Over the summer I will be updating author’s details in the Cafe and Bookstore and also sharing their bios, books and recent reviews with you in this series…
Meet. D.Wallace Peach
Best-selling author D. Wallace Peach started writing later in life after the kids were grown and a move left her with hours to fill. Years of working in business surrendered to a full-time indulgence in the imaginative world of books, and when she started writing, she was instantly hooked. Diana lives in a log cabin amongst the tall evergreens and emerald moss of Oregon’s rainforest with her husband, two dogs, two owls, a horde of bats, and the occasional family of coyotes.
For book descriptions, excerpts, maps, and behind the scenes info, please visit:
D.Wallace Peach Books
A selection of books by D.Wallace Peach
An early review for The Ferryman and the Sea Witch
The sea witch Panmar is not a mermaid and definitely nothing like Disney’s Ariel from “The Little Mermaid”. Panmar is an unusual blend of fish and human called a merrow:
“The sea witch surfaced. Urchin’s spines fanned from her temples and forehead in a prickly crown. Muscle threaded her arms, her body slim but bold-boned, skin drawn tight across her cheeks and throat. Her hair glimmered with pearls and beads of abalone, bewitching if not for the malevolence in her hooded eyes … blood-red hair slick against her skull, spectral eyes black as jet.”
As her kingdom’s ruler, Panmar is not given to kindness or leniency but when a human sailor named Callum almost loses his life trying to save Panmar’s daughter, she offers him a trade: He will be the only ferryman who can cross the Sea Witch’s waters but he can never set foot on land again AND he must provide a royal sacrifice to assuage the Witch. Until he finds one, he must offer a human sacrifice as the price of crossing her watery realm.
“The sea-witch required royal blood, and until her vengeance was satisfied, each crossing of the Deep required a sacrifice. The task fell to him [Callum]. To the ferryman.”
Two warring nations, one on either side of the Sea Witch’s oceans, commit to this arrangement by trading royal infants, allowing their sworn enemy to raise their child. The day finally comes when the children must return to their rightful family but what trust there once was has melted away over the years to be replaced by lies, deceit, and treachery. Hidden secrets must now come out as the intertwined fates of the two royal houses unravel. If even family can’t be trusted, how can Callum find a way to save what is most important to him?
Highly recommended for those who love fantasy, dark sea shanties, and anything written by Diana Peach.
Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US – And : Amazon UK – Follow Diana: Goodreads – blog: Myths of the Mirror – Twitter: @Dwallacepeach
Meet Mary Smith
Mary Smith has always loved writing. As a child she wrote stories in homemade books made from wallpaper trimmings – but she never thought people could grow up and become real writers. She spent a year working in a bank, which she hated – all numbers, very few words – ten years with Oxfam in the UK, followed by ten years working in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She wanted others to share her amazing, life-changing experiences so she wrote about them – fiction, non-fiction, poetry and journalism. And she discovered the little girl who wrote stories had become a real writer after all.
Drunk Chickens and Burnt Macaroni: Real Stories of Afghan Women is an account of her time in Afghanistan and her debut novel No More Mulberries is also set in Afghanistan.
Mary loves interacting with her readers Mary Smith Website
Books by Mary Smith
One of the recent reviews Drunk Chickens and Burnt Macaroni
Mary Smith’s Drunk Chickens and Burnt Macaroni: Real stories of Afghan women surprised me. Going into it, I expected the memoir to be interesting, as its focus is on a part of the world I know very little about. What I did not expect was that it would be so compelling.
For three years in the 1990s, Smith and her partner Jon worked in Afghanistan for a nonprofit to provide healthcare and health education for women in Mazar-i-Sharif. Poverty, hygiene practices that led to disease, cultural myths, and reluctance to discuss gynecological problems with male doctors were all challenges Smith was faced with addressing.
