Archive for the ‘Books’ Category
Smorgasbord Book Promotions -Book Review – #Memoir #History – .You Can Take The Girl From The Prairie: Stories about growing up on the Canadian prairies by Darlene Foster
Posted on: May 21, 2023
- In: Books | reviews | short stories
- 42 Comments
A thoughtful review of my collection of short stories from Sally Cronin.
Delighted to share my review for the latest release by Darlene Foster...a memoir….You Can Take The Girl From The Prairie: Stories about growing up on the Canadian prairies
About the book
A collection of short stories inspired by growing up on a prairie farm in the fifties and sixties. Some of the stories are humorous and others sad, but all heartfelt. Stories about family life, cowboy wisdom, immigrant grandmothers, an inspiring teacher, and the arrival of a new sibling are part of this collection of tales from another time and another place. Proof that you can take the girl from the prairie but you can’t take the prairie from the girl.
My review for the book May 20th 2023
Living history is so important to pass on to the next generations, and this delightful collection of stories set in the 1950s and 1960s, highlight not just the differences…
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An Interview With Darlene Foster
Posted on: May 13, 2023
- In: Books | guest posts | Memories | short stories | Writing
- 30 Comments
Please pop over to Laura Best’s blog to read my interview with her where I talk about my latest book, You Can Take The Girl From the Prairie. Laura is a fellow Canadian author who has written some awesome books. We come from opposite sides of the country but have much in common.
Today, it is my extreme pleasure to welcome Darlene Foster to my blog. Darlene has graciously agreed to answer some of my questions about her newest book, fresh off the press. For those of you who are not familiar with Darlene or her work, here’s a bit about her.
Darlene Foster grew up on a farm/ranch in Alberta, Canada, where her love of reading inspired her to see the world and write stories. She is the author of the exciting Amanda Travels seriesfeaturing spunky Amanda Ross, a twelve-year-old girl who loves to travel. All ages enjoy following Amanda as she unravels one mystery after another in unique destinations.When not travelling, meeting interesting people, and collecting ideas for her books, Darlene enjoys spending time with her family and friends in Canada and at her house in Spain with her husband and entertaining rescue dogs, Dot and Lia.
- Could you tell us…
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Smorgasbord Book Promotions – New Book on the Shelves #Memoir #History – .You Can Take The Girl From The Prairie: Stories about growing up on the Canadian prairies by Darlene Foster
Posted on: May 10, 2023
- In: Books | Memories | reviews | short stories
- 36 Comments
Sally Cronin is featuring my recent book today on her blog. She’s also included a wonderful five-star review by Joan Hall. Sally’s blog is a smorgasbord of great information about books, writers, music, food, health and other interesting, facts, including some great jokes. Please check it out.
Delighted to share the news of the latest release by Darlene Foster...a memoir….You Can Take The Girl From The Prairie: Stories about growing up on the Canadian prairies
About the book
A collection of short stories inspired by growing up on a prairie farm in the fifties and sixties. Some of the stories are humorous and others sad, but all heartfelt. Stories about family life, cowboy wisdom, immigrant grandmothers, an inspiring teacher, and the arrival of a new sibling are part of this collection of tales from another time and another place. Proof that you can take the girl from the prairie but you can’t take the prairie from the girl.
One of the early reviews for the book
Oh. My. Stars. I can’t say enough…
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- In: Books | Food
- 66 Comments
I am so glad I joined the cookbook challenge this year. The month of April featured The Moosewood Cookbook, any version. My choice was from a well-used copy of New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant, one of my favourite cookbooks. Check out Bernadette’s site for some of the other recipes for April. There were so many great recipes featured this month. You won’t be disappointed.
For the challenge, I decided to bake Pineapple-Cornmeal Muffins as they are very popular in our house and always a hit with guests. A quick and easy recipe if you find out someone is popping over for tea at the last minute. And not overly sweet!
