing from MANY of you about how you love THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN by Garth Stein. This line comes up again and again --- "I sent all my friends email and told them to read this book." My favorite quote: "I usually pass the books that I read on to others, but not this time. I love this book too much." Reading this last line I realized that I never told you how many books are in our home library. The rough guesstimate is about 2,000 if I count the books in every room and count double and even triple deep on most of the shelves. Our poll this week has to do with social networking sites, some of which provide an opportunity for you to share your book shelves virtually. Take a moment to answer that and our question of the week about who you talk to about books.
 
Our Beach Bag title this week is DOMESTIC AFFAIRS by Eileen Goudge, a story about friendship, betrayal and redemption. This is the kind of book that I started reading and, when I looked up a few hours later, realized I was halfway through it! Our bag, which is very green --- in color, that is --- includes a Ladderball game that looks like lots of fun. In fact, I need to circle back and get one of those for US! Last weekend my younger son and I played dominoes, thanks to Cristina, a reader from Coral Gables who gave me a game set of Cuban dominoes. The directions were in Spanish, and Cory did an ardent job of trying to translate. We decided to muddle through with what we understood, and then as soon as he pulled the game pieces from the box, we found...the directions in English. I can see us making a summer-long tournament out of domino playing.
 
You may remember the great feedback we received last week for THE STEEL WAVE by Jeff Shaara. This week we have Jeff's responses to our advance readers’ questions, which you can see here. 
 
For those of you who keep track, yes, this IS my second flight to LA in just four weeks; the goal is to be at Continental Elite status by mid-July, and it looks like that WILL be happening. I am knitting pillow covers this week for my home office as I attend panels...in aquas and coppers. I'm having fun with the new colors in my office. The aqua and copper walls are making me smile. Pulling these together as I travel is making me smile. Here's to a great weekend. Get a jump on shopping for Dad with our Father's Day feature in between your reading. Read on.....

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

Victoria Lustbader --- former fiction editor and the wife of author Eric Van Lustbader --- recently published her second novel, STONE CREEK. In this interview with Bookreporter.com's Cindy Crosby, Lustbader describes the challenging circumstances under which the book was written and sheds light on some of its weighty topics, such as love, relationships and infidelity. She also explains how her experience as an editor helped to strengthen her own narrative abilities, reveals the benefits of having another writer in the family, and shares details on her current project tentatively titled APPROACHING THE SPEED OF LIGHT.

STONE CREEK by Victoria Lustbader (Fiction)
Danny, a young widower, still grieves for his late wife, but for the sake of his five-year-old son, he knows he must move on. Alone in her summer house, Lily has left her workaholic husband, Paul, to his long hours and late nights back in the city. In Stone Creek, she can yearn in solitude for the treasure she's been denied: a child. What occurs when Lily and Danny meet is immediate and undeniable --- despite Lily being 10 years older and married. Reviewed by Cindy Crosby.

-Click here to read a review of STONE CREEK.
-Click here to read the first eight chapters of STONE CREEK.
-Visit the author’s official website, www.VictoriaLustbader.com.

We are celebrating the release of NOVEL DESTINATIONS: Literary Landmarks From Jane Austen's Bath to Ernest Hemingway's Key West by Shannon McKenna Schmidt and Joni Rendon with a special contest. Readers who answer a question correctly by reading an excerpt from the book automatically will be entered to win. In an “I’d Rather Read Jane Austen” tote bag, one lucky Grand Prize winner will receive a finished copy of NOVEL DESTINATIONS, as well as a Bliss Tried + Blue Travel Kit, a blue satin photo album, key lime cookies from the Ernest Hemingway Home in Key West, a LITTLE WOMEN bookmark from Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House in Massachusetts, daffodil note cards and a quill pen from Wordsworth’s Dove Cottage in England’s Lake District, Jane Austen Blend Tea, a copy of THE JANE AUSTEN COOKBOOK by Maggie Black, the May/June issue of Bookmarks magazine and a pewter key chain with a quote by Emily Dickinson. Twenty other lucky readers each will win a copy of NOVEL DESTINATIONS.

NOVEL DESTINATIONS: Literary Landmarks From Jane Austen’s Bath to Ernest Hemingway’s Key West by Shannon McKenna Schmidt and Joni Rendon (Travel)
In a world saturated with every kind of travel guide, Shannon McKenna Schmidt and Joni Rendon have created an entertaining and informative companion for book lovers eager to travel to sites frequented by classic writers and to the settings of their beloved works. And there’s lots of good food, drink and fun along the way. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.

