#GuestDayTuesday – Featuring #AuthorSallyCronin – #BloggerExtraordinaire

Today, it is my great pleasure to introduce someone who actually needs no introduction at all … but I’m giving her one, anyway. 😁Please help me welcome Author and Blogger Extraordinaire, Sally Cronin. Most of you are very familiar with Sally and her fabulous Smorgasbord blog, but I’m guessing you may not be quite as familiar with the romantic story she’s sharing here today. I know you’re gonna love it, so let’s get to it!  Sally, my friend, the floor is yours! 😀


So delighted to be back as a guest on my always ROCKIN’ friend’s blog.
A fantastic place to be showcased!
Thanks so much Marcia


Life Changing Moments -The Rocky Road to True Romance

Have you ever wondered why the classic fairy stories that involve a beautiful farmer’s daughter, scullery maid or even a princess, who are swept off their feet by a handsome and rich stranger on a white horse; end with the words ‘And they lived happily ever after’.

Because most were written by men at a time when a woman was a chattel who cooked, cleaned and bore children. The men however went about their business as usual; of course living happily ever after.

That may sound a bit cynical, but I can remember as a child being fed the propaganda. Most commonly via bedtime stories and the ‘Happy Ever After’ films that we were allowed to watch in our teen years. Disney had the whole thing down to a fine art.

By the time I was sixteen, I was convinced that at some point, a rich and handsome stranger was going to gallop into my life and sweep me off into a fairy tale future in a palace with a new generation of princes and princesses, and a life of love and contentment.

By the time I was 19 years old I had kissed a few frogs, and thought that Prince Charming had ridden in a few times, but discovered that in reality they just as quickly rode off into the sunset. Still that is all part of growing up, but because of the indoctrination of childhood, I mistook one particular prince for the real thing.

Oh the joy in the royal family that the princess had been chosen by a prince of such standing from the neighbouring county. A large and lavish wedding was orchestrated by the two queens with the kings simply opening the doors to their treasure houses. The invitation lists in both palaces grew by the hour as dignitaries were invited from far and wide. Many of whom the princess and prince had never met! The reception was a masterpiece of just the right location and the food suitably divine. A vaulted arch of the prince’s entourage lined the drive from the grand cathedral; carriages awaited to take the jubilant bridal party to the festivities.

A few glasses of champagne, elegant speeches and a thrown bouquet that was caught by the next lucky bride, and the prince swept the princess off on his charger into the sunset to the awaiting bridal chamber.

They call it a day to remember, and certainly as I thought about the celebrations in the weeks, months and years that followed, I knew it would be etched on my mind forever. Such an auspicious beginning, and at first it seemed that the dream would continue. However, pretty quickly, what I had believed to be the epitome of true romance had vanished. As tragedy, a controlling environment and betrayal came to light, I found myself trapped by the web that had been spun around me; I felt it would be impossible to break free without angering so many.

But one morning I woke up to find the spell had lost its power, and despite the threat of banishment to a far off land where my shame would not be witnessed by family and friends; I packed up a small bundle of clothes and hit the road. I spent the next three years concealing my whereabouts and keeping well away from anyone who knew me. I ended up in the depths of the Welsh mountains where I worked hard to make my own way, and drifted in and out of a few half-hearted relationships. I was not going to be caught up in the fairy tale again. I was very happy to be alone and to spend my life making my own decisions and being loved by cats.

Then, would you believe it… a prince arrived in disguise. Quiet and bespectacled and riding an ancient nag that had seen better days. There were no grand or extravagant gestures, just a gentle wearing down of my defences. But there was magic involved, of that I am certain. I felt myself being drawn in despite the walls I had built around me. A different kind of spell was being woven that enchanted me, and after only one dinner date, I found myself saying yes to spending a lifetime together with this softly spoken handsome suitor..

The Queen and King back at the castle where I was born were aghast on hearing that I was betrothed again. And to a foreign prince from afar with as yet unknown credentials, who had the audacity to propose on our first date; the Queen announced that she was about to faint.

My prince was not about to let the grass grow under his steed however and he approached the King and asked for his daughter’s hand. With the memory of the extravagance of the previous match, the king offered him £5 and a step ladder in the hopes there would be an elopement.

Which there was, and within six weeks, very quietly and without undue ceremony, we were married. This time just both sets of Kings and Queens and one lady in waiting attended! Drenching rain blessed the union in a small registry office in Wales.

