Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Weekly Round Up – July 5th -11th 2020 – Josh Groban, Mango, Pigeons, Dublin 1944, Books, Health and Laughter

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.

It has been a very mixed week as far as the weather is concerned. However, I was in and out more times than a cat, grabbing the odd ten minutes of sunshine here and there. It can change in a second with rain in the back garden and sunshine still in the front. There are a lot worse places to live, particularly during a pandemic as it is easier to avoid 5 million people than it is 65 million. Especially when there is more rural space.

Apart from my daily ins and outs, I also had my first hair appointment this week. I go to a family owned hairdresser and they certainly have gone to a lot of trouble and expense to prepare the salon for clients. I was wearing my own mask, but had my temperature checked once I was allowed in. A young assistant was kept busy disinfecting chairs, basins and stations between customers, and we all wore disposable gowns and the same with the towels. Thank goodness that despite the rule about no tea or coffee, and no magazines, we could still chat and it was great to catch up with my stylist Sam and her experiences over the last four months.

It feels great to have some shape back into my hair and if I can bring myself to put on some makeup on the next sunny day, I might get a new profile photo done… don’t hold your breath on either event …!

Now to the week….

I am very aware that I don’t get around to as many blogs as I would like on a daily basis and as I plan to get down to finishing the new book I am writing in August.. I thought it would be a good time to get the new Posts from Your Archives up and running. With the added bonus that I get to browse your blog archives from the last six months and catch up on all your great posts.

Since this series began in January 2018 there have been over 900 Posts from Your Archives where bloggers have taken the opportunity to share posts to a new audience… mine.

The topics have ranged from travel, childhood, recipes, history and the most recent series was on any aspect about family.

In this series I will be sharing posts from the first six months of 2020

It is an opportunity to showcase your writing skill to my readers and also to share on my social media. Which combined is around the 46,000 mark. If you are an author your books will be mentioned too, along with their buy links and your other social media contacts.

So what is different about this series?

This time, rather than you send me two links to posts from your blog archives, all I need you to do is give me permission to dive in myself and find two posts to share here on Smorgasbord.
Rather than a set topic, I will select posts at random across a number of subjects from the first six months of 2020.
As I will be promoting your books as part of the post along with all your information and links so I will not be sharing direct marketing or self- promotional posts in the series.
If you are an author I am sure you will have a page on your blog with the details, and an ‘about page’ with your profile and social media links (always a good idea anyway). I will get everything that I need.
As a blogger I would assume that you have an ‘about page’ a profile photo and your links to social media.
Copyright is yours and I will ©Your name on every post… and you will be named as the author in the URL and subject line.
Previous participants are very welcome to take part again.

N.B – To get the maximum benefit from your archive posts, the only thing I ask is that you respond to comments individually.. thank you.

To show how your post will look when featured… please head over to the post with an example from the Friends and Family archive posts earlier in the year. Jacquie Biggar with the story of her grandson and his brave approach to his Type I diabetes.

Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives -#NewSeries August 2020- Pot Luck and Do You Trust Me??

William Price King is on his summer break which is a very busy time and his is offline, but I will be sharing some previous artists and every other week a Summer Music Festival… no mud, or portaloos…just good music. Some from William’s column and some from my own playlists. William sends his best wishes and apologises for not being able to respond to your comments.

This week Carol Taylor cooks up a storm as she showcases the letter ‘M’ in food and culinary terms…and there are plenty of books on show to overload your TBR’s

I am in the last three weeks of the series Meet the Authors in the Cafe and Bookstore and hopefully all your details will then be up to date… if you are in the cafe and have not yet been featured.. don’t worry everyone will be included..

The Music Column with William Price King – Josh Groban – Part Two

Carol Taylor – A – Z of Food – ‘M’ is for Mayonnaise, Mango, Mousse, Morels, Khao Neow Manuang and Marengo

Chapter Nine – The Boy, his Dog and a Fairy Princess

Geoff leaves Waterford for the bright lights of Dublin and the adventures of being a boarder with other lads of the infamous Mrs Keller….

The Colour of Life The Digs In Dublin 1944

A Haiku and some examples of my late father-in-law’s wonderful wood carving.

#Ireland Tree Stumps by Sally Cronin

Letters from America 1985-1987 – June 1985 – Photos from Disney Adventure, Alone in America, Television Fitness Classes

Project 101 – Resilience – The importance of a healthy gut (part one)

The Medicine Woman’s Treasure Chest – Herbal Medicine -Dandelion

A Year in the Life of Leah Brand: A #Psychological Thriller by Lucinda E. Clarke

Colleen Chesebro’s weekly Tanka Challenge -#DoubleEtheree – The Visitor

#Fantasy – Jack Hughes & Thomas the Rhymer (Book 1) by Paul Andruss

#DarkHumour Someday Everything Will All Make Sense by Carol LaHines

#Dystopian – Acts of Convenience by Alex Craigie

#Fantasy – Soul Swallowers (The Shattered Sea Book 1) by D.Wallace Peach

#YAParanormalFantasy, Heather Kindt, #HistoricalMystery Amy M. Reade, #Children’s Janice Spina

#Contemporary Olga Nunez Miret, #Poetry Frank Prem, #Poetry Balroop Singh

#Romance Linda Bradley, #Fantasy Audrey Driscoll, #YAAdventure Darlene Foster.

