#chocolate&books #BlogTour

Ready for chocolate with your book?

Settle back and enjoy no-cal deliciousness with the Chocolate and Books Blog Tour.  I'll share seven of my favorite reads and pair those books with different types of chocolate to match the story's flavor.

Photo: Creative Commons

I had a blast writing this post, but it was tough narrowing the field.   So many favorite books!  And when I couldn’t find a real type of chocolate, I kinda-sorta made up the perfect match for my book. 

Here’s how this post rolls:
      I.      Meet the blog sponsor.
      II.     Read my book and chocolate pairings.
      III.    Meet four writers posting next on the tour, 28 June.

Ready? 

Read on for happy tales AND virtual chocolate-filled tummies (with all calories removed just for you).

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www.danipmystery.com

I.  Blog  Sponsor
This tour is brought to you by K. Lamb, author of the Dani P. Mystery Series. 

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K. Lamb knows first-hand about what captivates children after spending many years in the classroom. 

She currently has two books published under the series, Dani and the Haunted House and Dani and the Mall Caper, with many more to come.  She is also working on several young-adult novels.  Ms. Lamb is an advocate of children's literacy and believes all children deserve the gift of reading and the right to become lost within a treasured children's book.  She likes to encourage parents to become active participants in helping their children on their path to discovering a passion for literature. 

To learn more about K. Lamb, please visit her blog @ http://www.authorklamb.blogspot.com/.

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II.        Cat’s Chocolate and Books Picks
           ~ Part 1 ~
                 Three Books for Grown Ups

Photo: Macmillan

1. Louise Penny:
Still Life

Canadian author Louise Penny’s first book in her mystery series introduces Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec. 

Gamache and his team of investigators are called to the scene of a suspicious death in Three Pines, a rural village south of Montréal that feels like as if it exists in another place and time.  We’re introduced to the chief inspector and his team, each with his or her own set of human foibles to overcome.  We also meet the village’s quirky, endearing residents: an insecure artist and her self-absorbed husband; a cranky poet with a duck; a gay couple who run the B&B and bistro; and a retired psychologist-turned-bookseller who dispenses wisdom with her sales.  Gamache, his team, and Three Pines --- a mystery lover's trifecta.

Can we visit Three Pines now, please?

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Photo: rogerschocolates.com

Chocolate Pairing
Chocolate Bar, with Canadian Maple Syrup Coating
Nothing says Quebec like maple syrup – unless it’s Poutine, and chocolate-covered fries, served on top of meat and gravy, call to you.

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Photo: Random House

2. Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows:
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I learned a new word when I read this book …. epistolary.  I thought it meant something about ‘pistols’ until I remembered my Sunday school studies.  D’uh … Epistles from the bible! And then I got it.

This appealing tale of courage, war, and potato peels revolves around Nazi occupation of the British isle of Guernsey.  It also highlights a love of books and the craft of writing.  For instance, Guernsey town folk concoct a literary society as an ‘approved’ vehicle to hold sanctioned, citizen gatherings to cover their food thefts.  As they meet and secretly plot ways to thwart the Nazi keepers, the literary society members also become strengthened by books they read, finding reason and compassion during a horrific war.  The parallel story arc features a female protagonist, a journalist looking for a great story as WWII ends.  She corresponds with Guernsey's inhabitants, wins their trust, and writes a book about them, so they can share their war experience with the world.  Oh, there's also a pig and a sweet love story.

I wasn’t sure about the whole reading-letters-instead-of-having-dialogue thing.  But how I soon loved it --- especially the audio version, listening to its series of letters read by multiple narrators, giving a unique voice to each character. My own book club was captivated, too!

GL&PPS is more endearing because Annie Barrows, niece of the original author, Mary Ann Shaffer, finished and published the tale after her aunt passed away in 2008.

Chocolate Pairing
Potato Chips Dipped in Chocolate
Potato peels in chocolate just didn’t do it for me, (they weren’t a-peeling) but choco-chips are tempting.

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Photo: www.lib/ua.edu

3.  Harper Lee:
To Kill a Mockingbird

I thought I was finished with my book selections, but driving through town this week, past the community’s newly renovated 1940s movie theater, I knew I had to add one more --- the marquee advertising the motion picture version of To Kill a Mockingbird, starring Gregory Peck in his lustrous role as Atticus Finch, called to me.  

Harper Lee’s 1960 Southern coming-of-age yarn has all the elements of a grab-ya read: courage, compassion, racial injustice, class, gender roles, parenting, and loss of innocence.  Whew!  I even watched documentaries about Mockingbird and heard lawyers admit they decided to enter the legal profession because of seeing the film or reading Lee’s book.

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Photo: Wiki Commons

Chocolate Pairing
A Huge Chocolate Sampler Box

This slice of life from a rural southern town in the 1930s goes best with a giant-sized chocolate sampler, and each individual savory represents the book’s many elements and Lee’s rich characters.

