Sorry for my absence but I have been travelling lately and will share all about my travels soon. I wanted to share this amazing review by Teri Polen, who is an excellent writer. This review had me dancing on the ceiling.
Amanda explores the exciting streets of Paris, the fabulous Palace of Versailles and the gardens of the painter Claude Monet, while being drawn into the mystery surrounding the destructive fire of Notre Dame cathedral.
Amanda is in love! With Paris – the city of love. She’s in awe of the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, and Notre Dame Cathedral. While there, she gets to work as a volunteer and stay in a famous book store, along with her bestie, Leah, and Leah’s eccentric Aunt Jenny. A dream come true for a book lover like Amanda.
Except, while she’s at the Paris Opera House there is a bomb threat. Then the lights go out during their visit to the Louvre. Worst of all, a devastating fire blazes in Notre Dame. Why does a mysterious man, who claims to be a busker, writer and artist, show up every time…
I write children’s books. Actually, I should correct that. I write books suitable for children. But they are books any age can read and enjoy.
Recently I listened to an interview with Lawrence Hill, author of the award-winning novel, TheBook of Negroes.He discussed his latest release, Beatrice and Croc Harry, which he describes as a story for children and adults. He mentioned there should be no separation between children’s and adults’ books. He mentioned that as authors, we should not shy away from including serious and painful issues in children’s stories as they can handle them. He also mentioned, and I agree, many adults enjoy reading from a child’s point of view.
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?
The virtual book tour is going well. Today we are visiting Carol Anne from Ireland! I answered a couple of questions and provided an excerpt from the story about the eye of Osiris seen on the fishermen’s boats in Malta. Enjoy!
I’m happy to be part of Canadian author Darlene Foster’s launch of her latest book, Amanda in Malta: The Sleeping Lady. She has answered a couple of questions and provided a short excerpt of the book.
Why did you choose Malta as the setting for this adventure?
When I started to write this series, my goal was to introduce readers to interesting locations that may not be that well known. Malta is one such place. Its not a country many people get to or know much about. My husband and I visited Valletta, the capital, for half a day while on a cruise. We loved it and decided to return for a week a year later. While we were there, I kept saying, Amanda would love it here. So, it was not surprising that I choose Malta for Amanda´s next adventure
Attention authors of children´s books! A great place to showcase your work and get the word out. Many thanks to Sally Cronin for putting this together.
Welcome to the new Children’s Cafe and Bookstore where authors with books suitable for ages up to 12 can share their work and reviews.
It is very difficult to market and books at the current time without physical launches, particularly for children’s books with many in print versions only.
The authors with books suitable up to 12 years old will have separate entries for their children’s books in this new Cafe but will still retain their entries in the main bookstore with a selection of all books they may have.
Getting into the bookstore
If you are already an author in the bookstore then I will automatically share your children’s books in this directory.
If you are not already in the Cafe and Bookstore please email me with the following to sally.cronin@moyhill.com
Link to Amazon for the book( and even if you have one book please set up an…
Today I´m a guest of Colleen Chesebro where we have a great conversation about doing research, the importance of grammar and retirement. Please check it out.
Hello everyone! This week I’m thrilled to bring you one of my favorite award-winning children’s authors, Darlene Foster. I asked her to pick three or four questions from my huge list HERE. This is Darlene’s second visit to my blog. We had so much fun last time, she couldn’t wait to stop around again! Darlene Foster…
I am a guest today over at Jacqui Murray’s amazing blog, WordDreams. I answer her question, How do you create readers for life? See what I have to say.
One of my summer reading discoveries is Darlene Foster’s six-volume Amanda series. I’m a teacher-author so I’m always eager to find fresh books that my K-8 students will love. When I came across Darlene on her blog, Darlene Foster’s Blog, I have to admit, I was really excited. I’d never found a children’s travelogue series that would appeal to kids the same way fiction does. This series does. In it, kids travel all over the world, to those names that excite every adult–Amanda on the Danube, Amanda in Arabia, Amanda in Alberta, as well as three more fun world locations.
