Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.
Another week flown by and the summer is half way through in the Northern Hemisphere anyway. Nothing much to report from HQ.. my laptop that I use for the podcast in my mini-studio blew a gasket on Friday…the hard drive failed but the in house technical department has the matter in hand and I should be adding some new posts to the podcast again soon.. I do have some already pre-recorded which I will filter through in the meantime.
Thanks to William Price Kingfor his selections for the Breakfast Show this week and Debby Gies and Malcolm Allen for their funnies. Debby has been whizzing around blogworld this week and a special thank you for all the posts she has shared this week around the usual haunts.
My thanks to you as well for all the lovely comments and shares this week of the posts, it is appreciated and keeps me motivated.. Have a lovely weekend…Sally
Welcome to the round up of posts you may have missed during the week.
Hi everyone and hope you are staying safe despite the upsurge in cases. Care still needed around others in crowded places and cases in Ireland were nearly 1000 yesterday and considering our population is only 5 million that is way too high.. Nearly 50k in the UK and it must be very difficult with families booking their holidays after the mythical Freedom Day of July 19th. So sorry for those who are yet again being caught up in the infections.
On the home front, the weather has been spectacular, which is not a term I use in reference to our weather often! I have taken full advantage, pottering in the garden and sitting in a sunspot in the back garden catching up with books on my overloaded TBR.
A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was going to begin sharing reviews, new books and short stories in audio and after some trial runs opted to use anchor and record live. Some short stories have been pre-recorded and edited in the past and I will be sharing those and new ones from my collections.
The podcast also goes out on spotify but I have uploaded the book reviews to Soundcloud where you can if you wish leave a comment and share a bit easier than on Anchor. It also allows me to share the audio here on WordPress. Soundcloud Sally Cronin
Over the coming weeks I shall be recording my past and my current book reviews, new books added to the shelves of the bookstore and and more of my short stories. With nearly 100 reviews over the last few years that will keep me busy. The posts are shared on Spotify and also I will share a link on the blog in the weekly round up and on my social media. I hope this will add another incentive for readers to buy the books on the shelves.
Going forward I will share the links here in posts with details about the author etc or the collection.
Eventually the plan will be to offer to read excerpts for authors in the Cafe and Bookstore to help promote their new books when they are added.
Here is my recent review for C.S. Boyack for The Ballad of Mrs Molony
William Price King is on his usual extended summer break with his family and will be back in September.. in the meantime the Breakfast Show will be going out as usual as William made sure to leave his recommendations for us. My thanks to Debby Gies and Malcolm Allen for supplying great funnies.
Thank you too for all your support during the week and have a great weekend..Sally.
Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.
I hope that the week has been good for you.. nothing very exciting to report from our neck of the woods except that I will be having my first official haircut on Monday after almost a year of hacking it myself in the front and David using clippers on the back.. To be hones wearing a mask in public I am sure nobody noticed but it will be great to have some shape back in it… that is if my hairdresser is still talking to me!
I am just about to head out to the garden with books and music to catch some rays… the promised tropical air mass is hovering over us for the next couple of days. I believe the temperature is going up to 17 C (62F) degrees and I am concerned that I might become overheated!!
With that in mind and the window of opportunity rather small….time to get on with the posts.
My great thanks to the contributors this week.. William Price King, D.G. Kaye, Carol Taylorand Daniel Kemp... they add so much to the blog and it would not be the same without them.
And of course to you for your ongoing support during the week and for keeping me motivated.
Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.
I hope that wherever you are certain activities are getting back to normal.. We are partially open here in Ireland and next week as the hairdressers have had a few days back I will see if I can book an appointment… definitely in need of a tidy up.
We have enjoyed thunderstorms, gale force winds and torrential rain in the last few days which resulted in a power cut on Thursday.. the joys of living in the countryside. Looking at the forecast for the week ahead it seems that there might be some sunshine between 10-11 am on Tuesday.. I have booked my sunbed!
