Welcome to the round up of post on Smorgasbord you might have missed this week.
There seems to be little let up from either virus or weather this week and apart from a trip the supermarket and a few turns around the garden I have not ventured out relying on indoor exercise options. I am grateful apart from an inquisitive robin who sat on the windowsill one day, nobody has seem me bopping around the kitchen to Status Quo and Tina Turner with a carrot peeler and wearing my apron.
In case you are wondering this is not a new trend of mine.. here I am the first Christmas in our first home 40 years ago. Only I seem to have a glass of sherry in my hand rather than a carrot peeler. For some reason I thought a goose was a good idea for Christmas dinner..more fat than meat.. and I had those pans for at least twenty-five years. And I seemed to have two aprons.. nothing like changing for dinner.
Some good news to share as D.G. Kaye and Carol Taylor will both will be back this week with the first of their 2021 columns.
Debby Gies will be entertaining and inspiring us with her first Relationship column of the year on Monday and I am sure as interesting and inspiring as always. If you would like to catch up on the posts from 2020... Here is the link
Carol Taylorbegins a brand new monthly column on Wednesday – Carol Taylor’s Green Kitchen and this week she will be looking at recycling, the plastic wrap most of us use in our food preparation and storage, and a recipe for some great sandwich bread. I hope you will join us and discover ways we can become more environmentally aware.
I have been out and about this week..
My thanks to Sue Vincentfor inviting me over to her place this week to talk about the sewing connection between the generations of women in my family.. I also share my own needlework passion which is tapestry. Sue Vincent – Guest Sally Cronin – The Sewing Gene
And finally…The 2021 Posts from your Archives list is now at 20 bloggers and there is still time to add your name and participate in this series.. It is another opportunity to promote your blog or books or both… and you can never have too much of that… check the post for details and all you need to know is let me know if you wish to take part.
Welcome to the round up of posts on Smorgasbord that you might have missed this week.
If I have not already wished you Happy New Year, then please accept my wishes for a fantastic 2021.. in the hopes that it will be better behaved than 2020.. I posted a little tribute to the heroes of the year, and to our pets who have been there with us all the way. There were a few funnies and music of course to mark the occasion..
My thanks as always to you for visiting and sharing the posts.. and this year has been made special by the warmth and kindness of the writing community…something to be treasured.
On with the posts from the week…and I hope you will join William Price King and myself on Tuesday for the new Breakfast Show with music and news from the 1960s.
Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed on Smorgasbord this week.
I hope you are all doing well and despite the restrictions looking forward to Christmas next week.. Despite everything that has happened this year with Covid-19, US elections and Brexit, the time has flown which is a good thing as personally I cannot wait to get into 2021.
And on that note…The new Music Column begins on January 5th hosted by William Price King and myself
Each week we will select two top hits from the charts starting with 1960 for two weeks followed by 1961 etc..we will also include some of the notable events in those years for the up and coming stars who were centre stage at the time.
Every four weeks at the weekend there will be a spin-off show where we will feature four guests sharing their memories of the music of a particular decade we are working on.
I appreciate that some of you are not as old as I am …. and therefore have no memories of the 1960s, but your turn will come as we move through the decades. For those of you who can recall those distant years…..we would love to hear from you. It is an opportunity to strut your stuff in more ways than one. I will include your links to blog or books or both and social media and also play your 1960s track of choice.
To give you an idea of how it will look in the post here is my music memories of 1960s, my first record I bought and my links. We are looking for between 200 to 300 words rather than a couple of sentences.. so do give it some thought..Also if you have a photo of you in the 1960s please share too..
Music has always played a major role in my life in one form or another. My parents loved to dance so I grew up with the Big Band Sound and crooners such as Nat King Cole. My mother was a musical fan and every Saturday afternoon we would watch and sing along to the best of the 1940s and 50s showstoppers.
My father did not embrace the music of the 60s as much as my sisters and I did, and we were banished to the basement with our record player to play that awful ‘Pop’ music. The stereo combined cocktail cabinet, was tuned into the world news service and big band shows, and we were forbidden to touch the nobs. Then in the mid-1960s, pirate radio hit the airwaves, and I had a small portable wireless to tune into Radio Caroline. I attended a youth club dance every Saturday night from the age of fifteen and many of the groups such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones were well established by then and dominated the playlists.
