I moved here from Portland, Maine, two years ago with my husband, Bob, and my four-year-old granddaughter, Taylor.
Great food, music, tropical lushness, and a lack of long, bleak winters brought us here.
Having worked in independent bookstores for ten years, I was delighted to walk into Maple Street Book Shop and find that they were hiring. A year later, I'm still delighted.
I love children, cooking, gardening, decorating, and, of course, books.

Seven Up by Janet Evanovich (mystery)
Evanovich has done it again. Fasten your seat belt and put on a bulletproof vest. Get ready for adventure, adrenaline rushes, and a cast of characters to rival A Confederacy of Dunces. With a mix of likable losers, a blurry line between good guys and bad guys, and one-liners delivered rapid fire, this is a laugh-out-loud mystery.

Mother of Pearl by Melinda Haynes (fiction)
Melinda Haynes's first novel is one of my favorites this year. Haynes writes with a style that is effortlessly rich and fertile. You will find yourself in Petal, Mississippi, in the late 1950s. Meet Even Grade, a black man who grew up an orphan, and fifteen-year-old Valuable Korner, daughter of the town whore and an unknown father, in a story of beauty, tragedy, and redemption. Breathe in deep, smell the pine and honeysuckle, and find yourself in a place so real it will stay with you.

Man and Wife by Andrew Klavan (mystery)
Edgar Award-winning mystery writer Andrew Klavan's new novel, Man and Wife, is an intelligent, thoughtful suspense thriller. Cal Bradley is a well-respected psychiatrist who lives with his mutually adoring wife and three beautiful young children in an idyllic New England town. Life is good, close to perfect. Or is it? A murder takes place in his town that causes Cal to question his reality and the very foundation on which his life is built. The dark side is sometimes closer than we think.

Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home (cooking)
This is a vegetarian cookbook with a great format and reasonable ingredients. Try the pad thai on page 236, and don't leave out the catsup! From college student to seasoned cook (pun intended) this is a great gift book.

Secret Ingredients by the Junior League of Alexandria, Louisiana (cooking)
From the smoked oyster dip to butternut squash soup with ginger and lime, from seared gulf shrimp to white chocolate bread pudding, this diverse local cookbook is a must-have for any cook or cookbook collector and sure to become a favorite. Proceeds after cost go to Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Prevention Programs.