I've done it..

I've added another author to my "Favourite Authors List"

Darien Gee's novel "Friendship Bread" caught my attention on one of those shelves that I wrote about at our local library. This one I think was on the one "Staff Picks" either that or "Great Summer Reads"  I'd been reading a lot of cozy mysteries and I was looking for something different. The first thing that caught my eye was the cover. Yeah, I know "never judge a book by it's cover" and it's sad to say but I do. It's the first thing that I see, I can't help it sometimes. So, I grabbed the book and put it in my stack of books to check out.

I was looking through my ever growing stack of books to read and I realized that the book was due back soon. So, I started reading it. And finished it. In 2 days. Okay it would have been 1 day but I started reading late in the evening and I had to sleep..

Friendship Bread is I guess what you would call 'chick lit'. Call it whatever you want, but the story drew me in, like an old friend.  The story follows several women, all dealing with some kind of loss in their lives. One of the women comes home to find a plate of Amish Friendship Bread on her doorstep, along with directions and a bag of starter. Her daughter, Gracie, wanted her daddy to try some, so they started caring for and 'feeding' the starter and 10 days later had baked their own bread and had starter to give away. Needless to say, the starter takes on a life of it's own, and takes over the small town of Avalon.  The women end up meeting at Madeline's Tea Salon and they slowly become friends.

The story is based around the losses each of the women faced, and the depression that each of them are dealing with.  It is about dealing with loss, finding new friendships, coming to grips with what life has dealt them and in a way becoming alive again. It is like they finally awaken from their deep sleep and their fears and they slowly and tentatively rejoin the community with the help of their new friendships.

If you enjoy authors like Debbie Macomber, you will definitely enjoy Darien Gee's novels.  I am already a third of the way through the second book in the series titled "The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society"  I am sure I will finish it by tomorrow :)

Check out Darien Gee's facebook page, Friendship Bread Kitchen HERE and her website Friendship Bread Kitchen  HERE.  They are both amazing places to find tips and tricks about making Amish Friendship Bread along with diverse recipes for using the starter.  I've already signed up for the mailing list and can't wait to try to make some of my own bread! (Don't worry friends, I won't send you any starter unless you want it... I've found out you can freeze it too to use later!)