She did it by establishing the Female Health Volunteer training project, whereby Afghan women would be trained to provide health education to the women in their villages, focusing on
antenatal care, safe childbirth and postpartum care, and the care of babies and young children who failed to thrive due to diarrhea.
The details of the volunteer training project and the story of each woman who participated in it were the highlight of the book for me and the reason I looked forward to picking it up again to read after a long day. The women were so proud of their ability to learn new concepts and practices, pass the required testing, and go back to their villages to use what they had learned to improve the health and wellbeing of others.
One of the most striking aspects of the book is how Smith describes the deprivation and unsanitary conditions in which she worked and lived. These conditions are described matter-of-factly and without the judgemental lens of squeamish first-world privilege. Along similar lines, Smith’s goal to help improve the health and living conditions of Afghan women and their children has none of the zeal of the missionary to proselytize and convert them to a Western way of life.
Threaded throughout the book is contextual information about the traditional role of women in Afghan society, marital relationships, changes in Afghan society toward modernization, and the political situation, which ultimately led to the takeover by the Taliban.
The last section of the book is devoted to what happened to the women I came to know and care about after the Taliban took over the country. Their stories of horrific tragedy and, ultimately, resilience are one more reason I highly recommend Drunk Chickens and Burnt Macaroni.
Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US – and:Amazon UK – Blog: Mary Smith’s Place – Goodreads: Goodreads – Twitter: @marysmithwriter
Meet Frank Prem
Frank Prem has been a storytelling poet since his teenage years. He has been a psychiatric nurse through all of his professional career, which now exceeds forty years.
He has been published in magazines, online zines and anthologies in Australia, and in a number of other countries, and has both performed and recorded his work as spoken word.
He lives with his wife in the beautiful township of Beechworth in North East Victoria, Australia.
Also by Frank Prem
One of the recent reviews for Voices in the Trash
Frank Prem lends his photographic talent to this picture poetry book by featuring photographs from the trash and treasure markets from around Australia. The author asks us, “What if these items could talk?”
What follows is a unique poetic perspective as he listens to the plaintive voices in the trash. He pens his poetry accordingly. All objects are worthy of a voice, in his eyes.
This was a lovely and creative endeavor. If you’re looking for something different to read and inspire, this is the book for you.
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog and commented:
Sally has three great authors and reviews of their books 👍
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Thanks very much Chris..♥
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My pleasure, Sally 🤗❤️🤗
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Thanks again for sharing, Chris!
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Welcome, Diana 🤗❤️🤗
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Great to see Diana, Frank, and Mary showcased today! Wishing them all the best. Thanks for sharing, Sally. Hugs💕🤗🙂
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Thanks very much Harmony…hugs xx♥♥
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Thank you, Harmony.
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Thanks for the kind comment, Harmony 🙂
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I loved all these bios – it was wonderful to learn more about Frank, Diana and Mary. It amazes me how everyone’s bio is so unique.
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Thank you Toni..hugsx
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Thank you, Toni. We’re a diverse bunch, that’s for sure!
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Thanks, Toni. I’m delighted to be here at Sally’s. 😀
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It’s good to see these three excellent writers featured!
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Thanks very much Liz..hugs
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You’re welcome, Sally.
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Thanks so much, Liz.
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You’re welcome, Frank.
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Thanks, Liz. Have a wonderful Friday and weekend!
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You, too, Diana!
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A great group today, Sally. Thanks.
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Thanks John… I am enjoying checking up on everyone..hugs x
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Yes. You should get a meeraschaum pipe.
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Lol.. and play the violin xxxhugs
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Thank you, john.
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Thanks so much, John. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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Thank you Michael…hugsx
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Thank you, Michael.
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Another great one, for the red carpet. Sally, you have to buy one, and roll it out in the mystic garden. I am sure the fairies will love. :-)) Michael xx
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Thanks Michael.. there really are full of themselves already and if I start doing things like that they will be unmanageable…hugsxxx
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Thanks so much for stopping by Michael. Sally sure does roll out the carpet! Have a great weekend.