#Shortstories Cathy Cade, #Historical Noelle Granger, #SouthernSaga Claire Fullerton

#YAFantasy Kevin Cooper, #Mystery Mary Anne Edwards, #Historical Apple Gidley

#Memoir Chuck Jackson, #Memoir Brigid Gallagher, #ShortStories Anne Goodwin

#1920s Elizabeth Gauffreau, #History Paul Edmondson, #Shortstories Karen Ingalls

Smorgasbord Laughter Lines – July 7th 2020 – Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin

Smorgasbord Laughter Lines – July 9th 2020 – Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin

Irish Weather The Musical with International guests presented by I.V.E Mildew… AKA Herself.

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Weekly Round Up – June 28th – July 4th 2020 – Music Festival, Book Covers, Fairy Stories, Poetry, Book Reviews and Author Promotions

Posted on July 4, 2020 by Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

Welcome to the round up of posts that you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.

Thanks very much for joining me today and I hope that everyone is still staying safe as the world emerges in a more unrestrained way… Today in the UK is going to be interesting, as though the British to do not officially celebrate July 4th, it is a great excuse to have a party. With the pubs opening along with hairdressers and unessential shops, it is going to make for an opportunity for much mingling, however many social distancing measures are in place.

The infection is still in the community and even here in Ireland people are still wearing masks when shopping and in close proximity to others. Despite my love of adventure… I will be taking things slowly for the next few weeks.

In the meantime life goes on and the weeks seem to fly by as they always have. The Irish weather this week has been at its variable best with autumnal high and cold winds and plenty of rain. Apparently sunny tomorrow, so if you don’t see me around the usually haunts you will know where to find me….in the garden.

The Meet the Authors series is still running for another two weeks at least as I feature the last 30 authors in the Cafe and Bookstore with their bios and links. When that is completed I will be looking at other options to help promote the books and will let you know about them in due course.

Just a some reminders about the promotions for the Cafe and Bookstore

Their purpose is to provide a consistent and free book marketing service for all authors in the Cafe, to my readers on the blog and to my social media networks.

They work better if the authors featured share on one or more of their own social media, particularly when they are multi-author promotions. I do this because I love to promote the hard work that goes into not just writing a book but the editing, cover design and creativity. However, it does make it easier and more worthwhile to be honest, if authors participate.

The one critical action that I ask is that comments are responded to individually as it does help to encourage readers to buy books. To that end I have made things as simple as possible. I only approve the first comment made by a visitor to the blog and after that there are no filters.

Later in the week a post about the new series of Posts from your Archives starting in August. So far in the last two and a half years there have been 1100 posts featured in this ongoing series…all with an opportunity to showcase books and other creative work. Looking forward to taking that figure up to 1500 in the rest of the year… details on Friday.

On with the shows from the week…

William Price King is off for the summer but we have decided to put on a Summer Music Festival with a mixture of music from William’s previous series and some tracks from my own playlists..

Smorgasbord Summer Music Festival with hosts William Price King and Sally Cronin – Headliners Johnny Mathis, Led Zeppelin and the Beach Boys

The importance of a book cover by Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Tales from the Garden Chapter Eight -The Goose and the Lost Boy

#Memoir #Waterford #Ireland #History – The Colour of Life – Work on a Timber Gang – 1942 by Geoff Cronin

#Eagles – Regal Hunter by Sally Cronin – Image by Tofino Photography

Letters from America 1985-1987 – June 1985 – Thunderstorms Texas style, Pool Antics and Birth Coach on Standby

Chesebro’s weekly Tanka Challenge – #Haibun – The Long Drop by Sally Cronin

#Poetry – Rescue and Redemption Poetry inspired by the T. S. Eliot poem ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ (A Love Poetry Trilogy Book 3) by Frank Prem

Food Therapy – Watercress – More Iron than Spinach

Vitamin D Deficiency Part One

Vitamin D Deficiency Part Two – Getting Sufficient

#Fantasy The Blessing of Krozem: A Tale of Ziraf’s World by Lorinda J. Taylor

-#Horses Jan Sikes, #Comingofage Bette A. Stevens, #Romance Ritu Bhathal

#Historical Noelle Granger, #Shortstories Karen Ingalls, #Thriller Daniel Kemp

#Memoir Pete Springer, #History Paul Edmondson #Thriller Mary Anne Edwards

#Mystery #Romance Alex Craigie, #Children Dawn Doig, #Humour Linda G. Hill

#Fantasy Deborah Jay, #ParanormalRomance A.J. Alexander, #Historical Ruth Larrea

#Humour Andrew Joyce, #Horror #Fantasy Julia Benally, #Thriller Iain Kelly

#Memoir Marian Longenecker Beaman, #Crime Sue Coletta, #Humour Geoff Le Pard

#Poetry Miriam Hurdle, #Thriller Jacquie Biggar, #YARomance Angie Dokos

#Familysaga – The Memory by Judith Barrow

#1920s – Telling Sonny by Elizabeth Gauffreau

Smorgasbord Laughter Lines – June 30th 2020 – Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin

Smorgasbord Laughter Lines – July 2nd 2020 – Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin

Smorgasbord Laughter Lines Extra – July 3rd 2020- Another Open Mic Night with author Daniel Kemp

Thank you for dropping in today and during the week to leave comments and to share.. it really is much appreciated.. I hope you will join me again next week..thanks Sally.

