Reader Spotlight: Carol Thompson

Today on Reade and Write I welcome a dear friend, Carol Thompson. We sing in the choir together and play in the bell choir together, and she and her husband are very special people.

How often do you read?

I read everyday although sometimes it’s just a short devotional.

What is the name of the last book you finished?

The last book I finished was The Covenant by Beverly Lewis.

What are you reading now?

I am currently reading Broken Identity by Ashley Williams.

What is your preferred genre?

It’s hard to pick a preferred genre but I always like Romance or Cozy Mysteries. I stay away from books that are extremely violent or graphic. I always like to read books about the Amish as my mother’s family originated in Lancaster, PA, and many of them still live there today.

How often do you venture outside your preferred genre?

Since I have more then 1 preferred genre I rarely venture outside of it.

What was the last book you read outside your preferred genre?

Since I don’t usually read historical fiction the last time I ventured out side of my preferred genre was several months ago when I read The Red Tent.

Are you in a book club?

I am currently in a book club.

If so, what book did your club read last?

The last book my book club read was The Happiness Project.

Where do you obtain most of the books you read- from a bookstore, online, the library, borrowed from a friend, etc.?

I usually obtain my books online.

How do you decide which books to read?

When I’m deciding on books to read sometimes I go by friends’ recommendations but many times I go by price and the online description of the book.

What is in your To-Be-Read pile?

I have lots of books in my to be read pile. Hester on the Run, Seek Me With All Your Heart, and Dying to Read to name a few. Of course The House On Candlewick Lane is on my to read list and I’m just waiting for it to come out. Please note, I did not pay Carol to say that!! And I’m thrilled to hear it!

Do you pay attention to especially bad reviews of books when deciding whether to buy or read them?

I really don’t pay attention to reviews when choosing a book unless someone I know has read it and gave it a bad review.

Lots of people don’t have a favorite book for a variety of reasons. Do you have a favorite? What is it?

My favorite book is The Bible but in fiction there are too many for me to choose just one.

Where is your favorite reading spot?

My glider in my living room is my favorite spot for reading or on the beach.

Anything else you want me to know?

I think it might interest you to know that I got my love of reading from my mother. She always read to us even after we learned to read. She would read 1 chapter of a book to us each morning before we went to school. Usually it was a chapter from Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, or The Boxcar Children. When I was a child I wanted to live in a boxcar. Lots of mornings other neighborhood children would stop by to hear the story. What a great way to start the day. I agree. What a wonderful memory!

Thanks for stopping in to talk today, Carol. I enjoyed having you here!

Until next time,

Amy

P.S. My publisher is giving away two copies of The House on Candlewick Lane on Goodreads! If you’d like to enter, click here.

Ready or Not

This past weekend I watched my eldest child get ready for her senior prom. A friend of ours came to the house and spent several hours on her hair and makeup, then my daughter put on her dress, her sparkly jewelry, and her fancy silver high heels. Our friend put “pixie dust” on her shoulders, hair, and back, and she looked just beautiful…and grown up.

It’s that grown-up part I didn’t like . Because that signals to me that changes are coming, ready or not. Pretty soon she’ll graduate from high school, then before we know it she’ll be off to college. And those changes are not going to be easy.

Here’s what I was thinking while she got ready for her big night:

I hate those movies where the mom is going through some crisis and pictures of her children’s lives flicker through her mind in bits and pieces. You know what? That actually happened to me. I pictured her learning to walk on our street in New York City, at her nursery school graduation, her first race on the swim team, those days when she wouldn’t let me brush her hair.

I thought I wouldn’t have a hard time. I thought I’d watch her go off to the prom, then the rest of us would have dinner, then it would just be a typical Saturday evening. But I was in a funk all weekend. My husband kept asking me, “What’s wrong?” And at first I didn’t know, but eventually I realized that it was because something was different- someone wasn’t home and that’s going to be the new normal in just a few fleeting months (actually, my son was away all weekend on a camping trip, too, but he’s got several more years at home). And here’s something weird- just hours after the prom started, I went to bed and I dreamed about my daughter as a baby. I hadn’t done that in years.

I was driving on Sunday, listening to the radio, and Spandau Ballet’s song “Time” came on. I almost lost it. But then I pictured the headlines in my mind (“Prom Mom, Distraught Over Song on Radio, Flips Car on Garden State Parkway”) and managed to keep it all together. But I started to worry- what if “Safe and Sound” by Capital Cities comes on? What if “Changes” by David Bowie comes on? I couldn’t bear the thought of it, so I turned the radio off.

Am I doomed to keep the radio off for the rest of my life?

Thought it might stay off for a while, I doubt it will be forever. Because we all survive these changes. If there’s one thing that gives me comfort, it’s this: millions upon millions of parents all over the world have had these exact same thoughts for centuries – probably longer – including, I suspect, my own parents. And everyone turns out fine. Life goes on. It’s not easy at first, as I’m beginning to learn, but I will eventually get used to the new normal. And by the time I get used to it, my younger daughter will be ready to graduate…. then my son… but let’s not go there now.

I used to worry that if I remained a stay-at-home mother forever, what would happen when all my kids went off to college, then careers, then homes of their own? What would I do with myself? I knew I didn’t want to practice law again. And that’s part of the beauty of writing. I hope I can do it forever. I work at it full-time now, so I’ll continue to throw myself into it during all the changes that will be taking place over the coming months and years. And writing is already helping me through the transitions, because they’re starting, ready or not.

Until next week,

Amy