I would like to say a big thank you to author Emiliya Ahmadova who very kindly put two of my books through a site she uses and I love all the images.. Here are just two of my favourites. There are some really helpful and entertaining marketing aids available to take advantage of..
Before we get into the posts from the week… a note to let you know that after sharing the new authors I am going to be featuring every other author in the Cafe and Bookstore and the Children’s Reading room in Meet the Authors starting on Monday May 31st.
As an author and book promoter it does help me if all that I need to prepare a post is available in a central location. Most people these days sell their books through Amazon disheartening as that may seem. Like me they have an account set up and all they have to do is click buy and it is done.
If you are on other sites, many readers will be reluctant to set up another account which means giving out their credit card details and other information. Ensure your publisher will upload both Kindle and Print versions to Amazon. If not this is something you will need to do yourself.
Not having an Amazon author page makes life harder for someone to promote you and for readers to see all your books in one place. It is your own personal book shop and is therefore very important.
If you are a new author reading this,I do have a pdf Book Marketing and Blog Set Up available free and you can email me on sally.cronin@moyhill.com
Checklist to make sure you are being seen (and to make it easier for me to promote you in the upcoming Meet the Author series.)
Is your bio on Amazon US, UK and Goodreads up to date? (if your bio is very long I will share the first paragraph or an extract..It is a good idea to do an executive summary in one paragraph at the beginning of your bio so a reader can get essential details about you and you can go into more detail after that if you wish. The average person will spend about a minute reading your bio before moving on to your books and you want to make that transition as easy and as quick as possible
If you have published quite a few books listing them all may not get your readers attention, as all they will see is lots of titles. However,your biggest selling points are your covers which are all visible on the same page and will do the marketing for you.
If you want to share more with your potential readers then add in the link to your ‘about’page on your blog where you can share as much as you wish.
Have you claimed all your books on your author pages?
Is your profile photograph carried across all your book sites? Think about what your image says to potential readers and might you get a friend to take the photo and try a few out to find one that looks welcoming but professional. A high resolution image is best so that when in a smaller size it does not look blurred. I am not sure where the recent trend to have cartoon avatars has originated but I don’t believe that they are the best way to connect with your readers.
I usually share the links for Amazon US, UK author page links (make sure your bio is up to date on both as well as your Amazon of origin), Goodreads and Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. Most readers will usually only follow one or two of the most popular social media sites.
I will check for new covers when I visit your Amazon pages and change any old ones in the cafe or reading room.
I share up to 7 covers on the shelves and do alternate others in and out depending on recent reviews.
In the Meet the Authors post I will share bio and photo, a selection of book covers and a recent review with all the buying links etc.
I will send a link to all authors and tag on Facebook and Twitter and I really would appreciate it if featured authors share on their own social media and also interact with those who take the time to comment. You are your most effective book marketing asset as people buy people first. Interact and readers are more inclined to buy your books.
If I feature three authors per post and everyone shares on their social media it will put those authors and their books in front of many more potential readers and this is really a collaborative series to encourage sales and also reviews.
Just a reminder that authors in the Cafe and Bookstore are on the shelves with reviews that are from the last six months or who have a new book available within the last six months.
I will be selecting authors in no particular order and not alphabetically.
Between the Cafe and Bookstore and the Children’s Reading Room there are over 150 authors so it will take several weeks to feature everyone with three or four posts a week…but I will get around to everyone currently on the shelves I promise.
Now time to get on with the posts from the week and my thanks to William Price King (The Breakfast Show) D.G. Kaye who opened her archives of funnies to share with you and Malcolm Allen(Laughter Lines Extra) for their amazing contributions.
Thanks to you for sharing the posts on social media and taking the time to comment, it is always appreciated…
Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.
Time flies when you are having fun so they say, and I do think that applies. I certainly have no idea where this last week went, but here we are again with the round up.