Pineapple-Cornmeal Muffins
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ cup yellow cornmeal
2 eggs
¼ cup vegetable oil or melted butter
½ cup drained, crushed pineapple
1 cup pineapple juice and/or milk
2 tablespoons raspberry jam or raspberry butter
Preheat oven to 425 F
Generously butter a 12-cup muffin tin
In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix the dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl lightly beat the eggs. Stir in the oil or butter, crushed pineapple, and pineapple juice and/or milk, and add to the dry ingredients all at once, stirring until just barely mixed. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin. Put about ½ teaspoon of jam on top of each muffin. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the muffin comes out clean.
Note: I often use mini muffin tins which make 24, and reduce the baking time by a few minutes.
My 5-star review of this cookbook
I love, love this cookbook. There is not a boring recipe in it. Even my non-vegetarian guests enjoy the dishes I make from this cookbook. Recipes like Hungarian Stuffed Peppers, Buddha’s Jewels, Zucchini Feta Casserole, and West African Groundnut Stew. There is a great collection of pasta dishes, delightful salads and sauces as well as breads and desserts to die for. There is really something for everyone. To add to the enjoyment the cookbook has charming pictures of people enjoying a meal interspersed among the recipes. A cookbook to savour and a perfect gift for a bride or anyone who likes to cook and needs new ideas.
Read more here:
- In: Books | Family | History | short stories
- 76 Comments
At long last, I’ve published a book of creative nonfiction short stories based on growing up on the Canadian prairies. This is a collection of stories I’ve written over the years. Some have been included in other anthologies, some have won prizes, and some are fairly new. I thought it would be good to have them all in one book. This has been my first attempt at self-publishing. It has been a huge learning curve but I’ve had help from some of my wonderful blogging buddies. What a super supportive community this is.
The book is ready for pre-order on Amazon as an e-book https://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Take-Girl-Prairie-ebook/dp/B0C399MHZP/ and will be available soon in paperback. The publication date is set for May 1st.
If you happen to read this book, I would appreciate a short review.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen!
Copyright ©2023 darlenefoster.wordpress.com – All rights reserved.
- In: Books | Writing
- 70 Comments
Such wonderful news to wake up to! Thanks so much, Jennie Fitzkee for making this happen. Having my books in libraries is a huge dream come true.
Thursday is my Read-Aloud day at the Groton Public Library. When I arrived, the head children’s librarian was beside herself.
“Jennie! Jennie! The Amanda books are here!”
And then she showed me all the books. Wow! Nine books.
Of course we had to have our picture taken with all the books.
Thank you to the Groton Public Library for carrying the Amanda books. Thank you, Darlene Foster, for authoring such an exciting series of books for children. Adventure is always a big draw for children’s books; yet when history, geography, friendship, and conflict are included…well, it doesn’t get better than that. Nancy Drew, move over!
Jennie
Happy Birthday, Amanda in Arabia
Posted on: April 14, 2023
- In: Books | Dreams | Writing
- 81 Comments
Thirteen years ago today, my first print book was published. This was the realization of a dream come true since I was twelve years old when I had a short story published in the Winnipeg Free Press called Stretch Your Food Dollar. It was then that I decided I wanted to be a writer. Life happened, as it does. I got married, had children and worked at some very interesting jobs. I always dabbled in writing, took creative writing courses, sent out stories to writing competitions and submitted work to magazines, but not much came of my endeavours.
Visiting friends in the UAE (you may recognize them from the previous post)
I visited friends in the United Arab Emirates and fell in love with the country, the people and the culture. When I got home I decided to write a story about my experience. But it just wasn’t working for me, the excitement I felt was not coming through on the page. Then one sleepless night I recalled my friend stating that I was as excited as a twelve-year-old while I was there. So I began my story from the point of view of a twelve-year-old girl. The seeds to Amanda in Arabia: The Perfume Flask were planted.
A painted door in the desert
Camels were everywhere. One of my favourite animals, so they had to be included in the story.
An amazing site to see was goats in the trees.
The actual perfume flask I bought while in the UAE.
