Smorgasbord Cafe and Bookstore – Meet the Authors – #Thriller Allan Hudson, #Poetry Joyce Murphy, #Paranormal #Romance Marcia Meara

There are over 150 authors in the Cafe and Bookstore and I wanted to keep it to key pieces of information such as buying links, recent review, website and covers. However, I know that readers also like to know more about the background of authors.

In this series during June and July I will share the bios of all the authors in the cafe in a random selection. I hope that this will introduce you to the authors in more depth and encourage you to check out their books and follow them on their blog and Twitter.

Meet Allan Hudson

I live by Cocagne Bay in Eastern Canada where the summers are hot by the seaside and the snow is deep in the winter. I married the greatest gal on earth, Gloria, and have a wonderful son Adam, two great stepsons Mark (Nathalie) and Chris (Mireille)Young. Three grandchildren Matthieu, Natasha and Damian.

I love reading. My mother was my school teacher and taught me to read and write when I was young. I’m thankful for that.
I’m a carpenter, woodworker, aspiring author and I sell jewellery for a living at Peoples Jewellers.

I love jazz music and am a HUGE fan of JJ Cale.

I have a wonderful life. I hope that you will read my novels – Wall of War and Dark Side of a Promise . I trust you will enjoy them and if so please tell someone.

A selection of books by Allan Hudson

One of the recent reviews for Shattered Figurine

Apr 09, 2020 Pierre Arseneault rated it Five Stars

Fantastic read. Allan is a great wordsmith to say the least. For such a small book, it packs a heck of a wallop.

Allan Hudson buy: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – Follow Allan: Goodreads – Website: South Branch Scribbler – Twitter: @hudson_allan

Meet Joyce Murphy

 

I have been a scribbler all my life. Whenever I felt the urge to write, I grabbed whatever writing paper I could find and scribbled stories on it.

The storyteller in me also found voice in play – play that to my Mother’s dismay, involved taking down ashtrays, combs, pens and plugs onto the floor and transforming these ordinary appliances into kings and queens and witches and wizards that lived in lands made of ice-cream and honey. I can never remember wanting toys as my imagination preferred traveling to imaginary lands where I could create anything I wanted.

I was born in Ireland – a land well know for Bards poets, and storytellers who spun tales of magical happening in a place called the Otherworld. These storytellers or bards were also council to Kings and Queens – wise in their ways – spinning webs of heartache, love and fantasy into each tale.

As an author I am inspired by wild and mystical landscapes – places where I can dance freely in the rain, make up stories about the shapes I see in the clouds and walk barefoot on the earth. I also love the sea especially in a storm and take many long isolated walks along the cliffs in my home in the South East of Ireland.

My goal is to inspire imagination and play in children and help them discover themselves and their world through story.

To this end I have created story rhyme books and stories for older children where adventure and fun and learning are key.

A love of animals and the environment defines me and whenever I can, I bring it into my stories. I believe that children are best served when they learn to care for themselves, others and the environment.

I am also a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors.

My review for the collection 24th April 2020

Poetry should stir the emotions and convey imagery with flow and rhythm and Joyce Murphy achieves that in her debut collection of verse.

It is a collection that reflects many shades of human emotion through the various phases of the poet’s life from 15 years old after what was an idyllic childhood. Teenage years are not the easiest for many of us and it is clear that the poet experienced anguish and self doubt as she moved into young adulthood including the turmoil of first love. We travel with her to Germany where she worked as an au pair, experiencing feelings of being an outcast in this very different environment to Ireland… and the dilemma caused by a romantic attraction. 

There is also lightness from touches of humour and the renewal that comes with finding a soul mate in ‘Love’s Vision’, but it is countered by the enormity of great loss.

The poetry is a roller coaster that takes you along for the ride. I am sure that there will be life’s experiences that many will relate to throughout the phases of the collection.

Joyce Murphy buy: Amazon UK –  And: Amazon US – follow Joyce: Goodreads  –  Blog: Joycie Reilly Poetry – Twitter: @JoycieReilly

Meet Marcia Meara

Marcia Meara lives in central Florida, just north of Orlando, with her husband of over thirty years, four big cats, and one small dachshund.

When not writing or blogging, she spends her time gardening, and enjoying the surprising amount of wildlife that manages to make a home in her suburban yard. She enjoys nature. Really, really enjoys it. All of it! Well, almost all of it, anyway. From birds, to furry critters, to her very favorites, snakes. The exception would be spiders, which she truly loathes, convinced that anything with eight hairy legs is surely up to no good. She does not, however, kill spiders anymore, since she knows they have their place in the world. Besides, her husband now handles her Arachnid Catch and Release Program, and she’s good with that.

Spiders aside, the one thing Marcia would like to tell each of her readers is that it’s never too late to make your dreams come true. If, at the age of 69, she could write and publish a book (and thus fulfill 64 years of longing to do that very thing), you can make your own dreams a reality, too. Go for it! What have you got to lose?

A selection of books by Marcia Meara

A recent review for Wake-Robin Ridge

D. W. Peach5.0 out of 5 stars Romance and love story with a blend of thriller and mystery  Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2020

Part romance, part thriller, part mystery, part ghost story, part epistolary, and most of all a love story, this first book in the Wake Robin Ridge series has it all, pulled together into a well-crafted tale. It’s quite a feat and thoroughly engaging.

The first half of the book alternates between two stories. One is Ruthie’s narrative, set in the early 1960s. She runs away from an abusive relationship and rebuilds her life in a rural cabin in the Carolinas. Ruthie’s story is definitely a nail-biting thriller, and I wanted to hide under my blankets.

The second narrative belongs to Sarah, who moves into the same cabin in 2011and starts up a romance with her neighbor, Mac, a man with a secret who’s conflicted about starting a relationship. Romance readers will enjoy many of the tropes that pepper their relationship.

Then in the middle of the book, an event changes everything for both women even though they live 50 years apart. Ruth’s story continues through a series of unmailed letters, and Sarah and Mac are determined to find out what happened to her. The romance and thriller parts of the book fade as the narrative shifts into mature love, grief, loyalty, and sacrifice. There were times when I got a little choked up.

Clearly the book has a lot going on, but it’s beautifully told and kept up a good pace, particularly in the second half. The characters are three dimensional with rich emotional lives and distinct voices. Ruthie was my favorite and the most sympathetic; it was her story that blurred the eyes. Highly recommended to love story and romance readers who enjoy a bit of a thrill and mystery blended in to add interest to the tale.

Marcia Meara, Buy: Amazon US – And : Amazon UK – Marcia Meara on: Goodreads – Blog:Marcia Meara Writes – Twitter: @MarciaMeara

Thank you for joining me today for this series and I will be sharing another three authors and their work every weekday during June and July. It would be great if you could share. Thanks Sally.