Guest Blog by Laura DiSilverio - Finding a Book Club that Fits - and Giveaway - April 8, 2015

Please welcome Laura DiSilverio to The Qwillery!  The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco, the first Book Club Mystery, was published by on April 7, 2015.

Finding a Book Club that Fits

       Up front confession: I do not currently belong to a book club, even though I've just launched a series about the five women who make up the Readaholics book club.

       Over the stifled gasps, I add: I would like to, but with two teens still at home, I have not carved out the time to join one or start one. [Embarrassed pause.] Okay, that's weak. We make time for the things that are important to us, right? I mean, I make it to the gym 3-4 times a week, and to Bible study every other week, so if I were serious about wanting to join a book club, I would. After all, CEOs and government ministers and stay-at-home moms with six kids find time (and babysitters) and get to their once a month book club meetings.

Book Club Types

       I've gotten as far as debating what kind of club I would like to join. One that reads best-sellers? One that reads classics? A club that mixes it up with fiction one month and non-fiction the next? One that has husbands and wives, or one that's all women? One that spends ten minutes discussing the book du jour and an hour catching up with friends and noshing? Or a club that huddles around a facilitator with a long list of prepared questions?

       I divide most book clubs into two groups: social and serious. There's usually a lot of wine or margaritas at a social book club, and furrowed brows and note-taking at the serious ones. As a writer, I've talked to clubs of both kinds and enjoyed them both. I get all my best what-to-read-next recommendations from book clubs.

Reading Like a Writer

       I think part of my inertia is because I haven't ever been part of a book club that wants to look at books the way I do, as a writer. Francine Prose wrote a book called Reading Like a Writer some years back, and I think she'd be great to have in a book club. Yeah, it can be interesting to argue about the social issues raised in a book, and ask "What would I do in such-and-such a situation?" But I want to dissect how an author makes a character sympathetic, or how she raises the tension in a particular scene, or why he chose a particular setting. Few of my friends and neighbors want to take a book apart that way. That's not a slam on them--they're not writers.

       I'm sure a movie director would have a similar experience watching movies with non-industry friends. Her buddies might be gushing about the moral dilemma portrayed in the film, while the director says, "Did you notice how that shot was framed, or that transition, or the lighting?"

Resolved

       While writing this post, I've come to the conclusion that I really do want to be part of a book club. If I start a book club that spends at least part of every meeting looking at how the author wrote the book (and part of each session quaffing wine, chatting and arguing about the book's content), will any of you join me? We'll have to call ourselves the Readaholics, of course.

In the comments, please recommend a book for us to start with!

P.S.: If you don't live close enough to Colorado Springs to make it to meetings, why not check out the Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco to see what they're reading?

The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco
A Book Club Mystery 1
Obsidian, April 7, 2015
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 336 pages

Amy-Faye Johnson’s book club, the Readaholics, enjoys guessing whodunit in mysteries like The Maltese Falcon. But when a murder happens in their midst, they discover that solving crimes is harder that reading about them…

Amy-Faye has always loved her idyllic Rocky Mountain town of Heaven, Colorado. Her event-planning business is thriving, her fellow book-obsessed Readaholics are great, and her parents live only a few blocks away. But lately her hometown has felt a little less heavenly. First, she agrees to plan a wedding without realizing the groom is her ex-boyfriend. Then, Ivy, one of her fellow Readaholics, dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances.

The police rule Ivy’s death a suicide by poisoning, but Amy-Faye and the remaining Readaholics suspect foul play. Amy-Faye soon discovers that Ivy was hiding dangerous secrets—and making deadly enemies. Taking a page from her favorite literary sleuths, Amy-Faye is determined to find the real killer and close the book on this case. But finding the truth could spell her own ending…

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

The Giveaway

What:  One entrant will a Mass Market Paperback copy of The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco by Laura DiSilverio from The Qwillery.

How:  Log into and follow the directions in the Rafflecopter below.

Who and When:  The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59 PM US Eastern Time on April 20, 2015. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

*Giveaway rules and duration are subject to change.*

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