Author Interview: Darlene Foster

Published on by J. Kelland Perry

Hi Everyone! It’s been a while since I tossed a Blogger Bouquet or featured a Friday Fiction post. My guest today, Darlene Foster, makes for a perfect opportunity to feature both.
A fellow Canadian blogger and writer, Darlene is the author of the Amanda Travels middle-grade fiction series. The latest in the series is Amanda in Ireland: the Body in the Bog.

Darlene Foster grew up on a ranch in Alberta, Canada, where her love of reading inspired her to see the world and write stories. Her Amanda Travels series features spunky Amanda Ross, a twelve-year-old girl who loves to travel. All ages enjoy following Amanda as she unravels one mystery after another in unique destinations. Darlene is retired and has a house in Spain where she writes full-time. Her constant interest and enthusiasm for everything keep her young at heart. When not travelling, meeting interesting people, and collecting ideas for her books, Darlene enjoys spending time with her family in Canada and with her husband and entertaining dogs in Spain.

The blurb for Amanda in Ireland: The Body in the Bog

Twelve-year-old Amanda Jane Ross is invited to be a bridesmaid for her cousin’s wedding, in Ireland! She falls in love with this emerald isle the moment she lands in Dublin. The warm, friendly Irish people immediately make her feel at home. Towering castles, ancient graveyards, and the stunning green countryside are filled with fascinating legends, enthralling folktales, and alarming secrets.

Things take a dark turn when disaster strikes. Amanda wonders if there will be a wedding at all. As she joins the search for a missing horse, she stumbles upon a world of screaming banshees, bloody battles, and dangerous peat bogs. The closer she gets to the truth, the more dangerous things become. Will she become another body in the bog?

Thank you for joining me today, Darlene. I love that you do, but may I ask why you include an animal in each of your Amanda books?

Darlene: I have always been an animal lover. We had all kinds of animals on the farm, including a pet antelope, and later I had dogs and cats as pets for my kids. I now have two adorable rescue dogs here in Spain. It was only natural that Amanda would be an animal lover too. In the first book, Amanda meets a camel called Ali Baba when she visits the United Arab Emirates. Ali Baba became a favourite character for many readers. There is a dancing pony called Pedro in Amanda in Spain, Rupert the bookstore cat in Amanda in England, and Joey the abandoned puppy in Amanda in Holland to name a few. Kids have an affinity with animals and they add something to the stories.

I remember that camel Ali Baba in your first of the series! What are some of the books with animals you enjoyed as a child?

Darlene: Black Beauty by Anna Sewell immediately comes to mind. I loved that book so much. Others I loved were Old Yeller by Fred Gipson, The Yearling by Marjorie KInnan Rawlings, and Beautiful Joe by Quinn Currie. I tear up thinking about these books even after all these years. 

Yes, you mention a couple of my own favourites there. Is there an animal in Amanda in Ireland?

Darlene: Yes there is. A beautiful horse called Aiofe.

Excerpt:

After leaving the airport, Amanda enjoyed the drive through the countryside, past rolling green hills, fields dotted with black and white cows, and white-fenced paddocks.

Taylor pointed to the left. “Over there are the stables where Roisin keeps her horse.”

“Do you own a horse?” Amanda’s eyes widened as she pushed up her glasses.

“Yes. But I don’t get much time to ride her anymore. Would you like to meet Aoife while you’re here?” Roisin opened her phone and showed Amanda a picture of a gorgeous white horse with a dark brown mane.

“That would be awesome. I love horses. And she’s beautiful.  How do you pronounce her name?”

Roisin grinned proudly. “Her name is pronounced Ee-fa. Almost like Eva with an f. And it means ‘beautiful’.”

 Darlene, I wanted to mention that I have another of your books on my “To Be Read” list: “You Can Take the Girl From the Prairie: Stories about growing up on the Canadian prairies”. I’m looking forward to that one as well. 

Social Media Links:

• Website: https://www.darlenefoster.ca/

• Blog: https://darlenefoster.wordpress.com/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darlene.foster.777

• Twitter/X: https://x.com/supermegawoman

• Bluesky: @darlenefoster.bsky.social

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darlene6490/

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Darlene-Foster/author/B003XGQPHA

• Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3156908.Darlene_Foster

Buy Links:

https://books2read.com/u/4EYQ2A


84 thoughts on “Author Interview: Darlene Foster”

  1. Jennifer, this was such a delightful interview. I loved the focus on animals — it adds such a tender thread through Darlene’s work, and it was fun to see how each Amanda book has its own memorable creature. The excerpt from Amanda in Ireland was a lovely touch too; Aoife already feels like a character readers will fall for.

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  3. How lovely to see Darlene here with her latest book, which I enjoyed, including the beautiful horse. 🙂 I recognized most of the “animal” books that you and Darlene read as kids. “The Yearling” was my favorite. I remember it more than half a century later. Congrats to Darlene on her wonderful tour, and thanks for hosting her, Jennifer.

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    1. It was a pleasure to help host Darlene’s tour, and it was also nice to meet some other lovely writers in our blogging community.
      I only read “The Yearling” for the first time last year—I don’t know how I’d missed it. Like so many of us, I just adore books featuring animals—even those with a bittersweet ending. 😊

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  8. Hi Jennifer – it’s great to see Darlene featured here on your blog. She’s the best! I also loved Black Beauty and Old Yeller (read that one again last year…and I watched the movie!). Congratulations to Darlene on Amanda in Ireland!

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  9. My goodness, as a big Amanda fan I never realized that every book had an animal. Every single one. I so enjoyed your interview, and champion both Darlene and Amanda. My copy arrived, and I can’t wait to read this new book.

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    2. Thanks, Jennie. I kind of snuck an animal in each book. I have puppets and stuffies of some of them and take them to schools when I visit. At one school, everyone wanted a chance to hold Ali Baba, so he got passed around. Rupert the Cat is also very popular (Amanda in England). He was a gift from hubby one Christmas.

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  10. Great interview Jennifer!! Thanks for sharing!! I have gotten my granddaughter started on Darlene’s books. She’s loving the adventures of Amanda and the exposure to other countries!! Great post for you Darlene!!

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  16. Congratulations to both of you, Jennifer and Darlene, on this lovely post about Amanda and her animals. Life would be hard without our fur babies. I’ve read the newest Amanda book and the first. Now I want to catch up in the middle and meet all the other animals and see what Amanda is up to. I feel like I’m back in junior high school again. Retirement really is a second childhood. 🙂 xxx

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    1. Our grade six teacher read Beautiful Joe to us and it was very moving. I bought a copy for my granddaughter to read and she loved it. It’s not as well known as the other books I mentioned.

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    1. The pleasure is mine, Darlene. And please hug your adorable pups for me as well! ❤️❤️
      Also, thank you for recommending my blog. I didn’t know that was a thing until now, so I have something new to learn so I can reciprocate. ☺️

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