I have had a good week in other aspects to as I am finally on the vaccination list with hopefully my first jab in the next three weeks. Being a similar age as each other means David and I are eligible at the same time. We have decided however that he will book his after I have had my first just in case one of us reacts which hopefully will not be the case. We hope to get away in September and at the rate of 2nds jabs we might just make it by the end of that month. We have moved a ferry booking three times so far and it would be nice to use it at some point.
The Tales from the Irish Garden finishes tomorrow with a formal palace announcement which should clear up the mystery about the Queen’s malaise…
I asked if there was a preference for the next book and since it was split between the original Tales from the Spanish Garden.. and What’s in a Name? I am sharing one book on Saturdays and the other on Sundays from next week. Meanwhile I am creating new stories for the Irish Garden to be released later in the year.
I am also putting together a poetry collection and working on another health book..so that should keep me out of mischief.
There will be some new series coming up on the Book Promotion front in the next couple of months including Share an Excerpt from your current book and Meet the authorswhere I will feature every author in the Cafe at the time.I will do promotional posts for those in the next couple of weeks so keep your eyes peeled..
Coming this week…
D.G. Kaye, Debby Gies is back with us on Monday 10th with her brand new Realm of Relationships. As you all know Debby lost her husband a month ago and this heartfelt post is very appropriate, as loss of a loved one in a relationship is devastating. Understanding the dynamics of the stages of grief can bring some comfort.
I have been out and about this week as a guest of author and poet Robbie Cheadle who posed some interesting questions.. we would love you to head over. Sally and Robbie.. Blogging, books and the future
On with the posts from the week and as always many thanks to William Price King for co-presenting The Breakfast Show and this week special guest Malcolm Allen for sharing his funnies from Australia.
Thank you as well to you for dropping in, commenting and sharing the posts on social media.. it makes a huge difference and keeps me motivated.
Welcome to the round up of posts on Smorgasbord you may have missed this week.
It would be comforting to see the numbers of new Covid infections coming down as the vaccinations are rolled out, but nearly 900,000 people worldwide were reported in just one day on Friday.. taking the total to over 146 million so far and over 3 million deaths. Personally it will be a long time before I am tempted to travel despite many European countries opening up for tourists this summer, some like Spain with no requirement for masks on crammed beaches. Of course those vaccinated are not immune to catching the virus in whatever variant it is hiding in at the time, and whilst Spain and other countries may not see the fallout from these trips abroad, their home countries will.
We have restrictions still in place for non-essential travel in Ireland but public demand is likely to loosen that necessary mandate for the summer months. We personally are more than happy to remain where we are and I am afraid we do not want any visitors however much we love them, staying with us. Vaccinations are definitely part of the solution but continued safety precautions are also going to be essential for far longer than we anticipated. I hope that others will consider staying at home and enjoying what is on the doorstep and leaving more time before leaping into someone else’s backyard.
On a brighter note.. this week the sun has been shining and I have spent time in the garden catching up on my reading which was long overdue.
The reason I am including this in the round up is to encourage more authors and bloggers to add podcasts to their marketing options and reach a new audience for their writing.. and to enjoy as it is great fun too.
I was given the title, Clanmother, September 2008, when I was travelling the Scottish Highlands with an audacious collection of young people who came from all over the world to join an expedition to the misty Isle of Skye. I was the oldest woman on the tour so the title was appropriate. What was more surprising was that I liked the label – it was catchy, spirited and encompassed the next stage in my life. It was my turn to grow old. I stood at Glencoe, breathing the chilled air, memorizing, for future recall, the rugged terrain covered with proverbial heather. There was certainty in my thoughts. This was going to be my most profound and daring adventure.
I want to share this journey with other, like-minded individuals – young, old, or in-between. It is an exploration that will take many turns as life advances. Many say that wisdom comes from the aging process. I am not ready to accept that premise as I have learned from children. What I do know, is that connection is the greatest gift of all. Clanmother is about a backward look forward!
We talked about book marketing, obesity and life in general and the time flew by.. A wonderful experience and I am looking forward to sharing the interview with you in coming weeks.
