Today, please join me in giving  Darlene Foster a huge welcome back to The Write Stuff. Darlene has been sharing new Amanda adventures with us for some time, and she’s back with the cover reveal for her upcoming book, Amanda in Malta: The Sleeping Lady. I think you’ll agree that it’s gorgeous! Congratulations, Darlene!

Thanks, Marcia for letting me share the cover of Amanda in Malta!
Book 8 in the exciting Amanda Travels series will be released in May 2021 and is available for pre-order on all Amazon and Indigo sites, links below.

Remember, all the books in the Amanda Travels series make great Christmas gifts.

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The grass certainly doesn’t grow under Amanda’s feet. When she gets an odd postcard from Leah in Malta, alarm bells go off and she decides she has to go and help her best friend. As luck would have it, her classmate Caleb and his parents have planned a vacation to Malta and she tags along. 

Amanda is intrigued by this exotic island in the middle of the Mediterranean, full of colourful history, sun-drenched limestone fortresses, stunning beaches and fascinating birds. But…who is killing the protected birds? Who stole a priceless artifact from the museum? And why is Leah acting so strange? She couldn’t possibly be involved in these illegal activities, or could she?

Join Amanda and her friends as they visit ancient temples, an exciting falconry and the enchanting Popeye Village, while they try to get to the bottom of the mystery of the Sleeping Lady.

EXCERPT:

“Now what?” Amanda stared at the closed door. “How am I going to find Leah?” She felt a lump form in her throat.

Caleb’s mom placed a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s find something to eat and think about it. I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation.”

“Like maybe she’s been kidnapped or something,” said Caleb.

His mom glared at him. “Caleb! That is not helping.”

Mr. Sorensen looked at his phone. “You’re sure this is the right address?”

“It’s the return address on the postcard, so I assumed it was where she was staying.”

As they walked down the street to a café they had spotted on the way, Amanda turned to look at the house once more. Did a curtain move in an upstairs window?

Fresh pastries that looked like turnovers were lined up in the window of the coffee shop. A sign below them indicated they were called pastizzi.

Amanda suddenly felt hungry and pointed to the display. “I’ll have one of those.”

Caleb chimed in, “I’ll have two of them.”

Mr. Sorensen bought a plateful and brought them to an outdoor table.

Amanda bit into the warm, fluffy pastry formed in a triangle and stuffed with ricotta cheese. “Yum, this is good!” She wiped her greasy hands on a napkin.

A small boy scurried by their table, bumping into it.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” shouted Caleb as he grabbed his drink before it fell over.

“Sorry.” The Afro-headed child stopped himself by clutching Amanda’s hand. He gave a weak smile and strode off down the street. Before he turned the corner, he looked back and stared at Amanda with intense brown eyes and nodded.

“Kids! They’re the same everywhere.” Caleb’s mom shook her head while mopping up tea with her napkin.

Amanda slipped the piece of paper the boy had discreetly placed in her hand into her jeans pocket.

“There is so much I want to do here. I was only here for one day on a cruise stop a few years ago and always wanted to return and explore.” Mrs. Sorensen took a sip of tea. “There are so many interesting churches and old temples here. The Museum of Archaeology is supposed to be amazing and just look at this architecture.”

“Mooom, I don’t want to spend all my holiday in churches and museums!” Caleb groaned. “Don’t forget you promised me we would go to Popeye Village.”

“Don’t worry, son. We’ll go to see Popeye.” His father nodded.

“What do you mean, Popeye Village?” asked Amanda.

“It’s the movie set of the Popeye movie from 1980 starring Robin Williams. It was filmed here in Malta and the site was built specifically for the movie. Instead of taking it down, it’s now used as a theme park,” explained Mr. Sorensen.

“I love that movie.” Caleb puffed out his chest and flexed his muscles. “I yam what I yam. I’m Popeye the sailor man.”

Amanda giggled at his antics and for the moment forgot about finding Leah.

They picked up a few grocery items and some brochures from a travel information booth, then returned to the rental.

Amanda studied the postcard from Leah. The green door looked similar to the one she had visited, except for a different door knocker. The one on the door of the postcard was a dolphin while the one at the address was a lion’s head. Was Leah trying to tell her something through the postcard? Amanda turned it over and examined the address again. It was the same address they had visited.