I asked Darlene if she would mind doing an interview for my blog–just one question. That’s all I had:
How do you create readers for life?
Because that’s what these books have the power to do–turn kids into readers. Here’s her answer:
One of the joys of writing is hearing from readers and seeing pictures of them with my books. I am pleased to have many faithful followers of the Amanda Travels series. Some have been reading about Amanda’s travels since I published the very first book, eight years ago. Here are a few pictures of my books in the hands of young readers.
This avid reader bought a set of books for herself and for her friend, with her own money!
This young reader has been an Amanda fan from the start.
And she is still reading the books in Trinidad!
A sweet little Amanda fan.
Another special fan, from Australia!
Special visitors at a book signing.
These students still attend my presentations.
More students who love Amanda.
This clever young woman has already written three books of her own.
A special fan in Spain
A blogging friend’s gift to her granddaughter
Happy to get another Amanda book for her birthday.
Eager readers attend a book launch.
New fans at the first book launch, 8 years ago.
She enjoys reading her great-grandmother’s books
A keen fan reading to her great-great-grandmother.
I also love hearing from those who have read my books. Here is a lovely email from a young reader.
Hi, Darlene, my name is Kynnlei and Marion is my auntie. She gave me three of your books and they are some of my favourite books. Please keep writing and she will keep buying. We give you encouragement to do what you are passionate about.
And this from a young man being homeschooled who read two of my books for his reading assignments.
Dear Darlene:
I am doing a book report on your book titled, “Amanda in Alberta”. I liked it! My favourite part is the horse ride in chapter 6. I have been to many of these places, mostly with my dad in the semi truck. Did you visit all of the places in your book? Can you make a book of “Amanda in Iceland”? I think that would be awesome! Thank you for writing these amazing books!
Sincerely; Kegan
I understand he got very good marks on his assignments.
This is why I am so passionate about writing for kids!
If you have a picture of you or someone reading one of my books, please send it to me as I love to collect them.
I have been invited to be part of the ultimate reading quest. Check it out and discover many new authors of exciting new books. We all like to read books, don’t we? There is also an opportunity to enter into a draw for a book of your choice.
The ULTIMATE READING QUEST STARTS HERE! Click on this button to join the Ultimate Reading Quest. Find authors who write the kind of books you like!
Being interviewed almost makes me feel like a celebrity of sorts!
Thoughtful Reflections
Hosted by Sylvia L. Ramsey. This blog is a potpourri of information about writing, presenting and authors.
Monday, October 10, 2011Children’s Author, Darlene Foster’s Amanda Series Takes Children on World Adventures
I am a writer of children’s stories, an employment counselor, an ESL tutor, a wife, mother and grandmother. I love travel, reading, shoes, cooking, sewing, music, chocolate, walking on the beach and making new friends. My grandson calls me “super-mega-woman-supreme.” I was brought up on a ranch near Medicine Hat, Alberta, where I dreamt of traveling the world and meeting interesting people. These dreams have all come true. I now live on the beautiful west coast of British Columbia with my husband Paul and our two black cats, Pumpkin and Monkey. Tell us about the genre of your work.
I write travel adventure stories for children. Why did you choose this genre?
I love children and telling stories to children. I read many children’s books myself, and I love to encourage children to read and to learn about the rest of the world, especially places they may not have a chance to visit. I am hoping my books will encourage them to visit these countries some day. What are some of your books, stories that have been published?
I have had two books published, Amanda in Arabia – The Perfume Flask and Amanda in Spain – The Girl in the Painting. I have also had some short stories for adults published in anthologies. What ages do you direct your books?
8 – 12 year olds, but some younger and some older readers have read them and enjoyed them. Tell us about your books.
Amanda in Arabia – The Perfume Flask, ireadiwrite Publishing, 2010 ISBN 978-1-926760-36-0
Amanda in Spain – The Girl in the Painting, ireadiwrite Publishing, 2011 ISBN 978-1-926760-55-1
Both books are available as e-books and in print and can be found on Amazon, Barns & Noble, Kobo, OmniLit, Smashwords, Sony Reader Store and other fine book stores. Do your books have a teaching objective? If so, what is it?