I have also been catching up with previous podcasts over the week on Rebecca Soundcloud with more to enjoy, including from some of your favourites from the Cafe and Bookstore: Liz Gauffreau, Paul Andruss, Teagan Geneviene, Robbie Cheadle, Darlene Foster, Shehanne Moore and D. Wallace Peach.
You can sign up to Soundcloud with your email or by linking to Facebook etc, and it means you can share the interview and comment to your own social media.
Because of the care taking with editing the interview before broadcast (thanks to sound engineer and editor, Rebeccas’s husband Don) the resulting broadcast is top notch.
I love radio as a medium and it was wonderful to get back on the air. I know from passed conversations that many of you are reluctant to take the plunge. But you are in safe hands with Rebecca, and it is not live so you don’t have to worry if you fluff your lines. It is very relaxed and enjoyable. I do recommend that if you are an author who would like your books to reach a wider audience that you get in touch at the link above.
Meet the Authors
Over the last few weeks I have been sharing the bios and books of authors who have joined the Cafe and Bookstore over the last six months. In May I will be revisiting all the other authors in both the Cafe and the Children’s Reading Room and updating their bios for promotional posts going forward, social media links, covers and most recent reviews to share in posts throughout the summer.
I am in and out of Amazon UK and US in particular and Goodreads to check on reviews for the authors in the cafe and to check for new books. There are quite a few new books that I have to search for because they are not on the author page. So in preparation for the new series here is a checklist you might find useful in updating your online platforms.
Make sure your up to date bio is on your country of origin and also Amazon US and UK as the main English speaking sites.
Check that you claim any new books you have released in the last few weeks or months through Author central so that potential readers are not chasing all over the place to find them.. and they can see your complete portfolio in one place.
If you have a Goodread Author page please do the same.
If you don’t have a Goodreads Author page then I highly recommend that you do. This is the one place that you can showcase all your reviews from any country and worth offering this link to readers to place their reviews as well as their regional Amazon. This is also the place readers who have borrowed the book, been gifted or have read an advance copy can post their reviews by-passing Amazon’s buy to review policy. (Despite the fact Amazon owns Goodreads!)
If you have changed the cover for a book make sure that it is changed on Amazon and Goodreads.
Just a reminder that you need to update your bios on Facebook pages, Twitter and other social media platforms when you have a new book. Don’t forget to pin a tweet about your new releases.. and thanks to Hugh Roberts who recently reminded me that you need to change your pinned tweet every week or so and anyone wishing to share it can only do so once. If someone retweets a post of mine I will reciprocate by tweeting their pinned tweet… it is a marketing tool that is underrated and sometimes I see pinned tweets going back several years.. if it cannot be retweeted by your most supportive followers then it is being wasted.
Probably time to get on with the posts from the week… otherwise you will be needing a packed lunch and a bottle of wine to get through the rest…. okay perhaps you do anyway.. here you go..
As always my thanks to my friends who contribute to the blog each week William Price King and Debby Gies …. also to you for dropping in and so kindly commenting and sharing.. .
Welcome to the round up with posts that you might have missed during the week.
First some sad news that most of you will have already seen. Debby Gies (D.G. Kaye) has been a contributor to the blog with the Travel and Relationship Column for over three years, but has been a wonderful supporter of the blog and friend since 2014.
As many of you will know, Debby has been taking a break from her own blog and also her regular posts here as she cared for her husband in the last few weeks. George passed away earlier this week and the funeral was yesterday. The service was live-streamed and a number of us attended but we wish we could have been there to offer a more tangible support.
Debby has appreciated your kind thoughts and wishes over the last few weeks and I am sure you join me in sending our love and condolences… never has this writing community of ours been so important and needed.
On the home front there has not been a great deal happening. Allegedly 64 – 69 year olds will be able to book their vaccination from April 16th and we shall see how that goes. At least now the cold snap is over for the time being we have been able to spend some time in the garden, and for the first time this year we had the weather to do the winter clear up.