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Weekly Round Up 21st -27th June 2020 – Josh Groban, Lemon Meringue Pie, #Ireland, Book Reviews, Authors and Humour

Posted on June 27, 2020 by Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

Welcome to the weekly round up with posts that you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.

I hope you are all well as we peel back the layers of re-entry into the world again. Some are getting on better than others, and I can understand why the younger generation wants to dive back into the deep end of the pool.. but I think I will potter around in the shallows for a little while longer.

I am delighted that my hairdresser has finished the re-opening preparations, and they rang without prompting to ask if I needed an appointment.. David has done a great job with his clippers at the back, but the front that I have attended to, looks a little ragged around the edges. You can’t do it when wearing glasses very easily so took those off… not a good move… so it was a bit hit and miss with the scissors and I think I might have accidentally removed half an eyebrow too!.

Anyway…July 7th I will have it all cut back and aim for a quick visit every six weeks… with no magazines, a cup of coffee and no chit chat behind our masks it will not be quite the relaxing treat it used to be. It will be a while before the longer appointments for colour, highlights and extensions are reinstated but thankfully I use a silver rinse once a week at home and I am done…

The weather has been a mixture of very hot days, thundery nights, and now rain for the next five days. At least the lawn and the pot plants appreciate it. I have loved sitting outside with books and music and I am hoping that after this few days summer will return… one can only hope.

In the last couple of weeks I have been a guest on some friend’s blogs and if you have time to pop over and read and share that would be amazing.

Last week I was the guest of Marjorie Mallon as part of her series on poetry and thoughts of writers in isolation. She kindly share a recent poem of mine and my views on our lives going forward, particularly those of the younger children, those waiting for treatment for life threatening diseases and the elderly. Marje will be releasing an anthology of her own stories and poetry as well as her guests thoughts on the pandemic soon.

Sally Cronin: Lockdown #Poetry #Thoughts #Isolation #Writers

This week I was the guest of author Darlene Foster whose successful Amanda travel series has introduced children around the world to the joys of discovering new countries and cultures. I shared my experience as a ten year old, of travelling to South Africa and some of the adventures during our two year stay in Cape Town.

Special Guest, Sally Cronin: Travels as a Child

Time to get on with the posts from the week and my thanks to William Price King, Carol Taylor and Debby Gies for their contributions which are always a delight to share and clearly enjoyed. Also thanks to you for dropping by, commenting and sharing; it is much appreciated.

The Music Column with William Price King – Josh Groban – Part One

Carol Taylor – A – Z of Food – ‘L’ is for Lamb, Lavender, Lemon/ Lime Meringue Pie, Liquorice and Liver…

James the Landlord 1939

#Thriller – Five Stars – The Reckoning Squad by S. Burke

#Eagles – The Daredevil by Sally Cronin – Image Tofino Photography

Tales from the Garden Chapter Seven – Little Girl Lost

Chesebro’s weekly Tanka Challenge – #Butterfly Cinquain – Our Legacy

Letters from America 1985-1987 – #Texas weather, Suntans and Trivia Pursuit

#Acidity/Alkalinity pH Balance for Health Part Three and Music Therapy –

Food Therapy – Make the most of Summer – Homemade Fruit Salad and Smoothies

New Author on the Shelves – #RomanticComedy – Cogrill’s Mill by Jack Lindsey

#History – Great Spirit of Yosemite: The Story of Chief Tenaya by Paul Edmondson

#Murder #Mystery – Redlined: A Novel of Boston by Richard W. Wise

#Thriller Mark Bierman, #Mystery #Romance Lizzie Chantree, #Thriller John W. Howell

#Poetry Miriam Hurdle, #Memoir #Humour Andrew Joyce, #Memoir Marian Longenecker Beaman

#Memoir – Twenty Years After “I Do” by D.G. Kaye

#Poetry Frank Prem, #Fantasy Teagan Geneviene, #Humour #Mystery Mae Clair

Meet the Authors – #Mystery Barbara Silkstone, #Mystery Janet Gogerty, #Thriller Eloise De Sousa

#BritishHistory Mike Biles, #Thriller Suzanne Burke, #Doglovers Patty Fletcher

#PsychologicalThriller Lucinda E. Clarke, #Thriller John L. DeBoer, #War #Dogs Patricia Furstenberg

#Scifi #YA Heather Kindt, #Mystery Lizzie Chantree, #Scifi Jack Eason

Smorgasbord Laughter Lines – June 23rd 2020 – Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin

Smorgasbord Laughter Lines – June 25th 2020 – Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin

Smorgasbord Laughter Lines Extra – TGI Friday – host Sally Cronin

Thank you so much for dropping by and I hope you have enjoyed your visit..look forward to seeing you again next week…thanks Sally.

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Weekly Round Up – 14th -20th June 2020 – Outsmarting the Crows, D.G. Kaye and Relationships, USA 1985, Books, Authors, Music and Funnies.

Posted on June 20, 2020 by Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.

I thought this week I would share some of the work we have been doing in the garden to brighten up the place. With the garden centres shut until a couple of weeks ago, I was reliant on the local Tesco for early spring plants to bring a little colour into the front of the house. I waited until this week to visit the local garden centre as I knew they would be swamped initially and I went this last Monday and had the place almost to myself. I piled my trolley high and spent two days in glorious sunshine getting all the pots out of storage and planted. The pansies from March and April are still going strong and I feel the place is looking much brighter. Here is a small snippet.