I played guitar for several years, sang in public on occasion and ended up plugging tracks as a radio presenter on local radio.
The first record I bought with my pocket money was an EP by Richard Chamberlain (Dr. Kildare who was the object of a major crush) in 1964 which included All I Do is Dream of You
I think that gives you an idea of what your post will look like...
What I need from you
If you have featured here before… I just need your 200 to 300 words and your song choice, or first artist you bought in the 1960s.. A good idea to give me a couple of choices in case of duplication. If you have a photograph of you in the 1960s then that would be great.
Email me on sally.cronin@moyhill.com
And don’t forget we will be working through the decades so you if you were not old enough to remember the 1960s (lucky you) you can join in later in the series.
Time now for the posts from the week…
First a big thank you to D.G. Kaye, Debby Gies. I have not planned a bit launch for my latest book, but Debby invited me over for a chat about blogging, social media and to share a short excerpt from one of the stories.. I will reblog on Monday but in the meantime if you have time here is the link: Q & A with D.G. Kaye – Featuring Sally Cronin #Booklaunch – Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries
A thank you too to William Price King for another wonderful series, this time about Aretha Franklin. And as an extra treat this week, more international carols to ensure we maintain the festive spirit..
Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed on Smorgasbord this week.
Happy Halloween and I hope that despite the restrictions on Trick or Treating in some of our countries, children will still get to dress up and enjoy the night with their families.
The headlines are certainly not festive.. The world experienced a record breaking 573,000 worldwide cases yesterday worldometers info coronavirus
Not sure where some are getting their information from about a slow down when America had over 100,000 new cases and UK and the rest of Europe racked up 100,000s more. And those who feel that wearing a mask is not their responsibility, or that the pandemic is a hoax, should listen to those who have suffered from Covid-19 and are experiencing the long term effects, even if they dismiss the experts.
Here in Ireland there has been a slight dip in cases but we have come to the realisation that even with a vaccine we are likely to be following our current restrictions until at least Spring next year. Along with this realisation comes a decision to make the best use of the time to work on sidelined projects both in our house and personally.
Keeping fit is obviously high on the list and eating well and exercising is a priority. But also that feeling of completing projects with something tangible to show for it. I don’t want to look back on this year with nothing to show for it. Finishing writing projects is one way, but also coming out the other side fitter and more resilient is also a goal we are pursuing. Both of us are heading into our 70s and I am damned if we are going to slide gracefully into ‘vulnerability’, a word that has been attached to this age group by both the medical profession and the media. Since our age will play a factor in our treatment options in very severe cases, it is up to us to ensure we do all we can to reduce our risk factors where we can.
I am not prepared to spend the next twenty or so years, or the time I have left, sitting waiting for the inevitable…I want to go out on my own terms with more adventures, love, laughter and good friends. I also intend to keep on writing books, this blog and in particular promoting health with a focus on resilience as a follow on from the series Smorgasbord Health Column – Project 101 – Resilience – An opportunity to get fighting fit –
On that note, many of you have been following the posts of two amazing women, Mary Smith and Sue Vincent as they take on Cancer with such courage and grace. They are sharing their experiences on their blogs to educate and inspire, something they are certainly achieving.
Here are the links to their latest posts and I am sure they would be delighted to have your positive thoughts added to the many already supporting them.
This community is incredible and there is always someone awake around the world 24/7 ready to chat, share a smile and a word of encouragement..
Whilst I loved the Simon & Garfunkel original version, and Aretha Franklin’s, I was amazed when I heard Elvis sing this song so brilliantly… And I think it sums up the warmth and generosity of spirit I have experienced here in blog world over the last 7 years.
And as I complete the stories for my new collection… trying to maintain a positive and hopeful vibe (for most of the tales anyway), I received a wonderful boost this morning.
Despite a wild night with gale force winds and heavy rain I woke up to a ray of sunshine. I received an amazing review from John Maberry of Eagle Peak Press.To be sandwiched between Stephen King and Blake Crouch is something I never expected to happen, and to be on the same page as Paulo Coelho and Viktor Frankl is surreal. Some great books and (including mine of course lol) I hope you will head over John Maberry – Five Books we Recommend
Time to get on with this week’s posts. And as always a huge thank you to William Price King, Carol Taylor and Debby Gies for their contributions.