As always I am very grateful to William Price King for his contributions which go back 7 years and I have learnt so much about all genres of music from his wonderful series on musicians, singers and composers. We are having a lot of fun with the Breakfast Show and so pleased that it is bringing back memories of the 1960s for so many of you.
Thanks to a new contributor to the blog – Malcolm Allen is an author who my husband David has worked with for several years and lives in Australia.. He sends a great selection of funnies to us regularly and I am now passing them along to you. You can find out more about Malcolm’s latest book if you click on the link at the end of the posts under Laughter Lines Extra..
Thank you as well for you ongoing support and wishing you a lovely weekend.. thanks Sally
Welcome to the round up of posts my might have missed this week.
This week has been one of sadness as we said goodbye to one of the founding members of the writing community here on WordPress and social media. Certainly one of the first that I met when I began blogging nine years ago, and I had the pleasure of meeting Sue Vincentin person finally at the Bloggers Bash in 2017. It was a wonderful occasion and an opportunity to hug those we had been connected to for years online.. Here is Sue with Willow Willers, Ritu Bhathal and Noelle Granger…definitely good huggers.
A warmhearted and generous friend to all and a talented writer of novels and poetry, Sue has left behind an amazing legacy for us to enjoy, inspiring us with her determination over the last six months to leave us with more. I will continue to promote Sue’s books as part of the Cafe and Bookstore to honour that commitment. Our condolences to her family and friends and she will be very much missed. You can visit Sue Vincent Into Spirit
Sue Vincent
14th September 1958 – 29th March 2021
R.I.P
There are others in our community who are faced with their own health concerns or are caring for their family members. Our thoughts go out to them even if we cannot off more practical support. D.G. Kaye, Debby Gies is one of those who is caring for her husband at home and whilst her priority is his comfort at this time and she is not online very much, I know that she would love to hear from you.Debby’s Facebook
We will be having plenty of sunshine over the next two days before the arctic vortex hits us Monday and Tuesday with the promise of snow..I will be getting as much garden time as possible over the weekend and will refrain from putting my winter clothes away for a week or so… although to be honest I didn’t bother to put them away at all last year as our summer came and went rather rapidly.
My thanks to William Price King for continuing to share great music and we are delighted that The Breakfast Show is enjoyed. We will be heading into the more familiar territory for many of you with music of the 70s in a few weeks… a great decade.
Thanks very much for your ongoing support each week and wishing you a wonderful Easter/Spring weekend holiday.. Sally
Welcome to the round up with posts that you might have missed during the week here on Smorgasbord.
I hope you are doing well.. lots going on in the world as usual, and Europe in particular appears to be struggling to contain Covid with many countries seeing a new wave forming. Unfortunately, as in the case of Paris.. giving the population even a few hours notice means that millions pack up and leave for rural areas.. but if it is a hotbed of infection that increases the spread of the disease further across the country. I know it sounds draconian but I don’t think you should announce there is going to be a lockdown in 12hours or three days. You just do it and stop anyone leaving. It would also stop the idiots who decide to throw a massive party the night before lockdown because of the restrictions coming in to force the next morning… The virus is not going to wait until the next morning to infect you.. it is an opportunist and will be very happy to join the party…Sounds like a recipe for disaster…
Ignore me I am just being a grumpy old woman this morning.
We have had a few days of sunshine and I have been sitting in the garden in the afternoons with my reader and enjoying living in another world.. that is the great thing about fantasy of all kinds, although kind of disturbing when you prefer the fantasy world to the one you currently live in! Apparently it will be a little cloudier in coming days but I hope to be able to sneak out for an hour or two.
And, I am so much luckier than many by having a garden to sit in and for us both to be in good health.. More or less as my knee dislocated two weeks ago.. it does that when it gets tetchy as I am missing a ligament.. however it pops back nicely. This time I was over compensating as I hobbled around using a stick, and this irritated my other hip and then my back went out in sympathy. I was pretty much immobile for the last 10 days but improving daily.This is not the first time and won’t be the last and it is mainly due to me not being able to swim everyday in a weightless environment, which keeps the necessary muscles tight and supportive.
