This blog feature amusing and heartwarming stories about our late Leonberger dog Bronco, as well as other Leonbergers. It also has a lot of information about the Leonberger breed, the history, care, training, Leonberger organizations, etc. I also wrote a Leonberger book, which I am featuring in the sidebar.
Please visit the Smorgasbord Blog Magazine post above. Smorgasbord Blog Magazine is sharing my super fact post Accents are very difficult to lose, as well as showcasing my Leonberger dog book.
The focus of this blog is Leonbergers including Leonberger book reviews. However, sometimes I post about books that are not about Leonbergers but that are books on other topics that I love and want to promote. This time the book is Tales From the Irish Garden: The Missing Pieces by Sally Cronin. Below I am giving an overview of the two formats for the book (I bought the paperback edition).
In the Irish Garden there is fantasy, magic, friendship and love to be found in this green and welcoming haven. For some of those who find their way to the garden there is a renewal and an awakening of the spirit and special gifts lost through tragedy. For others it is the end of a long and arduous journey to find their soulmate.
The Irish garden has been a sanctuary for centuries for those escaping persecution, invaders and grief. Its guardian is the storyteller, a man who has lived for hundreds of years and who is part of a network of guardians around the world, offering a safe haven to those worthy of their protection.
It is not only humans who travel from afar to this garden, but animals which are hurt or lost. One creature in particular has travelled across time following the elusive melody remembered from its time in an ancient civilisation, a cat who has reached its ninth life.
There is fantasy, magic, friendship and love to be found in this green and welcoming haven. For some of those who find their way to the garden there is a renewal and an awakening of the spirit and special gifts lost through tragedy. For others it is the end of a long and arduous journey to find their soulmate.
You are welcome to join the storyteller, Finn, Lilah, Ramon, Michael, Bebechat and Flaco in the garden to enjoy their company, discover their stories and be amused at some of the antics they get up to as they finally find a peaceful home to call their own.
There is a magical garden in Ireland where persecuted healers, mistreated animals, and others can seek refuge. It is a beautiful sanctuary with flowers, birds and cottages. It is overseen by its guardian the Storyteller, an ancient practitioner of the magic arts. He is several hundred years old and does not seem to age. He is able to talk to fairies, animals, and other creatures. The Storyteller cannot have a large group of friends and marriage is not a good idea for him, because of his immortal existence and magical abilities. People seek refuge at his sanctuary, and he welcomes them, helps them and protects them. They live happy lives in the magical garden until they pass on.
In this book we meet several fascinating characters in need of help including Finnegan, Lilah, Bebechat, Michael, Gabriel, Ramon and others. There are people who are intolerant and egotistical, men with evil hearts who wish to harm others, but they cannot enter the sanctuary. That is to protect the innocent. There is adventure, gripping and scary moments, but peace wins. I found the adventures in this book captivating and the description of the magical garden and the Storyteller comforting. The book is very imaginative and fun to read. I highly recommend this book.
Sally Cronin is the author of nineteen books including her memoir Size Always Matters in 2024. This was an updated version of her first book, Size Matters published in 2001 which followed her weight loss of 150lbs and the programme she designed to regain her health.
A programme she shared with her clients over her 27 year career as a nutritional therapist and on her blog. This has been followed by another eighteen books both fiction and non-fiction including multi-genre collections of short stories and poetry.
Her latest book is part of a three book series set in a garden in Spain and then in Ireland. Tales from the Irish Garden: The Missing Pieces brings together creatures and people in need of a sanctuary, where they can spend their lives in peace.
As an author she understands how important it is to have support in marketing books and offers a number of FREE promotional opportunities on her blog Smorgasbord Blog Magazine and across her social media.
After leading a nomadic existence exploring the world, she now lives with her husband on the coast of Southern Ireland enjoying the seasonal fluctuations in the temperature of the rain.
Website: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com
This is my review and post regarding another of Sally Cronin’s books that I love: Life of a Dog Told by the Dog.
Please take a look at Smorgasbord Blog Magazine’s post about my super fact #7 “Poverty and child mortality has been sharply reduced worldwide“.
Me and our Leonberger Bronco, my book about him, and other dogs are featured on Smorgasbord Blog Magazine as a Guest Post. The post described how Bronco (and the other dogs) influenced my life. Dogs and other pets can mean so much to us and reshape our lives. Please take a look.
I also would like to thank Alex Diaz-Granados for his wonderful review of my book. It is featured on Smorgasbord Magazine, so you can read it there, but you can also read it here on Amazon.
Please take a look at Smorgasbord Blog Magazine’s feature of my super fact #19 “An account impersonating you on Facebook does not mean you have been hacked“, and my Leonberger Dog book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”.
Please go and check it out. Thank you so much Sally.
Please go and check it out. Thank you so much Sally
Today my book is being featured on Sally Cronin’s prominent Smorgasbord book promotion blog
This is a Leonberger blog but sometimes I post about books that are not about Leonbergers but that are books that I want to promote. This is another one of those. I just read Sam, A Shaggy Dog Story (Kindle Edition), by Sally Cronin. It was a book that I loved and therefore I want to promote.
This book is about a dog, a Collie named Sam who comes to live with David and Sally Cronin in Ireland. The story of Sam’s life is told through his voice by Sally. Due to the author’s skill and understanding of her dog this way of imaginary telling of a dog’s story works extremely well. It is plausible and beautiful. Click here to view my review on Amazon.
My Amazon Review of Sam, A Shaggy Dog Story
The Story of the Life of a Dog Told by the Dog
This is the story of the Collie Sam, told through the voice of Sam. His mistress Sally imagines what he must have been thinking as we follow him on all of his adventures, including his happy, sad and crazy moments, throughout his life. Sam has many dog and cat friends, and he understands cat language and so does his mistress. There was his friend Henry, the almost dead stray cat who found a home with Sam’s family. There was Danny the mischievous little dog who led Sam astray, the dangerous attack by the big vicious dog, the car rides, the beaches, and how Sam learned how to say a word in English, for real, and much more. It is the life of a dog, told by the dog himself, and it is a story well told.
Sam is also a very well-traveled dog and as you are reading the book you will learn something about traveling with dogs within the EU. You also learn something about the dog owner’s experience. I think the author is apt at figuring out how a dog must be feeling and what he might be thinking in different situations. She is well informed about dog behaviors and the reasons behind them. I’ve owned many wonderful dogs throughout my life, and I felt that the author was interpreting dog behavior and putting it into imagined dog feelings and thoughts in a very plausible manner.
I think this was a fun and interesting read. It was a real page turner, well it’s kindle, so location traverser, as you want to find out what is going to happen to Sam next. It is gripping and emotional in a good way. I think putting the story of Sam as if it is told by Sam is a clever and unique way of presenting the story of a dog’s life. I highly recommend this kindle book to all dog lovers.
About the Author
Sally Cronin is the author of sixteen books including her memoir Size Matters: Especially when you weigh 330lb first published in 2001. This has been followed by another fifteen books both fiction and non-fiction including multi-genre collections of short stories and poetry.
As an author she understands how important it is to have support in marketing books and offers a number of FREE promotional opportunities on her blog and across her social media. The Smorgasbord Bookshelf.
Leonberger Life 