After a festive lunch we set off on the prince’s ancient steed to a rather dark castle in the mountains where the bridal suite, decked in red flock wallpaper, vibrated to the noise emanating from the public bar beneath.

Then it was off to the damp and musty rooms that we managed to find whilst we worked and built up enough savings to buy our first modest home. This was followed by 42 years of travelling the world, living in wonderful countries and working together, with the promise we hope of many more years to come. Despite what had gone before; compelling me to seek sanctuary in that isolated spot in the mountains, it was clearly meant to be, and without doubt led to a life changing moment.

The End


(A Happily Ever After Ending if Ever I Read One, Sally!)
🤗❤️🤗❤️🤗


Author 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.


You can find Sally’s book, and Sally, herself HERE:

Amazon US
Amazon UK 
Goodreads  
Blog
Soundcloud
Twitter
Linkedin

#MeetTheAuthors – #Smorgasbord – #SallyCronin

This morning, I discovered I had the very good fortune to be included in one of Sally Cronin’s lovely “Meet the Authors” posts, along with Debby Geis /D. G. Kaye, and Sharon Marchisello. What a super post, with Sally’s reviews of books by each of the three of us. Hope you’ll stop by to check it out, and perhaps pass it along, too. (I know Debby and Sharon would appreciate that as much as I would.) 

Thank to Sally for all she does to promote her fellow authors, and for this wonderful post today, too! 😀 ❤ 

You can find Sally’s post HERE.

#ReblogAlert- #TwoFer #ThisWeekOnStoryEmpire & #SmorgasbordWeeklyRoundUp

It’s time for another weekly recap from two of my favorite blogs. You folks who’ve been following awhile know that I like to share the weekly goodies from both #Story Empire and Sally Cronin’s Smorgasbord blog, because … GOOD STUFF! If you’ve weren’t able to visit any of these posts this week, now’s your chance to head on over and find out exactly what you’ve missed! I highly recommend visiting both! 


MONDAY: Harmony Kent starts the week off with a post introducing her newest series. The post, How to Use Prologues, Part 1, Overview, is well worth checking out, whether you’re Pro or Con on the issue.  As a person who thoroughly enjoys prologues when they are done well, I’m very interested in this series and will be following closely. Check out Harmony’s post HERE.

WEDNESDAY: D. L. Finn pops in mid-week to talk about Writing and Book Covers. She has some very handy tips for those who’d like create their own,  and even though I have mine done by an excellent graphics designer who’s a very good friend, I found this post extremely useful, especially for those interested in using Canva. You can check out Denise’s post HERE.

FRIDAY: And on Friday, John W. Howell stops by to Wish Everyone a Peaceful Weekend. You can stop by to like John’s post HERE.

 


And you know what comes next, right? Sally Cronin’s fabulous weekly round up post! You can see everything that went on over on Smorgasbord blog this week, and you really owe it to yourself to check for goodies you may have missed.

Check out Sally’s Smorgasbord Magazine Weekly RoundUHERE.


And there you have this week’s #Twofer recap!
Happy Reading!

#ReblogAlert- #TwoFer #ThisWeekOnStoryEmpire & #SmorgasbordWeeklyRoundUp

Well, folks … here it is Sun’s Day again, and I’m even farther behind than ever! Seems like “the hurrier I go, the behinder I get,” as the old saying goes. Once again, I didn’t have time to read all my favorite blogs this week, though I’ve been trying to stop by long enough to Like and Share, when possible. SE gang, I promise to catch up SOON, because your posts this week look amazing, and I want to see what they’re all about. Sally, I plan to scroll through your roundup later today, when I’m on a break from painting (walls and fences). But I have NO problem at all sharing these links so others will be reminded to stop by, because it’s a given that everything listed below will be well worth checking out. With that in mind, here we go:


MONDAY: D. Wallace Peach starts the week off with what I’m sure is another very helpful post entitled Crafting Rich Characters Part 4. Since characters are the most important element in any book I read (or write), I can’t wait to read Diana’s post. You can check it out HERE.

WEDNESDAY:  Jan Sikes offers the next installment in her excellent series on marketing, entitled MKTG #13 – BookBub Ads. I’ve been planning to do something about my poor marketing this year, and this entire series has been a big help. I’m really going to enjoy learning more about BookBub, and you can check her post out HERE.