We have also had an ongoing challenge with rooks from the surrounding woods who believe that the seed we put out for the birds are for them alone. They have destroyed seed holders, knocked over the bird feeder tree and mobbed the garden. I don’t begrudge any bird food at this time of year when they all have young but the sparrows, tits and other smaller birds were being scared off. So I handed the problem over to David, who has spent the last couple of weeks in the planning and development stage. He has not adapted his design so only the smaller birds up to blackbird and starling size can get to the feed and the rooks have taken to sitting on the telephone wire opposite cackling amonst themselves and plotting their next point of attack.

It is quite entertaining to see them come down to walk around the perimeter, testing the coat hanger wire for any weakness, and doing balletic movements to reach in as far as they can. They get the odd bit of seed but their days of gorging are over. (She says with a fair bit of confidence) There is also a metre square bird bath which is in full use by all the birds and it is a wonderful place to sit and watch the entertainment.

Empaths and Spiritual Communication through Energy

The Colour of Life – The Shop and Bakery – Family 1840s -1940s by Geoff Cronin

Tales from the Garden Chapter Six – Trouble in Paradise – Part Two

Letters from America 1985-1987 – May 1985 – Las Vegas, Hoover Dam and Los Angeles

The Cruel Romance: A Novel of Love and War by Marina Osipova

Songs from the Movies – The Windmills of Your Mind, The Thomas Crown Affair

Project 101 – Resilience – Acidity/Alkalinity pH Balance for Health Part Two and Music Therapy –

#Children’s Snowlilie’s Brother by Victoria Zigler

#Childrens Franky the Fearless Flamingo: A ‘Using Your Strength for Good’ Hero Story (Franky the Flamingo Book 4) by Wanda Luthman

#Crime Virtually Gone: A Mended Souls Novel (High-Tech Crime Solvers Book 6) by Jacquie Biggar

#FamilySaga Judith Barrow, #History Mike Biles, #PsychologicalThriller Lucinda E. Clarke

#Family James J. Cudney, #Thriller Sue Coletta, #Prehistoric Jacqui Murray

#Psychologicalthriller S. Burke, #Paranormal S.A. Harris, #ParanormalRomance Linda G. Hill

Share an Extract from a Previous Book – #Memoir – No One Comes Close by J. A. Newman

#Children’s – Amanda in Holland: Missing in Action by Darlene Foster

#Crime #Mystery – Secrets of the Galapagos by Sharon Marchisello

#Children’s Annika Perry, #Mystery Amy M. Reade, #Afghanistan Mary Smith

#Fantasy Jemima Pett, #Children’s Janice Spina, #Fantasy Charles E. Yallowitz

#Fantasy C.S. Boyack, #Romance Christine Campbell, #Sci-Fi A.C. Flory

#Memoir #Africa Ann Patras, #Romance P.C. Zick, #Fantasy Lorinda J. Taylor

Poetry Balroop Singh, #Family Christa Polkinhorn, #Poetry Colleen M. Chesebro

Food Therapy – Walnuts – Not just any nut…

Laughter Lines – June 16th 2020 – Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin

Laughter Lines – June 18th 2020 – Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin

More Humour from the Senior Team

Thank you for dropping in today and for all your support during the week… I hope you have enjoyed.. thanks Sally.

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Weekly Round Up – 7th – 13th June 2020 – FREE Book Marketing -ABBA – Kippers – Tomato Salad and a feast of authors, books and laughter

Posted on June 13, 2020 by Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

Welcome to the Smorgasbord Weekly Round Up with posts that you might have missed during the week.

I hope everyone is doing well and is looking forward to a more lifting of restrictions in the coming week. Still some confusion about where, with whom, why and when you can do things but hopefully that will be clarified! First, something that can do something about…..

Ongoing book marketing opportunities.

Delighted to say that the Meet the Authors series every weekend is going well, and I will have featured every author in the Cafe and Bookstore by the end of July. As an author in the cafe, you don’t need to do a thing although it would be great if you could share the post to boost for your own books and the other two authors featured with you.

Share an Extract from your most recent book.

Stop me if you are currently selling too many books or are receiving too many reviews…

I wish I was in that position. But, in case like me you could always use a little more visibility, and you are an author in the Cafe and Bookstore, then why not spend five minutes of your time and send me 500 words from your most recent release, or if you are poet… a poem… so that I can put together a promotion for you, such as the one I have featured for today: Extract from Silent Heroes by Patricial Furstenberg

Here is the post that tells you how you can participate with an example of how it looks with one of my books… it is FREE Book promotion… don’t miss out: Share an Extract from your latest book

If you need any more convincing.. the average views of posts in the previous series was over 100… hopefully resulting in one or two sales and more reviews.

Anyway.. I will be waiting to hear from you.. and you are very welcome, even if you have been recently featured. The list is growing daily so please get in touch soon.

Time to move onto the posts from the week you might have missed.

Thanks as always to the contributors and guests who bring such amazing posts to the blog, and to you for all your support.

