VISITING & A BIRTHDAY

Greetings!! I am so excited today to travel across the globe to visit with a blogger/author who I greatly admire. Sally Cronin's wonderful Smorgasbord is a place where you can find everything from book features, health advice, funnies, reviews and everything in between. Sally is such a supportive and encouraging human. I deeply appreciate her sharing my short story, "Choosing Bella."

jansikes.com

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Weekly Round Up – 22nd – 28th June – #Heatwave, Big Band Era, Out of Africa, #Spices #Accents, Summer Book Fair, Shortstories, Funnies.

Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.. I know some of you have been enduring record temperatures and even here we have had some scorchers. It is not often…

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June #BookReviews! @IlsaReyAuthor #JordanGrey @DarrelSparkman @BeemWeeks

Hi, everyone. I’m here today to share some great books I read in June. Wouldn’t it be amazing to have nothing to do but read for days on end? I would love it!! PURCHASE LINK MY REVIEW: …

jansikes.com

#TankaTuesday Challenge #17 @WillowWillers

Surprise!! Yes, I know I said I wasn’t going to blog anymore in July, but then… Willow Willer’s Tanka Tuesday Challenge immediately sparked something, so I decided to share it. I&…

jansikes.com

Ghostly Interference (White Rune Series #1) by Jan Sikes #paranormal #romance #metaphysical #TuesdayBookBlog

Jag Peters works hard to keep his karma clean and his life peaceful. Then a near miss with a red Harley leads him straight into a world he never expected—and to Rena Jett, a fierce beauty…

teripolen.com

MONDAY MEANDERINGS #24 – 2026 (I’M BACK!)

Hello, friends. While I enjoyed taking a month break from blogging, I’ve missed all of your posts, engagement and comments. But I’m back! Wow!! July was a whirlwind. I have a lot to cat…

jansikes.com

August Book Reviews! #BeemWeeks #MaeClair #bookreviews #whattoread #mustread #writingcommunity

Here are the books I read in July that were 4- or 5-star reads! The Gilded Thespian Show (Shallow Draw Series Book 2) by Mae Clair I read and loved “Diamond Jack” and was thrilled to see the series…

dlfinnauthor.com

Artforms and Artists from Around the World – An introduction to Terri Webster Schrandt

I have known photographer and blogger Terri Webster Schrandt for several years. Terri is among the first bloggers I met when I joined Wordpress in 2016. Terri is know for her photography challenges…

latinosenglishedition.blog

MONDAY MEANDERINGS #24 – 2026 (I’M BACK!)

Hello, friends. While I enjoyed taking a month break from blogging, I've missed all of your posts, engagement and comments. But I'm back! Wow!! July was a whirlwind. I have a lot to catch up on and this post may be a little longer than I normally write. But I have so much to tell you. 🙂 First of all, how is everyone?

jansikes.com

Ghostly Interference (White Rune Series #1) by Jan Sikes #paranormal #romance #metaphysical #TuesdayBookBlog

Jag Peters works hard to keep his karma clean and his life peaceful. Then a near miss with a red Harley leads him straight into a world he never expected—and to Rena Jett, a fierce beauty…

teripolen.com

#TankaTuesday Challenge #17 @WillowWillers

Surprise!! Yes, I know I said I wasn't going to blog anymore in July, but then... Willow Willer's Tanka Tuesday Challenge immediately sparked something, so I decided to share it. I'm sure I didn't follow her directions properly, but it's my first time to participate. Her instructions were to take a look through some of your old photos and pick one with a special memory.

jansikes.com

June #BookReviews! @IlsaReyAuthor #JordanGrey @DarrelSparkman @BeemWeeks

Hi, everyone. I'm here today to share some great books I read in June. Wouldn't it be amazing to have nothing to do but read for days on end? I would love it!! PURCHASE LINK MY REVIEW: I read this book at the same time as my granddaughter so we could talk about it. That was fun! It was like having our own private book club.

jansikes.com

MONDAY MEANDERINGS #23 – 2026

Hello, friends. Thank you for joining me for another ramble. This week leads us up to the 4th of July in America. But to be honest, I don't feel much like celebrating. I'll just leave it at that. This past week was a rollercoaster on steroids. It started out with the road trip. My three grandsons and I went visit a first cousin in Gatesville, Tx.

jansikes.com

MONDAY MEANDERINGS #22 – 2026

Hello, friends. Yesterday was the Summer Solstice, and I found this image to reflect that. I had an extremely busy week (what else is new?), right? Still, this one was even busier than usual. My granddaughter closed out the dance season with three nights of recital. The whole event was so incredibly uplifting. These kiddos work so very hard. I enjoyed every night of the shows.

jansikes.com

MONDAY MEANDERINGS #21 – 2026

Hello, friends. Thanks for dropping by for another meandering today. This will be a short one. First the good news. My middle grandson is now a licensed driver! Josh passed his test. The smile says it all. This week is dance recital for my oldest granddaughter while the younger one is off to camp for seven days. Even with no school, their little lives are so busy!

jansikes.com

Monday Meanderings #20 – 2026

I'm late with this post, but returned home last night. Still, I want to say hello and share. You may remember last week I shared I was going to visit with my brother who lives in Katy, Texas, near Houston. He is eighty-five, so ten years older than me. He's always been a hard worker and one of the most pleasant people I've ever known.