Once the swimming pools reopen I will get back to it, despite my reluctance to be seen in public in a bathing suit and the necessity to wear a bathing cap that is dreadfully unflattering, and to my mind pretty useless at stopping hair clogging the outlets or spreading unsavoury particles. Especially when you think some men are extremely hairy all over including beards etc, and have far more follicles that I do on my head… perhaps they should be wearing an all in one rubber suit in the pool or clingfilm….now there’s a vision!
As always I am hugely grateful to William Price King, Debby Giesand Carol Taylor for sharing their love of music, humour and the environment with us.
I know that many of you already know that Debby’s husband has been diagnosed with advanced cancer and is now home with her. Whilst her focus in on G’s care and well-being, Debby is still visiting blogs, share posts and connecting with her friends in the writing community when she has some time to spare. Very important to have that small window of outside interaction when you are a full-time carer. You can read her latest update and I know she would welcome your comments – Update blogging, health and wellness
Debby would like the funnies that we collaborate on to continue, so I will be raiding the archives here and on her Facebook for upcoming posts and they will go out as usual on Tuesday and Thursdays.
Debby is working on her next Realm of Relationship Columnbut rather than have the pressure of a deadline, we thought we might share the first posts of the series which began in January 2020 every Monday to bring new readers to the blog up to speed. They start on March 29th.
I think that is us up to date… so on with the week’s posts.
Welcome to the round up of posts that you might have missed during the week here on Smorgasbord.
Before I get into the news and posts from the week.. I would like to just to share the link again to Debby Gies post this week in case you missed it. Her husband is in hospital again and as you will read has received some devastating news. Debby is as we know a warrior woman and is advocate and carer for her husband, a challenge under normal circumstances but further complicated by Covid restrictions. Let’s Have A Look – Our Medical System During Covid #Health and #Wellness
For the time being you will not see as much of her as we usually do ( I know how much she supports so many of us in the community). This month’s relationship column has been postponed until April and I am sure that you join me in wishing both Debby and her husband love and strength.
A mixed week on the home front with 100kph winds and lashing rain most of the week and they are still pretty fierce today and it is very cold, even if the sun is shining. I did manage to get out earlier in the week and have a bit of tidy in the garden and check on progress with the annuals.. The hydrangeas seem to be doing well and another six weeks should see all eight of the potted ones back in bloom…
Right outside my window the small clump of primroses has expanded and that too gives me hope that spring might at last be around the corner.
There is a lot of chatter going on in the hedges that surround our garden and by the amount of seed they are getting through I think it is safe to say that as far as they are concerned, despite the weather, there is courting to be done.
There is a new series for authors in the Cafe and Bookstore – Share an Excerpt from a Previous Book starting in April and here is the post that tells you all about it. An opportunity to give an older book a bit of love and certainly useful to share an excerpt from the first book in a series etc. Anyway another bit of free book marketing that will just take a few minutes of your time to participate. Here is an example of how it will look the link: Smorgasbord Cafe and Bookstore – #Free #Bookmarketing – Share an Excerpt from a previous books 2021
Coming up on Monday morning is a full list of the current and upcoming promotions for you to take advantage of. Don’t forget it is free and all it takes is a little time to let me know your news… and to help spread the word when it has been promoted.
On my book front, Mary Crowley who is both an author and columnist for The Munster Express not only featured my latest book but wrote a wonderful review.. that was a huge boost to the week. She also kindly put on Goodreads too
Time to get on with the posts from the week.. and as always my thanks to William Price King, Debby Gies for the funnies (posted a couple of weeks ahead) and all of you who provide such amazing support each week for me and those that are promoted in the Cafe.
![The Wolf Pack (The Wolves of Vimar Book 1) by [V.M. Sang, Elizabeth N. Love]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51DFW4Xm15L.jpg)
![Northern Survival by [Diane McGyver]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41rscHquqzL.jpg)
