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Guest blogger author Kathleen Grissom joins us today to talk about researching her historical novel THE KITCHEN HOUSE, and how all the little bits and pieces came together and took on a life of their own.

“And though home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit answered to, in strongest conjuration.” – Charles Dickens, Martin ChuzzlewutFor many of us, books and our book clubs are our homes away from home. So thanks to all of you who invited me into your “homes” by sharing your book club names and origins. These are just some of the many wonderful responses.Covers - West Des Moines, Iowa

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."-- William Shakespeare, Romeo and JulietI’m sure there are plenty of book clubs with ordinary names and plenty with no names at all and while I am sure they are just as sweet smelling I can’t help but love a fun book club name with a great back story. Check out these great groups and the origins of their names:The Bitchin’ Wives Book Club - Ozark, MO

I have a confession to make. I love books. One could even say my love for books is bordering on addiction. This probably doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone who reads this blog or knows me at all – but they say acknowledging the problem is the first step to recovery, so here it is. I love books. I love wandering through the aisles of a bookstore and seeing all the new titles. I love browsing online and reading the reviews. But most of all I like buying and owning (and yes, of course, reading) new books.

In today's post, guest blogger and author Johanna Moran talks about the origins of her new book THE WIVES OF HENRY OADES. Based on a real life legal case, the interest in the story was for all intents and purposes passed down by her parents.

book•pick•a•pho•bi•a: - nounA persistent, irrational fear of making a bad book club selection. This could be a book that everyone in your group hates or one that people like but doesn’t lend itself to conversation, or simply a book that makes even your closest book club ally scratch her head and wonder what the heck is wrong with you.

My book club met last night at the Whole Foods Market on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta. We're a new group, (only three months old) and open to the public. We met to discuss THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by Junot Diaz and we had an interesting discussion about a fascinating book.

In last month's newsletter we asked how you get your book club discussion started and as always you responded with a wonderful variety of options and suggestions. I published several of your responses earlier this week in the post Starting the Discussion: How do you break the ice? Here are some more of your wonderful ideas.Nancy Chamberlin says:

Today's guest blogger, author Dolen Perkins-Valdez talks about how an interest in old stories and a love of history led her to write WENCH. The book is fictional account of a bit of real history. It tells the story of a resort that opened in 1851 in Xenia, Ohio that was frequented by southern slaveholders and their enslaved mistresses.

Does your book club ever struggle to stop the chit chat and begin talking about the book? Or do you resist being the group leader because you're not sure how to get the discussion going?I have lead many book club meetings over the last several years, and I pretty much always start the same way. I let everyone get situated with their wine or coffee and snacks and a little bit of gossip and then I'll get everyone's attention and ask if they liked the book. I'm pretty casual, so often that's usually all we need to get started.