It took me three years to complete the book. Once it was finished, I started the arduous journey of finding a publisher. I sent out many query letters and received a pile of rejection letters over the next five years. In the meantime, I kept revising and polishing the book. Each rejection letter became nicer and more encouraging. Then I got a call from a gentleman who said his daughter was starting an e-publishing company and would like to attend my writing group’s meeting as a guest speaker. I was keen to hear about this new way of publishing books. She explained things very well, we agreed to meet later for a coffee and she asked for a copy of my manuscript. Amanda’s first adventure was published in November 2009 as an e-book. And people bought it!
Then on April 13th, 2010, Central Avenue Publishing released Amanda in Arabia: The Perfume Flask as a print book. My dream came true as I held my baby in my hands. Instead of nine months, it took nine years to birth this baby!
After all this time, this book is still getting great reviews. Here are two recent five-star reviews on Goodreads:
I read this book a while back and just realized I never posted a review. The book is geared toward middle-grade readers, and if I were a twelve-year-old girl again, it is exactly the kind of adventure I would love to have! Even as an adult, I found myself transported to Arabia, solving a mystery and exploring the culture, the customs, the food, and the climate with Amanda. This type of book allows young readers to travel to far-flung places without leaving home and will very likely instill in them an inquisitive wanderlust.
An enjoyable read providing factual information about the United Arab Emirates. The book is bound to instil curiosity, a love for travel and an appreciation of different cultures which is so essential in the current day. It makes for a perfect gift for middle-school children.
Having lived in the Middle East, I was impressed with the amount of information the author managed to pack in 108 pages in the most interesting manner. To read more of my review, click here. https://smithavpennings.com/2023/02/15/book-review-amanda-in-arabia-by-darlene-foster/
I am now working on the tenth book in the Amanda Travels series. Thank you to everyone who has helped me along this amazing journey!
Copyright ©2023 darlenefoster.wordpress.com – All rights reserved.
Cover Reveal
Posted on: March 27, 2023
- In: Books | Family | Memories | short stories | Writing
- 91 Comments
I’ve been working on this project for quite some time and finally have a cover to share. This may or may not be the final cover. Let me know what you think.
This is the blurb for You Can Take The Girl From The Prairie
A collection of short stories inspired by growing up on a prairie farm in the fifties and sixties. Some humorous and others sad, but all heartfelt. Stories about family life, cowboy wisdom, immigrant grandmothers, an inspiring teacher, and the arrival of a new sibling are part of this collection of tales from another time and another place. Proof that you can take the girl from the prairie but you can’t take the prairie from the girl.
I am hoping to publish this collection of short stories soon. Watch this space.
Doors of Malta
Posted on: March 3, 2023
- In: Books | Doors | Travel
- 94 Comments
I am joining Dan Antion over at https://nofacilities.com/ where he runs a series called Thursday Doors. This is what he has to say:
Welcome to Thursday Doors! This is a weekly challenge for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time).
Dan writes great books too https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BC23MDLV
Today I want to share some of the amazing doors I found in Malta. Most of the buildings in Malta are made from limeston, but the doors are often in bright colours breaking up the monotone buildings. I was fascinated by the variety of doors and doorknockers. Here are just a few pictures I took around the island.
You might recall that Amanda had quite the adventure in Malta.
Copyright ©2023 darlenefoster.wordpress.com – All rights reserved.
#TuesdayBookBlog #Bookreview for Amanda in France: Fire in the Cathedral by Darlene Foster @supermegawoman #kidlit #adventure #travel #travelfiction #France – Georgia Rose Books
Posted on: February 28, 2023
- In: Books | reviews
- 62 Comments
A great review of Amanda in France over at Georgia Rose Books brightened my day!
This is the second of this series of Amanda adventures that I have read, the first was set in Malta and you can read my review HERE. Paris is a city I love so after enjoying Amanda’s adventures in Malta so much I was keen to read the latest in Foster’s super adventure series […]
Darlene Foster's Blog 