I have been following Darlene Foster’s blogfor sometime now and had often told myself that I would want to read one of her books.
Lately, I’d been emersed in a lot of adult literary fiction and so this past weekend, I was looking for something to read which wouldn’t be too demanding on my exhausted brain cells. A book that a middle school child could handle.
So far, Darlene has eight Amanda adventure books, each one set in different countries: Spain, Holland, England, Arabia and Malta or in different states or provinces: Alberta, New Mexico or The Danube.
I had debated whether I wanted to read one of the adventures set in a place I had already visited but finally settled on the exotic, the foreign, somewhere I will likely never visit: The United Arab Emirates or as the locals refer to it as either the UAE or simply…
Today is the last official day of the blog tour and I wish to thank everyone for your amazing support. I hope you have all found new and interesting blogs to follow and made new friends and followers. Thank you to everyone who offered to be part of the tour and a huge thanks to all of you who read, liked, commented and shared the posts. You are all amazing. Today I am being featured on Lisa Day’s blog, Book Time, where she asks me some great questions. Say hi to Lisa, a fellow Canadian who loves words – editing, writing and reading them. She reviews many great books!
I am the last stop of the Amanda in Malta: The Sleeping Lady blog tour.
Sadly, my copy of Amanda in Malta hasn’t yet arrived, however, I have been following along with the other 11 bloggers on this blog tour so I got a sense of both Amanda, the main character, and the questions I wanted to ask its creator – Canadian author Darlene Foster.
Foster said growing up on a ranch in Alberta inspired her love of reading and seeing the world. Now retired, she has house in Spain where she spends time with her husband and rescue dogs, Dot and Lia, while writing full time. She also travels, meeting interesting people and getting inspirations for her series about Amanda, a 12-year-old girl who travels the world, learning about the people and culture while solving a mystery. Amanda in Malta: The Sleeping Lady is the eighth book in…
The love keeps pouring in for Amanda in Malta. Here is a fabulous review by Patricia Tilton from Children´s Books Heal. Patricia writes well thought out reviews of children´s books and I am so pleased she enjoyed this adventure. I often make book buying decisions for the youngsters in my life by reading her blog. Please check it out.
Amanda in Malta: The Sleeping Lady (The Amanda Travels Series 8)
Darlene Foster, Author
Central Avenue Publishing, May 11, 2011
Suitable for ages: 8-12
Themes: Malta, Travel, Adventure, Mystery, Theft, Friendship
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Amanda receives a postcard from her best friend, Leah, and is surprised to learn that she is in Malta with her Aunt Jenny. Reading between the lines, she senses Leah is in trouble. Desperate to help her, Amanda strikes the lottery when she’s invited to travel to Malta with her classmate Caleb Sorenson and his parents.
Amanda is intrigued by this exotic island in the middle of the Mediterranean, full of colourful history, sun-drenched limestone fortresses, stunning beaches and fascinating birds. But…who is killing the protected birds? Who stole a priceless artifact from the museum? And why is Leah acting so strange? She couldn’t possibly be involved in these illegal activities, or could she?
Continuing with the virtual book tour, Amanda in Malta is being featured on Michele Marcellino Somerville’s blog called the Beach Girl Chronicles. Michelle is from Pennsylvania, USA and blogs about the beach, her life, her dogs and her past. She is a fairly new blogger so pop on over, read an excerpt from Amanda in Malta and show her some blogging love. Thanks to everyone for following along with this tour.
Doing something a little different today, by participating in a Virtual Book Tour to help promote author Darlene Foster’s newest book, Amanda in Malta. I hope you will check it out!
The Blurb:
Amanda receives a postcard from her best friend, Leah, and is surprised to learn that she is in Malta with her aunt. Reading between the lines, she senses Leah is in trouble. Desperate to help her, Amanda travels to Malta with her classmate Caleb and his parents. Amanda is intrigued by this exotic island in the middle of the Mediterranean, full of colourful history, sun-drenched limestone fortresses, stunning beaches and fascinating birds. But…who is killing the protected birds? Who stole a priceless artifact from the museum? And why is Leah acting so strange? She couldn’t possibly be involved in these illegal activities, or could she?
Join Amanda and her friends as they visit ancient temples, an…
Next stop on the tour is from Canada! A fellow Canadian author, Debra Purdy Kong asks a couple of questions and shares an interesting except that introduces the Sleeping Lady from Amanda in Malta. Debra is a British Columbia author who’s been writing for over 30 years. Her volunteer experiences, criminology diploma, and various jobs, inspired her to write mysteries set in BC’s Lower Mainland. Employment as a campus security patrol and communications officer provide the background for her fascinating Casey Holland mystery novels. Stop in and say Hi!
It’s a great pleasure to welcome back fellow Canadian author, Darlene Foster, who’s just released her 8th installment in the Amanda Travel Series, Amanda in Malta: The Sleeping Lady. I had the privilege of meeting Darlene in person at a book signing before COVID. We’re hoping to meet again as travel restrictions lift so I can buy a signed copy! For those of you who aren’t familiar with this amazing series, here’s a quick Q & A:
Can you tell us more about Amanda?