William Price King ABBA Part Five – The Finale

Carol Taylor – A – Z of Food – ‘K’ for Kale, Ketchup, Kippers and Kanom Moo Krob (Crispy Pork and Kale)

#Italian Cookery with Silvia Todesco – Simply Delicious Tomato and Basil Salad

Wake Robin Ridge Book One by Marcia Meara

May 1985 – Las Vegas Razzle Dazzle Part One Sally Cronin

The Colour of Life – The Price Of A Habit – 1937

Tales from the Garden Chapter Five – Trouble in Paradise – Part one

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie – Powerscourt Ireland

Chesebro’s Poetry Challenge – #SynonymsOnly -#GarlandCinquain – Garden Birds

Acidity/Alkalinity pH Balance for Health Part One and Music Therapy

New Book on the Shelves – #Sci-fi Promise Me (Dave Travise Book 3) by Richard Dee

#Contemporary -You’re Never Too Old to be A Prom Queen by Olga Nunez Miret

#Historical -The Last Pilgrim by Noelle Granger

#GraphicNovel Sue Vincent and Stuart France, #Historical #1950s Bette A. Stevens, #Poetry Balroop Singh

#Memoir Ann Patras, #Poetry Frank Prem, #Mystery Barbara Silkstone

#Memoir D.G. Kaye, #Childrens Pamela S. Wight, #Memoir Pete Springer

#Childrens Nicholas C. Rossis, #Fantasy Vashti Quiroz Vega, #Writing Harmony Kent

#Blogging Anne R. Allen, #Thriller Mark Bierman, #Childrens #YA Robbie and Michael Cheadle

#Thriller Carol Balawyder, #Flashfiction Sarah Brentyn, #SciFi Richard Dee

#Thriller Jaye Marie, #Thriller J.P. McClean, #Contemporary Jessica Norrie

Food Therapy – #Honey -#Propolis – Thousands of Years of History and Health

Laughter Lines – June 9th 2020 – Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin

Laughter Lines – June 11th 2020 – Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin

More Humour from the Senior Team

Thank you very much for dropping and for your generous support, I hope that you will join me again next week..thanks Sally.

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Weekly Round Up – 31st May – June 6th 2020 – #Waterford, Elvis, Foxes, Lamaze Classes, poetry, books, reviews and Health

Posted on June 6, 2020 by Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

Time continues to pass rapidly despite the turmoil in the world, and suddenly it is Saturday again. Welcome to the posts that you might have missed on Smorgasbord during the week.

Something to think about

I am so tempted to switch off from the news headlines and retreat into my rural sanctuary here in Ireland and ignore the world and its desperation. But, I am part of the world, as we all are, and our words and actions have consequences, especially today with the immediacy of our online contributions. It feels like a powder keg with a lit fuse coiling around the globe, as people take to the streets and their knees, in response to actions that even 10 years ago would have gone unnoticed except for those swept up in the events.

In our modern age of mobile phones with cameras, social media and a growing frustration with what is seen as archaic methods of out of date policing and government, it is unwise for anyone in power to assume that their actions will be swept under the carpet, and that there will not be consequences. Having said that, it also applies to the minority who are taking advantage of the situation by looting and carrying out acts of violence on innocent bystanders and businesses.

Fear and lack of leadership has led to disproportionate reactions from the authorities which has just fueled the situation. Instead of talking and reaching a consensus on a way forward, this reaction is destined to be repeated, unless radical changes are made. It is however, heartwarming, to see that even under such stress, many of those behind the shields have taken to a knee and shared their solidarity with the peaceful protestors.

For those protesting peacefully, I am with you all the way. It is not just the approach to colour in the media, by the authorities, and in the community, it is about developing a whole new approach to education, health care, and employment that currently creates such a divide in our nations. This is not just in the USA but also in countries in Europe where inequality still thrives across the different cultures and sectors of society.

We seem to have forgotten that under our skin colour, beneath our beliefs and beyond our different languages, we all share the same physiology and as human beings, we all have inalienable rights.

One of the most basic rights should be that our fellow man will look out for us when we are being persecuted.

And now time for the posts from the week…and thank you for all the support that I am very grateful for. As I am for the contributors who add such flavour, knowledge and humour to the blog each week.

And to start off another new book marketing series ... a follow on from Share an Extract of a Previous Book... now it is the turn of your most recent book. Full details in the post and an example of how it will look.

#Free #Bookmarketing – New series – Share an Extract from your latest book.

Tales from the Garden Chapter Four – Pearly Girl and the Dwarves Stone Band

The Colour of Life 1936 – #Waterford -The Station

May 1985 – Lamaze classes, Pink Cadillacs and Funeral Plots

Double Etheree – Silver Lining

Songs from the Movies – Jail House Rock – Elvis Presley.

Flexibility – An Apple a Day – Music Therapy

How much do you get for your 1500 calories and Music Therapy –

olive oil

Olive Oil…keeps your body moving

Meet the Authors – #Thrillers John W. Howell, #FamilySaga Judith Barrow, #ContemporaryIrish Mary Crowley

#Mystery James J. Cudney, #Poetry Natalie Ducey, #Mystery Stevie Turner

#DystopianSciFi Terry Tyler, #Thriller Yigal Zur, #WorldWarII Marina Osipova

Sharon Marchisello, #Memoir Cynthia S. Reyes, #Poetry Annette Rochelle Aben

#Paranormal Don Massenzio, #Crime Jane Risdon, #Fantasy Jan Sikes

#Childrens – Hair Peace by Dawn Doig

#Children’s – Franky the Friendly Flamingo: An Anti-Bullying Book (The Franky the Flamingo Series) Wanda Luthman

#Poetry – Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures by Leon Stevens

#Childrens Toni Pike, #Dystopian Teri Polen, #Mystery Judy Penz Sheluk

#Fantasy A.J. Alexander, #YARomance Angie Dokos, #Mystery Diana J. Febry

#Romance Jacquie Biggar, #Romance Linda Bradley, #History #Childrens Barbara Ann Mojica

Bubba Tails: From the Puppy Nursery at the Seeing Eye (Tales from King Campbell Book 1) by Patty Fletcher

June 2nd 2020 – Hosts Debby Gies and Guest Balroop Singh

June 4th 2020 – Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin

Another Open Mic Night with author Daniel Kemp

Thank you very much for dropping by and I hope you will have a great week, and will join me again.. stay safe.. thanks Sally.

