Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Weekly Round Up – The Bahamas, Chocolate, Flash Dance, Guests and Laughter.

Welcome to the weekly round up of posts that you might have missed here on Smorgasbord.

There are a few things going on around this neck of the woods in the coming weeks, including a bit of break from routine for me as I head off to dog and house sit for my sister whilst she takes on the Bay of Biscay in November on a cruise!

I will make sure the regulars are posted and there is plenty to read on the days that I am traveling. I intend to do some work on writing projects when I am away, but the good news is that the current WIP is now moving into the formatting phase and I hope to have it available by early December. It is a bit of a departure from my usual short story collections as I also include verse and flash fiction. I will let you know more about it nearer the time.

This year’s Christmas promotion

I am also plotting this year’s Christmas book promotions and I will be sharing a post in the next week or so about the International Christmas Book Fair which will including some guest posts on writing from some of the authors in the Cafe and Bookstore, offering additional separate promotional opportunities.

In the bookstore there are authors from all around the world and I want to make sure that every author is promoted. You won’t need to do a thing.. although it would be great if you would share the posts. Look out for news of this promotional feature in the last week of October with a start date of mid-November.

My thanks as always to the wonderful regular contributors and guest writers who share their work with us here. And also to you for your constant support for the blog.

Time to get on with this week’s posts….

The Travel Column this month with D.G. Kaye, is in response to the tourist board of the Bahamas request for visitors to resume their holidays on the Islands, recently devastated by the recent hurricane. Tourism is the main source of income for the Islands and without it reconstruction will be severely hampered.

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/10/07/smorgasbord-blog-magazine-the-travel-column-with-d-g-kaye-the-bahamas-up-and-running-and-waiting-for-tourists/

We are coming to the end of the re-run of Jessica Norrie’s Literary Column from last year, with one more to come at the end of November with some great gift recommendations.. In the meantime, Jessica who was reaching a milestone birthday at the end of last year, shared books that were released in the year of her birth.. It is an interesting exercise to check which bestsellers were released at the same time as you were! The link is in the post.

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/10/10/smorgasbord-posts-from-my-archives-the-literary-column-with-jessica-norrie-what-bestsellers-were-released-in-the-year-of-your-birth/

Robbie Cheadle rounds off her popular series on the York Chocolate Story with the conversion of the factory to make munitions and the production of high energy sweets for life rafts.

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/10/07/smorgasbord-blog-magazine-guest-writer-robbie-cheadle-the-york-chocolate-series-part-five-chocolate-in-wartime-second-world-war-1939-1945/

This week my guest is Deborah Jay, with an extract from The Prince’s Man – Book One of the the Five Kingdoms Series..

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/10/13/sallys-cafe-and-bookstore-sunday-interview-deborah-jay-with-an-exract-from-the-princes-man-book-one-of-the-five-kingdoms-series/

If you are offered the opportunity to do a podcast or radio interview then grab it.. but also do your preparation to make sure you are getting the right message across to encourage readers to buy your book.

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/10/12/sallys-cafe-and-bookstore-book-marketing-radio-or-podcast-interviews-grab-the-opportunity-by-sally-cronin/

My book review for Silent Heroes by Patricia Furstenberg.

I recommend that if you are unfamiliar with why and how the young men and women of our armies are involved in this conflict, that you read Silent Heroes. It is a way to honour their service, that of their canine brothers-in-arms, and the bravery of the Afghanistan population, trying to exist in a country torn apart by devastating conflict.

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/10/12/smorgasbord-book-reviews-afghanistan-servicedogs-silent-heroes-by-patricia-furstenberg/

Chapter Seventeen and the Opening Weekend of Killbilly Hotel has is moments…including a dead body in the lounge!

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/10/12/just-an-odd-job-girl-serialisation-chapter-seventeen-the-opening-weekend-party-by-sally-cronin/

Most guests are appreciative of old world charm.. but others not so much….drastic measures required..

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/10/13/just-an-odd-job-girl-serialisation-chapter-eighteen-some-guests-and-their-foibles-by-sally-cronin/

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/10/08/smorgasbord-music-column-my-favourite-songs-from-the-movies-flashdance-what-a-feeling/

This week for Colleen’s Tuesday Poetry Challenge 148 Colleen Chesebro has given us the prompt words ‘Empty and Space’ and I have selected the synonyms ‘Hollow and Distance‘ A butterfly cinquain– Rejection.

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/10/10/smorgasbord-poetry-colleen-chesebros-tuesday-tanka-challenge-rejection-by-sally-cronin/

In Linda Thompson’s third post, she explores the phenomenon that is the mystery of the missing sock.. it is rampant in our household too and I suspect from all the mentions online that it is now an epidemic…

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/10/07/smorgasbord-posts-from-your-archives-new-bloggers-on-the-scene-the-case-of-the-missing-sock-humour-on-the-craft-of-writing-by-linda-thompson/

This is the final post of Melanie Stewart who blogs at Leaving the Door Open: A Daughter’s stories about an aging parent. This week When The Money Runs Out

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/10/09/smorgasbord-posts-from-your-archives-new-bloggers-on-the-scene-melanie-m-stewart-when-the-money-runs-out/

This is the final post from Peter Mohan who blogs at Cheers, Govanhill as his alter ego .. Boy David. Why Govanhill is just like the south of France

a deckchair pictured below the M74 motorway extension in Govanhill

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/10/11/smorgasbord-posts-from-your-archives-newbloggers-why-govanhill-is-just-like-the-south-of-france-cheers-govanhill/

Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest forms of the reproductive system. Karen Ingalls is an ovarian cancer survivor and therefore supremely qualified to write this article.. The post carries an important message about understanding how our bodies work and how we should be on the alert for anything that seems out of the ordinary.

OUTSHINING OVARIAN CANCER by Karen Ingalls.

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/10/08/smorgasbord-health-column-the-female-reproductive-system-outshining-ovarian-cancer-guest-post-author-karen-ingalls/

The Obesity epidemic – Part Four– Finding a point to intervene in the life cycle – 7 – 14 – School Lunches This week I am going to cover, what I consider the best time to intervene in the obesity epidemic, to achieve the most effective results.