Beth Brower's Summer Book Club

It's high summer, when the heat is sticky or abrasive, and the swirl of activity is tipping wildly to the side. We've all had holidays and parties, with maybe a few more before settling into the mellow swing of August, and then school. In other words, there's no better time for reading. Sitting down with a glass of something cool or a dish of something sweet, and turning page after page. In the spirit of such reading, I've decided to have some fun with my books! So this is how it goes...

On July 16th, The Queen's Gambit ebook will drop down to $0.99 for the week. And there will be a blog post with a few thoughts on the book, a link to the soundtrack, some quotes and answers to any questions you want to send me on facebook or by email, which I can answer on a blog post. (If it's spoiler-alertish, send it by e-mail.) Then the next Monday, it will be time for The Ruby Prince, and we begin again!

If you've read all the books? Great! They were written so that the second read would be just as good, if not better. If there is one you haven't read? Perfect! Jump into the book club for that week! Invite a friend! Coming in late? No problem! We're not too rigid on schedule here. Speaking of schedules...

July 16th The Queen's Gambit

July 23rd The Ruby Prince

July 30th The Wanderer's Mark

August 13th The Q

August 20th The Beast of Ten  

I'll keep you posted on instagram & facebook. Hope to see you on Monday! Also, submit some of your favorite summer reads and I'll keep a tally of titles to share!

Cheers, 

Beth

Unpacking the Books

Most of my library (I kept out the most essential 200 or so books, obviously) has been in boxes for the last 14 months. Over the last few weeks, every box has been opened and nearly every book has been placed on a shelf. Nearly. It looks like I'm going to need a few more shelves.

Needless to say, the joy has been off the charts, and my new books (you accumulate quite a few over 14 months) have been getting acquainted with my old books, and they like each other, and I feel like I want to burst.

So...

Wonderfull things happen.

THE BEAST OF TEN IS HERE

"KINGS HAVE TREMBLED BEFORE ME," HE SAYS. "THE STRONGEST OF THEIR SOLDIERS HAVE RUN IN FEAR. YET YOU STAND."

(A little how it came to be...)

The writing of the Beast of Ten began on a November evening. There was a bathtub involved—as there often is—and I was asking myself a question: If I were to retell a story, which would it be? This was not intended to be a serious question. I had too many unwritten characters sitting outside the door already. But I asked it just to see what would happen. When I thought of the much loved and oft repeated story of a beauty and a beast, I knew that would be it. It's a redemption tale, and a favorite. But, I told myself, if I were to do it, it would be set in high contrast—one who had chosen great darkness, and a one who could only confront him with great light. It would be a battle consisting of both inner and outer struggle, the stakes high for many.

In that moment, it was as if a door was opened, and I stepped into the snow bound forest surrounding the Pyre. It was already there, the book, waiting. A world of light and dark and stained-glass windows. I had found my way in, and I could write the story, but it already had a  voice, a particular feel, that must be honored. It would also require listening—not just to what was said, but to the pulse at the heart of the matter.

The Beast of Ten, in essence, explores the depth of redemption. And how far redemption will reach to try and reclaim a soul. It explores how many chances one is given to dispel darkness. It confronts the weight of a task too great for us, yet a task we are asked to face anyway. It touches on the battles that take place inside the heart and soul, and how that manifests itself in the world around us. And it welcomes you into the Pyre, to stay awhile and see what will come of it all.

THE BEAST OF TEN COVER REVEAL

Drum Roll Please...

And the back is as beautiful as the front...so let's just post that, too.

Every author wants just the right cover for their book. Something they can wrap their heart around. Something beautiful. Something different. Something just right. As a reader, I adore discovering an amazing cover. I will gaze. I will stare. I will look forward to that book with gleeful anticipation. It must be said that we often do judge a book by its cover. And so I was so lucky to have artist Mike Ken Anderson as the illustrator for The Beast of Ten. His breathtaking images were combined with the beautiful typography of Kevin Cantrell, creating a stunning cover I truly love.

I will be doing a blog post of how the cover came to be and the processes involved, but until then, here is how you can see more work by both Mike and Kevin.

ILLUSTRATION DESIGN by artist and illustrator MIKE KEN ANDERSON 

Website: www.mikekenanderson.com   Instagram:  @mikekenanderson 

Contact: mikekenanderson@gmail.com

TYPE DESIGN by KEVIN CANTRELL STUDIO

Website: www.kevincantrell.com        Instagram: @kevincantrellstudio

"THIS IS MY SEASON" - Alexander Pushkin

If you've read The Q, you might recall James Arch soliloquizing about Fall. He can't stop from paying homage to the season, a most dedicated acolyte before the alter of harvest and beguiling air and expressions of wild and complex color. Well. James Arch and I feel *VERY* fiercely about this wonderful tumble down season of Fall. Fall! 

In the Emily books, by L.M. Montgomery, the acidic yet wise Mr. Carpenter complains that too much poetry is written because of Spring. {Can there be too much?} He certainly is right in that it inspires verse after verse after verse. And I do not deny those immortal months their due. But I find myself loving in unspeakable ways the decent into color and harvest and mortality. Let it be the Autumn where I find my poetry. The crisp turn of the air. The twisting to dust. The scent that reminds me Euphoria and Melancholy can inhabit the same moment with such complex perfection that my soul is left shaking. Fall. I wish to hold the minutes of the season in my hand, like time worn coins out of the pocket of a favorite jacket, and spend them fully, deliberately. I want to fling myself into the season with utter abandon and yet remain completely conscious, wide-eyed, watchful. I want to LIVE these days, to say nothing of all the poetry I wish to read.

"A scent of ripeness from over a wall."  - Robert Frost

"Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away; Lengthen night and shorten day; Every leaf speaks bliss to me..."  - Emily Bronte 

"How stand the cottages of men In these fair October days."  - Henry David Thoreau

"O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stained With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit Beneath my shady roof; there thou mayest rest..."  - William Blake

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness."  - John Keats

Well. I could go on. Perhaps that is enough reverie for even a dark October night. 

Perhaps. 

A photograph I took at Rivendell in October 2013