Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore – New Series – Sunday Author Interview – Coming Soon.

Welcome to the new Sunday Interview series, and this time, the focus is on the authors in the Cafe and Bookstore.

At any time there are approximately 150 authors in the Cafe and Bookstore who have new releases or recent reviews. My focus for the rest of the year is going to be on those authors in the Cafe and Bookstore and on promoting new authors who would like to join them on the shelves.

If you are a new visitor to the blog and an author with recently published books or reviews then please pop in to the Cafe and find out how you can submit your books. It is completely FREE, and all I ask is your participation when your books are promoted. This includes responding to individual comments on your posts and sharing on your own social media.

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/sallys-cafe-and-bookstore-free-author-promotion/

Now to the new Sunday author interview.

I would like you to select five questions from the twenty I have prepared, and please use as many words as you need to answer the questions fully.  It is an example of your writing and therefore should be considered as book marketing.

In addition, I would like you to select one of your books to feature. It can be a new release or might be an older book, perhaps the first in the series that you would like to give a boost to. It is a good idea to select a book that has received some good reviews and you would like to add more recent feedback.

Please select up to 1000 word extract from the book that you feel will encourage the readers to buy the book.. It might be from the first chapter or could be from later in the book when you introduce a major character.

As you are in the Cafe and Bookstore and have already been featured on the blog, I will have all your information, and will check the various links to confirm it is up to day. I will source and insert the cover of the book and  blurb and will select one of the most compelling of the reviews the book has received, and include all the usual buy links. I will also add your biography, photo and social media links.  I will also add your other books with an author page link.

Time for those questions

Head over to read more….

 

via Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore – New Series – Sunday Author Interview – Coming Soon.

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Smorgasbord Letters from America – A nieces visit, Astroworld, rafting, South Padre and a Royal Wedding.

Coming to the end of my letters from Houston to my parents back in the UK.. just a couple more to go.. My niece spends three weeks with us and we had a great time.. I also go horse riding and fishing….

Posted on July 25, 2019 by Smorgasbord – Variety is the Spice of Life.

It is August 1986 to almost 33 years to the week. My niece Emma aged 15, has been with us for three weeks, and I am writing to my parents with all the things we got up to.. well almost all of them.. I would send the photos on to them at a later date, but will share them in the post.

Dear M & D..

Thankfully all went according to plan and I met Emma along with her escort from the place at the airport and whisked her off to Parramatta Lane. Since you know the layout of the apartment you will recognise this favourite photograph spot for newcomers! Of course being fifteen, Emma was raring to go despite jet lag and the last three weeks have not stopped since.

We of course have introduced her to Walter… and David took this photo a couple of days after she arrived. We had lots of invitations to meals at people’s houses but we spent a couple of days by the pool to get used to the heat and we also of course had to go shopping for more clothes for all the social engagements!

Then Anna took Emma and I to Pappasitos for dinner, and our friendly guitarist who you will remember well Mollie for serenading you, found out Emma was your granddaughter and invited her stand up in front of the whole restaurant to sing to her. Two songs later we managed to drag her back to the table to eat her fajitas!

 

via Smorgasbord Letters from America – A nieces visit, Astroworld, rafting, South Padre and a Royal Wedding.

Paperback writer

The new book by Jessica Norrie is available on July 22nd in Ebook and the print book will not be far behind for those of you who enjoy a hard copy…Here is more about the book… and you can read the complete post by following the link..

I just received the paperback specifications for The Magic Carpet. Four hundred and twenty pages?! I only wrote 87,000 words. My last book was 82,000 words and came out at 306 pages. So how has this happened?

The Magic Carpet is written in shortish sections. Five characters have a narrating voice. Some days all the narrators pitch in, others only one of them. Even written out like that it sounds confusing for the reader, so to make things as clear as possible I started a new chapter for each autumn day as the story unrolls. Within the chapters, I headed each section with the name of the character who’s narrating. The format I have to use starts each chapter on the right hand page (recto) with the left hand page (verso) blank. Each change of narrator gets a new page too. The added space differentiates each voice and I like it a lot.

Therefore don’t worry, dear reader. You will not be taking on War and Peace. The narrative doesn’t last years. It won’t take years to read either, and although there are five voices they are contemporary and informal – I make these comments with no disrespect to Tolstoy, by the way. The proof hasn’t arrived yet but I calculate at least 30 of those 420 pages are blank, 20 more have only a heading, and at least 40 will not be complete pages. That leaves 330 pages of conversational, familiar language, which sounds much more manageable.