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II.        Cat’s Chocolate & Books        
           ~ Part 2 ~
                 Four Books for Young Readers

Photo: Harper Collins

1.  Neil Gaiman:
The Ocean at the End of the Lane

A lonely house.  A lonely boy. And monsters lurking in the isolated British countryside! 

This first-person narrative is told via flashbacks by a man visiting his boyhood home and remembering what happened to him when he was seven years old.

The story reveals slowly, like layers peeled back on an onion, as the man picks up clues about strange events from his boyhood that changed his life forever.  You’ll want to be sure this book for older children isn’t read by them when they’re alone at night -- it has plenty of scary passages.

BTW…. If you get the audio version, you’ll hear the author himself tell the tale in his luscious British bass.

Chocolate Pairing
Really-Dark, Bittersweet Chocolate, with Sea Salt
Caution
Sea salt in this chocolate must be collected only from an ocean at the end of any lane, or I cannot be held responsible for what happens next.

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Photo: Penguin

2.  Mem Fox, author
Emma Quay, illustrator:
Baby Bedtime

I was privileged to hear Mem Fox read her book aloud at the 2014 Book Expo America (BEA) conference and wanted to run out and find my blankie when she finished! 

Although written for her first grandchild, this lullaby to babies everywhere is a tribute to the love inspired by wee ones in our lives.  Art by Emma Quay is soft and muted, lovely to behold. 

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Photo: Wiki Commons

Chocolate Pairing
Extra-sweet Chocolate, Shaped in Loveys
Best topped with chamomile sprinkles
Alert!
Don’t drive or handle machinery after reading:  Baby Bedtime has been known to cause drowsiness.

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Photo: shellysadventuresllc.om

3.  Kentrell Martin,   author,
Marc Rodriguez, illustrator:
Shelly Goes to the Zoo

(Disclosure: I met Kentrell at Book Expo America (BEA) 2014, and his book is on my to-read shelf.) 

I’m over the moon about the way this book embraces diversity on so many different levels!  Plus, I just plain love Indie authors.

Shelly Goes to the Zoo, the second title of a planned 20-book series, Shelly's Adventures, is a fun, educational resource.  Best of all, the author incorporates American Sign Language (ASL) storytelling in his stories.  In this tale, Shelly and friends spend a day with zoo animals.  She teaches them about the signs for, and shares interesting facts about, each animal.

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Photo: Wiki Commons

Chocolate Pairing
Chocolate Stacks

Stacks are a variety of bite-sized chocolates and represent diversity in this pairing.  Shelly can detach a single piece from the stack and give it to each friends for every new word she signs.

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Photo: Scholastic

4.  J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

What can I say?

J.K.’s first book had me by the end of her first chapter.  And who’s to argue with a series that got so many kids hooked on reading?

Chocolate Pairing
Super-dark Rocky Road
Best washed down with Butter Beer and accompanied by Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean.

Special Offer:
Overnight chocolate delivery by owl post available in select muggle markets

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III.      Coming 28 June        
           Four Writers & Their Picks

The fun continues.  Please mark your calendars for 28 June and join me in a visit with these talented writers who are up next on the Chocolate and Books Blog Tour.  
I can't wait to see their choices!

Julie Gorges
http://babyboomerbliss.net/

… has been writing professionally for more than 20 years. She is the author of three books, hundreds of articles and short stories for national and regional magazines, and the winner of three distinguished journalism awards while working as a newspaper reporter.


Kimberly Sentek
http://kimberlysentek.com/blog/

… spent her entire life telling stories—her parents swear she was born talking.  A lifelong New Jersey resident, she is owned by two cockapoos, Nico and Tugger. Her first book, Oh Brother!: A Nico and Tugger Tale, is a story of sibling rivalry that was inspired by her dogs.  Kimberly continues writing a series of books about her two furry children, and her second book is scheduled for release in January 2015.

Leigh Shearin
www.winterrestfarm.weebly.com

… has been a graphic designer, chef, and culinary arts instructor.  She and her husband have rural land in central New York and established Winterrest, a small farm. Leigh writes early- and middle-grade fiction that's illustrated by Kate Shearin (Yes, a talented family publishing dynasty in the making!).  Leigh's books draw from her love of food, agriculture, and history to bring inspiration and joy to children.

Sherri Gaillard
https://www.facebook.com/sherrigaillard

… is an introverted optimist, artist and writer of short stories and prose poem ramblings on deep emotions, personal growth, and coping with depression.  We both belong to the Holly Springs Writers’ Guild,  so I actually get to SEE Sherri in person once a month...a welcome change of pace from virtual networking!

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Photo: WikiCommons

Thanks for touring with me.  Please visit again soon, and  don't forget to grab a chocolate before you go. 

All the best and happy, chocolate-covered tales. 
Cat 


BTW… What’s your fave book and chocolate pairing? 
              I'd love to know. 

Please share your book-and-chocolate picks in the comment section below. 

And if you enjoy reading this post, I'd be over the moon if you'll pretty-please-with-chocolate-sauce share it with your friends.