This month has been filled with new experiences, new places, great food and wonderful sites and we couldn't have done it without the contribution of the amazing Marilyn Brant who gave so much of her very busy time to spend with us, enlighten us and help us enjoy our trip through the wonders of Europe more than we could have on our own.
So please join me in thanking Marilyn for this month and our discussion and coversation of her newest novel A Summer in Europe
Marilyn I think this card is so appropriate for this month of adventure in Europe
I hope you'll be back for another visit perhaps for a new novel or just to say hello and let us all know what you're doing now.
Thank you my friend.
Oh, Debbie...thank YOU and everyone in this absolutely FABULOUS book club! It has been my pleasure to be here and get to chat with you all this month. How is it that May is almost gone?! I couldn't have imagined a more enthusiastic, supportive, humorous and intelligent group of readers to discuss this story with me and I'm so grateful to you all.
To each of you -- Deb, Muse, Seattle, Patti, Ginger, April and Catherine -- I send virtual gelato and European chocolates in thanks, along with my hope that we'll be able to keep in touch beyond this month. I will certainly come back here to visit (can't wait to peek in on your discussions!), but please know you're all welcome to visit me, too. I'm on Facebook and Twitter as well as on four blogs (Brant Flakes, Austen Authors, Girlfriends Book Club and Magical Musings), and I would be thrilled to hear from any of you at any time!! And don't hesitate to email me either, just to chat or if a question about anything should come up. My email address is MarilynBrant AT gmail DOT com.
I'm stubbornly refusing to say goodbye yet, so I'll be here this week for any last thoughts or comments about the story or about anything else.
And will everyone please join me in giving an extra cheer to Deb?!! I know I couldn't have asked for a kinder or more wonderful moderator for our discussion. Thanks for the thoughtful questions, for the many lovely photos and for all of your work helping to keep the gremlins at bay and making everything run so smoothly. I'm incredibly lucky to have you as a friend 
.
Thanks, again, to ALL of you!!!
~Marilyn
MarilynBrant wrote:Oh, Debbie...thank YOU and everyone in this absolutely FABULOUS book club! It has been my pleasure to be here and get to chat with you all this month. How is it that May is almost gone?! I couldn't have imagined a more enthusiastic, supportive, humorous and intelligent group of readers to discuss this story with me and I'm so grateful to you all.
To each of you -- Deb, Muse, Seattle, Patti, Ginger, April and Catherine -- I send virtual gelato and European chocolates in thanks, along with my hope that we'll be able to keep in touch beyond this month. I will certainly come back here to visit (can't wait to peek in on your discussions!), but please know you're all welcome to visit me, too. I'm on Facebook and Twitter as well as on four blogs (Brant Flakes, Austen Authors, Girlfriends Book Club and Magical Musings), and I would be thrilled to hear from any of you at any time!! And don't hesitate to email me either, just to chat or if a question about anything should come up. My email address is MarilynBrant AT gmail DOT com.
I'm stubbornly refusing to say goodbye yet, so I'll be here this week for any last thoughts or comments about the story or about anything else.
And will everyone please join me in giving an extra cheer to Deb?!! I know I couldn't have asked for a kinder or more wonderful moderator for our discussion. Thanks for the thoughtful questions, for the many lovely photos and for all of your work helping to keep the gremlins at bay and making everything run so smoothly. I'm incredibly lucky to have you as a friend
Thanks, again, to ALL of you!!!
~Marilyn
Dear Marilyn,
I do not even know where to start. This month has been so wonderful for me in so many ways. The book was great, the discussion fabulous and lively (with this group, it always it Lol). But, the joy that the book brought to me personally and the wonderful comraderie that I personally enjoyed in having someone to talk to that actually understood some of my off the way "musings" and "geeky" humor. It was balm for a weary soul.