Is 420 pages a problem in any other way? Well, it will increase the paperback delivery cost, except to Prime subscribers. On a Kindle, obviously, it makes no difference at all and the layout is certainly clearer than for my previous book. It wasn’t a problem in terms of adapting the cover – that outlay on a professional designer was money well spent as tweaking the spine was the work of an instant for her (and no, she doesn’t moonlight as an osteopath).

 

 

Head over and check out the complete post.

via Paperback writer

Thailand…Travel and Traditions…Village Life…Northern Thailand( Essan)

I hate going to bed with my head filled with depressing news and images… I know the world is not all HEA… but this post is one that is full of happy images, of people who don’t all have every material thing under the sun, but who find joy in village life, and good food… from Carol Taylor’s home in Thailand.

Whenever we visit our Thai family’s village on this occasion it was to collect our grandson, he often stays with his brown Nannie ( as he calls her) no racism intended during his school holidays. They live in a little village in the middle of nowhere in Northern Thailand where he has the freedom to climb trees, go fishing or lizard hunting he gets to ride his nan’s scooter as the roads are very quiet and safe all the things boys love without too many rules…They get dirty but so happy…

The shower was a bucket of water or a hose pipe in the early days but now they have a wet room of sorts but still, the tub of water is there …a mixture of the old and new…squat toilets are still the norm in many homes here…A habit I have had to embrace…

We are always made soooo welcome..chairs are bought out and we sit and gradually the whole village comes to see us…Lots of happy smiling faces.

 

head over and enjoy the rest of the post.. it will brighten your day…thanks Sally

via Thailand…Travel and Traditions…Village Life…Northern Thailand( Essan)

Kindlepreneur- Guest Post by Andrew Joyce…

If you are an author on Amazon then you should read this guest post from Andrew Joyce on how to maximise your sales… Book marketing is tough enough without taking full advantage of other’s experience and success stories… head over to The Story Reading Ape and make the most of this post.

You would think that after ten years in the writing racket I’d know a little more than I do. Well, then you’d be wrong. Every day is a learning experience. That’s why I’m such an avid fan of The Story Reading Ape, or, as he is affectionately known to his peers, Mr. Ape. Not a day goes by that he does not enlighten us with articles on the many ins-and-outs of self-publishing. Sometimes he’ll even throw in a chuckle or two by posting pictures of cats (ya’all know what I’m talkin’ about).

Anyway, I’m here today to tell you about a few things I recently learned that are going to help me sell more books going forward. Some of the things were known to me, but I was too lazy to delve into them (i.e., research them). Others came as a complete surprise. I’ll tell you what they are and provide links so you can get the particulars. Hey, I can’t do all the work! As mentioned above, I’m an indolent sort.

I’m going to talk about selling books on Amazon because they are the 800-pound gorilla in the room when it comes to selling books. So let’s get to it. Did you know there are things you can do before you even start writing your book that will help sales? Such as using trigger words for your title, subtitle, and book description.

 

Head over to get the full benefit of the post.

via Kindlepreneur- Guest Post by Andrew Joyce…

Author of the Week

I was delighted to be invited to participate in Patty Fletcher’s new series Author of the Week.  I hope you enjoy my interview by following the link and Patty is looking for other guests to join her, either with an essay incorporating her questions, or with responses to them.

 

Hello everyone.

A week or so ago, I reached out to a few fellow blogger authors I follow and asked if they’d participate in my new guest author posts column, and I’m happy to say that I’ve gotten some great responses. It gives me great pleasure to share with you the following guest post from author Sally Cronin.

Thank you so much, Patty, for inviting me over to talk about myself and my life. And thank you for such interesting prompts to get me thinking…..

Perhaps I can set the scene by briefly telling you how I got to this point in my life. My father was in the Royal Navy and we travelled around the world until I was fourteen years old before we settled back in the south of England. There have been a few hiccups in my personal life but in 1980 I met and married a wonderful man, in six weeks. They said it would never last, but it has and thank goodness he was not looking for a perfect woman!  I had an amazing career the hotel, retail and telecommunications industries but decided to train as a nutritional therapist 20 years ago. Apart from working for myself, this enabled me to return to one of my first ambitions of being a writer. I published my first book in 1999 and have 11 others on the shelves currently. I discovered blogging in 2013, and today I find myself in front of the screen for far too many hours a day doing something I love.