Welcome to the round up of posts that you might have missed on Smorgasbord this week.
Ireland is back in level 5 lockdown until December 1st, and then depending on progress, we might be let out again for Christmas, although not entirely sure that allowing more interaction will not result in another upsurge in January. I wonder if they will extend the restrictions until the New Year and have just chosen the 1st December to keep us hopeful?
I do feel very sorry for the small businesses who have spent time and money putting in social distancing measures and were only just gaining ground after the last lockdown. At this time of year especially, most will be relying on the seasonal trade and I just hope that they will come through it. Some are offering their products on Amazon for example and it would be great to think that people will choose to buy local.
We have not really come out of lockdown as I go out just once a week for fresh produce and since June I have been for a trim to the hairdressers twice. I was just working myself up to making a new appointment for this week when the restrictions were announced. So I trimmed the front and David trimmed the back in the garden. I did tip him of course.
Last week I shared some good news stories and this week I thought you might like this photograph that demonstrates not just the connection we have with wild animals but that some have a sense of fun. This whale enjoys playing with the tourist boats by pushing them around his patch of the ocean. I would love to have been a passenger.
Gray Whale Plays Pushing Tourists’ by Joseph Cheires – Baja California, Mexico
My thanks to William Price King and D.G. Kaye this week for their musical and humorous contributions.. and to you for dropping by and liking, commenting and sharing..
Welcome to the round up of posts that you might have missed on Smorgasbord this week.
So here we are all again and how quickly time flies when you are enjoying yourself…I say that without a trace of sarcasm honestly… if it were not for the blog and for the daily visits from all of you I think I would have found the last 8 months very difficult.
Not that there are not things that need to be done! – I have not got anymore housework done that I do normally (which is not a great deal). There is the matter of the short story collection due out in November to finish, two novels, a large tapestry of an elephant and her baby, the summer clothes as yet unworn to be put away back in their winter quarters, and winter clothes to be ironed and put back on hangers. I will leave the sequin jacket and dancing shoes where they are as we won’t be doing any partying anytime soon…although a quick shuffle around the dining room is not out of the question to the right music.
I do have 35 books awaiting reading and reviewing and I am trying to do that in a timely fashion. I know that at the end of the month I will be heading off to Amazon again to buy another ten or twelve that have been recommended by others here or I have spotted on others’ blogs. One of the downsides of promoting authors and reading through their reviews to showcase but I am not complaining, just my TBR like most of yours.
I have also been doing some updated research on a number of health conditions and despite the Covid – 19 focus on getting a vaccine and treatments, there are still some interesting advances in other areas of medical research.. I will be putting together a new Health in the News in November.
The author spotlight ends tomorrow, but I went through my files and unearthed some author interviews from 2015 onwards for authors who are very much a part of my community and I will be repeating those on Sundays up to the end of the year. I have updated with their current books and reviews and I hope you will enjoy again after all this time.
I hope you have enjoyed the week as much as I have and my thanks as always to the contributors who take time and a great deal of thought to put together interesting and entertaining posts.. this week William Price Kingshares part three of theBarbra Streisandstory and you can find William’s own posts and also very kindly a selection of Smorgasbord’s on his Blog– IMPROVISATION– William Price King on Tumblr
Also this week D.G. Kaye, Debby Gies shares her wisdom on narcissism in the family and some of the reasons behind this insidious and damaging mental issue. Also thanks to my guest Jane Sturgeon for her entertaining life changing moment…
And a special thank you to author Judith Barrowwho has kindly set up a directory on her blog to share posts from Smorgasbord.. a huge honour thanks Judith Judith Barrow Blog
Thank you for supporting all of us and it is much appreciated.
Welcome to the round up of posts on Smorgasbord you might have missed this week.
Well what a week.. from the headlines to the weather it has been one rollercoaster of a ride with nobody quite sure where the ride is going to end.. even those holding the reins!
Thankfully things around our virtual world seem to be maintaining normality however I would like to mention two people who are firm favourites here with guest posts and their books.