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Weekly Round Up – 24th – 30th May 2020 – ABBA, Jelly Beans, San Francisco, Resilience and Laughter

Posted on May 30, 2020 by Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

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

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying any slight lifting of restrictions. I notice a couple of people missing from social media this week and hope they are okay and I will follow up with them offline if I can. It has been a drastic change to our normal routine and so very much more difficult for those with children or who are separated from their families and close friends.

Everything here is becoming the new norm… nothing new to report except for the new book marketing series starting Monday.

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. If you are in the Cafe and Bookstore then you will automatically be featured over the next few weeks.

The posts for next week are all ready scheduled and the first authors on Monday are John Howell, Judith Barrow and Mary Crowley.. I hope you will join us to discover more about them and their books.

As always my thanks to those who contribute to the blog and this week columns by William Price King and Carol Taylor.

Thanks to you too for keep showing up and your support…here are the posts from the week.

ABBA Part Four 1980s Gimme Gimme more hits.

Carol Taylor – A – Z of Food – ‘J’ for Jelly Beans, Jalapenos, Jack Fruit and Jerky all with a little Jus

Letters from America 1985-1987 – April 1985 – Beverly Hills Cop, Sleepless Nights in San Francisco!

Chapter Three The Last Emperor

The Financier and the Farmer’s Wife

#Historical #Mystery – A Girl Like You (A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel Book 1) by Michelle Cox

Lanzarote Plants Cling to Life

New Zealand, Queenstown Bridges

Butterfly Cinquain – Random Acts of Kindness

Project 101 – Resilience – Chronic Inflammation and the Immune System and Musical therapy

beating heart GIF

Weight Loss, Heart function and Immune System – Musical Therapy

Resilience – #Sleep Strategies and Music Therapy – Sally Cronin

Food Therapy – Mushrooms – The Egyptians believed they granted immortality

A Year in the Life of Andrea Coe: A Psychological Thriller (In the life of …. Book 2) by Lucinda E. Clarke

#Fantasy #Shortstories The Butterfly Tree & other stories (Dragonscale Diffusions Book 2) by Freya Pickard

Pre-order for June 2nd – Cape Menace: A Cape May #Historical Mystery by Amy M. Reade

Pre-Order – #YAFantasy -The Green Door (The Eternal Artifacts Book 1) by Heather Kindt

#Shortstories Cathy Cade, #Science Fiction A.C. Flory, #Historical Apple Gidley

#Reviews #YAFantasy Jean Lee, #Humour Geoff Le Pard, #Poetry M.J. Mallon

#Romance #Suspense – Backstage by Harmony Kent

#Memoir #Drama – Miedo 2: A Reckoning With Fear by Kevin Cooper

May 26th 2020 – Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin

May 28th 2020 – Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin

Really Bad Dad Jokes and a few funnies

Thank you for dropping in today and for your support during the week.. I hope you have enjoyed and will join me again. Thanks Sally.

Smorgasbord Weekly Round Up – 3rd – 9th May 2020 – New York, Houston, Waterford, Sri Lanka, Asparagus, New books, Reviews, Guests and Laughter

Posted on May 9, 2020 by Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

Welcome to the round up of posts this week you might missed here on Smorgasbord

There has been some lovely weather this week, especially once the breeze dropped, and I have been taking full advantage… it also offered me the opportunity to listen to music and to catch up on my reading which is always a good thing.

In most of our countries there is a gradual lifting of restrictions, although some around the world are being a little less cautious. The fact that a high percentage of those who were told to isolate for the last couple of months have said they are reluctant to go out and mingle again, is quite understandable, especially as there are so many mixed messages being given airtime by the media.

There are a few studies and findings that do have merit however, and they confirm the views I have always held. We have to take more responsibility for our own health, especially as we get older. The key indicators for mortality from this virus are becoming evident and rather than feel powerless and afraid of the predicted resurgence in the second wave or this coming autumn, we now have an opportunity to stack the odds in our favour.

I have posted columns in the past about the immune system, lung function, the digestive system, reducing weight to healthier levels, diabetes and reducing the toxic load on the liver. These systems are not as robust or as effective as we get into our mid 60s and older, and need constant maintenance and input in the form of fresh food that provides the nutrients the body needs to defend itself and keep it functioning.

I am 67 years old and well aware that to the medical profession I am in the vulnerable range, and I have taken a good look at my own lifestyle and diet in the last 8 weeks to ensure there are no gaping potholes in my health care.

Having lost quite a bit of weight in the last year, I know that I need to tone up and change my exercise to improve my heart and lung function. So I am going back to swimming once the local pools are open.