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♥♥
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Thanks so much, Sally. Liz’s review is wonderful and I’m so pleased it is being shared. Not quite ready to emerge from my social media break but couldn’t resist this 🙂
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Lovely to see you Mary.. and glad you have had some sunshine during your break… See you soon ♥♥
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It’s a lvely review, Mary. Bravo.
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Liz writes wonderful reviews, Mary. Congrats. And lovely to share the post with you!
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Reblogged this on Frank Prem Poetry and commented:
It is a great pleasure to have a recent review for Voices (In The Trash) featured at Sally Cronin’s Smorgasbord Blog Magazine and Bookstore, because I know I will be in great company. In this set of 3 reviews, Sally has included D. Wallace Peach (Diana) with her book ‘The Ferryman and the Seawithch’, and Mary Smith with ‘Drunk Chickens and Burnt Macaroni’.
Wonderful.
Pop over and check them out. It’s time well spent.
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Thanks very much for sharing Frank…hugs
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Thank you, so much, Sally.
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Pleasure Frank.. enjoy your weekend..x
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Thanks so much, Sally! I need to write some more reviews!😍
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Thanks for stopping by, Colleen. And wonderful review of Frank’s book! 🙂
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Thank you, Colleen.
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Always delighted to share them Colleen..♥
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A fabulous trio of writing friends, and trifecta of writing talent. Congrats to Frank, Mary and Diana on the reviews. I have all these books, so lucky me. 🙂 xx
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Thanks so much for stopping by, Debby. It’s so fun to be here at Sally’s and read these great reviews. Have a lovely weekend. ❤
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♥
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Pleasure Diana. Thank you and happy weekend to you too. ❤
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Thank you, Debby. 🙂
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🙂
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Thanks Debby… and once you have moved and settled in some great books to look forward to..♥♥
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Oh yes Sal ❤
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♥
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A great group of authors, books, and reviews, Sally! Thank you for sharing!
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Thanks, Jan. Have a wonderful weekend!
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Thank you, Jan.
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Thanks Jan.. have a lovely weekend..hugsx
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Thanks so much for the feature, Sally. And how fun to share the post with talented authors Frank and Mary. Wonderful reviews all around. Thanks for sharing Jacqui’s. 🙂
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Pleasure Diana.. delighted to share..have a lovely weekend..hugsxx♥
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So wonderful to see the talented authors Diana, Mary, and Frank being featured today, Sally. I’ve read Jacqui’s review of Diana’s new release and Liz’s review of Mary’s book. Congratulations to all of them for getting excellent reviews.
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Thanks Miriam… and all amazing authors.. as you all are in the cafe and reading room.. I am like a child in a sweet shop with all the great books..♥
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When you’re semi-retired, of you keep half of when you’re doing, we would like you to keep the bookstore and the children’s reading room. You’re our library of congress. 💖💖
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Thanks very much Miriam…I will bear that in mind ♥♥
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Just do your best, Sally. 💖💖
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♥
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Thanks for the kind comment, Miriam. You’ve started my day with a smile. Hugs.
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Love to see you smile every day, Diana💖
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Reblogged this on Author Don Massenzio and commented:
Check out the Smorgasbord Cafe and Bookstore where you can Meet the Authors featuring D.Wallace Peach, Mary Smith, and Frank Prem
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Thanks so much for sharing Sally’s post, Don. Have a wonderful weekend. 😀
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You’re welcome. You too.
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You only have to read that description of the Sea Witch to get a glimpse into Diana’s talent. I have this one on my Kindle along with Mary’s. Off to investigate Frank… xx
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Wonderful Alex.. wishing you many hours of happy reading..hugsx
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I just finished reading Mary Smith’s Drunk Chickens and Burnt Macaroni, about Afghanistan and training women as health volunteers. I recommend it to everyone, especially now.
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That is fantastic Mary thank you for adding your recommendation. Have a good week.
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