Mary Smith and Sue Vincentwere due to meet up in the last few weeks in Scotland but for both of them shock medical news has become a priority for the present. Both of them have posted about their diagnosis and I link to them here. Unfortunately due to Covid restrictions they cannot enjoy the level of physical support so necessary during their treatment. Both are wonderfully strong and resilient, but you can never have too many friends, even in the virtual world on your side. If you too are friends with them please head over to keep in touch and let them know we are there now and as they continue to blog during their treatment. Two amazing women.
I am still in the middle of getting my next release ship shape… longer than I intended as I have been, like most of you lacking in some focus on the creative side in the last few months. I have however begun to apply myself more and I am scheduling a couple of weeks ahead at the moment which gives me some breathing room. I am so grateful for William Price King, Debby Gies, Carol Taylor and Silvia Todesco for their weekly and monthly contributions and whilst I am not accepting individual guest posts at the moment, I hope to do so in the New Year.
If you are an author in the Cafe and Bookstore it would help me enormously if you could let me know as soon as you have a date for any new releases so I can include in the Cafe Updates in a timely fashion. Either on pre-order or available is fine.
My intention is to increase my reading time which is as important to me as writing.. and hopefully you should see more book reviews each week on a more consistent basis. I have just ambitiously added another 10 books to my TBR and looking forward to some great reading.
Thank you very much for all the support you give every week and it is much appreciated as it keeps me motivated. Just heading into my 9th year of blogging and 8th year as Smorgasbord Blog Magazine.. doesn’t time fly when you are having fun….
It is 20 years since I wrote Just an Odd Job Girl and to celebrate I am giving away FREE Ebook copies and sharing the background to the real odd jobs that litter my career. This I am 14 and start my first paid job.
Welcome to the weekly round up with posts you might have missed on Smorgasbord.
I hope that you are all well and thanks for dropping in today. I am taking full advantage of the sunshine this weekend as the nights are drawing in and the temperatures are already dropping. Still grateful for the quick blast and a good book.
As in most places our infections are on the rise which in not unexpected after the restrictions were lifted. Although here in Ireland the government has been very cautious about moving through the various stages. There are still clusters in the major cities such as Dublin and Cork. We are grateful for our rural location and without the influx of visitors this summer (despite the devastating effect on small businesses) we have been relatively free of infections. All we can do is continue to be careful and stay positive.
I hope the posts this week will have kept your spirits up and this week William Price King,Carol Taylorand Silvia Todesco provided us with great jazz entertainment and wonderful recipes to ensure we don’t waste away in isolation.
Colin Guest joined us last Sunday to share his life changing moment which resulted in him meeting his lovely wife and finding great happiness.
My thanks to you for all your support during the week….
Welcome to the weekly round up with posts you might have missed on Smorgasbord.
Thanks for taking time to drop by and I hope you are having a good weekend. Things are much the same here so nothing new to report. I am however in full writing mode so spending a little less time on social media except for topping and tailing the day.
A warm welcome back to William Price King after his summer break and I am sure you will enjoy his first post in the new season.
Carol Taylor was also here with her A- Z and this week she has some amazing foods, methods and recipes beginning with the letter ‘Q’.
The first guest in the new Author Spotlight last Sunday was Harmony Kent who shared her remarkable and challenging journey to being the person she is today.
Coming up tomorrow – D.G. Kaye shares how her ingenuity and perseverance landed her a fabulous job that was career and life changing.
I hope that you enjoy the posts from the week and as always thank you for your support that keeps me motivated.. Sally.
Cholesterol plays a vital role in a number of key functions within the bodyyet it has been demonized and come under attack for the last twenty years. For the majority of the population, heart disease and coronary heart disease is lifestyle related and can be reversed by making changes to diet and lifestyle.
Thanks very much for dropping in today and I hope you have enjoyed catching up with the posts.. and that you will join me again next week.. thanks Sally.
Welcome to the round up of posts on Smorgasbord that you might have missed this week.
I hope all is well with you, I am sure that many of you in the UK and Ireland have been experiencing the benefits of Storm Ellen who seems like a very bad tempered individual. The wind has dropped marginally compared to the last four days and one benefit of our unpredictable weather for the last three weeks is that I have not had to water the pots once..