We have spent the last 39 years moving around from country to country for work. We lived in the USA for two years in 1985 and travelled around the country in our spare time to take full advantage of our time there. We lived and worked in London for nine years and stints in other parts of the country before two years in Brussels, three years in Ireland and then seventeen years in Madrid. We now live back in Ireland on the Wexford Coast and have been here for three years. We are about 40 minutes from Wexford and an hour from the centre of Dublin which is handy for both airport and ferries.  We bought a ‘doer upper’ which needed a lot more ‘doing up’ than we expected. But it is now almost ready to sell to some family looking for a lovely home, and we will head off to another part of the coast to the south. A smaller house, with less to do, and with a sea view, she says hopefully!

The most important person in my life is my husband, David, especially as for most of the last forty years we have lived abroad and away from our families… On my side, I have two older sisters and a younger brother and their children and they live in the UK. David has a lot of family here which is great, and a third generation is now growing up which is lovely to see.

 

Please head over and read the rest of the post… you never know.. if you thought you knew me… you might find out something new.. thanks Sally

 

via Author of the Week

Strawberries and Mint

Last week’s Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction prompt from Charli Mills was Strawberries and Mint.. and we all had a feast of a time with mixing the two in to exotic concoctions filled with romance, fun and some shenanigans.. Here is something to whet your appetite… to continue to indulge hit the link at the bottom…thanks Sally

 

A refreshing collection that may send readers to the grocery store, farmers markets, or backyard gardens. The combination of fruit and herb brought out recipes and food-based stories. As with any evocative detail, strawberries and mint also inspired stories to explore emotions and situations, some weirder than you might expect from standard summer garden fare.

Writers bellied up to the challenge, took to the streets, bars and brambles to bring tasty stories to the page. No matter your weather or hemisphere, let strawberries and mint wash your cares away with a good read.

The following are based on the May 30, 2019, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that includes strawberries and mint.

PART I (10-minute read)

Strawberry Queen by Kerry E.B. Black

Mont loved her the moment he caught her stealing strawberries from his Grandmother’s back garden. Her dark hair waved secrets, secrets he longed to share.

Footfalls crushed mint as he crept closer where she gathered berries as if they were rubies.

His family would disapprove. Old money protected itself, especially from dark-eyed thieves, be the theft strawberries or a young heir’s affections.

When she bought silence with a strawberry pressed to ripe lips, Mont cast aside titles and inheritance, his the disregard of one who’d never done without, and pressed a crown of mint onto his strawberry queen’s head.

🥕🥕🥕

Sweet Competition by Jo Hawk

Edith set the heavy mixing bowl on the counter and surveyed today’s haul. She absentmindedly patted her chest with her right hand as she thought.

She was tired of strawberry shortcake, and Elenore’s receipt had won for two years running. Strawberry pie was too simple, and Edith’s strawberry jam cookies had competition from Ruth.

She caressed the velvety surface of a large berry.

“Red velvet,” the words slipped from her lips, and an idea formed. Red velvet strawberry cupcakes with minted whipped cream, topped with a huge glazed berry.

“Eat your heart out, Elenore,” she said with a smile.

🥕🥕🥕

Angel on the Bridge by TN Kerr

I met Lavinia in early July
at The Angel on the Bridge
in Henley,
where I came to see the regatta.

I was smitten

I sought to impress
To ply her with food
Strawberries, cream, and a sprig of mint

She turned up her nose

I strove to impress
by quoting the Bard,
Demetrius in Titus Andronicus,
“She is Lavinia, therefore must be loved”

She laughed as I obviously knew not the story

I hoped to impress with my wealth
Alas, I had no wealth, but
She sat with me on the riverbank
She took my hand
She smiled

🥕🥕🥕

There are many more to read by clicking the link…

via Strawberries and Mint

Creation Myth

Andrew Joyce has created a post that takes us from the dreams of an entity through the evolution of man to where we are today. A perfectly plausible explanation with a paragraph at the end of the post that we should all hold dear…

And you can discover that paragraph by following the link at the end of this short extract…

by Andrew JoyceJune 4, 2019

Every culture has its own creation myth. Ours is that the world was created in six days and the first humans were Adam and Eve. The Apache Indians have Changing Woman who was impregnated by the sun and gave birth to Nayé Nazghane, Slayer Of Monsters. The Norse people have Odin and Ymir … the Ancient Greeks, Gaia. But I would like to tell you guys how we really got here, and why. If you like, you may call this Andrew’s creation myth.

Long, long ago, in a place of no time and no space, existed an entity. As far as The Entity knew, It just WAS, and always had been. Before the universe we inhabit existed, before time existed, before space existed, It WAS. Within The Entity were the powers of creativity and It knew of their existence, but the ways to produce them were unknown to It. The entity existed in a State of Being, but without a means to find an expression for that Being.

