It is always a sincere pleasure to welcome a fellow author to Interview an Author on Jemsbooks.blog. Today, please help me welcome talented author, Darlene Foster.
Thank you, Darlene, for stopping by today to share a little bit about yourself and your books. I am excited to have you here! The floor is yours!
Please tell us something about yourself.
I come from a long line of storytellers and have been telling tales for as long as I can remember. My wonderful Grade Three teacher encouraged me to write them down, and when I was twelve I had a short story published in a local paper. It was called Stretch Your Food Dollar, about an amusing experience two young girls have while shopping in a department store. Little did I know then that many years later, I would publish books about two girls having adventures in various countries. I didn’t begin seriously writing books until I became a grandmother, but I now have published ten books in the Amanda Travels series, a bilingual book, and a collection of short stories about living on the Canadian prairies in the mid-twentieth century. My pride and joy are my two children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Ten years ago, I retired to Spain with my husband, where we rescued two crazy dogs. Life is good!
Jjspina: It sounds like writing was in your blood as a child. Congratulations on all your books.
How do you come up with ideas for your stories?
I love to travel to different places and do so as often as possible. That’s when I come up with ideas. I learn as much as I can about the place and try to find interesting things to see and do. Then I imagine my character in the setting. I take lots of pictures and many notes. I don’t always write the story right away but keep the memories and eventually write a book with my main character, Amanda Jane Ross, having an adventure in a certain place.
Jjspina: That’s a wonderful way to create a story by traveling to different places and putting your character into these scenes.
What projects are you currently working on?
I am currently working on Amanda in Ireland: The Body in the Bog. Amanda visits Ireland to be part of a wedding party. She loves the Emerald Isle but things start to go terribly wrong. She’s not sure if there will even be a wedding.
Jjspina: That sounds intriguing. I look forward to reading that one.
What is your target audience for your book?
My main character is twelve and I initially wrote the books for tweens/middle graders. But I have found that adults enjoy the stories and many have been reading them to pre-schoolers. Seniors enjoy them as they are easy to read and when they can no longer travel, they are a kind of armchair travelling for them. People learning English as another language also enjoy my books as do reluctant readers. So I am pleased to say I have a broad audience.
Jjspina: That is wonderful, Darlene, that you have such a broad audience. I have enjoyed your books also and I am part of your senior audience. I can see how a reader would feel as if they were traveling as they read your books. Your descriptions and innate ability to put the reader into the story are amazing!
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I love this question. I have been fortunate to have visited many parts of the world. Last year I visited Thailand which was amazing (and may be the setting of another Amanda Travels book). Some places I haven’t been to and would love to visit are Australia and New Zealand. Oh my, would Amanda ever have fun there!
Jjspina: That must have been an amazing vacation in Thailand. I can see how that would make for a wonderful backdrop for a story.
Please share your books with us and a synopsis of each.
My Amanda Travels series features spunky Amanda Ross, a 12-year-old Canadian girl who decides that the only way out of her boring existence is to travel.
Amanda in Arabia: The Perfume Flask. Amanda makes a wish on her birthday for travel and gets a plane ticket to the United Arab Emirates to visit her Aunt. Once there she meets Leah, an English girl, and they are soon in the middle of an adventure involving a runaway princess, bounty hunters, camels and a sandstorm. She often finds herself wishing she were back home in her boring but safe life again.
Amanda in Spain: The Girl in The Painting. Amanda travels to Spain to join Leah where they help a young girl, who looks like a girl in a famous painting, escape the clutches of a mean horse thief.
Amanda in England: The Missing Novel. Amanda visits Leah in England where they get lost in a maze, hide in an underground tunnel and ride the London Eye in search of a missing vintage novel.
Amanda in Alberta: The Writing on the Stone. When Leah visits Amanda at her home in Alberta, they attempt to decipher mysterious writing on a stone and keep it from getting into the wrong hands.