There are worst things however than too much water and I hope that the current California bush fires are soon brought under control. It is devastating the area and over 770,000 acres have already been destroyed. With everything else happening on top of Covid 19, it is another blow to the health and safety of millions.
Book reviews and other marketing observations.
I continue to make some tweaks to both the main Cafe and Bookstore and the new Children’s Cafe and one of the prime objectives is to increase reviews for the books on the shelves.
I spend a lot of hours a week checking the main sites of Amazon US and UK and Goodreads to find recent reviews for books.. and this usually includes a visit to the author’s Twitter account to check if they have shared news of a new review. I have a few observations to share with you.
I will start with Twitter
A great many authors who are on Twitter are not taking advantage of their Pinned Tweet to promote their books along with an Amazon link to buy them. The pinned tweet allows you to expand your profile and market either your books or blog, and it offers anyone visiting your Twitter account to check you out, something to retweet.
For example, if you have just 10 visitors to your account per day and they have an average of 10,000 followers, your book or books when retweeted is reaching 100,000 people. Of course not everyone of those 100,000 is going to pay attention to the tweet but 100 might and be interested enough to follow you and to head over to Amazon to check your books out.
Also is someone shares your pinned tweet it is a good idea to reciprocate, and usually they are good people to follow.
Amazon Author Pages
Amazon will create an author account on alternate country sites but they don’t fill in all the details. New authors particularly need to make sure they are adding their bios and photos to the account. Also new books need to be captured and added to the author pages as that is not always automatic either.
Goodreads
Although owned by Amazon, Goodreads does offer a place where all your reviews globally can be added by readers irrespective of how they came by the book… bought, a gift, borrowed from a library. I notice that a number of author’s have their books listed but do not have an author page, or do not have all their books listed.
Writing reviews
One of the very interesting observations is that those who review other people’s books receive more reviews themselves. One of the reasons for that is the writing community we belong to across blogging and social media. It is not just tit for tat reviewing, but an appreciation that an author takes the time to support and promote other authors within the community and encourages people to explore their own books and reviews. A review is also an opportunity to showcase your writing skills, even if it is short and to the point.
In the new series for the Children’s Cafe that you will find below, I am asking you to send me the link for any children’s book you have reviewed on your blog or posted to Amazon or Goodreads.. I will promote both the author of the book and also you in the post. I hope this will encourage more reviews for these books that are so important in igniting the imagination of children.
Using a blog to share excerpts from past books.
Whilst there are some restrictions on sharing all of a book, there is no issue usually with sharing a decent size excerpt of books on your blog with one of the top reviews. This is particularly relevant for older books and the first books in a series. Not only does it give a reader an opportunity to see you in action but promotes the later books in the series too.
Even though I serialise all my older books I still find that readers buy the books if they don’t want to wait 16 weeks or so to read it all, and they also very kindly review on Goodreads which is not dependent on the book being bought.
It is important to share on your social media of course so that people can head over to read it.
Responding to comments.
I know I am banging that drum again, but there are some very good reasons why interacting with someone who has taken the time and trouble to comment on a book promotion does result in sales and in reviews.
People buy people first…if they have made a connection with you they are more likely to head over to look at your other books.
It has an accumulative effect and over a number of promotions I see the level of comments increasing. This does not just apply to the single author promotions but to the multiple author updates or special features. And it does help the other authors in the promotion when it is shared as it reaches a much wider audience.
I have created a Pdf of my Book Marketing series which covers all of the above and also a step by step guide to setting up your blog to make it easier for readers to buy your books and review them.. just email me on sally.cronin@moyhill.com if you would like a copy.
Back to the week in hand.…Here are some posts from the contributors to the blog that you I can recommend you reading.
D.G Kaye shares the life, love and work of Mexican artist Frido Kahlo who was born before her time. A tumultuous life and marriage and an extraordinary talent..Love and Life of Mexican Artist Frido Kahlo
I write southern historical fiction and local history. The novel I'm writing is set in the Carolinas in the 1760s. I blog about my journey as a writer and a reader.
Every Day Lillie - Lifestyle, Early Retirement, Renovation, Travel, Fashion, Beauty, Health and the Occasional Rant about Important Issues like Climate Change
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