We were within Its dreams, and while still within Its dreams, It gave us consciousness. The Entity felt pressure from us, the conscious but still only probable selves who found ourselves in a God’s dream. To release us would give us actuality, but it would also mean losing a portion of Its consciousness—a portion of Itself. With love and longing, It let us go. We exploded in a flash of creation.

 

Head over and read the rest of this thought provoking post and add your own thoughts..

via Creation Myth

Eat Smart, Eat Healthy…No More Diets…I did it!

Absolutely fantastic and congratulations to Carol Taylor for her stunning and healthy weigh loss of  37lbs 2stone 9lbs 16.78kilos… she is now back in the 10 stone range and is delighted and deservedly so. She shares how she achieved this steady and healthy weight loss plus of course a wonderful recipe for mango curry with Indian spices..  Please follow the link to read the rest of the post.. thanks Sally

 

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I so just did it nearly there but going the right way…

My first Eat Smart, Eat Healthy was way back in November 2018…I have covered many topics over those 29 weeks and I am so chuffed (pleased) to tell you that for the first time in about 40 years I can say I am in the 10 stone range…I am so very chuffed It has sometimes been a bit hard but I was determined that I was not going to follow a diet but eat healthily and exercise more…

Photo credit: whoaitsaimz on VisualHunt.com /  CC BY-NC-SA

Overall my loss in 29 weeks is 2st 9lb...or 16.78 kilos or 37 lbs… How have I done it? I will tell you…

Firstly I do follow intermittent fasting ( which suits me ) you can’t eat while you are asleep, can you? Haha…

For example, I try not to eat after 7pm or before 11am… I find this easy to do now it was a little hard when I first started but my tummy has now got into the swing of it and I don’t feel hungry at all…Intermittent fasting does not mean that you cannot drink you can also have a snack as long as it is less than 50 calories…

My drinks of choice are either Green Tea, Rosella Tea, Butterfly Pea Tea or ginger tea…I just swap and change them depending on how I feel or what I fancy or I may just drink plain water…I do have some Kombucha brewing so once that is ready that will be added to my list of drinks…

This post will go into more depth about intermittent fasting…No hard and fast rules you decide on the best time and days for you…

 

Head over to find out more…thanks Sally

via Eat Smart, Eat Healthy…No More Diets…I did it!

Healthy Eating! Eat Smart! A Bangkok weekend…Tea Tasting, Butterfly Pea Flowers…

Last week resident food and cookery expert Carol Taylor went to Bangkok to visit her son and to sample the food markets. She took home some interesting teas that are very beneficial.. and enjoyed some street food, before hitting the crab curry. Find out more by following the link at the end of this extract….

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What a weekend…Bangkok and seeing my Number 1 son…Perfect…It was a weekend of tea tasting, shopping, delicious food and lots of walking…

Bangkok a city which never sleeps…A city I love but only for a few days…It is vibrant, busy and the markets…so many…Chinatown is one of my favourite areas and where my favourite hotel is The Shanghai Mansion…A quirky hotel and we managed on our tour of Chinatown to have two pitstops and at the Shanghai Mansion both times… the first stop was for the most delicious smoothies and the second later in the afternoon when we were shopped and walked out was for a Passionfruit mocktail as it was Visakha Bucha Day one of the most important holidays in the Thai calendar… Alcohol is strictly forbidden on this day…So mocktails it was…

Visakha Bucha Day signifies the three most important days in the life of the Lord Buddha and it happened on the full moon of the sixth lunar month.

The Buddha was born on this day into the Royal family in what is now Nepal it was also the day that he departed this earthly life at the age of 80 years.

The Budhha also achieved The Enlightenment what is known as Nirvana on this very day so three important events in the life of Budhha.

In 1999 the United Nations unanimously resolved to declare Visakha Bucha day an international day.

My passionfruit mocktail was a delight topped by half a passionfruit…brulee…that half of passionfruit was awesome with a crackable top on top of the passionfruit a simple idea but amazing which has made me think…recipe…A passionfruit cheesecake with a brulee topping…I can just taste it…Drooling here…So watch this space…

Our first Food stop… I won’t number them as there were a few… haha…But we did walk them off…  I redeemed myself and my step count for that day alone was 19, 265 steps so I completely smashed my 10,000 steps that day…

 

Head over to discover more about Carol’s weekend.. very useful if you are planning a trip to Thailand..

via Healthy Eating! Eat Smart! A Bangkok weekend…Tea Tasting, Butterfly Pea Flowers…