-Click here to read an interview with Shannon McKenna Schmidt and Joni Rendon.
-Click here to read a review of NOVEL DESTINATIONS.
-Click here to read an excerpt from NOVEL DESTINATIONS.

Whether your "beach" is on sand, your backyard deck or a grassy meadow in the country, the summer months mean it's time for "beach reading." Bookreporter.com is celebrating the lazy days of summer reading with our Fourth Annual "Bookreporter.com Beach Bag of Books."

Every week from May 16th through August 29th, a different title or collection of titles will be featured with a review and contest prize --- a beach bag stocked with the featured book(s), plus summertime essentials that tie in to the weekly theme. Five FABULOUS beach bags will be given away each week, as well as five copies of the featured book(s) to additional winners.

This week, we’re spotlighting DOMESTIC AFFAIRS by Eileen Goudge, an intimate story of friendship lost and regained, old loves rekindled and a baptism by fire that ultimately leads to the redemption of three very special women. In a green floral shoulder bag, winners will find a green and white striped towel, H20+ Poolside Hydrating Body Balm, a green cocktail shaker, a green and blue 5x7 picture frame, a Ladderball Game in a handy carrying case, green and blue flip-flops and cocktail stirrers with colorful decorations, as well as a *signed* copy of DOMESTIC AFFAIRS. We have five to give away, as well as five additional prizes of *signed* copies of DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.

To enter, fill out this form and answer the following question by Thursday, June 5th at 11:59PM. You can find the answer by reading the excerpt here.

What band are Abigail and Vaughn listening to in the car?

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS by Eileen Goudge (Fiction)
“Rosie and Abigail are like family,” Ina Merriweather used to say. That is, until the day Ina abruptly cast out her housekeeper, Rosie, and daughter Abigail. Abigail felt deeply betrayed, especially by Ina’s daughter Lila, who was her closest friend. Only Lila’s twin brother Vaughn, with whom Abigail had been exploring the joys and heartaches of first love, showed any compassion. Now, 25 years later, an old score is about to be settled...and an old love rekindled. Reviewed by Colleen Quinn.

-Read more about Eileen Goudge and DOMESTIC AFFAIRS here.

Mariah Stewart is the New York Times bestselling author of 23 novels and the recipient of numerous literary awards, including the RIO Award for excellence in women's fiction and a Reviewers' Choice Award from Romantic Times magazine. In MERCY STREET, her latest romantic suspense novel now in stores, Stewart begins a thrilling new series with a story about a mysterious murder investigation in a Pennsylvania factory town. 

-Click here to read an excerpt from MERCY STREET.
-Click here to read Mariah Stewart’s bio.
-Click here to see Mariah Stewart's backlist.
-Click here to read critical praise for MERCY STREET.
-Visit the author’s official website, www.MariahStewart.com.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.

More about MERCY STREET:
On a balmy spring evening, four high school seniors enter a park in the small Pennsylvania city of Conroy. The next morning, two are found shot to death while the others are missing. In the wake of this tragedy, former detective Mallory Russo and Detective Charlie Wanamaker are called upon to figure out what happened in the park that night.

Julia Spencer-Fleming’s debut novel, IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER, was the recipient of multiple awards, including the Anthony Award, the Agatha Award and the Macavity Award. In I SHALL NOT WANT, the latest installment in her bestselling mystery series that releases on June 10th, the Reverend Clare Fergusson and Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne find themselves sucked into a murder investigation in Clare's small Adirondack town.

-Click here to read a second excerpt from I SHALL NOT WANT.
-Click here to read Julia Spencer-Fleming’s bio.
-Click here to see Julia Spencer-Fleming's backlist.
-Click here to read critical praise for I SHALL NOT WANT.
-Visit the author’s official website, www.JuliaSpencerFleming.com.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.

More about I SHALL NOT WANT:
In the small Adirondack town of Millers Kill, New York, life doesn’t stop for heartbreak. But when a farmhand stumbles over a Latino man killed with a single shot to the back of his head, an Episcopal priest is sucked into the investigation through her involvement in the migrant community.

THE FRONT by Patricia Cornwell (Thriller)
AT RISK featured Massachusetts state investigator Win Garano, a shrewd man of mixed-race background and a not-inconsiderable chip on his shoulder; District Attorney Monique Lamont, a hard-charging woman with powerful ambitions and a troubling willingness to cut corners; and Garano’s grandmother, who has certain unpredictable talents that you ignore at your peril. In THE FRONT, peril is what comes to them all. Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum.

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Who is the person (name up to three) you most talk to about books. First name only and relationship to you, please.

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