Tag: BLB Discussion

When Culinary Traditions Become Literary Gold

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

Thank you for the opportunity to spend some time here on Booklover’s Bench! I’m here today to talk about what happened when I combined my love of Virgin Islands cuisine and my passion for writing mysteries. Trust me, we all have one—a culinary tradition that instantly comes to mind whenever the topic of home comes up. Maybe it’s a dish from the region where you were born. Maybe it’s an annual food-related festival centered in the town where you went to college, or where you lived and worked for a while. Maybe it’s a cooking technique or culinary habit that’s prevalent in the area where you live now. No matter what “home” means to you, chances are… […]

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Authors on the Bench

Posted on by Lois Winston

December’s Question Any traveling “detours” that drive your companions crazy? Do they ever end up in your books? Diane A.S. Stuckart: I much prefer to travel by car than any other way, and I love those ubiquitous roadside markers that commemorate births and deaths and battles and so on. If it were up to me, […]

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Happy Holidays To You

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

Holiday Cheer from All of Us We’re delighted you enjoy visiting with the authors of Booklover’s Bench. Nancy J. Cohen, Maggie Toussaint, Diane A.S Stuckart, Cheryl Hollon, Debra H. Goldstein, Terry Ambrose, and Lois Winston wish everyone a joyful holiday season. This year we’re each sharing our favorite holiday beverage. Cheers to all! Let’s hear […]

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Let’s Talk with Cheryl Hollon

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

The perfect decoration for the Holidays! By Cheryl Hollon This is the first holiday season after my beloved mother passed. It is a bittersweet joy to hang this treasured banner on my wall to celebrate the twelve days of Christmas. It’s a fascination we shared from my childhood. One year, my mom’s sister-in-law gifted her […]

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Let’s Talk with Maggie Toussaint

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

Things I’m Thankful For By Maggie Toussaint Every year when Thanksgiving rolls around, I wish I’d done a “thankful” jar all year long, tucking little slips of paper inside when good news occurred. So here’s my list from memory. Vaccines. I am very thankful for the covid vaccines. They give me hope that we can […]

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Characters on the Bench

Posted on by Lois Winston

November’s Question Fancy footwork: what shoes would we find on you/your protagonist’s feet, and what footwear would you/they never be caught dead wearing?  Maggie Toussaint: While my catering sleuth tends toward practicality in her everyday footwear, River Holloway Merrick loves black stilettos. I’ve never been able to successfully walk in high heels of any height, […]

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Let’s Talk with Lois Winston

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

I vs. Me By Lois Winston Peggy Riley Hughes, my seventh and eighth grade English teacher, was a grammar martinet. Her weapon of choice was a yardstick which she slammed against the blackboards that lined the front and one side of our classroom, metaphorically beating grammar rules into her students. As a result, those blackboards […]

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Let’s Talk with Diane A.S Stuckart

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

ELEVEN ELEVEN ELEVEN… By Diane A.S Stuckart The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Even the most casual history buff will recognize this phrase from 1918. That’s the point in time when the Armistice between the Allied forces and Germany officially took effect. The agreement marked the end to fighting in […]

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Let’s Talk with Nancy J Cohen

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

Halloween Candy by Nancy J. Cohen Would you believe today (Oct. 28) is National Chocolate Day? Halloween is only a few days away, so naturally my thoughts drift to the large bags of candy we’ll buy at the superstore to fill our bowl. I ignore the advice that says to buy only what we don’t […]

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