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coffee with BarbI‘ll admit it. The only reason I started this blog was that I’d written a book and a trusted advisor told me I had to do it. I never expected to like it, and I certainly never expected to meet so many amazing, interesting, accomplished people from all over the world. (Including YOU, you wonderful reader!)

One of these is the incredibly generous writer and blogger Sally Cronin. She’s been everywhere, knows lots of people, and has only beautiful things to say about them. That generosity of spirit overflows in her writing and blogging as well. So one of the very best gifts I can offer this holiday season is coffee with Sally this morning. Please have a seat here by the firepit because even in Sally’s beautiful garden in Spain, winter has hit. But we have very hot coffee and some lovely Christmas treats—polvorones (small almond shortbreads) and mantecados (crumbly little cakes wrapped in bright paper).

This year, I’m grateful that blogging  has led me to Sally and to all of you wonderful readers and friends. Feliz Navidad!

[Image Credit: Jamon Lovers] http://www.jamonlovers.es/blog/gastronomia/polvorones-y-mantecados/

Polvorones and Mantecados from Spain [Image Credit: Jamon Lovers]

Tales From The Garden – Behind the scenes –

by Sally Cronin

 

It is wonderful to be invited to coffee with Barb Taub this morning to talk about my latest book; following in the footsteps of some exceptional writers.

It was only as I was putting together my ‘behind the scenes’ posts for the launch of Tales from the Garden, that I realised how much I am going to miss my statues. Despite the fact I did not buy them but inherited them from the previous owners sixteen years ago.

One of them is attached to a particularly poignant story.  We have been friends with a delightful couple here in this community for the last ten years. Like us they love dogs and we first met them when we were walking Sam and they were out with their boxer Barrie. After Barrie passed away they adopted an albino boxer called Harley who was the sweetest boy you could ever meet. In later years we would sometimes look after him when our friends were away and it felt wonderful to have a dog back in the house again.

He was an excellent age for a boxer but unfortunately this last summer he became ill and died. Obviously our friends were devastated; as we were.  In the garden was a statue of a boxer dog and since we will be leaving the country once the house is sold; we wanted to give our friends something to remember us by. We gave them the dog for their garden where he now lives as a permanent reminder of Harley. He stars in the story The Boy, his Dog and a Fairy Princess.  Every time I read through the story and see the photograph it brings to mind a great big white dog with a huge heart. 08-06a_boxer_in_stone_dsc_0790

Thank you so much Barb for having me to coffee today and for supporting the launch of Tales From the Garden.

Note from Barb: I can’t tell you how much I love the thought of immortalizing a beloved pet companion through his own fairy tale! What a lovely, happy memorial.

 

Tales from the Garden

Tales From the Garden small- CoverTales from the Garden is a collection of fairy stories and 80 illustrations, for children of all ages, from five to ninety-five that will change the way you look at your garden forever.

The tales reveal the secrets that are hidden beneath hedges and trees and you will discover what really happens at night as you sleep unaware in your bed. Stone statues and those hidden worlds within the earth are about to share their stories.

The guardians who have kept this sanctuary safe for over fifty years will allow you to peek behind the scenes of this magical place. They will take you on a journey through time and expand your horizons as they transport you to the land of fairies, butterflies and lost souls who have found a home here.

Contact & Buy Links

 

Note: The book is available in print and Ebook at a substantial discount via Sally’s own website and also from Amazon US | Amazon UK

DSC_0869 aSally Cronin spent a number of years in each of the following industries – Retail, Advertising and Telecommunications, Radio & Television; and has taken a great deal of inspiration from each. She has written short stories and poetry since a very young age and contributed to media in the UK and Spain. In 1996 Sally began studying nutrition to inspire her to lose 150 lbs and her first book, Size Matters published in 2001, told the story of that journey back to health. This was followed by another seven books across a number of genres including health, humour and romance. These include Just Food For Health, Size Matters, Just an Odd Job Girl, Sam, A Shaggy Dog Story, Flights of Fancy anthology, Turning Back the Clock and Media Training. All these can be found on Amazon or Smashwords.

For the last two years Sally has written a daily blog covering the subjects close to her heart including writing, health and music: Smorgasbord Invitation – Variety is the Spice of Life. You can link to it from here: smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com.

 

Connect to Sally on social media.

http://moyhill.com/tales/

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/sallycronin1
https://twitter.com/sgc58
https://www.facebook.com/sally.cronin
https://www.facebook.com/sallygeorginacronin
https://plus.google.com/+SallyCronin/about