Amanda is a twelve-year-old girl from Calgary, Alberta. She is the only child of Evelyn and Don Ross, both accountants. She loves to read, is interested in history and enjoys cooking. Her parents work long hours so she likes trying different recipes for them, especially ones from places she has visited. She is inquisitive and kind and always wants to help people. This gets…
Today on the blog tour I am featured on Nancy Klein’s blog American Writer in Spain, where I talk about choosing names for characters. Nancy blogs about life lessons and life in general. She has also recently launched a great book for Young Adults, Torn Between Worlds: an illegal immigrant’s journey to find herself.
Darlene Foster’s latest book in her Amanda series for young readers
How do you choose names for your characters and do you think names are important?
I believe names are important. When I was expecting my daughter, I asked my son what we should name the new baby. He said, “Don´t we have to see what the baby looks like first?”
Like naming a baby, it is important to put some thought into picking a name for a character as he or she has to live with it for a long time. I don’t care for names that are difficult to pronounce or spell. I used Amanda as the name of my main character as that was the name of my granddaughter who was twelve at the time I began writing the first book. It was only going to be a working name but it suited the character so I…
Nex on the tour is Kim at By Hook or By Book (don’t you just love the name of her blog!) We talk about Amanda and how she learns and grows by travelling. Kim’s blog is full of great reviews, humour, videos and interesting articles. Definetly worth checking out.
It is my honor to be part of the virtual blog tour for Darlene Foster’s delightful children’s book Amanda in Malta, which is the eighth book in her Amanda Travels series. If you missed my review, you can find it here:
Here is Darlene to give you some additional insight about Amanda.
Can you tell us more about Amanda? Amanda is a twelve-year-old girl from Calgary, Alberta. She is the only child of Evelyn and Don Ross, both accountants. She loves to read, is interested in history and enjoys cooking. Her parents work long hours so she likes trying different recipes for them, especially ones from places she has visited. She is inquisitive and kind and always wants to help people. This gets her in trouble sometimes. She loves animals but has no pets of her own. Once she travelled to visit her Aunt and Uncle in the United…
If you need a good laugh and don´t we all, you must read Barb Taub´s post and review on Amanda in Malta. Barb´s posts and her fabulous books are hilarious and worth checking out. Warning, you will laugh so don´t be drinking your tea or coffee as it may end up all over your screen. Which would also be funny!
You can’t make a citizen’s arrest, you can’t beat up the villains, you can’t interrogate suspects. The usual cozy mystery detective’s posse of police, doctor, lawyer won’t talk to you unless they’re your parent. And you can’t even track bad guys if it’s after your bedtime.
Sure, the adults in your life seem content to let you roam free, following criminals and risking your life.
When the bad guys catch, gag, and tie you up—and they will because they’re bigger, faster, can drive legally, and don’t have to get home in time to finish their homework—there’s only one thing you can do. (Well two things, if you forgot, again, to do one of them before you left home.) You can bang for attention. Surprisingly often, kid sleuths find themselves tied up and often gagged. Nancy Drew did it so often, it’s amazing her…
The next stop on the virtual book tour is from South Africa where the amazing Robbie Cheadle lives. Robbie is a superhero woman. She has a full time, demanding job, is raising two teenage boys, bakes and decorates fabulous cakes and is a prolific writer of poetry, children’s books, short stories and a paranormal historic saga. Thank you, Robbie for taking the time out of your busy schedule to participate in the blog tour, read and review Amanda in Malta, as well as ask me a couple of questions. Check out Robbie’s blog and her many books.
Today, I am delighted to welcome talented children’s author, Darlene Foster, to Robbie’s Inspiration to answer a few questions about her new book Amanda in Malta: The Sleeping lady. I’ve also shared my review of this terrific book for middle school kids.
Amanda and Leah seem to be very good friends. How did they meet?
Amanda first met Leah when she visited the United Arab Emirates in Amanda in Arabia: The Perfume Flask. Leah lived in the same apartment block as Amanda’s aunt and uncle. The girls got along right from the start even though they are quite different. Leah is English and well-travelled as her father’s job takes them to many countries. After the adventure in the UAE, Leah and her parents invite Amanda to spend a week with them in Spain at their timeshare. She also visits Leah in England and Leah visits Amanda in Alberta. Whenever they…
The second stop of the book tour is at John Rieber’s fabulous blog. John blogs about many interesting things like music, movies, places and food. Today we talk about food in the Amanda series with an excerpt that includes a popular Maltese snack. Hop over and say Hi.
I’m excited to share my friend Darlene Foster’s great new addition to her series of “Amanda” books – because our Heroine is headed to Malta!
This terrific series of books take Amanda around the world for magical adventures – and gives readers rich insight into other cultures as well!
Welcome To Malta!
As I said, Foster’s “Amanda” adventures are designed to take readers to exotic places around the world, illuminating the unique aspects of each location.
Malta is an archipelago in the central Mediterranean Sea, sitting between Sicily and the North African coast.
I’ve never been to Malta, but this book makes me want to – let’s dive in and hear from the Author!
Here’s the plot for this new chapter in Amanda’s adventures:
Amanda receives a postcard from her best friend, Leah, and is surprised to learn that she is in Malta with…
Sure, the adults in your life seem content to let you roam free, following criminals and risking your life.