Amanda on the Danube: The Sounds of Music. Amanda is given a precious violin to look after as she enjoys a cruise down the Danube with Leah. Things aren’t always what they seem and Amanda is not sure whom she can trust.
Amanda in New Mexico: Ghosts in the Wind. Amanda goes on a school trip to New Mexico where weird things happen that make her wonder if she believes in ghosts or not.
Amanda in Holland: Missing in Action. Amanda looks for a home for an abandoned puppy, missing tulip bulbs and an uncle who didn´t return from World War II. No matter where Amanda travels, she can’t seem to stay away from danger.
Amanda in Malta: The Sleeping Lady. Amanda travels to the exotic islands of Malta to assist Leah who seems to be in trouble and may or may not know who stole the Sleeping Lady from the museum.
Amanda in France: Fire in the Cathedral. Amanda explores the exciting streets of Paris, the fabulous Palace of Versailles and the gardens of Claude Monet while being drawn into the mystery surrounding the fire in Notre Dame Cathedral.
Amanda in Scotland: The Standing Stones. Amanda visits the Scottish Isle of Arran, where the past and the present collide as she attempts to solve a mystery, hoping the answer is in the standing stones.
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 of the stories are humorous and others sad, but all are heartfelt.
Please share your links and where to purchase your books.
Blog https://darlenefoster.wordpress.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/darlene.foster.777
Twitter/X https://x.com/supermegawoman
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/darlene6490/
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/stores/Darlene-Foster/author/B003XGQPHA
Universal link https://books2read.com/AmandainScotland
Jjspina: All these books sound wonderful, Darlene. You are quite imaginative and creative. It was a pleasure to have you on my blog today. Thank you so much for coming today and for sharing a little about yourself and your books. I wish you well with your books and all future endeavors. Please feel free to come back again when you have another book to share.
Thank you, readers, for stopping by to read this post. Please check out all Darlene’s books by the links above and show her some love by reviewing any that you read. Reviews are the lifeblood of all authors and one way to spread word of our work to others. Your efforts would be appreciated.
Blessings & Hugs! Stay Safe, Stay Well and God Bless!
READING GIVES YOU WINGS TO FLY! SOAR WITH JEMSBOOKS ALL YEAR THROUGH! HAPPY READING!
Janice Spina aka J.E. Spina
Award-Winning Author
Jemsbooks for All Ages!
Jemsbooks.com
Jemsbooks.blog
Jjspina(at)comcast(dot)net
AMAZON.COM AUTHOR PAGE (All books)
AMAZON.COM JE SPINA NOVELS PAGE
JEMSBOOKS 
Thank you so much for featuring me and my books today. You put it together so nicely too.
My pleasure, Darlene! You are always welcome to return with a new book to share. Thank you for all your support of my blog and books, my friend. hugs
❤️😊
What a great interview! I am a fan of Amanda too and her adventures. Can’t wait to read about Ireland 🙂
Thank you, D.L. for stopping by. Yes, Darlene is a talented writer. I enjoy her books too! When I read them, I feel like I am there. hugs
Thanks, Denise. I better get busy and finish Amanda’s Ireland adventure. So much material there.
What a fantastic interview, Janice and Darlene. Darlene, I love what you said about armchair traveling through Amanda’s books. That’s spot on! Congratulations to you on this spotlight. Thank you, Janice, for hosting!!
Thank you, Jan, for stopping by. Yes, it is like traveling along with Amanda. Such a fun trip each time. hugs
Thanks, Jan. So pleased you enjoyed the interview. Janice asks great questions.
Thank you both! I look forward to more interviews with my fellow authors. 🥰
A terrific interview, Janice and Darlene. Congratulations.
Thank you, John, for stopping by and for your support. hugs
🤗
Thanks, John!