I am not on any prescribed medication, but I want to make sure that my blood pressure and blood sugar levels remain within normal ranges. This means making some small changes to my regular diet and exercise.

Having been a practicing nutritional therapist for over 20 years, I am a firm believer in not making sweeping and tough to adopt changes. I believe in the ‘101 small changes’ approach that are easy to incorporate into our daily lives, but which make a huge difference to the problems that need addressing.

I am starting a new series from May 19th for three days a week, that provide a guide to improving the function of these key areas of the body to improve our resilience to any opportune pathogen that comes our way, not just the current one. I hope you will find interesting but also helpful. There will be dancing involved!!!

Anyway, time for this week’s posts and as always I am so grateful for those who contribute and participate each week and to you for all your support..

A Tribute to New York.. On The Town – with Frank Sinatra

Life on the Ocean Wave – Part Five 1943 – 1946 – HMS Forth and captured U-boats, Ceylon, HMS Woolwich, Earl Mountbatten

#Memoir #Waterford #Ireland 1930s – The Colour of Life – The Art of Making Snares – 1934 by Geoff Cronin

Letters from America 1985-1987 – Adventures in the USA – 1985 – Poolside chats, Spaghetti Bolognese and Irish Jokes

I have added some haiku to images that I have taken on our travels that I hope you will enjoy.

Lava beach Lanzarote, Canary Islands

Spain – A fortified Town

Spain – Bass Lie in Wait

Double Etheree – Persecution in the Garden

#DystopianSciFi -Wasteland (Operation Galton Book 2) by Terry Tyler

#Asparagus – Nutrient Packed and Delicious

#Paranormal – The Watcher (The Weaver Trilogy Book 2) by Heather Kindt

#Thriller John L. DeBoer , #Drama Elizabeth Gauffreau, #Thriller Janet Gogerty

#Doglovers Andrew Joyce, #Memoir Pete Springer, #Childrens Robbie and Michael Cheadle.

#SouthernFiction Claire Fullerton, #FlashFiction Sarah Brentyn, #FamilyDrama Judith Barrow

#Memoir – Words We Carry: Essays of Obsession and Self-Esteem by D.G. Kaye

#MedicalMystery – Going Home by Sharon Marchisello

#Family – The Bright Side of Darkness by J.E. Pinto

#Memoir – More into Africa by Ann Patras

#Comingofage – Dog Bone Soup by Bette A. Stevens

Smorgasbord Laughter Lines – May 5th 2020 – Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin

May 7th 2020 – Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin

Another Open Mic Night with author Daniel Kemp

Thank you very much for dropping in and I hope you will join us again next week… stay safe.. Sally.

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Weekly Round Up 26th April – 2nd May 2020 – Music, Hoisin Sauce, Humour, Books, Reviews, Health and Guests.

Posted on May 2, 2020 by Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

Welcome to the weekly round up with posts that you might have missed on Smorgasbord during the week.

I hope everyone is well, from the daily briefings there are some minor shifts in our restrictions in many of our countries and we are waiting with bated breath to see how the virus is going to react. Here in Ireland the lockdown has been extended for another two weeks but with over 70s being permitted to leave their homes to do essential shopping etc, and outside workers can go back… The plan is to phase in minor lifting of restrictions every two weeks based on any increase in cases. I think that is a good idea, rather than opening everything up for everyone immediately.

Today my plan is to get out in the sunshine in the garden with some music and a good book, and I might even dive into a cocktail…or two, after all you are only young once.

I hope that you enjoy your weekend too and thank you for taking the time to drop in here to check out the week.

My thanks as always to the regullar contributors to the blog William Price King, Carol Taylor and D.G. Kaye this week for bringing their special magic to the blog. And to you for your support.

The Music Column with William Price King – ABBA Part Two – The hits start rolling in.

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Food Column – Carol Taylor – A – Z of Food – ‘H’ is for Honey, Hamburgers, Hummus, Herbs, Haggis and Hoisin Sauce

#Memoir – Life on the Ocean Wave – Part Four – 1942 – HMS Beverley – American shipmates and rough seas by Eric Coleman

Memoir #Waterford #Ireland 1930s – The Colour of Life – The Miser 1931 by Geoff Cronin

Letters from America 1985-1987 – Adventures in the USA – Corpus Christi, Beach Encounters and English Accent

#Thriller -Deep Cover by John L. DeBoer

This week marks the end of the war in Europe 75 years ago with VE Day on Friday May 8th. After six years finally the guns fell silent and hundreds of thousands of troops could return home to their families. For many however, including my father, the war would not end until 1946 in the Far East when he finally came home. I have chosen a Butterfly Cinquain

Butterfly Cinquain – The Day After

#History The Great Influenza Pandemic and Christmas 1919 by Joy Neal Kidney

The Gift of a Wonderful Mother by Darlene Foster

#Thriller – The Reckoning Squad by S. Burke

#DystopianSciFi -Wasteland (Operation Galton Book 2) by Terry Tyler

#SciFi Innerscape Omnibus: Books 1 to 3 of the Innerscape trilogy by A.C. Flory

#Poetry Frank Prem, #Thriller Toni Pike, #Writers Harmony Kent

#Childrens Janice Spina, #Romance Teagan Riordain Geneviene, #Poetry Sue Vincent

#Poetry M.J. Mallon, #psychological thriller Jaye Marie, #Fantasy JP McLean

The Cruel Romance: A Novel of Love and War by Marina Osipova

Finding David by Stevie Turner

#Childrens Amanda on the Danube by Darlene Foster

Food Therapy – Watermelon – A quick way to hydrate

Laughter Lines hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin

Smorgasbord Laughter Lines – April 30th 2020 – Hosts Debby Gies and Sally

Friday Night Special for Writers – Sources Anon.

