Smorgasbord Blogger Daily – Wednesday 9th June 2021 – #Newhome Ritu Bhathal, #Reviews Jan Sikes, #Writing D.L. Finn

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

A small selection of posts I have enjoyed over the last few days and I hope you will head over to enjoy in full.. thanks Sally.

The first post is a catch up with Ritu Bhathal who is on half-term but has been very busy moving in to the new family home and getting a handle on commutes and nearest supermarkets.. Looks like a lovely garden and some great places to walk.. Pop in and enjoy a cup of Chai with her.

Chai And A Chat #138

A whole week has gone by since we moved into the house. A full week of half term has slipped by. Thank goodness I still have one more week!

Right, so, did you get your drink? I’ll update you on more house shenanigans!

If we were having chai I’d tell you it was a jam-packed week. Even though it was half term, once you move into a new house, there is no such thing as relaxing, for the first few weeks, at least!

If we were having chai I’d tell you that I have been driving to all the local supermarkets, to work out the best one for my weekly shop. Asda, a straight drive, perfect. Sainsbury’s could be straight, but the journey involves a stretch through a country lane where no one can pass you, so you could end up having to reverse, to let another vehicle pass! There is another route, so it is still an option. Hubby Dearest discovered a local Co-op, so for little bits, that will do. I did try the local Tesco, but, erm, local? Well, the SatNav took me on a 45 minute journey there, then on the way back, it took half an hour – definitely an only in emergency place, but it was a lovely store!

Head over to enjoy more photographs and a catch up: Chai and a chat with Ritu Bhathal.

The next post is from Jan Sikes with three reviews for Staci Troilo, Mary Morgan and Erskine Caldwell.. always great to find recommendations for books.

Life in the Colorado mountains isn’t easy for immigrants Anita and Ottavio Notaro, particularly when they’re isolated on a hillside and barely speak the language. Anita is carrying their first child, and Tav works many long, hard hours away from home. This isn’t the American dream they were promised; this is a brutal life on the frontier. Tav has been saving money to make their lives easier, and he stumbles on a windfall. The only problem is, he isn’t the only one who knows about it. Trouble befalls these two humble Italians, threatening their livelihoods—and their lives.

A strange posse made up of fellow countrymen ride to their rescue. But will they get there in time?

Head over to enjoy the review for Staci’s books and the others :May #BookReviews Part 2 – @stacitroilo @m_morganauthor @ErskineCaldwell

The final post today is from DL Finn writing for Story Empire and explores the pieces of the puzzle that have to come together to bring a story to life.

WRITING AND PUZZLES

Hi SEers! Denise here to talk about all the parts that go into creating a book, thanks to a question I was asked.

I have my six-year-old granddaughter twice a week when she gets out of kindergarten. So, we spend the day doing projects, homework, or finding new ways to look at life. One of those days, we were putting a 100-piece glittery unicorn puzzle together.

My granddaughter asked, “What if 100 people each had a part of this puzzle?”

I replied, “They would all have to work together to get it done like we’re doing.”

My answer satisfied her, but I kept thinking about it. How hard would it be for 100 people to work together to get something done? Would one or two of these people hold back their pieces? Very possible.

The more I thought about it, I realized writing a book was very much like putting a puzzle together. The different parts of that process were a piece of the finished product. I put a list together of ten major puzzle pieces, with smaller pieces mixed in, that go into writing.