Sharing screen time with Louise Miller...plus a book giveaway

Photo by Nina Subin

We are so excited to have Louise Miller at CLC to celebrate the publication of her sophomore novel, The Late Bloomers' Club. Her debut, The City Baker's Guide to Country Living was one of Melissa A's 2016 favorites. Does Late Bloomers measure up? See her review to find out! Louise is here today to share some of her favorite TV shows. Thanks to Viking, we have a copy to share with a lucky reader.

Louise Miller is a writer and pastry chef living in Boston, MA. Her debut novel, THE CITY BAKER’S GUIDE TO COUNTRY LIVING was selected as an Indie Next pick by the American Booksellers Association, a Library Reads pick by Librarians across the U.S., and was shortlisted by the America Library Association’s Reading List Council for best women’s fiction in 2017.  Louise is an art school dropout, an amateur flower gardener, an old-time banjo player, an obsessive moviegoer, and a champion of old dogs. (Bio courtesy of Amazon.)

Visit Louise online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

Synopsis:
A delightful novel about two headstrong sisters, a small-town's efforts to do right by their community, and the power of a lost dog to conjure up true love.

Nora, the owner of the Miss Guthrie diner, is perfectly happy serving up apple cider donuts, coffee, and eggs-any-way-you-like-em to her regulars, and she takes great pleasure in knowing exactly what's "the usual." But her life is soon shaken when she discovers she and her younger, free-spirited sister Kit stand to inherit the home and land of the town's beloved cake lady, Peggy Johnson.

Kit, an aspiring--and broke--filmmaker needs to generate funding for her latest project, and is particularly keen when they find out Peggy was in the process of selling the land to a big-box developer before her death. The people of Guthrie are divided--some want the opportunities the development will bring, while others are staunchly against any change--and they aren't afraid to leave their opinions with their tips.

Time is running out, and the sisters need to make a decision soon. But Nora isn't quite ready to let go of the land, complete with a charming farmhouse, an ancient apple orchard and clues to a secret life that no one knew Peggy had.

Troubled by the conflicting needs of the town, and confused by her growing feelings towards Elliot, the big-box developer, Nora throws herself into solving the one problem that everyone in town can agree on--finding Peggy's missing dog, Freckles.

When a disaster strikes the diner, the community of Guthrie bands together to help her, and Nora discovers that doing the right thing doesn't always mean giving up your dreams. (Courtesy of Goodreads.)

Top 5 from when I was a kid/teen:

1. The Muppet Show. I lived for Sunday Nights—Jiffy Pop and The Muppet Show. Fozzie the Bear was my favorite.

2. The Waltons. I loved—love, if I am being honest—everything about this show. I wanted to live on Walton’s Mountain. John Boy was one of my first crushes. I still think that John Walton is the best dad on television. People think of The Waltons as a syrupy-sweet show, but it was actually was quite human, and often dealt with difficult topics. But I watched it because I wanted to be a part of that big, rambling family.

3. Cheers. Maybe it was because I grew up in Boston in a working-class family, and all the characters felt familiar to me, but I was obsessed with Cheers as a kid. Sam and Diane were the first couple I seriously shipped.

4. Gilmore Girls—I added this to my “kid” list, even though I watched it in my 20’s. How could I not love this show? More than any one character, the thing I loved the most about Gilmore Girls was the town of Stars Hollow. It made me want to create my own town. I was thrilled when Bon Appetit Magazine compared my debut novel, The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living with Gilmore Girls—a dream come true.

5.Guiding Light. Some people were General Hospital people, but we were strictly a Guiding Light family. We all watched it. My sister. My dad. My grandmother. Misty, our cocker spaniel. Don’t get me wrong, I love streaming, but I miss those days when you had to get together to watch a show when it aired.

Top Five now:

This is actually pretty difficult—there is SO MUCH good programing out there, and I feel super behind on shows I want to watch. But here are the shows I carve out time for:

1. Project Runway. I have never missed a season. There is something so wonderful about watching people make things. It is such a satisfying show to watch. And I love Tim Gunn with my whole heart. Judge I always agree with: Nina Garcia. She is a badass.

2. Great British Bake Off. Come for the baking, but stay for the kindness the contestants show each other. Plus it gave us the word scrummy, which is basically the best adjective ever.

3. The Good Fight. This is THE BEST SHOW (not) on television. The only way to watch this The Good Wife spinoff is streaming on NBC All Access. It is worth the $10/month that the show is on. The writing is so, so good. The cast is amazing. And the casting director obviously has NYC theater connections, because almost every character actor/guest star has been on Broadway.

4. Two book adaptations:

• Dietland. I loved Sarai Walker’s subversive debut novel Dietland, and am obsessed with the television adaptation. It is so creatively filmed, and the star, Joy Nash, is incredible. The whole cast is.
• Sweetbitter. Another fantastic novel adaptation, which has me convinced that television is the best medium to translate books into. Both the book and the television show are the most honest and accurate depictions of what life is like in a restaurant. Beautifully made.

5. The Good Place. This show was 100% not what I expected. Funny, weird, philosophical, smart, and totally surprising.

Thanks to Louise for visiting with us and Viking for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 


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Giveaway ends July 22nd at midnight EST.