I thought I would fall off my chair laughing when I saw that you have a blog called "Magical Musings". Mine is called "Mountain Muses". Almost spooky. Well, anyway. Reading your book re-awakened some of my long lost loves for music and math fun, and other light-hearted things to do with wonderful wacky friends. It reminded me that I, too need to find lighter things in life to balance the busy necessary ministries that we have dedicated ourselves to. Now to find some wonderful wacky friends.-0- 0-o wait, I have a passle of those right here, don't I? 
Lucky me.... in truth, they are such life savers and have been for the last year and a half that I have driven them crazy.
Thank you all, thank you, Deb, Seattle, Patti, Ginger, April, Catherine, and the others that aren't here today. Well, anyway, here's to hoping we see you back here, SOON. Not just here with another book, (that would be a good thing, 
) but also to just join in the fun once in a while, You've truly become one of us.
Thank you for a fabulous month.
Muse
Marilyn, thank you so much for A Summer in Europe --complete with gelato! Technically, since Gwen, Aunt Bea, et all, never pack and leave London, I guess we, too, can stay as long as we like. Yeah! I love traveling with old friends--Muse, April, Patti, and Deb (No! No! That came out wrong--you guys are not old! 
Phooey! You know what I mean!) And the new people I met on this trip--you, Seattle and Catherine --were equally fun. I loved all the pix, and Marilyn, your personal responses to our comments were so warm and open. It really was like having a conversation with you. Like Gwen, I leave ASE with many great memories of places and people. I hope to see all my travel companions again, soon!
PS: I would really like an update on how everyone else's Instant Calorie Disposal device is working. I think the luggage handlers did a number on mine during the trip. It must have gotten banged up and now it needs recalibrating. Either that or I really overdid the gelato and chocolate calories! This thing doesn't quit working now that the trip is over, does it?.
Mountain_Muse wrote:
Dear Marilyn,
I do not even know where to start. This month has been so wonderful for me in so many ways. The book was great, the discussion fabulous and lively (with this group, it always it Lol). But, the joy that the book brought to me personally and the wonderful comraderie that I personally enjoyed in having someone to talk to that actually understood some of my off the way "musings" and "geeky" humor. It was balm for a weary soul.
I thought I would fall off my chair laughing when I saw that you have a blog called "Magical Musings". Mine is called "Mountain Muses". Almost spooky. Well, anyway. Reading your book re-awakened some of my long lost loves for music and math fun, and other light-hearted things to do with wonderful wacky friends. It reminded me that I, too need to find lighter things in life to balance the busy necessary ministries that we have dedicated ourselves to. Now to find some wonderful wacky friends.-0- 0-o wait, I have a passle of those right here, don't I?
Thank you all, thank you, Deb, Seattle, Patti, Ginger, April, Catherine, and the others that aren't here today. Well, anyway, here's to hoping we see you back here, SOON. Not just here with another book, (that would be a good thing,
Thank you for a fabulous month.
Muse
Muse,
With lovely comments like these, you see why I don't want to leave, right?!
Thank you. I was thrilled to find I wasn't alone in my math/music "geekiness" -- LOL -- and I truly loved all of your insights, particularly into the world of music, based on your life experiences and background. And that there was a reawakening for you delights me beyond expression. As authors, we write books in private, just hoping we'll be able to shape our words into a form of truth that others will recognize and relate to...but the question of whether or not we succeeded is always on the edge of our awareness. To get to connect with you and with everyone here and feel that the story became more than just my words -- that it became a shared experience, which had relevance in the real world and didn't just stay contained to fiction -- this is almost entirely why I write. Thanks for the priceless gift of letting me know the story mattered to you. My heart is dancing .
~Marilyn
whiteginger wrote:
PS: I would really like an update on how everyone else's Instant Calorie Disposal device is working. I think the luggage handlers did a number on mine during the trip. It must have gotten banged up and now it needs recalibrating. Either that or I really overdid the gelato and chocolate calories! This thing doesn't quit working now that the trip is over, does it?.
