About the Author

Sarah-Kate Lynch is a novelist and editor, and has also worked as a journalist, radio presenter and columnist. She has published many hugely popular novels, plus memoir and a non-fiction book. She reviews, has hosted magazine book clubs, and writes two columns for New Zealand Woman's Day. Critic Margie Thomson has attributed the international success of Sarah-Kate's fiction to her 'distinctive voice at the quality end of the popular-fiction genre'. She lives with her husband and her dog, but she's often not sure where - and she likes it that way. See more at www.sarah-katelynch.com. She is also on Twitter and Facebook. Sarah's novels include: The Wedding Bees, Dolci di Love, On Top of Everything, The House of Peine, Eating with the Angels, By Bread Alone, Blessed Are the Cheesemakers, and her first novel published in 2000 Finding Tom Connor. Her non-fiction work includes a collection of columns, The Modern Girl's Guide to Life (2002), the royalties for which were donated to the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation. Her memoir, Stuff It! A Wicked Approach to Dieting, she has described as 'inspired by reading Ellen Degeneres and Fran Drescher's half nonsensical memoirs'. The Sunday Star-Times wrote on By Bread Alone, Sarah-Kate had 'cleverly Nigella-ed the "chick lit" genre by peppering the familiar lessons-in-love fare with descriptions so vivid and replete, I for one had a culinary epiphany', finishing up: 'Witty, charming, faithfully passionate to its subject and emotionally adept. If only this book was a man.' In The New Zealand Herald, Margie Thomson wrote of this novel, and Sarah-Kate's fiction in general: 'Her plots buzz along ... , her characters spring recognisably to life, she's extremely lively and funny ... especially when she's skewering the world of social flim-flam, but with a feel for language that results in some lovely imagery and, in this latest novel, genuine poignancy.' Graham Beattie in Citymix declared 'Lynch has moved to a new level which assures her of a bright future as a writer on the international stage. This is her breakthrough novel.' The Publishers Weekly reviewer described Blessed Are the Cheesemakers as being '[i]n the spirit of Chocolat ... a tender love story told through the medium of cheese', while Next magazine found Finding Tom Connor a 'cross between Bridget Jones's Diary and Waking Ned Devine, this is a romantic and rollicking good read'. The Dominion Post concluded of The House of Peine, which is set in a chateau and vineyard in the Champagne region of France: 'Impeccably researched, it reads like a dream.' While reviewing By Bread Alone, the Nelson Mail said: 'the humour, laugh-out-loud comedy and liveliness of the writing will be as familiar as the distinctive characters that populate her books. The well-researched attention to detail seems to be a trademark of her books, too.'

Reviews

As the crust of a sourdough boule protects the tenderness within, so it is with artisanal baker Esme Stack, who privately nurses a grieving heart while wittily coping with crises involving her dour father-in-law, Henry; the specter of her beloved, recently deceased Granny Mac; and an evil goat. Esme, her husband, Pog, and their four-year-old, Rory, have left their glam London life and moved to the Suffolk countryside after a tragedy so terrible it is long unnamed. Bread provides much subject matter and metaphor, especially with the reappearance of Esme's first lover, a sexy French artisanal baker. Lynch lets the dough of her story rise slowly, allowing the dread to build even amid the gossipy fun. Nestling a tragedy inside a comedy is a brave feat, and New Zealander Lynch (Blessed Are the Cheesemakers) almost pulls it off. Alas, the plot resolution centers on improbable actions by Charlie Edmonds, Esme's gay male best friend, and Ridgely Watson, the son of Esme's female best friend, who exists offstage until he appears to commit a final, dramatic and deeply unwise act. Lynch then resolves the story in a crescendo of moralizing, weeping and redemption. Like one of the breads Esme bakes, the story stays in the oven a little too long-it's not perfect, but it's still good. (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Esme, a magazine editor turned mom, hasn't baked a loaf of her famous sourdough bread since falling into a deep depression a month ago. Her husband and young son worry but do not realize that the daily bread-making ritual stems from the passionate first love of a baker in France many years ago. The day that Esme decides to snap out of it, the long-lost baker suddenly shows up in London to rekindle the romance. Will she choose him and escape the pain that haunts her at home? Too many secondary characters and dangling plot lines make it difficult to focus on the main characters and story. The sad events of the recent past are not revealed until the end but are constantly referred to throughout, so that readers wonder if they missed a chapter early on. When the details are finally revealed, there is not enough time left to care. For larger fiction collections or where Lynch's first novel (Blessed Are the Cheesemakers) was well received. Rebecca Vnuk, Elmhurst P.L., IL Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.