Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo ~ Beth Duke

On this quiet Sunday morning why don't you put the kettle on, make your favourite breakfast and settle down for Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo

I'd delighted to welcome writer, Beth Duke

☼Good Morning, Beth. Happy Sunday !

What favourite food are you bringing to Sunday brunch? 

The most delightful brunch dish I’ve eaten, ever: Banana Bread French Toast. The restaurant that served this to me is several hundred miles from my home, which is a good thing for my thighs. 

Would you like a pot of English Breakfast tea, a strong Americano, or a glass of Bucks Fizz? 

Buck’s Fizz, please, and if you’re out of orange juice, even better. 

Which of your literary heroes are joining us today? 

John Irving, Ken Follett, Barbara Kingsolver, and can anyone revive James Michener and Kurt Vonnegut? 

What’s the title of the book nearest to you? 

Oh, this is embarrassing. It’s a purely decorative novel called Lady Betty across the Water I bought at an antiques store because it’s pretty and slightly cheesy. 

What’s the oldest book on your book shelf? 

It’s likely an ancient copy of The Source by James Michener. Old Lady Betty lives on a coffee table. 

Which book do you really want to read but haven’t had time for …yet! 

I can’t really answer this question honestly, because I read all the time―if I want to read something, consider it read. I’d have to name War and Peace, simply because I’ve not taken the time for that and would like to say I’ve read it. But I don’t really want to. 

Do you have a guilty reading pleasure, and if so will you tell us about it? 

I feel no guilt whatsoever about anything I read. 

If the house was on fire which book would you rescue? 

The two first-edition copies of my books that have had redesigned covers. I would love to say, “Oh, my signed copy of Great Expectations” but I own no such thing. 

Do you have a reading/writing playlist on Spotify, or a favourite CD to listen to when reading/writing? And if so will you share with us a favourite song or piece of music that makes you feel happy? 

I have to write in complete silence, and the same goes for reading. Pin-drop silence. I do not understand authors with playlists and how they function! Pachelbel’s Canon in D makes me happy, though. So does Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress by The Hollies, Blinding Lights by The Weeknd, early Motown, most Taylor Swift songs, as well as certain rap songs I won’t name in polite company. If I’m not writing or reading, music makes me very happy in general. 

Do you have a favourite place to settle down to read/write? 

In bed, propped by pillows, with my laptop. 

Give us four essential items that a writer absolutely needs? 

A supportive and endlessly patient family 

Coffee 

Long walks 

Big dollops of positive reinforcement 

What can you tell us about your latest novel, or your current work in progress? 

My latest, Tapestry, was launched last month. It’s a story about a quirky, magical, funny, brilliant Alabama grandmother and her granddaughter. They do a genetic ancestry test together and the results are a DNA bomb that alters their lives forever. It’s woven (pardon the pun) along with a tale of greed, deceit, sex, and control in Texas. The characters eventually come together in a surprising way. 

Beth Duke, Author of #1 Best Seller It All Comes Back to You, delivers an emotional and inspiring novel about family, from the roots that ground us to the branches that allow us to take flight.

"Beth Duke is a poet disguised as a Southern novelist.

Tapestry made me laugh, made me think and in the end, made me cry. 

Tapestry delivers on ALL counts.”

-Dan Brown, Author of Reunion

Twenty-one-year-old Skye Willis lives in Eufaula, Alabama, a tourist mecca of stately homes and world-class bass fishing. Her childhood friends are either stuck at dead ends or have moved on to accomplish Big Things. 

Skye’s grandmother, Verna, insists on being called “Sparrow” because she suspects her ancestors were Muscogee Creek. She dresses in faux deerskin and experiments with ancient Native American recipes, offering a myth or legend to anyone who will listen.

Skye has no idea what to do with her life. She’s smart as hell, but she has no faith or knowledge there’s something out there she was “born to do.” Nor does she know much of anything about her father, who died in Afghanistan when she was a toddler. He and his family are a mystery her mother won’t discuss. But when Sparrow sets out to confirm her Creek ancestry through genetic testing, Skye joins in. 

The results hit like a DNA bomb, launching them both on a path filled with surprises and life-changing events. Skye learns a harder truth than she ever expected. 

Alternating chapters between Skye’s Alabama life and an intertwining tale of greed, deceit, and control in Texas, this story offers proof that all life is a woven tapestry of past, present, and future. 

In Beth Duke’s uplifting and soul-singing voice, TAPESTRY is Southern Fiction at its best; you will cry, you will laugh out loud, and you will wish you were a member of the beautiful, matriarchal family Duke has created for her readers. 

Beth, where can we follow you on social media? 

Twitter handle: @bethidee 

Facebook 

Instagram @onlythebethforyou 

Website

Amazon

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