FRIDAY: Craig Boyack wraps up the week with a topic that struck a nerve with me, and immediately, I had to take a minute away from putting this reblog together to read it. It’s entitled Modern Day Censorship and you owe it to yourself to read both his post and all of the comments beneath, as well. This is something everyone should be concerned about, especially we writers and other artists. Check it out HERE.


And as always, Sally’s Weekly Roundup Post is absolutely filled to the max with wonderfully varied entertaining and informative posts. Don’t miss out!

Check out Sally’s Smorgasbord Magazine Weekly RoundUHERE


And there you have this week’s #Twofer recap!
Happy Reading!

#ReblogAlert- #TwoFer #ThisWeekOnStoryEmpire & #SmorgasbordWeeklyRoundUp

Once again, it’s time for a look at what’s been going on over at Story Empire and at Sally Cronin’s Smorgasbord blog.  As always, great stuff at both places. Read on to learn more!

Another busy week on Story Empire. Don’t believe me? Just check these out and you’ll see what I mean!

MONDAY: For those of you who aren’t already familiar with those little surprise nuggets called Easter Eggs, Craig Boyack starts out the week with a fun and very enlightening post on how writers can use them to amuse their readers. Even if you already understand the concept, you really should check out Easter Eggs HERE.

WEDNESDAY: Harmony Kent’s mid-week offering is a recap and wrap-up of her wonderful series on Points of View. You really want to take a look at this one, trust me. Check out How to Write Point of View, Part 11, Summary and Wrap-up HERE.

FRIDAY: D. L. Finn brings the week to a close with a fantastic post offering inspirational quotes that every writer should read. You’ll love them as much as I did, I’m sure. Check out Writing Quotes to Inspire HERE.


 

And just when you think it couldn’t get any better over on Sally’s Smorgasbord Blog, along comes another weekly roundup post to prove you wrong!

Check out Sally’s Smorgasbord Magazine Weekly RoundUp HERE.


Happy Reading Everyone!

#ReblogAlert – #TwoFer #ThisWeekOnStoryEmpire & #SmorgasbordWeeklyRoundUp

Happy  Sun’s Day, Folks! It’s time for a look at what’s been going on over at Story Empire (in addition to their fabulous posts for International Awesomeness Day) and over at Sally Cronin’s fabulous Smorgasbord blog. Read on, and you’ll see what I mean.

MONDAY:  John W. Howell gets the week off to a super start with a post entitled What I Enjoy About Editing. He makes some great points, and be sure to read the comments, too, for even more perspectives on editing. Check out John’s post HERE.

WEDNESDAY: D. Wallace Peach brings us a mid-week post entitled Crafting Rich Characters (Part 3) and it’s another excellent addition to this series on character development. Check out Diana’s post HERE.

FRIDAY: And Jan Sikes wraps up the week with another wonderful post in her series on marketing entitled MKTG #12 – LinkedIn.  This series has been a great way to learn more about the best places for each of us to focus our marketing. Check out Jan’s post HERE.


You’ll definitely want to be sure you haven’t missed a single one of the informative and entertaining posts this week over on Sally’s Smorgasbord blog.  Always GREAT stuff going on over there, so head on over and take a look.

Check out Sally’s Smorgasbord Magazine Weekly RoundUp HERE


And there you have it for this week, Folks !
Happy Reading!

#InternationalDayOf Awesomeness – #SallyCronin – #SmorgasbordBlog – #Celebration – #StoryEmpire

A most remarkable thing happened on Thursday.
For those who weren’t aware (like me),
Thursday was the official
International Day of Awesomeness. 

While I may have been oblivious about this day,
the good folks over at Story Empire were not!

Nope. These wonderfully talented and sharing authors decided to celebrate the day in grand style by letting the world know exactly who they thought deserved to be honored in all her awesomeness: 

Sally Cronin

Now, I can’t speak for everyone, but I suspect that most of us who spend a lot of time blogging and/or writing are very familiar with Sally and her fabulous Smorgasbord blog, and have probably been the beneficiaries of her support and encouragement many times. I know I certainly have! And if you missed out on all of these great tributes to this lovely lady, I do hope you’ll stop by her blog to read her post about how she spent her Thursday, and what it meant to her. 