Ginger,
LOL!! I'm afraid my Instant Calorie Disposal device may have suffered the same fate as yours. Then again, I *did* just eat a few Dove dark chocolate and raspberry swirl squares, which I'm sure played no part in the problem at all .
BTW, these Dove squares have sayings inside the wrapper, and one of mine made me think of our group. It read: "Reawaken your sense of discovery." For me, it's been as much of a joy in conversing with you and with everyone here as I'd hoped it might be for you all in return. Thank you for being so open and welcoming and for letting me have a window into the wonderful way you view the world. It's been a pure pleasure to have gotten to share the month with you!
~Marilyn
seattle07 wrote:
I've brought some champagne and cream puffs to share. I've asked the S&M club to recalibrate our Instant Calorie Disposal machines using prime numbers and negative numbers (as you can tell, I really do not have a gift for math!)
I've really enjoyed reading ASE and discussing it with such a fun and welcoming group. Thank you to Deb, Marilyn, Ginger, Muse, Catherine, April and Patti. Deb, loved the pictures and the questions. Marilyn, thank you for the individual attention and the gift of your time. It was wonderful to meet a group of fellow readers and to be able to discuss/dissect the book. My usual daytime companions are my three year old son and our family dog. I love them to pieces but it was great to have adult conversations during the day! I’m looking forward to future book club discussions.
-Seattle
Seattle,
Champagne and cream puffs! YUM!!! And thank goodness you put the S&M Club on the recalibration job, but what's all this nonsense about you not knowing math?! Clearly, negative numbers (for both scale and age) are exactly what we need to stay in our prime... I'm convinced you're totally on the right track, and Aunt Bea, Matilda, Dr. Louie and the Edwards brothers are all nodding in full agreement.
BTW, I can truly relate to needing those adult conversations... I remember when my son was that age. I loved his squirmy little toddler self very much, but I was so desperate for analytical conversations (and, really, for anything that did not involve "Dragon Tales") that I started having them with fictional characters, LOL. Ahh, if only I known that a group like this existed then!!
~Marilyn
aprilh wrote:
Marilyn, thank you so much for joining us this month! It was a pleasure getting to travel with you and the whole book club gang to Europe! The highlight of my day is always checking in to see what everyone has written. You always took the time to add your thoughts to all of our comments and I wanted you to know how much I really appreciated that. You have been an amazing traveling companion and I hope to see you again soon!
As always, thank you to everyone who participated in A Summer in Europe: Deb, Muse, Whiteginger, Patti, Seattle and Catherine. I loved reading everyone's thoughts and opinions of the book and I'm looking forward to many more adventures together. You all make this book club so much fun!
April,
Thank you so much!! Reading all of your comments was the highlight of my day, too!
You and our book club group have been as dear to me as the S&M Club was to Aunt Bea and Gwen. I loved getting to travel with all of you -- to get to see both the sites of Europe and the scenes in the story through your eyes as well. How incredibly enjoyable you've made this journey!
I'm already plotting out when in my schedule I can manage to join you all again... Maybe July for The Pub Across the Pond...to go on another adventure with such wonderful traveling companions would be a summer treat. And I know Ireland has some really great Cadbury bars, too...I'm just sayin' .
~Marilyn
Catherine111 wrote:
First, I would like to thank everyone for being so welcoming to and patient with a “newbie.” I had such fun getting to know you all, and I will continue to get to know you better as we move into June and begin the discussion for the June selection.
Next, I would like to thank Debbie for being a wonderful leader. Your questions were thought provoking and fun. Thank you so much for helping me along the way with my first discussion, and a special thanks to you for taking the time to post all the photos to make the experience even more real for us.
And of course, a big “thank you” to Marilyn Brant for being so accessible to her readers. It is a unique and exciting experience to be able to converse with the author who has created such realistic and heart-warming characters. You have been very kind and patient while answering our questions.
