Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! – Guest Round Up – Part One – Claire Fullerton, Noelle Granger, Pete Johnson, Sharon Marchisello, Jane Risdon, Balroop Singh, Pete Springer, Carol Taylor D.Wallace Peach, Sue Wickstead

Over the last three months, I have been privileged to share the thoughts and wisdom of friends within the writing community in response to the prompt ‘I Wish I Knew Now What I Knew Then!’.  In case you have missed any of these guest posts I will be sharing their links in this catch up series.

Author Claire Fullerton shares her treasured memories of the home that her mother grew up in and returned to with her own family when Claire was ten years old.

I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! ‘Home’ by Claire Fullerton

Author Noelle Granger shares the challenges facing the inequality in the academic field as a young professor.

I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! #Equality by Noelle Granger

Blogger and storyteller Pete Johnson (Beetley Pete) shares his wisdom obtained with his experience of marriage.

#Marriage – I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! by Pete Johnson (Beetley Pete)

Author Sharon Marchisello looks back to her teens and shares her thoughts on how she might have made different choices.

#Life – I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! by Sharon Marchisello

Author Jane Risdon shares her nomadic childhood and dreams of becoming a war correspondent and reflects on the message she might have offered to her younger self to reassure her that one day, she would be a writer..

I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! #Writing by Jane Risdon

#Life #Poetry – I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! by Balroop Singh

 

Pete Springer shares his experiences in high school following a move to California in response to the prompt and finding his true self in college, leading to many happy years as a teacher.

#Life – I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! by Pete Springer

Blogger and food and advocate for sustainability Carol Taylor shares her passion for the environment and ambitions to become a scientist, and how with her blog and writing she has created a platform for both.

#Life – I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! by Carol Taylor

Author Diana Wallace Peach shares her thoughts on the prompt and how low moments and the high points in our lives are all part of the journey.

#Life – I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! by Diana Peach

A poignant post from teacher and children’s author Sue Wickstead who shares her thoughts about her dad who she lost at an early age and her pride in her family name.

Life – I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now! ‘Dad’ by Sue Wickstead

 

 

Thank you for dropping in today and I hope that you have caught up with any of these guest posts you might have missed.

Smorgasbord Blogger Daily – Friday 18th October – Annika Perry #bookreview, Bienvenue Press #Flash with Sharon Marchisello and Joelle LeGendre #Insomnia Humour

This series is an opportunity to showcase posts from around our community and the brilliant bloggers who share with us. It would be amazing if you would follow the links to the post I have highlighted and whilst visiting follow and support the blogger.

The first post is from author Annika Perry with her book review for Sea Prayer by the author of The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini.

On 2nd September 2015 an image flashed around the world that saddened and horrified us all. A young boy, later identified as Alan Kurdi, lay motionless on a pristine beach in Turkey, the dawn sun glowing around him. He was dead. During his three young years he knew only war in Syria; a war his parents fled to find safety. The photo of Alan touched everyone and inspired, nay, I would say, drove one famous writer to pen a short book, Sea Prayer.

Within Khaled Hosseini’s Sea Prayer the words and illustrations are intrinsically linked, creating a wondrous work of art.

The first page starts as a letter (quasi-eulogy) to the narrator’s son, Marwan, and it recalls the beauty of life in Homs. The father describes his childhood when he had woken “to the stirrings of olive trees in the breeze/to the bleating of your grandmother’s goat”.

Head over to read Annika’s review for this wonderful book: https://annikaperry.com/2019/10/17/sea-prayer-a-book-review/

Annika Perry, Buy: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0789KZVF8/
Blog    https://annikaperry.com –  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17498437.Annika_Perry

The next post is from Bienvenue Press Blog  with the announcement of third place in their flash fiction competition to Sharon Marchisello for Halloween Justice.

Bienvenue Press is pleased to announce the third place winner in our annual Halloween Flash Fiction contest. This story is by Sharon Marchisello and is titled “Halloween Justice”.

“Halloween Justice”

by Sharon Marchisello

No one in the neighborhood put on a better Halloween display than Diana Hunter. Every year, she added new decorations to scare young children and delight older trick-or-treaters. Last year, she hung a two-foot black velveteen spider from a wispy net between the birch trees; the net’s threads were so fine, trespassers who cut across her grass became entangled in the creature’s web. The mechanical skeleton who cackled maniacally when he popped up from the lawn’s tombstone at irregular intervals was a long-time favorite. A steam machine and haunting music pierced with an occasional scream enhanced the atmosphere.

This year, Diana had purchased a full-size brass coffin, a model being discontinued by the local funeral home. She was still trying to decide where to place it for maximum effect. 

Head over and read all of Sharon’s story: https://bienvenuepressblog.wordpress.com/2019/10/13/halloween-justice/

Sharon Marchisello, Buy: https://www.amazon.com/Sharon-Marchisello/e/B00NH6N4WK/ Blog  https://sharonmarchisello.blogspot.com Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4297807.Sharon_Marchisello

Now for all of those who might have trouble getting off to sleep at night… Joelle LeGendre of Two on a Rant will have you in stitches..

Insomnia came for a visit and refuses to leave, so I’m laughing in its face.

Head over and see the rest, you should see the last one.. priceless: https://rantingalong.blog/2019/10/18/find-something-to-laugh-at/

Joelle LeGendre buy: https://www.amazon.com/Joelle-LeGendre/e/B00JBQDHWM – Blog: https://rantingalong.blog/about/ – Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7809192.Joelle_LeGendre

Thanks for dropping in today and I hope you will head over to read these posts in full.. thanks Sally.