In this series, we invite our Crime Cymru authors to showcase an excerpt from one of their books. This week, Thorne Moore talks about researching the recent past and resurrecting childhood memories when writing The Unravelling.

My crime books are psychological mysteries, exploring the causes and consequences of a traumatic event, and I wouldn’t generally class them as thrillers, but maybe The Unravelling comes close. Writing it, I dredged up my memories of life as a ten-year-old in the mid-1960s, setting it in a slightly fictionalised version of the housing estate in Luton where I grew up; new developments on lost fields, post-war prefabs being torn down, streams and gullies disappearing into culverts, muddy farm tracks winding between new cul-de-sacs and avenues. A place that a child’s imagination could easily paint with mysterious secrets and lurking monsters. It was a time when children played freely in the streets, even…

As I shared in my post earlier today, I have much to be thankful for especially when it comes to the friendship here online in the writing community. Two special friends are D.G. Kaye, Debby Gies and Carol Taylor, both contributors to the blog in the last five years… so I am sharing their recent posts today. The other posts are about gratitude in history and in the present.. Happy Thanksgiving today and every day.

Debby Gies shares her writer’s links for November with the emphasis on the block editor, deadly writer sins and online safety. Featured Jan K Sikes
Anne R. Allen Hugh Roberts, Jacqui Murray. –

Debby has been a part of Smorgasbord since 2015 and apart from writing the travel and relationship columns which have been much enjoyed, Debby has also visited every day and shared the posts of the day on social media and her…

I appreciate that officially we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving on this side of the Atlantic, but we are, within the blogging community, a global family who ignore lines drawn on a map that determine nationality. I thought this offered me the opportunity to thank special people who have made a difference to both my blog and me personally not just on one day a year, but every day.

As I approach my tenth year of blogging in 2022, I know that there is likely to be quite a bit of change in my life on a personal level, certainly a house move, and although not likely to be too far in mileage terms, it does represent a lot of work before, during and after moving which is likely to be time consuming. It also means that I may be offline for extended periods of time.

We moved into this neglected former…

Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.

The end of another week and winter is knocking on our door here with a cold front moving in. Like so many countries in Europe cases of Covid have been on the increase and I am glad to be having my booster on Tuesday… thankfully unlike last time where I had to make a 100 mile round trip it is locally.

The government is asking those who can to work from home again and there is a distinct possibility of a lockdown at Christmas which will be a sad blow for so many families who hoped that they could for the first time in two years enjoy a family celebration. However, especially with older family members it is safer to be safe.

I expect that those of you celebrating Thanksgiving in some states are also…

Welcome to the Friday edition of the Cafe and Bookstore with recent reviews for authors on the shelves.

The first review is for author and poet Bette A. Stevens and her coming of age novel Dog Bone Soup: A Boomer’s Journey

About the book

Whether or not You Grew Up in the 1950s and 60s, you’ll find DOG BONE SOUP (Historical Fiction) to be soup for the soul. In this coming-of-age novel, Shawn Daniels’s father is the town drunk. Shawn and his brother Willie are in charge of handling everything that needs to be done around the ramshackle place they call home—lugging in water for cooking and cleaning, splitting and stacking firewood…But when chores are done, these resourceful kids strike out on boundless adventures that don’t cost a dime. DOG BONE SOUP is the poignant tale of a dysfunctional family struggling to survive in America in the 50s and 60s…

Welcome to the Monday edition of the Cafe and Bookstore update with recent reviews for authors on the shelves.

The first review is for Linda Bradley for – Maggie’s Way (Montana Bound Series book 1). About the book

Middle-aged, Maggie Abernathy just wants to recuperate from cancer during the solitude of summer vacation after a tiresome year of teaching second grade. Maggie’s plans are foiled when precocious seven-year-old Chloe McIntyre moves in next door with her dad, John. Maggie’s life changes in a way she could never imagine when the pesky new neighbors steal her heart. With Maggie’s grown son away, her ex-husband in the shadows, her meddling mother’s unannounced visits, and Chloe McIntyre on her heels, somehow Maggie’s empty house becomes home again.

A recent review for the book

Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.

I hope all of you are well…and had a good week.

On the home front 4 tons of stone and 16 tons of topsoil are now waiting for new lawn to be laid and after spreading and raking all of the materials my husband is looking decidely lean and mean.. beats running a marathon. He is supplied with regular infusions of liquid and food and has gone through several audio books in the process.

I have been working on a few projects and begun a declutter process starting with my clothes, handbags and shoes. Most of which have not seen the light of day since we moved in… which implies that I don’t really need them… do I???? I have to bite the bullet and pass them along to someone else who might enjoy using…

Photo by Mathilde Langevin on Unsplash

Hi SEers, it is John with you today. We are going to take a little time out for a mental health break. Yup, that’s right. There comes a time when we all need to sit back and have someone tell us about the writing life. We know it can be a struggle, but all too often, we can’t find anyone who will sympathize with how we feel. After all, to most people writing looks like something that anyone can do, and most writers choose to do it, so it’s like a self-inflicted dose of pain.

I went on a hunt for some words from famous authors about the subject of writing. I stumbled upon The Writer’s College. They have a blog, and there was a post on famous quotes by writers. The reason for the post was to provide inspiration and courage to keep…

Earlier this week I share the first post about Breast Cancer with statistics and how to make sure you are checking anything suspicious out as soon as possible.

Now for this very personal story from Judith Barrow.

My thanks to one of the kindest and most supportive bloggers here on WordPress. Judith Barrow is also a wonderful author and her books have received amazing reviews. You can find out all about them at the end of the post.

Judith has had a complicated relationship with her breasts as she relates in her story but it became even more complex when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. That was over twenty years ago and one of the most important messages that I took from her excellent article is ‘Be bloody persistent‘ with your doctor…

You know your body better than anyone and if you believe that there is something…

Breast Cancer…I can count on all my fingers the number of family and friends who have suffered or are suffering from Breast Cancer…Here Sally’s gives us the latest statistics and what we can do to help protect ourselves and also how important early detection is… #recommended read…

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2021/09/21/smorgasbord-health-column-womens-health-month-breast-cancer-by-sally-cronin/