If so, it is very subtle. The descriptions of the people and places may teach children about places outside their realm of familiarity. If that happens, it is a bonus. However, I mainly write for entertainment. How do you come up with the names of places and characters in your books?
Amanda is the name of my second granddaughter who was 12 at the time I started writing the first book. The name just seemed to fit. Other names are ones I had come across in books, articles and in life, which seemed to work. Ali Baba, the camel, of course comes from the Tales of the Thousand and One Nights.
It has turned out to be a very good name, as the children just love Ali Baba. I bring a camel puppet with me when I do readings at bookstores and schools and he is very popular. How did you develop the character/s of your in each of your books (If you have more that one)?
Amanda just evolved as I wrote and her character develops more with each book.
Is there a unique character or a recurring character if you have more than one published or to be published book?
Amanda and her friend Leah, who she meets in the first book, are both in the second book and will be in the third book (in progress). Part of the theme is their friendship and how it develops. They live in different countries, Amanda in Canada and Leah in England, so they only see each other on holidays in different parts of the world. What is your favorite thing about your book/s?
My favorite thing about my books is that I get to relive my travel experiences through the eyes of a 12 year old. Is your book illustrated? If so, would you tell us by whom, and if you worked with an illustrator, can you discuss that experience?
I chose not to have the book illustrated because I wanted the readers to imagine the scenes themselves and maybe look things up if they were curious enough. How is writing in the genre you write, different than other genre?
You have to think, talk and act like a modern twelve year old, which is not very hard for me, as I have never really grown up and hang around with kids a lot. Are there any problems in getting children’s’ books published?
It took me 5 years to get my first book Amanda in Arabia published. I sent it out to about two dozen traditional publishers who sent me very nice rejection letters. In fact, the letters got nicer all the time. I eventually decided to have the book e-published by a local e-publisher. I had some success with the e-book so my publisher decided to print publish it. My publisher, ireadiwritePublishing, has published the second book as well. Why and when did you begin writing?
I had my first story published in The Winnipeg Free Press when I was twelve years old. I will not say how long ago that was but I have been writing ever since in one way or another. I did not get serious about it until about ten years ago when I returned from a trip from the United Arab Emirates and felt compelled to write a story about it. What is your writing schedule?
I try to write two hours a night after I come home from work and have had dinner with my husband. What projects are you working on now, or plan for the future?
I am working on Amanda in England- The Missing Novel, book three of the series. I am also working on a picture book called Pig on Trial, a medieval tale. What kind of advice or tips to you have for someone who wants to write and get published?
Never give up. If you believe in your story, just keep writing and keep sending it out. Also, do not be afraid to try something new. I am so glad I decided to start with e-publishing. Finally – it is never too late to start writing. If you have a story itching to be told, just sit down and write it!
Are there any other comments, advice or tips that you would give to beginning writers?
The more you write the better you get at it. Enter contests, send submissions to anthologies, keep a blog etc. Just keep writing. What do you do when you are not writing?
I work as a full time Facilitator and Coach for an Employment Program and I tutor English as a Second Language to school age children. I am also an avid reader myself. We are fortunate to live near a beach so I go for long walks on the beach, find a log, read for a while and walk back.
I get some good ideas while I am walking as well. What “Made It” moments have you experienced in life?
I believe strongly in following your dreams and not letting roadblocks stand in your way. Every time a dream comes true is a “Made it“ moment for me. Of course having my first book published was a big one!
One of my summer reading discoveries is Darlene Foster’s six-volume Amanda series. I’m a teacher-author so I’m always eager to find fresh books that my K-8 students will love. When I came across Darlene on her blog, Darlene Foster’s Blog, I have to admit, I was really excited. I’d never found a children’s travelogue series that would appeal to kids the same way fiction does. This series does. In it, kids travel all over the world, to those names that excite every adult–Amanda on the Danube, Amanda in Arabia, Amanda in Alberta, as well as three more fun world locations.
Darlene Foster's Blog 