How was she going to find Leah?

She felt prickles behind her eyes, sniffed, and pulled a tissue out of her pocket. Out fell the folded slip of paper the little boy had given her at the café. She slowly opened it. Scrawled in messy magenta lipstick were the words, TRY AGAIN.

Amanda gasped and touched her finger to her bottom lip.

Was this a message from Leah?

~~~

Pre-Order Amanda in Malta HERE

Author Darlene Foster

Brought up in southern Alberta, Darlene Foster dreamt of writing stories, travelling the world and meeting interesting people. It’s no surprise that after a number of interesting jobs, she’s now an award-winning author of the exciting Amanda Travels series featuring spunky 12-year-old Amanda Ross who loves to travel to unique places. Readers of all ages enjoy travelling with Amanda as she unravels one mystery after another. When she isn’t travelling herself, Darlene divides her time between the west coast of Canada and the Costa Blanca, Spain with her husband and entertaining dog, Dot. She believes everyone is capable of making their dreams come true if they´re willing to step out of their comfort zone. 

Amazon.com 
Amazon.ca 
Amazon.co.uk
Indigo 
Barnes & Noble 

Website  |  Goodreads | Blog | Twitter | Facebook 

 

Another great week over on Sally Cronin’s Smorgasbord, filled with all kinds of goodies, including her stop by The Write Stuff last Tuesday! Always fun to check out this wonderful weekly recap, and when you’re done, hope you’ll share it far and wide for others to enjoy, too. Thanks, and thanks to Sally for letting me be a part of it all this week! 🙂 ❤

Today, I’m pleased to announce that our guest is none other than blogger extraordinaire, Sally Cronin. I know many of you are familiar with her hugely popular Smorgasbord blog, and will really enjoy this very interesting and entertaining post from her today. So … *clears throat and says “ahem” several times* … Welcome to The Write Stuff, Sally. The floor is all yours! 🙂

~~~

Thanks so much Marcia for this wonderful opportunity to share my thoughts on blogging as I celebrate the 7^th anniversary of Smorgasbord Blog Magazine.

Although I started my first blog in 2012 it was very hit and miss until October 2013 when we were back home in Madrid after an absence of a number of years looking after our parents.

There was a great deal to do in the house to repair and renovate before putting the house on the market, and blogging for me was a creative outlet with my books on hold for that year.

Previously I had published a monthly health newsletter for subscribers, which had evolved to include other elements including short stories and humour. I wanted to recreate this in a magazine style blog, and also provide myself with a platform to promote the books I had published so far. I was in search of a title that hinted at food and also variety, and that is when a film I had watched many years before came to mind.

The Prize, from 1963, starring Paul Newman and Elke Sommer, was set in Stockholm for the Nobel Prize awards. On the way from the airport in a taxi Paul Newman asked Elke Sommer if she was married…. Her reply was ‘Why have one when you can have Smorgasbord’… that line popped into my mind and Smorgasbord Blog Magazine was born. Apart from the film reference, I had enjoyed Smorgasbord buffets over the years with their wonderful array of different dishes and I hope that the Swedes will forgive me borrowing the name.

At first my focus was health, views on life in general and humour. After a few months I realised that if I was going to build a productive marketing platform for my own books, I would need to broaden the scope to include other authors and become part of the writing community online. Smorgasbord Café and Bookstore was debuted in June 2016 and has grown from 10 authors to over 150 on average on display, with an estimated 800 books and a recent review within the last six months.

Having the Cafe with regular updates and new book promotions was a good start, but the next step was to build effective social media platforms to boost them. I decided to focus on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn which I was already a member of from my previous career. The cross over between readerships of those platforms then was minimal at that time, so I felt I was reaching a wider audience for the promotions.

Recently I passed my first million views which was cause for celebration, and it also encouraged me to review the direction the blog is heading in the next seven years.

Firstly I must pay tribute to those who have supported me in reaching this milestone. 

I could not have achieved those million views without the support of incredible friends who have made amazing contributions to the content of the blog, and enabled the fulfilment of my dream of a magazine style blog.

Jazz singer, musician and composer William Price King has entertained us with the music of the great musicians of the last 50 years since 2014.