Thank you so much for joining me this week and I hope you have a wonderful weekend. thanks Sally.

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Weekly Round Up – April 19th – April 25th 2020 – Bond Themes, #Waterford History, Royal Navy WWII, Letters from America, Poetry, Book Reviews and Guests.

Posted on April 25, 2020 by Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

Welcome to the Smorgasbord Blog Magazine weekly round up with posts that you might have missed during the week.

I hope that everyone continues to do well. There is some evidence that there might be an easing of the self-isolation restrictions for some age groups, and also the possibility in the UK at least of being able to interact with close family members, up to a bubble of 10 people, in the weeks ahead. That is good news as for those elderly, living on their own without physical contact with children and grandchildren it has been very challenging.

I have to say that I am very impressed by the majority who have followed the restrictions and also the supermarkets and stores allowed to be open who have done very best to the items we are used to available as well as the essentials… and also there efforts to maintain social distancing. I am so grateful for the front line staff, stocking the shelves and manning the checkouts who remain cheerful and helpful. A simple thank you seemed totally inadequate.

Also of course those health care workers who are working so tirelessly to keep those infected alive, and I hope that when this is over there will be a shift in both the operational side to the NHS and other health services with regard to the well being of their staff, and also planning for the future using the lessons delivered during the pandemic.

And of course there is the amazing contribution from individuals such as Captain Tom Moore who it is believed in in line for a CBE following his fund-raising for the NHS to the tune of £28 million. With congratulations on reaching #1 in the charts with his single recorded with Michael Ball ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone”.

What an inspirational man and he is 100 years old in five days time. The local post office has already had to take over a local school’s gym to stack all the cards and gifts that have been arriving daily and if ever there was a star of this challenging time is an old man who has already served his country and is doing so again.

On the other hand, there are those who have royally miffed me this week in the press… Celebrities posing or moaning about being in isolation in their mansions with football pitch sized gardens, or on their luxury island paradises or mega yachts. Female celebrities (and some male ones) and those who aspire to being one, whipping their clothes off and posing in underwear, bikinis or even naked, as if this some how would lift the spirits of the majority of us, male or female with other more important issues on our minds!

I am not going to touch leadership issues and alleged ‘cures’ with a barge pole……..

What I will do is offer this musical interlude that shares the wisdom of Monty Python, and whilst it might be top of the list when it comes to funerals, it is also something to inspire the living…

I have selected the singalong version…I hope you will join in…

Thanks Monty Python

Now to get on with the business of the day….

This week sees the start of a new book marketing series for authors on the shelves of the Smorgasbord Cafe and Bookstore – Free Author Promotion

The Cafe and Bookstore has approximately 150 authors and up to 7 of their covers on the shelves. So that I can have the time to check each author regularly and update with their reviews and latest releases, the authors featured have reviews that are less than six months old.

A few statistics about the Cafe and Bookstore in 2019/2020

In 2019 there were 130 Cafe Updates featuring 3 to 5 authors in each post, including the summer features and Christmas book fair and 125 New book Promotions
The top viewed (220) New Book on the Shelves was A Bit About Britain’s History by Mike Biles
The average new book on the shelves promotion has over 100 views on the blog, multi-retweets on Twitter and shares on Facebook.
It is a free book promotion and all it costs is a little bit of your time, letting me know and responding to comments. Judging from comments, I am confident that the posts do result, in not only effective exposure for your books but also sales and more reviews.
In 2020 the number of Cafe updates has increased to three a week which will take the total updates to 156 and there are three special features during the year when every author on the shelves will be promoted in the Spring, Summer and Christmas.
With this new series Share an Extract that will offer 100 + more marketing slots for authors on the shelves.

We put a great deal of effort into promoting our new, recent and upcoming books but often our previous releases get sidelined.

In this new series I am offering you a chance to promote an earlier book by sharing an extract from the book.

The aim of the series

To showcase a previous book and sell some copies.
Gain more recent reviews for the book.
Promote a selection of other books that are available.

I will top and tail in the usual way with your other books and links, bio, photo and social media. I will also select a review that I feel has the best selling pitch for the book.

This series is open to authors in the Cafe and Bookstore who have more than one book (as this already gets promoted on a regular basis) and have reviews for that book I can select from.
I suggest an extract of approximately 500 words or a poem that you feel best reflects the theme of your collection.
If you have an illustration or images you can attach to the email for me to include. No need to send the cover as I will have that or will access from Amazon.
I will check reviews on Amazon sites as well as Goodreads and select one I feel is a great advertisement for the book.
As an author in the Cafe and Bookstore I will already have all your details, links and covers of other books so need to send anything further.
Please send your extract and any accompanying images to sally.cronin@moyhill.com

I used one of my previous books as an example and you can see how it looks here: Smorgasbord Cafe and Bookstore – #Free #Book Marketing – New Series 2020 – Share an Extract.

It would be great if you are over at the Cafe and Bookstore if you could share on Twitter or any of the other social media sites.. Thank you Sally.

Here are the other posts from the week…