You can read Sally’s post (and find links to each Story Empire post) HERE.


Sally, I hope you continue to feel the love for a long, long time. You deserve it my friend! And as always, never forget YOU ROCK!

#ReblogAlert – #TwoFer #ThisWeekOnStoryEmpire & #SmorgasbordWeeklyRoundUp

 

It’s Sun’sDay again, everybody, and you know what that means? I get another chance to share some of my favorite posts from several of my favorite folks! If you’ve missed any of these during the week, here’s your second chance to take a look! Lots of good stuff here, so enjoy!

MONDAY: Staci Troilo starts the week off an a great note with her post entitled Story Development and Execution Part 3: Character. This was an extremely helpful post for me, as it brought back some things I’d forgotten, and introduced some things I’d never learned. I highly recommend checking it out HERE.

WEDNESDAY: Gwen Plano’s mid-week post entitled Writers and Health is another one you don’t want to miss. We writers tend to forget to take care of ourselves, and it has never been more important than it is in today’s world. Check out Gwen’s post HERE

FRIDAY: Beem Weeks wraps up this week with a very important reminder entitled Unplugging From Technology–If Only for a Day. If you haven’t read this, you really should stop by. It’s something so important, yet so easy to forget. Check out Beem’s post HERE


As always, Sally’s blog was full to overflowing with wonderfully interesting, entertaining, and amusing posts and videos this week.  😊 You should double check to be sure you haven’t missed anything . Good Stuff!!! 

Check Sally’s Smorgasbord Blog Magazine RoundUp Post HERE


And there you have it for this week, Folks !
Happy Reading!

#ReblogAlert – #Twofer – #ThisWeekOnStoryEmpire and #SmorgasbordWeeklyRoundUp

And here it is Sunday once again. Odd how that seems to happen every week about this time, isn’t it? Oh, well … odd or not, it’s time for taking a look at what’s been going on at #StoryEmpire and on Sally Cronin’s #Smorgasbord blog. As usual, it’s great stuff! See for yourselves!

MONDAY: Beem Weeks gets things rolling with his very helpful post entitled Show Don’t Tell. He’s got some great tips and reminders for you, so be sure to check it out HERE.

WEDNESDAY: Mae Clair’s mid-week post is entitled Ebooks and Libraries #Libby #KindleReading, and shares information on what sounds to me like a wonderful app everyone should consider downloading. Check out Mae’s post HERE.

FRIDAY: D. Wallace Peach wraps up the week with Part 2 of her wonderful series on Crafting Rich Characters.  She focuses on three different aspects that need to be considered and how to mix them up so the folks who people your books are realistic and believable. Check it out HERE.


As always, Sally’s Smorgasbord Weekly RoundUp post is filled to the brim with great stuff. Cooking, music, books, videos, you name it! Head on over to be sure you haven’t missed anything this week.

You can check out the Smorgasbord Weekly RoundUp Post HERE

And there you have it for this week!
Happy Reading!

#ReblogAlert – #Twofer – #ThisWeekOnStoryEmpire and #SmorgasbordWeeklyRoundUp

 

A bit late this morning, but here you go! Another week, another recap of the fantastic posts on #StoryEmpire and Sally Cronin’s #Smorgasbord WeeklyRoundUp. Trust me … lots of stuff you won’t want to miss this week, so happy browsing!

As usual, #StoryEmpire has three most excellent posts on writing-related topics, and here are the direct links:

MONDAY: To start the week, D. Wallace Peach presents a wonderfully helpful post on one of my favorite topics–character development, and I know you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. Check out Crafting Rich Characters Part 1 HERE.

WEDNESDAY: Mid-week, we have Jan Sikes sharing a super post entitled #MKTG – Part 10 – More on Amazon Ads. If you struggle with marketing like I do, you’ll definitely want to check out this post, and the entire series! You can find this post HERE.

FRIDAY: And wrapping up the week, we have Craig Boyack’s super-interesting post Expansion Pack: Story Engineering, featuring some wonderful tips from author Sue Coletta. Check it out HERE.


And of course, you know I wouldn’t miss sharing Sally Cronin’s weekly roundup on her fabulous Smorgasbord blog. SO much going on over there, you’ll want to check it out to be sure you didn’t miss anything.

Check out this week’s #SmorgasbordWeeklyRoundUp HERE.