A wonderful interview, Darlene and Janice. I’m also a senior who’s enjoyed Amanda’s adventures. She makes me want to see the world for myself. And Australia and New Zealand sound wonderful, Darlene. I do hope you (and Amanda) get there some day. It’s always nice to learn more about the authors in our community. Thanks for the fun. 🙂
Thank you, Diana, for stopping by. I would love to go to Australia & NZ but know I will never get there. I hope Darlene does! Hugs
Unlikely for me too, Janice, so we’ll have to be armchair travelers.
I will enjoy being an armchair traveler along with you, Diana! 🥰
Thanks for being such a great follower of the Amanda Travels books! xo
I have more to read, I know, but I’m a fan.
Me too! I plan on putting some on my TBR list. Happy traveling with Amanda, Diana! 🥰
Thank you for the fascinating interview with Darlene, Janice! I didn’t realize that the Amada audience is so broad. Good to know!
Thank you, Liz, for stopping by! I think adults read more of YA books than the YA at times. I enjoy them myself. 🥰
You’re welcome, Janice!
That has surprised me as well. I’m pleased you enjoyed the interview, Liz.
Love reading the answer to the question, “What are you doing now?”
Like you, Jacqui, I’m always a couple of books ahead in my planning. I just can’t work as fast as I used to though. sigh
She sounds like a busy writer. I look forward to seeing where Amanda travels in the future. 🥰
I’m a fan of Darlene and her books, and look forward to reading the next installment. I’m collecting all of them to give to my granddaughters when they are old enough to appreciate these wonderful stories.
Thank you, Debra, for stopping by. What a wonderful gift to your granddaughters – the gift of reading. 🥰
I read to them as often as I can. They both love books 🙂
You are a wonderful grandmother. You will give them some precious memories to share with their own children one day. ❤️
Thank you! A love of reading is one of the best gifts I can pass along to them.
I enjoyed this interview. Just when I think I know most things about Darlene, she surprises with some other interesting fact. It’s terrific that she has found such a broad audience for her books. Of course, I loved learning that her 3rd grade teacher encouraged her to write. It must have been a thrill to see her story in the newspaper.
I’m pleased you enjoyed the interview. Although it was a very long time ago, I still recall how excited I was to be in the newspaper.
Thank you, Pete, for stopping by and for your support of Darlene, a creative author. I’m sure her teacher is happy to see that her encouragement was effective in bringing forth this talented writer. 🥰
Thank you for the terrific interview, Janice and Darlene! I love Amanda and her detective mind and spectacles! Amanda in Thailand will be a wonderful book. Oh, Australia and New Zealand, how exciting! You and Amanda would love being there. I’ve been to Bangkok and Australia, but not New Zealand yet.
Thanks, Miriam. Good for you for pointing out her glasses. I don’t mention them often in the books so not everyone remembers that she wears them. When I had a classroom draw pictures of Amanda, they all drew her wearing glasses.
Haha, I wonder if you want to have an illustration of Amanda, Darlene!
Thank you, Miriam, for your kind words and for stopping by to support Darlene. 🥰
You’re welcome, Janice!
Hi Janice, this is a lovely author interview with Darlene. I recently read Amanda in Scotland and enjoyed it very much. I just need to get my review done now, I’ve done five and have five more to go.
Thank you so much, Robbie! I love supporting fellow author friends to help spread word of their books and talent. We all need each other’s support and friendship. I may never meet you or Darlene in person but I feel a kinship with both. Thank you for your support and for reviewing your fellow authors’ books. ❤️
It is my pleasure, Janice. I feel the same way as you 💗
❤️
I’m so glad you enjoyed Amanda in Scotland. You’ve always been an Amanda fan and I appreciate it.
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Janice, this was a wonderful interview with Darlene. I especially liked the target audience question and answer. I love her Amanda books.
Thank you, Jenny! 🥰
You’re welcome.
Thanks, Jennie. I’m delighted that all ages enjoy Amanda’s adventures. But then aren’t we all kids at heart!
Yes they do, and yes we are! 😀
Such detailed, interesting and very informative interview. Enjoyable!
Thank you, Mihrank. 😊