Episode 107: Writing and Adventure with Darlene Foster

Posted on by Victoria

What a treat it was to visit with adventurer and author, Darlene Foster!

Wynne and had the most delightful chat with the prolific Darlene – the author of ten wonderful young adult books featuring my new favorite character – Amanda Ross.

In our chat with Darlene we learned about the inspiration behind the “Amanda” series and soaked up all of the glorious insight about Amanda’s adventures around the world. In part, we learn that Darlene’s own life – living in Spain and in Canada – is the source of her creative grist. Observations about history, culture, people and the delight that comes when we follow the threads of a terrific story, woven with charming characters and immersion in places all around the globe.

Darlene is hard at work as she writes the next in the series of Amanda adventures. Coming next? Amanda’s adventures in Ireland…and Darlene’s description of her research – delving deep to create storylines and characters based on her personal experiences is compelling and exciting.

Check out Darlene’s blog and website – linked below – to learn more about books. As luck would have it, Wynne and I chose – without planning ahead of time – to read entirely different volumes in the “Amanda” series. Wynne chose Amanda in Arabia and Amanda in Scotland drew me in. What fun it was to discuss our enthusiastic impressions with the author herself – the talented Darlene Foster.

Join us as we learn from Darlene…the dreamer of dreams and the teller of tales!

Vicki and Wynne 😊

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor: Episode 107: Writing and Adventure with Darlene Foster

Episode 107 transcript

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Links for this Episode:

Darlene’s website: https://www.darlenefoster.ca/

Darlene’s blog: https://darlenefoster.wordpress.com/

More Amanda Books to our Library from Jennie Fitzkee on A Teacher’s Reflections

From the hosts:

Vicki’s book about resilience and love: Surviving Sue; Blog: https://victoriaponders.com/

Wynne’s book about her beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith; Blog: https://wynneleon.com/

83 thoughts on “Episode 107: Writing and Adventure with Darlene Foster”

  1. Pingback: Distance Doesn’t Matter – Surprised By Joy

  5. Darlene, a wonderful podcast and good to know you, I’ve read about you and your books from another blogging friend, teacher Jennie F., and look forward to your books and reading more from you on your blog.

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  6. What a fantastic interview. Oh, I’m excited to read and share the Amanda series. Amanda sounds like the 12 year I would have loved to have been. Darlene is just a wonderful positive model of making dreams come true.💞

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    1. Isn’t she though? Darlene is amazing. And I promise you will fall in love with Amanda, too. You’re right — every little girl would dream of being Amanda. Great adventures and she’s so spunky. Thanks much for tuning in. xo! 🥰

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  8. My oldest granddaughter, who will be seven in April, will likely enjoy the Amanda books when she’s a little older. But I think I’ll have to borrow them from her so I can read them, too! Darlene, your “childhood zeal” made for a very interesting podcast. Thank you, Vickie and Wynne! 🙂

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    2. Thanks, Nancy. Many seven-year-olds enjoy the adventures. You could read them together. What fun that would be! One grandmother read them to her three-year-old granddaughter and later the little girl read them herself. I’ve since met this girl who told me one of her happiest memories is her grandmother reading the Amanda books to her!

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  10. I love the origin story on how Darlene found Amanda. 🙂 It’s just exactly how it’s supposed to happen. With grown children and no grandchildren (yet) I am not current on young adult fiction, but I am drawn to the adventure theme and traveling to different countries. Congratulations to Darlene for creating a successful series and to you Wynne and Vicki for getting the opportunity to speak with her (in Spain!) How cool. 😊

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    1. How cool — yes! Thanks much, Melanie. I love how you see the ‘origin story’ — Darlene finding Amanda and sharing her with us. You will enjoy the books and Amanda’s spirited adventures…so much fun. Thank you for coming along! xo! 🥰

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  12. I’ve been following Darlene’s blog for several years and have read a few of the Amanda books in her series. Maybe Amanda thinks of herself as boring, but I sure don’t. How many 12-year-olds have actually traveled to multiple continents and lived all these adventures? We teachers love books like Darlene’s because they accomplish two things—entertain while also teaching about different places but not in a boring textbook type of way.

    One of my favorite answers Darlene gave was about making friends around the world, a microcosm of why many of us blog.

    I suspect you may not be aware, but Darlene is a MG (middle grade) writer. YA (young adult) books typically are targeted for over age 12, though I’m sure some tweens would still enjoy her books. If your daughter is a strong reader, Wynne, this series might appeal to her.

    Kudos to Darlene for being such an inspiration to kids and her fellow writers.

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    1. Thank you so much, Pete. You are so right…Darlene provides educational and entertaining adventures with Amanda’s stories. Yes! And thank you for the clarification about Middle Grade vs. Young Adult genres – you’re right! I was unaware. Appreciate you, Pete! 🥰

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    2. Thank you so much for your kind words, Pete. Meeting wonderful teachers like you through blogging has been a real bonus and it means a lot when folks in the teaching community appreciate my books.

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  14. It’s wonderful to see Darlene being interviewed here. I enjoyed the Admanda series. Darlene is right that our dreams can come true, though thy may not be exactly the way we want them. Thank you for featuring Darlene here, Wynne and Vicki.

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  17. It’s wonderful to see Darlene featured on your podcast, Wynne and Vicki. She is an amazing author, and I’ve read several books in her Amanda series. I also enjoyed learning how it all began. And it’s great to have schools use Amanda’s adventures in their curriculum. Congrats to Darlene! A great podcast! ❤️

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  19. Pingback: Book Review – “Amanda in Scotland: The Standing Stones” by Darlene Foster – Of All The Things I've Ever Dreamed

  20. This was a delightful interview, Vicky and Wynne! It’s always nice to learn more about authors and their creative inspirations and process.

    I love how the Amanda books came together and the UAE is quite the way to spark an idea for young readers and to inspire a love of travel and wonder.

    As my own T enters his tween years, I can attest to what a delight this age is. There are challenges for sure, but it’s the transition from childhood to independence… and the hint of teenage sassiness. A great age period for sure!

    And how interesting to learn her next Amanda book will be set in Ireland on St Paddy’s Day! 🍀

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    1. Thank you, Ab! I’m with you – I love learning about the Amanda adventures and their origins. And you have a front row seat for the genre with T…yes, yes! Appreciate you for listening. Darlene is fab! 🥰

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    2. Thanks, Stevie. But life itself provides some pretty good stories. You are a master at taking real life situations and creating a great story. I heard something yesterday that you would turn into a page turner!

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