Carol Taylor who lives in Thailand has been sharing her culinary expertise in the Cookery Column for three years.

Non-fiction Canadian author D.G. Kaye has informed and entertained us with the Travel Column and more recently the Relationship Column since 2018.

Author Jessica Norrie shared some wonderful books for two years in the Literary Column

Master baker Silvia Todesco has tempted us with the Italian Cookery Column for the last two years.

Amazing visitors

Over the years there have been some wonderful regular guest writers bringing their expertise and skills to the blog including Robbie Cheadle, Joy Lennick, Linda Bethea, Paul Andruss, Daniel Kemp, Wendy Janes and Sarah Calfee

The other area of support that is without a doubt a reason I am still here, is from those who tirelessly log on to read posts, to comment and share on social media. As an audience they are outstanding and many have been motivating me from the beginning, and I am so delighted to have formed friendships that sustain and inspire.

So have I got the seven year itch?

I am not ready to call it quits just yet as I feel I have a few more years left in me before they drag me kicking and screaming away from my keyboard. Also I don’t do boredom very well and would be sure to get up to mischief if I was not gainfully occupied with the blog.

I did feel however that it was time to bring in some elements to add new look and feel to the blog. For example, in the last two months the Children’s Café and Bookstore has got off the ground and has grown from the original 17 authors to 31 with more being added in the next few weeks. Children’s books are so colourful and hopeful and that is definitely something we can all us about now.

I am going to make some more tweaks in the next few months and look forward to what the next seven years might bring.

The gift that keeps giving.

For me blogging is about people and the gift of friendship. If it was not for the relationships that have developed over the last seven years I would not still be here, and would certainly not be considering continuing.

I have met a few people that I regularly communicate with face to face, but the majority will always be online. But that doesn’t matter as the warmth and support is as real as any offline relationship, and as important, especially when life is not going as well as it might. This last eight months has been an excellent example of how we can suddenly find ourselves isolated from the world and in need of daily contact to stay mentally and emotionally healthy.

At any time night or day, there is always someone to chat to around the world. Who would have thought, even 7 years ago,  that one day we would be able to ‘chat’ to someone in Australia or Thailand at breakfast time as they end their day, and then 10 hours later, someone in California as they begin theirs.

Here is an image that is a tribute to just a handful of those whose support I value so highly in this online world of ours.

About Sally Cronin

After a career in customer facing roles in the hospitality, retail, advertising and telecommunications industry, I wrote and published my first book in 1999 called Size Matters, about my weight loss journey, losing 150lbs in 18 months. This was followed by 13 further fiction and non-fiction books, including a number of short story collections. 

My aim was to create a watering hole on my blog to provide a wide number of topics to chat about…..This year in September 2020, Smorgasbord in its current format, celebrated its 7th anniversary. 

As important as my own promotion is, I believe it’s important to support others within our community. I offer a number of FREE promotional opportunities on my blog, linked to my social media. 

Having lived a nomadic existence most of my life, I am now settled on the coast of Wexford in Southern Ireland with my husband of 40 years, enjoying the odd sunny day and the rain that puts the Emerald in the Isles.

My Latest Book – Life’s Rich Tapestry 

Life’s Rich Tapestry is a collection of verse, microfiction and short stories that explore many aspects of our human nature and the wonders of the natural world. Reflections on our earliest beginnings and what is yet to come, with characters as diverse as a French speaking elephant and a cyborg warrior.

Finding the right number of syllables for a Haiku, Tanka, Etheree or Cinquain focuses the mind; as does 99 word microfiction, bringing a different level of intensity to storytelling. You will find stories about the past, the present and the future told in 17 syllables to 2,000 words, all celebrating life.

This book is also recognition of the value to a writer, of being part of a generous and inspiring blogging community, where writing challenges encourage us to explore new styles and genres.

A Selection of Other Books

 

Links

Café and bookstore book promotion: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/smorgasbord-cafe-and-bookstore-free-author-promotion/

Children’s Café and Bookstore: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/smorgasbord-childrens-cafe-and-bookstore-free-book-marketing/

Blog: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sally-Cronin/e/B0096REZM2

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sgc58

Thanks again Marcia for your kindness and support it is always appreciated…❤