jansikes.com

MAY 2026 BOOK REVIEWS! @RZanetti_Author @justsomebitch.bsky.social #A.C. Flory @lindabroday.bsky.social @KGBeckNovelist

Hello, friends. I'm here today to share some thoughts about fantastic books I read in May. So, sit back, grab a beverage and let's dive in! PURCHASE LINK MY REVIEW: I've read both previous books in this series so immediately pre-ordered this one when it came up. I knew it would be Ace's story and I couldn't wait! Now, I'm impatiently waiting for the mysterious Damian's story!

jansikes.com

Monday Meanderings #19 – 2026

Hello, beautiful souls! Happy first day of June! I have a lot of meandering to do today, so I hope you'll hang with me. Whew! Where to start? I suppose the best place to start is with the wonderful visit to see my sister! It is a five hour drive to her house, but it took me a little longer because I chose to go a back way due to heavy holiday traffic.

jansikes.com

Sunday Book Review – Fringes, Heartstrings and Lyrics by Jan Sikes

Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing Jan Sikes’s latest release – Fringes, Heartstrings and Lyrics. It’s a beautiful book with short stories and a few poems…

dgkayewriter.com

Book Reviews: Where Stories Meet – Fringes, Heartstrings and Lyrics – Perfect!

Hi Everyone, In the midst of working on my own writing projects, I’m enjoying some great reading and finally finished reviews. I hope my thoughts prompt you to visit Amazon. :) And please kno…

baydreamerwrites.com

Smorgasbord Book Promotions 2026 – Share an Excerpt – Boost one of your books – #Paranormal, #Mystery, #Romance – The Edge of Too Late: Harbor Pointe Series Book 5 by Jan Sikes

In this regular series for 2026, you are invited to share an excerpt of 400 to 500 words from any book you have written you would like to give a boost to. This feature is for any author who has bee…

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MONDAY MEANDERINGS #18

Hello, friends. Here in the U.S. we are heading into a holiday weekend AND for all my grandkids, it's the last week of school. There will be no Monday post next week as I will be in Lubbock visiting with my sister, Linda Broday! It's been another busy week around here. Yesterday was Linda's birthday. From now until August, she is four years older, then after my birthday we're three years apart.

jansikes.com

#12Friends12Books: Little Lord Fauntleroy (#13) and The Beggar’s Bargain (#14) #BookReview #Audiobook

I have now read or listened to all of the books recommended to me in the 12 Friends/12 Books Challenge. I actually have 14 recommendations, and they have now all been read and reviewed. I recently …

carlalovestoread.wordpress.com

THANK YOU! And the WINNER is…

What a great blog tour I had with FRINGES, HEARTSTRINGS, AND LYRICS! All of my hosts and hostesses were so wonderfully supportive and created welcoming stops for all. I tried to answer all the comments, but I know I missed some. If you missed a post and want to see it, you can click on each name. C.S. BOYACK…

jansikes.com

Roberta Writes – Book Blog Tour: The Dark Horse Waits in Boulder by Lindsey Martin- Bowen

Picture caption: The Dark Horse Waits in Boulder book tour banner Introduction Today I’m delighted to welcome poet and author Lindsey Martin-Bowen to Roberta Writes. Lindsey is showcasing her…

roberta-writes.com

Fringes, Heartstrings, and Lyrics by Jan Sikes #BlogTour #shortstories #giveaway

Today I’m hosting Jan Sikes on the last stop of her blog tour! Fringes, Heartstrings, and Lyrics has already gotten rave reviews, and Jan’s given us sneak peeks of the stories at each s…

teripolen.com

BLOG TOUR STOP #8 – TERI POLEN

I am happy to sail off to Kentucky today to spend some time at Teri Polen's place. Come along and let's wrap up this tour!! Teri hosts a monumental month long blogging event every October with her Bad Moon Rising. How she does it, I don't know, but I love following along and have discovered new authors through that event.

jansikes.com

Monday Meanderings #17 – 2026

Hello, friends. I am feeling especially grateful today. In a world filled with chaos, I choose kindness, love and joy. I hope all the Moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day celebration! I had a great Mother's Day celebrating with the kids and grandkids. Even got some facetime with the kiddo away at college. One of my favorite places on earth is the area around Sedona, Arizona.

jansikes.com

April #BookReviews! #LauraLyndhurst @Virgilante @teddy.jones148 @kristinhanna76 @sgc58

I love sharing books that affect me in some way or another. All of the books I read in April fit into that category for sure! Enjoy! PURCHASE LINK MY REVIEW: This book exposes all the dysfunctions any family could possibly have. Frank was a career military man. While he was sure at least one of his sons would follow in his footsteps, they both chose different paths opposite from their dad's.

jansikes.com

BLOG TOUR STOP #7 – LIZ GAUFFREAU

I am so happy to get to sail on to New Hampshire for a visit with another of my favorite humans, Liz Gauffreau! I got to know Liz better when she was a member of our Story Empire group and I am a huge fan of her writing. If you look her up on Google, it says she is a writer in poet's clothing.

jansikes.com