And just some final thoughts:
Sometimes I get so caught up with the characters that I take them along with me, wondering how they are, and worrying about their future. I tend to miss my literary friends, and I hate to say good-bye. But it is a comfort to know that I can open this book and begin the journey all over again. A Summer in Europe left me feeling confident that our new literary friends will all have happy endings --- even Richard.
I was able to squeeze in a reading of A Room with a View, which makes me love and appreciate A Summer in Europe all the more.
I am telling anyone who will listen what a beautiful novel A Summer in Europe is. It touches you on a deeper level that tends to stay with you.
Finally, I am left with this --- Ralph Waldo Emerson tells us, “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” Ralph Waldo Edwards teaches us (and Gwen) that very lesson. Thank you for that and for him, Marilyn.
Catherine,
Ohhh, you found just the perfect Ralph Waldo Emerson quote!!! I love it! Thank you so much for sharing this and for loving my story enough to want to let others know about it. That it touched you truly means the world to me... I so appreciated all of your thoughts and analyzations of the book, too -- it was so fun to discuss some of the scenes in such detail! -- and I remain in awe of your talent in having made that incredible chess set .
In talking with you all here, I find myself wanting to write a post script to the book, where the characters get to carry on their adventures some months (or years) later and where I can add in some of our book club's wonderful predictions. I'm also wishing time weren't so short because Hester's mystery begs to be written, LOL, and this would be the group to do it with me! Perhaps someday soon...
~Marilyn
MarilynBrant wrote:
Catherine111 wrote:
First, I would like to thank everyone for being so welcoming to and patient with a “newbie.” I had such fun getting to know you all, and I will continue to get to know you better as we move into June and begin the discussion for the June selection.
Next, I would like to thank Debbie for being a wonderful leader. Your questions were thought provoking and fun. Thank you so much for helping me along the way with my first discussion, and a special thanks to you for taking the time to post all the photos to make the experience even more real for us.
And of course, a big “thank you” to Marilyn Brant for being so accessible to her readers. It is a unique and exciting experience to be able to converse with the author who has created such realistic and heart-warming characters. You have been very kind and patient while answering our questions.
And just some final thoughts:
Sometimes I get so caught up with the characters that I take them along with me, wondering how they are, and worrying about their future. I tend to miss my literary friends, and I hate to say good-bye. But it is a comfort to know that I can open this book and begin the journey all over again. A Summer in Europe left me feeling confident that our new literary friends will all have happy endings --- even Richard.
I was able to squeeze in a reading of A Room with a View, which makes me love and appreciate A Summer in Europe all the more.
I am telling anyone who will listen what a beautiful novel A Summer in Europe is. It touches you on a deeper level that tends to stay with you.
Finally, I am left with this --- Ralph Waldo Emerson tells us, “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” Ralph Waldo Edwards teaches us (and Gwen) that very lesson. Thank you for that and for him, Marilyn.
Catherine,
Ohhh, you found just the perfect Ralph Waldo Emerson quote!!! I love it! Thank you so much for sharing this and for loving my story enough to want to let others know about it. That it touched you truly means the world to me... I so appreciated all of your thoughts and analyzations of the book, too -- it was so fun to discuss some of the scenes in such detail! -- and I remain in awe of your talent in having made that incredible chess set
In talking with you all here, I find myself wanting to write a post script to the book, where the characters get to carry on their adventures some months (or years) later and where I can add in some of our book club's wonderful predictions. I'm also wishing time weren't so short because Hester's mystery begs to be written, LOL, and this would be the group to do it with me! Perhaps someday soon...
~Marilyn
Ooh, wouldn't postscripts be great for this one, maybe what you could do would be in a few years after we've disected more of your books you could take our collective directives and make a book of short story endings to your novels.
Thank you Marilyn for all thanks youv'e given back to us
Catherine your Emerson quote made me smile, what a perfect sentiment.
and to my wonderful members I'm not saying good bye to you either, I'll just see you next month in the flood
